It's good to stretch and try something new

This is the summer of weddings, traveling, and traveling to weddings for the Leiner household and it begins very soon. Two weekends ago,we were at the Gettysburg Festival looking for consignors for the Museum Shop. This weekend we will be in Baltimore visiting George's Aunt Barbara. Then next Friday we leave for a week of Wyatt duty in Northern California! Once we get home, my mom and stepdad will be with us for five days and then we all pile into the car and drive to the Chicago suburbs for the first wedding event - a bridal shower for my niece Angie and her beau, Zach. It's home again on the 15th, hang around for a few weeks and head back to Illinois (this time Moline) for the wedding. Go home again and then a month later, head out to Southern California for my nephew Alex's wedding to his sweetie Sarah. So, I needed a shower gift to start out, right? As you may recall, I give all the nieces and nephews wedding quilts, usually some time after the wedding. And both couples will get quilts as their wedding gifts but Angie is getting something special! Years ago, my sister, Bev (Angie's mom) asked me to make Angie a t-shirt quilt with all her many, many tees. I said yes and put the tees away in the basement where they would nag me every once in awhile. I had also been thinking about making a reverse seam rag quilt and decided this was a good occasion to honor my commitment to my sister and make a shower gift with special meaning. So it is done. A few thoughts come to mind. 1) wow - it sure went together quickly. 2) never should have chosen red flannel; even though I washed it several times, it still ran and now all white areas are faintly pink. 3) while the quilt is cute and neat and meaningful, not to mention technically fine, I just don't really like the style. Too much chaos. You wash the quilt several time after finishing it to give it that ragged look and I like my finished quilts looking shiny and new, I guess! Here are some pictures:

Another late night, a quick post and then off to bed.

Okay, now the ABC blocks, beautifully stitched by daughter Becky, are on. I have to stop on this quilt now as I am waiting for Beck to send me the first border of monkeys. Very happy with how it is turning out. What do you think?

The not quite appliques are done on the center block

Just a quick post before I head up to bed. Had to work at the Museum Shop Saturday and Sunday so MY Memorial weekend starts tonight. I don't go back til Wednesday. I hope to get lots of piecing done on Dean's quilt. Here is the finished center block. I think it turned out pretty well! G'nite!

Hot damn! that went together fast! Fifteen Monkey Wrenches

Finished the background of the center block of Dean's quilt tonight. It went together so quickly and I am quite pleased with it. Problem though: my monkey applique pattern is too big. Back to the copy machine to make it smaller! G'night!

First three Monkey Wrench blocks are made for Dean's quilt

The piecing has begun! Tonight I cut out all fourteen blocks and made one of each size. There will be one 8 x 8 inch block, five 6 x 6 inch blocks and eight 4 x 4 inch blocks in the center background of the quilt. These came together very quickly so I should have the center background done by the end of the weekend, I think. Pretty cute, I think. And speaking of cute, check out Dean (Robert Dean Mitchum III) and his daddy-0 (Robert Dean Mitchum II). Two great looking guys!

She and me we dreamed a quilt. Teamwork and love, here's what we built

Becky and I had a difficult relationship from the time she was a teen-ager on. I like to think that we found our way back to each other via quilts. But before all that stuff happened, we made a quilt together. Here is the first quilt Becky and I made together, a wall hanging that was displayed on the wall in our kitchen/dining room in our hometown of East Moline for many years. The piecing is not perfect but the back melts my heart! I love you, Becky Boo. Always have, always will.

If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck....

Becky was born on her due date, November 22, 1981 and I finished her baby quilt in spring 1992. When we pulled this one out to photograph it, I noticed it has started to age somewhat, some fading. But still cute. How my quilt designs have changed since this. This one looks soooo innocent! Becky was a much sought after child. I was 23 when her older sister, Jamie was born and that was at the end of the "money making 1970's" when economic times were pretty good. I so much wanted to have a second child because I had had siblings and I knew how important they were to my formation as a human being. I wanted the same experience for Jamie and I really wanted another child but convincing my husband took some time. So 3-1/2 years later, Becky arrived, mostly due to my woman wiles, I think. Now Becky is a grown up woman and has learned to sew herself. Will we see Becky's quilts coming out of Plano, Texas some day? You never cant tell! More pictures: