Conversations

When I visit a fabric store the conversation at the cutting table often revolves around what am I going to do with whatever it is that is being cut. Depending on the store and how well they know me, what I am making sometimes brings about quite a bit of conversation.

Cutters find the fact that I am making blocks to swap with a couple dozen other quilters quite fascinating. They are amazed that I might make a quilt for a baby on the way half around the world. Some chuckle if I am buying something with no thought to what I might make of it.

They seem to think it exciting that I am making a quilt to fundraise for cancer. They are not sure what to think of making quilts for wounded soldiers. Sometimes customers in quilt shops are really caught up in their projects and can't imagine doing any charity quilts, much less as many of them as many of my friends do.

It is something to talk about.

But today was a conversation stopper.

While cutting my piece of gold satin, the cutter asked what I was making.

I answered--a funeral pall.

Pretty much stopped the conversation.

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When we drove up to the audiologist's office and parked next to another silver Subaru Forester, I told hubby someone would come out soon and wonder what I was doing in his car. Hubby went in to get his aid serviced and I sat reading. Pretty soon I looked up and a strange man was opening the passenger side door.  Quite startled when a strange woman said--"nope! Next one over." I looked across and his wife was laughing hilariously. Soon all three of us were.

ABC -- Q

After temporarily abandoning my ABC quilt project to hopefully pick up where I left off next round, we come to the letter Q. What could I post but a quilt. This one was made by my grandmother for my brother Don. I do not know the name of the pattern.

You can find other ABC Wednesday posts listed here--even ones posted on Thursday.

ABC Wednesday N

N is for Northumberland Star.

Hubby is out of the hospital, but it will be a while before I get a chance to stitch up my ABC blocks. Here is a sketch in the meantime--the Northumberland Star.

I like this block and will try to make it in fabrics similar to the ones in the sketch. The name of the block reminds me of our hike in Northumberland National Park on our UK trip last summer.

Hoping the docs can get to the bottom of my hubby's problem and get him well enough for some hiking this summer.

ABC Wednesday--more Ns right here.

ABC Wednesday--M

This block is known as Mexican Star. Best laid plans of mice and women--my intentions were to make my sample today and post a photograph, but hubby is in the hospital for a couple of days and I spent the day there with him.

ABC Wednesday links are here.

ABC Wednesday --L

This block is called Lincoln.

It was published with that name by the periodical Hearth and Home, but known as Album in other sources.

ABC Wednesday entries can be found here.

ABC Wednesday K

There are several quilt blocks which come from Kansas or Kentucky, and some with a biblical reference such as King's  Cross, but today I  challenged  myself  to do this one,  which  is  called    Key West Beauty.

At first I thought this was going to be fairly simple to cut, and fairly straightforward to put together. There are no inside seams to place, and I thought the angles in the center were all 45º. But the green and the blue meeting in the center are different angles. I printed the block out and used a method called paper piecing to do it. With paper piecing, you place the fabrics one at a time in sequence and stitch on the printed lines of the paper to get the seams exactly right. I did it in four sections like that, then put the four together.

Have you ever seen the same pattern with different colors in different parts and not realized it was the same? Different values--intensity of color or lightness to darkness--in different places can make a block look very different with different parts coming into dominance. Check it out in this comparison sketch of the Key West Beauty in two different sets of fabrics.

Find ABC Wednesday here.

ABC J

Visit Wikipedia for a quick bit of info about the plant Jack in the Pulpit. Do you think that the quilt block by that name suggests the plant? I have not yet made my sample of the Jack in the Pulpit block, having been gone out of town for five of the last seven days, so you will have to settle for the sketch. I will play catch up next week.

ABC Wednesday is here.

ABC Wednesday -- I

It can be really interesting to follow the names of quilt blocks. I post this one for the letter I because one of its names is Indian Meadow. It is listed with that name in two early historic quilt resources. But the same sources and another also call it Queen Charlotte's Crown. One other has it as Basket Design.

Meanwhile, both of these blocks are listed in some sources as Indian Meadow (along with other names.)

Basically, it means that a similar block may be developed in different times or regions and be given different names.

