Looking Back and Looking Forward #5

This is a quilt I made out of strings. It was my very first string quilt and it started my thrilling addiction to string quilts. I named this one "Sting Obsession." You can read the story behind the quilt by clicking on the Provenances tab above, then just scroll down until you see the title of this quilt.

Provenances are a very important step in quilt making. I know we mostly put a label on the back of the quilt; hopefully with the date made along with any other information you want. But a provenance provides the background on the quilt. It can be as short such as when you started and ended the quilt and who you made it for and why. Others, like me, who like writing can go for the gusto by writing all about the quilt:  how you found the fabric and/or pattern, the making of the quilt, and any cool stuff about the quilt. My Aunt Marie, who is my muse, left me 12 quilts when she passed. If you go to the left column and scroll down to labels, click on Marvelous Marie, you'll see some beautiful quilts she made. She made almost all her quilts totally by hand: cutting out pieces with scissors, sewing pieces together and quilting by hand. The one thing she didn't do was leave no information on the quilt. There are no labels and I wish I knew the stories behind them. The message of the day is: Label your quilts and keep a provenance! So now, I will get off of my soap box and start reporting progress for the last week.

Looking Back

My only goal for last week was to start cutting the fabric for Firstest. Let's have a big round of applause for ... ME! I did it! I nailed it, or rather, I cut it! I sewed it together!

Firstest is my grandson who is graduating from High School this year. His favorite color, since he was a kid, is orange. Just recently he added aqua to his favorite colors. I found a great pattern called "Boomerang" that I thought would fit his favorite colors.

It looks complicated but the good thing is that it doesn't have Y seams!!!! Repeat: NO Y seams!!!! It could have C, or P, or even T seams and that wouldn't have mattered---all that matters is....NO Y seams!

Did I tell you that it didn't have any, zero, zilch, no Y seams.

I had my fill of Y seams when I made a Lone Star quilt.

I decided to use solids for the quilt, And here are some pictures to amaze and delight you, especially since there are no Y seams.

I have 3 shades of each color: orange, aqua, and grey. And now I see it! There are only two shades of orange in the picture. Well, there you have it. I'm not perfect. It's so embarrassing!

I think I can live with it.

Maybe.

And now, to your surprise and delight, here are more pictures of the ongoing quilt.

Sew together two strips of different colors. Cut into 60' triangles.

Sew two of the triangles together.

 

This is a sample of how they will look together. Of course I had only cut up 2 strip sets. It's going to look a lot different with 9 colors.  I think they look like a school of fish. Do you?

I've already cut out 10 strips and sewed them together in pairs. I've cut a 2 strip sets into triangles and have just started pinning them together to sew.

I got a lot farther than I thought I would. Which is very good. Very encouraging.

And now, without further ado...

Looking Forward

Keep sewing on Firstest's quilt. I have to make 143 fish (full blocks). I'm going towards a single bed size. It doesn't matter if he uses it for his bed; my go to size for "lap" quilts is a twin size. I like a quilt that can cover you from the toes to the nose. I guess it's more a body quilt than a lap quilt! 

I'll aim for, ummm, let's say 45 blocks. That would be one-third of the blocks done. That's a hefty chore, but it would be great if I could get all the blocks cut in 3 weeks. It would leave time for quilting it.

Announcement:

There's a whole lot of fun happening on Thursdays in my blog! It's a new feature on my blog! It's Throwback Thursday, a chance to re-visit a blog from my posts from years ago! It's new! Lots of fun! Fun for days! Give it a try! Here's the link for yesterday's post, jump on over to there! 

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good night!

I'm channeling Sound of Music!

I'll be posting in the linky parties listed in the left column. Mosey on over and have a great time seeing other quilter's makings.

Nyd din dag  (It's Danish!)

Marvelous Marie Goes to the County Fair!

It's Fair Time here in Sonoma County! Tomorrow Noel Heart & Chief are coming by at eleven and off we go for the day!

Fairs are grand! So much to see. So much to eat! The contests and shows.

Where should I go first? Ah, now that's a silly question..

...to the Quilts!

and next?

The  Flower Show!

Little Elf House in Garden

I smell food! Time to eat!

Corn on the cob! Teriyaki Sticks! Tri Tip Sandwich! Funnel Cakes! YUM!

Cow, Pigs, Sheep--oh my!

Then to...
      ...Arts and Crafts Hall
          ...Juniors Arts and Crafts
            ...Cooking and Canning
              ...Exhibition Hall
                  ...Elvis Imitator show
                      ...Sourdough Singing Cowboy

I've just got to run now....so much fun awaits!

Marvelous Marie continues next Saturday!

