Monday, May 30, 2011
With Humble Thanks
Pictures from my Dad's service during WWII. That's him 2nd from right in back row. He named a number of those with whom he served. Thanks Dad, and all.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Turning Up
You just can't believe what turns up when you are cleaning out! I've been scanning like crazy in order to get all my mom's photo albums saved and ready to turn over to niece Tina. While doing so, I've found quite a number of things of my own. I've always had a secret wish that I could paint. I did a lot of water colors as a kid and enjoyed art class in high school. However, along with that secret was my other secret - I'm not very good at all! Many years ago while vacationing at Lake George NY, I took a couple of water color classes. I was pretty disappointed with my efforts and rolled them up and stored them. When they turned up a couple of weeks ago, I realized what they were and came close to chucking them into the quickly filling up trash bag. But then I decided, what the heck, let's check them out. I'm glad I did. I am no longer ashamed of them - tho' I do recognize they aren't very good. But they do represent a lovely vacation time we had together - the one with the little boat is of our two oldest boys and Lar - learning to handle the boat.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Stitches in Time
I have participated in exactly one challenge and this is the result - I loved it, hubby and family loved it...but my fellow guild members weren't at all impressed! It is the mostly black quilt just over hubby's head in the picture. Everyone was given a number of pieces of the same fabric. One is allowed to add a given amount of other fabrics and do any technique. One look at the fabrics and I knew immediately I wanted to depict one of my favorite hymns - "I Come to the Garden Alone." Seen full on, it depicts the sun just coming up to break the dark of night and there is a small gold heart placed as the light blue is forming. It was a real labor of love.
Here is a picture of a tremendous lesson learned. Wanting to earn some extra money, I advertised to finish quilts for people. The owner of these Sunbonnet Sue squares was an elderly lady who had had the squares stored for about 40 years. We discussed at length how she wanted them completed and then I set out to do it. Almost immediately she began to call me almost daily to see if it was done yet! The stress grew and I knew I wasn't going to be able to do as much hand quilting as I had intended and still get it done in what she felt was a suitable time frame. Once done and returned to her she showed great disappointment in what I had done - although her daughter was very pleased. I think I got around $75 or $80 dollars from the job - and never, ever offered to do such a thing again!
A wedding quilt for a neighbor girl that we loved. I found out we were invited to her wedding about 3 weeks or so before the wedding. What you see is as much applique and hand quilting as I was able to get done. I told her to return it after the wedding and I would finish the edge...she never did, tho' she told me she always used it. Below is a detail of the center applique.
Some original designs I came up with that proved very popular - Christening, Dedication, Baptism baby quilts. I was able to look up the appropriate symbols for the various venues and hand quilted details on a whole cloth quilt. They might feature baby's name, birth date, special date and religious symbols. I sold quite a number of these.
CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME
Here is a picture of a tremendous lesson learned. Wanting to earn some extra money, I advertised to finish quilts for people. The owner of these Sunbonnet Sue squares was an elderly lady who had had the squares stored for about 40 years. We discussed at length how she wanted them completed and then I set out to do it. Almost immediately she began to call me almost daily to see if it was done yet! The stress grew and I knew I wasn't going to be able to do as much hand quilting as I had intended and still get it done in what she felt was a suitable time frame. Once done and returned to her she showed great disappointment in what I had done - although her daughter was very pleased. I think I got around $75 or $80 dollars from the job - and never, ever offered to do such a thing again!
A wedding quilt for a neighbor girl that we loved. I found out we were invited to her wedding about 3 weeks or so before the wedding. What you see is as much applique and hand quilting as I was able to get done. I told her to return it after the wedding and I would finish the edge...she never did, tho' she told me she always used it. Below is a detail of the center applique.
Some original designs I came up with that proved very popular - Christening, Dedication, Baptism baby quilts. I was able to look up the appropriate symbols for the various venues and hand quilted details on a whole cloth quilt. They might feature baby's name, birth date, special date and religious symbols. I sold quite a number of these.
CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME
As a member of Love Apples Quilt Guild, I was really happy to get to make charity quilts - many of which were dedicated to AIDS babies. The quilt below had come to me in squares, I made additional squares and completed and quilted the quilt for a charity through the guild.
