July 2020 Monthly Color Challenge

I'm joining Jen Shaffer once again for her fun monthly block/color challenge. Last year's challenge was based on flowers while this year is for the birds.  July's bird is the American Robin

© Dakota Lynch/Wikimedia Commons (CC 3.0)

The colors shown for the robin were a rusty orange and so I decided to work with the same orangy palette that I used last year. Isn't it a cool block!!! And I added the yellow of his beak too.

Don't forget to stop by Jen's blog in July to pick up the FREE pattern. **Each month's pattern is free for the month on Jen's blog.** And if you post your completed block on her link-u[ you will be eligible for great prizes!!

Sponsors and Prizes: July thru September

Quilters Chic - PDF Pattern

For The Love of Geese - PDF Pattern

Carole Lyle Shaw - Pattern and Grunge bundle

Quilters Dream Batting - Dream 80/20 - 60" x 60"

The Fat Quarter Shop - Fabric Bundle

I used two different tools to mark my sewing lines. The blue Fons & Porter tool also lets you mark the middle cutting line. I wasn't using my regular machine so it was nice to just stitch along the marked lines.

Chain stitching the half square triangle blocks, sewing one side and then the other for efficiency.

Getting ready to trim up the blocks with a ruler marked with painter's tape to make it easier to see the important measurement.

Just little slivers to trim off. Nice not to have waste and to get great results.

Trimmed and pressed - you can see the nice instructions that Jen provides!

The little half squares become cute 4 patches.

And then are paired with the larger half squares to make rows to finish up the block.

Here's this month's block with the card trick from last year's color challenge.

See more versions of this super fun block by visiting the other

July Bloggers

Wendy - Peaceful Thoughts

Claudia - Create with Claudia

Kathleen - Kathleen McMusing

Stephanie - Steph Jacobson Designs

Sandra - Textile Time Travels

Fawn - Quilty Creations By Fawn

Stephanie - Quilt'n Party

1876 Centennial Log Cabin

Antique Log Cabin quilt featuring dated 1876 Centennial fabric, part of the Starley Quilt Collection.

It features the brown Centennial cheater cloth on the right side of the picture. Fabric was printed to celebrate America's Centennial (100 years) in 1876 and it has 1776 and 1876 in the print.

More of the quilt along with the red colorway of the 1876 Centennial cheater print - such a cool fabric.

More of the fab fabrics including the cheater as well as a fun novelty print with horseshoes and dice.

Even more wonderful prints.

Technically this is a summer spread or coverlet because it does not have 3 layers. No separate backing layer or any batting BUT it was sewn on foundation fabric squares so it has a "back" and it is bound with no raw edges.

Tumbling Block Stars

For several years, I've been collecting an unusual group of tumbling block star block quilts that feature a solid fabric center star. See the center star of this one below

The quilts were made in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and about 20-25 examples have surfaced so far. Most are from the 1880s and 90s. This one has a novelty calendar print dated 1881. Some have very careful fabric selection and color placement as seen on the 2 blocks below with the fabrics in opposite points being very close matches. However, most of the other blocks are more random.

 Lots of wonderful novelty prints including birds and a wonderful cheater print with cats and dogs. See the dog above and he's in from this novelty fabric.

Top Traditional Quilt Blog - Thank You

Honored to find I was just named one of the Top 15 Traditional Quilt Blogs (and the #2 spot to boot) by Feedspot, a Blog Feed service.

If you are just finding out about me, I am a nationally Certified Quilt Appraiser through AQS - one of less than a 100 in the US and Canada and the only one in Utah. I'm an avid antique quilt collector, researcher, and historian. I enjoy sharing my antique quilt collection via the blog, facebook, Instagram, etc. under Textile Time Travels. But I LOVE sharing my quilts in the cloth, in person with quilt guilds, shops, quilt retreats, etc I specialize in early quilts from the 1800s, both applique and signature quilts, as well as museum quality pieces.
HAVE QUILTS - WILL TRAVEL!!
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See my pages - listed under the banner photo for more information on quilt appraisals, antique quilt classes, trunkshows, etc.
I also enjoy making traditional antique reproductions of quilts in my collection and  teach other to make them as well. I even sometimes make modern versions of my antiques. I also like to make other types of modern quilts.

To see the other blogs - lots of great blogs (and friends) that I follow, here's the link 

2018 A Very antique Quilty Year

2018 was a year full of antique quilts and a few new ones as well. 

