Five Hexies and Feb Little Quilt Done!

I finally finished the Five Hexies quilt that I started just before Labor Day last year.

I used leftover hexies from Barbara B's Morris Hexathon and appliqued each one on a 14" square. Well, that looked a little sparse so decided to add little rosettes in between. It took a while to figure out the hst inner border but was happy with the result. The outer border is a floral stripe. (The color is off in this pic.)

 

I sewed the little hexies together so that they all faced the same direction. Do you do it this way? Or do you make them go around like a wheel all facing the center?  

I quilted diagonal lines 1/2" apart framing the center. . .

. . . straight lines in the half square triangles and cross-hatch in the floral border.

The back. 

The label.

After sewing on a sleeve, I hung the quilt in the hallway:) Two things I realized: I like a much scrappier-looking quilt and I'm not crazy about doing mitered corners, lol!

If you remember, last month I joined Wendy The Constant Quilter to make a little quilt every month so this is mine for February. It was fast and easy because I used leftover hsts from several projects. Do you recognize the ones from the quilt above?? Kyle at Timeless Traditions made one and so did Janet Rogue Quilter.  

I did simple machine quilting in an allover cross-hatch (oops, that's a shadow of my camera in the lower left). There's still time to join in the fun! I've already started the one for March :)

Enjoy your week!




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer

Presidents, of course!

One of my goals was to make this little counted cross-stitch pic of Abe and George in time for Presidents' Day.

The pattern was only $2.50 on Etsy. How could I resist??  

Now that it's done I see my images are a little shorter/rounder than the original. I used some Prairie Cloth that I had purchased for another project so guess the thread count/size was a little off, lol!

I found the perfect frame at Michaels and placed the picture on top of our hutch in the family room. It's right in my line of vision when I quilt :) 

 
I have a small collection of President-themed books and these are my favorites. 

Here are a few more. The top two belonged to my grandfather, Stan Bower.

He was a true Lincoln fan as well as an accomplished artist and did this pen and ink sketch in the '20s . . .

 
. . . and designed this layout of Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address in 1930.

His Lincoln postcard was sold as a "Souvenir of the Battle Field at Gettysburg, PA." 

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On another note . . . 

We had a brief storm the other day with about 3" of heavy wet snow which disappeared nearly as fast as it arrived.

While it was here the sky was so blue and the trees so white. 

Yesterday's sunrise :) 

One more thing-----

When I was in 7th grade my history teacher made us learn the names of the presidents in order, something I will never forget. Because there were two with the last name Adams and to help us remember--the first was Adams, the second Quincy; the two Roosevelts were Teddy and Franklin. Here goes . . .

Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Quincy, Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, Teddy, Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Franklin, Truman, Eisenhower . . .

Have a great week :)




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer

Wandering Lover & Think of Me

I decided to challenge myself by doing an inked drawing in the center square of Wandering Lover the first block of Barbara B's Antebellum Album Quilt BOM.

First I scoured Pinterest for some images and this one caught my eye.

Then I printed it out on plain paper and taped it to the door with freezer paper-backed fabric on top. From there I used a .05 black Pigma Pen and traced the design as best I could.

  And here it is.

I added a broderie perse leaf to the two remaining corner squares. 

And this is the end result :)

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As I was making this block and thinking about inked inscriptions and drawings, it reminded me of the lovely verses my grandfather wrote in my grandmother's autograph book.   

My maternal grandmother, Etta "Ethel" Strubbe, was 15 years old when this photo was taken in 1905.

My grandfather, Stanton M. Bower, was seventeen when he wrote: 

May 12th 1905

May fortune send you happy hours,

And strew your path with life's bright flowers.

Your Friend,

Stanton M. Bower

Two years later he was hoping "to be more than a friend" . . . 

September 22d, 1907

Dearest Ettie,

Many have written before me dear,

Many have liked you I know,

Many have seen your sweet face near,

There are many who'd like to now,

But before life sun has set dear,

I hope to be more than a friend,

I hope to be more than a brother dear,

To be near you pet to the End!

Your loving,

Stanton

They were married in 1910 in NYC but this picture was taken in Lawrence, MA at the home of his grandfather (my gr-gr-grandfather) Robert Bower.  

