We're all winners with this quilt!

It started innocently enough with one 10-inch block

hand appliqued, using hand dyed fabrics

and inspiration from the blog of quilt historian Barbara Brackman.

And it ended with my mom, my collaborator on this project

pulling the winning ticket at a school event

And me, puzzling out the handwriting

to proclaim the winner of this quilt

Midnight Blooms, 95 by 95

hand appliqued and machine quilted

Only one person won the quilt,

but I feel like a winner too.

This quilt, which developed from an idea sparked on blogland

raised $5,200 for my sons' school

and raised awareness about quilts and quiltmaking

in their school's community

and brought me and my mother satisfaction

in being able to to use our gifts and our interests

to raise some serious cash.

Thanks to all of you who supported me in this project,

both with your advice and comments

and in buying tickets,

even if they did cost $10 each.

Blooming on my wall

I've finished hand appliquing these two scrappy flower blocks,

measuring 17 by 20,

the perfect size to make a bag to replace this

made by my mother nearly 30 years ago.

I think those folded stars are back in vogue again.

Here's the other side, showcasing her hand quilting.

Or...

I could put them together with my other hand appliqued blocks

and leftover bits

for a bigger quilt.

Those two blocks in the middle with the white and brown still have freezer paper attached.

I have lots of parts left from my modern posies quilt.

This could be fun!

Posie No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3?

My mother and I put our modern floral applique blocks  on the design wall  a few days ago. We have 39 finished or nearly finished. 

Here's option no. 1, a row version:

Yes, I know the bottom left ones aren't done. And we haven't played with the colour layout at all.

Option No. 2

This one would mean adding another row at the bottom, or taking one away. My mom likes this one, but I'm not sold on it. I prefer this version:

We'll probably have to make another row for the top, or lose the bottom row. We're thinking about putting in a hand-dyed sashing around the centre four flowers, and then more sahing around the next round, and the next.  What do you think?

I've been reading all your comments so far, and I want to clarify the sashing bit. It would be handdyed brights, and probably really narrow, say 1/4 inch, so it would appear like piping.

Applique is a motherhood issue

These are the 10 squares my mother has finished for our joint modern floral quilt  project from hand dyed fabrics. Yes, I know there's 11, but the 2nd one from the left in the top row is one of the 10  I had already done. I think it's going to be a lovely quilt (my mother is aiming for queen-sized, but I'm still uncommitted) but one of my mother's friends asked her why she was doing such "simple" applique. (I'm still finding it challenging getting the curves smooth and the stitches small and invisible.
But this quilt is why people ask about "simple" applique. It' my mother's   award winning Baltimore Album quilt.  My applique skills are a long way away from attempting this sort of project with her.

Wordless Wednesday

Quilting with Barbara Brackman

I follow quilt historian Barbara Brackman's blog and a few posts ago, she posted a quilt kit from the 1930s that caught my eye. The whole post was about printed fabrics called ditzies, but later in the post is a simple applique pattern that caught my eye. Instead of prints, I went with my hand dyes and appliqued this 10 inch block. It's simple applique (no hills and valleys) and I like the graphic quality of the flower. My plan is to collaborate with my mother, an award-winning applique-r, using her extensive stash (and my smaller one) of hand dyes to make a quilt. I saw her on the weekend and left her with a rough pattern and the request to cut some of the flower shapes. I've got a good start with this one, and I'm thinking this is my take-along project for the next while.