Art

The day we went to the quilt show my hubby and I ended up in a salvage warehouse. I came across a whole bunch of these adorable hand painted doors. They were a little big for cupboards and a little small as a door you walk through. Does anybody recognize the language? I figured if I knew what they said I might be able to figure out what they were used for.

Not that I could afford them, just curious.

Here's the upstairs where I saw them. So many things waiting to be recycled into a new home or made into art.

How cool is this? This was displayed at the blacksmith building at the Aurora museum. I'm loving this book! If you have an opportunity to get it from your library I highly recommend it. In it they show a wonderful wool Tumbling Block quilt that was found stuffed in a Aurora colony descendants couch!

Here's my additional 4 blocks from Linen Closet Quilts Vicksburg block of the month.

My Favorites

In one of the little cabins Oregon Coastal Quilters Guild had challenge quilts. Their challenge was to research quilts of the mid 1800's and make a sample completely by hand. This was one that really caught my eye. I think it is a variation on the Poinsettia block.
This next one was made by Mary Glassmeyer. It was either her 4th quilt or 7th quilt! Either way it was very ambitious and beautiful!
Is the quilting amazing in this quilt?! The colors don't do a thing for me, but the quilting is something else!
How about a few berries?
Berries and beautiful quilting.

A Community of Quilts

The quilt show's theme was a "Community of Quilts". The quilts that were a part of this theme were Friendship quilts, Generation quilts- ones that were begun by one family member and finished with another generation and Group quilts.
There was definitely a few quilts at the show that were ho-hum, but it was nice that they had a little story with each quilt, which made each one special and unique in its own way.

Here is another red quilt that I was drawn to by the quilting. It isn't quite a baptist fan but more like swags.


This quilt was made by Emma Wagner Giesy c1850-1860. She was a member of the Aurora Colony.

The quilt hanging to the left is a replica of the original which was a raffle prize given as a promotion for the book, "Aurora, An American Experience in Quilt, Community and Craft" by Jane Kirkpatrick. Lucky lady who won that!

The quilt on the left is also an original colony quilt and the little one on the right was duplicated for the book.

The redwork quilt on the bottom of this photo was made for Margaret Cane. It was well loved and pretty much in tatters. Margaret's daughter made the upper quilt so she could preserve the history of her mom's quilt. I thought the quilt and story were so precious!

I love an Irish Chain. So simple but yet so effective. This quilt was started by one generation and finished by another.

This treadle machine was so tiny I couldn't help but snap a photo!

Aurora Colony Quilt Show

This quilt was called Temperance. I thought it was a Double T but maybe it is the same.

Look at this unique hand quilting!!

The reds were full of meaningful stitching. I liked the quilt from a distance, but loved it close up!!

This old wool quilt was made by a colony member. It is so simple but so charming. I thought it was cute how they had it displayed.

These beds were set up upstairs in a room as they would have been when the Colony was in full motion. The quilts are obviously not as old as the commune.
The main museum. Most of the historical displays were covered with hanging quilts for the show.

The old grist mill. That's a bed hanging out in the background. I'm sure thankful for mattresses!

Woodworkers shop.

And herb garden. It was a beautiful day for a drive and walking through the town.

More quilts tomorrow.

The Geese Are Flying!

I have been making progress this week but it seems very slow. Here are 104 flying geese ready to be trimmed. Because these are fairly small I used this method at Patchpieces. I cut my squares out one day, marked them in the evening watching tv. Sewed them the next day, cut and pressed. The next night I lined them up ready to sew, and today this is what I have!! I still have the rest of the sawtooth star pieces to cut but that should go quickly.

My plans this weekend was to go to Washington state and visit my dad and stepmom and help them around the house. My sister and her hubby were going too. I call it a work weekend. I also prepped some handwork to take. Unfortunately my dad called my sister last night and my stepmom woke up with the flu. I've made alternate plans for tomorrow which include a quilt show!! Woo-Hoo! (although I do hope my stepmom is feeling better soon)

It's a blustery night and high school homecoming. My nephew, who lived with us for several years is on the homecoming court. My hubby is driving him and his princess in and I'll stand in as "parent" of the senior. We are excited for him although it's going to be a cold night!!

Have a great weekend!!

A Start and a Finish

Here is block one of Land of the Free by Piece O' Cake Designs. If you remember I saw this fantastic quilt at the NW Quilting Expo and couldn't resist.
Here are a few of the 4" stars I am making as a border for the medallion. My original plan was to put them on point, but I wasn't thrilled with it, so I need to make a couple more dozen. I love Sawtooth Stars! The first "test" block I made came out to 5". I still don't have any idea how hat happened!

