Quilts In The Making

I have several quilts that I am in the process of making right now. Each one is totally different than the other.. which could be a good thing... or possibly a bad thing, if I were to think about it.. which I don't. ;-) I have shared a couple of the blocks from two of the quilts with you already.. Take a look at the first three blocks, remember months January and February from the dark neutral Block of the Month quilt designed by Sharyn Craig that I shared with you on a previous post? Well here are months March through May. I am really enjoying Sharyn's designs as they are very quick as well as nice and easy. I must confess, it is pretty nice to be surrounded by so many 'famous' quilters who make their home right here in Southern California. Even the owner of the shop where I work is rather well known in her own right, as she is the publisher of all of Sharyn's books, plus she designs fantastic patterns and writes amazing quilt books herself. . The shop, Cozy Quilts, is the hub of where hundreds of patterns are brought together and then sold... mostly online. Daniela Stout, the owner, gives great instructions on Youtube if you would like to get a peek at what we do here at the shop. We have visitors coming in from everywhere to see the shop firsthand and to also get a glimpse of all of the beautiful fabric lines that we carry... especially the batiks. Stop by sometime.. either online or in the shop. Here are months March-May:

The next two blocks are from the Pumpkin Quilt that I have been working on and as I shared with you before, it is my very first Block of the Month project. The blocks above by Sharyn, are my second attempt at completing a Block of the Month club. The pumpkin blocks below are being appliquéd on my sewing machine using a 12 weight thread.

The next two blocks are being embroidered by hand, also using a 12 weight thread. Sulky offers wonderful thread that I love to use whether on my machine or by hand. If you have never tried it.. it is a must!

These last two blocks are a part of a flip flop quilt that I am making for my sister-in-law Liz. Flips flops are all that she is able to wear but are they ever glitzy!! Once I finish the quilt and it has finally been quilted, I will embellish the quilt to pieces... I can't wait!

I've shared with you.. now you can share with me. What are you working on? Until next time, Debbie

A Little Ipod Purse for Miss T

One of my granddaughters has a birthday coming up and I decided to make her a little purse for her ipod. When she comes for a visit, she loves to sew if at all possible and make little purses. Since she has not been here for awhile, I thought that I would surprise her and make a new little purse for her. We carry the pattern pictured below at the shop. It goes together rather quickly and it made me think of her while I was sewing it together. There are a couple of important tips to remember should you decided to make one as well. 1.) Make sure that you read all of the instructions! How many of us simply glance over a pattern and then run with it? I am always in a hurry to get the job done and by doing so I invariably miss a key point in the instructions and have had to rip out. How about you? 2.) There is quite a bit of bulk in the bottom of the purse due to the many layers of fabric and the fact that you need to interface each piece.... at least I felt a need to interface each and every piece of fabric.. So make sure that you catch all those layers of fabric in your stitching seam. 3.) Make sure that you trim well before turning the purse right side out. With so much bulk at the bottom of your purse, you may be unhappy with the final look if you don't take the time to trim. 4.) Always press! I have been surprised over the years at how many people don't press their projects.. either during the process or once completed. Amazing! Get those irons out and use them. 5.) Have fun! This really is an easy project to make. It is so simple and the instructions are pretty straight forward. Until next time, Debbie P.S. Please don't forget... you can always click on each picture so that you can get a closer view!

There are actually three pockets inside the purse but they are difficult to see in this picture.

Another Little Snippet of History....

In the previous post, I shared with you a small portion of my mom's family history. I decided that I would share just a little bit more just for my kids's. As you could tell in my last post, life was rather hard in regards to my mom's family. The house that her and her siblings lived in was really small, a shack really... one that was torn down years ago. The elementary school that mom and her brothers's and sisters's attended has now become an assisted living home. (Rather ironic don't you think?) As kids, my mom and her siblings did not get a chance to play very much and listening to my mom and her sister Betty reminence about their childhood is a lot different than I would have ever imagined. My aunt Betty worked hard in the garden outside each day while my mom worked hard inside their home. Not only was my mom hired out to iron, but she was also hired out to clean house for a deacon at their church... on top of doing her regular chores. My uncle Hank, mom's oldest brother, worked at the grocery store nearby to help pay for the groceries that their large family consumed each day. As stated in my post below, everyone had a job to do... everyone that is, except for my two aunts, Sybil (who was my grandfather's favorite) and Peggy (who was always sickly and wisely took advantage of it). My grandmother named my mom Mildred when she was born, a name that my grandfather hated from the beginning. In fact he never once called my mom Mildred... He called her June. My grandfather also did not like or trust medical doctors. If anyone ever needed help... medically speaking... the chiropractor was asked to come and take a look. It didn't matter if you needed stitches, (like my mom did when she had a huge gouge taken out out of the back of her upper leg) or if you had 'blocked bowels', (a type of intestinal obstruction like my Aunt Betty had... which could have killed her) or you were simply having a baby, no medical doctor's were ever allowed in my grandfather's home. The only exception came when my grandmother finally snuck my aunt Peggy out to see a medical doctor when she realized just how frail that my aunt had become. My aunt Peggy had always been a rather sickly child but when she became nothing more than skin and bones, my grandmother went against my grandfather's wishes and took her to a medical doctor. That act more than likely saved my aunt's life as she was found to have sugar diabetes and was put on insulin immediately. Overall there was an incredible lack of any real communication in my mom's home, and expressions of love were few and far between. There were never any, 'I love you's' said or hugs given.. no tender words spoken, in fact no anything at all. Quite sad. My Uncle Roy was the one who talked my grandfather into moving out to Lakeside, California and purchasing an egg farm there. Their home in Drumright was paid for and they probably could have lived somewhat comfortably by living off of my grandfather's retirement and social security checks... however my Uncle Roy convinced my grandparents to make the move west and that he would be there to help them... which didn't end up happening at all. They did not get near enough from the sale of their home in Drumright to fully pay for the farm in Lakeside, but they thought that they would eventually make enough money to pay the offset of the purchase and then be able to live easily off the profits from the sale of the eggs. The farm had a small, two bedroom home, the girls once again in one bedroom but this time the boys had only an enclosed porch to sleep in. By now there was only the four girls left at home, along with two boys, Jack and David. Uncle David worked at the feed store to help pay for the feed that was needed to feed the hundreds of chickens that my grandfather had purchased for the farm. Unfortunately, all of the so called profit from the sale of the eggs barely made enough for the family to live on. Discouragement eventually took over the life of my grandfather and he became quite ill due to cancer. He decided that he did not want to pass away here in California and he definitely did not want to be buried here... so on his deathbed, he got up, left my grandmother, caught a bus to Jonesboro, Arkansas and died two weeks later at his oldest daughter's (Leah) home. So what does this mean to you my dear children... no longer do I ever want to hear any of you complain about how tough you had it or how strict your dad and I were on you when you were growing up. Maybe we weren't strict enough?? After all... grams turned out pretty good! ;-) I love you guys, mom

Finally Finished...... 50 Years Later

My grandmother, Oney Lillian Adams, married my grandfather, Leander C. Coburn, on May 1, 1917. My grandfather, who was 16 years older than my grandmother, had already been married once before but his wife had passed away leaving him with 7 children to raise on his own. After meeting and marrying my grandmother the two had 11 children of their own. My grandmother obviously did not have time to work outside the home but she did in fact, work incredibly hard inside the home. Not only was she responsible to feed and clothe her large brood of kids but she was also responsible to do that task on the small salary that my grandfather brought home by working at the refinery nearby in Drumright, Oklahoma. My grandparent's small home only had three tiny bedrooms... the girls shared a room with only one bed, while the boys slept in the other room nearby. My grandfather's first 7 children had already moved away by this time and two of my mom's siblings had died while they were quite young. This left nine children, 4 girls and 5 boys to be raised in this home. It still boggles my mind when I take into consideration not only the sleeping arrangements, but the fact that they were able to get by on so little. All of my mom's siblings were responsible not only for their own chores, but for bringing in what they could to sustain their large family. My mom was hired out to do ironing for nearby families and became quite good at it. To this day, I have never found anyone who could iron as well as my mom.... who is still ironing... but thankfully not for hire anymore. My grandmother enjoyed getting together with her cousin Mamie Cotner whenever possible. Once they were together they would sew, design, chat, and laugh. Neither woman knew how to drive so they were dependent on others to make these special moments together a reality. Both families eventually moved to California and my grandmother's time with her cousin Mamie was still dependent on others. I'm sure they treasured their time together even more than ever. After my grandmother passed away, my mom would continue to take me for visits to Mamie's home whenever she could. I found absolute delight in being surrounded by the smells, (Mamie and my grandmother were wonderful cooks) the sounds, (Mamie's laughter was contagious! I miss it to this day) and the comfort of just sitting at Mamie's table. She loved working with her hands and it showed. It didn't matter if she was working in the dirt outside her home, or figuring out various patterns inside her home, she worked with excited passion. Each time my mom and I would go for our visit, Mamie quickly took us outside to see all that she had planted and nurtured since our last visit. Once inside

the smells, coming from her kitchen embraced us like a warm, tight, hug. Then she would share her newest projects that she had just finished. Mamie could sew, quilt, crochet, you name it, she did it and with incredible vigor. So... you may be wondering why I am sharing this story with you... here it is.. Several years ago, one of my aunts gave me 20, hand sewn blocks that had been lost in her closet for some time. She gave them to me as she knew I enjoyed quilting. They were made in the early 50's by my grandmother and her cousin Mamie and left behind after both women had passed away. After my aunt gave them to me, I promptly brought them home and hid them again... but this time in my own closet. Recently, I fetched those 20 blocks out of hiding, laid them out on my floor and decided to finish making the quilt that my grandmother and her cousin were never able to complete. I searched and searched until I was able to find a couple of different fabrics that I thought would match the blocks well. I then sewed those 20 long, lost, blocks together to make the quilt that I share with you below. I can now dedicate this finished quilt to these two wonderful women that were a part of my life. I send them heaps and heaps of love. While their journeys may have ended, mine is still going strong. I am now sending all of you lots and lots of hugs and I am encouraging you to not let any treasures be 'hidden' in your closets like these were in mine. Until next time, Debbie P.S. Happy Anniversary grandma and grandpa.

Mystery Quilt 2012

Okay... so I'm not actually doing a mystery quilt, but I have started a project where I honestly don't know what each block is going to look like until it is presented at the beginning of each month. I also have no clue as to what the finished quilt will look like either... all of that is up to me, the quilter. For the blocks that I have pieced together so far, I have decided that I would like to make each block on point. That means that I will be needing a lot more fabric to surround each of the 6 1/2" blocks.... thus making them 12" finished.

Here is January's block. There were several different color waves in which I could choose from, but I decided to go with the darker colors. In the packet, along with the pattern, I was given three, dark, color swatches. To those, I was suppose to add a background color.... preferably light in color... I decided not to... I just used the three dark fabrics that were provided. I realize that there is not a lot of contrast, but by adding the surrounding fabric to the block, I felt that would suffice.



Here is February's block... there was actually a lighter color fabric swatch, mixed with the two darker ones, in the kit. I decided to add one more dark fabric to go along with the look that I had started in the first block. Since I have no idea as to what the next block pattern will be... or the exact color of the swatches that will be included, my prayer is that I will be able to continue on with the darker look.



(I know that I promised that I would be talking about 'Steam A Seam II" in this post, but I decided to share these two mystery blocks with you first... next post.)

Blessings! Debbie

BTW...... Guilty!!! I'm glad that it is over. It was a very short criminal trial in the Superior Court. It was rather difficult for the defense attorney to defend his client. At least this case was better than my last one which lasted three weeks!

Jury Duty 2012

So right now I am on a case in Superior Court and I am unsure when I will return. But.... I just wanted to check in with all of you to let you know where I was.... obviously I would rather be enjoying the company of anyone in my family... or with dear friends. Talking or listening to any one of them is far more comforting and delightful than what I am hearing in this case. However... I am truly thankful for our judicial system that allows one to have the right to a jury trial and prayerfully by the end... and deliberations are complete, we, as jurors, will have made a correct and wise decision.

With my oldest daughter Paula.



Once I am back, I will check in again and share with you the wonders of "Steam A Seam II". A machine appliquer's dream.

Enjoy the remainder of your week! Blessings, Debbie

Pumpkin Block of the Month

Another block is ready to share with you in regards to my Block of the Month adventure. I like the idea of stitching out various pumpkins that were specifically designed to represent each month of the year. I must confess that I look forward to receiving these new pumpkin patterns... along with their chosen fabric swatches... at the end of every month.

My next conquest is to complete one of those mystery quilts that are offered out there.... I'm thinking that I just may like that as well. It is always fun to hear the many conversations that are held between the gals at the shop who are or who have participated in any number of the quilting options that are available to everyone. If you have not had the opportunity to join in the fun by participating in any one of these clubs... think about signing up... you just may like it!



Happy sewing! Debbie