Flower Friday: March 5, 2021

 Happy Flower Friday!

There are 15 days until Spring!

And in case you don't believe me, here's the first herald of spring:

The snowdrops are blooming!!!

Many of us are feeling spring fever!  Lorraine purchased these daffodils to brighten up her world:

Sue also sent this photo of a vase of zinnias which will cheer you up as well!  Love those vases too!

Have a safe and happy day!

Canines and Comfort!

 Sam sent a photo of her dog Damien.  He's not just a good companion, Damien models her quilts!!

Damien is sporting what appears to be a canine themed quilt, beautifully crafted with machine quilting.  Note how the stunning blue binding highlights Damien's eyes!  Donning a quilt like this is a sure way to appeal to girl dogs and quilters!  

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This week I bid adieu to a comfort in my collection and thought I would post about it today.

My youngest son asked if I had something really warm for his bed.  His new apartment apparently is a bit chilly at night.  Yes indeed I did.

I've had this tied comfort for years but could never use it in a lecture because it is so big and thick that it requires it's own suitcase.

I'm a sucker for tied quilts especially when the Pennsylvania Germans used red wool to anchor the thread.

I also liked that the backing is all one grey and brown print, perfect for a masculine bed.

The next morning our boy texted to say thank you and the comfort had done the trick!  I think the quilter who made it would be delighted that over a 100 years later, it was still providing warmth and comfort!

This reminded me of this article I clipped that was syndicated in 1885:

Tomorrow is Flower Friday and if you have a floral image to share (or a pet photo or textile), email me at allentownquilter@gmail.com

Have a safe and happy day!

Men Who Quilt #12

 There are a few reasons why I became interested in men who quilt.  A number of years ago, a local auctioneer advertised that they had quilts made by a local man.  When I attended the preview, the quilts weren't there.  It was then explained to me that the quilts weren't in good enough condition for the high end auction but that they would contact me when they came up for auction.  I never heard from them again.  

Years later, we had a woman attend our Quilt Study group and she brought a quilt embroidered by a local man and quilted by her grandmother.  We will talk about him next week in our last and final quilting post.

If you have found this series interesting to you, you might want to purchase Joe Cunningham's and Jean Burk's book, Man-Made Quilts: Civil War to the Present.  I just found out about the book recently and it was published in conjunction with the Shelburne Museum's exhibit of man-made quilts.  I bought the book on Amazon.

In this article, Earl Paules is celebrated for making yo-yo quilts.  I wondered if this piece had a red cross in the center.  I also wonder how many letters to the editors the newspaper received informing the writer that an afghan is knitted or crocheted and that a quilt or coverlet is sewn!  From 1964:

Milton Bartholomew also made quilt tops.  Among the fascinating aspects of these articles is the length the writers go in order to explain the process the men used.

Milton was a retired carpenter and cement plant worker that took up sewing quilt tops.  He took up sewing when he was 70 and even had his own sewing room:

1942

William Bauer also made a quilt top for his son's wedding.  Like Bartholomew, he sent his tops out to be quilted.  In this article we learn more about the women quilters who organized at a local church to earn revenue for the church by quilting tops.  

1941

As an aside, remember if you would like to have your pet or an animal themed textile featured in our Constant Companion series, email photos to me at allentownquilter@gmail.com.  We got lots of great comments about Sue's calico cats!

Have a safe and happy day!

This and That Tuesday

 A number of features and answers today which is why it is This and That Tuesday!

Our celebration of our furry and feathered friends continues!  Sue sent us two photos:

Sue wrote "Vlad the Impaler is fond of the quilting hoop!"  When I asked how he got his name she wrote:  "When I adopted him at a year old, he hunkered down in the basement for a month.  Then he would sneak up at night and became Vlad the Prince of Darkness.  Carolyn remarked, yes until he scratches you then he's Vlad the Impaler.  He's a sweet boy but dumb as a box of rocks!"

Sue's sense of humor continues to crack me up!  She wrote, "This is my chair that I reupholstered in calico."

