Bonnie's Bargain Basement....Part 1

I suppose I'm probably not easily impressd. And when I am, it's not Baltimore Album quilts that do it for me. I think a quilter needs to have the ability to 'endure', 'to make do', and to understand the humble legacy that American quilt making grows from. Not many Baltimore Album quilts were pieced on the Oregon Trail.This quilt top, of Bonnie's, could have been. And I love it! It does not pretend to be anything that it isn't.
Here are Bonnie's words, speaking about making this quilt top: "While I was cutting strips for the Superbowl Bargello party for this Sunday, I started cutting other sizes too to play with some block ideas I had....and yes..I sewed last night until midnight and this is what I've got! This went SO FAST!
All of the little random 4 patches and geese units were SUPPOSED to be where plain 3.5" cut squares were to go, but why cut squares, when I can dig into this drawer of rejected pieced units and use them instead of the 3.5" squares?! The geese units were a partially pieced border. I took them apart into pairs...some of the geese turned direction in the border, so it left this little square in square thingy..throw that in too..make the geese turn all different directions!
There were red/gold 4 patches that were a rejected cornerstone from another project. Only had 4 of those, but throw them in! A couple red/plaid hourglass blocks that were a test? Add them too!
And THEN...there were these brown gingham/solid red half square triangles that were going to be the sashings of the "swing your partner" quilt before I rejected them for a darker fabric....throw those in and turn them every which way, and voila!
Yes, my dear Scarlett, Solid red IS a neutral!

Bargain Basement, Quilter Style....Part 2

and who better to come up with this gorgeous Orphan block and bits quilt than our very own Bonnie, from Quiltville *VBS*I was blog hopping yesterday, waiting for the computer guy to return and install that additional memory and do bit more cleaning up. I popped over to see what Bonnie was up to, besides beginning a new mystery("Orange Crush") at Quiltville and with her mystery group.
Along with another whole top, apparently pieced over the past week or weekend(she amazes me with her speed!) I found this beauty.
I had to put it's name into the 'Search this blog' to find it's beginnings(which were only a short ago...LOL. I dropped her an email to ask for permission to share her quilt here, since it has soooooooo many of the elements this challenge and blog are about. She said "yes" with a big smile for all. And my message to you?? "ITS OK TO USE SPARE PARTS"!!!!! Honest!
This is the backing "Bargain Basement", and her words explaining the final result of the Bargain Basement effort.
Bonnie said:"So here are the photos of Bargain Basement!I did tall dogteeth borders, and following the lead of our quilters past, I just let the borders end where the borders end...so all the corners are slightly different. Talk about fun and no stress!
The big red plaid in the border was from a lady's jumper that I took apart. There was a ton of red plaid in that jumper! (It was a 3XXX!) The black homespun plaid binding was actually a bathrobe...yes...made out of homespun, just like we'd buy off the bolt. Lots of yardage in that too.
The back....I used up fabric from a skirt...the blue gingham with the fruit on it, and some other older yardage that had a "plaidy-stripe-y" feel to it. Seems like I've been trying to get rid of that bolt of blue noah's ark fabric for ever. I've still got a lot of that in tan too! I used the left over dog tooth border in the back as well." Thank you so much Bonnie...it's wonderful!

A slightly different orphan...

but leftovers and unwanteds put to good use, none the less *VBS* This particular piece, if I understand correctly, came to Cher at Marathon Quilter(see sidebar) either as blocks and she creatively made it a top, OR...LOL, it came as a top..and she finished it into a quilt for WTIL. I'm a bit foggy on the details.Either way, I think it's a splendid example of what can be done if we put our minds to work. In my opinion most of the wonderful quilts of Gee's Bend were born of NECESSITY, not vanity.
** WTIL stands for Wrap Them In Love, a non profit organization run by Ellen(see sidebar) that collects and donates quilts to orphanages worldwide for children.

