Louisa Enright's Blog

Turkey Tracks:  May 16, 2012

Nora’s Friends:  Peter and Benjamin Rabbit Quilt

My dear friend Rosie Pilkerton gave me this fabric panel about two years ago.  The kit was meant as a wall hanging–or an infant quilt–and came with backing and batting.  Rosie made it as a wall hanging and did a lot of wonderful free-motion quilting around the scene of the two rabbits.

Nora is Julia’s little sister–and I wanted a quilt she could love to death for her.  So, I added borders and made the quilt larger for a growing almost-toddler.

Here’s the finished quilt:

And another view:

You can see that I put in a wide outer border so that I could practice with the Constantine Quilts swag ruler–which is easy once you get the hang of it and which is so much fun and which makes a really nice border.  Constantine Quilts is an Australian company, but they now have an American distributor, Quilted Memories, LLC.  There are great videos on Utube to show you how to use these “no-nonsense” long-arm rulers.  I started with the 5-inch swag ruler and just ordered the 8-inch.  The number denotes the WIDTH of the swag.

Here’s a close-up of this adorable panel:

Here’s a view of the borders.  I like the red brick fabric I found–it spoke to me of English garden brick walls and bunnies who find ways around them.  I used it for the binding as well.

I was able to take this quilt back to the domestic machine and sew all the “stitch-in-the-ditch” borders down–that worked really well actually–with a walking foot, of course.

The backing is a soft cream polka-dot fabric, which blended beautifully with the front.  And you can see how pretty that swag border is from the back.  And, the nice lines made when I stitched down the borders from the front.

Thanks you again, Rosie.  Nora thanks you as well!

Turkey Tracks:  May 16, 2012

Julia’s Jungle Quilt

Steve, Ann, and their daughter Joann (one of my favorite people in this world) visited last week–driving up from Boston for the day.  Joann has two little girls, so I got myself organized, pulled down two quilting kits I had collected along my quilting way, and made them each a quilt.  These quilts are loosely quilted so as to be soft and cuddly and are meant to be dragged around, washed, and loved to death.

Here’s ”Julia’s Jungle”–made from a kit assembled by Debbie at Quilt Diva’s in Rockland.  Debbie and Doris of Quilt Divas have a terrific selection of kid-friendly fabrics.

I especially like the orange-stripe binding on this quilt–which Debbie included in the kit packet.

Here’s a close-up of one of the panel’s animals:

Here’s  a picture of the borders–the black and white animal print works really well, don’t you think?

One of the fun things Debbie did when putting this kit together was to include some big, orange rickrack, which she used to separate what is really two panels.  Both the rick-rack and the orange-striped binding really drew me to this kit.

I like the backing I found for this quilt:

Joann reports that Julia loves her quilt.  I am so glad.  I had fun making it.

Turkey Tracks:  May 7, 2012

Bar None Quilt

“Bar None” is all finished.  I LOVE this quilt–from the way it came together to the quilting in it and the binding of it.

Here’s how it started on the design wall–after I took a strip of the rectangles to Marge’s Mainely Sewing and, in passing, waved it over this purple/lime green fabric–which just made everything sing.  It’s going to be a bar quilt–with a strip of what is called “Chinese Coins”–or rectangles stacked into a bar.

Next came the blue and green borders, which I found on a rainy day at Fiddlehead in Belfast–lovely contemporary fabrics there:

What’s fun about this quilt are the lively colors–I adore the purple and green and the clearer blue all together.

The girls like it, too.  Both wanted pictures taken on this quilt.

Here’s a close up–see the swag quilting on the green border and the really fun toothy leaves in the blue border–I’ll use those again in the future.  The green border is done with green thread, and the blue border with blue thread.

Here’a another view:

Here’s a close-up of the borders and the terrific polka dot magenta binding:

Here’s the backing–which is a kind of reversal of the purple on the front–blue with tiny magenta dots:

I don’t know if the next photo will do justice to the free-hand quilting–it’s some of my best and I felt really good doing it on the long-arm–it’s a three-leaf pattern combined with a kind of twining vine that works like a meander to help me travel around.  The thread is a variegated purple, green, magenta, blue blend from Signature.

It’s going to be hard to part with this one!

