Joseph’s Coat is a fairly challenging pattern, and it’s also one of my all-time favorite scrap quilts. There is no date on this pattern, and I can’t read the date on the original envelope. Alice Brooks was another name used by Needlecraft Service, Inc., the same company that published Laura Wheeler patterns, so it was…
One-third of the designs are done. This is such a fun project that I really don’t want to stop. I’m behind on the wedding napkins, though, and I promised myself I would spend at least one whole day of my spring break working on them.
It’s funny — I love collecting and sharing all kinds of vintage and antique embroidery patterns and transfers, but I rarely stitch these patterns myself. For some reason I am always attracted to vintage book illustrations — always trying to figure out how I can adapt them to embroidery and quilting. When the illustration is…
My next Christmas project is a quilt using a Charley Harper illustration from “The Giant Golden Book of Biology,” published in 1961 (now out of print and very rare). The image was scanned at a high resolution from my Todd Oldham book, “Charley Harper – An Illustrated Life,” a Christmas gift from Gordon. To make…
Quilters Newsletter is working with the Japanese Quilt Magazine, Patchwork Tsushin, to collect comfort quilts for people affected by the earthquake in Japan. When I thought about what type of quilt I would make, a few ideas came to mind: it should be a simple pattern (because there’s not much time), it should be warm,…
I wasn’t sure I was going to finish this top before it was too dark to take a photo, but I made it just in time (I was in such a hurry that there are still little threads left on the top…oh well). Thank you Lori at Humble Quilts for sponsoring this quiltalong, because I…
Sometimes I ask myself why I am obsessed with using old fabric in my quilts — like today, for instance. I mean, my local quilt store stocks tons of reproduction fabrics at reasonable prices, while authentic vintage and antique fabrics are often expensive, scarce, dirty and fragile, with the occasional nasty odors and stains. They…
Holly and Mickie asked me how I put these tulips together, so here’s my attempt to explain my process, although I realize everyone has their own way of putting a block together — particularly when it involves applique. My technique is baste and pin (no needle turn, no freezer paper), but you can use any…
I recently noticed this vintage tulip quilt block on Flickr. Although I have way too many UFOs, and the last thing I need is a new project, I could not resist this wonderful pattern. At first I was thinking doll quilt, but all those seams in the strip piecing would make the tiny tulip pieces difficult…
These pretty vintage tulip quilt blocks are from Barbara at Oodles and Oodles, who always finds the best stuff. They were stamped on a heavier type muslin and stitched with green and a variety of pink colored floss. I knew they would look good with a couple of vintage chintz fabrics I already owned —…
If you compare this top to my original plan, you’ll notice that I didn’t pay any attention to the colors of the background squares. I have my doubts about the introduction of the bright red. It looks okay in the letter blocks, but I’m not sure I like it in the background squares. Since I’m…
This cute little cottage illustration is from a vintage valentine uploaded to Flickr by Calsidyrose. It’s been in my favorites for a long time, and I finally managed to use it in a project. I used the vintage Prang Crayonex crayons, and they worked very well on fabric — much better than the Crayola crayons…
I’m signing up for Allie’s Christmas Club. The idea is to make a gift every month this year instead of waiting until November or December. Since I’ll be working on wedding stuff over the summer, I thought this was a great way for me to get a start on gift making. You can participate all…
I’ve been working very hard on this top to finish embroidering the top two rows. Honestly, I do not like being rushed when I’m doing handwork, but I have only myself to blame. It’s been almost a year since I started this quilt, hoping to have it done in plenty of time for the holidays….
This is going to be a big quilt. I am barely able to hang it in my usual place on the hot tub house and this row is not even finished. The quilt is going to go on the bed with the giant mattress and box springs, so it’ll work out fine. To me, the…