Another Bonnie Hunter finish

In May of 2016, Pride of the Prairie guild was able to have Bonnie Hunter back for another workshop.
This time we were going to work on the pattern  "Tulip Fields".
Some how when I was getting my fabrics ready for the workshop, I saw a picture of "Turkey Tracks"
in her book, and it was made with red scraps.
So pulled red stings and strips and use them for the "Tulip Fields".
Tulips remind me of red.   They always stand out for me.

I had a lot of red, and the neutrals for the background.

Here is what Bonnie's quilt looks like.

It became a work in progress, with a lot of help from Charlie.

Now this one is done too.
I used various greens for the sashing, with various yellows for the cornerstones and
a lot of greens for the border.

Here is the tag on the back.
For once I could come up with a name for this quilt.
"Elvis is in the Tulip Fields".

I happened to have a couple of strips of the green Elvis, that I
thought would be perfect in the border, as it is all strip pieced.
I never intended it to be a Christmas quilt, but because it is
all red and green, most people think it is.

Personally, I love it when a plan comes together!

When I was in Amsterdam last summer, I brought a bag of tulips bulbs back.
This has to be a first.  The critters that frequent my yard did not dig them up.
Here are a few that are starting to bloom.

I hope you are having a wonderful blooming day!

Mary

Antique Stars

Remember in October when I was at the quilt retreat

in Racine, one of the sisters brought these star blocks to our sewing area?

She had been given them, but did not know what to do with them.

Knowing we were quilters, she thought we would know what to do with them.
No one could really decide what to do with them, have them appraised, and sell them. or
make something with them.
Well I decided I would work with them, and see what I could do.

This is what I did!
I found some antique muslin at a quilt show in October that was only 36 inches wide.
I had to figure which way I would get the best use of the fabric, as those stars are large.
I then, hand appliqued them each to a square, squared them all up, and sewed them together.

This turned out to be a pretty big quilt.
I am so proud of how well it all came together.

My friend and longarm quilter, Wendy Yates did the beautiful quilting.
I was lucky in that the stars were all hand-pieced and laid flat.
She made sure that each star was quilted, and would be stable.
I am in awe with how beautiful the quilt turned out.

Because the stars were definitely old, I wanted to no have a flowery back.
I went to my plaid stash and pulled out what I had to make the backing.
The red plaid is what I used for the binding.

This weekend there is our Spring Retreat in Racine, and the quilt is going up there with me.
I am going to give it back to sister that had the stars.
I hope she will like what I did.

I will let you know what happens.
Have a great weekend.

Mary

Another finish

For-get-me-not What a perfect flower for remembrances.
I used up the rest of my 1000+ half square triangles to make
this sweet baby quilt.  I was going to include it in my
"Latest Finishes" post, but because we had gone to the Emhurst Conservatory
I decided to show it this way.

This little conservatory is one that we have visited every year at Easter time since we had Andy.
You sometimes find a place that offers peace and that touch of Spring.
This is ours.  When they started the campaign to purchase a brick in memory, we had one made
for our own family.  It keeps the memory of the daughter we had, that did not survive.
When my parents both passed we added the second brick in their memory.

I love the idea that we have left a memory of our family.
Time changes a lot of things, but this memory is forever.

Happy Spring
Mary

Latest finishes

Good Morning

As usual I have lots to catch up on, but will be doing it in segments.

Spring is finally here!  The days keep whizzing by and I keep pushing the sewing machines

peddle to the floor.

I am down to one quilt that needs to be bound. 

This one is a pattern called "Oliver" by Monique Dillard.
I finished this one toward the end of 2016.
The half square came from a challenge at Prairie Stitches here in Oswego, back
in 2009.  I made and received over 1000.  This is the second quilt I made using  part of  them.
The pattern called for it to be a square, but I had so many half square triangles, I
decided to make it longer.  Now it is a nice size curl up quilt.

After starting this on in 2008, after my trip to Hungary, I finally got this one done.
The fabric is all from Hungary.  They are know for printing their own fabric.
It is hand made by using a special dye, and a resistance. The fabric starts out as white.When they
use the handmade blocks that have been dipped into the resistance, it is applied to the fabric.
After the pattern is completed, the fabric is they put in a vat of blue dye.
While I was in Hungary,I purchased as much as I could carry home.
The quilt is made up of signature blocks from the ladies on the trip, pictures, quilt blocks that
we traded with Hungarian quilters, and after it was quilted, additional items that I had collected
while on the trip.

The back is colorful, I used these pieces that where also made in Hungary.

The two pictures were myself, my sister and Magda, my Hungarian friend.
I finished up the quilt in her honor, as she passed away in December of 2015.
You can see a small sampling the the different prints.  While at the Emhurst Conservatory, I
felt it fitting to photograph it by the "Forget-Me-Not's". 

This is another finish for 2016 and bound in the last couple months.
Started this one in Michigan with my friend Pat. It needed to just be put together. The blocks
were done, Pat and I purchased the kits together, but neither one of us can pin point the year.

Here is a new quilt. I had seen talk about "Garlic Knot" on facebook.  Bonnie Hunter had
featured this block in Quiltmaker. a while back. I had plenty of 2 1/2 inch squares cut and ready to go.
Started pairing them up and in no time had a top together.
It really was a fun quilt to make. I made blocks until I had got the pattern out of my system.
It turned out to be a nice sized lap quilt.

On the back I made "Garlic Knot" block out of 3 1/2 inch squares.

Here is another Bonnie Hunter quilt, "Tulip Fields".  This one did get a name.
"Elvis is in the Tulip Fields".
It was fun to use so many different reds and greens to make this one.
Trust me, it does not look like a made a dent in my red scraps.

Here is a Christmas signature quilt.  It is wallhanging size.
In 2015 a lady organized a Holiday signature swap.  Most of the ladies were from Europe.
Another quilt done!

My husband and I went to the Elmhurst Conservatory and Morton Arboretum on Wednesday
to enjoy the beautiful flowers, and weather.  I thought there were a few places to
take pictures of these quilts.

Spring has finally sprung.
I hope you are enjoying the lovely weather.
Happy Spring.


Mary