Fellowship With the Frankfort Girls

After missing one get together while I was gone on vacation, I was super-stoked to see the girls yesterday at Becky's.

We only had one show and tell from the group - a first birthday quilt made by Sheryll for her granddaughter. Bunnies are "a thing" with the baby's family, so this will undoubtedly be well-received. The fabrics are by Corey Yoder/Coriander Quilts.

Yesterday was one of those mornings where 3 hours just wasn't enough time to talk about all the things. We had so much catching up to do and so much to share that we barely accomplished any stitching. I can't speak for the other gals, but I took two projects and did just a tad on both.

This little quilt from last summer has needed finishing for far too long. It is a Kim Diehl-inspired project that she hosted on Instagram. I had made a lot of progress with the big-stitch quilting, and then I ran out of floss. I had no idea what the color number was, so rather than obsess over it, I just bought a brown that looked suitable and proceeded. It was satisfying; I am very close to a finish. 

My other project for the morning was cutting out some background units for two more periwinkle blocks. I worked on these while on vacation, and if I can eke two more out of my scraps, I will have 25 blocks, and that will be just fine for a pretty table topper or wall hanging. I will need to locate some border fabric, but this will be a fun little dilemma to tackle.

So we met - all but Jan - and visited and caught up with each other. Next time we get together will be here at my house. You are invited, too! *smile*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A New Beginning

I will tell you a little secret: I love living out here in the country.

We have trees all around us and wide open skies; our little 15 acres of rural Ohio suits us perfectly. I have said on more than one occasion, "I love living here!"

When I gaze at that crystal blue sky with the bright green leaves in the foreground, I think "I oughta' make a quilt in these colors." This combination of blue and green is so fresh and sparkly.

And that idea is now coming to fruition with my newest start.

For some time now I have had a Layer Cake of Summer Breeze by Moda. I know there are lots of Summer Breeze versions - 1, 2, 3, 4, and maybe more - mine had been sorta' nagging at the back of my mind to be used for something. I actually referenced it in this post from June 2019.

These ideas/notions/hankerings have to simmer awhile before any action can occur.  Action has now been taken, as of last Friday.

Bug hunk of backing fabric; I took the entire bolt-over 6 yds.

When I picked up my Berninas from Old Town Fabric Shop, I checked out their clearance table, and what should I see??? Why, yes, Summer Breeze yardage.

I do believe this is the proverbial aligning of the stars.

So, by gosh, I started a new quilt. I don't have a pattern. I have only the vaguest of plans. From the 10" squares in the Layer Cake, I made hourglass blocks.

From the half-yard cuts, I plan to make setting blocks. I need to do the math to see how many I can get from the yardage, and proceed with constructing the quilt top.

Here are some shots of my hourglass blocks and the accent pieces to go with them

This picture shows the half-yard cuts in the bottom of the shot. They are all florals, 3 with blue background; one of yellow background, and one of cream background. Also tucked into that corner is a piece of solid green. I see way more blue and yellow and not enough green. I think I will use that solid green as an inner border. I need to measure things so I can be more decisive; just haven't gotten that far along in the process yet, I suppose.

Big blocks; simple design; fast quilt. It doesn't have to be fancy and involved to be pretty.

So many good things about this: another bit of the stash will be used up; I get a quilt that makes me think of our beautiful property - bright blue skies accented against lush, leafy green trees; fast, easy quilt that requires little thinking and planning and figuring.  

Sharon will be here today; we have not sewn together for a month! Our vacation and another conflict on Sharon's side, has kept us apart. There will be much to catch up on, and while we chatter away, I will trim those hourglass blocks.

Hope you have an awesome day!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

Esty Shopping

I tell myself all the time to quit buying fabric, books and supplies - I have enough!! -  yet I still see such pretty new stuff and it is so very hard to resist.

Another thing that is hard to resist is a sale.

Well, I succumbed to an Etsy sale over the July 4th holiday from a shop run by Lynn Wilder of Sewn'WildOaks blog.

Years ago - and I do mean years! - I watched a quilting show on HGTV hosted by Alex Anderson. Lynn was a guest in at least one episode, probably more. I remember watching her talk about her book Patchwork Math. At last, I have my own copy.

Lynn produces so many finely detailed quilts, and she always has perfect points and crisp lines; I figure I can learn a few things from her. This old dog is going to study and learn some new tricks, I hope!

In addition, I picked out two patterns that I have long admired. Lynn is so talented with her designs and her fabric choices and colorways are strikingly beautiful. I now have two quilts to add to my goals list: Lil' Orphan Scrappy and Country Charmer.

Now, I don't buy a lot of stuff on Etsy, and the few things I have ordered have all been of good quality, with fast service and top-notch customer service.

