alphabet

Am now working on the extra blocks and contemplating sashings.
I've been following along with the alphabet quilt blocks on Quilts by Cheri.
With my eagerness (impatience?) to work on this and working ahead of her posts, quite a few blocks are different from Cheri's. I do like her F and J and L better than mine, but not enough to re-sew. I think the B is the most beautiful letter, A is pretty too.

There are lots of great alphabets out there right now. Oh Frasson! has one called Refrigerator Magnets. Tula's Modern Quilt Alphabet is wonderful and I plan to make it with my neighbor. And, Tonya Ricucci's Word Play Quilts with its free-piecing is one I am looking forward to doing too.

alphabet r, t, w, x, y

The letter blocks are finished!
The W and Y gave me the most trouble of all the letters. I tried many sketches and a few trial bits before looking to Cheri's quilt to see she had the simplest solution.
Come back soon to see it all put together.
Inspired by Quilts by Cheri.

alphabet s, v, z

The S is on the grid. I used a flip-and-sew method to make the V and the center of the Z.
Getting ahead of her, but inspired by Quilts by Cheri's quilt-a-long.

lake house

My friend Kathy invited a group of us women to spend a couple of days at her lake house. I love the porch.
A delightful home, decorated with quilts.

Kathy taught all who were over the age of 50 how to sabre a bottle of champagne.

lavender wands

My dear neighbor Sharon called me over to her porch this morning to make lavender wands.
Take 9 stems of fresh lavender, removing any leaves and branching, just leaving the stems and the flower heads.
Cut a two-yard length of narrow ribbon, tie a knot at the base of the flower heads with one end of the ribbon.
Bend each stem carefully over the knot. Using the ribbon, weave over/under, making a cage for the flower heads.
When the flower heads are covered by the weaving, twist the ribbon and secure with a removable knot. You will tighten the knot in a few days as the stems dry.

alphabet m, n, u

Following along with Quilts by Cheri's alphabet quilt.
Went my own way on these letters.
Eight letters left!

alphabet k and q

We are now making letters that do not fit so easily in the grid, but will still be recognizable in context.
Mine are a bit different that Cheri's.
I have eleven blocks left to go.
Follow along with Quilts by Cheri!

klein meisjes

Beth (4), Lynn (7), and Janna (10), December 1965

bowties!

672 of them!
Set 24 by 28. Pieced into blocks of 4, then blocks of 16, then blocks of 64 with a row of partial blocks.
Quilt size determined by how much of the cheddar fabric I had--there was enough left for about 8 more.
Fabrics from my scraps, about 50 from my mother's, and a few from friends.
There are a few repeats, maybe 5.

Bowtie blocks measure 3 inches finished, made from 2 inch squares and 1 1/4 inch squares used as a flip and sew for the connectors.
Inspired by a post and challenge a year ago by Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville.

Now, contemplating borders.
And, enjoying these glorious gladioli from Andy.

quilts from the civil war era

The exhibit at The Illinois State Museum at the Thompson Center in Chicago is up through September 14th.
I told the docent that I would be putting my hand very close to the quilts as I photographed them so that you could see the scale, but I promised I would not touch them.
They were out of the brochures, but the docent said they plan to post it, along with details of the quilts.
Highlights:
The seven sisters quilt--each of the stars is made of 6 diamonds, each about the size of a thumbnail.
A humble album quilt, machine quilted.
Macrame edging on two of the quilts.
Please forgive my photography--the quilts are in reduced light and on angled platforms.

From the press release:
The exhibition includes:
An album quilt made by a close neighbor of Abraham Lincoln and includes the names of Springfield women surrounding the Lincolns.
A quilt that a wounded Civil War veteran helped his wife create after the war.
A quilt made by a soldier's wife from Effingham whose son also volunteered when he came of age.
Quilts made by mothers and sisters of soldiers
A quilt made by a Jerseyville, Illinois, woman for her granddaughter in Tennessee, whose father was a Confederate officer
Quilts representing the array of popular quilt styles of the Civil War period, including five outstanding appliqué quilts from a young Pennsylvania woman's dowry.
The Illinois State Museum Chicago Gallery, 100 West Randolph, suite 2-100, is located in the James R. Thompson Center and is one of five art sites around the state featuring Illinois artists and works from the Museum’s permanent collection. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, closed state holidays. The Gallery is free and wheelchair-accessible. Tour and school groups are welcome. Please call for appointments for guided tours at 312-814-5322. Visit our website at: www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/chicago/exhibitions.
http://www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/chicago/pressroom.html?NPR=1127

a happy birthday

To celebrate my birthday I awoke early to get a bit of sewing in while it was cool.

This noon I headed downtown. This is the Montrose stop of the blue line where I began my journey.

The L took me to the Thompson Center where I met Eve at the Illinois State Museum where there is a wonderful display of civil war era quilts, up until September.
http://www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/chicago/pressroom.html?NPR=1127

We came out to the farmers market on Daley Plaza, under the Picasso.

We then walked down Dearborn to Sopraffina for lunch. Great food, great prices. They are a Chicago company with 5 locations downtown--open only for breakfast to lunch.
http://www.sopraffina.com/dolce/homepage.htm
This is the antipasti trio.
You can get it as take out and eat at the Daley Plaza or the Exelon Plaza by the Chagall mosaic.

Eve headed back to work and I to the Goodman to see the matinee of Crowns. A box seat! Great costumes and singing.

Afterward, I headed back up Dearborn to return to the L.

And now, off to my monthly quilt small group! I'll post more of the Museum display soon.