It's July! ~ June Quilt Show and Tell

It's July! The year is half over but summer has just begun. [Finally.]

On the quilting home front, first up, Lori's Stringalong Project. I didn't get as much accomplished as I'd hoped but I am very happy with what I have so far.

Here is the pieced section on my bed, so you can see scale and layout.

I was rescued from my setting dither by blog friend Penny, who very kindly did a layout for me in Electric Quilt 7.

I was stymied because I have very limited sashing and corner fabric and could not allow myself a cutting experiment/ error. With Penny's invaluable help, I could print out diagrams and make notes for exact cutting amounts and for the always boggling diagonal piecing structure.

My stack of blocks might have sadly languished in their box without the diagrams.

Once I cut the sashings I could then cut the setting triangles. Penny also kindly included cutting measurements but I wanted the big triangles to have their long sides on straight grain, therefore needed to cut a large square into fourths, and I'd need 3 [12] of them?

I spent a somewhat fun evening [in my imagination, I don't even recall who the guys was!] thanking my old middle school geometry/ algebra?  teacher for imparting the basics: a x a + b x b = c x c [''a squared plus b squared equals c squared'', my keyboard won't write this.]; so the square is cut the square root of c.---or 19"-ish. Aren't we so glad we paid attention back then! And we told our parents math was a waste of time, "I'll never use it!"

So here I am , hoping for some rainy days to continue piecing.

I still love my Baskets but in a way I feel that they are soooo simple that they in some ways evade the fun challenge of strings. I can't lift the photos from FB and Pinterest but some of the antique string quilts that Lori has featured for inspiration are fabulously creative and intricate. Something to mull over.

.....

Bitty is a small someday/ maybe/ future ''heirloom'' [how outdated and dumb of me] baby quilt that many of you have watched me work on for 2, 3 years now.

She was unfolded and taken to the beach yesterday. Of course my Frixion pen wouldn't work in the hot sun.

I was slightly dismayed that the project is not, as I thought, half done. Maybe 1/3 done. But I do have all summer. [The fabrics are white ground, not ivory.]

I do love the texture of the handquilting.

......................

Year in the Country: June / Rooster is finished. 

So cute! I modeled him on a picture of a breed called Grey Lace Orpington, I love the name! But Orpingtons are usually blond, who knew? Truly he is an all-American Plymouth Rock, I think. HERE

The hollyhocks will all get yellow french knot centers after it's quilted, and button eye removed then replaced. I always have to tack on the eyes so the birds come alive!

This is the only block that did not have the name embroidered on it. So I added it, Rooster wanted recognition.. Not in the photo, he fell on the floor, lol, but I found a little orange plastic piggy on the beach. He will maybe get attached in the end too, it's a farmyard, needs a pig.

..................................
At the church flea on Friday I found this toile valance, $2.oo.

It has really cute, sharply rendered scenes. Part of the reason Hideous was set aside is that it features a purple toile and I've used up all the scenes; what's left is repeats. I was thinking the rest of the blocks can have black toile, or if I find purple dye I may try overdying it.

.......................

Back home: Does anyone know what this is growing in my zinnia pot? Mel? Is it an herb or a weed?

And from Kit, more tea party garden art. Kit has teacup flowers! Aren't they adorable.

Many thanks to those who have asked about Mo and his knee.

He seems fine, he likes his supplement; he is struggling with the sudden heat but that's another issue. I find he loves burbling water, he even likes me to drizzle his water from a bottle so he can lap it as it falls. He may find it hard to breathe when he drinks as his flat face makes his nose submerge at times. I plan to look for a water fountain for him, though he prefers to have ice in his drinks, not sure how that'll work, hahaha.

This was last night, I was getting ready for bed and when I came back from brushing my teeth, I found this! Look at that face, those puppy dog eyes! ''Mommy, you can sleep over there."  He had NO trouble at all jumping up and making himself at home on my side of the bed, on my pillows. "Were you reading my Kindle, Mo!"

Have a wonderful July! Stay cool, but enjoy the warmth and freedom too.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach..............

Link to Lori's blog, for everyone else's string quilts: Humble Quilts

It's Flea Season Again! ~ First Church Flea Market of the Spring

HI! Temps are very cold and the wind is big, but I know spring has arrived because the little church's first flea market was held last week. Oh I was sooo excited, you cannot imagine. I know, little life, little thrills, but that's my idea of fun. All winter long I've been saving dollar bills, because the fleas here prefer cash; I have a little wad of crumpled singles set aside--I am so organized and didn't dip into this tiny hoard for tips or lunch money. Prob is less than $30.oo.

