Debra's Design Studio: 9 Patch Blocks Needed!!!!

Debra's Design Studio: 9 Patch Blocks Needed!!!!: "Every year Bentwater, the community in which I live, raises alot of money for the American Cancer Society. Last year's tally was over ..."

Another AAQI quilt

Working on another AAQI piece from an old dresser scarf. I really love this one, it might be too hard to part with it.

Making A Small Quilt From Vintage Linens

This is easy.

The hard part is cutting up your Mom's or Grandma's dresser scarves. This time it was pretty easy for me since it's raising money to defeat Alzheimer's Disease- which is what took my mother and gradmother from this world.

In this case, I had a dresser scarf that had the same embroidered design on each end with empty space in the middle. It happened to be just about the right size for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiatve if I cut it in half (an indication to me that I was supposed to use it for this purpose!). I cut it down to a size that I could use & still put a border around it. AAQI quilts must not be larger than 9 x 12.

Usually these little scarves have nice vintage crocheted edgings. SAVE THIS FOR OTHER PROJECTS.


Then, find some beautiful cotton that coordinates with the embroidered design to use as a border. I was mulling this over when I glanced up at my boxes of fabric and saw this beautiful floral stripe I had bought for another (as yet unfinished) quilt. It was perfect - the color, the slightly vintage look of it. It was kismet, I tell you!

Then just stitch on your borders as wide as you want, or as wide as you can and still meet the AAQI size requirements! I've become slightly fanatical about mitering borders and binding, but I think it's worth trouble for the difference it makes in the look of the quilt, especially if you're using a stripe. Not as evident in this little piece, but in bigger ones, definitely miter.
I use these inexpensive, white fleece blankets  from IKEA (about $3.00 each) for batting for these little quilts. It is perfect. It is easy to stitch through if I'm hand quilting, gives it a nice feel, it's drapey enough, not stiff, and seems to hold up well. Of course, these are artsy quilts that are going to hang on the wall so wear and tear is not much of an issue. Sandwich the batting between the linen piece and backing, which should be another nice 100 % cotton for backing.

Quilt as desired. I started handquilting this piece but the scarf fabric was too difficult so I resorted to machine quilting. I'm not much of a pro at this but I think this turned out well. I just stitched around the embroidered motifs. I like the result.

 At first I could not imagine cutting up my Mom's things like this but then I thought - I have dozens of these just sitting in a box. I'll probably never use them as they were intended, so what better way to display and put them to good use? If you don't have a box full, they are everywhere - Etsy, Ebay, antique shops, and they aren't all that expensive.

I think Mom would be pleased.

Ideas for Thrifting old Sweaters, part one

Here's a good idea for using those old thrifted sweaters hanging around in your closets and rag bags.  I really love this blog for the photography, the interesting people, and of course the clothes.

Works In Progress - AAQI

I've got several things in the works for February's AAQIs:

I thought about several quilts similar to this one: "Coffee" , "Tea", "Cocoa" maybe? I loved the bright colors - I think it needs a little more embroidery.

 (The turquoise fabric is some that I dyed awhile back. What a mess. Not sure hand dying is my thing.)

This beautiful embroidery was sent to me by the fabulous Debra Spincic. I think this will be a smallish quilt. Maybe a narrow border after the checkerboard.

Another experiment with reverse applique - stacking several pieces of fabric, randomly stitching and cutting away one or two layers to reveal the fabric beneath. I cut 4" squares and stacked them, then cut them into 2" squares, then zigzagged them together. I'm trying to decide what to do next.

I have a box full of dresser scarves like this. Anyone have any ideas how to make them into quilts? I am okay with cutting them up - I do not use dresser scarves and they aren't doing anyone any good in a box in a closet. These were made by my grandmother, mother & her sisters. It would be great to use them for AAQI quilts to combat the disease that took my grandmother, mother, and three of her siblings' lives. 

Also, as you can see , I have some nice vintage lace (I think it's vintage- not sure where it came from) that I could use on these).

I welcome your comments & suggestions!