This is a mail-away pattern (#7302) which was offered in newspapers in the 1940s from Needlecraft Services. The transfers were meant to be stitched as quilt blocks, and the instructions included a diagram of a quilt 3 blocks x 4 blocks with sashing and a wide border. The completed size was 72″ x 102″. These…
I am really enjoying working on these redwork blocks. It’s challenging to get all the tiny details in each picture (especially the face, which I had to rip out several times just like in the previous block), but that’s what makes it interesting. Also, I like the way it’s looking with the darker thread. This…
Finally, the last of the blocks selected by Ann Champion. The curves are gentle on this block, and depending upon how large you decide to make it (mine is pretty big at 14″), it can be machine pieced. Ann and I have come up with several other blocks from the Ladies Art Catalog — patterns…
I thought this post would cheer up all other procrastinators and owners of unfinished projects. QUILTS WHICH WERE STARTED AFTER THIS BLOG BEGAN (12/08) AND ARE LANGUISHING IN THE SEWING ROOM Embroidered Wool Quilt Embroidered Circus Quilt Crayon & Embroidery Mother Goose Quilt QUILT TOPS WAITING TO BE QUILTED Ferris Wheel Simple Objects Hello Kitty…
This is the last of the 12 Alice in Wonderland pages. I wish this small book had one more page, so I could set it with alternate blocks. What do you think about stitching the cover as a block? I could stitch the title and the drawing (the style is a little different, so not…
One of my favorite events at St. John’s Catholic School was the fabulous annual Halloween carnival. In second grade I got to wear a beautiful blue Little Bo Peep costume which my mother had sewn — it even had a staff with a little stuffed lamb attached. My older sister, Sally, a seventh grader, was…
Barbara at Oodles and Oodles recently wrote about her newly renovated bluebird houses. Here’s one of her photos where you can see a potential new resident. When I read about her bluebirds, I remembered I had a couple of cute birdhouse pages somewhere in my vintage coloring book collection — it just took me a…
These blocks are going to be a nice project to work on over the summer — a little similar to the ABC blocks in that they are very detailed and stitched with one color. Because I have two months off each summer, I try to work on Christmas presents for my family, but I never…
Thank you everyone for your kind words regarding Jack’s death. It is hard to lose a pet, but I am feeling much better now. This embroidered block was very enjoyable to stitch — the tiny outline work really appeals to me, although I did struggle with Alice’s face. The whole piece is stitched with one…
Yesterday we had to euthanize our 14 year old cat, Jack, who was diagnosed last year with liver disease. I just finished this little mourning quilt, which is named for him. The blocks were made with mourning prints and shirtings from this quilt top. The border is new, and the binding is constructed from antique…
One might think this blog should be called B is for Book. I am working on several quilt projects now and should have photos soon — including a mourning doll quilt suggested by Kathi — sort of a strange idea, but I like it. Anyway, these Alice images actually are quilt related since I have…
This Platt & Munk book is not dated and no illustrator is credited, but I am sure it is quite old. It’s smallish (about 7″ x 10″) and printed on very heavy stock. There are only 12 pages, the first 9 of which have been colored with wax crayons. It’s a very laborious process to…
These butterfly wings and bodies were purchased on ebay in 2002, along with the Crazy Baseball blocks used to make this quilt. I assume they were made by the same quilter, since several of the fabrics are the same. The newspapers on the back of the Baseball blocks were dated 1943, so I guess that’s…
The Big Paint Book Whitman Publishing, 1930
Elliott uses this hexagram as his logo — it’s the tattoo on his favorite GI Joe character when he was little (Snake Eyes), and Elliott also has it tattooed on his forearm. Whenever I use a GI Joe theme for his birthday, I try to incorporate this design. Last year we had hexagram cupcakes, but…