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”

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”

 

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”

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”

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!

 

Dancing Queen

Hot pink paisley batik, little lime green flowers, and bright teal are striking surrounded by white and black. Those stars just about dance off the quilt.

A Laura Wheeler block, originally called Gay Patches, was clipped from the Nashville Tennessean by Granny Rose. I found it in one of her sewing boxes, pinned to paper templates of the pieces, no date or instructions. I made a quilt in soft fall colors with it a couple of years ago.  Here's a link to that post.  

This time, I started by making a nine-patch star in a smaller size, then set it on point and added the corners. I enjoyed using Rockette (1962 Singer 500A) for piecing. Fabric on the back is a wild hot pink and white herringbone print, and binding repeats the hot pink paisley. I used white thread to quilt 2” apart in a straight stitch, on Janelle, a 2016 Janome MC9450.

Dancing Queen (Gay Patches block) 2022

The colors and paisley remind me of ABBA in the 70's. Dancing Queen measures 43” x 56” size. How cool to use an early pattern, vintage and new style fabric, old and new machines to recreate another Granny Rose quilt. I'm pretty sure she'd love cutting now with modern dies instead of scissors.

Accuquilt dies used:
55006 Square 3” finished
55027 Triangle in Square 3” finished
55735 Chisel 2¼” x 4½”
55395 Square 2¼”
55147 Half Square Triangle 2¼”
55017 Strip 2½”

Dancing queen

Feel the beat 

from the tambourine, 

oh yeah!

Whirling Stars

I'm back to stitching together remnants, this time dark and medium prints on a creamy muslin background. I used five different dies to recreate this beauty.

Granny Rose made several of these quilts with random scraps of old clothes, flour sacks, and curtains. The vintage block is called double star, and a more recent version is whirlygig pinwheel*. It's relatively easy to sew, with a partial seam for that center square.

I quilted with a medium tan thread, sewing diagonally and straight to accentuate motion in the block. Backing is a white on natural print. Whirling Stars is 45” square. 

I designed the 10" block in EQ8, did all the piecing on Annie (Singer Featherweight 221), and quilted on Janelle (Janome 9400).

Accuquilt dies used:
55031 Half Square Triangle 4” finished
55047 Quarter Square Triangle 4” finished
55159 Rectangle 2” x 4” finished
55059 Square 2½” multiple
55017 Strip 2½”

*Blue Wren has two dies for Whirlygig Pinwheel:  6220 & 6558

For more Granny Rose and Granny Hill quilt posts, click the labels below.  

Falling Leaves

Our leaves are finally getting some color. I love fall, the crisp air, and the beauty across the rolling hills of Tennessee.

This little quilt features another vintage block pattern called Silver Maple. It was also published as Maple Leaf or Broad Arrow. Granny Rose made several of these quilts. I chose fall prints of rust, taupe, green, and gold for the nine inch blocks.

Falling Leaves is 45” square after adding an outside border of half rectangles. I quilted in dark taupe thread with free motion loops. It's hanging on the wall in our dining room for the season.

Accuquilt dies used:
55731 Signature 4½” finished
55147 Half Square Triangle 2¼” finished
55395 Square 2¼” finished
55107 Rectangle 2¼” x 4½” finished
55409 Triangle in Square (sides only)

Sitting on the porch

Drinking morning coffee

= relaxing bliss

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.

Tangerine Splash

I've done an about face from last week's traditional fabric. Bright crisp colors of tangerine and blue make this week's quilt sparkle. The block, though, is a another vintage design called Patience Corners.

Here's the clipping that gave me inspiration, found in Granny Rose's collection. I love her notes in the margins! She had it pinned to pattern templates cut out of a paper sack.

I didn't cut mine with scissors, thank goodness. Accuquilt's parallelogram and flying geese dies made quick work of cutting out and sewing the 12” blocks. It's interesting to experiment with different shapes to see how they go together. High school geometry came in handy after all.

Tangerine Splash - KatieScarlett Designs

Tangerine Splash is a great summer quilt, finishing out at 49” square. I quilted with medium blue thread in straight stitch, spacing the lines 1 1/2” apart.

Accuquilt dies used:
55004 Parallelogram
55456 Flying Geese 3 ½” x 6 ½”
55017 Strip 2½”

Spend more time watching sunsets

and less time on your phone

 

Granny's Flower Baskets

This is one of my favorite versions of flower basket block. It's a reproduction of a quilt made by Granny Rose back in the 1960's. I drew it up in EQ8, experimenting with different sizes and color versions.

I used several dies to cut out the pieces, including Lemoyne Star. The rectangle and large triangle were slightly larger than I needed, so I trimmed off the excess when I squared up the blocks.

Two floral prints in blue and yellow coordinate with gold watercolor fabric that I used for baskets, backing and binding. The medium solid green color in the blocks and sashing adds to the vintage look. I added an outer border of the blue floral print. All the material was from my yard sale finds.

Granny's Flower Baskets

I used a ruler template to stitch with gold thread in wide rows across the quilt. Granny's Flower Baskets finished out at 52” square. If you'd like to see more posts about quilts inspired by Lydia Fort Rose, click on the Granny Rose label below. 

Have a great week!

Accuquilt dies used:
55453 Lemoyne Star
55107 Rectangle 2½” x 4½”
55018 Small Value (HST)
55031 Half Square Triangle 4” finished
55054 Strips 4½” 
55017 Strips 2½”
55059 Square 2½” multiples

It's up to you

to see beauty

in everyday things

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

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

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:

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?

Misty Autumn Fog

Muted fall colors make me yearn for cooler weather. It's still in the mid to upper nineties here, same as it was in July when I sewed this quilt. No rain, our grass is crispy and leaves are turning brown.  

