What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 As promised, here's the picture of the vintage top I quilted last week:

It's super wonky, but that's no surprise. The top itself was really bumpy and wavy. At least it's a quilt now, and the great fabrics will be preserved.

It still needs binding, and I'm thinking of navy. We'll see.

I got the quilting finished on the blue quilt, and that was one of my weekly goals, so I'm glad to get it done.

I love old quilts--my favorite pattern is the Improved Nine Patch (aka Glorified Nine Patch). I have a couple of old ones in that pattern. In fact, you might have noticed my blog header is one of them. We have a box at church where we collect used coats and sweaters for the homeless, and someone put a vintage Improved Nine Patch quilt in it. The lady who distributes the coats asked me if I wanted it, and of course I did. It was pretty yellowed and dingy, but I soaked it for about 10 hours and hung it up ...

This was the before:

This is the after:

I’m not sure the pictures do it justice. It looks so much cleaner and fresher, and the colors are more vibrant. There were a couple of really bad stains that didn’t come all the way out, but they are considerably lighter. This one in mainly a discoloration in the white square 

and this one looked like oil or tar.

I did rub it with some soap while it was soaking and was able to lighten it quite a bit. It took a while to get it dry, but it was ...

I posted a picture of this quilt a few days ago.

It’s really dirty……some of the dirt may be stains that won’t come out. I decided I needed to try before this one gets put away. I am not claiming to be an expert, but I have had a lot of experience washing old quilts, and they usually come out so much better.

I use a cleaner like Retro Clean to soak the quilt in. I never use the washing machine as I have been told the agitation of the machine can tear up the quilt. I ...

Looking for a vintage quilt for your home decor? Here’s a project that is sure to add enduring appeal with classic vibes to your home.

Kitchen shelves, wooden surface, and pink fridge on white background. White kitchen interior countertop. Photo by American Quilter magazine. Used with permission.

I love how this quilt turned out! I named it Vintage Kitchen because the palette reminded me of that fun era of soft pink, blue, aqua, and simple, unadorned lines on everything in the kitchen.

Vintage Kitchen features fabrics from the Adel in Spring collection by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs ...

Here's another on of the antique quilts I packed up over the weekend.

It was a really productive day. I went through the bedroom to see what was in there that could be packed up and decided the antique quilts can go back to Victoria now. Here's some pictures of one of them:

I bought it at an antique store in LaGrange that was going out of business. It was their last day and everything was half-price. It had been $150, and I really debated with myself about paying $75 as it is a little primitive....not what I would call really fine work and there are a couple of stains. But ...

Hi, all!

It's a good thing rainy days and Mondays don't really get me down, because it's been raining here for three straight days!  As we watched the TN Titans play in Seattle on Sunday, the sportscasters commented on how unbelievably nice the weather was there - while we suffered through Seattle-like rain all day.  I'll be glad when this system passes through!  We're supposed to have beautiful fall-like weather then for a week or two, which would be really nice.  I am so ready!  How about you?

Last week was a very good week on ...

The grandkids are visiting for the summer, which means I’ve been busy juggling a toddler and a bigger kid, both of whom need things to do outside.

Taking this video as inspiration, I decided to go for something we could do TODAY from start to finish and see results. [YouTube video: “Indigo Dyeing with fresh indigo leaves // 生葉で藍染”]

Our local soil is kind of garbage. It’s sandy, silty, and blows away in the wind, but we find ways to work with it.

I ordered indigo seeds from The Dogwood Dyer several months ago and lo and behold, they ...

I had the privilege of quilting a hand-pieced beauty this past week. Oh, how I'd love to know the history of this one. How old is it? From where did it come? If you study closely, you can see the hand stitches that were lovingly placed, joining together this lively array of feedsacks and vintage fabrics. The top was purchased by a friend of a friend. She machine washed it (!!) before I received

I had the privilege of quilting a hand-pieced beauty this past week. Oh, how I'd love to know the history of this one. How old is it? From where did it come? If you study closely, you can see the hand stitches that were lovingly placed, joining together this lively array of feedsacks and vintage fabrics. The top was purchased by a friend of a friend. She machine washed it (!!) before I received

When Jenny Doan was a child, she lived in an idyllic little town called Spreckels, California. 

In the center of town stood a park circled by a wide sidewalk, the perfect canvas for chalk artists to create all sorts of interesting scenes: Fields of poppies, snow-capped mountains, coral reefs filled with rainbow-hued fish.

How she wished to hop right in – Mary Poppins style – to explore those magical worlds!

This week, Jenny is working on a Playground quilt that is as charming as that small-town park. It’s a beautiful jelly roll + layer cake pattern made with easy flying geese, square ...

 This is a pretty top that I bought at a local antique/junk barn around the corner from me.  I paid $25 for it two years ago.

As a result of having some extra time on my (Kara) hands thanks to the lockdowns, I decided I would make all three of our children quilts. I had intentions of doing that for them about 20 years ago, but only succeeded in making one child her own quilt (you can read about that HERE). The first two quilts had been finished and quilted and so I had one left to make. A long time ago, I purchased an old quilt top in a thrift store and I had yet to do anything with it. The top was probably from ...

It is the fourth of December and I am starting to feel some Christmas Spirit! I love this time of year and in 2020 we need every reason to celebrate and impart joy. I have two small projects to share with you today.

For my younger grand daughter, I had the fun task of making a Christmas stocking. Three years ago I made a set for my son, his wife and my oldest grand daughter. When I did this, I set aside fabric to make more stockings if/when his family grew.

This ...