What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 This is the story of the quilt that features in the header above.

Signature quilts – or friendship quilts – first became popular in the 1840s. Sometimes they were used as sentimental wedding gifts. Sometimes they honored a beloved teacher or minister. And sometimes, they were carried across the plains by pioneer women as a reminder of dear friends left behind. 

These quilts were so cherished, many have survived the generations and can be found in hope chests and museums even today.

This week, Jenny is making her own family signature quilt. It’s adorned with hand-written names of all the Doan kids and grandkids, and I have a feeling this pretty quilt will become ...

 I smell a skunk! I think someone got hit this morning. Thankfully both girls are in the house as I'm not sure either of them would be smart enough to run! 

So there's good news and bad news today. The good news is this.

An empty design wall

Yep - that's where the Long Time Gone quilt was. And I'm happy to report that it's all in one piece! Yahoo!!!! I'm pretty excited. No, actually, it's kind of anti-climatic. I'm just relieved that it's together. I have one more thing to do ...

The stitches were taken on Alaska Monday night!  I’m actually sitting it aside now for a couple days before I begin the binding so that I can finish Lucy and get the next quilt on the quilting frame.  I didn’t prepare the next quilt for the frame like I do sometimes and I need to […]

yes finally time for the drawing for the winner of Barbara Cline’s book Diamond Star Quilts – thanks to all that participated in this drawing last week.  I had 81 entries and the random number generator picked  Marti Meadows – Marti I sent you an email letting you know so contact me and I will […]

You'll find the full backstory to this post on a post from April, 2018.  Here's a short summary.

Back in the 1980s, I'd found three people with my mother's maiden name, Flexner, on a 1910 fundraiser quilt at the museum in Kalona, Iowa.  They were not included in the genealogy that my mom knew, so we went exploring.  And after a circuitous and long route, I finally unearthed the answer:

My great-great-grandmother and the mother of the man named on the quilt were cousins.  They both had married men from the Flexner family.  So this quilt ...

If you belong to a quilt guild, visit quilt exhibits, participate in workshops, take classes, or study quilt history, you have likely had an event canceled or postponed. If you are anything like me it’s been a lot more than one. This has left me wondering how I can fulfill my desire to view quilts and, equally important, to socialize and learn from other quilters. I miss my people! How can I get my quilt fix when everything I used to do is canceled or on hold?

Fortunately, I didn’t have to create the opportunities, I just needed ...

Finally the Signature Quilt is done and in the “to be quilted” box.  The last two borders are on it and I ran out of strips so I have not added anything to the sides in a long strip after I had the cornerstones added. One close up – I will share more of this […]

That’s right one off the frame – RSC19 Stars is done – well except for the binding of course – 75 hours of quilting and done in 42 days – that is what happens when stays home all the time!  I’m not sure of the size – I think it is 75 x 75 would […]

My corner blocks have been made and printed out on fabric for printing I was lucky I still had one sheet of it left to use.  Now all that is needed are the top and bottom borders I will try to work on that today. It is hard to see the bottom because of things […]

And who really cares anymore – I’m not sure how many days we have mainly stayed home now other than a few appointments and grocery shopping once a week – we should be back to taking walks at the parks next week I think!  that will be a highlight of the upcoming days.   We really […]

Oh it was so chilly yesterday – really one just doesn’t expect it to stay in the 40’s on May 12!  our high was about 47 and it was a cold rain to go with it – go ahead and laugh at me you northers’ that are used to cold temps – I used to […]

Such a chilly day for May – barely hit 60 and that didn’t last long!  So it was mainly an inside day and some errands to run so got out of the house for a little bit too – just prescriptions and grocery’s, Mike got a new battery for Melanie to help with car trouble […]

Two more blocks done from my RSC20 – Country Charmer quilt – I have April and May done and it is all put away in it’s box now – I will link up to Sew Scrappy after this posts in the morning.  The blocks done are blues and greens – there will be sashing and […]

The local county library that Melanie works at (our daughter) asked for another quilt to hang on their bare wall – here it is – this is an Edyta Sitar pattern – she had an applique border on it that I chose to leave off.  The pattern I call “Handful of Scraps” was made by […]

Sometimes I really wish I had a larger design wall so I could fill it up with two or three quilts in progress instead of having to take one down when I want another one up  – but most of us just have a small space for a design wall and if you are lucky […]

I thought seeing as I have most of the signature blocks I would get busy sewing all those blocks into rows and rows and rows into a top.  So I got busy with it – and by mid day all the rows were sewn. When I got back from exercising I got busy on the […]

It was a busy lazy day yesterday if that makes any sense – did this and that and moved to other things and all at a leisurely pace – if that makes any sense to you!!  Melanie and I did our grocery shopping together – nice to have that extra time to visit with a […]

About time to show some progress – I will show all of the blocks for the RSC20 tomorrow for the link up but here today is the orange block that I finished yesterday morning – so I can put that box away now and work on the Alaska quilt to meet my goal for OMG. […]