While I sewed, I realized I was making a quilter's Ellis Island. (Ellis Island was the port of entry into the United States way back before airplanes). You know, send me your tired, your poor, your wretched refuse - all those unwanted (fabrics). The name's a bit formal for this loud fun quilt, but still appropriate. There really are some uuugly fabrics in here...
I ended up going smaller than king-sized - this is 70x80. With all these shedding cats, any quilt on our bed will have to be washed and I'd like it to be easy to do. Plus, I was really inspired by a photo of Mary's bed with multiple quilts on it. Perfect since my husband and I completely disagree about how much warmth we need to sleep.
So sorry that these fabrics from Barb didn't arrive in time, but they will get into another lego quilt! some of these are sooo not ugly. love love the "hello" fabric in all sorts of different languages.
Not that we need warmth that often in Florida. But we'll be moving to Maryland next spring and I know they get winter "up in America" as my husband calls it. We've done some househunting and fingers crossed will get a house we love. Anyone here a member of the Columbia Faithful Circle Quilting Guild? I think that will be the nearest guild.
Back to the legos. These blocks are sooo much fun to make and so addictive. Seriously fun. Here are some fun one that others have worked on (sorry if I missed anybody - just let me know!):
- Chawne's Compost Quilt top
- Julies Dumpster Diving
- Siobhan's Pensieve Quilt top
- Diane's Chinese Coins in progress
- Clare's ongoing monster (don't we all need Doctor Who!)
- Sara's legos with One-Patches top. The borders are great too.
- Joe Tulips legos with Flying Geese. she got distracted by zombies though... (well worth it!)
- Lynley's not quite legos top
- Kim's I-Spyish lego blocks
This is how I approached making the Legos quilt. Sara came up with a different method, just sewing a biiiig long strip amd cutting it in two and joining those lengthwise etc.
I have to get a blogpost done so I'm going to sign off now... See you all hopefully sooner than the last time! By the way, you can follow this blog by email (there's a doohicky over in the sidebar) so you'll know when I finally post again! That is, if you're not using a reader (which I highly recommend if you follow more than a couple of blogs).
Lily says, time for a nap!
56 comments:
Ellis Island is magnificent! I loved seeing everyone's interpretation as well. Ya'll are all rock stars!
Ellis Island! What a perfect name. All those pieces coming together to make something beautiful. (Excuse me while I wax somewhat patriotic.....).
Awesome, Ton. Just awesome.
Good luck finding your new home. :)
I love that quilt and I so need to make one. I know what you mean about needing to wash the bed quilts. Every morning now that it's cooler (here in Maryland!) I wake up with our fattest cat right on top of me. I just don't get why he doesn't snuggle up NEXT to me. I've heard nice things about the Faithful Circle guild. I live 25 minutes north of Baltimore so my quilting group is probably a little far for you. I hope the kitties don't mind the move.
Simply fantastic! I'm in AWE! And the name's perfect! I SO want to make one of my own!
So... Does anyone have any spare hours they could sell/trade me?? :D Oh, why ask quilters, really, we never have ANY spare time! :D
Hugs from Finland!
Ellis Island is a masterpiece!!! Congratulations!! You've really started something, as you tend to do. Love seeing all the others. Very inspiring. I may have to do my own someday. Really, really exciting!!
Love this. After checking out all the links I'm getting inspired to start one myself.
Meanwhile, as for the cat hair an quilts--it doesnt even come close to competing with Dalmatian fur. Dal fur has a little fishhook barb on the end! So trust me, it gets in everything and stays in everything! Even DH's chair at work has Dal hair and Arlo's never been to work with him! Since we love quilts with flannel backing and Arlo insists on crawling UNDER the quilt all year long, I finally found a solution that helps. The quilts only get a real wash about 1x month. The other 3 weeks I throw one quilt at a time in the dryer with a couple wet towels. You would be amazed at how much dog hair fills up my lint screen. I make sure to stop and clean the screen halfway thru the cycle. The dog should be bald by now with all the fur I've collected from the dryer.
This method helps to prolong the life of my quilts yet keeps them fresh like a newly washed quilt and most importantly, dog hair free.
Absolutely appropriate name for this quilt! The whole idea of gathering all those tired, unwanted and wretched refuse in one pile to make something as beautiful as this is very inspiring.
Loved the subtlety of the border too.
Ellis Island is a wonderful name! And what a stunning quilt, I wish I could see it in real life. Thanks for all the links to other Lego quilts, I know I'll enjoy checking them out.
What an awesome quilt and a agreat name!
WOW-ZERS!
Your lego quilt is WOW... when I saw it on your blog a while back I decided I needed to make one. You can see my attempt to a lego quilt here....http://beebeesquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/2011/10/lego-quilt.html
I enjoy your blog....hope you get the house you want.
Now I am going to try making letters for a crossword quilt....sounds like a real challenge to me!
Beautiful!
Love the name and it's very appropriate, I think. Lots of pretty people came through EI as well as the not so much. Good Job, impressive, innovative, and inspiring. (The three i's)
Hugs!
I. LIKE.
MUST. DO. LIST.
I. OWN. UGLY. FABRIC.
Hey, Tanya! I've been a lurker on your blog for a long time. I was dumbfounded to see that you're moving up my way. I'm a member of Faithful Circle Quilters in Columbia, MD. We'd love to have you join us.
Fabulous!
i love it! this is on my quilty bucket list...
and barb *tsk tsk* any fabric with elvis on it should not be considered 'ugly' he's The King :)
Hi Tonya! Glad to hear that you are moving up my way. You are welcome to join my sewing group. We are very informal and always have a great time. ttfn :) Yuki
Love it, love it, love it!
Great title too!
What a great name! This has to be one of my most favourite quilts ever. How will you quilt it?
WoWoWoW!!!
Looking wonderful! A real eyeful to explore and enjoy. My grandmother's grandmother emigrated from Ireland through Ellis Island in the 1800's. What a trip that must have been.
Maryland! Wow that's a horse of a different color but you've been in cold weather before in the not too distant past in Paris. Fingers crossed you get a home you love.
LOVE this Lego quilt. My 9 yr old son saw it and now I have to make him a lego quilt. ugh. One more project to do...but it'll make the little guy so happy. Thanks for sharing.
I love this top so much, and you found a very appropriate name for it! Very tempting to try this lego concept. And thank you for all the great links to fun offsprings!
Love the "Ellis Island" title! So you're moving to Maryland! Woo Hoo! I have family there! I may meet you in person yet!
Your work always inspires me!
I can't wait to get time to work on mine some more :0)
Happy thanksgiving Tonya and
Happy Sewing
Love the quilt names (your Ellis Island id perfect!) and the variety of colors/arrangements and the process (!!) -- Love just absolutely everything about these quilts!!
Thank you for inspiring and motivating us!!
great name for a great quilt!
sorry my fabrics missed the party, lol.
hooray! it's great to see all the different versions of this. and, of course, yours is the loveliest. :o)
Terrific quilt - so much fun to look at. The name fits perfectly, too. Glad you are moving back to "America". You'll be closer to the rest of us! I am sure plenty of guilds and smaller groups will be vying for your membership. Lucky them. Thanks for all the inspiration you send our way.
Hey, Tonya, there is a GREAT quilt guild here in Maryland (actually, quite a few of them) and some wonderful shops, too! We look forward to you coming here - let us and we'll pave your way.
:) Linda
Fantastic! Something beautiful from lots of ugly :)
That was great having all the lego links in one spot. I have been running into them here and there.
My pile of uglies got ugly, as in dull and boring. I threw more strips into it from things sewn recently. I am looking forward to sewing more strips up now. Your quilt is gorgeous!
Ellis Island is fabulous! I especially like the border, which works so well.
This is really fantastic! Congrats. Love the name, too!
What a fun quilt! And it's a great name, too. Hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving.
We almost moved to Maryland 3 yrs ago -- too bad, we would have been neighbors!
I will never, never complain about how many pieces a quilt has when I'm working on it after seeing "Ellis Island"!! Love the name too.
Question--what a "reader" for those who read many blogs? I love to read them and perhaps I need a "reader". Thanks.
I started one, too! Stayed up 'til 3 AM last night making Legos. Check out my 11/27 post.
I'm in the process of making blocks for the last row. I AM NOT cutting any more strips. The Monster is super king size and I have no idea how I'm going to baste it, let alone quilt it. Tie it perhaps?
Also, because of the weight some seams are already splitting. I can see a lot of repairs being made before it's even finished!
Hope you got the house you wanted. March sounds an ideal time to move. After winter and before the summer.
excellent metaphor!
I love your Legos quilt- glad I could send you a few uglies to add to your sea of color. It is one fun quilt. I am sure this is not the last one that you will make.
Regards.
Anna
Ellis Island is a perfect name for this quilt. I love it Tonya. How did you get Lily to pose like that? What a hoot!
Love it !
Haven't started mine yet... but maybe after the holidays .
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving !
What a great name for your Legos quilt - very appropriate. Congrats on the "first finish". The top looks wonderful - are you going to hand-quilt this one?? And thanks for having all the links in one spot. It was fun to see them all.
I still have a pile of uglies that I never got off to you. Still want them??
Fabulous quilt! I love your blog and your kitties! Just spent about an hour looking at it. Very inspiring. Now I know what I'm going to do with all my small scraps.
Wow. I have got to try this! You are inspiring. Thanks.
Looks fabulous Tonya! love the cat yawn! haha!
Hi, Tonya. The Ellis Island quilt is marvelous and the title is appropriate.
Happy holiday stitching!
best, nadia
Thank you for all you've done for us this past year. Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2012 to you, your husband, and your babies.
LOVE it!!! And it is absolute proof of something Bonnie Hunter once said...."if it's still ugly, you didn't cut it small enough". I didn't see any ugly, so the size is perfect!
I laughed when I read Belinda's comment. Ditto....I'm in the same boat. I LOVE, LOVE, LOOOVVVEEEE your quilt!!
what a wild, wonderful colorful quilt!!
I love this quilt so much! I love that you used "ugly" prints to make something so beautiful. I could stare at this quilt all day, always finding something new! congratulations!!
That is AMAZING Tonya! It is so good to look at.
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