Leaves and High Peaks Quilt (not new)

When autumn arrives in the Adirondacks we tend to go for long drives on country roads to take it all in. This year the colors were spectacular! 

This is one of several trees that are right down the street from us. With the sun shining through I had to stop and take a pic.

Here's another . . .

 

Whiteface Mountain is always a good place for peeping and taking pictures.

This branch of the Ausable River is nearby.

Look what was on a rock in the middle--a GBH--Great Blue Heron :)

Another section of the river . . .

. . . and a winding country road. 

 

For an instant this was the sunrise this morning but it didn't last very long before the clouds rolled in.  

For weeks I've been watching this tree fungus open up. Pretty impressive!

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Yesterday as I walked my granddog through these leaves . . .  

. . . the colors reminded me of a quilt I made for my brother in 2013. The triangles were cut from my collection of leaf fabrics along with solids that once belonged to our mother.

The border is waterfall and camping fabric--true Adirondack-style! I call it Autumn in the High Peaks :)

That's all for now. See you next week with my mini!

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer

Aerobic Dancing and Charms

I've been on a quest to put labels on some of my older quilts . . . just because :)

Here's the latest. 

I got caught up in the Aerobic Dancing craze in the mid '70s. I was introduced to Jacki Sorensen's program at our local YMCA and was hooked from the start.

I became in instructor and taught 6 classes/wk. Prior to each session, instructors had to pass both a 12-minute running test and a weigh-in based on height. If you were 5' your max weight was 100 lbs. From there, the scale went up 5 lbs for every inch. If you were over you couldn't teach until you lost the extra weight. Really!

Every 12-week session had a name. I was part of the 'test group' and danced each session's routines at home before they became official.  

There was a woman in a neighboring town who started hand-painting and personalizing tee shirts. I ordered a couple from her with my name on them.

Eventually I became a clinician and traveled to different parts of the country teaching new sessions to instructors--even went to Hawaii! I was an area coordinator and eventually the district manager for NJ and parts of PA.

It was the best job I ever had! My office was at the Aerobic Dancing Center in Short Hills, NJ, and that's where I hung my c. 1980 Aerobic Dancing quilt. I had cut my tee-shirts, zigzag-stitched them onto a sheet, added batting and another sheet for the backing then tied the layers together with yarn. I used a commercial orange blanket binding for the edges.

So there you have it! Probably more than you ever wanted to know :)

_________

Onto the charm bracelet . . .

Most of the charms were from high school, others shortly after I was married. From left to right: church, engagement ring, a treadle sewing machine like my grandmother's that I learned to sew on, a heart for something :), scissors for all the sewing I did (made all my own clothes), wedding ring, wedding bell charm for my cousin's wedding--I made her gown, a couple bridesmaids dresses and my daughter's flower girl dress . . .

. . . a megaphone for being on the freshman cheerleading squad, two charms for high school graduation, 1st anniversary charm, my birth certificate inscribed Barbara and the date . . . 

. . . my husband's Sigma Chi pin, Christmas bells, baby shoe when my son was born, another megaphone for the varsity cheerleading squad, and another charm for being a bridesmaid at my cousin's wedding in 1969--the newest one on this bracelet. 

I keep it in this embroidered pouch . . . 

. . . inside this fabric envelope . . . 

. . . which is on the back of this fabric book I posted on my very first blog in June 2011! You can read all about it here. 

Well, that's enough reminiscing for now. Thanks for sticking with me to the end of this post :)

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer

UFO#5 Eliz. Green Album and Charm Bracelet

UFO#5 is done! A year ago I had purchased a set of Elizabeth Green templates at the thrift shop (where else??) and immediately went to work.

My quilt looks nothing like the original which is made of fancy fabrics. 

I used fabrics that didn't seem to fit in any of my other projects and I like the end result. It's definitely scrappy busy!

I really like that border print. I had just enough leftover strips to make them work. 

I hung it over the railing on the deck. It looks very "autumn" don't you think?

 Dawn at Cabin Creek Stitchery quilted it for me :)

The back .  . .

. . . and the label :)

On another note I've been reading . . . 

. . . because I had a charm bracelet in high school, did you?

I'll tell you about it next time :)

Enjoy your week!

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer

September Little Quilt: Old and New

Remember when I bought Dawn's Log Cabin quilt at auction? And I had removed two odd blocks in an unfinished row? Well, guess what? I turned those two extra blocks into this month's mini.

These are the extras which I decided to separate and reverse. 

Why? I don't really know! My plan was to mirror image the original blocks--on the diagonal--and then try to reproduce them. So the green/black stripe in the upper right will now have a more less matching fabric on the lower left.

So as not to get confused with placement, I made xerox copies to use as my guides. The center squares are 2-1/2" finished, the strips are 1" and the blocks are 8-1/4".

I tried to match lights and darks as best I could. Even used a strip of the original paisley backing from Dawn's Snowball quilt. I added the conversational print after nixing a stripe that would have been too dark and used the reverse side of a print for the center square.

All in all I'm happy with the end result except I would have really preferred a ditsy shirting fabric in place of the conversational print I used. 

This wonderful high wheeler repro was in Natalie's stash :) The finished piece is 17" x 17". Now I feel the urge to make another Log Cabin quilt--a little larger though--and in browns and neutrals. So easy once you get going!

Be sure and visit Wendy's blog on the 30th when she will post her mini along with links to all the other monthly mini-makers :)

Don't you just love these Chinese Lanterns?? There's a big patch in a neighbor's front yard :) 

Enjoy your week!

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer

UFO#4 Morris Geese is Done!

I've been trying to work my way through some UFOs and am happy to report another one is finished!

I started this piece in 2021 after receiving samples of William Morris fabric from Barbara B. Thank you, Barbara! I looked forward to this new challenge so when I saw a quilt on Pinterest that I liked I dug right in. I drafted my own pattern of 12" blocks with 2" finished hsts for the sashing and 4" borders with geese corners. I used the geese paper foundation piecing pattern from the Deacon quilt and 2" finished Triangles on a Roll.

                                                    Block 1

                                                    Block 2

                                                                           Block 3

Block 4 

 

So after I drafted the entire quilt (more or less) I happened to see a free pattern on Old Country Store Fabrics for the Tide Pools Quilt, the one I saw on Pinterest! Who knew??

 

Dawn at Cabin Creek Stitchery machine quilted it for me :) Thanks, Dawn!

 

 

I put the same border fabric on the back with a strip of green from the thrift shop. Ta-da!

Such a pretty assortment of fall flowers from the farm!

Enjoy your week! 

 

Copyright 2022, Barbara Schaffer