September Quilt Blocks

Hi! The days are getting shorter, as September draws to a close. I'm not fond of winter's darkness, I don't find it cozy---just, well, dark. Mo and I continue to enjoy our afternoons of sewing on the deck. I just have to get out there earlier!

And despite the shorter days, the deck is hot, sunny, and beautiful every afternoon.

Mo is not going to pleased when his afternoon sunbath on the deck ends in a couple of months!

Here are the Houses from When the Wild Geese Fly.

 I love the Mill building, just like the old mills still standing in New Bedford and Providence.

This is the Saltbox house, a typical Connecticut and Massachusetts style.

And a Schoolhouse:

I know the style is ''primitive'' here, but the classic Schoolhouse's shape is less than wonderful. Maybe try again? Draft my own pattern?

I didn't help things by insisting on using an orange gingham shirt back that had princess seams! It doesn't lay as flat as I'd hoped. [I know~ I always say I'll redo as needed at the end of the project, then by that time I'm so finished and tired of the project I just say Make it work, and move on. So, I guess we'll see!]
I have quite a bit of the string-pieced blue plaid fabric left over. I'm thinking Baskets with cheddar handles, maybe?

I completed this Ohio Sampler block.

The Oak leaves were challenging! Those tight inner curves are tough.

I've also been pushing myself to catch up/ continue with ongoing projects that need machine sewing. These are the undone Westering Women Blocks. Again I'm not too thrilled with my work.
This is called Chimney Rock. The plaid pointy squares are supposed to represent the large rock formation. Apparently on the flat prairie there were a few outstanding landmarks, high rocks at the travellers could see for miles.

I again drafted my own pattern and instructions. My points are pretty good but as I squeezed out the squares from my antique Prussian blue and madder brown wool challis scrap, I was not able to keep the pieces exactly on grain, and oh boy does it ever show!

And I used this special to me but anachronistic Union print for the center. My story/ excuse was that in 1853 as the rumblings of discord and discontent began, maybe my pioneer family was headed west, hoping for a free and peaceful life .
And this block is Courthouse Rock, another landmark on the prairie that the wagon trains aimed for as they headed west. It must have looked so strange to these people. The flat endless rolling grass of the prairie, and then far far away a hundreds of feet high natural monument or outcropping, looming in the distance. [For all I know it looks odd still today, I've never been to Nebraska!]

These set-in seams, below, are called Y seams and Brackman actually showed one of my blocks, another with Y seams, on her blog! I was thrilled. Y seams don't really bother me, maybe because my sewing background is in clothing? It's the 1/4" seams and exact 90* corners that are hard for me.

edit: Oh much better! Patience is important in sewing! Though as Mel points out in her comment, he values aren't well chosen, so the rocks don't stand out. Oh well..

I m feeling somewhat hassled by quilt-y To Dos as I begin machine sewing again. I usually only machine sew in the winter and spring, but I am so behind!  That, to me, means I have too many projects going. I'm a stickler for keeping up and especially for finishing my work.
Those issues did not stop me from recently buying these two new to me Jan Patek patterns! The goal with these, tho I won't begin them soon, is to improve my accuracy in piecing. Look at all those pointy points! And both look like quilts I might actually be able to use in my house.

.....
We had one cool weekend, then the other night these black clouds rolled in. They have brought not rain but warmer muggier weather. But the clouds were all dark drama, no thunder wind or rain!

Have a good week! Quilty 365 Dotties here on Friday!

love 

lizzy

gone to the beach...

PS look close, below/// click to enlarge. Many migrating brds fill my sky each morning. These are maybe small hawks of some sort; they migrate early

To read more about the Westering Women blocks, and the rock formations represented here:

Courthouse Rock

Chimney Rock

August Quilt Blocks

Hi! August is almost over ! And though we expect another two months of summer, it does seem as if things are changing, summer is rushing by! [Because I live so near the finally-warm ocean, Fall begins around Veterans Day, in November.]
But the days are shorter, and evenings on the deck are no longer bright enough to sew past 7.30. Here is what I did this month. [The block is L shaped, the seashells are not part of the block.]

This is one of my favorite Wild Geese blocks. For months I've been planning how to baste the raw edges of the sunflower so that in time it could turn shaggy / raggy---frilly! But in the end, no. It just needed to be made this way.

And this is another Basket from P2, a little 5" filler block. I LOVE this little basket. I'm thinking it could make a great long term project like the Dotty Circles, scraps of pretty fabrics, something to have on hand to keep my fingers busy? If I start and lose interest--the four or six starters will make a sweet little doll quilt. Or ten years from now I will have a hundred Baskets and a full sized memory quilt.