So last Friday I had it all planned out, I would be early, I'd get to the flea's Friday presale ahead of the crowds. This flea has  a preview sale Fridays and Mondays 2-4 PM. Imagine all the treasures the church ladies had accumulated during the winter?
I got there early but later than I'd hoped because I ended up waiting for a no-show friend. I arrived at the church and there was not a parking space to be found in the entire village. Not at the other church or the preschool, not at the train station or the post office or the wine shop. Nada. I drove around for an hour, hampered by the fact that this village is on a spit of land without regular cross streets and hemmed in by two busy busy busy train crossings. I finally went home, dejected, rejected.
In the end I went back Monday...again no parking! This is new, there must be something going on at the same time, like a moms' group or AA or Bible study. I finally parked about a mile away---darn it, I was gonna get there! [Please don't suggest Uber, we don't have it and it'd cost too much anyway.]

The shelves were very picked over, and the place was pretty empty, so I know all those cars came for something else. The ladies were tidying up and putting away, because this is the basketball court of the rec hall.

Here are a few things that caught my eye:
This lovely big doll house.

I loved it. It's like a Midwestern farmhouse, just what I used to dream of owning back in the day, before beach cottage times. That front porch just begs for Halloween decorations, bales of hay and many pumpkins. The interior was in poor condition but fixable. A rehab!

There was also a box of all the furniture and the doll-residents. It said ''included"; If you peer through the plastic wrap you can see the darling little quilt that was there. I think ''cheater cloth'', not pieced, but cute, very 70's calico-awful.

I didn't note the price, because I didn't want to buy it and it was tempting. I would love to have a doll house again.

A sweet beer bottle brown glass rooster candy jar, 1930-40s?

Loved the big mirror, I always wanted one of these when I sewed my own clothes.

Pretty lace and linens, too $$.

More, with embroidery.

I loved this dresser scarf's oddly colored dull flowers, maybe for sachet hearts? but not that day. Eight dollars? Insane, who but me buys these things?

Ribbons and fabric, not tempted. Next time.

I took a few pictures of the clothes racks in case my friend B can ever go with me. Not a big selection, though on another rack they sure had a LOT of big white wedding gowns in tiny sizes.

What came home with me, how did I spend my $3.oo?

A floral sheet and an apron.

The full/double sheet was 2.oo and is a possible backing for the Blue Baskets quilt. Quilt backings are one of the unmentioned big expenses of making quilts--often 6 or 7 yards at 10.75 a yard. So as much as 80.oo; a two dollar sheet looks amazing in comparison.

The bluebells are darling, aren't they, plus touches of bright yellow and the tiniest red polka dots.

I love it. My quilter isn't thrilled with using sheets but I prevail. I think using a  vintage sheet is so in tune with the idea of the Baskets being recycled old shirts. And often sheets are nicely lightweight and so soft. I do have something else in mind, waiting to see if it goes on sale before ordering.

This is my only Blue Baskets of the month for March posting, except the mention again the lovely white shirtings from Nancy.

I didn't make any Baskets this month, and in a few seconds you'll see why.

My other treasure is this great polka dot apron, in the best green and best polka dots. One dollar. I'm sure my eyes got big and I grabbed it. Think how many St Paddy's Day dinners this apron may have made. Worn but pristine and well kept.

Wonderful make do pocket, as if it was made without the pocket and the maker used all the fabric. Then needed a pocket! So she cut off some of the waist ties and pieced herself a pocket. Look closely, it's made of three carefully pieced horizontal strips.

I don't collect aprons, but I almost kept it to wear myself. In the end, I realized I don't wear half aprons, just bibbed bakers' aprons. I am a spill-on-my-shirt kinda girl.

After washing and ironing, I folded the apron and set it on the corner cupboard. Aha! The polka dotted green just had to be the backing for my fun little red doll quilt.

I made the little quilt with the unused blocks from TQC 1880 Sampler.

Just one more is left, it will be a pin keep. Since this little guy is just for me I could use the wild red horseshoes fabric that I love. Horseshoes were a very popular motif in conversational shirting prints in the second half of the 19th century, so the print is not as anachronistic and silly as it may seem. I treated myself to having it quilted professionally, in miniature Baptist Fans.

It was going to possibly be my Humble Quilts swap quilt, but on inspection I saw it perhaps had ''bad'' fabrics, not in the rules. Plus it was probably too goofy, too childlike?--and lastly. I loved it too much to give it to someone who is expecting and deserving a traditional look.

I struggle with giving my quilts away. The second---no third!--little quilt I made for the swap is so perfect with my yellowware bowls! We'll see how time goes.

These two little quilts and prepping  1880 and Sajou for the quilter took up the days that were intended for my Baskets. I'll have to do double for April! Or fall behind. @@

Mo and I found daffodils today! But no pix.

Have a good weekend.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....

PS When Lori adds the Stringalong Linky I'll add that here so you all can see the projects of people who actually got things done in March. 

 PS2: If you love the look of the 1880 Sampler, with its 4" blocks [not necessarily my version but the project], TQC is doing a new sewalong !! W/ tinier 3" blocks.  HERE  I'm thinking to do it w/ my 1930s kiddy prints. It's a fast project but it can be made at your own pace, when you feel like it. No deadlines or posts involved.