It's A Finish!

Well, it's finally finished! All along I'd been calling this quilt Barb's Scraps2 until out of the blue Framed Tumblers came to mind. Not a particularly "catchy name" but it works. 

When I put it on the bed it looked like there was a "topper" in the middle! How funny is that? When I hung it over the railing the large border at the bottom pulled it all together but you don't see that at all.

This is the one I'm talking about--the grapevine border. 

And in between the center of the quilt and the border is a row of 6" stars from Barbara B's 2015 Stars In A Time Warp QAL. 

This is one of the fabrics on the back--a thrift shop purchase at $1/yd.

Dawn at Cabin Creek Stitchery did the quilting and I used the trimmings for the binding. Thank you, Dawn! 

 

It finishes at 72" x 92".

Would you believe this quilt was my inspiration? I had good intentions of following this layout and cutting my strips into shorter lengths until I realized I had plenty of L-O-N-G-E-R ones to play with.

Some of the beautiful tulips I received over the past 6 weeks :)

I think this bird was 'high' on seed, lol!

Waiting for the snow to arrive tonight . . . 

Copyright 2023, Barbara Schaffer

Framed Tumblers and Rolodex

 I'm still working on the binding of my new scrap quilt, but I'll show you a few close-ups for now. Thought you'd like to see some more Rolodex cards, too.

On a whim I started this scrap quilt on November 22nd after I re-discovered those large tumblers and squares. 

By the end of December I had gotten this far. I just kept adding rounds of strips alternating lights and darks.

I had quite a supply that I'd been cutting on a regular basis which made it easy to add each round. They varied in widths from 1-1/2" to 3-1/2."

I cropped the photo I showed you last time to give you a better idea of the overall top and its size. I'll take more detail shots of the stars and backing for next time. 

I got to thinking about my grandchildren who were no longer required to write cursive-style in school and decided to focus on handwriting for my next set of cards. I had quite a few examples to choose from because I am the keeper of my family's ephemera. These are all copies that I felt free to cut and paste. 

Left column top to bottom: 1908 letter to my great Aunt Leila from her grandfather, Robert Bower (my 2nd great); my mother's 1950s baked apple slices recipe; 1970 letter from my grandfather to his son (my Dad) executor of his will. 

Right column: 1984 letter to us from great Uncle George; 1862 letter from my 2nd gr-grandmother, Margaret Edwards Davis, to her siblings; and, my 2nd gr-grandfather, Robert Bower's 1898 Civil War pension application.  

When you flip these cards in the Rolodex file the backs look like this. I found those numbered strips at the thrift shop and cut and pasted the signatures of each person in those spaces. 

I just love these pics of Aunt Leila and Uncle George--married in 1918 after he came back from the war. For my files, Leila had recorded the years and positions she held with the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, an organization she was involved with for many years. 

That's all for now. I'm looking forward to a 50-degree day--today!

Copyright 2023, Barbara Schaffer

This 'n That

I'm kind of all over the place with projects--quilt blocks, twin-size quilt, and Rolodex cards! 

The first four blocks of Call Me Crazy are done. They were all paper foundation-pieced and will finish at 6". The individual pieces are really small but there's always extra fabric allowance when cutting each one. I'm totally into re-organizing my scraps--again!

I made this top in a little over a month beginning the end of November. I'll show you details in another post. It's already been quilted and I'm sewing the binding on now.

I'm currently obsessed with Rolodex Art though my cards aren't "artsy" like so many of the ones I've seen on various sites. I tend to focus more on memories and have a list of categories to focus on: birds, childhood memories, autographs, flowers, etc. Look no further--I even had a vintage card file! 

I loved Little Golden Books when I was little and have really enjoyed looking at those boards on Pinterest. When I came across Ukelele and Her New Doll it jogged my memory! I not only had that book but my uncle had given me a little Hawaiian doll with a grass skirt. I had her up until a few years ago when we moved. Thankfully, I took photos of my little treasures! 

It's no surprise that I still have my high school autograph book. I copied Aunt Midgie's Valentine's Day message for the front of one card and on the back I added a photograph of her when she was a majorette in high school and another of me wearing her uniform on Halloween. 

This is just a sampling. I've made over 30 so far. My favorites are hand-writing samples. I'll take some close-ups of those for my next post. 

We finally got a picture of a deer on my trail cam! 

We are preparing for the Arctic Blast to come through tonight and tomorrow. It's currently -6 but could possibly hit -30 tonight. How will it ever be 40 degrees on Sunday?? That's what the forecast is . . . 

Stay warm!

 

Copyright 2023, Barbara Schaffer