Showing posts with label Granny Hill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Granny Hill. Show all posts

Monday, July 8, 2024

Whirling Sugar Sacks

A few years ago, I bought a large collection of vintage flour and sugar sacks at an estate sale. Today's quilt features some of them, along with a few reproduction fabrics and natural muslin.


The Blue Wren die I used, Whirling Wheels, is very similar to 1930-1940 era blocks like Whirling Pinwheel and Spinflower. I enjoy reproducing antique quilt designs like my grandmothers would have sewed.


The pattern is easy to stitch, even with the curves. The center circle is appliqued using clear thread. I set the blocks on point, then added a 3” border.


Quilting with medium khaki thread, I used a circle ruler to sew large loops across the entire quilt to emphasize the movement of the wheels. Whirling Sugar Sacks is 48” square.


This one put a smile on my face! I have quilts in progress with two other new dies, plus at least twenty more on my ever growing to do list.



Dies used:
Blue Wren 6514 Whirling Wheels 10” block
Accuquilt
55553 Setting Triangles 10”
55032 Strips 3½”
55017 Strips 2½”


Monday, August 7, 2023

Hilltop Chain

Remnants, scraps, leftovers...whatever you call them, these pieces of material have been saved in most sewing rooms for decades.


Today's quilt is the result of a cutting session with the Accuquilt Weathervane die and a big basket of scraps. I used shape B (pentagon) to cut colorful prints. Shapes A and D were cut from natural muslin. The block I sewed is a variation of a vintage one called Old Italian Block or Mountain Peak.


What a fun quilt to make! I used Rockette, my 1962 Singer 500A for piecing. This one reminds me of the simple bed quilts that Granny Hill and Granny Rose sewed. Hilltop Chain is snuggle size, at 51” square. I quilted across the muslin squares using bright variegated thread, using a multi-stitch zig zag pattern.


I am happiest when I'm creating something new out of remnants, and when I'm experimenting with quilt designs. I promise you it's been a happy, scrappy summer at my house.


Accuquilt dies used:
55544 Weathervane 8” finished Shapes A, B, and D
55017 Strip 2½”


 

Monday, May 8, 2023

Blackberry Winter

Blackberry Winter, 2023 Useful Remnants
We had a little cold snap last week, light frost when the wild blackberries bloomed. My granny always called it Blackberry Winter, so I decided to name this rich purple quilt the same.


These fabrics match so well that you'd think they were a collection, but I bought three of them in 2018, 2019, and 2020 from different companies. The fourth was an estate sale find this year. Neutral gray pin dots from Marshall's Dry Goods made the perfect background sashing and binding.


The block is Jackaroo Star, a Blue Wren die. Since I had scraps left after cutting, I added an extra border, cutting the small triangles from Hattie's Choice die.  It was definitely worth the additional work! All piecing was done on Laney, our sweet painted Singer 301.




For quilting, I kept it simple, straight stitching with light gray thread in a 2” allover grid. I used my Janome walking foot and ruler as a guide. Blackberry Winter is 49” square.


Purple is one of my favorite colors and this quilt turned out gorgeous. I believe I will keep it for myself!


Dies used:
Blue Wren
6369 
Jackaroo Star 12” block


Accuquilt
55220 Hattie's Choice 8” block (small triangles)
55017 Strip 2½” for sashing & binding


 Never let a fabric scrap go to waste! 


Monday, April 3, 2023

Keepsakes

I've always been a collector of stuff. One of my favorite acquisitions is, of course, fabric. Vintage fabric, like feed sacks or 36” wide cotton, makes me happy.


Today's quilt has me grinning from ear to ear. The block, Grandmother's Pride, was published as a Laura Wheeler mail order pattern sometime in the 1930's, 40's, or 50's. It is also called Empress.


I sent a request to Norma Grimmer at Blue Wren to make a die for this block and I got it last month from Australia. 


I chose feed sacks that coordinate with tomato red cotton and natural muslin to recreate this quilt that looks like those our grannies made. One of the sacks actually came from Granny Rose, the others I bought at estate sales. I added two reproduction fabrics. 


The blocks sewed together beautifully. I rotary cut the setting triangles around the outside. A homespun navy and blue tiny floral makes great backing and binding. With medium beige thread, I used a scallop stitch 1½” apart diagonally across the quilt. It measures 50” x 55”.



