Wednesday, April 26, 2017

It's A Finish!

Gypsy Wife is done and I've decided to call it The Gypsies Are In Town. Here's why. When I was more than half-way done piecing the top a vague memory popped into my head. I remembered either my parents or my grandparents saying "the gypsies are in town." I was little when I saw the scissor sharpener man coming down the street where my grandparents lived and now I began to wonder if he was in fact a gypsy.   


So I called my brother and asked him about the gypsies. Here's what he said: 


"Several times a year they came to town. There was a scissor sharpener with a horse cart and grinding wheel, some sold strawberries, and another had a cart filled with ice covered in hay."


"If you gave them something they put a chalk mark on the street in front of your house. Mom kept a bag of potatoes on the back porch and she'd give them one or two." I knew I could rely on my brother to set my memory straight. He's 6 years older and remembers everything :)


The back. 


This cheater cloth was once a skirt. It wasn't mine but I couldn't bear to throw it away. So I removed the elastic in the waistband, opened the casing, ripped out the side seam, threw it in the washing machine and used it on the back. 


I brought the quilt to Barbie to be long-arm quilted. She did a wonderful job. I love the way it turned out!



The quilting design is a floral/leaf combo.


I anchored the lower portion of the strips with a little hand quilting.


Years ago I bought 4 yards of this print fabric for $2.00 at the historical society fair. As I was prepping it for the back I discovered an original Newberry's price sticker, 37-cents/yard. Those were the days :)


was playing around with the photo filters on my computer. Most of the filters drastically changed the look of the quilt but I kind of liked "Vanilla" because it showed the light and dark values.     


I just finished cleaning and de-cluttering my sewing room. Still have a long way to go but it feels so much better!


My rack of UFOs :)



Pretty yellow tulips in our garden :)

Have a wonderful week!




__________
Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer

9 comments:

  1. Oh, it is fantastic! I absolutely love it, front and back! Your fabrics really make it special. I love the gypsy story too. I don't recall them in my childhood, but we did have Indians from northern Maine who would come down and sell their baskets. My great grandmother was a native Penobscot Indian so my mother always tried to buy one if money allowed. I lOVE your sewing room floor. What a great idea. Of course you can't see enough of mine right now to justify any pattern on it. Hopefully you have inspired me to "downsize".

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  2. You fooled me with the cheater cloth on the back! I thought, why would she wasted good blocks on the back and not make a crib quilt from them? Good use of it. The quilt does remind me of the gypsies' colorful clothing. I love your rack of UFO's.

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  3. It's very interesting to see your quilt in black and white ! But the original colors are gorgeous ! What a great finish Barbara... Congratulations !
    Your sewing room is ....wow ! And your UFO's too !! ah ah !

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  4. Your gypsy quilt is nothing short of fabulous! All of those bright interesting fabrics. What a great quilt. Your sewing space is very cool and ohhhh the stenciled floor!!

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  5. Wow - I love your sewing room! Did you paint the blazing star on the floor? wonderful.
    Congrats on finishing your GW quilt. I know you had fun making it and it shows. The back is great. How neat to re-use the skirt fabric.
    what an amazing story about the gypsies and how lovely of your mom to give them potatoes.
    gorgeous yellow tulips - so sunny and happy.

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  6. Love a finished quilt! That backing is awesome!!
    Your sewing room is so pretty and spacious.

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  7. Lovely quilt and I really enjoyed the story. I've always admired this pattern. Maybe someday. . .

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  8. Your sewing room floor! A-maz-ing! Love it! The quilt is a beaut too :) so much work!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting! The quilt was so much fun to make!

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