Mend on Wednesday

I was lucky enough to win a collection of "Penny Squares" on ebay. As the seller mentioned, they are in rough shape.

They are stained, dirty and poorly stitched. They are not a complete set either. I am still happy to have them and the Wednesday block intrigued me. Sunbonnet Sue is mending as she rocks a baby's cradle with her foot. She appears to be mending pantyhose, but they weren't invented until well after this block was done. They are probably some sort of leggings for the baby.



Her bonnet style is different than the bonnets drawn by Bertha Corbett. It looks like the early postcards done by Bernhardt Wall. So I went looking through some Wall postcards and found this one from 1905.



And there is the image from my penny square! She is mending a baby's romper.

So I decided to make a redwork pattern from the design. Here is a link to the PDF file.

I simplified the hands in my drawing. The original penny square had fingers. I'll have to keep looking for more days of the week.

Enjoy,

Kim

A Visit to Pieceful Quilting

I stopped in Pieceful quilting yesterday to see all the entries in the old bag challenge. I didn't win, and once I got to see the other quilts, it was clear why. Wow. The creativity meter was off the dial! Pieceful quilting put pictures of the quilts on their blog. If you look closely, you can see mine at the bottom: Click for Pieceful's Blog

While I was in the store I fell in love with a Block of the Month pattern. It is being given as a machine applique class. You go one Saturday a month and make a block. I've never been formally taught machine applique, so I signed up! Here is the quilt:

It is called "Be Attitudes", a play on one of my favorite verses in the bible. So I'm starting yet another project. I know that my sewing skills will improve!

That's all for now,

Kim

Old Bag Challenge finished

Yea! I finished the old-bag challenge with time to spare. Here is what my quilt looks like:

I used a lot of the junk that was in the bag. I even made a Sunbonnet Sue doll out of the red hat charm. It was fun. The quilt is 20" wide, so it isn't a big one.

Starting a New Challenge

I know I'm supposed to be finishing up projects this year. I am making progress on my parent's anniversary quilt. I have the 49 "Puss in the Corner" blocks finished and now I'm working on the flying geese units for the star blocks.

My local quilt store, Pieceful Quilting, is doing a challenge. I decided to make a challenge quilt. It is called the "Old Bag" challenge because you get an old bag filled with fabric to make the quilt. Well my bag had only one fat quarter of fabric and lots of trim and buttons.

Of course, I'm making a Sunbonnet Sue quilt. I using 30s reproduction fabrics in green and orange to go with the supplied fabric. I'll use their fabric as the border and as some yo-yos.

Here is a picture of what was in my bag:

I'll post pictures as I get the blocks done.

Kim

Hitting the Ground Running - 2008

It is New Year's Day and it is time to get going on a new year, a clean slate. I try to make one big resolution each year. In 2006 it was lose weight. I lost 30 pounds that year and got back into a size 8!

In 2007 I resolved to start my long desired Master's degree. I'm happy to report that I'm a student at Stony Brook University with 4 classes (12 credits) towards my degree already completed. Classes start again for me on Thursday, so this is really a two year resolution!

Unfortunately as I was studying, the pounds crept back on! I guess I have to work on losing them again! I'm back up 30 pounds. The nice slim figure I resolved to get it gone, but at least a Master's degree can't be taken away!

So my 2008 resolution is all about finishing! Finish the degree I started, finish the diet and finish some of the quilts I've started. Yesterday I made a table runner for a lady I work with. She always sets up a wonderful black history month display, so I used some of my collected African fabric to make the table runner.



It is finished! I give it to her tomorrow.

Today I worked on a quilt I started a year ago. My parent celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 1, 2006. At the party I had squares of fabric for the guests to sign. I started the quilt of 50 stars. Either the center of the star will be a square from the party or a photograph. Today I sewed for most of the day. I need to make 50 star blocks and 49 "puss in the corner" blocks for the quilt. Here is what would fit on my design board.

I'm really pleased with how it is coming out! We're Irish, so I decided to sprinkle little bits of Irish novelty fabric. Do you think it detracts? I'm wondering if I should leave out the "kiss me I'm Irish" fabric.

Anyway, I've working again...

Happy New Year.

The Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt

at Stony Brook University

November 29th, 2007

I'm taking graduate classes at Stony Brook this semester, so I was pleased to see that sections of the Aids quilt were going to be on campus on one of my class nights. After class was over I went over to the Student Center to check out the quilt show.

I didn't know what an amazing experience it was. It was like no other quilt show I have ever been to.

First the quilt panels are laid on the floor. You walk among them. As you make your way around the exhibit, it is almost like the quilt is a living thing and the people are part of it.





Then there is the realization that these quilts, for the most part, were not made by quilters. The panels were created by people who loved someone and then lost them to AIDS. There were various skill levels and techniques used. The panels were very personal.

This one shows a loved one in various pictures printed on fabric:




This one takes a suit of clothing. It is laid out on an old quilt. I can only imaging that it was his baby quilt.







An of course, whenever I go look at quilts, I look for Sunbonnet Sue or Sam. Here a precious moments character is captured on the panel.



And as you are looking at the panels, there is always someone at the microphone, reading names. That is the point of the project, the names. The list of those who died of this disease is very long and the constant reciting of names in the background is a reminder of what the project is all about.

The full panels each measured 12' x 12'. Here is a picture of one of the panels that was standing.



Many different sections make up a full panel. Only 25 panels made it to Stony Brook that night. I was in awe of the stories that each victim had to tell. The entire AIDS quilt is now more than 45,000 panels, which represents a small portion of the more than 500,000 people in the United States who have died from AIDS.

I can't imagine that many names.

For me the panel that summed it up was this one... an unfinished life.



It was an amazing quilt show.

You can get more information here: www.aidsquilt.org

Light The Night - Leukemia Walk

Last night Suffolk Community College hosted the "Light the Night" walk for Leukemia. My mom has a blood cancer, so our family participated. Here is a picture of us right before the walk. In the picture are my 14-year old daughter Kelly, Husband Jim, Me, 9-year old daughter Suzie and off to the side, my 12-year old son Danny(being clever with his balloon).

There were hundreds of walkers who carried illuminated balloons. It was quite the parade as we walked around the road the loops the campus.

When it was all finished, we returned to the central courtyard of the campus in front of the Peconic Building. It was a beautiful site.

It was definitely a worthwhile experience for my family to gather together with others who have had blood cancers touch their life. There was a lady there sobbing and I felt so thankful that my mother continues to win the fight with her cancer.

If you would like to donate to the cause: http://www.active.com/donate/ltnMelvil/2075_bunchuck

Kim B.