Strolling through a lot of blogs.......

The thought crossed my mind that "I wonder how many bloggers there are out there?" It's not really a question I need answered because I know there are a lot and it is hard not to keep clicking from blog to blog. It's like taking a stroll down the street and stopping to say at a house here and there to say "Hi, neighbor" and then continue on down the street. I have a couple of regular stops on my stroll - Freda's Hive, Hen and Chicks, The Late Bloomer, etc. I had a few minutes after lunch today so thought I'd venture out to some of the blogs listed in the Quilting Gallery. Oh, boy, I could spend hours strolling the blog walk there but decided to limit myself to 2 or 3 a day. I happened on one that I like so much that I just have to tell you about it. It is called Dutch Blue and you will find it in the list of "blogs that make me smile" or click here. I love the blue and white, and the red and white stitching, and just the cheeriness of her posts and designs. So, if you like to do embroidery/stitchery, Redwork, etc. if you haven't already been there, take a peek.

The rest of the "9 to 59 cents a yard" quilt story......

Here they are, the quilts that hold the "9 to 59 cents a yard" quilt story. As I said in my earlier post, my mother-in-law, Ora, gave me three quilt tops (sometime in the 1980's) that she had made between 1933 and 1935. Her future mother-in-law, Christine Clausen Andersen, helped her make them. They were never quilted but at some point over the years, Ora had stitched a tiny hem around each quilt top and used them, as she put it, as "Summer Spreads" on their beds. You've already seen the blue and white Jacob's Ladder that I posted a couple of days ago. It's my favorite for some reason. I backed it with brown and white gingham, tied it (no batting) and just folded the edges over for a binding. I did this sometime in the late 1980's and used it as a summer throw in my son's room. When I really got back to quilting (in the mid 1990's), I often talked of those quilt tops and the ladies of the United Brethren Church that inspired me. I thought about having my Aunt Marie and some of the ladies do the hand-quilting but I never got to it in time. When my Aunt Marie passed away, I couldn't put it off any longer. I decided to start quilting the tops myself that had come from Ora and from my Aunt Bell. Starting small seemed like a good idea so I got out the blue and white Jacob's Ladder. I ripped out the ties, unstitched the binding and began anew. On a visit home to Iowa, I told Ora that I was going to hand-quilt her tops. She was excited and began to tell me about the quilts. And that was how I learned that Grandma Andersen, not her own mother, had taught her to quilt. Perhaps that's because her mother, Lulu was too busy working at their store, Clayton's Variety Store. While her mother may not have taught her to quilt, it was fabric from the variety store that was used to make the quilt tops.
Ora told me that the quilt top below, a scrappy Jacob's Ladder, was made from fabric that was carried in the store and was promotional fabric that was advertised as "9 to 59 cents a yard sale fabric". It was lightweight and not very high quality. However, just as it is today, once you get the customer in the door and they see something of a higher quality, you hope they will purchase the more expensive item.

And that's what the fabric is in the yellow sunflowers quilt. She never said (and I never thought to ask) what the fabrics used in the sunflowers blocks cost but just that it was the "good quality fabric". Additionally, they sold muslin blocks with pre-stamped images for applique and that is what was used to make these sunflower blocks. In addition, to the quilt tops, Ora gave me a number of left-over blocks and pre-cut "petals". I used one of the left-over blocks and made it into the heart pillow that is setting next to Brown Bear (that's his name and it's a story you'll learn next week). I asked her sister, Norma, if it was possible that the "petal" shapes were sold pre-cut. Ora had said she remembered cutting them but I had always wondered (instead of wondering, I should have been asking questions!!!). Norma said she couldn't recall that they were sold in pre-cut shapes and that, yes, Ora and Grandma Andersen probably cut them all. So that's the story of the "9 to 59 cents a yard quilt fabric".

Next week, I will lay the scrappy Jacob's Ladder out and sandwich it with some batting and backing, then begin to hand-quilt it. My grandson, Jacob, will be here and this time, I will let him put the first stitches in the center of this quilt top. It's only right that one day the quilts will be his.

So, yesterday I had a great day with my crazy quilting friends and I have photos to share of our fun time together. But first, I need to get my ironing done, get my bag packed and be ready to go to the retreat on Friday. Then tomorrow evening I will give you a glimpse of the fun we have at "Tuesday Crazies"!

P.S. Don't forget to leave me a comment so you can have a chance to win the Mystery Basket that I will be drawing for on August 25th. Five more items have been added to the feedsack squares that you see in the photo with Brown Bear. I thought about taking a picture of the basket as I added items but I am going to keep you in suspense. Instead, I will take a photo of all that will be in the basket on the last day, August 24th. I think I will want to do this again, so tell your friends and fellow bloggers to check it out. Add your comment on the July 30th post to get your name entered in the drawing!

Quilt story interrupted.......

by a wonderful afternoon with my crazy quilting friends and my friend, Sue, stayed overnight so we have just finished catching up on many months of happenings in our families and it is too late to post tonight. I promise I'll finish the quilt story tomorrow afternoon. Plus I have photos of the project we worked on today and the friends who made the day so wonderful!!!

Ora's Quilt tops........

I've been having some trouble loading photos tonight. Thought it was my skills but have realized that it is actually blogger. Perhaps too many people are blogging and the system can't handle it!

My plan was to post the quilt tops made by my mother-in-law, Ora, and to tell you the "9 to 59 cents a yard" fabric story. I can't get the photos of those two quilts to load tonight so will try again tomorrow so, I'll tell part of the story tonight and the rest tomorrow. That's Ora in the picture on the right in 2000. She is doing some hand-quilting on the center of a twin-size Jacob's Ladder quilt. It is one of three quilt tops that she made from 1933 to 1935 just before she married her husband, Ed. Her future mother-in-law, Christine, helped her make the tops. The first one was this blue and white Jacob's Ladder. It is done in shirting fabrics and many of the blues are actual shirting scraps because you can see where the seams are. The fabrics are very thin and very soft. I used a brown and white checked print for the backing, placed a very soft white cotton batt on it and then placed and smoothed the blue and white quilt top in place. I carefully pinned the layers together and put it in the hoop. I asked Ora to make the first hand-quilting stitches on it even though I was the one who would be doing the rest of the quilting and I took her picture as she did it. This was done at her great grandson, Jacob's first birthday party. It hit me then - what a coincidence that she would make a Jacob's Ladder quilt so many years ago and then have a great-grandchild who would be named Jacob! And she must have enjoyed making that pattern because the second quilt top she made was also a Jacob's Ladder quilt pattern only it's made for a double bed. And that's where the "9 to 59 cents a yard" story begins so I will have to end my story here.

Here's a full view of the quilt top once I finished the hand-quilting. I need to crop the photo but will post it here now and crop it later.

I have my crazy quilting friends coming for a day of stitching tomorrow. We are going to give a new project a try as we have all bought some wild floral fabrics and are going to try to make "One Block Wonder" quilts. We all bought the book but we will be guided by Pandora who has already made one of the quilts. I figure if I don't like the look I come up with then I will cut the pieces into tiny squares, add some solid fabrics and make tiny nine-patch blocks. It will be interesting to see what we end up with!!

My neighbor, Kathy, has caught the "blog-reading" syndrome. She started reading my blog and now says she doesn't want to miss it, then starts clicking on blogs I list as favorites and then on my favorite's favorites and wow, pretty soon she's spent a lot of time reading blogs. I understand completely. I can't believe that only a little over a year ago, I hardly knew what a blog was and had only one friend I knew who "blogged". And then I began reading and clicking and linking and before you knew it, I was blogging, too. There are so many interesting blogs that one could spend all day and well into every night just reading them. But speaking of night reminds me that if I have company coming tomorrow, I better get to bed. Tune in tomorrow night and hopefully, I will be able to load the pics of the quilts I want to show you.

Night all!!!

Making connections...........

I couldn't figure out what to title this post as it covers more than a couple of topics. However, they all have to do with "connections" in one way or the other so that's why it's called "Making connections!"
This past weekend my husband was "re-connecting" at his 45th High School Class Reunion in Humboldt, Iowa. This is a big deal because his class seems to have the best time when they get together and it is fun to watch them "re-connect" and remember the "good old days". I have always felt that class reunions are meant for those who actually graduated together, but interestingly my husband's classmates have made me and all the other spouses/SO's feel like we are part of their class. They laugh and tell stories and really enjoy time together so after having attended so many of the reunions, well, it's like you're part of the family.
Across the street from Vinnie's BBQ (where the reunion was held) is this great little place that would make one think the "good old days" have returned! A local gentleman mixed some reproductions of vintage items along with a few authentic items in an old gas station and it looks like you've stepped back into the past!! I thought it was just the coolest place. It's located in Dakota City, Iowa if you want to stop and see it. My dad would have loved to have visited the place and I can't wait to tell my brother he must see this soon! You see, when my mother and dad were first married, my dad ran the Texaco Station in Lehigh, Iowa. Only two weeks ago when I was home for our Linn Family Reunion, my mom and I were looking at old photos taken at the station. I felt like I had "connected" with my family!


Speaking of family, we "connected" with my husband's Aunt Norma for lunch on Saturday afternoon. She's a sweetheart. Norma is sister to my mother-in-law, Ora, and the two of them spent their younger years helping out in the variety store that their parents, William and Lulu, owned on Main Street in Humboldt (Clayton's Variety Store). I took the opportunity to ask Norma about fabrics they carried in the store. Ora had shared information on fabrics she used in some quilt tops she made in the 30's and I wanted to see if Norma remembered the same things. She did! However, like a good soap opera, I have to say - "next on Sandi's blog - hear the story of the 9-59 cent a yard fabric sales held in the 1930's" .......... tune in tomorrow!

Back to "connecting"............. After our lunch and visit with Norma, we were going to stop at a shop on Main Street called "Sew Many Quilts" so that I could "connect" with some fabric. Unfortunately, and much to my dismay, they were closed on Saturday afternoons! So, we took a drive around town to re-visit some of the places Steve remembered from his childhood. We drove past the house he grew up in and out to the dragstrip, to Gotch Park, the old school and parks and ended up at the Humboldt Historical Society - just as it closed! Our timing was awful that day so we couldn't "make the connection" at the historical society (located in the beautiful home in the picture).
We did manage one more quick stop to "connect" with cousin Ginny and then it was off to the reunion. Everyone had a great time and they are already making plans to "re-connect" for the big one - the 50th reunion - only five years away!

That's all for tonight. Tune in tomorrow for my quilt story. And, in case you're wondering, I've tucked goodies into the mystery basket for days 2 and 3. It's going to fill up very fast! Leave a comment for your chance to win it!!

Sending "Happy Packages".......

It's a good day today. I was worried, though, as the day started, and have been worried all week as my brother has been having some shortness of breath/chest tightness and so this morning had to undergo an angiogram. That showed blockage so a stent was put in but he is doing well and I am so glad, so relieved!! His wife, Sandy, called to say he is doing fine. Because their little girl is just 9, same age as my grandson, I know this can be hard on the kids, too. So, I put together a "Happy Package" and sent it off to Sue Ellen. I filled a big padded envelope with a notepad, pens, earrings for dress-up and a couple of cute Dollar Store purses, bright pink nail polish, pretty star pony-tail bands, and a really pretty crystal cross necklace that was a thrift shop find, plus a few other little items. She knows the package is coming so has something to look forward to next week. As I've said, I love surprises and love to give little gifts.

Earlier in the week, I sent off another "Happy Package" to a special someone who recently helped me with a quilting project. I can't wait to hear what she thinks when she receives it. I found the prettiest Christmas fabrics at Hancock Fabrics and bought a yard of the print and a half-yard of the coordinating greens and red. Then I folded and tweeked until I ended up with this .................

Looks like Christmas has come a little early! I was wishing I had bought enough fabric for myself so that I could make a table runner. Guess who will be stopping at Hancock's next Friday before she goes grocery shopping?!! Who me?!!

We have a busy weekend planned so won't be checking in again til Monday. Tell your friends about my Giveaway basket. It's gonna be really cool! That's good because this may be Minnesota where it's really cold in the winter but right now it is really, really hot here!

Lucky day!

Wow! I posted my first Giveaway yesterday and this morning I checked my e-mail and found I won the Giveaway at Mr. Monkeysuit blog. How cool is that?!!! I will soon be the delighted owner of a little Elsie Pocket cupcake! Thank you, Thank you!! I needed a day-brightener and that was it.
An hour after that a big thunderstorm came through and we were without power the rest of the morning. Had to do some laundry and cleaning today so never really got to much sewing. But I did do some sketching and made plans for projects I'll offer this fall so that counts in the creativity catagory! Come September when it's "back-to-school-time for the kids", it'll be "back to quilting and stitching" for all of us (no, I don't have any kids that go off to school anymore but my grandson does and to me, September just plain means "back-to-school"!!). Be sure to check in every once in a while to see what's new. I may set up a separate site (another blog or a website) for the patterns I'll offer but will keep you posted. If you're checking in for my Giveaway be sure to post a comment on my July 30th post about it. I'm going to find a basket tomorrow that will hold the 25 items that someone will win. I might post a peek at the basket just to get the interest rolling. I do prizes really well. ;-) My quilting friends and retreat guests can vouch for that!!