The cards are sent, presents purchased (but not wrapped), and kids asleep upstairs. I think. They are quiet anyway.
Even on Christmas eve, Coloradolady is running Vintage Thingy Thursday. Bless you, Colorado Lady!
My sincere message for 2010: To wish you health and happy days. Amen.
viridian
Suzanne (Colorado Lady) and everyone who plays Vintage Thingy Thursday:
You gals are a BAD influence on me. I am now noticing - and enjoying - vintage china pieces with roses and bouquets.
At a local antique mall there was a vendor who had set up a display of children's play tea sets. Cups, saucers, teapots.... adorable. And, in all sorts of styles, from Blue Willow to flowery English style.
Sitting by itself was a lonely little sugar bowl.
How can anyone resist this sweet pattern? The bottom says "Handmade Handpainted Bone China" and "Royal Stuart - Spencer Stevenson England."
Enjoy!
I have Electric Quilt’s Dear Jane software, and I was following variation 1. I paper-pieced the central devil star, and felt pretty good about how it turned out, even with one small star point. However, I should have noticed something wrong by the time I took picture number 1.
When my kids grew from the toddler and little boy stage to the ages 6-10 stage (what is a good name for this age?) I felt it was time to start a new family tradition: making butter/sugar cookies, using cookie cutters to make fun shapes, bake but not burn them, and then frost and decorate with sprinkles. I remember well doing this with my mom – though she never ate any, not even as a “sample” and she did not enjoy it as much as my brother and I. It would be a messy business, but – family tradition must live on!
Now: to obtain cookie cutters. Luckily at Thanksgiving time I went to a local antique/vintage shop and saw some cookie cutters! Two bags of cutters from two different vendors and a few $ later, I was set. Some of the cutters were the same shape and of the same vintage as the ones I remembered from childhood. So they are nostalgic, vintage and thrifty.
How did it go? We have done sugar cookies for two years now. It’s not quite as messy as I feared. It was hard to keep the kids interested as they were baking, but they came back for the decorating. 4 colors of frosting and 5 kinds of sugars and sprinkles! Many cookies ended up with all 5 kinds of sprinkles on them. Oh yeah. We learned to be careful with reindeer- and dove-shaped cookies. And we learned to NOT lick our fingers as we frosted cookies – instant penalty of washing up at the sink.
The children were so proud to serve these cookies to grandma and grandpa. And that’s when we discovered that grandma (my mom) never ever eats these cookies. Why? Because on a Christmas eve long ago when she was a little girl she ate many many of these cookies and was sick all night and all Christmas day. To this day she can’t stand the smell or taste.
I have been distracted by a number of things, but I am moving forward, slowly, on my Jane Stickle quilt. This one is F-2, called Kaleidoscope. I printed out the paper piecing patterns from the Dear Jane software published by Electric Quilt.
(Pattern from Quilter's Cache, maintained by Marcia Hohn)
Let me back up a bit. Some months ago I was working on a project as a break from my Jane Stickle quilt. A pinwheel pattern from Quilter's Cache, in 30's and 40's reproduction fabrics. I had made 19 blocks and cut many more triangles. It's going to be graphic and colorful when it is done.
But, I needed to take a break. So I stacked the 19 blocks, and put all triangles and the printed instructions in a big clear freezer bag. I know not to put it in a grocery or fabric store bag! And tossed it, somewhere, in my sewing room. Put the blocks in a separate place.
Well. I thought of this project recently to finish as a Christmas present for a family member. I found the 19 blocks. I poked around the sewing room piles - no sign of the bag. So I dedicated yesterday morning to pulling many things out and finding that bag of triangles and instructions. I knew it was there!
Three hours later: no bag. I gave up, got on the Internet and back to Quilter's Cache and printed out the instructions again. Pulled out fabric - looking hard to find some of the same fabrics, and cut more triangles and more bleached muslin pieces. Last night: started sewing pieces together, following the instructions.
NOW: today. I went into my sewing room and picked up my bathrobe, which I had tossed on the fabric piles last night while sewing.
What was DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH? (Dun dun dun!) THE BAG shown in the first picture above. I know it wasn't there last night. You would think I would have seen it. But there it is.
Welcome to another Vintage Thingy Thursday post. Please visit Colorado Lady and see who else has posted this week.
The fabric scraps are hand-sewn with an applique stitch onto a foundation fabric, which is also the back of the quilt. Then the raw edges of the back were folded to the front and sewn down. Below is my son's pose of Caramel and buddy with the back of the quilt.