Orphans, orphans everywhere....

and when they are orphan quilt blocks, that's NOT a bad thing at all!! The first quilt top today is one made by Carol E. of Giraffe Dreams.
The center blocks are the ones that came to her as orphans. Once she had them together, she improvised the rest! She says she's not thrilled with it, but I'm sure a child somewhere will view it with adoration. So often the quilts given to the Wrap Them in Love receiptents might be the only thing they can call their own. Good job Carol!!
The second picture is of a pile of orphan blocks that live at Sue's house. She has made several amazing quilts already from the orphans she rounded up. The newest being for that precious granddaughter born last week! Congraulations Sue!! These are some of those orphan blocks pinned to the design wall, waiting for Sue to decide what they will become.

Orphan Parts.....

This quilt came from the scrap drawer and from a small stash of squares I had set aside. The first is "Mosaic "(48x48). I'm favoring table-sized quilts these days. They're mostly done by the time I get bored. The white and blue inner border is from a piece of vintage fabric that I think may be feed sack. I'm happy to have found a use for some of it.(Barb's posting)

Finn says: Orphan parts are almost the same thing as an Orphan blocks, but not quite. As quilters, I'm sure no explanation is necessary. This piece is part of Barb's 12 X 12 X 12 challenge. The 'leftover' parts of this creation are the pickle dish sections. They work sooo well in here, you'd think she made them for this piece.
In this one, it's easier to see that she was working with leftover squares, but what a neat, creative way to turn them into a very individual looking table runner. It would make a lovely gift for spur of the moment giving...way to go Barb!
And this last use of leftovers is much the same as #2...but look at that great border fabric. I showed that swatch on my blog last October, in the red color way... this is a very bold way to use it, but the colors pick up what's in the table runner perfectly...*VBS* So many good ideas for using up our 'parts'. Keep them coming gals!

Finished, Finished and almost finished...

That Carol E. at http://giraffedreams.blogspot.com/ has leaped ahead of us we travel west with our load of orphans. This first lovely, is her current finish, just this past week. And she's still got a full head of steam going...*VBS* The second one with the great red borders(red is always GREAT!) is one that was finished awhile back and gone for donation to the Wrap A Smile foundation. Again, she was working with orphan blocks sent or given to her by other quilters. Keep that possibility in mind if you are really enjoying putting these creative tops together...your guild, or friends or even church group might have things to donate that you could work with. I love working with other peoples fabric and also their orphan blocks and parts.


The last picture, whether or not Blogger will put my words next to it, LOL, is the orphan top in progress. There were enough, just as Carolyn and Sue in W. Wa. found, to do another quilt top. I heard from Sue yesterday, and believe she said she has 2 more going. One will look co-ordinated, but is made from leftovers. And the other will be for a grandchild. I catch those for you, probably on Monday, as we have Macie at http://patchalotmore.blogspot.com/ for tomorrow's post. I also heard from Carolyn and she has
her first orphan block top on the quilting machine, and we will be seeing that one soon..*VBS*
I like what Carol E. has done with these particular orphans. It seems to balance, even tho the numbers are uneven. I believe she still has borders to add.
We seem to be doing very well as a project, or challenge, and finding readers and people interested in what we are doing. Keep your eyes open for quilts made of these type blocks. Most likely they will be older quilts, not unlike the quilts of Gee's Bend. Most often meant for warmth and comfort...strictly working type quilts, not for show nor for 'good'.
The ones that have surived the years of use, do appear in books dealing with the history of quilts. Trouble is, most were used to pieces and beyond. When I had the quilt shop, I used to buy and sell old and older quilts. Many of the utility type, tied with string, or rapidly quilted one direction passed through my hands. You wouldn't believe how little those old utility quilts sold for back then. Try $5 or less! I wonder what will become of the ones we are making now?

My story..and I'm stickin' to it....

