Artful Homemade Quilts Have A Way

[freedombecki]

Well, the other 16 squares are now out to about 7.5." That's still quite a lot of sewing left, plus joining the squares when they are done. This seems to be our 5th or 6th consecutive day of rain. When it's not pouring cats and dogs, the air is packed with little droplets. It seems more than 99% humidity, really.

 

[Sunshine]

Beckums, you are always pulling out this cloth or that cloth. You remind me of my mother and her closet. One would swear it terminated in infinity. She could pull more stuff out of that closet than was in the entire rest of the house all put together. And it did NOT look like Fibber McGee's closet either. It was most unassuming.

 

[freedombecki]

Sunshine, making store quilts that grew into a 5,000+ square foot facility on two floors for 23 years, being an artist and a packrat, which you have to be to have the right color when you want it requires a lot more space than my whole huge farmhouse would ever hold. I didn't even bring half my stuff, and I have to sew every day for the rest of my life just to do justice to the stacks of boxes. To make matters worse, the church asked me to come and take all the fabrics in the quilter's room when the new pastor decided the closet would serve a better purpose than the only 2 quilters that were left. It was 4'x18'x14' with shelves to the high ceiling. I bought a dozen pink boxes on sale at a discount house, and it still didn't all fit in, so I just brought what was in cardboard boxes along too. I pretty much cleaned out everything except what one lady said she'd like to keep for the Sunday School department. Three months later, I poked my nose in the quilter's closet, and someone had filled it up again with more fabrics and stuff! So much for the pastoral request! I decided I'd have to dedicate the rest of my years to sewing for the Lord. I almost wish I had left the stuff, because by the time I got there other church quilters had taken most of the cotton fabrics and left poly cottons which are no fun city to work with if you are a professional quilter and demand a good outcome for your time. However, there are ways to get around that... if you don't mind spending extra time doing quilting and using purchased products to stabilize the stuff. blech.

 

[Bloodrock44]

Well, the other 16 squares are now out to about 7.5." That's still quite a lot of sewing left, plus joining the squares when they are done. This seems to be our 5th or 6th consecutive day of rain. When it's not pouring cats and dogs, the air is packed with little droplets. It seems more than 99% humidity, really.

[MENTION=29697]freedombecki[/MENTION] [MENTION=21954]Sunshine[/MENTION] [MENTION=31640]koshergrl[/MENTION] here are 2 of the ruffled scarves (boas)? that my wife knitted. The one I told you about is already gone. The concept of knitting is mind boggling to me.

 

[freedombecki]

Thanks for sharing, Bloodrock.

 

[koshergrl]

Are they knitted or crocheted? I'm familiar with the ruffly crocheted scarves...

 

[koshergrl]

I'm still around...very sick with flu but I think I might feel better tonight than I did this morning. Everybody take care of yourselves...

 

[freedombecki]

Prayers up that your flu bug takes a hike and leaves you alone, koshergrl.
Also Hope BDB's bad week last week stays in the past and things to a lot better.
Things okay here, too. I'm learning to get over anxieties associated with the confusion people have with a loved one who has dementia. There is a 50-50 chance he will not get Alzheimer's due to his diagnosis, means he will have other issues as well, and some of them are in full swing now. And prayers up for Sunshine to have respite and relaxation that is so healing she can life a reasonably normal life. We all have issues that are human, and require extra reading into the issues. I thank God for friends here at USMB who put laughter and joy in my heart. Amen.

 

[BDBoop]

Prayers up that your flu bug takes a hike and leaves you alone, koshergrl.
Also Hope BDB's bad week last week stays in the past and things to a lot better.
Things okay here, too. I'm learning to get over anxieties associated with the confusion people have with a loved one who has dementia. There is a 50-50 chance he will not get Alzheimer's due to his diagnosis, means he will have other issues as well, and some of them are in full swing now. And prayers up for Sunshine to have respite and relaxation that is so healing she can life a reasonably normal life. We all have issues that are human, and require extra reading into the issues. I thank God for friends here at USMB who put laughter and joy in my heart. Amen.

Thank you.

And amen.

 

[Bloodrock44]

Are they knitted or crocheted? I'm familiar with the ruffly crocheted scarves...

They are knitted.

 

[Sunshine]

Well, the other 16 squares are now out to about 7.5." That's still quite a lot of sewing left, plus joining the squares when they are done. This seems to be our 5th or 6th consecutive day of rain. When it's not pouring cats and dogs, the air is packed with little droplets. It seems more than 99% humidity, really.

[MENTION=29697]freedombecki[/MENTION] [MENTION=21954]Sunshine[/MENTION] [MENTION=31640]koshergrl[/MENTION] here are 2 of the ruffled scarves (boas)? that my wife knitted. The one I told you about is already gone. The concept of knitting is mind boggling to me.

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I bought one to be knitted at the quilt show, but haven't done it yet.

