Busy Weeks

On the quilty side, I'll show you the last eight of my scrappy stars.  Aren't they just the craziest blocks? 

If you want to compare them to the originals, click here to see Taryn's post and scroll down to blocks 13-20.  Mine are not very close to the originals but at this point, I don't think that matters much.

I think these are the scrappiest blocks I've ever made, sometimes with 12 or more different fabrics in each block.  It was both freeing and encouraging.  All those little pieces of fabric I've saved, if they're at least 1½" by ~3", could become star points for Ohio Star blocks.  I need to decide on fabric for the alternate blocks for these stars and this quilt.

I have been cleaning, sorting, editing, and organizing the room where I have fabric, my sewing machine, all other creative supplies, my computer, paper supplies, and family history papers, files, and photographs.  Either I have too much stuff or the room is too small.  It is so easy for things to pile up and I've been trying to unearth.

We had a time-consuming interruption last week.  Nona and I were outside playing when I heard what I thought was a strange, new-to-me bird, except there were no birds around.  I listened for the sound and followed it to the unfenced side of  our back yard where I found a tiny kitten.  Oh, no.  You can probably imagine how that went.  (Let me lead your thoughts away from our keeping it.)  I still haven't gotten back to sorting and cleaning.

When we couldn't find anyone who wanted it, my daughter decided she would keep it, at least on a trial basis.  The kitten will go home with her next Wednesday. 

I probably don't need more fabric but a Bernina store on the north side of the city had a fabric swap this weekend.  People who want to sell fabric bundle and price it and people who want to buy fabric shop.  I'd not been before and didn't know what to expect. 

I found mostly high quality fabrics of all kinds, clean and neatly bundled, at great prices.  I bought a stack of 24 Civil War reproduction pieces that were at least a fat quarter or a third yard each, equaling 6 yards for $5.00.  Someone sold a Primitive Gatherings red and white charm pack for 50 cents.  And someone had neatly stuffed small- to medium-sized zipper sandwich bags full with pieces of Civil War prints and sold them for one, two, or three dollars.  There are no local shops that sell the variety of fabrics in those bags and I was thrilled to see them in person.  Of course, I bought six bags or so.  If I do make more scrappy stars, I can add some of these pieces to scraps I already have.

On the tech/blogging problems. I still don't know why comments appear on my blog posts but are not being sent to my email box.  Very frustrating.  I've checked blog settings but can't find the problem.  I did resolve the problem with not being able leave comments on others' blogs.  I use Mozilla's Firefox browser and it's very protective of my computer.  I learned that I have to turn off the protection and then I can comment.  If you're using Firefox and have the same problem, click on the shield icon to the left of the url box at the top of the page.  Then click on "Enhanced Tracking Protection" to turn it off.  It automatically goes back on at the next website you visit, or you can turn it back on after you publish your comment.

Another recent blogger problem is that I can't add photos to blog posts unless I'm in a private window and sign in to blogger.  Again, frustrating.  It probably has something to do with security protection, in which case I guess I should be grateful....

We are finally getting some bright autumn colors, but we've had plenty of rain lately, too, and more predicted for the next few days.  Where did October go?!  It's usually the most colorful month but this year it was mostly green and felt more like summer than fall, at least until the past few days.
I've babbled enough.  I hope all is well in your home and part of the world.

--Nancy.

P.S. If you leave a comment I'll respond here on this post and also send you an email if I have your email address.  So sorry for the inconvenience.

Does Anyone Else Love Feed Sacks?

I found Feed Sacks: The Colorful History of a Frugal Fabric by Linzee Kull McCray at the library.  I learned more than I ever imagined there was to know about those sweet cotton bags.

The book includes the history of feed sacks from barrel to bag; from growing and harvesting cotton to weaving cloth; from creating the print for the fabric through the printing and sewing of the sacks; and the transition from bags with company names to printed fabric and paper labels; and so much more.

This is a photo-heavy volume with images of advertisements, photographs of families wearing clothes made from feed sacks, photos of sacks from various times, advertisements, patterns, news articles, and, of course, feed sacks in all their variety.

