Civil War Blocks 26 thru 34, still not caught up!!



#26 Barbara Frietchie Star




  Here are a few more blocks to show you, I've had them done for over a week but just didn't find the time to get them posted.  This week is turning out to be a busy week so don't think I will get more blocks done soon.  But I'm still pretty happy with myself for getting these done and posted. For some reason, they photographed lighter than they really are and I don't know why..



#27 Irish Chain





#28 Next Door Neighbor



#29 Railroad Crossing



#30 Peterson's Stars & Stripes - I did my own version





#31 Empty Spool - I think this will be a re-do, with 4 little Spool blocks





#32 Carolina Lily





#33 Indiana Puzzle





#34 Rosebud



I am seriously thinking about starting a garden blog but just can't decide on a name or if I should really do it. There are some really great ones out there!!!  Maybe it isn't so wise to start a blog this time of year when everything is winding down and soon it will be time to up end the flowers and get ready for winter...blah!!!! I've been reading a lot of garden blogs and have gotten so inspired by them and it is such a good way to keep track of what your flower gardens  looked like and have a great time line to compare with for another year. I'm still contemplating on it so if anyone has any thoughts about it, I would appreciate anything you have to say.  I'm sooo on the fence about it..Help me decide, please!!!!!!! Well, until next time have a great "Stitches" day.

More Civil War blocks #20 thru #25

I'm gaining on my conquest but some days it seems like 2 steps forward and 1 step back!  Does anyone else ever feel this way? I think I am getting so close to being caught up and Wham!!! another Saturday arrives and Barbara posts another block!  These weeks are just flying by too darn fast for me!  So here are 5 more Civil War blocks and actually I have a few more done but don't have pictures taken of them yet.  I really enjoy going on Flickr and looking at so many of the blocks and all the different color combinations that others have used. It makes me wonder just how many different fabrics there are out there in the quilt world, it has to be mind boggling!!

#25 Calico Puzzle

#24 Ladies Aid Album

#23 Illinois Roads



#22 Blockade





#21 Underground Railroad



#20 New England



The yellow lily picture is from my garden a little earlier this summer. I call it Lemon Lily, it was here when we moved to this house almost 40 years ago and is still blooming nicely. Aren't lilies just the best? You can always depend on them and they become like old friends, very trustworthy and stable...I just love them!! That's all for today, sew until next time, my wish for you--have a "Stitches" kind of day.



Civil War Blocks, 16, 17, 18, & 19

I've been getting a little sewing time in again and slowly plugging away to getting caught up with my Civil War blocks.  I've been working in the yard for several hours everyday and then trying to sew for a few hours also. Our temp today was 89-90 degrees but our heat index was about 106.  I think this was probably the most humid, muggy day we have had this summer.  Awful!!! It got too hot, too soon for me this morning, when I did come in, I was shot!! Really takes the "whatfor" out of you.. Okay, on with the Civil War blocks.

Here is my version of #16 White House

#17 Comfort Quilt

#18 Union Square

Now we come to #19 Missouri Star.  I am less than happy with this block! I have been starching all my fabrics to keep them from stretching and to keep them stable. I was hoping that when I cut them, they would be more accurate and easier to sew.  I use a 1/4" foot and check my seam allowance regularly. This block just didn't come out very good and it really frustrates me!!  Last night, I definitely was going to do this over and see if I could get it to come out better. Now, I'm thinking, I could put it in a Primitive category and just "let the hide go with the hare"!!  If I would use this one several of the points would be cut off when I join the blocks together in the end..Do you think hand piecing would be a better way to go when I re-do it?? I'm going to add it to my pile of finished blocks and when I get caught up, I will decide what to do, make it over or just leave it as it is. What would you do??  Sew until next time, have a "Stitches" kind of the rest of the day.....

Eleven thru Fifteen, Again the Civil War Blocks

London Square

Yeah, here are 5, I repeat, 5 more blocks....we've had tons of rain lately so you can guess what I've been doing!  I really want to get caught up on these blocks and there are 26 posted now, 27 will be posted on Saturday so I have a few more to go.  Above you see London Square, a neat little block..

Louisiana

Here's Louisiana, done in a couple of my favorite colors, lavender and purple..not the best picture in the world but you can see at least part of it.  ;-)  Below is my Little Blue Basket, love it!  I had to have the handle on mine, it's just too hard to carry a basket without a handle, isn't it?  I love basket patterns..

