Three Projects

The past week I actually didn't do much in the way of sewing or quilting, but I did figure out and get started on projects that have to be done in the near future. There is the ATC that needs to be thought up and then put together. We are also having a Valentine exchange for the February meeting of the guild. Those who wanted to join in drew a name from the list of other participants and will make that person a handmade something. The only reqirement is that it will have a heart on it. Then in April, the quilt show challenge is due with the theme of children's story books. Along with the 20 x 24" piece, we each will donate a book for charity on the subject we chose. So, I did some designing on my EQ5 software. Believe me, what I do on that is super simple but it is a lot of fun. Love putting in the colors and fabric. It will be interesting to see if I can make the actual piece look like the project I printed out. So the picture above contains peeks of the three things I will be working on in the next few days. Fun stuff. (Click to enlarge)

With Love on Your 21st Birthday, Hannah

Twenty-one years ago today, this sweet little baby girl was born and she was named Hannah Alice. In this picture, she is just a day old - give or take some hours. It was so much fun that they asked for clothing to dress the baby up for her first picture and added a sweet bow and flowers in her hair no less.

Now here she is - all grown up and twenty-one. This was taken a few hours ago when we were at lunch in Ann Arbor celebrating her big day. Sher, Barc, their best friends, Deb and Steve, and Hannah and I had a good time eating and watching Hannah open her gifts. We sang "Happy Birthday" to her and almost immediately everyone in the restaurant joined us with great gusto. When the song was finished, everyone applauded. Great moment! Hannah will be graduating from Michigan State this spring at the end of her junior year. The plans are in the works for her to go into the Peace Corps this fall. Our Hannah may be small in stature, but her dreams and goals are big, and she works diligently in the pursuit of those achievements.

So, my dear granddaughter, I love you and am very proud of you and I wish you great success in everything you do. Happy Birthday!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxoooooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Grandma

(Boy, did I goof!!!! Norah has pointed out to her goofy old grandmother that Hannah will be graduating from the University of Michigan - not Michigan State. Of course, that is Norah's alma mater - so it's two to one for the girls with Molly being the Michigan State grad!

Accept my apologies, my pretties! xxxxxoooooxxxxx)

Fashion Friday

Here is a very sweet young lady, our daughter Sherry, modeling a squaw dress I made for her when she was probably 10 years old. It was a pretty blue and had a lot of silver, white and pink rick rack sewn on the tiers - there might even have been some lace. Her outfit is completed with a pretty metal belt. Over the many years Ray and I square danced, I sewed miles and miles of trim and pulled many miles of thread to gather the fabric for the skirts. I also made some shirts for Ray - but not very many. A man's shirt takes a lot of time and putting on the collar is really not a lot of fun. This is such a cute picture of Sher. (Click to enlarge)

I Have the Date Saved!

This was in my mailbox Tuesday - I had been expecting it. When I went over to my daughter's for dinner Sunday evening, they had received their card asking them to "Save the Date" on Friday. Well, mine didn't come until Tuesday - but I was pretty darned sure I was invited. This must have been caught up someplace for a few days. Molly and Doug are such a great couple - just right for each other. The big day will be August 14 of this year in Portland, Oregon, so there is another great wedding to look forward to and another family gathering in Oregon again. I am so very happy for Molly and her Doug! He is welcomed into our family with open arms and I know Molly is welcomed into his in the same way. (Click to enlarge)

1933 Montgomery Ward Catalog Pages

I found these old pages at http://hartcottagequilts.com/ while I was searching for an idea for my guild challenge quilt for our quilt show the end of April. It's an interesting web site you might want to look over. Oh, and I love the shoes you can get for $1.00. For sure, the prices can't be beat.

Things from the 20's and 30's just fascinate me. What do you think of the little prints? Just like what Aunt Gracie does now but they cost a little more. Thought you might want to see these really sweet old ads.

(Click to enlarge)

Another Totebag

Another one of the big totebags - this one will be going to Bill's Ann in KC. I didn't get it done before Christmas but it is all ready now except for a button which is

this pretty old thing that seems to go just great with the batiks in the bag. Only decision I have to make now is whether I will make a buttonhole in the flap or sew on some velcro. I will make a sample buttonhole and see how I like it and then decide. These bags are pretty easy to make and they are really big. I plan to make two or three more totes but different patterns.

(Click to enlarge)

A Very Cool New Book

Earlier this month, I was looking through the "Blogger Buzz" which is their blog -

http://blogspot.sharedbook.com/blog2print/googleblogger/index.html
and came across the entry in regard to having your blog printed into a book. That is something I had tried to do myself but it takes an eternity especially now that I have so much in both the blogs. In this one, I am getting close to having put up 500 posts. I decided to give it a try and I ordered a book containing Funoldhag from inception in May 2008 to the end of 2008. It came yesterday. I am just blown away and am so pleased with the results.

It is bound and done with a soft cover just like most of our quilt books.

And the pictures and print are really very nice even though they do not run in line the same way as in the blog in a lot of cases. That was the same way when I tried printing them myself.

Regardless, I am so pleased and intend to have this and Pieces of the Past all done in book form over a period of time. It is pricey - but, what the heck, I'm worth it - and what a nice record of all the time and effort I put in on this blog which I so love doing.

The only thing that is missing is (Click to enlarge) !

Fashion Friday

Fashion Friday rolls around in a hurry. For this week I have seclected this small picture which is a little scratchy but I just love it. My brother sent it to me not too long ago and it's one that I have never seen. Nelle, my aunt, is second from the right, and Nan, my mom, is on the end. Two of the girls and Nelle are wearing dark skirts and white blouses while Nan has a dark blouse. It looks as if each of the girls has either a pin, a bow or a necklace on her pretty blouse. And, of course, each wears a lovely dark hat. Standing by a really spiffy looking automobile, they are holding some sort of a garland. I wonder what that was all about - where were they and what were they going to do with the garland. I was hoping this one would enlarge but it will not. I would love to see it larger.

A Sweet Little Quilt and a Sweet Little Girl

Here is number three (in order of appearance) granddaughter, Hannah, back in the 90's with a quilt she and I made. She spent quite a bit of time at our house and that was aokay with both her grandfather and me. Any time spent with the girls was time well spent. This must have been taken around Valentine's Day since there appears to be one on the mantle. And, I recognize that I probably still have some of that fabric downstairs! The piece that is black with the pink pattern through it is really a pretty piece of fabric from way back. Isn't it weird that you can see a pile of fabrics and immediately spot a piece that you have or have had?
(Click to enlarge)

Watercolor Wallhanging

There was a nice group of gals at Sit and Sew today - and as usual a nice relaxing day. My buttons got old in a big hurry! I got some sewn on one of the little pieces - and will finish those by hand since they are four hole buttons and just think they will be easier to do than by machine. Actually, either way of doing them is a chore! However, they do look cute so will do!
And I did get binding done so that was good. There is no big hurry to finish.

I have been poking around and finding old pieces that were done some time ago. Goodness, I have lots of quilted things and have given quite a few away, too. I just keep doing them - it's just something I need to do. This little piece is the result of a watercolor class taken at the local quilt shop in the mid nineties. I actully enjoyed doing the laying out of the quilt and getting the shading to work. It is one of the first things I machine quilted and I really like the way it radiates out from the center. The border, however, is stippled and that is a little rough but I still like it.

I found a really great quote on line that I am going to share with you. I am sure this is how most of us who quilt feel.

"When I'm gone, ain't nobody goin' to think o' the floors I've swept...........but when one of my grandchildren or great-grandchildren sees one o' these quilts, they'll think of Aunt Jane, and wherever I am then, I'll know I'm not forgotten." Elvira Calvert Hall, Aunt Jane of Kentucky

Isn't that sweet? (Click to enlarge)

Going to Sit and Sew After While

Today is our guild's day out to get together do some sewing and gabbing and just enjoying a day out. This is especially welcome at this time of year. I, for one, pretty much don't leave the house as much when it's cold or the weather is bad. Usually wait and combine chores so that I can do it all in one trip. Very little of running to fabric store just because or going to the mall "just to look around". Of course, part of it is that I'm older and shopping (except quilt related) is not the fun it used to be. And shopping for groceries is the pits! The good thing is that I enjoy all the things that I do here at home and time just flies by.

