Friday, April 03, 2009

Old tales made new...

I am so glad I can start my weekend knowing that I have finished my charm quilt. This is the first of two I am making this year for my quilt group's theme. In case you are new to my blog or missed the entry about this...my quilt group is making charm quilts this year. We are swapping pieces to have enough to complete our projects. A charm quilt is made up of all different fabrics using a one-patch block. My quilt is made up of fabrics in shades of creams, beige's, browns, pinks, blues, greens, yellows and grays.


I decided I want to become better at machine quilting and will practice on a few of my quilts this being one of them. I am really pleased with the results this time.

At first, I debated about using blues in the quilt, but later as it came together, I found the blues added an exciting element to the whole quilt. I wanted this quilt to have an old fashioned look to it. There are 390 pieces of fabric in this charm quilt.

You can see the two directions that I quilted from the back. I quilted horizontally first and then went back and did the vertical zigzag lines of the hexagons.

Now why is this an old tale made new? I named this quilt 'Vintage Brain Training' because when you research charm quilts, you will discover that some woman made these quilts to use for their children when they became ill. They would repeat a fabric which would entertain a child who was sick in bed searching for the two pieces of like fabric print. I thought this was such a sweet story and could imagine a child searching along the patchwork for these matches. It was like the memory games or the modern day brain training computers. Why use a computer when you can sit and stare at a quilt instead? My quilt has 7 repeated fabrics and, believe me, they are not that simple to find. I love being able to tie stories of quilt history into my own quilts.

Here is a sneak peek at my weekend project. If you are curious to see what these fabrics become, stop by and visit me next week. We are off to Cranberry Cottage for the weekend. It is our 22nd wedding anniversary and we want to go out to eat at a favorite restaurant near the cottage. This will be my first stay since the New Year as my breathing problems were making it too difficult to stay there. I am looking forward to going again.

Whatever you do this weekend...enjoy it!

33 comments:

Brigitte said...

Oh Heidi, I *love* your new quilt finish. And I love the story behind such a charm quilt. Before I read the story I already a close look at the quilt and was asking myself if your used each fabric only once, and after reading I went back and started searching for the repeated fabrics. Haven't found them all yet, lol.
Enjoy Cranberry Cottage!

Linda said...

Hi Heidi..your charm quilt is so pretty, I love the old fashion look of it. Perfect fabric choice for the back and your machine quilting looks really nice. As sound as I read the story I thought of the memory game.....searching for the matching pieces would really keep you busy....I know, I've been trying to find your matches. I clicked on your quilt and have been searching like crazy....no luck so far:).

Happy Anniversary! Enjoy your get-away....hugs, Linda

Julie said...

Stunning work, Heidi!!! It's so pretty and I'm so jealous too, but in a good way. :D

Love those pieces of fabric. Btw, I have one of those pieces in my own stash. Cool!

Deb said...

I never knew the story behind charm quilts. I guess a present day version would be the "I Spy" quilts that people make today. Your quilt looks great too. I give you a lot of credit for quilting them yourself. I always cheat and send mine out! LOL

Nancy said...

The quilt is awesome. I know you never machine quilt but this is really beautiful. I will wait until I am there to look for the matches.
Wonder what you are going to make this weekend.
I hope you have a wonderful dinner and a fun weekend, even though I will miss talking to you until Sunday.
Love you both, Happy Anniversary.
Mom

Anonymous said...

Heidi...the quilt and quilting are absolutely wonderful!

onlymehere said...

This is amazing and I can't even fathom that many pieces. I really like the memory game story for the quilt too! So do you have a long arm machine or were you using your regular machine to machine quilt this? It almost looked like a regular machine. You really did a beautiful job on this quilt.

Margaret said...

That quilt is just gorgeous -- I love charm quilts. And your machine quilting turned out great! Good for you!

Rhonda said...

Dear Heidi
your quilt is beautiful and I love the sweet story that goes with it, I've never heard that one.
your machine quilting looks wonderful too.

hope you and Jos have a great weekend celebrating your 22nd!

angelasweby said...

Wow Heidi, how intriguing your fabrics look. I wonder what plans you have for them. 5 different sets of co ordinating colours, now then...hmmmm!! Can't wait till next week.

I loved reading about the story of the charm quilts. What a lovely pastime for little children who are not feeling too well. We love playing the memory game and had great fun with my sister and family in Cyprus.

