Merry Christmas!

Have a safe and happy holiday!

A Good Challenge

Many of the quilt guilds I visit have challenges each year for their members.  I like hearing about those challenges because sometimes they really get the creative juices moving.  This year, my guild is hosting a challenge called "Panel Play."  I think it is just about one of the best challenges I've heard of because so many of us have stacks of panels accumulated in our stash (I know I'm not the only one!!).

I finished binding my two quilts this week and am happy they are ready to go to the meeting in January:

I usually have a stack of quilts by the first day of winter to bind while I am watching tv at night and this year is no different.  It's so nice to have a nice cozy quilt on one's lap to work on while unwinding from the day.

Have a great day!

Christmas Quilts

Despite all the craziness here, I have completed some quilts for Christmas!  For my son and daughter in law:

This was a vintage top that a friend from my quilt guild gave me.  My daughter-in-law fell in love with it.  I had to tighten most of the hexies which took a good long time but it is finally finished!  

A snowflake quilt for my granddaughter.  Her room is aqua!

 And a Christmas theme quilt for my grandson!

Both quilts for the grands are quilted with snowflake motifs and were scrap quilts.

How are your Christmas projects?

Have a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This:

Happy Labor Day!

Have a fun holiday!

This is a photo from my collection of the Labor Day Committee of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and their Ladies Auxilary.  September 6, 1909!

Have a safe and happy holiday!

What pattern is this?

I was given a quilt with these blocks.  Actually most of the blocks are so faded that I can't even photograph them.  These are the best ones:

I'm taking this to quilt study in June but would love to know the name of this pattern.  I've looked through Brackman's Blockbase but still haven't found anything similar.  For now I'm just referring to it as a deconstructed wedding ring.

April LV Quilt Study Meeting

Happy Mother's Day!

Have a wonderful day!

Happy Easter and Passover!

Redwork pieces

Despite the fact that is the first full day of spring, we have a nice snow storm going on outside.  Scout enjoys playing "snowball":

My Nana Betty had hot flashes from the time she was a child until she was a senior.  As an artist, she said the one color she disliked was red--because to her it was a "hot color".  Despite Nana's considerable influence on me, I love the color red.

 I love the color -- a lot.

 Because of my passion for red, the family's Hall pottery was sent my way.

Because red is a "hot" color and it is snowing out, I thought I would post some redwork pieces.  None appear on quilts.  They are linens like splashers and shams.  The motifs are appealing to me.

 Above baby piece, not constructed as a bib but seems to be a piece of linen that could be used as one.  

Below:  Reminiscent of Kingsley's Water Babies.

Below:  I think this might be a sham.  The quote is from Longfellow's poem, "The Song of Hiawatha."  Hiawatha motifs were still popular in the early 20th century despite the fact that the poem was published in 1855.  I suspect it was a poem that children often had to memorize.

For those of you in the Northeast during this snowy day:  Stay safe and warm!

Memories of hand quilting

I belong to the Crazy Quilters Guild in Emmaus, PA.  Next week the guild has a drive for baby quilts to send to Puerto Rico.  I finished this baby quilt years ago.  It was the last piece I hand quilted.

My friend Linda commented at the time that she was watching my quilting demise.  Each piece I made had larger and less even stitches.  My workmanship was so bad that after this quilt was complete, I stopped hand quilting all together.

Like many quilters, I had to have surgery on my right hand and will eventually have the left hand done too.  It's funny because when I looked at this quilt, it all came back to me.  I could barely grasp my needle when I did this.

But I also remember the fun part of handquilting.  My granddaughter would stay here while her parents worked and I would quilt while she napped.  It was relaxing and soothing and I do miss the act of actually rocking my needle.

I hadn't even bothered to bind the quilts.  They ended up being completed when my husband was in a coma and I need something to keep do to keep sane while I sat in the hospital.  Husband is fine now; binding is mediocre (at best) but it is a finished piece.  I've had a few these quilts stored away and if I hadn't recently reorganized, I probably wouldn't have remember them at all.  

My friend Beth says that there just comes a time when one knows it is time to save the hands.  She has given up a lot of handwork she has done too.  We'd rather be able to continue sewing what we love. 

For me, I'd rather be able to embroider and have things machine quilted.  

Today we are recovering from a Nor'easter here in Pennsylvania and the wind continues to blow.  I hope you are safe and having a restful Sunday!

Lehigh Valley Quilt Study Group: 2-15-18

Themes of the meeting included feedsacks:

Towel feedsack and below feedsack pillowcases!

Quilts and Tops:

 Backing fabric had ombre stripe

Catasauqua Charm Quilt (with actual charms and added embellishments)  

A friendship quilt of sorts:

Multitudinous Quilts:

 "Calico Sunflower", a Paragon Quilt Kit introduced in 1956, based on an antique quilt in Florence Peto's collection:

Summer coverlet:

 top

Mountain Mist Nosegay:

 Border plaid is cotton not flannel:

 Baby:

Doll Quilts: