Hello and how are you?

We are recovering from a very busy weekend.  Because some of the family was coming in from out-of-state, we had a big ol' get together.  The highlight was Remi, my great niece--here with my brother Jim.  Two year old children really keep you busy!

Lucky is under the weather with another earache and will be heading to the vet asap.  Also my Pfaff machine broke down and that is in the repair shop.

So this week I'll be doing a deep clean and reorganization of the sewing room in between taking family members to doctors.

What are you up to this week?

Have a safe and happy day!

13 Days

 

13 Days Until Spring!

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Scrap Quilting

Circa 1950 scrap top

Hello friends!

Today's question is:  How do you define scraps and/or scrap quilting?  I was watching Sue at the From Small Things channel (here) and she asked how quilters define their scraps.

Her question and thoughts resonated with me.  As the new year has commenced, quilters have been reorganizing their fabric and looking at their scrap fabrics.  It always surprises me when folks consider fat quarters to be scraps.  I grew up thinking that the leftover pieces from projects could be considered "scraps" unless there was considerable yardage (rarely happened though).

Brown Goose Quilt, circa 1950

Sometimes when we look at older quilts we suggest that the quilt may be utilitarian.  Around here, that might mean the quilt was made for the cots of farm workers.  

One true scrap quilt that I own is this hexagon piece:

Hilda's Hexagons, circa 1930

We know the provenance of "Hilda's Hexagon Quilt" because she was able to relay the story of the quilt before she passed.  This quilt was truly a scrap quilt, comprised of many fabrics from dresses her mother made and some other household items.  She could go through the quilt and state where many of the fabrics derived.  

Some quilts appear to have been made from what we now refer to as a "deep scrap bag."  In other words, there appears to be a variety of decades in the one quilt.  Below a few of the dark pieces appear to be prints from the late 19th century in this 20th century quilt:

I'm wondering how you define scraps.

Have a safe and happy day!

 

March is National Quilting Month

 

Greetings!

March is considered National Quilting Month.  The third Saturday of the month is National Quilting Day.  This year that will fall on March 15.

Around 1991 is when the National Quilting Day or month was conceived by NQA--the National Quilting Association.  I was a member of that association and my guild was as well.  Unfortunately, the association dissolved in 2015.

Happily, we still have American Quilter's Society and you can check out the group's website here if you are unfamiliar with them.

This month, I hope to post many photos of the antique/vintage quilts from my collections.  The quilt above is a family quilt that I inherited and is from circa 1880.  I call it the Centennial Quilt because it features many fabrics that celebrated the 100 year anniversary of our country:

The unusual aqua fabric below is often referred to as "centennial green" because it was manufactured only around the time of the centennial.  We would have to wait another few decades until more pastels and bright colors were available in the 1920s and 30s.

Wishing you a safe and happy day!

Last Joann's Trip

 

Hello!

I promise, this will be my last post about Joann's fabrics.

First thing, a PSA:  There was an ad on Facebook about the sale at Joann's.  It had a big photo of -80 on it.  Here's the problem--the things on that website might be cheap $2.00 or so but it's not Joann Fabrics.  I have no idea who it is but I doubt you will ever receive anything.  The url address is jo-ann instead of joann.  I did report it to Facebook and I haven't seen it again.  Please be careful about your shopping!

On Thursday, we drove over to our local Joann's.  I don't really want to go over there when it gets really crowded.  So off we went.  Usually the one thing I buy at Joann's is batting.  But I figured I would see what I could find.  

I didn't find the batting I use for my quilts but I found a little something for everyone!

For my husband the fly fisherman, I got a few of these plastic containers for his flies and beads and stuff.  He loves this kind of container and I couldn't believe I found any left!

I have been wanting a rechargeable light for a long time.

Our house is small and pretty dark at night.  Like a lot of old houses, there aren't a lot of outlets.  This light recharges in a port like a cell phone.  It's working really well!

I like Sarah Homfray and watch her youtube channel a lot.  I saw a show on creating your own transfers and thought I would give it a whirl when I found this tracing paper:

I even managed to find a toy for Lucky!  I've never seen dog toys at Joann's before but there were a few at the check-out.  Lucky likes his elephant!

So that's our last trip to Joann's.

Have you gone to stock up on anything?

Have a safe and happy day!

The Countdown Continues...

 

Are you seeing any signs of spring?

Other than the snowdrops, I don't see many flowers yet.  However we did have a brief rain earlier this week and we were lucky to have the scent of a spring rain in the air.  It was wonderful!

So today we are celebrating the last day of February and await March and hopefully, an early spring for all us.

I had mentioned on Monday that pink and green were my favorite colors for spring and many of you commented that you like yellow and green.  Aw yes... Daffodils!  I love yellow but I don't decorate with yellow--because most of the rooms on my first floor are painted in yellow  😃.

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!

Leaders and Enders Quilt

 

Hello!

Last week I finished my leaders and enders quilt.

I still need to figure out the next leaders and enders quilt.  I think it will be similar but with light fabrics instead of black.

This week I'm working on small table top banners.  I got my Mom a stand for Christmas but I need to finish wall hangings for July--December.  I also decided that while I was at it, I might as well do a set for my sister-aunt Kathy.  

More of those finishes next week!

Have a safe and happy day!

Tuesday's This and That: February 25, 2025

 

Hello Tuesday!

How are you doing today?

I'm not sure I told you this or not so I may be repeating myself.  Haptic and Hue have a wonderful podcast called Tapestries for Troubled Times.   

For February, the new podcast is The Quilts That Hold the Heart of Hawaii.  I know a number of friends who adore Hawaiian textiles.  Maybe you do too!

You can find the podcasts here.

***

Joann news:  The company was auctioned off over the weekend.  I'm hearing all 800 stores will be closed.  

Now the sale must be approved at court on Wednesday.  I won't expect the serious sales until after that.  

On Monday I was looking at a rotating cutting mat and found it was almost $10 cheaper at Amazon.  Crazy, right?

I've been following this story on the YouTube channel, Sewing Report.  You can check it out here.

***

Speaking of fabric, where do you get yours?

***

Have a safe and happy day!

Who's Ready for Pastels?

 

Hello and welcome to the last week of February!

I think that most of my blogger friends have been experiencing a long hard winter.  The bitter cold was bad enough...the ice storms, well that was even worse.  

It finally got above freezing here over the weekend.  We are even experiencing a thaw of the snow.  Still, the overnight temperatures drop below freezing and Lucky and I have to be careful late at night and early morning.

What color do you look forward to in the spring?  I gravitate towards pink and green.  Yesterday I was working on a little wall hanging and realized it is the colors of this quilt.  I always pull this quilt out in the spring.

The quilt was given to me by an acquaintance.  I still think it is a happy piece.  

The colors are a bit washed out on these photos.  I know the quilt is faded but the photograph isn't doing it much justice either.  

So what colors are you yearning for these days?

Have a safe and happy day!

26 Days Until Spring!

 

It's been a long cold winter.

I often think that snowdrop flowers should be called

"Hopedrop"flowers.

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Some Finishes

 

Greetings!

This month, I have mostly shoveled, cleared ice ( we had a lot of ice storms), and walked my dog wearing cleats.  My husband has been away for the last 4-5 weeks and missed the work.  He's home now.

Lucky is recovering from an ear infection and the vet lectured me that he had gained weight (a whole 1.5 lb--but he is a little dog).  I said to the vet, "What am I supposed to do in this ice?  We went from walking 2-3 miles a day to 2-3 blocks!"  We will both lose some weight when the weather warms up.

So while my husband was away, I was on "a quilt retreat for 1".  The house stayed orderly, the meals I made were easy, and I sewed through most of the day and even in the evening.

Finishes for this year include:

A lap quilt for us:

Pajama Rama Ding Dong finished:

2 baby quilts:

2 small pieces, table runner for Karen 

and  hexie piece for my round table.

Happily, I've also been making some tops to use up some orphan blocks.  More on those later!

Have a safe and happy sewing day!

Recebt Trends and Fast Fashion

 

Hello and how are you today?

Today I'm continuing my thoughts on our textile world.

My one friend said, "covid changed everything."  And in many ways it did.  I've already mentioned on this blog that our guild has closed the guild library.  Members were just not referring to quilt books anymore.  They had learned to scour the internet for free patterns or pdf purchases.  Martingale Publishers closed in 2023.  Quiltmania magazine closed last year.

The other trend is that I think quilters are often balking not only at the price of fabricd but what is referred to as "fast fashion".

"Fast Fashion" refers to the trend of wearing fadish clothes a few times and then discarding the pieces.  This has created a devasting environmental impact.  Some of the clothing dumps can actually be seen from outer space:

Many sewists (not just quilting) are concentrating on upcycling as much fabric as they can.  These even a jargon such as "Thrift Flip" for finished pieces of garments or quilts.  

For a few years now, I've watched the trend to use fabric that can be found at thrift stores or fabric deadstock stores (deadstock reminds me of the old fabric outlets of my youth it refers to fabric that manufacturers have leftover or overproduced).

Consideration of the environment is certainly a big aspect of these choices.  The other (of course) is money.  Linda and I had a long history of sewing together.  I continued to sew, she gave me her leftover fabric about 20 years ago when she stopped.  I recently told her the price of a yard of fabric these days and she just about fell off her chair.

The trend to going to thrift stores or charity shops and purchasing cotton or linen men's shirts is popular not only with the younger generation but people in my own age range.  Even middle aged professionals--like Cathy from Catbird Quilts--are famous for upcycling.  Cathy is a working pharmacist and well known for her quilts with upcycled men's shirts.

Apparently one can harvest about 1.5 to 2 yards of fabric from a dismantled man's shirt.  In many ways this isn't a new trend (flannel shirts were big years ago) but it's interesting to how many sewists are practicing this now.

Another trend?  Repairing one's clothing.  Yes mending is back and it there are tons of tutorial that feature patching, darning, and mending clothing.

I'm not sure what is in store for the textile industry.  The Craft Industry Alliance reported in 2024 that there are 30 million active sewists in the United States and 9-11 million of them are quilters.  You can read the latest report on our industry here.  

Where do you think we are headed? 

Have a safe and happy day!

Joann's Closings

Hello and how are you today?

***

Well it's official.  Joann's is closing 500 stores in the USA

Liquidation companies are vying to buy the company and I think it won't be too long until the "going out of business" sales.  

It's hard to know REALLY why it went out of business.  In court, the company cited "an unexpected ramp down" as well as severe and unexpected inventory shortages.

Early 20th century dry goods store in my valley (Macungie, PA)

 Joann's opened in 1943 in Cleveland Ohio and the name "Joann" wasn't actually used for the business until 1963.

The only thing I often bought at the store was batting, especially when they had their sales.  I have enough fabric at home.  

Still, there are many areas in this country that relied on Joann's as their main source of fabric.  I remember about 20 years ago, Walmart closed their fabric departments.  The online quilting group I belonged to had lots of midwest and southern quilters, many were panicked because that was their main source of cloth.

Will the closing of Joann's impact you?

Tomorrow I'll delve into other trends I see these days.

Have a safe and happy day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's a quiet day for us.  Hubby is away on business and Lucky has been ill with an ear infection.  But he wishes you a Happy Valentine's Day too!

Have a safe and happy weekend!