So, I enjoy Sit and Sew and this is what I am taking along today. The two little wallhangings will get buttons sewn on after I finish sewing down the binding on the two sides of each of them. I always do my bindings in four pieces instead of one big long one. That is how I have always done it but not many quilters do it that way. There are 63 buttons on each piece so that is a heckuva lot of buttons. What I don't get done by hand I will do on the machine later.
(Click to enlarge)

I Wish I Had Used Other Colors

A lot of years ago, I saw this picture in a book that I had and was just fascinated by it. It is a bit of an optical illusion. Several summers ago, I decided to make a wallhanging like it. This piece was designed by Ann M. Adams, from San Antonio, Texas, according to the article in the book.

I purchased some fabrics and added some that I had and set about making the piece. Done in fusible applique and machine buttonhole stitched, it wasn't really hard to do.

I actually wish I had used other colors, although these go very nicely together. There would be so many color combinations that would be gorgeous.

It is actually, as I said, rather an optical illusion - sometimes looking as if the light were on top of the dark, instead of vice versa.

It is a good sized hanging and would be great on a high wall in an entryway. Or, as in the picture at the beginning, over a fireplace.

Thought you might enjoy looking at the piece - I had almost forgotten about it. (Click to enlarge)

Fashion Friday

Our models today are my cousins in California, Ken and Bob, and Uncle Lambert. The boys are wearing uniforms and I am unsure if they are Boy Scouts or not. Bob, in the center, has some really great high boots. Now Uncle Lambert - what a great outfit he is clad in. A checked sweater, knickers and checked socks - handsome attire. And it is topped by a really good looking cap. Looking good, fellows! I am sorry this photo doesn't enlarge - I would love to see it closer.

An Old Wallhanging

Here is an old wallhanging I did in 1990 that I had almost forgotten about. This one is machine satin stitch applique and hand quilting. We were still living in Illinois when I did this little piece. The blocks are 6 1/2" so it is very big. I took the patterns from a little book by Pat Andreatti whose designs I really like. I have probably a half dozen big books by her and have used the blocks numerous times in quilts.

The contents were almost entirely patterns with just a few how-to's and some quilt layouts. I don't know if she is still designing or not - will have to google her.

This shows the design I used for the border. Hand quilting is so pretty and I am glad I have done a lot of it. However, it takes so much time and I love the look of machine quilting now since it is being enhanced so much anymore and is as beautiful as what is done by hand, in my estimation. Quilting has changed to much since I started back in the 1970's - wonder what it will be like in twenty or thirty more years? (Click to enlarge)

January ATC

The theme for the ATC swap that Julie, Claire, Debby and I have been doing for three years - it doesn't seem that long - for January is favorite quotes.Here is the one I did - hard to read, but it is there anyway.

Claire gave us hers earlier and it is the one with the three quotes in a pocket - very cool. Julie's card, as usual, is charming with a darling little girl perched in a tree. Debby has been on a fantastic trip and we haven't received hers yet but know it will be forthcoming. If you would like to see a picture of Debby on her travels, click on the little yellow duck to go to our quilt guild blog and you can see what she has been up to. This has been a lot of fun to do each month and we each have a great collection of artist trading cards and anticipate adding to them. (Click to enlarge)

From Another Old Quilt

Here are some pictures of the old quilt I told you about in the previous post. Ray's mother, Clemie, embroidered the blocks which, as I said before probably came from the newspaper each week. I have a collection of state flower blocks that were from the paper and I actually have posted them all previously if you want to check back.

Clemie said that Ray's Grandma Barney made the quilt and did the quilting. While the old quilt is quite bland the quilting is just gorgeous. And the embroidery is well done, also. It is a big quilt and has some spots and stains not unlike many of the old pieces.

Here is an old hoot owl on a branch.

Just thought you might be interested in this old quilt. I would venture to say it probably was done in the late 30's but that is just a guess. Maybe I will get it out again and see if I can take a picture of the entire piece - the only thing is that it does not show up very well. It is still a sweet old quilt. (Click to enlarge)

A Little Antique Quilt

Here is a nice little piece that I have had for some time now. It was in with Ray's mother's things but I have no idea where she got it or who made it. I don't think she made it, but it may have come from her mother-in-law. There is an old quilt that I have (and I will do a post on it one day) that Clemie told me she did the embroidery for and Ray's grandmother put it together and quilted it. The quilting on that bird quilt is just lovely. The embroideries are all birds - probably state birds - and it looks like the patterns would have come from the newspaper which was so popular back in the 20's, 30's and 40's.

