What's on the line? Old Favorites!

It's been raining a lot these past few days and when it wasn't raining, it was windy so I didn't hang any quilts or pretties "on the line". Instead, I decided to go back through the photos of some of the quilts I've shared and give them an "encore" performance.
I have two blocks that are my favorites..........nine patch is one of them. This vintage youth quilt was an unfinished top made in the 1920's by my great aunt Bell's mother-in-law. I added batting and backing in the early 1970's and it was a favorite "cuddle" quilt when my son, Devlin, was young.

The first quilt I made was a patchwork squares quilt with the squares set "on point". It was for my daughter and while the quilt is still here, it's pretty much in tatters! It was well-loved! That quilt was made in 1970 when we were stationed in Japan. A few years later we were living in New Jersey and there was a nice little shop just a couple blocks from our apartment complex. All of the fabrics in the nine patch blocks were bought at the shop in Dumont, New Jersey in 1973-1974. The border fabric is vintage from the 1940's and was some fabric that my mother-in-law had from the days when her family owned Clayton's Variety Store in Humboldt, Iowa. I probably shouldn't have used the vintage with the new, but, oh, well..........

I've shared this quilt many times but I just love it. My dad bought it at a farm auction in Dayton, Iowa. It is soft and cozy and completely hand-stitched and reversible!

This isn't an old quilt, just a favorite new quilt!  The design is from Dana over at Old Red Barn blog and was one of her "quilt-a-longs".  I had all these lovely pink and green fabrics that I had been collecting and they were just perfect for this quilt. You can't see it in the photo, but I machine quilted this one at a retreat hosted by Heidi Kaisand in Des Moines, Iowa back in March of 2010. My friend, Sue and I went to the retreat so we could get some solid quilting time and quality friend time!  Dawn Cavanaugh, APQS machine quilter and instructor, guided each of the retreat attendees in the quilting of one quilt during the weekend retreat. I came away wishing I could afford a long-arm quilting machine. It's still on my "I wish" list!

Some things that I've hung "on the line" aren't finished items, like this sweet Sunbonnet quilt top. I've been thinking that it might be fun to do a Sunbonnet Sue block exchange. I would need 20 participants that would make 20 blocks, then send them to me. I'd divide them up so that everyone would have one block from each participant. You could make all your 20 blocks alike or slightly different. If you think you'd like to do this, please send me an e-mail titled "Sue Sews" at stitchinglegacy (at) gmail (dot) com. I will send you the block drawing from this quilt and the pattern page. This quilt top was in my mother's things but I don't think she made it. I am pretty sure it is one of those items that my dad bought at a farm auction. I'd like to get this one organized by July 1st.

This lovely Butterfly quilt was made by my Great Aunt Bell and my mother, Mary. I think it would be fun to do a butterly block exchange, too. If you'd like to participate in a Butterfly Block exchange, send me an e-mail titled "Butter Flies" at stitchinglegacy (at) gmail (dot) com. I'm thinking there would be 24 participants and we would exchange enough butterflies to the center and the middle rows. You could make it a small lap quilt or wall-hanging or if you want a large quilt, just applique 32 more butterflies on your own. I'll provide the pattern and details if you are interested in an exchange. I'd like to get this one going by August 1st.

 And then there is this quilt that hangs permanently in our Family room. I designed the blocks and made the quilt for a group of friends that met at our church in Prior Lake, MN. The name of our group was the "Hearthside Quilter's" because there was a large fireplace and hearth in the room where we gathered. Last year, I shared the blocks with the Kindred Kwilter's group in Le Sueur, MN. I have some pictures that I should share of the quilts that friends have made from these blocks.

And because I just love making certain blocks, especially Nine Patch and Churn Dash, I'm sharing the patterns for this quilt at our group here in Henderson, MN. We are the "Sew & Share Quilter's" and we meet at the Henderson Public Library on the 2nd Thursday of each month (no meetings in July or December). To change it up a bit, I decided to do the blocks in Christmas fabrics and I'm sharing all my Christmas fabrics so that my friends can do the same. Pictures of the blocks we've done so far will be coming up in a few days. 

