Another Quilt from the Past

A while ago, here to be exact, I shared a little about my desire to make Grandma's Country Album, a serial pattern from McCalls from way back in the 90s.  My first attempt was to make a pieced quilt that could have the "look" of the original, but of course, it didn't.  So I acknowledged the fact that I would need to learn to applique so I could make the coveted quilt.




Here is a picture of the pattern and sample.  What really made me want to make this was that Robert Callaham, the designer, had made it out of Thimbleberries fabrics, and at the time, they were my absolute favorite fabrics!

I taught myself how to hand-applique to make this.  I used freezer paper on the top of the fabric.  I frequently used a fabric glue stick to glue the raw edges under.  It worked okay.  Since then, I learned to do the back-basting method of applique and I enjoy that technique much more.  Once I got the top done, I hand-quilted it.  It was the last "large" quilt that I hand-quilted.

 

The border featured some dimensional/folded details.

A terribly lit photo of the back, but it shows the quilting.

Teeny, tiny grapes there in the middle.

 

The book block was my favorite.

There were several pieced blocks, which helped.  This block with the red flowers in the urn was the first I appliqued. 

 

 

Anyway, the point I want to make in showing this quilt is that if you want a quilt badly enough, you CAN learn the necessary technique to make it!  Yes, you CAN!