One or two fabrics are from early in the twentieth century, most appear to be from the forties. Several appear to be more from the 1950's. The stitching is pretty good and actually the little quilt is in remarkable shape - no holes, undone stitches, stains, etc.
A block I never, ever, thought I would finish!
I paper-pieced the center, and paper-pieced the 4 outside pieces. I made 2 of the outside pieces longer than the others, for long straight seams to the corner.
Looking at picture 1 above, you may note a problem. The sides of the center part are a little short! Guess what, I didn't notice this until I had it all sewn together, and found out it was too small. Ha ha indeed.
On the Dear Jane list, I've heard it repeated, "When in doubt, applique the #^%$#$ piece on." Which I was going to do - press the seam allowances of the 4 outside pieces under, applique....
But I got impatient. I lined up the center piece with that blue triangle, and sewed just that little straight bit! I left the needle down, sewing foot up, adjusted the top and bottom, held them together, foot down, and sewed to the end. Then, pulled the piece out, adjusted the two ends that hadn't been sewn together yet, pinned them, placed so the needle was at the beginning of the first straight bit, and sewed away.
And you know what? I fingered pressed the seam and it lay flat. And I was deliriously happy. I sewed the other 3 outside pieces on. THAT'S when I noticed one direction was too small.
Should I leave it, to remind me of my false pride? Nah, I'll take it apart so that that it looks good - and to see if I can do this Y-seam business again.
And they all lived together happily ever after. the End.
I am part of small group of Dear Jane quilters who are embarked on a long-term project to create a quilt of 4.5" blocks (inspired by the Dear Jane quilt), for President Obama. This is the "Yes we can" quilt project. Let me quote from our yahoo group website:"This group is dedicated to the project of building a quilt to present to Mr. & Mrs. Obama to commemorate the election and inauguration of our country's first African-American president. Our quilt is inspired by the famous "Dear Jane" quilt, but it is not going to be a DJ replica. We are sticking with the 4.5" finished block size, but what each block looks like depends entirely on its creator. We are using a specific background fabric and civil war reproduction fabric. "
I suspect every grandmother has one - the button box. The box or tin may look different but for children it is filled with fun buttons and things to play with. My grandmother's box has a dragon on it. It had shirt buttons to coat buttons in it. Rarely anything fancy, and nothing valuable, of course. But great fun to slide your fingers through and find matching buttons. Ours also had some curtain pins (watch out for those sharp points) and a medal of the Virgin Mary. Some buttons were from her mother. I have it now and share with my children. It's a little low now as buttons have gone for various projects like button bracelets.
At the thrift store I bought a bag of old mixed buttons from, I suspect, someone else's button box. I feel funny about opening the package and adding them to the 'original' collection. Will I lose contact with my grandmother and great-grandmother? Or is it the idea of a button box that is important?
In thinking of this this morning, I smile as I recall I am well into making my own button box stash: these buttons are the extras attached to purchases from Macy's, Coldwater Creek, Talbot's. Plus ones saved from thrift store purchases that are cut up for crafts.
See Coloradolady's blog for more vintage thingys! Always some wonderful contributions.
Viridian
This triangle may look difficult, with inset seams, but, just add a line or two to the published pattern. It's hard to see, but in the center section I have one large and one small red triangle pieced next to the white triangle. All other parts are laid out in place. From here, sew on the two side 'wings', then the white pieces at the bottom.
Now that is looking close to normal. Add top and bottom pieces.
With 130 blocks, what does it looks like when we lay them out? And try to organize by color, in a trip around the world way? The green and the four yellow blocks are the center.
Here is something Colorado Lady will love.
Here is a quaint book I purchased in a small vintage bookstore, so crowded with books there was scarcely space to move about. This was Nancy L Dole, Books and Ephemera, 32 Bridge Street, 2 nd floor, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.
The Crest of the Continent: a Record of a Summer’s Ramble in the Rocky Mountains and Beyond. By Ernest Ingersoll. Published, by R.R. Donnelley and Sons, Chicago, in 1885. 344 pages, with map.
This is the story of Mr. Ingersoll and his wife, going all over Colorado and exclaiming over the sights.
For example, on the first view of the Rockies, after traveling over the Great Plains:
“There are the Rocky Mountains!” I strained my eyes in the direction of his finger, but for a minute I could see nothing. Out against a bright sky dawned slowly the undefined shimmering trace of something a little bluer. … It is impossible to imagine them built of earth, rock, anything terrestrial; to fancy them cloven by horrible chasms, or shaggy with giant woods. They are made out of the air and the sunshine which show them. Nature has dipped her pencil in the faintest solution of ultramarine, and drawn it once across the Western sky with a hand tender as Love’s.”
