Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Starting To Pirouette


I'm working on my Little Blocks 4.5 sampler; with three blocks released every Friday, it makes a great weekend project.  Deciding I need a concurrent project for weekdays, I started Pirouette.  



Pirouette is one of the excellent designs in A Scrapbook of Quilts, by Joanna Figueroa and Carrie Nelson.  When I got the book last year, I knew immediately that I wanted to make this one, it was just a matter of identifying the best fabric to use.  


It occurred to me that I had a lot of 30's reproduction prints stored in a bin and they could work nicely in this design.  Moreover, I have a gift recipient in mind (but better not mention it here).  The fabric is left from making two quilts for Miss Main Street's "big bed" when she moved from the crib.  Miss Main Street is 26 so this fabric practically qualifies as vintage.  It was all in good shape though, especially after a good starch 'n press.


The first step is to make eleventy gazillion HSTs.  I'm using Triangles on a Roll paper, which helps with both accuracy and speed as most of the fabric is partial fat quarters and fat eighths.  When I get down to smaller pieces, I'll use the traditional method.  


I've made a good start.  Tearing off  the backing paper is the most boring task, made better by doing it while watching a Winter Olympics broadcast.  Here is a block laid out on one of my design boards, not yet sewn together.  


Here's a glimpse of some quilts I made long ago using 30's repros.  The windmill block quilt on the upper left was one of the first bed size quilts I ever made; I probably made it in 1998.  It alternated on Miss Main Street's bed along with the one next to it.  The two underneath quilts on the lower rod are also in 30's repros.  



And for this one, Shasta Daisy, I used 30's repros for the foundation of each block.  


I'm enjoying working with these fabrics again.  There is something cheerful about them, and
cheerful is what I need now. 


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