Owls, Gifts, Donations and a Finish. Whew!

You know that when I write a mid-week post, I have a lot going on to write about. Otherwise, if it’s daytime I would be sewing and if it’s nighttime I would be reading or watching Netflix. That’s my life in a nutshell. Not really, of course, but let’s pretend.

First, let’s get the business out of the way. I finally finished the details on the patriotic quilt pieces. This is goal/item #9 on my Quarter 4 Finish-Along list for this year. To recap, this was once a patriotic quilt made by my ex-husband’s grandmother, Georgianna Ryan Muir (“Annie”). She was my children’s great-grandmother.

The quilt came into my life in 1982 when my mother-in-law, Mary Muir Flox was widowed and my brother-in-law packed up her household in North Carolina and drove a full U-Haul truck of her belongings to our Idaho home. He used the quilts as dunnage to wrap the furniture with. When unpacking, he just threw the quilts in our trashcans. I rescued them; there were three.

One of them, in pink and white, I donated to the Sandy City (Utah) Museum in 1998 with the full provenance provided. The second one I still own. It’s mostly white with peach tulips and light blue leaves that have faded a lot. I added a wide eyelet ruffle around three sides and used it in our guest bedroom for a decade or more in the 1990’s. Some day I would like to reproduce it in fresh fabrics. The third quilt was holey and beyond salvation. These three stars were the only viable pieces I could salvage. So, I trimmed and bound them in varying blue Kona solids and  added hanging corners and a pocket to the back of each. They’re about 14” square. In the pocket is a printed copy of the story of the quilt from its maker to the present day. They will be little gifties (stocking stuffers at Christmas) for my three adult children, Ryan, Shane and Megan.

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A couple weeks ago I donated three quilts and 9 pillowcases to a local quilt shop, Thimbles and Threads, for the Hurricane Relief Effort (Harvey, Irma and Katia). They snapped my picture when I dropped them off, and I was surprised to see it turn up in their next newsletter and IG post.

So that’s what my hair looks like in real life. Miss Clairol and I parted ways last year....

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Owls. I love them, always have. I used to collect them back in the sixties and seventies (not real ones - just owl things). A few years ago I used to make and sell owl softies (among other things) at boutiques. I would take magazine pictures, online pix (not sure if Pinterest existed then) and combine bits from here and there to come up with my owls. I learned quickly that owl feet were problematic to attach to softies and could be skipped altogether.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago I rediscovered some of my leftover owl parts in a plastic case. Most of the stuff went to Cousin Kim, but I kept one or two. And then I decided one would be cute appliquéd to a 12” block to include in my Autumn quilt. Here he is:

That just reminded me of something.... appropos to nothing..... when I was a kid we had a cat (one of many) that I got to name. I named him Oliver Wendell Livingston (initials O.W.L.). Ollie was a great cat........   but I digress....

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And I saved the best for last.  Today I got a great package in the mail from my friend Diann of Little Penguin Quilts.  We had planned to meet up (with other friends) on our Colorado trip last month, but plans fell through at the last moment. Anyway, I sent Diann a zippered pouch and some fabric and a couple little things. Well guess what? She sent me a zippered pouch and fabric AND a cute pincushion that she made! The pincushion is already in use, and I am here to tell you that one can never have enough zippered pouches. (Forget shoes - zippered pouches are where it’s at).

I loved Diann's little pink penguin fabric when she showed it on her blog, and can’t believe she was willing to part with some of it to send me! The spool fabric will go with some other sewing-themed fabric I have to make a sewing machine cover - a project for this winter sometimes. I hope. Anyway, thank you, Diann!! You rock!

That’s it for now. I’ll be back on Saturday with my Pink Scrappy Progress Report.

Missing in Action

Sorry I haven’t posted lately.  I have been busy with CQI responsibilities, spring garden work, Etsy and a private commission (among other things).

Here’s a peek at what I have worked on this week:

I am doing 8 in all.  And I think they are so dang cute!!!  Will show and tell more later this week.  Tomorrow I plant raspberries bushes and onions, shop for seeds and maybe do a little housework before descending into my studio for some sewing.  :-)

Hope you are having a wonderful spring!

Hugs,

Owls and Crochet and Giveaway Thoughts....

I've been stitching my brains out (yep, I had some brains once, LOL)... I saw the cutest pattern for stitch-n-stuff owls in Handmade magazine (an Australian publication). The issue I have, which I just bought a couple months ago, is Volume 25, No. 8. Don't know what year, but I found it interesting that on their website the "current Issue on sale now" is Volume 27 No. 6. Now, that's quite a lag, LOL!! It's understandable, of course, with it being Australian, but I sure wish those Aussies put dates on their magazines! (and this is probably exactly why they DON'T!!).

Anway, here are a couple of the owls, with several of their feathered friends in progress.

Since I've taken this picture, they're all stuffed and all I need to do is sew up their little bottoms. I love owls. When I was a teenager, I collected anything OWL. I even had a cat that I named Oliver Wendell Livingston (OWL). We called him Ollie. And of course, Owl (or should I say "WOL") is one of my favorite Winnie the Pooh characters. But I digress..... I'll post another picture of the whole gang when they're done. They're for the Christmas boutique, of course....

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but on one of my recent thrifting forays, I scored a major treasure - loads of crocheted motifs and edgings. Per the tags, they'd just been put out the day before I got there. Let me show you some of these.

There are sixteen of those fans and six of the purple and yellow floral motif strands. I'm pretty sure that they were intended for pillowcase edgings (at least some of the following were). I don't know if they're vintage or modern, but they're pristine. And would've looked better if I'd bothered to iron them first, LOL.

Six of these lovely pink & green pieces..... look at the detail!

Six of these yellow (gold) and white pillowcase edgings...

Two of these gorgeous orange and white pillowcase edgings...

And last but not least, these miscellaneous pieces and edgings. There are actually two of the pink edgings, although I only photographed one.

I think I'm going to sell half of them and keep the other half to use as trims in projects. The fan motifs are especially well-suited to crazy quilting!

Some of you readers who have been around awhile might remember that a few months ago I got an amazing windfall gift from a very generous stranger named Catherine. She has actually moved here to Utah and is my brother-in-law Doug's girlfriend. Last weekend I got to meet her for the first time when she and Doug came over to visit. Catherine also brought me another load of goodies, which includes fabrics (including vintage fabrics from the sixties), trims and laces (mostly vintage), books (including some vintage treasures!) and magazine articles and other supplies. She encouraged me to pass on whatever I don't need or want myself. And that brings me to my next topic.

It's about time for a Giveaway again. When I'm done sorting, I'm going to pull goodies for four prizes - something for everyone. There will be a prize geared for crazy quilters, one geared for sane quilters, one geared for fabriholics, and another for lace and trim lovers. Or something like that. Honestly, I haven't quite worked out the details, LOL, because some of those crocheted trims will be in the giveaway, too. Maybe I'll have to do five prizes! I'm planning that you will look at the prizes and tell me which one you want to be entered for, and I'll do separate drawings. But this is just a heads-up, because it will be after Thanksgiving, OK?? Too much on my plate for the next couple weeks. Besides, I still have sorting to do!

That's it for now. I've got so much more to post, but DH and Boomer (my chatty cat who is meowing at my feet) tell me it's time for bed. Talk to you soon!

Hugs,