The Wickersham Quilt

The Wickersham quilt is a signature quilt that was made in 1854 by Rebecca Wickersham. It is believed the quilt was made in memory of her husband, John Wickersham, who died in 1853. The quilt is comprised of 63 applique blocks....two of which are used as a border treatment. The entire quilt is set on point. There are various signatures on the blocks....believed to be those of family and members of the Quaker faith (of which the Wickershams belonged). The blocks themselves have mostly a floral theme and are a combination of various hand techniques....with hand applique being the most prominent, although there are blocks that were hand pieced....and quite a bit of hand embroidery. It is a very pretty quilt and has held my fascination for several years now.

It is one of those quilts that I knew I just had to make when I first saw it. I did attempt to make a couple of blocks by hand, but just wasn't happy with the way the finished block looked. It just looked as though something was missing. Fast forward a bit to the time when I got an opportunity to learn digitizing. Even before my first digitizing class I knew that this was the way to finally make the Wickersham quilt. I knew that this technique would embrace all that wonderful "folk art charm" of the quilt while allowing me a way of letting the "inner beauty" of the blocks shine through. Pictured above is the first Wickersham block that I have stitched out. I simply love the way it turned out! I think it retains that "folk art charm" while being a bit more of today....with the decorative stitching on the vase. The use of variegated thread on the flowers just seem to make them "glow"....and gives them life. The berries are all embroidered. 

The block pictured below is another block from the Wickersham quilt. This one was a very simple block. Just a flower surrounded by leaves. The center of the flower on the original block was left empty (that's where the maker of the block had signed it). I chose to fill it with decorative stitching to give the illusion of there actually being a flower center. While it is wonderful to see all the signatures on the original quilt, I have opted to leave those off of my interpretation of the quilt. So far I have digitized about a dozen of the blocks and have stitched out two. I really love the way the blocks are turning out.....and love the way it has a more modern feel to it while still retaining the "folk art charm" that originally drew me to the quilt.

This is defnitely a long-term project for me. It takes hours to digitize each block.....and hours to stitch them out. I'm hoping to have all the blocks digitized and stitched out by year's end....at least that's my goal.  :>) I will be sure to update my progress on this wonderful quilt as I go along. The original quilt measures 107" x 99". My completed quilt should be around that size as well.

Digitizing......

 

.....is an amazing new technique that I have been slowly learning over the past few months. How to explain digitizing? Well, it's a way of putting a design into a format that your embroidery machine can read. It is fairly easy to do once you learn the techniques (and actually remember them!!).......and can be rather time consuming. Although it is a very lovely way of passing the time if you enjoy the process.....which I do.  :>) It's a technique that allows you to combine embroidery with applique. Pictured above is one of the blocks that I have digitized and stitched out. This is for a block of the month that I am doing. I am actually doing two of these quilts.....one using "traditional" fusible web machine applique techniques....and one digitized. While the machine applique version has the lovely satin stitch and incorporates a few other decorative stitches as well, it does not have the lovely "thread play" that you see on the digitized version.....or the textured embroidery (as can be seen on the stem in the above picture). However, I must admit that the machine applique version is a bit quicker. You don't have to take the time to digitize anything. Just cut and sew.....basically.  :>)

As far as actual sewing time for both techniques....it's probably pretty close. It took about two hours for the digitized block pictured to be stitched out. That includes thread changes, fabric placement and trimming. The quarter circles in the corners were done using machine applique techniques. These had to be added after the central design was stitched out and the block trimmed down to the appropriate size.

Is the digitized block worth all the extra time and effort? Definitely, yes! While it may take a bit more time to do, you do end up with a more precise looking block....and are able to add touches of embroidery that you wouldn't be able to do with a regular sewing machine. The digitizing allows you to put the stitches where you want them.....and repeat stitches are exactly that. Close-to-perfect repeats. I won't call them perfect, simply because with digitizing the line of stitches will follow the line it is given when digitizing....and that may not always be perfect.

Pictured below: Another digitized block from the same block-of-the-month program. The checkerboard appearance of the leaves is not from the fabric used. It is actually from the decorative stitching that was done on top of the fabric.

The Harriet Sweater

Here is the Harriet sweater.....still unfinished. I ran into a small "inconvenience" with it. The armholes are a bit larger than the sleeves....which means there will be some easing involved. I have set it aside until I figure out exactly how I want to handle this. So close to finishing!!! Only the button bands on both fronts and the collar........(big sigh). It's best to be patient and see what solution will prevent itself....rather than adopt a "hurry up and finish" attitude. I would rather be happy with the completed project than do the "would have, could have, should have" dance.

So, in the meantime, I have pulled out another UFO and am working on finally getting that hand quilted. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the hand quilting. I spent some time last night playing with different hoops until I found one that felt comfortable. I settled on my 16" lap hoop. I also have a 14" lap hoop and a lovely floor hoop with a variety of different sized hoops. Yes, I definitely forgot how much I enjoy hand quilting. About 1/4 of the quilt was already done when I picked it back up. Hopefully this time....when the hoops are put away....it will be finished.

Teddy!!

Here is my latest knitted creation. I call him "Teddy". It's a simple name, yet seems to suit him to perfection.  :>) Teddy is a whopping 7" tall when standing. The yarn used to create him is a blend of Shetland, Llama, and Soy Silk.....hand-spun. The Shetland and Llama wool is from my very own fiber flock (compliments of Oreo and Cavi, respectively). The yarn is all natural colors

Teddy was my first attempt at a jointed knitted bear. He is string jointed (or, in this case, yarn jointed). His head and body were knit as one piece. After the pieces were all knit up, they were then lightly stuffed (to help retain their wonderful shape) and then popped in the washer for fulling. This produced a firmer fabric while still maintaining the stitch definition. After everything was dry, a bit more stuffing was added and the pieces were assembled. Teddy has button eyes. His nose is needle-felted alpaca (compliments of Whitkin)....and there is some needle-felting on his face to give his nose area a bit more definition. He sports a simple blue bow. He was tons of fun to make.  :>) I hope to create a larger teddy bear some day. One that uses plastic joints. I even hope to make one that will wear little outfits.  So many possibilities!!!  :>)

On the knitting needles now is the sleeve for a sweater I started way too long ago. I had knitted the back, both front pieces, and a sleeve before it was put aside. Well, this is the year of finishing for me......so out came the sweater. Thankfully I had kept good notes, so it was real easy to see exactly where I left off. I hope to have a completed sweater by the end of the  month.....or very early into next month. Don't want to rush myself with time constraints.  :>)

Onto quilting.....things have been pretty busy in the sewing room lately....which is good.  :>) Anything new that has been started, has also been finished. Pictured below is a lap quilt....which started out as a wall hanging.....which was a kit (someone gave me) that has been sitting on a shelf for way too long. Well, I wasn't real pleased with the way the wall hanging came out so thought I would simply add to it. Wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Somehow in the process of stitching the daffodil down the background got all skewed. I didn't find this out until I was adding the rows of Chinese Coins. Just couldn't figure out why one side was longer than the other......until I put it on the design wall and took a really good look at it. It was definitely a "smack on the forehead" moment for me.  On the cutting mat the whole piece went to be squared up so that I wouldn't have any problems whatsoever when I added the log cabin border.....or so I thought anyway. The log cabin blocks went together beautifully.....unfortunately they didn't go onto the quilt as well. The fit left a bit to be desired.....and I was starting to get frustrated with the whole thing. So instead of doing a lot of ripping and re-sewing, I opted to simply use a bit of starch with a good pressing.....and see how things looked after that. Turns out not too bad. I still don't care for the center daffodil panel....but maybe things will change after it is quilted. I'm planning on doing an all-over pattern of some sort and then binding it with blue. Should make for a nice snuggle quilt.

Strata Quilting

Strata quilting was the name of the class I took earlier this month. The technique was new to me and rather fun once I knew what I was doing. The pillow pictured is my finished project from that class.

Basically, the technique was rather simple. You laid one fabric on top of another....right sides facing up......made a slightly curvy cut with your rotary cutter......flipped one piece onto the other.....and sewed, using a narrow seam. The hard part (at least for me) was trying to picture what I wanted the end piece to look like. You were creating a picture of sorts. I'm a very traditional sort of quilter, so I found this way outside my comfort zone and rather challenging to do. I did manage to complete a small piece in class.....but didn't finish it right away. Once I got home I wasn't sure what the piece wanted. So I patiently waited util if finally decided and let me know. It had decided that it wanted to be a pillow. One where all the seams were done with a decorative stitch using rayon threads....which I did.....and had lots of fun doing.  :>) I had backed the pillow front with a piece of cotton batting before doing all the decorative stitching.....in essence, quilting it. I used a couple of the maxi stitches available on my machine in the larger  areas of the pillow front. The stitch used in the blue was left as is. The stitch used on the gold fabric didn't really show. It got lost in the color and pattern of the fabric. So I opted to color it in with colored pencils. While the end result is subtle, it does give the eye a bit of relief from such a busy fabric.

