Friday, January 25, 2013

Beginnings of a Crabapple Quilt

YIPPEE. It's snowing! We aren't expecting much. That's okay - I'll take what I can get.


Every time I see a Crabapple quilt - a pattern in Bonnie Hunter's Adventures with Leaders and Enders book, I love it. You can see good examples at Subee Sews QuiltsJo's Country Junction and Scraps and Threadtales and this cute one on Flickr. I know there are many others - I just can't find them. This and her Scrappy Trip (very popular among bloggers right now) have been on my to do list for a while. I usually use the project I'm working on as my leader/ender but sometimes I get confused. So I pulled out my bin of 1 1/2" squares and started sewing up pairs of lights and darks while making the Lil Twister top. I need immediate gratification so I made up a block on my mom's old Montgomery Wards sewing machine. I got it from my sister last weekend and my husband cleaned, oiled and did a little rewiring on it for me.

The quarter inch foot I bought for my featherweight seems to fit perfectly. I do need to buy it a new belt.

I talked to my mom and she says the machine must be close to 60 years old. She remembers using the machine to make green and yellow curtains for the nursery before my sister was born in 1957.


 Love this old can of sewing machine oil.

This weekend I hope to finish making the backing for Ella's quilt. Not sure if you can tell I sewed up the name "Ella". I decided not to use the IKEA fabric because I was too lazy to make the trip. I have plenty of pinks and greys to piece the back and it will go better with the grey thread I plan to use to quilt it.
My sister and I went to a Barn Sale at a horse farm near Frederick Maryland last Sunday.  That is an industrial park in the background : ( We had a fun day browsing there and at a few other vintage shops in Lucketts Virginia and had a delicious lunch at the Blue Ridge Grill in Leesburg Virginia.


We woke up to this yesterday morning. I woke up at 4:00 and could hear the snow falling or hitting the roof or something. Not sure that is even possible. I had a hard time falling back to sleep. I hate that when you feel like you've finally fallen asleep and the alarm goes off. It was a quiet day so the lack of sleep didn't affect me.

Just look at this dog-
 I never thought I'd live with a beagle.
 He's whining for his daddy (my son) to take him on a walk.
I understand Charles Schultz's Peanuts character Snoopy so much better now. He really caught the breeds personality.

18 comments:

  1. I just love your Mothers' old sewing machine!!! How wonderful to have such a vintage treasure, I'll bet it sew beautifully!
    I notice that you nest all your seams just the way I do, funny to see that someone else is as pernickety as me LOL!!!!! Lovely photos of the animals, a friend had a Beagle once and it was a high energy dog, she was an older lady and ended up giving it to a family with kids who just fell in love with it. I think the dog was happier too as it had lots of activity with the children!!!!

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  2. You are right about Charles Schultz getting the beagle personality. My dog does the supper time dance just like Snoopy.

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  3. I love all the projects you are working on. I had to laugh. I have my mother's sewing machine and it is the same one. The dog is so sweet. Hugs

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  4. So much lovely work, Maureen! I really like those crabapple trees too. That would make an awesome leader/ender. Actually that is the book it's in right? duh.
    Thanks for telling about that Paleo diet the other day too; I think I will try it out as well. It seems like the foods I have always eaten are just not my friends anymore! Time for a change! : )

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  5. Enjoy your Mom's machine - they were so well built and did what they were suppose to do. Enjoyed all your photos - does Leesburg still have miles and miles of white fencing around all the pastures? What a sight that was on a Sunday drive....

    What a cute little beagle - there was a great Snoopy cartoon in our paper a few weeks back - all about Snoopy's tummy clock going off at the dinner hour.

    Have a good weekend

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  6. I love Bonnie's crabapple pattern, too, and will be happy to watch you make it. : )
    I have my Mom's original machine, too, and it still works.
    "Ella" is very visible. Good job!

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  7. I love your crabapple block! I've often looked at that pattern and thought about it, too! And your mom's machine is gorgeous! Looks brand new! I love that she remembers making that project on it. So fun!

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  8. Sweet Beagle - we had one as kids growing up. Mitzie loved to bark.
    You have some great projects going.
    Love the vintage machine - even more special being from your family and you have the history.
    Thank you for sharing - have a great weekend!

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  9. what a sweet pup! We finally got a little snow here yesterday and coco loves it.
    The crab apple block is cute. I hadn't seen it before.
    How nice that your mom's machine works well. I had a blond singer machine years ago.
    your Ella letters are sweet!

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  10. You got your snow Maureen. Ours has all disappeared and we have reverted back to more rain and flooding but it does look pretty with a coating of snow. I can see your lettering well and you have been working well on your projects.

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  11. It is wonderful that you have your Mum's machine to sew with.
    Thank you for the snow photo. Its been really hot here. Thankfully we are looking forward to some cooler days (and hopefully some rain) for the next week.

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  12. I haven't seen the Crabapple pattern before. Perfect project to use up some little scraps. Your mother's machine is a family treasure. Haven't things changed? Love that you can still use it. That little beagle loves the camera.

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  13. I made a crabapple quilt last year (I think) It's a fun quilt-enjoy!

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  14. Great post, Maureen! I love your first crabapple block and what a fine vintage machine, too. Maybe you should jot down the story that your Mom told you about the curtains, to keep with the machine. As for the beagle, he got me laughing at all the poses.

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  15. that must have been a really fun day. i linked over to the Barn Sale and had a long look at all of their pretty stuff~!
    the beagle is a cutie. i've never been around the breed much but it sounds and looks as though he is quite the character.
    that machine looks like it's in great shape. the story that your mom had to share about is was sweet. i bet she could remember lots of other sewing stories once she gets to thinking about it.
    it's good to be back visiting your blog Maureen.

    :-)
    libbyQ

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  16. Love your crab apple block. The barn sale looks like great fun. We have about as much snow as you do, but I still like it anyway.

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  17. Really love your Mom's sewing machine - the style and color is wonderful, and I bet it sews like a dream. Your crab apple block is pretty wonderful too!

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