Results of Friday Night Sew In

This is what I accomplished last night.  (And still got to bed a bit after 9:00.)

It's a small quilt with nine rows of twelve tumblers pieced by Judy from wonderful collections of "flower-dee" prints--it will be perfect for someone resting in her favorite chair.

Here's a detail of Judy's Tumbler Quilt.  It's for our prayer quilt ministry, Victory Quilts.
If this group ever gets tired of all my feathers and ribbons, I will be in big trouble!

Today we're meeting at our church for several hours to work on more quilts.  I'll be cutting, piecing, and layering, so I can get by with a nice light-weight sewing machine rather than the much heavier one I use for quilting.

Check out the links to other people's Friday Night Sewing accomplishments on Heidi's blog:
http://www.handmadebyheidi.blogspot.com/

I'm Going to Quilt as Part of the Friday Night Sew In

This is what I'm going to do.  Check it out!

http://www.handmadebyheidi.blogspot.com/

http://handmadebyheidi.blogspot.com/2010/01/tonights-night.html

I'll have to use another machine because this one isn't ready to try quilting yet.

Tomorrow, I'll post what I accomplish  tonight!

Promise and Hope

The identity of the maker of this double wedding ring quilt top has been lost, although we know she was in Ohio and was a distant relative of my friend Bobbie. 
When I see quilt tops like this, I always wonder how isolated their makers were, since clearly they needed support and nurturing to acquire the skills needed for a design this complex.  To complicate matters further, someone who received this top decided it would be a good idea to clean it was in need of laundering and that that task would bet be accomplished in a washing machine.  Bad, bad idea!!!
Bobbie's mom owned this quilt top--possibly a gift from the person who made it, possibly after having been passed along through several relatives. Bobbie's mom passed away after a short illness last year; being well acquainted with grief, I agreed to work on this, although I didn't promise to meet any certain completion date.  Since it's been around for years and years already, however slowly I work on it, I'll enjoy connecting with times past and the seamstress who dedicated so many hours to something she must have loved creating, however imperfect.
Some of  the tiny pieces of fabric have fallen apart, so I said I'd replace the arcs where needed, but I'll do so with a single piece of reproduction fabric so she'll know what was replaced.
I really thought there would be plenty of 30's reproduction fat quarters available in the few quilt shops we have here, but I was wrong. I hope the pieces of fabric near the top of the picture will do the trick.
I need to get to work on this--it will give me a focus to distract myself from the dark cold of January!

Longing for Spring

Every day I am grateful to be able to wake up in a warm house, to be able to come home from a hard day's work to a warm house, not to have buy, chop or carry in wood or carry out the ashes.  Still, I'm so hypothyroid that winter invariably seems not only dark, but also long and cold. If my little house were a little bigger, I'd be forcing tulip bulbs in every room.
I'm trying to discipline myself to work on some that have already been around for over 50 years.
This quilt top was pieced by my niece's paternal grandmother, who, like my own paternal grandmother, died decades before our births.  I know Grandma Roberts was older when she married and died when her only son was only six or seven.  Her widower passed away a couple of years later.
I love this quilt top, not only for the great variety of fabrics in the tulips, relentlessly blooming in perfectly spaced rows, but also for the fact that she appliqued these by machine and then went back and applied buttonhole stitch with black embroidery floss along every edge.  I'm sure this must be the result of evening stitching for much more than one cold winter. And I do remember how in the area where she lived there was so much snow that it was not uncommon for the depth of snow on the sides of the plowed roads to be greater than the height of the school buses!
This quilt has no border, but I'm going to add one or two from a couple of reproduction fabrics so it will be big enough for my niece's bed.  I've yet to decide how to quilt these blocks to best advantage.
These lovely rows of tulips speak not only of the promise of this spring but of the springs of the last fifty or sixty years--even the ones they never saw because someone had shut them away in a box somewhere.

Things That Inspire and Comfort

 

I love white bed linens.  Of course, I also love pastel bed linens...and printed bed linens...and warm flannel bed linens...the latter, especially on the cold nights we've been having lately.  Recently someone told me she has found a beautiful vintage pillowcase with lovely, wide hand crocheted lace, but the she would probably never actually use it because she had only one.

I confess, having only one seldom stops me from using them, if they are not too fragile to be used. But I always hope nothing ugly happens to them while they are being used.

I found these on closeout at TJMaxx or Marshall's or a similar place a few months ago.  I'm so glad that someone in the world of  design and marketing had enough appreciation for the past to bring these to the marketplace, even if the decoration is just a piece of machine embroidered ribbon.  They bring me a comfort beyond anything rational.

