Thursday, August 13, 2015

Anything But Square


For years I have had a bag of fabric scraps that came from my paternal grandmother’s home.  In the bag was also a pieced top.  I would assume that it was pieced by my grandmother, but of that I am not certain.  I always thought that I would eventually hand quilt it.  With all of the boxing up of things around here for the remodel, the top popped up once again.  I looked closely at it and came to the realization that hand quilting it would probably not be the best bet for it.  It is anything but square – anywhere!  The fabrics appear to be feedsack fabrics.  So….on second thought, I figured I could hide some of those flaws with an overall panto quilting design. 

006

The size is odd at 67x90.  I thought of taking it apart and making it square.  If I had more of the fabrics, I would have added one more row to its width.  In the end, I left it as it was and I must say that it turned out pretty well all things considered.  It was an interesting way to construct this star.  Nowadays we would do it as a nine patch, but this looks way more complicated with a center square.  There are several different blue fabrics used in the blocks.

008
012
010

There is even a “make-do” block.

013

The quilting design is a woven Baptist Fan.

009

Forth Worth Fabric Studios recently had a Christmas in July blog hop with some great patterns.  I thought the Kate Spain Christmas table topper would make a great project. 

001

It went together quickly and is about 34” square.  On this one I used a design that picked up the poinsettias in the pattern.

004

28 comments:

  1. I love the blue and white quilt from your Grandmother...and your Christmas topper is lovely, Mary

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the blue and white! How special to have it in your possession, and have another generation add to its beauty.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a treasure! Love the indigos and the baptist fan is perfect for this time period block/fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Where do I start? Your grandmother's quilt is a treasure! I love the blue and white fabrics and the Baptist Fan is a perfect quilt pattern for it. Your Christmas table topper is to die for. The fabrics are so pretty. Love all your posts, been busy and haven't commented a lot. I adore seeing your beautiful family.
    Pugs and kisses,
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  5. So glad that you were ale to finish your grandmother's quilt ... I love the Baptist fan. That table topper is fabulous ... love the striped binding!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm so happy you could salvage and finish the wonderful family heirloom. Techniques have certainly changed but I love how that star was put together. Blue and white is such a striking combo. Pretty table topper as well. Now you're ready for Christmas, right? :o)

    ReplyDelete
  7. You did a fabulous job of preserving this lovely blue quilt made by your grandmother , I think your choice of quilting was perfect . You know we just finished handquilting an antique quilt at the church and it was a similar size . Your table topper is beautiful too !

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is so sweet that you finished something from your grandmother (even if you're not sure she made it.) It looks amazing with the quilting. Love that Christmas one, too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Two lovely quilts, but I think it is so cool that you have completed the one made (perhaps) by your grandmother. It looks like it was a wise move to get it machine quilted, it is gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gorgeous table topper! You are so fortunate to be able to have such a nice piece of family history completed. It turned out wonderful. I find it interesting that we seem to worry so much, at least I do, about how perfect our points are, or how square our blocks end up etc. but our family heirloom quilts are so far from 'perfectly pieced' and we treasure them so. I have some family quilts that I love that the piecing is far from perfect on. I need to remember this when I'm stressed out about whacking off a few points. My family won't care, they'll just be happy that I made them a quilt. My, this ended up being a long comment :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. You certainly did justice with this lovely vintage quilt! Lovely old fabrics and colors. Saved for another generation to enjoy. Christmas table topper is festive indeed! Hard to think the big "C"day will be here very soon!
    Lola

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a treasure! Your quilting looks lovely on it. The Christmas table topper looks wonderful too. I like the binding fabric, it's perfect!!

    -Soma

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a treasure! Those little prints are certainly a study. Enjoy your finished heirloom ; )

    ReplyDelete
  14. I agree with everyone else...what a treasure you have in your grandmother's quilt! It turned out just beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love your Grandma's quilt, just beautiful!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a wonderful thing to have given this tucked away treasure life with your quilting Mary! Your grandmother's quilt is fascinating to look at up close. I remember trying quilting the old fashioned way when I was young and giving up. We are blessed with having it easier these days with our rotary cutters and rulers and methods.

    Beautiful work on your table topper too!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love the Kate Spain table topper, but my heart belongs to the blue/white quilt--especially after seeing the one slightly wonky block. What a wonderful story!

    ReplyDelete
  18. So glad you ran across that treasure again, Mary....it's wonderful to work on something "together" with your grandmother!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm so glad you finished your grandmother's quilt and now you can enjoy it rather than having it stored away. You chose well for the quilt motif and it's lovely. You Christmas quilt is too. You sure do accomplish a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a treasure & you did great with the machine quilt design!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh my goodness Mary, you have been so busy! Love your flag quilt...and that pretty pincushion. Looks like you have a real fun construction project going on too. That will be just wonderful when it is all finished up...it's the getting through it and staying married that is the tough part with home improvement projects. At least you have workers...we do too much DIY around here. It is a miracle we are still on speaking terms...lol. Your grands are gorgeous, and look like so much fun. Enjoy them, they are adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  22. You have done a great job on these quilts, how fab to find your grandmothers quilt and to be able to finish it off for her :) It looks amazing! I love the history behind quilts and looking at the fabric that they used back then. We dont have seed sacks here in the UK and I am fascinated by their designs.

    ReplyDelete

  23. That blue and white quilt is a true treasure Mary! I'm glad you left it as is. Your quilting goes perfectly on it. Do you have a long-arm quilting machine? Hope the remodel is going well?
    Hugs Nat

    ReplyDelete
  24. What a special quilt. It turned out beautifully. Also, I love the Kate Spain table topper. What is that block? I really like it!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love both of them, Mary !!! Your quilting is perfect :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. The quilting is gorgeous on both quilts, but that Christmas quilt stole my heart completely!

    ReplyDelete