Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Island Batik Ambassadors Vintage Reimagined Challenge

For the month of March the Island Batik Ambassadors were challenged to take a vintage quilt and reimagine it in a newer way.  



I immediately thought of this quilt I've slept under during the summer all my life.  My great grandmother Grace made this quilt.  She made a lot of this same pattern with scraps.  She called it a snowball quilt.  I decided I wanted to do something with this block.  


Here are some closeups of the quilt.  It's a four patch with pumpkin seed shapes going around each block.




The original quilt was hand pieced.  I decided I wanted to do it by machine.  So I ordered some leaf pieces from Paper Pieces and used a gray solid Island Batik to make a bunch of leaves EPP style.  I then removed the papers and glued them down to the quilt top.  Next was stitching carefully around each leaf. I also went and cut out the backs so the seams wouldn't show through the gray leaves.  Next time I'm going to try Appliquik paper which I can keep in!


I also decided not to do all the areas with leaves.  I created this fun shape.  All the background fabrics are scraps of Island Batik from being an Ambassador the last four years.


Next up was quilting. I layered it with my favorite Hobbs 80/20 cotton/poly batting and went to work.  The gray was stitched with large match sticks using Aurifil thread.  For all the colors of the background squares I decided to use a variegated thread to blend in and do some simple continuous curve quilting.


Every time I look at this quilt I am reminded of my great grandma.  It makes me so happy!


Have you ever made a quilt inspired by your ancestors?

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

13 comments:

  1. Most of the quilts I make remind me of my Maternal Grandmother. Of course she did every stitch by hand. I wonder how many more quilts she would have made if she had had a machine.

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  2. I was never inspired by my ancestors since none of them were quilters, but am inspired by how much ingenuity and handcrafting went into these older quilts that others have made

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  3. I have quilts from my great grandmother, both grandmothers, aunts, and mother, but I've not made a quilt inspired by any of them. Good idea though; I should give that a try. Your quilt is lovely with all the bright IB colors. I think your great grandma would approve!

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  4. I love your very clever layout!! Pretty quilt, and a great use for scraps.

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  5. Gorgeous quilt Suzy looking forward to meeting you in Paducah this year

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  6. Turned out so wonderful, love your version

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  7. Wow! I love everything about this! The colors are so vibrant, and I love that it is inspired by a family heirloom quilt. What a great tribute and beautiful quilt!

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  8. Is there a pattern for this beautiful quilt?

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  9. I love your modern take on the classic. The gray paired with the bright batiks is beautiful!

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  10. Beautiful. Inspired by lots of wonderful quilters throughout the world, but not by ancestors as none of them quilted. Take care.

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  11. Both really a vibrant and pretty quilts. I love family heirlooms.

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