Seasons of Life Quilt by Sandra L. Mollon

 

I love applique quilts and have made several applique sampler quilts. I am always eager to learn new techniques. 

When I saw Sandra L. Mollon's Seasons of Life Quilt: Techniques and Patterns for 13 Baltimore Album Quilt Blocks it was so beautiful I wanted to learn more. I loved the seasonal blocks, the variety of patterns, the doves and vases of flowers, and how she added adorable small animals- bunny, squirrel, and hedgehog--into the blocks.

Mollon learned Album style applique, as I did, from Elly Sienkiewicz's Baltimore Beauties and Beyond books. Mollon spent two years "diligently working away on" learning hand applique and hand quilting skills. She then earned a Viewer's Choice ribbon.

Seasons of Life by Sandra Mollon

Her Seasons of Life quilt is in the permanent collection at the National Quilt Museum.

Now, Sandra offers all she has learned over her years of quiltmaking and teaching in this wonderful book. 

She explains how to use successfully use silk fabrics in applique and the tools that will aid you. Learn how to make prepared-edge applique and glue for placing the pieces.

You will find detailed instructions with photographs showing how to make pieced leaves, folded rosebuds, rickrack flowers, ruched roses, yo yo flowers, and beaded berries. I love her idea for fringed flower centers and can't wait to try it. 

Learn how to embellish your applique with embroidery stitches and how to use ink and colored pencils for added dimension.

Student quilts illustrate ways to make your Seasons of Life sampler your own. Some kept Mollon's medallion layout while others used twelve blocks for a smaller quilt.

Flora and Fauna by Lora Zamk

Remembering Mary by Judy Green

Flora, Fauna, Butterflies, and Bugs by Beth Butura

Seasons of Life by Tina McConnell

Each block pattern is presented with a photograph of her original block and a detail of the applique. She describes the fabrics she used and her method of assembly and embellishment. 

These small photos don't do the quilt justice! Visit the publisher website where you can click on the photos to enlarge them at 

https://www.ctpub.com/seasons-of-life-quilt/

Mollon's masters degree in Biology from Central Michigan University shows in her eye for detail and precision in recreating in the flora and fauna in the quilt.

These patterns are challenging. But if you follow the instructions, you will create a drop-dead gorgeous quilt! Individual blocks could also be made for pillow tops. Or, make wall hangings with the three blocks from one season, or a four block quilt using one block from each season.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Discover more of Mollon's quilts at her gallery on her website:

https://www.sandramollonquilts.com/quilt-galleries

Seasons of Life Quilt: Techniques & Patterns for 13 Baltimore Album Quilt Blocks

Sandra Mollon Book ( $29.95 )

 eBook ( $23.99 )

112 pages + one 16-page pullout

ISBN: 9781617459610

UPC:  734817-113966

eISBN: 9781617459627

from the publisher

Take on your next quilting feat with a champion quilt! From expert quilter Sandra Mollon, recreate the “Seasons of Life” quilt, which is now a part of a permanent collection of the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. Learn techniques for incorporating unusual fabrics, creating dimensional flowers, as well as shading with inks and embellishing blocks. In true “Baltimore” style, each of the 13 blocks features a different tribute to nature in highly stylized fashion: baskets, wreaths, flowers, leaves and vines, and small garden or forest animals. Appliqué each block for your very own stunning creation.

Learn tons of techniques with appliqué, embroidery, ribbon work, beading, and more!

Includes full-sized pattern and instructions to the award-winning “Seasons of Life” quilt

Make 13 unique blocks with a pieced and scalloped border encircling the blocks

Meet Sandra

Sandra is an award winning quilter living in Northern California.  She has been quilting for over 30 years, and teaching for 18 years.  

Sandra began as a traditional quilter,  specializing in hand appliqué for a couple of decades.  You can see a few of my quilts in the book, “500 Traditional Quilts” by Lark Publications. She is currently working on a book to be released in 2021 with C & T Publication for her original designed quilt, “Seasons of Life.

She has had many quilts juried into large international and regional juried shows.  Her traditional quilt, “Season’s of Life”  won a major award in 2019 both at Road to California (Outstanding Large Quilt), and at the 2019 AQS Paducah show it won a purchase award and is in the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY.  

Additionally her work in art quilting has wonderful many place awards, a “Best Pictorial” award and a 3rd place award in 2019 at PIQF, a 1st Place in Wall at MQX 2019,  Best of Show Award and 1st place at the RCQG show in Sacramento Ca, 2018, and a 3rd place at Road to California in 2020.  

She enjoys teaching as well as working on her art, and loves to travel and meet new people.

Lynette's Best-Loved Stitcheries

Four Seasons Wall Hanging, 27" x 24", is on the cover

Lynette Anderson offers stitchers a new book filled with country cottage ambiance, with sweet bungalows and blooming gardens, angelic gardeners and adorable four-legged friends. She is inspired by the British country village of her childhood.

Lynette's Best-Loved Stitcheries: 13 Cottage-Style Projects You'll Adore includes
projects perfect for gifting and quilts to enhance your home's walls. Lynette loves to make projects that can be used every day.

