March Mini and Misc

I'm calling this month's mini Apples and Pears . . .

. . . for the cute fabric that was in Carol's scrap box. There were just enough pieces to cut 18 3-inch squares. 

I had pink, green, yellow, and red solids in my 'vintage' stash along with the pink and white check and combined them all for a spring-like mini :)  

Don't forget to check Wendy's blog and follow the links to see more minis!

I sewed my album blocks together and started working on a border. The fabric I thought was going to work looked so washed out and blah that I'm changing direction. 

 

As you can see I'm still into Carol's scraps and started making 10" blocks. What fun! 

Last week Rachel and I attended (via Zoom) "The Work of Women's Hands: Maryland Chintz Quilts" presented by Elizabeth Lay, Curator, Collections Manager at Montgomery History. This free program is still available here if you care to watch. There are some wonderful detail potographs like the one above of Prussian Blue. 

Every day the Ausable River changes and every morning I look out to see what's new. Last week it opened up as ice floes drifted by. 

But the temps have plummeted and today this is what it looks like--completely frozen again! Waiting for tomorrow when it's supposed to be 60 degrees and all this will disappear :)

It's maple syrup time around here and our neighbor has buckets lining the driveway :)

That's all for now!

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer

It's a Finish!

I finally finished Tumbler which I started in 2015 (not 2021 as originally posted--what was I thinking?)!

What took so long is that I ironed all the long horizontal seams open and I was not happy with the outcome. So it sat for years even though I had the backing. Just couldn't get motivated. You know what I mean??

 

I tackled this dilemma a few months ago and re-ironed all those seams so half faced up, the other half down. Ah, so much better!

I added a striped border and took the top and backing to Dawn at Cabin Creek Quilters to be longarm quilted. Here is the video she posted when the quilt was coming off her machine :)

I alternated light and dark fabrics and inserted some fun fabrics along the way.

A conversation dog print that once belonged to Natalie :)

And one of my favorite Lincoln pieces.  

First, I put it on a bed just to take a good look . . .

. . . then up on my design wall. It's 56-1/2" x 58-1/2" and there are 391 pieces. Each tumbler is 2" and I used Darlene Zimmerman's Dresden ruler.  

The back . . . 

. . . and label. Ta-da! 

This year's goal is to continue plugging away at UFOs--and I have at least a few more that are within reach of completion :)

Enjoy your week!

 

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer

 

Ladies' Aid Follow-up & Flowers

Last week I had mentioned that the Ladies' Aid Sampler was a perfect NY-style quilt for me to make. Why?

    First, I grew up in Bergen County, NJ which is not far from NYC and the northern NJ/NY state line. 

    Second, The Heritage Quilt Project of NJ had documented quilts from this area that were published in a research paper in On the Cutting Edge edited by Jeanette Lasansky, Oral Traditions Project 1994. It was titled Characteristics of New Jersey Signed Quilts 1837-1867 and discussed the transformation of quilt styles from southwest NJ (near PA) to northeast NJ (near NY). 

The Ella Maria Deacon Quilt (Sentimental Stitches photo) is the perfect example of a quilt style from southwest NJ which is why I made all 85 blocks reproducing this quilt for my "NJ Quilt." 

But quilt styles changed as they moved diagonally across NJ and what we found in the northeast were appliqued quilts often depicting the lifestyles of its residents. One such quilt was the Betsy Haring Quilt dated 1869 that is owned by the Bergen County Historical Society. 

    Third, Barbara B. had been researching quilts of the Hudson River Valley when she contacted me to see if I would be interested in making blocks for her Ladies' Aid Sampler BOM and I said--'YES'! I knew right away I wanted to make my quilt in the NY-style consisting of appliqued blocks set with red sashing.

Years ago I photographed a quilt with red sashing at the Mt. Tabor History House in NJ that had NY/NJ signatures.  

I was surprised to see machine stitching on these appliques. This block was signed Maria Blaum. . .(illegible) Nyack, NY 1854.

This lovely piece is a top only, no quilting. 

How about a bee skep with bees buzzing all around?

Taking it one step further, Barbara used images in her Ladies' Aid Sampler that came from the 1867 Honstain Quilt which was made in Brooklyn.

 

One of the many charming blocks (International Quilt Museum photo) in that quilt has butterflies, birds, leaves, and flowers and I've decided to include the butterfly (and others) as a quilted motif in my quilt.

The blocks won't have all-over quilting but there will be little surprises here and there throughout. So, there you have it. My "NY quilt" is on its way to being finished :)

I'll end with another glorious bouquet of tulips from Little Farmhouse Flowers :)

See you next week!

