Karrin's Crazy World: September 2023

Saturday, September 30, 2023

Slow Sunday Stitching

I have been motivated this week to get my Ella Maria Deacon reproduction quilt top together. I tried to locate more of the sashing I started out with, to no avail. I purchased the 4 yards I think on clearance over 3 years ago. What I did was start piecing from either side, so I would have an equal amount of the original sashing. I found some plain fabric of the same color in my stash and used that for the middle sections. I did a lot of ripping this week, trying to get the sashings all lined correctly.

After looking at the whole quilt lying in the driveway, I decided I need to rip again. I have enough of the flowered sashing to put around the outside. So I am going to rip again this next week and do that. It appears to me something is missing otherwise.

What I will be working on this week for Slow Sunday Stitching is this project from Bird Brain Designs. I'm a sucker for projects with pumpkins and birds.

I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching. Head on over and check out what everyone is working on.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 24, 2023

Slow Sunday Stitching

Last week was a fun-filled, jam-packed week for me. Our guild has an annual retreat to Zephyr Cove in Lake Tahoe at the Presbyterian Conference Center. It is a nonprofit conference and retreat center. They have rooms which we stayed in, and we had a room large room where we sewed. They also offer 49 cabins to rent. It is about a 2 hour drive from where we live, part of it windy mountain roads.

Our guild has been going here for many years. To keep the costs down, we brought our own breakfasts, and they provided lunch and dinners which were very good. This is the room we worked in. We each got our own table. We had 29 guild members.

On the right is the building we were working in, Straight ahead is one of the cabins they rent out, and the building on the right was where we were sleeping. On the bottom floor of that building was where we ate our meals.

These were some of our views. Our building looked right out over the lake.

So what did I get done you might ask. Several months ago at a guild meeting we were asked to pick out a panel, make it into a quilt to be donated to Community Service. Our deadline was the October meeting. Many of us were working on these at our retreat.

This next one, I took some nine-patches someone put on the free table at guild meeting, and also the top and bottom sashings were on the free table.

I also worked on some Storm at Sea blocks. This will be for my lighthouse quilt, I probably started over 20 years ago.

I need 22 blocks for the perimeter of the quilt. I apparently need some remedial math, because I didn't cut enough pieces for some of the elements.

I also worked on my Ella Maria Deacon quilt. I had 84/85 blocks made. I was stuck on the one that was a paper pieced lone star. I got some help at the retreat and completed the last block.

Before the retreat I had sewn the side sashings in, and I started to assemble the rows. Unfortunately I don't have enough of this one to do the rows. I miscut a few pieces at home. I was cutting on either side of the red strip, so the middles are left.

I am going to post on Missing Fabrics.Com and see if I can come up with some more.

Last week's theme on Instagram #100hexies100 days was "I Spy" and these are my hexies.

This past week was the It's A Dog's Life Challenge, hosted by Carol @Just Let Me Quilt. You could either make something having to do with dogs, or something vintage. I posted about my vintage quilts. You can see the post here. I was having a hard time commenting on other people's posts while I was in Lake Tahoe. It kept telling me I needed to sign into Google. Plus the Wi-Fi was sketchy. I don't know if it was because I was on my Ipad and not on my laptop or what. It was very frustrating.

Saturday night my youngest grandchildren, Klara and John spent the night, as their parents were going to a wedding and staying in a hotel for the night. We asked cousin Keaton to join us at the Spaghetti Factory to celebrate John's BD which was the day before.

This is what I will be working on for Slow Sunday Stitching, the last embroidery on the Blessings quilt. After I finish this one, I will be able to start making the surrounding blocks.

I will be linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching. Head on over and check out what everyone is working on.

I saw this on Facebook last week and thought it was pretty funny.

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, September 18, 2023

It's a Dog's Life Sew It-Show It Challenge, My Day

It's a Dog's Life Sew It-Show It Challenge started yesterday, hosted by the fabulous Carol @Just Let Me Quilt. Many thanks to Carol for thinking up another wonderful challenge.

In Carol's words, "The challenge this time is to make anything dog or vintage related. Sew your project with dog themed fabric or applique/embroidery of dogs. As an added challenge, if dogs don't ring your bell, think vintage. Vintage blocks, quilts, fabrics or whatever old designs make you happy."

I don't have anything dog related, but the vintage related topic excited me. I have always loved vintage/reproduction quilts. I first started quilting in 1993 and in 1997 I started my Dear Jane Quilt, finishing it in 2003.

Jane Stickle was the woman who made this quilt during the Civil War, in 1863 and finished her quilt in 1868. The quilt hangs in the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont. Brenda Manages Papdakis became fascinated with the quilt after she saw the quilt in the "Book Plain and Fancy: Vermont's People and Their Quilts as a Reflection of America" by Deanna Bister and Richard Cleveland. Brenda began drafting the blocks from the photos in Plain and Fancy and ended up writing the book "Dear Jane, the Two Hundred, Twenty-Five patterns from the 1863 Jane A. Stickle Quilt". I used a different Civil War reproduction fabric for each block. It is a combination of applique, paper pieced and pieced.

My next reproduction quilt was done as a block of the month. It was by Terry Clothier Thompson and based on an 1845 applique quilt. Eight of the blocks contain Queen Victoria's Crown. After I completed the quilt and had it quilted, I overdyed it with tea.

I have also made several of Barbara Brackman's blocks of the month. She has a blog called Civil War Quilts, and each year she offers two blocks of the month, one is applique, the other is pieced. This one is called Hospital Sketches from 2019. Each month in addition to the block, she gave a history of Civil War hospital workers. Louisa May Alcott wrote a book called Hospital Sketches. Many of people who made this quilt were displayed at the New England Quilt Museum July 20-October 1, 2022. My quilt is still a flimsy.

Another of Barbara Brackman's BOM from 2020 was called Cassandra's Circle. I still have 3 blocks left to do of this one.

Another reproduction quilt I started was the Buhl-Bushong Quilt, the patterns were offered by the Virginia Quilt Museum. The Buhl-Bushong Quilt was made in 1855 by Elizabeth Ann (Bett) Bushong. About 1898, Bett's brother built a home on the property for his growing family. The house was eventually willed to the Bushong's neighbors, the Buhl family, The quilt remained in the house until the Buhl's eventually moved to a different town.

This is still in pieces. All my appliqued borders are completed, it is the paper pieced blocks that hold me up. I need to get back to this project. Paper piecing is not my forte obviously!

My last thing to show is my Ella Maria Deacon Quilt. This was offered by Sentimental Stitches. Barbara Brackman writes about the quilt here. This consists of 85 blocks, I have 84 done. I am hoping to get some help with the last paper pieced block at a quilt retreat I am scheduled for. In 1841 a large group in New Jersey and Philadelphia made an album quilt. They converted the idea of a bound autograph album to a bedcovering. This was made for Ella Maria Deacon (1811-1894). Ella Maria never married. I was hoping to have the entire top together for this challenge but it didn't happen. I think I need to find another fabric for the long sashings, as I made some mis-cuts and I doubt I have enough.

Coincidentally at last week's guild meeting we had a speaker named Arlene Arnold who did a trunk show of many vintage and antique quilts and their histories. She even had a quilt from t he 1700's. It was very interesting for me who love these type of quilts.

Be sure and visit the other talented quilters below.

The line-up for the whole week is below.

SEPTEMBER 18

SEPTEMBER 19

SEPTEMBER 20

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

SEPTEMBER 21

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 17, 2023

It's a Dog's Life Sew It-Show It Challenge Starts Today

The It's a Dog's Life Sew It-Show It Challenge starts today, hosted by the fabulous Carol @Just Let Me Quilt.

The line-up for this week is below.

SEPTEMBER 18

SEPTEMBER 19

SEPTEMBER 20

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

SEPTEMBER 21

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, September 14, 2023

ScrapHappy September

It’s again time for showing off our scrap projects! ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, jewelry, dolls, socks or a sculpture. I even made a new flower garden with leftover paving stones. Anything made of scraps is eligible.

If you'd like to join us and use up your scrap collection, instead of sitting around in bags, etc, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either e-mail Kate at the address on her Contact Me page, or leave a comment on her Scrap Happy Post.

You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members, and you don’t have to worry about making a long-term commitment or even join in every month. Regular contributors receive an e-mail reminder at least three days before the event.

On our 5th Wednesday quilt guild sewing day, I made a bunch more potato chip blocks. One more block and I can put together a small quilt for our guild community service. You can get the instructions here at Conquering Mt. Scrapmore with Brenda.