Shoo---Pup?

 

Not sure why, but our dogs and cats seem to love to be on our quilts as we make them.  My friend Anna says they can sense the love we put in to our sewing.  I'll go with that for now.  😃

I finished another lap quilt.  I had made this top 2 years ago and then decided I didn't like it.  I don't use a lot of solids and for whatever reason, solids unsettle me.  I found myself questioning everything about this piece and debating if I should take it apart.

In 2024, I made a lot of shoo-fly blocks.  I just loved making them and used a lot of my vintage fabric and also 1930s repro quilt scraps.   I made this quilt from them:

I also made a ladder quilt but for whatever reason, I can't find a photo.  Maybe I didn't take one and need to.

Then there is the red one.  The thing I remembered is that Lizzie, my machine quilter, can take a piece like this to the next level.  I wish you could see her quilting better.

Here's a close-up.

Unfortunately we've had a lot of cloudy weather so I'll take photos again when it's a sunny day...maybe today?

Have a safe and happy day!

Been Busy

 

So...my husband got layed off.  We will be okay. 

It's just a lot of stuff to do these days.  My husband and I were already collecting social security and all summer I had been preparing and cutting things off to prepare for his retirement...well, if he agreed to it.

The problem is he loved his job and even though he pretends this doesn't hurt him, it does.  It's not even anything wrong he did.  His company was bought by a financial firm and they want to sell it for a profit in a few years.  More of my friends are telling me this is happening in their families as well.  As one friend said, "it's like Richard Gere in the movie, Pretty Woman."  The companies are dismantling, not building anything.

So just want to tell you what is going on and why I won't be blogging very much for a few weeks.  For now, he needs me to be around.  I'm confident that he will get consulting offers and be back to doing some work soon.  But for now, it's a lot of paperwork and meetings.

Talk to you when I can....

Have a great weekend!

 

I spent the weekend cleaning the sewing room again.  The little 2.5 squares I used for the last top really generated a lot of threads and lint.  I think for the rest of the year, I'm going to concentrate on making some things from my scrap drawer.  Still, doing a thorough cleaning made me assess my stash.

Do you have favorite fabric designers, collections, eras?  I still love my vintage fabrics and the 1930s reproductions.  They are so happy!  For a while I lost my enthusiasm for 19th century reproduction fabric.  Now I'm a big fan again (good thing, because I have a good stash of it).  

And then there is that other fabric...you know, the fabric too good to be used.

I know a lot of people who love Tula Pink and some don't even use the fabric in their stash.  Beth loves Tula but she does use her fabric.

Tilda seems to be the other hot designer these days.  I like (and have) one line by Tilda called "Chic Escape".  

I guess if I have one resolution for the new year it is to use some of the "good fabric".  

Other than that, I'll keep plodding along with my projects.

Wishing you a bright and happy day!

Flower Friday Surprise

 

We had a little rain last week, then a little warmth, then...a little surprise.  A cone flower rebloomed:

And then the rose did as well:

But the biggest surprise was the perineal gladiola which suddenly decided it wanted to be seen again:

I wish you some nice flower surprises as well!

Have a great weekend!

The 510 Top

 

My husband refers to my latest project as an adventure in craziness.  Hence the photo above.  😂😂

I had a lot of 2.5 inch squares.  I kept wondering what to do with them and then I saw a video from Lessons Learnt.  The scrapbuster featured on that channel used 6.5 inch blocks and lots and lots of 2.5 inch blocks.  Cowabunga!  

So during the last three weeks, I've been putting this top together:

Here's a better photo:

  

So the top took 480 squares at 2.5 inches and 30 squares at 6.5 inches.  I'm actually really happy I could use so many of the 2.5 scraps.  It also helped that they were already cut and even stored by color.  I only have a small container left!

The one big problem is that all those little scraps create lots of threads and lint.  I need to clean the sewing room again and run the air purifier a lot during the next week.  

Today I'm off to get another cortisone shot in my hand.  The right hand is fine but the left hand gots shots every three months.  It's been painful lately so I'm relieved to get the shot.

Wishing you a safe and happy day!

Updates on Sachet/Boudoir Pillow?

 

Hello everyone!  In the U.S. we are now on Daylight Savings Time and set our clocks back.

 I heard one of my British Youtubers mention they had turned their clocks back as well.  Do you live in an area where you change your clock?  I know some states here do not follow this.  

Are you enjoying an extra hour of sleep?  It doesn't make any difference to me.  I tend to get up the same time every morning.

On Thursday I talked about a pillow that I picked up at the Flea Market that seemed like a sachet/table sachet/pillow?  You can read that here.  Sue texted me that she had similar pillows in her collection.  Here are front and back images she shared:

Sue said these were boudoir pillows.  The first one is "flat as a pancake" as she put it;  the second is overstuffed.  Sue wrote, "they were intended to be decorations."  I suspect this was the real purpose.  Boudoir decor was popular during the first half of the 20th century.  If you check here, you can read about boudoir dolls.

To me, the pillows seem like a nice alternative and more affordable than the boudoir dolls.  

Sue also pointed out that why would you want the opportunity to stain your work with food?  Excellent point!

Nann wrote too, citing that:  "I've seen, or read about, hot pad mats with clove/orange scents though as I recall they're more like stuffed potholders than the lacey one you showed. I've never been inclined to make one, let alone a bunch of them."

From pinterest (but so cute!)

I have to say, I don't think my husband would appreciate the smell of clove and orange while we are eating dinner.  I can see using this for a pot of tea because I tend to drink Constant Comment tea with clove and orange.  But not for anything else.

Thanks for your input everyone!

Have a safe and happy day!

Things That Go Bump in the Day or Night

 

Happy Halloween!

Today's post is about some of the things that Lucky is afraid of...some logical some not.  To outsiders, he seems like a fierce dog all full of growling and jumping.  They don't know that a shadow or a leaf falling on the path can frighten him.  I still don't understand why he's afraid of garbage cans (except they are so much bigger than him).

They added some new features at the park.  Lucky was afraid of this duck.  It took him about a month to realize it wouldn't hurt him.

***

This fountain was terrifying.  

He growled and barked for anyone who would listen!

 ***

But one thing unglued him more than anything.  We walked along an alley in our neighborhood and Lucky could not run away fast enough.  Actually, I can't blame him! 😄

I would like to tell you this was for Halloween but actually it was July when this happened.  I had to look twice before I realized they weren't growing vegetables...

We live in an odd--but interesting--neighborhood.😂😂😂

Hope you have a wonderful Halloween!

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Thursdays This and That: Flea Market Stuff

 

I love red and white in a kitchen.  The old ad above is similar to my kitchen which has yellow walls and white appliances and cupboards.  Imagine my delight when I FINALLY found a rolling pin with red handles at Renninger's Farm and Antique Market.

Beth gave me some blue fabric in the perfect color I was searching for:

Besides pickles and produce the other thing I found that intrigued me was a heart shaped sachet.  Just when I thought I had seen everything up popped this:

It's big-- 9 inches long and about 9.5 inches wide.  In the back there is an opening held closed with a snap.  Inside was a gauze bag of potpourri.

Peggy--the lady at the stand said this was not just a sachet but that people kept them on their tables and put hot platters on them when serving food.  It's a sachet and a trivet.  The heat of the food made the potpourri infuse the air with the floral fragrance.  The sachets are quite flat as if to attest to their job of making the house smell sweeter.

I had never heard of this.  My great grandmother and my two great aunts just about sewed every kind of doo-dad you can imagine but they didn't do this.  I also never saw this in any of the old magazines I studied for years.  I couldn't find anything in newspapers.com.  Do you have knowledge of this?

It's an interesting idea.   Still, I'm not sure I want my meal to smell like flowery stuff.  Beth and I finally decided that a nice use would be to put a tea pot on it and fill the interior sachet with clove and cinnamon.  What do you think?

Have a safe and happy day!

Road Trip

 

My husband and I have been very busy with caregiving and taking people to doctor appointments.  So far, everyone is okay it's just hectic.  Dave and Nancy have regular check-ups that were shelved during radiation and chemo.  Dave also starts physical therapy focused on swallowing.  And that's not mentioning my own family...

I miss the blog and also miss sewing which didn't happen at all last week except for binding Jim's quilt.

So Hubby and I decided to get away on Saturday.  We didn't go far--just to the flea/farmer's market where our friends Beth and Bob have a stand.  The market is only 20 miles west of us but it's like another world when we go the backroad routes.  All farm land, Mennonite people traveling in horses and carriages, and even a few fields of sunflowers!

Brad loves going to these areas.  His father's family was Pennsylvania Dutch and he grew up hearing the language used especially when the grown-ups didn't want the kids to understand.  He was disappointed that he only heard it spoken only once while we were at the market but it is a dying 

language.😔

Beth and Bob's stand was really beautiful.  They did a lovely job decorating it.

I love this market.  I hadn't been there for years (well before Covid began).  Where else can you find "vintage men's underwear" for sale?  😂😂😂

The sign probably referred to this kind of underwear that Brad remembered his grandfather wearing:

While Bob and Brad held stayed with the stand, Beth and I walked around looking at everything and also for quilt inspiration.  I loved this quilt and want to make one.

Brad and I went to a little cafe in the market for lunch and I ordered Sasparilla, something I haven't had since I was a kid!  It still tasted good!  I wouldn't want it everyday but it was nice for a change of pace!

The pickles the cafe served were the best I've had and reminded me of homemade pickles my first MIL used to grow and can.  We actually bought some because the pickles were sold at a little stand.  Also came home with some vegetables that were nice.

I bought a few things and I'll show you those later.

Have a safe and happy day!

Jim's Quilt

 I made a quilt for my brother.  Lizzie quilted it and I finished binding it on Monday. I gave it to him right away. 

I used the Easy Peasy pattern again because I had an assortment of fabrics and that designs works great.

My brother loved the quilt and all through the evening he kept texting me when he found meaningful things in the fabrics.

He like the images of the dogs and cats,  especially Molly (below):

My favorite block was the Boy Scout block:

Jim and my mom wondered where I found the Boy Scout.  It was at a flea market years ago.  The handkerchief had a hole in it and I think I got it for a 25 cents.  I just thought maybe I could use it someday and then...someday came.

My brother said, how do you keep track of all this stuff?  Do you have a ledger or something?  I don't but I tend to remember where things are...unless I (occasionally) misplace them.  But the majority of the time I remember where things are stored.

I'm so happy he liked the quilt!  

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!

Quilting in a Frame

 Have you ever hand quilted on a frame?

I tried hand quilting on a frame decades ago.  But I was used to quilting on a hoop and decided not to buy a frame.

I was pretty amazed when I recently watched a video about how quilting on a frame is an endangered craft in the UK.  You can watch the video here.  Of course I had to look this up and I was rather amazed at what I found.

Heritage Crafts, an organization focused on preserving crafts in the UK had some staggering numbers to share.  It considered this kind of quilting "critically endangered" and the figures quoted shocked me.  The total number of "serious amateur makers" lists 11-20 individuals.

Quilting in general is not considered endangered just the technique of doing it in a frame.  But here in the USA,  many people still quilt on a frame and there are often "sewing bees" still listed in newspapers in the United States.  

You can read the numbers the Heritage Crafts cites here.

Do you have a lot of hand quilting in a frame where you live?

Have a safe and happy day!

Flower Friday: October 17, 2025

 

Hello and welcome to Flower Friday!

I suspect this is the last Flower Friday of the season.  The temps are in the 30s here and there are less flowers blooming in our neighborhood.

I did find a few marigolds as Lucky and I strolled.

And some asters:

And even a St. John's Wort towering above a now dead plant:

Wishing you a safe and happy day!