This is an 1950's pattern called Gay Patches or Four Gay Patches by Laura Wheeler. I found the clipping in Granny Rose's sewing box. I located a similar design in BlockBase called Dog Tooth Violet. It was fairly easy to design with EQ8 software.  

I modified it a bit to use Accuquilt dies, making a larger 17" finished block. I only had to sew nine blocks to get a 52" square quilt that I named Misty Autumn Fog.

I decided on sage, brown, gold, cream, gray and dusty coral prints for the patches and a pale yellow dot for background. 

I quilted with pale yellow thread in a free motion meandering stitch. Backing is a cream and sage green plaid. If it ever gets cool enough, this will be a nice one to snuggle under on a rainy day.

Accuquilt dies used: 4 1/2" square and 2 1/2" HST (55018), 4" finished triangle in square (55409), and triangle 6 1/2" (55001)

Waiting to put away summer clothes until the weather changes...

Granny's Garden Walk

Granny's Garden Walk

Are you ready for another Granny Rose block? She had two completed samples of this one in different sizes. The nine patch block is based on 54-40 or Fight design, but has been known by several names over the years. In 1939, it was published as Garden Walk; in 1969 it went by Bird of Paradise; some call it Grandmother's Star when colors are arranged to emphasize the star points.

Mine is a 12” finished block, and as usual, I used Electric Quilt 8 to design and Accuquilt dies to cut the pieces. The 2 ½” square value die for center and corner four patches and the 4” finished triangle in square die went together perfectly. 

Lydia Rose's Garden Walk blocks

I chose four 1930's era colors in two shades each: sunny yellow, luscious lavender, true blue, and grass green, with white for all the triangles.

Granny's Garden Walk is 48” square. I arranged the colors diagonally and decided not to use sashing between the squares. I like the secondary design where the corners come together. 

Quilting was done with white thread, using a walking foot to stitch lines in a lightly flowing wave pattern. Backing is a tiny lattice print in light lavender and white; binding is white.

Start to finish, this took me seven days, working on it several hours every day. I still had time for walks, housework (basics only), and errands.  

A week of sewing = one happy quilter!

A day without quilting

probably won't kill me,

but why take the risk?

Sparkling Jewels

I am having so much fun adapting vintage quilt blocks to Accuquilt dies! Today's design, Sparkling Jewels, is from Progressive Farmer Magazine. Granny Rose probably clipped it in the 1950's but the design has been seen since the 1930's. You could order the pattern for 15 cents. 

I used these dies: Kite, 2 ½” square, and 2 ½” half square triangle. I added the HST to the wide end of the kite and cut extra sides to make the border pieces. It makes a 12" block. Using EQ8 allows me to set the block sizes, edit and draw cutting lines, and experiment with color choices.

My test block was good, so I added a border and made a quilted cover for my sewing room desk chair. I'll add more contrast for the kite sides next time. A larger Sparkling Jewels quilt is on my ever growing project list.

I recently bought BlockBase software, adding 4400 blocks to my EQ library. BlockBase gives alternate block names and publishing dates. I will never run out of options now! I'm designing much faster than I can sew.  

I get so caught up that I have to set alarms to remind me to eat and get in my daily walk.  

The ultimate dream in life 

is to be able to do what you love 

and learn something from it.

++++

If you are not doing what you love,

you are wasting your time. 

~Billy Joel

Sampling Designs

Fancy Flowers pattern

I see design ideas everywhere. Magazines, blogs, Facebook, Pinterest and nature are my favorite inspirations for color and block layouts. 

Lately I've been experimenting with Accuquilt dies to reproduce vintage blocks. My resources are Granny Rose's clippings from Progressive Farmer magazine and Nashville Tennessean newspapers. I also search online for photos of vintage quilts.

Lydia Rose block

Before starting a new project, I usually sew a test block to see how it will look, especially if it is new to me. I also use EQ8 to design and test color combinations.  If that block doesn't end up in a quilt, I keep it in my sample drawer or make something useful out of it.

I found Fancy Flowers in Granny Rose's pattern shoebox, complete with templates and notes of how many to cut of each fabric. She also had one completed block in a lovely yellow, green and navy color combination.

Fancy Flowers - my version

My scrappy version is cut with Accuquilt Lemoyne Star, 4½” half square triangle, 2½” square and strip dies. I made an 18½” table mat with the sample, quilted with several decorative stitches. You may see this pattern again in a larger quilt.

I am thankful to Lydia Fort Rose for her quilts, and to Hazel Rose Ireland for saving these bits and pieces of patterns and scraps. Using them to sew new quilts brings me joy.

Crimson Glory

Crimson Glory

It's time to share my latest modern replica of a Granny Rose quilt. I have made several reproductions of her work, using EQ8 to design and Accuquilt to cut.  

This interesting block was one from her box of unfinished items. It's an old one called glorified nine patch, although there are actually 13 pieces. I guess that's the glorified part. I don't know if this was a test block or if it was left over from a scrap quilt.

I decided on red and white prints with a few gray accents for a cheerful Valentine touch. Crimson Glory features the kite block combined with 2½” squares, so no curves to stitch. My modified version has 21 pieces for each block.  I'd sure hate to cut all 550+ with scissors.

The pieced bright red border frames everything nicely. Quilting was done with white thread, following the outlines and crossing the blocks diagonally. 

The back is a red and white diagonal stripe fabric, split by nine patch squares in a row. Final 48” x 58” size is just right for a throw.

In addition to her completed quilts, Jerold's granny clipped design ideas from ads in Progressive Farmer and other magazines, and I saved them all. She cut templates from paper sacks, making notes on them for color ideas and number of pieces to cut. I'm lucky to have this quilty treasure.  More inspiration for me!