Time now to turn in for the night. Busy day tomorrow and hoping the stormy weather isn't quite so stormy!
Sandi

What's on the line?......Aprons!

I promised that my feature "What's on the line?" would return today and here it is. However, it's not quilts on the line but aprons! There's a story behind these aprons.... of course! On one of those days when winter would not end this past year, I received an unexpected package in the mail. It came from my friend, Pandora, and inside were all these lovely aprons. She was sorting through things and doing a bit of "down-sizing" and said that she knew that I would care for these aprons and share them with other quilting and stitching friends. And so I am!  So here's the "Apron Fashion Show" for this Monday "on the line".......

Of all the aprons, this one is my favorite. It was very petite and is made of the softest cotton fabric. It reminded me of aprons that I made when I got married in 1968.

This lovely apron reminded me of all those bridal showers in the 1950's and 1960's when the hostess would wear a lovely creation like this one. The pansies are crocheted then stitched to the apron and the maker embroider a tiny green stem for each flower. This one is too pretty to wear!

There were seven gingham embroidered aprons in the box and the work on each is different. The handwork on these three aprons is quite detailed, especially the gold and white gingham apron in the middle. 

The handwork on these aprons is more simple cross-stitch and not quite as detailed as those in the previous photo. My favorite of all the gingham aprons is the one with the tulips on it. I love tulips!

It lovely, lush and green when I hung the aprons on the line Sunday afternoon but it was a bit cloudy. I was hoping for just a peek of sunshine and I think my photos might have been better. It just kept getting cloudier because rain is on it's way. Oh, well, a rainy day is a good day for indoor projects! I need to take photos of my wooly projects that I want to share with you. Will get to that one day this week........

Have a great Monday!!

Sandi

Birthday Lunch!

Oh, oh, I was going to post this on Wednesday but I got a little busy and then I had to take a nap to rest up from all that birthday celebrating. LOL! On the day after my birthday, my friend Sue, sitting next to me, pulled off a big surprise. She had called me on Sunday and asked if I'd like to go out to lunch on my birthday or on Tuesday. I picked Tuesday and we were going to go north to the little town of Belle Plaine for lunch at Cindy's Kitchen. But.........just before we left town, Sue told me we needed to stop at the Henderson RoadHaus to see her daughter, Sammy. And guess what.........it wasn't Sammy that we needed to see. It was a surprise for me because there were two of my favorite friends, Doris and Arline. We laughed so hard because I had no idea that a surprise had been planned!

Doris is on the far left and Arline is next to her. These two women are so sweet. Both were teachers and I can tell I would have been happy to be a student of either one of them. :-)

I have a favorite that I order when I'm at the RoadHaus. It's the Chicken Quesidilla. Can you say Yummy? 

And for dessert, Sue had baked a raspberry/rhubarb cake. Yummy again! The candle is wee bit crooked.....she said she put it in the cake when it was still too hot. I thought it was crooked on purpose!

I love the smiles on Doris and Arline's faces. They make me and Sue and whole lot of other folk smile!

When I got home, I had my husband take a picture of me and Sue together. Her log firecrackers are very popular. She's going to be making some that will be for sale in HeArt of Henderson, the new shop I told you all about.

Oh, and there were more gifts. Doris gave both Sue and me the darling birdie canvas boards. Sue has hung her's in her office at church and mine is hanging right her by my computer desk.

 And Sue said she knows how much I love making quilt blocks (and that I make blocks but never quite make them into quilt tops, but that's another story) and I love vintage so she had to get these for me. I love it that she "had" to get them for me. ;-)

So, you can see why I needed to rest on Wednesday. It was a lot of partying for someone who's gettin' old. LOL!

Got one last thing to share and it's more bird eggs. My husband noticed that a little bird was flying into the little pine tree we planted next to our porch last summer. And here's what we found when he pulled back the branches............

