The Old and the New

The old...when we were in Calgary visiting Andrew, Christy and Molly I noticed that Andrew's first quilt was looking a little worse for wear. Taking a closer look I realized that the binding was disintegrating and needed replacement. I suggested I'd bring it home and replace it, wash the quilt and let it blow in the sea breeze for a while. Molly was particularly intrigued that the quilt would come back smelling of the ocean!

I made the quilt about 35 years ago, back when fabric choices were very limited here in NS. A friend and I had ordered a lot of Ely and Walker calico prints and the local Woolco had a few other cotton prints. These are a few of the Ely and Walker that I have left.

I think this is the only quilt I have ever made using just 3 colours! If I was making this quilt now it would probably have at least 30 or 40 different prints. The quilt block is called "Andrew Jackson Star", it seemed appropriate for a boy named Andrew, though his middle name is not Jackson!

I was pretty sure I still had some of the red print in my stash, I was delighted to find it and had more than enough to replace the binding. I have done repairs on old quilts before and I always felt odd taking out someone else's stitches. This is the first of my own that I have repaired. I hope it lasts at least another 35 years before I have to replace it again!

The new...I just finished basting granddaughter Molly's new quilt. She had helped me pick out many of the fabrics last year when we visited, all pinks. This had to be a pink quilt! But I couldn't use just a few pinks, I think I have used more than 30 different ones. It was fun to piece and now I am looking forward to quilting it. I am quilting it by hand so it will be a while before she gets it. I just hope she has inherited my patience! 

Two Quilts - Done!

One quilt took almost 2 years to finish, it shouldn't have but life intervened for almost a year when I didn't get much quilting/sewing done. I know the recipients understand, it is a wedding quilt signed by all the guests at the wedding. I have made 5 of these, all for very special couples, mostly for family or for friends who are more like family. I hope they like it, they haven't seen it yet!

Naomi and Nick were married on a beautiful beach, under a wedding chuppah. Family and friends came from far and near to celebrate the happy occasion.

It is machine pieced and handquilted.

I like to piece the back with fabric that reflects the bride and groom's life. So this back includes footprints in the sand, lupins and lobsters, camping and cycling, running and travel, Christmas and Hannukah. I stitch in the labels which have pictures of the bride and groom and their baby...the quilt took so long that they are now the proud parents of baby Gwen. Congratulations Naomi and Nick, may this quilt bring you memories of a happy day and warmth for many years to come!

The second quilt was much quicker, not much piecing and a brave attempt at machine quilting on my part (not my favourite pastime!). I made it for Quilts Recover, a Calgary based group that will send quilts to families who have experienced a massive tragedy. The first quilts will go out to families in Slave Lake, Alberta. I was really glad to participate in this worthwhile cause and to be able to deliver it to Cheryl in person soon.

Jungle Friends

Stab Stitch Quilting

That's how I quilt, stab stitch, one stitch at a time. Never mastered the running stitch, this was how I was taught and it has worked for me for 38 years.

Way back in 1973 when I had a 2 year old and a 3 month old I decided I need to do something to keep me busy! Just joking! I had always wanted to make quilts. I was so lucky to have several of my Grandmother's quilts as a child and I still have them. I learned to sew and always loved fabric, making doll clothes and when I was about 10 my aunt took me under her wing and taught me to sew. My Mom was left-handed and it just was such a struggle for her to teach me how to sew or knit or crochet. So during the summers when my aunt lived in the cottage behind ours, she happily taught me how to sew.

Then in the fall of 1973 the Nova Scotia Museum offered a one day quilting workshop with Polly Greene. Just what I needed, I took the class and haven't stopped. In that one day we cut out and pieced a block, then we learned how to quilt it using the stab stitch method. Polly learned from her Mother when she was about 7, her Mother had learned to quilt when she was 7 (1914) in Lawrence, Massachusetts at a local department store who were giving quilting lessons to young girls. Polly is still stab stitching, still teaching others how to do it.

 

In between my thumb and forefinger is a small needle, usually a 10 or an 11 "between" that is my left hand. Underneath my Q-Snap frame is my right hand ready to pull the needle through, turn it and "stab" it back up through the quilt. My grade seven Home Ec teacher, Miss Clarke, would be so pleased with me as I use about 15"-18" length of thread. Any longer and it will tangle or knot and it's much quicker with a shorter length of thread. I have learned lots of tricks over the years and analyzed just how I quilt like this. There isn't much information on the internet. I have taught a lot of quilters over the years, it is such a great way to quilt...no thimble, no stress or strain on your fingers.

Here are a few of my favourite things to use when I quilt. A Q-Snap frame, usually the 11" square one, Americana Quilting thread from Jo-Anns in the US. It is much like the old Lily quilting thread, 100% cotton with a silicone finish, Fons and Porter mechanical pencils are the best for marking. I have 2, one with wite lead and one with black lead. They mark easily and erase easily. My little Fiskars scissors and my needle nose pliers for pulling through the needle from stubborn spots where there are a lot of seams. Plastic templates, I make my own, keep them and reuse when I can.

The quilt in the pictures is a wedding signature quilt for the daughter (and her husband) of a dear friend. At their wedding everyone signed squares of fabrics with messages for the happy couple, then I pieced the quilt top. They haven't seen the quilt yet, the last stitch was put in today, now to get to the binding.

I'll be teaching Stab Stitch Quilting at Quilt Canada 2012 in Halifax, NS. Can't wait!