Quilts

My family loves to make quilts, I have so many hand made quilts I don’t think I’ll ever have a naked bed.  A lot of the quilts I have are special with memories attached and are not used as blankets, but I do have several that get used daily and will be used until they wear out.  I should also point out that all of the quilts I am talking about today have been made by my Mother.

Currently there are four denim quilts in use, two that I have had since high school, they were made in the traditional quilt style with a backing, batting in the center, and tied instead of quilted.   The denim is still in fabulous shape, but the backs are almost totally gone. 

Now we make denim rag quilts, with the seams on the top and the edges frayed, they seem to hold up better, although 15+ years for the others isn’t too bad.  I also wash my quilts more that the average person probably does, with kids and cats they’re always seem to need a good wash. 

We have one plain flannel back one and one with special appliquéd stars and circles that Little Sir has for his bed. My Mother is also making two new denim quilts for the boys when they start sharing a room.  One with orange flannel backing and one with turquoise flannel backing.  I really like denim, it holds up so well and goes with almost anything.

The latest addition to my quilt collection is the baby’s new quilt. I got to pick out the pattern and fabric for this one, but I didn’t get to see the finished project until Little Man was born.  (If you would like to make a quilt like this the pattern is from The Purl Bee:  zig zag quilt.)

Little Miss has a quilt waiting for her to get her big girl bed, she’s still has a toddler bed and isn’t ready for a big bed yet.  It’s a sun bonnet Sue quilt the my Mother started for me when I was little and just finished it last year for Little Miss’s birthday, so I guess it’s new vintage?!?

Here’s a close up of my favorite one, look at the hand embroidery!

That’s all for today, believe me, there are a lot more.  Do you use or keep you quilts?, I think I’m kind of half and half.  Which one of these is your favorite?

Vintage Sewing Notions

I love vintage sewing notions, the packages are so interesting and colorful and the display prices are so cheap.  I also really like wooden spools of thread.   I have a small collection of vintage supplies and I plan on displaying them in a shadow box of some sort in the craft room.  Here is a sample of my collection, the needle book on the bottom is one of my favorites and I also like the snaps and hooks and eyes cards, especially since they are missing some and not in perfect condition.It is surprisingly easy to find vintage supplies (not in mint condition)and most of mine have been found at yard sales or in “grab bags” from thrift stores.  I also got a nice selection out of the sewing cabinet that I purchased this fall.  The only thing I haven’t had much luck finding is decorative buttons on their original cards, but I do have several nice loose vintage buttons.

I got this box at a yard sale, some of the vintage quilt fabrics/squares inside will become part of the background for my collection, I might even try to incorporate the box, it’s really interesting.I also finished my amigurumi dolls from yesterdays post, aren’t they cute!  I definitely need an army of these with a few ninjas thrown in.

I ended up making all new hair for both of them and adding weight to their bottoms so they could stand on their own.  I think I may need to embellish the hair on the right one a little more with some bows or French knots or something.

BTW, If you have any super ideas how to display my vintage notions be sure to share by leaving a comment.  My collection has been hidden in a box for to long and I’m ready to get it out and on display.

Bone Crusher Quilts

I grew up in a drafty farm house and every winter the quilts would come out and be stacked on the beds.  The heaviest of the quilts were called bone crushers because of how heavy they were.  The best bone crushers were made from denim, old, soft, worn denim from our old jeans and overalls.  I still love denim quilts, although now I prefer the lighter “rag” quilts as opposed to the traditional quilt top with batting, binding, and backing.

My Mother made an awesome denim quilt for my son with stars and even the pockets from the jeans.  I love it, he has been using it for a couple of years and it just get softer and softer and it is super warm.

I also made some matching curtains, they are a little short for the windows in our new house, but I’ll just add another strip at the bottom.  I’m also going to add a lining to make it a little more insulating, his room is on the North side of our house.

These curtains were so easy to make, I just tore the legs of jeans to get a straight edge and sewed them together the wider strips are from the back of the pants and the narrow ones are the front.  I put the seams on the right side and snipped them about ever 1/4” and put them into to washing machine to fray them.

I love denim, it is such a versatile, long wearing fabric.  I just wanted to share some of the great projects I have made with it.  I have started a shag style rug, the strips are cut and I just need to decide what kind of backing to use and how big to make it.  I’m lucky, I seem to have a never ending supply of denim, everyone in our family saves it, and if I do need more I can always pick up a few pairs of jeans at the Goodwill on dollar days!  What kind of great projects have you made using denim?