I finished this wall hanging on Saturday. The one in the magazine had a couple of buttons, but even though I have an extensive button collection I didn't like any of them on this wall hanging. I think when I have it displayed with my other Christmas decorations it won't look quite so plain.

You all had a lot to say about your rulers!! I figured my collection would be rather tame compared to others, and it was!

OK, do you have chipped, broken rulers that should really go in the trash but you just can't bear to throw them away? Recycle them into acrylic templates!!! How cool is that idea?!

Vivian shared with me her hubby makes them for her and wrote a blog post about it. Thanks so much Vivian for the wonderful idea!! Read her post here.

Quilters Rule (r) !!

How many rulers does a quilter need? No, this is not a riddle, but maybe it should be.

My stash of rulers is probably very moderate, but to me it feels ridiculous. (ever see the hoarding show?)

How many of these look familiar? Which ones do you actually use?(frequently) If you could only have one ruler which one would it be?


The Setting Triangle
9 1/2" square
18"x3"
24"x6" (used often!)

12"x6"
Eleanor Burns Flying Geese ruler (makes 2 sizes- woo-hoo!)
June Taylor slotted ruler for making strips(hanging in my closet- what a dog)
How about the dritz hemming ruler?! How many of you have THAT one in your sewing room?
Does anybody keep broken rulers in case you need it?




Easy Angle
Scrap Saver
Add a quarter
Add a seam??
2 bias squares 6" and 6 1/2"
4"x8"


1"x6"
2 1/2" square
2- 6" squares (I bet you are thinking I really like the 6" ruler huh)
4" square
12 1/2" square

When I thought I was done I found one more. 8" x 4" I wonder if there are more hiding under fabric fearing they may get tossed!?

If I could choose just one I'd take the 12 1/2" square, although I really like the 24"x6".

Bluebird in a Pear Tree

This little wallhanging really caught my eye when I saw it in the latest issue of American Patchwork and Quilting. It is designed by Lynda Hall. The brown tree is cotton and the rest of the appliques are wool. I had some time to get the HST assembled today. Now it needs to be quilted and I'll add a few buttons and a bird eye.

I've been working like crazy on paper piecing another sawtooth border on the medallion quilt. I've got two long sides to go. Not my favorite thing to do, but I think it's going to be worth it, although I'm going to have to substitute different fabric because I'm running out. That isn't a big deal to me although the quilt is already got a lot going on. Hopefully I'll get to it this weekend.

Doll Quilt Finish

I managed to get the binding sewn down this past weekend on the doll quilt! I decided to hand quilt it so now I feel like my quilt stitch is warmed up enough to get out my Dear Jane and continue with some hand quilting on it too. Hmmm, I'll see if I can get more then 5 blocks quilted this fall/winter!
If you are a new reader to my blog you can see the old quilt I copied on this post.

More Lone Star

Isn't this amazing? What a lot of work the maker invested in this quilt!

After last week's post about Lone Stars I wanted to share with you two great links. You may have seen them if you left a comment, but if not, please check them out and read the stories that go along with the quilts.

Rose Marie's first large quilt was a Lone Star. It is a beautiful quilt, but the construction techniques were a little, let's say, dated. LOL Applique 'n Patch.

The next quilt is beautiful and has a warm, wonderful story to go with it. Check it out at Bingo Bonnie's

Stack Of Pumpkins

I've been concentrating on getting these stack of wooly pumpkins done. Ta-Da! This was one of the patterns I picked up from Wooden Spool Designs at the quilt show. Parts of it were a bit tricky, but overall I think it will make a nice fall addition to my house.

If you are curious the pattern is actually the stack of tomatoes, just worked in a different color to make them pumpkins.

Lone Star Quilts

I can certainly enjoy a Lone Star quilt and the work it takes to assemble one, but I've never felt the need to make one myself.

I'm sure mine would be waving more then the American flag during a hurricane!!

Have you made a Lone Star quilt? I'd love to see it! Please leave a link in the comment section.

Design Wall Monday

I made a little progress on the medallion. I wasn't sure how well I liked the last border, but once it was sewn on I think it is OK. It is still a weird size so I think I am going to add another blue spacer strip next then continue to the next round.

The two blocks to the side are a free BOM designed by Dawn at Linen Closet Quilts. At this point my two blocks do not look related at all, but if I use some of the same fabrics throughout the quilt it should start looking cohesive.

Quilt Show- Last One

Here I was again drawn to autumn quilts!

For all the work that went in to this one I think there should have been a bit more contrast. The center yellow star is pretty sweet!

Check out the stockings on the woman. *Too cute!*

There was another quilt made in the same fashion that was an owl. It was mostly done with thread and the back looked very similar to the front. Very striking!

I believe this display was for breast cancer awareness. What a hoot! Or what a hooter!