Meadow Cottage Tote, 14" x 14". The tote includes inside pockets.

Sunshine and Flowers Pillow, 15 1/2" x 15 1/2"

I so love the use of applique and buttons and embellishments incorporated into the designs.

Lynette shares her techniques for transferring and marking embroidery designs, how to prevent thread shadowing, and includes a stitch guide. She explains how to use variegated floss successfully.

Count Your Blessings Mini-Quilt, 9 1/2" x 14"

Prairie Points enhance Lynette's needlecase holder and the scissors holder has a tassel cord, seen below. You learn so many techniques in this book!

Springtime Needle Case and Scissors Holder

Lynette shares her technique for giving fabric a vintage look by speckling, seen below in the Redwork pillows.

Redwork Pillows, 8 1/2" x 10"

Lynette offers a tutorial on her favorite applique techniques, turned-edge and Apliquick. The patterns are reversed so fusible applique can also be used.

I enjoy needle-turn applique myself but was interested to learn about Apliquick which uses semi-water-soluble paper and special rods to hold and roll turned edges of the applique pieces. Every stage of the process is shown in photographs and instructions.

One-Stitch-At-A-Time Sewing addy, 8" x 6" x 3 3/4"

The sewing caddy, above, has a hexagon back! Lynette includes English Paper Pieced hexagon instructions with photographs.

Potting Shed Journal Cover, 6 3/4" x 8 3/4", and Pencil Case, 8" x 5"

I love the oval insert on the Potting Shed Journal Cover, above. The lighter background for the embroidery makes it pop and the darker fabric frames it beautifully. The Hexie Pencil Case could also hold your needlework tools and threads!

Home Sweet Home Redwork,  3" x 6 1/2"

The book is sold as softcover and ebook with patterns available online to print.

I was given access to a free ebook by the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Visit Lynette's blog to keep up on her latest designs and news:
https://lynetteandersondesigns.typepad.com/
Lynette owns the Little Quilt Store in Australia where you can purchase her patterns and the tools, threads, and embellishments shown in the projects.
https://www.littlequiltstore.com.au/collections/all

Lynette's Best-Loved Stitcheries
by Lynette Anderson
Martingale
ISBN: 9781683560128
$27.99 softcover (-$8 ebook)
Publication Date: July 1st, 2019

Autumn Bouquet by Sharon Keightley Combines Patchwork and Applique

I need to make an Autumn Bouquet quilt!

I love applique. And I love these quilts that combine piecing with applique! 

Sharon Keightley has chosen color schemes suitable for autumn days, with rich browns and warm oranges. Reproduction fabrics work wonderful in these quilts, and the traditional applique patterns recall historic quilts from the 19thc.

Rose of Thorns, 22 1/2" x 22 1/2"

This Rose of Thornes quilt has a primitive feel that I love. Sharon has a 'make it easy' tip and I could make the applique in a few days. And she has no-fail Wild Geese instructions. Maybe this is the one I need to make.

Hollys Garden, 22 1/2" x 22 1/2"

Holly's Garden is also in the running. Sharon makes it easy with wash-away applique and easy pieced border instructions.

Goose Crossing, 74 1/4" x 74 1/2"

Oh, no wait--Goose Crossing is too wonderful to ignore! I love the appliqued flowers set in the negative space created in this traditional, pieced quilt pattern. And such a great idea to include dark-colored flowers.

Ring a Rosie, 30 1/2" x 30 1/2"

Here is an idea I can use. Ring a Rosie has a wonderful printed border and I have reproduction fabrics I have been hoarding for just such a quilt. The pretty scrappy flower wreath is on a pieced background and is set with super-easy patchwork units.

Treasures From the Scrap Bin, 21 3/4" x 34"

I have bins of scraps all organized by size and theme. Treasures From the Scrap Bin would be a great way to use some up! The Sho Fly block center is combined with a graceful flower urn border. I love a flower urn border.

There are a DOZEN quilts to choose from! Something for everyone! All sizes!

I have saved my very favorite until last. Sharon's Surprise was inspired by her study of antique quilts that combined pink and red.

I love these colors. I love the flower block with its reverse applique and the unique scalloped border. I love the light background and the way the applique colors pop.

This is it. This is the quilt I need to make.

Sharon's Surprise, 30 1/2" x 30 1/2"

I was given access to a free ebook by the publisher. My review is fair and unbiased.

Autumn Bouquet - Patchwork and Applique Quilts from Reproduction Prints
by Sharon Keightley
Martingale
$25.99 softcover
ISBN: 9781683560180
Publication Date: August 1st, 2019

Paint-By-Number Quilts: 4 Animal Appliques with Vintage Style by Kerry Foster

Have you always wanted to make a pictorial quilt? Learn new skills with

Paint-By-Number Quilts by Kerry Foster. Foster offers patterns to make four animal quilts that are too cute to resist.

Fabulous Fox shows how to use preprinted fabrics for an effective background.

