Grandmother's Quilt

I'm still at my sister's house in Ottawa so don't have a lot of comptuer time. I wanted to share the photo's of my grandmother's quilt (the one that got me started).



One thing I noticed on closer inspection of this quilt is that there is no batting in it. It's more like a coverlet. I think I like that. We really loved using a duvet and this way we could go back to the duvet but I could have coverlets that I could swap out. It's way cheaper this way too! I'll probably still put batting in my daughter's wedding quilt, if I ever get it finished, but then I want to try some more traditional patterns for myself.

Here's a closeup of the quilting (by hand). It was quilted by a number of people because there was a quilting group at my grandmother's church. My parents married in 1936 but my sister remembers a quilt frame permanently set up in my grandmother's livingroom so this could have been made as late as the mid to late 40's.



Actually seeing this quilt again has given me more confidence. I thought quilting had to be fancy and found looking at this quilt that a simple pattern can work just as well. even without batting!

I'm missing home and all my "stuff" but am still here until July 2. We really do need to drive down to Cobourg to see my 93yo aunt. She's my last remaining aunt. It's a 3 hour drive so we can perhaps make it a day trip. We want to spend Canada Day in Canada's capital. I haven't done that in 36 years!

The last 2 weeks have just zoomed by so I'm sure the last 1 1/2 will too.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Now There's Something You Don't See Every Day

Does your husband bring his work home at night?

It's been 5 years since our garage has had a car in it. Why? Cause my husband's latest hobby meant there was no room in there. It's been a loooong, and expensive, 5 years. When my husband said he'd have to modify the garage doors to get it out I pictured the outline of an airplane on the front of the house. Luckily it was only the wheels on the front that were too wide so he just had to take off trim *whew*So today was the big day and this is what the neighbours who drove by saw:

It's a good thing we live in a quiet neighbourhood cause everyone driving by took a double take. Wonder why? *LOL* Thank goodness we got our income tax refunds today so may actually be able to pay for the move. The first guy who came out concerned me a bit. He looked like Jack Elam

I can remember him on Tool Time looking straight at the camera and announcing that he was the guy who aligned your headlights at the car factory *LOL* I'm sure this guy's eyes were fine, but the truck bed wasn't wide enough to they had to call in another guy.

As usual, for me, there's a story too. My husband paid to get that registration number 5 years ago when he started this project. He started his career with CP Air in 1972 and the airplane they used first for training was a DC3 which had the same registration.

Never missing out on a chance to make a few bucks his dad bought the plane when CP Air sold it and he flew it down to Florida and was going to sell it down there. There were riots in Florida that summer- figures - and some damage done but it did survive it and he was able to sell it. However the new owner didn't change the ownership.

Next thing you know the RCMP is banging on FIL's door cause the plane had been sent to South America and was running drugs... with him still listed as the registered owner *LOL* Guess the moral is you can try to make a quick buck but be real, real, careful. Of course it was straightened out but still.... kinda funny in hindsight.

A Tote

This is a class I took... although I have to say I was in a class of my own... no one else showed up. It's called Favorite Tote. My only favorite part of it is that it's finished. It's nice and big and would be great for shopping... and I may use it for that. Look at all the room inside of it!

As you can see I used a Mary Englebreit Jelly Roll to make it.Now why I didn't enjoy making it. It has double batting to make it look puffy, which is one of the things that appealed to me. I love puffy. But boy is it hard on a sewing machine, especially when you have to do things like the bottom that had 4 layers of batting and two of fabric.

The grommets look nice but were a pain to put in. And it used 2 1/2" piping for the handles which was hard to pull through and then I had to try to sew them together.

That's when my sewing machine said enough was enough.The needle started to hit the plate and, being electric, was bouncing up and down trying to keep moving. I turned the machine off and tried turning the wheel by hand... it hit metal.I took it all apart, cleaned out around and under the bobbin case and put in a new needle in case the first one had bent.. although it didn't look bent. I turned the wheel by hand again and it seemed fine.

So I started to sew and went through the entire thing again. I may have bent the needle shaft maybe? I dunno, but it's going in tomorrow for a cleaning and to have it looked at. So I sewed the ends together by hand. I also put up my little Janome to use in the meantime but I was so upset and scatterbrained that I don't know what I did with the plastic piece that covers the bobbin. It's got to be around there somewhere... on the floor maybe?

Went into Vancouver again with my daughter later this afternoon for another wedding dress fitting. She was wearing a leather jacket and said she didn't feel too safe in a Hippie neighbourhood wearing it. I told her Hippies were gentle people.. the make love not war right? Some of my best friends used to be Hippies.She informed me that new age Hippies are a cross between Hippies and Yuppies.... so I guess now they're Huppies? I dunno. But it was still light out these days at 7pm so everything was fine except for some weird guy in funny looking hightops (they were like neon yellow and looked plastic) who asked if we smoked. We said no. Daughter said he was probably going to try to sell us a half pack of cigarettes he was carrying. Right, someone is going to buy an opened half pack of cigarettes from some guy looking like that Geesh.

To add to all of this I went in to pick up the blouse I ordered to wear for the wedding. It's HUGE. It's a size 16. I don't know why it didn't trigger that a size 14 should have fit me at the time.. guess I was just disappointed that I couldn't get it buttoned up. It's a Petites store. I guess I thought maybe their sizing is different. Also, because my kidney's are so large (5x normal size) it's not unusual for things to be tight around my stomach.I discovered today when I tried it on that it ties in the back... DUH!

Why wouldn't a sales clerk point that out when the bottom 2 buttons aren't buttoning but the rest seems to fit? And of course now all the stock in the store has changed so they no longer had a size 14. So I'll have to have this one adjusted at some point. It was an expensive blouse. I never buy expensive blouses. But now that I have I'm darn well going to wear it. It's okay for the wedding cause the suit I bought has a short sleeved jacket that will go over it. With it tying in the back at least the rest of it looks like it fits me.

Why I Quilt

People tell me I should write. I actually did take a writing course but I have no idea what to do with what I've written so I'll share one here. I was reflecting on why, exactly, I started this hobby of quilting and why it has had such a strong grip on me. This is what I came up with.

How Quilting Changed My Life

Why do I quilt? Why does any woman quilt? There are as many different answers to that
question as there are quilters. It’s one of those hobbies that brings something different to each person and at the same has a similarity about it that is undeniable.

My paternal grandmother was a quilter. One of her quilts adorned our parents bed for years. My sister still has it and I recently saw it again in her guestroom. It’s tattered in many places now as a well-loved quilt should be. The pattern, ironically, is called Grandmother’s Fan. It’s a legacy that she unknowingly left behind. Seeing this quilt again after many years drew me into wanting to learn to quilt myself. So as well as being a legacy I discovered that this quilt held a message just for me.

I decided to check out the quilt shop that’s near my home. When I walked through the door I saw a group of women sitting together having tea and laughing. Some were stitching by hand and others were just chatting. The atmosphere felt warm and welcoming. When I said I was a new quilter they all wanted to see the pattern I’d chosen and asked me to bring the quilt back when it was finished for Show and Tell. When I took the finished quilt to the shop I had five or six women surrounding me looking at it and purring over it as if it was the most wonderful quilt they had ever seen. It was an incredible feeling having this group of women who didn’t even know me admiring my first attempt at something they were already adept at.

I decided to take a class at the shop. I was amazed at how different all of our quilts looked even though we had used the same pattern and techniques. Because of different fabric choices many of them didn’t resemble my quilt at all. In addition to learning how to make a quilt I learned that everyone has their own style and color preferences. Mine are earth tones, someone else’s was florals and another’s were bright funky fabrics. I began to see why they say that every quilt is a signature of the person that made it.