Keepsakes seemed the right name for this one. I like that my feed sacks are useful again, and that I can enjoy the family tradition of quilting. I'm pretty sure the grannies would be proud. Thanks Norma and Edward for helping me reproduce vintage quilts! (I have the fan block in progress.)


Blue Wren dies used:
6983 Grandmother's Pride 12” block
6720 Magic Strips 1” - 9½”



Monday, January 9, 2023

Cappuccino Blues

This yummy quilt features creamy vanilla, rich brown, clear blue and navy prints. The design may be simple but it spotlights the fabrics so well. 


Each Economy block is sashed with cream and caramel swirls, which is also used for backing and binding.


All the piecing was done using Laney, my custom painted Singer 301. I quilted on the Janome with ecru thread, stitching an allover loopy design using a circle ruler.



Cappuccino Blues is 53” square. It certainly makes me want to snuggle up with a hot beverage and listen to soft blues.


I love sewing vintage blocks. This one was popular in the 1930's, and is still seen often today. Depending on fabric choices, it can look modern or traditional. I think Granny Hill and Granny Rose would both approve.


Accuquilt dies used:
55106 Square on point 3 11/16”
55147 Half square triangle 2¼”
55398 Quarter square triangle 4½”
55017 Strip 2½”


Monday, November 14, 2022

Not A Singer, But...

This vintage find is not a Singer, but it sure was an irresistible Goodwill bargain at $30.


Japan manufactured clones of the Singer model 15 and others after WWII. Universal is one of the brand names they used. 


My Granny Hill used a Universal, but I'm not sure which model. This one was shiny and fairly clean, no scratches and just a couple of paint dings. Gold decor and lettering is near perfect. Not bad for a 1951 era machine.




We've named this one Tojo, after famous Nashville wrestler Tojo Yamamoto. Tough little machine, but the original covered wood carrying case looked like it had gone 10 rounds and lost. It may not be salvageable, but Jerold is going to try to glue it back together. In the meantime I'm using a plastic base.




As for Tojo, he was missing the bobbin case, needed a v-belt, LED bulb (E17 screw in), and a replacement foot control. After a good service by my favorite mechanic: grease, oil and polish, he was ready to sew in just a few days. Stitches look great after adjusting the tension.




I did the final quilting for last week's Back To The Sixties throw on this nice machine. We've found a few more Singers over the summer, and they're currently on the shelf waiting for their chance to be tuned up.



Monday, June 27, 2022

Flea Market

Oh, how I love a colorful scrappy quilt! Using remnants left over from other projects has got to be in my DNA, because I just can't stop making these bonus quilts.


This one took a while, though, because the pieces are small and there are a lot of seams to line up. But I can't complain...the project kept me indoors in air conditioned comfort while our temps were near 100 degrees.


After cutting all the print signature pieces and little muslin triangles, I chain stitched them together without stopping to press. No iron means a cooler room! I used Elizabeth, my sweet little Singer 404 to get perfect stitching.


I pressed everything early one morning and began laying them on my design wall. I intended them to be entirely random, but I had to shift some to balance the colors. I sewed them together in four sections, carefully matching seams.


Flea Market ended up 58” square after I added a natural muslin 4” border. Quilting was done with my Janome MC9400.  I made free motion swirls diagonally on the lattice design. For the border I stitched 2” grids following the lines of the blocks, using a ruler guide.  Not perfect, but good enough! 


It's a vintage look that I hope would make Granny Hill and Granny Rose proud.  


Accuquilt dies used:
55729 Signature 3½”
55818 Half Square Triangles 1½”
55054 Strips 4½”


My idea of bliss?
A sewing machine,
a room full of fabric,
and no distractions!
 

Monday, October 11, 2021

Scrap Basket

Since I'm on a roll, here's another quilt made in my ongoing quest to save tiny pieces of fabric from untimely disposal.


My favorite sizes to cut are 2½” squares and half square triangles. This time I combined them with white muslin for a very colorful cane weave design. Piecing was super easy and quick on Annie, my Featherweight. I didn't pay much attention to color placement while sewing four-patches and strips.