 

[freedombecki]

I finished another red row on the quilt today and a small border around 3 embroidered squares purchased on Ebay this past month. At first I took them to be very bad embroideries, but the problem was they looked too "perfect" and a bit skewed. What I missed was the ultra-fine workmanship I noticed while sewing borders on, plus a distinctive geometric quality that told me these were one-of-a-kind articles by a very gifted and talented embroiderer. I really should run back into the sewing room and bring them forward. It takes 2 hours to answer mail, and I'm not half through it yet. *sigh* Well, to the advanced screen from quick reply while I run and find the bordered floral items!

I'm guessing these were embroidered before my mother was born, which means they could be a century old. The stitches are ultra fine, and not as I first perceived, which is likely why I got them for a song on ebay. The color of the muslin prior to my little hand wash was a very dark color of beige. When I washed them, they brightened considerably, but the threads were totally colorfast. I'm just stumped as to their age, though, and I'm glad I washed them before aging deteriorated the fabric, which it would have in another 45 or 50 years, which would be a loss. I hope I can do them justice. I really didn't think much of them when I first saw them on ebay, and thought they could be combined with other older things I found. It's just that they're designed by the same person for one thing, and for another, they are the hand of one person with their teensy tiny stitches.

Some things are mysteries to me, and I realize how limited we are when one generation passes and then another, then someone finds a few completed squares in the bottom of an old box or sewing basket. No name, no date, nothing. The kicker of this one is that it just looks like long stitch due to the designer's bent. I've never seen it before, either. It's possible a set is catalogued somewhere in an old newspaper or ladies magazine of yesteryear, or just was sketched out by someone who was fascinated by what she saw in a summer garden or on a trip to another country. I only know what I at first didn't quite understand grew on me till I love it now, after working an hour on it this morning.

Oh, and I did finish all 20 blocks, including one in which I had to turn a fabric upside down to use in the center which looks enough like the color of the other squares' centers, but lacks the quality of that Kona solid in the other 19 squares, all done. I pinned the two rows together before we left for lunch, and then drove to a nearby Walmart for more embroidery floss and orange juice to help us ward off colds and the flu.

I fight back with nutrition! Don't mind me!

Hugs everyone. It's ten o'clock, and I'm just too tired to read any more mail. Manana! are the mysterious little floral blocks, combined with the best contemporary florals I could find in my stashes of reds and pinks--and don't be fooled. There's not a stitch anywhere on this work that is larger than 20 to the inch:

 

[BDBoop]

Just reading, hope all are doing well.

 

[freedombecki]

Thanks, BDB! Friends make it all worthwhile.

Finished the solid red log cabin which only measures 40x50, but will be a jolly way to greet a Christmas baby or wheelchair vet who needs a little wrapping.

Embroidered leaves on two lazy daisies yesterday, so only 2 are left to go on the purple butterfly #5, then I can go on to my red morpho on #6. Wow, saving that outer embroidered frame for the purple one sure extended the agony.

And I'm going to do something like this around all 3 of the micro embroidered florals that fell into my lap from an ebay purchase. They may be old as Methusela, but man, are they well-embroidered!

Here's the (1) Solid Red Log cabin, FWIW, and the second is the inspiration for finishing the floral framed so far (2, shown above somewhere). Oh, yes, and I found what I am going to call a (3) "Beltbuckle" courthouse steps log cabin for future inspiration because that's what it looks like to me.

 

[Sunshine]

Are they knitted or crocheted? I'm familiar with the ruffly crocheted scarves...

They are knitted.

I need to find mine and get it knitted. It's the season for the color I bought.

 

[freedombecki]

It was sure nice to get the log cabin quilt knocked out this morning, and I persevered for the rest of the morning to get rid of the flowers on the purple butterfly square and start the Red morpho butterfly (hopefully or something like it. I really need to do research on the one red butterfly I found that was all red)

Here is completed block #5 (purple butterfly like the cover of the packet

Started block #6, Red Butterfly

 

[BDBoop]

Three years now, I have a half-finished scarf for my son-in-law for Christmas.

 

[freedombecki]

Three years now, I have a half-finished scarf for my son-in-law for Christmas.

I have a few things on the UFO pile here, too. One of these days, we'll get around to them!

I rested the most part of this Sunday, but got a corner of flowers done on the red butterfly. It's pretty much where it was yesterday except for the border' partial stem stitching around and floral corner. Need to do more.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

 

[BDBoop]

Three years now, I have a half-finished scarf for my son-in-law for Christmas.

I have a few things on the UFO pile here, too. One of these days, we'll get around to them!

I rested the most part of this Sunday, but got a corner of flowers done on the red butterfly. It's pretty much where it was yesterday except for the border' partial stem stitching around and floral corner. Need to do more.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Maybe if we traded, we'd commit to finishing!

 

[freedombecki]

This one's almost half done! It's been a nice break of pace, though. I have a fondness for butterflies, and this one's fun, because I'm not deciding on the color until I figure out where it is and what would look best to the last one. That's why I'm hooked on doing this work. It's my media and comfort zone. I tried quilting and crochet. If I did either, it'd be crochet. So, I'm sticking with quilts. I already have the sashes figured out. This won't be like any other quilt ever made. I can't stop it now!!

The trouble with quilting is that it's a positive addiction. That's an addiction with a bonus at the end. You get a quilt out of the deal. Other addictions don't give back. Quilting does.