Persnickety Quilts

The Wedding

2011-12-22T09:56:00.013-06:00

We are still basking in the memory of Rachel and James‘ beautiful late summer wedding .The bride was absolutely stunning, the groom looked handsome, and the best man wasn’t bad either! Jim and I were so proud and pleased that family and friends could join us for the out-of-state event.

It was an elegant affair from start to finish, planned by two 23 year olds who had never attended more than a handful of weddings themselves. The ceremony was very traditional, and although some of the ritual was new to us, we found it all beautiful and moving.

Watching my dad walk down the aisle, escorted by my brother, was really touching. In spite of Dad’s worsening dementia, he clearly enjoyed the ceremony and dinner. A smile from him is a fleeting thing these days, but the photographer managed to capture several.

A fabulous live “swing” dance band accompanied the reception. Their music even lured me and my wheelchair onto the dance floor. At the end of the evening, the bride and groom opened their wedding quilt, which I’ll share in my next post.

Happy holiday preparations to you!

Welcome!

2011-11-10T20:20:00.006-06:00

Here I am with my “seasonal” post (meaning once a season rather than of or about the season). This autumn has been eventful for our family but also quite emotional for me. The highs and lows of it all have exacerbated my MS, requiring that I rest, reflect and recuperate more than usual.

A gentle nudge by my friend Barb (Fun with Barb) in the form of a link, has brought me out of my malaise. If you’re visiting to read about the Churn Dash project Barb and I worked on together, welcome! You can read about it HERE.

Before the vestiges of autumn are obscured by snow (flurries were predicted for Chicago today), I promise to post again. The official wedding photos just arrived and I can’t wait to share some with you.

Be back soon, for real this time!

We're Off!

2011-08-31T18:16:00.003-05:00

We're heading off for a very special family event!

Be back soon.

Lost for Words

2011-07-28T10:57:00.016-05:00

I think it's words that keep me from posting more often than I do. You haven't heard from me in over three months! I've gotten out of the habit of writing and even reading blogs. But a finish is a finish, well worth celebrating, sharing, and luring me back to blogland. Here's my latest quilt. I'll tell you more about it later.

Click on the photo for additional views.

2011-04-23T13:06:00.001-05:00

April Fool

2011-04-01T13:53:00.017-05:00

I flew to New York City this week to join my quilt friends for this extraordinary exhibit of red and white quilts.

Don't I wish. . . APRIL FOOL!

Visit my friend Barb's blog to view more of the exhibit and see the unadulterated photo of my friends enjoying the quilts.

Primrose Surprise

2011-02-21T17:07:00.030-06:00

Chicagoland is in the throes of a “wintry mix” of weather . . .

but this basket full of springtime color reminds me that the gloom won’t last forever. My dear quilt friends brought me the primroses as a birthday gift. Aren’t the colors amazing? They just happen to match the quilt I planned to write about today.

This little signature quilt was stitched 15 years ago for a special group of friends who were turning forty. The bright colors were meant to boost our spirits as we began a new decade together.

Contrast is important when choosing fabrics for small quilts. If you look at this one in black and white, the design disappears because most of the fabrics are medium value rather than light and dark.

I created contrast instead, by setting warm colors (pink, orange, yellow) against cool colors (blue, green). You can see this best in the border where contrast creates a zigzag design. The cool colors recede into the background while the warm colors advance, creating an almost 3D effect.
'

Lordy, Lordy, We're Turning Forty!

20" x 25"

1996

Cooped Up

2011-02-06T18:11:00.026-06:00

I have a confession to make…a pretty embarrassing one. If the results hadn’t turned out so good, I’d never tell you about it. But they did, so I will.

I sent one of my quilts halfway across the country to be photographed by a blog friend with her chickens. There, I said it. As ridiculous as the idea was, I had a feeling that Jessica at j.m.b.mommy would not only agree to it, but also embrace the idea as a creative challenge for herself.

But the absurdity does not stop there. Nope, Jessica was pregnant when she said “Sure, send me your quilt.” Two months later found her traipsing through the chicken yard with a brand new baby strapped to her chest, staging and shooting amazing photos. Somehow, she got those chickens to pose and made my quilt look great in the bargain.

The quilt is one I made for my boys when they were young and had the chicken pox. We were cooped up for three weeks in a house without air conditioning, during a 90+ degree heatwave. Making this quilt helped me maintain my sanity.

The pattern is Gwen Marston's "Folk Art Chickens" from Ladies Circle Patchwork Quilts Magazine (‘93 or '94). Having the two chicken fabrics and chicken wire print on hand, I was able to make the quilt without ever leaving the discomfort of our home.

I’ve been fiddling with Jessica’s photos for months now, trying to create a slick little video to show her work at its best. Through trial and error (mostly error), I’ve learned a lot about video effects. As much fun as I had panning and zooming, the effects detracted from the well planned details of Jessica’s photos. In the end, I kept things simple so you could enjoy the brilliance of her work.

The photo below is my favorite. When you link to the video, you can switch to full screen by clicking the arrow icon in the lower right corner.

LINK TO VIDEO HERE

See, my idea wasn't all that frivolous. Tell me, what are the most extreme steps you’ve taken to photograph something for your blog?

Hey, Honey!

2011-01-23T15:08:00.006-06:00

Me: Hey Honey, it’s a beautiful sunny day, perfect for taking some quilt photos.

Honey: What it’s perfect for is watching football!

Coincidentally, the lovely sun lasted only as long as the Bears/Packers game. No photos got taken.

2011-01-09T10:39:00.008-06:00

Thank you all for your kind words and condolences on the passing of my mom. Your support was a great comfort to me.

At Rest

2010-12-29T19:33:00.004-06:00

Mom passed away this week. I'll be taking

some time off to spend with family.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T17:55:00.015-06:00

Circa 1960

“It is good to be children sometimes,

and never better than at Christmas,
when its mighty Founder was a child Himself”

Charles Dickens

Wishing you and yours the blessings of the season.

Merry Christmas! Love, Diane

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T13:40:00.005-06:00

Flowers from my dear friend, Kathy

Pumpkin Extravaganza

2010-11-13T13:03:00.024-06:00

Come the cool fall weather, I get a real hankering for pumpkin. A slice or two of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving isn’t nearly enough to satisfy my seasonal craving, so I’m always looking for alternative treats.

My friend, Linda, brought me an extravaganza of pumpkin goodies recently: cream cheese frosted pumpkin bars, muffins, cookies, and whoopie pies. To give proper credit, her daughter, Emma, did all the baking. Can you imagine how good their house must have smelled?

Now, am I the last person around to taste a whoopie pie? Where has this confection been all my life (wending it’s way westward from New England, according to this site). I had heard of the chocolate variety, but pumpkin? Let’s just say how pleased I am that it was my first!

There are plenty of recipes for pumpkin whoopie pies online. Emma used the one from King Arthur Flour (sans the xanthan gum and crystallized ginger). The pies were dense, creamy and really pumpkiny!

Here’s an autumn doll quilt or table topper with a pumpkin theme. The pattern is Pumpkin Seed, a slight variation of the popular Orange Peel design, with thinner appliquéd segments.

My friend Mary R. made the quilt top as a gift for me, using Cherrywood hand dyed cotton fabrics.

I hand quilted it, continuing the pumpkin seed design into the border. Although it turned the corners nicely at the top of the quilt, the bottom corners were unresolved. I filled the spaces with the date of completion.

© DJB, 1999
18” x 21”

If I don’t manage to post again before the holiday, let me wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. I’m very thankful for you!

To Everything There Is A Season

2010-11-01T19:30:00.024-05:00

These are our Autumn Purple Ash trees as they looked a couple weeks ago. Their peak fall color is short lived, so I‘m glad we managed to capture it. Just a few days after these pictures were taken, the blustery weather left them with nary a leaf.

There’s been a whirlwind of change and a flurry of emotion to go with it around here. Both our sons moved out of the house this fall and I’m struggling with a newly “empty nest.” For those who’ve not experienced this phenomenon firsthand, it may be hard to understand the distinction between kids who live at college 9 months of the year and those who move away from home permanently. Trust me, it's different.

I asked a friend how she’s coped with her four kids leaving home. She replied that all we can do is hope our fledgling children are happy, safe, and doing well (they are). Anything else is my problem (yep). I’ve actually seen both sons since they moved and can report that I didn’t need a Kleenex when it came to saying goodbye the second time around.

What’s been overwhelming is that we’re simultaneously transitioning my senior parents from their home of forty years into supervised care. Dad’s dementia and Mom’s tenuous health make it impossible for them to live on their own anymore. Dad moved into an assisted living facility near my brother’s family and seems to be adjusting well. Mom, on the other hand, keeps bouncing between hospital and rehab, while fighting a nasty infection. She can’t make the move until her strength returns.

In an effort to keep this space moderately “quilty” here’s an autumn inspired project I made in the late 1990’s. The anvil blocks measure 8” and when set on point strippy style, make a nice twin size quilt.

I lost my custom longarm machine quilter several years ago. She sold her machine when she retired to Arizona (to take up golf). It was always a pleasure to pass a quilt to Robyn and let her "have at it" trusting that whatever design she chose would be perfect for the quilt.

I set the blocks with dark fabrics to hide dirt and stains between launderings, just as quilters did a hundred years ago. Hmmm, that reminds me of a young man who might be able to use this quilt in his first apartment.

Checkin' In

2010-09-17T18:19:00.045-05:00

You know it’s been too long between posts when your nonbloggy friends point out your infrequent updates. I got an email from my buddy Sheila recently, asking what the heck I've been up to. Well, there’s plenty going on, just very little that’s appropriate to share here on a quilt blog.

Health and family matters require my energy and attention right now. I need a little time to process all that’s happening. When I can write about things without sounding like I’m completely spilling my guts, I’ll share. I know many of you have dealt with the same issues I’m facing. They’re not new, just new to me.

In the meantime, let’s look to quilts for the solace and distraction they provide. My quilt (above) was inspired by a late 1800’s quilt (below) which appeared in Sandi Fox’s book, Small Endearments: Nineteenth-Century Quilts for Children and Dolls (out of print).

I don’t know if I tried to recreate the antique quilt from memory or if I was just lazy, but I substituted four patch blocks for the nine patches of the original quilt. The result resembles the antique quilt enough to please me.

The primary fabrics in my quilt are from Harriet Hargrave's Heirloom Collection, produced in the mid 1990's. It was a great line of reproduction fabric with lots of fine detail and several strong colors.

The background fabric is a mottled chocolate brown print which makes the quilt look old while still letting the colors shine.

