THANK YOU Julie
The generosity of quilts never cease to amaze me. On Tuesday yesterday evening in the mail a large parcel of fabrics arrived from Julie in the USA . Several weeks ago I bloged about some 1920 crazy quilt panels I was restoring and how I had run out of fabrics suitable for replacing the patches that were so perished they needed to be replaced. Julie wrote and asked if I would like some fabrics that could be suit able, of course I said Yes Please, Julie had required them from a X doll maker, I had said to Julie I only needed small pieces as most patches are no bigger than 6″ long and 3″ wide. The below photos tell the story them selves of how generous Julie has been.
Ohhhh the joy of fabrics, I have spread some of the fabrics beside one of the panels you can see how they belong to gather, I now have enough fabrics Julie to finish the next 5 panels and start another crazy patchwork quilt LOL. There are 6 1/2 blocks in each panel and I’m embroidering herring bone stitch around each piece of fabric and replace any fabric that has disintegrated mostly the fine silks have broken down all most to cm pieces.
Playing with these fabrics makes my heart race just look at those velvets I can not wait to start adding them to the panels.
More fabrics; Julie you are a very very generous quilter My fingers are itching to start work again on my panels, you can guess what I will be sewing this week? Such scrumptious colours, and the velvets are to die for; they will just add that X Factor to the panels.
This is the link to the blog on these panels http://www.patchworkdreams.com.au/
p=6125
These are the 6 panels that needed restoring I have almost restored 2; 4 to go and that will be no problem now due to Julie.
Quilt As You Go to be single bed quilt. I have made up 18 blocks since I pulled these out of storage last Wednesday and need to make another 9!!!! May be next year LOL.
Quilt As You Go extra warm blocks, I have made up an extra 17 blocks during this week and need to make another 9 to have enough blocks for a single bed quilt, I would then add a border to it so that the outer blocks don’t wear away; then in 15 years time the border could be replaced if needed.
Since last Wednesday I have been making these wee Quilt As You Go blocks (see photo below) as promised I took step by step photos to show how I made them, there were just going to be to many photo’s for one blog so I added two blogs on how I made them throughout the week, if you would like to see how these were made just pop back through my blog.
At last the sun has come out after several weeks of torrential rain so I can take a more detailed photo of the quilt as you go block. This is in silk and wool fabrics. Frame is a fine wool form a Japanese kimono fabric and the windows are Kimono silk. By using a high loft wadding you get a lovely 3D effect.
10 of these blocks would make a lovely wee shoulder bag
During the week this fellow ended up in my bedroom, not a nice thing to have flying around while you sleep. I caught him and relocated him out side and took his photo.
Last night while ironing Hubby’s shirt I looked up and there was this fellow above me on the ceiling, Its a stick insect the wet is sending lots of creatures in and around the house trying to find shelter. Because he was above the light it has thrown a reflection which makes an interesting photo, he is about 8 inches long small compared to some we can get which grow up to 16 to 18inch and the body as thick as a mans thumb. Quiet impressive LOL.
At last the rain has stopped and the sun has come out first job to do is water blast all the paths and pavers. Before and after is seen very clearly here water blasting off the mould from the path, when wet they are very very slippery. all our pavers and paths have to be done after the big rains and it takes a week or more to do, an easy job but very very slow to do it properly. I enjoy doing it as you see great results straight away. We even have to do our roofs this way every few years.
UPDATEs today !!!!!!! LOL
9am I couldn’t help my self LOL It is only 9am and i have cut in to my first lovely velvet !!!!!!! It is pinned and ready to sew when I sit down?????
12.15pm I thought I had better show you that I did go out in to the yard and do some water blasting after playing with my fabrics from Julie this morning LOL, you can see where I have cleaned, not much to see for 2 hrs water-blasting !!! but it sure smells a lot better. I came in covered with dirt from top to toe.
12.45pm This darling wee red body Dragon fly just flew in and landed on my desk, I took him out side again and snapped the photo before he flew away.
11.20pm Just completed the last two blocks on the second panel; I did 2 hrs this after-noon and 3 tonight on them, herring bone is slow but it is such a lovely stitch to work. Now only 4 panels to go LOL.
I’m off out to do some gardening first thing this morning cleaning up after the long wet then this after-noon I will be playing with this lovely fabrics Julie sent me, my fist piece will be a velvet my gosh they are scrumptious . Off to link with Esther on her WOW today.
http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.com.au
Cheers all Glenda
glenda_jean@bigpond.com
What a sweetheart Julie is! Will make lovely patchwork. How lucky you are, Glenda.
It amazes me all you do to be able to live up north in Australia.
Hi Angie I totally agree with you Julie has saved this beautiful old quilt, with these fabrics it will just pop even more than it is now. I will use the velvets on all the cream silks that are now in cm bit’s, I just love the feel of velvets and how they glow must be from when I was a little girl and my mum had a long deep violet skirt and I thought she was a princess when she wore it out in the evenings!!!!! It is really hard work to live up here during the wet but it is usually only 3 to 4 months then the rest of the year it is Paradise so makes all the hard work worth while. Take Care Glenda
those fabrics are fantastic and now you can finish the quilt top – that was so generous! love all the work you are doing and thanks for showing those bugs t00! I find it so interesting seeing the little wee creatures that are around your place – you must be heading into fall now although I know you do not really have too much change in seasons do you?
Hi Karen you are right our winters are like most peoples around the world summers. Day after day of perfect sunny, warm, still, and peaceful days of tens between 23C to 27c. Tourist flock here from all over OZ to escape the winter from down South and the Kiwi’s come over to escape the winters too. Hugs Glenda
What a sweet thing to do send some wonderful fabrics. But you are a sweet quilter restoring all these beautiful quilts. Very deserving.
Now those bugs Oh my I would not do well with them flying around the house LOL.
Bless you and your kindness to all creatures.
Hugs Bunny
Hi Glenda, I am so glad that the fabrics will work for you. Just let me know if you run out because there is more where those came from. I haven’t worked on my porcelain dolls for several years and so all that fabric has been boxed up for quite a while. I did finish a quilt for my grandson’s 16th birthday and have another ready for the binding but I caught a nasty cold so am down for the count. Also, we are away from home and my sewing is on hold until we go home on Tuesday. I was really surprised about how fast that package arrive at your door. Take care and enjoy the fabric, I can’t wait to see the finished quilt top. Julie
Dear Julie, the fabrics were perfect, there were only two I will not be able to use as they are to shear but I will try ironing on a very light weight fusible facing that I use on my fine fine silks and see if that will make them strong enough. I have almost repaired 3/4 of another panel since the fabrics arrived last week now I need to doing the embroidery around all the patches, this part is so enjoyable as you really get to study each little treasure of fabric and wonder where the piece came from, was it a dress, shirt, skirt, or did it cover some thing, or was it curtains????? It’s such a lovely feeling finishing working on a quilters quilt and knowing that you have finished may be a dream they had. I have several sets of blocks from around the 1930’s that need to be made up in to quilts and I do hope I find the time to make these up one day too. These ones are mostly made of fine cotton like the feed sack fabrics. Very pretty but fragile. Glenda