Goodnight, Irene--February progress

 Progressing with my Goodnight, Irene from the sew-along organized by Terry's Treasures. I am following Julie's lead in scaling the block down and using scraps from my 2 inches cut bin. The solid is Kona Punch. Like Julie, I am making 50 16-patch blocks and 49 X blocks.
Thanks, Terry, for this encouragement and Julie for the inspiration!

Chinese Coins, process

 Chinese Coins
78 by 90 inches.
3510 pieces--1755 prints/plaids, 1755 solid blue.

 I have been enjoying the process of making this quilt.
It was inspired by Lori's Juniper Flats quilt on her Humble Quilts blog.

My pieces are cut 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches, like hers. I decided to use a constant, Kona's Candy Blue between the coins.
The fabrics are from my bin of scraps cut this size, plus pieces I cut from my mother's scraps which include fabrics from both of my grandmothers. I also added some recent purchases and dug out  favorites and cut pieces to add.

My fabric use plan was to include lots of shirt plaids--both to use up these scraps, and to give a saturated punch of color mixed in with the chaos of the print scraps. Helps calm things down visually. I used lights, mediums, and darks.  I made sure to use several with a close shade to the blue. I let the pieces fall where they did by serendipity.

I decided not make it in rows of coins, thinking that making 9-patch units would help keep the piecing square. Also, because I get really, really irritable when I have long rows of many seam matches to make. Which is exactly what this quilt would be. Hundreds and hundreds of long seam matches...

Because I didn't know how big I was going to make it, I bought what was left on a bolt and tore off pieces about 20 inches at a time to cut my constant rectangles, sewing til they were used up, then tore off another piece.
(This way I also bypassed the other thing that makes me irritable, having to cut hundreds and hundreds of pieces all at once.)

Come to think of it, there is a lot about quilting that irritates me, but somehow I keep working around those things to keep it enjoyable!

The two types of 9 patches are joined, then another such block is added, making four 9-patches in a row. It is joined to another, making a larger block of four across by two down.

I love that Jane Austin print! Mom used it for a pillow case for us when we were little.

These large blocks are then brought to the design board.  I added half blocks to the top and one side to make it the dimensions I wanted. Put together in sections, being methodical about pressing so that it lays really flat. One last long seam to put together.
No borders. Will bind with the blue.
Now, off to the quilter!

Chinese Coins--coming together

Goodnight, Irene--Goodnight, Pete

The news this morning of Pete Seeger's death yesterday had me set aside my current project and instead join Terry's Treasures sew-along Goodnight, Irene.
I am using a smaller grid, using my 2 inch scrap bin to yield a 6 inch finished block.
My constant is Kona Cotton Punch, cut into 3 1/2 inch squares.
Thanks, Terry, for the inspiration!

2014 Sew-Along

Chinese Coins

Working on a Chinese Coins quilt, using much of my 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch rectangle bin, and lots of my mother's scraps. Solid is Kona Cotton Candy Blue

Christmas 1959

Christmas in the Little House, Henny, Lynn, Janna, Leroy.
Farm north of Hull, Iowa, 1959.
Note the most wonderful curtains ever, this time in color!
We still have the tin barn.

Janna, Lynn, and Beth, 1962

Mom made the hounds tooth skirts and vests--they were reversible to solid grey wool.
Note the most wonderful curtains ever.

neighbor gifts

One delight of living on LeClaire are the neighbor gifts--little somethings special we treat each other to for Christmas. This year we are giving these cute jars of Inglehoffer mustard.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Attempt 3 for a holiday photo. This is the best of 4. Why do I even try?
Happy Thanksgiving.

spools and bowties--detail

Bowties and Spools at the Chicago Botanic Garden

I submitted two quilts to the Fine Art of Fiber exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
They were hung together at my request, because they are both made with scraps from my own and my mother's fabric collections.
There are fabrics of well over 80 years of sewing for 6 generations of our family.

Each quilt has 672 three inch blocks. Spools uses Kona Rich Red for the constant. Bowties uses Moda Bella Gold.
They were quilted by Sue DiVarco using wool batts.

There is planning in each quilt. Units for each were pieced into blocks of 4; the Spools had a pink spool in each block and the Bowties had a red bowtie in each block.

Both quilts were made in response to scrap challenges on Bonnie Hunter's blog.

Henrietta was a hipster

That is my mother on the left. She rocked red lipstick.
About 1947.

from the archives--Great Aunt Hattie and her daughter Jennie

Hendrika Scholten and Jennie about 1920.

I'm in Iowa with my mother. Watch for more from the archives.

the soybeans are harvested

a sixteen year old learns to drive

 

When I learned how to drive car (I had been driving tractor since age 7) the confusion of that additional third pedal lead to driving practice in the alfalfa field with only gopher holes to beware of.

In the city, parents take their kids to the cemeteries. My favorite is the beautiful and peaceful Bohemian National.  Nothing to dodge but obelisks and other cars with parents and 16 year olds. And the occasional soldier monument.
 

a fifteen year old does his homework

an evening at home on the farm, 1961

Leroy with his daughters. Janna at the piano, Beth with the toy basket, Lynn with the sewing cards, Leroy reading the Sioux City Journal. Photographed by Henrietta. Scraps of the dress Janna is wearing are in the quilts I've been making from my mother's fabrics.

a selfie from Beth

I told her she was blocking the quilt.

having fun with split 9-patches

plaid cats

The cats were sample blocks for a class and the pinwheels were just playing with plaids. I kept adding parts till the top came together.
For my niece, Emilee.

60" by 82" Quilted by Suzette Fisher