Turkey Tracks:  April 30, 2012

The Flopsy Bunnies Quilt

Two years ago when I was in Williamsburg with my dearly beloved quilt buddies who live in Virginia, on our last day, I bought some adorable Peter Rabbit-type fabrics from a local quilt store–whose name I am not going to recall.  (But if you are in Williamsburg, it’s near the college, and it’s very nice.)  The panels were meant to be made into fabric books.  They tell a story.  But, I thought them perfect for baby quilts.  I bought two sets, and each had a panel, some border fabric, and some backing fabric.  Quick quilts, I thought.  Ha!

So, when my niece, Lauren Howser Black, got close to having her baby, Owen Wallace Black, born in mid April, I pulled out one set and started to work.  These fabrics had beautiful border prints.  Only, I didn’t buy enough of them to go all the way around the blocks.  And, when I cut the panel into separate blocks, I had some narrow borders where the pages would have joined.  So, I had to make the blocks a bit larger by adding an additional border.  It’s the cream fabric.

I found a gorgeous paisley fabric in my stash that was so interesting with the blocks.  And, another stash print worked well with the paisley as sashing blocks and as an outer border.

Anyway, here’s the quilt that got mailed to baby Owen this past week.  (Sorry for the overexposed picture.)

Here’s another view:

[I don't know why The Beauty Queen (aka as Miss Reynolds Georgia) wanted her picture taken with this quilt.  But, she clearly did.  I could not dislodge her as she ran from one end of the bed to the other when I suggested she remove herself.  I can tell you she missed the grandchildren and that she loves babies.  Maybe she was putting her own special energy into this quilt.]

Here’s a close-up of one of the panel blocks.  Aren’t they sweet?

And, here’s a close-up of the border.  I trimmed it and used part of it as a side border.

This suite of fabrics came with a blue print that I was going to use for the backing.  I, of course, didn’t have enough, since I had miscalculated how big the quilt would be when I got the blocks ready.  So, I found a coordinating fabric and used it to surround the suite fabric:

I quilted with a clam shell groovy board, which I LOVED!!! Can’t wait to use it again.

Here’s a picture of the whole back:

Here’s what the backing, binding (a great blue stripe cut on the bias), and the front look like together:

So, there you have it:  THE FLOPSY BUNNIES QUILT.

I’m very pleased with how it came out.  Truly, it’s a “one of a kind.”

Turkey Tracks:  April 27, 2008

Quilting the Last of the Rectangles

For those of you following The Scrappy Quilting Project progress, I’ve used up the last of the 2 by 3 1/2-inch rectangles I have been cutting for over 10 years.  I had BAGS of them–all ready to be used.

This quilt, as yet unnamed, is on Lucy, the longarm right now:

I really like this quilt.  I’ve always wanted to make a bar-type quilt, and I like the “Chinese Coin” bar arrangement.

I have another set of the rectangles in shades of cream that I’ve sewn into this same kind of barred formation.  Hmmmm.  They look good with browns:

I took the very last rectangles and made them into eight funky placemats, using fabrics from my stash for borders, backings, and bindings.  They turned out to be surprisingly cute.  And, given the experience of other placemats I’ve made, they will last forever and only get prettier as they get worn.

These placemats, I discovered, do best when they are NOT overquilted.  Here’s one that is overquilted, so you can see what I mean.  These placemats are reversible, so this one looks great on the other side!  Anyway, a simple meander works better, given all the color and scrappiness.

I paired the placemats with an array of different-colored napkins and some cute napkin rings (brass chickens) and sent them off to the four older grandchildren in Charleston.  There are six for the family and two for me and John–which was a nice way to signaling to the children that we are coming to visit soon.  Wilhelmina, the four-year old, got this concept right away.  My reward was a big belly laugh from her.

Here’s the picture I got back from Tami of the placemats on her table–as arranged by Talula:

I had told Talula that I was making something for her when I talked to her about the quilt she helped make for me.  And, I called and told her the “something” was in the mail.  She was so excited when the package arrived.  She called me right away, and we discussed who was to get which placemat, which one she liked best, and could I help her make some in the near future.  When she comes next, I’ll turn her loose with rectangles, some pins, and see what she designs on the design board in my quilting room.  Then we can sew some placemats together.  She will be old enough to operate the sewing machine before we know it.

