Busy Indeed

A couple of months ago, I put a post on the "Cowgirl" blog about making a new sewing machine cover.


http://acowgirlsheart.blogspot.com/2011/04/bout-time.html


I used a couple different types of sunflower-print material. I mentioned in this post that a long time ago, I had made a quilt block out of these two materials, and it ended up 'way too busy. But at that moment, I didn't know where the block was. I knew I had it somewhere, and had seen it recently. Well, today I am tackling my dining-sewing-crafting-music-school room, and uncovered this very quilt block. So without further ado, I present .... (shield your eyes) ....


.... the world's BUSIEST (visually) quilt block!

Quilt Top - Painted Pets and Gingham

Back when I was a kid, it was a popular craft to make pictures on cloth with tube paints, basically drawing with color. I do remember going to one lady's house, where she was hosting a party for this product. I remember making a few pictures. Then as that fad passed, I forgot all about it. In recent years, going through Mom's cedar chest before we sold the house, I found this quilt top she had put together from several of these painted cloth pictures. I thought they were all kittens, but after looking closer, there are also pups and rabbits. But most precious to me is the fact that some have names on them. The ones that don't, I assume maybe Mom or myself may have done some, but who knows. Anyway, she set them together with this cheerful pink gingham. Soon on my project list is to pin this with batting and backing and quilt it. I've got a pink-and-gray flowered pattern on white for the backing fabric. Then I'll bind it in solid pink. Meanwhile, here's the top.


Full view of the quilt top.




Blowing in the breeze.




The bottom section.




Knitting pup, me, 1970. I would've been 7 or 8 years old.




Drumming rabbit, Bertha (one of Grandma's friends).




Knitting pup (with some bright neon!).




Kitten and ribbon.




Drumming rabbit, Vertie (Grandma, Mom's mom).




Kitten and ribbon, me.




Kitten and ribbon, "Junior" (Dad).




Knitting pup, Ruby (my aunt, Dad's sister-in-law).




Cross-stitch kitten.




Knitting pup, Bertha.




Cross-stitch pup, "Dog," me.




Trumpet pup, Vivian (I assume the lady who was our town librarian at the time).




Kitten and ribbon, Sula, 1970 (one of Grandma's friends).



Trumpet pup.




Knitting pup (with a very bright neon dress!), Nellie (my aunt, Dad's sister-in-law).




Drumming rabbit, me.




Trumpet pup, me.




Drumming rabbit.




Kitten and ribbon.




Trumpet pup, Vertie (Grandma).

Quilting, Quilting, Quilting ...

Quilting, quilting, quilting ...


Keep those needles movin' ...


Soon you will be finished ... RAWHIDE!


Oops, bad job at lyrics. LOL


I haven't been working on them very regularly, but have made fair progress on the two small quilts that are in hoops. If I get them finished in time for the local fair in August, O.K., if not, O.K. too. So we'll just see.


Jacob's Ladder:




Log Cabin:




I can tell if I am quilting a lot or NOT quilting a lot, according to the callouses on my fingers (from the needle poking underneath). Dad said his mom, my grandma, who was a lifetime quilter, used to soak her fingers in kerosene. Um ... I think I'll skip that remedy!

The Double-Knit Comforter

Here's the double-knit comforter my mother made from scraps back in the 70's. I love the way she arranged the pieces into somewhat of a pattern. Very colorful, and being double-knit, very warm, even with no batting.




See those dark squares of brown and black check?




That material was a skirt and vest for me. I really liked it. I think I wore it with a sort of light, peach-colored long-sleeved blouse. This is my high school freshman picture. I think I look like a dork. But oh well, maybe I am one! :)




Then, you see that nice, cheerful RED?




Our school colors were red and white back then. This is our Pep Club from the 1976-77 school year. At that time, the girls (most likely moms!) made their pep club outfits. The previous year's outfit, from looking in that yearbook, was slacks and a shirt with an inset plaid yoke. I'll bet that was tedious! But this particular year, it was red slacks and a short-sleeved jacket, worn with a white shirt and a polka-dotted scarf. So that's where the red blocks came from. In this photo from the yearbook, I'm in the top row, fourth from the right, with long hair and glasses.



You can also see some dark-and-light-blue-and-gray-checked squares. Wow, that brings back memories! Perhaps during my sophomore year, since it contained a zipper, I used this material in Home Ec. class to make a pair of slacks. With a yoke. And a zipper. With the zipper in the BACK. And I had to MATCH THOSE CHECKS. And our teacher would make us rip out seams if they weren't straight. :) (Nonetheless, this was my favorite class and favorite teacher!)



I thought the sheet backing was in worse shape than it is, so perhaps I won't have to do as much as I thought, and can kind of "patch" it somehow. So we'll see what works out to repair this.




Here you can see the seams - I'm sure Mom used the sewing machine to put them together.




So it will be fun to have this out and usable again. Makes me think of Mom, and of my high school years. It's definitely a "happy" comforter to me!

Old Projects, New Projects

Sort of an update ... will do some pictures soon.


I've been quilting like mad on the two small quilts - the Jacob's Ladder and the Log Cabin. Looking better and better as I go along.


I'm also preparing a couple of new projects:


1. Quilt a top that Mom put together when I was a kid. At one time it was a popular craft to "paint" with tubes (line-type drawing). Several had made some blocks of various "kitten" subjects, and Mom put it all together with pink gingham. So I've got a gray-and-pink-on-white floral print for the back, and get it quilted. Several put their names on them, so it's sort of a "memory" quilt for me. It's not that big, but big enough to be a fun project.


2. Mom made a tied comforter for me once out of double-knit squares. VERY sturdy! Many of the pieces, I remember things made from them for either she or myself. BUT, the backing (no batting) was a simple cotton sheet, and it went to pieces! So it's been folded up and stored for a long, long time now, but I want it out to enjoy. So I'm going to trim the old sheet off, LEAVING MOM'S TIED YARN, and sew a fresh sheet to the back. Then somehow tie my own yarn places on it to keep it together.


So as soon as I get with it, I'll post some pictures of all this. :)

Finally!

Blog "publish" button wasn't working, but I finally learned how to override that by clicking on the "compatibility" button by the web address. So NOW I can hopefully get some fun stuff on here again!

Thrift Store Find

While making a trek through the thrift store today (hey, I was out on errands, might as well see what's there), I found something that needed a home. Something that needed a quilter's touch.


I found a small quilt top of pastel blocks with flowers embroidered on them, surrounded by a wide border of blue-and-white gingham. Both materials are very lightweight, and the top looks to have been intended for a baby quilt. The borders are a little wonky, so I may try to re-do some seams and straighten that up a bit before quilting it.