Quilter's bingo followup

Amazing what you can find in your quilting files!  When we were trying to come up with an activity for my guild's May meeting I remembered filing away an article from Fons and Porter on "Quilter's Bingo!"

Basically you make 25 patch blocks in 5 colorways and then call the "numbers" as a color and fabric style - like "Yellow Batik."  It was a fun activity and best of all the blocks were then donated and made into quilts for the Ronald McDonald House!  So far the two in the photo are finished and two more are being bound.

And on a side note...I've found a "new to me" author that me and some friends are reading through...

Barbara Cleverly writes mysteries set just following WWI (Yes Downton Abbey years!) set in India, Greece, France, and England.  So far my favorites are from the Joe Sandilands Novels...

On the quilting side...I am doing some planning and puttering in the sewing room today.  I have these vintage basket blocks and am thinking of embroidering family names on them.  Like a family tree except in baskets...

Still pondering...

Internet quilt shopping...

I have not been feeling well the past week so have spent a bit too much time on e-bay and etsy and a dozen other quilt sites.  I guess you could call this the "other healthcare expense!"

Have not found the name for these blocks yet...from N.C.  

Anyway, I have gotten a few quilt blocks and tops this week...the good news is not only are these less expensive but they are easier to store!

Some I may quilt...others I'll use as fabric studies or as "donors" for repairing other quilts or quilt tops.  This purple pinwheel top may be scaled down two rows on top and on the side due to issues with a couple of the purple blocks.

Also it is a bit bigger than I'd like.  Don't you think this would look nice done up in Kaffe double shots, stripes and some shirtings...hummm

I also got a red, white and blue log cabin circa 1910...it is both and and machine sewn down to a muslin foundation.

The indigo fabrics are really wonderful in this quilt.  There are a few seams to tighten up then I'll baste the edges and give the whole thing a bath.  Most likely I will quilt this one up...

Now I need to stay off the ebay for a few weeks and focus on getting some quilts ready for out guild show in October!  I did drop off the donation quilt to be quilted so I can reclaim a major part of the sewing studio again!  By Friday I should have a clear cutting space!

Redwork Santa

With all the projects I have going on you would think the last thing I would want to do is start another one!

Well...you see I found this redwork santa that I hand-stitched at least 6 years ago in with the Christmas decorations.  I still had out some of the vintage blocks and bits that I used to make those Christmas pillows...I guess I still have pillows/cushions on the brain!

I think I'll try and make on of these up over the holidays.  I'm debating appliqueing the Santa block down on top of the ring or appliqueing the ring down on the santa?  Decisions....

First I have to decide which ring to use and select a background fabric....ah, playing in the fabric stacks...my favorite part of quilting!

Easy Street step one...

I got quite a bit done on Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery quilt, Easy Street, this weekend.  I am more than half finished with step one and since she only posted it a few days ago that is saying something.

Having done many of Bonnie's prior mystery quilts I am feeling sure that she started out with an easy step to lull us into a sense of accomplishment...I am sure I'll be splattered when the next step is posted on Friday!

I am looking forward to cutting into some of the fabrics I've put aside for this though.  I was surprised how many I had in the color scheme.  Maybe it is because I never put these in one quilt before!

I've also been working on some Christmas projects.  I have several of these vintage Dresden plate blocks.  I traced an embroidery design in the center.  Now I have to decide if I am going to use a variety of colors/threads

or just red or blue?  (more traditional...)  The blocks are 16 by 16 inches so I am making pillows/cushions.

What do you think?

Vintage Quilts

Whenever my guild has large meetings a few members will bring their family heirlooms or recent antique textile finds to share with the group.  This month was no different.  Here are a couple that I saw...

First was this interesting churn dash circa 1900...it is very dirty but the fabrics are wonderful to look at..of course the brown is shattering so cleaning this will be challenging.  I really like the large pink and white printed check in the alternate blocks.  At first glance it looks like a large gingham but it is a printed fabric.  It has a plain muslin back and I believe the binding is front to back.

Next was a fun log-cabin circa 1940.

These strips are tiny!  The center blocks are red or pink and are 1/2 inch square!  I believe it was foundation pieced on muslin.

It has a wonderful yellow flowered back...the binding is back to front.

Quiet Sunday stitching...

I had to take a day off from working on the antique baby quilt so I could catch up on my Sprigs and Stars in time for today's get-together. Three of us are working on the same pattern and get together once a month. It helps keep us on track.

This month I did really well making the stars but am a few leaves behind on my 4th block! I still have a few hours before our meeting so may be able to pull it off!

My DH surprised me by giving me Valentine's day flowers early...he gets really, really nervous that he will forget. I make him a batch of brownies and a cake that is sort of like the hostess snowball (his favorite junk food which thankfully is not sold around here!)

I am auditioning some fabrics as backgrounds for these vintage blocks.

The polka dots in the middle look a bit too light but the others work ok. I think I need an almost solid. Finding good grey fabrics isn't easy....I'll keep searching. This is a "no-rush" project!

Piles of binding...

Every two years my guild has a show and even though I know it is coming I am always scrambling at the last minute to finish us some quilts. The show is October 14-15 so the scramble has begun!

The past couple of days I have made miles of binding. This is my least favorite part of quilting so my binding pile is dangerously tall at the moment!
My economy block quilt quilt is getting a plain brown binding.
While my Jacob's Ladder above is getting a multi-fabric pink binding. (though now that I look at it I'm thinking of remaking the brown...duh, this is why I never finish things!) Once I get the bindings sewn down on machine I turn them to the back by hand...good for watching movies or baseball games!

I also put away some things I picked up at an estate sale while up in New England earlier this month. A vintage tin sewing box...

Some fabrics from the 1930's
Along with many envelopes with patterns from the 30's and 40's that were purchased through the Boston Globe...

Fall Cleaning

The last week has been so busy with getting the house ready for the holidays...and of course I overdid it. The good news I left the "heavy lifting" such as power-washing the house, cleaning the windows inside and out, and cleaning the carpets to the professionals.

Brownie's idea of helping with clean-up...

Gathering all the wandering quilting materials however wasn't something I could leave to anyone else...I think it is safe to say there was not a room without some quilting/fabric item in it. This was definitely a roundup!

So my Dining room is now a dining-room again...there is no risk in the kitchen of getting cookie batter on the cutting mat...the treadmill no longer is a fabric auditioning rack and if for some reason a guest peeks under the sofa they will not find a pile of quilting books and magazines (and a bag with my missing hexagons!) To be honest it is a bit blah now but there is however now lots of space to put out my Holiday decorations!

Part of the clean-up also involved refolding some quilts in the guestroom closet and rotating some of the quilts on display. I do this at least twice a year. This is a "rescue" quilt I found many years ago...the quilting is amazing but the applique fabric is in poor shape. I love the design though. I've heard it called both a pinecone and grapes. (I love pine but I think the leaves make grapes more appropriate.) Each time I take this out of the box and refold I get the urge to make a reproduction of it...my fingers are itching again!

But I still have to "de-quilt" the library...it had great light in there for handwork but for the next month I will remain relegated to the sewing room (not grand enough to be called a studio!)

All it took...

With my DH away on a golfing outing this weekend I had lots of time to work of the sewing room...but did I? Ten minutes into the digout I found a vintage block that had fallen off my inspiration board. That is all it took...
It was time for a break anyways right? And drafting the block is as good as Suduko for exercising the "little brain cells." (I do my blocks the old fashioned way with graph paper, a ruler, pencil and an eraser...)

And well then I need to make up a test block to check my math....
Maybe I will change up the fabrics a bit...
OK, so now it is Monday and all I have done in my "organize the sewing room closet quest' is pick up this one block. But I now have a dozen of these blocks that hopefully will be made into a quilt and not just fodder for the UFO pile....

I did do a few other things...appliqued a few more leaves on my guild's donation quilt (which is so close to being done!)...made a big pot of corn chowder using lots of fresh corn from the farmer's market which I served to some fellow quilters on Saturday with melon salad and cherry coffee cake (I'm living off of leftovers still which means I have more stitching time....)

This morning I have to go to the Y but after my "balance" class I promise to empty that closet...unless of course I find another block....

ps...the pincushion and luggage tag in the photo on the top of this post are gifts from a quilting buddy's Mom. Aren't they cute! And things I can sure use!

It is cold outside!

It is so cold the birds are eating an entire feeder worth of seed each day! Tonight we are supposed to get freezing rain so I put out a suet and seed block...it is like tapping a keg at a frat party! Birds have surrounded it!

I really have been trying to organize my sewing room the past few days. Not making a whole lot of progress but the floor has been sighted and the good news is under all that fabric, magazines, and baskets - the rug is clean!

(string quilt from Alabama with fun Pop-eye fabric)

Last week I got a call from my LQS asking if I would look at some quilts for a customer. Her father-in-law passed away and they were going to have an estate sale. The family was unsure if the quilts were "good."

