Friday, October 23, 2015

Bloggers Quilt Festival Time - Fall Edition

I just love this time of year, crisp air, bright blue skies, the red, gold and bronze-tinged hillsides, and of course the fall edition of Bloggers Quilt Festival for early morning inspiration over a steaming cup of coffee.  Thanks to Amy Ellis over at Amy's Creative Side blog for yet again sponsoring this festival!  Your work is very much appreciated!

My entry this fall is a quilt I call "Campfire Memories," a scrappy creation containing bits and pieces of my life and nearly every quilt I've made over the past twenty or so years.  Like a well-loved photo album, this quilt contains memories of my son's high school graduation and leaving for college, his wedding, my daughter's college quilt, grandbaby quilts, a group quilt made for a dear co-worker who had lost her home to fire, donation baby quilts, a tiny memorial quilt for a mom of an angel, our marriage quilt, and so many more.  It also commemorates a more recent event, our retirement and cross-country move to be closer to our kids and grandbabies, since this quilt was made in the midst of that move!  Without further ado:

It's a bit difficult to get accurate photos in our house, the next couple of closer shots provide a better idea of the true colors, and the quilting.

A close-up of the quilting, all stitched on the Janome Horizon using the even-feed foot. Seemed to take forever with all the starts/stops in every corner to change direction, but I do love the four-pointed star-effect as the sashings cross.  Each of the 4 inch string blocks was quilted in the ditch along the outer edge of the blocks, then the X patterns were quilted in each of the sashings and corner blocks. The quilting may be a bit more visible in this next photo of the back.

The stats:  From a pattern in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine (July/August 2013) in which Marianne Fons based her quilt on an antique quilt she had seen; finished size 86x63 inches; string blocks pieced on Casey Jones, my go-to, all-time favorite piecing machine, a vintage 1950s black Singer 301a; machine quilted on the Janome Horizon; Aurifil 50 wt. thread used throughout; Hobbs 80/20 cotton batting.

If you're new to my little blog, I hope you'll stop back again after the festival and check out some of my other projects.  In the meantime, there's a ton more inspiration to be found in every category of the Bloggers Quilt Festival!  Thanks for visiting!

31 comments:

Kate said...

The gray and black sashing really makes the colors pop. The quilting looks great. Beautifully done!

Debbie said...

I love reading your description of your memories quilt.....the stories it can tell are all amazing. That is the part that gives a quilt life and for me makes me want to touch and stroke it. I like that you did not over quilt but let the sashing add that extra layer of design with the star! super job.

Barbara said...

Oh, what a fun quilt! Can't recall seeing this one before.

Joanna Soloch said...

E bellissimo :)

Needled Mom said...

That is really beautiful....such great memories too.

Alison V. said...

Very nice!

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

What precious memories all wrapped up in that quilt! I love it. And I agree with Kate ... the sashing really allows the colors to pop. So well done! Good luck!

Ruth said...

How neat to have a quilt made from scraps of actual clothes you and other family members wore! I don't have any fabrics like that. Thanks for the reminder of the Blogger's Quilt Festival. After seeing yours, it dawned on me that I have a scrappy quilt I can post too! So I did.

Katie Cogswell said...

Oh the memories in your quilt! What a treasure!

Kaelyn Angelfoot said...

I would love to try this only with cool and warm colors - maybe with the stripes in cool colors and the crosses in warm. It is a beautiful quilt, thank you for the inspiration.

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

A beautiful quilt with a beautiful story

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

Oh I love scrappy quilts. What a treasure with all those memories attached! I find machine quilting difficult but my new walking foot is helping Good luck

Nancy said...

The richness of the colors in the strings along with the grey and black bring this quilt to life. The colors are like gems on velvet. Well done!

audrey said...

Such a special quilt! Love all the scrappy goodness.:)

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

love it - the color and the quilting

Maryse said...

That's a beautiful quilt!

Ann said...

How wonderful to create a quilt with so many memories. They are my favorites. And yours is a great collection of dark, clear colors.

Janet said...

I love scrappy quilts and this one is wonderful. How great that it contains so many memories for you too.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

The dark sashing makes the colors shine like jewels...what a lovely quilt and scraps full of memories over the years...loved that part ! :)

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Beautiful quilt, I love the colors!

Ariane said...

I really love the colors of this quilt. It's beautiful!!!

Gretchen said...

The cheddars and reds in this quilt just make it pop so much. Love it!

Jessie said...

I love hearing about all of the different parts that comprise the blocks of this quilt. It is chock full of so many special memories! Now I don't want to get rid of ANY of my scraps in the hopes that I can make a quilt this meaningful someday! Haha. :)

the zen quilter said...

This is a great piece, love the way it clearly uses a lot of scraps but still tells a story. Good work!

gayle said...

What a wonderful quilt! You've taken simple string blocks and made them sparkle like jewels! Love it.

Unknown said...

great! Wishes of winning !

Live a Colorful Life said...

This really beautiful

patchworkowy said...

It's a lovely quilt ! :)

Stephie said...

What a wonderful quilt - and with so many happy memories too, just as the best scrap quilts should be I think! Lovely to find you here as well as over on the FB Celebrate Hand Quilting page - yours are to die for! Good luck in the Festival and see you soon (bloglovin here I come!)

dutchcomfort said...

Wonderful memories and a lovely quilt!

Mania said...

I love your quilt. Beautiful colours, great pattern. Perfect scrappy.