It's been a 14-year journey to finish the top of my Philadelphia Pavement UFO. It's #11 on my '17 in 2017' list.
It all began in 2003 when I saw this quilt in House Beautiful magazine.
I couldn't wait to get started. I made the first two blocks following the colors in the picture.
Then made three more and lost interest. Surprisingly (haha!) the blocks varied slightly in size so I couldn't sew them edge to edge.
I thought about laying them out on point but couldn't bring myself to fill in the empty spaces with more squares. What to do?? Nothing! Nada! Zip!
But then two weeks ago it all started to come together. I chose the blocks that were closest in size and used leftover squares for the sashing and corner blocks.
I love this border fabric. It's Windham's Wm. Penn's Vision#25506. It was just the right shade of blue plus it added some movement. So now that the top is finally finished I will add it to my quilting pile :)
I couldn't resist this photo op the other morning when it was a little foggy and the sun's rays were coming through the trees :)
Have a great week!
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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer
Wow, I missed blogging last week and I don't even have a good excuse. There's really not much going on just a bunch of "this 'n that."
Recently we visited our friend in northwest New Jersey and on our way I took a photo of the barn quilt that I missed last year!
We spent a day with him at the lake where my grandparents' used to live. It always feels like home when we're there.
My 16-year old Subaru finally konked out at 141,300 miles. I was really hoping it would make it to 150K but here it is being towed away. I donated it to Disabled American Veterans.
I also went through my vintage clothing and donated some to The Shakespeare Theater of NJ. I've really narrowed my collection to keeping only those items belonging to family and friends :)
The rest of my stuff I hope to sell at a vintage clothing auction in the fall. I've been debating about these shoes but I think it's time. The high tops on the left are actually Keds!
Lately I've been on some early morning (5:30 a.m.) walks when the moon is still out. I love that time of day :)
Isn't this animal "toile" the cutest?? I may use it as the backing on one of my UFOs.
And talking about UFOs . . . I haven't been spending much time in my sewing room but managed to put a couple of things up on my wall. I made the decision to use only 4 out of the 5 Philadelphia Pavement blocks that I made years ago. I played around with 2" squares for the sashing but I don't like the way they look! So back to square one. The small pieces on the right are leftover patriotic fabrics / blocks. I still need an inner border and one more corner block but the going is S-L-O-W. . .
I hope you're enjoying your summer!
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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer
#4 on my '17 in 2017' list is done! I actually finished quilting it in Feb (!) but wanted to wash it at the cabin before sewing on the label.
I'd say the red fabric bled a little!
I always referred to this quilt as my red/green applique but renamed it My Best Applique because it really was just that--my best applique. I started this quilt in 1994.
I quilted around all the appliques and filled in with straight lines 1" apart. The sashing/border was quilted 1/4" inside the seams.
I threw the quilt in the dryer because I didn't like the way I could see bits of red and green in the seams when it was wet. It krinkled up a bit but I'm okay with that.
The back is a neutral print.
The label. It's not fancy :)
I washed a couple more quilts and then draped them all over the railing just for fun :)
This Mountain Mist???
Nope, this "mountain mist." I snapped this photo on an early morning walk.
This one, too. The mist was just creeping across the river. It was rather chilly--45 degrees!
Just look at this beautiful salad my daughter and son-in-law made! All fresh from the community garden. I've got some spaghetti squash growing along with heirloom squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Maybe we'll get to enjoy them next time we head north :)
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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer
Enjoying the cabin and the area . . .
I rearranged the front porch and hope to buy a fern for the twig planter . . .
. . . and brought this vintage pillow from home.
On my early morning walk I noticed a few new twig-style street signs . . .
. . . and an eagle bench made by a chain-saw carver down the street.
There were lots of colorful mushrooms to photograph while hiking with my daughter.
I found this piece of barkcloth at the thrift shop . . .
. . . and my granddaughters (L and R ) and their friend bought these dresses for $4 each. So cute!
Tomorrow we're taking the ferry to Burlington, VT, to meet up with some friends :)
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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer
. . . to work in my garden plot in the north country.
We arrived yesterday so the first thing I did this morning was go for a walk up our driveway . . .
. . . and down to the corner store where I saw a patch of Viper's Bugloss on my way . . .
. . . to the Community Garden :)
But I'll have to wait for my son-in-law to get home to unlock the gate. He is in charge :)
I was so excited about starting a vegetable garden but when we weren't able to get up to the cabin this spring my daughter and her husband planted the seeds for me :)
I THINK this is my plot. It has two varieties of squash and cucumbers. I can't wait to go back later!
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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer
The other day when I was walking my granddog near the pond behind our house, it reminded me of a quilt I made years ago for our guild's One Patch Strawberry Supper Challenge Project.
Yep! Geese!
Flying Geese, that is :) The challenge was to use only one shape and the finished quilt had to be 24" x 24" or larger. Mine is 32" x 43".
I knew right away I wanted to make a repro of this early New England quilt in Sandi Fox's book, Small Endearments, another all-time favorite. Triangles were the only shape.
All the fabrics were from my stash and I sewed the geese in horizontal rows . . .
. . . taking care to mark and align centers all the way across.
The fabric on the back is another favorite by Karen Jarrar for Marcus Brothers.
A detail of the chevron quilting.
That was the first time I ever made a 3/8" binding. Up until then my bindings were always 1/2". I started the quilt in 2002, showed the top at the Strawberry Supper in 2003, and after pledging to the guild to complete this UFO, finished it in 2004 :)
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On another note, we have lots of Hostas in our yard.
My daughter sprayed them last month with deer repellent which seemed to do the trick. So far the deer have left them alone :) Thanks, Con!
My current evening project is quilting Morris hexies and so far I've been able to do one per night. Little by little . . .
Have a great week!
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Copyright 2017, Barbara Schaffer
