Grandmother's Garden Quilt

Here is a spectacular version of Grandmother's Garden Quilt sewn by Lynne Hawk of Salem, Oregon. The quilt is currently on display in the classroom at Grandma's Attic. That's Lynne in the picture with me in front of her beautiful quilt. If you're near the shop, you'll want to come in and see it!

Lynne says that she started this quilt back in 1999 using the fusible applique method outlined in Eleanor Burns' book Grandmother's Garden Quilt by Quilt in a Day. In Eleanor's version, easy applique methods help update this classic quilt pattern.

The patterns for Garden Bouquet originated in 1928 and 1929 as a series of newspaper patterns by Florence LaGanke Harris writing under the name of The Nancy Page Quilt Club. Each week, LaGanke presented one flower pattern for constructing the quilt. The original series included 17 different flower designs, with the rose repeated in all four corners. A basket pattern for the base and a quilting diagram were also included.

Lynne says that she worked on her quilt off and on for several years, putting it away when she moved, then picking it back up again. We're totally thrilled that she was able to complete it, and even more thrilled that she has allowed us to hang it on the wall for all to see. Isn't it beautiful? We sure think so. A big thanks to Lynne for allowing us to show it off.

Patchwork Party 2011

Gather your friends for a festive, fun-filled sewing party featuring Autumn in all its splendor! Patchwork Party 2011 has begun. Designed by Marti Michell using Set L of her Perfect Patchwork Templates, the fabrics are from Nancy Halvorsen's Bittersweet collection by Benartex.

This is our exclusive quilt block. Marti calls it "Turley's Inn" in honor of her husband Richard who is a descendant of the Turleys of Britain. And guess what? I actually found a Pub in Britain called Turley's. How interesting is that?

What I like about our block is its 9-Patch center and ease of construction. I think it turned out rather nicely, don't you? Using Marti's templates made construction of this block a breeze. Paper templates come with the pattern that is included in the kit but the acrylic templates of Set L are fabulous to work with and that's what we used.

This is our Finishing Kit. I named it Bittersweet Memories because I took my inspiration from those mid-19th Century quilts with their on-point applique blocks. Bittersweet is obviously because we used the Bittersweet fabric collection. Memories because of this quilt's 19th Century roots. Tammy Keith, our class coordinator and instructor, constructed the quilt and Linda Perry of Artistically Quilted by Linda machine quilted it for me. Tammy and Linda made my idea for the quilt come to life! It's beautiful! Thank you both very much!

This block is called Grandma's Peonies. It can be appliqued using traditional methods, needle turn methods or (my favorite) fusible web and button-hole stitch embroidery. Whichever way you decide to put it together, the block is beautiful. The block reminds me of those 19th Century red and green quilts that I love so much.

In addition to these Patchwork Party items, you can view others at our website. Then go to the official Patchwork Party 2911 website to view the other blocks you'll need to complete the finishing kit. That should inspire you to create a beautiful quilt too!