This is the 1919 Singer Redeye treadle I purchased at the end of November and have been cleaning and working on ever since.  I had no success finding the Orange Oil cleaning solution or the orange oil and beeswax polish that others assure me are carried by antique stores everywhere.  I finally went to the Amish Collection furnishing store in Albuquerque and purchased a wood cleaner and lemon and beeswax polish from them.

While working on this machine, I'd begun to wonder if the woman who owned had wanted a new electric machine and at some point messed with every tension control until it would no longer sew.  Then I remembered how the Singer salesperson/repair person had messed with my mother's WWII era Singer until it would no longer sew, told her the gears were worn out, and that she'd just have to get a new machine, a Touch and Sew.  (A couple of Viking dealers told me the same thing about my 1974 Viking.)

In any case, this Redeye is sewing once again, and the wood, while it is too damaged to ever be near perfect again, is being fed and nurtured once more.

In return, this machine is encouraging me to dream more dreams of more quilt tops yet to be created.

Ruth's Scripture Quilt

Ruth pieced this from a kit.  She began quilting it, but was unsure how to finish, so I offered to do it.  It was a good experience for me because I was able to create some new quilting designs.  You may be able to see some of them more clearly if you right click and open the photo in a new tab or window.

It reminded me of the second full-size quilt I finished 30 years ago, a rail fence in dark blue, light blue, and beige Wamsutta calicoes.  While I was handquilting that one, I was at my sister's house in Tennessee, and her four- or five- year old son Greg was into "Spidee Man" big time.  Many a time I would stand up to take a break from quilting and find myself totally ensnared in elaborate string spider webs!
About 20 years ago I agreed to sell that quilt to a neighbor in Gallup.  Seven years later I walked into an antique shop in Gallup and found the quilt on sale for $15!  I did not buy it back!

Songs by Alpha Cleary

Alpha Patton Cleary was my piano teacher when I was a child.  I started this quilt in a workshop I took with members of my quilt guild when I lived in Gallup, New Mexico.  I thought I'd send it to Mrs. Cleary when it was finished.  That was about 20 years ago.  I was handquilting it on a frame.  It went through at least five moves wrapped around the poles of the frame.  I worked on it periodically, but I never managed to get it completed and off the frame.  Mrs. Cleary died (well past the age of 100), and I just let the quilt remain on the frame.
Sometime last year I decided I really needed to finish it; so the rest of it was quilted on the machine.
I couldn't find any fabric in my stash that would work for the binding, despite the fact that I have plenty of fabric from the same era as the fabric in the quilt, so Judy (of the Dresden Plates and many other quilts) took the quilt, rounded the corners (because she doesn't like applying binding to square corners), and finished it for me.  It will now go to someone needing prayers for healing.

Alpha Patton Cleary was the daughter of the dentist in El Paso, Illinois.  She was an extremely gifted pianist.  When she was quite young, her parents allowed her to take the train from El Paso to Peoria thirty miles away to study with a special piano teacher.  Later they allowed her to join a vaudeville company.  She was in her sixties when my sister and I took lessons from her; we enjoyed her tales of vaudeville at least as much as our lessons!  When her husband retired from Pfister Hybrids, they moved to Sunnyvale, CA to be near one of her daughters, and the parents of one of my classmates bought their beautiful home on Elmwood Court. Her last years were spent back in Illinois as a resident of the Meadows Mennonite Home. I got to revisit the home a few years ago because one of my closest high school friends owned the home, which they've since sold. I have so many precious memories of the living room in that house, Mrs. Cleary's beautiful ebony grand piano, and the intriguing chaise lounge that sat near it.

Mrs. Cleary taught scores of young people to play the piano.  Her legacy lives on.

A White Wholecloth With a Pink Inner Border

I don't have a picture of the whole quilt because it looked like a white rectangle.  However, here are a couple of photos of the details.

I've wanted to do a white-on-white for years, but except for several pillows done years ago, this was the first.  Then I used almost no white thread.  I used a variety of Fil-Tec Glide pastel thread colors.

I think the only marking I did was to sketch in lines for the arcs and a small circle in the center of the quilt.

This prayer quilt was for a friend who was scheduled for surgery in mid December.  Then her surgery was moved up a week, so there was no time to finish the quilt before her surgery, so she was given another.

I wonder who will receive this one.

Post Script: A few months later her teenage daughter had to have surgery for retinas that were detaching, and she received the quilt that had been intended for her mom.  She was delighted to have it for all those weeks she had to lie face down--and a few months later she had the same surgery on her other eye.  Isn't it amazing how God blesses us?!

Undersea Christmas

This was a quilt top made by Ruth, who then said she didn't know how to quilt it, so I offered. I don't know that she had chosen a name for it.  Undersea Christmas is my name for it because that's what it reminded me of.

 Here are a couple of shots of the details of the quilting.