Now there weren't any "museum" quilts but were nice sort of shabby chic and very typical of what we see in this area. There were several that I thought the family should hold onto. (I have nightmares after days like this that my husband will bag up all my quilts and put them out in a yard sale...) It was a fun afternoon. My DH even came with me to help...he was impressed that I was able to name the piecing designs (though he is really fast using Brackman's Encyclopedia!) After seeing me go through 50 quilts he decided I should get my appraisal certificate and "hang out a shingle."
Amazingly enough one of my favorites was this bowtie quilt made entirely from Polyester! That is right...the thick 1970's poly that never ever loses its color and is more likely to melt than disintegrate! It may sound crazy but nothing photographs like poly. The bowtie quilt is so well made...and as Tonya reminded me my "Noah's Ark" collection of quilts does not have a polyester one yet....

back of the closet projects

Spent a lot of time this weekend going through boxes in my sewing closets and just sorting fabrics and old projects. I have finished several "almost done" tablerunners, christmas ornaments, and even a few pillowcases. Today I am going to baste the quilt-top in this photo and get it ready for some simple handquilted baptist fans....This snow wallhanging was started last year using Tonya's letters...I'm going to do a bit of hand-quilting on it this week during out Thanksgiving roadtrip so I may even have it on the wall before the first snowfall.

I am a bit "housebound" - fell headfirst into the refrigerator and even broke the top shelf off sending mustard, spagetti sauce, and lots of other condiments smashing to the kitchen floor (which of course means then we had a condiment covered black-ish scottish terrier and brown-ish cat...any hints on how to get mustard out of a scottie's beard - it is vaguely blond and sort of surfer-dude looking at the moment)

All of this was to make space for my latest baking adventure...artisan bread. When my favorite loaf went over $5 last week I knew I had hit my limit and it was time to take matters (or dough) into my own hands. I had seen this book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" on several blogs so thought I would give it a go. It is super easy and even my DH (a bread snob from many years living around the Mediterranean) liked the first loaf! You do need to make space in the refrigerator though...no warning label on that! When I am back on my feet I am going to try a few more of the recipes...

Wave runner day two and stuff

I've done a bit more work on my wave-runner....there is acually a pile of half-made blocks growing next to my sewing table. I decided this morning to start paying a bit more attention to what had so I didn't end up with enough blocks for two w-runners! Also the photos help with making color choices...I'm being a bit more careful with how I use the goldenrod and the ice blue since they seem to be grabbing the eye..I can either group them in one area or spread them evenly throughout the quilt...not sure I've made a decision yet.
I picked up a copy Intuitive Color & Design of yesterday (sorry it sideways...trust me in my files it is right side up but blogger isn't playing well with others today.) Really a good read and lots of inspirational project ideas. One that I have been doing but not as well as I should is an inspiration journal. In some ways I use my computer for that - lots of photos and links to websites and blogs - but I think I will spend a bit more time on my sketchbook and see what happens.

While my iron heated up a new reservoir of water (I'm using a lot of steam on this quilt-top!) I played with some layouts for some vintage blocks I got at the silient auction table at our show. These may look familiar...yes these are some of the blocks I washed and ironed for the guild. I got a bit attached to them and bought one bag. I think I will piece a background with some blues or pinks (much better than beige carpet don't ya think!) and then applique the fan-circles down.....I'll have to go into the stash and see what works but I'm thinking I like the layout....

Orange Peel Quilt

Don't you just hate it when you see a post in blog-dom and want to get back to it but forgot where it was and who posted it? Duhhh....I so need more coffee.

Anyway, it this post mentioned Orange Peel quilts and it just happened I restacking my closet today so had one of my Orange Peel vintage quilts available to take a photo. It is on a queen size bed so you can see it is pretty large. It is all pieced though I think the blog group is going to applique (definitely what I would do!) The curved triangle between peels is quilted in the curved shape. I bought it in western Maryland in 1991...just realized that is almost 20 years ago!

I'll post more show photos tomorrow...

Not much quitling

Sorry about the posting lapse...seems there was a price to pay for the all the energy I had last weekend and it was paid with the last few days in bed. Still...it was worth it!I have continued washing, sorting, and airing (though not usually in that order) the vintage blocks donated to our guild. These are going to be put into sets and sold on the silent auction table. These plates have some fun fabric in them and are over 20 inches across! They would be cute with some embroidery or applique done in the center or cut apart and used for arched borders (saw something like that in a Fasset book....) The problem with taking care of these blocks is I start planning projects with them....like I need more projects!
On a gardening note our daylillies are in bloom. I think it was General Lee who said "daylillies are the sign of a lazy gardener." Lots of color with little work...like there is something wrong with that?! I don't think they had as many varieties back then though. We have them in everything from pink fluffies to an very old double orange (given to my by a fellow quilter!)
I also have some very small apricot ones with sweet faces....