Why any of them would be called Indian Meadow is a good question.

 ABC Wednesday can be found here.

ABC Wednesday -- H

Eight Hands Around

Pattern originally published in 1929. Also known as Swing in the Center and Joy Bells.

ABC Wednesday is here.

ABC Wednesday--G is for Goose

In quilt piecing terms, most of us consider this unit to be a flying goose.  In this sketch you can identify the goose and the sky by color--they are even referred to that way sometimes.

There are numerous quilt blocks with something about geese in their names, and nearly all of them contain this element of three triangles. Flying geese are also used in creating a number of stars and other blocks.

Or you can have a whole quilt of flying geese.

ABC Wednesday, Round 8

ABC Wednesday F

This blog has never been about politics.

 Long back in the days before suffrage, in the times when the United States was a young and growing nation--expanding into the frontier, women didn't necessarily have much say in politics. But they could express their opinion in other ways, and in quilting they often did. During the 1844 Presidential campaign, expansion and war were big issues. With dispute over the border in the Southwest continuing, could the nation afford to add possible war with Britain over northern boundaries with Canada to the ongoing unrest with Mexico. Oregon fever swept the nation in the 1840s, and an 1818 treaty allowed for joint occupation of the Oregon territory for Britain and America. At a time whe it was realized that that was no longer going to work, candidate James Polk campaigned on a slogan of 54-40 or Fight. Polk, a relative unknown, insisted that the border would be set at the latitude lines of 54-40. Public sentiment on the issue won him a landslide victory over Henry Clay.

When reality set in after the election, Polk fairly readily agreed to the British suggestion that the border be set at the 49th parallel.

The quilt block known as 54-40 or Fight was a popular statement in support of James Polk and still a great graphic image. I made this one for a project a friend is doing as a fundraiser and memorial quilt for a regional Kiwanis project. What I love about the 54-40 or Fight block is the illusion of curves that you get from the elongated triangles combined with other elements of the block. Do you see the almost circles in the sketch below?

You will find
ABC Wednesday
participants gathered
at the dedicated site.

ABC Wednesday--E

You may know that I have chosen quilt blocks for a theme for my ABC
Wednesday posts for Round 8. My plan to locate and plan the block, then make it in time for the Wednesday post is meeting with many unexpected roadblocks. The B block caught up at D, the C blocks were made before the computer design was drafted for the blog, and now it's E and it will be another week before I sit down a the sewing machine for any major work as the leg with which I operate the pedal is the one with bursitis. So here we go again with just the computer sketches.

A comment was made last week that others than an avid quilter would not consider that different fabrics would make a big difference. I will someday (after bursitis) remake that block with different colors to display the impact. The star I show here in sketch, though, would be a good one for comparison as to how differently it looks in different colors.

Here, side by side, is a star that has many names in many sources. But in some it, as well as others, is calle the Eastern Star or the Star of the East.

Se what a different background does to the colors? Which do you prefer?

Some other color choices:

When I am back at the machine, which color scheme shall I choose?

See what others are doing for the E in Round 8 of ABC Wednesday.

ABC Wednesday--D

The quilt block I have chosen to represent the letter D in this round of ABC Wednesday is the Dogtooth     Violet.          The irregular shapes and many bias edges of the pieces make it a challenge to match all the points and get everything to square up, so my sample is a bit off. I think the tans  should be a bit more intense color and the outer pink lighter for a better impact.

If you were following my blocks back at the letter B, you may remember that I did not get the block sample made. the block was Block Island Puzzle, and I couldn't figure out what or where Block Island was. A commenter from the team--Cheryl--told me it was off the coast  of Rhode Island, and that sparked the memory of why it sounded so familiar. In 1635, my ancestor (not sure if a great great great great great great great grandfather or uncle) John Oldham was murdered on his boat off Block Island. He had had a rather checkered history, as he had been kicked out of Plymouth Colony on two occasions--one of them having to do with pulling a knife on Miles Standish. So, I guess you could say that Block Island Puzzle is a family block. So I had to make one:

ABC Wednesday Round Eight is here.

ABC Wednesday--C

 Okay, I admit it. I have not made the B blocks that I sketched last week.