I took more classes and I often found myself with the same people that I’d taken classes with before. The more I got to know the other quilters the more I liked them and the more comfortable I became. I’m actually quite shy and friendships have never been easy for me. To my surprise I discovered I was developing real friendships among these women. Eventually I felt that I really did fit in and was an accepted part of a group for the first time in my life. I also discovered that most people who quilt have faced or are facing challenges in their lives. I’ve had a turbulent life myself but the minute I enter that shop everything melts away and I relax. If I’m having a hard time there’s always a caring ear to listen. If someone else is having a hard time I become one of those ears.

Quilting at home has its merits. Many women treasure this time spent alone surrounded by their stashes of fabrics crying out to be used in new and creative ways. I do find it a nice way to relax but I began to realize how much more I preferred to be with other quilters. I may not be working on the same thing as the woman beside me but it’s the connectedness that matters. It’s the words of encouragement and the suggestions of others when I am trying to choose fabrics. There’s always lots of laughter and giggles and at the end of the day we ask each other how soon we can get together and play again. It’s good for the soul.

Another similarity between many quilters and myself is a joy of giving. I’ve faced stumbling blocks in my life because I give too much of myself to others sometimes. This urge to give is satisfied in a positive way when I’m making quilts. I can enjoy thinking about the person I’m making a quilt for as I’m working on it. When I put a label on the back that states the quilt was lovingly stitched for a specific person I mean it.

Our local Quilt Guild meets once a month. It’s a great time to meet with even more quilters. There is always Show and Tell and seeing the work of others is inspiring. The Guild also has ongoing projects that anyone who chooses to can join in on regardless of whether they are a new quilter or one who has been quilting for many years. One of these projects is making quilts for children receiving cancer treatments and for preemie babies at Vancouver’s Children’s Hospital. Other quilts are given to our local Victims Services Unit for children who have suffered living with violence and/or abuse. The latest Guild project was making Christmas placemats to be used by Meals on Wheels. These projects allow for a constant fulfillment of the desire to give. As I learn to give in this way I’m learning to not give so much of myself in a way that is unhealthy. In turn this gives me more self-confidence and self esteem. I can feel good about myself.

I’ve had lots of hobbies in my life. I’ve also done lots of volunteer work. But I’ve never felt as good as I do being able to call myself a quilter.

Sweet Treat Bag

This is a pattern that Hazel found on the internet and made. I liked it and decided it would make a great cosmetic bag. It's a free pattern from Moda:

http://www.unitednotions.com/un_main.nsf/free_patterns/

They say to use honeybuns (1 1/2" strips) but I just cut 1 1/2" strips myself for this project cause it didn't take many. I had this button a friend gave me awhile ago that's kinda cute. The fabric was from a kit I bought about 5 years ago and changed my mind about making. It's Paris Flea Market fabric. I'm really please with the way it turned out.

Sometimes It's Destined To Be a UFO

I finally got through to myself tonight. I'm doing the Bunny Hill Designs quilt "Strawberry Hills" with an applique group at my local LQS. I kept thinking I didn't have the time to work on it. Then I thought I wanted to do needleturn and it looked stupid. Tonight I finally admitted to myself that I'm really not interested in it and that's why it's giving me so many problems. Hopefully I'll get back to it later, it will stay in my UFO pile, but it's very freeing to be able to say enough is enough and put it down. There are so many other projects I want to work on. I'm making my daughter a double wedding ring quilt. No way will it be done by the end of May, but I'm enjoying doing it and that makes all the difference in the world. I have a few other projects that I want to work on as well.

I have problems with anxiety and panic attacks. I decided I'm not going to be nervous through this wedding in Vegas and my vacation back to Ottawa. I haven't been away from home since 1998 because of them. So far so good. But I do need something for myself, like quilting, that will help me stay relaxed. I've been able to go into town for her dress fitting, go shopping in a large mall for an outfit for myself and today to her shower with no problems at all.

I started to make a simple little bag yesterday. I didn't get to finish it today because I was at my daughter's wedding shower but hopefully by tomorrow evening I will have something to post.