More Cheddar.....

This time in STARS!!

This is the one that really had my jaw dropping when I opened the box. You guys KNOW me..you know how I bleed cheddar and red! And I love small small small....and LOOK AT THIS!?

This is "NOT" a quilt I would ever make myself. I love the scale, but to do the whole thing in 3 fabrics? All those white open spaces for heavy hand quilting? I just can NOT make myself stay focused with my ADD to do it. I might dream it..I might want to, but I KNOW ME. (Knowing myself is half the battle!)

And as much as I was blown away by the stars (Just over 2 3/4" each)I was doubly blown away by the quilting. Or make that QUADRUPLY!? The alternate blocks are filled with quadruple rows of wavy lines followed by a negative unquilted space, and then the 4 wavy lines repeated again to fill the area. Just check this out!!

These stitches are smaller than the previous applique peony quilt I showed the other day. There are no answers for why....we don't even know if they were quilted by the same person. But this one could have been made earlier when the quilter had younger (and better!) finger control. The batting is thinner, which also allows for smaller stitches.



Can you see the cross-hatching in the small blocks between the stars?



I also love how this quilt was OBVIOUSLY not squared up before adding the binding...by all counts, this border was probably rippling with the wind before it was quilted, so is this a story of "It will quilt out??!" Look at those diagonal lines behind the border feather and how they alternate direction...AWESOME!



This pic is a close up of the quadruple parallel lines of the quilting behind the border feather. Look at those stitches!!



More close up of the border quilting. Be sure to click all these pics to make them BIGGER. Really, seeing it up close just gives me the tingles! (I'm sure my DH wishes I said the same thing about him..hehehe!)


The stars are also quilted with triple lines of quilting. Remember the scale...these stars are just over 2 3/4"..less than 3"....how many triple lines would you do in a 3" space? There are 15 lines of quilting in each 2 3/4" star.



I wanted to get a pic with the ruler to help show you the scale. Does this prove it to you?



How about if I plunk a 10 cent euro piece down...maybe THAT will give you a good idea :cD



Am I the only one who's mouth waters at quilting texture like this? I took this pic out on my back deck in natural light to see if I could get the quilting to pop....and pop it did! I really am in awe. I wish I knew the maker. As hard as I try, I can NOT get small stitches like this. I am a tall/big woman. My hands are NOT dainty, the distance between my knuckles and how my fingers bend pretty much dictates that I will not have the same small stitches as some small boned woman even though we use the same rocking stitch. This is beyond my ability, but oh how I love it!



And THIS my friends, is what inspired my pondering over the past week. This is why I feel compelled to leave a part of myself, my OWN SIGNATURE, directly on the quilt. See this signature? The family name is Adams. I believe it says A.S. Adams, February 18th, 1862

Dear Miss Adams,

I just wish I could let you know how much I love and appreciate being the care taker of your quilts. Seeing as the gentleman down your family tree "Couldn't Care Less" (Being of the male gender and all!) I think he did a real fine job of passing them on to someone who will cherish them the rest of her life. Thank You!