The following quilts are more I made for charity. A Cheater's panel, with the center trapuntoed (stuffed from the back of the quilt for more definition.)
A fence full of charity baby quilts.
Our guild had speakers who presented their results from working together on a quilting book on Amish quilts. They inspired me so much I immediately bought the book and made exactly ONE of the projects. I love it to this day and hope soon to find time to make more of them.
Stars in Baby's Eyes - made for a grandchild.
Golden chord across the miles. Made for an on-line friend on the West Coast who shared her old postcards with me...hand appliqued and hand quilted..features a golden cord representing the lines of communication by which we communicated.
Little Angel wall hanging.
"Stained Glass" Quilting - on left for my in-laws who loved the desert. On the right "Peace Be Still" for a couple of friends who had recently lost their baby to Reye's symdrome.
Turquois Star...tried a new slicing technique which I loved. Gave to my kids who were decorating in South West style but it creeped them out...they thought it looked like a pentagram. So I took it back. Not sure what happened to it after that.
Darling friend found a complete set of newspaper quilt patterns for a State Flower quilt. Just in time I got pneumonia - was out of work for a couple of weeks - gave me the time I needed to transcribe the patterns and get them embroidered. There are, of course, 48 blocks since it was a 1930's pattern.
Little wall hangings I made each of my siblings, my mother, and my sister/brother in law. Feature photo transfers onto fabric of their family members. And finally, a warm little house to house country wall hanging for friends.
Hope you've enjoyed a look back at maybe half the quilting projects with which I've kept my idle hands occupied.
The following quilts are more I made for charity. A Cheater's panel, with the center trapuntoed (stuffed from the back of the quilt for more definition.)
A fence full of charity baby quilts.
Our guild had speakers who presented their results from working together on a quilting book on Amish quilts. They inspired me so much I immediately bought the book and made exactly ONE of the projects. I love it to this day and hope soon to find time to make more of them. Stars in Baby's Eyes - made for a grandchild. Golden chord across the miles. Made for an on-line friend on the West Coast who shared her old postcards with me...hand appliqued and hand quilted..features a golden cord representing the lines of communication by which we communicated. Little Angel wall hanging. "Stained Glass" Quilting - on left for my in-laws who loved the desert. On the right "Peace Be Still" for a couple of friends who had recently lost their baby to Reye's symdrome. Turquois Star...tried a new slicing technique which I loved. Gave to my kids who were decorating in South West style but it creeped them out...they thought it looked like a pentagram. So I took it back. Not sure what happened to it after that. Darling friend found a complete set of newspaper quilt patterns for a State Flower quilt. Just in time I got pneumonia - was out of work for a couple of weeks - gave me the time I needed to transcribe the patterns and get them embroidered. There are, of course, 48 blocks since it was a 1930's pattern. Little wall hangings I made each of my siblings, my mother, and my sister/brother in law. Feature photo transfers onto fabric of their family members. And finally, a warm little house to house country wall hanging for friends.Hope you've enjoyed a look back at maybe half the quilting projects with which I've kept my idle hands occupied.
My Cheatin' Heart!
I quickly discovered that most folks don't realize the work and effort put into a pieced quilt. That was really a good thing, in a way, since baby showers and other special events often come up with little time to prepare. That's when "cheater panel" quilts are just the thing. Below: Sleeping Puppy baby quilt...it is actually a pieced puppy, but the rest is quick and easy. Shirt tale critters were all the rage...probably in the 80's and a quick applique of the little fellow onto a plain fabric background, some light hand quilting and I was set to go. It was a great hit. The Pink Pony had no piecing...again, some light hand quilting and the recipient felt special. Nice gifts for Non-quilters!How Tall is Baby - I used a cheater's panel of a measuring picture and then inserted it into a pieced background. Got some awsome pictures at the log cabin where we were vacationing in WV.
Cheating Crows - I'm not sure what happened to this one...it was, if I recall correctly a machine quilted panel - but it was intended for someone very fond of gardening and I know they loved it.
I was working with lots of young men and women and that meant tons of baby showers. This cheater's panel along with a string of bears and hearts to match brought a lot of compliments.
Using panels intended for making stuffed animals made a fun coming and going Teddy quilt.
