Saturday, March 30, 2013

Schoolhouse is a top ... haunted no more

I have had quite the journey with my schoolhouse quilt and at last it is a top.  Come along and I will show how my borders came to be.

Once my centre blocks were all assembled and sewn together with the sashings, the time had come to decide on the borders. 

Numerous red fabrics were pulled and auditioned along with different versions of stars. This is the final selection for the borders.  I definitely love the two different star sizes.

Once the borders were sewn on, it helped to define the look and to help me decide if I was going in the right directions with those stars.
The more stars were made and pinned onto the border, the more I was falling in love.
 Then, I thought about putting small circles inside the larger stars.  Yes, that will do quite nicely!  :o)
After sewing a few stars on each night, I would pin my top onto my design wall and sit back in my chair and drool and pinch myself if this was real.  Seeing my progress each night kept me motivated to finish the border and this top!
Here is a close-up of the stars:

At last, my top is finished and I am haunted no more.  Haunted?  Read on.
My love affair with this top all started with this quilt below.  DH and I stopped in at the quilt show (May 2005) in Kingston, Ontario on our way from Toronto to Quebec City to visit family there.  We only had a few hours to do the show and DH snapped photos of the quilts while I browsed the vendors and the guild booth.  This quilt haunted me.  Was there a pattern?  Debra was also at this show (before we became friends) and every so often we would talk about this quilt and again asked: "was there a pattern"?  Finally Debra and no-blog Mary asked if I could draft up the block.  Well, yes, I think I can?  It wasn't easy drafting that pattern, but finally it came to be.   You can go here for a tutorial on how to make your own block.

It turns out that the Kingston guild had a blurb about this quilt at the time of the 2005 show.  The quilt that inspired the guild ladies to make this quilt came from Donna Thomas.  You can go here to read more about it.
Then, a few days after I finished sewing the last star onto my top and exactly 2 years after I first posted about this quilt here, an email was received from the designer and copyright holder of this pattern.   Andrea Blackhurst is her name and her pattern appeared in Quilt magazine, fall 1996.  The photo below is how this quilt appeared in the magazine (thanks Andrea for giving me permission to use your photo). 
My version of THE quilt is made and I'm haunted no more!

Now, it is time to get on with another UFO!

Have a great day!

18 comments:

Frog Quilter said...

Your top is stunning!! Woohoo!!! I might have to consider making me one of those. Love red.

Julie Fukuda said...

I have seen a number of versions of this quilt and every time it calls to me. Maybe there will be one in my future too. Congratulations on the finish!

Colleen G said...

A wonderful accomplishment: I have "pinned" a couple variations of that idea as I think the schoolhouse block was the very first I was attracted to when I first decided to quilt. Haunted is a good way to describe the feeling as it is many years later and that quilt is still on my bucket list! You have done a terrific job and it is so nice that you have been in touch with the design inspiration to give credit as well. Thank you both for inspiring others and showing what determination can create.

Barb said...

Congratulations! I love the look of those stars. It really added so much to an already wonderful house quilt!

Manuela said...

Congratulation.
Your top is amazing.

Greetings, Manuela

Karendianne said...

Oh man do I ever love this! The border work really sets it off. Those stars!!!!!!!!

Grit said...

Your top is so wonderful.
Fantastic work. I love your blue houses so much.

Grit from Germany

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

It turned out wonderfully! Love the border! I am still working on my Klosjes.

M and M plus 3 said...

Oh my goodness, that is gorgeous and your border applique really sets it off! Great job.

Raewyn said...

Lovely post Rose Marie and a great story. I love those stars and they set off your wonderful house blocks so nicely. Nice that you got that quilt out of your system and onto your wall!!

hetty said...

Love those stars! Great story too. You do fantastic work.

MARCIE said...

Oh can you believe after all that drafting you find the pattern!! All versions are wonderful but those stars of yours are spectacular! And your blocks vary also, so it is very original. Nice of Andrea to contact you.

Michelle said...

I'm always being haunted by quilts I've seen or fabric and yarn I haven't bought. Isn't it a great feeling when you get those done and out of your system?

Sew Create It - Jane said...

It's a wonderful quilt...I wish I'd seen this idea before piecing some 6" blocks I had left over from a project together...they would have been perfect for this :o)

Teresa said...

Its a great quilt and I have enjoyed following yours as you made it. The finished top is outstanding!

Gisele said...

I love all your quilts Rose Marie, but I have to admit, this is my all time favorite! Love your little signature stars in the border, are these EPP, then appliqued on? Congratulations on a wonderful finish :) Gisele

RG said...

Oh this is gorgeous!
Congrats on finishing such a lovely quilt... I do love houses :D
Robyn xx

Lorraine said...

Can you tell me what the finished size is, of the schoolhouse blocks are for your quilt, please?