I am a woman and a quilter...I get to change my mind...*VBG* I had promised you Patti's 'Two-Fer' today, and I'm giving you something else instead. When I started, I really wanted each and any person to have their 'feature' day...and I still feel that way...but, since I got both sets of these pictures, I decided to combine orphan block quilters when their projects are in block form. Hope that's ok with everyone. Patti, you're on for tomorrow....PROMISE!! And watch out, Carolyn is racing along right behind you..*S*
The first two pictures are from Carolyn at http://lakesidequilting.blogspot.com/ . Carolyn was quite certain she 'might' have enough orphans for a small quilt, and with a smug attitude she began to dig them out. Turns out that despite having used some in backings, some for labels and making an orphan quilt not so long ago, she has enough blocks for TWO(yes, 2) orphan quilts and a pile of 9 patches besides!!!! I like the color grouping Carolyn, and we are happy to have you 'onboard' with us. *VBS* I've added your name to the list of participants at the bottom of the blog.( Anyone, check the very bottom for our site meter, the participants, and the guidelines or just curiosity). I say "our" site meter, because this blog belongs to all of us that are playing along, have made these loveable quilts, or just plain love them...*VBS* It's all about YOU! I'm just the engineer, and anyone can have a turn at that, if they want.*VBS* Ebby,
however, is refusing to be replaced as head conductor.

The last picture came in this morning from Carol E, http://giraffedreams.blogspot.com/ She is joining us with a fairly full stack of orphans, but not necessarily of her making. She put out a call to guild members(if I remember right or maybe it was online friends and quilters) and they sent her their orphans, she will turn them into a quilt. She got a great start with the ones pinned up on her design wall. And you know I've got the Monday Morning brain freeze, because she told me how she was going to get more orphans to work with, and I can't remember....LOL Actually it looks good for length
but abit more width maybe??
I hope all you readers are enjoying all the possibilities these orphan blocks represent as they become quilts. And if you are inspired, feel free to join us. A cheater panel is a possibility for a center of a section. Tazzie, over at http://tazziequilts.blogspot.com/ has just made and given away a great table runner. She used cheater applique squares in the center and pieced blocks around them...makes a spectacular table runner! Way to go Tazzie!!

The Orphans of the world....

come in many forms, in needlework they are the unfinished, unwanted, unloved that quietly age into little piles of broken threads and dust. The orphan boarding our Orphan Train
today is the creation of Barb. Her blog is called Thinking Out Loud, and is located at http://xicanartista.blogspot.com/ Her posts are often thought provoking and enlightening. She has a marvelous post this week about tables. Something we don't give much thought to, isn't it? An excellent post!!
But back to the Orphan.....Barb, like many of us, frequents thrift stores in search of vintage and other treasures from years gone by. She has noticed a trend towards the abandonment of embroidery projects. Especially stamped cross stitch. I confess to having a weakness for those stitchery project (in abandon form) myself. I own quite a few, and have finished some. Please link to Barb's blog, and read HER words concerning what she thinks about as she buys these little treasure.
This quilt is built around the Holly Hobbie
stitchery piece she found. I think the quilt is quite wonderful, serviceable and charming. Simple but honest. I love the idea! I've thought about adding embroidery to quilts, but not in the sampler kit form.
Embroidery has been featured in quilts for years and years...all those embroidered penny blocks, the redwork blocks, the state flowers or the state birds. You name, it was embroidered and put into a quilt. I feel this is slightly different, due to the nature of the background fabric. I'm guessing it isn't aida cloth. Most of the ones I've picked up are on a rayon type linen...a fairly loose weave, not like a pillowcase or dresser scarf. I wonder if maybe one shouldn't use an interfacting to stablize the stitching piece if it's not a cotton?? I will be doing that with mine...*VBS* Yes, I want to try Barb's ideas...LOL.
I browsing blogs yesterday, I noticed that Vera, at http://kcquilter.blogspot.com/ has a dainty little doll quilt done in Aunt Gracies prints with embroidered blocks of 'ittsy-bitsy spider'. It's just adorable...check it out! I'll be back tomorrow with another completed for this challenge top(or quilt.....or two quilts) from Patti, one of our speed demons....*VBS* Watch out Bonnie, Patti's gaining on you......Happy July 1st everyone!

Bonnie's Orphans...

This is the quilt that Bonnie built....*VBS* And is uniquely her, I think, in a way that belongs to scrap quilters. That plus the personal message around the outer border, done in Tonya's fabulous free form letters.
Bonnie began playing with these blocks in early January 2006, I think the last border was on by January 2007. The top had been to together, but the pieced letters took time. It is a quilt in progress at this time, being hand quilted.
I'm posting links to blogs as well, so you'll be able to go and see these quilts and read the maker's comments.
The link to Bonnie is http://quiltville.blogspot.com/