There have been all sorts of purposes for my varied quilt projects...but they have always been intended to bring comfort, to express love. The above quilt was a family project...each of our little family had a hand in creating this quilt - an Irish Chain - for our dearest friend Tony who was in his last days with liver cancer. He is shown here with his walking stick, his Irish cap and his soft cotton quilt...it was hard for him to be so cold and yet tolerate most covers. We wanted him to feel the warmth of our love. I think he did.
I was working with lots of young men and women and that meant tons of baby showers. This cheater's panel along with a string of bears and hearts to match brought a lot of compliments.
Using panels intended for making stuffed animals made a fun coming and going Teddy quilt.
There have been all sorts of purposes for my varied quilt projects...but they have always been intended to bring comfort, to express love. The above quilt was a family project...each of our little family had a hand in creating this quilt - an Irish Chain - for our dearest friend Tony who was in his last days with liver cancer. He is shown here with his walking stick, his Irish cap and his soft cotton quilt...it was hard for him to be so cold and yet tolerate most covers. We wanted him to feel the warmth of our love. I think he did.Saturday, May 21, 2011
I Have Kept Busy
Came across a bunch of photos of various crafts and projects I've had over the years. Gee, I really have kept busy! My Grandma always taught us about idle hands.
There were the little munchkins - made of stockings as I recall - I sold
a number of them, below you can see the angel on left and Mrs. Santa we kept for ourselves, then one I made for a realtor, a carpenter, a hairdresser, and others. Then I made a few tea cozies - never kept one for myself. Then the little door hangers indicating to guests whether or not the baby is sleeping. Over the years I've lost track of the number of dolls I made. Many were custom made to order - eye color, 
hair color, etc. Most h
ad music boxes inside. The center picture below is of a few "character pillows" I made...sold them all. Then there was the candlewicking pillow - I think I 
sold that too. Next to 
that is a doll with high button shoes...the buttons were antique black buttons.
Here is a pillow I made for my sister Carol's anniversary (25th, I think).
I had some antique satin and lace and cross stitched the center picture and the words. More dolls, and more "character pillows" these made to resemble the people who were getting them. I also did some in school colors, and in several instances used the authentic uniform fabric to dress them for St. Peter's School in Merchantville. Haven't found any pictures of those as yet.
More dolls and some traditional quilt designs for throw pillows. Again, all sold, or given away.
Then came the Cabbage Patch craze. People were going crazy trying to buy those dolls and I came up with my own design - sold quite a few. Also, bel
ow, a one time Strawberry Shortcake type doll.Somewhere along the line I met a lady who became a good friend. She ordered two character dolls...one to look like herself, and one to look like a friend. The dolls were dressed as identically as I could manage to the way they were dressed in the picture she provided.
There were the little munchkins - made of stockings as I recall - I sold
a number of them, below you can see the angel on left and Mrs. Santa we kept for ourselves, then one I made for a realtor, a carpenter, a hairdresser, and others. Then I made a few tea cozies - never kept one for myself. Then the little door hangers indicating to guests whether or not the baby is sleeping. Over the years I've lost track of the number of dolls I made. Many were custom made to order - eye color, 
hair color, etc. Most h
ad music boxes inside. The center picture below is of a few "character pillows" I made...sold them all. Then there was the candlewicking pillow - I think I 
sold that too. Next to 
that is a doll with high button shoes...the buttons were antique black buttons.
Here is a pillow I made for my sister Carol's anniversary (25th, I think).
I had some antique satin and lace and cross stitched the center picture and the words. More dolls, and more "character pillows" these made to resemble the people who were getting them. I also did some in school colors, and in several instances used the authentic uniform fabric to dress them for St. Peter's School in Merchantville. Haven't found any pictures of those as yet.
More dolls and some traditional quilt designs for throw pillows. Again, all sold, or given away.
Then came the Cabbage Patch craze. People were going crazy trying to buy those dolls and I came up with my own design - sold quite a few. Also, bel
ow, a one time Strawberry Shortcake type doll.Somewhere along the line I met a lady who became a good friend. She ordered two character dolls...one to look like herself, and one to look like a friend. The dolls were dressed as identically as I could manage to the way they were dressed in the picture she provided.
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