I believe Lynn takes all that to an entirely new level. If you study that picture above, you will notice that a lot of extra "stuff" came along with my patterns. Bonus Goodies!!

In addition to my order - 1 book and 2 patterns - I got 2 greeting cards with the patterns of my two pattern orders on the front AND a sheet of address labels with a variety of quilty pictures on each label. Sweet!

So, thank you, Lynn, for the fast service and the bonus goodies. You were a gem way back when you were a guest on television and continue to be a gem yet today. I love doing business with folks who love what they do and exude that enjoyment to their customers.

You should definitely check out Lynn's blog, and I recommend doing some shopping on her Etsy site. I believe the sale is over, but you can always load up a shopping cart, right?

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Fresh From the Spa

I finally got around to going to Chillicothe on Friday morning to get my Berninas. Best buddy Sharon had taken them to Old Town Fabric Shop for me. We were so busy getting ready to leave for vacation, it saved me a trip. I wanted both machines to get the full treatment while we were away on vacation. When we got back, I picked them up after their total spa experience- deep cleaning, oiling, replacing small parts, and miscellaneous whatnot.

Believe it or not, I took them upstairs, sat them down in the middle of the sewing room, and there they still sit. I have not even set them up, let alone sewn on them. Maybe later today. I'm sure they will purr like kittens.

I did do additional shopping while at Old Town. One purchase I made will be shared in an upcoming post. The other bits are nothing too special - just "must have" pieces that will enhance my current stash. *grin* I suffered a weak moment.*

We are having a glorious day here in south central Ohio. I have done my 2 miles this morning with DH; now to clean up and get on with my day!

Hope you make your day awesome!
Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Vintage Crazy Quilt

On Tuesday, I met with two high school classmates, Sandra and Larry. They have been clearing and sorting through the belongings of Sandra's mother's home and came across a quilt that Sandra had never seen before. Knowing of my love of quilts, she'd asked if I would look at it and tell her something about it.

What Sandra had was a crazy quilt. It was in such fragile condition, that we didn't unfold it entirely to see the whole quilt. The date on this ribbon dates it sometime after 1902. She's done some research on the ribbon, but did not found anything that provided useful details.

This smaller patch also indicates military involvement - Company C, whose motto must have been 'Pluck, Punctuality, Perseverance.'

While there are quite a few military and patriotic motifs, plenty of other pictures are depicted, too, so I wouldn't consider it to be a tribute to someone's military service.

This round black bit is velvet; it feels very plush and remains in good condition. 

This is an example of how the some fabrics are falling apart. Just about all of this particular patch is gone. And there were other parts that were bigger, and even more shredded with age than this. Look, though, at the variety of stitches in just this one area.

This is the edge of the quilt. It is unfinished, and the maker had the sense to whip-stitch the raw edges. I wonder if the maker intended to use border? How would she have bound it? Did she have plans for more decorative stitches or more ribbons and embellishments?

I have put out some inquiries about quilt restoration, historical preservation, and the like. I've not learned too much, but I think I will be able to provide some direction eventually.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Periwinkle Update

This is supposed to be a quilting blog, yet I have done very little posting lately, and just about everything besides quilting for the last few weeks. No more. I have some actual stitching to share. *grin*

Currently residing on my design wall are 21 periwinkle blocks that have been hand stitched. This was my on-the-road project during our trip, and I have continued working on them since being home as my machines have been out for a bit of pampering and servicing.

When traveling nearly 6000 miles across the country, small and simple work best. This little project box was the perfect size for sliding in and out of my travel tote, as it contains all the necessary items for simple hand piecing. I also kept extra stuff contained for easy access, when needed. Take a look.

Besides my thread, block parts, and pincushion, I see earbuds, a packet of lemonade mix, embroidery floss (for a 2nd project that I never once worked on), lip balm, and a pencil. This fit comfortably on my lap or at my feet and when we stopped, I could quickly fasten the top on and move about without losing track of all the things.

Like I said, I have continued to work on these blocks here at home. It has been so daggone hot! Weather dude said last evening that we'd had 11 days above 90 degrees. And high humidity to go with it. Ewww! I have queued up an audiobook and stitched away on these hot afternoons and evenings. To see previous posts regarding this periwinkle project, click here and here.

I have my sewing machines back from the spa - yay! - and there are several other developments ongoing, so I hope to be back to quilting posts from here on out. At least for awhile.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Travel Roundup

The two of us are still in the bubble of post-vacation euphoria. It's a whole lot more palatable than facing the realities of real world and daily life.

Lingering over vacation photos has been made all the easier because both my Berninas are still in for spa treatments being done while we were away. I couldn't have sewn if I'd wanted to.

