All Decked Out

In Flanders Field

Friday, November 11, 2011 3 Comments »

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915. Hostilities in that "War To End All Wars" did not cease until the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

We set aside this day to remember all who have served, and all who continue to serve, to preserve our freedom. Originally called Armistice Day, the day is now commemorated here in the United States as Veterans Day, and in Britain and Canada as Rememberance Day. The poppy, which bloomed in blood red profusion across the fields of Flanders, has come to symbolize the sacrifice of those who gave their lives.

When Bad Fabric Choices Happen to Good Quilters

Sunday, October 23, 2011 15 Comments »

Maybe a better title would be "Second Guessing: A Quilter's Guide to Monday Morning Quarterbacking".

Mystery quilts are always a challenge. Usually the author of the mystery will give you clues up front, such as which fabric is your focus fabric, and which is your background. Those clues get you started, but you still need to really understand fabric values as well since the rest of the fabric requirements are things like ".5 yards of a medium light; 1.0 yards of a medium dark". If you are a newer quilter, this can be very challenging, and the results aren't always what you might have hoped for.

I did a mystery quilt a number of years ago, back before I had developed a network of experienced quilting friends and before I had a good understanding of fabric choices. Yes, I knew what a batik was, and I could see that Amy Butler and Kaffe Fasset fabrics were different than traditional fabrics, but I couldn't tell a Civil War repro from a 30's repro.

I picked my focus fabric based on some colors I liked, ones that would look good in my Family room.

Then I picked fabrics that would pull some of those colors. Unfortunately, I wasn't very good at picking the right values, and unwittingly picked a bunch of CW repros that didn't exactly match the feel of the focus fabric.

That darker paisley just doesn't contrast enough with the dark green, and my white-on-white backgroud was nice, but not for this quilt. It probably should have been an off-white to blend with the focus fabric better.

I'd gotten the quilt backing on sale, and whereas it picked up the colors, it was a whole n'other genre.

I finished the top, and liked the overall pattern, but had a mixed vibe about the whole package. In the mean time, my friend Nancy had turned me on to Civil War repros, so now the idea of those repro fabrics next to the other fabrics didn't sit well. I guess I was afraid the Quilt Police would come knocking at my door.

So the flimsey and the backing sat on a shelf. I found them a few weeks ago and decided to take them to my local longarmer along with some other UFOs -- what the heck, I'd put all that time into it. Maybe she would wave her magic bobbin and make (as my mother was fond of saying) a silk purse out of a sow's ear. At the very least, it would be something to throw on the floor for the grandbabies to crawl on.

As it turns out, the darned thing isn't bad. Is it my most favoritest quilt in the world? No, but damned if my hubby doesn't LOVE it.

When I hinted that I might be giving it away, he got quite the hurt look on his face and started rambling about how much he loved the colors, the deep, rich tones, and crispness of the pattern. It was then that I realized that I am my own worst critic -- we quilters are our own worst critics. Who cares if the fabric genres clash? Who cares if that background is a little too white? Why do we kill ourselves with Monday morning quarterbacking when we should just let go and bask in the warmth of someone else's appreciation?

I don't have a name for this quilt (any suggestions??), but I do have a home for it. It's folded on the back of Hubby's favorite rocking chair in the family room, and I wouldn't be surprised if he and the cat wrap up in it tonight while they read. It may not be my cup o' tea, but if it makes him happy, that's alright by me!

Mystery UFO

Monday, October 17, 2011 12 Comments »

I met Kimberly, author of the Jelly Roll Quilt Magic giveaway book, a number of years ago at the Lancaster. PA quilt show. I'd signed up to take her Mystery Quilt class called Pinweels and Flying Geese. The quilt from that class became Pinwheels for Ian, a gift for that red-headed young man over there on the right side of the screen. I was new to quilting, and that was only the third quilt I had ever made. The class was the start of a friendship as well as a love an interest in doing mystery quilts.

Every once in a while, Kimberly would do a mystery quilt on her web site, with the fabric requirements being published on week #1, then various "clues" each week thereafter. For one of the mysteries, I threw caution to the wind and decided to try batiks on black. It was fun, I finished all but the outside borders in short order, then my ADQD took over & I flitted to another project. That UFO took its place on the shelf with all too many other UFOs, staying there until earlier this month.

