How hot is it?

Weather just seems bad all over this week...floods and fires, high winds and high temps...stay safe everyone!

Our temps here in Georgia went into triple digits yesterday and are expected to again today.  Blahhhh.  Even my cat Dobby doesn't want to go outside.  I have to get up just as the sun rises to an prod Mac, my Scottish  Terrier,  to wake up and go for his walk...during the day I have to watch him when he goes out into the yard as he has had two heat incidents in the past and as he gets older these incidents can be more dangerous.  So how hot is it on the early morning walk?  This morning when we came in from our walk Dobby, who walks with us, sat in my dog's water bowl...

So how am I dealing with the heat?  Well, we bought a couple of watermelons and lots of peaches last week at the farmers market.  I made enough pasta salad and got in other salad stuff so I don't have to cook for a few more days.  Mostly I sew....

Now that the batik care quilt is finished I can get back to my Corn and Bean blocks...very bright and cheerful.  I'm going to make a small quilt using the 4-1/2 inch blocks.  Then I may make a bed size quilt with the 6 inch blocks....I'm playing with different layouts too.

I also have an applique project that I hope to finish this week...can't believe it is taking me so long!  And I started a little quilt for the Alzheimer's Quilt Initiative.

It used the little bits of leftovers from the cutting table and measures 9x10-1/2.  I'm hand quilting it.  I hope to finish it this week.  If the heat index stays high I may just finish a lot of projects!

Care Quilt...Fruit salad

(Zoe the piecing supervisor....)

My other quilt projects were set aside this week when an "all call" went out from my quilting group to work on a quilt for one member's sister who is going to go through chemo starting in the next week or so.  Amazing how fast a quilt can come together when lots of folks work on it.

We used a 6-1/2 inch block in earth tone batiks.  Cut it in half on the diagonal and sew-in a neutral colored strip 1-1/2 by 10.  After all the blocks are finished select a block size...we were able to get enough that we could trim to 6-1/2 inches...usually we only get 6 inches.

Anyway, the blocks were sewn together yesterday.  I pieced the back last night.  Maggie quilted it this morning while I made binding.  This afternoon four or the group are sewing down the binding.  In less then a week a quilt is finished...amazing!  Since the center looks like melons we have been calling it Summer Fruit Salad....

Antiques Roadshow

Last weekend some of my quilting buddies and I went down to Myrtle Beach for a taping of PBS's Antique's Roadshow.  We had a great time...tiring but fun!

(a paper mache dress form!)

We had put our names into the ticket lottery months ago.  We found out sometime in April that we got tickets.  The tickets arrived ten days before the event.  (We had a brief moment of excitement when my tickets had arrived by my friend's had not...seems her husband left the mail in his car that day....for a few days!)

We got a great two bedroom condo for a few days.  The beach view was wonderful.

The night before the show we checked out what each other had brought to be appraised.  Ille as happy to find out that Margaret, an art teacher, approved of her painting.

Each person can bring two items...a "collection" counts as one item.

The whole event is so well organized it was amazing...lots of volunteers and lots of lines.  Everyone was really nice though so the time and the waiting went quickly.

It was really fun to see what folks had in all the boxes, bags, trolleys and what-nots!

The big surprise was when the appraiser at the pottery table, Nicholas Dawes,  asked if I would like to have the appraisal of my Majolica piece done on air.  My Mom had bought the piece in 1947 while with the Red Cross in England.  I was a little worried I would not be able to talk about it but got through the whole thing fine...did make one of the tech's in the production booth cry though...it was tough.  (My Mom passed away just a couple weeks ago...)

(Nicholas Dawes and me after the appraisal....)

You will have to wait until next spring sometime to see what the piece looked like and what the appraisal was!

Wordless Wednesday - Beach Baby

Wordless Wednesday: neutral quilt inspiration

Beach rocks....

Father's Day

Above is a photo of my Dad taken while he was a Navy flight instructor down in Pensecola, FL.  Obviously this was on a day off when he could go fishing!

I have had a hard time getting focused on my quilting or just about anything else.  Didn't help that my house was hit by lighting and several things, like my computer, were "fried."  I'm hoping the local computer guys can  save my harddrive...I am pretty good at making backups but still....

Last night I did play in the fabric scraps a bit.  One of the quilt-tops I bought at auction a few weeks ago was hanging on the sewing room door.  The block pattern is Corn and Beans.  I love the fabrics the maker used.

I made a 4-1/2 inch finished block and a 5-1/2 finished block...what a difference a inch can make!  After making a dozen of the smaller block I think I would like the larger one better (or is it now that I've done the math I realize just how many of those little blocks I'd need to make!)

Working with the brighter colors is nice right now.  Plus it is so scrappy it has to make anyone smile!

Passing

I'll be away from blogger for a few weeks...my Mom passed away this morning and I am headed up to Boston for the services and to be with my brothers and sisters.  Even though she was in her 90's and had a stroke in January it was still tough to get the phone call.  She is already missed.

rainy day binding...

It's a rainy day in Georgia...not so good for washing quilt-tops from the auction (this one is now drying in the kitchen) but great for putting binding on quilts (particularly when the quilt has been quilted for almost 6 months!)

This is my Penisve Quilt - made with buckets of 1-1/2 inch strips.  Amazingly those "buckets" are still full...I've had the binding ready to go for months so it will be nice to get it off of my to-do list!  I try and make binding for a quilt as I work on the top.  I wind it on a cardboard tube left over from paper-towels and keep it with the top.  Though I have been known to either change my mind or just used the "wrong" binding for the wrong quilt but I'll never tell which ones it happened to!

It is a good memory quilt of all the fabrics I've used in the past 15 or so years.  About the only thing I didn't put in it was Christmas fabrics...

I think Dobby has the right idea...before I do the hand turning on the binding I may take a nap too....

String Sugar quilt...

I forgot to include a photo of my new-to-me quilt.  Those of you who follow Bonnie Hunter's blog and know of the new book on strings that comes out next month will like this quilt...unlike Bonnie's though it used big pieces!  These blocks are 21 inches wide!

Today it goes into the tub for a long bath...it is a nice day for airing quilts and come summer we don't get a lot of those (too humid!)

After looking close this quilt has a bit of a mystery...just what did she use for the yellow fabric.  Was it a sugar bag that she dyed yellow...

or was it a Domino Sugar bag that was yellow to start with?  anyone know if Domino Sugar ever came in big yellow bags?  Maybe she just liked the color?  They had a separate shed/kitchen for canning so they may have gone through a lot of sugar....

When I lived in Baltimore I could see the big lit Domino Sugar sign from my rooftop deck...why did that sound so much cooler before Sarah P. saw Russia from her front door?!  anyway....

These signiture blocks were also in the box of tops...they got a soak last night and almost all of the age spots came out.  Really happy with them.  I know some collectors are against washing blocks or tops...it is a bit tricky.  I really think carefully before I do it.  First is the fabric and the piecing/applique strong enough.  Second do I think the stains detract from the block or could do damage.  If the answers are yes then I put the piece in for a long soak.  A soak is different from a wash...it is like the difference between pressing and ironing.  For a soak I fill the sink or tub up with soapy water then place the block or top in.  There is very little if any agitating.  Usually I leave it for a couple of hours then change the water then let it sit overnight.  I place them on a thick towel and lay them out flat to dry.

On a day like today a block dries in less than 30 minutes out on the porch!  I wish a got a before photo of the siggy blocks...they had several large brown spots and were dull in color...

At the Auction

Drove out to a country auction today.  It as a perfect day for it...sunny but cool...may be the last time that will happen around here for awhile!

I had my eye on several quilts they posted on the website.  When I actually got to see the quilts my list went down to 3...the first one when for a lot more than I wanted to pay...I got the second one...and am sort of kicking myself for not bidding more on the third.  Oh well....

Towards the end I did get a box of tops and blocks.  I think I like these as much as quilts.  The colors this woman used are wonderful...not a bit of plain white muslin to be found anywhere (except for two signature blocks but I think that was dictated by a group thing!)

  The variety of fabrics is wonderful (hoola girls and plaids in the same block!)...not unusual as the quilter's daughter who was in her 80's and passed away this year, worked at the local textile mill.  I hop to use these tops as inspiration to help me loosen up my fabric choices a bit.  (I admit to be a recovering fabric snob...more on that in a future post....)

There were three sewing machines in the house - a treadle, a wold pink one from the 50's and a Kenmore from the 70's. A neighbor told me they all belonged to the mother.  It is sort of sad to see a home broken up at auction but they said the only relatives lived across the country.  Most of the folks bidding were locals with few dealers from Columbia, SC and Asheville, NC there to drive up the prices!

Speaking of fabrics...there was a set of 9-patches in the box.  I totally love this orange.  Another one I wish I could get more of!

Here is another set of blocks...these are in really good shape.  I may put them together if I can find a good sashing fabric.  Unfortunately there wasn't any of that fun blue in the box to finish them with!  Does anyone know the name of this block?  For now I am calling it an Annie's Choice variation.  Found several in Brackman that were close but none exact...