I was surprised to learn that pattern companies like McCalls created a selection of patterns particularly for use with feed sacks.  I was also surprised to learn that some companies that printed and made feed sacks also sold yardage of some of that same fabric.  Ideas for ways to use bags included aprons, smocks, pajamas, rompers, middies, mattress covers, handkerchiefs, dish towels, shoe cases, laundry bags, pillow cases, curtains, ironing board covers, bibs, and on and on.  Quilts were not at the top of the list but there are examples of feed sack quilts in the book, likely made from leftover fabric after making clothing.

Bags were printed with all-over patterns, with border patterns, embroidery patterns, patterns for stuffed toys, aprons, and cloth dolls and their clothing.  The string used to close the bags was sometimes used to make crocheted doilies, as well as for other uses. 

Many of the photos in the book are placed on top of a photo of a feed sack, a great way to show more feed sack prints.  The last third of the book is of swatches of feed sack prints, many of them full pages.

I was surprised to learn how much consumers influenced companies to sell products in printed bags and how responsive companies were to the desires of consumers.  Way to go, consumers!

I appreciated this statement from the book (on page 357):  "Reusing feed sacks was a way to survive, but it also allowed families to thrive.  Making use of what they had was not based on assuming some high moral ground; it was simply a way of life.  Feed sacks also proved to manufacturers that there was value in products whose reusability was enhanced."

I learned that at least 18,000 prints were created for bags.  One collector quit counting at that number and was still finding bags with prints she didn't have.

This book is a small 6½" x 8" but weighs a hefty two pounds because it's printed on beautiful paper.  My only two complaints about the book are that the font on many of the pages is small.  I reasoned that if they'd made it bigger, there may have been double the pages (and weight) or larger pages and still double the weight.  My other small complaint is that there's no index at the back.  Often when I read a book I'll remember something and when I want to go back to find it, I use the index.  Not possible with this book.

If you love feed sacks this book is worth the time to at least browse through it for the pleasure of the photographs.

I have a few feed sacks amongst my stacks of fabric.  I wasn't sure about these two, below, whether they really were feed sacks or not, but the book told me that one way to know is by the stitching across one end.  The needles and large string used to close the bags left holes that don't easily disappear.  It seems that these two were both used as pillow cases because they've been hemmed.

The other three printed sacks I have are these. The two on the right are a slightly coarser weave than the one on the left, possibly used for meal or feed and not flour or sugar.  All three of these are still in their original bag condition with only the stitching removed from one end. 

The bag with blue flowers is practically square, so it is probably a 5# meal bag.  Bag sizes and weights eventually became standardized.  I suppose that's helpful for collectors to know.

If you love feed sacks you won't want to miss this wonderful book!

--Nancy.

Out and About & Buying Fabric Online

My daughter and I took two little jaunts a week or two ago, first to a corn maze and farm market and another day to Slate Run Farm, a living history Metro Park.  These are two photos of the corn maze we visited, just to walk through the corn field. 

I love pathways that are bordered on either side by arched trees, high shrubs, etc., and corn stalks.

I also love the expanse of corn stalks and sky in this photo. 

Toward the end of the week we went to Slate Run Farm where they plant, harvest, can, cook, and bake (among other activities) as they would have in the late 1800s.  Perhaps you can see the corn shocks at the end of this pathway to the barn?  They were harvesting corn when we were there.

We discovered a persimmon tree, sometimes called sugarplums.  They are beautiful little fruits.

They looked ripe and were soft to the touch so my daughter tasted one and quickly spit it out.  She said it was sweet but felt really dry.  We talked to a farm hand a little later and learned that persimmons are best eaten (or canned or turned into jam) when they're overly ripe and have fallen from the tree.  (Read more about them here.)

The most delightful find was this hazelnut seedpod. This one had four nuts in it.  The pods are connected at their base and face outward in different directions.

For some reason it made me think of ladies in frills, dancing in autumn-colored silk skirts.  Isn't it wonderful?  I brought two home to add to my collection of seed pods.  I don't know how long they will last.  They are fragile.

Last month Fat Quarter Shop had a sale on Confetti Cotton (which I notice has not increased in price even now in November).  Speaking independently here--no affiliation with Fat Quarter Shop or Riley Blake--I just love the feel of this particular solid fabric.  I was looking for a good teal to go on the back of Everyday Patchwork.

