Needlework, Finishing, Designing, Quilting, Some Discoveries and Adventures in Stitching from Windy Ridge Designs

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Path to the Civil War Quilt is Finished

The Path to the Civil War quilt that I have worked on for nearly two years, was delivered to the client about two weeks ago.  I still have to get it back and stitch on the quilt label that I have had embroidered for it.  That was a problem of not proper prior planning - something I don't usually do.  


My wonderful husband put a line up on the clothes poles in the back yard so I could take the quilt out that morning that I was going to make delivery.  It was 17 degrees outside with a cold wind blowing.  When I finished up out there, I couldn't feel my fingers anymore  - ouch!

But I was able to get pictures of everything.  I used the rising sun to my advantage too; hopefully you can appreciate the quilting that my wonderful quilter has done.

Here's the bag I made for the quilt to go in -


I used the last large piece of backing fabric I had plus one odd block to make this; it's just like a pillowcase.





















Then, the cheddar blocks that I refused to put into the quilt were made into a runner.




















 








And finally, all the blocks from the quilt.  All the blocks are quilted with a different pattern.  She used a camel colored thread.












































Above - my "artsy" photo of the quilt.  followed by a closeup shot of the backing fabric.  This time around I used a wide back.  The jury is still out on this decision - I mean whether or not I'll do that again.  I'm not sure that the wide back is the greatest thing.  It had wrinkles in it that were so darned hard to get out in spite of wetting down, tumbling dry, ironing and starching.

Last pic - thought you'd never see the back of this quilt, did ya?  Ta dah!   So that's it, The Path to the Civil War quilt is done and dusted.  If I can remember to take a picture of the label, you'll see that in a few weeks.

Today I ironed (and ironed and ironed and ironed) fabric for the back of my granddaughter's quilt (header photo, quilt on the left).  I was only able to get 5 and an eighth yards.  That was all they had left on the bolt.  Fortunately, it was JUST enough.  I split the yardage in half and resewed it together, then took six inches off the width and added it to the length to get enough overhang for the quilter to use.  WHEW!  That one's all set and no more ironing from today.  I'm adding a list of my quilt projects to the sidebar, mostly to keep ME from getting confused. 

I've also decided that I'm going to keep changing up my header photo as I complete projects throughout the year that I'm particularly pleased with.  We'll see how good I am at keeping up with that.  Hope you enjoyed!

13 comments:

  1. Congratulations on finishing that gorgeous quilt.
    I loved the picture show of all of the blocks.
    The quilting is beautiful and what a good idea the bag is.
    Margaret

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  2. Well done!
    It's really lovely!

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  3. That quilt is absolutely wonderful. You would think that is was from the past with the beautiful piecing and quilting!!

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  4. Beautiful beautiful quilt! Congrats on such a nice finish! I am not at all familiar with quilting, so pardon me if this sounds stupid, but is that hand quilted or machine done? Whichever, it IS just gorgeous! Each block is different, too! Wow! Very nice! Hugs!

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    1. Maggee - there are no stupid questions! Especially since you're not that familiar with quilting. The quilt is machine done. There is a lady in my area who has a long arm machine. That's a big free-standing machine with, as you might guess, a long arm, that comes out over the quilt. When the quilt is loaded on, it looks a lot like a piece of needlework on scroll rods. So this long arm goes all over the place and has handles on it for her to hold onto. The best part is that she specializes in Civil War period designs!

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  5. So much to see in this post, thank you for sharing.

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  6. Congratulations on your big finish! It is really wonderful and the pillowcase type bag is a great idea. I loved seeing all the individual blocks.

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  7. Oh, your client must be thrilled with your amazing quilt, Katherine!! Such a lot of work!! Thanks for the close-ups of each block, too...

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  8. Amazing, exceptional talent. Stunning!

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  9. Just Beautiful!!! Love the colors and each square is just beautiful! Still wishing I could quilt! lol
    I received my Gifts from your giveaway and posted on my blog! Love the needles and the pin keep is wonderful. I will treasure it!! Thank you Katherine!

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    1. April, you are SO welcome! I'm glad you like the pin cushion. I made it with reproduction 30's fabric. But, the button is vintage. I have a huge collection of vintage buttons that I will never be able to use in my lifetime. I keep them in cleaned up Yankee Candle jars so I can see them when I'm at my sewing machine. All the best!

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