This 'n That

Wow, I missed blogging last week and I don't even have a good excuse. There's really not much going on just a bunch of "this 'n that."

Recently we visited our friend in northwest New Jersey and on our way I took a photo of the barn quilt that I missed last year! 

We spent a day with him at the lake where my grandparents' used to live. It always feels like home when we're there. 

My 16-year old Subaru finally konked out at 141,300 miles. I was really hoping it would make it to 150K but here it is being towed away. I donated it to Disabled American Veterans. 

I also went through my vintage clothing and donated some to The Shakespeare Theater of NJ. I've really narrowed my collection to keeping only those items belonging to family and friends :) 

 
The rest of my stuff I hope to sell at a vintage clothing auction in the fall. I've been debating about these shoes but I think it's time. The high tops on the left are actually Keds!

Lately I've been on some early morning (5:30 a.m.) walks when the moon is still out. I love that time of day :)

Isn't this animal "toile" the cutest?? I may use it as the backing on one of my UFOs. 

And talking about UFOs . . . I haven't been spending much time in my sewing room but managed to put a couple of things up on my wall. I made the decision to use only 4 out of the 5 Philadelphia Pavement blocks that I made years ago. I played around with 2" squares for the sashing but I don't like the way they look! So back to square one. The small pieces on the right are leftover patriotic fabrics / blocks. I still need an inner border and one more corner block but the going is S-L-O-W. . . 

I hope you're enjoying your summer!




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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer

#4 and "Mountain Mist"

#4 on my '17 in 2017' list is done! I actually finished quilting it in Feb (!) but wanted to wash it at the cabin before sewing on the label.   

I'd say the red fabric bled a little! 

I always referred to this quilt as my red/green applique but renamed it My Best Applique because it really was just that--my best applique. I started this quilt in 1994.  

 

I quilted around all the appliques and filled in with straight lines 1" apart. The sashing/border was quilted 1/4" inside the seams. 

I threw the quilt in the dryer because I didn't like the way I could see bits of red and green in the seams when it was wet. It krinkled up a bit but I'm okay with that.

The back is a neutral print.

The label. It's not fancy :)

I washed a couple more quilts and then draped them all over the railing just for fun :)

This Mountain Mist???

Nope, this "mountain mist." I snapped this photo on an early morning walk.

This one, too. The mist was just creeping across the river. It was rather chilly--45 degrees! 

Just look at this beautiful salad my daughter and son-in-law made! All fresh from the community garden. I've got some spaghetti squash growing along with heirloom squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Maybe we'll get to enjoy them next time we head north :)




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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer


 

Out and About

Enjoying the cabin and the area . . . 

I rearranged the front porch and hope to buy a fern for the twig planter . . .

. . . and brought this vintage pillow from home.  

On my early morning walk I noticed a few new twig-style street signs . . .

. . . and an eagle bench made by a chain-saw carver down the street.  

There were lots of colorful mushrooms to photograph while hiking with my daughter. 

I found this piece of barkcloth at the thrift shop . . .

. . .  and my granddaughters (L and R ) and their friend bought these dresses for $4 each. So cute! 

Tomorrow we're taking the ferry to Burlington, VT, to meet up with some friends :)




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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer

 

 

Just Itchin'

. . . to work in my garden plot in the north country.

We arrived yesterday so the first thing I did this morning was go for a walk up our driveway . . . 

. . . and down to the corner store where I saw a patch of Viper's Bugloss on my way . . .

. . . to the Community Garden :)

But I'll have to wait for my son-in-law to get home to unlock the gate. He is in charge :)

I was so excited about starting a vegetable garden but when we weren't able to get up to the cabin this spring my daughter and her husband planted the seeds for me :) 

I THINK this is my plot. It has two varieties of squash and cucumbers. I can't wait to go back later! 





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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer


 
 

An Oldie, Hostas, and Hexies

The other day when I was walking my granddog near the pond behind our house, it reminded me of a quilt I made years ago for our guild's One Patch Strawberry Supper Challenge Project.   

Yep! Geese! 

Flying Geese, that is :) The challenge was to use only one shape and the finished quilt had to be 24" x 24" or larger. Mine is 32" x 43".

I knew right away I wanted to make a repro of this early New England quilt in Sandi Fox's book, Small Endearments, another all-time favorite. Triangles were the only shape.  

All the fabrics were from my stash and I sewed the geese in horizontal rows . . . 

. . . taking care to mark and align centers all the way across. 

