Happy Dance for HQAL Update

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! Our gathering was just me, Hubby and my mother-in-law. I made enough food to bring to my own mother and her aide as well as send leftovers home with my mother-in-law. 

The Maroon Baby Quilt is finished. Happy Dance! I have to rinse out the markings and wash it still. The sun rays shining on it highlight the quilting in this photo. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I also need to give the quilt a different name and add a label. Any name ideas? My mother hand pieced this quilt several years ago, but didn't really love it and didn't want to quilt it. I took it and started hand quilting, then I took a break from it. I recently picked it up again to work on while visiting my mom. I finished sewing the self-binding on Thanksgiving.

If you are wondering what I mean by self-binding. I did not add a separate binding to this quilt. I cut the backing fabric one inch wider than the top and batting once the quilting was completed. I folded over 1/2 inch of this fabric and then folded it to the front of the quilt. 

This is not as sturdy a binding as if I had used a separate double fold binding, but I only found the extra fabric needed to make a binding after I had already started this method. I will keep the extra fabric and label it for the appropriate quilt so that I can make sturdy binding in the future if it is needed. 

On Friday I tried to figure out what project I wanted to work on next. I have several items that my mother started, but never finished. I could work on the Overall Sam quilt. Each Overall Sam needs to be echo quilted with DMC floss  and also needs a running stitch 1/4 inch from the edge of each block. 

My mother made a Sunbonnet Sue quilt and this is supposed to be the companion to it. I want to quilt it as she did the Sunbonnet Sue.

I could also quilt the green/brown table topper that I purchased a new stencil for. If you zoom in, you can see that I already traced the stencil in the center. 

 My mother had placed small shamrocks in each corner of the center block and they looked really odd. She didn't like the way it looked, which is why she stopped working on it. She had the backing fabric already pinned, but was using a thin flannel as batting. I have plenty of batting scraps so I cut one to size and have basted the sandwich. I just need to figure out which of the floss/thread colors to use to quilt the stencil. I am leaning toward the variegated brown tatting thread. 

I think this is what I will work on first, as I washed the navy backing fabric for Overall Sam and it ran badly. I think I will look for a lighter blue fabric for the backing. My mother had already purchased the batting for Overall Sam so I don't have to buy any. 

The HQAL is an opportunity for hand quilters to share and motivate each other. The talented quilters below post every three weeks to show our progress and encourage one another. Stop by their sites to see what they are working on. If you have a hand project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Deb, Nanette, Sharon, Karrin, Daisy, and Cathie 

Thanks for stopping by!

A Delayed Travel Day 2 (photo heavy)

This post has been mostly written for a few weeks now, but I got distracted and didn't finish it. Hopefully I didn't bore you with our first day of travel. We packed a lot into that day.You can read about it here. Day 2 was much less busy, but also very interesting. It was another beautifully warm and sunny day. We started our day at the Home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The house was actually his mother Sara's home, but he grew up here and lived here once he was married to Eleanor. The statue below was outside the visitor center.

The home originally was just the center portion, but was enlarged with the two wings by the Roosevelt family.

This statue of FDR is just inside the front door.

This is FDR's main room where his desk was.

Another view to the left.

The dining room table was set for Thanksgiving dinner.

This is the Dresden room. It was redecorated by Sara for a visit by the King and Queen of England in 1939.

The photos on the piano are of friends and family, many of them famous people.

Another view of the same room.

Below is the Pink Room. Many foreign dignitaries slept in this room including Winston Churchill.

The Chintz Room was used by Queen Elizabeth during a visit. The beds were made at Val-kill (the furniture factory established by Eleanor Roosevelt).

The room below was FDR's room from when he was a child until he married Eleanor.

The Blue Room (no longer that color) is the room where FDR was born.

This is Sara's bedroom after the additions were constructed. 

Eleanor's bedroom that she used after FDR contracted Polio.

Finally, FDR's bedroom....

and dressing room.

There is quite a view from the rear of the home. I didn't notice the fire hydrant when I took the photo. 

FDR and Eleanor are buried on the grounds. Zoom in to see the engraving.

We sat through the introductory video at the end of our tour and it was so very informative. We felt that if FDR was trying to establish Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance as well as many of his other important programs that the citizens mostly accept and take for granted today, he would never be able to in the current divisive political climate of the USA. When you watch and listen to this video you understand the reasons for all these essential programs. It was extremely informative. Yes, I learned all of this in high school, but as an adult I find it far more interesting and relevant. 