They are tiny blue with black speckled eggs and it's a little wren that flies into the tree. This one is not so easy to take photos of as I fear disturbing the nest and causing it to fall down through the branches. I can see this nest from the window, though, so I can spy on Mama wren and family and she won't know it!

Okay, that's all for today. Big day of grocery shopping tomorrow and then our grandson is coming home with us to spend the weekend. It's fun to have him visit. Kids grow up so fast that we need to grab all the time we can with our children and grandchildren.

Have a great Friday!
Back soon. I have more wooly projects to share.........
Sandi

Wooly news.......as promised!

I promised in my last post that there would be some "wooly project" news and here it is............There is a new shop opening soon in Henderson. It's at the east end of Main Street, near Wagar's Grocery......

The new business is called "HeArt of Henderson" and it's a little shop that will be filled with arts and crafts items of local artisans. The owners of the shop are Lisa von Lehe and Serenity Meyers. I stopped in today to chat with them.

Serenity makes some lovely pottery pieces.....

 and Lisa enjoys many crafts including card-crafting......

 and crochet. Look at all these lovely pieces she's made!

 And I love to work with wool. I love to teach and share the enjoyment and relaxation that can be found in stitching. I'll be teaching some classes that will begin in early Fall.  But in the meantime........

 I'll be making some small items for sale like pincushions, needlecases, and also fabric covered journals, some clay jewelry and more. I just love it that there will be a place for those of us who love to create and want a place to share our creations!
I was so excited when I left the shop that I took a little walk along Main Street. It wasn't a very long walk because Henderson's businesses cover just about three blocks but it was a lovely walk. The temperature was mild and no humidity! This photo below is at the corner of Main Street and Hwy. 93/Scenic Byway. Resident Eileen Brandt takes care of many of the plants around Henderson, along with business owners and community volunteers. It makes for a beautiful town!

 That's the post office on the right, where you can see those gorgeous blooms in the hanging baskets and you can see the patriotic banner in the window. Postmaster Connie has a "green thumb". In the middle of the block is the Henderson RoadHaus and I had lunch there today. It was more birthday celebrating and I'll fill you in on that tomorrow.  :-)
On the south side of Main Street is one of Henderson's newest businesses.....Henderson Wine & Spirits. Looks very inviting, don't you think?

And then there's Toody's Sweet Treats which is "kitty-korner" from the Post Office. This is the former home of the drug store and it retains the soda fountain from many years ago. I just had to stop in for an ice cream treat.

And that's because this sign outside was just too inviting. I was already in a good mood, feeling pretty happy but I figured a little more happiness couldn't be a bad thing. Right?  ;-) So I sat down at the old-fashioned soda counter and ordered up a large Rocky Road ice cream cone.

And then I sat down on the park bench outside Toody's and watched the traffic go by and the motorcycles roll into town and the classic cars for the weekly Henderson Classic Car Cruise. It was a fine afternoon. In the photo above you can see the new business, HeArt of Henderson, where I started my little walk and shared my "wooly news". Granted, my news is not as exciting as what's in the real news but it made me smile just to think of teaching others the joy of working with wool, learning to do the blanket stitch, sharing tips on using old clothes for your projects and also new wools, too. So excited at the prospect of sharing so much stitching fun! 

That's all for today. Will share my last bit of birthday celebrating in tomorrow's post and who knows what else may come up during the day to share! 

Sandi

A fabulous birthday!

Today was my birthday. It was a big one...... the big 65! Actually, though, I don't feel any older or any different than yesterday.......except that I had a great day today. Got lots of cards, phone calls and good wishes from family and friends. Talked to my kids, Collette and Devlin, and then my husband surprised me with this......

I thought it was Christmas! There were two wrapped packages on the kitchen table this morning along with that envelope. He rummaged through my Christmas stuff to find the gift wrap. LOL!  I was expecting the envelope because my birthday request was for some "green stuff", you know......cash. ;-)  But when I opened the envelope, there was some "green stuff" but there was also a card. And he made the card!! Oh, my goodness, was I surprised! He had me unwrap the thickest package which I thought was a box of chocolates. I was sure the other one was a paperback book. Nope! I was wrong on both counts. It was this......

It's a Google Nexus 7, my very own tablet!! And the second package contained a case for it! I was really surprised. I've most of the day playing with it and reading Facebook posts. Did take time out to watch a good movie this afternoon........"Stars in my Crown" starring Joel McCrea. It's a great film from 1950. My husband set it up for me to watch but after watching a few minutes of it, he was "caught". There were lots of well-known actors from TV and the movies that we both recognized. If you've never seen the movie, check it out. It's a good one!
We had some pizza for supper. Last year on my birthday, we ordered pizza and it wasn't all that great and it was expensive. Today, Steve picked up a DiGiorno pizza for $7 at Wagar's Grocery and it was really good! We'd both try it again. :-)
Just as I was wiping off the kitchen counters, my friend, Sue, called and said she had a little something she'd made for me for my birthday. I was to just wait for her to place it by the door. Well, I got excited and met her on the porch and look what she surprised me with.......

FIRECRACKERS!!!

Aren't these cute? She saw something similar on Pinterest so she got some logs and painted up this trio for me because she knows I like patriotic things! Tomorrow we're going for lunch so the celebrating will continue.  :-)
That's all for now. Starting next Monday........."What's on the Line?" will return! In the meantime, I'll be back tomorrow with a little news about some wooly projects.......
Back soon.......
Sandi

Six Years of Blogging!!

Last night I was trying to fall asleep and, oh, so many thoughts were rumbling through my head. And one of them was the thought that I needed to make sure to post today about my dad and when I started blogging. I can hardly believe that it has been six years since I started this blog! If you go here...... My*FirstBlogPost! ..... you will find this photo of my dad, Melvin and my thoughts on my first day of blogging. Following my dad's passing, I needed to find purpose. I had seen other blogs and wished I could do one, too. My son, Devlin, encouraged me that it wasn't that difficult and gave me the help I needed and he was right....it wasn't that difficult! I took the "blogging leap" on Memorial Day in 2008. And here it is, just a few days after Memorial Day, 2014. The time flies so fast!

My dad, Melvin Linn, (2007) covered with the hand-stitched quilt 

that we named "The Puzzle Quilt" because 

we couldn't figure out how it was assembled. 

The "Puzzle quilt" is a favorite one that my dad bought at an auction in Dayton, Iowa. One of these days, I will share a tutorial on the quilt. My dad enjoyed going to auctions and garage sales to buy quilts, fabrics, and "pretties" for my mom, me, and my sister, Judy. And he'd buy car parts and tools for my brother, Doug, and for himself, too. And, of course, he bought treasures for the grandkids! He just loved seeing others smile. And I loved seeing my dad smile when he'd make others smile! He would have enjoyed this quilting blogging journey that I've been on. He would likely have read it as thoroughly as he did the daily newspaper. I still miss my dad. Always will. He was a really nice fella! My son, Devlin, wrote a lovely tribute to my dad and some of you may have read it, but if not, please go here and read his words about my dad, his grandpa. We were all lucky to have such a great dad, grandpa and great-grandpa!!
During this past year, my mother's health has declined. There have been lots of trips home to Iowa. I had some health challenges, too. I did a lot of volunteering at my church, at the library. I needed to share my talents. Life just plain got busy. Sometimes, I didn't have time to blog but other times, I just didn't feel like blogging, too tired and my thoughts just couldn't come together very well. But my "blogging energy" has returned and I see more regular blog posts in my future. Just want to say thank you to everyone who has stopped by to read my blog these past years. Thanks for your kind comments ....... in six years of comments, I can only think of a couple of negative ones that I received. Thanks for checking in to see if I was posting, and if I went without posting for several days, many of you sent me messages of care and concern. I am greatly appreciative of every reader and every comment. Very, very appreciative!!!  Some of you may remember that I used to do a lot of giveaways and that, too, sort of "fell by the wayside". I'm thinking that maybe there will be a giveaway on my blog very soon....just might happen around the 4th of July. Stay tuned. Have an awesome Monday!
Sandi