QuiltSpeak Exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of History

Postage Stamp by Mamie Hollis Dameron

 I went to see the QuiltSpeak exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, NC.

Princess Feather by Priscilla Robinson Grose

The variety of styles, techniques, and materials represented were extensively wonderful.
It was difficult to photograph, with the special lighting and no flash to protect the quilts. 

 In this detail of the above quilt you can see the fabulous hand quilting, done in tiny stitches.  Do you see the red thread outlining the green applique?  That is a very small blanket stitch.  It inspired me to do some blanket stitching on my current project, although I did mine by machine.

Cotton Boll by Probably Nancy Johnston

This quilt's visual impact is just stunning!  The traditional red and green applique over white is classic color combination.  My photo shows just one block of this amazing quilt.

Tennessee Beauty by Louisa Green Furches

Another amazing quilt!  Tennessee Beauty showcases precise piecing (yes, those curved patches are pieced!) and fabulous quilting.  

Heel, Tap & Shoe Point by Ara Adner Williams Farrar

This is my favorite quilt in the exhibit.  I'm sorry I couldn't get a good photo of this one.  I love the block design!  It's so unique and beautifully done.

 Here's a detail of the above quilt, shown in black and white so you can better see the design and quilting.  

Six-Pointed Star by Mary Blount Grimes

Each quilt is accompanied by a short story that tells about the quilt and it's maker.  This quilt had my favorite story.  It's sewn in silk fabric, and though it looks to be English Paper Piecing, it's not!  It's all very precisely hand pieced from fabrics the maker acquired from her suitor's ties and her own dresses.

Mariner's Compass by Elizabeth Jennie Roach Witherington

Fabulous Mariner's Compass quilt!

Crazy Quilt Top by Sallie Fisher

One of two crazy quilts on display.  Amazing to see in person!

 My son, Trent creating some designs using the interactive display.

Double Wedding Ring by Diana Lualtah Myers Cecil

Double Wedding Ring quilt made with feedsacks.

Checkerboard associated with Edith Anne Williams Uzzell

 I really liked this quilt made with all blue and white plaid fabric.

Not a terrific photo, and also not part of the QuiltSpeak exhibit, but I love this Alligator pincushion on display in another section of the museum!

This is just a small sample of the quilts included in the Quilt Speak exhibit.  If you're in the Raleigh, North Carolina area I highly recommend checking it out.  It was amazing to see these quilts in person and read the stories about them.  It's going to be open through March 8, 2020 at the North Carolina Museum of History, and it's a free exhibit.  I purchased the accompanying book from the gift shop.  It shows all of the quilts, and has more detailed information about each one.  I'm enjoying the read.

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas

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The Making of the Strawberry Rose Quilt

(Note:  The materials for this quilt were given to my by Island Batik at no cost to me.)

The Strawberry Rose quilt looks right at home, hanging on our greenhouse. 

Here's another glamour shot ~ hanging out on the front porch on a sunny afternoon.

This seems like a fitting place for this vintage style quilt.

Even though this quilt did not have a lot of similar pieces, I still bagged and labeled them.  It's my system and it works well for me.  This helps to keep everything clean and organized.

The blocks came together quickly.  I used Heat 'N Bond Lite for my fusible applique.

I zigzag stitched with matching Aurifil thread around all of my fused patches to secure them.

Here's one block completed.  Don't the Island Batik fabrics look vibrant?  I love the versatility of batik fabrics.  They work well in every style of quilt.

Here's the top before quilting.  See the lower left corner?  It didn't come together the way I wanted it to.  I considered unsewing and resetting that patch, or adding some buttons or yo-yo's to disguise it, but in the end I ran short on time and just left it.  I'm not trying to win a prize, and I'll just say it's imperfection is "charm".

I straight line quilted this on a diagonal out from the center using my hopefully never ending cone of white Aurifil thread.

I didn't do any quilting on or around the applique patches.  When I reached the appliques, I simply ended my thread with a machine knot and continued my line of quilting on the other side of the rose.

You can read more about the Strawberry Rose quilt and it's inspiration here:  Vintage Reimagined Featuring Strawberry Rose.

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today.

Jennifer Thomas

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Log Cabin Quilt Update

 I finished the concentric circle quilting on the Log Cabin quilt this week.  The binding has been machine stitched and is ready to be folded over and hand stitched to the back of the quilt.  

 The quilt top had a few wrinkles to smooth out as I approached the corners.  

 I stitched my circles about 3/4" apart.

 Almost there!  Corner four.

 Sewing binding strips together.  I used the same fabric for my binding as the border of the quilt.

 Folded neatly to machine stitch the binding onto the front of the quilt.

I'm so pleased with the look of the quilting!  I can't wait to finish it off one evening on the front porch.  Click here for the Log Cabin Quilt Block Classics Tutorial.  Have you ever sewn a Log Cabin quilt?  Leave a comment below.

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today!

Jennifer Thomas

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Log Cabin Quilting Update ~ Quilt Block Classics

 Here's the latest on my Log Cabin Quilt Block Classics quilt.  

 I decided to quilt this on my domestic machine, rather than on the frame.  It's a small quilt, the frame was occupied with another project, and I was excited to get started on the quilting.  So I laid this out on my cutting table and basted it with safety pins.  

I've always admired quilts with concentric circle quilting from the center out.  I thought this would be a terrific quilt to try it on.  I marked my center circle with a template, and started stitching.

 I'm using a minty color King Tut thread by Superior for the quilting.  It's soft tone blends well with most of the fabrics.

 I'm stitching the circles about 3/4" apart.

 Stitching around,

 and around,

and around.  Nearly finished!  Hopefully I can finish the quilting in my next session.  I'm enjoying this technique.  It seems like it would be fun to add pebbles inside some of the rings of quilted lines, and vary the widths of the circles for more interest on a future quilt.

Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today!

Jennifer Thomas

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