Quilts From My Sewing Machine #7: Marie & Me

You’re in for another trip down memory lane in a quilt that is a collaboration between my Aunt Marie and myself. Those who read my blog know about my muse, my Aunt Marie.

I call these quilts “collaborations” because Aunt Marie either made the blocks or made the quilt top. I take the blocks or flimsy and finish the quilt from there.

This isn’t our first collaboration, but it is the first one I did. You can read about the second collaboration, The Seventies Are Calling, They Want Their Fabric Back here. I’ve already completed our third collaboration, but haven’t posted yet. And…there are still more to come!

I believe in putting labels on quilts! (Yes, I'm still talking about the story of my quilt collaboration! Patience is a virtue!) Most of them are small, but on two I wrote more of a provenance. Marie and Me is one of them. And here is what the label says:

Backside of quilt showing my stitching at age 8

"My Aunt Marie (1905-1997) was a gifted quilter. When I was eight years old (1963) she cut two-inch squares into sets for me so I could make nine-patch blocks. I started hand stitching the blocks together but eventually stopped. When I was around eleven or twelve, I picked up the project again and did more blocks. I finally ended up with around 20 blocks with more waiting to be done.

More beginning hand stitching

I had the blocks and squares stored in an old red wicker sewing basket. It followed me through moves, school, college, marriage and children. In 2006, I became interested in quilting. I pulled out the red wicker basket and decided to finish my first quilt. I had to square off the completed blocks, which made them fat in the center column. I wanted them to be highlighted in the finished quilts. All the blocks I did as a child are inside the yellow border. 

The back of the blocks I made as a child. I put them in
chronological order
You can see how the center rows are wider
than the side rows.

I squared up the remaining two-inch squares and sewed them into blocks. In order to have the quilt turn out correctly, I delved into my aunt's stash and made a few more blocks.”

Some of the extra blocks I added. I made the one with the bowling ball because
my last name is Bohling. The square at the top right, brown dotted fabric, was
from one of the dresses my Aunt Marie made me. I was in the first grade!

More blocks. Love the kitties and ladybugs!

More blocks: My uncle was in the Marines. The little brown televisions
have cowboys on the screen. Are the ducks cute?

(There is a secret in the quilt. When I was assembling the quilt, I did it in sections: top section, bottom section then the two side sections. When I went to assemble them I found one side section was shorter than the other, by two inches! To make both sides even, I made a row of single squares and sewed it to the bottom of the shorter piece. No one has ever noticed it and it blends in quite nicely. To keep the secret, I'll not tell you where the extra row is!)

“By the time I got around to finishing the quilt in

2009, I had already made quite a few other quilts. Those quilts were all machine quilted by a professional. A good friend of mine, an avid hand quilter, convinced me that I should hand quilt Marie's quilt. I thought it fitting to do it by hand because all of Aunt Marie's quilts were hand quilted. This was 

the first quilt that I hand quilted. From where I began to where it ended, it showed the progression of my skill as a hand quilter. I chose to do a Bishop's fan pattern, and there are many funny fans! I was using a template, but now know a much easier and better way to quilt that pattern.

Thanks, Aunt Marie, for your legacy.”

Here is the label from the back of the quilt. It has the back of one of the first blocks I hand stitched when I was 8.
I think it's adorable all those big stitches and wobbliness. I also included a picture of Aunt Marie and one of me from
when I was 8.

Marie and Me hangs in my bedroom. I deeply love this quilt. I have spent many hours before sleep, before getting up and just lazing on my bed looking at all the blocks and different fabrics. At night, with lights out, it is changed into a study of light and dark. With the street light coming in my room, all that can be seen are light and dark blotches. It is a mottled effect and I love that view of it also.

It is just a humble nine patch quilt, but it enchants me.
 
I also write posts about Aunt Marie’s phenomenal quilts. Here are links to those posts. Get ready to be amazed!
The Gallatin Quilt
Mystery Stars
Pixelated Ponies

Marvelous Marie #4: Pixelated Posies

I’ve noticed that pixilation quilts and blocks have started to become popular. My Aunt Marie was ahead of her time! She quilted a amazing example of pixeled posies in a quilt. It’s also been one of my favorites. In fact, I’ve wanted to make one just like it, but probably in different colors.

Here’s her enchanting quilt!

This is a close-up of one of the blocks:

There are lots of little blocks in that one square. I believe they were 1-1/2 inches in size. 

When I inherited Aunt Marie’s quilts, I let each of my children pick one they wanted. Nancy Drew picked the Mystery Stars. TGS picked the Orange Poppies with Red Quilting, which I have not written about. I also let my Sisty Ugler and my DMIL (who quilts) pick one.

My DMIL chose this quilt, which explains why I don’t have better pictures of it.

My new mission, intrepid as I am, is to ask my family to send me the quilts so I can photograph them  When I started taking pictures of quilts, I didn't do a very good job. (fine example above!) Now I know how to get much better detail, to take more close-ups of quilting, blocks, backing and other notable features.

I will also get the quilt appraised at the same time. I get such helpful information from an appraiser. I will be thrilled to hear about the pattern, the fabrics, the time period and quality of construction.

Since I have so little information on this quilt, I'll tell you a story about my Aunt and Uncle.

Aunt Marie and Uncle Elbert lived in the Santa Ana hills outside Anaheim, CA. My uncle, who was a carpenter, built a home for them in the 1950s. They lived there until the 1970s. The area they lived in was susceptible to the wild Santa Ana winds. When the winds were combined with a wildfire, it was extremely dangerous.

At a time when I was in high school, just such a fire was in the area where my aunt and uncle lived. My uncle was hosing down the house and some of the grounds around it, hoping to protect the house from catching fire. He sent my aunt ahead of him and continued to hose down the house.

When it was time, the only thing that mattered to him was to save Aunt Marie’s beautiful quilts. He grabbed them and put them in the back of his truck and headed down the long gravel road to the highway.

This gravel road had been dug through a medium-sized hill to make a small road. The hill rose up on either side of the road, about six feet higher than his truck.

The fire was on one side and jumping the road to the other side. As he drove down the road, a piece of smoldering wood landed on one of Aunt Marie’s quilts. Uncle Elbert immediately got out and began hitting it with his bare hands. He put it out and then continued down the road.

All of the quilts made it safely to less treacherous spot. There was just a small spot on the quilt where the burning piece had landed.

My heart always aches and is proud at the same time. The most precious possession that my uncle wanted to save in a fire were his beloved wife’s quilts! The scene of him jumping out of his truck and killing the spark with his bare hands is amazing.

There was good news all around, the house was safe and the grounds around it were also not burnt.

My uncle was his wife’s biggest fan. He always wanted to show off her marvelous quilts. He was a taciturn guy, but he showed his big heart that day.

Marvelous Marie #3

Drumroll! The inaugural Saturday post of Marvelous Marie and Quilts from My Sewing Machine.

Without any question, the first post will be of one of Aunt Marie's quilts. You'll not want to miss the previous blogs about my Aunt and quilt muse. The first is Aunt Marie's history and the not-to-be-missed Gallatin Quilt.

Aunt Marie left me many quilt tops that she had made but not finished. Once her eyesight became poor enough, in her 80's, she couldn't hand quilt, she continued to piece tops. I have been working on these tops and thus these quilts are a collaboration between the two of us. The second blog is just such a collaboration between Aunt Marie and I called The 70's are Calling, They Want Their Fabric Back!.

The 70's Are Calling! R to L: Me, My Mom, My Sister at
my High School graduation in 1972

You want to know something that's wonderful about my Aunt Marie and Uncle Elbert? They helped put me through college! For four years they gave me a enough money to pay my rent and cover monthly expenses. Angels. My grandmother, Mom's and Uncle Elbert's mom, had died when I was in my junior year in high school. She left money to each of her four children. Aunt Marie and Uncle Elbert didn't have children. They said they didn't need the money, so they used it to help put me through college. Absolute angels!

Uncle Elbert, Aunt Marie and I at Disneyland the summer
before I started college.

Today's quilt is one I call Mystery Stars. I was well familiar with two of Marie's finest quilts before she died. This one I had never seen.

Aunt Marie made this quilt around 1955, the year I was born. Isn't a beauty! The polka dots are so adorable. I loved how she mixed it up and used plaid in a few blocks too. This quilt belongs to Nancy Drew now. I borrowed it from her to take it to the appraiser. It very nearly didn't get back to her because I love this quilt. A lot. A lot.

I took this to be appraised when I went PIQF (Pacific International Quilt Festival) in 2009. I was quite surprised to find that while the blocks were hand pieced, the sashing that joined the blocks together were machine sewn. Jaw drop!

My Aunt was a hand piecer/quilter all the way. She started quilting when she was very young, around 1913. She learned the "old-school" way. I would never have known she used a sewing machine on any quilt had I not taken this to the appraiser.

I wish I knew more about the history of this quilt. It doesn't have a label, because she never labeled her quilts. ALWAYS label your quilts! And no provenance. ALWAYS keep a provenance.

Because of my Aunt's quilts, I label my quilts and keep a provenance on them (see tab above). She taught me a lesson. I'm trying to teach you one too!

The appraiser was quite flummoxed about the star blocks. She'd never seen the block anywhere. She said, "You're Aunt liked to keep some mysteries in her quilts!" Her quilting was 8-9 stitches per inch. I'm not even going to tell you how many stitches to the inch I do. Or is that inches to the stitch? The blocks are a whopping 19"! I thought 12 was large...

I have close-ups of the blocks, but they are on my iPhone. The phone needs a replacement battery, which is winging it's way here.

To quote the appraiser, "This possibly could be made in California [where Marie lived] because the quilt's smaller size and lighter filling could imply a warmer climate. ...The Grandmother Clark catalog came out in 1931 or 1932; their pattern for Diamond Field is very similar to this one."

Grandmother's Flower Garden were quite popular in the 1930's. My Aunt's quilt has smaller hexies, is in great condition as well as it's unusual size (91" x 71") makes it of greater value.

Who cares about value? I only do it for insurance. And then again I wonder even about that. If the quilts were destroyed, no amount of compensation would recreate her lovely work.

I have close-ups of the blocks, but they are on my iPhone. The phone needs a replacement battery, which is winging it's way here.

I would love to make this quilt someday. I'd even more love to have this quilt. I'd even more, more love to let Nancy Drew keep it.

Marie's Marvelous Makings #1 Gallatin Quilt

Boy howdy, are you in for a treat today!!!!!

Saturday is going to be a special day to share my Aunt Marie's quilts with you. You are one lucky person! Aunt Marie is my Quilting Muse.

This is a picture of my Aunt Marie when she was in her 30s.
Leona Marie Noah was born in Gallatin, Missouri on July 25, 1905.

Her father, Lee Noah, and mother, Ella Donaldson were married on December 4, 1898. Marie had a younger brother born in 1914. She attended Madison School. What was life like in 1905? Laundry was washed in a tub. Water was drawn from a well with a pump. Papa Lee Noah had cows, pigs, geese, sheep, and chickens. Butter was churned by hand. Light was provided by kerosene lamp, food was cooked on a wood stove. Land was plowed by a horse-drawn tiller. In the fall, pumpkins, radishes, and other vegetables were harvested. Fruit, like watermelons, pears, apples, cherries and strawberries, were part of the garden. Both fruit and vegetables were preserved in canning jars. Young boys still went fishing in rivers. In the winter there was snow for snowmen and sleds. In the summer, besides all the work, there was square dancing, Express Wagons for kids, and kites to fly. The state bird of Gallatin? The bluebird. The state tree? Flowering Dogwood.

Now you might wonder if I also lived in Gallatin? Did I read a book about Gallatin or Google Missouri in the early 1900's. My aunt talked a lot, but she never talked about her early life.

The answer to my knowledge of things Gallatin-ish and Missouri is a quilt my Aunt Marie made when she was 81.

I'm starting with the quilt that is the hallmark of her quilts: Gallatin, My Hometown. I named it. Aunt Marie never named or dated her quilts. NEVER make that mistake! Here I was in 2004 trying to figure out when and why she made her quilts. It's a shame that I only came up with questions after she died. NEVER make that mistake!

On this fantastic quilt, Marie embroidered her name and the year she made the quilt. I would never have guessed she made it when she was 81.

If you look closely, you can see sampler quilt blocks. There are 30 of them. I have used these blocks as guidelines on how to quilt blocks on my quilts.

Isn't that amazing? I had the quilt appraised a few years ago. When I laid it out, Jeananne Wright, the appraiser, was speechless. I started crying. I said to myself, "See, Aunt Marie, your quilts are treasures. You did truly amazing work."

The quilt has images of her early life. All the appliques were her designs. She used feed sacks and diverse cotton prints.

These are close-ups of two portions of the quilt.

Aunt Marie began quilting when she was eight. In the early 1900's quilting was done by hand, templates made on cardboard or linoleum, blocks cut by hand, stitched together by hand and hand-quilted. If you can believe it, Marie made three or more quilts a year. Granted she didn't have children and didn't work outside the house. I have nine weeks in the summer where I can quilt to my hearts content, and I can't produce even one quilt during that time.

The appraiser wrote, the quilt is "very detailed--Outstanding artwork and design."

Marie's mother died when she was nine, after the birth of her brother. Marie became the "woman of the house." She raised her brother, kept the house, cooked and continued quilting. Her family information is written on the block shown in this close-up.

My Aunt Marie predeceased my Uncle by five years. Upon his death, all twelve of her remaining quilts were bequeathed to me.

I grew up getting a quilt from Aunt Marie on Christmases, when I was sixteen, when I was wed, and various other times. I am truly blessed for the legacy she gave me.