Hopeful Homemaker

It always feels good to finish something, and finishing my Liberty Dresden quilt feels great!  I started this quilt in a workshop with Kathy Doughty years ago, then put it away.  Eventually I finished the quilt top and immediately proceeded to ruin in when I quilted it myself and it puckered.  So this quilt has become a lesson in failure and endurance, because I had to pick it all out and start over with a new plan.


Every dresden blade in this very large circle is a Liberty of London print from a collection on cotton years ago.  I was lucky to have some long, skinny scraps and made good use of them.  One of my favorite things about this Liberty Dresden quilt is the background.  I chose to do something unexpected and used this dramatic Mostly Manor stripe by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  (I will admit here that it’s one of my most favorite fabrics of all time, and that I hunted it down in every colorway.  It’s that good.)


Additionally, I used this wedge ruler .  It’s a 10 degree ruler, so 36 blades complete a circle.  It’s also 16 inches long, so my dresden measures over 30″ in diameter.  Such a great ruler to play with! 

Every time I make a quilt, I think of a challenge for myself.  Sometimes it’s as simple as doing something risky, or unpredictable.  That’s how this quilt went.


Although it’s unexpected, the bold purple and navy stripe complement the feminine florals of the prints in the dresden.  Purple is also a good neutral in many cases.  On the second round of quilting I quilted a different design in each blade, starting small at the center and making it bigger as I got to the edge.  I continued each design to the edge of the quilt.


In three of the blades I added big stitch quilting in a bright yellow 8 weight floss by Sue Spargo.  You really can’t see it at a distance, but it’s a nice touch up close and it adds interest.


I finished the quilt with a red binding – another unexpected choice that makes me smile!  I also added a yellow center.  It took forever to finish, since I quilted it twice and did a LOT of unpicking, but it’s done and in the family room for my kids to use.  That feels good.

I want to share a quilting moment I’m thankful for this year:  my Trinkets from the Beach quilt visited the ocean.  Just typing that makes my heart clench a little in my chest.


Each block in my Trinkets from the Beach Quilt represents a specific memory, image, or tradition from our annual visits to Newport Beach, CA.   My grandpa bought a beach house there when my mom was a little girl, long before Newport Beach was a popular destination.  My mom played at this beach, and then my parents took me and my siblings there, and now my children have been there every summer of their lives.


I’m so grateful we were able to go again this year, in spite of everything.  The house, the sand, the egret I love to watch in the mornings, were all more dear because of this strange year.


As for the quilt, I turned the paper pieced blocks into economy blocks, and arranged the fabrics in diagonal rows.  I only made one of each block and I enlarged the pattern.  The economy block setting allowed me to make a larger quilt without duplicate blocks.  I also wanted to emphasize the blue.


I quilted along the seam lines on my machine, and added big stitch quilting in each trinket block.


These Tula Pink Zuma fabrics make my stomach hurt, they’re so pretty.  Just like the beach.  I couldn’t choose just one, so I made a scrappy binding and it’s perfect.


For the backing I used a Moda bouy print, combined with solids and a Rifle Co stripe. I like the mix.


My grandpa lived in this house for many years.  It’s precious to me, a place I will never tire of.  Taking photos of my quilts in front of it give me hope that someday, when the house isn’t ours anymore, the quilts will help with the ache.  I hope they will keep Grandpa close like the house has.


Taking this pattern, making it in this way, trying to sew my memories, was a creative exercise I loved.  I’m trying to do more storytelling, to put more of ME into my quilts.  It’s exciting to try.


This place has my heart.  And I hope my kids will treasure this quilt.

This Improv Log Cabin Quilt has endured a long, slow journey to completion.  Several years ago I went to a Ralli Quilt exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art with my sister.  To say we were moved and inspired by the exhibit is an understatement.  We decided to each make an improv log cabin quilt, inspired by the work of those amazing women.


The projects began at Quilt Bliss, a quilting retreat we attended together, where we each made a quilt top.  We shared fabrics and advice with each other as we sewed.  Then, still inspired by the exhibit, I decided to hand quilt mine.  I also wanted to return to the neon matchstick quilting of my Modern Maples Quilt, so I decided to do a mixture of the two.


And the momentum died there.  I did a little matchstick quilting to serve as both basting and as guides for the long rows of straight stitching.  But it was so much work to pull the thread through the length of the quilt!  I made very little, and very slow progress.  Before long it was a project that I picked up for an hour or two, only once every year or two.  It was definitely stalled.


Enter the Alison Glass 2020 Stitch Club.  I decided to join, and the June project was all about the running stitch.  In it, Alison taught how to quilt those long rows with one strand of thread.  It was illuminating and motivating!  I got to work, and in a few weeks time, finished all the quilting I hadn’t done over the past 5 years.


I’m really happy to have this Improv Log Cabin Quilt finished.  The combination of modern and vintage fabrics still feels fresh to me.  I LOVE the texture and color of the quilting!  This one will live in my bedroom so I can enjoy it every day.


Also, I’m kind of obsessed with log cabin quilts right now.  I want to finish up some projects and start one or two more with this block.  It’s like comfort food, but sewing, you know?  And comfort is something we can all use this year!