We did not tour FDR's presidential library...the first one established. Instead, we traveled to nearby Val-Kill. Val-Killl is the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. It is the home of Eleanor Roosevelt and where she and Franklin entertained friends, state visitors and the press. You must remember that the home I showed above belonged to Franklin's mother Sara. This is a much more modest home.

The rooms are warm and cozy.

This was Eleanor's office. She lived here after FDR died. 

The dining room was set for Thanksgiving.

Eleanor loved having photos of friends and family surrounding her.

I could settle into this room.

More photos.

There are trails on the property that we wanted to hike, but the leaves were covering slippery rocks and we didn't want to fall so we only walked a little way.

Hubby walking ahead of me.

Well, that is the end of our weekend away. I hope you enjoyed the photos and can visit these historic and interesting places yourself someday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stitch Along Update

 It is time again for a Stitch Along update. This is where I was with the Christmas stocking three weeks ago.

I had to take a short break from stitching as I had an arthritis flare-up in one of my thumbs. Looking at the following photo, I definitely know why it started hurting. I have been doing a whole lot of cross-stitching these past three weeks. This is where the Woodland stocking is now.

I have stitched to the bottom row. The back stitching on this stocking is annoying. First, it is done with two strands of floss. Second, the lines on chart are very difficult to see and are charted with a variety of colors that are very close in value. Also, the photo of the finished stocking has backstitching in colors that don't match the chart. So far I am following the chart. As you may be able to see below, there are lavender, pink and orange backstitch lines on the fox's ears. There are also light green backstitch lines on the symbol "T" that are very hard to see. Click on the picture below and perhaps you can see what I mean.

I am filling in some white stitches to the right of the fox now. Then there are a couple of squirrels and bunnies to stitch in the open area to the left and a whole lot more white snow to fill in. I was finally able to locate a few more skeins of the DMC winter white floss that I need. I hope to have the bottom of the stocking finished by the next update as long as my thumb holds up. I no longer expect to finish this by Christmas, but I will keep working on it. Hope springs eternal.  

 Thank you to Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea for hosting Stitch Along every three weeks and sending us the needed posting reminders. 

Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. There is a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world, so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post. 

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, 

Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, 

Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie, MaryMargaret, Cindy

Thanks for stopping by! 

Slow Sunday Stitching and a Quilt Show (photo heavy again)

I had to stop cross-stitching for a few days. I was really making a lot of progress on the Woodland Stocking, but I aggravated the arthritis in my right thumb. I spent a few days in my thumb braces and worked at the sewing machine instead. I did manage to almost finish stitching the fox. All that is left on the fox is the backstitching.

I have come to realize that this stocking will most likely not be finished for this Christmas as I don't want to deal with a sore thumb. It is feeling better now so I have resumed stitching on the stocking, but less often. 

Last Sunday, I went to the Evening Star Quilters quilt show. There were a whole lot of pretty quilts, but not a lot of vendors. I only purchased one pattern. 

There was a quilt there made with this pattern that I really liked.

There were many quilts that I loved at the show, so I will just let you enjoy them.

Diamonds are Forever

A William Morris Kaleidoscope

Living the Dream

Feathered Star

Giant Dahlia

Jersey Girl

Lone Star

This Log Cabin is called Americana. 

Tim and Me

This quilt was made by cutting apart faded and fraying doilies the quilter had from her mother. Isn't that a great way to use them. It is called A Vase for my Mother's Flowers.

Halo Medallion

The quilt below is called "Spinning Spools, How to keep from Unraveling during COVID". 

Starburst. I have a needlepoint that I made that is the same pattern.

Hankie Dresses. This was made with the quilters hankerchief collection. I have several old hankerchiefs that I may make into a wallhanging like this. I love this idea.

Check it out.

Surprise Pointillism. The dark fabric is actually black with orange and yellow dots, but it looks brown from a distance.

Am I Blue?

I love how this quilt looks like it is glowing. I don't have the name.

This is a gorgeous grouping of Mariner's Compasses.

Autumn Leaves

Flowering Vines

A variation of a Double Wedding Ring in a table runner.

Finally, a gorgeous example of applique.

That is all from the quilt show. I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching.

Thanks for stopping by!