Progress on the Y2K Quilt reproduction

Difference in value

Last night I placed the border on the Y2KQ repro.  (Thanks to Anita Grossman Solomon for kindly providing the fabric!!! and to my longtime quilting buddy, Judy in Ohio, who met up with Anita at the Cincinnati quilt show and sent the fabric onward to Iowa!  You ladies are gems!)


If you remember, the repro is done with 1.25 inch squares, using a 1/8 inch seam on my vintage Singer 15-91.  The final quilt will be 40"x60" plus the border width. This is considerably (I do not exaggerate) smaller than the original which is a huge queen size.


As you can see there is considerable difference in value between the replacement border fabric and the original, so I felt the black inner border might blend too well with the new "2000" fabric.

Border on the repro...will bind in black

Instead I used a rather neutral fabric from my "recycled shirt" stash.  I admit, I put a few shirt squares in the quilt, too, wherever I could fit them in.  I just cannot get away from my shirt addiction. lol


I plan to baste today, hopefully. I had chemo yesterday and still have some extra energy from the steroid they infuse with the chemo.  If so, I will begin handquilting.

The original Y2KQ border

I debated hand quilting vs machine quilting (mine or professional) and decided on HQ.  Many days I do not have the gumption to sit at my machine. Secondly, I worried that MQ might not set off the quilt as well as "quiet hand quilting" might do.  Thirdly, on my more tired days I can still sit in the recliner and hand quilt. Fourthly, the original is hand quilted.


I think a black binding will be the best.


So what have YOU been doing for creative recreation?

Upon Which I Duplicate my Y2K Quilt in Miniature

2000 1-inch squares of fabric

In 1999 I did a crazy thing.  I was a member of an online quilting forum and we began swapping packets of 2.5 inch assorted fabrics to make a 2000-piece Y2K (Year 2000) Quilt.  It was a huge success and if you google "y2k quilt" you will come up with remarkable quilts.


A few months ago I decided to reproduce my own Y2KQ in a smaller format. The original is a huge queen size. I wanted a smaller size to use as a wall quilt (art quilt). And I had plenty (shall I say PLENTY) of squares of fabric still in my stash.


Well, the 2000 pieces of my reproduction are now stitched together...almost...it is pinned to the wall in four sections so I still need to sew three horizontal seams. The original,  completed in 1999, consisted of squares 2-inches in size after stitching. The repro is done in 1-inch squares and finishes to 40 x 50 inches.  (The design is my original design.)


I still need to add the border.

My original was featured here.

My original was featured in the Spring 2001 issue of QUILT magazine along with my graphed pattern.  And it was part of a special exhibit of the Y2K quilts at the Houston Quilt show in 1999.  You can read about that exhibit here.


I still have squares left over.  And a quilting buddy in Canada can look for a packet of 950 squares in the mail to make her own Y2K quilt. As she mentioned in an email to me, she considers this a "masochistic plan". 

Vintage Singer Model 15-91 in Queen Anne cabinett

 In the meantime, I'm cleaning up my cutting table...I have a huge pile of "leavings" after cutting 2000 squares down to size.  I cut at 1.25" and used 1/8 inch seams. It was easy to do as my vintage Singer 15-91 has a 1/8 inch pressure foot. Perfect!  This has been my most used machine over the years for it is durable, easy to maintain, has great speed, and with a darning foot, I have used it to machine-quilt many a quilt.  The only maintenance I do on it is to clean and oil it periodically....no trips to the shop to pay someone else to do that...it is an easy task.  I love this machine!

Upon Which I Am Published...And I Didn't Even Ask!!!

Although I seldom do much quilting these days, there were several years when quilting was a passion. Now and then I still have a yen to put together some fabrics...usually recycled shirt fabrics...into a quilt. But these days the yen doesn't seem to move from my brain cells to my sewing machine. Other things are more important on my mind.

