Our Foremothers

Lost in what she is doing, this woman reminds me of the way most people feel when they are working on a project and it has their complete attention.  Easy to get lost in the task and lose all track of time.

Here is a woman at her sewing machine.  It appears that she is seated there a lot making clothing for her family and pretty quilts for them also.  Note she is wearing an apron.  I would guess these pictures are from the 30's or 40's.

Another quilter with a gorgeous quilt on the frame diligently quilting.  Did she just start?  Or is she about finished.  I love the fans in the quilt.  Note to the left of the woman the little baby stroller.  That  is the kind I had for my babies.  Also, the ironing board has the familiar scorched, stained cover which needs to be changed.  And you can betcha the iron was a heavyweight, too, with a cloth cord.  Back in the day, when something went wrong with a small appliance such as iron, we had them fixed.  Now they go out in the trash - or maybe recycle.

You can find pictures like this at the website of the Library of Congress.  http://www.loc.gov/pictures/  They have many many subjects to check out.  Also, one of my quilting friends sent me a link to new videos on the national quilt collection at the Smithsonian which you might want to check out  - http://americanhistory.si.edu/news/factsheet.cfm?key=30&newskey=1356.

And Happy Fourth of July!


A Wallhanging From 1988

I opened the chest in the bedroom that has some old wall hangings, some UFO's, and various other items. This wall hanging was done in 1988 according to the back of the piece. It's probably about 40" square and is machine satin stitched and hand quilted.

This is the center. Back then when I hand quilted, I usually quilted some motif in the open spaces of the blocks. However, I did no background filler as I have done in a lot of them. Mostly it was crosshatching that I used.

Two more of the blocks. Blue and pink showed up in most of my quilts way back in those days.
And the difference in the fabrics now and back then is unbelievable. I would not even think of putting an applique on a plain white or cream background anymore. They are so beautiful when they are on subtle prints or dark or bright fabric. The sky is the limit and you can have any look you wish. That is not to say that the old quilts are not beautiful! They are. Cannot imagine what it will be like in another 20 years!

The rest of the blocks. I notice that there was the neat old smell of old fabric that came forth when the old chest was opened. Not a musty smell, but just old. I also took some pictures of a really, really big old UFO that I will post one day soon. Don't know why I never finished that. And there is one more in there, too. Oh me, oh my! I tell myself it's okay since I have finished so many pieces - maybe some day someone will just love to find those old things! (Cannot figure out why my small pictures are not side by side in the blog - they are here where I am posting them!) (Click to enlarge)

My Gumball Machine

We bought this old thing when we lived in Overland Park - got it at a garage sale in our neighborhood. Instead of gumballs, I put M & M with peanuts in it and for a nickle you probably can get 75 cents worth. The small wooden box beside it held nickles but, anymore, we don't mess with the nickles. There is a key in the top and I just leave it there, so all you have to do is take the top off and dig in! The granddaughters all love it and Ann, Bill's wife, is a great fan of the M&M's, too. I have not had candy in it for quite a long while since I am another big fan and really don't need it. When Hannah was here a couple of weeks ago, she brought up the fact that there weren't any M & Ms. So I bought some the next trip out and had it maybe half full. As you can see, it's down - and even further down since I took the photo. If you come by my house, dip into the gumball machine and have a treat on me! The old cowboy guarding it is a carving Ray did. He took up carving after we moved here and he made some very neat things. This fellow is my favorite with his cigarette and gun and pot belly. It never was painted or finished off in any way, but I love it the way it is. (Click to enlarge)

Still Making Ruffles

I did successfully get the little ruffled quilt all quilted and it now has the binding sewn on waiting to be finished. Planning to take it to Sit and Sew this coming Tuesday and doing it there. After I have finished binding it, I will take its picture and post it. It's pretty darned cute.

However, I have not satisfied my urge to make those ruffles and have now started another project which is not as big but will be lots of fun. It is all cut out and ready to be put together. This will be a batik ruffled tote or handbag. Using a tutorial as a guide, but figuring out how to add the ruffles on my own. Think it will be okay. All of these frilly, fussy, little fun things got me to thinking about the big ruffler attachment I bought quite a long time ago and don't think I have ever used. I had one years ago and did use it for making square dance dresses but think I let it go with my old Kenmore when we lived in Topeka. I vaguely remember purchasing one in Kansas City. Where on earth would I have put it if I still have it? Can you believe the first place I looked it was there? I have a really old wicker sewing chest which I haven't opened for ages and there it was - still boxed up with the instructions taped around the box - what a surprise. Now I will find out if it is usable with the Bernina shank converter which I think is shown below the ruffler. Of course, I would never hook it up and use it without finding out if it could be adapted. It would open up all kinds of possibilities since it not only ruffles, but pleats. I kind of like being a pack rat sometimes! (Click to enlarge)

Some Things Old, Some Things New

From the old cedar chest - this is a piece of redwork I bought at a flea market in Germany when I was there about 8 or 9 years ago. I am not sure what it is, but it is fairly long and just has the embroidery on one end along with a fringe trimming. I don't know what it says!, but it is very prettyFour cute potholders, especially the dress. Can't remember where I got them, but they are so cute. Not place for displaying them in my little kitchen, but maybe one day one of the girls will love these also.

This, and the picture below, are from Ray's mother's things. She had pinned a note to it saying "This belonged to my mother". I don't think that her mother embroidered it, but really can't say that with absolute certainty. It is all done in a chain stitch.

The rest of the piece - it is very pretty. As with the first redwork, I don't know what this one was for. It is too large for a pillow.

I do know about this little piece - it is something I did fifty years or more ago and is stamped cross stitch. It was framed and hung in my kitchens for a long time, but finally I took it out of the frame and used the frame for something else. Fun to look through the old things.

On to the new - I was looking at someone's blog the other day and she was talking about a foot that shirred or gathered ruffles. I have seen some darling quilts made with the ruffles. One of our guild members just made one in blues. My Bernina did not come with that attachment. I entered a phrase in the search box that I thought would send me to a site that had these little gadgets. Bingo! I found one. The attachment wasn't too expensive - with shipping and all it was a little over $20. That's not too much for a new toy. It was here in less than three days. So, I have done some ruffling!

Once you get your strips prepped, it's amazing how fast and perfect the foot does the ruffling. It takes some time to do the edges of the strips, but it's not that bad. I just did a close zigzag along each edge. I searched for how to do a ruffled quilt and did find instructions for one done on a Babylok serger so that gave me guidelines on sizes, etc. Don't you just love the internet?

(Click to enlarge)