December Mini + Asterisk

As I was working on the most recent round of my scrap quilt I trimmed the blocks . . . 

. . . and used the little pieces for this month's mini. It was fun and easy! That's TS fabric in the border and binding. It's 11" x 12-3/4".

I put this cute little floral grid on the back :) I'm sure Wendy will be posting her mini tomorrow along with a list of everyone who participated this month. Make sure you visit her blog here.

On another note I wanted to squeeze this in before the end of the year . . . 

. . . because in March Barbara B. sent me some cutaways of her new Best of Morris fabric line to play with. I combined the narrowest strips with black to make 6" asterisk blocks.

 

 

I didn't want to stitch in the ditch so experimented with triple line quilting and variegated thread.

 

 

There are two different blue prints in the border and the finished piece is 18" x 18". Loved working with these fabrics. Thank you, Barbara! 

 

I also made some Flying Geese blocks using a foundation-pieced pattern from the Deacon quilt but I'll tell you more about this project in the near future . . . 

 

Thank you all so much for your visits and comments. Let's make 2022 a great year! 

 

 

Copyright 2021 Barbara Schaffer

This 'n That - Short

I should be focused on Christmas . . . 

. . . but guess what? Would you believe these came from the TS? Yep! That lovely large blue stripe is nagging at me. I think I need to do a blue and white quilt!

On a whim I decided to figure out the next round on this scrap quilt I started in August. Spread it out on the floor . . . 

. . . and decided to add 5" x 4.5" blocks all around. 

 

When I finally put it up I realized how many small pieces it takes to gain any ground. It's now 48" x 48" and I'm shooting for a twin-size finale. Here is some  helpful information I found on Hancock's blog regarding quilt sizes. 

I also wanted to see what these blocks looked like side by side. They are not in any particular order. Not sure I like them this way so I may sew them together with sashing and corner stones instead. I have several striped fabrics as possibilities. 

Don't you just love this concept?? Normally you'd see gondolas at the mountain but these are on the deck at the Cottage Cafe in Lake Placid. They are heated to 72 deg and can accommodate up to eight people for outdoor winter dining. Now that's creativity!

Enjoy your week! 

 

Copyright 2021 Barbara Schaffer

In Memory of Dawn Hayes

Nearly 2 weeks ago I lost my quilting friend, Dawn. I was shocked and saddened to learn of her untimely death. Dawn was an incredible quilter, an animal lover, gardener, knitter, and a dear friend. Through the years I took photos of some of her prize-winning quilts and wanted to share them with you today.

Dawn, Rita and Rachel all lived in the same town and we became friends at Garden State Quilters monthly meetings. Every year the four of us would go on a road trip to the Quilters Heritage Celebration in Lancaster, PA (above in 2008). Our routine was always the same: I would drive, Rachel was navigator, and Dawn and Rita sat in the back. We'd arrive in Lititz and have lunch at Glassmeyers then to buy fabric at Weavers. On to Bird-in-Hand to the Quilt Shack, Zooks, and The Country Store. Family-style dinner was at Good & Plenty, where else?? Often we'd stay at Smoketown Motor Lodge and on the way home stopped at Blue Mountain Family Restaurant in Shartlesville, PA where we'd order burgers and fries. No pickles for Dawn :)

Dawn's The Cutting Garden won Best in Show at GSQ's show in 2013 in addition to First Place in the Hand Pieced, Hand Quilted category. It is made of silk.

At the same show, Sandy won Best Hand Quilting and 1st Place in the show's theme "Sounds Like New Jersey." Sandy, of course, being the horrific storm that decimated NJ in 2013. 

Tropical Fruit, won 1st Place in the Appliqued, Hand Quilted category . . .  Doesn't it remind you of a theorem painting?  

In 2018, Dawn, Rachel and I were part of an Invitational Historical Perspectives exhibit at the GSQ show. The stars in Dawn's Millennium Celebration are from Carol Doak's book, 50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars and are made of silk decorator fabrics. It is hand quilted and the edges are embellished with embroidery. 

Dawn's other quilt, Christmas at Kelmscott Manor is William Morris-inspired and beautifully hand-appliqued. The pattern is by Michele Hill in Down Under Quilts magazine. 

Dawn's Bandana Challenge was made to celebrate GSQ's 25th Anniversary in 2006. 

Baby Bella won 2nd place in Best Workmanship, Hand Quilting at the Warwick Valley Quilters Guild Show in Warwick, NY in 2016. 

Every month, Dawn and I exchanged emails chatting about our challenges making the Ella Maria Deacon quilt blocks offered by Gay Bomers at Sentimental Stitches. Dawn re-drafted this group to look just like the originals and they remain my favorites.

I will not only miss Dawn's beautiful quilts but also the stories she shared about her pets and her constant battle to keep critters out of her vegetable garden.