Still...it was quite exciting when I was recently approached by Marina and Daryl of Quilt Inspiration asking for permission to include a couple of my shirt quilts in today's article on quilts from recycled clothing. (This quilt is not shown there but two others are.)

Their previous articles have impressed me in terms of scope, creativity, and effort! They have spent considerable time researching, gathering, writing. So when they asked if they could feature a couple of my quilts, I fell on the floor and nearly begged, "Oh, please do!" Not wishing to grovel, however, I managed to remain calm. And while I can't remember how I worded my emailed response, I'm certain it was full of graceful decorum...they had no clue I was reaching up from the floor to type my email.

So if you love quilts (or if you are just plain curious) go to their article posted today..."Waste not, want not; Quilts from reclaimed clothing". You will be amazed at the creativity of today's quilters.

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It's About Time! or Thankfully, It's Finally Done!

It took me two years to make this quilt...not that I worked on it full-time. Quilting has evolved from a "passion" with me to "handwork to pick up now and then".

I pieced this quilt on my trusty Singer 403, circa 1960, about a year and a half ago. In the closet, high on a shelf, sat several batts. One of those was a Hobbs wool batt that I had been yearning for years to try. I'd heard so many comments that for hand quilting it "quilts like butter". I'd previously used Hobb's Heirloom 80/20 as well as Dream Cotton's "Request", both of which hand quilt very nicely. But I had a yen to try the wool. So I purchased the wool batt...about ten years ago and there it sat. On the shelf. Unused for ten years. (call me a procrastinator)

Well! Over a year ago I layered my latest shirt quilt using the wool batt. For a backing I used a name brand cotton sheet that I found at Younkers for 75 percent off. Ralph Lauren brand??? Can't remember. But it was 100 percent cotton (which I desired) and it was large enough that I would not have to stitch together smaller fabrics to make a piece large enough for a backing. And I began hand quilting using a saucer, a cereal bowl and a cup from my dinnerware for the "templates".

This poor quilt has had numerous hiccups along the way. Last January I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Talk about a roller coast of an adventure...not as exciting, of course, but certainly a lot of ups and downs. Needless to say, I had no motivation to quilt. Hah! My preferred activity was lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, thinking I really should get up and do SomeThing! Then rolling over to the other end of the sofa, and staring some more. It's easy to look back on it now and think, "It wasn't so bad!" But it was. Not as bad as some have it, but bad. And before I (and you) get maudlin, I want to add that all went well, I finished chemo in July, and I feel better now than I did a year ago before my diagnosis. God grant me that this continues.

Another hiccup was that, forgetting that my dishes were my templates, I gave away that particular set of dishes and put my old set back in the cupboard. The next day I went to trace the quilting design on another area of the quilt and remembered that my templates now resided next door! Probably on Joyce's breakfast table. Do you think I went next door and asked for a plate, a soup bowl and a cup? No, I couldn't bear to confess and instead dug around in the cupboard until I found dishes that were "close" in size. Betcha can't tell by looking at the quilt. (big smile)

Aw, got to wandering there. I started to say that during those months of chemo I picked up this quilt a couple times and forced myself to quilt a block or two. But progress was slow. Then in August, after treatment was done, I began quilting in earnest again and I finished the binding just yesterday! It's a largish sofa size nap quilt.

I told a friend yesterday I have no inclination to make another quilt. Instead of quilt pox I now have quilt lethargy (even though I myself am not lethargic). But that's not quite true. I'd love to recreate my Y2K quilt in smaller form. (You can see my Y2K quilt here.) My DD loves that quilt and would like to hang it in her home. But the thing is huge! About 86x96 inches! And she doesn't have a wall large enough for an appropriate display! (Well, she Does have a wall large enough but we haven't figured out how to climb high enough to hang the thing!) So I'd like to recreate it using 2-inch squares instead of 2.5 inch pieces. I have a rubbermaid box full of 2.5 inch fabs, cut from my stash long ago. I'd have to trim them down and I'd like to sew them on my treadle which was fondly named Elizabeth Redeye by its previous owner.