She was so excited that the chicken napkin rings almost got lost.  They were at the bottom of the package in a plastic bag.  I can see from this picture Talula has used some of their napkin rings.

So, here’s what’s left of the rectangles at this point…

Except for some rectangles I put aside for another project…

And, except for the ones I’ve cut in the past few weeks…

Turkey Tracks:  April 19, 2012

Tami’s First Quilt

Tamara Kelly Enright, or Tami, is SEWING!

Two summers ago, Tami bought a used Janome sewing machine from Marge Hallowell at Mainely Quilts in Nobleboro.  But, she has her hands so full with four kiddos under 8, now.  So, about 18 months passed before, during Thanksgiving, we got it out and started a project.  She made a receiving blanket for her coming nephew, Meyer Kelly.  And, I left her with fabric for pillowcases, the instructions, and with two extra feet ordered for her machine–a walking foot and a darning foot for free-motion quilting.  Soon, she was making pillowcases with abandon.

What’s fun about this story is that her two youngest–Talula and Wilhelmina–are helping pick out fabrics, hanging over the machine, and getting very excited when it’s time to give the gift that has just been made.  My guess is that there are two generations learning to sew now.

So, imagine my surprise and pleasure when a wall quilt arrived in the mail for my birthday.  And, it’s beautiful!  The girls helped pick out the fabric, and the whole family participated in that the guys had to do without mom for a bit while she sewed.  I hung it outside my quilting room door.  Isn’t it beautiful?

Tami’s first quilt is called “Maine’s Breakfast With a View” because from the windows in our dining area, you can see all the bird feeders and birds, the woods beyond the house, and, in winter, the ridge beyond our house.

I love the bird fabric.  I’ve been very drawn to bird fabric lately and just bought a yard to fussy cut not long ago.  There are so many really gorgeous bird fabrics on the market now.  I also really love the reds in this quilt–they look so warm in this spot outside my quilt room.  And I think the way Tami coordinated fabrics in this quilt shows real promise.  She is now taking a sewing class as she’d like to make some dresses for the girls–which is all how it starts.

What a fabulous birthday present!  I will treasure this quilt always!

Turkey Tracks:  April 13, 2012

Seriously Scrappy Quilt

Here’s the latest finished quilt from “The Scrappy Quilt Project.”  Starting with a pattern from SUCCESSFUL SCRAP QUILTS (Judy Turner and Margaret Rolfe), I made light and dark blocks and alternated them.  So far, so good:

I had already pulled enough rectangles to make two other quilts–one of those tops is finished so will go on the long-arm next week.  The other uses strips of the cream-colored rectangles with some rich dark brown fabric and, maybe, a coordinating paisley.  So this quilt, already named “Seriously Scrappy” is using up as many of the remaining rectangles as is possible.

I had enough red and green rectangles to make a border–see?

Here’s a different angle:

With the top in hand, I went down to get help from Marge Hallowell of Mainely Quilts–who has been a great advisor with The Scrappy Quilt Project, and ran right into a fabric that had just come into the store.  I knew at first sight it would be perfect for the back:

See how well the top and this fabric play together–especially when bound with the great olive green striped fabric cut on the bias.  I make all my bindings on the bias now.  They just perform and wear so much better than using a straight grain.

Here’s a close-up of the quilting–with a few stray white dog hairs in the picture.  The dogs love it when I put bindings on quilts; they get beneath the quilt on both sides of me.  I used the Bishop’s Fan pattern groovy boards for the first time, and I LOVED doing it–so much I ordered a third board to make the quilting easier for the Bishop’s Fan and for the clam shell pattern.  Groovy boards make this daunting pattern really easy, and I love the way it looks on the quilt itself.  I used a variegated green Superior thread that Marge Hallowell of Mainely Quilts helped me pick out.  It’s beautiful on both sides of the quilt.  You always have to remember how a thread will look on both sides of a quilt–and I don’t like threads to really stand out all that much usually.

Years ago, my sister Maryann Enright asked me for a quilt that ”had all the other quilts in it.”  So, Maryann, here it is!

Turkey Tracks:  April 8, 2012

“Orange Sherbert” Quilt

When I was making blocks for “Quilt of Many Colors,” I made some pink blocks that just didn’t work.

