Sunday, February 26, 2006


Predictable and Vintage..or nearly so. This wall quilt hangs in my hallway. I handpieced the 4" bow ties back in the late 1980's. I managed to collect 25 of the Marcus Brothers reproduction fabrics of that era. This a charm quilt, with each fabric used just once. I used unbleached muslin and the set in seam method of piecing. It's hand quilted in ecru. I had not intended to have it on point, but when I laid out the bow ties I just wasn't happy with the straight rows of 5. I rather like them this way. After it was completed, I still wasn't completely happy with it, so I tossed it into a kettle with tea bags and changed the colors...some more than others..LOL. I rinsed it well and dried it, and then pressed it lightly. Oddly enough, the tea smell lingered for quite awhile. The clamshells in the big triangles don't follow across..they radiate out from the row of bow ties in each of the 4 directions. Posted by Picasa

10 comments:

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Your wall hanging quilt is very nice...and I had to count every bowtie *VBS*. My husband says that's a fault of mine that I have to double check everything, for myself.

Nines said...

How fun that you kept tweaking this one until you got the result you wanted!! I'm getting reacquainted to my blogging so I've been back reading-- dear Finn, getting any quilt finished, really finished- is always a BIG DEAL. Even for us long armers. Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

I really like this, and your quilting stitches are so tiny :-) I like the on-point setting too.

Tanya said...

I love this, especially the clam-shell quilting. I was in a dilemma as to how to quilt the borders of my current quilt and I think you have just given me inspiration. So, thank you.

Susan Tidwell said...

I really like this one, Finn! The colors are so vintage, the layout is so non-standard! Thanks for sharing.

Cher said...

what a sweet wall hanging-a real example of Finn-ness! I so enjoy the fact that you have kept and enjoyed many of your quilts-be they wall hangings or larger. hugs

heather said...

I love bow tie quilts. I've used a pattern that makes the middle out of a folded piece of fabric so it ends up with a 3D look.

Quiltgranny said...

I like the way the bowties actually look like a bowtie on a person, rather than to the side. Good job with an old standby traditional pattern.

Kairle Oaks said...

Bow ties.....last week I pieced a little bow tie quilt and got a good start at machine quilting it. Of course, as I was quilting the last of the bow ties I ran out of bobbin. To my surprise my bobbin winder was broken! How did that happen?! Hopefully, I too will have a bow tie quilt to post a picture of!
Kairle

Maggie Ann said...

Hello dear Finn, I've heard of charm quilts. Its very interesting and pretty. The first quilts I remember being shown were a bowtie quilt our young Pastor's wife was hand piecing many years ago and a Sunbonnet Sue quilt. The lady gave me the pattern for the Sue quilt and told me I'd never make it. Alas *s* she was right, though I think I did make a square.