I've stitched my way through life. Early skills in utilitarian and decorative sewing have merged with art in the world of quiltmaking. My love of journaling has now crossed into the cloth world, too. I love old songs, old souls, old words; my collections attest to my fascination with memories.
Earlier this week, we found ourselves roaming around some of the mountains in north Georgia. We ended up having a picnic lunch beside a creek at Smithgall Woods State Park. The parking area was bounded by these fabulous trees – some species of pine, I think – so I was glad I happened to have some quits in the car.
This tree quilt is one of several I made many years ago, adapting a pattern by Caryl Bryer Fallert. The tree is appliquéd to a batik background fabric which still pleases me. The quilting is minimal stippling with an invisible thread (the early part of my quilting life, remember?) and I never gave it a name or attached a label. I actually made a couple of these as gifts; this one is still hanging around. I think seeing it perched on a fence under those trees is worth the years of storage. It measures 40” square.
I had another quilt in the car; one I’ve written about before. But it is a showy quilt and wanted to nestle in the branches of one of these trees. So we tossed Remember Me up on a limb and snapped some photos. Details of the story behind and construction of this quilt are in an earlier post here.
My loyal companion helping with placement and photography. Life is oh-so-wonderful with him!
We weren’t the only ones enjoying a bite of lunch in this bucolic setting.
Truth: I have not minded staying at home for a year.
Another truth: Seeing my quilting sisters this week was glorious!
Thursday was my quilt guild’s first meeting after more than a year. It was hard to predict how many people would come – but it was wonderful. It was great to see everyone, to visit, and to share a meal.
Our guild’s annual challenge is normally hung in November…since we missed that in 2020, we did it yesterday. This challenge was Something Feathered – the quilt had to include something feather related and a bit of yellow. Challenge Queen Tess often throws a color component our way.
As I do every year, I spent a lot of time thinking of all the ways I could incorporate something feathered into a quilt. Thinking of something wasn’t hard…narrowing it down to a challenge entry was. I actually made several things with the challenge in mind…more on that later…but the quilts that were hung showed that others of many of the same approaches I did…cyanotype images of feathers, vintage linens with birds on them, feathered designs in quilting.
There were stories, too. That’s what I love…the stories that are stitched into a quilt and into our souls.
Members vote for their favorite of the quilts displayed. The winning quilt yesterday was Genie’s Cardinals for Cora. Cora is Genie’s three-year-old granddaughter and when she visits, she exclaims with delight over “GiGi’s birds,” her name for the cardinals in Genie’s yard. Now for generations, when people see this quilt, they will pause in their busy lives and think of a delightful toddler spending time with her grandmother. Can anything be more beautiful?
The second place ribbon went to Marsha’s Murder Among the Posies. Marsha is like me in that she’d much rather shop in an antique store than a modern fabric store. She loves to find vintage linens with a history and combine them to tell a new story. Her quilt title was educational, too, reminding us that flocks of different bird species have different names. For crows, a flock is a murder.
Third place went to Dewey for Doodles. Dewey is a gifted longarm quilter. He tells us that he was bored one day, having caught up with his quilting tasks on hand during a retreat, so he layered some black fabric, played with bold colored threads, and just doodled. Beautiful! We all wish we could so casually doodle like he does.
Sherry brought two entires. The stuffed birds on the branch got my attention…so lovely. She named this one Delora’s Birds; remembering her Aunt Delora who loved pretty embellished linens and who spent time doing crafty things with Sherry during her childhood. Sherry brought another entry, too- Sunshine on a Cloudy Day. Our display space did not show off Sherry’s birds on the branch well, so she sent me photos from home. Once she suspends it from her ceiling again, we will replace the photo with that image. Zoom in on the closeup image to see the bird’s feet…a marvel in engineering for Sherry’s resume!
Marie entered Winging It, a small piece made from an extra block from an earlier quilt. Marie says when the Northern Rough-winged Swallows appear, she pulls that quilt out and drapes it across a chair in her den so she can enjoy the season inside and out.
Everyone was impressed with Shirley’s entry, Yankee Doodle Mickey. Not only was this quilt large, but it was Shirley’s first “real quilt,” she says. She used Disney fabric and incorporated feather stitching in some of the quilting. We are very impressed, Shirley, and look forward to seeing what comes next from this beginner!
Helen’s entry, All Feathered Up and Nowhere to Go 2020, combined cyanotype images of feathers and commercially printed feathers to make an eye-catching wall hanging. Helen likes blue almost as much as I do, so the blueprinting process on fabric was fun.
Angie’s entry is framed under glass, so please ignore the glare. Entitled I Believe, it is a beautiful combination of appliqué and embroidery.
Page’s entry, A Winter Evening, is a cardinal ready for display during the holidays.
Kathy is ready for fall with Pumpkin Season.
Patti’s entry, Pandemic Flowers, includes a feathered design quilted into the border. Patti says she gets the prize for including the most of Tess’s required yellow fabric.
Sharon’s quilt, To God Be The Glory, features a beautiful stained-glass dove and divine quilting.
Gladys, one of our most prolific quilters, ( I believe she made more than 100 quilts while staying safe at home during Covid), brought two entries for Something Feathered. I’m A Feathered Star, and I’m a Wanna Be Feathered Star (the blue one).
My entry was this appliquéd image of a Singer Featherweight sewing machine. As I said, I had plenty of feathered ideas and even stitched some with this challenge in mind. But once I had fun with the featherweight and the play on words, I decided to let this be my entry. I called it Threading My Featherweight. Jim’s title suggestion, “Bob-bob-bobbin Along” was better – but I didn’t ask for his input until I had stitched a blue bird….maybe I’ll do another one with a robin doing the work and use his title.
I’ve written about our guild’s challenges many times before…they really have enriched my quilting life, and I’m sure other members share that feeling. Click on the challenge category in the sidebar to see more of these stories.
A recent beautiful spring day was right for a ride-about. Not knowing our destination, I tossed a few small quilts in the car “just in case.”
When we stopped for our picnic lunch with this view of the sky and the trees, I was glad I had chosen to include Endless Migration, a challenge quilt from 2006. I had promised to write its details earlier when I did another post on paper foundation piecing here.
Our guild’s annual challenges always teach me something new. In 2006, our Challenge Queen, Tess, required that we do some curved piecing. As a rather new quilter, I thought about the possibilities all year (the challenge is announced in February, presented in November) but waited until nearly the last minute to engage in the sewing of my entry. If you know me, you know that this is a behavior in which I still engage…waiting until the last minute. Part of the reason is that I can’t keep a secret very long, so procrastination means I have less time to deal with that. But I don’t wait until the last minute to think about it…the whole intervening time between announcement and presentation, I have the challenge topic on my mind.
I loved the geometry of Mariner’s Compass blocks and had played with paper foundation piecing to accomplish a block or two of that type.
This quilt finished at 22″ x 25″.
I wanted to create an oval ring of flying geese around a tree of life motif. I had a tree pattern I liked, enlarged it to a nice wall hanging size, then made the oval to fit it. I did not have an oval the right size – this was before Cindy Needham created her marvelous templates, so I drew the concentric ovals on freezer paper by using two thumbtacks and a string. I drew in the flying geese as well, and it was to the sewing machine.
I loved (and still love) Fossil Fern fabrics. I had bought a couple of sets of the complete range of colors in 3″ squares, so I arranged lighter ones to fit in the sky portion and darker ones in the earth portion of my landscape.
The tree is a batik fabric fused to the background. At this early stage of my machine quilting life, I only knew how to stipple. So that’s the quilting done with invisible thread, I think.
The guild’s current challenge topic is Something Feathered. I’ve already made three possible entries and I have another one brewing…they are to be shared in a couple of weeks since we couldn’t meet in November 2020…so I still have time to make another, right?
Oh, and our picnic destination was Dowdell’s Knob where FDR often visited when he visited the Little White House near Warm Springs. Here you see he is holding Endless Migration. Another quilt’s visit to this spot is documented here.
We went to Lakewood last weekend and I found a few vintage treasures.
Some delicious homespun fabrics and a cow came home with me.
The definition of homespun fabric is fabric made at home; fibers spun and/or woven at home. Synonyms include plain, unpolished, unsophisticated, simple, rustic. Well, those words fit the life I love.
The simplicity of design is part of their appeal, I think.
The wear and the stains in these fabrics speak to me of people who used them in their everyday life.
These homespun fabrics were in Shelby’s collection. Shelby’s son and daughter-in-law were delighted to sell them to me, seeing that I appreciated these pieces of history as Shelby had. I didn’t know Shelby, but I like her.
Who else do you know who would delight in finding that the vintage fabric they bought was patched? I was thrilled to discover this … more stories in the cloth.
And, this worn French tea towel came home with me, too. Look at those vibrant stripes after washing a gazillion times!
Kristine was not at her booth yet – we were early browsers – but her treasures spoke to me
old clothespins in a BLUE bucket…what’s not to love?
I came home with more than the fabrics I bought, though. I always find ideas to send my brain spinning…doors, buckets, buttons, even a beekeeper….
I’ve written about visits to Lakewood before: The button lady post is here. Why I love beekeepers is here. And another cow is here.
Once the Covid vaccines were in our bloodstreams for two weeks, Jim and I headed to an antique mecca. We went on a weekday, took a picnic lunch, and distanced ourselves from people.
But we didn’t distance ourselves from the joy of antiquing. Seeing items like these toys trigger memories and lead to writing forgotten stories for the next generation.
Seeing color combinations and delicious fabrics always stimulates my quilt design.
Before Covid hit, a favorite old cotton mill filled with antique booths had closed. We were saddened by that, but delighted to learn that it is now occupied by new owners, filled with upscale decor items and some antiques. The exterior is spruced up, too, making a visit there a new kind of thrill.
You know I love blue and brown. You know I love toile. You know I love nice bows. Well, who knew I would find them all in one place?
This sweet little train case was waiting for me…a brown case lined in a toile with blue accents, and a beautiful bow. It had to come home with me.
Now it’s ready to be filled with indigo overdyed fabrics and trims to complement the lining.
One of my projects completed in 2020 was this School Days quilt made of wool and entirely hand stitched.
I had a delicious length of wool in a subtle plaid (thank you, Mary, for this glorious gift) that I wanted to use for the background. I love the schoolhouse block, but it’s traditionally a pieced block. I didn’t want to cut up this wool and sew it back together, I wanted to appliqué. So I refashioned the traditional pieced block into an appliqué pattern.
The lines in the plaid meant I wouldn’t have to mark anything if I made the schoolhouses the right size to fit within the repeat of the plaids. So a little measuring and planning, and I was ready.
I selected 20 different wools from my collection and ironed freezer paper templates on to the squares. From that point on, I had a perfectly portable project needing only needle, thread, and thimble to work anywhere.
I even laid the houses out on the background to get a pleasing distribution of color and pinned a swatch of fabric in each house’s position so I would know what went where.
I stitched each house to the wool using a whip stitch and thread (usually perle cotton #12) to match the house.
When that was done, I layered it with a piece of hand-dyed linen on the back, pinned it in place, and began quilting. I didn’t use batting – I thought the bulk of the wool-on-wool quilt was enough with a lightweight back. I used 12 wt Aurifil thread for the quilting and found it a delight to pull though the buttery wool fabric.
Again, I had nothing to mark, just stitched along threads in the plaid. It was sheer delight to have one spool of thread, a pair of scissors, a needle and thimble, and pick up and sew. Relax, relax, relax.
Having no batting meant no where to hide the knot, and “popping” wasn’t easy either. So, in another connection to past methods, I left the tails loose as if the quilt were “tied”. But my ties are on the back, not the front.
When it came time to add a binding, I didn’t. Add one, that is. I cut the backing 1” wider than the top, folded over, folded over, stitched down. That’s the way our grandmothers did it, and now I know why. It’s lots easier than cutting, pressing, stitching by machine with mitered corners, then hand stitching down. I will continue the latter process on most quilts, but bringing the back to the front on this one was a pleasure.
This was one of the quilts I carried on our photo trip to Indian Springs. Some of these photos were made there, some in our front yard. The finished size is 36” x 48”.
Our most recent outing did not involve photographing quilts, but the photographs I took will generate some quilts, I’m sure. Buildings, reflections off water, birds, and being in the woods bring inspiration.
This little shack made me wish I had brought along a quilt. Next time….
We drove to Juliette, GA, the home of the Whistle Stop Cafe. The old structures there were quiet early in the morning, and posed for me to capture them without people in the way.
Fog was thick over the still waters of the lake, making for some nice reflections. A fisherman unknowingly posed for me – the only way it would have been better is if he had been wearing overalls.
The stop in Juliette was to check out reports of swallows and warblers building nests. We saw some activity, but conditions were not right for photographing them. On we went to Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge – one of our favorite places to visit and photograph wildflowers.
Every time we visit this place, I am captivated by the grasses. They grow so tall here. They are always different, but always remind me of combinations of embroidery stitches.
A butterfly loves these lilies, too.
We saw some exciting botanical specimens. A clump of Atamasco lilies captivated me in the sunlight,
newly emerging ferns and their fiddleheads contrasted in bright green against the backdrop of a recent controlled burn at the refuge,
and the dogwoods throughout the woods were stunning!
When we got home, we discovered our own Atamasco lily in the back yard. We moved it here with us years ago, but it had not bloomed until this year. There’s more sun in that space in the past year since two big trees came down, so maybe that explains the surprise.
My companions for the day were photographing birds. I got a couple of lucky shots of the bird they were stalking, but my purpose was to enjoy the glorious day. That I did.
This little Louisisana Waterthrush was a happy little guy playing in the water.
On a sunny day in February, we loaded up cameras and quilts and headed out on a ride-about.
We drove to Indian Springs State Park, where Jim and I can both travel down memory lane way back to our childhoods. Our personal histories are not quite as old as the park – established in 1927, it is the oldest state park in Georgia.
Jim and his Dad enjoyed the swings at Indian Springs around 1950.
My sister went to college near this park and my parents and I would visit and take her there for a picnic. Jim and his family went there for visits, too. It’s possible that our mothers carried quilts to Indian Springs, too. Their purpose would not be to photograph the quilts, but to sit on them on the ground.
On this day, we hung quilts in trees, draped them on benches and railings, hung them on gates. I think the stone walls, lovely trees, and big rocks are a nice backdrop for textiles of all sizes.
The largest quilt we carried was Seventy and Still Wearing Jeans, a quilt I made for Jim’s birthday a couple of years ago. We posed it on fences, stone walls, and on a really big old stump. Details about this quilt are here.
Smaller quilts, like Dots and Vines, were at home on smaller perches.
The quilts with those vibrant hand-dyed solid fabrics are most photogenic, I think.
The story of the wool schoolhouses and the small log cabin quilts will be detailed in upcoming blog posts.
Their first date was at a church gathering for an all-day-sing.
They grew up in the same county, attended the same high school, but it was a long commute between their homes. Twelve miles represented a fortune in time and money – in the early 1930’s, times were tough.
So they wrote to each other. And one heard about a sing that was going to be at High Hill Church, in a far corner of the county – some ten more miles from each of their homes. But families took Sundays off and went to such gatherings. They planned to meet up at the sing, and the courtship became official.
They married a couple of years after that sing and went on to live and prosper in that same county…the “til’ death” part lasted 52 years, all spent in Turner County. Prosperity didn’t come quickly – there were hard times on the farm – but happiness and contentment flourished. My sister and I benefited from two loving parents.
This art quilt I call First Date tells a story of their lives in Turner County and includes evidence of many memories.
I found a map of Turner County printed in the 1930’s in an antique store and transferred it to fabric. The colors in it and in the photos of my parents from that era dictated the whole piece. (And ya’ll know I lean toward browns….)
I made a legend for the map depicting the church where they had their first date with a heart shaped button. Other beads and french knots show the location of their homes and church home.
I included do-dads from a milliner’s supplies (my mother was one of the last to give up the habit of wearing a hat to church), bits of tatting, lace, buttons.
There are remnants of one of Daddy’s suits, a bit of lace from one of Mama’s dresses.
A fabric flower is made from barkcloth much like the living room drapes we had when I was a child.
I made this and mounted it on canvas several months ago. I haven’t shared it before because I’m not quite happy with it on the canvas…I keep looking at it, wondering if it’s best that way. I may add a frame or may remove it from the canvas and finish it more like a quilt. But …here it is, as it is.
Update…since writing this post, I found a couple of relevant photos..
A photo of my parents shortly after their marriage in 1935.A photo of High Hill Church made in the 1930’s shows how the church would have looked on the occasion of that first date. It also reveals how appropriate the name is. In the flat terrain of Turner County (average elevation 407 feet), High Hill sits at a dizzying 420 feet above sea level.
I’ve been baking. Among the things I’ve explored lately are teacakes.
The word “teacake” transports me through time. When I was a college freshman, living a new quasi-independent life, but homesick at times, I went to the campus post office to find a package waiting for me.
When I think of teacakes, I am transported to a memory. A college freshman, living a new quasi-independent life, but homesick at times, I went to the campus post office to find a package waiting for me.
The package was from Aunt Nellie. A shoebox full of tea cakes. They were wrapped in waxed paper, layers and layers of tea cakes. The box was heavy – full of love.
My suite-mates and friends on the hall in the dorm were as excited as I was. A couple of us went across the street from campus and bought a jar of peanut butter. Part of this memory is that we had to put on dresses – because girls were not allowed to wear slacks in town. We could wear “pant suits” (not jeans!!!) to class, but if we left campus, we were “representing the school” and had to dress appropriately.
Back to the tea cakes. They were fabulous! I ate Aunt Nellie’s teacakes all my life and loved them – but these were especially memorable. Because that box was filled with love from home ( I now realize she must have been missing me terribly in those days) and shared with loving friends who impacted my life forever!
I don’t always put peanut butter on my teacakes, but sometimes I do. And that was a critical element when the box arrived from home…I had to share them with peanut butter!
I don’t have Aunt Nellie’s recipe – when she died, my mother asked if there was anything I especially wanted from her house. I had a long list including her “receipt book”. The book was a spiral bound calendar from some insurance company. But she used it to write down her recipes. When I got it, I immediately searched out the teacake recipe. It said; sugar, flour, butter, egg, soda. Nothing else.
That was all the information that she needed…a reminder of what ingredients to include. That was insufficient information for me.
The recipe I used is one from the White Lily Baking Company’s website, with a few modifications of mine. I omit the nutmeg and add 1 teaspoon of almond extract. (Update: Since writing this, I’ve made them using lemon extract instead of almond and they are the best yet! Lemon tea cakes don’t need peanut butter or nutella – they are great on their own.)
The photo at the top has teacakes on one of Aunt Nellie’s plates.
On Valentine’s Day, I made some teacakes that were heart shaped….and we upped our game adding Nutella instead of peanut butter. Oh, yeah!
And speaking of hearts, I’m still making stuffed ones. I’ve added a few more red ones to the big bowl. And, I baked heart-shaped buttermilk biscuits on Valentine’s Day.
Note: My Aunt Nellie was such an important figure in my life that I’ve written about her again and again. She’s one of the Spinster Sisters, and she’s featured in Miss Nellie’s Country Garden. I mention her every time I talk about geraniums and often when cooking. Typing “Nellie” in the search box will keep you busy reading for a few minutes, at least.
