I started making these blocks as soon as I saw the antique quilt in American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine a few years ago.

Once I started making the blocks I thought I would set the blocks differently then the antique quilt , I just loved the blocks with the bit of cheddar in them but yet all scrappy! For me the cheddar gives the quilt sparkle and a bit of balance using 100's of different fabrics.

This is the lay out I was considering.

History Repeated, Block Exchange Quilts by the 19-th Century Patchwork Diva's

Betsy Chutchian and Carol Staehle came out and I liked the way the blocks were set in the quilt in the book, if you need the pattern its in this book :).

I like the way the blocks were set in the quilt in the book too, the cheddar border how could you go wrong?

I always like having a piecing project , blocks like this , to make in-between working on other projects. Sometimes I just don't feel like working on the quilt in progress so being able to sit and sew 50 h s t and then making a few blocks appeals to me....

yes this is one of my on going projects (now doesn't that sound better then ufo?)

Do you have a project like this????

Happy Memorial Day!

as a child this was always one of my favorite holidays....still is today. I grew up in a town that had a great parade and always went to the best bar b ques , funny how certain things you remember from your childhood.

this is one of my favorite little quilts I have ever made. I hand quilted using one of my favorite all over quilting patterns, baptist fans.

I tried to replicate the antique quilt even down to the binding, big leap for me at the time! The binding didn't match the quilt!!!

I used an appropriate backing fabric don't you think?

Something I am trying to do more and more of, using fun backs on little quilts, I actually search out fabrics just to use for backs now, thanks to Barb! the queen of great backing fabrics!

every once in a while I run the clothes lint brush over my little quilts to get the dust off . This little quilt is always out on one of my antique singer sewing machine tables I have so it does get dusty , I admit!

The antique quilt is in the Small Endearment Book by Sandi Fox, a great source of inspiration for me.

next little quilt to bind, this one was machine quilted with baptist fans.

sometimes you just have to buy a pattern not to make the whole quilt but for the smile it brings to your face, or the ability to use the elements in the quilt in other quilts or to make little quilts from sections of the quilt....YES thats my plan for this quilt. I will make little quilts from it. After studying this quilt for the past few weeks since I ordered the Pandemonium pattern from Glorious Color I think my first little quilt will be the bottom right hand corner. now admit how fun is that???

This quilt is just so whimsical so different then what I would ever make but I am drawn to it , must be how it just makes me smile.

Janet wrote about this quilt here and has lots of great close ups...

Kim is doing a tutorial on parts of the quilt on the Glorious Appliqué blog here....

Another book I bought recently is Elegant Quilts , country charm by Leonie Bateman and Deirdre Bond-Abel , two ladies from Australia here is their blog. The Quilted Crow girls

OH there are so many quilts in this book I would love to make this one if probably the first, look my new favorite things to make flying geese :)

yes I will be using those rulers to make it even easier .

Lucky me I received a box of fabric yesterday from a friend that I will be using to make this quilt, just wait to you see these fabrics....I am still in awe that anyone would ever part with these...

Thelma from Cupcakes and Daisy blog wrote about this book yesterday and yes the quilt she chose is one on my list to make too!

The red star quilt is quilted ready to have the binding attached today. Lorre quilted it with a feathered wreath, square in the alternate block and the stars are quilted differently .

I love the quilting on the border. The green one I thought should be hand quilted so its waiting its turn!

Trying to capture the quilting so you can see it is hard. I love custom quilting vs an all over sometimes when your standing in front of the quilt and looking at it you can see it and I love the look.

I saw an antique flying geese quilt I hope to reproduce in the next week, here is the start of it

This is not the layout I was just playing around with the geese to compare it to the red and white one I made recently! Don't you just love that red fabric as a border fabric though?

sorry about the words and pictures...having a hard time with this new blogger PLEASE go back to the old way Mr. Blogspot

Todays quilt to bind. I made this one a few years ago and had planned on hand quilting it. I had Lorre machine quilt it with pumpkin seeds in the alternate blocks, in the ditch in the square in a square block and feathers in the border. Another great quilting job, brings the quilt to life and stays with the traditional look I just love. The quilt is 28" square. Its nice to have another quilt in the finished pile!

Reminds me of a combination of a few Pa quilts I have seen over the years. The colors, the blocks, and the quilting. The pattern by Ann Hermes was published in Quilt Magazine a few years ago.

I have a few quilts to bind , boring but needs to be done! I decided to make this quilt Spot a Schnibbles pattern by Miss Rosie's quilt company all in my favorite turkey red fabric from the Civil War Reunion line, Barbara Brackman for Moda. (are you tired of seeing this fabric yet????) or this quilt, but I wanted to show you it now that its quilted! It just adds so much life to the quilt in mho! Look at the quilting Lorre and I decided on, a feathered wreath for the block and then wavy lines for the sashing to break up all those straight lines. Lorre did a great job in mho keeping with the traditional look I like . I LOVE this block, you can be you will see more quilts made from me with this block. Remember this quilt I made a few months ago, still one of my favorites too!

I love how graphic this quilt is and can imagine making it again with a controlled scrappy look as well....this pattern has a lot of potential! I love patterns like this that I know I will use over again and achieve a different looking quilt just by changing fabrics/colors.

I hate to admit this but I probably have about 15 quilts that need binding....

ok there I said it....so tell me do you have a few quilts that need binding too!

I used to love binding quilts, hmmmm what happened?

Sometimes you just have to make something whimsical! We eat a lot of chicken so when someone asks whats for dinner , its usually whats for dinner, chicken?

When I saw this quilt in Gwen Marston's book, Folk Art Quilts, I knew I would make it some day. My friend Lorre collects rooster/chicken fabric and she had the perfect fabrics for this quilt, lucky me she shared!
the eye is a polka dot fabric!!!

Here is Gwen's book, one of my favorites, I read someplace she has made 450 little quilts

hmmm maybe that should be a life challenge for me!

I started cutting this out last week so it does count as a ufo in mho! but not the one I talked about yesterday, I finished laying this out last night and will appliqué it this week, I wanted to put the fabrics away so of course that meant I had to finish prepping it! will baste it today.

I worked on making a few little quilts this weekend, yes little! the post it notes have the sizes on them.
These three little quilts will be donated.

this quilt I am keeping for myself! It was larger then the size requirements to donate so I made another one with out the borders but I think it still will be great with yellow binding ;)

don't you?

Back to working on a few big quilts now........I am actually going to finish 2 quilts I started before I start a new one. how is that for boring?

My latest little quilt! I think I have officially moved into a pink /green phase! the blocks are 4" finished, quilt is 16.5 x 22.5" no pattern I just decided on this block and went with a layout I like.

The winner of the kit is Karen from Nana Girl Quilts Blog Karen can you email me and send me your mailing address please.

Thanks for all the nice comments, I really wanted to know what you liked best about the blog

links to new bloggers to me, my book reviews, showing quilts in progress with tips...new fabric purchases. pictures of some of my favorite fabrics even if they are 5 years old :)

I was curious as to what you liked so I made sure I continued to write those type of posts. Guess I should have worded it better!

again Thanks I truly appreciated all the wonderful comments as well as the amazing emails I received from so many of you.

I just wanted to thank you all for being a follower on my blog! I decided to have a GIVEWAY!, Civil War Flying Geese appliqué quilt kit, the quilt will be 29.5 x 33 finished.

I will ship the quilt kit anywhere in the world. Just leave me a message saying what you like about my blog. and yes you must be a follower!

I always appreciate your comments on my posts and I try to answer each and everyone one.

Thanks for reading

check back Friday I will announce the winner, May 4th.