Put Watts Into 'Em Boys!

There is a lovely historic church and small cemetery containing graves of revolutionary war patriots in Springfield, NJ, not too far from where we live.

The cedar-shingled church has been in existence since 1780.

It played an important role in the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Springfield when James Caldwell, Pastor of the Continental Army, threw Watts' Hymnals to his men to use as wadding in their guns. The rest, as they say, is history :)

 SPRINGFIELD 

THE FIRST BRITISH ADVANCE 

WAS STAYED AT THE BRIDGE

EAST OF THE VILLAGE , JUNE 7, 1780

THE BATTLE OF SPRINGFIELD 

WAS FOUGHT JUNE 23rd. 

THE AMERICANS

UNDER GENERAL GREENE 

ON THAT DAY NEAR THE STREAM

WEST OF THE CHURCH

CHECKED THE ENEMY,

WHO IN THEIR RETREAT

BURNED THE CHURCH AND VILLAGE.

FROM THIS CHURCH

PARSON CALDWELL TOOK PSALM-BOOKS

DURING THE FIGHT AND FLUNG THEM

TO THE AMERICANS FOR WADDING,

CRYING, "PUT WATTS INTO 'EM BOYS."

ERECTED BY THE STATE OF

NEW JERSEY, A.D. 1905

The cemetery is located on an adjacent street in a quiet neighborhood. There are quite a few Revolutionary War soldiers buried there.

  THOMAS COOPER

NEW JERSEY 

SOMERSET COUNTY TROOPS

REVOLUTIONARY WAR

1745-1811

AARON HAND

NEW JERSEY

PVT MORRIS CO TROOPS

REVOLUTIONARY WAR

FEB 23 1764  JULY 27 1842

BENJAMIN MEEKER

NEW JERSEY

ESSEX COUNTY TROOPS

REVOLUTIONARY WAR

1746  1813

DANIEL VREELAND

PVT NJ MILITIA

REV WAR

1757  1828

CALEB WOODRUFF

PVT NJ MILITIA

REV WAR

1755  1834

HAVE A WONDERFUL 4TH! 

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Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer

GSQ & Fabrics & Hexies & Turtles & Sunset

Garden State Quilters held its last meeting of the year two weeks ago. We got to see the raffle quilt in progress and buy goodies at the marketplace. Members brought in fabrics, notions, and books they no longer wanted for resale with the proceeds going to the guild. I donated some fabrics but also supported the guild :)

These are 12" blocks for the raffle quilt inspired by the book Red and White Quilts: Infinite Variety. Aren't they fun? 

I bought this nice assortment of fabrics and went back a third time to buy the dotted stripe in the background.

Rachel surprised me with this fabric :) It'll be perfect for my Morris hexies. 

Speaking of hexies here is Morris #6 South Kensington Star. I couldn't believe how hard it was to make 12 points come together in the center. I ripped out the first version and pieced it all over again but I'm still not happy with it. Now you know why I sewed the little hex over the seams in the center! I'm determined to try it again.

After feeling a little frustrated (!) I decided to make another #1 Westminster. Quick and easy, lol! 

#7 Avebury Stones. The little floral print I had just purchased was perfect for this hexie. 

 

Nealy every year at the cabin this snapping turtle makes its way up the hill in our backyard to lay eggs. But we never see any evidence of its young. My daughter took this pic early one morning. 

A beautiful sunset Memorial Day weekend. 

I'll be back next Wed. for my regularly scheduled post. A computer virus caused some major problems this week! 




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Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer
 

 

Flag Day 1936 and Morris Hexies Sneak Preview

On Flag Day, June 14th 1936, my parents were married :) 

Franklin "Hank" Davis and Etta Bower grew up in neighboring towns but went to the same high school in Leonia, NJ. They were two years apart. He played basketball and graduated in 1927 and she was art editor of the yearbook and graduated in 1929.  

