Pandemic Porch Quilt Show, Days 54 - 55: Hands for Grandma, Grandma's Hands

On Day 55, I hung two baby-related quilts that date back to the 1990s - and the one on the right was inspired by a quilt 140 years older than that! 

First, a nap quilt I made for my son, when I'd done very little applique, and wanted to dip my toe in the water. The flowers are raw-edge appliqued, with zigzag stitches to contain the fraying. The leaves were straight-stitch machine-appliqued, so their edges are nicely frayed.

Amazingly, the flowers and even their hand-embroidered centers have held up well over the years.  

The second quilt was made from my son's handprint, when he was about 3. It was a gift for his grandparents, who hung this quilt proudly in their home. 

The next photo shows the simple quilting. 

Don't credit me for the striking design - it was inspired by a red-and-white hand-print quilt I saw at a 1997 exhibit at Los Angeles' Gene Autry Museum, called, "Quilts in the Machine Age." That quilt, made in Kansas circa 1878, was an early machine-quilted masterpiece. Find a photo at the Kansas Historical Society archives, HERE. Warning: You will probably want to make your own version! My 2013 blog post with more info about this quilt is HERE.

DAY 55 I didn't make this quilt - it was one of my greatest thrift shop finds! I'm guessing it was made in the 40s. It's been well used-  there are threadbare spots - but it is still charming. 

The fabrics are faded but still fascinating. 

In the next photo, note that the pink/white/orange checkerboard hexagon (with puffy white flowers), just right of center, is made of two pieces of fabric joined! She must have been working from very small scraps!

The back is just as impressive, thanks to the exquisite hand quilting. (By the way, the big light splotches below are sunspots, not necessarily worn spots, though the quilt does have those, too.) 

Next installment: A lot more color! 

Pandemic Porch Quilt Show, Days 36-39: Airplanes, Civil War, Play Castle, Flower Power

Day 36: Airplane Blanket This family favorite was made for my kids, in the late 90s, from a delightful print of animals flying airplanes.

The border features consecutive yellow triangles, called "flying geese," made into giant arrows with the help of a multi-colored stripe serving as each arrow's shaft.  

Day 37: A Very Civil War

Our country survived the Civil War, and I hung this war-era quilt on November 3, just before the election, as a reminder to vote!

I found these blocks in a rural antique shop in upstate NY in the early 90s - there was a big stack, priced at $5 per block. To save money, I only bought 8, which of course, I later regretted - I should have bought the entire stack! I sewed them into this 26" x 50" wall hanging and quilted it.

These are the most traditional of what quilters call "log cabin" blocks, each with a red square in the center, representing hearth and home. In today's pandemic, I feel a little bit too stuck in my hearth and home - but with full knowledge that home is safer than the alternative, and grateful to the essential workers who are putting their lives on the line by leaving home every day.

The prints are fascinating. Even though it's a small quilt, you can look at the different fabrics for a long time.

Day 38: Interactive Castle Quilt I made this one for my kids also in the late 90s.

The animals dressed as royalty were fairly large, so I stuffed them as dolls, and made a pockets for each, with the same figure appliqued to the top of the pocket.

There's a castle on the back, plus one more pocket (red, on bottom) for the jester. The gold-trimmed piece on the very bottom can be buttoned off when the rest of the quilt needs laundering!

Day 39: "Flower Power." My newest large finished quilt. Yes, it's flower shaped!

A little closer: 

A lot closer: 

All of the blocks are equilateral triangles, most containing an upright "v". I learned from quilter Barbara Cline that when "v" triangles are organized by value, they can create the illusion of floating, gift-wrapped cubes. You can see the cubes flashing in and out of view in the center of the quilt, and also in the side hexagons, if you sit back and squint! My methods (but not this pattern) are in my book Modern Paper Pieced Log Cabin Triangle Quilts, in my etsy shop, CathyPStudio.  

The show will continue soon!

Pandemic Porch Quilt Show Days 25-28 : Over Japan

 Day #25: Tokyo Life

I made this quilt in 1999, a cathartic project working through memories of living in Japan for a year and a half, in the early 1980s.

Tokyo was indescribably dense, and everything seemed tinier than in the US - cars, furniture, cups, plates, clothes, and especially the people. Most of the women and many of the men were smaller than me - I felt like a massive Barney the Dinosaur, especially when perched on ludicrously petite chairs. Each day, I lumbered through a fascinating shopping street, decorated with strings of artificial flowers. The novelty fabric in the center of this quilt reminded me of those places, and launched me on this quilt.

I added Elvis, plus a couple of more traditional figures. I think the flowers are there to advertise the noisy pachinko (gambling machine) parlors. 

Sometimes, Tokyo's density was intoxicating; but over many months, it became exhausting. I couldn't even begin to wrap my mind around where structures and alleys began and ended. 

There was also an abundance of plastic food in glass cases in front of  tiny restaurants....

And there was as much going on underground as above - not just the subways, but more restaurants, more shops, more vendors, more pedestrian hallways. 

Tokyo's infinite above-ground and below-ground worlds were connected by endless stairs and escalators.

Every scrap of space in Tokyo was occupied. Not one inch  was wasted - and it was also extremely clean. 

Overall, I loved Tokyo. It made NYC feel like a wide-open prairie. So much to learn, see and taste, and above all, endlessly kind, thoughtful and interesting people who did their best to make me feel at home.  

Porch Quilt Show, Day #27.

In the early 90s, I returned to Japan, after an absence of ten years, because my husband had a conference there. In Kyoto, we stopped in a little shop called Aizenkobo.

