Little Girls and Quilting

Yippee! I'm excited to let you  know that the second pattern for the American Schoolgirl Club - Martha Washington's Star Quilt -  has been mailed out to many of you! I actually stayed focused and, even though it's late, it's still technically July so I consider that pretty good considering everything I went through this month. I got sick on July 1 and went to the ER that day. What an absolutely exhausting month it was for me.  Hope this doesn't mean I'm getting old and I've lost my ability to bounce back like I used to. I'm still pretty tired.

So keep an eye on your mailboxes in the coming week (maybe "weeks" for those of you in Canada, Europe and Australia, unfortunately). This little quilt is a treasure and will be a lot of fun to make with your red and blue print scraps.

Thinking about and making doll quilts keeps me young, however, I think. If you follow my blog and books at all, most of you know by now that doll quilts were often used as practice for young girls' sewing skills in the past.

Needlework and sewing were an important part of a girl's education in the 18th and 19th centuries. Sometimes these skills were taught before reading and writing.

Doll quilts were learning pieces. It was the practicing of the sewing skills that was important, not so much the design of the quilt.

I like to think that, like early quilters, even young girls making small quilts for their dolls learned a little about color and the whole design process and it helped to give life to their creative expression in a small way.

(From the book Amish Doll Quilts by Rachel and Kenneth Pellman)

(From the book Amish Doll Quilts by Rachel and Kenneth Pellman)

(From the book Amish Doll Quilts by Rachel and Kenneth Pellman)

Some antique doll quilts were made by adults for children - out of love for the child for sure. And those can be exquisite and rare, as well as expensive. But the ones that I'm really drawn to are the ones made by children themselves - simple, unpretentious, with imperfect stitches, where you can see the frustration of trying to master the skill. Often crudely sewn. I bought this quilt fragment a little while ago because I loved that about the unevenly sewn nine-patches. Maybe it was a doll quilt in the making. More likely it was made by an adult learning to stitch by hand, but when I find the right borders I'll probably turn it into a doll quilt someday.

Here are the only 2 antique doll quilts I own and I love them for their simplicity (and the price was right too!)

A few years ago I had my daughter practice some straight stitching on the sewing machine - making little four-patch blocks from some of my reproduction fabric squares. She lost interest quickly--"that's your thing, mom" and we never did anything with them but I often think of turning them into a doll quilt to keep tucked away for her daughter someday.  
 

 

For now, I'll keep designing and making scrappy doll quilts for myself (and all of YOU too, of course). Maybe they'll be valuable to someone someday. And if not, that's ok. Like little girls' sewing samples, they were my own little learning projects over the years. It's fun to see how far I've come.

 

 (Schoolgirl Club quilt # 1- Eliza Jane's Nine Patch)

I love this quilt! 

I Love, I Love, I Love my Calendar Quilt!

Can't get this song out of my head. Apologies to Neil Sedaka. Some of you may remember this old song from 1961. I'm too young myself; I only remember it because I had older sisters who listened to the radio a lot when I was a little kid, LOL . . .

"I love, I love, I love my calender girl
Yeah, sweet calender girl
I love, I love, I love my calender girl
Each and every day of the year."

The 2011 American Patchwork & Quilting Calendar arrived while I was sick. There's a quilt of mine in it and I couldn't wait to get home and take photos to show you.

The calendar contains so many beautiful quilts made by a variety of  wonderful designers and includes a booklet with all of the pattern directions. My quilt is featured for May, titled "Scrap Box." I hope you like it.

 

One of my favorite things about American Patchwork & Quilting magazine is that they always have quilt tester Laura Boehnke make alternate versions of the quilts using different fabrics. Here's my pattern made with darker plaids and stripes. Very striking, I think.

Here's a couple of photos of the quilt "at home" inside and out so you can get a better look. (Yippee, I'm home - did I tell you I'm home?)

Wish I could have had more time to quilt it a little better but the magazine called for a project last year while I was in the middle of working on my next book (yikes!) and when American Patchwork & Quilting magazine calls, you don't say no, you drop everything, so I definitely made time to squeeze in a quilt for them. Those adorable little scrappy nine-patch blocks measure 3" x 3". I couldn't stop making them - they were so much fun to play around with and I still have a bunch left over.

Calendars should be available at your local quilt shop or you can order one by calling the magazine at 800-826-4707.

Home Is Where the Healing Is

I'm home and trying to take good care of myself. Where I belong. Where I can actually sort of  relax and begin to heal. Take my vitamins. Cook my own food. Pet my dogs. Get some sleep. I can't tell you how being in the hospital for over a week and having every test under the sun stressed me out completely, and it's not over yet. I need several follow-up Drs appointments next week and they haven't ruled out the possibility of surgery. Keep a good thought.

