Recently, I have been trying my best to catch up with the blocks of the month from Hale Country Quilters. Slowly, but surely, I am getting there! Whew!
I am loving the teal, purple and red combination in each block.
Block 4Block 5Block 6
I am going to take a little break before I start the next block. Block 7 has a bunch of small pieces…and I changed the color placement just a little bit…so I need to have my head in the game!
What project are you catching up on this weekend?
To help you relax, I am sharing a sunrise picture over Lake Huron from our recent trip to Mackinaw City, Michigan.
I am making slow, but steady progress on my BOM for the Hale Country Quilters group.
I would have more of the blocks completed if I hadn’t had an epiphany. Darn those epiphanies!
I decided to make a center big block from a Pat Sloan sew along. I like this big star block.
Then I saw a block on Pinterest. It was screaming at me to be 16” corner blocks.
Here are the first three BOM installments.
Are you participating in any BOM’s this year? They are a great way to build skills…and if you don’t love the top when you finish it, it can become a gift or charitable donation. Someone will love it for you! 💕♥️💕
Recently I joined Hale Country Quilt Guild. I have only been to 3 meetings, but I am enjoying this experience. At the last meeting, I shared my Sweet Childhood Memories quilt tops. The ladies made me feel so good!
Sheryl, my wonderful Up North neighbor, invited me to a meeting because she knows how much I love quilting and sewing. When we joined, the BOM was on the 10th out of 12 blocks.
Sheryl has several blocks completed. I love her colors! So pretty! I love the Autumn colors and earth tones with a touch of blue she chose.
I needed some time to make this project more complicated. Yes…that means I have not started the blocks yet. I am using teal, purple and a touch of red.
However, I have all the setting blocks completed for the quilt in my head. I am using the large center start from Pat Sloan’s Festivals and Fireworks quilt sew along.
I am using a block I saw on Pinterest for the four 16” corner blocks. Here is a link to the free, printable pattern. It is called Blue Ridge Mountain Star.
Just as a side note, look at all of these bonus half square triangles!
Here is a quick snapshot of the patterns:
I like that the patterns all use 1 background and a light and dark of two colors. The directions are well written thanks to Janice Berg. I love playing along with friends. Time to get to work!
I love yard sales! Yesterday we found this for $20! The seller thought about making it into a table…oh, the horror!
It is a White. I don’t know much about this brand. All the mechanisms are loose…nothing frozen or locked up. There are many, many YouTube videos about them. Thank goodness!
The drawers are in good shape. Only one little spot of veneer damage.
The decals are in good shape.
This is the back before I cleaned the wood. Beautiful!
Do you see the ruler inlaid in the wood case? Fantastic!
It was a little dusty underneath. It came with a nice ball of lint. It cleaned up easily.
I wiped it down with machine oil. What a beauty! I need to bring my treadle book back with me so I can put a new belt on it. (There is a new belt in one of the drawers.) I also need to watch some videos about threading it.
Oh, this will not be a table on my watch! What wonderful treasures did you find recently?
This week has been a travel week. I have worked on a few things…not much. Here are a few pictures of works in progress:
I made these pieces last summer in 2022. I am finally going to put them on the border where they belong.
I will add more of these flowers once I get these ones sewn down to the background. Oh, did I mention there are four borders, not just these two?
This block is from Pat Sloan. It is part of the fireworks quilt along that is just ending. It has this center square that I have decided to use in a block of the month quilt.
This picture has two outside borders on it. Next I will add the blocks for the month and big 16 inch corner squares. My colors are purple, teal, and a bit of red.
This is a practice block for the center of each cornerstone block of that same quilt. The section with the blue and purple square is actually made up of two triangles, which makes it a bit of a challenge.
Hope you are living your best life and doing things that bring you joy!
What are you working on during these last toasty days of summer?
I finally got it all together. Well, maybe not ALL, but this fourth and final version of the Sweet Childhood Memories quilt. This is the quilt that holds my memories. Ta-Dah!
In this quilt, Sweet Childhood Memories, designed by Pat Sloan, each block has a theme. I chose fabrics from my stash to represent the given theme of each block. Here is a detailed look at my fabric choices:
My favorite color is teal. Any shade of blue is great, too. Purple and red are great accents. The inner border that looks black is in reality a deep purple.
Block: Fairy Tales
When I was young, I had a Raggedy Ann doll that I loved to pieces. She had several surgeries to reattach her arm, her leg, etc. I also had a book about the adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy. There are many of these books still available from Amazon, Etsy, etc. The dolls are also very collectable. I have several of the dolls decorating my sewing room, but not the poor original that was so well loved.
This block reflects the colors in the Raggedy Ann’s clothes. I even found some striped fabric…just like her socks.
Block: Best Friend
My best friends were all in the band. The fabric selection in this block reminded me of a John Philip Sousa march…that my friends would have been playing. Listen here.
Block: Bedtime Routine
Like I said, all four of these quilts had the printed background. Story time or reading was an important part of the bedroom routine. Brushing teeth and taking a bath was important, too.
Blocks (from left to right): Easter Sunday, Outdoor game, and Summer Break
Easter Sunday was the time to visit with grandparents. My grandmother loved to color Easter eggs with us. My grandparents had 200+ chickens, so eggs were never in short supply. They also had rabbits. One always left tracks somewhere in the house for us to find.
I had an basket that I used year after year. A Gardener’s solid chocolate rabbit always appeared in it. I always got a new Easter dress and dress shoes.
As a teenager, our youth group was always in charge of the breakfast after the sunrise service. Someone from the Ladies Auxillary group usually supervised us. That poor lady!
The middle block represents outdoor games. I used to love to play hide and seek with my brother. I would hide and he wasn’t good at the seek part…because I was in the hay loft in the barn where we weren’t supposed to be. I didn’t fall and break my neck…no harm, no foul, right?
Ahhh! Summer! This block goes well with the block above it. I loved playing outside…or reading a book outside. I spent a great deal of time in the hay loft of the barn or up a tree, hiding and reading a book.
Block: Ride a Bike
The Christmas that I was six years old, I got a bicycle. It had a purple and silver paisley seat, that my dad immediately changed to a more comfortable plain, white one. The body of the bike was purple sparkles. It took me forever to learn to ride, because I was so afraid of crashing! No helmets back then!
Blocks (from left to right): Books, Sing a song, and Movie Time
My favorite book was Charlotte’s Web. When the movie came out, I was thrilled, but as always, it was not as good as the book. I used web fabric in memory of Charlotte and pink fabric for Wilbur. Sorry, Templeton, no rat fabric was available.
The middle block is for Sing a Song. Senor Don Gato was a favorite song from elementary school. Listen to it hear. The fabric speaks for itself.
The last block in this row was for favorite movie. I would have to say Cinderella. She did have to clean up a lot of cobwebs!
Blocks: Nursery Rhymes on the left, Fun School Memory on the right
Ring Around the Rosie was my favorite nursery rhyme. We would join hands and spin around like maniac, then all fall down. I used as much flower fabric as I could. The contrast in this block is not the best, but it is still a pretty block.
When I was in high school, I did a term paper on nursery rhymes. I was appalled to find out it was about the black plague.
The tulip block is the fun school memories block. My greatest school memory was a school wide trip to Philadelphia, PA for the bicentennial celebration. Our school did fund raisers for two years to make sure that every student got to go on this trip. It was a five hour bus ride from central PA to get there. We left at 4 AM, but I got to touch the Liberty Bell. I still have the miniature version on a shelf in the sewing room. We got to see the mint in action making money. I was in 4th grade. Don’t waste time on calculations…I am old.
The flower body was cut from red, white, and blue calico. I probably have some Liberty Bell fabric in the tub of American fabrics, but I was content with the red.
Block: Childhood Home
This block is so appropriate for my childhood home. That whirling shape in the middle…someone was always coming or going…Mom, step-mother, etc.
The purple in the center is for a great patch of irises that were beside the house. There was wild garlic mixed in with the irises, so when it was time to mow them off for the fall, it had a wonderful garlic aroma.
My parents had beef cattle and milk cows, thus all the cow fabric. My mother used to make butter in my Grandmother’s antique barrel churn to sell. She also sold pastuerized milk, too. When my parents divorced, dad sold the cows.
The house itself had gray tar paper siding on the outside. At one point, the house had belonged to my great-great-aunt and uncle…maybe more greats. Then it was sold and turned into a hunting camp for a while before my parents purchased it.
Blocks: Toy Box on the left, and Favorite Teacher on the right
My favorite toys were Barbie dolls…and, yes, I still have some. They are friends with my elf and sasquatch statue.
I have two favorite teachers. In high school, Mrs. Neary was a wonderful teacher. She had my dad as a student when she was a brand new teacher. From the stories he told, it is no wonder she became strict and scary. She was wonderful!
My other favorite teacher was Miss Richards in 6th grade. She was sweet and kind. She taught me a lot about being compassionate…that carried over into my own teaching career.
I chose the fabrics for this block because I liked them. I am not sure when I learned to be the recycling “hippy” that I am. Maybe it was on that walk in 6th grade when we didn’t get to go camping…
Blocks: Favorite Bedtime Toy on the left, Holiday Memory on the right
On the right, the block represents bedtime toy. Again, Raggedy Ann.
The block on the left was favorite holiday memory. For years, my grandparents had a big Christmas party. All the aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts, great uncles, etc. came to this party. I hated it. I whined about it. My dad said that someday I would miss that stupid party. I hate to admit it, but he was right. He was so right.
Block: Something You Learned
This block is about something I learned. There is not enough space here…Let’s just say I survived, I adapted, I overcame and here I am! Now I am old enough to wear purple and red anytime I want!
All four quilts pieced and ready to be quilted. I hope to have these ready to give as Christmas gifts (this year, smarty pants!).
I am already working on my next two projects. I need to keep busy so that Dan doesn’t think I have time to substitute teach. I am having way too much fun being retired!
Here are the first two pieces to be repaired. The blue bracelet on top needs a clasp. The white bracelet is missing a part that holds a joining link.
I found a link on a different, not repairable, bracelet. It is not the correct color, but it works.
My solution for the white bracelet was more elegant. I found a “bead” on a broken necklace that could be fastened to the bracelet pieces with jump rings. It is a little longer, but beautiful!
I showed you this bracelet in the original post, but I forgot to post about it with a follow up.
Most of the original cabochons were in the bag of pieces, but they were still a few missing. I improvised.
This cute little pin was in the bag .
I am not quite sure what someone did to bend the back like this. Oh my!
I straightened it as best I could with a pair of jeweler pliers… Not perfect, but functional.
These items need a little bit of glue or jewelry cement. The middle piece is a pin.
The two bracelets below just need a jump ring inserted to make them whole and useable again.
This pin was actually in two pieces. I glued one on top of the other to make it usable again. It measures 2 inches across…welcome back to the 60s or 70s.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the update on the bling from the scrap bag of jewelry pieces. There are many more of these to come.
I did finish the final quilt today and will be showing you that later this week…
When I started making these childhood memory quilts, my purpose was to get to know our new daughter-in-law, Tracy. I also thought that she might like to get to know us a little better as well. I actually learned some things about my husband as well, which surprised me after being married to him for almost 38 years!
In this quilt, Sweet Childhood Memories, designed by Pat Sloan, each block has a theme. I chose fabrics from my stash to represent the given theme of each block. Here is a detailed look at my fabric choices:
Dan’s favorite color is purple, but I also used as much nature fabric as possible. At home and cabin, he likes to feed the deer, turkeys, and squirrels. We have traveled to Yellowstone National Park many times to watch the wildlife, too. He likes to fish with friends and family.
Block: Fairy Tales
This block is based on Dan’s favorite stories: Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. He loved watching Fess Parker as Davy Crockett on Sunday evenings on The Wonderful World of Disney.
The center of this block is a majestic moose. I also used the last of the Alaskan batik fabrics throughout this quilt.
Block: Best Friend
Dan’s best friend is also my cousin, Todd. Todd is a great fisherman. The fish seem to know he is around and beg to be caught on his hook! (Dan claims that he has been on trips when there were no fish caught, but I don’t know if that is really true.) Dan also hunts with Todd and his family at their fantastic camp. It is a beautiful, peaceful place in the wilds of Pennsylvania.