The fabric on the back is another favorite by Karen Jarrar for Marcus Brothers.

A detail of the chevron quilting.

That was the first time I ever made a 3/8" binding. Up until then my bindings were always 1/2". I started the quilt in 2002, showed the top at the Strawberry Supper in 2003, and after pledging to the guild to complete this UFO, finished it in 2004 :)

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On another note, we have lots of Hostas in our yard.   

My daughter sprayed them last month with deer repellent which seemed to do the trick. So far the deer have left them alone :) Thanks, Con! 

My current evening project is quilting Morris hexies and so far I've been able to do one per night. Little by little . . . 

Have a great week!




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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer

Independence!

I made Independence! with my ancestors in mind.  It's #6 on my 2017 list and was finished just in time for the 4th!

The quilt is a Jan Patek design called Flags of the American Revolution and Lori at Humble Quilts offered it as a quiltalong in 2014. I'm so glad she did!

Barbie machine basted it for me and that is something I would highly recommend for a large quilt. I started quilting it on March 3rd and set a goal to finish the end of May--oh well, how about June?

I quilted parallel rows 1-1/2" apart in nearly every flag using pearl cotton thread.

My stitches varied from small to medium.

I quilted around each star and then added a row of navy stitching around the edge. 

  Simple quilting in the star and crescent blocks.

The design in the navy print had a perfect grid for quilting diagonal lines.

On the back I used four different 1-yd pieces of fabric and added a central focus.

A detail of Lady Liberty and some quilting.

More quilting seen from the back.

This is as close as I could get to doing a big stitch but it looks more like a basting stitch! I still need to work on perfecting that technique but I wanted to give it a try in the outer border. It's just a different look and so different from the heavily-quilted traditional quilting that I would normally do. 

The label:

In memory of my ancestors 

who helped shape our 

nation during the 

Revolutionary War

Elnathan Appleby, Westchester Co., NY

William Davis, Ulster Co., NY

Jonathan Fisk, Wenham, MA

John Kittle, Ulster Co., NY 

Aaron Martin, Windham, CT

Benjamin McCord, Westchester, NY

William Wood, Ulster Co., NY

Most were for independence, one was against, and two remained loyal to the king! 

Probably more than you want to know :)

William Davis is my direct 4th gr-grandfather and signed the Articles of Association in Rochester, Ulster, NY. In 1776 his name appears on the muster rolls of Capt. James Milliken’s State Troops / Militia of Ulster County (NY).  He was 20 years old, b. NJ, 5’10”, with a fair complexion, sandy hair and brown eyes. 

John Kittle is my 5th gr-grandfather and William Davis's father-in-law. He was bp. 16 Mar 1729, Hurley, Ulster, NY. He signed the Articles of Association, was a PVT in John Cantine’s 2^nd Reg’t Ulster Co., NY, and was killed by Indians Aug. 1, 1781, Wawarsing, Ulster, NY. Read about him here.

William Wood was b. 17 Jul 1740, Kingston, Ulster, NY, and refused to sign the Articles of Association. "....We the committee of the Township of Marbletown in the County of Ulster, do hereby Certify that the above List or Roll contains all the Persons Names who have Signed the General Association within the Township of Marbletown and also William Wood on the back hereof who refuses Signing the same.......  5 Jun 1775, Levi Pawling, Chairman." More about Wm. Wood here.

Jonathan Fisk was b. 1 May 1751 in Wenham, MA and d. 1825 in VT. He is listed in the DAR Patriot Index with a rank of Corporal. Additional info here.

Aaron Martin was b. 29 Jul 1742, Windham, CT, d. 12 Mar 1819, Williamstown, VT.  Read about him here and follow my line beginning with Aaron then his daughter Hannah Martin Fisk to her daughter Eunice Fisk Davis to her son Horace E. Davis to his son Ralph Butler Davis to his son Franklin Ralph Davis (my dad) :) 

Elnathan Appleby served in the Westchester County Militia 1^st Reg’t under Col. Joseph Drake. He protested against the Whigs at White Plains, NY in 1775 and pledged "loyalty to the king." He is my 6th gr-grandfather on my mother's side. 

Benjamin McCord was b. 4 Jul 1742 in Scarsdale, Westchester Co., NY and died in 1807.  He was a captain in the British irregular service and the Battle of White Plains was fought on his farm.  He is my 5th gr-grandfather on my mother's side.  

Thanks for reading all of this--if you did!

Hope you have a great 4th!



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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer