1930's Vintage Le Moyne Star Quilt

I have found myself collecting vintage quilt tops with the intention of quilting them.  I must have about eight quilt tops and to date had only quilted one of them.  As a result, I decided that I really needed to get one quilted to justify adding further quilt tops to my collection.

I quilted the following gorgeous 1930's Le Moyne Star quilt which I purchased in Houston in 2011 for  a mere $82USD.  The quilt measures about 68 inches square.  Here is a section of the quilt before quilting:-

I designed the quilting on my recently purchased Wacom Cintiq Tablet.  I love that you can preview quilting designs onto images of the quilt.  This was my quilting design - the final quilting only varies slightly from the original design.

I was thrilled with the final result - I love the secondary design which has been created by the quilting lines.

Some better close-ups of the quilting:-

And a single block:-

That is one quilt top down ... at least 7 to go.

Quilts in the Barn 2011

Quilts in the Barn 2011, organised by Linda of Quilts in the Barn is on again - the exhibition is being held from next Friday 2nd September through to Sunday 4th September, 2011.  The exhibition is a fundraiser for breast cancer research.

This year, the quilter being featured is Jo Morton.  Jo is a quiltmaker, author, teacher, lecturer, a designer for Andover Fabrics, Inc. of New York, and a student of ancestral quilt making.

Jo presents re-creations of antique quilts, imitating colors and styles of period pieces. Using an antique quilt's color and/or design as a source of inspiration, she creates an interpretation - a quilt that might have existed in the 19th Century. Her quilts are made in a lasting tradition, using new cotton fabrics, cotton batting and cotton quilting thread.

If you are a lover of vintage and reproductions quilts, then this year's Quilts in the Barn is an exhibition not to be missed.

I have recently quilted two quilts for Linda which have been made exclusively with Jo Morton fabrics.  The first quilt is a Strippy Nine-Patch Quilt.

The fabrics used are just beautiful - the quilt has been simply quilted with continuous curves, some in the ditch stitching and 1/4 inch outlining.

As described on her blog, Linda has been working hard on her Tumbler Quilt which is the second quilt I have just completed.  The Tumbler Quilt is huge - a massive 98 inches x 87 inches and an incredible 1,334 tumblers!  The quilt was too large for me to photograph in its entirety, however, here is a snippet.

In keeping with the traditional fabrics and design, the Tumbler Quilt has been quilted with Baptist Fans - one of my favourite designs for reproduction quilts.  I believe they have added some great movement to this quilt.

To see the above quilts as well as many of Jo's quilts from her personal collection, visit Quilts in the Barn.  Wishing you all the best Linda for a wonderful exhibition - may the sun shine this year!



Ballerina Quilt

Kate from One Flew Over has recently made a Ballerina Quilt, the making of which she has outlined extensively on her blog.  It is a beautiful quilt made with some lovely vintage fabrics.

When Kate initially asked me to quilt this quilt with "straight wavy lines" I was a little concerned.  Straight wavy lines don't really go with my usual need for perfection - it was certainly a request outside my comfort zone.  Once I got started I had a great time quilting this quilt and I love the end result.

You can see Kate's quilt on her blog after washing and drying - perfectly crinkled.  Anyone else for straight wavy lines?

Vintage Fabric Linen Quilt

My customer Linda Bear from Somerset Patchwork & Quilting has designed and made the most wonderful quilt using vintage linen fabrics.  Linda's quilt was made from linen curtain fabric which came from her grandparents' farmhouse.

Each of the squares in this quilt has been made from the same fabric.  Linda has carefully fussy cut 4 triangles for each square creating a kaleidoscope effect in each.  The light and dark squares have come about with the careful selection of light and dark areas of the curtain fabric.  I was amazed at the incredible number of different squares she has managed to create - closer examination of the lighter squares reveals an amazing array of designs which are not initially apparent.

There must have been a huge amount of curtain fabric to enable the creation of this quilt.  Linda did say that she still has a considerable quantity of the fabric left.



Linda's quilt has been quilted with cross hatching on the darker squares.   The cross-hatching is alternated with feathers which wind themselves through the remaining areas of the quilt.

The back too is wonderful.  Linda selected a backing fabric with a small print which still allows the quilting design to show.

Thanks for letting me quilt this stunning quilt Linda - I enjoyed the challenge and love the end result.