I used camp and nature fabrics in the corners. I used water fabrics for the background. I had some great fish and fishing panels that I fussy cut for the triangles in this block.
Block: Bedtime Routine
All four of these quilts have newspaper print for the background in this block. Everyone reads or has been read to at bedtime in our family.
Dan didn’t remember much of a bedtime routine when he was growing up. He remembers brushing his teeth every night. Everyone uses some water when brushing their teeth.
The striped fabric is green forest with birch trees. It fits the outdoor theme of the overall quilt.
Blocks (from left to right): Easter Sunday, Sing a Song, and Summer Break
Easter Sunday was the time to visit with grandparents. Dan’s family colored eggs. The Easter bunny brought a basket with delicious Gardener’s chocolates. He usually got a nice peanut butter filled egg…ohhh, yummy!
The middle block is for Sing a Song. De Camptown Races was a favorite song from elementary school. Listen to it hear. The brown fabric represents the dirt race track.
Ahhh! Summer! Dan spent a couple of summers in Canada with his grandparents. He did a lot of fishing for Walleye with his grandfather. The fabrics in this bottom block are mostly about fishing. I snuck a piece of Alaskan batik into the center.
Block: Ride a Bike
Dan used his Uncle Randy’s orange and purple bike with tiger handle bars until his grandparents got him his own for Christmas. It was blue-purple with orange highlights, too.
Blocks (from left to right): Books, Favorite Outdoor Game, and Movie Time
Dan’s favorite book was loaded with stories. He read the Disney Big Book of stories until it fell apart. We still have this copy, fixed with duct tape, in our library. We also have a copy in perfect shape that we bought at a yardsale. The book cover was red and colorful, so is the block.
Wiffle ball was a favorite outdoor game for all the kids in the neighborhood. That reminded me of the movie Sandlot, when they play baseball at night under the fireworks.
101 Dalmations, the cartoon version, was a favorite movie. Notice the paw print fabric. Movies were not available on VHS, DVD, or even on TV at that time. It was a special occasion to go to a movie in a theater.
Blocks: Nursery Rhymes on the left, Fun School Memory on the right
Here it is. The nursery rhyme:
Mary had a little lamb,
And when she saw it sicken,
She sent it off to packing town
and now it’s labeled chicken.
You will notice the sheep and chicken fabric.
The tulip block is the fun school memories block. At the end of sixth grade, the school district Dan and I attended took students on a week long camping trip to Bald Eagle State Park. His class had a great time. Those poor teachers! By the time my class got there, this trip had been permanently cancelled. I got to go for a day trip…basically a walk in the woods…whoopie.
The flower body was cut from a postcard block. It looks like a camping trip to me.
Block: Childhood Home
Dan’s childhood home had dark brown siding. It was on the mountain above Port Matilda, Pennsylvania. I loved to go to visit there when we were in college…lots of trees, deer, and peace and quiet.
I snuck in more of the Alaskan batik with the mountain at the top…not the same mountain, but a mountain nonetheless. There are also trees and more earth tones.
Blocks: Toy Box on the left, and Favorite Teacher on the right
Tonka trucks are used to play in sand and dirt. I used Tonka colors.
Mr. Hoak was Dan’s favorite social studies teacher. I used Americana fabrics to represent him in this quilt.
Blocks: Favorite Bedtime Toy on the left, Holiday Memory on the right
On the right, the block represents bedtime “toy”. I used mushrooms, castle towers, and balls to represent this. Enough said…you figure it out.
Dan’s favorite holiday memories were of hunting after Thanksgiving. I used fabrics that looked like the big woods.
Block: Something You Learned
Dan’s lessons from childhood seem to be related to nature and the peace and serenity that can be found there.
Three quilts down and only my version to go! I hope to have that assembled and ready to show you by next week sometime.
I started this sew along to get to know my new daughter-in-law better. We are glad to have her in our lives. She makes our son happy. She also seems to like my sense of humor. I enjoyed hearing stories about her childhood and where she grew up. This quilt gave us topics to talk about and share. She also got to hear stories about our family, too. She didn’t run away screaming, so that’s a good thing.
In this quilt, Sweet Childhood Memories, designed by Pat Sloan, each block has a theme. I chose fabrics from my stash to represent the given theme of each block. Here is a detailed look at my fabric choices:
My daughter-in-law’s favorite color is green. I used as much green as possible with yellow and pink as accent colors.
Block 1: Fairy Tales
Rumplestiltskin was a favorite childhood story. I used straw fabric for the center and golden threads fabric, too. Straw spun into gold. The pink flames just happens to be the sashing between the blocks.
Block: Best Friend
Tracy had a great story about the best friend theme. When she was little…6 or younger…she spent the night at a friend’s house. In the middle of the night, they prepared breakfast for her friend’s parents. They made toast and raw eggs! She said that she didn’t ever remember staying the night with that friend again. Hmmm!
I used egg yolk and toast colors in this block. I had some scraps of fabric that had lace fused on top. I am certain that these scraps came right out of the 1970’s!
Block: Bedtime Routine
All four of these quilts have newspaper print for the background in this block. Everyone reads or has been read to at bedtime in our family.
The water fabric represents bathtime before bed every night. Bathtime was an important part of bedtime routine at Tracy’s house. She remembers playing a game called, “You are a washcloth” with her mom to help her identify items around the room. The center of this block is made with textured fabric to represent the washcloth.
I modified this block with a green sashing because I cut the squares incorrectly for the half square triangles…oops!
Blocks (from left to right): Easter Sunday, Sing a Song, and Summer Break
Tracy said that one of her favorite Easter things was getting a basket. We talked about egg hunts and coloring eggs, too.
The middle block is for Sing a Song. Tracy loved the Alphabet Song. The small black blocks have the alphabet in print on them. The pig fabric was extra from a previous block…storytime. Tracy introduced me to the story, Perfect the Pig. It is a great story. It is out of print, but you can listen to it here.
Ahhh! Summer! I used colors that reminded me of climbing trees. Tracy had a yard and neighborhood full of great trees to climb.
Block: Ride a Bike
Tracy had a bike that was glittery pink and white. I added the pink flames just for fun!
Blocks (from left to right): Books, Favorite Outdoor Game, and Movie Time
Tracy’s favorite book was Perfect the Pig. I didn’t find that great flying pig fabric until after I made this block. I used sky fabric and butterfly wings to represent the story. Eventhough this story is out of print, she did find a copy for baby.
Freeze Tag was a favorite outdoor game that Tracy played with the other kids in her neighborhood. I used sky fabric to represent the outdoors and snowflakes for freezing.
Tracy loved Cinderella, Snow White…any Disney movie as a little girl. I had some very small scraps of Minnie Mouse…perfect. I used green spider web fabric to represent all the cobwebs that Cinderella cleaned up.
Blocks: Nursery Rhymes on the left, Fun School Memory on the right
Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet and had to put up with a lot of spider webs. I have an amazing amount of spider web fabric. I HATE spiders. I know that in crazy quilts they were added for good luck.
The tulip is for a trip to the planetarium. I love this fabric, but never found a use for it…until now!
Block: Childhood Home
After I made this block, based on Tracy’s description of the house she lived in, she found a picture. Her house was red brick. The yard was full of big trees to climb. There was ivy growing everywhere. I found fabric for all of those elements.
Blocks: Toy Box on the left, and Favorite Teacher on the right
Tracy loved playing with Barbie dolls. I had a great collection of these, too. The dancers in this block remind me of Barbies in elegant gowns and cute shoes.
Tracy’s favorite teacher was Mrs. Baney, an English teacher. I used more alphabet fabric…and the great Perfect Pigs.
Blocks: Favorite Bedtime Toy on the left, Holiday Memory on the right
Since bathtime was an important part of her bedtime routine, Tracy said that her favorite toy was stacking cups that she played with in the tub. I used colors that represented stacking cups. I also found a set of these at a yardsale that I gifted to her.
The fabrics in the Holiday Memory block represent Easter…lots of bunnies and baskets.
Block: Something You Learned
Tracy’s lesson learned was, “Never burn bridges.” One of the star points has a bridge on it. You will notice it is not on fire.
I am happy to assemble another one of these quilts after months of work. Hopefully, the third one will be ready for viewing soon. I hope you enjoyed this quilt narrative.
