Tag Archives: Quilting

Fancy Work

09 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by in Australian Quilts, d'oyleys, hand piecing, handquilting, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, stitching, vintage quilts

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My d’oyley collection includes many embroidered pieces worked by my Mother, Aunties and a Great Aunt.

Auntie Joan’s old d’oyley

This old d’oyley embroidered by Auntie Joan became the inspiration for my latest hooked rug design ‘New Beginnings’.

New Beginnings

I hooked the rug in hand cut woollen fabrics purchased at Op Shops.

The long, cold nights during Winter provided more time for hand quilting. I completed my Peony Rose quilt and added Prairie Points for a fancy finish.

Prairie Points pressed ready to stitch together

Prairie Points in place ready to add to quilt

The pattern for this quilt is from the book In The Beginning by Sharon Yenter Evans. I made Ferol’s Peony Rose in French General fabrics and used a vintage sateen for the lattice.

I have stitched two more quilt tops which are now ready for basting and hand quilting. I hand pieced the Old Fashioned Spools top and machine pieced the medallion quilt.

Old Fashioned Spools

Medallion Quilt

Spring has arrived here with an abundance of golden wattle and thankfully some much needed rain.

Happy Stitching and take care, Janette The Plain Needlewoman

A Learning Curve

24 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by in antique fabric, antique quilts, Feed Sack, hand piecing, hand quilting, Quilt Collections, quilting projects, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, Uncategorized

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Curved piecing is considered more difficult to accomplish than geometric designs. But with so many beautiful patterns to choose from it is worth attempting to learn to sew curves. There are many fine quilting books available that provide step by step instructions for piecing the curve.

I have made a few curved pieced quilts including two Robbing Peter to Pay Paul quilts, a Double Wedding Ring and a Mill Wheel quilt. I have recently hand pieced a quilt in memory of my mother which I have named “Marjie’s Star”. It is a six pointed star set with melon shaped pieces. It was a challenging design but enjoyable to hand piece.img_4676img_4681img_4677

Amongst my collection of old quilts, I have a Friendship Circle quilt.img_4641

This quilt is pieced from woollens, old suiting fabrics, velvets and silk. The block measures 17 inches. There are 16 full blocks and 4 half blocks to finish one side of the quilt. The seams are stitched with feather stitching and the quilt is tied. The backing is a paisley flannel.img_4685img_4684

Curved designs were popular during the 1930s and 1940s. These included the Double Wedding Ring, Drunkard’s Path, Fan and Dresden Plate quilts. Two unfinished projects that I have recently acquired both contain curves. The first project consists of 14 Dresden Fan blocks pieced and appliquéd onto a white background and set with hot pink. Also included with my purchase is extra hot pink fabric and the start of a scalloped border for the quilt. There is certainly enough to complete this 1930s beauty.img_4665img_4664img_4666

The Maker of the second project hadn’t progressed very far along with her piecing. There was a paper pattern with the partial blocks which I have identified as Mohawk Trail.img_4667

There are pieced blocks, partially pieced and many wedge sections cut.img_4668

I have re-drafted the pattern and will stitch a couple of blocks to see if it is going to work out. These sweet old pieces have sat undisturbed for many years and may have to wait sometime yet.

As this year is fast coming to an end, I will add these projects on my list of quilts to finish in 2017. Meanwhile I am busily hand quilting, and hope to finish a vintage Trip Around the World quilt before we bid farewell to 2016.

Happy Quilting, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman.

Long Nights and Short Days

04 Saturday Jul 2015

Posted by in antique quilts, handquilting, quilting projects

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Bee Pincushion and Watermelon Needlecase

Bee Pincushion and Watermelon Needlecase

Winter is well underway and the longer nights offer a great opportunity to settle in for a good few hours of hand quilting.

Antique Red and White Star quilt.

Antique Red and White Star quilt.

Seven Sisters quilt - hand pieced and hand quilted.

Seven Sisters quilt – hand pieced and hand quilted.

Peony Rose in French General.

Peony Rose in French General.

Tax time is here. Receipts, financial statements and paperwork needs sorting and filing. It is also an opportunity to reflect on our quilt making and to take stock of our achievements so far. I keep a list of my sewing projects including quilts I plan to make in the future and quilts waiting to be quilted. Checking over my 2015 list I think at this point in time I have made progress. I finished quilting my Seven Sisters Quilt. This is heavily quilted with triple Baptist Fans, so the quilting took some time. The quilting on the antique red and white star quilt is going well. I am quilting the spider web design in the plain blocks. My next quilt in line for quilting is a scrap quilt, which I call Paths to Peace – this is my wish for peace in our time.
Paths to Peace.

Paths to Peace.

A few other odds and ends have been finished and started. My sewing room has had a tidy up and I have taken stock of projects bundled into boxes. I am hoping to finish piecing my Peony Rose quilt before Winter’s end and will be looking forward to starting a new project.

Nellie's Sewing box - A Quilted Crows kit - finished.

Nellie’s Sewing box – A Quilted Crows kit – finished.

Jelly roll quilt - machine quilting in progress.

Jelly roll quilt – machine quilting in progress.

Scrappy Churn dash top finished.

Scrappy Churn dash top finished.

New rug hooking project drawn up.

New rug hooking project drawn up.

I am looking forward to a busy second half of the year. Wishing you all productive months ahead, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman.