Cecelia's Quilt

I'm blogging early this morning because we are headed out for a little vacation. I will be away from a computer and taking a blogging break for about two weeks. I wanted to show you the project I'll be taking with me on our little vacation. This is Cecelia's Quilt. The quilt is one of the first I had ever made and I made the quilt for a dear friend who was very ill. I was working, teaching high school history to high risk students during her illness and was not able to be available when she needed me. I thought a quilt may give her the comfort I could not. I made the quilt very quickly and because of time was not able to hand quilt or even have it machine quilted. I used a primitive large stitch and tied the quilt. Thankfully, Cecelia has recovered and is doing very well---but the quilt is in need of some attention, a little face lift. I've always wanted to add to the quilting and give the quilt a little whimsy. Hint---Cecelia likes cats. I'm taking the quilt with me to do some applique and addition quilting. I'm planning to enhance the quilt with hand quilting around the new applique and additional primitive stitching. It's funny how differently people look at things. I was never really pleased with the look of the quilt, but Cecelia loves the quilt. The fact the quilt is loved is the true purpose of a quilt and I'm thrilled the quilt holds a special place in her heart. I'll post the quilt's new look when I return. Happy Quilting!

Mini Quilt for June

I'm getting ready to start my AAQI quilts for June. Ideas are still at the thinking stage, but thought you might like to see how I begin. Usually the fabric gives me an idea and I create a quilt name then the quilt comes to life. The final Sun Bonnet Sue will be completed in June along with an Hawaiian Patchwork, Mod Flowers, and Crazy Cheater. I'll see how things develop and of course will keep you posted

It's In The Mail

I decided to step out of my comfort zone with this 16 x 16 inch quilt. I have entered the Alliance for American Quilts 2010 "New from Old" contest. The Alliance for American Quilts documents, preserves and shares the American quilt. They offer this contest as a means to raise money toward support for their mission. All the quilts will be auctioned on eBay from November 8- December 6, 2010. Entries must be postmarked by May, 31----mine is in the mail today. The entries will be posted on line at http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/ and AAQ members will vote for the winners from June 14-18. The quilts will then travel to two venues: National Quilting Association's show in Columbus, Ohio, June 17-19 and American Quilter's Society Show in Knoxville, Tennessee, July 14-17, before they are auctioned on eBay.

My entry is entitled Bridal Bouquet Bling. I embellished a 1930's Bridal Bouquet block with vintage tatting and modern day beads---to give the old feed sack fabric some sparkle. I then hand quilted the piece to compliment the original hand pieced block. This little quilt allowed me to explore outside of me usual comfortable quilting thoughts and I'm ready to expand to another project larger than 9 x 12 inches.

Sun Bonnet Sue #5

This little Sun Bonnet---Blue Bonnet Sue is my 5th in a series of 6 I have made for AAQI. She and her sister Sue's were made from a recycled quilt block. This little Sue was embellished with vintage lace and beads. The Sue's are both hand and machine quilted. The Sue, herself, has been hand quilted by the original quilter. These have been fun mini quilts to make and a great remembrance of a popular quilt block from the past.

Wordless Wednesday

Shadowed Memories

Cheese Cloth that I found on my hubby's work bench became the idea behind this little AAQI quilt I named Tears of Shadowed Memories. I also used a winter wonderland novelty print that shows different scenes of children at play in the snow. The novelty print represents a memory of good times---the cheese cloth is applied to half of the print. The cheese cloth mutes the print, it becomes hard to see and understand what exactly is going on----just as Alzheimer clouds and shadows the memories of a victim. Small clear beads within the cheese cloth represents the tear drops and sadness a victim and their loved ones feel as memories of fun times fade. The little quilt is hand quilted on silk weaved fabric with a raw edging to finish and measure 8 3/8" x 11 1/4".

Tulip Patchwork

This little AAQI quilt is another in a group I made this past month that will be for sale shortly. I seemed to have had a springtime theme going. Tulip Patchwork is paper pieced and hand quilted. A very simple quilt and design with calico fabrics and an angled corner. Just saying Spring IS Here. Yea!!!!! Wishing everyone a wonderful Mother's Day Weekend.

Moe, Larry and Curly

The breath of new life in the wild sometimes is shorten by human intervention and sometimes, like with the story of Moe, Larry and Curly, the human intervention gives a second chance.

The second chance for Moe, Larry and Curly was given by Wild Bird Rehabilitation at 9624 Midland Ave., Overland, Missouri. My neighbor, Ted, came knocking on our door last night with a bucket. The bucket was making sweet chirping sounds as he told us the story. Ted had been working on a house and he found the birds nest in the rain gutter. He tried to leave the nest alone as long as he could, but progress caught up with the little family and the nest had to be removed. While he continued to work the parents did not return to feed or claim the babies. So he brought them home, fed them worms and then brought them to me for care. I'm the softy in the neighborhood. I know very little about birds, but I knew the Internet would be of help. So after some investigation----I made them a nest, gave them a few more worms and put them in a box with a heating pad on low. Then I opened the telephone book. I knew I was not equipped to take care of Moe, Larry and Curly and them seemed strong---it would be a shame for me to hurt them by trying to save them.
I found the Wild Bird Rehabilitation. This was an educational event for me. I learned a good deal about the care of birds, for example: Baby birds have to be fed every 15-20 minutes from 7am to 7pm. They need to be kept warm 90+ degrees if they have no feathers. They need moister (like a damp sponge) in their nest. Never give birds water, they can drown. They get their water from the food. The food---worms were OK, in fact at their young age they eat anything, but to really get the nutrition that their parents would supply they need a very complex diet (half the stuff I had no idea what it was). But the best thing for baby birds is to keep them in a nest as near to the spot where they were found. Mom and Dad will come back for them. Also, you can touch a baby bird and the parents will continue to take care of it.

We kept Moe, Larry and Curly warm and gave them a breakfast of worms before we loaded them up for the 45 minute trip to the Rehabilitation center. The center is set up in to 5 areas. The hospital (ER) for the injured birds. The nursery with incubators (Moe, Larry and Curly were admitted to the nursery). The next room is for the birds that have feathers and can hop around. Then the Recovery room, this is the next to the last stage of their stay before the outside aviary and then released to the wild in the area where they were found.

I felt good leaving the birds. They were in very good hands. There was one mystery surrounding Moe, Larry and Curly----what kind of birds are they. Ted thought they were Robins, the lady on the phone, when I described where their nest was located, thought they were Sparrows. I didn't have a clue, but I knew they weren't Sparrows, because their legs were too big---very long legs for little guys. Cute as they are now---they will grow up to be, shall I say undesirable birds in our area---Starlings.

All God's creatures deserve a second chance to do his work even Starlings.

Wordless Wednesday

Oriental Play

This AAQI quilt is made from a vintage quilt block pattern I had never seen before. I think this is why I enjoy the vintage quilt blocks so much. So many have gone by the way side, that it's fun when I discover a new (to me) pattern. As usual, this block was purchased at an estate sale in Missouri. I bought a box of patterns and notes that appeared to be a quilters notebook. The box contained a sample of a wide variety of quilt blocks (1 of each type) and notes about making the block. It was very interesting and I have used many of the blocks in my quilts. I could never locate the name or any information about this block in my old quilting books, so I just call is Oriental Lantern. To make the mini quilt I call Oriental Play, I used some oriental toile fabric and cut out a pair of playing children and bird. I then used fabric paint to highlight some of the clothes and feathers. The little quilt is machine quilted and the block was hand pieced.