Progress Report - Katie Bow Tie

Okay I know I promised better photos, but this whole 'sharing a camera' thing has got to end!

I'm gonna purchase me one next chance I get;)  Anywho, sorry for the lame quality from my phone camera, but here is my Katie Jump Rope Bow Tie Quilt all laid out for piecing the top. This should go quickly.  Can't wait too.  And wouldn't you just know it,  I'm 1 square short.  Oops!  At least I have a little bit more green left.

Other post about this quilt:

Summer Cottage Quilt Finished
Friday Already?


Thanks for stopping in,
L

FWQAL Two Blocks down

Well I got two new blocks done and they are exactly the right size!  6 1/2" square.  YEAH!  I really love these blocks:D

[21] Contrary Wife

Quote from the letter that inspired the block: "Let me tell you that the woman who can't keep her mind well-balanced and happily busy, on a farm, would probably be an entirely useless member of society, no matter where she lived." C. Mc. D. B.
 

I love the black contrast to this yellowy/green print.  

[47] Homemaker 

Quote from the letter that inspired the block: "So I want my girl to marry a farmer that she may have the best chance to live a successful life and of being a real home-maker." Mrs. R. A. S.  Shawnee County, Kan.

Boy was this one tricky.  I've never sewn an angle like that with such small pieces. Sadly the points pucker a little.  Far from perfect, I know, but I'm satisfied with the way it turned out and thats what matters, right? 

Both blocks are made of fabrics from both Greenfield Hill and Hope Valley by DS Quilts.  

Here they are side-by-side.  Cute, hey?  I know I know, you love 'em too;) 

Okay off to clean house while boys are at the park.

Hugs,

Lindsay

Vintage Butterflies by Christine Adolph

I must introduce you to a very good friend of mine.  She is amazing and I love her dearly.  She is the one who not only inspires me the most, she also encourages me in all forms of creativity.  She is Christine Adolph.  You can visit her blog here and check out her work.  Here is a preview of her fabrics being used in a quilt listed at Studio E Fabrics arriving this fall titled 'Vintage Butterflies.'

Vintage Butterflies by Christine Adolph

Mostly Christine has done scrapbooking materials, but is now venturing out into the great land of fabrics.  This is her second line that has been printed on quilters cottons, and I can't wait till it arrives! 

Thanks Christine for sharing your talents with all of us quilters! 

♡
LL

Friday Already?

Wow that week went by fast.  I was hoping to get more sewing in this week, but we were spontaniously gifted a few days in Big Bear Lake at a timeshare.  We left at a moments notice and boy was it worth it!  We returned on Wednesday for our nephew's High School graduation.  So I did get a little sewing in.  Here is my update.

My Katie Jump Rope Bowtie Quilt is slowly coming along.  Since I had only very small amounts of each print, I had to applique the knot onto the center.  Slow going...I'm still blanket stitching and regretting the process all together.  I really Really REALLY don't like slow progress projects.  Although its taking a lot of time, I do think this will turn out looking really good and the blanket stitch will give it that real bow tie look.

Farmers Wife Quilt Along update:
Well last night I realized I'd printed out the templates incorrectly and that explained why my first two blocks were just under 6" each when they should be at about 6.5" each.  So I've started again. But the GOOD NEWS is that I got another set of fabrics that greeted me when I returned from vacation.  On the right in the above picture is the Greenfield Hill FQ bundle by DS Quilts in Dogwood.  Are you catching on?  Yep thats right, I'm going GREEN!!!  Farm-like, don't you think?  I just love green and if you I ever get a chance to post a picture of my living room, you'd agree.  I've got Kona solids heading my way as well to help tone down the busy prints in each block.  So more to come next week.  Jack's doing an overnight at Grammy's this weekend, so I'm sure to get a few more blocks done or shall I say Re-done!

Back to our trip...we had an amazing time.  I literally checked out the moment we left the driveway.  I dropped the ball on a couple of things too, but all has been forgiven.  Here is a family pic we managed to take using a stump as a tripod.

