USDA reports show that organic cotton production is increasing significantly year to year. You can read something about it here.

I read in most articles that organic cotton is so much cheaper to grow and process than regular, yet it is very difficult to find for sale as yardage. And when I do see it sold by the yard (online), it is about double the price of commercial cotton yardage.

I’ll keep looking for a source of organic cotton fabric by the yard that is within a reasonable price range, and post an article if I find some.

Judy Rothermel’s popular Aunt Grace fabrics are such wonderful reproductions of the 1930’s prints we love in our grandmothers’ quilts.

We often tend to think of them in Wedding Ring, Dresden Plate, or Sunbonnet Sue designs. But they are wonderful when used in any quilt block pattern. If you are a beginning quilter, and you love the 1930s look, try a simple quilt that uses Four Patch or Nine Patch blocks. The sweet pastels of Aunt Grace fabrics work no matter how you use them.

Aunt Grace Fabric (PIC) LINK

Quilt Question:
What is a Scrim?

Quilt Answer:
Some quilt battings have a “scrim” or a thin layer of mesh that is a base for the needlepunching technique used to anchor the batting fibers together. The scrim usually is made of some type of polyester. In some battings, the scrim is noticeable on one side, but it is usually hidden within the fibers.

If you choose a batting with a scrim, you will be able to space your quilting farther apart. Some manufacturers state as far apart as 8” – 10” between rows of quilting. Because the batting fibers are punched into the scrim, they will not shift within the quilt from use or laundering. Many quilters do not like the scrim because it makes the quilt less drapable. Batting with a scrim is extremely difficult to hand quilt. However, it can provide some body to the quilt as you work if you are machine quilting it, especially if you are using a home sewing machine.

The quilt pictured uses one block, the Carrie Nation quilt block.

Barn Raising Quilt Design, Carrie Nation Blocks (PIC)

Even though it appears difficult, there is only one block pattern in two colorways in this quilt.

* All are Carrie Nation quilt blocks.

* The first colorway is the pinks. The second is the greens.

* The blocks are alternated by color. Simple to lay out, every-other block is a different colorway: pink, green, pink, green, etc.

The illustration is made with an arrangement of 6 blocks X 6 blocks.
The diagonal diamond design is achieved by rotating the blocks. Look carefully and you will see this. In the first row, the first three blocks face one direction. The second three blocks are rotated one-quarter turn, which changes the slant of the center diagonal.

Barn Raising Quilt Design, Carrie Nation Blocks (PIC)

The example pictured is in a scrappy style. You can achieve some very soft blending colorations with this layout, or some sharp contrasts, depending on the colors you choose. The colors also create advancing or receding patterns.

Happy Stitching!

A commonly known quilt block known as “Carrie Nation” block consists of a simple four patch within four patch within four patch design.

Carrie Nation Quilt block version 1 (PIC)

Carrie Nation was a well known suffragette and saloon smasher who believed that alcohol meant the demise of the family. She had a following of women reformers who believed that if men wouldn’t take care of family values, it was up to them. She was famous for smashing bars with her hatchet, an idea which came to her one morning after a night spent in prayer. She had tried through official channels to change saloon laws to no avail.

“I was impressed with a great inspiration, the interpretation was very plain, it was this: “Take something in your hands, and throw at these places in Kiowa and smash them.” I was very much relieved and overjoyed and was determined to be, “obedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19).

–The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation, Written by Herself, 1908.”

The quilt block does seem to be smashed a bit, with pieces broken into smaller pieces in sort of a chopped up way.

And you can see that by altering the color of some of the squares, the chains of squares change their orientation in the block.
Carrie Nation Quilt block version 2 (PIC)
Larger red/gold squares were rotated.

The next post will have some more quilt block ideas.

Quilt Question:
I’d like to design a more complicated quilt without software. Any tips?

Quilt Answer:
Think of a simple block in segments that can be further pieced.
Use some of the basic elements of a simple block, for instance a Four Patch.   Four Patch PIC

Make your block size a little larger than you usually would.  For example, plan your Four Patch block to finish at 12 inches square. That means each of the four patches for the block will be 6 inches square.

Instead of using plain 6 inch square patches, divide them further. How about into a 6inch Four Patch?

Put that together with two of the pieced 6” segments diagonally in your 12” Four Patch, and you have created a block known as a “Double Four Patch”.

Double Four Patch PIC

This method is endlessly fun. Just think of each patch of a block as a canvas where you can create a block within a block. Work with easily divisible sizes. For instance a 12” block can be divided by 2, 3, 4, 6. Each of those can be combined, too. How about a 9” segment and a 3” segment to make the 12” finished size? Or a 4” with an 8”?

Just remember to add the 1/4″ seam allowance on all sides of each piece so your finished segments will fit together to make a 12” finished block.

Check tomorrow’s post, and I’ll look at these fun possibilities further.

The following quilt is referenced from the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska at the University of Nebraska. The new facility is outstanding, and if you are interested in quilts you should plan a trip there. See link below.

I find this particular quilt very interesting, because the possible geographical origin is not far from me. Dale, Indiana is a very small town, near the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial and Lincoln State Park. The quilt is dated 1868, during the reconstruction after the end of the Civil War.

IQSC White Stuffed Work Quilt c.1868
Primary Pattern: Whole Cloth
Alternate Pattern: White-on-white
Brackman #:
Title:
Quiltmaker: Clark, Eliza G.
Geographical Origin: Possibly made in Dale, Indiana, United States
Date: Dated 1868
Style/Type: Whitework; Whole Cloth/Framed
Dimensions (LxW): 94 x 85 Inches
240 x 216 Centimeters
Primary Technique: Whole Cloth
Other Techniques: Corded/Stuffed
Primary Fiber: Cotton
Primary Fabric: Broadcloth/Muslin
Quilt Stitches/Inch: 11-13
Binding: Straight Applied
Inscription Type: Quilted
Exhibitions: IQSC Collection: Ardis and Robert James Collection
IQSC Object Number: 1997.007.0417

Visit the website here. link to IQSC

Quilt Question:
Is trapunto always done on a wholecloth quilt?

Quilt Answer:
A wholecloth quilt is a quilt where the top layer is not pieced, but is a single large piece of fabric, quilted so that the quilting stitches are the design element of the quilt. Sometimes large pieces of fabric had to be joined to get the size for the quilt top, but a wholecloth quilt top is not pieced in any way like patchwork or appliqué would be.

Trapunto was originally done on wholecloth, and doing fine needlework and stuffed work was a sign of an accomplished needlewoman. The type of large petticoat worn with an open, split-front overskirt in the 1500-1600s were usually quilted for warmth, and it made a fine way to show off needle skills and trapunto.

Early trapunto quilts were quite elaborate, with fanciful designs or flowers and birds. As appliqué came into vogue, some fine appliqué work was enhanced by trapunto quilting, and the results were beautiful. Quilters today use trapunto techniques on all kinds of quilts. Art quilts often rely on special techniques like this for depth and dimension, and even motifs on baby quilts are enhanced by a raised design.

Quilt Question:
What is Trapunto quilting?

Quilt Answer:
Trapunto is also called “stuffed work”. It was originally done as wholecloth, with the quilting design stitched as an outline, and then certain areas of the design were stuffed with extra batting through the back. This method was used in Tudor England in the late 1400s to mid 1500s, and in France in the 1600s. Colonists from these countries brought this elegant technique with them to the New World.

The original trapunto stuffing was added through the back of the quilt by using a stiletto to move the woven threads of the back fabric to make a small opening, without breaking the threads. Extra batting was then gently poked through the opening and pushed into place with the stiletto. Then the threads were coaxed back into their original position, creating a raised design in that area of the quilt.

Techniques for trapunto have been updated and modernized, making them faster to finish. One modern technique for trapunto calls for a lightweight backing to hold the first layer of batting, and then this backing is slit in design areas where the extra padding is desired. The slit is whip stitched closed for each stuffed area. The actual quilt backing is then layered in place, and final quilting through all layers is done.

Another modern technique that is nearly entirely machine stitched is to cut extra batting layers in the shape desired for the design and baste them on the back of the quilt top according to the design. Then layering and quilting can be done by machine or hand, and the extra padding is already in place.

Larger Quilt Shows that offer classes usually have a class relating to trapunto, or check with a local quilt shop to see if they offer classes. Trapunto is always a lovely effect, whether the technique is by hand or machine.