There’s been a resurgence of interest in this quilt design on the Internet lately. Moda Bake Shop features a pattern for a miniature version and I just found out there’s a queen size bed quilt kit available from this Australian quilt shop. I belong to a yahoo online quilt group, Small Quilt Talk, many of whose members are making the mini quilt, using reproduction fabrics. It's fun to see the different fabric combinations people choose to recreate this classic.

Mine has yet to be quilted (looks like it could do with a good pressing first).

A Bird in the Hand

2010-08-21T14:30:00.029-05:00

One of the fabrics Vicki sent me was a Judie Rothermel print (Regency II Collection) which compliments a set of nine patch blocks I’ve been saving for a “someday” quilt. My inspiration came from an antique I saw displayed at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana. The original quilt has been registered with the Montana Quilt Documentation Project, so much is known of its history and provenance.

The quilt was made by Mollie Stine for her daughter Alice. It traveled with the family from Hume, Missouri to Bozeman, Montana in 1898. Details of their four month covered wagon trek were reported in a Bozeman newspaper by one of the Stine daughters.

CLICK and CLICK AGAIN to read

In the original quilt, what packed a punch was the 224 tiny nine patch blocks. They contained an amazing variety of brown prints, which managed to hold their own against the predominant cheddar color. These simple, spunky blocks just begged to be reproduced.

My intention was to duplicate the entire Stine quilt. I knew I could come up with at least 50 different brown prints from my stash, and began making four identical blocks from each fabric. After 20 sets of blocks, I lost steam. My guess is MS sidetracked me.

Since 1999, the blocks have been tucked inside a box that’s been moved so many times, I forgot where it was. When I saw that Judy Rothermel fabric, it prompted a search for the box and a change of plans.

Because I have four identical sets of 20 blocks, I thought I’d make a doll quilt for myself and kit up the remaining blocks as a thank you for my friends who pieced the wedding quilt. Better to use up what I have than delude myself that I’ll ever make more. After all, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”

Fiber Therapy

2010-08-15T11:57:00.064-05:00

There’s been precious little fabric coming through my door of late. In fact, I can’t remember the last purchase I made. It was probably a cute little charm pack, intended to boost my spirits during a particularly “trying time.“ By that reasoning, I should be completely smothered with fabric. Times have been very trying lately. But that is the subject for another post… maybe.

Generally, I don’t submit my name for giveaways involving fabric. I’ve got more than I will ever use, and should probably consider giving away portions of my own stash. What made me linger over this post long enough to enter the giveaway was the enticement of 50 precut swatches of fabric. Wow, no cutting required, just the instant gratification of stroking and sorting, mixing and matching beautiful bits of cloth!

Before I knew it, I had left my name and requisite information. My comment was totally impulsive and when Vicki from "What a Load of Scrap" (best blog name ever, by the way) announced me as a winner, I felt a bit guilty about my good fortune.

I won 5 fat quarters and 50 3" squares of lovely reproduction fabrics. What’s fueling my guilt, I suppose, is that I know several of the other entrants and feel like I’ve ripped this fabric out of their far more capable and deserving hands.

In my defense, I’m in desperate need of a pick-me-up and the pleasure of opening a package filled with patchwork possibilities is just the best therapy around. Rest assured, much of this fabric will find its way into quilts eventually. But for now, it’s filling a greater, more immediate need. It’s providing a pleasant distraction amidst days filled with stress, frustration and outright lunacy.

Thank you, Vicki, for the fiber therapy!

Gilding the Lily, Part 5

2010-07-27T12:41:00.030-05:00

Gild the Lily: an attempt to improve something

that is already fine the way it is.

As you can see, I settled on a classic layout for this Carolina Lily quilt. Plain alternate blocks give those busy lilies some much needed breathing room. They are now the focal point of the quilt, without overwhelming the whole design.

Those setting squares and triangles provide large (15 ½”) areas for quilting. The 7” border can accommodate a nice design too. But here’s my concern. There’s a fine line between a classic, elegant design and one that is schmaltzy and overdone. I don't want to err on the side of over embellishment!

I found a gorgeous inspiration quilt at Feathered Fibers (Click on the photos for more detail). Everything about this quilt is perfect, from the classic red and green color combination (the right red and green) and the traditional lily pattern, to the exquisite quilting designs. If I had seen this quilt 18 years ago, it would have saved me a lot of grief!

Now, if I can just find a longarm quilter who does good custom work and can stitch like that, I'll be a very happy woman. It’s probably not too early for me to get in the queue for a summer, 2011 deadline. Send me an e-mail if you can recommend someone. Thanks!

Gilding the Lily, Part 4

2010-07-24T07:43:00.019-05:00

With a betrothal announced, I finally had an incentive to get this quilt put together. The only problem was, I couldn’t do it myself. That’s what I get for waiting 18 years!

I’ve mentioned my awesome quilt friends before. They’ve come to my rescue many times, finishing ill-fated projects with their expert needle skills. This time, they were particularly generous and agreed to assemble an entire quilt top for me!

What makes their gesture so poignant is that these are the same friends who made my son this quilt. They’ve known James his entire life and put as much love into this project as they did the making of his baby quilt 23 years ago!

Here are my dear friends Mary, Sheila and Kathy. Ever modest, they insisted on squatting for this photo, to show off more of the quilt.

And here they are again, striking a more “slenderizing” pose. They'll be furious that I shared this photo, but I just love it. Their personalities really shine through!

Photos by be*mused. Thanks Jan, for helping document the making of this quilt.

Next time, quilting....

Gilding the Lily, Part 3

2010-07-10T16:19:00.035-05:00

Gild the Lily: to spoil something that is already beautiful by adding something not needed.

To make a long story short, I nixed the urn and added stems and leaves to the lily pattern. Choosing a softer, less intense red fabric solved the vibration issue. The resulting block had a 1930’s feel to it.

My bee group made 12 blocks for me. I’m sure we discussed various layout options, but by that point, I truly needed a break from this quilt.

I didn’t think of these blocks again for 5 or 6 years! As I gathered projects for my first Gwen Marston Beaver Island Quilt Retreat (1998), they came to mind. The subject was Four Block Quilts and I figured having a set of blocks might come in handy during the workshop.

I stitched four blocks together and came up with this. The green center portion didn’t appeal to me but the new block had potential for creating some interesting secondary patterns.

The completed quilt might have looked something like this had I kept going. There is historical precedence for this setting, here and here . Interesting though it was, this layout was too busy for my tastes. It also required 4 additional blocks which I just wasn’t up to making.

Once again, I had taken a simple block and tried to do too much to it. After picking out the seams of the blocks I had sewn together, the project got shelved again, until… 12 years later, when our son and his University of North Carolina sweetheart announced their engagement. Could there be a more perfect wedding quilt for this couple than a Carolina Lily?

There’s just one problem. I’ll explain in Part 4 of “Gilding the Lily.”

Gilding the Lily, Part 2

2010-07-08T12:57:00.016-05:00

Gild the Lily: To apply unnecessary ornament - to over embellish.

A comment on my last post made me think I should put the story of these quilt blocks in a clearer context. It was 18 years ago that I started collecting fabrics and fiddling with patterns for this Carolina Lily. I needed to produce a usable pattern and fabric combination for my bee group, which was ready and willing to make the blocks for me. So, let’s chalk these design errors up to the inexperience of a novice quilter and leave my bad taste out of it, shall we?

My 1930’s style green and that bold red fabric just weren‘t working together. A sensible person would stop right there and replace one of those colors with a fabric that did work. Not me! I thought if I found an additional fabric that contained both colors, it would actually calm things down (it made sense at the time).

I carried those swatches with me everywhere, auditioning any fabric that contained a smattering of red and green.

At last, I found a paisley print that matched. The fabric was perfect…from 6 inches away. No matter that it was loud and busy and embellished with metallic gold (and I hated metallic prints). I cut out the pieces for the urn and added them to my sample block.

You see where this is going, don’t you? One mistake compounded another. I had quite literally “gilded the lily.” My classic Carolina Lily had turned into a glitzy Christmas block. It was a gaudy mess and I just had to start all over!

Come back to see how I rescued the block from a hideous fate (Or did I?) in Part 3 of “Gilding the Lily.”

Gilding the Lily, Part 1

2010-07-02T18:29:00.046-05:00

Gild the lily: To make superfluous additions to what is already complete.

I love classic red and green quilts. You just can’t go wrong with them… or so I thought.

This particular red and green block posed many challenges for me. I learned a lot through the design process. Maybe you can learn something from my experience too.

I became a quilter while living in North Carolina and always intended to honor that fact by making a Carolina Lily quilt. The pattern is, indeed, based on an actual North Carolina wildflower.

While the traditional Carolina Lily block consists of three 4 petaled blooms on long slender stems, a Google image search reveals many permutations. I planned to make a traditional lily pattern until I came across this design in one of my quilt books, Primarily Patchwork by Marjorie Puckett and Gail Giberson, 1975. I loved both the full center flower and the simple urn-like pot.

By sticking with classic red and green on a white background and limiting myself to solids, I thought fabric selection would be a breeze. Not so! I learned it is possible to make mistakes using only two colors of solid fabric.

My first fabric purchase was this beautiful jade green. I bought the end of the bolt because it was such a good deal and I just knew I’d never find that color again. The problem was, by purchasing yards of fabric, I was seriously invested in using it and making it work (even when it didn’t).

Early red and green quilts were made with Turkey Red fabric, a colorfast, cool (bluish) red cloth. In my quest for authenticity, my next fabric purchase was a rich, saturated red.

Here’s what happened when those two fabrics were pieced side by side. It may be hard to see on your computer monitor, but the red and green actually “vibrate” where they meet. This optical illusion occurs when complimentary colors of roughly the same value (brightness or intensity) are placed next to each other. The effect was dizzying, but I thought I could still make it work.

Things got worse before they got better. Watch for Part 2 of “Gilding the Lily.”

I've Got Plans...

2010-06-15T17:30:00.008-05:00

Process VS Product

2010-06-05T10:18:00.060-05:00

Have you noticed this logo cropping up on your favorite quilt blogs? The link leads to an excellent post about changing the focus of our blogs to emphasize the process of quilt making rather than simply sharing the end result. When you read the post, read the comments as well. They're very interesting.

You don't see much about process on my blog. I guess that's because most of my quilts were completed years ago. Any sketches, notes, or photos of the design process are long gone. But there's still value in sharing each quilt's story and I will try harder to do that.

This Square in a Square quilt is pretty typical of what I made in the early 1990’s ~ traditional design, controlled color palette, loads of hand quilting.

The fabrics are what inspired this quilt. They are from Roberta Horton‘s Mood Indigo collection. I only had 3” sample squares of the blues which I set with light prints and sashed with darker ones.

