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Years ago I made
cloth dolls for each of my daughters. Angela and Autumn are now in college and their dolls
have been sitting in a carriage for years waiting for a quilt of their own. It took a long
time for me to get around to making "One Step at a Time" (19
1/2" square) for this purpose, but I think the traditional Jacob's Ladder was worth
the wait. |
Mary K.
Richmond, of Santa Maria, California, has made three progressively smaller quilts in this
design. She started with 3" blocks and ended with the 1 1/2" blocks of "Around
the Twist" (17 1/2" x 20 1/2").
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| Courthouse Steps form a traditional
frame for a special print in my "Mother Goose and Friends"
(13" x 18"). Choose nursery rhyme characters or another novelty reproduction
fabric for your quilt. The simple piece border adds visual excitement to the classic
books. |
"Mom, I'll Always
Remember" (25" x 30") is a touching tribute by Jan Winters of
Memphis, Tennessee, for her mother. In her quilt, Jan included vintage prints which
belonged to her grandmother and great-grandmother. She was inspired to print the "mom
quotes" because she's a mother herself and has used many of these lines on her own
children. |
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| "Dresden Charms"
(20" x 24 1/4") by Susan Holman, of Laytonsville, Maryland, won First Place in
the Traditional Appliqué category of the 1994 Miniatures from the Heart Contest. |
A full-size antique quilt featured
in Traditional Quiltworks magazine provided the
inspiration for "Spring Baskets" (12 1/2" square). I loved
the chunky handles and one-sized embroidery motifs on the antique and decided to
incorporate those elements in a miniature. Making this little quilt will warm your heart,
even on the coldest winter day. |
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| "Grandmother's Choice
Doll Quilt" (17 1/4" x 21 3/4") by Lisa W. Benson of Erie,
Pennsylvania, was inspired by an antique. Lisa explains, "I saw an antique doll quilt
in this pattern at a quilt show and decided to make my own!" The resulting quilt is
wonderful. |
Diane Albeck-Grick, the art director
for Miniature Quilts magazine, stitched "Vintage
Tumbler Charm" (20 1/2" x 22 1/2") to showcase a collection of
vintage fabrics. Whether made from vintage fabrics or reproduction prints, the simple
Tumbler unit is an excellent choice for a charm quilt. Fussy cut your favorite prints
(like Diane did for the sailor and her puppy units) to make your quilt even more
delightful. |
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| After buying an old green cradle
with tiny daisies painted on it, Judy Peters wanted to make an accompanying quilt. The
Rockford, Illinois, quilter chose a delightful assortment of fabrics to give "Beggar's
Blocks" (8 1/2" x 11 1/2") it's cheerful look. |
Ever since reading about President
Franklin Roosevelt's dog, Fala, I've wanted to make a Scottie dog quilt. After having
difficulty locating a traditional block without curved seams, I decided to design my own
for "Scottie Dogs" (12 1/2" square). Wouldn't these pups
be the perfect "guard dogs" for a child's nursery? |
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| After seeing the 1930's collection
of red, black and white prints by Maywood Studio. I couldn't resist making "Scotties
in the Corners" (9" square). You might enjoy stitching a gay little
quilt like this to decorate a young child's bedroom. |
The inspiration for this little "Storm
at Sea" (11 3/4" square) came from a description published in Traditional
Quiltworks magazine, of a full-size antique quilt. Even the tiniest pieces are easy
to handle with foundation piecing. I chose reproduction fabric in various shades of
purple, but you can choose prints and solids in your favorite color to make a mini that
really creates a stir. |
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| Mary K. Richmond of Santa Maria,
California, intended to use up the scraps from her collection of solids and reproduction
prints when she made "Thirties Four-Patch" (33" square).
What she learned, though, was that no matter how many blocks she pieced, the pile of
scraps seemed to keep growing. |
E. Helen Codd made the adorable
blocks in "Fans" (13" x 15") from 1930s vintage
prints. Helen, who is from Poole, Dorset, England, used fabric scraps, sent by an American
friend who restores quilts, for her "fantastic" miniature. |
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| It will be springtime in your home
everyday of the year when you make Jeanie Evans' "Pinwheel and Posies" (21"
x 26 3/4"). The Fort Smith, Arizona, quilter received Honorable Mention in the 1998
Miniatures from the Heart Contest with this lively quilt. |
As the art director for Miniature Quilts magazine, Diane Albeck-Grick found
inspiration for her "Petite Sunbonnet Sue" (15" x
18") in a note sent in by a reader. The reader had made a Sunbonnet Sue quilt in the
1930's-style reproduction fabric. Upon hearing that, Diane thought such a quilt would be a
great resting place for some of the vintage fabric she had collected. It must be summer in
Diane's quilt as her thumb print sized Sue appears to be wearing a sunset. That's why you
can see her knees. |
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| Fabrics from the 1930s and a
traditional pattern from the same time period give Nancy Ward Castonia's "Butterflies"
(11 1/4" square) an antique look. The quilter from Cumberland, Maine,
selected these fabrics because butterflies were a popular design during the Depression
era. |
Judy Randel of Woodland, California,
used 1930s reproduction prints in every possible color to make "Rainbow
Cabins" (9 1/4" x 12 3/4"). |
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| "Baby
Bear" (12 1/2" square), by Kris Porter of Wichita, Kansas, was born of
leftovers from a king-sized quilt. Kris put the tiny triangles; trimmed from speed-pieced
triangles in her larger quilt, to good use in this miniature. |
Patterns for all projects displayed are
available in the book, Miniature
Quilts with Vintage Style. (We're sorry but this
book is out of print. Please check with your local quilt shop or library
for a copy.)
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