A Prairie Update

As the new year has begun, so has the drive to complete some projects that we have on deck for this year. Teri wrote about hers a couple of weeks ago in her goals post seen HERE, and I (Kara) also have a few in-progress items that I have been working to get finished. As Teri mentioned in her post, I like to have projects as opposed to just blocks—not that there is anything wrong with having blocks. When we finished our Baltimore Fraktur blocks for our September 2020 class at Baltimore on the Prairie, I knew then that I would turn my block into a medallion quilt. Here is a little update on how that's going and what is to come.

The fraktur center is wool appliqué on linen, but I love mixing wool and cotton along with appliqué and piecing, so I knew that this quilt would be a mixture of all those things. The fabrics came to me by way of a former guild member who passed away. Her fabric collection was vast, and her husband offered the fabrics up to guild members with any monetary donations going to hospice. While I did not know Gabby, when I saw her fabric taste, I knew we were kindred spirits. She had a great collection of Dutch Heritage fabrics, and I knew they would be perfect for this quilt. 

Now that I had the fabrics and materials ready, it was time to get started. The first step was to frame the center with fabric and a contrasting bias strip.

I added a feather stitch to the bias using a #12 Painters Threads perle cotton.

Next was the piecing. Pinwheels seemed to me to be a good choice for a quilt that is reminiscent of the Pennsylvania Dutch. I've never been very fond of math, but it is a necessary evil for piecing—especially when trying to make the right size pinwheel and enough of them to fit around a square. I could say I did a lot of complicated math to figure out what size pinwheel and how many I needed to make, but that would be lying. I fit my medallion to the pinwheels by not trimming it until the blocks were finished—minimal math involved.

The grey will be a great canvas for some creative hand quilting.

A mix of Dutch Heritage fabrics and my stash.

The borders were next to be designed. Birds were definitely going to be part of this quilt (of course) and they would also be used for Teri's Baltimore Fraktur version, but I thought that it might be fun to do two different borders—one for the top and one for the sides. The top heart border is the first one that has been started and that is where the progress stands.

Ready to be stitched down and embellished.

A friend is going to help stitch all the wool down.

Love those Dutch Heritage fabrics

The two side borders have been cut, as well as the four corner blocks. I think these borders will come together quickly just like the medallion did. The medallion is not as complicated as it might look, and the ribbon work is not difficult either. If you join our class next September, you will see what I mean!

It is our plan to have our Baltimore Fraktur Quilt and wall hanging patterned up and ready to go for our students at Baltimore on the Prairie. Those who have signed up for our class there will receive the quilt and wallhanging patterns for free and then it will be sold on our website after we get back. In the meantime, we will keep you posted on the progress of this quilt and the wallhanging that Teri will be making. We are so excited about this project and can't wait to reveal the finished pieces!