Dreamworthy Quilts

August 12, 2008 11:10 AM

Marie: I have completed the paper pieced blocks. I have two virsions everyone can choose from. One is more even spikes than Dorinda's and the other looks like hers. Perhaps I should snail mail them to you for you to review and shrink to your size. Or redraw to your liking. We will need to paper piece the spikes and then do some curved piecing or applique' to attach the spikes to each other and the block. I designed it in exact proportion with the scale we enlarged our applique' to. It lines up with the photo copy pretty well. The whole quilt block (sunburses and flowers included) in mine, mom's, and Felicity's quilts are approximately 25" square. This will come out about right for a queen sized quilt which is what mom wants to end up with. She will do three rows of blocks (not cut the top one off in half like Dorinda did). Our applique border is approximately 12" wide which is in close proportion with Dorinda's block-to-border proportions.

Although I have the main block in the star bursts completed, I haven't yet decided how I want to piece the whole block together. We will either have to do "y seams, or set-in-seams as you may call them" or piece the block in quarter triangles which will require a seam through the center diagonal of the block. The first will be challenging for Felicity, and the second is not as appealing. Maybe I'll design it both ways for all our sakes.

We all purchased bias tape makers to do the vine. Mom and I are using 3/8" bias tape for the main vine and 1/4" tape for the off vines (just for diversity).

I've got one side marked for applique' and started. It is so pretty! I am having difficulty deciding whether to connect every leaf to the vine or allow some to float as she did. I think I may just do it exactly like hers.

I got out my copy of the Ira and Mamie legal sized, red book this weekend. I traced my line all the way back to Dorinda and had a blast. Deana Jennings - Lyn Evans - Lloyd Winkler - Mamie Winkler - Lewis Benjamin Lloyd - Eliza Lloyd - Dorinda. I suppose that makes Dorinda my Great Great Great Great Grandmother. I was thrilled to learn that Lewis Benjamin Lloyd (I am going from memory so I hope to have his name right) was born exactly 100 years and 1 day before me. He is buried in the Roosevelt cemetery. It was also fun to recall that Lewis, Mamie, and Ira all lived in bluebell area and in Carbon/Emery counties. It was fun to see my roots so close to home!

I've decided to make a scrapbook/journal of why I am making this quilt. I want to include a log book of the processes I used to recreate it and correspondences with you and the others. I also plan to copy the histories available to me of each person in my line back to Dorinda. Dorinda and Eliza's are in her book, and the others are in the Ira and Mamie book. I can write my own about everyone else. I am also so excited to have a photo of each person in the line. I want to put each person's photo on the back of the quilt and in the quilt journal. I have been calendaring ever thing I've done along the way.

I'm more excited about this project than I have been about any project in a long time!
Deana