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer

Ladies' Aid Sampler and AQSG

The Ladies' Aid BOM offered by Barbara B. on her Civil War Quilts blog has come to an end and I even have the top done :) I've included links to her posts so you can read more about each block.

Block 9 Hearts & Darts & Alerts was chosen for the Ladies' Alert Clubs here. I wanted to make my blocks in keeping with the originals found in NY State quilts. 

Block 10 Tools and Canandaigua named for the Civil War sewing societies in Canandaigua, NY. You can read about them here.

Block 11 Strawberries and Dogs is my favorite and depicts a working dog carrying a basket. I love the large floppy ear! More info here. 

Block 12 Birds They Sow Not which you can read about here. I used Barbara's Ladies' Legacy for the red and a green from my stash. My first attempt at appliqueing the inner circle was awful so I made it larger. The second time around was much better :)  

My goal from the start was to make a NY-style quilt now that I'm an official resident of NY and this one has certainly been fun! The blocks are set together with 2" wide sashing and I've already begun quilting. I had it machine basted by Dawn at Cabin Creek Stitchery and I'm so glad I did. What a difference! I'd recommend longarm machine basting before hand-quilting anytime. Best of all the quilt stays nice and flat :)

On another note:

Rachel and I participated in several AQSG Study Centers last weekend and I took these pics on my computer during Sandra Starley's 'Fabulous Fabrics of 1800s' presentation. 

I've actually seen this NJ quilt in person and it is stunning! I wish there was a repro of that pink paisley sashing! But what also caught my eye . . . 

. . . was the fabric in this block . . . 

 . . . and the repro that I had purchased last fall from Thousands of Bolts. It's not exactly the same but very close. If you've never shopped this online store you should take a look. Rachel recommended it to me a while ago and I've purchased more than I care to admit :)

That's all for now.

Enjoy your week! 

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer 

February Mini

Can you believe it's the end of February already? Time for another mini! 

It all started last month when I was sorting through Carol's scraps. These looked like a February possibility.

I laid them all out to see if anything spoke to me. I had an assortment of strips, triangles, and the LOVE panel to play with and was thinking a square-shaped little quilt.

Then one day it all came together like this--totally unexpected! But how to finish it?

I toyed with the idea of backing it with pink wool and finishing the edges with a buttonhole stitch but I didn't have the right color pink embroidery floss and that meant driving nearly an hour to buy some. Then I had this urge to go to the antiques shop in Lake Placid just to look around. Well, what do you know? There was a package of vintage DMC floss for sale but--no pink. So instead, I added a layer of flannel and quilted the top in-the-ditch.

I had this wonderful toile for the back, which I thoroughly washed again and again, and sewed the entire piece pillowcase-style. So there's no quilting on the back only the label that I made with a piece of the pink wool I thought about using from the start :)

Look how pretty this Valentine's Day tulip is! Another beauty from nearby Little Farmhouse Flowers :)

Crow tracks in the driveway :)

It's 50 degrees here this morning and much of the snow is gone BUT we're in for a snow storm Thursday and Friday with 6-10" expected. That's the way it is here in the north country.

Wendy will be posting her mini on the 28th along with links to all the other mini makers for the month. So be sure to stop by and see what they've been up to! 

Enjoy your week!

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer 

It Took A Very Long Time . . .

. . .  to finally finish this UFO! Nineteen years, in fact, and all it needed was a backing, quilting, and binding. No big deal but enough for me to lose interest all these years. 

So in my quest to work on some older projects this year, I started with this one. If you'd like to go back to the beginning, I posted about it here. That was almost 5 years ago when I finished the top during the '17 in 2017' challenge. Remember that? 

Initially I made 5 blocks but could never figure out the setting. Once I realized 4 blocks were the same size and the 5th was larger my problem was solved.

All the fabrics in the pavement blocks were from my stash while the border print was a Windham reproduction that once belonged to Jill R.

I remember hastily adding those extra squares for the inner sashing. After all, they were the right size and I had just enough for the intended space. 

Last month I finally pieced the backing from my thrift shop bargains. Truly a bargain piece on the right because the print was even off-grain. 

I contacted Dawn at Cabin Creek Stitchery and together we chose a very pretty interlocking three-loop pattern for longarm quilting. Thank you, Dawn!

I had just enough blue for the binding . . . 

. . . and sewed on the label after washing the quilt :) Ta-da!

BTW, the 5th block that was too large to fit in became another small piece :)

Check out this early morning sunrise which only lasted a few minutes before the clouds rolled in. 

Love these Adirondack blue sky days!

As part of my monthly fresh flower birthday present, these tulips were February's pick. Aren't they gorgeous? Believe it or not the owners of the farm grow thousands of tulips in the basement of their house. That's pretty amazing!

See you next week!

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer