"SOUTHERN NOTES" ABOUT "BIRDS IN THE AIR"

I’ve got two blocks to show you today.  Earlier in the week, I finished the 6” block called “Southern Notes” for the Civil War Diary quilt.


Many fewer pieces than the last CWD block I made, called "Alarming Conditions" because of the alarming condition it caused when one triangle was the wrong fabric!

Today, I made the No. 9 block, “Birds in the Air” from Brackman’s 2011 Civil War quilt using my red, cream and blue color scheme.  However, the red was too bright so I sprayed it with a product called “Distress It” that makes it appear darker in color (like tea staining) so it would look more antique.



I kept sewing the smaller half-square triangles in the wrong direction but finally got it laid out right.  Otherwise, it was an easy peasy block.

"Distress It" antiquing spray is an interesting product.  I first saw it mentioned in Quilter's Home Magazine a couple of years ago.  Can't remember where I ordered it -- several brain cells have died since then, but here is a before and after photograph.  Before is the top triangle.

After is the bottom triangle.  It is a subtle change but if I wanted it darker, I would spray it again after the first time dried.

Went out tonight for a Tex-Mex dinner with my family to celebrate my mother’s 79th birthday.  She doesn’t look or act 79 – she’s a very young 79 and we love her.  She loves flowers and birds, so this vintage card is in her honor.


                        Image from graphicsfairy.com

And sew it goes,

ALARMING CONDITIONS MIX UP

This block called “Alarming Conditions” is from the Civil War Diary Quilt book and CD.  I color-coded my foundation pattern according to the photo from the CD.  I didn’t notice anything amiss then.  After two hours of working on this block, when it came time to be pressed, I noticed that one triangle between the star points didn’t match the others.  I looked at the CD block photograph again and that’s the way it looked as well.  It bugged me.



When I looked at the other “Alarming Conditions” block photographs on the Yahoo Civil War Diary Group, I noticed everyone else had that small triangle in their dark fabric instead of the light.  It really bugged me.

I wasn’t making another block to make it right.  No way.  So I decided to try something I’ve never done before.  I traced the triangle shape onto Steam-A-Seam Lite fusible web, then ironed it onto a scrap of the purple fabric, peeled off the paper from the back and fused the shape over the section I wanted to fix.  After using a small zig-zag stitch with invisible thread around the perimeter of the block, the problem was fixed.  You can barely tell, although the photograph shows is more prominently than it looks in person. 



I am no longer bugged.  It’s amazing what you learn when you screw up something.  There’s usually a way to fix it if you step back from the project and think about it calmly.

Now it’s one of my favorite blocks of the Civil War Diary Quilt that I’ve made thus far.  You can see photographs of all my completed CWD blocks, and some CWD blocks from others, on Civil War Diary flickr group.

I’m in love with the coral design in this purple fabric.  I need more colorways.  As they say, quilters aren't greedy, they're just materialistic.

Until next time,

COTTON BOLL BLOCK AND THE WINNER IS . . .

Let’s get the important part done first.  The winner of the paperback book, The Diary of Mattie Spenser, is #12, Sheila.  Sheila, if you will will contact me by email and provide your mailing address, I will send it right on to you.  Thanks to all who left comments.

I look so forward to Saturdays to discover the next Brackman Civil War Quilt 2011 block of the week and the history she reveals.  Block No. 8 is Cotton Boll.  The examples were made with stripes which inspired me to do the same.  However, the stripe fabric I had in my “Resource Center,” also known to most quilters as “stash,” that went with my red, cream and blue scheme was too white.  No problem, I stuck part of the fat quarter into tea left over from the night before and left it in for about an hour.  Once rinsed and ironed, it matched the star background cream color perfectly.



The stripes are not lined up perfectly, but I’m still satisfied because I was sure I wouldn’t even get as close as I did. 

By the way, for those of you who have never seen or don't know what is a "cotton boll," here's a photograph courtesy of Microsoft ClipArt.

If you haven’t done so yet, go to the Civil War Quilt 2011 photo group by clicking here.  You can see all the wonderful blocks made in so many different fabrics by so many different people, it will blow you away.

Gotta run now.