I've had my coffee this morning, but not yet my oatmeal. Coffee makes me jabber. Whether in your ear or on this blog. The oatmeal is in the microwave...time to eat. And if you want to check out my WhiteStone blog (separate from the WWQP-BB, click here. Love to see you there.

P.S. Yes, the wool batt was a pleasure to handquilt. Even though the shirt fabrics have a very high thread count in comparison to shop fabrics, I was still able to needle fairly easily. With Q shop fabric, I know it would have stitched smoother still. Now I need to make a label with care instructions.

New Project. Fun Project. Crazy Project. aka The Mystery Girl

New project in the making. Photos later. Her name will be Sock Girl. She's fond of red, black and white. She's quirky. She's fun. She's almost ready to make her debut.

Later, Folks.

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Did You Ever See a Blonde SnowLady?

This year's creation is a Blonde Snowlady. And, no, she is not a ditz. She is, however, very feminine with her hair of asparagus fern, garlic seedheads, and dried chrysanthemums. She loves her necklace of asparagus berries. And look at those tiger lily stem arms/fingers! (Click the photo for a closeup of her lovely hair!)

Her friend, the Fisherman, sits out front of the house and is very happy indeed that his ice fishing has been a successful venture.

My grandson made his own snowman but refused to pose for a photo. Twelve-year-olds!!!!!

It has long been my contention that every adult child should make at least one snowman per season. And if your weather permits, I expect you to follow my leading in this matter.

Here's the Tip of the Day for those of you who are into crafting and who like to felt old wool sweaters. Make some wool mittens from felted wool...they keep your hands warm no matter if they get wet while patting that snow into the semblance of a snow person. You can find instructions here.

My first pair of woolen mittens was as a child in second grade. My grandmother, who lived in the balmy State of California, sent Christmas boxes to us each year. That year she included a pair of wool mittens for me. They were multi-colored, like Joseph's Coat of Many Colors, and were undoubtedly knit from leftover yarns. (My gramma grew up making do and every scrap of yarn was saved for a future project!) Initially I was not impressed with these home-made stripey mittens...that is, until I used them in the snowy outdoors. For the first time ever, my hands stayed wonderfully warm. When I lost them soon thereafter, I was very sad indeed!

Bunbury Red is the Name

It's about time to post a quilty post.

In 2006 an online quilting buddy and I entered a quilt challenge from a quilt guild in Australia. We each purchased a small packet of challenge fabrics and went to work on our original designs. It was great fun, partly because I had just the right fabrics on hand to add to the challenge fabrics and did not have to make a trip to the local quilt shop. The size is approx 24 x 24 inches and it hangs as a wall quilt in my sewing room. You can see entries from several years here.

I didn't expect to win any prizes (and I didn't!! LOL) but it was great fun to put this little quilt in the mail, ship it off to Australia, knowing it would be hanging with entries from all over the world.

Don't you agree that red, black and white are great quilt colors? I named my entry Bunbury Red.

Playing with my first ACEO

"ACEO! What is that?", you say. ACEO is an acronym that stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. They began originally as Artists' Trading Cards and were traded by artists amongst themselves. Now they are created as an item to be sold. The main rule is the size - 2.5x3.5 inches. Last week while visiting my DD who has an artistic bent, we spent several hours creating our own ACEOs. Here are a couple of mine.

The first had no theme until after it was finished. Then it's design called out its name, "Spilled Martini". Here I am, of vintage age, silver hair, and I can truthfully tell you I've never had a martini. All I know is that they have green olives.

The second one has an "outer space" theme and is simply called "Space 1" for I made several with that theme.

You will be surprised at the medium. We used pastels, permanent markers, and old bottles of fingernail polish in various colors with and without glitter. Pretty smelly, but Pretty.
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