The medications I take 6 times a day make me really, really sick as well as tired and dizzy and I need to be on them for another week or 10 days. Plus probiotics. Nothing tastes good or stays down except applesauce, Ritz crackers and mashed potatoes so that's about where my appetite stands. True, I needed to lose a few, but this is ridiculous. All of my bloodwork is normal - I'm healthy they say, HAH!- but I need to get over this infection and the process appears to be slow. I have no energy AT ALL. So it is going to take me awhile to get back to normal. And quilting too. Unless I can do it lying down.

 

My son visited me in the hospital and once, while I was in the bathroom, he was kind enough to checkmark the box on my patient dry erase board that I was English-speaking impaired, so for a few hours every time a new nurse, tech or nurse's assistant came in they spoke to me very slowly in a LOUD tone - MRS  T-R-A-C-Y? - until I responded back to them in perfect English. I eventually figured it out and got up and erased it. Oh that kid. . . . if it weren't so harmless and funny (and if I had any strength) I would have killed him. But at least I had one good laugh. He's always been able to do that.

If I never see another one of these beeping IV machines, it will be too soon. How do people get any sleep in hospitals?? I'm about 10 days behind.

Please be patient with orders placed in the last 2 weeks. I do it all alone. I'll get to them eventually. I'm mostly trying to get through the day here and withstand the side effects of this medication and see what happens. I promise, the American Schoolgirl Club WILL continue, even if it's not on schedule. Think I'll take a nap now.

Kathy Update

I am still in the hospital. My husband brought my laptop to me but I haven't felt much like going online. I am feeling better though and walking around. I had a serious intestinal infection that needed IV antibiotics to help clear it up. They are watching it and keeping me here until they are sure it's all better.

I was on a liquid diet for awhile and am now easing back into soft foods so that's progress. They're taking good care of me and drawing blood every 10 minutes it seems. Hopefully this nightmare will be over soon and then I can recover at home. Keep a good thought. Thanks for all of your prayers, best wishes and concerns.

Signs of Our Times

I woke up early today to drive my husband to the train station. What a good wife. He's working downtown this week and taking the train is a lot easier than driving.

Because I don't visit the train station myself too often, I had forgotten about this sign until I saw it again today.

In 1979 my town in Illinois created a "Kissing Zone" and a  "No-Kissing Zone" at the local train station in response to complaints about traffic jams at the station caused by couples taking too long to kiss their goodbyes at the drop-off point. Seriously, LOL.

They were probably all newlyweds. I wasn't living here then but I'm pretty sure I would have been one of the cars honking at the kissers. I heard that the UK has now created their own no-kissing signs.

I don't have anything quilting related to talk about, other than my new DOLL QUILT CLUB  which some of you may have heard about before on this blog, LOL. So I got to thinking about funny signs and thought I'd entertain you with a few others I spotted recently that are near and dear to my heart. This one is especially relevant lately . . .

Cafe Press has some of the best signs and many of these sayings can be found on t-shirts, bags or mugs.

 Have a good week! Maybe I'll get motivated and clean my house!

Summer Shopping

Every year when summer arrives my daughter dreams of redecorating her room. Her tastes change so fast I can't keep up. IKEA is the perfect place for teens to dream and get inspired without spending too much. Can't beat it for affordability. So yesterday we took a ride out there to see what was new and exciting in IKEAland.

I told her we could paint her room this summer and get some accessories to finish the look.

                              

Can't decide, can't decide . . . .

                              

She's thinking of coral or green or blue for the walls. Believe it or not, I'm leaning toward the peachy tones but she won't be influenced a bit by me.

Her furniture is white and she thinks maybe this black and white Ikea comforter below mixed with brightly colored pillows and other bright accessories to jazz it up would be really cute. 

 

This chandelier (made from paper?) was in the running but we opted for something a bit smaller, circular, with little twinkling lights. Sort of like a St. Lucia wreath. Very nice.

 

I wanted to buy this white cottage style bookcase. I love white and have a weakness for bookcases but don't have room for any more. White wouldn't go with anything else I have anyway, except for the kitchen, which is too small for a bookcase. But I still love it. 

 

We love wandering around looking at all the displays. Now these are some bookshelves I could love . . . .

 

 I've always had a fondness for white kitchens . . . .

So we bought the light, a storage unit and some fabric to make pillows and she'll get the room painted and then she'll decide on the other accessories. We'll go back a few more times before it's done. Oh my, I think I know where my summer's going . . .

Summer Means Fun

I hadn't talked to my sister for a couple of weeks and when I called her yesterday she said: "Oh good, I was hoping nothing was wrong--you haven't updated your blog in a week!" No, it's just that summer's here and our power was out for awhile after the storms in the Chicago area last Friday. Also, my son came home from college for the summer last week and there's been a flurry of activity around here ever since.

Good flurry, but nonetheless . . . He brought a few people with him to stay with us for a few days last week and then there's the catching up with friends he hasn't seen all year. So the noise level has increased as well. A constant buzz of music and laughing, World Cup Soccer on TV . . .

(Everyone here loves soccer, everyone.)

 . . . and video games, lots of video games to relax.

He's worked hard at school to get excellent grades and is just getting over Strep throat, so I'm  trying to ignore some of the chaos and, instead of yelling, remind myself that he deserves a little time off until his summer job begins this week. Plus, this may very well be his last summer at home. He tells me constantly that in 10 yrs he does NOT want to be that 30 yr-old guy living in his parent's basement. So things are looking good for some decent empty-nesting quilting time soon  . . . . Think I still have a few more dogs and kids to get rid of before I get my life back and the chaos diminishes though. . . Wait, they ARE my life. How could I forget? You guys with kids know what I mean.

So yes, after a cold Midwest winter and spring, summer around here always means fun, taking it easy, kicking off our shoes, playing with friends, digging in the dirt, having some fun--

 

Maybe just cruising 'round with the Beach Boys blaring in the background . . . 

(At my age, though, usually I'm just cruising around for bargains, or looking for a good place for the dog to pee, LOL.)

Last summer I was working on the book and was cranky much of the time because I had so much to do and it was hard to concentrate and my husband was doing a lot of travelling for his job so I had to juggle things at home a little bit more than usual. This summer I'm taking it a little slower. The book is finished and now I'm just waiting for the page proofs to come in next month. I'm drinking my tea iced instead of hot and catching up on magazines and past seasons of "Mad Men". 

Of course I do still have the American Schoolgirl Club --working on making the quilts and writing the patterns and getting the designs printed up and that surely will keep me busy every month. You'll be happy to know I finished the second quilt--Martha Washington's Star for Maddie--yesterday (patriotic for July in the U.S.--red and blue of course). Just need to quilt it. I don't work very fast. Even the small simple quilts seem to take me a lot of time, picking through my scraps, looking for just the right fabrics, setting the blocks, planning. This is what I used to make the quilt if you're looking for a head start.

  

I'm deliberately not showing the patterns, not to tease all of you, but because I decided it's more fun this way--almost like a "Mystery Quilt" of the month. Everyone in the club is kept in the dark and will be surprised when they get their little doll quilt pattern in the mail around the middle of the month. This one is very cute if I say so myself. Especially if you like red and blue.

But I'm also planning on having some fun. So excuse me if I'm not frantically making lots and lots of quilts or projects to show off. I worked really hard this past year too--so pass the iced tea and the video game controller, please. I promise I'll stay in touch.

Pretty Squares

Imagine my surprise when I went to my PO Box today and opened a package that had packets of charm squares just for me. Tara Lynn Darr knows what I love--precut squares! Pretty ones! So exciting. And perfect for my small scrappy quilts and especially good for making my doll quilt club quilts. Tara said she enjoyed my recent post about Ugly Squares and couldn't resist sending me some squares. She's hosting a Charm Square exchange on her website.

Tara is so sweet. I buy bundles and charm squares from her whenever I run into her booth at a quilt show. Some of my best quilts are scrap quilts made with lots of different prints. Some of you have e-mailed me asking where to get "pretty" fabrics like I use in my quilts. If you're looking for some great reproduction fabrics, and you want to collect lots of "scraps" for making your small quilts, check out the charm packs and bundles at her store - Sew Unique Creations . They're great for making those small scrappy quilts with lots of little pieces. Tara, I forgot to ask, do I really have to send 300+ squares back to you now??

Pretty Squares

Everyone had an opinion about my recent Ugly Squares post:

• "You need some ugly colors to make the pretty ones stand out."
• "A fabric by itself may look horrendous, but when paired with another fabric, it  looks great."
• "Reading your post I can't seem to find the ugly fabrics . . ."
• "Ugly prints make the most interesting quilts."

Okay, it's like this. I'm sorry, I'm still not there yet. I know it's a matter of opinion, and sure they're not really ugly ugly, but even though some of them are blue, I still don't like them very well. And I know everyone says we're supposed to throw a couple of ugly squares into the mix but I like my pretty squares too much! I just can't deliberately buy "ugly prints." No way. If I get some ugly squares along with others in a charm pack, I'll use them in a quilt. Maybe. But I won't buy yardage I don't like. I'm not a convert yet.

Really  pretty squares

I've made a lot of really cute scrap quilts using pretty fabrics that I chose one by one because I loved the prints. This is the fun part!

So maybe sometime in the future I'll try making my quilts with more ugly fabrics, but for now I think I'm just going to stick to using my "pretty squares" to make my pretty quilts.