Diann sent us photos of her bird quilt.  She and her husband have not had a pet in a long time but they really enjoy watching the birds.  "We spend a lot of money for birds in our yard and enjoy their company a lot" she wrote.  She made this quilt for her husband.  I know a lot of quilters that are birders and I love this piece!

I noticed that the quilt had a lot of penguins and we know Diann loves penguins, her blog is called Little Penguin Quilts!

For some eye candy, you might want to check out the winners of Quilt Con 2021: you can peruse here.

One new follower emailed and asked why wasn't I celebrating women during Women's History month.  As I explained to her, that is pretty much every day here.  But in that vein, I want to share with you some redwork patterns I found recently on Etsy.  The patterns celebrate women suffragists and I think you would enjoy looking at the store.  It's by April Songstress and you can see the patterns here.  If I had known about these patterns earlier, I would have definately worked on a piece for our Suffrage Centennial Celebration!

Have a safe and happy day!

Celebrating our Constant Companions

 Today is Scout's birthday!!!

Our puppy is 4 years old today!

Scout with her siblings.  She is the one with the purple collar!

Baby Scout!

All grown-up!

Where would we be without our constant companions these days?  On many of the blogs I follow, people make mention of their pets at least once a week.  Some even have special days when their pets have a special blog post!

This theme is so popular that two of my best selling (and copyrighted) greeting cards feature the importance of our furried friends:

In celebration of Scout's birthday and because it is the last month of winter, I thought it would be fun to celebrate our furry or feathered friends!  Do you have a photo of your pet or a pet themed quilt that you would like to share?  Why not share with the group and cheer us all up?  You can send me a photo at allentownquilter@gmail.com

Here are a few examples:

Scout always has to oversee anything I do, especially when I am marking fabric! 

My niece has a similar situation with her cats:

Here's a top that's going off to the quilter soon.  It was a quick quilt I did last winter.   It features poodles in Paris!

What do your pets do to help you sew?

Can't wait to hear from you!

Have a safe and happy day!

Flower Friday: February 26, 2021

Happy Flower Friday!

There are 23 days until Spring!

This week Lorraine sent photos of her lovely amaryllis:

Well if these amaryllis don't cheer you up, nothing will!

This morning I woke up thinking about gardening chores.  Oh sure, there's still a foot and half of snow outside, but one can plan right?  Weed, place the new soaker hoses I ordered in January, thin layer of compost, mulch after the first rain and oh most of all, what I'm going to plant this year!

My seed order came in earlier this month.  I'm feeling nostalgic so I ordered a lot of seeds that I used to grow in my garden but faded with time or I just stopped resowing.

Two of my favorites: moonflowers and four o'clocks.  Have you ever grown them?  You need to soak the seeds before you plant them but they are well worth the effort.  They are both wonderfully fragrant!

Moonflowers open at dusk and you can literally watch them unfold in what seems to be a miraculous show.

 Moonflowers are like Four O'Clock flowers.  They both open in the evening and rely on moths and other evening bugs to pollinate them.  (Four O'Clocks open without the showiness of moonflowers).  That's why the fragrance is so important. 

It's been so long since I have grown four o'clocks that I can't even find a photo of them.  My nana loved them because they grew them in the coal regions to disguise the sulphur smell from the mines.  You can google them to see all the different colors!

Have a safe and happy day and enjoy the longer days that are happening!

Tulip Lady Finger

 Some names of quilt blocks crack me up.  Like this one:

"Tulip Lady Finger" was listed in the Ladies Art Company (LAC) catalog but in 1939, Nancy Page encouraged quilters to buy their instructions for the block.  

I actually wondered if there was a tulip referred to as lady finger.  I didn't find a tulip with that name but it is the common name for okra 😏

I think this would make a cute baby quilt pattern!

If you like this block, there are plenty of free tutorials for this pattern on the internet!

Tomorrow is "Flower Friday" and if you wish to share a floral image or photo, please email me at allentownquilter@gmail.com!

Have a safe and happy day!