Strange and Stranger

I have mentioned that I have been going through a stack of old quilt magazines forwarded to me by Dearest Sister.

The first several I looked through were from the 90’s and had some interesting articles and patterns, and I found some things that I flagged with post-its.

The next several were from the 70’s. These were…interesting.  Paper quality not near so good, and aging poorly and rapidly.  Very few color photos, and the black and white photos were taken with less than stellar care.  I imagine some copywriter being told to ‘get the camera and go take a photo of so and so and their quilt’…not professional at all!

Apart from how far we have come in the publishing sector, the articles and columns are enlightening.  There is poetry submitted using patterns in the poems. Quilters write in wanting to be penpals still in the 70’s, and wanting to exchange patterns.  One wrote complaining that she takes time to copy neatly and exactly her patterns to exchange, with labels, etc, only to receive in turn slipshod efforts.

I feel chastised.

But today, I looked through some from the 80’s, and the post-its came back out.  In just two issues, I came across articles about the LQS where I took my first class (Quilt Country), and about the quilting lady at Shakertown in Harrodsburg, KY, where I use to take my Brownie Troop, and everyone else whoever came to visit me when I lived in Kentucky.

And also this, which I may just have to try.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

More Found Objects

Super Bowl Sunday, Wonderful Guy and I got the heck out of Dodge, our guys being knocked out of the running a few Sundays earlier and all. I probably could have stayed home and made some progress on some projects, but I could tell he needed to get beyond the four walls.

I suggested a drive towards Lyons, where there is a quilt shop.  Works for me!  Apparently it worked for him, too, because that is what we did, and while he went for a cuppa’ joe, I looked around Quilting Hands.  Found some fat quarters on sale, along with a book (of course), then met up with him across the street.  As he was finishing his coffee, I said I am going to run through the thrift shop next door, as he usually isn’t interested in such places, but he chose to come along.

There wasn’t a whole lot there, but sometimes that is okay.  Stuffed full can be overwhelming.  I saw yarn, some mohair and some acrylic, which I passed over, and continued through the store. As I came back to the front, the Guy was still there looking at books, and asked if I saw the knitting needles?

Huwah??

There were a few pair of pretty neat vintage straight needles for $2/pr, and one was 10” sz 7, of which, for some reason I seem to have gone completely through. So …I NEEDED those.  As I was finding out how much the needles cost, the yarn was mentioned, and I succumbed to 3 balls of acrylic.  It was very nice for acrylic, and also foreign.  And very inexpensive.

 Enough for a baby sweater!

We then moseyed down the street to the next place which is a consignment store.  There was lots of fun stuff there  (more mohair!) and we each went our own ways looking at what interested us, then showing each other the stuff that catches our eye.  And what caught my eyes was a very nice quilt.  As I looked it over, though, I got very confused.  The top was obviously old, and handquilted, but the backing was a bit off.  The shopkeeper came over, eager to tell me about it. She said she had it appraised, and the top was from the 1880’s, but it was quilted in the 70’s.

Her story rings true. The top fabric is old (but in excellent shape), and there is attached documentation relating to the quilting of it (and the price for materials and services!) from the ‘70’s.  Regardless, I think it’s a great quilt, and I got it for what I think is a good price.

When we got home with my booty, we had ham, beans, and corn bread I had fixed that morning, and saw the most interesting half of the game anyway.

Found Objects

Back in the day, way back, I took my first (and only) quilting class at a local quilt shop on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo, called Quilt Country.  It is no longer in business, but I learned much in those six weeks back in 1977.

Kansas City and quilts are linked together historically in the patterns published in the Kansas City newspapers through the first half of the 20^th century.  One of the newspaper artists responsible for the publishing of these weekly patterns was Ruby McKim.  These patterns were collected by many quilters.  I am sure many were used in quilting, but I am positive they were collected.  In the stacks of magazines Dearest Sister forwarded to me from her finds that I have been going through, I have stumbled across two groups of these collections.

One group is about 2 dozen of actual newspaper clippings of the mid-70’s reprints of the original 1930’s publications.

The other group is a partial collection of about 35-40 patterns, copied, as in mimeographed, collated, stapled, and then offered, if you send a SASE to a woman at such and such an address in Cherryvale, KS. So did she collect them, copy them, and sell them to those who didn’t receive the paper?  I am wondering about copyright issues!

I have read that Ruby McKim was a newspaper artist and not a quilter, at least at first, and often the designs published were not exact, perfectly sized, and template ready.  Sometimes, the space allowed for the weekly pattern was smaller than the weekly pattern, and adjustments had to be made. I also know that the women, mostly Kansas women, who were receiving the paper, were an adaptive group, and that didn't stop them.  Quilts were made from these patterns!

Back when I took my quilt class, I started my quilt book library with, among other books, Ruby McKim’s 101 Patchwork Patterns.  Unfortunately, it and several others were on the bottom shelf in the basement when the waters rose.  Fortunately, I found a copy at the Friends of the Library booksale a few years back.  More fortunately, I found another copy for Dearest Sister at another FOL booksale a few years later!  I replaced in the same way a copy of Marguerite Ickis The Standard Book of Quilt Making and Collecting which I had also lost at the same time.

Then something jogged my memory this past month of another book lost.  I bought it right after I finished the class.  It was relatively new, all color, and therefore, expensive.  I may have spent $8.00 on it, so it took some considerable rationalization at the time.  I could not remember the name, just what I have already mentioned, and that it was paperback, and the cover mostly blue.  I was successful one other time finding an out-of-print book at biblio.com so I went there and searched with tags quilting, patchwork, and a publication date from 1970-1980.  As the titles came up, I went to Amazon to check out the covers, as biblio.com didn’t have many of them photographed.

Well, I found it.  Primarily Patchwork, by Marjorie Pucket.  I just love it when I am have carried off a successful plan!

A for Effort

I also don’t believe February is too late for yearly goals.  Waiting a bit has a couple a benefits.  I can sort of see how the year is beginning to go.  And I can put a couple of January  accomplishments on the list of goals, only to see them marked off ‘toot sweet’!

Look at meee!  Already the whiz!

So anyway.

Under growing and learning and  increasing skills,

1.      Learn and hone new knitting/spinning skills.

a.       Take seaming classes

                                                              i.      January (MSK)

                                                            ii.      February (FiberFest)

                                                          iii.      Knit seamed things

b.      Take spinning workshop at EPWM (?)

c.       Enter handknit skeins in:

                                                              i.      EPWM

                                                            ii.      Larimer Co Fair

                                                          iii.      Boulder Co Fair

d.      Take dyeing classes

                                                              i.      February (Lambspun-fair premium)

                                                            ii.      May (NCWG-natural)

e.       Learn to blend fibers with drum carder

2.      Household inventory

3.      Participate in neighborhood garage sale (June)

4.      Increase photography/photoshop skills

a.       Figure this one out

5.      Quilt

            a.   #4

            b.   #5

6.      Renew/learn new quilting techniques

a.       Doll quilts for Grandbebe girls

b.      Machine quilting

c.       Ornaments

7.      Yard

a.       Raised beds

b.      Cold frame

8.      Health

a.       Exercise more often than not

b.      Ride to work starting in May or sooner

c.       Get some hiking in this year

d.      Get a grip on this post HRT wgt gain.

So I am going to figure out how to post this as an additional page over there in the margin and hopefully we will see how far we get this year.  If nothing else, I will be well on my way for a list of goals next year!

A New Baby

I have been really really really wanting really really really badly to get to some closet cleaning and organization. For a really really really long time.  Really.

My reasons are that I occasionally watch part of an episode of Hoarders and it freaks me out just a little. When work is frustrating and I don’t feel productive, home takes the brunt and I get ALL productive there. I have had on ‘THE LIST’ a home inventory since a couple of my knitter peeps lost their home to fire, and then a whole lot of Larimer County residents did likewise last summer. That is an overwhelming task without some clearing out and organization of closets and drawers.

Any of those are sure and adequate reasons by themselves. However.  It took all of those….and THIS! To get me moving.

Fricke Signature Drum Carder

I found a screaming deal on one of the used equipment forums on Ravelry, and decided to buy my very own drum carder.  Obviously I needed to find a place for it to live in the Craft-tudio. One thing led to another and before I knew it, this had happened.

I love me an organized linen closet.  Especially when it’s mine. (camera phone...it was handy...)

I admit that I have slowed my pace.  Only the upstairs has been marked off ‘THE LIST’.  And only the cleaning has happened.  None of the inventorying has occurred.  But progress! Which is good!

And my new baby?  She purrs! Being a belt-driven model rather than like the chain driven one I rented from the guild, there is a much different sound when operating. The whole gizmo has much more wood and less metal, so I told the Guy ‘She is just sounds more…organic! Come see!’ And of course, because he loves me, he obliged, and pronounced the sound produced as ‘purring’.

Now, timing is everything.  I bought Drummie (yes, I named her.) (yes, she’s a she.) after I had the guild carder for 6 weeks, and most of the fleece I had on hand, was in fact, carded.  I only had about 1/3 of my last alpaca fleece left to card.  Hardly enough to play with, I should think. So I will just have to see if maybe there might not be something to buy at the upcoming Fun Fiber Fest.  After all, Drummie and I are still getting to know each other. I claim necessity!

Speaking of Progress

Once I made a statement.  I stated that the grandbebe quilts weren’t ‘late’ until after the grandbebe’s were two years old.

Well.  Fine.  It’s not like either the quilt or the grandbebe’s are going to go sour!  And there is nothing like a deadline, or past due date to get me moving.

Anyway.  Grandgirl Four turned two in December.  Therefore, I ramped up the quilting in January.  I have made grand progress.  Truly. In the  four short weeks since really starting to crank it out, I am almost past the point of being able to use the hoop and will be moving to the outer edges for quilting.

I am pleased with my technique (mostly), and really pleased with Dearest Sister’s embroidered parts, and super pleased with our choices of materials and patch selections.  We definitely will have to do the same team activity for Quilt Numero Five.  (See here for the down-low on that one.)

Anyway #2. As part of the Great Closet Clean-Out, I came across a stack of old quilting mags DSis came upon through some "opportunity", and gave to me.  And because of this recent quilting time, I have been thinking that maybe I can diversify and/or upgrade some of my piecing/quilting skilz along with my other fibery interests.  Therefore, I have been perusing some of these old ‘zines. I have remembered some things that perhaps I knew and forgot, or perhaps I didn't know at all.  I am not sure where I will go with my new ideas, but do believe technique will be improved in the piecing of the fifth quilt.

Anyway #3. The Boy Kitty thinks the quilting is the best thing since canned cat food.

These are not constructed or posed photos.  I am constantly removing him from the quilt. Fortunately, he does not shed, and I like to think he has excellent discernment.

New Experiences

After living in northern Colorado for 16 years, Wonderful Guy and I seized the opportunity to go to the National Western Stock Show last month.  My cousin came from western Kansas to attend.  He is a farmer/rancher sort, so was going …you know…as a professional.  The Guy and I were rubberneckers mostly, but also wannabees.

 The outside of the expo center.  There are other critters on the other side, horses and cattle and such.  This was my favorite.

You see. I put the idea in Cousin’s mind that he might raise some fine fleece sheep, and he is okay with that.  Really he is. His plan was to work in attending some of the sheep shows, and with him in tow, my plan was to check out the fleeces. I educated him on what a spinner looks for, or at least, what I look for.  We chatted up the tenders of the fleeces, and he talked up some of the sheep people when I wasn’t around.

We spent some time in the evenings looking at my Fleece and Fiber Source Book (Deb Robson and and Carol Ekarius) checking out the really handsome breeds, the stylin’ breeds with their fine wool, and the ones that we thought might best survive the predators Kansas offers. Otherwise known as the ones with horns and/or the sheep with muscles....

What we figured out is that we have more to figure out before the decision is made and sheeps are purchased.  That is good.  I prefer prudent decision making to rash rushing off.

Then he spent the sheep money on a couple of Scottish Highland cows…which I do believe is his first love!

However.  We drove to Denver for the show on two separate occasions, one with the two eldest Grandgirls in tow.  Omifun!  (And also exhaustion)  There were stories to tell the parental units about pony rides and petting zoos and foot long hot dogs and funnel cakes and ice cream and cotton candy and Cousin getting his boots shined, but the story that got told first?  ‘There was a buffalo with blood on his horn.’  Yep. Blood and gore.  It could have been poop.

Here Grandgirl #1 is detailing the footlong hotdog she shared with her sister for lunch to her parental units.

Grandgirl #2 took about 4 steps to each one of ours! She was zonked within 10 minutes of starting the car.

(Both of the above photos are with camera phones.  No apology, only explanation)

What was a non-event happened at the learning center on the kid's floor.  Members from (I think) the Rocky Mountain Weaver's Guild were demonstrating spinning and weaving.  My grandgirls were all whatever...spinning wheels and wool...seen that....ho hum.  A woman was handing out little tufts of alpaca and telling the observing children that the ladies 'were spinning this alpaca fiber into yarn.' And my girls handed it right off to me.  Here, grandmama, this obviously is for you.

This is just because. She was having fun, and I got a genuine smile from her.