April Mini

I'm hopping in today to post my April mini.

If you recall last month I tossed this doll bed but not before saving and washing the fabrics.

 I had just enough to make this little quilt. It's 13" x 16-3/4."

I decided to hand quilt it . . .

. . . and when it came time to do the outer borders I found these diamond Paper Pieces to be just the right size. 

A small piece of pink for the back. 

Lately I've been intrigued with Altered Shipping Tag art and decided to give it a try. Here's the story:

"My mother Etta Davis . . .

  
. . . made this Miles shoe-box doll bed for the Girl Scout Fair in 1954 . . .

. . . I had that bed for 65 years . . . 

 . . . in 2019 I took it apart & made a little quilt."

I named it 2nd Time Around: 1954 & 2019 :)

Be sure to check out Wendy's blog for links to more monthly minis.

It looks like I'll be back on Wednesday to link up with Lori's String SAL. See you then! 




Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer

Another Finish and Blossoms

Another quilt done! 

I started Scrappy Strips last October and finished it just the other day. My goal at the time was to clean out my scrap bins and even though I used a lot I still have some left. I'm not surprised as they seem to multiply in no time at all.

Nearly all the fabrics are repros.

I had a supply of 2" squares that were perfect for the 4-patches in the corners. 

Since the quilt is twin bed size I was counting on using up some yardage I had for the back but as you can see I had to add extra pieces. Not exactly what I had envisioned but, hey!, it's the back, lol!

Many years ago I bought this panel at the Quilt Shack in Bird-in-Hand, PA. I was on a quest to find something that I could use for my repro quilts but this definitely wasn't it.

I plan on putting this quilt on one of the beds at the cabin so with that in mind Barbie quilted it in a very pretty leafy pattern. I love the way it turned out!

 

Done!

On another note I've been taking pics of some of the beautiful flowering trees in the neighborhood.

 Magnolia

 Crab Apple

 Double Cherry Blossom

I unexpectedly saw this pineapple welcome mat at Target so I returned the one I bought at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I'm much happier with this one :) 

Have a great week!




__________
Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer

 

Eagle Medallion and Early Morning

Remember when I posted some teaser pics for a new quilt I was working on? The top is now together and here's how it came about.

Last fall I thought about starting a new project and purchased the pattern Midnight at the Oasis by Jen Kingwell.  

After studying that pattern I decided to make some changes and sketched out what I thought would be something I'd feel comfortable with. Everything was based on 6". I thought about appliqueing a 24" center then adding multiple borders.

But I decided to eliminate the appliqued 2nd border as shown in my sketch and made lots of bordered 9-patch blocks instead using large scale prints. 

Then I had an aha moment in February when I woke up in the middle of the night telling myself there was no need to applique a large center block when I had this fantastic eagle panel that Rachel gave me nearly a year ago. It was perfect!

I added a gray stripe repro to bring the eagle panel out to size then started adding borders--stars first, then 9 patches, then . . .

. . . Churn Dash blocks from Barb V's block swap last year. 

It still needs a final border and I'm thinking this stripe might be just the thing. It's really old. The selvage is stamped 'Jinny Beyer for Mr. R.J.R. Fashion Fabrics.'

 
This is what it will look like and I hope to miter the corners. Sorry the pic is a little dark but I think that fabric will frame the quilt nicely. 

Yesterday I planted some pansies. They make me smile :)

It was a bit misty when I started on my early morning walk and by the time I was on the last stretch home I saw a rainbow that dissipated almost instantly. What a lovely surprise!

Have a great week!




__________
Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer
 

 

The North Country and a Bargain

We were in the North Country this past weekend . . .

. . . where the river was frozen one day and thawed the next.

 

 Sap buckets along the driveway . . . 

. . . and a signpost indicating how many miles it is from Wilmington, NY, to other towns in the U.S. with the same name--Wilmington, CA 2891 mi, Wilmington, IL 904, Wilmington, MN 1186, Wilmington, KS 1422, Wilmington, DE 396, Wilmington, OH 732, Wilmington, NC 868, Wilmington, MA 240, and Wilmington, VT but I can't read the sign for that one :)

Look what I discovered in an Adirondack store--a display of old sewing machines! 

They were tucked in between lamps on the top shelves in a room filled with clothing, blankets, soaps, candles, rugs, etc.  

According to the owner, his wife collected sewing machines with fancy lettering and designs.

They are up really high so these were the best photos I could get. 

But what a delightful surprise to see this display. There must have been 30 at least.

 
And, of course I went to the local thrift shop--my favorite place. This time I came home with an Arpillera--a bargain at 50-cents! I have a small collection of these appliqued pieces and had previously posted about them here. They were made mostly in Chile and Peru in the 1970s-80s.

What I love about this piece (and others) is that nothing is in proportion. Houses are small and birds are big. That figure in the center almost looks like a giant but maybe he's on top of a ladder. Who knows. Lots of embroidered tufts of grass throughout--and flowers.

I wonder who this figure might represent. And check out that creature on the right--a beetle??

The name of the person who made it is embroidered in the lower right corner. All in all the piece is absolutely charming. 

All the embroidery goes right through to the back. 

Home where spring is in the air :)

Have a great week!




__________
Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer
 
 

It's A Finish and More

Chimney Sweep is done!

I started this little quilt last year. You can read about it here.

Since that post I ended up adding a border. I felt the binding would have been too close to the leaves without one.  

I did simple straight line quilting in the sashing, vertical lines in the leaf hsts and corners, cross hatch in the blocks and straight lines following the stripes in the border. I used Quilters Dream Request batting. It's so soft.

One yard was enough for the backing and I found the perfect binding fabric at Sew Jersey, our local quilt shop.

Thank you, Sandy, for sharing these wonderful turn-of-the-century Indigo scraps with me! They are fantastic! More to come . . .  :)
 

It was almost a year ago when I bought this neat vest at the NJ Shakespeare sale. It really spoke to me. 

I thought it would be a fun gift for my granddaughter who turns 18 this Sunday. I added a new label:)

Wildlife news . . . 

This robin is back attacking the window in my husband's office. We went through that last year. It also attacks the mirrors on my car. 

No pictures for the next true story . . . 

I was out for an early morning walk today (6:00 a.m.) and ended up cutting it short because I was being stalked by a fox. Yes, a fox! I got halfway down the next block and realized what was happening. 

I tried yelling at it to go away but it just kept following me--sometimes in the neighbor's yards--or in the street. I started walking backwards so I knew where it was. 

When I was close to home I saw a shadow in the yard next door and ran up the driveway and went in the house. That fox followed me all the way to the door. He stood there and we looked at each other. Then he disappeared. Wow! Was that ever scary!

In all the years I've been out walking early in the morning I've never experienced anything quite like this. It didn't look rabid but I'm calling Animal Control to report it. 

On another note . . .

Happy Spring!

__________

Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer