Daisy's Butterfly

Butterflies....don't you love them!?  I do, so when it was time to teach another class...my first "paid-for" class!!...I taught a class on applique using a butterfly design I found in my grandmother's things.  The instructions and pattern are available to purchase with a PayPal account through Scribd.  This is a first for me too!  I would love some feedback!

Daisy's Butterfly - Applique & Pattern

Mystery Quilt, Projects & Lots of Pictures

 The thing about going through my grandmother's quilts is that some of them are so old that we don't know the history behind them.  Like this quilt.  I call it the puffy quilt.  The back was falling apart when you touched it and my uncle was ready to toss it in the trash as being in too bad of shape to do anything with.  Thankfully, my brother stopped him and gave it to me (yes...I take trash!).  But it wasn't trash.

It is made of very fragile fabric and the back was literally disintegrating when I touched it.  So, before it even got in the house, I ripped the back off.  What I found was a treasure.

Each square, about 2 inches, is completely finished with backing, top, and batting.  The batting is pure cotton stuffed in each square and then tied to hold in place.  The finished squares are then sewn together, by hand and machine.  The quilt is extremely heavy.

 The backing is done in flour sacks for the most part.  Some of the pieces have printing on them.

 Only a few of the squares are falling apart and this is a picture of the cotton in one of them.  My dad said it was uncorded cotton. My grandfather used to cord all the cotton for my grandmother's quilts.  That was back in the 30's.  The twisted cord goes around the entire quilt (about the size of a twin bed) and a couple of the tassels are still on it.

So.....can you name the quilt?  I would love to know what it is called and any history someone might know about this kind of quilt.

Here are some pictures from my latest applique class.  I took one of my grandmother's old patterns and used it for the class.  Since the blocks that I had were made with scraps from my grandmother's and great-grandmother's dresses, I called it Daisy's Butterfly.  The ladies are transferring their patterns using different techniques and materials...good old scrap cardboard, card-stock paper, and plastic template.

 

Cindy's mom gave her this neat little "button" that adds a 1/4 inch seam allowance to your patterns.  You simply put your pencil in the center of the "button" and trace around your patterns.  We all want one, but we aren't sure where to find them.  It's called a Rolling Seamer.

 Here's a couple of projects that I have going.  This Dresden plate table runner, which I've called Spinning Plates, is ready to be quilted.  The Nine-Patch below is from my first quilting class.  I've done a variation of the Framed Nine-Patch, but with my own twist. 

How do you like my Mother's Day gift (below) from my son?  He is turning wood and doing a great job.  His is the larger on (on top).  My grandfather whittled the one on the bottom.  My gift was a surprise and I've made pizza dough and and biscuits with it so far.  Adam told me if was for using...not just for looking at. 

 Here's a couple of his other works.

A walking stick for my dad and a couple of bowls.  I think they are great.

 I found some early art of my grandmother's.  I love the technique she used on this picture.  I know it was just practice work, but I really like it and will be framing these as a set of about 3 or 4 pieces.

 My brother thought this was some of Grannie's stockings.  But it is a slip for a young girl.  It has a gathered, dropped waistline and you can see where the pink ruffles used to be all over the skirt of the slip.  It had to have been my grandmother's back in the 20's.

 I love this picture of my mom, when she was in high school band....and my dad this past weekend.  So many treasures....so many memories.

Trunk Show

My brother has been the one that is representing our family in the "picking" stage of dividing up my grandmother's things.  He and my uncle & aunt have been great about laying aside things that certain grandchildren in particular might hold a little dearer than others.  Last night James gave me a car-load of treasures that for the most part, someone might just haul to the junk pile.  But not me....I love all the little odds and ends.

Material:  My sister-in-law joked that Grannie didn't wear any undergarments because every dresser drawer was full of material!  "Where did she keep her clothes?"  They brought 3 barrels and 1 trunk of material.  I have washed and folded most of that.  I'm going to say that most of the fabric dates back to the 60s or 70s and is mostly cotton blends.  After reading some of Grannie's daily journals, it sounds like she went to shirt factories and got scraps from them.

UFOs:  I take after Grannie in that I like to try lots of ideas and then when I find one I like, I go to town on it.  Unfortunately that sometimes means that I have a lot of UnFinished Objects laying around.....so did Grannie.  Her's were more that she started lots of projects at one time.  She had planned to finish them, but 98 years just wasn't enough time.  I was in the stars yesterday.

 And then there was these:  The Improved Nine Patch.

The last time that I visited Grannie at her home (over a year ago at least), she was working on some of these stars and this Improved Nine Patch.  The stitches are pretty big and the spacing is not so great....but she continued with her work as long as she could.  But seeing these yesterday took me back to January, when I found my mother's last project.

I had to take a moment and have a good cry.

Treasures:  In the midst of scraps I found these butterflies.  My great-grandmother did these on flour sacks.  Just a few of the treasures I've come across in all the odds and ends that come my way.