"New Beginnings" Finished!

Last week I brought my newly finished quilt to the cabin so I could wash it. Would you believe the new washing machine I bought last year has no delicate cycle? Never noticed it until I went to use that cycle and it wasn't there. Living in an old house has its challenges like having to find a washer that would fit through the laundry room doorway. There was only ONE and much to my surprise and disappointment it didn't have a delicate cycle. Sigh.

So I washed the quilt at the cabin and laid it on the floor to dry. But it was taking too long and we were expecting company so I put it in the dryer on the lowest delicate cycle for 7 minutes at a time until it was dry. I used Quilters Dream Request batting. 

 

The color catchers did their job!

 

I named the quilt New Beginnings and was anxious to take some pics as my husband gave me a new camera for Christmas :)

A close-up of the center.  

A detail of the inner border with pinwheel corner block. 

 

 The center is quilted in an orange peel design . . . 

. . . the inner border in cross-hatch . . . 

. . . and the grapevine border in diamonds.

I fussy cut the binding.  

The fabrics I put on the back.

And the label :)

Thank you for visiting my blog this year and leaving such wonderful comments. Wishing you all a Happy New Year!




__________

Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer

 

So Cute!

Sunday evening we had a wonderful holiday get-together with our good friends, Renee, and her mom, Wilda. We always try and share cooking responsibilities which makes it easy for all of us. And we come up with some pretty good menus, too!

Little did I know Renee had made a basketful of these adorable snowmen to give to her co-workers and wanted me to choose some for the stockings I fill for our grandkids and their cousins.    

I just couldn't stop smiling :)

Thank you, Renee! They are the cutest! 

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a New Year filled with lots of creativity--and, of course, new projects :)

__________
Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer

 

It's A Finish! and WW10

I finished the quilt I started in Barb V's Hex-Vex workshop in 2015! I'm calling it "Hexie Heaven." 

I used a dark red fabric with a very fine black stripe as the binding. I love the way those Tumbling Blocks pop! 
 

There are lots of favorite fabrics in this quilt. The red/white "I Pledge Allegiance" is one, the brown and pink toile is another. The golfer fabric in the star was a freebie at a guild meeting. I don't golf but the scale and size were right, lol!

See the yellow/red Ely & Walker calico? When we bought our house in 1971 that fabric was a kitchen curtain left by the previous owner. The red/yellow Provincial stripe was a gift from fellow-blogger Vivian when we were making stars for Barbara B's Stars In A Time Warp QAL. 

The dress form fabric reminds me of all the sewing I did as the family seamstress so many years ago.

 

And the blue star with little doggies around the edges was made by my dear friend Rachel :)

This is the fabric I put on the back. Thank you, Susan! Barbie Vanderfleet-Martin did the quilting for me in a very pretty floral/leafy pattern which you can see when you click on the photo. 

I'm a little behind making my Westering Women blocks but did manage to finish #10 Rocky Mountain Chain. I followed the color combination Becky Brown did for Barbara B's blog. Thanks, Becky!

__________
Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer


 
 

Pennies and Holiday Spirit

I went to Barnes & Noble the other day intending to buy the latest issue of Quiltmania (which they didn't have) and came home with their Fall Issue of Simply Vintage instead.

The article on making a Penny Rug caught my eye because years ago (probably 20!) I started making wool pennies with the intention of embellishing simple hst wool blocks. 

Well, what do you know?? I had forgotten I made as many as I did back then when I was in my "wool phase." These pennies are 3" vs 2" as suggested in the project instructions so I only had to cut a few more to make this layout complete. I even had a piece of green wool for the background. Now all I have to do is start sewing them in place.

The instructions call for mattress ticking for the back but I think I'll use this chintz decorator fabric instead.  Wow! Instant project :)

_____

This past Sunday the Livingston Historical Society held its annual Christmas Tea at the Force Home which is one of Livingston's oldest homes built c. 1745. 

The small building behind the Force Home is the Cook House which was moved to its present location in 1964 to make way for the "new" Livingston Mall. Both the Cook House and the Force Home are on the State and National Registers of Historic Sites and Places.

Every year members of the Historical Society string popcorn and cranberries for the tree which you can see here in the front parlor. 

And this is the fireplace in that same room all decorated with fresh greens and lemons. 

More holiday decorations on the mantel in the dining room. How festive!

The original walk-in fireplace is in the main room of the house where hot mulled cider and Christmas goodies were spread out on a large table for all to enjoy.

There are a total of four fireplaces in the house including two in the upstairs bedrooms. 

This is actually my favorite room. I love this color blue and the calimanco spread on the bed. There's a chintz quilt top on the rocker in the corner that I'd like to take pictures of someday :)

A Double Irish Chain quilt was in a cradle in the museum room. It has quilted designs in the plain blocks but I couldn't make out what they were.

Finally, my Morris Hexies are on Barbara B's blog this week :) Hop on over to see more.  




__________
Copyright 2016, Barbara Schaffer