BUCKET LIST QUILT # 4

As I try to de-stash a bit, I am pulling fabrics for about a dozen "BUCKET LIST QUILTS".  Those I still want to make. Here is the next one, Pieces of the Past in Purple. 

PIECES OF THE PAST--CIRCA 1875:

I have written about this quilt several times. To read the whole story go here: MY FAVORITE QUILTS #1  It is a reproduction of an antique top I found at a yard sale in 1988. The top was later determined by a well-known quilt historian to be from approximately 1875, hence the name, 

As a baby quilter then I thought I would hand quilt it. After studying it for a while, it was clear the fragile fabrics would not stand up to that so I reproduced it. Following the antique top, I used my least favorite color, BROWN. The quilt took all the skills I had at that time--those four-patches are "set-in", on the diagonal. Not easy by machine.

As much as I loved this quilt I knew no one would want to make it, the construction was just too difficult. So I made it again, easier this time, by replacing the four-patches with a square and adding more geese to create regular sashing that could be machine pieced. This has been a successful class for me. I named it "FIVE EASY PIECES":

Some years later I took it to a workshop with Liz Porter who assured me the large squares of what look like cotton bolls was originally PURPLE, not brown! Everyone laughed as they knew purple is my favorite color. From that moment on, it has been my intention to make the original one more time--in PURPLE this time.

PIECES OF THE PAST IN PURPLE:  The FABRIC PULL:

                                        

The antique top, now stored safely in a pillowcase, in a closet, out of light. It rarely leaves home these days:

the back showing the hand piecing

Front detail 

Front showing very worn border fabrics

The day I bought it at a yard sale I had my sons hold it for a photograph

This top is one of my greatest treasures. It has taught me a lot. Like:

1. Don't judge a book by its' cover

2. Look at the bright side of things

3. When you find a treasure, forget about the one that got away

4. Beautiful things are all around, you just have to look

5. Being in the right place at the right time is mostly luck and good fortune

6. Someday your skills will catch up to your desires

I am really eager to see this one made new and fresh, maybe looking more like it originally did Circa 1875.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

CHANGE OF SEASON

It's that time of year when it's finally cooler and there may be some lovely leaves on the trees as the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer. It's a lovely time of year in North Alabama. This morning we even "gained" a hour as it was time to "Fall Back" with our clocks. 

Speaking of change of seasons, now that it's cooler,  it was time to put away the shorts and sports bra in favorite of yoga pants and a sweatshirt over a t-shirt.  Here is a look at what I get to see on my 6-8 mile daily walk. 

The people in this house go all out each year with their Halloween decorations, adding more scenes each year.  No other house in my large neighborhood comes close to these decorations.

It makes me smile as I go flying by: 

                                    

                                        

                                         

corner of Noel and Blair Day Lane, south Huntsville, AL

                                        

I love seeing wildlife on my walks. Rabbits, chipmunks, lots of squirrels, the occasional fox and these:

Great Blue Heron

Canadian Geese

The Canadian Geese are starting to fly in formation, honking loudly, as they plan to leave for the winter. What a sight!

I don't do much decorating myself, just a few things in the house:

    

The patchwork pumpkins were made by my dear friend Judy Murrah. I miss her all the time but especially in October, her birthday month and the month we were sure to be together again each year. 

Living Room coffee table

I do change out the quilts on our bed to my favorite "winter" quilts:

Foothills on the wall, Western Sun on the bed, and Pieces of the Past at the foot of the bed--you can see I am fond of Flying Geese

As the days get shorter, I will find a new hand sewing project to have by my cozy chair. Not sure yet what it will be...

Let's quilt.

Barbara

BUCKET LIST QUILT # 1

 For the last year I have been thinking about what quilts I still really want to make. You know, those "BUCKET LIST" quilts you really want to make while you can. 

My thought process is to make that LIST. Then pull the FABRICS for each quilt. That should make it easier for me to let go of so much "extra" fabric I have no plan for and can't live long enough to use. That's the theory, anyway...

Why should I let go of fabric? Because there is just too much! My 3 closets, so full:

 

So for the next few weeks I will show you one of the quilts that has made my BUCKET LIST. In no particular order here is #1

HAWAII SUNSET 1845: Quilters Newsletter Magazine Feb/Mar 2010.

Saved this magazine for 14 years

Yardage I have on hand that works--I have many fat quarters in these colors to supplement this group

The ONE RULE I have set for myself for these BUCKET LIST QUILTS is I will BUY NO MORE FABRIC TO MAKE THEM. I will use what I have.

There is only one fabric in this quilt that requires a sizeable amount--the Navy Blue sashing. I have enough of one, it's a bit lighter than the one used in the magazine. I have enough of two other darker Navy Blues, if I am willing to use one for the body of the quilt and one for the perimeter triangles. Time will tell which I decide to use. 

This resembles Western Sun I made a couple years ago but the fabric selection is very different and the Nine Patch centers will be much faster to make than these Star blocks:

Western Sun 110" square

Do you have a Bucket List Quilt?

Let's quilt.

Barbara