"Time for T" and Green Calico Stars

I brought 4 projects with me to the cabin last week but only worked on the T-block quilt that I made last year. I intended to practice machine quilting but . . .

. . . hand quilted it instead. 

 

I'd been saving this picture from Country Living magazine since 1982 thinking I would make a T Quilt just like the one on the wall.

Even sketched it out with the colors I wanted to use. . .

. . . and made 9 blocks as a sample. But my dream of making a large quilt soon came to an end. Frustration set in when I didn't like the way the seams came together where the base of one T met the top of the next.

Perhaps a better idea would have been to set them with sashing like I did with these blocks. 

Last week's Green Calico stars.

This week it's purple stars. 

Look close. Those are wolves being walked on the river. Every day the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge takes their wolves on a "wolf walk". Check out their website :)


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Copyright 2015, Barbara Schaffer

The North Country and Chrome Yellow Stars

We're in the North Country for a long weekend and to watch our grandson play hockey at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid. There's still snow on Whiteface Mountain but sections of the Ausable River are beginning to open up--a sign that spring is on its way :)

  

Early morning sunrise on the Ausable River.

Lots of skiers at Whiteface today.

 

Our neighbors tap the Maple trees.

 

I've decorated one of the bedrooms in our cabin with Native American items and souvenirs. Mocassins, autograph books, and photo albums are a few of the things I've collected. 

I have two Native American wool blankets displayed on a rack. 

A painting on wood. 

 

A child's vest from Niagara Falls. 

A Campfire Girls costume with the following inscription: Miss Hannah R. Weidner Oley, PA. 19-20-21 Joined 1919 Oley High School

 

Two books and a card illustrated by Tom Dorsey aka Tom Two Arrows who lived next door to Aunt Midge and Uncle Warren in the late 1940s. His artwork is part of the collection at the Albany Institute of History & Art. 

I couldn't resist buying this a few years ago at an antiques shop in Lake Placid. I remember making a similar one when I was in grade school.

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Here are my Chrome Yellow stars from last week's quilt-along. 

 

 

 

 
This week it's Green Calicoes :)



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Copyright 2015, Barbara Schaffer

Strippy, Stars, Oak Leaf, and a Visitor

I machine quilted this Nine Patch Strippy in small cables and large x's. It is one of several small pieces I made last year with machine quilting in mind. I had some 5" pre-cuts on hand and used the 9-patch piecing method as shown on Barb Vedder's blog.

Some of you may remember this wonderful conversation print from years ago. It's all one piece of fabric featuring ships, horses, dogs, etc.

 Here are my Indigo Blue stars from last week's quilt-along. 

This fabric is c. 1987. How do I know?

Because in 1987 HQPNJ was in its organizational stage and there was a group of quilters who made this top and that blue fabric was one of the fabrics they used. We had adopted the Oak Leaf and Reel as our logo and thought we'd be seeing lots of blue and white quilts when we began our documentation project but we were in for a surprise.
 

 

There's actually enough fabric to do an appliqued vine border if I'm ever so inclined, lol!

Caught in the act! This deer was nibbling on a bush near our back door.



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Copyright 2015, Barbara Schaffer

Quilt Fest NJ

Finally! After last Thursday's snow and Friday's "not a great day to travel" I met Rachel and Dawn yesterday at Quilt Fest NJ.

Here are some quilts that caught my eye.

My Version of A Persian by Christine Wickert of Penfield, NY. This extraordinary quilt won Best in Show.
 

Original design made entirely of silk materials including the top, backing, batting, and all threads. 

Emily Munroe by Karen Woten, Ottumwa, IA, is made of recycled wool. Karen drew the pattern from a picture of the original from the New England Quilt Museum.

 Some of the background wools were hand-dyed.

Bucket List by Virginia Robinson, Chapel Hill, NC. Machine appliqued, machine pieced and long-arm quilted by Susan deSerres.

Felicity aka Spargo-esque by Jo Timko, Millville, NJ. Wool applique with embroidery and other embellishments inspired by Sue Spargo designs. 

Paradise Lost and Found by Polly Mello, Elkridge, MD. Based on the "Bird of Paradise" quilt made during the Civil War.

Civil War reproduction fabrics, lots of embroidery, and simple cross-hatch quilting.

Snow Buddies by Ruth Powers, Carbondale, KS. Portrait of her dogs--a 165-lb shepherd mix and a 145-lb Komondor. Made from Ruth's collection of commercial prints and hand-dyed fabrics.  

Enjoy!


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Copyright 2015, Barbara Schaffer






 

Natalie's Tulip & Madder Stars

I finally made a small piece using the 9-patches and appliqued tulip that my friend, Natalie, had made when we (HQPNJ) were working on our book about Florence Peto.

I'm sure Natalie intended to make a quilt similar to Florence's Calico Garden. The blocks are only 3". 

I added some broderie perse in the edge triangles. . .   

. . . and cut the floral sprays from this fabric.  

When I was making Album Patch in 1996, Natalie gave me the fabric for the sashing . . .  

. . . and I used it for the borders in Natalie's Tulip :)

Here are my madder stars from last week's quiltalong.

Believe it or not some of this fabric is in the above quilt!

Not sure what possessed me to put all these prints together. 

Looking forward to making Indigo Blue stars next. 

The other morning I was on the floor stretching when this amazing sunrise caught my eye!



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Copyright 2015, Barbara Schaffer