A new "old" book.........

As my blog readers already know, once in awhile my husband and I stop at a thrift store.  A couple of weeks ago he found the above book.  I have really cut back on buying quilt books.  We are in a tiny apartment for now and there are boxes of books that didn't make this move with us.  They are in storage and to be honest, I rarely miss any of them.  But when we came across the above book for $1.00, it was more than I could bear and it had to come home with me.  It is a large book and the photos of quilts are huge:

You can see by my hand that the photos of the quilts are about the same size as any miniatures I make.  That is a bonus for me.  Instant scaling.  Understanding the scale of things is a very important factor if you want to make a successful miniature quilt.  I have come to believe that you either understand scaling or you don't.  Anyway, the book doesn't contain any patterns, so if that is what you want in your books, this book is not for you.  However, if you love antique quilts and fabrics, this book is a winner.  The bright blue cover makes it easy to spot if you are at a used book sale.
Till next time.....
Sheila

WIP

Hi to all.

This is what I am currently doing.  Quilting the orange and blue miniature quilt.  Hopefully the spool of thread and thimble will show you the scale. The quilt top was done with needle turn applique and hand piecing. This little quilt was on hold for quite awhile.  I was thinking about if I wanted to change one of the blocks, but decided it was way too late to do that and just went for it the way it is.  As mentioned on prior blog entries, I don't really enjoy hand quilting these miniatures.  I don't use a hoop and it is a continual battle to keep the quilts flat and square.  The pieces are so small that simply putting a couple of quilting stitches in them will cause distortion.  Quilting around applique pieces is much easier.  No seams to contend with and not too much distortion to fight. I am currently working on the large orange border and it is going well.

About the comments on my last entry:

Jill - what pages in the book did you bookmark for reference? Just curious.

Taryn - thanks for the very nice comments.

Karen - glad you like the header photo.  I don't change mine as often as you do on your blog, but every once in awhile I change it up.

Till next time, keep creating wonderful things...........

Sheila

Edit:  There have been problems with the comments page freezing up - I have downloaded Google Chrome and changed the comments options to a pop up box.  I have no idea if the problem is fixed.  Computers - Aaargh!  Jill - thanks for emailing me about this.

2012!

What does the above pic have to do with a new year?  Nothing.  But it's cute, isn't it? Maybe good fairies will visit us all in 2012 - who knows!

Are you the type of person that makes resolutions when the new year comes in?  I'm not.  Don't want to disappoint myself for a whole year, so I just don't make 'em.  I do sort of have a philosophy of life or at least a philosophy of quilt making and cooking.  When I look at a recipe or a quilt pattern, I think, o.k. what can kick it all up a notch?  Maybe not a huge notch, but a notch none the less.  In cooking that translates to things like: if the cracker recipe is good, wouldn't sesame seeds be a good addition and wouldn't they be even better if they were toasted first?  Make every ingredient its own best and the end dish will show it.  The same thing applies to quilt designing.  A good book to illustrate this philosophy is an older book, but one I love to look at:

It will take a look at two different quilts in the same style, analyze them and tell you why one is more valuable than the other.  I didn't get the book as a guide to pricing antique quilts, but rather as a guide to tell me how to kick my quilt designs up a notch. Why add a plain border if you can put a pieced one?  Why use only one pink fabric if you can use a whole host of them? That type of thing.  What can you do to make the whole quilt just a bit more interesting?  What can you do to keep the viewer looking at the quilt?  What will hold your own interest while you are making the quilt?  Those are all good questions. 

Let me know what your thoughts are on this subject.  Love to hear from you all.

Till next time......

Sheila