some children come to play

Several quilters who have used my tutorials for the children blocks have sent me some of their blocks--THANK YOU!! They are a delight. I love the Olympian Bolt.

mom's scraps used again in spools

I am making the spools along with Bonnie Hunter as an ongoing project for the year.
Once again, I am using some of my mother's scraps. Each scrap is a wonderful memory.
Now that I have made many from her scraps, I will work from my own. This is an incentive to keep working on organizing my sewing room.
I am using Kona Cotton Rich Red for my constant.

grandmother's choice--Sunflower

Well, that wasn't going to happen.
Barbara's block for this week was an intricate sunflower.
I went my own way with a pieced one. Not really happy with the very narrow border I ended up with--may work with it later if it still bothers me.
Third in a series of 49 blocks shared by Barbara Brackman in her block-of-the-week history lesson recalling the fight for women's rights.

My Grandmother as a child in Northern Michigan, about 1890.
Hillegen (Ella), Graada (Carrie), John, Gerrit Jan, Edward

topolobampo

It was Eve's last day in town, so we took her to lunch at Topolobampo.
It helps to get a last minute reservation when you sit next to the maitre d' in the church choir.

Dessert--make sure you get dessert...

grandmothers choice--Union Square

Union Square, third in a series of 49 blocks shared by Barbara Brackman in her block-of-the-week history lesson recalling the fight for women's rights.
http://grandmotherschoice.blogspot.com/

The Gerrit Jan and Graada (Carrie) Diekevers family, northern Michigan, McBain area.
back row: Cornelius, Edward, John, Hillegen (Ella)--my grandmother
front row: Gerrit Jan, Henry, Graada (Carrie Rabbers)
They later moved to Boyden, Iowa where Gerrit Jan was a carpenter.

grandmother's choice--Amethyst

Amethyst, second in a series of 49 blocks shared by Barbara Brackman in her block-of-the-week history lesson recalling the fight for women's rights.
http://grandmotherschoice.blogspot.com/

My grandmother, Ella (Hillegen) Diekevers Scholten and her mother Carrie (Graada) Rabbers Diekevers. About 1910.

Carrie was born to Dutch immigrants who are commemorated on a monument in Holland, Michigan as being founding settlers. She married Gerrit Jan Diekevers and moved to northern Michigan. They later moved with their five children to Boyden, Iowa where he was a carpenter. Carrie lived with her daughter in her old age, and my mother remembers her living with them.

Ella worked as a housekeeper until her marriage at age 30. She and my grandfather had 6 children. She died of breast cancer on the day her second grandchild was born; eventually she would have 26 grandchildren (I am number 10).
She was lovingly remembered by her children as being a quiet, gentle woman, an excellent cook, and a phenomenal seamstress.

cute baby alert

We had a wonderful baby shower for my grandniece at my sister Janna's house. She decorated with dresses and outfits my mother sewed for us. I believe Janna had a new dress every week until I was born and diverted a bit of my mother's time and attention!
Last year Dad told me that he knew we kids were frustrated and embarrassed when we frequently arrived at church late (dairy farmers are on barn time) but he said he always took a bit of pride as we walked in because, due to my mother's sewing efforts, we always looked really good.

Meta Rose wearing my father's (her Great-Grandpa Dykstra's) hat.

The Baby-Tenda! And, three generations of toys. My mom made the quilt  for Janna's first birthday with scraps from clothes my mother made for her.

Four generations! Henrietta, Janna, Brahm, and Meta.

My mother's china and silver

 

Dresses and outfits made by my mother

Three of my favorite Iowa farm women.

grandmother's choice--with Barbara Brackman

I am joining Barbara Brackman's block-of-the-week history lesson recalling the fight for women's rights.
http://grandmotherschoice.blogspot.com/
Her series is named Grandmother's Choice.
It is aptly named for my endeavor, as my two grandmothers were able to vote in the first election open to women in 1920.
Fabrics: I am using a great odd green to commemorate my grandmothers' work on their farms. I will be using recycled plaid shirts honoring their raising their families during the depression.
This week the block is Grandmother's Choice.

These are my grandparents' wedding pictures. Both couples were married in 1920, the year women were given the vote!
They were farmers in Sioux County, Iowa.

Ella (Hillegen) Diekevers and Jan Scholten

Cynthia (Gezena) Meerdink and Jerry (Jurrien) Dykstra

alphabet top completed

Many, many thanks to Quilts by Cheri for her delightful posts about her alphabet quilt.
I think about half of my letters were made by her descriptions; the other half I went my own way.
My sashings were cut 3 inches, finishing 2 1/2 inches. I cut 4 inch border fabrics.
I used about 5 different solid red fabrics in this quilt, giving it a dappled look.
The children depict my siblings and me, wearing clothing of scraps from my mother of outfits she sewed for us.
Measures about 56 by 62 inches.
Thank you, Cheri!
What a lovely summer diversion.

tea at the Palmer House

block party 2012! with ponies!

alphabet coming together

mom and dad, August 2011

my father's family

The Dykstra family about 1950   Hull, Iowa
left to right:
Marlene, Leroy, Cynthia (Meerdink), Elizabeth, Jurrien, Joel, Donald

My sisters and I are with mom, taking apart the house.
Watch for more from the archives.

2012 Dykstra corn, August

Stressed, but there is a crop.

an extravagant welcome: comes home!

Look what I picked up from the long arm quilter today!
Just a peek for now.
LOTS of binding ahead.

alphabet, extra blocks and starting the sashing

Working on the sashings--ran out of red yardage, so there will be yet another shade introduced! I like how that is looking.

For the corner blocks, I made children with scraps from my mother of clothes she made for my brother and sisters and me. The pink dots are from a dress she helped me make for the 4-H fair.
This quilt is for my sister who is finishing her doctorate in education.

a barn is found wanting

From an application form submitted by my grandfather, Jerry Joe Dykstra, to the War Production Board requesting permission to purchase materials that were rationed. It was filed in Sioux County, Iowa and approved by the office in Chicago.
August 2, 1943 (possibly August 24, 1943)
With the present barn being very old and small, it is impossible for me to properly house my livestock, and in the winter time my stock nearly freeze, and fact of the matter is that the past winter the ears were frozen so badly on my calves that they later fell off. I have a son in the armed forces, and I feel it my duty to him and my country to produce all the food that I can, and cannot with present facilities.
This project is for a new livestock barn, I intend to tear down all of the old barn, and will salavage (sic) and use all the lumber in it that is fit to reuse.
The size of this barn will be 36' by 50' and 8ft to plate. I intend to use cement block or clay tile to the plate to save on critical material.

Below the open door is my father and his dog.

We found this form in my father's papers.