channeling dora

some years ago, i saw a photo in an issue of "quilt life," the now-defunct magazine of alex anderson/ricky tims that came from this book by janet finley...

chock full of wonderful examples of quilters and their quilts. one caveat: there are many post-mortem photos, mostly babies and children, also included.  one of the photos in the magazine was this...

most likely a wedding photo of dora petty-wood, age 23 in 1904, displaying her wedding gifts.  it is not known if the quilt was one she received or one she herself made.  the last line of the article in the book was "i wonder what this quilt would look like in color."  well, wonder no more, ms. finley....

this is my interpretation of dora's quilt.  the pattern in the quilt intrigued me and got filed away as a possible reproduction project.  fast forward more than 100 years and it is now nearly done.  densely hand quilted and destined as a donation, it has been a nearly year's project.  for some time i had tried to find the magazine article so i could use the original picture and put it on my label.  thanks to my local library, it has been found.   you can read more about dora on find-a-grave.com....she lived to her 90s, had six children married to a man 29 years her senior.  the whereabouts of the quilt at the book's writing (2012) was unknown.  i hope dora would be flattered...

tuesday sewing

spent tuesday sewing more of the potholders by day and quilting on the donation quilt by night....the turkeys also got basted and now ready to quilt...thanksgiving only 6 weeks away???  unbelievable!

dear daughter spent the weekend and we had a girls pj party of sorts....she left with 2 quilted pillows, 1 runner and 2 wall quilts for her home.  in return she gave me this bag that i had been ogling for some time....

up early this morning to try out a new recipe and it is delish!  it's cheddar zucchini quick bread, yummy right out of the oven but toasted will be as good...something about autumn that sends my cooking muse into overdrive; must be the yankee gene of putting by, saving the harvest, preserving the summer bounty....when i was a child, our only winter green beans were those my family had canned in the summer, unlike today's market offerings.

and also made a batch of chocolate orange biscotti....for the same price as a supermarket package, got a large supply of these that are ideal for dipping in hot chocolate...

back to enjoying autumn!

ready to trot

my turkeys are done and time to get it basted so it can be finished for thanksgiving decorating...

the flash on the camera has brightened it up more than it actually is.  the border is a nice jo morton gold and the binding will be a dark teal/tan plaid.  this project has been waiting for years and glad to see it getting finished in time for the holiday.  aside from a ceramic cornucopia and a couple of pilgrims, had no other thanksgiving decorations until now.  thanksgiving is a mere 6 weeks from now, but first that all-important anniversary on november 1st....it's been a challenging year.  my former cardiologist (he left the practice) said it was a new normal and it truly is--more maintenance, more watchdog, more tweaks along the way but definitely worth it...otherwise, the turkeys might never have gotten finished....

a most generous friend

saturday was visited by long-time quilty friend who came bearing gifts...not just for me but for our senior center quilters as well.   a sturdy machine will be added to our collection....and then there was fabric and LOTS of it!

a large laundry basket was full of very nice fabrics, some large enough for backings...half is going to the senior center....i can think of a few people who will be uber-delighted with this stash.  of course i snipped off the selvedges before packing them up...LOL...for my ever-growing pile of potholders....

and this little pile stayed home!  these are most large pieces for backings--about

5-6 i'd say--and some smaller pieces...don't you love those masks???  my 2018 fabric acquisition just got ramped up by about 31 yards which sounds like a lot, but a few finishes will take a chunk out of that.  hoping the next 3 months will make some sort of dent....jo morton has a luscious collection out in january and not sure i can pass that up!   ***  fall has finally arrived in MD!  our october heat wave has left town, for good i hope, replaced with crisp, cool october air.  no frost on the pumpkin yet but won't be long....time for soups, chowders, fleece pants and flannel pjs!

edgy post

selvedge sewing in full swing....got these done just yesterday...

after sewing a while, was pleasantly surprised to see that the shoebox was now only half full...

thought i might have to rethink my goal of 40 potholders but, as luck would have it, there is a veritable goldmine of selvedges very close by....so onward to 40!   ***  recently at guild meeting, a quilty pal gifted me with this; it's a left-handed cutter by martelli...i have no collaboration with this company other than to say this is one nifty cutter for us lefties...i find that there is less strain on my shoulder with this than even my olfa ergonomic cutter.