And here are my next two Ohio Sampler blocks. Carnation or as I always learned the name Cotton Boll:

And the start of Oak Leaves and Reel. [waiting for green when the photo was taken.]

I never have enough green fabrics, I don't like green and never buy it so I'm always short of what I need . The green for the oak leaves did come yesterday, from Fat Quarter Shop. Very fast and beautifully packed fabrics. So much nicer than the way the ladies at Joann's wad things up. Though I still had to overdye it to get the kind of dill pickle green I can endure.

I fear my Ohio sewing lacks precision! The Ohio Sampler blocks are more challenging than the prim appliques of a P2 or WWGF. The designs are traditional and often symmetrical, somewhat formal, despite being folk art of sorts. I can picture the young women c.1890 competing to show off their needle skills, each wanting their block to be better than the rest. (The Ohio Sampler Quilts were made up of many blocks contributed by groups of friends and family.)

And as I sew I picture them whispering about me behind their hands, and giggling: "Did you see that Reel and Oak Leaf block Mattie Belle's great -granddaughter made! Tee hee hee."

Mattie Belle is my Ohio ancestor. She was from Virginia ''stock'' and her name was truly Mattie Belle. Mattie, not Matilda, or Margaret, or, lol...Madison!--and Belle was a nod to her Southern birthright. She was an expert quilter/ sewer, who gifted our family with such southern delicacies as buttermilk fried chicken, ham and green beans [eeeew], and bacon fried RED tomatoes with cream gravy. Fried in bacon drippings! My mom kept a green crock of drippin's in the fridge all her life. Oh and via my cousin, we discovered her recipe for pecan pie---the best!

This is an piece of an old quilt, the block is Laurel Leaves and Reel. [from my collection, but NOT made by my ancestor.]

Look how beautifully made it is, and how the quilting gives it such texture. Also interestingly, it is quite rough homespun material, possibly all or partly linen, not cotton. Just so you can see an
expert's work. It was probably originaaly green and cream or red/ green/ cream. Too faded to know for sure. Age? 1835-1855?

And finally, a little bit about P2's Flower Pot blocks. I was very proud of myself  for finding the large scale floral polka dot at the spring quilt show, and I worked a bit ahead and had my flower lollipops all premade for this month's assignment. Last night I got them ready to be sewed this afternoon, but this morning when I got up and looked at them----Oh NO! I hated how they looked.

Would using the smaller florals from the Big Basket block work better?

Nope, maybe not. Probably I will only know for sure when the whole project is complete. I can always change them, right?

Dotties 365 for August later this week, here. Have a good week.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

The ''reel'' is the center section, presumably it looks like a cotton reel or spool, used for weaving?

Three Watermelons and a Pomegranate

Hi everyone! Time to show off our July-August progress on the Summer Porch , P2, sewalong. Hard to believe it is almost the third Monday of August, our official sharing date. Summer is changing now, it's much hotter, the light is dense and tired, the sun is setting earlier--though thankfully not really early. Some ad I saw said "44 more days of summer!!", which sounds quite nice.

This month our blocks were the Watermelons, how perfect for midsummer.

Mo and I sew diligently every afternoon.

This is my sewing box, my dad made it for me.

The cherrywood came from the perimeter of our Johnny Appleseed orchard where we lived when I was a tiny girl. My dad had to cut some of the biggest trees, and had the logs cut into furniture boards, which he used for many years. Native cherry and black walnut were two of his favorite woods. He made me this c. 1780 Chippendale-style box with heart cutouts. Daddy was baffled by my love of heart motifs but he did this anyway.  Something I treasure. [It's actually a writing box, but now that I no longer write letters home twice a week, I use it for my sewing.]

The Watermelons were harder than they look! Despite using freezer paper templates the fabrics tended to stretch and grow. And--big curves, lotta points. Though they are maybe not as crooked as my photos seem to show.

Instaed of sewing many little black seeds, I used fabrics to convey ''watermelon''.

I threw in the two Moon spacer blocks, since they were part of the pattern page.

And this is my first Ohio Sampler block, a pomegranate or as it is embroidered, a Love Apple.

Again, more challenging than expected. I think I thought there would be three ovals, set one atop another. But NO. These are, again, crescents, with many converging points. I enjoyed working on something new.

Today as I dipped into the pool, the big clouds suddenly filled the sky. Lightning made me cut my pool time short, though the storm never came.

Mo enjoys storms. He looks everywhere to see WHAT is making that funny noise?!

Lori will have a post with more Watermelon blocks, on Monday. I'll add a   link then. It's always fun to see everyone's versions.HERE

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.

PS my morning glories are blooming! I expected traditional Heavenly Blues, but these are the sweetest pale shell pink.

So pretty...

PugLife.....