Doll Swap Quilt--Indiana Crossings

Hi Everyone,

Last year I participated in the reproduction doll quilt swap hosted by Lori at Humble Quilts.  So when she announced that she was doing another, I eagerly signed up.  The rules are that it cannot be larger than 24" on a side (can be square or rectangle,) and has to be made with reproduction fabrics, prior to the 1920s.

I decided that I would try to replicate some or part of a real antique quilt and since I needed to start my search for a quilt somewhere, I chose to search for Indiana antique quilts, since Indiana is my new, adopted state.  I stumbled across this one, found here.

It's in my favorite colors!  And I love to make flying geese.  Lets look a bit closer.

And even closer.

That's a bit better--although I should have cropped the pictures maybe--but you get the idea.

I decided to make a piece of the quilt--pretty much as shown in the photo just above.  To make it, I needed a LeMoyne star block for the center and then lots of flying geese.

I realized that I own a Rapid Fire LeMoyne Star ruler, so I got it out and made the smallest one I could.  I then made the smallest flying geese I could with the Bloc Loc rulers that I have.

I tried to see how they would fit together and I realized I needed a LeMoyne star block that was a half inch larger than the first one.  I went back to the ruler and was momentarily stymied by the fact that it increased only in inches.  I considered for a short time and then decided to attempt to make it only a half inch larger by imagining a line exactly between the ones on the ruler.  It worked great!  Next, I started making more geese.

I laid out the units I would need to make a square.  I didn't like it, though, it looked like a block from a larger quilt.   I decided to add more geese to stretch it into a rectangle, so I made more geese.

Yes, I had to use "Y" seams to construct the top, but they really aren't that scary!  I find that as long as I mark the quarter inch intersections, they go together easily.  The result was as you see above, but I wanted a border.

I decided to continue with the flying geese and use them as a border, so I made more geese.  I laid out several possibilities and decided that I wanted each border to have the geese pointing to the center, so I would need an even amount on both the top/bottom and the sides.  Like this:

Of course, the center wasn't the right measurements for the border, so I had to add some skinny strips all around to "float" the center and bring it to the right measurments.  I sewed geese together to form the side borders and discovered I needed more, so I made more geese.

My next dilema was the corner squares.  Should they be navy or cream?  I thought they should be navy, since in the antique quilt, there are navy squares that appear where the geese meet, however on my smaller version, they just "boxed" the center too much.  I loved the inspiration quilt as it was so "airy" and "unconfined"  and it didn't have a heavy border surrounding it.  So in the end, I chose cream for the corner squares.

Last year, I designed a quilt for the swap and ended up not sending it out,  (I sent another in its place.)  Why?  I had machine quilted it by meandering over the top.  I personally thought it detracted from the "antique" look that we are striving for.  I don't object to machine quilting at all--but to me, the meander didn't look authentic.  I considered my options for this top and decided to hand quilt it.

I haven't hand-quilted in a while, so I had to get back "in the groove."  I really enjoyed it, too!  I used to do lots of hand-quilting but haven't lately.  I wonder why?  I suppose because I'm doing lots of other hand work--needle turn applique and wool applique.

It didn't take too long and it was finished.  I bound it in red and washed it to get the lovely "crinkle."

It's going to be difficult to send this out!  I'm proud of the fact that I didn't use a pattern and I had the technical skills to see how it was constructed and then make my own version.  I need to do that more often!  I named it "Indiana Crossings" not just because the lines of geese criss-cross acosss the quilt, but also because Indiana is know as "the Crossroads of America" as so many freeways travel across our state.

This is the back--I love the texture of the hand-quilting!

I'll send this off later this week.  The deadline is May 1, but I know this has a long journey.  I can't wait to see the one that arrives in my mailbox!

Have a great day!

JoAnne

The Wedding

Hi Everyone,

I know I've been absent again, but in the time I was we had a Big Event!  My daughter, our only child, got married.  The couple was only engaged about 6 months, but in that time, they planned a really wonderful wedding.

The big night was Friday, March 11, at the Indiana Children's Museum and what an event it was.  So many people said it was the most fun wedding they had ever attended--and I agreed.

I began the festivities with my daughter in the morning, going to the hair salon with her and the bridesmaids.

These are pictures of her getting her hair done.  Everyone kept remarking on all the hair!

The final result

After the hair was done, we went to lunch, where we all had pizza, except the bride, who had salad.

Then we headed to the museum.

I may have mentioned that the wedding would have a bit of a dinosaur theme...  The reception would be inside the Dinosphere.  Anyway, just as I snapped this picture outside, my phone battery went in the red!!!  I had no charger along with me.  

The bride and we ladies would be changing in the Manor--a Victorian mansion adjacent to the museum.

This is the room we were given--the picture is from their website--that isn't my daughter's dress!

Anyway, once we carried everything in, I sat in my daughter's car so as to charge my phone, until one of the bridemaids told me she had a wall charger along--then we all took turns plugging in to it.

In the end, it really didn't matter, since I never got a chance to take many pictures.  Have you had a daughter get married before?  It was all such a whirlwind of emotions, and seemed to flash by in seconds.  

We all were ready by 5 when pictures started.  Jessica hired a really wonderful photographer, and she kept them busy taking lots of fun photos all over the museum right until the ceremony began at 7.

My mom took this picture.  It still makes me cry a bit--she is so beautiful!

Here is my husband walking her down the aisle.

Cutting the cake in the Dinosphere

After we had eaten and the cake was cut, we went back to the atrium for dancing.

Their first dance.

The Father and Bride dance.  More tears!!!

My husband and I

The festivities wrapped up by ten, and then we had until 11 to get cleaned up.

I did get this picture of the bride getting ready to leave.  I loved her flowers!

I loaded up my daughter's car and drove it back to the hotel--she had left with her new husband, of course!  

It seemed like it was over so quickly.  Other than the festivities, I loved having so much family come.  My older sister and her husband flew in from southern California, and one of their sons and his girlfriend came from Colorado.  My mother-in-law flew in from North Dakota.  It seemed like I didn't get enough of a chance to visit with all of them, though.  

I think I'll write another blog post later about all of the "crafting" and hard work that my daughter did to make her special day.  Here's a hint:  not only was she the bride, but she made the wedding cake, too, with the help of some friends!  

Have a great day!

JoAnne