Spring Housetop - a Gee's Bend Inspired quilt!

Ever since I’ve immersed myself in Gee’s Bend quilts, I have LOVED the housetop block which these quilters use liberally in their quilt making. They come in all sizes in their quilts and it seems to be a common ‘go to’ block for them.

This past April I began piecing simple 19-inch housetop blocks. They didn’t really turn out to look like Gee’s Bend blocks because I used mostly prints - which is predominantly what I have in my stash......although lately I have been trying to add more solids to my quilts because I’ve noticed so many of the quilts which I like have solids in them! I call it “Spring Housetop”.

In this quilt is fabric from some of my other quilts, fabric from a dress I sewed for myself years ago, dresses I sewed for my two daughters many years ago, and simply stash. There is also a thrift shop cotton shower curtain fabric in there!

In process on the wall....actually the center fabric in two of these blocks got weeded out in the final edit....the black in the upper right corner read too dark....and I can't remember why the utensils didn't make the cut!

The fabric in one block was too thin so I backed it with another fabric to give it bulk....

Here are some of the blocks before being quilted.....the lily fabric is left over from an apron I made my mother years ago.....the two tone purple print is from binding on another quilt. I really like it when the same fabric shows up in several of my quilts.....it makes the quilts seem like sisters...like they're related and connected by a common thread. Ha! One big happy quilt family!

The daisies on the navy background (below) is fabric that I used with a smaller size daisy print in the same colors to make dresses for my two daughters years ago.....so that reminds me of them! And the turquoise with purple circles is from shorts that my son wore when little. Okay, enough with walking down memory lane!

I like that it sewed up very fast with such big pieces and I sent it to My Long Arm Quilting Service in New York for a Baptist fan quilting treatment. Just got it back recently, sewed the binding on, and called it finished! (Still have to do a label.)

One more quilt on the stack!
Happy Piecing!

~Edith Yoder Schmitt