Here is the best example you will ever see of “dirty” or improv quilting – this vintage quilt top is huge and I’ve laid a pattern down for scale – the tiniest pieces I’ve ever seen were used!
And last nights scraps came from making these blocks. Remember Yellow Brick Road by Terry Atkinson? It’s one of the most popular patterns ever sold and I decided it might be fun to make it again. It uses fat quarters but I cut mine from scrap so it wasn’t nearly as fast to cut or to piece the blocks – assembly maybe tomorrow.
I tried to find statistics on number sold and came up empty but I’m betting it’s the largest number of any quilt pattern published.
Here’s where I’m at:
Mine is 30 blocks which is what my scraps yielded. Instructions are for baby, lap, twin, full, queen,king. You can’t go wrong with this quilt pattern!
No ballgames tonight and it’s too chilly to sit in the porch – I’m lost!
Reader photos
I picked Hank up after church – he and Keeper have had a great day!
Becky sang at church and I accompanied her – she always asks the congregation to sing along and they love it – old songs that they know sung in Becky’s low key which makes them easy to sing – Blessed Assurance and It Is No Secret – probably popular in the 50s? She sings once every summer when we have special music since the choir doesn’t sing.
Here’s Marsha’s address again – I told her story on 6-10, I think it was. She got 4 cards yesterday and was pleased with 4 – she couldn’t believe you wrote notes and didn’t just sign your name. THANK YOU!
Marsha Johnson
1135 Allen Ave
Garner, IA 50438
What an amazing quilt top. Is it hand pieced, or treadled, maybe? All those old fabrics –what a catalog of old timey fabrics.
I hope your leg is feeling a bit better today. That photo showed a nasty, nasty injury.
Lindah – not hand pieced so either machine or treadle – it’s a real engineering feat!! Leg is healing – thanks
THE SNOW CHILD
AUTHOR: Eowyn Ivey
I read this and gave it away, then I regretted that. So I bought it again and read it again. This time, I’m keeping it, just in case!
I like this one too.
Mary, I am currently cutting fat quarters for the Yellow Brick Road quilt. Have never made it before, and will work on it at retreat in Oct. I need something simple to work on at retreat, and this pattern is the one.
Just finished reading Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty and loved it.
I will definately be making some of the cold pasta recipes, thanks to your readers for sharing.
Am enjoying all the patriotic pictures too! Thank you, Mary.
I watched Kates Last Homely House video on you tube yesterday with the stars made from her crumb piecing, she calls it making fabric. The quilt turned out wonderful with the indigo background and she gives good directions on how to make the wonky stars with the made fabric. One of our local quilt stores’s latest email has some new fabric lines I like shown in it but at $16 a yard, it encourages me to use up more of my stash before purchasing border fabrics.
I appreciate Suzanne in Massachusetts making me feel better saying how long it takes to get enough blocks made.
Kathy – I’m not buying any fabric that costs $16/yd! Don’t you just love Kate?
Mary – how I love to sit down and watch one of Kates videos. They have a way of making you feel you are with her in the room petting her cat and sharing a cup of tea. And I like her cause she doesn’t have to think you need a spotless sewing area to work in. She just makes do.
Also a friend of mine bought Theo of Golden again as she gave her first copy away. She too felt she read it too fast last fall and was in a different state of mind to really take it the book. So she is re-reading it now. I am taking a while to read it rather than hurrying through it. I feel like there is so much chaos around me some days that when I pick it up and just read a few pages about a person, I calm down and realize Theo has the perspective I admire and then I feel less frazzled.
Cards have actually been sent!
The quilt and patriotic decor pictures have been just wonderful! It makes me sad in a way that my America 250 quilt not only won’t be ready for July 4, but it also hasn’t even been started yet. But I’m working on 2 quilts for folks who are elderly and disabled, so I’m happy if I get the 250th quilt done by the end of the year.
I hope your readers will keep sending in more pictures!
Erin – yes, let’s keep up the patriotic quilt show! Maybe some readers who never leave a comment will actually send me some pictures – I hope so.
i have a card going out in today’s mail. Eilean, AR
Your “crumb” quilt….. 😳 wow. With that said, if anyone needs more scraps, let me know – I’ll mail off a box to you. I really need to do a better job of cleaning out stuff in my sewing room. I just hate to throw away good scrap pieces……. For a while I would make a pillow case out of fleece and then took the smaller pieces and stuffed the fleece. Made great pet beds that I donated to the pet rescue. Scrappy is just not my comfort zone, although I recently saw a pattern that I think will make a good scrappy. I ordered it and when I get it I’ll take a picture and send it on to you. I can’t tell you how many of the Yellow Brick Road that I’ve made — it’s a great pattern for someone learning how to quilt.
I’m so happy to hear that Marsha is enjoying her mail — why wouldn’t she??? So glad something so simple gives someone joy. There’s not enough joy in this world and we must spread it! As I always say — who doesn’t love getting mail? I know I do!
It is beyond hot here right now. I know I live on the sun but this is crazy…… when it is 95 at 8 am….. 🙃 So doing some sewing – cross stitch as well. I’ve finally gotten back into my sewing room! Thanks for asking for books — I get the audio version from the library and listen while I sew. I just finished “Spare” — not sure I would recommend it, but it was interesting reading his perspective. 🤔
Mary — how is your leg healing?
Lynette – my leg wound is healing nicely although it does drain which I think is an ok thing actually. I keep the sock on it during the day as just a little cushion. Hazel stepped on it last night climbing out of bed and it did really hurt.
Glad to hear that it’s healing. Keeping the sock on it is a great idea. Draining is not bad as long as it’s not pus – you’ll know – it’s not your first rodeo.
Your yellow brick road is organized scraps. I have made probably 30 of them in various sizes. I have 2 patterns as I don’t won’t to lose the pattern🤣🤣. You could probably have a show and tell of quilts from readers.
Love Becky’s choice of songs for special music. More often than not church hymns have become unknown and not singable for me. I like those well written hymns that I grew up singing.
Our weather is cool in SW Ohio and I love it.
I will be longarming this week. My goal is to get a large stack ready to bind on the porch in the evening.
Another retreat in July so I must finish cutting projects.
My neighbor has beets ready so I will get some to can.
Marcia – let’s do that!!! Here’s a little secret – I had to order another pattern because I couldn’t find mine – haha! I’ll get in touch with Terry and tell her we’re having a show. I’ll announce it tonight
I cringed when I saw your leg! My husband did something similar the other day to his arm.
I don’t like the term dirty quilting, I’ll stick with crumb quilting which I love to do. I’ve made two quilts so far and have enough 4-1/2” blocks for another. I use a single color in each little block. It takes me about three years to make enough for a decent sized quilt.
Congratulations on your perserverance Suzanne. The quilts must be amazing.
These are some books that I have read in the last year that were good:
Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby Van Pelt
The Women of Platform Two Laura Anthony
The Book Club for Troublesome Women Maria Bostwick
The Stolen Life of Collette Marceau Kristen Harmel
Theo of Golden. Alan Levi
The Frozen River By Ariel Lawhon
The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen
That antique quilt is AMAZING!!!! Not a scrap goes wasted!!! I love the scraps you used in your block.I have never heard the term “Dirty Quilting” but it certainly is interesting. Something new for me to research! I have heard of “crumb” quilting. Jo of Jo’s Country Junction blog has a pattern called Picadilly Circus that uses crumb squares as the middle of a star block. I made one when she did a quilt along a couple of years ago in greens and blues. I just started one in greens, oranges and yellow as i found a bag of fabrics that I had been collecting for this and thought now is the time. My daughter made a Yellow Brick Road quilt as her very first quilt. It was beautiful. I love Atkinson’s Lucky Stars pattern. I have made it umpteen times, all sizes. Always turns out nice!
The improv quilt can be excavated for years to identify this wide range of fabric prints. You did not say what year it was acquired. Marveling at the ability to sew many diverse sizes together. Was a foundation used at all?
Li – no foundation fabric – it’s not in good shape, very thin and I’ve probably had it for 25 years. It’s a marvel of engineering really – I should have shown the back – so many seams!
I am astonished those seams are still together when I consider how big it is. Well said–marvel of engineering. I just finished 40 crumb blocks 5″x5″ a couple of months ago. They took forever. My friend asked for crumbs. So rather than just send small pieces I thought it would be interesting to send along blocks of crumbs so I was highly motivated.
Li – one time I sent a card to a quilt friend and put scraps of batik in it for a “confetti” look. She sent them back to me in a coffee cup size coaster with a border from her own batik stash. It cracked me up how many uses those scraps provided. I use the mug rug every day with its vibrant colors for the crumb pieced center block.
Your friend and I think alike. She sees value in a gift that keeps on giving. Bless her for taking the time with such a lovely gesture and you for appreciating the sentiment. Nice friend.
Li – when I put it up over the fence I was very careful because it’s actually quite heavy as you can imagine with all those seams.
Hi Mary, thanks for showing my quilt, the hickey mouse 9 patch blocks were left over from a baby quilt 13 years ago,found when l started Swedish death cleaning with all my sewing stuff (60 years!). The hickey mouse panel was with the blocks and with some help from pinintrest lhave made this for friend of my sons who has just had a baby girl. The back of the panel was put on the back for fun. Just seen spell check has changed mickey to hickey! Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
It’s going to be a cool overnight…47 by morning! Jay has to help the neighbor rake tomorrow. I need to get some groceries. Just in larchwood 3 miles away.
Cool pictures of a really scrappy quilt! I like yellow brick road.
Animals are all having fun!
Hope your leg is feeling better. That is nasty looking!
Sleep tight. Hoping I do.
Joy – it’s getting closer – hang in there! I know it’s not easy because I know you’re in pain. Brrrr…I’m closing my window
I’ve read The Book of Lost Names by Kirstin Harmel. It is about the resistance in WWII. It’s one of those books that I’ll read again. The antique quilt definitely shows how every little scrap was utilized in the olden days.
Oh, I was out of town when you wrote about Marsha. I’ll go back and find that blog and get a card off to her.
I just finished ‘Theo of Golden.’ Just a beautiful and well written book. Author Alan Levi.
Just read Theo of Golden with my book club. We all loved it and had a great discussion about it.
Ginger, I’m just about done with Theo and I don’t want his story to end. What an amazing book about kindness towards others and peoples stories. Everyone has a story.
I agree. I read that the author is currently working on a second book, Ellen of Golden. No mention of completion date, just working on it. I think it will be another good one. I liked Ellen in the first book.
Ginger – I read Theo last winter and I must not have been “in the mood” because it took me forever and I wasn’t a fan – it’s worth reading again.
That quilt is amazing Mary, is it yours? If so, how did you come by it?