Little Blue Basket



Fox and Geese

Fox and Geese, what can I say? I'm not quite sure what is the Fox and what are the Geese, does anyone know?  And maybe it really doesn't matter. Not one of my favorite blocks, I think it came out rather ho-hum.

Fort Sumter

I like how this block came out although it doesn't show up that great in the picture. It is a rather dark block so it didn't photograph too well.   I'm not real newsy today but I do have something that I want to brag about.  My 10 year old grandson pitched a no-hitter night before last. Any of you baseball mom's and grandma's will know that it is something to brag about..Well, I think I'm headed back to my sewing room today as our heat index is supposed to be 106-110 and that's way too hot for me to work outside..I hope you have a Stitches kind of day...Sew until next time....Stay Cool!!!

Civil War Blocks 6 thru 10

Richmond





I wanted to show you the Civil War blocks that I have been making the past week or so. The first one is Richmond and it was a burger!!! I've read where a few other people have had trouble with this one too!! I think it didn't adapt itself to be an 8 1/2" block very easily. But I struggled with it and here it is:

Log Cabin

The next one is the Log Cabin and it was really an easy one to do. The hardest part of doing these blocks, is picking out the fabrics. I am going to try to not repeat any fabrics, if I can but don't know how successful I'll be with that. Time will tell.  Nothing very spectacular on this one.

Cotton Boll

Now we come to Cotton Boll. What do you think about the poison green? eek!!  I'm not a big fan of it but just thought a Civil War quilt had to have at least one block of it. Now I'll have to work on Cheddar, eeoww!!  I do like the way the stripes look in the center of this block tho.



Birds in the Air



Birds in the Air is next and this was a very quick and easy block to do also. I think it looks better in "person" than it does in this picture.

Last for this time is my block Lincoln's Platform..I really like the fabrics that I used in this block. I kind of worried a little about the busy background but find that I really like it.  I really am becoming fond of stripes too. I think they add another element to the block, what do you think about stripes?



Lincoln's Platform



Well, that about does it for this time but hopefully in a few days I will have a few more to show you. I have a long way to go to get caught up to the current block but at least, I'm gaining....Sew until next time, have a "Stitches" kind of day. Gotta get ready to go to a baseball game now, see ya soon!!

Seven Sisters, Fray Block, Glue Pen & Cinnamon Rolls

This is sort of a weird title for this post but it includes everything that I want to show you.  First, the Seven Sisters Civil War block is shown above. I hand appliqued it and used some 'new to me' products. I used the Ricky Tims' Stable Stuff Poly to make the templates and then I used the glue pen to turn the edges over. Because the star points were so 'pointy' after I had finished appliqueing them, I used some Fray Block on each of the points. I let it dry then I washed the block to get rid of the stiffness from the Stable Stuff. The SS did soften up a lot but it still has quite of bit of body to it. I'm not sure I would use it if I were to hand quilt, especially if I needed to do some quilting within the stars..Since the stars are small, I think it worked fine and would use it again for a project like this.  I did like using the glue pen, small and easy to handle and the glue worked just fine too! Although Elmer's Washable School Glue is very inexpensive and I think it works just as well.  The Fray Block hopefully did the trick to keep the points safe and sound when washing after the quilt is finished. Overall, I was happy with the results of all of the products.

Now, on to the Cinnamon Rolls that I made for a Mother's Day breakfast at my daughter's house. Nothing really special about them, except everyone likes them so being the bread maker in the family, I whipped them up the day before. They are 24 hour rolls, so you can make them up and stick them in the frig, get them out the next day and bake them fresh to eat.  Can you smell the aroma? My house still smelled like cinnamon and bread when I came home after breakfast. Gotta run for now, sew until next time,  have a "Stitches" kind of day...

It's Good to Be Back!!

     Greetings to all of you and Happy May Day!! Yes, it has been over 2 weeks since I have written on my blog, whew, I can't believe it!  I really have been busy but I know the rest of you have been busy also. My oldest DD had back surgery on the 19th of April and that same day but in the evening, I had a trunk show at my guild..It was a long day for me to say the least. I am happy to report that DD is getting along okay but I think she is trying to do to much to soon, guess that might just be the mom in me! I think our cold, rainy weather the last couple of weeks didn't do a lot for energy levels, I really needed some sunshine and have finally gotten it the last few days. Thanks be to God!

     First, I want to show you my progress on the Barbara Brackman Civil War quilt. Here are 3 blocks that I made on April 15th. All on one day!! Whew, it must have been raining again!  Here is mine called North Star.

This is Texas Tears.

    

And this is Kansas Troubles. The picture looks rather faded but it is a light lavender background, not grey.  I also have my Seven Sisters done and will post it soon too. I hate to admit that I have 2 plastic bins (big ones) full of civil war reproduction fabric now, I think scrappy civil war quilts are on my agenda in the future. But you have to buy when you see something you like or it will be gone, never to come back, right??  That's my theory and I'm stickin' to it!

I had looked at these books for several weeks and finally decided to take the "bull by the horns", (that would actually be ME) and ordered them. I have really enjoyed looking at all the projects in them and can see several quilts that I want to make. I want to make some doll quilts for a doll stroller that belonged to my mom and her sister. And then I have my doll cradle that could use some fixing up and TLC and that would include a quilt or two. I also joined the group on Yahoo and have enjoyed reading on it.  But, and this is a big BUT, now I really would like to have this book.

The price is $28.00 and I just don't know if it is worth it, books are getting really expensive, don't ya think? Does anyone have this book?? Do you really, really like it?? I wish you would let me know what you think about the book and the projects. I hate to order a book and not know what is inside for projects. I hope to hear from some of you about this book.

Lastly, I want to show you a couple of pictures of my Lenten Rose. This is about the 3rd or 4th year for it and it has really made a spectacle of itself. There are easily over a hundred blossoms on it right now. Mine happens to be a dark purple color and they don't show up real good against the dark green foliage. It started blooming back in March and still is getting buds on it! Way to go, Lennie Rose!!  I think on that note, I'm going to call it quits for this time...Sew have a great "Stitches"  kind of day...see ya soon!!

Nothing to Brag About!

I truly have nothing to brag about, last week I made a big deal out of starting the Civil War block of the week by Barbara Brackman.  It's really no big deal on my part, I got a whole sum of ONE block done, whoopee!!  I guess life and other things have gotten in the way a little. And then there are simply a few times that I just had to sit and rest and not do a darn thing.  I don't like those moments very well really, as I don't like to waste my time but my 70+ body just says "it's time to rest". Okay then, I believe it. After the hail storm, it's been one thing after another. Talking to adjuster's, roof and siding "experts", and trying to decide what to do. My yard is a mess with tons of sticks and I'm trying still trying to clean up the fall/winter debris too. The spring flowers are coming up through the leaves and old flower parts and need to come off..I've been trying to work a few hours every day on that. And now I have 3 quilts to bind, one is the T-shirt quilt that Granddaughter Abby and I worked on together, another the one I am making her for graduation and the other is one  to finish for the PhD Challenge. Well, I have put in my 2 1/2 hours in the yard today so I'm headed for the shower and then will get some binding sewn on one of the quilts so I can sew it on tonight while watching TV. GD Abby is really anxious for me to get her T-shirt quilt done so she can show it off. I will post it as soon as I can so you can see it.  It came out very nice. The block in this post is the first Civil War block that I have made, I know it is going to take sometime for me to catch up but if there is a will, there is a way...and I hope to find the will and the way very soon.

Catch Me If You Can

Sew until next time, have a "Stitches" kind of day...

I've Done It Again!

Photo from the Civil War blogspot

I broke a promise and that is not good. The promise was to myself though so does that make it okay? I had told myself ( a "telling" is really different than a promise, I think, isn't it?) that I would not start any new projects until I finished one (or a few) but dang! this Civil War Sesquicentennial Quilt that Barbara Brackman is doing for FREE every week, just kept pulling my apron strings until I couldn't stand it any longer..And some of you know that Barbara Brackman is one of my all time favorite people/designers. And Civil War stuff, fabric, books and stories are a favorite also. Barbara is posting a new block every week for a year (yes, that's 52 blocks to make) and there is a story or history lesson to go with each and every one of the blocks. It's really, really interesting.I have a button on the left side on my blog that will take you right too the CW blogspot. I'm excited but also a little fearful about committing to this at this time of year but it will be okay, it will be okay and I repeat, IT WILL BE OKAY. Whew!! I really like starting new projects, hmmm, I think I might have said that once or twice before too.  Well, I am not telling any of my family or friends that I am doing this so they will only know if they read my blog, that will be a good test for them. Well, I best get busy and see about this first block..I'm on my way to having a "Stitches" kind of day..sew until next time. Wish me luck!