Let's Celebrate!

Here are some of my patriotic quilts and other fun things with stars and stripes. Let's not forget Caleb Tichenor, a soldier of the revolution.
 

The first quilt I ever designed. Made for the 1976 Bicentennial. 

Ancestry made in 1977. You can read about it here.

Washington Star. In 1987 I won 12 blocks made by members of Garden State Quilters. 

Patriotic Pieces, 1999-2002, a Millennium quilt.

A detail. 

The back. 

 
The label.

Fun Stuff

A patriotic costume.

A flea market pillow and a small collection of pins.

 Silk American flags and one from every state. 

From the gift shop at The Shelburne Museum. 

Caleb Tichenor

A Soldier of the Revolution

In his words 22 January 1830:

Early in June 1776 I enlisted at Newark in which township I then resided, for five months under Capt. Abraham Lyon in Col. Van Courtland’s regiment from Newark. I was first marched in New York & from there to Long Island where I was when the British landed on said Island – from there I went to New York & marched to fort Washington & had an engagement there with the enemy. From there I marched to White Plains where we had several engagements with the enemy. From the Plains I marched to Kingsbridge & crossed the Hudson & then retreated back to Fort Lee & was in several skirmishes there. From Fort Lee we returned before the British army below in New Brunswick in New Jersey. 

Caleb continued to be called into service through 1781 and served his country for 28 months as a private in the revolution. 

 

First Presbyterian Church of Hanover, E. Hanover, Morris, NJ

Stranger Approach and contemplate 

the Grave.

Caleb Tichenor

departed this life

July 29th 1834

Aged 76 years

In his death his widow is bereaved

of a beloved companion

Who was most tender and 

affectionate.

His children of a Father most kind

and indulgent,

Society of a benevolent upright and honest man.  

Have a great 4th!

__________

Copyright 2014, Barbara Schaffer

 

One of Each: A Quilt, A Gravestone, A Family Photo

Just a quick post this week.

Still waiting for that Walking Foot to come in. In the meantime, I continue to make little quilt tops using my endless supply of small scraps. I think they multiply, lol. 

First Presbyterian Church of Hanover, E. Hanover, Morris, NJ

In Memory of

Elizabeth Daur of

Ellis and Lucy Cook. Who
Died Sepbr 30. 1780

Aged 1 Year 4 Months

and 9 Days

Look close and you'll see the carver's mistake. He forgot to inscribe "and Lucy" but did his best to squeeze them in. 

This is a family photo of my paternal gr-grandparents Horace Davis and Margaret Edwards with their children and grandchildren c. 1892. They are seated in the middle with their youngest son, my grandfather, Ralph B. Davis (1882-1971). Standing directly behind them is their eldest son Osmer Davis (1862-1935) and his wife Carolyn Lawrence (left) and daughter, Olga (1887-  ); on the right is son Edmond Davis (1868-1937), daughter Hannah Adella Davis Lawrence (1869-1894) and her daughter Irene (1889-  ). The family lived in Rockland, Sullivan County, NY. 

A beautiful sunset taken from our deck at the cabin. 

Summer is finally here. Yay!

__________

Copyright 2014, Barbara Schaffer

Wow! So Many Things To Talk About

Flag Day! Father's Day! Quilt of Valor News! Another Small Quilt! Silhouette Collection!

My original intention was to show you my small silhouette collection but now there's other things to talk about, too.

Flag Day

We finally hung our new "old-looking" flag in time for Flag Day. It's perfect for our house which was built in 1730. I wonder what that circle of light is in the left corner. Hmmm. . . . .

Happy Father's Day!

Reporting for duty. My dad and my brother at Fort Dix, NJ, in 1957. I took that photo with my Kodak Brownie. 

Quilt of Valor News!

I received news this morning that my Quilt of Valor is going to Role III NATO Multinational Medical Unit in Kandahar where QOVs are given to "American Active Duty Military who have suffered significant COMBAT RELATED injuries." I am truly honored to have made this quilt for a wounded soldier.

 

Another Small Quilt

I made another little top this week. Still waiting for that Walking Foot to come in!

Silhouette Collection 

I've subscribed to Country Living magazine for years and was happy to see the article on Silhouettes in this month's issue. 

Sorry for the reflections. This is a paper-cut silhouette of my dad c. 1930.

And one of my son when he was 7 months old. This was a present to my mother on her birthday October 27, 1963. 

  

Sometime in the 1970s there was a woman at an arts/crafts show at the Livingston Mall who cut these silhouettes of our family. I added doilies, stickers, and gold trim when I framed them. 

I bought this Lady With Dog and the following painted silhouettes at a garage sale for about $10. They are all signed E.M. Hopkins 1932. 

 

 

Aren't they cute?

Perhaps a Presidential Pair?

 

None of these silhouettes is framed but I'm hoping to get that done sometime soon. 

I purchased this one recently at a thrift shop in Wilmington NY for $2.00. It is painted like the others and signed Monacella.  

Hope you had a great day!

__________

Copyright 2014, Barbara Schaffer

Summer Projects and Another Quilt of Valor, Done!

I've got quite a few summer projects in the works and a Quilt of Valor that I just finished. Some of the projects have to do with learning how to use a Walking Foot which I just ordered.

I wrote in the words to the song my grandfather composed for the NY National Guard 2nd Battery. See last month's post. It's the first one on the list to be machine quilted :)

I'd been wanting to make this doll quilt for quite some time. The original is in the Collection of the Monmouth County Historical Association in Freehold, NJ. You can see it here on The Quilt Index. I want to hand quilt this one.
 

All these scraps keep "talking" to me so I thought I'd make a couple small quilts to practice my machine quilting.

I always liked this block and the full size quilt in the book Remember Me by Linda Otto Lipsett.

Here's another little one. The blocks are 4". I made a larger version of this quilt in 2004 and named it In My Element. See below.

 

Here's a detail.

I just finished this Quilt of Valor on Thursday. All are patriotic fabrics except the solid red and blue pin dot.

Another "Jersey girl" quilted it for me. I'm waiting to hear from the Quilt of Valor Foundation with details on where to send it.  

 

Lastly, it's almost time for my quilts to be taken down. Twelve have been on exhibit at Town Hall since April--thanks to the Arts Council of Livingston :)


__________
Copyright 2014, Barbara Schaffer

Wildflowers and Great Blues

One of my favorite things to do when we're in the Adirondacks is hike through the woods with my daughter in search of wildflowers. Another favorite is to go to the Beaver pond and check out the Great Blue Herons in their nests. 

A new wildflower for me! This is Crinkleweed. My daughter spotted it earlier in the week with the moth which was still there.

These are Ramps a spring delicacy. They are also known as Wild Leeks and tasted great in Connie's homemade hummus. 

Foamflowers in bloom.

Bluets and lots of them in our yard.

Dwarf Gingseng near the river.

 A gorgeous Trillium.

Another new one for me--Coltsfoot.

At the Beaver Pond Connie set up her spotting scope so we could get a good look at the Great Blue Herons in their nests. I took some pics by placing my camera on the sight tube of the scope.

Here is the photo cropped. We watched long enough to see mama feed at least three little chicks.

Last Sunday there was an open house at a creamery that just opened in Upper Jay, NY. We bought some yummy homemade cheeses and yogurt and took pics of this sweet brown cow with a wreath of flowers and a large cowbell around her neck.

This weaving is suspended between two trees at the entrance to one of the camps on our street. Don't you just love it?


__________
Copyright 2014, Barbara Schaffer