What's on the line?

It's August, a time when the butterflies are usually quite plentiful. However, it seems there are not quite so many of them this year and I read that it has something to do with last year's drought. Perhaps next year, there will be more real butterflies. In the meantime, I am sharing this vintage butterfly quilt that was made by my Great Aunt Bell and my mother, Mary.

Many of the butterflies are from Feedsack fabrics. They were placed on squares of white cotton and my Aunt Bell started the embroidery around the blocks but it was my mother that finished stitching the blocks. She sewed them together and added the borders, too. I love the placement of all the butterflies! She took the top to the ladies at our church (United Brethern Church of Lehigh, Iowa), sometime in the 1950's, and paid them to do the hand-quilting. The quilt belongs to my brother, Doug, but it is "visiting" me right now because Doug has asked me to repair some of the embroidery around the butterflies. Time has worn away some of the black embroidery floss so I'll take a "before" photo and then an "after" photo after I make the repairs. To see a close-up of one of the butterfly blocks, just click
here for another blogpost on this quilt.
I have shared a couple other blogposts about quilts and quilt tops that were made by my Aunt Bell. The quilt top that I have from her is a "Trip Around the World" quilt top. It was made by her and her mother-in-law, Granny Blair. I featured that quilt top in my first post of my "What's on the line?" feature and you can read about it here.  The quilt top that my sister received from Aunt Bell can be found by going here.  It's probably time for me to decide whether to quilt the top I have or just leave it as it is. Oh, my decisions, decisions, decisions!

And speaking of decisions...........I made a decision not to show you the four quilts I mentioned last week that were made by Delores Jebron. It's not that I'm never going to share them, it's just that I haven't had time to take the photos. I'm going to need help from my husband as they are large quilts and just like this butterfly quilt, they are going to drag on the ground. I'm going to spread a large plastic tablecloth on the ground and then have him help me get them on my clothesline. He's too busy right now because he's staining our deck. I figure it will be early September when I can share those quilts.

 

Fortunately, our son has been helping him and it's almost done. While they were doing staining this week, I was juggling meals, laundry, quilting projects, and a sick dog. Kaiser, the Wonder Beagle picked up a bacterial infection and he was, well...........he was "sicker than a dog" as the old saying goes. He's doing much better now, but taking care of a sick dog is not an easy task. Kinda like taking care of a toddler that can't really tell you when they are gonna be sick.  

It will be good to have the deck finished as there's another project that I'm anxious for my husband to get to..............and that's UV protection on windows in our living room. I am anxious to hang some quilts up on the walls but hesitant to do it until there is proper protection on the windows. More on this project in a future blog post. Before that project happens, though, the two guys are planning some car repair projects. Me? I'm just going to try to catch up on blog posts and quilting projects!  Coming up this week will be posts about some Henderson events........Classic Cars and Hummingbirds and a quilty project that will be a tutorial. Oh, and pics of family visitors and quilty outings. Lots to share. Just wish I had more time and was more organized!! That's all for this Monday. Make it a good one!

Sandi

 

 

What's on the line?

I missed posting a quilt "on the line" last week. It's just been really busy. Our grandson was here for a visit and it was more important to enjoy time with him than be at the computer. Plus, we had special visitors........my husband's cousin, Paul, and his wife Connie came for a visit! I have pictures and I'll get them shared soon but since this is a "quilting blog", I decided I'd better share a quilt picture. So, this afternoon, while my husband, Steve, and our son, Devlin were staining our deck, I trooped out to my clothesline in the trees to take a picture of this cross-stitch beauty...........

And I realized immediately that I was taking the photo too late in the afternoon and the sun was creating too much shadow from the trees. So I left the quilt hanging on the line and waited until later in the evening and almost forgot about it. The sun was almost down so this photo isn't all that good either.

 

Now the story behind the quilt............It was made by Isabelle Bertha Elm sometime in the 1950's to 1960's and is hand-quilted.  Her daughter, Delores Jebron, gave me the quilt because I already have four quilts that she and her mother made. Funny thing .......... I just realized that I have not shared them here on my blog. In order to tell you the story of the quilt that is "on the line" today, I will have to do that. I can't believe I haven't shared those quilts but a search of my blog told me I hadn't!  Wow, I will get to that next week. Look for four awesome quilts coming up on the next four Mondays!

In the meantime, here is a picture I took of the deer in our neighbor's back yard. I have seen this doe and her twins several times lately and finally I got a picture of them! 

 

 

One more thing for today and that is the names of the winners of the poinsettia fabric boxes...........

 

And the winners are.........Gene Black and Margie.  I've sent e-mails to them and await their replies. Thank you for all your comments about your silver and gold friends for the contest. After reading all your comments, I wanted to be able to send fabric to all of you and could easily do that..........if I could afford the postage. LOL! 
Another busy day tomorrow. I'll be heading out to a nearby assisted living facility to share some of my quilts and pretties. We are having some gorgeous weather here in Minnesota so it is just awesome to be out and about!
Have a good week!
Sandi

Like a Streak of Lightning!

I love a good book, be it long or short, I just love a good book. I like to hold my books, too. I enjoy reading before I go to bed and I like turning the pages. Yes, I am a bit of a "dinosaur" when it comes to e-books but that's okay because .........I am reading. No matter how you read a book, if you are reading..... then that is awesome!  When Mary at Penquin Books sent me an e-mail and asked if I'd review this special e-book from Clare O'Donohue, I was delighted because I've read Clare's books and really enjoyed them! (You can read my review of her novel "The Devil's Puzzle" here.)  I replied right away but told Mary, I just wasn't an "e-book" reader but that didn't matter........she sent off a paper copy and my friendly UPS guy dropped it off on Tuesday afternoon. I looked forward to reading the book on Tuesday night because I needed to relax after some stressful days. But.........a funny thing happened. I started to read and then realized as I started Chapter 2 that I had read the words but my mind was still on "stressful thoughts". So, I closed the book and decided to try again the next night. And so I did. Started at the beginning and this time my mind was only on the storyline in the book. I enjoy the "thread" in the books that "ties" the main character, Jesse, to the quilt shop, Someday Quilts, and her quilting friends. This little book is a good bedtime treat and almost like a "real" snack. I just kept reading, you know, like someone who just keeps snacking. LOL! And before I knew it, I had finished the story and I loved it. Can hardly wait til the release of Clare's next book The Double Wedding Ring. If you'd like to enjoy "Streak of Lightning" just go here.  Enjoy!!

The Promised Giveaway!

I have been promising a giveaway and finally, here it is.  I hope you find it rather fun.  See this photo...........

There are two neatly folded pieces of Christmas poinsettia fabric called "Gilded Poinsettia" from Daisy Kingdom/Springs fabrics.  The Pink fabric on the left has a Silver background and the Red fabric on the right has a Gold background. Each piece is one and a half yards of fabric. These fabrics are from my friend, Cindy. I inherited her stash after she passed away. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you may remember my post about Cindy and her fabrics. If not, you can read my post about Cindy's fabrics here.  Seeing the Silver and Gold backgrounds on these fabrics, makes me think of that Girl Scout rhyme.........

Make new friends, but keep the old.

 One is silver, the other is gold.

 

A circle is round, it has no end.

 That's how long, I will be your friend.

 

 

 

Cindy is gone but she is still my friend and she would think this a fun way to share her stash and mine, too.  So, check out this photo and you can see I have two large flat-rate boxes. I have labeled one Red and one Pink . I put the Red fabric in the Red  box and the Pink fabric in the Pink  box. Makes sense, right? And then........

I started adding more fabrics to each box in all sorts of colors and patterns! I am sorting my stash and some of Cindy's fabrics as I want to share the fabric fun. I will fill each box and there will be two lucky winners. All you have to do is tell me the name of one of your friends.........a Silver or a Gold friend, first name only and tell me which box you want if you are the winner, Red or Pink. Easy, right? Think of this as a "Christmas in July Gift"!  So, starting today, July 31st, leave your name and those choices I just mentioned. Then on Monday, August 12th at 6:00 p.m. CST, I'll have my Random Number Man draw two winning names. Good luck!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and special thanks to those who regularly read my blog. I've not been very good at answering your comments but I read them all. Summer has been busy and my mother's health issues continue to be a real concern. Keeping up with my blog makes me smile. Please keep reading and know that I appreciate every comment and e-mail that I receive!
Sandi

What's on the line?

Something very "Minnesota" is on the line today! It's the project that I designed and stitched for Firefly Quilt Shop from the 2013 Quilt Minnesota fabrics. It's a table topper that measures approximately 24-1/2" x 27-1/2". This is the front of the topper .................

........... and this is the back of the topper.............it's reversible!

I really like the fabrics this year. I had one idea in mind when I first got the fabrics from Janice, owner of Firefly, but that idea wasn't working so I came up with this project. This picture below is the view you see when you walk into Firefly (in Mankato, MN). Lots of pretty quilting projects!  My table topper is on the desk..........

Love the pinecone and branch that are displayed on it. You'll be able to purchase kits, with the pattern included, starting this Friday when the annual Quilt Minnesota event begins. To see the entire line of fabrics that will be offered, just go here! And for all the details on shops that will be participating and prizes that will be offered, just go here!

Once again, I'm a little bit behind in blogging and projects I want to share. That's just the way things seem to be going these days. There's all the normal things in life and then there are still concerns for my mother's health. Family comes first so I'm rescheduling some plans I had made.  One of those plans was a "Christmas in July" project I wanted to share but it will be September before I can get to that. I had a little giveaway to share and planned to do that last Friday but now it will be this Wednesday. It'll be a "Christmas in July" giveaway. You'll like it. I just know you will. :-) In the meantime, Happy Monday! Make it a good one!
Sandi

What's on the line?

Bet you thought I forgot to post something "on the line" today but I'm just late, very late! I returned from my visit to Iowa about 8:30 this evening, then got unpacked and finally have time to get to the computer. The little quilts "on the line" today were made by my mother, Mary..........

The quilts in the photo above are made from lots of 3-1/2" squares that I cut and sent to my mom. She'd hand-stitch a few together, then add a backing and make a doll quilt. She gave one each to all the great granddaughters. These are some that I chose to keep.
In the photo below, my mom made these quilts from fabrics that my quilting friends sent her for her 80th birthday. She loved to hand-piece her tops. I am the same way. I really love to hand-stitch and find it to be far more peaceful than being hunched over my sewing machine. Only thing is.........it takes longer to sew things together when you do it by hand!

Time to turn in for the night. Always good to come home and sleep in your own bed!
Sandi

Hot and Thirsty!

That's right! Hot and thirsty and that is exactly what my flowers are these days!  We had a stretch of really hot days, and all the pretty petunias that I have on our front porch have seriously needed lots of water this week.

Now, I have shared lots of pictures on my blog of artificial flowers, bears, bunnies and other stuff that I set out on my porch but finally we have real bushes growing around the porch and real flowers!!   I have really enjoyed the color and the lovely smell of real flowers. And I have even enjoyed watering them but the hose seemed to be too much and so I thought I'd look for a big watering can. And then........I was doing laundry and had used up the last of the detergent in the bottle, when I looked at it and knew just what I'd do. I punched holes with a nail in the top of the lid, rinsed out the bottle very well and then .......... voila!!! ........ I had a watering can!!

My daughter, Collette, thought I should share it with all of you. I'm sure someone has thought of this before, but for me..........the "light bulb moment" only came on a couple weeks ago. LOL!

This hot week has been a busy one and the weekend coming up will be equally busy. It is our 84th annual Linn Family Reunion!  I am heading to Iowa for the weekend and leaving my husband and dear old Kaiser behind to "hold down the fort".  Some years, we all go to the reunion, some years not. Work schedules don't always cooperate for some family members or health issues make travel difficult. But every summer, some family member comes that hasn't been to the reunion in years. I wonder who that will be this year?  I'll soon find out! Looking forward to a fun weekend.

Oh, and I was planning a giveaway for today but never got that together. Next Friday for sure.......there are fabrics to sort and share so I will get to it soon!
Sandi