Saturday, March 22, 2014

Grandmother's Choice by Stitch & Knit


Grandmother's Choice
by Stitch & Knit
79" x 79"

Another finished top from 49 blocks!
Blocks on point alternating with a half-square-triangle block.

It looks like a strip quilt but it's constructed block-by-block.


In the center she printed photos
of her mother, grandmothers and a great-grandmother.

Cats and Mice by Stitch & Knit

The color emphasis: Browns and pinks popular in
the 19th century.

A beautiful sampler.

Gentleman's Choice by Stitch & Knit

See all her blocks at her Flickr photo stream:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/86465285@N08/12090266724/in/photostream/

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Dianne Little's Woman Suffrage Quilt


Woman Suffrage by Dianne Little, Little Quilts
Pieced, appliqued, embroidered and painted top, 2012-14.
 78" x 112"


Dianne writes to say she has finished her sampler this week. The center was inspired by a Women's Suffrage poster painted by Evelyn Rumsey Cary (1855-1924) about 1905.

'
The painting for this poster is now in the collection of the Wolfsonian Museum at Florida International University. Click here: http://digital.wolfsonian.org/WOLF002830/00001?search=rumsey+=cary



Dianne stitched it all by hand and did some ripping, resewing and accidentally stitching it to her clothes before getting it done last Tuesday.


She asked friend Don Harris to paint the face.




There is much symbolism in the color and fabric choices. She wanted to represent the time period 1875-1920 when the fight for the vote was at its most intense.

She combined "William Morris prints, art nouveau, art deco, a collection of fabrics called Valley of the Kings to represent the archaeology going on at the time.... a damask fabric to represent all the damask tablecloths women have had to iron over the years, and the black framing is to represent the tracery in the stained glass that is so representative of the era,"




See Dianne's fabulous photo stream at Flickr for the Grandmother's Choice blocks here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61084298@N07/

And do remember her striking Civil War Sampler quilt---she loves to embroider.
http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2012/01/little-quilts-embroidered-top.html

Saturday, January 25, 2014

End of the Weekly Posts and a Label


This journey into the history of Women's Suffrage is coming to an end. Thanks to all of you around the world who accompanied me in the weekly posts.
Below is a free printable label. Click on the picture; save it to a JPG or a Word file and print it on prepared cotton. The file is a little more than 4 inches wide by 6 inches long. 


I've been posting weekly here for a year but I'm going to turn my attention to two new free online projects. I know some of you are working on finishing your tops for Grandmother's Choice and when I find finished tops I'll post them here on an irregular basis. You might want to subscribe to email posts so you get the new posts in your email box.

Special thanks to Becky, Dustin and Georgann who made the model blocks and to all of you who posted your progress on our Flickr page.


The Threads of Memory Block of the Month begins today January 25, 2014 on my Civil War Quilts blog. We'll spend 2014 in tales of slavery and the Underground Railroad with accurate stories of how the road to freedom worked, told through first person accounts.


Jane's Aunt Phila

And because so many of you like the challenge of a Block of the Week I am working on a new 36-week sampler quilt called An Austen Family Album, which will include pieced blocks for Jane Austen's friends, relations and others who shaped her world. I'm reading about the Austen family and late Georgian and Regency England to add historical context. I've always been confused about things like the difference between a guinea and a pound, what an entailment entails and just where Hants is. You British readers will be amused by an American's attempt to explain it all for you.

I plan to start posting the Austen Album blocks in the first week of April, 2014 and will do a weekly post on Sundays throughout the rest of 2014.

Here's the address where I am working on the layout, etc.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Kathie's Blues

Grandmother's Choice by
Kathie at MagpieMemories

Kathie united the many different blocks by focusing on the blues in a medallion set.



And do notice that she likes to applique so much she put FOUR versions of the Sunbonnet Sue in the corners!

See Kathie's photostream here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/magpiememories/with/9392986372/

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Tops With and Without Sashing

Grandmother's Choice
By Pip at RestisnotIdleness

Two different looks with similar subdued  color schemes: Here the light cornerstones pin the blocks into an orderly whole.


See close-ups of Pip's blocks at her Flickr Photostream here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59182969@N07/sets/72157631025055068/with/11809445493/

Grandmother's Choice
By Carolyn F

Busy blocks---side-by-side---plus an active border print= Energy.


See close-ups off Carolyn's blocks at her Flickr Photostream here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92835441@N04/9527845929/in/photostream/

Congratulations to all you finishers!

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Gerry's Suffrage Crazy Quilt


Gerry Krueger is making a spectacular crazy quilt on the theme of Women's Suffrage.

It has nothing to do with the Grandmother's Choice Sampler but I thought you'd be impressed.

She's printed some of the many online photos of the fight for the women's rights and embellished them in late- Victorian-style.


See her progress at her OlderRose blog site.
http://olderrose.blogspot.com/


This link should show all her posts on her suffrage quilt:
http://olderrose.blogspot.com/search/label/suffrage%20quilt