This has been a strange week with lots of transportation issues. Last Wednesday I had to drive 40 miles to pick up my hubby who had blown a head gasket in our PT Cruiser. Saturday he had to come 40 miles to help me with a sudden power draining in my old Honda. We were reduced to coordinating our errands using the old pick-up that is usually reserved for trips to the dump.

Today we picked up the Honda--it was a simple issue with the battery. Hubby got a ride to pick up the Cruiser, and when he had been dropped of and our friend had left, the mechanics discovered that there was still an oil leak from the replaced gasket. The new part will be available tomorrow.

I don't have sketeches for my C blocks. These were made not long before I started in on the ABC--as part of some Bible related blocks that I am working on.

Thsi one is Crown of Thorns.

 And this is Cross and Crown.

Find other C posts in the eighth round of ABC Wednesday here.

ABC Wednesday--B

 I guess I am establishing a pattern (no pun intended) of finding and posting a "sketch" of a quilt block for the letter of the week, and not getting the block made till the following week. Hopefully I will get caught up.

Today's sketches for the letter B:

Block

 Island

 Puzzle

The block was originally published in Quilter's Newsletter Magazine sometime in the 70s. Where Block Island might be, or what else it references, I do not know.

This one is a
Blazing
Star.

It is one of fourteen blocks known by that name. The naming of quilt blocks is influenced by time and region. A block know by one name in one state in the late 1880s, might be called something else in another area in the 1930s.

This version of the Blazing Star was published in 1966 by Dolores Hinson in Quilter's Manual in the 60s.

Last week I posted a sketch of Anna's Block which I decided could as easily be called Anna's Star. Here is my block. I thought it would be easy. It wasn't difficult, but it did take some concentration, as I sewed some parts together pretty strangely trying to find a shortcut way of assembly.

ABC Wednesday Round 8 is at home here. Thanks Denise and all who help her keep it going and all those who participate.

ABC Wednesday starts round 8

And I'm almost a day late and a block short.

I'm going back to my quilting to do this round of ABCs, but I don't have the A blocks done so I am jsut posting the design. I will find and make at least one block for each letter. A will be ready later in the week.

This block is known as Annie's Choice. I think I could call it Annie's Star.

A friend suggested that Anvil is a good choice for A, so here is the Anvil--I can see it, can you?

More better stuff next week--and more better stuff through the links at ABC Wednesday.

Ready to Walk

In the morning early--before 6 a.m.--I'll be joining thousands of other walkers to set out for sixty miles--three days--for Breast Cancer research.

I want to thank everyone who has dug into their pockets to sponsor me in this endeavor. The quilt I have made to commemorate those who have fought the disease will be presented to one of you. Last year's quilt went to a blogger.


Tonight I will have one of my grand-nephews pull the name from my names hat. I will let you know as soon as I am able to post again who the quilt will goes to.

Thank you to all my sponsors. Every sponsor is a lifesaver.

37 Days

My apologies if you have come to this post from the November 14 Weekend Reflections link. I don't know what happened and Linky won't let me correct it. Here is the correct post.

Okay, so I am way behind. Suddenly, the Virtual Trainer guides I get in my e-mail say Six Weeks, then Five Weeks till 3-Day Walk. My Pariticipant Center tells me it's time to get my final check in started. Yikes.

This is my begging post. I am pledged to raise $2300 for Breast Cancer research, education, and patient services in order to participate in the 3-Day November 19-21. I am currently 1/3 of the way there.

I had intended to offer some gifties to entice donors to part with $5, $10, or $20 in support. Circumstances in the last month or so have kept me from making any gifties. Thanks a lot, burglars!

I will have this year's quilt, shown here just after it was pieced and hopefully quilted by walk day--to present to one of my sponsors. So if you would like to have a chance to win it, or if you just want to remember someone you have known who has experienced the trauma of breast cancer, please consider clicking my 3-Day badge on the sidebar and donating through my walk.

ABC Wednesday--P is for...

ABC Wednesday--P is for a Purple Picnic

Do you have a special way of remembering friends? For me, each summer, and for some of my quilting buddies, it's a purple picnic.

So, you may wonder, how does one have a purple picnic and why?

Here is the story behind it. One September, my friend Grace and I were getting together to do a Shop Hop. A Shop Hop is a sort of quilters' frenzy, where quilt shops in a region have a weekend where they team together for special deals, contests, patterns, drawings. And quilters go in a frenzy from one shop to the next to look for the clues, the freebies, and the special patterns designed for the event. It may be something only an addicted quilter can understand.

Grace lived her life in a wheelchair. In the last few years it was a motorized wheelchair, after nearly a year in the hospital. She was ready for some adventure. A full shop hop was more than she would be able to handle, but a few of the shops on my side of the mountain where the Shop Hop covered quite a few miles and only 13 shops was a lot different than the more than 50 along the I-5 corridor.

While planning our excursion, we thought of Debi, a friend not too far off our route who was going through some rough times and we decided to drop in on her. We would arrive in her town close to lunchtime, so we decided to pack a picnic and bring it along, and if Debi wasn't up to a spontaneous visit, we could take it to the park.

I'd brought a batik tablecloth home from my trip to India and had never had a chance to use it. And it was purple. I said I would bring my purple tablecloth and exuberantly, Grace declared, "We can have a purple picnic!" We then set out to plan all the purple we could think of. That first purple picnic (Debi did welcome our visit.) included purple potato chips, purple pop, purple plums, purple gift bags of purple goodies for each of us, including Debi's son. Even a purple toy or something--don't remember what--for Debi's little dog and Grace's service dog, Landrum. We had a delightful lunch, cheerful catching up on everything, and Grace and I were on our way to continue our shopping.

The following year, sadly, Grace suffered a massive stroke and passed away. Some of us were gathered for a quilting weekend, and we had planned a purple picnic, this time adding cold borscht and purple paper plates, purple plastic tableware, and purple napkins to our picnic items. The picnic became a memorial to Grace as we remembered her always witty rejoinders, her faith in what she could accomplish despite her health issues, and her ability to always cheer each of us up.

The purple picnic became an annual tradition, and each year since, at least one person in our group has had a purple picnic in memory of Grace. The one pictured was shared last summer on a camping trip.

When Grace passed away, we remembered what she always said--that one day she would dance---dance with the angels.

Now our purple picnics will honor both Grace and Debi, who passed away earlier this year  after a long bout with emphysema.

                      Grace                                                                                                Debi

Do you want to have a purple picnic? Here are some purple foods to consider: purple potato chips, blue corn tortilla chips (which are actually purple), cornbread from blue cornmeal (available at a health food store), potato salad from blue or purple potatoes. borscht, grapes, plumes, grape soda, grape jelly, purple jelly beans, pickled beets,....maybe you could add some more.....

ABC Wednesday

Founded by Denise

Continues each week with the help of a team at the ABC site.

It's Geometry! Quilt Geometry

My friend and I went to the quilt show the other day. Quilters have to be natural mathematicians--the geometry in quilts is part of the artistry. I could show quilt pictures one a day for months and not touch the surface of the possibilities of geometry, But here are some samples for you.

The artistry of quilt geometry can be demonstrated with something as simple as well placed squares. I love black and white quilts with a highlight of red. Now, if this had been my quilt, I might have put one small bright yellow square in the mix, but that's me. I've made a lot of quilts made artistically of just squares, and several that were black and white and red (with that one tiny bit of yellow.)

Most pieced quilts are made up of combinations of squares, rectangles, and triangles. This sampler is a good example of what those combinations can create.

When you have pieced squares, they can be softened by the use of circles in the quilting stitches. I've tried quilting circles and not been very successful myself. I am a machine quilter--the carpal tunnel and a bit of arthritis will not let my hands cooperate with hand quilting.

Putting those basic shapes together as in the sampler and the squares and quilted circles above is wonderful. But one of my favorite things to do is create an illusion, as this quilter did, of circles using the squares, rectangles, and triangles.

Quilts are history as well as geometry, that block in the center is called 54-40 or Fight--commemorating the slogan of James Polk in his 1844 Presidential Campaign.