Archive for the ‘sew it’ Category

Today is August 31 and, just in the nick of time, I finished my August Bee’s Knees Bee Block.

This month’s block is for Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side.

When I opened the package in the mail at the beginning of the month, I think my jaw dropped.  The picture cannot begin to show how wonderful the Echino fabrics are.  I loved working with the heavier linen weight.  And even if the riot of color and texture were challenging for my brain, it was so much fun to create this block.

Amy asked for log cabin type blocks – bull’s eye, quarter cabins, or courthouse steps. Since no one had made a courthouse steps, I opted to make that block.  I have a thing for owls so I was seriously excited to find one in the fabric Amy sent.  I knew I had to fussy cut it for the center of my block.  I ended up not using the same fabric for the steps, since it didn’t look quite right to me, so I don’t know if I can still technically call it a courthouse steps block…

Now all I need to do is get to the post office and pop it in the mail.

I really can’t wait to see this quilt finished.

A few weeks before school started, we took a tour of Historic Moyle Park in our hometown of Alpine.  The park is full of old farming equipment and one room log homes that were moved to the property.  There’s even a fortified tower that the Moyle’s built in case of an Indian attack.  But the highlight of the park is the home built by John Moyle, an early Utah Mormon pioneer and stonemason who worked on the Salt Lake Temple.

Early every Monday morning he walked 22 miles to downtown Salt Lake City to work on the Temple and then walked 22 miles home on Friday after a hard week’s work.  On Saturday he worked all day on his farm.  Then one day he was kicked in the leg while milking a cow.  His leg was badly broken and was amputated.  Once he learned to walk again on the wooden leg he made for himself, he resumed making the 22 mile trek to Salt Lake City each week.  He carved the plaque on the Temple that says, “Holiness to the Lord.”

The Moyle home is a wonderful, sturdy stone home, but what I like best about it is the quilts…  Most of the quilts looked to me to be from 30’s to 50’s but none are labelled so I couldn’t be sure.

This is the quilt on the frame above.  The applique flowers are so sweet.  I love that some of the petals are polka dot fabric.  My guess is this quilt is from the 40’s.

In the same room as the quilt frame is this old treadle Singer sewing machine.  It reminded me of the stories of my great grandmother, who had 17 children.  She would make her kids sit under the machine and push the treadle while she sewed clothes for all of them, since her leg would get so tired.

I loved the way this block has a different colored solid with the prints.  The colors are wonderful.  Does anyone know the name of this block?  Is it ocean waves?

This pansy applique is wonderful. It looks like one strand of black embroidery floss for the applique.  Did she choose that color or did she have to make it do?  Either way it is lovely.  The quilting is fun too.  This looks more 50’s to me…

This quilt was laid over a bench, so I could get a great shot of it.  But again, I love the different solids paired with the prints.  The colors in this quilt are an inspiration.

I swooned over this double wedding ring.  The fabrics look feedsack.  It’s fabulous in the room with white walls and red sheets.

Seeing the old quilts makes me want to do nothing but quilt today.

In my dreams.