Project QUILTING - Quarantine Edition - Q.3

VINTAGE


I literally groaned when I saw the prompt this week!  Not an inward groan, but out loud.  Trish began with this...

 "It’s hard to predict too far into the future right now, so instead let’s look backward."

I came here to start the post and gathered my courage to go back to read the parameters for this week's Q.3 challenge.

What's the scoop, Joyful???

Trish went on to say the following...

This week I want you to wallow in the glory of days gone by. Remember the good days, or long for a time you never even knew.

There are a lot of ways to define “vintage” – it can mean a specific year or season (like wine), it can refer to artifacts from 20 years ago or more. Or it can simply be a feeling of nostalgia.

What’s your oldest UFO, and is it time to finish it? Or are you dreaming of a quilt that defines a time period: 1930s? Civil War? Mid-century modern?

Now’s the time to work in vintage!

Interesting...

1. I really do have some OLD projects hiding in storage bins.  Some probably meet the 20 year criteria for true VINTAGE!!  I definitely have a UFO or two that could stand to be completed.

2. There is a bag of quilt parts made from reproduction Civil War fabrics sitting within arms reach of my sewing machine.  Many tiny blocks sit at the ready, waiting for me to make additional blocks before they are all sewn into a small quilt.

3. Under the longarm, there is a jumbo bin of 1930's-style prints that I inherited from a friend of our local Quilt Guild.  The bin lived under the guest bed for many years before that particular piece of furniture was evicted by the incoming piece of machinery several years ago.  I still haven't begun to use those fabrics.

4. Mid-century Modern.  That was a great time for furniture and design, but do I own any fabrics that fit that period in history?  I'm not sure.  There MAY be some scraps from a bag project created a couple of years ago.  If memory serves me correctly, a few of those fabrics had a mid-century vibe.

Hmm...  Which way shall I go??

Time to go hunting!  Project hunting, that is.  This is the first time that I seriously have NO IDEA what I will do for the week's challenge!  Yes, I listed some possibilities, but there was no "light bulb moment" right when I read the prompt.  (Remember, all I got was a groan.)  Me thinks this may be the biggest challenge yet.

What to do?  What to do??

Being SEW undecided feels like uncharted territory.  Sigh...  I much prefer those immediate ideas popping up.  :o((

Hopelessness turned into action.  I went back to reread the prompt.  Really thinking about the 20 year thing made me realize anything prior to the year 2000 would qualify for this challenge.  That realization brought a little sigh of relief.  Why?  I'm not sure, but pinpointing the time frame gave me a clear point of reference for my UFO options.  It definitely narrowed the playing field!

Next, it was up to the studio to search the bags and bins.  Ugh!!  Talk about reality smacking you upside the head.  The minute I crossed the threshold I saw this week's work staring me in the face!  Deb's KING SIZED quilt was just loaded on the longarm:

No large project, except that one, has a snowballs chance of being completed this week.  Honestly, I'm not even sure THAT one does.  (Sorry, Deb!  As you know, that's just the way it goes around here.)

Time to drop back and punt.  Only a small project will do.  Even though this was a prime opportunity to sneak in a UFO as my challenge entry.  Such is life.

You just NEVER know what will spark an idea!!

Ding ding ding!!  We have a winner.  Debbie @ A Quilter's Table recently completed a quilt named Skirted.  I absolutely LOVE all things recycling!  I commented on THIS POST:

Love, love, LOVE your neutral quilt!! Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I read the post. Recycled materials? That's SEW awesome! Interesting illusion you created by "quilting" on the rogue binding section. I'll have to remember that slick trick

My comment was met with this reply:

So glad you like it! I don't really expect to take 'fabric' from my closet all the time, but it was definitely fun for a project or few...

Suddenly, I was struck by a vision of a dress hanging in my closet. A dress that (most likely) fits the parameters of the challenge, but never fit me!!  It also fits April's RSC color of the month.  Win-win.

A quick search revealed just what I had hoped.  The dress (still sheathed in its original protective plastic wrapper) was right there in the back of my closet where I thought it would be:

As I turned it this way and that, to admire the timeless toile pattern, I noticed there was still a label on the back of the dry cleaning-style bag:

Here is the PROOF that my dress is vintage.  The date on the sticker revealed that it had been hanging in my closet for twenty YEARS, one month, and four days!!  Check it out:

See what I mean about the dress not fitting me?!  It was clearly made for a person any number of inches taller than me:

Oh, but that sweet toile print!  Sigh...  I still find it SEW beautiful:

Mix in Cheryl K's Orphan HSTs of unknown vintage...

... With a portion of that (now vintage) dress and I've got a plan:

A new quilt for my Gallery Wire is underway:

A bit of quilting...

... And some binding = DONE!!  Here's hoping I didn't (accidentally) use the name of Debbie's next quilt.  I present my Q.3 challenge quilt, Dressed:

11.5" x 15"

Is there a reason you participated this time, Joyful??

If you know me, you know there is ALWAYS a reason that I participate in these challenges.  This time??  It's because I just can't seem to STOP myself from joining in!!!

Here is my freshly bound entry, gracing my Gallery Wire:

This is the now pressed-within-an-inch-of-its-life mini, in its temporary home, doing duty as my latest Kitchen Quilt:

It really isn't as crooked as it might appear.  The shadows give that illusion.  I tried THREE TIMES to get a good shot!  I'm over it.

Oh! I almost forgot to include the photo above!  It shows a view of the backing fabric, given to me in a recent scrap infusion from Ella and Barry.  (Thanks, you two!)  This white and pale blue FQ (?) appears to have been used for stamping practice.  Even with the light house stamp, the color was a perfect blend for the front of this quilt.

Off to link-up with the Challenge...

... With more than 3 hours to spare!  Thank you to Kim and Trish for keeping us engaged in this creative journey during our Coronacation.  I really appreciate having something to focus on besides the day to day challenges of running  the house during a worldwide pandemic.  Got toilet paper?!

Sharing with Cynthia

for

Oh Scrap!

Until next time...
Stay home, but get DRESSED!!!