Piecing and Quilting gets into your blood...

I was very proud to know that I came from a heritage of guilters, on both sides of my family tree. Mom made quilts also. My great grandmother on Mom's side of the family made quilts when she was 92 years old. She pieced them by hand. The Doctor wasn't pleased but she was...
I have one of Great Grandmother's quilt tops and I had the pleasure of working on it to make it a full size top and then hand quilting it just inside each block. I will share an image of that quilt with you. My sister tells me it was pieced probably in the 30's. Looking at the fabric's I have a strong feeling she is correct.

Mom helped me make a quilt when I was only in the seventh grade. I used an old treadle sewing machine that had been passed down to Mom from her grandmother. My pattern was a nine patch. That was an adventure. Click here for more about that first quilt.

But my love of quilting pops up every now and then and shouts...you need to make a quilt. One year, my girl friend Ruth and I joined the local quilt guild. I made more quilts that year than I ever have before or since. The act is contagious when you see other quilters working.

I will attempt to share a few of my quilted treasures with you. Click on the images for a better view.

Quilts for Youngsters For me this is a project of love, making quilts for our youngsters in the family. It is hard to keep up with the newbies in the family...I am behind for a few right now...

"Happy Butterflies"

"Study in Blues"

"Sun Bonnet Sue"

"Trains"

"Woodland Nymphs"

Wall Hangings
Short Term projects are very satisfying.

"God's Eye"

"Stars" or "Tumbling Blocks" Wall Hanging

Christmas Wall Hanging

Twin or
Full Size Quilts

Grandma's Quilt
This is the quilt my Grandmother pieced by hand in the 1930's... and yes those fabrics are from the era. Her star pattern gets a bit lost in the way the blocks are set together, and that is a very hot pink. I hand quilted to a white muslin back, which was the way most of my Mom's quilts were backed.

"Hearts Quilt"
My Niece came to visit and wanted to do a project together. She knew I made quilts and wanted to help. Little did she know, I had planned that all along. This looks just right in her bedroom. The teddy bear is really one of Mom's quilts -- Neat way to preserve a family heirloom.

Mystery Quilt
The guild planned a mystery quilt pattern the year I was a member. This was a lot of fun. I was disappointed that it didn't make even a generous full sized top, so I now have plans to extend it with another border and add appliqué flowers at the corners.

One summer my niece came to visit with a design in mind. She wanted to make an American Flag. Well, we did and this was finished in about one week. She did a lot of sewing and so did I. We used machine embroidery for her message on the sides and end and machine quilted it.

"Scrap Quilt"
The quilt guild decided to do quilts to give to others. My niece was visiting me that summer. She and I made this quilt in two days. We machine sewed the pieces one day and sandwiched it the next. Tying it was a lot faster than hand quilting.

Queen Size Quilts

Bear Paw
Talk about a long time... This quilt was started back in the seventies and just finished a couple of years ago. My husband said he wanted a quilt so this one is queen sized especially for him. This is an old traditional pattern
pieced on the machine, it took a very long time to hand quilt.

Memory Quilts

"Family Heirloom"
This particular project took a long time to finish. All of these pictures were ironed on. Thank goodness we can actually print to the fabric now, as this was a hit or miss proposition and many pictures were prepared many times. I have enough "seconds" to make another quilt. Appliqué was a new technique for me at this time. I made this as a gift for my Mother-In-Law.

Quilts for Youngsters	For me this is a project of love, making quilts for our youngsters in the family. It is hard to keep up with the newbies in the family...I am behind for a few right now...
	"Happy Butterflies"
	"Study in Blues"
	"Sun Bonnet Sue"
	"Trains"
	"Woodland Nymphs"
Wall Hangings	Short Term projects are very satisfying.
	"God's Eye"
	"Stars" or "Tumbling Blocks" Wall Hanging
	Christmas Wall Hanging
Twin or Full Size Quilts
	Grandma's Quilt This is the quilt my Grandmother pieced by hand in the 1930's... and yes those fabrics are from the era. Her star pattern gets a bit lost in the way the blocks are set together, and that is a very hot pink. I hand quilted to a white muslin back, which was the way most of my Mom's quilts were backed.
	"Hearts Quilt" My Niece came to visit and wanted to do a project together. She knew I made quilts and wanted to help. Little did she know, I had planned that all along. This looks just right in her bedroom. The teddy bear is really one of Mom's quilts -- Neat way to preserve a family heirloom.
	Mystery Quilt The guild planned a mystery quilt pattern the year I was a member. This was a lot of fun. I was disappointed that it didn't make even a generous full sized top, so I now have plans to extend it with another border and add appliqué flowers at the corners.
	One summer my niece came to visit with a design in mind. She wanted to make an American Flag. Well, we did and this was finished in about one week. She did a lot of sewing and so did I. We used machine embroidery for her message on the sides and end and machine quilted it.
	"Scrap Quilt" The quilt guild decided to do quilts to give to others. My niece was visiting me that summer. She and I made this quilt in two days. We machine sewed the pieces one day and sandwiched it the next. Tying it was a lot faster than hand quilting.
Queen Size Quilts
	Bear Paw Talk about a long time... This quilt was started back in the seventies and just finished a couple of years ago. My husband said he wanted a quilt so this one is queen sized especially for him. This is an old traditional pattern pieced on the machine, it took a very long time to hand quilt.
Memory Quilts
	"Family Heirloom" This particular project took a long time to finish. All of these pictures were ironed on. Thank goodness we can actually print to the fabric now, as this was a hit or miss proposition and many pictures were prepared many times. I have enough "seconds" to make another quilt. Appliqué was a new technique for me at this time. I made this as a gift for my Mother-In-Law.