If you aren't part of my Instagram or Facebook world, here is a bit of what you missed (some I have shared here too).

Top row - fabric pick for Cheddar Stars Over Moab (2010 but it is still a popular pic - pattern available); lovely quilt from New England Quilt Museum visit fall 2017 AQSG seminar; Anna Daggs quilt, Smithsonian Museum visit fall 2018 AQSG seminar.

Middle row - Amazing Baltimore Album quilt, 2018 AQSG seminar exhibit; my Quilted Joy Too repro, home after traveling for 4 years with AQSG Civil War Quilt Study; detail of the antique inspiration for Quilted Joy.

Bottom row - Potts signature quilt, Winterthur Museum, AQSG 2018 visit;  great medallion quilt, AQSG 2018 exhibit; detail of 1848 signature quilt in my collection from Chicopee, Massachusetts.  

HMMM, if it seems like I really like the American Quilt Study Group - why YES, I do!

Antique Baskets

Baskets seem like the perfect Thanksgiving quilt - enjoy

Antique Crazy Quilt Cheater Print

Yesterday I shared a Tumbling Block Star quilt that featured a crazy quilt cheater print fabric. Here's more from that great fabric. --the butterfly below is fussy cut from the stimulated/preprinted crazy quilt fabric.

Here's the cheater fabric -- see the butterfly! Don't forget to click on pictures to enlarge and see details.

And the bird and here he is on the hexagon quilt

And a close-up of him along with a blue cheater print below him.

And that blue polka dot and the paisley below it are both fussy cut from the crazy quilt print.

1850 Embroidered Quilt - New England Quilt Museum

Love learning (and keeping my quilt appraisal skills sharp) by studying antique quilts as well as vintage and new work. So my trip to the American Quilt Study Group and the New England Quilt Museum were very enjoyable continuing education. So glad to see the "Gilding the Lily" exhibit.

Summer spread from 1850 Vermont. Scroll down to see informational placard and more of the quilt. Don't forget to click on photos to enlarge and see details or read info. card.

Red Green Quaker Signature Quilt Day 30

I've learned so much studying this antique signature quilt. It is dated 1850 from Chester Co. Pennsylvania and made for Enoch and Mary Hoopes Worrall. From the Worrall, Hoopes, Davis, Windle, Umstead, Hicklen, families.

Love sharing this beautiful signature quilt that is also a genealogical treasure.  The center block  reads Enoch and Mary Worral's children and then lists them (living and deceased) and in the very center states that it is "Enoch and Mary Worrall's Quilt. 

As interesting fact about the quilt, it is really a red, green, and white quilt as it has Scarlett, Green, and White surnames. Thomas & Hester White are in the block above.

And several of the blocks have even more genealogical information.

You may have noticed that there are 2 different blocks in the corners of the bottom row. They are leftovers from the quilt made for Enoch and Mary's daughter Mary Worrall and are dated 1846 when her quilt top was made.

Road Trip - Las Vegas Quilt Appraisals

Looking for a spring break adventure? Come see me at Desert Quilters of Nevada's Quilt Las Vegas 2016 show in Henderson, Nevada, March 18-20, 2016. I will be doing appraisals on all types of quilts - antique, vintage, new, traditional and art quilts. I will also be doing some appraisal demonstrations each morning. Come see a bit about the process behind appraising.

There will be lots of quilts on display, quilt vendors, a bed turning of modern quilts, a fashion show and much more.

Day 14 -- Hickory Reel 1830 or earlier

Most of my collection is multi-fabric or scrappy but I do have a few fancy 2 fabric quilts. But most of those are red/green appliques. This beauty is a quilted tour de force. The milk chocolate floral is beautiful and the neutral is actually a blue/white ribbony stripe which adds a lot of interest. The applique design is delicate and the swag border is the perfect finish.

Isn't she lovely?

Larger segment of the quilt

And one of my favorite things about the quilt -- the backing is an early cheater cloth (preprinted patchwork). It looks like pieced tumbling blocks but is actually a printed design.

The full quilt in all its simple elegance.

day 12 French Star variation

I like most early antique quilts from the 1800s but there are a few special blocks that I have been studying and collecting and one of them is French Star. This quilt is a variation of that pattern as the center is one piece and not divided into 4 or 8 segments.

Lovely purple block.

Nice double pink- like the delicate prints.

The full quilt

                                               Here is a detail of my 1860's French Star quilt,
To see more of my French Star collection click here or put French Star in the search box at the top left of the page.