The only problem I have is... a fear of wildlife... you know the scary kinds like the quiet ones that somehow sneak up on you like mountain lions, bears, wolves, and snakes.  Unfortunatley this sometimes puts a damper on my enjoyment of 'The Great Outdoors.'  I have a really hard time with overcoming this fear.  I think having a dog would lesson this fear greatly, but we aren't ready for that right now.  Seriously all the times we've gone hiking, we've never come across anything, so you think I'd get more comfortable over time, but NO.  Especially now that we take Jack along.  And of course, right when we are scoping out a picnic area, I spot this:

Yep thats a RATTLE SNAKE! 

Thankfully this photo was taken from the safety of our truck, but only about 4 feet away, and it wasn't rattling.  So we chose another place to picnic but not too far from here.  So we ate fast and kept Jack really close.  Phew,  glad thats over!

love,

lindsay

I'm a Farmer's Wife!

Well, I'm in.

thanks Monica for our button!

Although, I don't know what I've gotten myself into.  The letters from 1920s farm wives was enticing enough.  Then I started seeing the beautiful blocks the Quilt-a-long (QAL) group members were making.  And I had to join in the fun.  Thanks Angela & Amanda for starting the fire!  Today I made these two blocks.

Block #1 Attic Window

This block is made using 3 DS Quilts Hope Valley in Piney Woods prints and the grey one is Amy Butler's  Lacework in Grey.

Block # 55 Linolium

 Made with DS Quilts Hope Valley in Piney Woods(dark green),  Bliss by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fresh in Lime(light green), Midwestern Modern II in Fresh Poppies Fuschia (fussy cutting out pink)

Wow!  That was tricky.  These blocks are 6" and those are not the smallest pieces I will be working with.  As you can see they are not quite perfect either.  This small piecing is gonna take some getting used to.  More to come next week!

Grama's Quilts

Yesterday,  Jack and I went to visit my Grama, his GG.  We so love our visits.  There is just something about gramas, you know, it feels like home when we are together.  I love my Grama Bobbie.  She has always been there for me, in good times and in rough times.  About 7 years ago, she passed down 3 quilts to me when I was living with her, working full time, and taking night classes (sewing included).  This was a very special time to me.  She also passed a few books over to me.  In them she documented her ownership being passed to me.  I didn't think of it at the time, but I should have documented that day in my own way.  So yesterday I took the quilts with me to visit her.  I wanted to see if she could remember anything about them from her childhood.  I took notes:)  Although Grama Bobbie didn't quilt, she did hand crochet a number of items.  These quilts were gifts given to her by important women in her life.

This first quilt is actually just a top in a simple patchwork,  Grama Bobbie believes this quilt to made by Mary Holmes, her grama (father's mom).  I'm pretty sure was made from shirting, feedsacks, and other misc reused fabrics from her home.

 
This second quilt was made by Grama York, she is Bobbie's cousin Opal's mother-in-law.  Confused yet?  My Grama was the only one on the block expecting (my mom) she said, so she got a lot of attention.  She said she was so honored to receive a gift that had so much work put into it.  She explained to me that, it wasn't the trend to give handmade gifts, everything was preferred store bought.  This was 1954.  She remembered this quilt having a different boarder and binding, and believes its been altered over the years.  It obviously has been used quite a bit.  She said, "oh yes! We used this quilt all the time.  It was a favorite of mine."

The third quilt is my favorite.  It hangs on the end of my son, Jack's bed.  This was my Grama Bobbie's baby quilt.  She remembered it from her childhood and thinks one of her grandmothers made it.  Her mother's mom, Cora Sapp, or her father's mom, Mary Holmes.  That would be made by my Great Great Grama.  It is hand quilted in the border only and tied in the center of each block (although some ties are missing).  Being my Grama Bobbie's baby quilt it has now gained even more favoritism in my book.

Well I just wanted to share a bit of my family heirloom quilts with you.  I really love some of the prints used in these quilts and dream of designing my own line of reproductions.  One day... maybe;)


Have a wonderful day!
Lindsay

The Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-long

The Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-long, a group on Flickr.

Okay, I'm giving in.  These blocks are so RAD!   I must join The Farmer's Wife Quilt A Long (FWQAL).  Whats that?  It a group of women I'm joining who are all currently reading The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book by Laurie Aaron Hird .  The book is a collection of letters from 1920s farm wives and the 111 quilt blocks they inspired.  Just placed a hold on the book at my nearest Barnes & Nobel. Picking it up first thing tomorrow.  I'm only a couple weeks behind the start date.  I'm not quite sure how I will fit this in, but hey, its not a race:D

For more info on the FWQAL go here.

Thanks for stopping by.
Lindsay

Summer Cottage Quilt ~ Finished

Okay,  I'm really REALLY sorry for the gap between posts.  Sharing a camera with my hubby who uses it for work makes my posting few and far between.   I promise I'll work out a system so we aren't held up in the future.  I've been dying to share this beauty with you for a week now.   So here is my Summer Cottage Quilt...

These colors remind me of turquoise beaches, coral sunsets, and iced cold Arnold Palmers (tea & lemonade) My favorite drink.  Ahhh...

I quilted this one in straight lines using the walking foot for the first time.  Still takes a lot of quilt wrestling, but its was much easier than the free motion.  Still,  I can't believe how well this turned out.  I love the way the bricks line up and the quilting compliments its structure well.

Summer Cottage Quilt stats
Finished Size: 41" x 47"
Block size: 7" x 4"

Fabrics Used:

• Darlene Zimmerman's 1930's prints from Little Darlings, Granny's Fourteen, and Mama's Feedsacks for Robert Kaufman
• Monaluna for Robert Kaufman Mingle - Yellow Dots
• Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Solids in Aloe + White

The plaid print takes up most of the backing, but I also used some left over scraps to piece a strip across the middle.  I have a thing for plaid.  I wish I had more of the tea cups, and aqua floral prints.  They were also favs.  I've had these FQ since last summer as well as a few other coordinates, but they became half aprons and sold very quickly at a boutique fair last October.

I've listed this quilt in my Simply Mae Shop on Etsy here.

On to the next project::

I'm so, SO, so excited to share with you something I'm very happy to have my hands on.  I finally bought a collection of Denyse Schmidt's Katie Jump Rope prints, yeah!!!  I've had possession of some prints over the past couple years, but my desire was the whole collection, of course!  No way was I gonna pay $200+ for the FQ bundle on Etsy.  Really?  I know I can still buy the queen size Single Girl quilt in Katie Jump Rope already finished here for the same price.  Given, its not made by me.  I really want to make my very own Katie Jump Rope Quilt, just for me, ya' know?

Anywho, I settled for 9" x 11" set, (scraps really) on eBay at a ridiculous price, BUT after hours of math to get a good size quilt I took the plunge!  I started cutting and piecing a couple days ago and am so anxious to see the final blocks.  If I did the math right, my quilt will be 56" x 70".

Here is my progress so far:

You're probably thinking patchwork, but I've actually got a LOT of applique ahead of me.  Another first.  But with my sewing background, the real challenge is just the time.  Confession, I'm not super patient.  Pray for me:D  Check back soon as I promise to share more of my progress, while its actually happening;)

Thanks for stopping by my blog,
Lindsay

Thrift Shop Hop

Yesterday we visited a number of Thrift Shops in a retired community about an hour away.  I don't know why we don't do this more often.  Its one of our favorite things to do together as husband + wife.  Since we live in "the OC" most of the good stuff is too pricey or picked over.  So we tend to only thrift on vacation.  But last night we got the itch. I was in search for vintage sheets and patterns.  Joe was looking for mid-century modern furniture.  (He's a furniture pro!)  Unfotunately we didn't score any furniture yesterday, but we do already have a set of 2 end tables & coffee table to keep him busy in the garage for a while.  The good news is, I did score!  All at one shop too... I found these 4 lovely sheets (above).  They coordinate perfectly with a few I've already collected.   FQs will also be available soon in my shop, once I've properly laundered.  I also found some fun vintage patterns to add to my shop. Overall we had a very fun day as a family.  Jack did really good in the shops and driving around.  We ended the day at a park so he could really stretch his legs and mine.   We teeter-totted for way to long.  My legs are soar today.  Can't wait to thrift more in the future together.

Have you thrifted lately?  Find anything good?

<3
Lindsay