Boy Crazy!

I have always been a big fan of the magazine Quiltmania. So I am very excited to have one of my quilts published in one of their publications for the first time! "Boy Crazy" is pictured below, and the instructions to make the quilt can be found in Quiltmania's Special Children's Issue 2012, which should be reaching our newsstands here in the U.S. very soon. There is also a French edition, Quiltmania Hors-Serie Enfants 2012, which I have a feeling is already on European newsstands!

"Boy Crazy"

I like to design pieced quilts where I can incorporate a large variety of different prints. With my Boy Crazy block, it was so much fun to pick out the different prints for the shirts, hats, pants and backgrounds. You can add the optional appliqued buttons, too, just for fun! Each block in my quilt has a unique combination of prints. Here are some closeups of two of the blocks in the quilt:

Boy, that last picture is blurry! But we can be assured of beautiful photography in Quiltmania. I look forward to seeing my copy when it arrives from France!

Until next time!

Martha

My Blast From the Past

Last night my husband and son went to see the movie "Dark Shadows", based on the 1970's soap opera of the same name. I was an avid "Dark Shadows" viewer, at the tender age of 12 or 13. My husband enjoyed the movie and said they did a good job creating the 1970's.

Today, I had my own blast from the past - and the 1970's, no less.

I was flipping through my Hancock's of Paducah fabric catalog, as I do quite frequently, and a particular Alexander Henry fabric caught my eye. It looked very, very familiar. Here are the three colorways of the fabric taken from their website:

Alexander Henry Fabric "Cat in Calico Pink"

I had to get out my quilt to check. When I was in Junior High School, I made my first quilt, a simple four patch bedspread. One of my best friend's mother was an avid seamstress, and was kind enough to give me a large bag of her scraps for me to include in my quilt. One of the fabrics was one of my favorites - a purple patchwork print with cats.

Here are some photos of the blocks in my quilt made with that purple cat print:

Well, what do you think? The Alexander Henry fabric is very cute. But, I have to say I'm not anxious to revisit the 70's style fabrics or styles. Maybe that would be what the ladies from the nineteenth century would say if they were here today and presented with those old calicoes.  As for me, I'll take their old fabric any time!

Until next time,

Martha