Betsy Ross and the Dog Days of Summer

After a long lapse from from Sewing Sassy with Lyd, it has occurred to me that life has taken its toll on my blogs and most of all my quilting. Oh, how I have missed my machine, what is life without the humming of the machine. But, recently I completed a fun summer quilt just perfect for summer outings with the family.

The patriotic quilt has inspired us to plan outdoor activities all summer long. As I finished the quilt, my son begged me to have a picnic on the living room floor that night. He wanted to know when we would take it outside to dine on it. He was enamored by the stars and loved the stripes that made up this quilt.

The inspiration came from a book that my great uncle gave me when my aunt passed away. She was an avid quilter and had a real passion for the time-honored skill. But, as I browsed these books which dated back to somewhere in the mid 1970's I found it hard to believe that they would ever offer much inspiration. However, after a second and third glance, nestled deep in the pages, I found a pattern just begging for an update.

So, 20 fat quarters, 1 yard of white and 1 1/2 yards of sashing later, we had this patriotic beauty. Then I coupled the quilt with 4 yards of backing and folks, we are ready for some all-American summer fun.

As I neared completion, and hand quilted the stars I think I may have channeled a little Betsy Ross in there as well. I carefully stitched each star with Pearle 8 red and precise care. There was some serious Americana going on there.


 So, now we are ready for summer! Bring it on! Bring on the dog days of summer -  you will find us at Concerts in the Garden, gazing at the fireworks on the Fourth of July, spending the day at the pool, catching up with friends at the lake or lounging at the beach. Summer is here and we are ready to celebrate the season and all things American.

Don't forget to make your bed!

When I was young (as my son likes to tell me - a long time ago) I had a quilt that was made of yellow cotton and white blocks with big bright flowers that took up the entire block. My Grandma Guajardo made it for me. It was one of my prized possessions as a young girl. I would carefully fold it back each night and each morning make sure that the purple flower was centered on the bed as I made it. Sadly, that quilt is beginning to fray I really hate to use it anymore. So, I decided to make me a new prized possession.

I finished a quilt and three shams today for my king sized bed. It was a whipping - I mean a beating. I long armed the quilt with a tight stipple that took me two - three hour sessions over Superbowl weekend - my husband was VERY patient with that and the shams took me about three weeks and one quilt retreat to do. This may be my one and only king size to do, but it was worth every stitch, every missed play of the Superbowl and three bottles of wine!

 But unlike my yellow quilt, it is hard for me to pick just one block that is my favorite! I love them all.  It is a simple pattern that I took from a book I had and really is made from random sized blocks. I think it is the fabric I used. I made the quilt from Moda's Etchings - Three Sisters. The moment I saw it I fell in love with it. The way the grays and tans danced together made you want to wrap yourself in the creamy lushness of the patterns. I loved the drawings of the French buildings and I wanted to get lost in the map of Paris, I wanted to see so much more of the red floral and read the love letters that are written on the fabric in beautiful cursive. The entire line was just gorgeous. I even loved the solids I mixed in because you could see the stipple that covered the block.

I think the favorite thing about my bed are the two linen pillows that finish off the bed.  I bought them last October in Canton. I picked them up at one of my favorite shops LaurieAnn's. It is a cottage oasis of unique finds. Every time you turn a corner there is another exciting surprise waiting to be discovered. So, when my eyes feasted upon these pillows I just knew I had to have them. And look how great they sit against the gray paisley of the shams. It is like this was an ensemble just waiting to happen.

Each night that I crawl under the quilt, I fall in love with it all over again. I love the way its warmth wraps around me. I love the weight of the double batting. I like to stare at the hand stitching that finishes the binding. Surprisingly the binding only took me two days to complete.  Binding is the last step of a quilt and the time I am allowed to bond with the quilt before I usually have to part with it. But in this case I got to keep the quilt I had come to love. I get to fall in love every night with the beauty that is made of "sand," maps and natural tones.

Good night - Sleep tight!

There is a first time for everything...

As the saying goes, "There is a first time for everything" and that is how this past weekend went. There were many firsts this weekend. I went on my first but not LAST quilt retreat this weekend. I was invited by my new quilting friend "Ray" as a guest of her mom's shop, Quiltin' Country, retreat to the Compass Centre out in Mt. Calm - and that is what it was - CALM! I went with very little expectations but a long list of things to accomplish.

Well, my expectations were exceeded beyond belief. It was a weekend of sewing, quilting, laughing, great food, rest and lots of new friends. But, I must say my list of things to do is STILL long...

While I was there between all the talking and laughing and good times, I was able to make some serious progress on my nephew-to-be's baby bedding. I used Sarah Jane's (Michael Miller) Children At Play to create the bight ensemble. I made bumper pads, two fitted sheets and a quilt top. But the quilt top was my biggest challenge.

I decided to make a simple quilt pattern of 6 inch blocks, but I took it to the next level by adding in some complex blocks to add additional details to the piece. Well, after a day of laboring over it and the aid of my new friends who all took turns "talking me off the ledge" at one time or another, I finally completed the project.

But the highlight of it all was truly the laughter of the weekend, the late night sewing and being surrounded by many talented women who all have a passion for the timeless tradition of quilting. I laughed until my side hurt, I had so much good food my stomach felt like it was going to burst but most of all my heart was filled with joy! I told my new friends I was going to blog about them because I wanted to share with people the great time I had.

I mean how many times in your life do you have a weekend where you have encounters with Butch Cassidy and MacGyver all in the same weekend?

Can't wait for my next retreat - but it will never be like the first time.

Hand-y Work vs. Machine

Okay, I have shied away from my blog for a few weeks now because I didn't have a finished project to show you. I am a "check" the box kind of gal and I love completion. I have recently picked up a project I was working on before Thanksgiving and I can see that it is going to take me a LONG time to finish it and teach me a good lesson about patience...

When I started quilting I never knew that accomplishments would be measured in hand stitches rather than machine stitches. You see, the project I am currently working on is a traditional Dresden plate quilt and for some reason it has prompted me to do a lot of hand work and it has a lot of steps along the way.

Let me break it down for you:
There are 20 blades per plate - that's right 20!
There are 16 plates in the quilt
And the plates are set on 15 1/2" x 15 1/2" blocks

Here comes the tricky part - I decided to hand stitch the plates to the blocks! That's right, I am using a blanket stitch to attach all 16 plates to their respective blocks. The pros to this method are simple 1) I am getting a lot of practice at the stitch, 2) I am not locked away in my sewing room night after night isolated from my family and 3) it is going to look really good. The cons to this are 1) I have to be careful not to shed blood on my work, 2) I have it spread out in the living room and 3) I may never finish this project!

So far I have stitched 5 plates to their blocks. Best I can figure it is taking me about an hour and half to complete each block, provided I don't get caught up watching a good movie or I decide to stretch out on the couch for a nap instead of sew.

The next step after the plates are attached will be to put the blocks together and place the centers of the plates. Finally, I will assemble 34 pieces of 2.5" x 8" strips together horizontally to make the border. This is going to be one heck of a quilt and I can't wait to finish it and sit back and say, "Yep, I hand stitched it all and will you kindly quit coveting the jewel of a quilt that it is?"

So the next time you think to yourself, "I wonder what Lydia is working on," just know, it is probably the same project and hopefully I will finish it before I am too old to appreciate it.