Happy Thanksgiving!

       Thanksgiving Eve, not a creature is stirring, not even the cat.  It is a cold windy night in Missouri and the only sound is the wind whistling around the corners of the house.  We had our family dinner here on Sunday, so that part is done.  My daughter and I fly to the East Coast early tomorrow morning to spend the weekend with our Sailor, (her son and my grandson).  He has leave over Christmas, so we are taking Thanksgiving to him.  This is the first of the grands to leave the nest, so it is hard not having them here on those family occasions.  FaceTime is a great invention. At least, we can see his smiling face.  We crowd in front of the ipad and all talk at once.  

     Since I had some free time this week, I was able to finish a quilt top which has been waiting for quilting since July.  I attended a Saturday sew in at Sew Sweet Quilt Shop in Brunswick and did the piecing there.  

This was a pattern I picked up at Little Quilts in Atlanta in February.  I also bought the bunting fabric for the top there.  The stars are pieced from my scraps.  Someone said it would make a great QOV, but I think I want to keep it.  Call me selfish.

     I know I usually blog about quilting and antiques, but anyone who loves creating in one medium usually eventually explores others.  I have tried most of them; knitting, embroidery, crocheting, needlepoint, cross stitch.  I had always admired hooked rugs, so two years ago took hooking lessons.  I learned on some small projects and last year decided to tackle that first rug.  Here it is:

It is a Judy Cripps design, (www.judycripps.com).  I attended a hook in where she was a vendor and she helped me select the wool.  I love those sheep.

    That's all for now.  Be thankful!

Judy

Quilts for local charities

     I am so proud of our quilt guild.  Not only do we make Quilts of Valor for our local veterans, but for the past 3-4 years, we have been making quilts for local charities.  This year, we made 19 collectively, and they were shown at our guild meeting last Tuesday night.  I took pictures of some of them.  I got a late start so missed some of the early ones.  They will be presented to our local women's shelter and one of the nursing homes.  In the past, we have also donated to our Sheriff's Department and Police Department.

And here is mine…I know, I'm a real slacker, I only made one.

I have been interested in the big block quilts I have seen recently.  This is a free pattern on the Moda Bake Shop website.  It is called Moda Love and is available in different sizes, using different pre-cuts.

I quilted it using an all-over floral pattern.

     We had snow predicted today, so I cancelled my plans for the day to avoid slick roads.  The snow never did materialize, but I managed to accomplish something anyway.  I pieced the backs for two quilt tops, then basted and pinned them for quilting.  The best part is that I pieced them from my stash.  I love the look of pieced backs, but I hate making them.  It's something about all of those long seams and figuring the math, so you have it large enough and keep it symmetrical.  I tend to have a lot of 1 yard pieces in my stash.  I am trying to revise my thinking on this and buy larger pieces when I find something I like, especially when it is appropriate for backing.  What size do you buy for your stash?  I think it would be interesting to hear other opinions.

Judy

A Week of Vintage Treasures

        I really didn't "need" any more vintage sewing machines, but I have recently had two more offered to me.  They both belonged to some extended family, my son-in-law's family members.  Here's some pictures. 

This is a Lady Kenmore Model 89, c. 1959 or so.  I have previously restricted myself to Singers, but after doing a little research, decided to welcome this one to the herd.  She was built in West Germany in the factory also making Pfaffs and has a pretty good reputation in the VSM world.  Apparently, her only problem area is the zigzag cams, which are plastic.  Everything else looks like it is metal.  We had to do some wiring before we could even plug it in, then had smoke from the motor, so thought it was a lost cause.  I had already sprayed with Liquid wrench and applied a liberal dose of oil, but she ran slow and the motor overheated.  Oh well, it was worth a try, we said.  Two days later, my husband decided to try again.  I guess she just needed to soak up oil, because she took right off and the motor stayed cool.  She has a knee control, which I haven't used since Home Ec class in high school, so that is presenting a learning opportunity.  Peachy, the pink Atlas seems happy to have another mid-century member of the family.  I have named the Kenmore Minnie, from the woman who owned her.  She was my son-in-law's grandmother.

This a Singer 128, crinkle finish, blackside.  Yes, I know, I already had one of those.  I declined at first, then after thinking about it, talked myself into taking it.  Here's my argument; it has all the blackside parts, it has the original manual, and is in excellent condition.  And, how often do you have two vintage blacksides come your way?  There is just some kind of karma going on there.  I have been wanting a handcrank to use for heritage demonstrations here in our little historic village, so I will take the other 128 and convert it to a handcrank.  

When I picked up the 128 from my SIL's parents, Beverly (mom) offered me this box of vintage quilt blocks.  They were made by her mother, Alice.  There are many different patterns, some hand pieced, some machine pieced, but all in excellent condition.  I think Alice loved the process of piecing as much as I do.  It looks like she wanted to try every block ever made.  I can relate to that.

     

   And then to top off my week, I received this antique darning egg in the mail this morning.  It is a birthday gift from friend, Lola.  The handle is silver and momogrammed. Isn't it adorable on one of the vintage blocks?

     It has been quite a week for a picker and stitcher.  I hope yours has been good to you too.

Judy