So back to vacation. I gave myself permission to take time to organize the memories and to journal about our impressions. Sorting, weeding, and organizing the pictures and videos has been time-consuming work. Going through them so many times, however, has made it simpler for me to determine some of my most favorite pictures and the highlights of the trip.

This moody picture is one of my favorites. The Clearwater River is a rapids-filled and fast-moving waterway that spills into the Snake River. Located in Idaho, explorers Lewis and Clark followed the Clearwater on their way to the Pacific. It is easy to imagine the explorers seeing views exactly like this on their Westward journey. Were they as amazed as we were at the breathtaking beauty of the West? How did they ever convey the enormity of the mountains, the beauty of the land and the sounds of the wilds? 

Words have failed me a lot since this trip; I told someone that I don't think I know enough adjectives to adequately sum it all up. My pictures don't come near to doing justice to all the beauty, but we took them anyway - over 300 still shots and over 100 short videos. (All on our iPhones!)

This photo of the Columbia River as the sun was baking off the morning mist is another of my top pictures. This was taken as we headed east out of Hood River, OR, on our way to Idaho and then Montana. As I think of it now, this picture was taken the same day as the first one - this one at around 7am, and the one up top around 4pm. The Clearwater River runs into the Snake River, and the Snake River runs into this river, the Columbia. And of course, the Columbia runs into the Pacific. All of this area was mapped for President Thomas Jefferson by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 

Another highlight was our quick drive through the Redwood Forest in the northwest corner of California. Many folks take their entire vacation in the Redwoods, so we only saw a tiny bit in our 2-3-hour jaunt. We frequently remarked that coming back to explore these natural beauties and attractions more fully is always an option. 

Our 10-day journey had two goals: 1) to return our son to his home in Oregon (he'd been with us in Ohio for most of the pandemic), and 2) to visit cousins in Montana. Having DS Adam along for the first half of the trip as a tour guide through Oregon was great; he knew his way around to Three Sister peaks, Crater Lake, and Klamath Falls. He also mapped out a reasonable route for us to follow after we dropped him off. The photo below is near where Adam lives on the Sprague River.

I seem to have taken quite a few pictures of waterways. I will not apologize for this; the routes we traveled typically followed various rivers, and I suspect they were once ancient trails used by Native Americans and early European settlers. And the beauty speaks for itself. It was near this river that we saw a bald eagle soaring high overhead, looking just as majestic as one would expect.

Posing in front of Crater Lake, we documented our visit with this photo. DH was smart in bringing a sweatshirt; there was still snow on the ground in places throughout this park, and with a brisk breeze, I was chilled, for sure.

The peaks of the Three Sisters. I shared about my visit to Sisters, OR, and the destination quilt shop stop, The Stitchin' Post on Instagram here. I will do a post for the blog soon.

One of my bucket list goals was seeing the Pacific Ocean, having never yet done so. It is now checked off that list, because we saw the most beautiful ocean views traveling north along the Oregon coast.

Besides taking Adam back to Oregon, our other primary goal on this trip was to visit cousins at their remote mountain cabin, so I will finish this wrap-up with some pictures and details from central Montana.

Approaching the road to Steve and Peg's, we saw this herd of elk casually grazing.

Standing in front of the cabin, one can see distant BLM property.

Steve loaded us into his ATV in order to show us
the rugged 40 acres on which his cabin is located.

This clearing is a plateau above their cabin.

The cabin has all the comforts of home; yet no mail service. Steve's ingenuity
provided access to internet and satellite TV. Yes, the mounted elk was
one of Steve's bow-hunting successes from several years ago.

After a supper of elk burgers, we sat around the firepit,
enjoying the view while Steve and Peg prepared s'mores.

Coincidentally, this was our 41st anniversary;
what a memorable way to celebrate.

Breakfast, black coffee and elk sausage.

The cabin is so remote that we couldn't drive our car to it;
Steve returns us to where we parked in his ATV. 
We had this Montana-style traffic jam with other commuters.

Our farewell picture: Peg, Steve, Kevin and Jayne.
We'll get to see them again this November for a Buckeye football game.

Is it evident that we enjoyed our visit with them? They were so gracious in welcoming us. We sprung our visit on them rather last minute, but they couldn't have been more hospitable. As you might imagine, they get very few guests besides their own kids, and occasionally, their siblings. I do believe it was as special for them to host us as it was for us to experience their hidden Montana gem.

Today, I pick up my sewing machines. I might yet have a sewing post for this blog. The handstitching has continued on the periwinkle blocks, and I have also pulled out some big-stitch quilting for a UFO that needs finishing.

Hope you are having a great day, and 

Happy Quilting, Friends!