I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Leftovers or End of Day Tiny Quilt


Good evening , friends. Tonight is again cold and blustery, March at its usual game. I may post a bit more often here, as writing seems to calm and center me as sewing does not right now. That said, I carried on and out together my little Leftovers or End of Day [not Days as in apocalypse!] quilt, using the cutaways of  Blue Basket's border Piano Keys. "End of day'' refers to works made by Victorian glassblowers who would mix up and use up all the leftovers in their factories each day ended. end of day glass

This little cutie is called called either ''Cowgirl in Red'' or "Cowgirl in the Sand". hello cowgirl in the sand/ can i stay with you a while/ can I see your sweet smile...Neil Young.
Its story is that it was made by a young mother on her ranch out west, for her very tomboy little girl. The child chose the blue plaid of her daddy's workshirts and the red horseshoes in honor of her chestnut pony "Cowgirl". All c. 1957?


Everyone liked the red ground print, which was my fave too.



I love the backing. I just added that funny chicken wire and farm animals print when I ordered yardage of the red horseshoes for a future Churn Dash quill. There were tin cooky cutters too, I c=got a cow and a hen.






The binding is a very old piece of calico, 80s? that has a hint of bandanna look, I think.



The freestyled wavy quilt lines worked well when the little quilt was washed and dried. I made the horrible mistake of, instaed of picking up the Frixion pen [heat removable] on my worktable, I picked up a blue glitter gel pen instead. Why I didn't notice is a mystery, not real focused, I suppose. Then when I went to iron out the pen marks I was at first baffled by the iridescent blue of the marks. Lucky for me the gel pens wash out quite well.


Size before washing 13 1/4''  x 16 3/4"; after wash and dry: 12 3/4''  x  16". Lots of red on the Color Catchers but no runs on the projects or dishtowels. I did not prewash the red prints.


I had fun this afternoon trying Cowgirl in Red around the house.





Here it is with another end of day quilt, Little Red. I like them with the blue spatterware pieces.














The daffs are fading but still cheery----from my last grocery trip, and I do mean last--for awhile? forever? These were from Ireland, called "Celtic" daffs. Small stores like mine may not survive or reopen, I guess.



And here is Baby Mo. I wanted to show you how sweetly he snuggles next to me as I work at the computer.



He'd like a bed like this under the sewing desk too, but then he lies on the foot pedal: zoooom! So he makes his displeasure known by refusing his sewing room bed set safely aside; and as you know he makes his nest in the bin of thrift shop shirts.


I feel a bit stupid, but: Have a good week.


love

lizzy

gone to the beach.......

I didn't get to the beach, but --they're back! The oystercatchers arrived approximately March 17. This photo is from a local birdwatchers group. Hopeful omen?