 

 

I hope someone finds it comforting.

Another Dresden

This is another Dresden Plate pieced by Judy. Until I saw it Sunday when we dedicated nearly 40 quilts, I'd pretty much forgotten I'd quilted it.  The fabrics are from a Moda collection by Mary Engelbrite.

I learn so much by quilting something that has another member of our group stumped.  Of course, I think they know quite well that if they ask me to quilt something, it will probably be filled with feathers!
This quilt reminds me of the hard candy lollipops with looped cord handles that our Grandpa used to bring us from town.

More Sanctuary

I'm going to try to share some of the quilting details of my brother's prayer quilt, "Sanctuary."

It was difficult to decide what quilting designs and threads to use on this quilt.  I am so very partial to feathers and curls and frills.  I did settle for just outlining the sawtooth triangles in the border, but almost everything else has plenty of feathers and curls!

For much of the quilt I used a Fil-Tec gold, but I also used a holographic gold film thread, a mossy green rayon, a lime green poly in the border, and a Rainbows variegated green in the large bird and fruit squares in the center of the sawtooth stars.

Although it is difficult to see in the smaller pictures, the background fabric is printed with gold metallic dragonflies. Although it looks like a variety of batiks were used, there were only two; because of the way the fabrics were dyed, it looks as if there were quite a few different batiks used in the sawtooth border triangles.

I just love the detail in the bird print; it is a true work of art.

Winter Wonders

I also completed a prayer quilt for Larry Gallegos who will undergo another round of neurosurgery next week.





He claimed to have no favorite colors and thought maybe "neutral" would work. I don't know what neutral means--I think it can proably mean something different to every person using the term. I did find out that he likes to hunt--but I could find no hunting fabric. Outdoors in winter will do, I believe.

With this quilt I learned very quickly that when I do log cabin blocks, I need to use a base fabric. These blocks are eight inches finished, so it needed several borders and some connecting blocks.

At Last - A Post!

I've finished several quilts and am posting a picture of a prayer quilt I made for my brother.

I know he loves fishing, but it was impossible to find any nice fish fabrics. Therefore, I used a fabric featuring birds and fruits--at least it's outdoorsy. Except for the first pictures, they are of the unquilted top. I spent over a half hour working on this and was able to succeed in uploading only these few photos, so the rest will have to wait for a later post--hopefully, soon!

Tomorrow I have to head back to school for a day of professional development that may well be neither! I dread going back to two hours a day of commuting (sometimes more), getting up before the cold dawn arrives, etc.--all the while knowing I am so fortunate to have a fairly secure job with full benefits. Winter invariably seems so very, very long despite the fact that most days we get at least a few minutes of sunshine!

I'll hope it will be easier to upload the photos for the next post. Hope everyone has a lovely, prosperous new year!

More Than One Kind of Excitement

Yesterday I brought home a Singer Redeye. Here are a few pictures of what it looked like:




This is what it looks like now--after a few hours with cotton balls, q-tips, olive oil, Barkeepers Friend, and a little Wright's Silver Polish--oh, and with more than a few minutes of my fifty-year old Electrolux, which did a great job of cleaning out a lot of dust, dirt, and cobwebs.
It's also been lubricated with Tri-flow.
I did pick up a new leather belt, and new bobbins, but I forgot to get a new tire for the bobbin winder. Its presser feet fasten in the back and all mine (except the one that came with the machine) are side fastening. I'll have to see how reasonable it is to change the way they attach--don't know if it can be done, but it would be nice to be able to use the ones that fit my other machine.
The irons could use a little more attention from the Electrolux, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
I can't wait to start treadling--I hope I can install the belt without any trouble. Just turning the handwheel, I can tell that it is already running pretty smoothly.

The other excitement in our little town included plenty of morning sirens and helicopters. The funeral of a former governor was held at the local high school. Alex's p.e. classes were cancelled the last couple of days due to the presence of the Secret Service securing the high school gym for the funeral--one former President was expected to attend. We didn't attend. By the time my brain started to process the fact that the sirens and helicopters were connected to the funeral, I was fighting off a panic attack--and glad to leave town to take Alex to her weekend retreat. By the time I returned this afternoon I was much calmer and all the excitement of the funeral guests was long past. (Not fun the way PTSD can burst onto the scene--I can't remember any siren and helicopter event in my past--but then I don't want to.) By evening I was so busy working on the new old sewing machine that I forgot to watch the news and see if a former President had actually visited.

Singer 66

This is the Singer 66 I'm interested in. I know it needs a belt, but I'm wondering if it's missing its Pitman rod too? Left clicking on a picture will open it in a larger size. (Or, right click and open it in a new tab or window.)

