Home Quilt

Up where I'm from in my home state, our county has a week-long fair in the summertime. Last year (2011) they started something new. They had a quilt block competition. Kits of material with block guidelines were made, and individuals could then make a pattern of some kind for this class to be judged. Here are the entries in the summer of 2011, I was happy to be able to visit up there at that time and take pictures.

And here are the top 3 winners, with their ribbons attached.

After this, the blocks were sewn together with sashing & border, and quilted and bound. Local ladies did this work. (It turned out beautifully!) It was then raffled off this last summer (2012) to help with fair funds. Then this last summer they had another "quilt block contest." A friend of mine had made a block and shown pictures, and had let me know that it was "cowboy/western"-print material, oh how I wished! I wished I could take part somehow. I would've loved to anyway with just being quilt blocks, but when I saw the western-themed material, something in me went overboard and I just HAD to see IF .... I knew I couldn't take part in the actual quilt block contest, living out-of-state and all. But perhaps since I was a former county resident, maybe I could just DONATE a block? Well, with my friend helping me out, she checked on such a thing, and they were gracious to let me do that! So a kit was forthcoming in the mail, and this was the result.

The prints were really fun - blue with "cowboy/Indian" motifs, golden-brown with western/ranch words, tan/white with barbed wire, and red with lassoes. Too cute! Like last year, the blocks were all some variation of a 9-patch. I was SO HAPPY to be able to contribute! I love my home county, and get very homesick. This was a wonderful, happy way to contribute and not feel so "far away" from everyone and everything. This got sent off in the mail, and I hope to see how this "western" quilt turns out for this next summer's fair. :)

Fair Quilts - One With a Story

Our local fair was this last weekend, and one thing I enjoyed was seeing the quilts and other needlework projects after they were judged. Here is a sampling of the entries where you first walk in.

A couple of fairgoers checking out the quilts. The second lady told me about the "Flower Garden" quilt you see in the picture.

It was a beauty, and I couldn't get enough of it.

She was an older lady herself, and she said her grandmother started the quilt, and her great-grandmother finished it. I loved seeing the old-style fabrics with their prints and colors.

I became obsessed with it! She said, "Take all the pictures you want." :)

A little closer look:

I liked the deep reds.

She also said her husband's grandmother made this nice patchwork quilt:

Moving along, there were more nice quilts to see. Here's a pretty brown and turquoise one.

A pretty purple one with handkerchiefs appliqued as butterflies.

And to finish this post, another butterfly applique quilt, also very nice.

Quilt Block Rescue

I was in the thrift store today looking for any useable yarn. Then ... THIS caught my eye. A bag of 19 quilt blocks in FEED SACK MATERIAL (or at least that "type"). Big 15-inch blocks. $5. In the bag ...

... out of the bag, where you can see the block pattern (calves eating at a round bale? ha ha) ...

... and spread out so you can see the colors and prints in part of each block. Not sure what I'll do with these, but they'll sure make a nice quilt top!

I Found a Monkey Wrench

A couple of weeks ago, at a yard sale, I found the quilt top pictured above. It's a "Monkey Wrench" pattern. The price? Three dollars. The lady who had it for sale makes welder's caps out of cotton material. She made these blocks from leftover material from that project. I love the various colors and patterns.

Plain Colors

Awhile back, I was working on an Amish-style wall hanging in a "Trip Around the World" pattern. It was a little tedious sewing together squares that end up 1 inch by one inch, but it was coming together well. I got it mostly sewn together, except for the last three rows. Then ... the knitting and crocheting bug hit, and off I went on that tangent. So a little stack of 3-rows'-worth of plain-colored squares has been sitting on my table for .... uh .... a LONG time. Today I finally put some of the knitting and crocheting away for awhile, and got back on some quilting projects. High on the list was to get these LAST THREE ROWS DONE. So here, I've sewn the rows, and am now pinning them on and sewing them one by one.



Ta-daaa! Now all it needs is a border, then to be quilted and bound. I have a lot of projects on my list that need "borders, quilted and bound." It's cutting border material that puts me off. So I'll just have to sit down and tackle that particular step sometime.



Closeup views.






Then, something new I started today was to begin cutting out pieces for a "Tumblers" pattern quilt. Probably not a big quilt, but colorful for sure.