Peak Colors!

One of the first things we did at the cabin was go for a drive to see the foliage. Enjoy! These were all taken near Lake Placid, NY.

 

Whiteface Mountain

Wilmington, NY

 

Here are a few 'fall' quilts I've made in the past. I know you've seen them before but hey! it's that time of year :)

 High Peaks 
2014

 Autumn in the High Peaks 
2012 

made for my brother's 75th birthday

 Falling Leaves 
2013 

That's all for now . . . 

Have a wonderful week!

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Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer

Dear Daughter and More

I started making Dear Daughter blocks over a year ago and decided it was time to put them all together and finish the top. Why? Read on . . . 

These are some of the blocks that were being offered by Gay at Sentimental Stitches. I focused on the ones that were signed by New Jersey quiltmakers in 1852.

The four that I featured in the center were the most difficult to applique but I found those birds to be absolutely charming. They make me smile. 

There is only one pieced block and that is the one in the upper center. 

Many of the original blocks were made by members of the Dunham family in Piscataway, NJ, like the one on the lower left . . .

 . . . and the quirky floral bud stem above. 

We arrived at the cabin yesterday afternoon and I brought my Dutch Panel quilt to work on.

I'll do simple cross-hatch quilting on the entire piece . . . 

. . .  and outline the large rosette and quilt in and around each small hexie. It's moving right along.

The leaves are turning and we saw some pretty spectacular colors once we got off the Adirondack Northway. This is our everyday view :)

We're babysitting our granddog for the next 10 days. She is such a sweetheart!

So here's the real reason for assembling the Dear Daughter top . . .

I'm ready to join in on the fun of reproducing another NJ quilt--the Ella Maria Deacon quilt that was made in Mt. Holly NJ in 1842. And once again Sentimental Stitches is offering the patterns for ALL 85 of these blocks. Check out the first set here. 

More to come :)

Enjoy your week! 




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Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer

September Mini

I'm jumping in today to post my monthly mini and to link up with Wendy.

I had a pile of unused pieces that I cut for the Cross Variation quilt I showed you last week so early one morning I randomly started sewing hsts and 2" squares together.

 It's hand quilted in diagonal lines both directions . . . 

. . . and straight lines 1/2" apart in the border. Sorry about the blurry photo!

The back.
 

It's now hanging in the upstairs hall gallery :)

On another note . . .  

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this quilt on Pinterest! How often do you see a fox on a quilt?? This might be a future project to remind me of my fox encounters this year, lol! 

Update: Barbara B. actually made that quilt for her cousin who gave it to his boss. And that is a raccoon not a fox! Thank you Barbara for making such a charming quilt and for posting the pic on Pinterest :)

Enjoy your week!




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Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer

Cross Variation Top Done

Back in July I started a new project and now the top is done! I saw the original quilt on Pinterest and posted about it here. 

It took me a while to decide on the sashing but I finally settled on white with brown polka dots vs a dark print. 

 I had some leftover brown/white stripe which I used for the corner stones.

Here's a close-up . . . 

. . . and another. Now I just need to make the backing and take it to be quilted :)

We've been going on Sunday drives since the weather's been so nice. One of our favorite places is Sandy Hook at Gateway National Recreation Area down the Jersey Shore. This pic is of Officers Row at Fort Hancock, a deactivated U.S. Army fort. It's a great place for biking!

Most of the houses are in desperate need of repair.

But we were pleasantly surprised to see two have been renovated and are available for vacation rentals. It is such a beautiful spot. Who wouldn't want to spend some time there? You can read more about it here. 

Have a great week!




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Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer

GSQ Friendship Quilt

Monday night was the first meeting of our local guild, Garden State Quilters. What a lovely surprise it was to see a Friendship Quilt that was made by members in 1988.  

Every year one of the anticipated group projects was to make a Friendship Quilt and this one was called "My Favorite Things." The completed quilt has 94 blocks and is huge. Postcards were sold as fundraisers.

A favorite book at the time was Treasury of American Quilts by Cyril Nelson and Carter Houck. 

  
This c. 1860 Album Basket was the inspiration for the friendship quilt. It was pieced and appliqued and made in PA. 

We were encouraged to design our favorite things to place in the basket. The guild provided instructions and a 10" piece of muslin. Each person had to provide dark brown fabric for the basket and scraps for the applique.

  
I knew I had made a block but could never remember what I put in my basket. When Rachel found it I had to ask her what she thought it was, lol! Well, it's a cornucopia of leaves. Not surprising as I still applique leaves on my quilts :)

Rachel didn't remember making a block but there it was--apples! Perhaps it was because her kids were little and made reference to an apple for the teacher.

Rita added fruit in colors that she still uses today. 

The blocks were so much fun to look at and had the initials of the makers embroidered on each one.

I thought this one was charming.

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A fun take on hopscotch, don't you think? I was on my early morning walk the other day when I noticed this had just been painted on the blacktop at the elementary school where my kids went many years ago. 

And the next thing you know a FOX came out of nowhere right in front of me on the road. Not again!! What is it with me?? I walked over to the delivery/worker guys at the school and stayed with them for about 10 minutes until one of them got in his car and blew the horn to scare it away. 

 
A Labor Day weekend sunset taken from our yard down near the river :)

Have a great week!




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Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer


 

Bed Turning II

Here are the other 10 quilts that are stored beneath my Eagle Medallion quilt on the guest room bed.

Hexie Heaven (2016) was made after taking Barb V.'s workshop :)

You guessed it. All those stars were extras from Stars in a Time Warp. I pulled all the ones that were black, red, and blue and made In A Flash! (2016).

  
I just about emptied one drawer of scraps making Summer Scraps (2015). 

Do you ever forget what you named a quilt?? I did. This is Potluck (2015) and was inspired by an antique quilt that I saw on Pinterest.

Playmates Revisited is a Peto reproduction that was started by Natalie in 1996 and finished by me in April '18.

Morris Hexathon (2017) was a QAL with Barbara B. It's focus was on English textile designer, William Morris. Lots of fussy-cutting in this one!

More scraps! Patch Basket (2018) was inspired by a quilt in Edyta Sitar's book, Handfuls of Scraps. 

Blossoms & Butterflies (1991) made from vintage fabrics that had already been cut into butterfly shapes and petals. I paid $2.00 for them at a garage sale.  

Broken Dishes (2017) was my own design using blocks made by 40 quilters who participated in Barb V's swap.

Way West was Barbara B's design for her Westering Women BOM series in 2016. I finished this quilt in 2017. 

So there you have it! 

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In remembrance of September 11, 2001, I wanted to share this Pride In America quilt with you today. 

This was a collaborative effort among the students in my husband's Recreation Leadership class and the Recreation Majors Club at Montclair State University in 2001. I assembled the blocks and added the stenciled borders. It was quilted by Janice Hairston, a member of our local guild.

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I hope you are enjoying the last days of summer and planning lots of new projects for the long winter months ahead :)




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Copyright 2019, Barbara Schaffer