First, she covers what tools and materials you need then she shows you how to choose fabrics. She offers two applique techniques: prepared-edge machine applique, prepared-edge hand applique, and fusible applique.

This bear quilt has the look of a vintage park travel poster!

I was interested in the first technique which I have not tried. Using freezer paper and glue, the sections of the image are built up then placed on the background fabrics. The applique can be machine or hand stitched. A numbered color chart correlates to the pattern and yardage by color is given. Instructions for assembling the applique include illustrations.

The off-white background suggests a wintry day. Note how Foster outlines the antlers.

The projects include a Racoon Mug Rug, pictured on the cover of the book. It is just adorable and measures 10" x 9". The Grizzly Bear Wallhanging measures 45" x 32 1/2".  Fabulous Mr. Fox Wallhanging, 37 1/2" x 46 7/8" is one of my favorites. The Whitetail Stag Wallhanging measures 18" x 29."

The section on Finishing includes notes on how to quilt the noses, antlers, and eyes, create a 'furry' look, and how to quilt backgrounds.

In 32 pages we get all the instructions needed to create our own versions of the quilts!

Kerry Foster, from her website

Visit Kerry's blog at
https://pennydog.com/blog/

Visit the Blog Tour for the book at
https://www.ctpub.com/blog/paintbynumber-quilts-blog-tour/

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

PAINT-BY-NUMBER QUILTS: 4 Animal Appliqués with Vintage Style
Kerry Foster
Format:
 Book ($19.95)
eBook ($17.99)
8.5” x 12”
32p booklet + pattern sheets, color
ISBN: 978-1-61745-538-4
UPC: 734817-112549
(eISBN: 978-1-61745-539-1)

Works in Progress and What's New

1857 Album blocks

Sentimental Stitches has released the last patterns for the 1857 Album Quilt. I've been catching up with June blocks. And finding alternative blocks for some that I did not relate to or were too difficult for my talents. I have also been adding the embroidery to the completed blocks.

The broderie perse block in the lower right corner in the photo above is one of my additions.

I also added the upper left block with the bird, which is from the John Hewson reproduction fabric line that was available a while back.

I added the presidents who served in 1857, cut from a printed fabric of presidents. There is an applique border to be added as well! I may turn it into two quilts! It is already huge, as you can see in the photo below.

Last week a huge box of books arrived won from The Quivering Pen blog by author David Abrams! He has a giveaway every Friday. Included is an ARC of Abram's upcoming book, Brave Deeds.

There were some books I wanted to read, some I had not heard of but look interesting, and others that my son or husband will read.

 I have quite a pile of Goodreads giveaways and ARC wins, too. And my Blogging for Books choice, The Heirs, is also waiting.

The cheerful cover on Hello, Sunshine was welcomed, as it arrived on a rainy day. 

I am enjoying working on this new project from A Batch of Quilt Soup.

It is the antithesis of my 1857's controlled palette with lots of clashing prints and colors that somehow go together just right.

 The original quilt is shown below.

 My bottom panel looks like this:

One of my friends from the weekly quilt group made this fairy quilt. Margaret used a fairy coloring book illustration, embroidered and crayon tinted it and covered the quilt with sparkly sheer fabric with a floral print.

I also added two handkerchiefs to my collection. They were part of a stash of supplies and linens donated to my weekly group. Both are designer hankies from the 1960s. The first by Monique and the second by Shelly.

My home office floor was refinished and we are ready to put the rug back in. I am enjoying my new work space. I found a great table, which as you can see is being well used! I have lots of space to spread out while researching and writing my memoirs, blog, and quilt projects. We will add a comfy chair. I will be able to use the table for quilt related work as well.

 One of my mother's oil paintings is above my computer desk.

Two more of her paintings are also hanging my my office.

The one above Mom painted for her living room which was decorated in beige and burnt orange in the 1970s. The painting in the photo below was painted for me. It hangs above a bookcase that belonged to my in-laws. The Anniversary clock also belonged to my in-laws.

The bookcase holds my Jane Austen set, books by Rumer Godden and Barbara Pym, Samuel Pepys Diary, a set of Mark Twain's book owned by Gary's grandmother, a Sinclair Lewis set, a complete antique set of 1001 Arabian Nights by Sir Richard Burton, and some vintage volumes of Lady Godey's and Graham's magazines.

I have lots of bookshelves available. Right now this one holds my poetry books, hardbound copies of books I've reviewed--some signed by the author, more books from my giveaway pile, and CDs.

The oak barrister bookcase belonged to my Grandpa Ramer. He bought it while at Susquehanna University, and Mom gave it to me and Gary when we married. So, this bookcase has been to seminary twice! It holds complete sets of Dickens and Balzac and my piano music books.

Last of all, since we lost our dear Suki early we have only our Kamikaze. She misses her best friend, especially since they were both blind and did everything together. We cherish her and enjoy her company.

Kamikaze has the big bed all to herself now.

We are pleased that Kaze is doing great on her new heart medicine, The last medication left her dizzy and loopy. She couldn't walk a straight line and stumbled and fell. Now she is eating well and loves her walks.

What are you working on? What's new with you?