Pineapples

My mini group did a challenge last year.  Everyone had to make a quilt with the pineapple block.   One of the ladies had bought a template ruler that was supposed to make the pineapple block easier so she challenged us all to get the template and try it out... so we did!   I think out of all 12 of us,  4 or 5 of us actually ended up with a finished quilt.   Here is my finished quilt.  

 

This is not my original design.   I saw a picture of a quilt similar and redrew it, eliminating the border and rearranging some of the blocks and the original quilt was red and white.   

Every block in the quilt is the same pineapple block but the position of the colors are what make the pattern.   The quilt is pretty big... about 80" square.   It's quite striking when it's hanging on the wall.  

Poor Old Quilts

Yesterday I spoke with a man that I have known for many years and he has always admired my quilts, commenting about them every time I put a new one up in my office.    He told me that he was selling some of his mother's things and that she had some quilts he wanted to sell but he didn't know how much they were worth.   I told him that I would love to look at them so he dropped them off for me to view.   I knew that he was a smoker and wondered if I would be able to handle the smell, not being a smoker myself and always hating the smoke odor.   What I didn't know was that his mother and sister who lived with him for over 20 years are ALL chain smokers!  When he dropped the quilts off, they were all in plastic bags.  Plastic bags that were supposed to be CLEAR!   These were yellow/brown. Oh man......   

  I didn't know what to do with them.  They were stinking up the whole office and I couldn't put them outside because it was raining and I certainly didn't want to put them in my car.   I finally decided to put them all into a giant trash bag and tie it up.   That pretty much worked.    When I got them home, I just left them out in the garage and opened the bag up and took one out.   Now, I know you're not supposed to wash old quilts in the washing machine but I considered this quilt to be completely worthless the way it was and I even know people that would have just taken the whole lot straight to the dumpster, so I just stuck it in the washing machine and added soap and turned it on.   Ok... so I didn't really agitate it.   I smashed the quilt down with my hand (big mistake.... I couldn't get the smell out of my skin! *GAG*).   I soaked and rinsed and pushed, and soaked and rinsed and pushed for a couple of hours.   The water was BROWN over and over again.  Hubby wanted me to put some bleach in the water.. lol.     Finally, it seemed like it might be getting cleaner.   So I layed it out on the living room floor and let it dry overnight.   It still has an odor and the white parts are not white, but I think it now might be worth something.  



 It's a grandmother's flower garden and probably made in the 30s or 40s.   One of the fabrics is deteriorated and there are some brown spots on the front and back.   But here it is. 
Poor old thing....   It could still use another washing,  but overall, not a bad quilt.    I'll take it to my friend that collects old quilts.   I don't think she'll want it, but maybe can give me an idea of what it's worth. 

I think there are still 4 or 5 quilts in the bag and there are several crocheted items, including a huge bed covering and some embroidered doilies.    I'll just take care of them one at a time and see what's there and how much is worth saving, for the love of quilting......

Twin Quilters

A funny thing happened today.    This week I submitted my Spider Web Scrappy Quilt  on the Quilting Gallery blog's weekly contest which was about Scrap Quilts this week.   

On Fridays they put up all the submitted quilts and then viewers vote on the ones they like best.    Well, this morning I went to take a look at the quilts and found that there was another quilt like mine!    And the other one was made by another Kathy!    Our quilts are almost exactly the same.   Mine has black borders around the spider webs and hers has purple, but both quilts have cream colored backgrounds and a piano key border.   I didn't know I had a quilting twin!    She lives in Canada and has a blog which you can see HERE.    I emailed her to tell her about this funny coincidence and she emailed me back right away.  She wrote about it on her blog, too!  And like she says,  it's fun to think that two strangers with the same name, making the same quilts, calling them the same thing, and then post them on the same website.   Don't you just love coincidences!   

Nine Patch Wreathes

I have been  in several block exchanges where everyone made 9 patch blocks, which means I have LOTS of 9 patch blocks.    I decided to use them as a sashing in an applique quilt that I'd been working on forever.   The blocks were all wreathes so I put them in a setting with the 9 patches and this is the result.   I believe it will fit a full sized bed.   My mom is the only one I know that has a full sized bed (in her guest room).   Maybe she'll get this for Christmas... shhhh.. don't tell her.   By the way, she already has 9 or 10 quilts that I've made....    heh

I still have LOTS of 9 patches left!   It might be awhile till I get to them.   

Secret Sister Quilt

I know... I know...  It's been FOREVER since I've added anything to my blog.  I have guilt...  but I've decided to try again to record my never ending quilt making.   First I want to update my blog with a few projects I've made this past year.

Last year my mini group did  Secret Sisters throughout the year with the Christmas party as the 'reveal' of the Sisters and the delivery of quilts made for the Sisters.   My 'sister' was a lady named Carolyn.    Carolyn has very specific likes and it was so much fun getting things for her throughout the whole year because I knew she was going to love everything!   But.. the best part was making her a quilt.    She loves applique and she loves traditional quilting.    It had been awhile since I had done any hand applique so I was jazzed about the project.    I did the technique of turning the edge of the applique pieces with starch and gluing the pieces down then just hand sewing everything.   It went together super fast and I had all the blocks done in January.   Then all I did was give her one a month until September.   I then sent her an 'official' letter from the Quilt Police telling her she must return the blocks to their original owner for signatures (according to the Quilt Police,  you're not allowed to get blocks from someone without them signing them first).   Here is the 'official' letter....

 

Here is the finished quilt.... 

How cute is that.. eh?

Needless to say.. she loved it.