Saturday, December 31, 2016

Happy New Year!





Another old postcard from the old family album!  Happiest of New Year's wishes for all.  May all your quilt plans come true! 



Since I received the "Old Plums" bolts by Pam Buda, I was able to finish this little quilt from "Campaign" by Carol Hopkins.....all fabrics used are from Pam's line.




On Thursday a "blizzard" was predicted.  Lost power due to ice buildup at 1am (Friday).  Was off for 35 hours (just came back within the hour).  Don't know why it was called a blizzard as there was no wind!  Anyway we got about a foot of snow;  we are all plowed out and back to "normal life"!  We heat with wood so the house stayed warm and we have a generator so I was able to read, sew, etc.  I am old-fashioned about some things and so I ignore the weekly pleadings from the local cable company to sign on with their TV-Phone-Internet "deal".  I will keep my landline phone as long as there is such a thing, because  Only the cable was out for 35 hours..... I still had  phone and  internet (do not have a smartphone but will likely have to have one someday)!



This is what we woke to Friday morning!  Lovely sunshine and azure blue sky!  And, of course, the white stuff!  The birdies were all aflutter at the bird feeder and I caught one of the Cardinals in the hydrangea bush.  Reminds me that I Really Need to get my new SLR digital with the great lenses fired up and ready to go!!!  Would get much better closeups!




This is the picnic table with its foot of snow!  We were fortunate to get only a foot.....in my son's area, about 60 miles NW of here, 24" fell!  

Now you are going to laugh at me!  Got this book the other day......have most of Kaffe Fassett's books......his fabrics are so much Not Me, tho, there are many that I like!  His quilts do speak to me!   



Love this Hexagon quilt!



Love this Medallion quilt with his bright fabrics too!  But, would also be wonderful using Reproductions....better make note of that on "the list"!       Love the simple quilts that let the Fabrics shine!!!





Have had some questions about how I accumulate my Half-Square Triangles.  I use 6-6-1/2" squares (Makes eight 2" finished hst's), separated into a pile of lights and a pile of darks.  Then match up light/dark.....some I use just as they come in the pile and some I match up because I like them together!  Then, when I get near the end of the piles, the Most Interesting (odd!) combinations are made!  I mark the diagonal pencil lines  and then use them as my "Leaders and Enders"......sew one line each time I finish regular block sewing!  Huge pile accumulated in what seemed like no time!  

Generally, I press open first and then square up.  It's kinda boring but I just do some as I feel like it or to fill in odd moments.  The method shown above was found somewhere on the internet.  Place the diagonal line of the 2" square ruler on the seam line and trim just Two Sides.  Press open.....but, there are dog ears to trim. Just have to take your pick which method suits you best!  (I will probably mostly use my old, tried and true method!)



Found this postcard in the album.....it is dated Jan 7, 1878.....last day of school.  Guess they closed school for the winter Back in The Day!  The True family lived in this house at least Civil War era to 1950's.




17 comments:

  1. I love the little quilt you made from the 'Old Plums' fabric....beautiful! And tell us more about these postcards....was this an album you found in your house?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it actually did come from the house we are living in! But, it was found when the contents of my FIL house was auctioned. My husband told me and his kids that we could spent his part of the inheritance...so we did!! I got the postcard album as well as a photo album....don't know who anyone is! My FIL acquired this house (abutted his own property) in early 1950's....for taxes owed....and then let the old man live here for the rest of his life. It may have been his album (Hiram True) as many cards have his name, as did the one dated Jan 7, 1878!! Love all these old things but am running out of room!!

      Delete
  2. Happy new year! Thank you for all your wonderful inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy New Year! Lovely snow pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wendy in NH
    Hi Cyndi, Happy New Year! Sorry you got ice & lost power...we had driving rain that turned to snow but just a few inches. I can tell Kaffe is growing on you lol! I like the seed packet quilt in that book, may just have to dive into my stash & do one! Interesting history about your house, nice you have some antique souvenirs. Someday I'll show you an inventory from an ancestral farm in Brownville ~1820. Those early Maine settlers didn't have much!
    Take care, happy 2017! Wendy C.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We have Time Warner and bundle ours got a good deal, we use our landline with it and I have a tracfone smartphone, which works for me. Appreciate your quilty nature and appreciate the snow pics, we have not had a good snow yet. Moved North for it in fact lol. Happy New Year!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy New Year to you, too! How wonderful that you heat with wood and weren't deprived of conveniences with the snow and power outage that came your way. Your basket of half-triangle squares looks wonderful, as do your photos of the snow. Brrrrr.

    ReplyDelete
  7. lol...lovely to see all that pretty snow in YOUR yard...my bro in pittston lost his power as well...glad those days are behind me...and i too love those kaffe colors and quilts! ooooh i have TRUE relatives! i never knew that about your house....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy New Year! beautiful snow - and great quilt inspirations.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love your recent projects and the postcards. The artwork in them is always so beautiful. Bless your FIL for his kindness

    Happy New Year hope 2017 is good to you

    ReplyDelete
  10. Snow! It looks so beautiful, and so different from our Summer heat. Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Happy New Year! Serendipity - I fell in love with both Kaffe Fassett's fabrics and 1800's reproduction fabrics years ago, but at the time our budget would only allow for me to collect one type of fabric. And since Kaffe's fabrics were impossible to find in the USA at the time (before the internet)I opted for 1800's reproduction fabrics. Now I can afford to collect both types of fabric, but don't have the room because of the several thousand 1800's reproduction fabrics I have stashed away for my series of Charm Quilts!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy New Year!! I am looking forward to coming to the shop to see those new Pam Buda fabrics. I have an SLR camera and love it; am sure you will too. That is a great picture of the cardinal amidst that snow and the branches! Haven't been near because of surgery and also lost my dear friend and quilting buddy Mary Ann on Oct.29....was very hard for me. Enjoy the winter months and hope to see you soon! In the meantime, I enjoy your posts.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Happy New Year to you too! Love the basket of squares. Encouraging. Nice shot of a cardinal. Beautiful against the snow. I got a GC for your shop and I will be in to use it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I've been bad about blogging. How did I miss this and the last post for so long?? I an't wait to come up and see Pam's new line and everything else! Love that little log cabin top in the last post.

    ReplyDelete