I need something I can use for free motion quilting when we lose electric power--something that can happen frequently because we live in a rural area.
Hmmmmm.

More Victory Quilts

A couple more Victory Quilts.
These were pieced by Judy, quilted by me.
Not the best pictures--but with any luck Davra was able to get better ones. The first is her Nature's Window log cabin.
Below is a bit of quilting detail. (I used a pale green Fil Tec thread.)

Judy's Citrus Logcabin.
And a detail of the Citrus Logcabin. I used a variety of Fil Tec threads for this one.
For the blue sashing I used a variegated blue so the feathers would show up at least part of the time.

I did do more quilting this weekend, but don't have pictures yet.

Some of the Latest Quilts

I've been planning to post about each of the latest quilts, but I just haven't managed to get it done. Therefore, this post features a photo of each of the quilts. Later, if I can manage the time, I'll post details of each one.

Below is Ms. Judy's Card Tricks. She was disappointed that she had given one of the blocks a quarter turn and not realized it until the borders were on. I think that gives the quilt character.
(As always, you can bring up a larger photo to see quilting in more detail by right-clicking on the photo and opening it in a new tab.)


Ruth pieced this "Plains via the Southwest" and I quilted it.
Ms. Mary gave me the locomotive fabric. I pulled the blue from my "ancient stash", and paired it with clockfaces, a brown/white dot, and a bit of red.
Ms. Judy designed this quilt in EQ6, pieced it, and let me quilt it.
Ms. Judy also pieced this 30's looking quilt. She used mostly Mama's Cottons from Connecting Threads and added similar fabrics to fill it in.
This is one of the most impressive quilts Ms. Judy has pieced. It was a lot of fun to quilt, probably because it challenged me because it is so different from anything I have ever pieced. (I love quilts in this technique, but I'm too impatient to collect the fabrics.) In any case, Judy has a fabulous artist's eye, so this is a scrumptious quilt.
One of the last of the John Deere quilts.
....And probably the final John Deere quilt. The John Deere logo is scattered on the blue bandana print--so the observer has to look closely to see it. The back of this quilt is a hog fabric..such fun!
This is a violet/yellow complementary colors quilt that I started back in the '80's. I'd planned to use it when as a demonstration item in a color course I taught for Chandler's Fabrics back in the 80's before I went back to teaching special education. I loved this block; it's a replica of a block made in the Tennessee/Georgia/Alabama area that one of my students brought to class. I loved this block because apparently the original quilt maker combined a basket from a 5-patch grid with half of a LeMoyne star; that makes the basket jut out just a little from the diamonds. All these blocks were drafted from templates, each fabric piece traced by hand, and then pieced by hand (something I may never do again since there are so many more quilts I want to make). Since it will go to a Victory Quilt recipient, I'd love that person to be one who has some knowledge of what all that handwork entails. (Of course, once the quilt is dedicated, I'll find out only after the fact who the recipient is.)
And the final quilt...it's one Ruth pieced and I quilted for Ms. Barbara, who is one of the supporters of our quilt ministry.

I also made quilt for my newest niece, Serenity. It has busy bunnies all over it and reminds me of some of my favorite children's books from my childhood. Alas, I forgot to take photos. Hopefully, Serenity's mama will take some and send them to me.

Now I need to get back to quilting a Victory Quilt for Ike--cowboy boots, cowboys, and broncos; then I have several more quilts on which to finish bindings.

I'm Still Here

I'm still around. I have *not* disappeared into the vast wilds of New Mexico. I just counted at least eleven quilts I have quilted in the last two months and have not posted about--although that certainly helps explain why I haven't managed to post.
The one above is the finally-completed first version of Mrs. Lebo's Kitchen. It's name was chosen because it reminds me of the kitchen of my first grade teacher, Mrs. Esther Lebo, when I visited to play with her daughter Sarah.

Alexandra claimed the other version--has even slept under it several nights.

Unfortunately, she never had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Lebo--and I'm not at all sure of the whereabouts of Sarah Lebo--although I'd love to reconnect with her.

In Memoriam

George Frederick Scheer
born January 24, 1922
rural Gridley, Illinois, 3/4 mi. N of Enright,
son of Emerson Louis Scheer &
Dolly (Dora Maude) Shreve Scheer
d. October 15, 2009
Pasadena, Texas
factory worker-Peoria, Illinois
farmer, Gridley, Illinois
World War II Veteran, German POW
bombadier and rear gunner, US Army-Air Corps
US Air Force - Reserves
married to Dorothy Ardel Seastrom Scheer (deceased)
father to Dora, Julie (Roberts) & George
married to Maria Elena Pons(deceased)
father to Frederick, Thomas, & Katherine (Scheer-Perry)
12 grandchildren
with his newest grandchild, Serenity