Then came September's Philly Modern Quilt Guild meeting. They announced that the project for the October meeting was to complete a UFO, bring it to the meeting, and share. Out came that old mystery quilt, on went the borders, zip zip went the pieced back, and off to the local long-armer it flew. I picked it up on Friday and completed binding this weekend. It finished at about 60" x 60". When you take that leap of faith, throwing caution to the wind and picking fabrics for a mystery quilt, you just never know how it's going to turn out. For that reason, I called this one "Who knew?".

DH really likes it, I think because he's very attracted to Amish quilts, and it has that bright-color-on-black look. It will hang in the family room for a while.

Please don't let anyone from my guild know -- it's supposed to be a surprise. Denise and Bobbi, your lips are sealed, right?

Engaging

Sunday, October 16, 2011 4 Comments »

My sister, Sue, is 9 years younger than I. My kids are both married and raising families, but my darling sister is just starting out on the wedding journeys. Her son, JJ became engaged to a wonderful girl named Jamie in September. Aren't they cute?

Sue is hosting an engagement party in a few weeks so that Jamie's family, who are from New Jersey and New York, can meet our family here in Pennsylvania. It should be lots of fun.

I'm never sure what the gift protocol is for an engagement party. There will be a shower closer to the wedding most certainly, and of course the wedding itself next October. Their wedding quilt is already planned and the fabric purchased, but what to do for the engagement party?

I decided to make a couple of table runners. My idea is that I will get them started on a collection of seasonal table runners to kick start their holiday decorating. For the engagement party, I'll give them a this Fall runner,

and this one to grace their table at Christmas.

I'll continue that theme for the wedding shower and make runners for other occassions, like Valentine's day, St. Patrick's Day (Miss Jamie is Irish!!), Spring and Summer. Someone else can bring the crockpot and blender.

Let's Give it up for the Giveaway!!

Friday, October 14, 2011 8 Comments »

Aren’t giveaways fun? We all enjoy a contest and the thrill of winning, but there’s a lot to be said for giving as well.

There were 100 comments posted on my giveaway blog. Some were from old friends, but the vast majority were from people I didn’t know.

Some of you are from my home state of Pennsylvania, but you're also from Florida, Maine, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Colorado, Texas, Idaho, California, Oregon, and Wisconsin, to name a few. Many of you live in far-away places: Canada, British Columbia, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Sri Lanka.

You are a mix of young and seasoned, grand/great grandparents, parents, workers, retirees, singles, marrieds, knitters, scrapbookers, gardeners, ranch hands, avid readers, city dwellers, country folk, and denizens of the beach. You have dogs, cats, chickens, cows and horses.

We even had our requisite male quilter (hi, Gene!). Some of you have been quilting for years and years; others for just a few months.

Many of you have blogs of your own, and I visited every single one. Wow, what a talented group you are! Such great ideas and such beautiful quilts! You are funny, you are thoughtful, you are sharing, but most of all you love to quilt. It has been a pleasure peeking into your corner of the universe!

I printed out all of your comments.

I sliced across the pages until I had 100 slips of paper, each with a separate comment. I made extra slips for those of you who also posted about my giveaway on your blog.

While I was waiting for my painfully slow computer to download and install Windows Updates, I folded each and every one of those slips of paper into eighths.

Then I put them in a big old plastic dough bucket and shook it like crazy.

I’m not a hat person, so I took the hood from my winter coat & dumped the slips in there. Why the hood? Since Junior was doing the picking, I thought he might appreciate a something that looked like it was trimmed in squirrel (or maybe even groundhog).

Anyway, I put a piece of sticky tape on Junior’s paw, he put his paw in the hat, and came up with……………

Michele!!!! Michele is from Florida. She's a stay at home mom, with 2 boys, and has a blog called IslandLife Quilts. Her comment said:

Winning a copy of this book would be great! You ordering two copies was a happy accident for visitors to your blog :-) Using Jelly Rolls saves lots of time and cutting....I don't like cutting...and they are just nice to look at before you take them apart!! I have a few in a basket in my dining room :-)

I'll be sending Michele an email to get her mailing address; the book and rulers should be on their way to her next week.

Thanks so much to ALL of you for stopping by! I've enjoyed meeting you, and will continue to pop in on your blogs. I sure hope you'll pop in on mine every once in a while.