it's something i wouldn't have bought for myself, but have expressed my thanks to the giver....**** enjoying the last hot weather of summer i think...have to keep telling myself it's almost mid-october.   with the winding down of farmer's market, retooling my veggie options for winter.  it's been a year of doctors, drugs and diet that has sometimes been overwhelming but always thankful for the huge treat received last halloween...

october scrap attack

just a week late in posting my scrap attack project for october.....it's this:

the goal is to make 40 potholders OR empty the selvedge shoebox, whichever comes first.  now that i've cleared the charity sewing deck, can focus on busting scraps....but this being fall, also have a list of household things that have been on the back burner like cleaning oven and refrigerator, cleaning out drawers, washing down cabinets, etc.  yesterday opened up the cedar chest to pull out some winter things and found this...

it's a doily inherited from my mother-in-law...i know she didn't make it but perhaps her mother did....it needed some repair and i know my daughter might just toss it, so did the repairs and will label it--then she can decide whether or not to keep when she's going thru things. **** my first sunday project was block 9 of the antebellum album sew along...

and there was more sewing on this pretty polka-dot piece.....

not sure how many more to make but it'll be larger than this.....also pulled fabrics for border and binding for the turkeys so i can get that top done and basted....fun day all around!

QOV honoree

this past week our guild hosted maryland's QOV representative and official photographer for our veteran award.  these presentations are always awesome in my book, and i think our guild members were equally awestruck....

NOTE:  THESE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE COURTESY OF THE QUILTS OF VALOR FOUNDATION--PLEASE DO NOT COPY WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THEM!!!!

Mr. Kenyon Parker, 93 years young, regaled us with tales of driving a duck boat during WWII....Omaha Beach, Panama Canal, Manila and Yokohama were just a few of his stops.  Though frail, he was nonetheless entertaining and eager to share his experiences with us, not to mention deeply honored to receive his quilt and certificate....

his first words were, " I never dreamed I would be honored like this in my lifetime..."  i don't know about the others, but there was a lump in my throat....be well, Mr. Parker, and thank you for your service....

humble beginning

nature surely abhors a vacuum and that includes time...while trolling facebook and the 'humble quilts' page, spied an itty bitty sewalong and blocks that were soooo pretty.  pulled out my bonnie hunter scrap totes and decided to jump in....after all, it's only one small block right???  (lol)...

opted for my tried and true tan and blue...never tire of this combo.  you too can join in....here's the link

https://humblequilts.blogspot.com/2018/10/sajou-part-1.html

now that it's done, can get back to some other stuff and cook more veggies for upcoming meals...a never-ending task it seems...oh, and some "marcella" on netflix too...a lazy saturday indeed!

BOO!

the guild's halloween challenge is history, so i can show my entry now....i didn't win but i don't care...i just wanted to do something fun, try a couple of new things and be part of the challenge.  i call it "midnight ride"....

this isn't something i'm keen on keeping so it'll end up somewhere else.   it was also our community service presentation night.  we awarded a quilt of valor and presented many bureau toppers, lap robes, walker bags and a few stuffed dolls to a local long-term care home.  all in all, it seemed to go well and everyone seemed happy.  my day was crammed with senior center and attention to some small but irritating medical issues beforehand plus the first appointment with my new cardiologist--quite different manner than my previous--but if he is good at what he does, that's all that's necessary.  there were a couple of other snags but they got ironed out.  our veteran recipient was a 93-year-old delight who shared his experiences and was truly gobsmacked by the honor.  ***  charity sewing is all done for the rest of the year, so thoughts turn to UFOs and christmas....with a budget on life support, making some gifts is a must.  today, tho, it was finish groceries, hair cut and flu/pneumovax shots on this delightful, perfectly fallish day with a pleasant breeze, so welcome after hot and humid on thursday.  weekend plans shaping up with plenty of R&R at the top of the list!

design wall monday

after breathing a huge sigh of relief and packing up the shirts/pants, sewing time turned to my wild turkeys.  i've got it this far and a narrow-ish border will be added, then basted and ready to quilt...

i really like this pattern and the rustic look of the plaids and repro fabrics....now the sewing table surface is once again cleared and ready for the finish of my guild's halloween challenge piece.   after that's done (due thursday), have some small things lined up to sew.  the design wall is starting to droop over the multi-layers of things in progress....feel absolutely giddy over finishes, don't you?  *** and even tho the calendar says october, the 80+  temps are back with us for most of the week.  beach anyone?