In 1996 I was experimenting with transferring photos to fabric and did this one using a xeroxed copy of my grandmother's photo along with turpentine and a spoon. Did you ever try that?? Anyway, I embroidered the corner squares and fused a couple of flowers and 'to my sweetheart' which so reminded me of my grandparents :)

Taking it one step further while thinking about friendship blocks and inscriptions are these Victorian cups with "Think of Me" on them. Aren't they sweet?

Enjoy your Valentines Day!

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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer

Top Done, BOM again, Etc.

I was determined this week to finish the top I started last fall when I sewed along with Barb V. making basket blocks.

All the edge triangles were cut so all I had to do was add the borders. 

The blue one is 1" and the floral is 5-1/2". 

 
I wasn't happy with the BOM in last week's post so did another. This one looks so much better! 

 
I tried to capture the Super Blue Moon on my early morning walk the other day. This was around 6:15 a.m.

Yesterday our windshield was covered in ice creating such pretty patterns. Click on the pics :)

You can see the shadows of the trees in the background.  

I bought a new bird feeder at Costco and look who found it. I wasn't surprised to see this squirrel go head first to get the seed :)

Yay for the Olympics! I'm watching, are you? 

Have a wonderful week! 





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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer

Little Quilt, BaRm Done, BOM

I've decided to join Wendy The Constant Quilter and make a little quilt every month--no pressure--just plain fun! And since there are quite a few little quilts that I've been wanting to make this was the perfect opportunity to get started. Thanks, Wendy!

This was a reject block when I was making my Gypsy Wife quilt. Those are 70s fabrics but I'm not sticking to time periods this time--just striving for the right colors. The squiggles worked really well and the corner blocks were made from two of the fabrics that were in the bundle that I purchased at GSQ last month :)

On another note . . . 

The bathroom is done!

The new light fixtures which were actually advertised 'facing down' are now facing up per the electrician's recommendation. Good idea!

The "Playtime" picture was from a good friend of mine many years ago and set the color scheme of red, blue and yellow.

My cousin made this mug for me when I was 8 years old. 

I have a hard time leaving spaces empty especially when I can fill them with vintage goodies, lol! So I put a few of my colorful little quilts on a rack and added needle books to the ledge above the drawers. Then I bought two rag rugs on Amazon.

I hung Cascadia (Lori's Humble Quilts 2014 quiltalong) on the wall behind the door using red metal rulers and binder clips (Ann Hermes' clever hanging system.) It really brightened up the space!

Next I'll be working on the hallway--mostly painting :)

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This is our guild's BOM for February called 'Nine to Five'. Four 5" squares--2 red and 2 white--are sewed together. After a series of cuts and turns you end up with this block where the reds and whites alternate. It's an interesting technique but now I know why I never used that white/red print before. It's definitely off-grain! 

Are you looking for another project--what???

Check out Barbara B's latest free BOM series on her Civil War Quilts blog here. The Antebellum Album blocks are based on ones found in early friendship quilts and there are examples from two NJ quilts in today's post. In fact, one is the quilt on the cover of our book, New Jersey Quilts. 

I'm in--are you?




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer

This 'n That

Not much sewing this past week because I'm re-doing the upstairs bathroom. My philosophy is when the mood strikes go for it! 

This job was long overdue. I removed the old wallpaper, grouted some tiles, painted the walls and woodwork, ordered new light fixtures and a rug. I'm going to hang a little quilt and a picture or two :)  

 

In the meantime, I ordered my 2017 blog book from Blog2Print. Now I've got 4 years' worth 2014-2017.

Last month I bought this bundle of browns for $2 at our guild meeting. It is a nice assortment of fat quarters and 1/2 yd pieces. I've already found a use for two of them.

Then I bought some neutrals, a double pink, and a blue for various projects and a brown floral vine for the backing of Patch Basket.  
 

I made a sample block of Birds in the Air--the quilt that caught my eye at the Schuyler Hamilton House last month. The colors are really 'off' here but I have lots of scrap triangles I want to use. 

I spend time nearly every morning (early!) sewing Churn Dash blocks for Barb V's swap :) That's a purple print on the right not black.

It was so pretty outside after the last storm . . . 

 

. . . I saw a few animal tracks of big and little creatures that were out and about in our yard. 


Have a great week!




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Copyright 2018, Barbara Schaffer