Grandma's Orphan Blocks

One family trait that I definitely did not inherit was my grandmother's skill at organization. She was meticulous about keeping things in their proper place, never putting anything where it didn't belong. After all I explained in yesterday's post about my difficulty with organizing and cleaning, you know that this clean-freak tendency skipped right on past me.

When Grandma gave me all her sewing stuff way back in 2012, each box was clearly labeled and neatly ordered. And even though I have shared much of her stuff here on the blog, I don't think I ever shared the contents of what I would call her orphan block box. Gosh, what a treasure trove! 

Let's dive into these blocks!

The makings of a fan; I found a stack of these wedges prepared for making more.

Cake Stand

I believe this 2-block combination is called Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.

A basket.

Another basket - or is it a cake stand?

Lemoyne Star - maybe?

A setting block.

Star.

A setting block to go with the two below.

A traditionally made Lemoyne Star.

Bear's Paw - this is a really big block.

Perhaps a block for an Irish Chain?

A 6-pointed star.

A basket block.

A tiny basket.

Another Lemoyne Star.

 So what will I do with these? I know the obvious thing is to make a sampler quilt which would include all these blocks. I don't know about that. The chaotic nature of all these colors would not be especially pleasing to me. 

Another option is to find related fabrics and make more of these blocks to create a quilt that incorporated both Grandma's blocks and mine. I actually have 2 boxes of Grandma's scraps; perhaps I could find enough of her fabrics to make more blocks and proceed with a table topper or wall hanging at the least. I dare not hope for enough to make a small throw quilt, but until I dig around, I'll never know! 

Doing anything with these blocks will have to wait. I don't see myself doing anything this year; maybe it can be a goal for next year.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne

A Symbolic Endeavor

I am taking over yet another room of the house for the next couple of months. After clearing out some tables and scooting back furniture, DH helped me erect Grandma's ancient quilt frame in the front room early last week.

What stories this old frame could tell! The very brown parts on each end are quite old. I am sure Grandma told me, but I do not remember; they may have originated with her own mother or perhaps they originated with her grandmother. This would be, then, either my great-grandmother or great-great-grandmother.

To my knowledge, this is the only picture I have of Grandma sitting at her quilt frame.

Having done some genealogy, these women have names that I know: Margaret Thomas Wood and Mary Angeline Smedley Thomas. Wouldn't it be interesting to know what they quilted on this frame? Years ago, Grandma gave me some very old quilts - could these have been quilted on it? Most likely my grandma learned to quilt at this frame. I can just see her and probably her sisters seated on chairs, boosted with pillows, taking up their needles and attempting their first stitches.

The lighter wood - the brace and the roller bars - are new, relatively speaking. They were made by my grandfather when Grandma wore out the originals. And, interestingly enough, he made a second shorter set. I am using the longer set because the quilt that will be going into this is quite large.

A long time ago I determined that the first quilt I loaded onto this frame would be a symbolic one. Erin's Diamonds has been hanging in the closet for a couple of years and needs to be finished. I love the idea that the first quilt I do on Grandma's old frame is one that will be given to my daughter. So many generations involved! My own mother is not a quilter, but maybe I could get her to sit with me for awhile to take a few stitches in Erin's quilt? Then there would be no break in the multi-generational endeavor. Cool.

Now, those ancient grannies would likely look at the riotous colors of Erin's Diamonds and turn up their noses with disdain. I know Grandma did! She saw no attraction to this "modern stuff" that both Erin and I like. Grandma thought I'd lost it when she'd see me buying KF fabrics on some of our outings.

But I digress. Besides the brightly colored, modern fabrics, I will be breaking other traditional notions of quilting when I begin Erin's Diamonds. I plan to quilt "big stitch." Instead of laboring over the tiniest of even stitches, I will be using thicker thread and taking big stitches, outlining each diamond. I am hoping that I can make quick work of it.

All of this must start ASAP. I have some finishing of other projects to accomplish first, though. The pressure mounts! The goal: to be done before Christmas decorating - this is the room where we put our tree!

