Ann: Graduation and Ruffled Roses

 The Ruffled Roses top from 2011 is now quilted, bound and delivered.

My friend Margaret did the quilting on her long arm. She was going out of town with her daughters and granddaughters, so did it quickly. Unfortunately when she got home her basement was flooded, so we were both so happy that she had taken the time to do it before she left, because her long arm machine is in her basement.

 This is the center section of the quilt. Lots of piecing and applique went into it.

 Oops, the tag is upside down, sorry

And here is our graduate, Kylie. She is number six of thirteen grandchildren.

Back in 2011, while I was working on the quilt, I spent a long weekend with the kids while their parents went to Las Vegas to run in a Ragnor Relay. I worked on the quilt while I was there and she sat right by me and watched me sew.

Kylie graduated from Northridge High School yesterday, with High Honors. She will attend Weber State University in the fall, but next week she will be taking a CNA class and then will probably work in an assisted living center this summer.

She is our Ice Skating Queen and will got to the national competition in Wenachee Washington in the fall. Last year she took second place over-all in Chicago.

Ruffled Roses top FINISHED!

Wow, it is the last week of December, but I finally got the Ruffled Roses top completed.

The last set of swag borders. Finally have the hang of it, so this did not take too long to do.

Then they had to be set in a long border for each of the four sides. By the time I got them all together and pressed, I was ready for a break.

But I still had the corners to do. These are all appliqued, but I did them by machine, with a blanket stitch. If I had done them by hand, I would still be working on the center corners.

And FINALLY, ALL the borders and corners are set in place, pressed, and ready to be quilted. The pattern has the option of the little purple berries to be added to the wider green sashing. They are to sit at the peak of each swag. I pinned one on to see how I liked it, but I preferred to leave it bare. I like it better this way.

My helpers are not tall enough to hold it high enough to get the whole thing straight, but you get the idea of what it looks like. I have enjoyed this project, as it has been a challenge for me. I am glad I did it, but don't know if I want to try another one just yet. Susan Gorman likes little tiny pieces and really small HSTs. For now, I am happy with what I have done.

Good Week for Quilting

This has been a good week to be able to sew. Marian has worked the early morning shift all week and has been home by early afternoon to take the boys. Jennie's little ones were only here 2 days and they take afternoon naps, so I have been able to get my housework done in the mornings and have the afternoons to do what I wanted (and I chose to work on my quilt tops).

Ruffled Roses

This is the next to last set of swag borders. Next month I will do one more set, the attach them to the rest of the top, then add the final borders. It is square, so I am thinking of adding extra width to the top and bottom so it can be used as a coverlet.

I got the basket borders and floater strips added to the top and it now measures 60 inches square.

Here is one of the corner pieces. All 4 corners are the same. Just the baskets are different. The corners are appliqued, like the center piece.

Civil War blocks

This is block # 47. It is called "Dixie Tea". Because of the embargo during the war, the southern states were unable to get coffee beans, so they experimented with different herbs for tea. The most favorite was Sassafras Tea, from the Sassafras plant. They used both the leaves and the root of the plant, and sweetened it with molasses made from sugar cane.

Here I have 3 rows set together. I am not doing them in order of being made, as I used a lot of the same material on some of the blocks, and wanted to spread it out more randomly. I will add another border around the entire top when it is all put together, then add the border pieces. This helps me remember which is the top corner blocks.

Civil War and Ruffled Roses updates

Civil War Blocks 42 - 46

Number 42 is called "H for Hospitals"

The field hospitals had a flag with a green H flying, to indicate the tent or building to be a field hospital.

Number 43 is called "Right Hand of Friendship"

The underground railroad helped get the slaves away from the plantations. The "Friends" helped find them jobs and security.

Block # 43, Union or Union Square. Honors the Union Army

(Oops, I see a couple of HST's turned the wrong way. Better fix those tomorrow)

#45 Port and Starboard, to honor the Union Navy.

Block # 46 This is called "Apple Tree"

The Union Army had a marching song, "We'll hang old Jeff Davis from a sour apple tree"

I have all of the dividing strips and borders cut. There are a total of 53 different blocks and I have made a few extra. The pattern makes a double bed size top, but I am going to do it to fit a queen size bed. I will soon be laying out the blocks to decide how I want to arrange them. And then I will start assembling. That will be a fun project!

Ruffled Roses November Blocks

Baskets 20-24. These are the last set of basket blocks.

Here are the basket borders. I have to add a thin floater to the existing top and then sew these on. I haven't even started the swag borders for this month, but hope to get to that soon.

I will post again when I get the swags done and the basket borders attached.

Ann's project progress

The next 2 Civil War Blocks
Block 36 is called Kentucky Crossroads. Kentucky was a neutral state during the war, but the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers meet in Western Kentucky and one of the early wars was fought there.
Block 37 is called "Confederate Rose"
The real flower is a Hibiscus which puts out different colors from a single plant.

The blocks for Ruffled Roses this month are the corner blocks around the baskets. This is all machine appliqued, and 2 of the stems are missing their buds until the corners are joined with the other adjacent blocks. This is the first of 4 blocks.

And the sixth set of swag borders. (3 swags)

This month's project is taking much longer than the past few, as the swags and baskets work up pretty fast.

Ann's project progress

While I have been a semi-invalid, I have been able to prop up my knee and sew.
I am doing better, and going to Physical Therapy to regain my range of motion and strength in that knee. I am pain free, and walking with only a small limp now.
Here is the next Civil War block.This one is called "Empty Spools" remembering that the women put aside their sewing and handiwork to tear linen into bandages. This is block # 31, more than half way through. Very easy block to make. Took 5 minutes to sew it together, and the last few stitches I had to turn the wheel on the sewing machine by hand, as the power went out with less than an inch to finish the last seam.
My next set of baskets for the Ruffled Roses quilt top.

This makes 16 baskets so far. They are getting easier to make. I did not have to pick out any HST's that were turned the wrong direction on this set. That saves a lot of time, doing it right the first time.
And the next set of swag borders.

There are also 16 swags. This picture is a little dark and a little blurred. I am getting better, but sometimes the auto zoom moves at the same time as I click for the picture and it gets blurry. I also did not use the flash for this one.
Have a good week, y'all and catch you again soon.