Potholder quilts revisited

A few weeks ago my friend Cyndi and I went to the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Mass. for a quilt study meeting and wonderful viewing of the Rhode Island quilts in the main gallery. Here are two of the quilts that were brought to the study meeting. The first is a quilt put together by Pam (AKA Pothloder Pam) Weeks, curator at the museum. I believe she began collecting blocks for the quilt in 2008 and has now completed it. Isn't it great?!!! I don't know exactly how many people made blocks but I know Pam would be happy to take any and all questions about any potholder quilt. She is an expert on this method and is constantly on the search for quilts made in the potholder method.

this is my block - love those Lancaster colors!

This is my friend Cyndi's block - LOVE that fabric and that pattern!

This is Anita Loscalzo's block and I LOVE these fabrics too. O.K. I love them all!

I'll post Ann Morin's 1940's potholder next time. Hope I can encourage you to try this method!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

I'm going to try to link up with the Blogger's Quilt Festival because it sounds like fun! I chose this quilt as it is one of my favorites. I made it in 2005 - yikes that is nearly 10 years ago! I wanted to make a quilt that celebrated my Maine heritage as well as the English side of my family. My mother's family moved to Nova Scotia from England in the 19th century. My father's Maine roots are extremely deep. So I designed the center of the quilt to look like an early 19th century English quilt and made the shape of the quilt to mimic early quilts Maine with the cutout corners to fit a four poster bed. This was a very popular shape in Maine that continues through the 20th century, especially in the island communities. It is difficult to see the cutouts in this photo, as it was taken in our boatshop which is always full of junk!

I use wool batting most of the time, but this one is with a cotton batting because I wanted a "flatter" look. 

http://amyscreativeside.com/2014/10/24/bloggers-quilt-festival-hand-quilted-quilts-4/

Vintage fun

I like to use vintage images and vintage linens in my quilts from time to time. This first one is one that I made for the New England Quilt Museum's 25th (Silver) anniversary. Not being one for standard "bling", when I hear the word silver, I think of my childhood pal Silver and his buddy, the Lone Ranger. I printed a 1987 quarter (not easy to find!) for the year the museum opened, and used them in the center of each star. Then I took vintage cowboy feedsack prints and hand appliqued the stars. It was really fun to make.

This one is one I made for my niece's new baby using a vintage linen that was soiled on one end so I felt o.k. cutting it up. I don't like to cut into any vintage piece that doesn't have some area of damage, as I like to keep them as what they were intended to be used for. I used reproduction fabrics for the little squares in this one.

Pot Holder Charm

I was so inspired by Kathie's (Inspired by Antique Quilts) recent posts of her fabulous charm quilt that I wanted to share a few of mine with you. I made the first two last Fall while recovering from surgery. Hence, I called this first one "My Charming Recovery". It has 3,072 different reproduction prints (1 1/2" finished squares) in it. The blocks are 12", quilted and bound and then whipped together.

The back is fun too with hand appliqued circles in the centers.

Her's a close up of the back

And this one has 2,940 different fabrics and is made up of 1" finished squares in 10" blocks.

the back has different conversational reproductions

People ask me where I get my fabrics. I buy 99.99 percent of my fabrics from the Busy Thimble in Litchfield, Maine. I am so fortunate to have such a fabulous shop only 35 minutes from my house, but I am even more fortunate to have Cyndi for a friend. She is such an inspiration!!! If you ever come close to Litchfield, I highly recommend a visit. In 1999 I started cutting a 5" strip from each fabric I brought home. I now have over 3,700 different fabrics in boxes waiting for more charm quilts. (We won't discuss how many I have which date earlier than that). I also have over 1500 different vintage feedsack prints from which this quilt was made.

It is fun to get into the charm quilt spirit. I hope Kathie has inspired you to start cutting up your collection too! 

Honorable Mention at AQS Des Moines

I couldn't believe it! I got a call last night saying my "No Bake Applique" had won honorable mention at AQS show in Des Moines. I have won other awards at AQS shows but no one seems to understand the pot holder concept so I am hopeful that we may start a new trend here. This isn't a great photo but thought you might like to see the back of this as it is made up of 77 different chintz fabrics. As with some of my other pot holder quilts, I like the back almost as much as the front.

and another close up

Hope I can inspire you to try this intriguing method!