A Winter's Work ~ Spring Finishes

Hello, friends---Welcome to June.

May has seen three big quilt finishes for me . I have to say I was super-proud yesterday when I sewed the final stitch in La Grande Sajou's binding!

This was a ''little'' quilt, Humble Quilt's Fall project, inspired by the Parisienne shop known as Sajou. I think we chose that first center block in early October.

I chose a rose from a red Provencal print--it was all I had that seemed to work. That choice set the stage for my entire "French inspired'' medallion* quilt.

 I say French though maybe  that is only in my imagination,lol.

Many of the gorgeous reds I hunted down online are from American Jane. Who knew they made provencal prints as well as cutesy Americana kids' prints.

The final border is a hand blocked French border strip, found on etsy. It was added after the quilt was quilted because as we well know raw quilted edges often need a lot of straightening and squaring.

The binding also AJ, had to be attached in stages, first just to the hand-blocked border which had waves and curves due to its handmade process. The corners were carefully matched and mitered. Then the binding was sewed again through the back and batting etc. This was all somewhat time consuming.

The backing is a beautiful small tablecloth, thin batiste, that my mother cherished and gave me. Despite its pastel effect its hand blocked design was inspirational in my color choices.

The edge is a pink and white sprig, with picotage , tiny dots.

My quilter did a wonderful job of centering the tablecloth and doing a subtle holly leaf quilting as I requested.

I had worried about all the reds fading/ running.

Here is the quilt in its Retayne bath, scary!

No red showed in the water, but these are the Color Catchers, just a faint pinkness from its final wash and fluff. What a relief.

That final stage ---the wash n fluff is nerve-racking, isn't it!

*What I admire most about Lori's projects: they make me think and grow as a quilter, they inspire me to try new things. On my own I would never make a medallion quilt, don't like them! And despite my mom's influence, her love of French fabrics, using them in a quilt is not something I'd have done without this project's challenge and inspiration.This is the hallmark of a great teacher, I believe. Thank you, Lori!

Begun October 2018-finished June 1 2019.

(I was so proud yesterday. I showed my son! I got the lip curl and eye roll: "It's really, um, red, mom." )

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Another just-finished quilt: TQC 1880 Sampler.

1 block [or more] per week from January 2018 to end of September 2018, about 36 blocks; I set it side then for a winter put-together. A FB groups friend helped me with the oddball setting. Yes it's triangles, not set in rectangles.

I love it!

I wish maybe I hadn't used up my chrome yellows for the back though. What a waste, what was I thinking. It looks good to me but the fabrics can't be replaced and are unusually bright yet authentic to the 1800s date. btw The yellow backings did run, both in the Retayne bath and in the wash/ Color Catchers. I find yellow to be very unstable, worse than red sometimes.

This quilt is square, the wind blew it crooked. Really.

 As I searched for the right mottled black setting fabric, despite having ordered the one TQC suggested, more of  tan, I was surprised to find these similar vermicelli or seaweed choices in my antique fabric collection. The look must have been popular! Bet it hid a lot of dirt.

Pink borders and self-bindings, a hallmark of TQC style.

 

Begun January 2018, completed May 2019.
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And since I had leftover blocks, I made this little doll quilt.

Red lucky horseshoes and green apron backing.

Too cute, my new fave.

Begun April 2019, completed May 2019.

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> I want to mention that NONE of these quilts is a ''SCRAP" quilt. I chose each and every fabric from my stash or ordered them especially.

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Happy days for me, I feel like my winter was a success even though the two big projects I had planned [Silent Night and the two Antebellum Schoolgirl projects, Hideous and Best Friends in Blue] were entirely neglected. If we get some rainy days I will piece the final 11 stars for Silent Night, so I can applique the tiny village one the bottom border this summer. And OMG, I have to make t-shirt quilt.

I'm hoping for a busy and fun summer, aren't you? As always, my Mo supervises intently.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....


Not meaning to be insensitive to others' weather related woes, but I do love a good storm. We had some big thunder and wind last night, not so much rain. Mo is like, Yawn, but the whole house shook. Hard.

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.