In Horton‘s book, Plaids & Stripes: The Use of Directional Fabric in Quilts, she suggests cutting some of the fabric “casually off grain.” Doing so not only mimics the look of antique quilts, it also adds the interest your eye seeks when using nothing but linear fabrics. The block above shows my timid attempt to heed her advice.

The fabric and batting in this quilt made it a good candidate for lots of hand quilting, If you’re familiar with these yarn woven plaids, you know they’re wonderfully soft and amazing to hand quilt through. The batting is Mountain Mist Cotton, which actually requires quilting at 1/4" to 1/2" intervals. It has a flat loft and puckers with washing, just like antique quilts.

“Horton’s Got The Blues”

30" square
© Diane Burdin, 1993

My intention in making this quilt was to create a sampler of Horton’s plaids. It’s big enough to hang on a wall or grace a table, but you know what? I’ve never used it that way. The joy was in the making. That was enough.

Happy Birthday Will!

2010-05-30T12:36:00.011-05:00

Age 3

Age 19

Kindness of Strangers

2010-05-16T13:43:00.032-05:00

Well, it’s happened again! I’ve won another terrific giveaway, this time from LibbyQ at Paper Napkin Poetry. Libby is a talented photographer, multi-media collage artist and needlewoman whose work reveals the often overlooked detail of everyday things. Her blog is a lovely, tranquil place to visit ~ a gift in and of itself.

Her prize included an assortment of exquisitely stitched fabric postcards, exotic tea and honey sticks, sweet little packets of wildflower seeds and a luscious chocolate bar. I can’t stop fondling, studying, and admiring each hand stitched postcard. The detail is incredible and the longer I look, the more I see. Click each photo for a larger view.

This one is embellished with tiny shells, textural ribbon,

feather stitched embroidery and rubber stamping...

fused fabric trimmings, foil...

buttonhole embroidery, tiny french knots stitched
with a single metallic thread, charms...

more hand stitched embroidery,
cute little sticky dots...

rubber stamping, single thread embroidery,

a miniature needle punched topiary inscribed

with the words ”thinking of you” ...

hand embroidery, charms, and a

hidden message ~ "wonder"

The kindness of quilt bloggers like Libbyquilter just amazes me. That someone would put so much time, effort and skill into a project, only to offer it to a complete stranger, shows a generosity of spirit that few possess.

Thanks again, LibbyQ. I feel very fortunate to own these little treasures. They won’t be wending their way through the post anytime soon.

Milestones

2010-05-15T10:49:00.025-05:00

Thank you all for your congratulations and good wishes for our newly engaged couple. We are so pleased for James and Rachel. What a joy it’s been to watch them fall in love.

Our family passed another milestone last week with James’ graduation from college. Bet you can’t tell where he went to school.

Can you spot James and Rachel in the stands? Just kidding; they sat on the field, creating their own “pomp and circumstance” by playing in the band.

With diplomas in hand, they're off to graduate school in the fall.

Best of luck!

Two Words

2010-04-18T13:19:00.011-05:00

They're engaged!

Eastertide

2010-04-08T15:24:00.016-05:00

I hope everyone had a happy Easter and good Passover.

In trying to come up with a seasonal quilt to share, this one kept coming to mind. It depicts a subject more typically referenced during the early part of the church year, but I will always associate it with the Easter season.

I designed and made this quilt for the baptism of our son William, who was christened at Easter when he was six years old. I mention his age just so you won’t envision a tiny babe wrapped in this quilt. From the start, it was intended as a gift for our church, to be used as a Baptismal banner.

The design was inspired by this scripture passage referring to the baptism of Jesus:

And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came
up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened
to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like
a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from Heaven
said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am
well pleased.” Matthew 3, verses 16-17

The Bargello piecing technique was great for depicting waves, flames, and a tumultuous sky. It also provided an opportunity to use lots of fun fabrics. I used three color groups: green for the water of baptism, yellow for the fire of the Holy Spirit, and blue for sky or Heaven. Each color group contained several values of the color, creating a gradient effect when strips were sewn together.

The entire quilt was machine quilted before adding the appliquéd dove. I probably should have fused the dove into place, but I was afraid of slipping up and somehow ruining the whole piece. Instead, I satin stitched the dove to the background and added a decorative silver braid around it. The banner looked great laying flat, but when it was hung, the weight of the heavy white damask fabric made the dove look droopy. At the last minute, I went back and hand beaded the dove down, following the paisley design of the fabric.

It may be difficult from these photos to tell the banner’s size. I never took a final measurement but this last photo will give you an idea of how large it is. That’s six year old William with his Godparents on baptism day.

I’m happy and proud to say, the banner has held up well over the past 12 years. It gets displayed several times a year for baptisms, confirmations, and even weddings. Like any good liturgical art, it does more than just adorn the worship space; it tells a story and conveys a message of joy in faith.

I See London, I See France

2010-03-31T10:30:00.027-05:00

Some of you may recall the giveaway I won a couple years ago from Lucy of Quilting with the Past. My prize was this charming primitive doll named Little Faithy.

Well, Faithy arrived at my home rather immodestly dressed, without any undies! Fortunately I had just the solution ~ a pair of hand crocheted bloomers which fit her perfectly.

Does anyone know what these fancy pants were originally intended for? I doubt they were made as doll clothes since there is a crocheted loop at the waistline for hanging. The bloomers are far too small to be used as a hot pad, as so many crocheted oddities were in the 1940’s and 50’s. I thought perhaps they were meant to cover a small sachet pillow for one’s lingerie drawer .

I’m happy to finally put them to some use. They’re too pretty to keep hidden in a drawer. Ironically, the only way of revealing their lacy loveliness is to encourage people to peek under Faithy’s skirt. So much for modesty!

Too Much of a Good Thing?

2010-03-30T20:37:00.019-05:00

Another year, another doll quilt! This is the beauty my friend, Barb, surprised me with on my birthday this year, a four patch variation made of reproduction prints in those chocolate browns that I love.

Barb and I have swapped several little quilts over the course of our friendship. To be honest, I always thought it was a pretty fair deal ~ you make a quilt, you get a quilt. Granted, Barb gets the short end of the stick from me. Because of my feeble fingers, her little quilts arrive in flimsy form. She still has to quilt and bind them herself , so in retrospect, the exchange isn’t fair at all.

Call me dense, but I honestly never took into consideration how many other people Barb might be exchanging little quilts with, at least not until I read this post. It features a collection of "smalls" she's made for another of our friends. That’s just one friend. If you add it all up, Barb’s probably made over a hundred doll quilts for other people!

Enjoy these pictures of what I should probably call The Barbara V. Commemorative Doll Quilt Collection. A few of the quilts I've shown before but they really should be enjoyed as a group.

Barb likes to add a surprise on the back of her quilts. Many feature a novelty fabric, sometimes at complete odds with the quilt itself. The fish fabric appears on the back of the Lewis and Clark Medallion, the sock monkeys grace the Puss in the Corner quilt made from reproduction fabrics, and the kitchen print completes the quirky look of the yellow and pink with four patches.

Thanks, Barb! I treasure them all.

Spring Swing

2010-03-26T10:33:00.008-05:00

This blog spot’s been dormant far too long. I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things soon. Here are a couple fabrics that have me thinking Spring. What’s inspiring you these days?

"Happy Campers" by American Jane for Moda and "Fun With Feedsacks" by Glenna Hailey for P&B Textiles

It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To!

2010-02-28T16:18:00.018-06:00

I had a birthday this week and was more than happy to let it pass unacknowledged. Life after 50 has left me little to celebrate. Then this card arrived, reminding me of another unfortunate stage in my life, my gawky grade school years.

Which is worse, the bangs or the pin curls...

the glasses or the clip-on bow...

the glasses or the toothy grin...

the new glasses or the pearls?

Rude Awakening

2010-02-20T18:03:00.009-06:00

Yesterday, when I turned on the early morning news, I was jarred by the announcement that there had been another campus shooting at NIU. The two year anniversary of the shooting which killed 5 students and injured 12 others, had just passed. This time, one student had been shot and wounded by another, just outside one of the campus residence halls.

I immediately called my son, who is a freshman at NIU. Although I assumed he was safe, I wanted to know what security measures the university had taken. The shooting had occurred at 3:30 a.m. Email notifications and text messages let students know that the campus was under lockdown until 5:00 a.m. Once the suspect was in custody, campus life resumed, with little more disruption than a slight rerouting of traffic around Stevenson Hall.

The university’s Department of Public Safety declared it "an isolated event between two individuals that escalated into an unfortunate incident." My son assured me “It was just an altercation between two students. It happened all the way on the other side of campus!” Even my husband made light of it with “It was a personal shooting, not a campus shooting.”

Well, excuse me if I can’t make that distinction! Their complacency really disturbed me.

As a mother, I want to protect my children from avoidable danger. I can remind them to “know your friends,” “watch your back,” “don’t look cross eyed at strangers.” But, it seems I can’t protect them from the fact that gun violence has become an everyday part of American culture; that guns are easy to get and even easier to use; that every day they dodge a random bullet, they should consider themselves lucky.

UPDATE: The victim, who was not even acquainted with the shooter, tried to prevent him from entering a dorm where he did not live. The drunk and enraged shooter had a fully loaded gun with a cartridge to spare. God only knows how serious the “incident” might have been had the brave young man not intervened!

A Little...

2010-02-08T12:23:00.014-06:00

A little fabric...

A little planning...

A little doll quilt...

A little late for Christmas!

I hope you like it, Barb.

For Wendy

2010-02-02T08:06:00.016-06:00

Today's post is for Wendy at Martha MacGyver, whose beautiful quilt I won in her December giveaway.

Wendy, as great as your quilt looks folded and draped over the back of a white wicker chair in my bedroom...

It feels even better snuggled in my lap. Thank you again for such a generous prize!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-10T12:40:00.006-06:00

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Amish style Square Within a Square
Hand quilted by Diane Burdin
1986

Christmas Prep

2009-12-20T13:12:00.018-06:00

How are your holiday preparations coming along? Is your Christmas shopping done? (Ours isn‘t.) Got your tree up? (Nope.) How about those exterior lights and flashy yard ornaments? (Never have, never will.) Is your holiday menu planned? (Kind of.) Are your Christmas cards in the mail? (Just.)

No wonder my Santa has an anxious look on his face. He’s in panic mode!

Actually, our family is celebrating Christmas simply this year, with minimal decorating, minimal gift giving, minimal hassle, but maximum love! It just feels right.

As far as I’m concerned, this antique quilt is the only decoration we need to give the house a festive look. It dates from the mid 1800’s and is in pristine condition. The pencil lines used to mark the quilting pattern are still faintly visible but don’t detract from the tiny stitches, 12 to the inch.

I have no idea who the original quilt maker was but appreciate her choice of solid colored fabrics in classic red and green. Her saw tooth stars march boldly across a muslin field ~ a simple, but graphic design.

The star blocks are quilted with parallel lines and a grid within the green square. Alternate muslin blocks are heavily quilted with a double clamshell design.

I wish you Christmas blessings and simple joys for the coming year.

Two Words

2009-12-16T11:50:00.014-06:00

I WON!

Fun with Barb and...

2009-12-04T10:04:00.024-06:00

Have you seen my friend Barb's new blog, Fun with Barb and Mary? It’s a dialog between two quilty friends who maintain their relationship in spite of one family's move from the East Coast to the Midwest.

Hmm, why does that sound so familiar? Because before there was Barb and Mary, there was Barb and Diane. We had our share of fun too, until one family’s move from Chicago to New Jersey forever altered our quilty friendship.

Diane and Barb, 2002

I wish Barb and Mary well with their new blogging venture. What a great way to stay in touch! As they share news and photos of their projects, quilt shows, bee get-togethers, fabric shopping escapades, holiday decorating and more, you’ll begin to feel like they are your best quilt friends too.

Barb and I collaborated on this Churn Dash quilt back in 2002. The pattern came from the January, 2002 issue of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine. We exchanged blocks made from reproduction fabrics that we both love to collect. There were enough fabric combinations that no two blocks are alike.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

The blocks are 5" and my finished quilt measures 64" x 85". It is machine quilted.

Barb has a very similar "sister" quilt in her collection.

2009-12-01T14:34:00.027-06:00

The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt:
Number of visitors to the Quilt: +18,000,000
Number of names on the Quilt: more than 91,000

(representing only about 18% of all U.S. AIDS deaths)
Size: 1,293,300 square feet (6 city blocks)

Viewing time: To see the entire Quilt spending
only one minute per panel - over 33 days
Total Weight: More than 54 tons
Last Full Display: The Mall in Washington, D.C. in 1996

Goal of the Quilt: to bring awareness to how massive
the AIDS pandemic really is, and to bring support
and healing to those affected by it.

The face of AIDS has changed dramatically since the mid 1990's when I made these panels to honor both my brother, Wayne and his partner, Don.

CLICK HERE for worldwide statistics and how you can help prevent the spread of AIDS.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T10:50:00.003-06:00

As I count my blessings today,

know that you are among them!

Fondly, Diane

Injun Summer

2009-11-23T19:35:00.021-06:00

Indian Summer has come at last. Two glorious days of warmth and sun lured my husband out of doors with rake and mower to complete his final yard clean up (and snap a couple quilt photos).

If you grew up in the Chicago area, Indian Summer may have a special significance to you. As kids, we looked forward to the official pronouncement of the season by the Chicago Tribune. Each year, as the autumn air became hazy with the smoky perfume of burning leaves, we’d scout the newspaper for “Injun Summer,” *the classic story and cartoon by John T. McCutcheon.

This little quilt evokes Indian Summer with its autumnal colors and harvest inspired name. I call it Spinach and Squash because of the fabrics I used. The colors were inspired by early Pennsylvania German quilts.

I made this doll quilt by hand back in 1990. That was long before quick piecing methods became popular. Products like "triangles on a roll," or "easy angle rulers" weren't available to quilters yet. I used two triangle templates (1" and 3") to mark my fabric and enjoyed the slow process of sewing by hand. It seems kind of archaic now, but there is a romance to handwork, same as burning leaves and dreaming of Indians on an autumn day. *

Spinach and Squash Sawtooth

15" x 18"

hand pieced and hand quilted

A Wandaful Day!

2009-11-17T07:57:00.028-06:00

Strawberry Patch doll quilt

The yellow berry print fabric is for the back.

Thanks for all your suggestions on how to elevate my mood over the coming months. My favorites were, of course, the quilty ones: keep an inspiring quilt book nearby, purchase fabric just to bask in its color, plan a new project (that’s easy~ I’m a dreamer rather than a doer), change out light bulbs for those simulating natural light (sounds like a good excuse to invest in an Ott light), invite quilt friends over more often, and if all else fails, eat chocolate!

I had a great day recently which included several of those very suggestions:

~ My friend Wanda (Exuberant Color) came by for lunch and some sewing. She brought the lunch as well as her freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!

~ Wanda assembled my little Strawberry Patch doll quilt for me. It was a pleasure to watch her sew, chain stitching squares into rows, nestling finger pressed seams together as she coaxed them through the machine. I rarely saw her clip a thread; she never used a pin, yet every seam matched perfectly.

~ She brought new fabric for me to pet…

~ and helped me start my Christmas shopping by selling me several of her beautiful journal covers.

~ The final treat was a test drive of a Baby Lock Quilter’s Choice sewing machine. It had some awesome features, like automatic needle threading and thread cutting. I could operate it with the push of a button rather than a foot pedal! It might help me sew for a bit longer, but with two kids in college, I can’t warrant the expense. It's fun to dream though.

Thanks for a truly "Wandaful" day, Wanda!

Weekend Gratitudes

2009-11-10T09:09:00.002-06:00

Need I say more?

Replica Quilt

2009-11-07T10:54:00.026-06:00

Like me, many of you were drawn to quilt making by the unique beauty of antique quilts. Today’s reproduction fabrics give us an opportunity to duplicate our favorites. I’ve tried copying a few old quilts but feel satisfied if I manage to capture the spirit of the original.

I admire those of you who make an earnest study of antique quilts. Your knowledge of quilt and textile history is as immeasurable as your fabric stash. Your keen eyes painstakingly replicate the antiques, block by block and fabric by fabric. The results are spectacular!

This Scrappy Star quilt is a replica of one featured in “Country Living Magazine.” My friend, Mary R. (no blog, no computer for that matter) duplicated as much of the quilt as was visible in the picture, resulting in a nice crib sized version (30” x 42”). She used the pieced top as a sample in her historical quilt talk and sold the top to me after breaking up her collection.

I hand quilted it with an all-over fan design, reminiscent of old utility quilts.

Gratitudes

~ morning coffee
~ late night talks with my son
~ bloggers like Kathie, who share their passion for traditional style quilt making. Kathie provides LOTS of links to other blogs featuring antique quilts.

Attitude Adjustment

2009-11-06T19:10:00.008-06:00

Autumn has been awfully wet. Twenty-two days of rain in October have given me sinus headaches and, dare I mention it already, SAD (seasonal affective disorder)? My brain feels sodden! Add to that the time change, and I find myself very glum indeed. Those waning hours of sunlight have a powerful effect on many of us.

My husband has noted my increased irritability. Of course, telling me that the only peace he gets is while I’m sleeping, does little to brighten my mood! As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. An attitude adjustment is in order.

Several years ago, when Sarah Ban Breathnach's books were all the rage, I made a half hearted attempt to keep a gratitude journal. The timing was all wrong and I only lasted about a week. But the exercise has merit and I’m willing to try again.

I’ve noticed several of you fostering an attitude of gratitude on your blogs. The act of focusing on simple, everyday blessings is a healthy practice. I’ve recommended it to others who suffer from depression. Now, it’s time for a dose of my own medicine.

Today I am grateful for:
~ this sunny day
~ a long phone call from an old friend
~ William home for the weekend!

I promise not to gripe and grumble too much through the dreary months ahead. As far as blogging goes, “no news” from me is probably news you wouldn’t want to hear anyway.

Wishing you sunshine!

I've Got the Power!

2009-10-27T08:42:00.009-05:00

After weeks of futzing* with our computer and its Internet connection, the problem has been resolved…with a new power cord! I’m almost embarrassed to admit the solution was so simple, and free at that.

I don’t mean to wax philosophically about what amounted to little more than a day to day annoyance. But it just goes to show that when something lousy happens, I tend to expect the worst. I just knew we’d need to replace the modem or router, or spend big bucks on a high tech repairman. I mean who ever thinks of a problematical power cord?

All that worry was for naught. What a waste of emotional energy. We can’t get back those hours spent fiddling with connections and computer codes. Why, it was almost as time consuming as…as… time spent on the Internet itself!

*I double checked the spelling of “futz” in the dictionary and had a good laugh at the example it gave for usage:
Definition: fritter time away: to spend time frivolously.
Usage: "spends hours futzing with that computer."

An Envelope of Autumn

2009-10-25T14:19:00.003-05:00

Home in New Hampshire, William Glackens, c. 1919

Under Construction

2009-10-23T19:29:00.004-05:00

I’ve been without the Internet for several weeks now and it’s been nigh impossible to diagnose the problem. A pernicious pop-up for bogus “security” software may have infected my computer, or perhaps I opened a spurious e-mail that should have been ignored and deleted. It could be the modem, the router, or the Netzero server whose signal varies from excellent to nonexistent. Our favorite computer geek claims it might be one of a thousand things gone wrong and the Geek Squad itself said it could conceivably cost as much as $300 to fix!

My computer programmer husband took a week to figure out what the problem “might” be and another week to “fix” it. “Great job, Honey!” It worked for two days, just long enough to taunt me with what I‘d been missing. Then, NOTHING! After several calls to Netzero, they are sending us a new power cord, speculating that the intermittent service is due to a loose connection. Come on, what are the chances of the solution being that simple?

THIS IS SO AGGRAVATING! I spend a lot of time on the computer… a really lot… okay, all day… most days. My MS has disabled me to the point of doing little else. The Internet not only helps me pass the time, it provides information, entertainment, and a vital connection to the “outside world.” I truly miss it when it’s on the fritz, although this recent time away from the computer has given me a chance to examine my relationship with the Internet. ADDICTION is not too strong a word and the WITHDRAWAL I’m experiencing makes my fingers twitch as I seek alternatives to fill my day.

At any rate, when I’m finally able to post this rant, it will be to tell you that my absence has been due to a technological glitch and not worsening health (although my health still stinks). I’ve missed YOU very much ~ your inspiring photos, your lovely writing, your sense of humor, your inimitable craftiness, and the unique outlook you bring to the world through your blog. I plan to visit you soon and cordially invite you to RECONNECT with me at Persnickety Quilts.

Recycled Clothing Quilt-Along

2009-08-28T15:32:00.023-05:00

Today is a cool and dreary day ~ perfect for working on my denim and flannel quilt blocks. I’ve got 18 completed, with just as many cut and ready to sew.

I asked a friend to photograph each of the blocks so I could continue playing with virtual layouts on the computer. The cutting and pasting from one program to another might be tedious for some, but as libbyquilter commented, “It’s much better than having to get down on the floor and arrange multiple times!”

The layout I ended up liking best was what several of you preferred ~ the Straight Furrows set. Its diagonal pattern is not diminished by the scrappiness of the blocks. The effect is strong and masculine, which is just the feeling I was going for (picture the Brawny paper towel guy sleeping under this quilt). The final arrangement of blocks will differ from the photo above as I add new blocks to the mix, but it gives you an idea of where I'm headed.

