Sunday, December 6, 2009

Sewn and squared up

I got the last 2 strips sewn and pieced in yesterday. First I squared off the uneven edge and then folded it carefully in quarters so I could see if the even edge (the edge I started at each time) needed trimming. It did need a little so now it is trimmed and ready for quilting. There was a question yesterday about my seams pressed open. I want this top to lay perfectly flat without ridges where the seams are so I sewed a little deeper than 1/4" seams and pressed them all open. I want to quilt this one with a small meandering so that it will crinkle up like an old fashioned quilt since it looks like one already. It is about 8" longer than my double board so the right side edge is curling back a little. It ended up about 77" x 106" and the stripes will run across the bed instead of the length like the one in Kaffe's book.
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Last night I was looking through all of my dad's black and white negatives for a group that one of our historical societies needed and I just relived a part of my childhood. It looks like Dad got into photography in 1949. That is the year my only cousin on my mother's side was born and the year before our consolidated school that encompassed 5 little school districts was built. There are negatives of a lot of state parks and capitol buildings from some surrounding states. My dad was a dairy farmer and cows need to be milked twice a day so we only got away every other Sunday in the summer to do a little traveling. It was hard for Dad to leave the hired man in charge of the cows. I guess letting go of control is hard for all of us really.

17 comments:

Dottie's Daughter said...

Another great quilt and more inspiration for us viewers!

Unknown said...

The quilt looks fantastic! I love looking at old pictures and reliving the past. It is fun to remember the things that we used to do. Thanks for sharing the tidbits about your dad. Farming is definitely not an easy job and I could see where your Dad had a vested interest in his cows, thus making it hard for him to leave.

Maria said...

I will remember to make seams a little wider and press them open if I wish to do a small meandering stipple.
It is fun to look through old photos.

dianen said...

My husband just gave me a special scanner from Epson that will let you scan old photos, old negatives, and/or old slides into the computer. It might be of interest to you with your old negatives. That way you could put them on the computer and have them at your fingertips.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I have occasionally pressed my seams open when I make a quilt with a lot of little pieces and do not want to hand quilt through all those seams - it works well just a pain to do.
I love the look of that quilt
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

Mary said...

I really like this quilt a lot. I think it's also a great way to use up 2.5" strips of coordinated fabrics or not for a more scrappy effect. I've only pressed my seams open on a few quilts, but always press them open on things like piano key borders so they lay flat. It's funny that you took a trip down memory lane with old photographs - I had to move a box of old photos to get to a storage container and wound up sitting down and looking through every one of them - some very, very happy and others that made my heart ache because my Dad is no longer with us. He passed away in 1988, but when I see pictures of him, I still feel that tug at my heartstrings. Thanks for sharing this great quilt and memories with us.

Needled Mom said...

Having grown up in a farming family, I can tell you that there is no one who works harder than the dairy farmer. It is a 24/7 job. Bless them!

Wow.....the quilt looks awesome and it is such a great size. It does have a vintage feel to it.

Kay Koeper Sorensen said...

Ihave to agree with you that there are times seams SHOULD be pressed open.
I lost a student once because I taught a project that needed the seams pressed open.
Her Mom had taught her to press seams to one side and even though she had taken several classes from me, when I taught that she no longer believed what I said!

jovaliquilts said...

It's so worth it to square up quilts, but I find it really hard dealing with those big pieces! Folding helps, but they are still big.

quiltmom anna said...

Wanda,
You do make the most beautiful quilts- you are right that this is an old fashioned looking quilt but I enlarged it to look at the fabrics and they all are beautiful pieces.
I always enjoy seeing your projects - they inspire me so much.
Thanks for sharing..

It is hard to give over a project- I guess because one has in their mind's eye the way they want things done- someone else is going to do it their way and it may or may not be up to the standard a person has set. Or may be as people, we believe no one else is going to do it as well as we do it ourselves- that we are irreplaceable.
Happy photo viewing and quilting,
Warmest regards,
Anna

Anonymous said...

Came for a lift and got one! Thank you Wanda.

Anonymous said...

I love this quilt and especially love pastel Victorian pieces. I know the quilting will be perfect and look forward to seeing the end result.

J~MT

Vicky F said...

Hi Wanda,
I know you will enjoy this quilt once it's done. Such inspiration!
I can hear your dad now, "the cows won't milk themselves". Was your hired man at the farm every day?
Vicky F

Selvage Quilter said...

That's a beautiful quilt! And thanks for the story about your Dad. Very nice.
Karen

Cathi said...

That is a gorgeous quilt. Love the softness of the colours!

QuiltSue said...

That top looks very antique-y and delicate. I'm looking forward to seeing it quilted.

As for rootling through old photos - isn't it fun?

Cheryl Arkison said...

What a great pattern. I need to get going on a striped quilt for a certain little girl I know...