Yet another raw edged square-in-square

This quilt, which I began back in October, has been finished for awhile but really needed a good solid washing and drying, to "tatter" the edges of the raw-edge applique.  I finally got a chance to borrow use of a friend's American-sized washer and dryer, which made the task possible!

David wasn't around so I just had one helper to take a photo outside - what a goofball!

Come on, Tommy, hold still so I can snap a few close-ups!

And because this was raw edge appliqued I then spent an episode or two of White Collar,   trimming and picking out stray threads.

It is now finally ready to send to David and Janette.  Yay!

Another Millie quilt

Believe it or not, I'm making another Millie quilt, this time for my brother D (well, let's face it,  mostly for my sister in law J)....

At first I thought this would be a good color scheme.....

But quickly felt it really needed some pops of red....

Easy piecing (messy, thready):  

8" base squares in mediums and darks.  

Raw edge machine applique - first 5" squares, then 3 1/2" squares, then 1 3/4" black flannel squares.  

The blue ticking is old - it was my Mom's.... and the dragonflies are Japanese.  

Lots of texture - linen polkadots and vintage kimono silk: 

Rows are all pieced, pressed and numbered: 

And I'm getting there: 

J asked for a quilt like this a few years ago.  She is one of those rare non-quilters who really loves and "gets" quilts.  My brother is a fine carpenter and appreciates hand made items.  At that time I was just about to start teaching fourth grade full time, and there was just no way (do you ever get asked to make a quilt, and you think, you guys have no idea how much time and expense goes into making a quilt!)... but now I finally do have the breathing space to make her one and I'm glad to.  I'm less good at making quilts on demand.  

Here in Japan I work just two mornings a week, and do some volunteer work, but I really am enjoying lots of time for creativity!  It helps that we live in a very small apartment with none of the home-maintenance chores we deal with back home in Massachusetts!  As quilting goes, I am living by "make hay while the sun shines" because when we return to the U.S., it's back to real life... and surely less time for quilting!

Burgoyne Surrounded

Millie started piecing this quilt in the mid 80's, and lost steam with only a few blocks to go. She wondered whether I'd like to take over - um, yes!  Don't you love it when one quilter's burden becomes another's exciting new project?  It's a classic red, white and blue Burgoyne Surrounded.  Some of those pieces are teeny tiny!

I matched up the fabrics as best I could, finished piecing it, machine quilted it, and promptly gave it to Tommy.  He loves it and even brought it back to MA in his suitcase for the summer.  He likes the total American-ness of it.

That's a glimpse of Molly the poodle in the foreground.  She lives with friends while we're in Japan.

Linking up with Plum and June here. 

Millie's quilt - the one I can't stop making

Almost a decade ago I was inspired by this quilt that my Grandma's friend Millie made.  She called it the "tattered" quilt or the "pioneer" quilt.  I don't think she used a pattern, but I could be wrong.  It may be that she saw it in the window of her local quilt shop in Denver.  I have certainly seen many iterations of this quilt over the years.

In fact a few days ago I came across this fresh version - Christmas Canasta -  at Sew Love to Sew.  I love the colors she chose and Millie would, too.

As I was learning to quilt, I was a great admirer of Millie's quilts, mainly for the simplicity and great color sense.  I oooed and aaahhhed over this particular quilt, and it inspired me to do my first bit of "liberated" piecing.  Fast and fun, just sewing those squares down, leaving the edges raw.  Millie gave me a pack of scraps from her quilt to get me started - kind of like sour dough starter I think!

Here was the result, finished in 2003, and today it is still well-loved and well-used, honestly tattered.

Over the years Millie had made several versions of the tattered quilt.  She is now in her 90's and has retired from quilting, but when she heard that we were moving to Tokyo, she surprised me by sending me the original "tattered" quilt.  It is not tattered, but rather in mint condition and beautifully hand quilted, and it has found a happy home over the back of our couch here in Tokyo. I will treasure Millie's quilt.

This past summer as my oldest Miss N was preparing to go off to college, we started planning her college quilt.  When it came right down to it, sure enough she wanted a version of that old tattered quilt.  We raided my stash for homespun, shirtings, batiks, flannels, and then headed over to Quilter's Way for supplements that caught N's eye.   I threw this quilt together fast, completely by machine, without a thought in my head about precision, so that it would get DONE and be something that could be used and abused at college.  Miss N loves it, and I won't worry about her getting paint or ink on it.  

And.... it looks like I may make yet a third version of this quilt, for someone special (shhhh) who requested one long ago... time permitting!  I brought a bin of scraps for it to Japan.  There is just something irresistible about this quilt.  I blame it all on Millie!