The Autumn Quilt . . . Scrappy Spider Web

This is the quilt that goes on the bed when the first breath of fall hits the air.  It has all the colors of fall . . . blues for the crisp autumn skies, reds and yellows for the leaves that fall, and greens for the grass that is coming back to life.  In my neighborhood, we don't water our lawns in the summer and they all turn to straw. We are happy not to have to mow for a couple months, save on the water bills and then watch them come green again with the rains.

The fabric criteria for this quilt was a) leftover bits from other projects b) this is ugly, "why did I buy this fabric" and c) the less the fabrics "went together" the better.

You all know what I mean by the ugly fabric, we all have them, we all bought them.  We liked them at the time but they never ended up 'going' with anything else.

The result is wonderfully scrappy.  I don't see the individual fabrics, I see how they all just work together in their little misfit way.

Pillow Sham Front with trimmings from cutting the triangles for the webs

The pillow shams were made with leftover bits and cutting trimmings . . . there was next to nothing left of these particular misfit fabrics in my stash by the time this project was done.  I love it when that happens.

Pillow Sham back, which is the side that is usually showing on the bed

I liked this quilt so well when it was done that I took a little extra time on the shams and actually did button closures.

I really liked the quilting for the back of the sham . . . it's a double
wavy line on the seams.  It goes really fast and will keep all those seams closed

Each block looks a bit different depending on where the darker
fabrics are positioning in the web.
This is a good example of
"color gets all the credit, but contrast does all the work"

EQ6 design for the spider web quilt

Another Circle Quilt . . . The Circle Mania continues

There are 3 more circle quilts in process . . . but I think they are going to rest a while.  The next one I'm going to finish is western lone stars set on a rusty color background.  They are so pretty.  I'm making two, one to sell and one to keep.

This quilt is just listed on Etsy.  I really, really would like to keep it.  But I can make another one, right?  https://www.etsy.com/listing/112456459/modern-contemporary-pieced-circles-couch?ref=cat1_gallery_5

Hanging on the Dogwood tree.

The rains have started again,
so there won't be opportunity
much longer for au naturel photography.  

When piecing the circles, a circle of the blocks back fabric is cut away.

The circles for this quilt are made with the cutaway from
blended circle quilts with 5 inch blocks that I am working on.
The circles for this quilt are 4 1/2 inches.

And on and on it goes . . . the cutaways from this quilt
are the start of yet another circle quilt which will have gold circles.

Now you're starting to see how the circle mania gets started . . . . 

For the next quilt, the gold circles will end up about 3 1/2 inches after sewing.
I will probably use them with a different set of backing fabrics.

Close up of the quilting and some of the fabrics.
The circle fabric is one of my favorites.  I still have some left, yea!

This circle fabric has a little bit of gold metallic in it.

This teal fabric has heavy gold metallic.  It's gorgeous.

This fabric has lots of variation, so every piece cut looks different.

More of the quilting and the fabrics.  All the
little squares are from the fabrics used in the circles.

In the living room of my beautiful little 1906 house.

I think everyone who has lived in this house has loved it
because no one has messed with it.

The wood is unpainted and the light fixtures are original (including glass globes) with the original push button switches.

The oak flooring is a redo.  The floors were originally fir
which still remain in the TV room and pantry.

Someday I'll do a post of this little house.

The first mistress of this house was a petite French woman named Sophie Bergeron.  By pure luck I have a doll that was originally hers.

Aunt Susie's Scrapbooks

I am the keeper of Aunt Susie's scrapbooks.  Aunt Susie was my great great grandmothers sister.  She made scrapbooks for her niece Mary, my great grandmother and her nephew Horace, my great grandmother's brother.

Front of my Great Grandmother's scrapbook

Front of Horace's . . . the loveliest little fabric

Besides the family history, what makes these scrapbooks so unique are the fabric pages.

Mary's pages are silk with red bias tape.  Horace's pages are I think a cotton and are bound with blanket stitch. They are both so beautiful.

Both scrapbooks have fabric covers, and are bound by hand with red silk ribbon.

The first page . . . 'Good Morning', with a portrait

Aunt Susie's signature page in Horace's book . . .
and testimony to the love between the sisters

Mary's scrapbook . . . The fabric is a single layer
of silk and the pages are different colors.

Horace's pages.  The pages are a single layer of fabric with a beautiful blanket stitch.  I think the fabric is a very fine cotton.

Die cut lettering on a page
dedicated to American authors.

These die cut letters are amazing . . . each with classical figurine

Detail of die cut roses and the silk binding

Detail of blanket stitching and a fabulous die cut ship

Die cuts and cuttings from publications.
I love Aunt Susie's sense of composition

A page dedicated to Abraham Lincoln.
Horace's scrapbook is done with
each page a letter of the alphabet.
Mr. Lincoln's page is V . . . victory over those who enslave another.

Tribute to the memory and achievements
of Abraham Lincoln
in Mary's scrapbook too

The back of Mary's scrapbook
She is given wings to fly