I will be linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching which you can peek at over at Kathy's Quilts. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

It's Been A Year

June 6 one year ago, Grandma died. She was 98, and relatively healthy her whole life. She had a couple of heart attacks in her later years, and as she got into her 90s, she definitely settled in with some issues common to the elderly, but I was really lucky to have a grandmother who lived so long, was so vital throughout the years, and who was a quilter.

I have just spent a good, long while going back through old posts in which I wrote about Grandma. From her giving me the contents of her sewing room to traveling to quilt shows to sharing a number of the quilts she made over the years, I have put a lot out there about Grandma.

This picture was taken when she was 95. We were celebrating my mother's birthday when the picture was taken, and it has always been easy to remember ages - 20 years separate me and Mom; 20 years separated Mom and Grandma.

Instead of my retelling stories and remembrances, I will list a few links to posts about Grandma that are among my favorites. Plus, there's that tab above where you can browse through all the quilts I have photographed of her 70 years of quilting. It's a work in progress; many more are out there needing to be added to the roll.

The day we went to Peebles for a quilt show and bed-turning.
The day we cleared out stuff stored under the bed.
Getting Grandma's sewing kit.
The day we played in the quilts.
The day I brought home the contents of the closet.
First post after her passing.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Some Very Old Stuff

It's been a few days since I've shared anything from Grandma's closet; I will remedy that now.

The closet housed a lot of the projects Grandma was working on - which means they were current. While she was using scraps, none of them were antique fabrics, just dated a bit - say a decade or so. Well, there were some things in that closet which were quite a bit older than that. I felt like an archaeologist on a dig for ancient treasure. Today's post will feature some of the older finds.

This advertisement was tucked in with a box of cardboard templates. I never knew Grandma to be interested in textile painting, so I cannot imagine why this was saved. Maybe there was something inside or on the back that was of interest. I need to check again.

Here are some of the cardboard templates. Untold quilts have been made with these. The penciled-on labels are fading; some of it is Grandma's handwriting.

One box had a shoebox in it that was filled with bias tape and rick rack, many unopened. I asked Grandma why she had so much of this (because I also remember there being a lot of bias tape and rick rack in that sewing kit I got awhile back). She said that she made a lot of aprons, and these were helpful in her construction. I suppose the bias tape would bind pockets, or maybe become apron strings (?). Of course, rich rack makes a nice embellishment on aprons, so that makes sense. Anyway, take a look at the price on this random one I pulled out. Gracious!!

There were many embroidered pillow cases and table cloths that I remember from my childhood days spent at Grandma's house. Here is an ancient pattern transfer that Grandma must have liked.

The oldest items of all reside in this shabby brown box.

This is a project of Grandma's sister, Leota. The pieces are cut and sorted, the pattern is in the envelop in which it came, and a block is partially completed.

I do not remember my great aunt Leota, and I should. We just didn't see these relatives very often. She was an older sibling of my grandmother's. Of the 9 surviving children, Leota was 5th and Grandma was 7th. Leota was born in 1913 and died in 2000. Grandma was born in 1916.

Well, there you have it - some very old things from Grandma's closet. I can see doing one more post about that closet, and then we'll close that subject for awhile. If you missed the previous posts about the closet, here are the links: first, second, third.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Grandma's Split 9-Patch

One real quick post from Grandma's closet today, peeps. I missed yesterday, darn it. I was trying to go for one post each day for the month of July. Oh well...

I think Grandma referred to this block as the Split 9-Patch, but perhaps it's known by other names. She made one quilt using this block and the way they are arranged makes for some very interesting secondary patterns. She really enjoyed making that first one and began a second. I recall that she asked me for some dark scraps to add variety, and I see many bits of fabrics in the photo above that came from my stash.

This is yet another of Grandma's UFOs that I will enjoy finishing.

You know, she acts like she doesn't care a bit about quilting anymore, but I bet if I were to pull this one out and work on it, she'd be thrilled to see the progress. I might just schedule an afternoon to visit her, and take this as handwork to do while we chat - that would really tickle her. *wink*

I just might do it.

Oh, and another thing, if you click that tab under my header where it says Grandma's Quilts, you can take a little tour of some of her many creations.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Grandma's Blocks

On Friday I shared the first of several posts I will be doing on the contents of Grandma's quilting closet. Those two completed quilt tops were real surprises to me, for sure.