Scrap Basket Block
I moved the blocks around on my design wall to balance out the colors, then sewed them together. Even with all these pieces, I have many more scraps left. I guess as long as I cut fabric I will have small remnants to rescue. Some of these are decades old but still lovely.


I used a 60” piece of plaid shirting material for backing. Quilting with white thread, I sewed serpentine lines 2” apart. This is a lightweight quilt with flannel as batting.  





Accuquilt dies used:
55059 Square, multiples, 2½”
55018 Small Value die: Half Square Triangle 2½” & 4½” square
55017 Strip 2½”
55160 Rectangle 4½” x 8½”


I learned from my mama and my grannies
to be a collector of useful things.


Monday, May 31, 2021

Vintage Bows

Remember those sugar sack remnants from last week?


I couldn't wait to use them for this reproduction of one of my Granny Hill's quilts. The bow tie block is quick and easy in the 6” size. I added more feed sacks in yellow, red and green prints, including a scrap of Granny Rose's.    


Tan muslin squares alternated with the bow ties add to the traditional design. I framed it with two borders, a 2” navy and cream mini print and a 3” tan muslin on the outside. Vintage Bows finished at 53” square.


Vintage Bows


I quilted with cream thread using a straight stitch in a 3” grid. Backing and binding features the navy/cream print. Such a soft and cuddly Granny quilt! It looks and feels like an antique, even though I just finished it. Of course, most of the fabric IS vintage.

Accuquilt dies:
55000 6” Square
55772 6” Bow Tie
55818 Half Square Triangle (6” Bow Tie set)
55017 Strips 2½”
55032 Strip 3 ½”


Joy is
a day
spent
sewing


Monday, May 24, 2021

Sugar Sack Stars

Sugar Sack Stars - Katie Scarlett Designs
Well, here's the first quilt from the vintage sugar sacks I bought last month. Rose and blue prints suit this block perfectly. The only new fabric I used is natural muslin. The pink and blue solids and backing was from 36” wide yardage, not as old as the sacks but not new.


Sugar Sack Stars is made up of nine blocks cut with Blue Wren's Jackaroo Star die. I wanted a small 37” size to use as a wall hanging in my dining room, which is furnished with early 1900's tiger oak pieces. I decided to keep with tradition and quilt it with medium beige thread in a free motion meandering stitch.


I remember seeing similar designs in bed quilts made by my Granny Hill and also Jerold's Granny Rose. By the way, I added one of Granny Rose's sugar sacks to this one. There are many versions of the block, including Arkansas Traveler, Travel Star, and Cowboy's Star.


Women have used sugar sack material for years to make all kinds of useful items. Grain sacks were sewn into dishcloths, curtains, tablecloths, pillowcases, clothing, and of course, beautiful quilts.


I love reproducing antique quilts, so having authentic materials is a bonus. It was hard to cut into that first one, but I believe fabric is intended to be used. Don't worry, I've kept a few intact. And, I now have vintage scraps left over for my next project.


Blue Wren Dies used:
6369 Jackaroo Star 12”
6720 Magic Strips




Monday, September 28, 2020

Effie's Challenge


A few weeks ago I received a surprise package from my cousin Lola. I opened it and found a quilt top and a few blocks made by our grandmother, Effie Evitts Hill.


The top was partially hand stitched with some seams sewn on machine using several different colors of thread. We don't know when she made it; it's a mixture of cotton and poly-cotton fabric in red, white, and blue. If I had to guess, I'd say mid to late 1980's or early 90's.

It had been washed at some point, which caused quite a few seams to unravel, as you can see in the photo below. I wanted to keep as much of her work intact as possible, even though many of the blocks were not square and corners didn't all line up. It's a big 84” x 90”quilt, and quite a project to tackle.
I mended all those torn seams and straightened the blocks as much as I could without taking the whole thing apart. The inner border is puckered some because that fabric didn't shrink as much as the cotton next to it. I had to trim off about 2” around the outer border.

I added flannel batting and plain muslin backing. Fittingly, I used Rockette, my trusty 1960's Singer Rocketeer, for all the stitching. White thread in a triple zig-zag stitch for quilting helped camouflage the uneven seams.


