Wednesday, February 1, 2012

February Small Quilt Challenge

If you are joining me in mid-stream, here's the small quilt scoop. Some of my followers are committed to having fun making a small quilt a month from some of my books this year. Just think, if you join us, you will have 12 little quilts made by the  end of the year.

January's project was the little Mourning Crosses quilt from Prairie Children & Their Quilts. This month, we are using the same book and making - a Broken Dishes quilt! This pattern has always been one of my favorites, ever since I saw this little antique Broken Dishes doll quilt in one of my favorite quilting history books, The American Quilt  by Roderick Kiracofe.


My version is a little different - I used lighter prints and added a red and white check border plus a blue inner border.  


So, if you decide to join in on this month's challenge, your options are to either make this little quilt on page 22 of my book or, using the same directions, skip the blue and make it in a smaller red and white for a Valentine's Day project -



If you carefully arrange your half-square triangles as you make your blocks, you will come up with a star motif in the center.

Yes, it's the same block as in the Prairie Children book. The redwork instructions for the center block can be found in the Files section of my yahoo group Small Quilt Talk. Either way you make it, it's a darling little project and No. 2 on the road to making 12 small quilts this year with me. 

This week - Week 1 - all you need to spend time doing is picking out your fabrics and cutting your pieces. Sewing them together will be next week's task. 


Skip ahead if you like, but make sure you leave time for quilting and finishing sometime this month before we begin another one for March. You don't want to end up with a bunch of unquilted tops, do you?? One down, only ELEVEN small quilts to go!


Have you seen the video Martingale & Co. created for this book when it first came out? Very sweet.

I am leaving tomorrow to teach at The Cabin Fever Quilt Retreat at the Grout Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, for a few days and so will not have time to start this quilt with you this week. Even though it's very simple, I love the little redwork design I made up and hope to get going on that after I come back. Have fun!

8 comments:

Lesley said...

Kathleen, I can't wait to start this with reds and whites. Thank you so much for this quilt along. You have beautiful projects, and I'm learning a lot about the olden days while still having so much fun.

Cathy said...

I love Broken Dishes. I need to swap out the border on my Mourning quilt and then I will start this one. I love your books. Hugs

marian said...

Kathy, thank your for another quilt challenge, it was fun guessing which design you'd give us in Feb. l love them both however, i'm tempted to make the smaller version because i like the idea of doing a little redwork stitchery in the centre block.

Have a wonderful time at your retreat, wish i could join you :))
cheers, Marian

Joanne Lavallee said...

I think I will do the red and white version this time? As for the unquilted part....I have yet to quilt Mourning Crosses, but it is pieced! I am afraid I already have more than 12 unquilted tops...oops. I think I can get both quilted this month, I think I can, I think I can...Thanks for the fun.
Joanne

mindingmomma said...

love the little red and white version so much I pinned it

Merilyn said...

Very sweet little Valentine quilt!!! Have a great time at the Retreat!!!!

Joanne Lavallee said...

Fabrics picked and design is traced, I may just have to sneak ahead and stitch it. Have a great time at Retreat.

Janny Schoneveld said...

Just finished the top.
It looks (just like my grandson says ) wonderfull.
Greetings from a ice skating Holland.
Janny S.

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