Today I will show you a few of the various completed blocks nestled away in these boxes and tubs. It was typical for Grandma to make a practice block when beginning a quilt - especially if the design was one she had never made before. I uncovered a lot of single blocks amongst all this stuff, and I expect that at some point I will be putting them together as a sampler quilt. Perhaps two, depending on how many I find and how large the blocks are. She quilted for 60-70 years, so there are many, many of these test blocks.

 I haven't photographed every single block, but I think you can tell that there are several underneath this pretty red and blue star.Grandma loved making patriotic quilts, so I have to imagine that this was what she had in mind when she made this particular block.

Grandma's favorite color is blue, so many of her quilts reflect that love of anything blue. Here is another star, with a somewhat different method of construction (HSTs for the star points as opposed to flying geese units). And that Monkey Wrench block is typical of what she was making just before she stopped quilting altogether.

This Maple Leaf block is from a quilt I remember her finishing. She used all fall colors and it turned out so pretty. I imagine that someone in the family has this quilt, as I've not seen it at her house, and she frequently gave her finished quilts to her children and grandchildren.

 Ahh, the Lemoyne Star - it was Grandma's standard block. If we searched the family, I bet we could easily find over 20 quilts made with this star. I got mine when I went to college. You can see from this picture that the box holds several more blocks and underneath there are baggies of blocks parts. I can't even begin to guess at how far back these go.

Another of Grandma's favorite blocks were the Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Bill. Here is a completed Sue, and a whole pile of overalls cut out. Always planning ahead for the next baby to be born! Lots of the great-grandchildren have pillows or wall hangings of these.

In all the years Grandma and I shared our quilting hobby, I never saw her make a Drunkard's Path, yet here in this box are all the parts necessary for just that. Several blocks are finished; I just don't have a photo of them.

I probably bought these fabrics for her. As her interest in quilting diminished, and she was less and less likely to agree to join me on a trip to a fabric store, I often would pick up a few fat quarters in colors I knew she would find appealing and take them to her at random intervals.I wanted to keep her interested in quilting for as long as possible. It worked for awhile. She cut into these fat quarters and made several quilts - often stars. This box represents some of that work. On the bottom are 6 or 8 finished blocks, with the makings of more on top. Do you see what is peeking at me from the top? Her scissors and thimble are tucked in with the project.

And, the pattern she was using is here, too. Such an organized lady! She still is, too! Many a time I have been over there to help her do little things, and by gosh, it better be done by her specifications! She is a stickler for detail! And everything has its place, to be sure. I wish some of her fastidiousness had been a trait I inherited!

This box is chocked full of 9-patch blocks. Maybe my affinity for the 9-patch is what I inherited!

 I removed the completed 9-patches and found the above "ingredients" for making more. Have you noticed that Grandma never used a rotary cutter and mat? All the quilts she made were cut out with templates and hand pieced. No strip piecing for her! She is of another generation.

I just had to know how many of these blocks she'd completed, and why they were stacked just so. Well, one stack  has 55 completed blocks, and the other has 50. She was well on her way to making more than one quilt, wouldn't you agree?

This picture and the two that follow are of another box containing a nearly-finished quilt. At least most of the blocks are finished, anyway. We are looking in particular at that red and blue pinwheel with a creamy background.

 Isn't this a pretty block? I remember Grandma working on this quilt. She was rather excited to see how nicely it was coming together. I wonder what made her stop? Probably a combination of things: eyesight, unsteadiness in her hands, inability to sit still. In her 90s, lots of little aches and pains probably add up to a lot of frustration.

There are a few sub-units ready to be sewn into a full blocks. And the leftover fabric is here, too, for finishing up borders. What great stuff.

I  have a good bit to look forward to, don't I? Finishing these quilts that Grandma started will be a pleasure for me. I don't know when I will do them, but I most assuredly will.

I've tried to show Grandma this blog, especially some of the posts that have been about her. I don't think she fully grasps this whole internet thing. It's just something that she knows exists, but she's uninterested in trying to understand it. That's okay, too.

Happy Quilting, Friends!