This little piece seems to be quite old. The center of the little quilt has a couple of holes in it but otherwise it is in pretty good shape. It is entirely done by machine - even the binding as I see it.
I have folded the back over so you can see the really cool fabric used for the backing. I love the colors. (Click to enlarge)

A Laid Back Game of Cards

Hannah and I played gazillions of games of cards - Crazy 8s and Go Fish were the ones we played the most. No need to sit at the table, the couch worked out great for us. Grandpa must have taken this picture one day. I promised Hannah in an earlier post that she would show up on Fashion Friday - and here she is. Don't you just love her lacy little biker shorts or whatever they were? She was always her own girl when it came to clothes. The tight little shorts were her favorites, then later the sports pants with the stripes down the side were a wardrobe staple for her. One time when Sherry and I took her shopping trying to get her to get some jeans, her lament was that the jeans were "too blue". What a funny adorable little girl! And she still is. (Click to enlarge)

Fashion Friday

An e-mail from my brother containing nine more pictures - and some I don't remember seeing. One of those is this picture of Nan, our mother, and her pretty friend who is in quite a few of the Pearce pictures. First off, they are standing on railroad tracks and, of course, I wouldn't even venture to guess where they are. And, next, I love the expression of "haughtiness" on Nan's face. From the many pictures of the Pearce girls, they appear to be fun loving and seemed to have enjoyed their youth very much. Nan's friend is looking very pretty in a dark, long skirted suit embellished by a bit of jewelry and topped off by a big, wide brimmed hat. She carries a pretty little purse that could be one of those metal ones. Clad in a dark jacket and light color skirt that features a row of buttons above the hemline, Nan is looking sassy as she also wears a really cute hat and high button shoes. As usual, I wonder where they were! (Click to enlarge)

Doing Some Quilting

You have seen some of these little blocks before - the old ones embroidered by my sister's mother-in-law. I had a lot of them and they are just so sweet. Always planned to do something with them and finally did this past summer.

I put together three small wallhangings - probably about 20 x 24 - one of which I had completely finished and which you can see at http://funoldhag-carol.blogspot.com/2009/06/little-bluework-piece-finished.html The remaining two have been lying around awaiting quilting. They were even sandwiched and ready to go.

So yesterday, I brought them upstairs and started to quilt them. Actually the quilting went very quickly and I am happy with the way they turned out. I quilted through the embroidery - I know that some don't care for that but I prefer to have the block flat instead of puffy and that is the trouble I had with another hanging I did. Later on, I went back and quilted the embroidered block http://funoldhag-carol.blogspot.com/2009/07/busy-little-ladies.html and liked it so much better. That is what is so wonderful about quilting - there are no right or wrong ways - just personal taste. I have the binding and sleeves cut and will probably take them along to Sit and Sew this month to finish up. When they are finished, their picture will be taken together and you can see my three little wallhangings. I am going to give one to each of my sister's two sons - it will be a keepsake from their grandmother, Alice. (Click to enlarge)

Who Would Have Thought

I know I have posted before about the fact that I had a quilt in the AQS show in Paducah and of course I am very proud of that. I did find this picture of an almost 20 year younger me standing beside my quilt as it hangs there proudly wearing it's Second in Amateur Applique Dogwood Ribbon in 1992 and thought it just might be a good addition to my blog. The picture is not a very good one, but you can get the idea. Another of my quilts hung there ten years later in 2002. Although it didn't win a ribbon, it is just as wonderful to have one hang there with all the other lovely quilts. If you think you have a quilt that could make the trip, by all means give it a try. (Click to enlarge)

Fashion Friday

Yes, Norah, the previous picture of you and Miss Molly Rose was worthy of a Fashion Friday spot, but I think this is one is even more worthy! Our lovely little model, Norah Lee, is wearing dark pants, and a cute vee neck sweater over a striped blouse. Topping this ensemble is an absolutely wonderful ribbon hairbow and one of the cutest smiles around. Little Molly Rose is lovely in an adorable longsleeved pink dress that appears to have some embroidered smocking on the bodice and just a peek of some white tights. From the infectious grin on her little face, you can tell she is feeling beautiful! And a special note to Hannah Alice - you will be showing up on Fashion Friday soon!! xxxxxoooooxxxxx (Click to enlarge)