Making some Halloween fun!

It's been almost two weeks since our small quilting group gathered to make my little Halloween sampler project. I figured it was about time I got the pictures posted!  The project is simple and requires just a few pieces of fabric for the pieced block and for backing, a small square of batting and Heat-n-Bond Lite.

Just a couple weeks before this class, I received an e-mail from Julia, the rep at Therm-o-Web, the company that makes Heat-n-Bond. She shared some information with me about products and programs and I told her some plans I had for future projects. The timing was perfect as I have several plans for projects for our little group. And a little bonus for the members..........she said she'd send some sample products for use in our classes!! The products didn't arrive in time for this class but they did arrive in time for the next class I did........Christmas ornaments and that will come up in my next post. But back to our little Halloween Sampler............

The hardest part of any project is choosing the fabrics. Granted, there are only six pieces of fabric in the little sampler but still one wants to choose just the right fabrics. And then we all have a different idea of what color pumpkin we wanted, or should we add leaves, or spiders............ And that's what makes it fun, using our own creative ideas!!  Enjoying some fabric fun are............Diane and Nicole..................

and Darlene and Sadie ....................

and Dottie and Connie..............

 

Everyone went home with all the pieces needed to make their little quilt. Some will hand-stitch the pieces together and some will sew them by machine. The pumpkins, ghosts, or leaves can be ironed in place using the Heat-n-Bond Lite. Connie and Dottie are experienced quilters who also belong to our Kindred Kwilters group that meets in LeSueur but the rest of our group was not familiar with Heat-n-Bond. It was really fun to learn how to use it and to imagine the possibilities of using it on a variety of projects!

We are going to have a lot of fun in the coming months as we work on projects. Each month I plan to share some new pattern and a technique or tip that will help members become true quilters!  It was only this past summer that Darlene, Diane, Nicole and Sadie made their first little quilting projects.  Here are Nicole and Sadie with their finished placemats............

They are hand-stitched and hand-quilted! Awesome work on both little quilts!
And then the fun was over.........time to pack up.....

and everyone will stitch away and bring their finished Halloween Sampler to our next meeting. If they're not finished, though, members of our quilting group can begin their very own pile of UFO's. Those of us that are experienced quilters know what that means..........unfinished objects!  :-)  Seriously, though, it's fun to get others excited about quilting, sewing, creating with fabric. These small items will add some decorative fun to our homes and will be a stepping stone to bigger projects. Keep watching because I'll share the quilting fun again next month when the group will make a little Christmas tree sampler. In case you want to make the Halloween Sampler, you'll find the project featured on this blogpost back in 2008 ....  Halloween*Sampler!  Enjoy and have fun! 
Sandi

What's on the line? Something warm and wooly!

Today's quilt that is "on the line" is just a small quilt that my mother made long ago.

It measures about 30 x 40". I recognize a couple of the fabrics in the quilt and especially the black and red plaid that is in the second row. I had a skirt in that fabric that I really liked! There are a couple other pieces that look familiar, too. A few years ago when I was home to stay with her while she recuperated from some surgery, we did some decorating in her apartment. It was fall then, too. She had a little drop-leaf table and two chairs in the corner of her apartment and I draped the wool quilt over the table and added one of her fall baskets of flowers. It really looked pretty. A couple years later, she decided she didn't want the table and chairs, and decided to sell them. I was trying to help her find a buyer and then I realized ..... "hey, that table and chairs would look great in your sewing room, Sandi!" So I bought it from her. She told me I didn't have to pay her but I wanted to. Just felt better that way. And now, since my mom has moved to the Care Center, that wool quilt, and many other quilts she had, have come here to live with me. I enjoy looking at them and also sharing them. In fact, I'll be sharing a few at Kindred Kwilters meeting later this week.

Once again, it will be a busy week. Seems like every week is busy these days. You are probably getting tired of hearing me say that. So, I'll change my tune............instead.........this is going to be a "fun-filled" week. On Tuesday, I'll be taking quilts over to Fairview Assisted Living along with a pumpkin cake treat for the ladies to enjoy. Then Thursday, it's quilt club and I will gather up a bunch of vintage quilts to share. And in between those events, I'll be preparing for a trip to Iowa this weekend and a program I'll be doing at the Christian Church in my hometown of Lehigh, Iowa. I'll be leaving dear old Kaiser home with my husband while I head out to watch the combines in the fields as I travel down Highway 169 and then spend the weekend visiting my mom, brother, etc. and doing the program at the church. For those of you in the Lehigh area, here's the flyer on the program. 

 

 

That's all for now. I promised a post about the little Halloween Quilts and our Henderson quilt group and will get to that on Wednesday of this week. Have a good Monday!

Sandi

What's on the line?

Note to self....... "It helps to remember to schedule a post, instead of leaving it in 'draft' format".  Uh, yes, that's right. I took photos and had a post to share, and forgot to set a schedule time to activate the post!  This is a sign of getting older or.......just maybe too busy?  Anyway, here is just a little something "on the line" that I picked up when we were back in Humboldt, Iowa for my husband's 50th Class Reunion. This little quilt was for sale in the gift shop at the Humboldt County Historical Society and it called my name. Imagine that? :-)

 

There were several small quilts for sale and when I asked about them, I was told that they were donated by members or local quilters who had a few too many quilts, some made several years ago. And again, I say.......imagine that? Even my husband said.........."don't you already have enough quilts at home?" And my answer........"well, yes, but not one like this one."  It's just a small doll quilt (about 15 x 18") and it is hand-quilted. I have a particular fondness for nine-patch blocks and the moment I saw this, I had to bring it home. I took this little quilt along when I went to LeSueur Assisted Living today to visit residents and share some quilts and a treat of pumpkin cake. It is so much fun to share my quilts and pretties with the residents. They enjoy seeing the quilts and then sharing stories of their quilts or needlework. And then there is coffee and a treat. Everyone enjoyed the pumpkin cake, along with ice cream and if I do say so myself, it was very yummy!

I began visiting the assisted living facility in LeSueur last May and thoroughly enjoyed the visit. It always made my mother-in-law smile when I brought handwork to show her when she was in a care facility. My dad, too, always wanted to know what was the latest thing I was working on so I would bring a few things each time I visited him. I do the same now that my mom is at the Care Center. And so, it seems natural to pack a little suitcase full of quilts and pretties and take some "Show 'n Tell"........ on the road!  I choose a few things that fit each month's theme or holiday and sometimes share a reading or poem. Very enjoyable for me and for the residents.  Here are a few little quilts that I took along today ..............

 

And I'll tell you more about them in my next post and how much fun they were to make at our Henderson Quilt group last Thursday!  Lots of photos and fun stuff coming up.
While I was "on the road" today, my husband was at home washing windows. He's spent the last week washing every window inside and out and now we have windows that sparkle so much that the birds are going to fly right into them. They are that clean and clear!  There was some curtain washing that I did while he cleaned windows and then I figured why not flip a mattress or two and wash a bunch of bedding. And then the dog needed a bath and there were all his blankets to wash because he's spoiled and has multiple cushions around the house. He no longer has one in my sewing room, though. Nope, I have pretty much banned Kaiser from my sewing room. He has eaten one-too-many items that aren't good for his stomach. Of course, right now, he's sleeping peacefully and, oh, so sweetly on his cushion. You would never know that he is sometimes a wee bit naughty. LOL!
And while Kaiser sleeps, I think I will do a little work on a Christmas project. Yes, I know it's not even Halloween yet, but at this time of the year, one side of my brain is thinking "Fall/Halloween" stuff and the other side is thinking "Winter/Christmas" stuff.  Not thinking about any snow, though. Hoping it stays away til November.......or maybe even December! All for now. Back soon.....
Sandi

What's on the line? It's a "Turnover"!!

Just a little something "on the line" today................

.............and all you have to do is "turn it over"...........

for a whole other look!!  You may recognize this design as I made the same pattern with fabrics from the 2013 Quilt Minnesota fabrics. You can see that project by going here.  I called the little quilt project "Sweet Turnover".  It's a table topper that measures about 24-1/2" x 27-1/2".  I must apologize for the poor quality of these photos. It was so sunny that the color is too bright on the top photo and for some reason, they are sort of faded looking on the bottom photo. In the top photo, it's 2-1/2" strips that are the base for that side of "Sweet Turnover". And on the plaid side, it's 5" charm squares that make up the reverse of this table topper. I am considering sharing this as a tutorial but want some feedback from all of you. Would you like to see a tutorial for this project? Let me know, please.
Here's wishing you a good Monday!!!
Sandi

What's on the line?

What a glorious day for hanging quilts on the line! On Sunday afternoon right around 4:00 p.m. I took this quilt and another one out to my clothesline in the trees for a couple of photos. According to the weatherman, Fall had arrived at about 3:44 p.m. and it was just a beautiful day. It was a wee bit windy but look at that sun and the grass behind my quilt is greening up a bit after being very brown and crispy because we hadn't had any rain. But we got rain and it didn't take much to make the grass turn green!
And sooooooooo..........what's the story of this quilt? Well this one is quite old, the quilt top that is. It dates to sometime in the 1920's and was made by Granny Blair. This is a bit complicated but here goes. My mother Mary Katherine was raised by her Aunt Bell Blair. Aunt Bell was the sister of my mother's mother Mary Ann (my maternal grandmother) who died when my mother was just 3 years old. Granny Blair lived with Aunt Bell in the 1920's before my mother came to live with Aunt Bell in the 1930's. Granny Blair made the top sometime during the 1920's and then sometime in the 1970's, the top was given to me. I used an old quilted bedspread for the batting and backed the quilt with a soft white sheet. The binding is made from scraps of gingham and polka dot cottons. I tied the quilt with bits of embroidery floss and it made for a really comfy quilt. This was one that my kids, Collette and Devlin, would use when a little extra warmth was needed on a cold night and also when they would not be feeling well. Some of the blocks show wear and I've mended here and there. It doesn't actually get used much anymore but sometimes I just like to lay it out and look at all the fabrics and wonder if they were dresses.....or shirts.....nightgowns? And for a long time, I wonder about Granny Blair. I wondered what her first name was but all my mother could remember hearing of her was that she was.......Granny Blair.  And then this past Labor Day weekend, I got the answer in a most unlikely way. One of my quilty friends on Facebook posted a link to the U.S. Census records and a comment that they were available free for the entire Labor Day weekend. I hopped right over to that link and started downloading Census Records for our family members. And there on the page for Daviess County, Gallatin, Missouri was the name of my Aunt Bell, her husband, John Blair and one other member of the household.........his mother, Elevetta Blair! Finally, I had the name of the woman who made this quilt top! I was so excited. And I loved the sound of her name. So pretty!  I need to get a label made for the back of the quilt and then this quilt will never again be without it's proper identification.
Now the other quilt that I took photos of .......... well, that one will show up next Monday on the line. And if the weather continues being so nice, I may finally get photos taken of those four scrappy quilts that I mentioned a while back. I love Fall because it gives me energy. Summer is warm and sunny but oh, the heat drains my energy. Planning to get out my Fall decorations and make the house look very festive with pumpkins and autumn leaves and a bit of Halloween, too. Here's wishing you a Happy First Day of Autumn! Make it a good one!
Oh! and Happy Birthday to my friends Judith and Lynn and anyone else out there who has birthday this fine day! And remembering especially, my Aunt Bell whose birthday was today. She was born in 1899, a very good year, I'm sure!
Sandi

What's on the line?

It's another re-run this week!  We have been gone this past weekend to my husband's 50th Class Reunion in Humboldt, Iowa. It was a great weekend of reconnecting with old friends! More on that when I get pics loaded to my computer. Just trying to catch up a bit.......always trying to "catch up a bit"! LOL! So anyway...........it's finally cooling off and that means Fall is finally on the way. Here's a pic of one of my favorite wooly projects...........

 

To see the quilt when I first featured it here on my blog and the story behind it, just go here.

 

That's all for today, but now that the big reunion is over and a few other summer projects, perhaps my goal of "catching up" can be realized. Um.........then again.........my list of projects is long! Oh, well, at least as friend, Anita says...........we have a good reason to get up in the morning!  Back soon...............

Have a good Monday and make it a great start to an awesome week!
Sandi

What's on the line?

As some of you have noticed..........I have been a bit of an "absentee blogger" lately.  Plenty of excuses but the one that covers it all is ......just plain busy!  Oh, and too hot! I was hoping to get out to hang those big quilts on the line but our weather here in Minnesota has been more like what we get in July. I am hoping that soon there will be some relief from the heat and also some rain!! In the meantime, I'm featuring a "re-run" on the line. This is a quilt that I made in 2002 and shared with friends at my church.

I am sharing them again with the quilt group that I belong to.......Kindred Kwilters. We are up to the Schoolhouse block and so I am working on that one this coming week. It was the most difficult block in the quilt and I am trying to make it a little simpler. I might not succeed, but I'm going to try. You can read the story behind the quilt here and also see a better indoor picture here. More on this project in the coming weeks. And hopefully, I'll soon be able to take pictures of some quilts and you won't have to watch "re-runs". 
Back again soon.........
Sandi