Winging It

Hello Everyone,

For a long time now, I have been wanting to make an airplane quilt. There are couple of reasons why, first and foremost my hubby flies as his hobby,  I think they are pretty cool quilts, and they were popular in the WWII era.  There is definitely history in these quilts.

My hubby has always been very supportive of my hobby and actually was the one who got me started, and guess what, I did the same for him... yes, I got him started flying years ago.  It has it's advantages too... we can go places a lot faster than driving.

Today I made my test block.  I always like making one block first to see how it is constructed and the if I like to color combos.  As you can see this will be a red, white, and blue quilt.  I used batiks and Kaffe Fassett fabrics from my shop.

I began but cutting all the components.  There were quite a few pieces, but I really do love the finished block.  It is 12.5 inches.

I used this book, by Eleanor Burns.  Eleanor Burns in my mind is a legend in the quilting world.  My first quilt in 1992 was from one of her books.  Clear and concise instructions are always present.

The book is fabulous and has many different blocks that were present in the 1940s.

This is the block. 

Here it is paired with the Propeller block.

Here is an actual quilt from the 1940s made from this block.  I like this version for its historical significance.

The above book is one that I own and also am lucky enough to know the author as she lives here in Connecticut.  She does go around the country and lectures and does trunk shows.  You can find her book on Amazon by clicking here and you can go directly to her website by clicking here.

Do you love historical quilts?  Imagine that the quilts that we are creating today will be a part of history... that just really blows my mind.  Make sure you have those labels on your quilts for good documentation!!

Oh yes, I had to throw in this photo of little Watson making himself right at home on my sewing chair.  He is definitely becoming a fabric/quilt lover!  I am teaching him well.

If you haven't entered my Fat Quarter Giveaway, click here now to see the details.

Until Next Time...

Winging It

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Hello Everyone,

Well, I am also on the countdown to Quilt Market! I usually go to Houston every year. I have not gone to spring market yet. It usually is out on the west coast, but this spring it will be in Pittsburgh, so I may go. But anyway, I am looking forward to next week it is always fun. This year it will be more fun, because...

Since last year, I started blogging right after Quilt Market, I have met lots of great people in blog land and am hoping to meet them at Market this year. That also means my blogiversary is coming up... hint be on the look out! 

But I have been busy and will continue to be busy up until Market. I have posted my October Newsletter. Go take a look!   I also uploaded some new pictures of customer quilts too, right here.

Now to the heart of my post. Last weekend, we went to my niece's 4th birthday party. Yes, I gave her a quilt, of course! But while we were there we stayed at my Mom and Dad's. I had the opportunity to take pictures of some of the 1st quilts that I had made. These quilts were of course given to them.  When you see them, you will notice there is not much quilting on them. They were before I became a long arm quilter. I quilted them mostly in the ditch.

Here goes...

This one was for Mom, it was a Quilt In A Day pattern, Winning Hand. Fun to piece.

This one was a golf theme quilt for dad. I actually think I did this one after I got my long arm. The pattern is Yellow Brick Road by Terri Atkinson. It is a great quick quilt to make as a gift.

This one was for my parents. Also a Quilt In A Day, Courthouse Steps. Very similar to a log cabin. This was truly one of my first. It was a king size. I quilted it on my little home machine therefore it truly lacks quilting. I suppose I could add more to it now.

I had one more picture, but for some reason it did not come out on my camera, sorry! 

Next time, I will show you some wonderful fabrics Mom and Dad brought back from China for me. Really beautiful silks! Thanks Mom and Dad.

Until next time, Happy Quilting!

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