But more than anything, I will cherish the times we spent together :)

Please take a moment to read Dawn's obituary here. 

 

Copyright 2021 Barbara Schaffer  

Monthly Mini Baggie Challenge

This month my mini is the result of a challenge posted by Janet O. (Rogue Quilter) who is a regular in Wendy's group of monthly mini makers. Thanks for pulling this together, Janet! Mind you, I don't sort my scraps and keep them in baggies like she does, but she graciously put together leftovers from prior projects and offered them to anyone who was interested. So, I jumped at the chance.

I immediately pulled this book (Little Handfuls of Scraps by Edyta Sitar) from my shelf to get some ideas.

And decided this was the quilt I wanted (to try) to make. Lots more pieces than what I usually choose for my minis but hey, why not? 

 

I chose Janet's baggie of madders and blues for this little piece. There were lots of generous scraps enough for all the hsts, borders and binding.

We were allowed to add one neutral so that was the light part of the hsts and one other color which I used for the strips--an old Thimbleberries fabric from the TS. 

The borders--2 madder and 2 blue--are 1-3/4" wide and each one is different. The most logical way, to me anyway, was to quilt it in vertical rows. 

Ta-da! Thanks, Janet! Your baggie of scraps was perfect for this challenge! The finished piece is 15" x 18".  

 

Be sure and stop by Wendy's blog the end of the month to see more minis and be inspired to make one of your own :) You can always join in on the fun!

 

On another note:

 

Don't laugh! I had donated this little quilt to the TS and last week I bought it back! Why? My daughter said she would like to give it to a co-worker who just had a baby boy so when I saw it was for sale with a $6.00 (!) price tag I picked it up and brought it home :)

 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 

See you next week!

Copyright 2021 Barbara Schaffer

Ladies' Legacy 5-8 and Free Time

I've been making model blocks for Barbara B's Ladies' Aid Album BOM and thought you'd like to see 5-8. Click on the links to read Barbara's extensive research relating to each block.

Block #5 Union Flag. I just love this flag. There were no white strips to applique only red ones. How clever! Here is the link to Barbara's post where you can see the original block in a quilt from Oneida, NY. 

Block #6 Calico Cat. Read all about the Calico Dress Ball here :)

Block 7 New York Rose in blue and white. I have a Pinterest Board where I keep track of NY Quilts here. 

Block 8 Social Butterflies in Westchester County. I love the trees in NY quilts :)

I used Barbara's striped fabric from her Ladies' Legacy line to cut out the butterfly. 

I wanted that touch of blue on the wing. 

Here are blocks 1-8. I plan on adding 2" red sashing throughout. 

On another note I had three hours to myself today and this is what I did:   

First, I went to a local antiques shop in Lake Placid where I took pics of a few quilts that were for sale . . . I liked the one in the middle :)

I love antiques shops. You never know what you'll find. I wore a pair of shoes like these to a dance when I was in high school!

Ultimately, I couldn't resist buying this hand-crafted notebook. 

I've always wanted to make something like this.

Each page is different and includes decorated shipping tags. I just love it!  

Then I met my daughter at noon for a 45-minute walk near where she works. 

On the way home I stopped to take a pic of the snow on Whiteface Mountain.  

That's all for now :)

Copyright 2021 Barbara Schaffer

It's A Finish!

I finally finished a top I made in March. "Get It Done!" is now Done! Here's what I posted about it back then. 

I would have much preferred to hand quilt it but wanted to "get it done" so went ahead and did it by machine. 

The sunlight streaming in the bedroom showed the triple line quilting both vertical and horizontal. 

I also quilted in-the-ditch around all the sashing. 

I used a variegated red thread only because I had it :)

Another detail.

Rachel gave me the fabric I used for the back when she moved about 5 years ago. Thanks, Rachel! Look close because the black lines are the handles and spouts of various pitchers. 

I washed it in the machine, dried it on delicate for about 15 minutes and then let it finish drying on a sheet. It's 36" x 36".

Anyway, "Get It Done!" should be renamed "Got It Done!" 😊

I have this large antique wooden bowl on my dining room table that is filled with all kinds of things: pine cones, dried black walnut hulls from our NJ trees, dried lemons, hickory nuts, acorns, rag balls, sweet gum tree pods and the most recent addition--gourds. There's still room for a few more things. Maybe I'll add some apples :)

We had our first frost last week and look at the sunrise just beginning . . .
 

. . . and this is it full blown. It doesn't look real, does it? The whole mountain range was ablaze with this autumn color!

I'm participating in Janet O.'s Monthly Mini Maker Baggie Challenge as part of Wendy's Monthly Minis. I'll tell you more about it soon. I'm really looking forward to it!

That's all for now :)

 

Copyright 2021, Barbara Schaffer