Post That Was Left Behind.

On one of our hot summer days around 5:30pm was the day the lights went out in Atlanta. At least in my neighborhood. No air condition, no fans, no lights, no nothing.  Even though it did not get dark until 9:30 it was still very dark in the house because of the rain and clouds.  Power did not return until around 9:45pm.

This year we have cut TV and video games to only on the weekends, so this was not a huge inconvenience. As a family we have been spending more time eating together as a family and talking more. So on this day that is exactly what we did and we had a ball. My husband and I attempted to show the boys how to play gin rummy. We laughed and joked about whatever came to mind and even did some impromptu singing.

When the lights did come back on, we had not missed anything.

Just a reminder that quality family time is supreme.

Wordless Wednesday

Quilts That My Grandmother Made

My grandmother who has been making quilts since she was a little girl, makes the best quilts.  She has made quilts for every person in our family, plus some. They may not be as aesthetically appealing as most of the more modern quilts and even traditional quilts that us bloggers view in blog land. However, in my book, they are the best.

Its not just because she is my grandmother, but it is a fact among African American Quilt makers of her time. This could also be the case for white quilt makers of the same error. Unfortunately I don't know any.  The thing that I feel made her quilts so awesome was that they were heavy. When you were tucked in with one of these quilts, you were not moving. They kept you warm on the coldest nights without any outside heat. The quilt at the top of the page is a twin sized quilt but has the weight of almost 2king sized quilts (maybe a little exaggerated).

My quest is to try and recreate that quality, along with the modern appeal that I am in love with today. When I say modern, I don't just mean modern design. I am talking about the quality of how the pieces are put together along with the binding. Even though my grandmother's quilts last a good while. They start to rip and come a loose at the seams.

After talking with her and closely observing the quilts. I have concluded that one of the contributing factors to the weight of the quilts is the diversity of the fabrics that she and others of her time used.  They used whatever they had. Such as old bags from flour, sugar, coffee, etc. which were not thin pieces of fabric. 

 Secondly, the batting type plays a role also.  I tried to take a picture of the batting that she used, from the hole of a ripped seam of a quilt she made for me. Needless to say the pic is not good (desperately in need of a new camera). Any whoo, the batting feels like thick balls of cotton straight from the fields.

The last thing that I think plays a role in the weightiness of her quilts is the quilting.  She hand quilted with very wide space between the next row of quilted stitches. I believe this pattern caused the batting to give way to its fluffiness. 

I wish that I had pictures to go with the details that I have described, please share your input.

W.I.P

 My first crack at hand quilting and I am not sure of my thoughts yet. Let me first say that I should have but did not look at any videos or seek any advice on the basic necessities of hand quilting. My needle is too big which causes me to make bigger stitches. This is not particularly a problem but for more detailed designs it will be. I am not using the thicker thread that I see on most quilts that have been hand quilted. Things are tight around here so I am a stickler for using what I have. The main reason I decided to hand quilt this quilt is because of its size and I am scared that I may hurt my machine. If I did, it would be out of operation for a while because of funds and we don't want that.  

The quilting pattern is nothing fancy. Just a simple stitch along the inside edges of each square.

 Secondly, I started on my first plus quilt. I have cut some of the fabric and have begun the layout.  I am using the fabric from the Cara Wilsons Bloggers Choice pic from Fat Quarter Shop.  

I decided to use some left over gray fabric to make a larger sized quilt. I could have made a baby quilt. At this point I tend to want to make things that me and my family will get some use out of, unless I am making it for someone else.

One day I am going to learn to stop starting things that I have never done before without a instructions.  However, that day was not today. The plus quilt was not my intent although on the list of projects that I wanted to do.  This fabric was chosen to be used for a hexagon quilt that I saw on From the Blue Chair.

My hexagon cuts were not quite hexagons. But rest assured that I will get it right.

Past, Present, and Seriously Considering

I know it has been forever since my last post but a lot of things have happened.

Past

Some of you may know how I was really wanting to get pregnant and wishing I would be creating a quilt for a little girl.  Well, I did and we were very happy but I was very sick(normal pregnancy stuff). There was little desire to do anything most days. Also the kids were starting school and I decided to give K12 a try, which has been overwhelming and we will not be registering for another year. 

   

  Sadly to say I am no longer pregnant due to a miscarriage. My family and I are doing fine and two weeks ago had a small memorial and burial for Joseph Bernard Mitchell.
Maybe one day I'll post a few entries to my feelings during this time.

Present

So now that I am no longer sick from being pregnant and have determined how much school we will do each day despite K12, I have time to do what I enjoy. 

So the quilt that I was working on for Lazarus Ministries is not done.  I am so........whats the word, disappointed in myself for not being done with it let alone raised any money for the cause. So I am going to finish it but not sure if it is fundraising worthy.

Because it is so big, I have decided to hand quilt it. 

AND I am starting today.

Seriously Considering

 I really want to taking upholstery classes and would love to use some of the same patterns that us quilters use to quilt and sew with on a chair, ottoman, couch, etc. So my question is.......

Is it possible to use the wonderful fabrics that most of us blog about on furniture and will it be durable? If not, is it possible to get these fabrics in upholstery form?