I'm all over the place

 If you have read my blog in the past you will know that I have lots of projects on the go at once.  This really works for me as I always have something different to work on and I rarely get bored.  Almost everything gets done eventually and I am thrilled that the center of my Captain Russell inspired quilt is now done.  Just ready for a trimming and then I will sew it together.  I'm not doing the borders, partly due to a lack of interest and mostly because of size, so this one is almost a completed top.

And here is my Christmas top finished.  The photo is crap, cause I am a lousy photographer and cause it was just to big for DH to hold, but hopefully you get the idea.

Sadly I didn't have enough of the backing fabric that I had planned to use so while thinking about that I practiced some piecing with the leftover scraps.  One of my next projects calls for lots of  little 4 1/2 in star blocks so I used the time to test my pattern.  I decided not to use the method called for and wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into.  Perhaps they will go into the back or maybe a new little project.

And here is what I did today.  Sorry, again another crappy photo but not everything is glued or pinned in place so I could only lay it flat.  This is from the book "Pennies from Heaven" and I added some silk applique to the wool.  I belong to a small group "Wooly Women" which was formed after a Sue Spargo workshop, where we work on embellishing our wool projects. Since I finished the project from the workshop, I needed to get something to work on for our next meeting.  I hope to embellish this with lots of embroidery and beading so it should be a fun project.  So what will I work on tomorrow?

Romancing the Captain

 Have you ever had a project that you have just fallen out of love with?  Such was the case with me and this "Captain Russell quilt".  I had finished the outer 16 blocks and the center wreath but I no longer had that lovin' feeling.  Other things were newer, more attractive and exciting and I was in danger of moving on, so it was time to rekindle the romance.

I started by looking at what I had fallen in love with in the first place.  But as is often the case I really wanted to make the necessary changes to suit me.  Unfortunately the Captain wasn't perfect just as he was.  Now I had always loved the look of the quilts with a basket of flowers in the middle and that eagle and flag, wonderful as they are, just weren't speaking to me.  I was using the pattern on the right, but remembered that this quilt was partially patterned in the book on the left.  The book is from 1983 and was published before most of the Baltimore Album books and patterns that we are familiar with.  It actually suggests a technique of cutting out the shapes and just arranging them in a pleasing pattern, just as the ladies of Baltimore might have done.  And having seen some original unfinished album blocks at the Baltimore Museum of Art (where the Captain hangs and you can purchase the pattern) I thought it might bring back the excitement I had as I started the quilt.

The picture at the beginning of the post shows the first attempt at the block and this is the second.  I didn't like how the daisy like flower in the center stood out in the orange and wasn't fond of it in this gold color either.

I finally decided that I liked it better in this lighter gold, but now, having stitched half of the block I am not so sure.  I must admit though I think that I have rekindled my love.  Trying this technique was fun and freeing.  I did use another block pattern just to help with general balance but the block was truly made up by just placing shapes down until I liked how everything looked and then, using Roxanne's glue baste, I glued the whole block up ready for stitching.  Probably not for everyone but it was very fun and was a great way to bring new life to an old project.  Sometimes just having and open mind and trying something new can make you see things in a new light and it may even get your heart fluttering again. 

A few more from Captain Russell

I just realized that I have been so busy that I haven't posted in awhile.  Here are a couple more from the Captain Russell quilt.  The pattern for this quilt is available from the Baltimore Museum of Art.  They have a website and it can be ordered though I have made a few changes to the original.  

For example this one with the birds in the center has the wreath from the Captain Russell quilt but the birds are part of another pattern.  I just love these little birds.
Right now I am watching the weather very closely as we have a townhouse in Charleston, SC and our son lives there while attending College of Charleston.  We are following hurricane Irene and praying for everyone in its path and hoping that we won't have to make an emergency trip to board up the house and get our son out of town.  Hopefully I can get a little sewing done to keep my mind off it.

More from the Captain

Here are a couple more from the Captain Russell quilt. If you are familiar with the quilt you will notice that I have changed the center of a few of the blocks so that they are all birds or flowers or fruit. The original quilt had a boat and a few other things that didn't want in my quilt. Though the blocks do look pretty similar when seen individually, together I think the quilt is very pleasing. I still need to prepare the center of that quilt but I spent the last few days trying to bond with my newish longarm machine. I'm hoping that we will be BFF's soon!

A few more from Captain Russell

Here are a few more from the Captain Russell quilt. I am hoping to prepare the center of this one this week so I can get it finished.
Why oh why when I get this close to the end do I lose steam?

Captain Russell

Here is another block from the Captain Russell quilt. The pattern for the quilt is available from the Baltimore Museum of Art. I started this quilt soon after seeing the original hanging and tried to keep it as true to the original as I could. I am using solids and mostly reproduction fabrics and I am trying to use colors as I imagine the original would have looked prior to aging. While I like how it is turning out, I am finding it somewhat restrictive using all these solids. The next Baltimore will have lots more shading! I have also decided to skip the appliqued border. Partly due to size and partly cause I just want to get this one done.