We found a group of men sitting around; they asked us if we'd like to see a demonstration (or at least I thought that was what they asked), and of course, we said yes. They got busy, dunking and dipping and twisting fabric in massive indigo dye pots. It was just wonderful, right up until the moment that they selected seven pieces of fabric for us, folded them into a little bag, and handed it to us with a bill for I think about $100 US.

I was mortified, but figured I must have agreed to it, so we paid. Those indigo pieces sat in the bag, in my cabinet, for 30 years, until I became an empty nester and had gathered the time and courage to use them. I tried to cut off as little as possible - I may have taken an inch off each piece with this design. Find closeup photos of the Aizenkobo indigos, and other interesting and upcycled details in this quilt, in my blog post here. Below, when I took apart a red polyester kimono in my collection - that's the long rectangle on the far right - I found softer, aged cotton fabric with a gorgeous crane (with purple wing tips), hiding inside (that's the fabric in the middle panel). The blue-and-white panel on the far left is from a light Japanese yukata robe.

Day #26: The Wave

The front of this next quilt was supposed to be the back of the previous quilt. (That's why I put #27 before #26). But I liked it so much that I made it a separate quilt! Along the bottom and toward the top, I created log cabin block reflections of the iconic "Great Wave of Kanagawa" woodblock print by Hokusai, printed on the central banner. Find more photos and information about this quilt in my blog post here.

Day #28: More Japanese Culture

This quilt measures 96" x 75" It features more commercial banners and door curtains. I pieced the vertical side borders from scraps - I especially like the quarter-hexagon design on the left.

Of all the banners on this quilt, the one illustrating sumo positions is my favorite. 

See much more of the vivid Japanese graphics in this quilt in my blog post here. 

More from my pandemic porch quilt show is coming soon!

Pandemic Porch Quilt Show, Day 20: Rolling Pansies

I made this quilt in the 90s, finishing the work of an unknown quiltmaker.

It started as a flea market find: a metal cookie tin, full of petals and leaves. Many petals were beautifully turned under with a lovely, even basting stitch in thick white thread. I couldn't bear to take the maker's stitches out, so I left them in place whenever possible.

This "pansy" is a traditional quilting motif, from the 1930s I think. The fabrics - primarily calico florals - look like they're from the 1960s. Each flower has six components, 5 petals, plus one leaf. The thoughtful quiltmaker, perhaps knowing that she couldn't finish , put one sample block in the tin, with the components basted in place on a sad square of browning white muslin.

Clearly, something more cheerful was needed. I went for broke and took quilt guru Freddie Moran's priceless advice to treat red as a neutral. I hand appliqued each flower to a red square. After quilting, I surrounded each flower with white buttons.

The quilt was lightly hand-quilted. We used this quilt often, on beds and couches. I occasionally had to re-secure dangling buttons. A few months ago, to strengthen the quilt, I machine quilted red swirls in each block's corners.

The sashing is a vintage floral plaid, also from the flea market (but not with this project).

I liked the topsy-turvy energy generated by the plaid lines shooting in all directions!

Many more quilts from my porch show are coming! 

From Vintage Linen Stack to Quilted! Red and White Bliss

When I was a mere youth, in my 40s, I still believed I would live forever, so I bought a lot of vintage linens and embroideries at my favorite flea markets and thrift shops. Over the years, I accrued quite the collection. 
Now, a zillion years older, the pandemic quarantine gave me the time, space, and motivation to stitch some of my best old linens into this new 79" x 82" quilt. Front: 

The center is a spectacular linen tablecloth. I quilted around all the white foliage (but not close around every detail.)

At the center, I placed this cross-stitched (by anonymous, not by me) bouquet.

The other two embroideries on the front were found together, clearly made by the same person, stitched on dishtowels. In the lower left corner, I placed this scene of two kittens with a (Chinese?) vase: 

 In the upper right corner, I set this fabulous urn: 

The rectangle running across the top center - with teeny, intricate hand-embroidery on loose white linen - is a mystery. My theory was that it was made for a Greek folk costume, but my daughter thinks it looks more Eastern European  - your theory welcomed! 

Above that, I set a long rectangle made from an ultra-sweet apron print, from an actual apron. (You could call it meta-apron fabric.)

 Across the bottom, I set this brilliant apron. It's amazing how much fabric is in a mid-century gathered apron:

Down the right side is another formerly gathered apron. 

In the upper left corner, I put this hallucinogenic print, found in a bib apron. I'm guessing it's from the 1940s or 50s (Do you know?) 

 The back is sparser, but features linens that are no less adorable.

Below, the panel on bottom, with the crocheted tulips, was a pillowcase. I covered the crochet trim with monofilament thread zigzagging, so it didn't snag or distort when I quilted the top. The printed blue and green flowers are from yet another apron. 

There's a dishtowel with a dog embroidery, plus the pocket from another apron that I placed after accidentally cutting a hole in the back (don't ask). 

 Down the middle are two more aprons. 

And a giant linen table runner, mostly white but with one embroidery swoop in the middle, fills out the rest of the space.

This quilt is delicate - Vintage linens, no matter how gorgeous, are also often much less sturdy than new fabrics. They can tear easily. So this quilt isn't for heavy use. (Or if it is used that way, it just won't last forever.)

It was my second large quilt made from American mid-century linens. On my first, I also put a tablecloth in the center, smaller pieces in the borders - and then I scattered new English Paper Pieced hexagon blocks on top. 

A pattern with detailed directions for this quilt are in my new book, "Hexagon Star Quilts: 113 English Paper Pieced Star Patterns to Piece and Applique." More information about the book is here, and it's now in quilt shops, and on Amazon, here.