As for the pillow backing......I tried something new (for me). The piece decided that it wanted a string backing using a flip-and-sew on a foundation method....something I have never done before. So out came the older books on string quilting.....and I was off and running. Loved this technique!! It was fun and allowed me to create a beautiful backing that was quilted as well (since I used batting as my foundation piece).

The pillow itself is now on display at the shop where I took my class. I hope it brings inspiration to all that see it.

Here's Horace!!!

Horace the Bear that is.  :>) This is a pattern that I've been wanting to make for quite some time. Years, actually. The yarn is a hand-spun Targhee/Lincoln blend. The roving was already dyed when I bought it (most likely at a fiber show). The pattern is by an artist in Britain. Horace was a ton of fun to knit up.

I  had wanted to try something a bit different. Horace is a knitted bear and I wanted to create a fabric that was a bit firmer. So after the bear was knitted, I lightly stuffed it.....so it would retain its shape.....and then into the washer it went.  I checked on it often....holding my breath most times.  :>) He came out beautifully!! I got the firm fabric I was looking for without any of the distortion that I was worried about. There was just enough stuffing to help the knitting retain the shape I wanted. Once he was dry, I then finish stuffing him (even put a small pellet bag in his body to give him a bit of weight when sitting).....and then put all of the finishing touches on. I couldn't be happier with the end results.  :>) Horace is about 7" tall when sitting......11" when standing. The flower  Horace is wearing was made by a friend of mine.

I do have another knitted bear on the needles. Different pattern, different technique. This one is being knitted with yarn from my very own animals. It's a blend of shetland wool and llama with a touch of soy silk. Very pretty yarn. I simply adore the way it is knitting up as well. If someone were to ask me what my favorite fiber is I would have to say.......anything from my own fiber flock!! And that I've processed myself. So far this year I have spun up close to a pound of fiber.....and all of it from my flock.

First Finishes of 2010

Well, here it is.....the new year.....and I have finishes. Yea!! They are small, but finishes all the same.  :.)  The teddy bear was made from left-over border fabric from a UFO that I have been working on since the beginning of the new year. Really loved the fabric and just couldn't bring myself to toss out the scraps. Found a free pattern online.......little bit of cutting, some sewing.......and a teddy bear is born. He is a whopping 7" tall when standing. His head, arms, and legs all move. I really didn't have the proper "hardware" for him, so made due with what I had on hand. So button/string joints for the arms and legs. The head joint is actually an lock washer eye that I had left over from another project. I opted to do the cross-stitch on the seams to give it a more "folksy" look......for lack of a better word.

My other finished project was an embroidery one that I had started when I first got my "new" Pfaff. I coudn't wait to try out the larger hoops so I stitched out an embroidery that was already built into the machine using a variegated rayon thread. Loved the way it turned out. Then I decided to play with the mirror feature.....and stitched that out as well.  Ended up getting sidetracked with something else and both pieces were set aside. I'm sure at one time I had some wonderful project planned for these embroideries. What it was I have no idea.  :.) All I know is that an acquaintance had come over and the blocks had been pulled out for some reason. She really loved the blocks.....so I thought it would be nice if I did something to finish them up and then give the completed project to her as a gift. Well, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with these blocks. Then it dawned on me. Why not frame them? Sounded good!! I could see them framed and hanging off-set on a wall looking pretty. Well, off to the store I went to get the "perfect" frames. I'm standing there, looking at frames, when this larger frame catches my eye.  What if I framed them as one piece instead of two? So the larger frame comes home with me. I find that I have the perfect fabric in my stash that will compliment the two embroideries very nicely. Sew it all together, then decide that a bit of quilting would look nice, too. The end piece is pictured below. It turned out so nicely that I decided to keep it for myself. My loving hubby found a wonderful place to hang it. The finished piece ended up being 14" x 11". I have a few other smaller embroidery blocks that I did (and don't know what to do with). I'm now thinking that they will look very nicely framed. I even saw the "perfect" frame. Sounds like yet another UFO will be finished.....which is always a good thing.  :.)