 

They were engaged in 1935. I love this picture taken in front of the Bower family home . . .

. . . where the wedding took place the following year. Their marriage certificate states Franklin was 27 and worked in real estate, and Etta was 25. His two buddies were witnesses: Arnold Van Heertum and Ray Leicht. 

 
They spent their honeymoon at Lake Anasagunticook in Maine and made the trip in a Model A.

  
He did some serious fishing . . . 

 

. . . and caught a big one . . .  

 

. . . and she enjoyed the view.

It was also swimsuit season . . . 

 

. . . and he wore a wool bathing suit . . . 

 

. . . similar to this one that I purchased at a vintage clothing show years ago. It is so itchy-scratchy I can't imagine what it felt like when it was wet!

 

Honeymoon's over and the long drive home.

 

A year later they bought this house for $3,000 which is where my brother and I grew up :) Happy Anniversary--on what would have been their 80th!

 

This is a sneak preview of Morris hexies and the fabrics I plan on using to set them together. I know I'll be moving those pieced ones around until they "look right." In the meantime I'll keep sewing and adding and looking and changing :)

Have a great week! 




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Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer

Needle Nest, WW5, Morris Hexies 4,5

All I can say is thank goodness for this blog, lol! It really helps me stay focused. This was a good week. I made a Needle Nest, sewed Westering Women 5, and Morris hexies 4 & 5 :)

I purchased this book a while ago because of my ongoing quest to make a red and white quilt. But then the Needle Nest caught my eye. 

It's one large circle embroidered, quilted, and stitched together with a flannel back. 

A piece of ribbon is on the top and bottom and a snap is on both sides. So when you snap-and-tie you get this cute little pie-shaped needle case. This is the front. . . 

. . . and this is the back. How cute!

The 5th block in the Westering Women quiltalong is called The Platte River. I bet some of you may still have a piece of this river fabric floating around! It's pretty old. I'm talking 20 years or more.

Box Hill is the name of Morris hexie #4. I combined machine and hand-piecing--but mostly hand.

Upton is #5 . . . 

And this is a variation of Upton. Read about them on Barbara's blog here. Do these greens look familiar? Both are oldies but goodies. I do like the way this block turned out . . .

. . . but it looks awfully dark next to the others so I'll change its position at some point. I have another idea for fabric surrounding the hexie rings so stay tuned . . . 

Have a wonderful week! 




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Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer

Pin Cushions, Morris Hexie3, and a Trillium

I had these two pincushion projects on my 'to-do' list for 2016 and now they are done! A little diversion from quilting this past week.

 

Rachel gave me the top one--a free project at a quilt guild last year--and the one on the bottom I purchased at Quilt Fest NJ in March. 

I made this one first and realized I was little "rusty" not having done any embroidery for a long time. There was no problem choosing buttons--I have mason jars full! I found a pretty pin to add for the finishing touch. 

The instructions called for Ground Walnut Shells as the filler. Okay, where do I buy that??

I checked Amazon first and then went to our local pet supply store where I bought a bag of Kaytee Walnut Pet Bird Litter. 

I spooned about 1-1/4 cups into the Birdee and doubled that amount for the larger one. I like the added weight vs lightweight Polyfil.

Would you like to see my small collection of vintage pin cushions?

An Adirondack-style souvenir with wood base and bark still intact  . . .

. . . sewing basket essentials . . . 

. . . a hat trimmed in rick-rack, artificial flowers, and nylon net . . . 

. . . and a crocheted pincushion with silk ribbon. 

This weekend I managed to hand-piece Camelot Star. Funny, I don't do well sewing when I'm away from home but was determined to get this one done before it was time to think about #4 :)

Morris hexies 1-3. Doesn't the middle one "appear" to be so much larger than the other two?? A trick of the eye! 

I love photographing wildflowers when we're at the cabin and spotted this stunning Red Trillium at the edge of the woods in our backyard :)




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Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer