Square Dance

This quilt was the American Patchwork and Quilting 2021 quiltalong. I used Moda French General fabric as well as Kona solid. It was quilted free motion with a Baptist fan motif in the center and a wave in the border. It is for a birthday gift for my sister Susie.

Emmaline's Little Dresses Quilt

Emmaline Joy Ellis was born January 9, 2021 and is my fourth grandchild and first granddaughter.  I have made original designed quilts for each of my grandchildren.  This one is composed of little dresses, some of which were replicates of dresses I sewed for my daughters when they were children.  

Pink dress has smocked bodice
and lace embellishment at hem.
It is replicated from a toddler dress 
my girls wore.
Green dress has a Peter Pan collar
and smocking at waistline.

Lavender dress has smocked
bodice and hand sewn French
knots on collar and hem.
Pink romper is a replication
of outfit sewn for both daughters.

Red dress has smocked bodice
and machine embroidered
stars at collar and cuffs. Lace
edging is at hemline.
The pink rose dress was
a replication of dresses made 
for both daughters.

The top green dress has a smocked bodice
and lace at hemline. The collar has machine
embrodered design.
The yellow dress has a smocked bodice and
butterfly sleeves and ribbon tie.

I pieced the top and then placed 80/20 Hobbs Heirloom batting underneath.  I quilted the top and batting before placing the backing on it, as I used pink Shannon Cuddle fabric and wanted it to not be densely quilted on the back.

The quilt was quilted with a walking foot in a crosshatch grid and corner fans in the individual background blocks.  Then the sashes were quilted with a walking foot using a stencil design.  Finally, the borders were quilted both using a walking foot for cables and a free motion foot for feathers.

All individual blocks, sashes, and borders are 
quilted before attaching background.

Closeup of quilting

Kid’s Stepping Stones

 

This is my own original design. I used fabrics from previous quilts I made for my grandsons. I machine pieced the top in March 2020 during the Covid virus stay at home orders. The backing is a pattern called Four Square Fun which also used fabrics from my stash. I free motioned quilted it on my domestic machine. It will hang in the bedroom my grandchildren use when they visit. 

Four Square Fun backing

Little Red Dress

 

Quilt on antique organ

I made this little quilt to practice making little dresses for my granddaughter's baby quilt.  It is from a pattern by Kreations by Karon.  The dress has hand smocking, puffy sleeves, an embroidered collar, and contrasting trim.  The fabric is Moda's French General.  I machine quilted the background and hand appliqued the dress onto the background.  The binding is left over from my Star Bright quilt.  I plan to gift this to my sister Susie for Christmas 2020.

Wildflower Baskets

Wildflower Baskets is my own design.  I started making small basket blocks several years ago from leftover half square triangles.  When the Covid virus hit and people were recommended to stay at home, I pieced 5 quilt tops, one of which was Wildflower Baskets.  In order to make it a twin size, I made many more basket blocks.  I originally was using only pinks, yellows, and purples for my flowers, but I had a leftover piece of extra wide backing from another quilt that had a floral design with these colors as well as aqua.  I decided to use this as my outer border.  So I also included some aqua flower blocks.  All the flowers are from my stash.  I ran out of white on white background fabric, so I was able to order fabric online (quilt stores were closed) from my local quilt shop.  I used this fabric to finish more basket blocks as well as for the alternate setting blocks.  I put the baskets on point and pieced the top in April 2020.  When quilt stores finally reopened, I was able to buy the backing and batting.  I quilted the quilt using free motion and my own design.  The quilt will be placed on an iron daybed during summer months.  

Back of quilt

Close up of quilting

Iron daybed with quilt

Star Bright

Star Bright is a quilt made during the quiltalong of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine Fall 2019.  They called the pattern Sew Bright, but since it contains 256 Star blocks, I thought star should be in the name.  I used Moda's French General fabric.  The quilt is king size, so I had it quilted at Over the Top Quilting Studio since my domestic machine can't handle anything this big.  I started the top in Fall 2019, but put it away for awhile until the Covid pandemic hit in early 2020 and I finished it in March 2020.  It was quilted in July 2020. I plan to use it on my antique bed for Christmas and patriotic holidays.  

 

Close up of quilting

Pumpkins

This wallhanging was made in Fall 2011 from a pattern in American Patchwork and Quilting magazine.  Quilt was machine pieced, appliqued, and quilted.

 

Don't Get Together! quilt

This quilt was a quiltalong with American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine that began in February 2020.  They named it "Get Together" but since it began during the beginning of the Covid pandemic and shelter in place orders, I decided to name mine "Don't Get Together!"  I had to use whatever I had in my stash since quilt stores were all ordered closed.  Therefore, I had to vary the pattern to accommodate my fabrics.  I pieced the top in March 2020 except for the outer border.  When quilt shops finally were able to reopen, I purchased the outer border and the backing.  I completed the quilt by machine quilting it on my domestic machine.  The field is quilted with an orange peel motif.  I used  a stencil for the blue sashing border (wave design), and free motioned quilted the flying geese in my own design.  The outer border is a free motion feather design done without stencils.  The quilt will be used when my grandchildren visit.  It is a twin size quilt.

