1718 quilt finished

My  '1718 coverlet' reproduction quilt is finished!!!!!

 The quilting is very simple and done with my Pfaff sewing machine with invisafil thread by Wonderfil around the little blocks and the big applique shapes.

The backing fabric is a Japanese woven fabric and a linen/ cotton mix fabric.

 I just wrote the information on the back with a permanent marker, I know... I didn't take the time  to make a nice label, but this does the job as well.

I washed the quilt and dried it flat on a bed, followed by a short 15 minutes program in the dryer.

The quilt is made by me using the pattern from the book by Susan Briscoe:

'The 1718 Coverlet: 69 Quilt Blocks from the Oldest Dated British Patchwork Coverlet'. 

Not only the pattern is in the book but it is also nice to read about the history from the original 1718 coverlet.
It was really a great joy to work on this quilt!!!!
Have a nice Sunday!

Groetjes 

Annemieke

All my 1718 blocks assembled, top is ready!

This weekend I finished sewing my '1718 coverlet replica top'. I was very excited, happy and at the same time a bit melancholic that this was over. It sounds strange but sometimes I'm happy when a project is finished and another time it feels a bit sad to end 'a journey'. 

Last week I was busy finishing the last blocks, like these rabbits and geese.

Sewing all the blocks into big parts....

 Making the last corner blocks...

Finally it started to come together.....

My allotment is so overgrown....

There is not much space for laying out the top!

 Onto a bigger space...

Lizzy helped showing the top, as usual.

Now it is time to finish it. I wanted to make a coverlet as is the original one. The thing is I used so many different fabrics as linen, upholstery, old trousers (slacks) en skirts, Japanese woven fabrics, 50 % linen/50% silk, hand dyed fabrics by my friend Teri and many linen and scraps by Margret Behrends-Kohl , shot cottons, an antique striped sheet. All these differnt fabrics made the top heavy and vary in thickness. I don't want to leave it unquilted. This week I hope to find a backing fabric and make a quilt sandwich. To be continued!

If you want to try to make this coverlet yourself: you can find the book here;)

Groetjes

Annemieke

a Lion, a Unicorn, Deer and Chicken

Here are some new blocks for my 1718 coverlet reproduction. I used all kind of fabrics like wool, linen, cotton, silk/linen combination and different ways of appliqué.

This is the unicorn close up. Lots of blocks are made in pairs but this one is on its own. Like the lion in the previous photo, this animal is appliqued with a herringbone stitch.

 I used this stitch before as you can see in this photo above and wrote about it here.

This means that I have two more rows of blocks finished and can start sewing those two rows together. Hope to finish that soon. Lots of appliqué left to do, but I'm getting there!

Groetjes
Annemieke

Another 1718 update and lollipops tutorial

The back of the coverlet top in progress.

Detail of the coverlet top with one of the lollipops block (the large block with the 16 hearts on the right).

  I almost finished the third lollipops block, not the easiest blocks to make.

This is how I made the lollipops block:
I prepared all the hearts, and 'sticks' as  normal applique pieces.  I use Floriani ( bought it here: Hergarden, Beverwijk , it is a water soluble stabilizer) and fold and glue the seam allowances to the back. I placed them on the pattern in the book to glue them temporarily together, the hearts on the 'sticks'.

 Secondly I made the dark pieces, using freezer paper on top. This way it is easy to see where they are going and glued them together.

 This is how the back looks.

 The second one is done.

 Sewed these two together with the pieced triangle (inset seam)

I use the freezer paper shapes over and over again. Here I used a white pencil to draw on the dark fabric, around the freezer paper shapes. After this the freezer paper can be removed.

 The back again, after half of the lollipops block is finished.

 And the front. Hope this  little tutorial was helpful.

This is the update of my coverlet top so far. I made 146 blocks (some are not on this photo but on my design wall and not attached yet), 36 blocks to go.

Have a nice Weekend,

 note: The Floriani stabilizer and some coffee and/or tea dye will disappear after washing when it is finished.

Groetjes

Annemieke

1718 Coverlet update, 5 'rows' done!

A little update on my 1718 coverlet reproduction: I'm working on it whenever I can, it is so different from what I have done so far and very addictive...

The sunlight came in on Saturday for a few minutes. I tried to capture the whole width of this piece (hanging side ways)....
If you want to take a look at the original one that is in the collection of the Quilt museum in York ( sadly closed down in 2015, but you can still see the collection online ) you can look here . The colours on this site are much brighter than in the book with the pattern. I'm not sure which one is closer to the original coverlet, how it looks today.

This is where all the blocks are made, one by one. Some of them by hand others by machine...

The fabrics are mostly woven fabrics, like upholstery cottons, linen, old cottons dyed in coffee, Japanese woven fabric (fabrics I used in my Love entwined 1790 coverlet reproduction ) and old clothing.

With most of the fabric choices I try to stay close to the original coverlet, but sometimes I just pick what is in my 1718 fabric box.

This morning I did some early morning stitches before breakfast.  I unpicked the B and the 0 from the appliqued letters, they were out of line. Than I appliqued new ones, better I tthink...

On the left of my table I put up my 'design wall'.

It is a bit to narrow but it is an impression. I'll be off to make more new blocks and hope to show them soon.

Groetjes
Annemieke