So, I used them to make this cute little quilt that I’ve grown to love.  My camera always makes quilts look crooked, but they aren’t.  And, the flash can wash out colors.

Here’s a corner of the quilt top with the backing and binding fabrics, all from my stash:

Here’s the center block, so you can see how I quilted “Orange Sherbert.”  I used the freehand daisy pattern again, but I made it denser by echoing the daisy and by using curves–like the outside curves of the petals–to travel.  I used Signature’s Victorian Rose thread, which is a soft pink.

I’m going to keep this little quilt for a bit–likely until a girl baby is born to one of my kin.  I’m going to hang it in an upstairs bedroom.

Turkey Tracks:  April 8, 2012

Quilt of Many Colors

I’m now thinking of this whole winter’s work as “The Scrappy Quilting Project.”

The “Quilt of Many Colors” helped use up more of the 2 X 31/2 rectangles I have been cutting up for over 10 years.  Remember, I pulled out most of the blue ones to make the “Blue Fox Trot” quilt.  So, here’s what the pile looked like when I started this quilt.

Clearly they needed to be color sorted first of all:

I had in mind using a pattern from Judy Hooworth and Margaret Rolfe’s book, SUCCESSFUL SCRAP QUILTS FROM SIMPLE RECTANGLES, which has guided me with cutting the 2 x 3 1/2 rectangles in the first place and, then, using them.

But, I didn’t like the way those blocks developed.  Hooworth and Rolfe were working with plaids, and their version of this pattern is lovely.  My colors were just dying in these blocks.  See?

So, I struck out on my own.

I went down to Marge Hallowell’s Mainely Sewing in Nobleboro.  Marge has been a great consultant in The Scrappy Quilting Project.  She helped me pick out four bright colors:  orange, turquoise, acid green, and magenta with a darker purple running through it.  I loved what started happening.   Note that I’m already alternating how the rectangles orient.

But, I began to see that just having these four bright colors was going to present problems with how to arrange them.  Here there’s already a pattern forming on the diagonal of warm and cool blocks in the diagonol lines.  So, I started pulling brights out of my stash, and here’s what happened on the design wall.

I found a great backing in Marge’s 40% off attic.  And, chose a binding that’s hot pink with yellow stars.

Here’s the quilt all finished.  Something about it reminds me of a brand new box of crayons–something to this day I have trouble resisting.

Here’s a block, so you can see how I quilted it–using a freehand daisy chain in lime green thread–which plays nicely against the flowers in the backing fabric.

Here’s the backing and binding.  The yellow stars on the hot pink binding are adding a really lively and fun sparkle to this quilt.

So, there you go.  A beautiful, fun, charming quilt out of the chaos of all those rectangles.

I’m really happy with this one!

Turkey Tracks:  March 4, 2012

Blue Fox Trot Quilt

I’ve finished another scrappy quilt in what I’m now thinking about as “The Scrappy Project.”

To remind, I have BAGS of pre-cut pieces of fabric since for over 10 years, whenever I finish a quilt, I cut up the leftover pieces–too small to go back into the stash–into useable pieces–a rectangle, various squares, and any strip that’s at least 1 1/2 inches.

This quilt is made from the 2 by 3 1/2-inch rectangles and was inspired by this book:

First I separated out all the blue rectangles from the HUGE piles of rectangles and further separated into lights, darks, and brights.  Then, I made a trial block.  I pretty much knew this idea would work because about 9 years ago, I made a green version from leftovers of a green rail quilt.  Green Fling hangs in the stairwell of our home in Camden, Maine:

Here’s a few trial blocks going on the design wall–I had to figure out whether or not to turn either the light or dark blocks sideways or not.  I did turn them eventually as I thought it gave more movement.  Somehow, if the blocks are all upright, the quilt is too linear.  Also, turning either the lights or darks means you don’t have seam abutment problems.  Here all the blocks are going one way.  Too…linear…

Here’s the finished quilt.  See how better it is with one set of blocks turned.

Here’s the backing and binding–both of which are perfect for this quilt.

Here’s a close-up of some of the blocks so you can see the quilting and the play of the blocks:

Blue Fox Trot–slow, slow, quick step.  There are two fox trots in each block and enough blocks to dance around the room.