Visit the Recycled Clothing Quilt-Along to see what others are making from reclaimed garments.

College Countdown

2009-08-20T17:22:00.006-05:00

Going...

going...

gone!

Virtual Quilts

2009-08-11T09:10:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, I was playing around with setting options for my Roman Stripe blocks. Here's a slideshow I made, illustrating several different quilt layouts.

Roman Stripe Blocks

2009-08-10T11:02:00.021-05:00

I had several of these Roman Stripe blocks already made when I read about the Recycled Clothing Quilt-Along. Like so many other projects, this one was set aside when MS began interfering with my quilt making. Truth be told, this is the first machine sewing I've done in a couple years. And while I feel like I'm all thumbs, the work itself is very forgiving.

The fabrics for this quilt have come from my family's old or outgrown clothing. The denim is cut into 8" squares. It serves not only as the background fabric for the block, but is also the foundation on which the strips are sewn. I cut flannel strips into three different widths: 3”, 2 ½”, and 2”, but they could just as easily be cut into random widths or all the same size.

Instructions for making this block can be found here. It's a simple sew and flip method, with little or no pinning required.

My son's have given me a few sideways glances as they come to breakfast in flannel boxer shorts and pajama bottoms. I've been warned not to get too close with a scissor!

Get Cutting

2009-08-03T05:45:00.004-05:00

My flannel shirt strips and blue jean squares are ready for the Recycled Clothing Quilt Along.

It's August Already!

2009-08-01T08:07:00.023-05:00

Back in June, Anita at Bloomin’ Workshop described a summer quilt-along that caught my interest. She, and others, have been collecting clothing with which to make quilts. Everything from thrifted men's dress shirts to outgrown children's clothing is being reused, repurposed and recycled. Why not grab a stack of tee shirts and join the Recycled Clothing crusade?

I've been saving old blue jeans for years with the intention of making a quilt. My husband and sons have kept me in constant supply. The only problem is getting them to stop wearing the jeans while the fabric is still functional. Many's the pair that was just too holey and threadbare to be of use.

Denim and flannel shirts are a natural combination, so as collars and elbows wear out of my husband and son's shirts, I've claimed them as well. A nice assortment of colorful plaids are ready to join the denim in their next incarnation: a dorm quilt for my college bound son.

New Camera

2009-07-25T16:52:00.031-05:00

Give a kid a new camera and he'll take pictures of just about anything ~ even Mom's quilts. I wonder how many pictures I can get out of him before he heads off to college?

The weather has been perfect for taking outdoor shots ~ mild temperatures, blue skies, billowy clouds, plenty of sun.

I'll settle for heavy shadows if he's willing to climb trees to compose the photo!

Direct noonday sun won't bother me as long as he gets the full quilt in frame. I made this Nine Patch in the early 1990s and added the Streak of Lightening border for extra interest.

He sleeps too late to capture the texture of hand quilting with long shadows of early morning light, but enlarge the close-up and you may see my favorite fan design.

I'll probably drive Will nuts with my photo requests over the next few weeks. But he knows how much I appreciate him being my eyes and hands.

Happy Birthday

2009-07-13T06:44:00.003-05:00

My gift is just to say,

I thought of you today.

List of Lasts

2009-06-23T11:58:00.020-05:00

My son just graduated from high school. Several months before the big event, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. As Will's senior year progressed, he'd point out that a particular event was going to be his "last." Football games, concerts and dances were each noted and checked off, like items on some adolescent version of “The Bucket List.”

“This is the last time I’ll wear my drum major’s uniform,” he sighed, while preparing to lead the marching band in the Loyalty Day Parade.

“This is my last high school stage performance,” he thought, after taking a curtain call for the musical “Big River.”

He expressed it in his farewell address at commencement, “Our joy dims when we realize that…each day we enter this school becomes one closer to the last.” I couldn't help but feel his outlook was a little sad, that each experience may have become tainted by focusing on the bitter rather than the sweet.

As it turned out, Will's perspective wasn’t as negative as I feared. He wasn't bemoaning the end of high school or expressing reluctance to graduate to the next stage in life. He was just stating, matter of factly, that it’s been a year of mixed emotions, including both nostalgia for the past and anticipation of the future.

I began to wonder if I could view this pivotal year with a healthy balance of emotion. I came up with my own "list of lasts." These seemingly insignificant daily rituals have been honed and polished into touchstones over sixteen years of sending kids off to school.

It’s the last time I‘ll…
~Wash a gym suit.
~Remind someone to pack a lunch.
~Shout, “Do your best.” as he races out the door for school.
~Nag about homework and clarinet practicing.
~Pick up dirty socks.
~Answer more phone calls for him than for myself.

It's the bittersweet end of an era`and I'm approaching the empty nest years with mixed emotions. Now who’s got a negative attitude?

Eighteen!

2009-05-30T14:11:00.002-05:00

What's That You Say?

2009-05-30T10:23:00.035-05:00

Good morning…
I said, GOOD MORNING!

Sorry, I’m having trouble hearing you for all the BANGING
and POUNDING… on the roof!

What’s that? Yes, OUR house….
We’re getting a new roof today.

Oh, you mean THESE houses.
CUTE, aren’t they?
No, I didn’t make them.
They’re from a doll quilt my friend Barb
made for me several years ago.
SWEET little neighborhood, isn’t it?

Tell you what, let's talk again another day.
I can’t concentrate with ALL THIS NOISE!

Two Cents Worth

2009-05-21T16:57:00.021-05:00

My son had to mail a letter yesterday. It was an unremarkable document in a postage paid envelope. Under normal circumstances, it could have been dropped into any nearby mailbox, including the one at the end of our driveway.

I remembered that postal rates had recently increased, and suggested he have the letter checked at the post office. Sure enough, the envelope required an additional two cent stamp. My son had exact change, two flat pennies, which he pulled from his pocket and slapped on the counter.

Assuming this simple transaction was complete, he turned to leave. The postal worker called him back. “Don’t forget your receipt!”

This is what she handed him…. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Is it any wonder that postage keeps increasing? There’s got to be two cents worth of ink and paper in that receipt!

Virtual Quilt Show

2009-04-24T09:01:00.047-05:00

Did any of you participate in the Spring 2009 Online Quilt Festival, featuring the favorite quilts of nearly 600 bloggers? I enjoyed seeing the diversity of quilts, which can still be viewed by clicking the link above. Ironically, I got so wrapped up with the virtual quilt show that I missed the deadline for including my own post in the event. So, here's the story of my favorite quilt.

It's a wonder this quilt ever got made. In 1991, I had a toddler and a new baby. Our family was bursting at the seams of our first tiny house, so we decided to sell it by owner! That meant showings and open houses every week until we found a buyer. Meanwhile, we purchased a lot and started construction on a brand new house in a community about 30 miles away. Our every waking moment was consumed with parenting two little boys, making housing decisions, checking on construction progress, cleaning, packing, moving, and oh yeah, starting a new quilt!

This quilt was a friendship challenge sponsored by my local quilt guild. I had been too busy to attend the meeting where the topic was introduced. But my friend Laurie just knew I wouldn't want to miss out on the fun. Unbeknownst to me, she signed me up as her challenge partner.

We were given two theme fabrics, a cabbage rose and green stripe, and were required to use them in the center block of our wallhanging.

For my center block, I adapted a pattern from an antique quilt. You might recognize it from an 1870's quilt, made by Mary Parks Lawrence in Russellville, Kentucky.

When the block was completed, I passed it on to my partner, who designed and stitched the first border. She was limited to design elements outlined in the challenge rules: four patch, nine patch, saw-tooth, dog-tooth, flying geese, appliqued sprays or vines. Once a design element was used, it could not be repeated, but I could use any of the remaining techniques for the final border.

Once the borders were done, I finished the project with hand quilting. The center block has a 1/2" grid quilted in the background. The grid in the outer border is 1".

We hung the finished quilt in our living room so that it's the first thing you notice when entering our home. After 16 years on the wall, it's become gently faded, but still serves as a reminder to meet life's challenges with beauty and grace.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T11:35:00.005-05:00

Photograph by Christopher Baker

"Martha Stewart Living"

April 2003

Inside Out

2009-04-07T07:47:00.007-05:00

Inside,

Out!

OMG!

2009-04-02T05:44:00.011-05:00

Has anyone seen this? I nearly spit my morning coffee across the room when I saw a TV ad for the Barack Obama Chia Head. I was certain it must be a joke until I looked on Amazon.com. There he was, in two poses no less (for some reason, the "determined" Barack costs two bucks more than the "happy" Barack, both of which cost more than the chia hippo, kitten, or elephant). Come on folks; boost the American economy. Buy one!

April Fool!

2009-04-01T15:50:00.013-05:00

It's no joke ~ I'm the fool who made these ghastly quilt blocks! Can you believe those fabrics? Granted, there were few cotton prints to choose from in the 1970's, but even so...I probably overlooked the revolting yellow color because it actually had a coordinating print.

Worse than the choice of fabrics is that I hand pieced these babies. Having no sewing machine when I first started quilting, I spent hour after tedious hour constructing these Drunkard's Path and Crown of Thorns blocks. I even hand quilted them and made them into pillow tops. Just imagine the decor they might go with. Gag!

These gaudy gems are usually crammed at the back of the quilt cupboard. I only dug them out to say "April Fool." Unfortunately, the joke is on me!

Spring Sprouts

2009-03-29T14:15:00.009-05:00

Here's the only thing sprouting at my house.

Any new spring buds and sprouts are now blanketed by 2 inches of snow!

"T" is for Trouble!

2009-03-17T15:08:00.013-05:00

I've been in a bit of a blog slump…

Our Internet service was down for a few days. But that’s not why I haven’t posted…

The weather’s been sunny and spring like, so I can’t use that as an excuse for my ho-hum attitude…

I’ve still got plenty of quilts to share ~ just need to get them photographed…

I don’t have much to say these days. Perhaps I should switch to wordless posts…

Thanks for checking in on me. I'm still here. It's just that sometimes, life gets in the way.

This is the latest beautiful doll quilt my friend Barb surprised me with on my birthday. I've always loved the "T" block pattern and was touched to tears when I opened it up...

Then I turned the quilt over to read the label. She had named it "T" is for trouble." It cracked me up! Out came the first authentic belly laugh I've had in months.

Now that's a true friend ~ someone who can take you from tears to laughter in a single breath, over your own crappy circumstances, no less!

KABOOM!

2009-02-27T21:36:00.011-06:00

I’ve seen signs of the changing seasons on other people’s blogs ~ tantalizing photos of crocuses, snowdrops, even mystery bulbs sprouting from the softening soil. We’ve been teased here in the Midwest, with a few “spring thaws.” They’re just long enough and warm enough to melt the dirty snow before temperatures drop and we start all over again.

I’m not a good barometer of weather. All day, every day, I sit inside with curtains drawn, imagining what’s going on outside these walls. It makes for an interminably long winter when I can’t get out to read the subtle signs of spring. I can’t wait for the smell of earthworms after rain, the indecisiveness of whether to wear long sleeves or short, the racket of all those chirping birds, too early in the morning…one of these days.

Last night, we had quite a thunderstorm. Even with those curtains closed, each lightening flash was startling. I braced myself for the BOOM to follow by counting, “one-thousand-one, one-thousand two” like I learned to do as a kid, even though I have no idea what it’s supposed to mean. FLASH…..CRA-A-ACK…over and over, for hours.

I was home alone and grateful the power didn’t go out. I could hear the trickling of water downstairs, and the whirring of the sump pump as it struggled to keep the basement dry. My friend Mary called to say that because of the ensuing fog, ice, and forecast of more snow, she was rethinking her plan to pay me a visit today. When all was said and done, we got almost two inches of rain, which might have been 20 inches of snow had the temperatures been colder. But they weren't colder. Maybe spring is heading our way!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T14:45:00.008-06:00

fabric postcard

djb, 2006

Strawberry Patch

2009-02-12T07:12:00.019-06:00

It all started with a strawberry ~ well, four strawberries, to be exact, embroidered on a set of cloth napkins. No one in the family remembered where they came from or who might have stitched the designs by hand.

I could have kept the napkins in a linen cupboard, neatly pressed and folded for posterity. Or I might have brought them out occasionally, when special friends came for coffee. But they really deserved to be seen everyday ~ and not just by me.
Putting the little strawberries into a doll quilt was an idea inspired by Vickie from turkey feathers. She created a series of little quilts from squares of cheerful fabrics, as basic as can be. What made them so charming was her inclusion of a single square, embellished with embroidery. I’m telling you, that little detail knocked my socks off!

So, out came the strawberry napkins and whatever red, green and yellow fabrics I could find. At last, I had a use for some of those old Cranston calicoes! In tiny doses, they’re not half bad. But the newer prints posed a problem. I’d been working with reproduction fabrics for so many years that there was nothing in my collection with a white background. I had no pure reds and yellows, no checks and polka dots, no “happy” fabrics!

Honestly, it’s taken me quite a while to collect the fabrics for this project. It seemed kind of silly to make just one doll quilt after all that effort. With four embroidered strawberry patches, I could make four quilts. The first one would go to my good friend Barb, with whom I exchange birthday quilts each year. The next two were for my friends Sheila and Mary, who work selflessly to keep me quilting (and end up doing most of the work themselves). The last little quilt was for me. Four dear friends, four doll quilts, four times the joy; I sure put those napkins to good use!

*click to enlarge photos

Preposition Proposition

2009-02-01T08:31:00.004-06:00

I’ve done it again… uttered those words that send my family scattering like pins on a hardwood floor: “I’m looking for a piece of fabric.”

With frenzied panic in their voices, they fumble for excuses:
“Dad wants me to shovel the driveway…now!
“Gotta do my homework.”
“I’m on the phone… it’s long distance.”

Fear not, dear ones. This time, I know exactly where it is!
"Go through the kitchen,
into the dining room.
Face toward the windows.
It’s amongst the sewing things,
on the chair,
nearest the door.
It’s within that pile of stuff,
underneath the magazines,
between the homespun plaids and batiks."

Uh oh, I’m beginning to lose them. When it comes to tracking down fabric, they’re like small children or puppies, who can only follow one direction at a time.

"You can’t miss it… it’s red… red toile (oh no, I’m getting glazed looks)… Christmas fabric… with scenes of Santa.

“Found it!” I hear someone cry triumphantly.

“Great! Now can you find the coordinating fabrics?”

(Don’t push your luck, Diane)

It's About Time!

2009-01-28T07:12:00.026-06:00

“Well, it’s about time,” I hear you muttering at your computer screens. “You’ve been taunting us with photos of that same red and green quilt since before Christmas!” Quite true…so with apologies for what may now be an anticlimactic reveal, let me tell you all about it.

I made this quilt at my first Gwen Marston Beaver Island Retreat (1997), where the subject was Four Block Quilts. I used many of the techniques outlined in Gwen’s book, Classic Four-Block Applique Quilts: A Back-To-Basics Approach, as well as inspiration from another of her books, Mary Schafer and Her Quilts.

At first glance, this quilt is a traditional red and green appliqué design: four oak leaf & reel blocks, bordered by appliquéd dogtooth, vines and berries. The layout resembles a medallion quilt. But instead of its borders elegantly turning the corners of the quilt, they are interrupted at each corner, marching boldly off the edge.

I can’t tell you how hard this was for me to do. “Terminally traditional” was how I would have described my quilting style back in the 1990’s. Although Gwen pointed out that there was historical precedence in antique quilts, many of these design choices just rubbed me the wrong way!

So did some of the sewing techniques we employed. If you look carefully, you might notice that while leaves and berries were hand stitched, the vine itself was top stitched by machine. “What will people think?” I worried. “They’ll call me a lazy shirker for combining hand and machine appliqué in the same quilt!”

But you know what? I haven’t heard a critical peep out of anyone. Little by little, I’ve embraced Gwen’s relaxed, no nonsense approach to quilt making. The few quirks that used to annoy me about this quilt now make me appreciate its unique, personal design. It’s about time!

What Doesn't Kill You

2009-01-15T07:41:00.011-06:00

A telephone call in the middle of the night is seldom good news. As our phone rang early last Thursday morning, I said a few quick prayers for the wellbeing of family and friends. It’s amazing how much bargaining with God one can do between ring tones.

My husband answered to hear, “… police calling… small furnace fire… parents taken to hospital… smoke inhalation… but they’re okay!”

During the night while my parents slept, their furnace caught fire, sending acrid black smoke throughout the house. What woke my mom was the carbon monoxide detector (GET ONE). Dad proved harder to awaken since he is hard of hearing. They managed to call 911 (on the portable phone we recently installed , so they’d always have one within reach). In spite of Mom’s physical disabilities and Dad’s disorientation because of the smoke, the firemen got them out of the house in record time.

We are blessed that they managed to escape with only smoke inhalation. Restoration of their home, their self confidence and their day to day routine will take time. For now, much of the coordination between insurance company and contractors is falling on us "kids." Let’s hope the adage is true, “What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.”

Thanks for your concern and supportive comments. They mean so much to me!

Happy New Year?

2009-01-13T09:26:00.011-06:00

I hope that 2009 has started well for you ~ not so much here.

Let’s see, where was I when I last posted over three weeks ago? Oh yeah, celebrating Christmas, when my biggest concern was whether or not Amazon.com would deliver its packages in time for the holiday.

The New Year delivered surprises of a different nature: medical issues, a family emergency, travel snafus, plumbing problems, and enough snow to complicate all of the above!

I’m not usually one to make resolutions for the coming year. It seems pretty pointless when so much in my life is out of my control. But this year, I need the discipline of a goal, the daily reminder of a watchword, true resolve!

Celebrate!

2008-12-25T15:24:00.009-06:00

Celebrate life's miracles~

Blessed Christmas

and

Joyous Hanukkah

Merry Textmas

2008-12-23T12:37:00.035-06:00

I’ve heard that Santa is going high tech this year. Parents can actually make arrangements for the big guy to text message their cell phones. He’ll provide travel updates as he journeys toward your home and reassure little ones that, in spite of a paralyzing snowstorm about to hit the Midwest, presents will be delivered on time.

It’s a cute concept, but I see a couple flaws with it. First of all, the application for the text message service comes with the following caveat: “If your child does not have a phone, have Santa send the text messages to the parents!” Do kids young enough to believe in Santa really carry cell phones of their own? (Maybe they do, in which case you can scratch that particular electronic device off their Christmas list). Secondly, if I were a kid, I don’t know that I’d want Santa a mere keystroke away. After all, phone lines work two ways. What’s preventing my parents from reporting last minute naughtiness, blowing the whole deal?

When my son was little, we tried employing the latest technology to create a memorable Santa moment. In the end, it was sheer happenstance that made it magic.

We’d borrowed my dad’s business car on Christmas Eve, under the guise of needing extra room to accommodate my brother and sister-in-law on our traditional tour of Christmas lights. We’d arranged with Grandpa to call his car phone about 15 minutes into our drive. Of course, we had set the situation up by telling James to “be on the lookout for Santa! Watch the sky for signs of his sleigh and reindeer!”

When the car phone rang, we could hardly contain our laughter. Santa had his chat with James via speaker phone. Grandpa’s “Ho-ho-ho” was convincing and we were all giddy with pulling off the surprise.

And then we turned the corner. Standing at the curb was a magnificently dressed Santa, reaching inside his car trunk for a sack full of gifts (or finishing a cigarette. I can’t quite recall which). We adults were dumbstruck, but little James simply pointed and called out, “Santa.”

Once I caught my breath, I rolled down the car window and shouted like some lunatic Santa groupy, “Hey Santa, we’ve been driving all over town looking for you. We have a little boy here who’d love to say ‘hello.’”

Santa was nice enough to stick his head in the car window and say all the requisite things: “How old are you James? Have you been a good boy this year? Now go home and get to bed so I can deliver your presents.” Meanwhile, the homeowner who was evidently waiting for Santa’s grand entrance to his Christmas party, could do nothing but stand there holding his front door open.

It all happened so fast, there was barely time to thank him, let alone slip Santa a tip for his efforts. The party host may have been annoyed but we were ecstatic with our unforeseen Santa sighting. It was pure magic!

This is the quilt I always associate with that Christmas. I made it for James’ third birthday. Included on the quilt label is a Dickens quotation: “ . . . for it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself.”

Scared of Santa

2008-12-18T10:11:00.022-06:00

Tis a week before Christmas and the last thing you have time for is looking at other people’s Santa snaps. But bear with me; it’s worth it.

Here I am again (on the right), my 1961 self, waiting demurely for my turn to sit on Santa’s lap and reveal my innermost dreams and desires ~ eeewww, CREEPY! The two kids on the left look just as befuddled and clueless as they did at Halloween. And judging by the smiles and glances exchanged between Santa and the girl on his lap, I’m guessing he just might be her dad. My mischievous brother (second from right), is no doubt preparing to ask Santa for something of which our parents disapprove.

For the past couple years, the Chicago Tribune has run a holiday photo contest asking readers to submit their family’s bad Santa photos. Editors Denise Joyce and Nancy Watkins have compiled 250 snapshots of squirming, shrieking, traumatized tots into a new book, SCARED OF SANTA: Scenes of Terror in Toyland.

Take a few minutes to scroll through these pictures. Quick as a wink, you'll be laughing like the jolly old elf himself!

Never Too Old

2008-12-15T08:29:00.005-06:00

You’re never too old to enjoy little trinkets stuffed inside a Christmas stocking. Santa usually leaves an orange, a few nuts and chocolates, a new toothbrush or pen, perhaps a lottery ticket or music cd. My boys keep looking for a set of car keys, but don’t let their disappointment show for long.

What does Santa leave in your Christmas stockings?

Baby Quilt

2008-12-09T15:02:00.006-06:00

CLICK TO ENLARGE

This answers the rhetorical question I posed about just what kind of quilts I made in the 1980’s ~ matchy, matchy, matchy quilts!

These blocks were made for the first quilt class I ever taught. Each block demonstrated a different hand sewing technique: basic piecing and applique, curved piecing, working with set-in seams like diamonds and hexagons. Each block was also quilted differently to illustrate techniques like outline quilting, stitching in the ditch, cross hatching, hanging diamonds, echo quilting, stippling and all over designs like spider web and baptist fan.

The fabrics were chosen and the quilt was made before I had children. I must have wanted to cover all the bases by including both pink and blue.

When James was born, the quilt hung on the wall above his crib. Later, when I went back to teaching quilt making, I continued to use it as a sampler of sewing techniques.

I'm not quite sure what the issue was here. Perhaps he was tired of me borrowing his quilt!

Twenty One!

2008-12-09T14:04:00.004-06:00

December Quilts

2008-12-05T13:21:00.014-06:00

Many people get the Christmas spirit just as soon as the Thanksgiving table is cleared. I envy them, using the extended weekend to haul out the Christmas decorations and “deck the halls” for the festive season. That’s never been the custom in our home, for sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas lies our son’s birthday.

As anyone with a December birth can tell you, it’s easy to feel overshadowed by the holiday hoopla. One way to make our son’s day feel special was to hold off on putting up the Christmas tree until after his birthday celebration. Nowadays, this concession may have more to do with his parents’ lack of energy and gumption or the fact that his help is needed to cut a fresh tree. At any rate, we’ll be waiting for college break to decorate for Christmas. What can I blog about in the meantime? Since it is James' birthday month, I'll share some of his quilts.

This baby quilt was made by my dear friends, the Piecemakers. They worked in secret, coordinating fabric, stitching blocks and passing it around for hand quilting, just before James was born. I don’t know what kind of quilts I was making back then (1987), but they said they wanted to make the kind of quilt I wouldn’t make for myself. It’s bright and cheerful. They did wonders with those 1980’s calicoes. It even contains a humility block.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T12:09:00.017-06:00

Photo: www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images...

Thanksgiving Checklist

Celery diced
Onions chopped
Oysters shucked and stock pot stocked

Fresh herbs minced
Bread cubes toasted
Turkey stuffed, trussed up, and roasted

Giblets gravied
Salads tossed
Cranberries jellied, relished, sauced

Yams marshmallowed
Carrots glazed
Pearl onions and turnips braised

Brussels sprouted
Green beans steamed
Kerneled corn and spinach creamed

Biscuits baked
Fritters fried
Apples, pecans, pumpkins pied

Potatoes mashed
Squashes squished
Dinner plattered, plated, dished

Butter patted
Jello molded
Linens pressed and napkins folded

Candles lit
Wine poured
Grace said, “Thank you, Lord!”

Turkey carved,
I take a seat
But find that I’m too tired to eat!

It's In The Bag

2008-11-22T13:49:00.020-06:00

I really enjoyed reading all the comments on my blogiversary post. Several of your names are new to me and I look forward to visiting your blogs soon. Almost to a person, you raved about the cornmeal sack I used to back my little quilt. So, in addition to a packet of fabric, I’ve added a Graue Mill feedsack to the prize. The winner will also receive a souvenir bag of cornmeal (the size I used to back my little quilt) and a pamphlet of recipes.

Before I draw the winning name, let me tell you a bit about the mill itself. Graue Mill is the only operating waterwheel gristmill in Illinois. German immigrant Frederick Graue built the mill in 1852. It sits on a scenic bank of Salt Creek in Oak Brook, Illinois, where its waterwheel continues to power the huge burrstones which grind wheat and corn.

The mill is operational April through early November. I managed to get a hold of them just as they were grinding the last corn for the season. For those of you interested in purchasing cornmeal, they sell bags throughout the winter and also ship. Check their website or call (630) 920-9720 for prices or to arrange for a winter pickup or mail delivery. I did ask if they would sell me an empty feedsack. The price would have been the same as a sack full of meal (which is why I now have a lifetime supply in my freezer).

And now, for the drawing… your names have been placed in the feedsack, jumbled, shuffled, and tossed about… and the winner is…

Jan, now that you're a resident of the Chicago suburbs, you can visit the mill when they reopen next spring. You might enjoy seeing spinning and weaving demonstrations in the museum itself, or enjoy a nature hike along Salt Creek through Fullersburg Woods. Send me your address and I'll get your prize on its way.

Photos of Graue Mill are courtesy of Lyle Hatch, Lisle, Illinois and used with his permission. Check out more of Lyle’s beautiful photography at his flickr site here.

Testing, 1-2-3 Testing

2008-11-06T15:01:00.017-06:00

Many thanks to my technically talented cyber friends, Exuberant Color (Wanda), Canton Village Quilt Works (Jackie), and Sew Create It (Jane) for their guidance in downloading photos to Blogger. You’d think that after more than a year and 100 posts, I’d have the kinks worked out on this here blog.

Let’s give it a try. Click on the photos in this post. If they both enlarge, leave me a comment telling me so. I’ll enter your name in a drawing to celebrate not only my 100th post, but also my newfound computer skills (you may have noticed that yesterday I successfully downloaded a video as well).

Since this has been a most auspicious week, the prize will be a collection of red, white and blue reproduction fabric squares. And because it will take me so long to cut them (it’s an MS thing), I’ll keep the drawing open for two weeks (November 20).

I almost forgot to describe this little doll quilt. It’s a One Patch made of 1” squares (don’t worry, the prize pieces will be bigger). The backing fabric is a corn meal sack from our local grist mill.

Postmortem

2008-11-01T11:46:00.032-05:00

Well, here’s the postmortem on trick-or-treating last night. In spite of great weather, we were well into the bewitching hour (4:00 to 7:00 PM) before anyone rang the bell. Little superheroes and princesses didn’t appear until 5:30. We figured the hoards of gorily costumed middle schoolers were waiting till dark. But very few showed up. We still have about 100 pieces of candy left! That’s why we buy our favorites. I’ve paired my morning cup of coffee with a couple Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and think an Almond Joy might go well with cup number two.

Here’s the quilt I teased you with the other day. It’s a “liberated” log cabin, obviously inspired by Gwen Marston’s work. I made it in 1996 and figure it was one of the first quilts I made after reading Liberated Quiltmaking (AQS, 1996).

I loosely followed a traditional log cabin format by adding light and dark strips around a center square, however…

the “squares” are irregular in shape,

the surrounding strips vary in width,

and don’t follow the sequence of lights on one side and darks on the other.

I strove for an antique look by using scraps of earth-colored reproduction fabrics. It resembles an old utility quilt or perhaps one of African American design.

The blocks are 6” and the cable quilt design is stitched by hand.

Oh, and the sashing is that color!

Postscript: I can't figure out how to format these pictures properly. The first one is supposed to enlarge when you click on it, but apparently I'm doing something wrong!

BOO!

2008-10-31T17:01:00.006-05:00

Click for a good laugh

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Well, our weather’s turned out great for trick-or-treating ~ 70 degrees and sunny. We no longer get the caravan of kids we once did. Our neighborhood is maturing and most of the kids are in high school or college now. Nevertheless, we’re armed with 200 pieces of candy. One way or another, I’m sure they will disappear.

This is one of my favorite childhood pictures. It was 1961; I was five years old, dressed as a ghost in a white bed sheet. I remember always wanting a store-bought costume, but making do with whatever I could scrounge up at home. Maybe it’s just the memories it conjures up for me, but there’s something about this photograph that seems so indicative of that era.

That was then...

2008-10-28T07:56:00.013-05:00

this is now!

What a difference a couple of rainy days have made to our ash tree. It’s shed all its leaves, unlike our neighbor’s maples which haven’t even begun to change color. Yesterday afternoon, a few errant snowflakes floated in with a cold front. Let’s hope they’re just passing through, like the migrating geese that stop for rest at a nearby lake. If this cold persists, Friday’s trick-or-treaters may be unrecognizable beneath layers and layers of warm clothing. While a ghoul can hide all manner of garments beneath its robes, there is nothing sadder than a fairy princess in snow boots and a hoody.

Words Fail

2008-10-23T09:11:00.021-05:00

Just a tease ~ Click to enlarge

“The frost is on the pumpkin” today, and I’m bundled in blankets against the morning chill, trying to fight the urge to turn up the thermostat. We’ve had several weeks of true autumn weather ~ consistently dry, cool, sunshiny days. This perfect balance of moisture, temperature and sunlight has resulted in spectacular fall colors.

Our burning bush is ablaze with fuchsia leaves.

We have an autumn purple ash tree whose changing colors take my breath away. What a beautiful tree for fall foliage. The outer leaves turn deep red or purple, while the inner leaves remain golden yellow. The effect is hard to capture in a photo, but when the sun shines through it, the tree seems to glow from within.

Its leaves are my favorite color. They are so much more than amber or rust or ocher. The trouble with fall colors is how hard they are to name.

Adjectives such as burnished or mottled or tawny would customarily be used to paint a clearer picture, but in this case, they fall short.

Adding superlatives like boldest, brightest, or prettiest doesn‘t help much either. They reflect the intensity of color, but get no closer to naming it.

“Sweeter than mango,” “softer than a blush,” or "honey-hued" may sound poetic but these comparisons only approximate autumn’s unique shades.

Fall colors might be better described in reference to what they resemble: pumpkin, bittersweet, chestnut, or yam. Close, but not quite right!

Words seem inadequate when describing colors that only last for one or two October weeks. The best I can do is point and exclaim, "That's it! That’s the color.”

Same tree ~ different days

Maybe that is it. Instead of a word, an exclamation like “ooooh,” or “ah,” or “WOW,” (typically reserved for fireworks or sunsets) is the best we can offer.

“Mmmm,” I just love the singular, nameless colors of autumn!

College Daze

2008-10-15T13:56:00.021-05:00

I haven’t been at the computer much lately. My laptop has been commandeered by the rest of the family for the college selection process. The inbox is overflowing with messages from recruiters and I barely recognize the files displayed on my desktop anymore: college applications, scholarship essays, letters of recommendation. When I finally get my turn at the keyboard, all I seem to do is read other people’s blogs. It’s so much easier than tasking my brain to write something clever myself!

When last I posted, Lily from Block-a-day commented on a piece of needlework in the background of my photo. It's a needlepoint that goes as far back as our own college days.

My husband started a graduate program shortly after our marriage.

We left the familiarity of life in the Midwest,

and the comforting support of family and friends,

to journey southward,

where the countryside looked strange (it wasn’t flat)

and the people spoke with a drawl (ya’ll).

I was dreadfully homesick and took solace in my needle.

Odds and Ends

2008-09-25T10:39:00.053-05:00

Wow, Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post. I never expected to get more feedback about my gleeful expression than on my very favorite quilt! I’m telling you, I heard from old friends as well as total strangers (from as far away as France) about my smile. What a testament to the appeal of blogging. I blog to feel connected with other women, on more than just a “quilty” level. Connect with me you did and I am grateful.

I thought I would tie up a few loose ends from previous posts. Several people asked if Milly Churbuck’s hand dyed fabrics were still available and where they could be found. After trying to contact Milly in a round-about way, I finally gave her a phone call. We had a great conversation and here’s the scoop. Sadly, she is no longer dyeing cotton fabric. Following the trend for wool applique, rug hooking and needle punch, she now works exclusively with wool fabric and threads. She has no website as of yet and befitting her “semi-retired” status, is vending at a limited number of quilt shows. I promise to promote her business here on my blog, once she gives me the particulars.

Regarding the Hourglass blocks that make up the doll quilt in my August 14 post, a few people wondered how I pieced such tiny blocks with accuracy. The answer is, I didn’t! Although I claimed the blocks finished at a minuscule 1”, they actually finish at 1 ½”. Sorry about the “guesstimate.” I had no ruler at hand. Even so, the blocks were small, with fiddly seam allowances, so here is how I dealt with them:

I use this technique to construct Hourglass blocks. Normally, I’d start with squares cut 1 ¼” larger than my desired finished size, but when working with such small pieces, I add a fudge factor of ¼” to ½”.

After constructing the block, use a seam ripper to pick out a few stitches where the seams intersect. This frees the seam allowance so you can press it in opposite directions, eliminating bulk.

Press the block gently with steam.

Finally, trim each block precisely to 2” (1 ½” finished) using a bias square ruler and rotary cutter. As you pin blocks into rows, match carefully where blocks intersect. I probably alternated the direction in which I pressed seam allowances for each row. However, if you want to eliminate more bulk, press seam allowances open. If doing so, shorten the stitch length on your sewing machine to make seams more secure.

Hope this clears things up.

Shoot Me

2008-09-08T12:44:00.037-05:00

We needed some photos to accompany the Designer Quilts article about quilting with MS. I called on my longtime quilt friends, Sheila and Kathy, who helped set the scene for the photo shoot and also posed for the camera.

I work in the dining room, now that I can’t get upstairs to my sewing room. The dining table has become a dumping ground, not only for fabrics and quilt projects, but also for anything else my family doesn’t know what to do with. So, before we could set up shots, the table had to be cleared, a stunt quilt located, and various poses discussed (so much for spontaneity).

Sherry, my photographer friend, set about snapping pictures. She made us all look good. Although the scene was staged, the smiles and laughter were genuine. Thanks, dear friends, for coming on such short notice to help me meet a deadline.

The quilt that hangs in my dining room is probably my very favorite. Again, it is made from Milly Churbuck’s hand dyed cottons. The squares came from a couple of her swatch packs and finish at 3 ½”. The wide border is an indescribable brown, also hand dyed.

What I tried to achieve with my quilting is the look of simply pieced but elaborately stitched comforters from Provence, France. CLICK TO ENLARGE the photo. As you scroll around, you’ll see the borders are each hand quilted with a different motif. The date appears in the lower left corner.

Final Issue

2008-09-06T16:47:00.011-05:00

A few months ago my friend and editor, Julie Golimowski, asked me to write about my experience as a quilter with MS. The article is part of a feature on Multiple Sclerosis in the summer issue of Designer Quilts magazine.

Since hiring me as a pattern proofreader four years ago, Julie has shown concern about my health and the impact of MS on my life and work. Does the stress of deadlines increase my muscle tension and fatigue? YES. Is my ability to concentrate good enough to check math, diagrams, and wording for ten quilt projects an issue? MOST of the time. Am I able to climb stairs to get to the computer where I do my work? NOT ANY MORE!

Over time, the questions have become more specific. Am I in pain? SOMETIMES. What kinds of medical tests confirmed my diagnosis? MRI and SPINAL TAP. What medications do I take? DAILY INJECTIONS and more PILLS than you want to know!

Julie’s interest became more than concern for a good friend when she herself was diagnosed with MS. She revealed her condition to her readers in this latest, and last issue of the magazine:

Designer Quilts Magazine (formerly Designers’ Quarters) has ceased publication. In 2006, Julie, the editor of Designer Quilts Magazine and my wife, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. MS is an incurable disease that attacks the central nervous system. Lesions in the brain and on the spine cause a variety of symptoms from blindness to the inability to walk. Julie has relapsing and remitting MS which means that her symptoms come and go without warning and it is no longer possible for us to publish our magazine.
The final issue of Designer Quilts Magazine, Summer 2008, is now available. If you would like to order this issue or any back issues, please visit our website at: http://www.designersquarters.com/.
Sincerely, Joe Golimowski Publisher, Designer Quilts Magazine

Julie’s attitude is good, which I think is half the battle in managing this debilitating disease. Her symptoms are different from mine and there is no predicting the path MS will take in her life. No doubt, she will have good days and bad days. I will always be here to counsel and commiserate , although I wish the need weren’t there. I’d much rather talk to her about measurements, diagrams, and wording of directions for quilt projects. I wish I could edit MS out of all our lives!

Summer's Last Hurrah

2008-08-14T16:47:00.007-05:00

I need a dose of color today. How about you? What do these colors make you think of?

These tiny triangles of hand dyed color remind me of Kool-Aid and drippy popsicles on a hot summer day... beach toys and water balloon fights...giggles and shouts...summer's last hurrah!

The Tutti-Fruiti hourglass blocks are made from Milly Churbuck's Country House Cottons. They finish at 1", making the little quilt 17" x 22". © DJB, 2003

O Frabjous Day!

2008-08-04T09:37:00.013-05:00

“O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
[She] chortled in [her] joy.*

My family is complete, albeit briefly. Last night, James came home from a summer of study abroad. This morning, Will began a week long marching band camp. When camp ends, James and his dad will load up the car and drive back to college. Just after Dad returns, he’ll load the car again and deliver William to drama camp. Then school starts.

It’s been hard enough getting the boys together in the same country or state, let alone the same room, at the same time. We documented this rare occurrence earlier this summer, when they were home, together, for a day or two. It was a frabjous day!

Photo by Sherry Simonetti

*Lewis Carroll, Jabberwocky, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872.

Wrinkle Free

2008-07-14T11:21:00.006-05:00

The creators of Downy Wrinkle Releaser undoubtedly had teenage boys in mind when they invented a product that not only eliminates the need for ironing, but in a pinch, can stand in for laundering as well. When James went off to college, we sent a bottle along with him. Judging by the piles of laundry lying on his dorm room floor, he had ample opportunity to use it.

William just came home from a week at camp. Naturally, the last thing on his mind was the status of his laundry. When he needed a clean uniform for work this morning, I heard him grumbling as he rummaged through closets and dresser drawers, looking for the requisite plain polo shirt. Apparently, the one he found was wrinkled.

First, I heard it…a telltale spritz, spritz, spritz…spritz… spritz, spritz… spritz, spritz, spritz…SPRITZ…SPRITZ, SPRITZ, SPRITZ. He must have nailed each individual crease in the shirt!

Then I smelled it: a fresh, clean scent wafting down the stairs. Let’s see, would that be the “light freshness” or the “vibrant freshness“ variety? Actually, it was the nose burning, eye tearing, headache inducing freshness and an hour later, I can still smell it. I wonder what his poor co-workers and customers are experiencing right now!

I give the boy credit for caring about his appearance and smoothing out a wrinkly situation on his own, but I’ve got to introduce him to an iron!

Fair Is Fair

2008-07-04T18:01:00.019-05:00

As parents of more than one child know, what you do for one, you try to do for the other. When one son asked for a jungle quilt made with animal prints, a precedent was set. It didn’t take long for little brother to ask for a quilt of his own. In both cases, I was eager to comply. After all, my children were finally attributing value to what they saw me do each day.

William wanted a cowboy theme quilt and the fabrics he picked out were adorable: rodeo cowboys, covered wagons, sheriff’s badge stars. I loved the reds, greens, and browns and continued to gather plaids, checks, stripes and paisleys to round out the collection. But I had no quilt design in mind.

It took me a year to find the perfect pattern ~ cowboy boots. I think it was from Ladies’ Circle Patchwork Quilts. I’m sorry, I can’t recall the exact source. Even though the boot pattern required some tedious templates, I never got bored with these blocks. I pieced each cowboy boot with a different combination of fabrics and set them together with fussy-cut sashing and cornerstones.

After making boot blocks, there were enough bits of fabric left to piece a spiky barbed wire type border before adding the final border of black stripe.

A year later, I found the perfect backing fabric. This quilt, like most of those we use on our beds, was machine quilted by Stover Quality Quilting in Missouri in an overall fan pattern.

So, from start to finish, this quilt took three years to complete. And what did my darling boy say when he received this special gift from his mother? “Mom, I don’t really like cowboys any more!”

Wandaful Quilts!

2008-06-30T10:32:00.011-05:00

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Have you ever visited my friend Wanda at Exuberant Color? If you have, you’ve been treated to daily posts of color-drenched inspiration, like the photo above (Wanda's little quilt, photographed in my lilies). If you haven’t, today’s the day to visit and enter her anniversary giveaway. She’s offering six fabulous prizes and you get to choose your favorite!

Wanda has been quilting for 50 years! In that time, she’s owned her own quilt shop and managed others. She’s sold everything from sewing machines to her original fiber art. She’s transformed her cozy home into a studio with sewing spaces and fabric collections even professional quilters would envy. After thirty years of teaching beginners and advanced quilters, she can explain how to do almost anything related to quiltmaking.

Wanda has a penchant for batiks and machine embroidery, gardening, photography, and computers. She absolutely loves color and is “driven to create with it.” Fortunately for us, she’s driven to share all this through her blog, Exuberant Color. Thank you, Wanda, for your generous spirit and daily doses of inspiration!