Calico Cottage

Calico Cottage, May 2026

Vintage quilt blocks nearly always capture my attention. I appreciate the designs, the colors, the fabric and the skills involved. Some are simple, others very intricate, and I want to sew them all!

This quilt features a relatively easy one published in the Kansas City Star (July 1943) as Mountain Peak, and also in Farm Journal (1877 – 1970) where it was called Old Italian Design. BlockBase and EQ8 software were used to lay out the pattern that I adapted to use Blue Wren’s Dandy 4” and Accuquilt’s 4” square die.

I cut a variety of floral, plaid, dotted, and striped vintage look fabrics plus white muslin. There are twenty-five unique 9” blocks. Sashing between them is 1” strips of a gray and white number print, also used in the 2” border.

A thrifted sheet with small pink roses was used for backing. Circular shapes with loops were quilted as an allover design, using white thread and a circle ruler on my Janome.

Calico Cottage finished at 50½” square.  Can’t you just see it on a cottage bed back in the 30’s or 40’s? I stitched this happy little quilt in May.  I enjoy adding my own flair as I re-create these antique designs.

Dies used:
Blue Wren
6292 Dandy 4”
6015 Strips 1”
Accuquilt
55018 Square 4”
55017 Strips 2½” 

Vintage Breeze

Three old fashioned prints give this quilt an antique look. I chose a lovely medium floral, a simple swirling vine, and a geometric design for the fabrics. The rose print contrasts nicely with chocolate brown and dusty coral.

Larger pieces in these 16” blocks make quick work. Nine blocks later and I was done. Getting perfect points is easy with Blue Wren's dies and a precise quarter inch seam. The back is pieced using a large rose print in the same shades with a cream and coral mini print.

For quilting I kept it simple with rows of scallops lined up 2” apart. Vintage Breeze finished at 48” square. 

Back to the sewing room to cut out more quilts...I got a shipment of new dies from Australia on Friday!

Dies used:

Blue Wren 6954 Dynamic Blocks

Accuquilt 55017 Strips 2½” for binding 

Maple Row

Maple Row

Autumn has arrived, even through the temperature doesn't agree. Ninety degree days aren't what I had in mind for Tennessee in late September.

Nevertheless, I have a fall quilt for you today made with scraps in gold, brown, tan, and green shades. Maple leaf block is a vintage nine patch design.  

This was the first project I pieced using Midnight, our recently refurbished dark blue and silver Singer 404.  Lovely stitches and smooth running after a few adjustments.  I added 1” sashing to separate the blocks plus 5½” wide borders.

Midnight: Singer 404

Using medium tan thread, I quilted wavy lines horizontally and vertically across the whole quilt using a rolling wave ruler on the Janome 9450. This is one of my favorite allover designs to quilt since it doesn't have to be precise to look good.

Maple Row finished at 49” square. It looks snuggly but I won't be under it until this summer heat goes away. It will have to decorate the back of the couch for a while yet.

Stay cool, and have a wonderful week!

Dies used:
Accuquilt
55195 Maple Leaf BOB 8” finished
55488 Strips 6”
Blue Wren 6015 Strips 1½”

Felicity

Happiness is a finished quilt. I love the entire process of sewing a quilt, but sewing that last stitch on the binding is such a wonderful feeling.

Turkey tracks block is an old design dating from the mid 1800's, with the pattern published in 1936 in the Kansas City Star. There's also an appliqued version where the pieces are curvier.

My 12” blocks are machine pieced, with dainty yellow florals, green woven, blue check print, and grey mini dot background. The white arrow print sashing ties it all together.

For quilting, I chose an ice blue thread and the which way ruler to create an allover design. Felicity finished out at 48” square.  

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6664 Turkey Tracks 12” finished
Accuquilt 55017 Strips 2½”

Color Me Curvy

Color Me Curvy

How's this for a curvy project? There's not a straight seam in this quilt.

Joseph's Coat design has been around for decades, traditionally hand cut, hand stitched and hand quilted. Not me. I cut with Blue Wren's die, pieced with Violet, my Singer 99 and quilted using my Janome MC9450.

I stayed with tradition by using colorful scraps and vintage muslin. I keep thinking the remnant boxes should be decreasing, but they are still full.

I took my time sewing and carefully pressing those curves. Joining the sections was tricky and I used Jack (the seam ripper) a few times. I ended up with a few bumpy intersections but everything lies flat. You can't see imperfections from 3 feet away, so it's good enough for me.

Quilting with a walking foot and off-white thread, I outlined all the circles with the edge of the foot on the seam line. It created a lovely allover pattern. I used a bias binding because of the scalloped edges.

Color Me Curvy measures 46” x 51” finished size. It took longer to sew because you just can't hurry if you want good results. I also spent extra time rearranging the pieces on my design wall to balance colors and separate duplicate fabrics. Even so, I missed a couple.

I'll make this one again later, probably a tablecloth, bed runner, or baby quilt.

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6854 Joseph's Coat 11½”
Accuquilt 55017 Strips 2½” binding

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”

Ocean Stars

Ocean Stars

This week's quilt has lots of small pieces, which took a while to cut and stitch together. I believe it was worth the time, since I absolutely love the final results.

Prairie Star is a block often seen in antique quilts. I can't imagine how long it would have taken to hand piece and hand quilt a larger bed size version. I'm happy to have dies and cutters and a sewing machine!

I used up scraps from my blue, aqua, and white remnant bins. I sewed on my Janome MC9450 in order to make use of the perfect ¼” foot and lock stitch feature. Those Y-seams and points turn out so crisp when you're accurate.

After adding sashing in a white and gray circle print, I quilted in rows with pale blue thread using a scallop stitch. Ocean Stars finished at 51” square. I'm going to hang this cool and soothing quilt on our bedroom wall for the summer.

Accuquilt dies used:
55540 Prairie Star 14” finished
55059 Squares 2” finished
55017 Strips 2½”

 

1942 Singer 99 Restoration

Bogart: 1942 Singer 99 restored

Here's our latest sewing machine restoration: meet Bogart, or Bogie for short.

I found him in June on a local Facebook listing and went right away to pick him up. For $50 we figured it could be a parts machine for the other 99 we are working on. Oh, were we wrong! The nearly perfect wrinkle finish (Godzilla) and blackened faceplate gave us the first clue, along with a 1942 serial number. It's a Blackside, manufactured during WWII when parts were scarce.

1942 Singer 99 Before

The wiring had all but perished, so no idea if it worked. The Bentwood case has a hole in it (to be fixed at a later date when we have our carpentry hats on). Still, it was too unique and complete to use for parts, so we decided to clean, oil, and restore with the least amount of interference.

Trial run: it sews!

Jerold oiled the creaky old guy, cut off the nasty wiring, and hooked it up temporarily to find the motor runs just fine! Threaded it and it sews pretty good, better after a bobbin adjustment. He took off the bobbin winder, bobbin case, hook, and other pieces to clean and oil. The handwheel was nicked terribly, so he sanded and used satin black to repaint it. The bobbin plate was missing, so he blackened a spare Singer one to replace it.

Love this Blackside scrolled faceplate

I cleaned the dirty finish with Goop and a soft toothbrush. Lots of nicotine and dirt! There are no decals, just simple paint stamped Singer lettering. I was careful not to scrub too hard around them. There were about 6 small nicks in the paint and I used a mix of black and satin black to dab on so it wouldn't rust. These don't have shellac, so I polished (using Jerold's suggestion) with Kiwi shoe polish and buffed with a soft brush. I used the same technique on the foot control.

Rewired, all parts cleaned and oiled, wood base cleaned and polished, Bogie is looking pretty spiffy and running fine at eighty-one.  He has some wear, but who wouldn't at that age? I'm so happy I found him, even though I really wasn't looking. I'll be sewing something with Bogart soon.

We had so much fun working together on this! Next up, we finish complete restoration and paint on the other 99. Then on to a  clean/oil/polish on a 1923 Singer 127 with gorgeous Sphinx decals.