Sewing all day

I spent most of today sewing. I sandwiched 3 quilts and sewed a pieced backing for a 4th one. It feels so good to make progress. I need to make time for these short sewing "retreats" more often.

One of the ones I sandwiched was the string quilt pictured above. I used up some thin, lower-quality muslin to foundation piece them. These blocks were fun to make, but looking at my still-overflowing string bin, I don't think I used up any of the strings! I'd also like to make a military string quilt using blue centers.

The quilt below was made around 1900. It has a hole all the way through it a few inches wide, and other area in need of repair, which was probably why it was so inexpensive. It should be easy to fix. I have a small assortment of antique scraps that I can use. I intend to applique a small square on the back the same red as the backing, nestle a little cotton batting on it, applique a small piece on the front to match the fabric, then put a few quilting stitches on it to pull it all together. If I'm careful, it should blend in just fine.

I just love these 1900 fabrics, and antique quilts really inspire me. This one has a lot of black mourning print fabric. The pattern is not simple, but it's possible. It's full of diamonds and set-in seams, so might be easier to hand piece than machine piece.

I have a few other older quilts I'll share from time to time. I keep them in my "cat free" guest room. My cats have the run of the rest of the house!

Louise

Sunbonnet days

Well, here it is noon already and I'm playing on the computer when I have lots of other things to do! I have dozens of old family photos stored in the computer, and this is another one that I really like. I believe it was taken in the San Jose or Mountainview area of California, about 1904. The first five people are my great-grandparents Silas and Ellen Grable, and their children. The little girl is my grandmother Gladys. Silas and Ellen were born in KS and IN, and settled in California around 1900. The bought several acres of ranchland and planted orchards. In fact, it looks like there is a small seedling just in front of them, if you look closely. (Photo will enlarge if you click on it.)

Old photos can give us a glimpse of life in the past. The hills in this photo is pretty bare, but today the California hills have beautiful oak trees generously scattered around. I would guess that at the time of this photo all the trees would have been cut down for the wood, or perhaps the cattle had eaten the seedlings. Today, this same area is probably dense with housing developments.

This is a close up of the same photo. I just love the photo of my grandmother, the little girl in the white dress. With the sunbonnet hiding her face, she looks just like Sunbonnet Sue! Her parents look so proud of their little brood.

Well, back to my chores! I'll reward myself with some sewing time tonight and will try to get something quilt-related posted next time!

Louise

Summer lily

I was really surprised to find this gorgeous lily blooming in my garden today! I think they usually bloom in the spring, but I admit I'm a haphazard gardener and planted these bulbs really late.

In my working life, I lived in a Condo in Southern California and dreamed about an yard with room enough for a beautiful English flower garden and a bountiful vegetable garden, like in the magazines. Now that I'm not working, and have a large yard, I am just not motivated. I wish I was!

At least the previous owners had the property well-landscaped, and my husband really does like doing the yard work.

Nothing quilt-related to show, but I have been working on a few things. I just wanted to share this beautiful lily!

Louise

Made with love

I found this sweet little wall-hanging, priced at $3.00, while browsing at Salvation Army.

It's well done and hand quilted, and the fabrics are just yummy.

It has a very small hand printed label on the back that says "Made for Leish Love, Mom 2005".

Of course, I had to bring it home with me. However, I didn't walk away thinking what a good bargain I got.

I walked away wondering.....How did this charming little quilt that was made with love by "Mom" end up in a thrift store? And...why did the thrift store think it was only worth $3.00? A nice Fat Quarter costs nearly that!

I'll make a place for this gem, and I'll appreciate it for all the work (and love) that "Mom" put into it. When I look at the label, I'll think of my own Mom, who I lost nearly two years ago.

Louise

Hanging up laundry

I discovered Carol's blog recently and found it interesting. Carol shares her old family photos and writes stories about the people in them. Although I'd like the focus of my blog to be on quilts, I think it would be fun to occasionally share some of my old family photos.





This is one of my favorite photos, and I don't even know who she is! Her face is obscured and she just doesn't look familiar to me. Her clothes are from the 1920's or 1930's, so she could be a friend of my Grandma who was born in 1901. The original is a tiny snapshot that was in with my Grandma's photos.

I love casual photos like this, that provide an unstaged glimpse into the past. I imagine that this woman was just routinely hanging up her laundry when someone got the camera and snapped her picture.

I think I'll get a larger copy made of this one, put it in an old frame, and hang it in my laundry room. It would fit in perfectly there. I have vintage knick-knacks above the cabinets, and some old aprons all pressed and ready to hang.

My next post will be more quilt-related. I've been working on things, but have nothing finished to show off.

Louise

p.s. This blog entry took over two hours, to get everything how I wanted it. I'm sure it was only my imagination, but it sure seemed like I would have it all good and then everything would change on me! I'm also frustrated that this photo won't enlarge when you click on it. See the next blog entry if you want to enlarge the photo. I have so much to learn!

Hanging up laundry, post script

On this draft, the photo does enlarge when you click on it. I won't even try to understand the mechanics behind Blogger!

Louise

Christmas Lights

I've started Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt called "Christmas Lights", featured in Quiltmaker Magazine. Step #1 is finished, and I couldn't resist doing at least one block each from Step #2, from the hint given here:

http://www.quiltmaker.com/patterns/details.html?idx=7734 .

I'll be getting the actual magazine soon to see the entire step #2.

I've shown my version below. Everything came from my stash, and it's very scrappy.

I absolutely love Bonnie Hunter's quilts, and you can see most of them on her website: http://www.quiltville.com/. Bonnie is very creative and generous, and offers dozens of quilt patterns for free on her website. If you love scrappy or traditional quilts, and you haven't discovered Bonnie's site yet, you are in for a real treat. I only wish I had the time to make all her patterns!

I haven't listed all my UFOs on the side like I've seen on other blogs. Honestly I don't think there would be enough room for that! I may choose about 15 or so to list, but I'll have to figure out how to do that first. I also want to figure out how to post my signature in a script-like form.

Louise