MOST RECENT BOOK PURCHASES

I have been on a book buying spree the last couple of weeks.  It must be because I was cooped up in the house so much due to the ice and snow on the roads.  When I wasn’t watching t.v., reading, sewing, or cooking/eating, I was Internet surfing.  The Visa card will reflect the bad weather accordingly with numerous charges to Amazon.com.

I’ve wanted Edyta Sitar’s book, Friendship Triangles, ever since I saw her on The Quilt Show episode a month ago.



I’ve even joined TQS’s “Sisterhood of the Traveling Triangles” [STT] exchange mentioned in a previous QBG blog entry.   This book has several wonderful ideas for projects using triangles – the photographs in it are great.  I can’t wait to receive triangle from other STT participants from all over the world.  I’ve got 7 sets of 28 completed so far and plan to do one more before mailing them to the exchange coordinator.   Of course, I am making extra of each set for myself.  I’ve got a little container with lots and lots of triangles made but not used for other projects just waiting for more to be added.

I just finished reading Sandra Dallas's novel The Diary of Mattie Spenser.  You may recall that Ms. Dallas also wrote The Quilt That Walked to Golden.



Mattie Spenser is a historical novel about a small-town woman who suddenly marries a “great catch” in Iowa, then goes with him to frontier Colorado in a covered wagon to build a home.  Mattie finds her farmer husband somewhat mysterious and the life in the wild west harsh and unforgiving.  Making entries about her life in her private journal helps keep her sane as she has no one in the sparsely populated area in which to confide.   As she and her sometimes distant husband make a life together, Mattie learns some bitter truths about her husband and the girl he left behind. The journal holds her secrets about the hardship, joys, friendships, love and heartaches while settling the western frontier in the 19th century until discovered in the 21st century in a relative's attic.

Since I needed to order another book to get the free shipping from Amazon (notice how they price most books just under $25 so that you have to order another), and because I enjoyed the The Diary of Mattie Spenser so much as well as two other Sandra Dallas books I’ve read in the past, Alice’s Tulips and Persian Pickle Club,  I decided to order another Dallas book, Prayers For Sale.

 

 

It’s supposed to be about “the secrets women keep and the lies they tell to survive life in a small, nineteenth-century Colorado mining town.” It received rave customer reviews.

If you too would like to read The Diary of Mattie Spenser, just leave a comment below to add your name to a drawing to win the paperback book I just read.  Let me know your favorite author or book.  The give away book is gently used and should be shared with a sewing/quilting “friend.”  I will draw the winning number on Sunday, February 20th.

Sew back to reading,

FINAL VALENTINE'S DAY WISH TO ALL OF YOU AND LOG CABIN, AGAIN

Image Courtesy of GraphicsFairy.com

"If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love." — Maya Angelou

This remake of No. 7 Log Cabin looks better to me so I'll probably go with it.  I used a smaller center (2" finished) and logs (1" finished) and grouped the colors in a different way.  It definitely looks better in person than in this photo.

Hugs to all on this day of love,

SCHOLARSHIPS AND LOG CABINS

Each year the Trinity Valley Quilter’s Guild awards at least one $2,500 scholarship, and if enough funds were raised, a second one in that amount as well.  Funds are raised through a Small Quilt Auction at the annual TVQG Quilt Show.  Each little charming quilt is made by a guild member, then donated to raise money for this worthy cause. 

This year, I am the chairperson of the TVQG Scholarship Committee that handles the distribution and collection of scholarship applications, then evaluation of the candidates to determine the award(s) .  The Committee (me plus Teri B., Madge H., and Katy K.) held our first meeting yesterday and we are getting everything in order to post the guidelines and application form on the guild website so stay tuned.  It’s exciting to be a part of this endeavor to assist someone in the pursuit of their education.



Block number 7 of Brackman’s Civil War Quilt is the Log Cabin.  A little easier than some of the others thus far, I’m not sure I like my fabric choices and may make another.  However, this is the one I have finished.



Since this one is so easy, I don’t mind making a second one.  Several of the pieces in this one are from Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Reunion fabric line.

Another Valentine for you from The Graphics Fairy:

 Hugs and Kisses to All,

WHAT’S NEW YOU ASK (OR NOT)?

First of all, I was beginning to run low on the red star on cream background fabric I’m using in my Brackman Civil War Blocks so an Internet search for more of it ensued. 

 
You just can’t imagine how many different fabrics are out there with red and cream stars!  But never the right one!  I searched off and on for a week or so without any luck.  Fabric.com, Hancocks-Paducah.com, e-quilter.com, lonestarhouseofquilts.com, and many MANY more through Google search.  No luck.  In the meantime there was a thread running in the Small Quilt Talk Yahoo Group about good on-line sources for 19th century reproduction fabric.   Someone mentioned that Homestead Hearth had a wonderful selection of repro fabrics.  I had never ordered from them before but heard a lot of good things about them on another Yahoo group, so I hopped onto their web page and did a search.  VOILA!  They had what I needed and wanted, or at least it looked like it from the photo on their web page.  I ordered 3 yards (surely that will be enough) and it arrived today.  A perfect match.  It was the right one.  That’s a relief.  It’s been washed and dried so it’s ready to use when needed.
Working on three or four projects at a time causes chaos in the sewing room, especially with all the scrappy blocks I like to make.  This is what it looked like yesterday afternoon.




 

Every flat surface is covered up with stuff, but mostly fabric.  I can’t stand it anymore!  I’m working on it a little at a time all through the day so I don’t have to face all of it at once.  The cutting table is almost cleared off, but I need to get back in there to work on it some more.  Therefore, I leave you with this message:  “Sewing: A creative mess is better than tidy idleness.  ~ Author Unknown (although I’m tempted to claim it).
So signing off for now to clean – yuck!  Before I do, here is another vintage Valentine image from Graphics Fairy.

VALENTINES DAY AND EQ5 PROBLEMS

It’s a little less than a week before Valentine’s Day.  Therefore, for the next week, I am sharing images of Victorian era Valentine cards.  This one is courtesy of THE GRAPHICS FAIRY.I agree with Jane Goodall’s quote -- "I have found that to love and be loved is the most empowering and exhilarating of all human emotions."  Thank you Sweetie for letting me love and be loved by you.
Currently I am in a battle with my EQ5!  I want to import photographs of my Civil War Quilt blocks of the week onto a grid something like this:


 However, my JPEG photos must be BTMP photos to work in EQ5.  I found a page to convert my JPEG photos to BTMP but I’m still not able to import the changed photo to the grid.  This will take some more fiddling around in EQ to figure out.  If anyone out there in blog-land knows how to do this, email me privately.
Sew until next time,

RICHMOND BLOCK FOR CIVIL WAR QUILT

Block No. 6 of Brackman’s Civil War Quilt – Some points cut off slightly but otherwise just right.  I decided to add a little gold fabric to some of my blocks just to give it a little pop among the red, white and blue theme.



How are your blocks coming along?

WE’RE HAVING A HEAT WAVE

After several days of below freezing temperatures (way below), ice and snow


  Wednesday morning snow

today we we are at a whopping 45 degrees at 1:00 p.m.  Sweetie decided he better chunk through the ice on the sidewalk and driveway for safety’s sake since it had a long way to go before melting.



  


We’ve all got cabin fever.  We’re not used to having ice and snow stick around so long.  Freeways shut down.  Schools and offices closed almost all week.  Even the Super Bowl festivities and Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo were affected.  We are so spoiled!

Just read Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilt blog with instructions for Block #6, Richmond.  It's going to be a pretty one!  Loving the Civil War history lessons, too.

Sew until next time,

TRIANGLES, TRIANGLES EVERYWHERE

As part of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Triangles exchange being coordinated by Alex Anderson and Ricky Tim's "The Quilt Show," I have made 4 sets of 36 so far.  I’ll be sending in sets of 28 and keeping the additional 8 triangles per set for myself.  Two sets are already sewn and separated

 and two more sets are sewn and ready for cutting.


They asked that we put our name on each triangle so instead of writing that on each one, I used return address labels that come in the mail frequently, more than I could use on just envelopes.    I saved them to use for other stuff and this is a perfect use. Better get to cutting . . .  The more I send in for the exchange, the more I get back!!!!

 Sew until next time,