I only owned one of her quilts, so it's nice to complete another that she started. It's not perfect, but I don't think she intended it to be. It was likely a simple bed quilt for personal use, not one to enter at the county fair.


I was sewing clothes but not quilting at all when she died in 1992. I wonder, what would Granny Hill think about me finishing this one? Thanks Lola, for sharing...it was definitely a challenge!

Sometimes,
good enough
is
good enough


Monday, August 31, 2020

Sweet Tradition


This little quilt is similar to some made by Granny Hill and Granny Rose. In keeping with their tradition, I sewed it all on Rockette, my 1960's era Singer 500-A Rocketeer machine. She's a beauty and still sews like a dream. I do have to get used to trimming my own thread and manually raising/lowering the presser foot, but that doesn't take long. I may be a little spoiled by modern conveniences.

Pretty vintage style prints emphasize the old fashioned feel of time-honored kaleidoscope or kite blocks. I combined sections of two Accuquilt dies to give me fewer seams. These didn't take long at all to cut and stitch. I alternated pastel and medium toned blocks to balance the colors.



Sweet Tradition is 40” square, perfect baby or child size. I quilted with cream thread in a straight stitch alongside each block seam and across the triangles.

Recreating old patterns is one of my passions.  Seeing antique blocks made by the grannies inspires me. I love making them come to life in retro style or modern quilts. I have a list a mile long that of ideas I want to try. There just aren't enough hours in the day!


Accuquilt dies used:
55409 Triangle in square 4” finished (triangle)
55254 Kite 4” finished (kite)
55017 2 ½” strip (binding)



At the heart of every
family tradition
is a meaningful
experience

To see blog posts about my Rocketeer or other vintage quilts from Granny Rose and Granny Hill, click on their label below:

Monday, June 15, 2020

Granny's Wash Day


Memories of sheets and housedresses hanging on the line at granny's house prompted 
me to design this adorable quilt. Some of the fabrics are 1950's vintage, from Granny Rose's collection of sugar and flour sack remnants. I added new pieces that would complement them, along with white muslin. 

Each four patch block is made up of chisel sections and triangles turned to create the design. This one didn't take long at all, since most of the colored triangles were already cut. I think it looks a bit like the dasher in an old time washing machine. 


A simple quilting pattern of even squares finishes off the vintage look. I used light yellow thread for the straight stitches. The backing is an old sheet of pale yellow with pink, blue, and yellow flowers.

I am lucky to have sweet childhood memories of summer days on the Tennessee farms of both sets of grandparents. And, luckier still to have Jerold's grandmother's fabric to use in my quilts. For more of my posts about Granny Rose, Granny Hill, and sugar sack fabric, click on those labels below.


Accuquilt dies used:
55735 Chisel 2¼” x 4½” finished
55147 Half square triangle 2¼” finished


Remember when
life was simpler,
and we didn't have a
care in the world?



Monday, August 5, 2019

Effie's Butterfly Garden


Effie's Butterfly Garden
I've done a series on my husband's grandmother, Granny Rose, her quilts, and my reproductions of those designs. Until now, I only had one of my own grandmother's quilts, a wedding gift. Recently a cousin sent me some old family photos, including a few pics of Granny Hill's quilts.

Effie's Butterfly Garden is my version of one of them. I made my block simpler so that I could use Accuquilt dies and sew it up more quickly. Her quilt and my block are pictured below. I may do another take on the design later using her kite piece.

Effie Hill quilt
Kaye's version

Vintage style 1930's and 1940's small floral prints, like the housedresses she made and wore, are featured with a natural muslin contrast in each block. Backing and binding are a larger floral print. I quilted with beige thread using a walking foot in serpentine lines that intersect to make simple flower petals.


I remember Effie Hill as a strong, independent woman who raised six kids during the depression. She lived and worked hard all her life on a farm in rural middle Tennessee. She grew a garden, cooked and canned, and somehow found time to sew and quilt. I surely must have inherited some of her sewing DNA.

Accuquilt dies used: 55010 5” square, 55735 2 ¼” x 4 ½” chisel, and 55147 2 ¼” half square triangle. I cut the 2 ¼” square from a strip, using the end of the chisel die.


I am thankful 
for the strength 
that lives in my veins. 
~K. Azizian

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