Good Old Abe

It was surprise Abe week for me.  First I received this charming Lincoln tray and flag from Diane.

 It was wrapped with this primitive flag and bakery string.

My friend, Cecile of Patchwork Inspirations sent me this charming surprise Lincoln doll quilt.   Thank you Cecile!

Abe and nine patches - two of my favorite things!

 I didn't expect anything in return.   I've been so lucky to be on the receiving end.

We had a nice quiet 4th of July here.  

We played games, sipped adult beverages and spent time together.

We decorated the trees with streamers - a little tacky but festive and fun.

 It was relaxing and fun and I got some stitching done.

 I saw this book on Gladi's blog and was happy to add a used version to my Applique' Library.

I'm taking part in the Ninigret Quilters mystery quilt.  I has been decades since I've participated in one.   I'm using this lovely Downton Abbey fabric and I'm going for "elegant"...The theme is TeaTime.  Stay tuned.

 This week I was the guest for the Calico Cutters Guild Zoom Meeting.

There was lots of great show and tell and it was a very active and fun meeting.

I hope you've had a good week too.

xo

High Flying Flags

Happy 6th of July.  What can I say?  It is summer and there has been much to do.

Here are some flag quilts that I have and have made:
Flour Sack Flag

 I love the eagle on this

 the back

 Made by my dear Mary~

This is a "Little Quilts" pattern.

 What an epic label fail!  I think I was intending to gift this little quilt and kept it for myself....I must have felt guilty.   also the elvis print is upside down...or the label.

Here is my kitchen window dressed for the 4th through Labor Day.  It features 2 wooden flag apples made by Susan McD.

 A collection of my Presidential learning tools.  I always wanted to be a Presidential Scholar.....still working on that.

 A vintage hankie that I bought on Ebay

 And I am finally sharing my Hall of Presidents.
Silhouettes of Martha and George.

 My Lincoln quilt and framed Stamps.

 Going the other way - you can see Janet's swap by the door.

I hung Janet's quilt here where I see it multiple times a day by the front door.

My front hall table area.

This was an incredible gift from Barbara S.  You can read more about it here on her blog.

 

This bust and book was a gift

Mr. Lincoln standing sentinel on the hall landing.

 My friend, Susan McD made me this winning little Presidents Quilt.

So here is the Hall of Presidents in panorama view in two parts:

Just in case this isn't enough you can see posts that feature Abe there is more here and here.

Some day I should honor President Madison, since like you know....I live in Madison which is named in his honor.

Happy Birthday America!
xo

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!

Happy Birthday Abe!!  This is a magnet that my friend Margaret brought me as a hostess gift.  Isn't he the cutest? 

Interesting that I'm exploring Log Cabin quilts this year.  Coincidence?  I think not....

I'm currently reading (on my ipod) "Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker"  by Jennifer Chiaverini.  It has been interesting and offers a different prospective on Mary and the Freed Slave experience during the Civil War.  It is easy for forget, but these women sewed these gowns by hand, talk bout haute couture!

Non sequitur:  How about those mourning dresses on Downton Abby?  I was sorry to see a character die, but I'm so glad we got to see the Jet dripping black dresses.

After seeing the movie "Lincoln" I decided to make a companion quilt to my Abe quilt.  This one will feature Mary Todd Lincoln.  I feel she is a complicated and misunderstood historical figure.  I'm hoping to start work on it soon!

Friday before the big storm on Friday, I finished my Jubilee Top!!

I had  HUGE snafu while finishing the borders and you can read the whole sad story here on the Jubilee Blog.

When the top was finally together I celebrated!  You know how I roll:

This is the beautiful new Christmas 2012 flute.  It is a BIG flute and has a gold trimmed red bauble on the stem.

I'm hoping to finish the marking and baste it today.  I'm using wool batting for the first time, wish me luck!

Here are some photos of the Blizzard of 2013. It was beautiful!  The best part?  We did not lose power!!  Hooray!

I love the bluish color of the dawn snow.

Our wrought iron chairs look like thrones for the snow king and queen.

 See you Friday with a recipe and fun.

Happy Birthday Abe,
Happy Mardi Gras,
Somber Ash Wednesday,
Happy Valentines Day....
what a busy week!

Well, At Least It's Raining

Wow, it's been a long week!  We've been in the middle of a heat wave and drought.  No outdoor watering......all my beautiful gardens are sad, sad, sad.

Here is the progress on Mr. Lincoln.  I'm very happy with him.  I have at least another round to go, if not two, we'll see what the quilt wants to do.

Here is a needle punch that I worked on while my husband recovered from knee surgery last Wednesday.  We watched all 3 of the Lord of Rings movies - good for needle punching.  Most of the areas were done with 2 strands of floss in different colors.  It makes for a nice soft look, I think.

this is the back -

By the way, I do like the new Russian needle punchs' that I purchased.  They are easier to thread and seem to have a more consistent loop - or maybe that's me.


I'm not sure what this will end up being, but I suspect I'll affix it onto a basket.


Thank you Michelle!  I received this lovely prize from a recent giveaway on her blog.   It's a cute Santa pillow case kit - with everything needed, including a jingle bell!  The card is lovely too - thanks again.  Visit her blog to see what's she's up to.

Poor coco.   Adding to the otherwise difficult week is that coco went to the vet and found out that her internal stitches needed to be redone  :( 
We are now in week 3 trying to keep a 6 mos. lab quiet - huh?  In the meantime, I hurt my back lifting her in and out of the car - doh!
When it rains, it pours.

Not a happy girl.

Luckily I have fun sewing projects to work on and I'm going to Lancaster on Friday for a fun girlfriend day and fabric shopping.


Happy Wednesday and for our French friends - Happy July 14th, or Bastille Day.

Darn it Mr. Lincoln

Hi everyone from super hot NJ.  I usually spend a lot of summer hours sewing, but I haven't gotten in the groove yet this year, but here is what I'm working on today - Mr. Lincoln.

I'm old school.  I sketch, cut, audition, etc.  How do you design?  EQ?  The old fashioned way?  I think it's so interesting.

Here are my sketches for my Lincoln Challenge quilt that I'm doing with Jill and Susan.

Version I

Version II

The current version that I'm working on

Here are some blocks that I'm making.

And it took 2 sketches with notes to figure out the size I wanted.  I'm a very visual learner.  I don't even know what some of these notes mean now...

In a previous post there was a picture of this in the background and Quilt Hollow asked me about this collection.  These are darning eggs, used to darn sock and other garments.

Here are some of my favorites:
The bobber

Fancy silver handled darner

Pretty inlaid wood

This one has a light and dark side, to use on light or dark socks.  The handle is used for darning gloves.

These are marked "Dec. 18 1900" and have a metal ring for holding the item in place.

 An assortment of thimbles -

They need a little cleaning, the tiny one is from my mothers' Monopoly game from the 1950s.

What are you up to?