I chose Cape Verde, hopeful that it would be close to one of the sashing fabrics in the quilt.  (It's definitely a scrappy quilt, with three or four fabrics in the sashing.)  From the photo I thought it went really well.

The fabric arrived less than a week after I ordered it, but I couldn't bring myself to open the package.  Does anyone else feel apprehensive or uncertain about color choices when buying fabric online?  I think it's especially hard when I'm trying to find a fabric to go with a quilt I've already made.

The color of the Confetti Cotton is not quite the same as at the FQS website, not as intense and it seems a little more blue than teal, but I think it will work okay for a back.  I hope this quilt will be up next for hand quilting but I won't get to it till next year since I just started quilting Flowers.  Still, it will be good to have a quilt ready for the hoop as soon as the previous one is finished.

We're having beautiful autumn days this week but the forecast for the end of the week is rain on Friday and daytime temperatures in the 40s.  It'll be time for my silk underwear soon!

Thanks for visiting.
--Nancy.

Ready to Quilt Linda Brannock's Flowers

After I finished pin-basting this quilt yesterday I thought I was almost ready to begin quilting.  When I looked at the quilt sandwich this morning I realized that the top was a little loose against the backing (most obvious in that upper left block), so I unpinned it, smoothed it, and re-pinned.  Now I'm almost ready to quilt.

The only thing left before I begin is to decide a quilting pattern.  I plan to outline the shapes.  But how to quilt the rest?   I'm not keen on echo quilting so maybe diagonals in two directions?  That's always a straight-forward and simple option, since I can use tape to mark the quilting lines.  Or, I could quilt Baptist Fans, but I don't think that's the best option for this quilt.  Or . . . ?

I found this Pam Buda print for backing.  I thought it could work for either this quilt or Time Flies.  In real life it's darker than in the photo.  I decided to use it for this bright, colorful quilt and find a more lively print for the back of Time Flies since it's a plainer quilt.

There are a lot of quirky blocks in this quilt but I think these baskets turned out the quirkiest.  Linda Brannock's pattern was probably for paper-pieced blocks but I didn't realize it.  I used turned-edge applique to stitch them.  Together they are my favorite block in the quilt.
I love autumn!  Ours continues to be beautiful even thought our weather has turned cold--coat, hat, mittens, and scarf weather--with high winds.  Then the temperatures are predicted back up to the low 70s in a few days.  I have a lavender in a pot that I need to get ready for winter and grass seed to scatter over the area the plumbers had to dig up.  I hope autumn stays around for a while longer before cold weather comes to stay.

I'm linking this post to
> Midweek Makers at QuiltFabrication. 
> Finished (or not) Friday at Alycia Quilts
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
> Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

I hope all is well in your world.
--Nancy.

This, That, and the Other

Fabric Discovery Engine
A few weeks ago I was searching for fabric with clocks on it to use for the back of my Time Flies hourglass quilt.  I discovered a search engine specifically for fabric.  It's Fabric Discovery Engine.  It will probably not be the be-all and end-all for your fabric searches but I was delighted to see the fabrics it found with clocks on them.

Some links go to fabric stores, some to online stores, including etsy and ebay, and others link to pinterest (which isn't helpful).  Occasionally a link will be for an image of fabric on paper (as in a poster).  I suppose it's always worth a look if you're trying to find a fabric with a particular motif.  You can search by image, designer, company, or kind of fabric, among other ways.  Each time I visit the site the images across the bottom highlight different kinds of fabric.   If you click on one of the letters it will take you to a long list of fabrics, names of fabrics, fabric companies, etc.  In the screenshot above, below each image you can see a light grey link.  If you want more information about the fabric, be sure to click there and not the image itself (which will take you to a new screen with an enlarged photo).

Little Miss (or Mrs.) Cardinal
We have a little female cardinal who visits us every day. 

I've tried unsuccessfully to get a good photo of her.  She sits on our window ledge, flies up, taps on (pecks at or flies into) our window, then lands on the ledge again, only to repeat the process four or five times.  She's faster than I am with my camera.  Yesterday and today she's had twigs or bits of straw in her beak when she visits.  Nest-building material, no doubt.  I assume she sees herself in our windows and feels threatened.  She is quite beautiful when she flies up with wings spread and the sun is behind her.  We wonder how she has time to built a nest when she visits us so often and whether she gets a headache.  She comes to five or six of our downstairs windows every day and occasionally to our upstairs windows, too.

