Monday, March 23, 2020

Tribute to Unknown Quilters

     On National Quilting Day, I pulled out a stack of churn dash blocks found in a bag of donated materials. People give me stuff because they know I make and give comfort quilts. Sometimes, there are some gems of fabric or blocks found among the home dec and cut off curtain pieces. 
     The 29 blocks had some name stickers or names written on the seam allowances. I determined they were made in 1999 (some had dates next to their name) and they came from Illinois, because LLQA was written on a few block backs. I looked up LLQA and it is an association of guilds in Illinois, but I could not find a contact to call or email. I would love to let them know about these. (Cheryl, are you reading?)
    If I placed the blocks 5 by 6, I was short one block. It seemed only fitting that I should make one as it was National Quilting Day. The workmanship in every block is superb. I wish I could thank them all. It was a joy to sew these.
    I decided on sashing them and auditioned a bunch of fabric. I chose a cream and white polka dot because it keeps the nostalgic flavor, but adds a modern twist. For the cornerstones, I went through my 2" scrap drawers and chose a variety of colors and designs that were a similar flavor and value.
    Because I have used the webbing method I learned from Wanda before and just saw Bonnie Hunter's quilt cam where she webbed a small block quilt with sashings and cornerstones, I webbed the whole top and just need to complete the rows. Everything stayed in order. I will chose a fabric for a 4" finished border so this can be a good size comfort quilt, which has already comforted me.
     Thank you to the unknown lovely quilters in Illinois from 1999! I will copy the names off the back of the blocks and post them soon. 
Auditioning sashing
Cornerstones arranged
Blocks set up for webbing

All webbed, rows need to be sewn. Then borders
On a different note, my orphan blocks have been awarded by drawing a name. Lisa Marie- you won. I emailed you and need your mailing address. 
Thank you to all who entered.

    

11 comments:

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

It's funny I don't think I ever heard of that association but it was formed 45 years ago and may not still be active. I looked up the guild in my town and the contact person hasn't been a member for a few years. It will be interesting to see the names and see if I know any of them.

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I meant to say 35 years, not 45.

Quayquilter said...

How nicely it's turned out.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Like Wanda, I've not heard of LLQA before. There are LOTS of great guilds in Illinois. I wonder if I know any of the names. I moved here in 2003.

Joyce Carter said...

Very pretty Linda. I really love the colors.
It would be very interesting to find out more information about those blocks and the people that made them. I wonder why they were made in the first place. Were these blocks left over from a special project? Or what? I am very curios about the things that happen in the past. If you find out any thing, please let us know.

abelian said...

It could have been a “block drawing” at a meeting, where everybody made a block, and one name was drawn to win them all. I love the scrappy cornerstones; much better than all one color. Dot

Quiltdivajulie said...

VERY pretty -- webbing is so much easier!!

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

Lovely quilt - I like your choice for sashing and the colored cornerstones. Congratulations to Lisa Marie - now the orphan blocks have a new home - ;))

Mystic Quilter said...

Just commented on your last post - pleased that someone gave a home to the blocks. Very pretty pastel quilt.

The Joyful Quilter said...

Congrats to Lisa Marie!! Nice progress on your quilt, too!

Preeti said...

Perfect Spring project. Resurrecting abandoned blocks makes it a perfect Easter project too :-)
Hope you are staying safe.