Whew! I shall take a rest on my fainting couch. There’s more, on the everlasting snow, etc. but that is enough.
They took a Pullman train to Pueblo, and then north to Denver. At Denver, on the spur of the moment, they decided to take their ramble. But how?
They considered:
1. Walking.
2. Tramping, with burros to carry their things, and maybe a few others to carry themselves. (number of burros not specified).
3. Same, with pack mules. ('Is there a difference?' asks this modern girl)
4. Hire a “ambulance kind of wagon with bedroom and kitchen and all the other attachments.” Boy, this sound just like a mobile home/recreational vehicle! The roads were a lot worse back then though, and there were much less of them.
However, the Ingersolls did what any wealthy Victorian couple would do – they chartered a train! And since they wanted to tour the mountains, they arranged to go on the Denver and Rio Grande narrow gauge lines.
The Animas River Canyon - Click on it, enlarge, and note the train engine at the bottom.
A few narrow gauge lines are left and you too can go on a trip like this, though not in a private train. Check out the Durango and Silverton Railroad.
http://www.durangotrain.com/ - it goes down this very canyon.
Next: force Electric Quilt to group pieces into section for paper piecing. How I do this: I select my block or triangle of choice and put it on the worktable. Click and hold on the printer icon, then slide down and choose "Foundation Pattern".
Now, for this one, EQ will state that "this block has a patch with an inside corner, so it cannot be automatically numbered for paper piecing. To add your own numbers, click on each patch in order."
At the top of this window, click on the tab labeled "Sections".
To change the paper piecing units, click on the "Start Over" button.
Then click on the patches you want to be together, the "Group" button.
When I first started on this project, I did not know enough to do this, nor how to group patches into workable paper-piecing units. But, I have learned a lot over this 2 year journey. You can too. And, look at my printout below, and my pencilled corrections to see my way doing this triangle.
http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/
I am watching and liking for the most part, in no particular order:
1. Project Runway on Lifetime. Though the challenges are pretty lame this season. Tim Gunn is the best.
2. Top Chef on Bravo. I could never design and sew like the designer on PR (I do quilting - straight seams and applique) but it is possible I could cook some delicious food like TC. Though a year in cooking school would help tremendously.
3. Castle, on Monday nights. Mom got me interested in this. Fluff but fun. Murder mystery writer hangs out with NYC detectives. It even says "WRITER" on the back of his bullet-proof vest.
4. Glee on Fox, Wednesday nights. Now this one is great, my new favorite. Sure it's got problems, but it is funny - and music! and singing! in prime time! And it's not a contest with snarky judges!
See Jen's post at Buried with Children. She has the promotional video embedded in her blog. I don't know how to do this, and laundry is calling so I don't have time to learn. :-)
Viridian
What is it?
All it involves is blogging every day in October. However, as Tinnie says, it is a way to spend more time on your blog, to craft your words, write about different subjects, and so on. There will be memes and giveaways and surprises.
But something every day. And there are 31 days in October. Oh boy. Since I don't blog about family or work, I guess that leaves quilting, other crafts, postcards and Postcrossing, getting older, stories.
oops! Picture is a little crooked! Click to enlarge. That's the bedroom carpet in the background :-) This wallhanging came from a small, local "antique mall" that was actually more of a flea market. I don't normally like Sunbonnet Sue type things, but this was too sweet to pass up.
I don't know how old it is, but it is vintage. The green, yellow, and bright red fabrics were manufactured for years and years. The pinks seem to be from the 1930's or 1940's. There is a backing but no batt and no quilting. No name or date.
I am pretty sure this is a pattern, though I have not seen this one before. Right now it is languishing in my quilt room closet, but I should find a place for it, out of direct sunlight.
viridian
Above: Almost last piece to sew on. Bottom: Add a frame, and I am done.
And of course changed the diagonal seams in the background. Then you have four pieces for paper piecing. And hint: pick a focus fabric that does not have a direction, or that looks OK pieced together like this. I used a reproduction indigo with orange and white swirling accents.
Partially pieced together.
Completely pieced. A few pieces don't meet exactly - but - "finished is better than perfect"!
viridian
OK. Now I placed the melons (inside and outside curves are not quite the same - mark your template!) and used the brute force applique method.
Of course, the melons can still look a little wonky. Mine are always off a little, but I am not going to undo the sewing. The white lines are chalk marks for a five inch square. This was to help me keep the diamonds in the block, and not extend into the seam allowances.
