New Little Quilt, Flower, TS, Rolodex and GBH

Two years ago I received an envelope of selvage strips from Nancy M. in MI and it took me all this time to get moving. Sometimes that happens :)

After sorting and ironing, I started stitching them onto two scrap strips of muslin with no real plan in mind. This time instead of top stitching I butted the strips and zig-zagged them together. 

I added long selvage strips on two sides . . . 

. . . then 2-1/2" borders. 

 

You can see the machine quilting on the back and it's pretty basic--all straight lines--nothing fancy. The label is done but needs to be attached:) Thank you, Nancy!

It's blooming! The Amaryllis bulb--that my friend Renee sent up via her co-worker--is absolutely gorgeous! 

I really have to stop going to the thrift shop! Haha! Recently, I couldn't resist this pair of crocheted potholders and a framed scherenschnitte with ducks, rooster, bunnies and flowers. I always thought I wanted to get into this craft but after making a couple Valentine's Day cards I realized it wasn't for me. 

I've taken a little break from my Rolodex project but thought I'd share a few cards with a Native American theme. These are the fronts . . .

. . . and these are the backs. The top two photos are sections of a wool jacket that I was making many years ago and testing my skills of machine applique. The middle left is a souvenir child's vest from Niagara Falls and on the right a weaving that I purchased at the antiques shop in LP. The bottom is a photo of other collectibles. All wonderful memories :)

Look close and you can see a Great Blue Heron in a nest at the very top of a pine tree in our driveway. This pic was taken by putting my camera up to the lens of a birding scope. I keep trying to get a good shot and this is the best one so far. There are actually 3 GBHs up there. The one in the nest takes off, circles around and comes back and extends it's head straight up. We've read this is a mating ritual. The other two squawk and "fight." It's all so interesting!

That's all for now. I'll be back next week with four more Crazy blocks.

 

Copyright 2023, Barbara Schaffer  

Churn Dash, LC Blocks, Flowers, Clouds

 Just trying to catch up a little . .  . 

Churn Dash top is done. I hung it on the railing in my sewing space so I could see it from below.

A (dark) detail showing the striped border fabric from the thrift shop. Next up is the backing :)

New Project! On a whim I started making 9" log cabin blocks from the strips I'd accumulated and stored in a drawer. I was inclined to do only browns and neutrals but I have so many red and blue strips that I'm going to do some blocks with those, too. Then, who knows? Maybe I'll mix them all up! 

Two weeks ago, on a warm (!) spring day, Connie took us to Ausable Marsh on Lake Champlain. The water was so clear!

The view looking across at the Vermont skyline was dotted with really low puffy clouds.

And talking about clouds--check out these pink ones taken from our deck last week.  

And a long-awaited colorful sunset!

My Easter Sunday centerpiece consisted of pretty flowers from the local supermarket and a fun hand-crocheted doily from the thrift shop. There are eight purple clusters with 44 grapes in each one.   

I have had this orchid almost a year now and I am thrilled to see it blooming again!

The sunrise this morning :) 

That's all for now. 

Enjoy your week! 

 

Copyright 2023 Barbara Schaffer

Crazy 9-12, Trail Cam Etc.

 Call Me Crazy blocks 9-12 are done :)

Four more 6" blocks to add to this ongoing project offered by Gay at Sentimental Stitches and each one is a mini challenge.

When the blocks are set by side the look is very reminiscent of the original below and that's why I wanted to participate in this fun block of the week.

                                                    Sentimental Stitches photo  

I changed the little display in my sewing space. I don't think I've ever hung three minis with orange as the focus. 

 

*Trail Cam News*

After one unsuccessful try, Connie and I then fastened the trail cam to a tree in the woods and after two weeks we got these photos:  

 First up: a squirrel . . . 

then a deer . . . 

 then two foxes . . . 

And finally a wild turkey. Not bad, huh? So for the next 2 weeks the cam is strapped to our boat rack down near the river and we're hoping for some new surprises!

But just the other day I watched as one deer fell through thin ice into the river. My initial reaction was "Oh, no!" but it managed to get up and out. Whew! 

This hand-made wool mat caught my eye at the antiques shop last week and I had to go back and buy it.

Here's a detail of the center. Wool strips in various forms--rolled, pleated, folded  and even gathered--are stitched together with a heavy-duty thread. The piece is over an inch thick. I love the handwork, don't you?

That's all for this week. It was 16 deg this morning and I am so ready for warmer weather. Please send some my way :)

 

Copyright 2023 Barbara Schaffer

This 'n That

A couple weeks ago I finally knew what I was going to do with the twenty remaining Churn Dash blocks from Barb V's 2018 swap. I had already used many . . .

. . . in my Eagle Medallion . . . 

. . . and some in a monthly mini April 2020. I was thinking all along that I would focus on pink/white for any future churn dash quilts. Did I do that?

Nope. I grabbed some large scrap triangles and began sewing 9-1/2" unfinished blocks. I already had the striped sashing fabric and dark brown for the corner stones so I was on my way.  

Three rows done and two to go :) 

 

I've resumed quilting Barbara B's Ladies' Aid NY Sampler. There were only two blocks left to do and I have no idea why I didn't finish them a while ago :)

For my Rolodex project I made copies of some fabrics and added snippets of scraps and buttons for the front of some cards . . .  

. . . and on the back I put pics of sewing collectibles I used to own. 

Flowers from NJ hand-delivered by a coworker of my good friend, Renee, who came to town with her family to ski Whiteface Mtn. Renee and I used to go to the NJ Flower Show so she sent up these flowers as a reminder of the good times we had--so sweet! 

Enjoy your week!  

Copyright 2023, Barbara Schaffer

Crazy 5-8 and Another Finish

 Call Me Crazy blocks 5-8 are done and so is another Snowball!

These blocks have been so much fun to make. This is how I tackle them: print out the pattern making sure the 1" guide line is exact, otherwise you know what will happen--if it's short, the block will finish too small and, if it's too long, the block will be too big. Next I cut out the pattern pieces and then spend a - lot - of - time choosing fabrics :) I sew each section and assemble the block.

Then I remove the paper along the seams to lessen the bulk when ironing.

Another Snowball finish made from Dawn's antique quilt that I purchased at Dana's auction last July. This is #4. These four blocks were one unit that I salvaged.

I hand-quilted inside each snowball and made the decision to machine quilt the border. By the time I was done, the red fabric had begun to split. Oh, no! Luckily I had more of the same so appliqued new snowballs right over the old and did some "fake" quilting, if you know what I mean.  

I really like the soft colors, don't you?

I don't have a lot of quilting stencils but this one is a favorite. It fits nicely into a 3" border. I fiddled with the corners and came up with one big curve. 

Neutrals on the back are two fat quarters from the thrift shop. I used Hobbs Fusible Batting--my standard for small quilts. The piece finishes at 25" square. 

How clever! These CDs are covered with yarn and hang near the entryway of the Lake Placid library. Made me smile :)

That's it for now.

Have a great week!

 

Copyright 2023 Barbara Schaffer

It's A Finish!

Well, it's finally finished! All along I'd been calling this quilt Barb's Scraps2 until out of the blue Framed Tumblers came to mind. Not a particularly "catchy name" but it works. 

When I put it on the bed it looked like there was a "topper" in the middle! How funny is that? When I hung it over the railing the large border at the bottom pulled it all together but you don't see that at all.

This is the one I'm talking about--the grapevine border. 

And in between the center of the quilt and the border is a row of 6" stars from Barbara B's 2015 Stars In A Time Warp QAL. 

This is one of the fabrics on the back--a thrift shop purchase at $1/yd.

Dawn at Cabin Creek Stitchery did the quilting and I used the trimmings for the binding. Thank you, Dawn! 

 

It finishes at 72" x 92".

Would you believe this quilt was my inspiration? I had good intentions of following this layout and cutting my strips into shorter lengths until I realized I had plenty of L-O-N-G-E-R ones to play with.

Some of the beautiful tulips I received over the past 6 weeks :)

I think this bird was 'high' on seed, lol!

Waiting for the snow to arrive tonight . . . 

Copyright 2023, Barbara Schaffer