Monk
We're not big TV watchers but we sometimes watch DVDs of old TV programs.  Most recently my daughter borrowed "Monk" from the library.  I knew of it and remembered it was about a detective with obsessive-compulsive disorder.  My daughter and both commented that Monk was ahead his time.  He asked used hand wipes years before Covid made it necessary for us to be so careful.  I thought this clip was funny.  (I have to say that they in no way "make fun" of Monk and his OCD.  We may chuckle at his challenges but I don't think it's making fun.  Monk is only one of two other TV characters I can think of who have personality disorders.  The others are Mr. Bean and Shaun Murphy, "The Good Doctor.")  There's a minute and a half intro in this video.  To skip it, begin a 1:40.



Thrift Store Fabric
I don't often find fabric at the thrift store so was pleased to find the two different pieces below.  The shop charges $3.00/yard for cotton quilting fabric.

I thought this toile was charming (except for the children playing horse).

The prints are clear and detailed and I loved the roses.

There were two yards of this fabric, below. 

You can almost see a a house or cottage just to the left of the large rose cluster, below.

The roses in both of these fabrics reminded me about a sew-along Gay Bomers of Sentimental Stitches offered a few years ago, "Dear Daughter."  Many of the blocks in the original quilt had flower motifs cut out and appliqued into the blocks, either at the corners or in the center of each edge.  I asked to join her Dear Daughter Facebook page because I thought it would be helpful to see what fabrics other quilters used for the cutouts, but haven't heard back.  Maybe she won't respond because the sew-along is over.

I've been working on a little quilt made from scraps.  I'll post about it later.  Also hand quilting and some applique.  More later about both.  

I hope you have a great weekend.  I hope your weather is improving.  Ours had been crazy--days and days of rain; sun; cold, cool, warm, hot (not necessarily in that order); wind.  It's been a long, slow spring and I've enjoyed it immensely.  I've heard people complain, "When will spring come?!"  And I think to myself, this IS spring.  If you want 70 degrees or more, that's summer and it's too early for summer (in my opinion).  I think I'm in the minority.   We have some flowers in bloom--grape hyacinths, violets--but many more that will bloom in coming weeks. 

--Nancy.

Current-Day Shirting Prints

I love reproduction shirting prints, the ones with white/light/cream backgrounds with small motifs repeated across the fabric.  I buy a fat quarter or more when I see them and can't resist taking them home.  My love of shirting prints also includes the ones used to made men's shirts these days.  (Sitting in church a little over a year ago I noticed a young father wearing a shirt with a wonderful print on it.  It took a lot of self control not to ask him for it when he was finished it with.)  I sometimes find shirts with those tiny prints at the thrift stores and bring them home.  I've learn to take a needle with me to test a shirt's worthiness to be hand quilted. 

These are current-day shirting prints from a few of the men's shirts I've found.  I think they are fun and useful for some kinds of quilts.

These fabrics below, with flowery prints instead of tiny repeats, come from women's shirts and blouses.  I believe a few of them are lawn, perhaps Liberty of London fabric, but they weren't marked so I can't know for sure. 

And these next four are not from clothing but from sheets or pillowcases.  Some sheeting fabric is too densely woven to hand quilt but the needle went through these easily.

It's probably a little unorthodox to buy thrift store clothing for quilting fabric (though I know some other quilters who do, too) but it seems like I'm following a long tradition of women repurposing clothing for other uses.  It feels thrifty to me.  I can get the equivalent of several fat quarters in one shirt for less than the cost of one fat quarter at the quilting shop.  Fabric for clothing is not like fabric made specifically for quilting; the texture may be different and the quality is not the same -- sometimes even better and the colors even faster, other times not.  So I admit I have to be careful in my choices or I can bring home some duds. 

What about you?  Do you use fabric from thrift store finds?  Do you look for particular kinds or styles or colors of fabric?  Do you have a good success rate using them?

--Nancy.