Yo Yo Quilt

Aunt Cathy bought me a yo yo quilt at an auction she went to. Looks like it would fit nicely on a full size bed. It is a very old quilt. It really needs to be handled delicately.  Every time I move it, it seems I hear a tear or rip.  There are a few spots I need to fix.

I need some advice on how to clean this without it falling apart. The smell isn't bad, so I know it will be easy to clean up.  I just need advice on what is the best way to do this.  The only thing I can think of is when it finally gets warm out to soak it in the bathtub then hang it outside to dry.

Please leave advice in the comments section. I know there are many experienced quilters out there who can help me with this.

Up close of some of the yo-yos

I tried to get a picture of it on a bed.

I found this interesting. One end of the quilt is angled on each side.  I think it is supposed to be finished that way because each side is the same.  However, what end of the bed does the angled end go on.  Should I put the angles at the top of the bed with the pillows?  Or I wonder if they are supposed to go at the bottom and maybe the angles help the top lay nicely on the corners. 

Alphabet Mystery

I stumbled across another quilting Yahoo! group over this past weekend.  I found this BOM (block of the month) mystery quilt intriguing. It looks like it is going to be fun.  It is called the Alphabet Block of the Month. It is going to be a long one considering there are 26 letters in the alphabet and we are doing one letter month. This BOM started in January, but looks like it will be easy to keep up.  I have my fabrics picked out and the first two blocks done.

For fabrics I chose Sunshine and Hampton Stripes by April Cornell for Moda. I found the charm packs for this fabric back in the beginning of 2008 before Scott and I made our first PCS move together from HHAF in Savannah GA to Ft. Lewis WA. While traveling to Ft. Lewis we made a point to stop at quilt stores as often as possible (yep, I got an enabler as a husband). Some quilt store stops were random, meaning we came across the store by accident. Others however, like Hancock's of Paducah were definitely an on purpose stop.  This is where I picked up a half yard of each of the different styles in the Sunshine and Hampton Stripes line.  Here are the fabrics I choose for this mystery quilt.

A is for Antique Tile

This is the first block.

B is for Basketweave.

This is the second block.

It will be a slow process...only one block a month for 24 more months.  But the end result I think is going to be awesome.  I'm really looking forward to see how it all turns out!

If you are interested in this you can find it in the Yahoo! Group A Pocket full of mysteries. 

Voices of the Past Blocks Part 3

Here are the last of the blocks, of course with one missing (it still has yet to be completed).

Mary Todd Lincoln (VOP-110)

Mary's 9 Patch

Priscilla Alden (VOP-111)

I finally completed this block on Monday, July 13, 2015. It was quite an accomplishment. I had never done the machine applique like this before.  I am very pleased how this turned out.

Christa McAuliffe (VOP-112)

This one has 3 blocks. 

Once all the blocks are completed, the next step will be to arrange them into a quilt top. I'm sure adding some sashing will be the best way to keep each block distinguished from the next. I'm not sure what kind of challenge I am in for because the blocks in this series range from 6 1/2" to 15" blocks.

This pattern series and designing it into a quilt top is a challenge for me. This is the first time that I am working on a project that I do not know what the final outcome is supposed to look like.

Voices of the Past Blocks Part 2

I have completed all the blocks for this pattern series except one. To look best it has to be done by hand applique. I'm not experienced enough in machine applique to complete it and have it look nice.  Just a technique I nee to wok on.

Harriet Tubman Block (VOP-106) She has 2 blocks

Frances Cleveland Block (VOP-107)

This my friends is also known as The Character Builder (per my husband)

I was in the sew, press, rip, sew, press, rip cycle for awhile.

Lucille Ball (VOP-108)

Lucy's Basket Block

Amelia Earhart (VOP-109) There were 2 blocks

Almost done...see Part 3 for the rest of the blocks

Voices of the Past Blocks Part 1

In the pattern series of Voices of the Past that I am working on, there are twelve different patterns for twelve different women throughout history. Working on these blocks and reading the history that is provided for each of these women has been quite a pleasurable experience.  Not only did I learn of history I also learned more about quilting. Each block either taught me a new technique, helped me to improve something I already knew how to do or was just an overall character builder. Below are the blocks I have completed so far. I have labeled what each block was named and the product number in case you were interested you can go to Kaye England's website and look them up.

Martha Washington's Star (VOP-101) - I did 2 blocks

Helen Taft Medallion (VOP-102) 

Besty Ross Star (VOP-103)

Carry Nation Block (VOP-104)

Dolley Madison Star (VOP-105)

See Part 2 for more blocks :)

From Pfaff to Grace

My first sewing machine was a Singer or Brother or something like that. It was bought at Walmart and inexpensive. I wanted to make sure quilting and sewing was going to be a hobby I really enjoyed and participated in. Just so you know since I've begun sewing and quilting I know belong to the infamous UFO Club. I'm running with the best!

Here is my first fancy machine. It's a Pfaff 7570 that I bought from a friend.  It worked great for years, never had any problems with it. Then slowly in the past year it began to die.  First the embroidery went and now it just makes lots of funny noises and I can't see the screen very well. It has been maintained properly and I have been told the computer board is almost dead. It would cost more to fix than to replace with another basic machine.  In the picture you will see one of my three faithful sewing companions. His name is Fred and he will be 6 months on Feb. 18th.

Because I don't know the actual day my Pfaff 7570 will die, I decided to purchase a new regular sewing machine. However, I will need to hold off on trying to satisfy the creative embroidery cravings for a little while.  I decided to purchase a Baby Lock Grace. It came highly recommended by my quilting friend and class instructor Sara.  I'm very happy with my Grace. She purrs like a dream.

I will introduce you to my other two faithful sewing companions another day.

May Pffaf and Grace join pieces in your day!

Voices of the Past

Some time ago...well actually several years ago I was part of a block of the month club.  The series used for the block of the month was Kaye England's Voices of the Past. So I collected all the patterns in the series. And they moved across the United States twice...yes, not once but twice! We moved from GA to WA and then from WA down to TN. Now that we are settled here in TN I have decided that it is time to work on AND complete the several blocks of the month series I have plus complete the many many UFOs sitting there waiting for my undivided attention.

I decided my first project would be to complete the Voices of the Past series. WOW! WOW! WOW! is all I can say.  This series is made up a collection of women's lives.  The pattern comes with a brief yet very interesting history of each of the women. Some of them have their own quotes printed in the history and then others have quotes printed by someone else about that woman.

Most of the block patterns are fairly simple. And then there are others that are a bit more challenging. There is one (which I will post later) that has been named the "character building block".  Yes, my character matured a bit with that block! The instructions come two ways ~ one is a specialty ruler piecing method and the other is the traditional piecing method. Most of the patterns in the series only have one block, but there are a few that have two. Each pattern has instructions to be completed as a quilt for that individual block or two.  I decided that I was going to make each of the individual blocks and then put them together into a quilt.