back to school

Paul has left for his fourth year at the University. I miss him!

the letter H

Over at her wonderful blog Exuberant Color, Wanda Hansen (from whom I took a workshop many years ago) shows how to make an "H" block. I also saw a more primitive blocky version in an old quilt. Which to use? Well, since I am blessed with both a mother Henrietta, and a niece Hannah, I decided to make two quilts using my scraps of solid Kona cottons and the thirties repros that don't ever seem to take less space, no matter how many quilts I make from them.

Wanda's H makes a 7 1/2 inch finished block with pieces cut from 2 inch strips--8 inch and 3 1/2 inch rectangles, 2 inch squares.
Primitive H makes a 6 inch finished block with pieces cut from 2 1/2 inch strips--6 1/2 inch rectangles, 2 1/2 inch squares.

the bordello bargello

Finished the top yesterday. I love how this looks.

off to school-- far, far away

Andy moved Eve out to Wellesley this past weekend. She is living in the same dorm Andy's mother lived in 60 years ago.
I am glad to know she has a quilt on her bed.

Texting, wearing purple nail polish (her class color), a locket from Andy and me, one of my bracelets, and Silly Bandz.

bordello bargello

So named because spell check doesn't like the word bargello and tries to change it to bordello.
I am making another version of Bonnie Hunter's bargello quilt. A lot of mindless sewing that I am fitting in here and there. My Bernina 1530 has major, as in mother board, problems so I am sewing on the Bernina 830 I got for $25 at a thrift shop. A beautiful stitch and I am getting used to there not being a needle down setting.
Making this pretty big using Bonnie's numbers of 6 panels of forty 2 1/2 strips; each strip cut 16" and each panel sliced into six 2 1/2 inch segments. I don't plan to put borders on it.
I really like how the panels look before cutting. Last time I made this pattern I left one panel whole. I think after this quilt I will make one with just panels.
The plaids continue to be what I want to work with.


AND, school has started.

block party 2010

We have a great band this year, Green Sugar. http://www.thegreensugar.com/
In true Chicago fashion, a neighbor "knew a guy" and we were able to book them.

Hung some of my quilts up again.

In the street is ping pong, corn toss, basketball, street hockey, jumping jack, and more. Tonight, dancing in the streets.

ill-gotten baseballs

When my father-in-law moved to Chicago from Connecticut, he came with about 30 large packing boxes that ended up in our living room. On her end of the move, my sister-in-law showed him every piece of paper in his apartment and got his ok to throw it away or mail it to Chicago. Most of it got mailed. He came in September and I asked that the boxes be dealt with by Thanksgiving. Every day he would tackle part of a box, again keeping nearly every piece of paper and repacking it, but in the midst of all the paper were baseballs. Each box had at least 5; some had a dozen. It turned out that Ed's apartment was across the street from the high school baseball field and he would go for a walk after their practices and pick up the baseballs and take them home. Ed was a true baseball lover, and I'm not sure what his motivation was, but those baseballs endeared him to me. I collected a bunch of them and put them in this egg basket I used to collect eggs as a child. Andy has given away a lot of the baseballs over the years since Ed's death, but I said these are mine.

"I think the quilt makers of the world need to rise up and start throwing elbows."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/garden/12qna.html?_r=1

Check out the great interview with Boo Davis in Thursday's New York Times. Click through the wonderful slide show.
Good comments about the terrible prices and respect for our work.

Of course, this comes just a few days after we are dissed in the Times by a comment about the struggling American Folk Art Museum where part of their mission is hoping "to show people that folk art 'isn’t just quilts and weathervanes.' "

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/arts/design/09folk.html?scp=7&sq=quilts&st=cse

water with staying power

You may recall my rant last year about our family vacation to Cape Cod. I have nothing against the cape, other than it being 1000 miles away and that the water is there only half the time, but that vacation took a lot out of me.
This year, we stayed closer to home, using a friend's house near Muskegon. Yes, just 200 miles to drive. 200 miles took us only to the first part of Ohio last year.
And, the water stuck around all day long.

he restoreth my soul

Made for friends who gave us their summer home for a week.
My mother and I worked on the binding together while sitting on the fabulous porch.
Churn Dash--finish 7 inches.
After looking at some older quilts, I used a wider sashing than I normally make. I like the strong grid.
Quilted by Suzette Fisher--I asked her to use yellow thread--I've been using yellow more and more; it looks great on many fabrics.

i want to be sedated

Shopping at the Jewel this morning, over the music system played the Ramones.
In 1978, two things never entered my mind--that one day I would be a middle aged woman shopping for groceries, and that I want to be Sedated would enter the Musak playlist.

nothing to do and nowhere to go...

birthday

Today is my birthday.
The photograph is me at age three with my sewing cards--I loved them.

cheap jerseys?

Amidst the sadness, I am hoping to score some reduced price jerseys for Christmas presents....

soft summer quilt

Made with a block I saw my friend Diana Burrows use--she is making hers from a wonderful collection of indigo Dutch Wax Batiks. I'm using light plaid pieces that are are 2 1/2 inches by 3 inches, with the sashing cut 1 inch by 5 1/2 inches. The sashing goes on just two sides and turns the block into a 5 inch finished square.
I used a medium green Kona Cotton solid. If I were to make it again, I think I would choose a persimmon color to stand out more against the light plaids. There is a soft summer look to this top.

a return to productivity

Make sure you visit more quilts in the Blogger Quilt Festival by clicking on the link.

Made from the Bonnie K Hunter block in this month's Quiltmaker. I used thrifted plaid shirts for the darks and lots of lights from the stash, including some thrifted. Pieces cut 2 inches and 2 by 3 1/2 inches


For Eve's high school graduation.
Squares are cut 2 1/2 inches.
Rectangles cut 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches.
I used up three different but very similar Kona Cotton greens.
Plaids, of course, are from thrifted shirts.

success!

Two years in a row now, our mother had a corsage for Mothers Day!
In our home town, the walk of shame is for mothers who do not have flowers to wear to church on Mothers Day.
Faithful readers can look to the link for the Henrietta Saga of years past.
Happy Mothers Day, Mom!
(and, anyone wanting a reliable florist in Northwest Iowa who can keep three Henrietta Dykstras straight, I can recommend Julie Mesman!)

around the block

Had this one quilted by Suzette Fisher and put into our church auction to raise money for a work trip.

children

This quilt was made for my guild raffle several years ago--coordinated by Melissa Kane.
I think if I fit a block or two into each week of this busy schedule, I could make my own in a couple of years.

twenty six years

St Patrick's Day is a fine day for a wedding.

red cross

This May I celebrate the 30th anniversary of my graduation and becoming a nurse.
I've always wanted to make a red cross quilt. As I researched it, I found there is some tension out there as to copyright of the symbol.
I went with a very primitive, utilitarian look--not sure how to quilt it yet. Probably very plainly.
I used Kona Cotton white and my crosses are from reclaimed plaid and striped shirts.
The blocks finish 4 1/2 inches, 3 inches wide finished sashings.
Top size 57 by 74.5 inches.
I love being a nurse. There is much in healthcare that leaves a lot to be desired, but when I am at the bedside, or preparing a student, I know this was the right calling for me.