Hanging on iron fence in side yard

Full view of quilt

Orange peel quilting motif

 

Quilted wavy inner border with original flying geese quilted motif.  Outer border is quilted with feathers.

Michaele's Memory Quilt

I made this memory quilt out of Tshirts, sweatshirts, and sports jerseys worn by my older daughter Michaele.  The items range from childhood thru young adulthood.  She was a 3 sport varsity athlete in high school, participated in marching band, played on multiple intramural teams in college, and was a volunteer for several years for an annual triathlon event in central California.  She was a Human Resources major in college.  Among her jobs were working at a hospice in San Luis Obispo and the Oakland A's and San Jose Earthquakes in Human Resources.  
The backing of the quilt is fabric called "Effervescence" which describes her personality. 
The quilt is a collage style setting, machine pieced and quilted with a walking foot in gentle curves.   

Jessica's Memory Quilt

I made this quilt out of volleyball jerseys, cheerleading tops,T-shirts, sweatshirts, and a varsity letter representing my daughter Jessica's activities from childhood thru college and young adulthood.  

It was pieced using the collage style arrangement.  I thought this caused the eye to look more for the individual components to the quilt.  It was machine quilted using both free motion as well as walking foot designs on my domestic machine.  

Dimensions of the quilt are 58" X 70".  

The beautiful backing fabric was also used for binding.

Smith Farm Pumpkins

Sitting atop our fireplace mantel

I made this quilt to place behind my vintage window sash.  The top part is pieced from an autumn fabric from my stash.
The middle part with the wagon and tractor were copied from photos onto fabric.  The tractor is an Oliver model, which is the model my father-in-law used while farming outside Kirksville, MO.  
The bottom pumpkin patch is a combination of pumpkins cut from an autumn fabric using broderie perse applique as well as ones cut from various gold and orange fabrics.  

Sew Many Strips queen quilt

Sew Many Strips

Close up of center quilting in a feathered wreath motif

Close up of border quilting

Label

Backing

This quilt was a quilt along with American Patchwork and Quilting magazine.  I used scraps from my stash to complete it.  Some of the fabric dates back to the 80's.  
The quilt was machine pieced and machine quilted on my domestic Babylock machine using both free motion for the feathers and a walking foot for the straight lines.

Antique fabric screen

My husband Chris replaced the decorator fabric in this antique screen.
The screen belonged to his grandparents or great-grandparents and had been stored for years in the granary on the Smith family farm in Missouri.  He retrieved it from the junkpile about 30 years ago.  He cleaned it up, refinished the wood part, and we put in a floral fabric.  It was time to put in a new fabric as the former fabric didn't go with my present color scheme. 
It took him several days to get the old fabric out and put in the new fabric.  There were nails in the way and it was very hard for him to evenly put the fabric in the grooves and keep the fabric pulled taut.  But he finally was able to accomplish it.  I told him I wouldn't make him do it a third time!

Antique 3 panel fabric screen

Close-up of middle panel

Close-up of right panel

Hoosier Cabinet

1921 Hoosier cabinet

My husband Chris just completed the restoration of a 1921 Hoosier cabinet.  This cabinet was in the Bloomington, IL house my parents bought in April 1950 when they were married.  The cabinet was in use in their kitchen until the mid 1950's when they built a new kitchen addition to their house and installed wall cabinets.  The Hoosier was relegated to the basement for storage where it stayed until the early 90's when my mom sold the house after my father's death.  I took the cabinet to my home in Cedar Rapids, IA where it was placed in our walk up attic.  It was used for storage.  We then moved to San Jose, CA in 1999 where it was placed in the garage for several years and then finally moved to my sewing room in the late 2000's.  We moved to Georgetown, TX in 2016 and at that time I asked my husband to restore the cabinet.  Since it had been in the basement for many years, the panels had deteriorated.  It took about 2 years of intermittent work.  Chris replaced the bottom, side, and back panels on the base unit and the back panels on the top unit.  The doors, drawers, and frame are original.  He also replaced all the hardware except for the metal brackets that hold the top to the bottom.  We purchased the replacement hardware from Kennedy Hardware in Indiana (about $200 for nickel plated).  The legs were also replaced as they had been missing the whole time it was in my possession.  I still have the original stickers that identify the model and that it is indeed a Hoosier cabinet.  These were replaced onto the back panels as they originally were placed.
My mother would be thrilled to see the restored cabinet.  It looks almost like new. 

The tambour doors are missing as is the interior flour sifter, etc.

Close up of new hardware

Me as a baby in 1954 with the Hoosier in the background.

Oliver's woodland baby animals quilt

I designed a woodland baby animal theme quilt for my grandson Oliver Reed Ellis.
I made the pattern using Pinterest, google, and clip art images as my inspiration.
The animals were fused and appliqued with either a blanket or satin stitch.
The sashing was quilted with a walking foot.
The outer border was quilted with a free motion foot as was the background of the blocks.
Finished size of quilt is 44" X 44".

Oliver's Woodland Animals

Quilt backing is Shannon Minkee fabric

Bunny

Raccoon

Robin

Beaver

Red fox

Skunk

Barn Owl

Fawn

Squirrel