So last night I went to my 3rd guild meeting in as many days. Third!!!! I must be crazy!! Well I went to the local guild Monday night Forsyth Piecers and Quilters-I take the show and tell photos.
Sunday was the Triangle Modern Quilt Guild in Chapel Hill. I drive over an hour and forty minutes to get there. But it is in the store run by someone who helped me start quilting so many years ago. And it is in the town I used to love living in. Then last night the new Triad Modern Quilt Guild had its first ever meeting. How could I not go when it is literally just down the road from me in the Sewingly Yours!? I took some photos of the brief show and tell.
This women is making a quilt to raffle of to benefit homeless cats and dogs. Her applique cats and dogs were amazing.
This quilter worked on these two tops instead of her dissertation this summer.
Another quilter made this quilt along quilt.
Paige made this awesome pinwheel quilt with DS Quilts fabrics.
BTW Im now the swap organizer. We'll see how that goes. I may have to give some where.
I have also been working on some swaps. I'm in the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap group on Flickr and we are doing a Halloween swap. Here is a collage of the fabric I dug out of my stash. I did not realize how much I really had. Most is old #2,3,4,and a few of 5. #1 and 6 I found on the shop hop last weekend.
Still deciding which to use and what pattern.
Lastly I have been playing with Jay McCarrols Habitat fabric. Triangle MQG was sent some and are allowed to add a solid so I chose this gray with a hint of brown. I am calling it '123' right now. I have sewn strips together and have 8 sets. I have a few ideas on what to do next. Still letting it simmer.
keep dreaming...Colleen
These are the 9 wonky star blocks I have received so far for my month in
Let's Bee Together. Aren't they awesome!
First I wanted to share this cute little mug rug I whipped up with my embroidery machine and some scraps. Julie the owner of Timble Pleasures celebrated her birthday Sunday and I wanted to give her a little treat. She was one who helped me a lot when I first started quilting years ago.
Then I had to share this beautiful mini quilt from kaitcetera!
She is in the Triangle modern Quilt Guild and was my secret partner. As you can see I took it to work where it hangs on the door of my office right in my line of vision. Its so funny because her mini house quilt was the inspiration for the mini quilt I made for my partner.
It was the last day of school before Fall break. A Tuesday, we were year round at Konnoak. I was in my second grade classroom on the new hall. Someone quietly knocked on my door and when I went to it they whispered in my ear. A plane has hit the World Trade Center. I felt a little shock and sorrow. What a horrible accident. Later another knock, another whisper, another plane has hit the other tower they think we are under attack. We went on lock down. When the students finished testing I went to the library. A group of parent volunteers and staff stood around a TV. They were supposed to be packing up books so the carpet could be changed during intersession. Instead they told me a plane hit the Pentagon and one crashed in PA. I think I was numb. I don't remember finishing the school day. I remember students being picked up early. I remember unnaturally quiet halls and all the staff gathering in the lobby after putting students on buses. I think we all left quickly. I remember calling my mom and dad sometime. My sister was in Greensboro. The first thing I did when I went home that day was turn on my computer. I had been to the towers a decade before, to the very top observation platform.
Good news! As I closed out the giveaway I saw we had 110 comments! That means I have put together extra bundles of 90's fabrics!
So first I want to tell you about my treasure hunting. I blogged here about my trip to Hillsville, VA flea market and the treasures I found. Especially this quilt.
I took most of the ties out to remove the top.
I exposed how part of the back is dyed feed sack, with the writing turned to the inside. I found a cool article on the founding of Royster which had its roots in Tarboro, NC. It was fascinating how many different weights and weaves the fabrics were in this quilt.
You can see the blocks exposed of the inner quilt. This is a very old quilt!
It is also very deteriorated. But look string blocks! I dont know if the old quilt was so deteriorated when it was sandwiched or if washing effected it.
As you can tell in this pic there was a lot of lint in the folds of the binding. I think this quilt was washed a lot.
The surprising things were all of the 'other' things I found sandwiched inside. Let me tell you and show you some of them and then think about why. BTW I think the older quilt is probably from 1860's. I went by looking at the woven fabrics on the back that are fairly strong and the mostly disintegrated piecing on the front.
The outer quilt is probably 30's or 40's. But what in the world is inside? Can anyone tell from this? What is it?
Yes it is someones undergarment. Around the edge of the quilt these were folded to fill in the shortage of length I guess of the older quilt.
Here is the slip. What do you think 30's 40's? I think it is like a kind of organza? It is handmade with lace straps and edging. Im not good with non cotton fabrics. There were other pices of what seemed to be cut up womens bloomers? and mens cotton what?? do you call old fashioned mens underclothes. There were also random pieces of various fabrics from thick wollens to cotton to a dotted swiss printed voile. When I finish taking it apart I will photo all pieces of the quilt better.
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So now for the winners! I created a virtual 10 sided die with the digits 0-9 and rolled it three times. First I got a 0 then a 6 then 8 so 68!
Congrats to Mimi who wins the first bundle left over form my two stretched stars quilt!
Mimi said...
I am a new follower and look forward to your future blog posts!! Thanks for this sweet giveaway! I'd love to make a stretched star quilt!
Now for the bonus bundles!
And the winners are with six more rolls of the virtual dice!
#20 Natasha and #15 Irina!
Congrats to all winners! Please send me your snail mails and I will send out you bundles asap so you can get started on your scrap quilts!
keep dreaming...Colleen
I have cut my Jay Carrol Habitat challenge fabric and the solid gray
into1", 2", 3" strips. More to come...
Today I went to the quaint little Virginia town of Hillsville. Set near the Blue Ridge mountains of Va this little town has rolling green hills and farms close to the towns center. It is also the home of the largest Flea Market ever!!!!
Every Labor Day weekend from Friday to Monday the entire town becomes a flea market selling anything and everything you could think of from those frilly stretchy shirts to bamboo plants to antique furniture and glassware to guns and knives to an R2D2 drink holder.
This is just half of the VFW's fairgounds lower area taken from the upper area. Yes there is an upper level too. Fields, front yards, back yards, parking lots, and shopping centers are filled with booths including yummy fair type food booths!
Its amazing how when you chat up people and ask them how their doing they will give you a deal. So, here is my haul!
These are two vintage table cloths to use in my kitchen. And a couple of old Pyrex dishes and another little dish. I'm going to use them for pin cushions I am making for my booth at Flaunt!
This darling embroidered towel is new! I took a chance on a quilt from a couple of church ladies who also were selling new quilts and these towels. I may have bought a few Christmas presents from them too!
This darling Sun Bonnet Sue was wrapped around a piece of cardboard. I bought her out of a frame I didn't want frame for only a $1! She goes into my collection. I have a great collection of vintage quilt blocks some of which I have framed.
This one great vendor up on the VFW hill(BTW vendors have the same stalls every year so you can find them) had lots of sewing notions including old wooden mill bobbins. I found these great snaps and buttons to cover all for $1 or less. And the old jar of buttons he gave me for $4!
I have wanted one of these Chinese umbrellas and kept seeing them all over the FM. I found this one for $5 and it will be gracing a room soon.
This old quilt I bought for $15, talked it down from 1/2 price of $25. I bought it for the large pieces of fabric making up the pinwheels and as it's tied it will be easy to take it apart to salvage. It was awful heavy and I realized when I looked through the one hole...
That there was another quilt inside! I think I see Alamance plaids?! I cant wait to treasure hunt! I may do it tomorrow!
These vintage beauties were only a few dollars. There were about 15-20 altogether and I picked out the ones with the fabric I love. Don'tcha love the red and white daises? I may sew them together and frame them. I did that with some other vintage blocks when I redid my bathroom and I love the look. I know I have an old frame around here some where.
"Yummy fly!" said the frog.
I try to save my $$ through the year to do things like Hillsville each year. I especially wanted to get another of Brian Mace's garden sculptures for the back yard. I bought a praying mantis last year that is in the front. He gave me a huge discount because I was a repeat customer. I sure had frogs on the brain this year.
I stopped at the giant fabric outlet at the Fancy Gap exit on 77 just down from Hillsville. I wanted to get some of their $0.15 zippers. And go to a clean bathroom. That's 9 zippers including 4 hidden ones for $1.47! They also have TONS of fabric. Check out their website.
Well I am sunburned despite the hat and spf30. My entire body aches from walking for 5+ hours. Luckily I had a rolling bag or I would have never made it back to the car. Did I mention walking back is all up hill-Hillsville remember. So somehow my car turned onto the Blue Ridge Parkway instead of going back down I77. I ended up at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the VA/NC border where the sign said 'Music Today'.
iphone self portrait
This is me sitting on a rocking chair looking at the mountain views, feeling the breeze and listening to some mountain music. Listen a spell.
keep dreaming...Colleen
This is the green bucket which overflowed with pieces for my bow tie leaders and enders.
The middle stack is the 90+ finished blocks( I kept losing count).
On my feaherweight are the block pieces in sets I still need to piece.
