Almost Modern!

A few weeks ago I posted about the bag of vintage quilts I found.

In the bag was this hst quilt.  I loved the mix of prints and solids.  So when I broke my finger and had to spend the last couple of weeks with my left hand all taped together I started working on a quilt inspired by the Vintage - almost modern.

It was a fun quilt to make.  I used 4-inch strips so my hst finished at 3-1/2.  I think if I made one again I would use 5 inch strips but as I wanted a smaller quilt the size I used is ok.

I didn't want to match up the fabrics exactly but to get the same "vibe" as the original quilt.  I did use a couple of vintage fabrics in my quilt just to see who could find them!

All fabric except for the border came from my stash.  All have made previous appearances in other quilts!  I love picking up a piece of fabric that has memories...

It will be awhile before I can quilt this.  Just got word from the doctor that my pinky isn't healing as well as expected...they may put a cast on it Monday!  duh...he wants me to really not use my left hand over the weekend...so much so the sewing room!  The real culprit I believe is the heavy book I was reading...made my hand hurt!

Help in the sewing studio

My husband called from a charity store and asked if I might be interested in a vintage sewing machine.  Silly question!

So he brought home my first Bernina!  Best of all - she works!  And she was just $10!   I brought her to the local dealer to have a check over and with a bit of cleaning and oil she humms...

some handkerchiefs that were tucked in with some sewing instructions...

She is all metal and weighs a "ton" but since she will be a studio machine that is fine.  She came with two extension beds too.  I'm going to keep a walking foot on her and use her for putting on bindings and some small project quilting.

Watson in his "All American" t-shirt...

One of my MS things makes it difficult for me to change out feet on my machines.  Having a "permanent" walking foot machine will make things a lot easier!  Now I just need to find a permanent spot in the room for her!  Also needs a name...she was made in Switzerland so I am thinking Heidi?

Letting go...

Back in the mid-1990's I was getting back into quilting so when a found a line of bright almost solids at my local fabric store I bought a yard of each colorway.

Fast forward to 2015...I still have some of that fabric.

It is like the millennium fabric - every time I clean the sewing room I find a some hidden in with other fabrics or projects.

It isn't like I didn't use the bright fabric.

This small project was the first to use these fabrics (which I believe came from Clothworks? If anyone knows please comment!)

It is also the first quilt that I machine quilted...not saying I did a good job but I did machine quilt using only a magazine article for instructions.  (Backing my first machine quilt project in flannel was not a good idea...)

It was also the first time I paper-pieced.

That I did a decent job on.

But really, I have been dragging the little project around from almost 20 years.  I don't see myself using it on a wall (show that stitching...not even sure I should put it on my blog!)

So tonight I am making a bed for my dog Watson.  The last of the fabric is being cut into 2-1/2 inch strips.  The end of an era! (and add that to the 20% of stuff not going back into the sewing room!)

Blocks and fabrics

I've been playing with stripes and florals the past week.  Very fun.

I saw this block in an antique quilt that was in poor condition.  The colorway is similar - I used reds where there were reds and stripes where there were stripes - but the border is my own.

Many of the stripes are from men's shirts...finally using some of that shirting fabrics I've stashed away!  About half the floral/centers are Kaffe.  I think this could be fun with his stripes but the ones I had on hand are for another project and I was trying to use what I had on hand (besides none of the stores in town carry Kaffe stripes!)

It continues to rain here....my neighbor's yard is covered in mushrooms!  We are also having a problem with so many frogs.,,,they are really noisy.  We see so many that the cats are bored with them....

I got a very fun package in the mail from San in Northern Georgia...

it had these vintage fabrics in it!  They are great additions to the fabric study collection...thanks San!

An MS note...a month or so ago my neurologist put me on a new med. (my insurance company no longer covered the meds that had been working for me the past 5 years.)   Long story short the new ones did not work well for me at all.  I'm in recovery mode right now but it has set me back a bit.  So when the energy comes back I'm gearing up for an insurance company battle....wish me luck!

17 days till Christmas....

I've been slow getting into the Christmas Spirit this year.  So far I only have a few decorations out.

The little NOEL set is only out because I bought it in an antique store last week!

Same for the little Santa salt and Pepper shakers.  I love the 1950's vintage decorations.  Remind me of my Aunt and Uncles house during the holidays!

I did put up my Christmas quilt.  I made this sampler quilt right after 9/11 and kept a diary of what was happening as I made each block.  A bit of a "stress" quilt...sometimes being a news-junkie is bad for the nerves.  To make matters worse...at the time I was producing an 11 pm newscast.  Couldn't get away from the news if I wanted to!

I put some Christmas carols on today as I try to clean the house to make way for more decorations.  I even put fire on in the fireplace though the only one who seems to enjoy it is Dobby....