My Quilt Parade

Uncle Sam’s Star 2000 I saw this quilt in an issue of “American Patchwork & Quilting” (see original pattern below) and knew I had to make it to celebrate the Fourth of July. I started piecing it in June, hoping to complete it by the 4 th . Although I missed the deadline, I still finished it by the end of July.   American Patchwork & Quilting ~ June 2000 The quilt is composed of twelve “Uncle Sam’s Star Blocks” (12-in. square), ten “Flag Blocks”, and fifteen “Variable Stars” (4-in square). It is machine quilted by me and measures 62 x 86”. By far, this quilt had been my most challenging due to the number of star blocks.  My blocks did not come out the same size, so the bottom sashing of the two outside columns does not match (you can see in the picture that one is wider than the other).  Plus, I ran out of the white background fabric so there are two different shades.  Overall, I was pretty proud of myself; but those “flaws” annoyed me.  Even so, e...

Harvest Stars 2000 This is the second quilt I created on my own.  I didn't use a pattern for this quilt and was inspired by the Ohio Star block, as it is one of my favorite blocks. This quilt is made up of 12 Ohio Star blocks. I chose the fabric, which has a Thanksgiving/Harvest theme, because it was already in my stash and because I liked the colors—fall also happens to be my favorite season. I pieced the top in 1999, but did not finish quilting and binding it until 2000. It is machine quilted by me and uses the basic stitch-in-the-ditch method. I was pretty proud of myself when I finished this quilt all by myself. Overall, I think it came out okay! This is also the only one of my "first" quilts that I still have.  I always bring it out for display every year for the Fall holidays.

Mock Log Cabin ~ June 2000 I made this quilt from 3-inch squares that I obtained from swaps on the Internet between 1999-2000. I originally swapped the 3-inch squares to make a Y2K quilt, but I had so much fun swapping with other quilters from across the nation that I had more than enough squares to make two quilts. These squares represent the “rejects” that I decided not to put into my official Y2K quilt (I’m still working on that one!). This is not a “charm” quilt as many of the squares are from my own stash and are repeated throughout. The quilt is 6’10” x 8’ and has 120 nine-patch blocks (10 columns across by 12 rows down). Each block has a black square in the middle. Each patch has two half-squares and the “log cabin” effect is created by the placement of the light and dark values of each block. I was inspired to create this quilt from a quilt I saw in a quilting magazine.  The design caught my eye, and it seemed easy enough, so I thought "Why not!" I love ...

Emily’s Quilt 1999   This is my third quilt, the first one I made by myself. I was motivated to make my third quilt after completing my second one. I found a quilt pattern in one of my quilting magazines that caught my eye. I was intimidated because I had never made a quilt on my own. But I decided to give it a try anyway. I didn't want to spend money on something I might "mess up," so I used fabric I had around for a long time. Original Pattern from McCall's Quilting 1999 The quilt has thirty “Shoo Fly” blocks and, at the time, was somewhat of a challenge. The quilt has yellow sashing with red setting squares and measures 54 ½ by 61. The border and the backing are the same fabric, which has white daisies on a red background, so the quilt has a lot of red in it. It was machine quilted in-the-ditch by me. A day or two after finally finishing the quilt, my 2-year-old granddaughter, Emily, was asleep on the sofa. Thinking of my newly-finished quilt, I covered her wi...

Stella’s Quilt 1999 This quilt is very special to me as it was my very first “real” quilt. I took a beginner’s quilting class in 1999 at my LQS that taught us the Rail Fence.  I purchased this fabric kit at the class. My DD Stella had always admired this quilt—she first saw it when she and the grandbabies came to live with us in 1999. She said she loved the colors and the setting. I told her that I would never give up this quilt as it was my “first” real quilt—so instead, I made a scrappy Mock Log Cabin quilt that I gave to her in 2000. Well, never say never! In 2002, DD moved back to Tennessee with her family—after living with me for three years. I missed them so much that I wanted to give her something special to remind her of me and her family in California—I decided to give her my “special” quilt as a Christmas gift.  However, the finished quilt top had been put away for the past three years … so I told her I would complete the quilt before sending it. A year later, in...

Katie’s Quilt 1999 I consider this to be my first quilt, even though it took me nine years to finally complete it.   I've always loved quilting, and my first project was a Rail Fence block quilt. I started it in 1990 when I signed up for a quilting class at the "House of Fabrics" (now Joann's), but I stopped going after only two sessions. I had cut out the strips and pieced a few blocks though, so I saved them and put them in a box that I stored in a closet.  “It’s Okay to Spit On My Quilt” Six years later, when we moved from L.A. to Corona, the box came with me and was promptly stored away and forgotten. Years later, I was doing some housekeeping when I came across the box, much to my delight. I decided I was going to finish the quilt I started so many years ago. Love you, Katie!  Always, Grandma It is made with a simple Rail Fence block. It has 64 blocks and measures 53” square. I thought it was the perfect size for my granddaughter, Katherine Noel, who was...