*News Flash!*

Remember these two quilts??

. . . My Inking Journey made while participating in Barbara Brackman's Antebellum BOM in 2018 . . . 

. . . and Chimney Sweep with Leaves my version of a favorite quilt in the book Remember Me by Linda Otto Lipsett?

Well, the *News Flash" is that both quilts are in Barbara's new book Divided Hearts: A Civil War Friendship Quilt by C&T Publishing. Thank you, Barbara, I am truly honored! 

My blocks with inked drawings and names of my gr-gr-grandparents appear throughout the book. Here is one.
 

And there are instructions for making a Chimney Sweep quilt like mine :) 

In addition, contributors Denniele Bohannon, Becky Brown, Mark Lauer, and Patricia Styring made some awesome quilts so when you have a minute go to Amazon and take a 'look inside' this beautiful book. Be inspired!   

Enjoy your week!



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Copyright 2020, Barbara Schaffer

 

So Long, 2019!

It's always fun to look back and 2019 was really a productive year. The first six months included triangles, monthly minis with Wendy, The Constant Quilter, chimney sweep, scrappy strings, and a challenge with Sandy R.  

1. Triangles was the first to be finished in 2019. My inspiration came from an antique quilt but the block pattern came from Barbara Brackman's A Cloud of Quilt Patterns here.

2. January Little Quilt made use of extra tumblers from a still-unfinished project along with a fun border print.

3.  I finally did something with the little vintage 9-patches that I purchased from Mary Koval many years ago. This is my February Little Quilt. 

 4.  I was inspired to make March's little quilt after a birthday birding trip with my daughter.

5. Chimney Sweep with Leaves is a small version of one of my favorite quilts in the book Remember Me by Linda Otto Lipsett.

6. It was time to empty my scrap bins and what better way than to make a string quilt! It's twin size and I intend to use it at the cabin.

7. I saved the bed hanging fabric from a little shoe-box doll bed that my mother made in 1954 and re-purposed it for April's little quilt. It's hand quilted.

8. When Sandy R. invited me to participate in an Indigo Challenge I couldn't resist. She provided all the vintage indigo fabrics and this was the first piece I made after seeing a little quilt on Pinterest. 

9. The original block was one that Gay at Sentimental Stitches provided for her Cheddarback Quilt SAL. I thought it was perfect to showcase more indigo. This is #2.

10. May's little quilt is the third piece I made in the Indigo Challenge :)

11. Another block from Gay's Cheddarback SAL got me moving on June's little quilt. I just kept adding borders to this cute little basket :)

That's it for now but more to come. 

Here's to a fabulous 2020!

Copyright 2020, Barbara Schaffer

First 4 Blocks Deacon Quilt

I jumped right in as soon as I downloaded the first 4 blocks of the Ella Maria Deacon quilt that are being offered by Gay at Sentimental Stitches.

 Gay started in the upper left corner . . .

. . . and I started with block #2. I'm using Moda Bella Solid Off White for the background. That tan/beige is an oldie from the Oakland Museum. 

Then I made this red/green Chimney Sweep.

And onto block #4. So far so good!

I left the challenging #1 block for last. Chose my fabrics, appliqued the white arcs and hand-pieced the rest. I took a chance making this block even though my printed 1" guideline that Gay provided to gauge the size of the finished block was a hair shy of 1", I didn't think it would make that much of a difference. I learned my lesson! The block finished at 8-3/4" instead of 9". 

So this month I will have a chance to make another because the next set has the same block in a different color combination. I'll get it right the second time around, lol! 

Enjoy your week!




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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!

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Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer 

 

This 'n That

This week .  .  .  

 

. . . dozens of robins were eating holly berries . . .  

. . . and then we had two snow storms. Not a huge amount but enough to make it feel like winter :) 

A reader asked about how wide I cut selvages. Here's what works for me. From top to bottom: 1-1/2", 1-1/4", 1", 3/4" and 1/2". I need 1/4" overlap when sewing them onto the foundation. So depending on the width, there's either fabric showing or if the selvages are narrow there is no fabric in between.  

 
Then out of the blue I received a lovely surprise from my blogging friend, Wendy--an envelope full of selvages! Thank you so much!  

I got right down to business and started ironing them all. Then I made more blocks. Did you ever notice some selvages have fringe? See the strip with the leaves directly below 'Paula Barnes'? If you sew through the fringe it won't hold so I move my stitching to above the fringe line.

Oftentimes when I get to a corner (lower right) I fill in with just a piece of fabric and no selvage. That way I don't have to deal with extra bulk in that area. 

I've been busy quilting Chimney Sweep in the evening and making good progress :)

It's "handywoman-time" around the house so after I touched up the paint in the hallway I put this quilt on the bench to enjoy.

Have a wonderful week!




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Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer

 

Little Applique Blocks

I'm hooked on these sweet 8" Dear Daughter blocks that are being offered by Gaye at Sentimental Stitches.

I started this project a few months ago concentrating on blocks that were attributed to NJ--specifically, the one on the top left and the three on the right. The originals were signed by members of the Dunham and Clawson families in Piscataway and Marlboro in the central part of the state. 

After I made the first three I couldn't wait for the next set to become available so decided to recreate the center of this block that I made a while ago also from a NJ quilt.

For some reason I'm focused on using green with touches of red and am liking the way it looks.

 
I added the red dot to this one.

I think these small blocks are charming and they're so easy to work on during hot summer days.

I've prepped the next one but reversed the colors as shown in the original above. I traced the pattern onto my background square using a blue Frixion pen and will outline the appliques with an 01 black Pigma pen. Any blue lines that show when I'm done will disappear with an iron.  

Check out Barbara B's post this week to see some new ideas for setting the Antebellum blocks including a NJ quilt and my small Chimney Sweep. Thanks, Barbara!

Happy August!




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer


 

 

Antebellum #7 and John Hankinson

This week I finished Antebellum #7 Chimney Sweep. Barbara B's instructions for vertical row piecing made this block easy to assemble.  

In keeping with adding the names of my 2nd gr-grandparents, this block is in memory of John Hankinson, an English immigrant. According to the 1841 & 1851 England censuses, John, a brick layer, his wife, Alice, and their children were living in Liverpool. They immigrated to the U.S. in 1851. For more than twenty years (1854-1876) John was listed in the NYC Directories as a mason with his business at 464 Greenwich St. and residence at 36 Renwick. Both are in the area of the Holland Tunnel in lower Manhattan.
 

I chose to copy this inking that Barbara had posted on her blog a while ago. 

Would you believe the first time around I didn't leave space for a seam allowance? What was I thinking?? This is version #2 :)

The Hankinson family plot is in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY. Interred there are John Hankinson (1821-1885), his wife Alice King (1819-1904), three  children (small white stones): Richard (1851-1860), William Henry (1854-1856) and Betsey (1839-1859); also, a grandson Walter (d. 1915) and my gr-grandfather, Frank Hankinson (1856-1911) though his name is not inscribed on the monument.

JOHN HANKINSON

BORN IN

POULTON LEFYLDE

LANCASHIRE ENGLAND

DIED AT NEW YORK CITY

MARCH 15, 1885

AGED 64 YRS 11 MOS 30 D'S

When John died the attending physician was Samuel S. Purple, a founding member and past president of the NY Academy of Medicine and for many years the editor of the NY Genealogical and Biographical Record. After all these years the Purple name continues to haunt me. My grandmother Maud Hankinson Davis states her mother was Mary Purple but I haven't yet been able to make that connection. 

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So back to Chimney Sweeps for a minute . . .

Here's a little piece I made in 2004 based on a doll quilt that was documented by HQPNJ.

In 2006 Barb V. and her friend, Mary, were co-chairs of GSQs Friendship Quilt. I had to provide the red fabric for my block so this is what I chose. 

A wonderful assortment of reds and one lucky winner :) 

Happy August!

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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer