Wrapping Up the Summer SEW Gallery

 

As of right this minute Summer 2015 ends in 22 days, 8 hours, 3 minutes and 30 seconds. That would be on September 23, but as far as my Summer SEW Gallery...it ends with this post...on this the last of August.  It has been another August of erratic blogging here on CollectInTexas Gal.  In fact, it has been a month of jumping from one project to another according to what drawer or box was opened in the moving of my Sewing Studio.

One would think I moved a long distance with all the packing and unpacking that went on in order to reorganize and begin another round of 'Stash Busting'.  When in reality it was a matter of shifting everything from the 'hottern' H E double L garage studio to an AC cooled front room. 

What a nice change and such a boost to my 'Getting Er' Done' projects like the YoYo Sampler shown above and the small four patch embroidery quilt.  Both now added to the Summer SEW Gallery.

There is one more to add and that will finish up my summer sewing, quilting and hooping pieces.  It will make for a nice new batch of pieces to go in my First Saturday at the Chicken Farm Booth.

So, even though officially Summer is not over until September 23rd, I'm done with it, and declare tomorrow the beginning of my Autum SEW Gallery.  I already have a couple of really neat new projects for the 'Opening'...here's a peek...

See Ya tomorrow for the Opening of the Autum SEW Gallery.

 

In case you haven't browsed through the Summer SEW Gallery...

just click on

Grand Mother Oatis's Sunbonnet Sue.

Pedal to the Medal Machine Embroidery and Quilting

I do so love and appreciate hand quilting and hand embroidery, and I have done quite a lot of both in the years of being a needle and thread enthusiast.

However, I have an affliction I call FastFinishItist that often results in hand done not getting done...sometimes for years!

Lucky for me I have sewing machines that accommodate my pedal to the metal need for speed.  Especially now, when I am dashing through my 'Stashes' getting ready for September First Saturday Booth.

  I am enjoying making 'Small Quilts'.  For one thing, they are the perfect medication for FastFinishItist even if handwork is involved.  Like stitching down the binding on this machine quilted Four Patch of 1930's reproduction fabrics.  To give it a bit more 1930's look, I machine embroidered a floral vine in the sashing.

The embroidery was done as the blocks and rows were sashed together.  This design is a built in decorative stitch on my Janome 6600 Quilter.  Here are a few 'Tips' to ensure your embroidery lays flat and the stitch color is continuous and smooth:
*Cut-A-Way Stablizer...place on back of sashing strip (same size as strip to eliminate seam bulk. 
*Embroidery Thread...use a rayon embroidery thread.  It has a pretty shine and stitches evenly.
*Tension...reduce your TOP tension.  I go from 5 to 4.  This allows your bobbin to pull the embroidery thread to the back and eliminates the dot on top.

I'm getting ready to machine quilt this table topper which has four blocks machine embroidered in a hoop.  Now this embroidery really is a FastFinishItis Fix.  It has three color changes and well over 1000 stitches and takes about 10 minutes to stitch out.  I'll be back with more of this small quilt tomorrow.  Yep, I plan to have it finished by then. 

Hooray for 21st Century Sewing Technology!

 

More HoopLa with Simple Pleasures Embroidery

In 1984 a stitcher named Lora spent a good deal of time embroidering the floral-hearts design and expertly stitched the words "Simple Pleasures are Life's Treasures".  Years later Lora's hooped needlework found it's way into my collection.  For several years it hung on the wall or was displayed for sale in one Junktique Booth or another.  Finally it came to rest in a basket of vintage embroidery. 

 While I am in the HoopLa mode, I decided to give Lora's Simple Treasure a more fitting frame.  So, out of the vintage lace and doily bag came a perfectly fitted mauve lace doily and piece of very vintage lace edging....just the right aging color to match Lora's embroidery.

Thank-you Lora for stitching your name and date (top left of center) on this "Life's Treasure"

It has given me hours of Simple Pleasure.

I hope it will do the same for someone at my September First Saturday Booth.

Scottie Hexies, Hoops and Loops

Along with the YoYo Fest and the Clean Out Binge I found a stash of Hexie Blocks.  I won't go into the number of Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilts I have made or try and count the hundreds of hexagons I have stamped, paper pieced, cut, put together, sorted and put away for....I don't what!  I guess for this 'Scotty Hoop and Loop' wall hanging. 

Here are a few shots of the 'Details' with vintage buttons.

 

And the FINISHED front and back! 

Done two weeks before September's First Saturday Booth Show! 

Now back to the YoYo's! 

Couching Stitched YoYo Sampler

There is a YoYo Fest going on in my Sewing Studio.

 As usual, my 'OverDoNess' has hit a YoYoHigh,

Now there are a total of 4 smallish YoYo quilts waiting in the wings to be stitched.

Here is 1930's YoYo and More Galore!

Matter of Facts and Figuring

*Pink Background...machine quilted sample/practice piece...basket full of these...useful now!

*2 squares of 1930's pieced scraps...never throw away vintage scraps...you never know!!!

*1 large layered YoYo with button topper...already made for another project...Yay!

*2 small layered YoYo's with button topper...already made for another project...perfect!

*assortment of small YoYo's...coordinated with 1930's scraps. 

*2 pieces of vintage doilies...these were cut from a piece that was falling apart...couching keeps it together.

*embroidery floss - stitching with coordinating colors...want the stitches to show, but not glaringly.

*basting fabric glue to hold pieces in place while stitching...so much quicker and easier than pins.

Work In Progress...but not forever...gotta finish for September 5th First Saturday Booth!

The other THREE as well...no time for too much 'OverDoNess"

Yikes!!!

Super YoYo Maker

Believe it or not, I never ever wanted to make a YoYo quilt.  The main reason was cutting out all those circles and then hand stitching them to form the YoYo.  Too slow and too many to make a quilt of any size.  Not for me.  However, I was not adverse to collecting YoYo's made by someone else.

The someone else turned out to be a Super YoYo maker who made them to keep her hands busy while she talked about her life as a quilter back in the day.  I kept her supplied with fabric and thread and she kept me supplied with wonderful stories and lots of YoYo's.  Many were bundled in neat little packages and sold in my Quilt Shop.  My 90 year old YoYo Maker was so proud to be able to still earn her way doing what she loved....sewing/quilting. 

And I am please to be making my first YoYo quilt with YoYo's made by Yolanda.  I am in the process of stitching the binding and when that is done, I plan to do some embroidery around the YoYo's and add some buttons.  I think Yolanda would be proud of our partnership in this YoYo quilt....even if it is only 18 inches by 22 inches.

Blogiversary with Grand Mother Oatis

I don't have a Grandmother Oatis, but if I did, this orphan block would be a family heirloom and a treasured piece of needlework.   Here's what I know about Grandmother Oatis from this Sunbonnet Sue block:

* The block was intended to be a block in a quilt for Mrs. Oatis' granddaughter. 

*  It was likely done in the mid to late 1930's from scraps from her own dress.

*  The background muslin is more of a gauze and not a desirable fabric for a quilt.

*  Grandmother Oatis was not an experienced stitcher.

*  This block was left out of the quilt.

Always the optimist, I surely hope Mrs. Oatis made a second block and considered this one a practice piece.  I imagine when she compared this first attempt with other more experienced sewers, she realized that her embroidery stitches could be neater and the pencil and ink lines could be followed more closely.  I bet on the second one she figured out that three strands of black embroidery floss was easier and neater for stitching lettering, fingers and bows. 

My favorite thing about her signature is the way she wrote grandmother as two words...both capitalized.  I hope she signed the second one the same way...don't you?  As you can see, the gauzy background is fairly transparent and has age spots....I plan to make those spots into flowers.  So far, I have trimmed the original block down a bit, added a border of 1930's hexagon flower blocks and am in the process of hand quilting.

 

I haven't hand quilted in quite a long time and I am enjoying the stitching rhythm and thinking how special it is to have this piece of quilting history.  I should write a story.  Yep, that's what I'll do.  I'll be thinking about it while finishing the hand quilting. 

 

Thank-you Grand Mother Oatis.

It is my pleasure to share your Sunbonnet Sue Album Block on

CollectInTexas Gal's Sixth Blogiversary!

Home Sweet Done Sewing Home

It's DONE!  Well, sorta!  If you are reading this and you know my history...a one DONE doesn't really mean it's DONE.  I'm not known as OverDo/DoneSue for a once Done anything.  Why should this MOVE be any different.  And...it hasn't been, but it is getting there.  I won't go into all that I have done, done, and done in my new sewing room, but I will share a few lost and found projects that I had 'Done Forgot' about....know what I mean.  Of course you do...if you are a quilter/sewer/crafter/overdoer.

A drawer of 1930's scraps, salvaged quilt top blocks and collected Thirty's Reproduction Prints yielded 3 small wall quilts pieced and quilted...done, done and done.  Except for adding a few 1930's buttons here and there.  The now slightly depleted drawer has been reorganized into 'Back To The 1930's Future' projects and has taken it's place on a more visible shelf so as not to be lost again. 

Speaking of lost and completely forgotten....over 20 paper pieced Tulip Blocks given to me by a former Sue's Quilt Shop customer who decided she didn't like paper piecing.  We struck a trade...Tulips for Pansy Fabric.  What fun I've had mixing and matching the Tulip blocks with my collection of 1930's Reproduction Prints to make a table runner, two table toppers and three wall hangings.

Here's a corner of my Home Sweet Done Sewing Home.  I'd have to say it really is DONE as I don't see another space for one more thing.  I don't sit in the chair often, but Dolly does, so the Tulip quilt will have to be displayed elsewhere or it will be a catch all for dog hair. 

 

Wow!  TWO posts for August...I'm on a roll. 

 I say that in all seriousness as August has not been a

 'Blogging Month' here on CollectInTexas Gal in the past 5 years. 

I'll talk about that tomorrow...August 15th...my '6th

Sweltering August Is Here

August

Fairest of the months!

Ripe summer's queen

The hey-day of the year

With robes that gleam with sunny sheen

Sweet August doth appear.

~R.CombeMiller~

 

Obviously R.C. Miller was not from Texas.  I'd have to rewrite a line or two or four to read...

Hottest of the months!!!

Blistering summer's queen

The dog-days of the year

With T-shirts soaked with sunny sheen

Sweltering August you are here.

 

Notice I didn't say 'Hankies' soaked with sunny sheen.  Even though I have plenty to use on hot summer days, they are not the sort to use for mopping one's brow or blowing one's nose.  You see they are 'Ladies Hankies' that perhaps once dapped at a perspiring forehead or shielded a dainty nose from an unpleasant smell.  And now....they are a 'Valance' in my 'New Sewing Studio'.

The 'Miniature Machine Collection' was the easiest of the machines to move.

More 'New Sewing Studio' coming later.

I won't say when....August may be as sketchy here on CollectInTexas Gal as was July!