There is always something to learn and enjoy on your blog. It's not so much a blog, but more a magic pop up book which opens to a different colourful world of stories and pictures every day :>)
Warm hugs Angela
PS Enjoy your weekend at the beautiful and tranquil Cranberry Cottage :>)different

Natasha said...

Heidi, what a beautiful quilt and such a sweet story. I love the storie that are beind quilting. You did a fantastic job on this one....I admire those that can wuilt such a gift..
Take Care
Natasha

Pondside said...

Have a wonderful weekend, Heidi....and Happy Anniversary!
The Charm Quilt is lovely - I especially loved reading the lovely story behind it.

mainely stitching said...

Heidi, you are too talented for words! I just love this, and knowing the story behind it makes it even more beautiful. :D

Kaaren said...

Heidi, this is my first time visiting your blog and found it while reading at Quilt Hollow.

I am absolutely amazed at your work. It is truly a work of art and is very inspirational. I haven't even completed your first page of posts and I know I am going to be a devoted reader of your blog.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful work with the world.

DonnaTN said...

Your charm quilt is amazing. The colors are lovely and the quilting...wow! Thanks so much for sharing not only your stitching talents but all your other treasures. Happy Anniversary!

Linda said...

I love your new quilt. I love all of your quilts! Can't wait to see what you are going to do with that new fabric you have on your blog - sooo pretty!

Happy Anniversary to you both!

Linda in VA

Letty said...

I love your charm quilt and the quilting is also very nice!
Enjoy your weekend!

Meredith said...

love the quilt. Happy Anniversary and enjoy your weekend!

Tammy said...

Heidi the quilt is gorgeous, just love it and the charm quilt story is lovely, the quilting looks great too. Happy Anniversary!

Clare said...

Your quilt is delightful Heidi, and I just loved the story to go with it. Have a lovely weekend, and a very happy Anniversay.

Clare

martine said...

Je hebt hem heel mooi gequilt.
Rechte lijnen doen het eigenlijk prima.
Ik moet maar weer eens flink oefenen.
Heb een fijn weekend.
Martine

Carolien said...

Hello Heidi,

I LOVE the result of this 'machine quilted' quilt! The pattern at the back is so nice! And the story that goes with it is very charming ... I hope to see it one day.

Hugs, Carolien

Brigitta said...

Happy Anniversery Sweetheart!!! My sweet friend celebrated her 23rd yesterday.
Your quilt is absolutely beautiful and I'm very curious what you're going to do with that lovely fabric.
Hope you're feeling a bit better.

Hugs
B. (x)

Sweetie said...

Heidi - Your quilt is absolutely beautiful. My first class is April 16 and I am very nervous. Each of your quilts that I have seen are keepsakes.
Hugs,
Sweetie

Anonymous said...

alsnog proficiat !!

Wat mooi geworden.
Leuk de uitleg erbij, wist ik niet.

Knap oor met zo'n machien en dan zulke nette lijntjes.

marian'ne m

inge said...

een prachtige quilt!

Millie said...

Heidi, your quilt is just lovely. You did such a good job on the machine quilting.

Happy anniversary to you!

Tracy said...

The blues add a nice little zing there! And the whole quilt is just so charming! ;o) ...Those fabrics for next in the pipeline are lovely. Happy quilting! (HUGS))

Roberta said...

Heidi, I love the story about the charm quilts for children when they are ill. Darling idea.

How are you liking machine quilting? I have done several quilts by machine. I had many quilt tops from when I was teaching - that I finally gave up with the hand quilting. They would never have gotten done.

I also, like the boxes you gave your friends and the idea of making them into sewing boxes - great thought. I have a box similar to yours - hummm I might just make a cute little sewing box of my own.

You are definitely one very creative lady.

Hope you had a nice Anniversary.

Roberta

MarianneD said...

Heidi,van harte gefeliciteerd met je Huwelijksdag! En wat is je charmquilt mooi geworden!

Print Banners said...

Hi Heidi! Your quilts are amazing! Ive never seen anything quite like them in all my life. They are so rustic and classic. It really takes my breath away dear. That charm quilt is dreamy.

Thanks for showing it here and please continue to post more quilt designs and patterns.

mbroider said...

I looked up your pinkeep instructions and that led me here. A very interesting blog that i am going to follow:)) although i am not a quilter, not yet

Thanks for the pinkeep instructions - i will be using that for one of my 'finishes'

Lynne said...

What a beautiful quilt Heidi. i never knew that about charm quilts, a lovely idea.
Happy Anniversary.