Five Hexies and Feb Little Quilt Done!

I finally finished the Five Hexies quilt that I started just before Labor Day last year.

I used leftover hexies from Barbara B's Morris Hexathon and appliqued each one on a 14" square. Well, that looked a little sparse so decided to add little rosettes in between. It took a while to figure out the hst inner border but was happy with the result. The outer border is a floral stripe. (The color is off in this pic.)

 

I sewed the little hexies together so that they all faced the same direction. Do you do it this way? Or do you make them go around like a wheel all facing the center?  

I quilted diagonal lines 1/2" apart framing the center. . .

. . . straight lines in the half square triangles and cross-hatch in the floral border.

The back. 

The label.

After sewing on a sleeve, I hung the quilt in the hallway:) Two things I realized: I like a much scrappier-looking quilt and I'm not crazy about doing mitered corners, lol!

If you remember, last month I joined Wendy The Constant Quilter to make a little quilt every month so this is mine for February. It was fast and easy because I used leftover hsts from several projects. Do you recognize the ones from the quilt above?? Kyle at Timeless Traditions made one and so did Janet Rogue Quilter.  

I did simple machine quilting in an allover cross-hatch (oops, that's a shadow of my camera in the lower left). There's still time to join in the fun! I've already started the one for March :)

Enjoy your week!




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer

Presidents, of course!

One of my goals was to make this little counted cross-stitch pic of Abe and George in time for Presidents' Day.

The pattern was only $2.50 on Etsy. How could I resist??  

Now that it's done I see my images are a little shorter/rounder than the original. I used some Prairie Cloth that I had purchased for another project so guess the thread count/size was a little off, lol!

I found the perfect frame at Michaels and placed the picture on top of our hutch in the family room. It's right in my line of vision when I quilt :) 

 
I have a small collection of President-themed books and these are my favorites. 

Here are a few more. The top two belonged to my grandfather, Stan Bower.

He was a true Lincoln fan as well as an accomplished artist and did this pen and ink sketch in the '20s . . .

 
. . . and designed this layout of Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address in 1930.

His Lincoln postcard was sold as a "Souvenir of the Battle Field at Gettysburg, PA." 

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On another note . . . 

We had a brief storm the other day with about 3" of heavy wet snow which disappeared nearly as fast as it arrived.

While it was here the sky was so blue and the trees so white. 

Yesterday's sunrise :) 

One more thing-----

When I was in 7th grade my history teacher made us learn the names of the presidents in order, something I will never forget. Because there were two with the last name Adams and to help us remember--the first was Adams, the second Quincy; the two Roosevelts were Teddy and Franklin. Here goes . . .

Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Quincy, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, Teddy, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Franklin, Truman, Eisenhower . . .

Have a great week :)




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer

Wandering Lover & Think of Me

I decided to challenge myself by doing an inked drawing in the center square of Wandering Lover the first block of Barbara B's Antebellum Album Quilt BOM.

First I scoured Pinterest for some images and this one caught my eye.

Then I printed it out on plain paper and taped it to the door with freezer paper-backed fabric on top. From there I used a .05 black Pigma Pen and traced the design as best I could.

  And here it is.

I added a broderie perse leaf to the two remaining corner squares. 

And this is the end result :)

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As I was making this block and thinking about inked inscriptions and drawings, it reminded me of the lovely verses my grandfather wrote in my grandmother's autograph book.   

My maternal grandmother, Etta "Ethel" Strubbe, was 15 years old when this photo was taken in 1905.

My grandfather, Stanton M. Bower, was seventeen when he wrote: 

May 12th 1905

May fortune send you happy hours,

And strew your path with life's bright flowers.

Your Friend,

Stanton M. Bower

Two years later he was hoping "to be more than a friend" . . . 

September 22d, 1907

Dearest Ettie,

Many have written before me dear,

Many have liked you I know,

Many have seen your sweet face near,

There are many who'd like to now,

But before life sun has set dear,

I hope to be more than a friend,

I hope to be more than a brother dear,

To be near you pet to the End!

Your loving,

Stanton

They were married in 1910 in NYC but this picture was taken in Lawrence, MA at the home of his grandfather (my gr-gr-grandfather) Robert Bower.  

In 1996 I was experimenting with transferring photos to fabric and did this one using a xeroxed copy of my grandmother's photo along with turpentine and a spoon. Did you ever try that?? Anyway, I embroidered the corner squares and fused a couple of flowers and 'to my sweetheart' which so reminded me of my grandparents :)

Taking it one step further while thinking about friendship blocks and inscriptions are these Victorian cups with "Think of Me" on them. Aren't they sweet?

Enjoy your Valentines Day!

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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer

Top Done, BOM again, Etc.

I was determined this week to finish the top I started last fall when I sewed along with Barb V. making basket blocks.

All the edge triangles were cut so all I had to do was add the borders. 

The blue one is 1" and the floral is 5-1/2". 

 
I wasn't happy with the BOM in last week's post so did another. This one looks so much better! 

 
I tried to capture the Super Blue Moon on my early morning walk the other day. This was around 6:15 a.m.

Yesterday our windshield was covered in ice creating such pretty patterns. Click on the pics :)

You can see the shadows of the trees in the background.  

I bought a new bird feeder at Costco and look who found it. I wasn't surprised to see this squirrel go head first to get the seed :)

Yay for the Olympics! I'm watching, are you? 

Have a wonderful week! 





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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer