My favorite thing this week is a video. Thanks to Shay for hosting FTF so that I can share it. My life-long friend in California sent this to me. Now she is not a quilter, but was so taken by this woman's determination she just had to share. Interestingly enough, she just found out she has some serious health problems so I'm hoping this inspired her as well.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Something for "Show and Tell"
I've revamped my blogging schedule. When I started, I had this aim to blog about my quilting/sewing at least once a week. Not too hard to do when making smaller projects (like for the holidays). But since I've started the king-sized Wings and a Prayer quilt, there isn't always that much new to post about. Therefore, I've been absent for a while.
However, I now have some things to share. First I completed the crocheted baby afghan I had been working on, and just in time. It seems that my nephew and his wife's little girl is coming sooner than originally thought. I had asked for pattern ideas for a ruffle for this shell stitch little afghan, and P was so kind to send me a beautiful pattern. However, I could not make it work with the body I had already done. I'll save that lovely idea for the next little one to come into this family.
I was able to finish all four sides for the zigzag border that surrounds the medallion for the W&P quilt (instead of just bragging about doing it.)
As the piece will sit "on-point" corner blocks were made.
Then log cabin triangles are added. This is where I learned another new technique (for me anyway) from making this quilt.
A diagonal line is drawn on the backside so that the piece is can be cut into a triangle. Then a thin strip of fusible interfacing was ironed over the line with most of the strip on the block side.
Then using a quarter inch ruler, a line was drawn 1/4" below the original line and the log cabin ends cut off. This quarter inch is the seam allowance. The fusible interfacing strip will prevent stretching when assembling the corners on the quilt. Boy, I could have used this tip 2 years ago when working with large triangles! I'll have to see how it actually feels when I quilt this monster.
The triangles are attached to either side of the corner blocks. The triangles are mirror images of one another.
Then these "corners" will be added to make the medallion square for the quilt top. I just had to lay it out to see what it would look like. I about died when I first laid it out and this corner section was too small. But it pays to read the directions. There are small squares in the corners of the medallion that have to be cut into triangles. When this is done, the corners fit perfectly. I mean, "Duh," READ THE DIRECTIONS!!!!
Still have to attach these corner sections and then I'm into adding borders. Many many borders! The first one is made with flying geese so I guess I'm back in the goose business for this next week.
However, I now have some things to share. First I completed the crocheted baby afghan I had been working on, and just in time. It seems that my nephew and his wife's little girl is coming sooner than originally thought. I had asked for pattern ideas for a ruffle for this shell stitch little afghan, and P was so kind to send me a beautiful pattern. However, I could not make it work with the body I had already done. I'll save that lovely idea for the next little one to come into this family.
I was able to finish all four sides for the zigzag border that surrounds the medallion for the W&P quilt (instead of just bragging about doing it.)
As the piece will sit "on-point" corner blocks were made.
Then log cabin triangles are added. This is where I learned another new technique (for me anyway) from making this quilt.
A diagonal line is drawn on the backside so that the piece is can be cut into a triangle. Then a thin strip of fusible interfacing was ironed over the line with most of the strip on the block side.
Then using a quarter inch ruler, a line was drawn 1/4" below the original line and the log cabin ends cut off. This quarter inch is the seam allowance. The fusible interfacing strip will prevent stretching when assembling the corners on the quilt. Boy, I could have used this tip 2 years ago when working with large triangles! I'll have to see how it actually feels when I quilt this monster.
The triangles are attached to either side of the corner blocks. The triangles are mirror images of one another.
Then these "corners" will be added to make the medallion square for the quilt top. I just had to lay it out to see what it would look like. I about died when I first laid it out and this corner section was too small. But it pays to read the directions. There are small squares in the corners of the medallion that have to be cut into triangles. When this is done, the corners fit perfectly. I mean, "Duh," READ THE DIRECTIONS!!!!
Still have to attach these corner sections and then I'm into adding borders. Many many borders! The first one is made with flying geese so I guess I'm back in the goose business for this next week.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Incredible Ideas
As I was trying to think of what to write about for Shay's Favorite Things Friday, it came to me that great ideas for gadgets, crafts, cooking and the like really get me going. For many years, I've been thrilled every time I take my wine opener out of the utensil drawer. I'm old enough to remember what a struggle it was to open a bottle of wine with a corkscrew. And so unlady like, with it clamped between my legs, pulling and yanking. Let alone the occasional spillage of the cork coming loose when you least expect it.
Oops! A little wine stain in the picture
A much newer gadget is the Quick Quarter Ruler. In making this last quilt, with all the half squares and flying geese, I can't imagine how I ever did without it.
And then there are all the terrific ideas I receive from all you fellow quilt and craft bloggers. This week I made Kirsten's Lime and Coconut Chicken. Like her, when I was making the marinade, using ingredients I was unfamiliar with (coriander and coconut milk), I thought, "Boy, I don't know about this. It smells really different." But the result was superb. I sent some in my daughter's lunch, complete with fresh lime slices and cilantro. She raved about this chicken and said her co-worker's were rather impressed that she had fancy garnishes for her delicious lunch. One fellow teacher requested the recipe so I printed it off for further enjoyment.
I've been crocheting a baby afghan and have finally gotten the body completed. But since the new baby is to be a girl, I wanted a ruffled edge. All I had to do was ask and Paulette sent a pattern lickety-split. Maybe in a week or so I'll have added the ruffle and can show you the afghan.
And then there is the bird applique pattern that Angie sent me after I saw her post about it. I have yet to use it, but have plans for a spring wall hanging once my king-sized quilt is completed. Yes, I know. I could work on two projects at once, but I hate UFOs.
Of course, there are many, many more great ideas I get from viewing FTF. There are just too many to list.
As an addendum to last week's Red Glass post, my dear cousin's husband (the landscape artist) was antiquing and came home with this lovely red cruet for me. It is hard to see in the picture, but the top is a strawberry.
Now how sweet is that!
A much newer gadget is the Quick Quarter Ruler. In making this last quilt, with all the half squares and flying geese, I can't imagine how I ever did without it.
And then there are all the terrific ideas I receive from all you fellow quilt and craft bloggers. This week I made Kirsten's Lime and Coconut Chicken. Like her, when I was making the marinade, using ingredients I was unfamiliar with (coriander and coconut milk), I thought, "Boy, I don't know about this. It smells really different." But the result was superb. I sent some in my daughter's lunch, complete with fresh lime slices and cilantro. She raved about this chicken and said her co-worker's were rather impressed that she had fancy garnishes for her delicious lunch. One fellow teacher requested the recipe so I printed it off for further enjoyment.
I've been crocheting a baby afghan and have finally gotten the body completed. But since the new baby is to be a girl, I wanted a ruffled edge. All I had to do was ask and Paulette sent a pattern lickety-split. Maybe in a week or so I'll have added the ruffle and can show you the afghan.
And then there is the bird applique pattern that Angie sent me after I saw her post about it. I have yet to use it, but have plans for a spring wall hanging once my king-sized quilt is completed. Yes, I know. I could work on two projects at once, but I hate UFOs.
Of course, there are many, many more great ideas I get from viewing FTF. There are just too many to list.
As an addendum to last week's Red Glass post, my dear cousin's husband (the landscape artist) was antiquing and came home with this lovely red cruet for me. It is hard to see in the picture, but the top is a strawberry.
Now how sweet is that!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Fying Geese Border
My "stitchin" this week was to get all the borders around the Wing and a Prayer quilt. What did I accomplish? Got one on. I seem to have this problem of planning more than I can accomplish or is it that my regular life seems to take more precedent than my quilting?
Sunday my dear cousin, my daughter, and I went to the Women's Fair here in Wichita. We got smart and parked for free at the nearby stadium, riding the free party bus to the fair. Loud 70's music played and strings of lights decorated the bus. One woman, who had to stand in the aisle and hang on to the overhead bars, commented, "Hey, we ought to dance. We've got the poles." Gave me a giggle. The fair itself basically was a big sales event for clothing, jewelry, make-up, etc. But I did find a good black leather purse to replace the one that was stolen last week.
My daughter started a new job this week at a relatively new career college. She gets to wear scrubs to work. Now how cool is that. She works from 9:30 am to 10:30 pm three days a week. She discovered that she really needed another lab coat so I spent yesterday running around to the local uniform shops, finally finding just that perfect one.
Okay, excuses done. Here are some pictures of the border I was bragging about earlier.
The border is made with 2 rows of flying geese. I started out making all 48 geese for the tan/brown border. Man, was that boring. So I made just 12 of the green/brown geese, put the geese together to make one of the borders. Much more interesting.
I really was pleased how the two rows made the zigzag pattern.
As I was pinning the border to the quilt, my chief QI, Cinnamon, came to do her job.
She takes her job very seriously, pulling up each section for carefully scrutiny.
Her job is done. You can tell what an exhausting job it was.
Finally after the great job Cinnamon did, and my persevering to get the border pinned and stitched, one border is complete.
I really want to thank Cinnamon for all her help (even helping me type this). She turned a rather boring blog into something a little more interesting.
Sunday my dear cousin, my daughter, and I went to the Women's Fair here in Wichita. We got smart and parked for free at the nearby stadium, riding the free party bus to the fair. Loud 70's music played and strings of lights decorated the bus. One woman, who had to stand in the aisle and hang on to the overhead bars, commented, "Hey, we ought to dance. We've got the poles." Gave me a giggle. The fair itself basically was a big sales event for clothing, jewelry, make-up, etc. But I did find a good black leather purse to replace the one that was stolen last week.
My daughter started a new job this week at a relatively new career college. She gets to wear scrubs to work. Now how cool is that. She works from 9:30 am to 10:30 pm three days a week. She discovered that she really needed another lab coat so I spent yesterday running around to the local uniform shops, finally finding just that perfect one.
Okay, excuses done. Here are some pictures of the border I was bragging about earlier.
The border is made with 2 rows of flying geese. I started out making all 48 geese for the tan/brown border. Man, was that boring. So I made just 12 of the green/brown geese, put the geese together to make one of the borders. Much more interesting.
I really was pleased how the two rows made the zigzag pattern.
As I was pinning the border to the quilt, my chief QI, Cinnamon, came to do her job.
She takes her job very seriously, pulling up each section for carefully scrutiny.
Her job is done. You can tell what an exhausting job it was.
Finally after the great job Cinnamon did, and my persevering to get the border pinned and stitched, one border is complete.
I really want to thank Cinnamon for all her help (even helping me type this). She turned a rather boring blog into something a little more interesting.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
The Color Red
I adore red! It is my favorite color. I've been noticing that the majority of my T-shirts and sweaters hanging in my closet are red. I just went to a big winter sale and came home with two new red sweaters. I don't shop planning to buy red, it just happens.
Last spring when I moved into my new house, I bought the pattern for the Wing and a Prayer quilt. I've always wanted a quilt with cranberry red as a main color. Then I noticed that the master bedroom where I will use the quilt had pot shelves 8 feet up along one wall, and the shelves were back lighted with florescent lights. I began to envision a collection of cranberry red glass with the lights shining through them. So I began to hunt and collect pieces, even long before I would have the quilt. As of yet, the pieces are decorating my living room as I need many more pieces for the shelves to look right. Oh, darn, more trips to antique and thrift stores or places like Hobby Lobby.
Here are the pieces I've collected so far.
These were the first two pieces I purchased at Hobby Lobby--just to get the collection going.
These two were gifts. The square piece came with a bouquet of roses sent to me by my brother-in-law and his wife as a house warming gift. The tall vase was a gift for my birthday from my dear cousin.
This little pitcher was a find at an antique store. I loved the red body with the clear glass handle.
These are my latest acquisitions. My cousin, once again, has contributed to my collection. She recently remodeled her kitchen and found these stuck back in a cabinet. She says they came from her mom's house and thinks that one of them was given to her mom by mine. I have always had "thing" for cruets. I was so delighted to get them.
This is my collection so far and I'm looking forward to seeing it grow.
To see other people's great favorites, hop on over to Shay's Favorite Things Friday .
Last spring when I moved into my new house, I bought the pattern for the Wing and a Prayer quilt. I've always wanted a quilt with cranberry red as a main color. Then I noticed that the master bedroom where I will use the quilt had pot shelves 8 feet up along one wall, and the shelves were back lighted with florescent lights. I began to envision a collection of cranberry red glass with the lights shining through them. So I began to hunt and collect pieces, even long before I would have the quilt. As of yet, the pieces are decorating my living room as I need many more pieces for the shelves to look right. Oh, darn, more trips to antique and thrift stores or places like Hobby Lobby.
Here are the pieces I've collected so far.
These were the first two pieces I purchased at Hobby Lobby--just to get the collection going.
These two were gifts. The square piece came with a bouquet of roses sent to me by my brother-in-law and his wife as a house warming gift. The tall vase was a gift for my birthday from my dear cousin.
This little pitcher was a find at an antique store. I loved the red body with the clear glass handle.
These are my latest acquisitions. My cousin, once again, has contributed to my collection. She recently remodeled her kitchen and found these stuck back in a cabinet. She says they came from her mom's house and thinks that one of them was given to her mom by mine. I have always had "thing" for cruets. I was so delighted to get them.
This is my collection so far and I'm looking forward to seeing it grow.
To see other people's great favorites, hop on over to Shay's Favorite Things Friday .
Glorious Geese
I've been in the geese business this week--flying geese that is. In order to join the sampler blocks together, 48 flying geese had to be constructed. The three colors used were green, rose, and red. And, of course, by the time I got to the 37th one, I finally got the technique truly down. Which is really good since the rest of the quilt has mucho, mucho flying geese used in multiple borders.
The geese were sewn into geese units and then sashed.
Then the fun began. These geese units were used to join the sampler blocks made previously, and then the blocks were attached to the medallion.
When the quilt is completed, this section is set on point. I was unable to get it in a photo with it turned. It now measures 49 inches on a side.
Also the color is a little off. The areas that appear white are actually tan. (More the color shown in the pics of the flying geese sections) Again so much for my photographic skills. Hey, one thing at a time. I'm learning new quilting techniques and learning to blog. I'll work on photography later.
I was so excited to finally get all these separate blocks together. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together.
The geese were sewn into geese units and then sashed.
Then the fun began. These geese units were used to join the sampler blocks made previously, and then the blocks were attached to the medallion.
When the quilt is completed, this section is set on point. I was unable to get it in a photo with it turned. It now measures 49 inches on a side.
Also the color is a little off. The areas that appear white are actually tan. (More the color shown in the pics of the flying geese sections) Again so much for my photographic skills. Hey, one thing at a time. I'm learning new quilting techniques and learning to blog. I'll work on photography later.
I was so excited to finally get all these separate blocks together. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Wing and a Prayer Medallion
My objective for this week was to complete the medallion for the Wing and a Prayer quilt. I did finish it, just a few days later than planned. I was going to whip this puppy out and post about it by midweek. Well, I made it by Sat. After reading P's post "Where Does the Time Go?" I at least know that I'm not the only one who is challenged when appropriately scheduling plans with reality.
The work on the medallion was done in three separate sections. The first section was an eight point star requiring multiples of sewing in the Y. I always approach this with trepidation as I've had problems in the past getting the Ys in so that they lay smooth. However, I was able to do them all with little problem. I was really feeling full of myself.
This picture, however, was the third try. If you look carefully, you will see that the gold sections have traces of a bright green. The first time I made it, many of these sections had large areas of this shade. I began to realize that that shade of green would clash with the more subdued gray/green in the rest of the fabrics so I decided to rip out the 4 sections that had a predominance of that bright green, fussy cut new ones, and stitch them back in. All went well, colors much better, but then the darn thing wouldn't lay flat. So (third time's a charm), I ripped it apart again, did a little resizing of the pieces and the final result was a 13 1/4" block.
The second section was the red half stars also requiring Y seams. Again all went as planned. Now my medallion had grown to 18 1/2"
The third section was a border requiring diagonally cut rectangles and sewing the triangles from 2 fabrics so that half go one way and the other half go the opposite. I worried that I'd miss cut or sew, but took my time and they, too, went together as planned. Only one problem arose when trying to attach the border to the block. Some of the points were a little off and on first try I cut the points off. Oh, yes, "The ripper is my friend." But finally the medallion was complete. It measures 24 1/2"
This will be the center of the quilt and the previous blocks that I've blogged about will go around it. Onward I go. Maybe this week I can improve my scheduling.
The work on the medallion was done in three separate sections. The first section was an eight point star requiring multiples of sewing in the Y. I always approach this with trepidation as I've had problems in the past getting the Ys in so that they lay smooth. However, I was able to do them all with little problem. I was really feeling full of myself.
This picture, however, was the third try. If you look carefully, you will see that the gold sections have traces of a bright green. The first time I made it, many of these sections had large areas of this shade. I began to realize that that shade of green would clash with the more subdued gray/green in the rest of the fabrics so I decided to rip out the 4 sections that had a predominance of that bright green, fussy cut new ones, and stitch them back in. All went well, colors much better, but then the darn thing wouldn't lay flat. So (third time's a charm), I ripped it apart again, did a little resizing of the pieces and the final result was a 13 1/4" block.
The second section was the red half stars also requiring Y seams. Again all went as planned. Now my medallion had grown to 18 1/2"
The third section was a border requiring diagonally cut rectangles and sewing the triangles from 2 fabrics so that half go one way and the other half go the opposite. I worried that I'd miss cut or sew, but took my time and they, too, went together as planned. Only one problem arose when trying to attach the border to the block. Some of the points were a little off and on first try I cut the points off. Oh, yes, "The ripper is my friend." But finally the medallion was complete. It measures 24 1/2"
This will be the center of the quilt and the previous blocks that I've blogged about will go around it. Onward I go. Maybe this week I can improve my scheduling.
Friday, February 3, 2012
My Original Landscape
For today's Favorite Things Friday, I'm sharing something very special--an original landscape done with acrylics. It is special for two reasons. For one, it is just plain beautiful, and two it was made especially for me by my cousin's husband.
When I moved into my present home last spring, I had a large bedroom with no furniture. I spent time collecting just the right pieces of furniture and then, of course, I had to make a new quilt to cover it. I've written about my Asian quilt in previous posts. But the room really needed some art work.
My cousin's husband had dabbled with painting through out his life, but after retirement, took it seriously. His home is like his own gallery and seeing his work from his early pieces to the present show how much he has grown.
Before I had even finished the quilt, I asked my cousin if Mr. Cousin would consider letting me hire him to do an Asian themed landscape. "Oh, he's already said that he wants to do a painting for you." After asking about what he would charge, she said, "For you, nothing." It was after the holidays before he had time to get to it.
One day, I was talking to my cousin on the phone and I hear in the background. "Tell her I hate her and her painting." Mr. Cousin has a great sense of humor and this was his way of saying the painting was really frustrating him. Anyway, after 3 canvases, much sweat, and I'm wondering about a few tears, the painting is born.
Mr. and Mrs. Cousin brought it over and presented it to me this week. The painting cost me $1. That way he can tell others who are trying to get him to paint for him that I commissioned him.
Pretty cool, huh!
When I moved into my present home last spring, I had a large bedroom with no furniture. I spent time collecting just the right pieces of furniture and then, of course, I had to make a new quilt to cover it. I've written about my Asian quilt in previous posts. But the room really needed some art work.
My cousin's husband had dabbled with painting through out his life, but after retirement, took it seriously. His home is like his own gallery and seeing his work from his early pieces to the present show how much he has grown.
Before I had even finished the quilt, I asked my cousin if Mr. Cousin would consider letting me hire him to do an Asian themed landscape. "Oh, he's already said that he wants to do a painting for you." After asking about what he would charge, she said, "For you, nothing." It was after the holidays before he had time to get to it.
One day, I was talking to my cousin on the phone and I hear in the background. "Tell her I hate her and her painting." Mr. Cousin has a great sense of humor and this was his way of saying the painting was really frustrating him. Anyway, after 3 canvases, much sweat, and I'm wondering about a few tears, the painting is born.
Mr. and Mrs. Cousin brought it over and presented it to me this week. The painting cost me $1. That way he can tell others who are trying to get him to paint for him that I commissioned him.
Pretty cool, huh!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Samplers Complete
This week I actually found some time to quilt. I finished all of the eight blocks for "Wing and a Prayer" that go around the center medallion. Here are the last three.
This is sampler block 6. Looks fairly simple, doesn't it? But did you ever have one of those days when you manage to turn around pieces and have to have "do-overs"? I can't tell you how much ripping I had to do. My daughter tells me to say this mantra, "The ripper is my friend." But by the time I finished this block, the mantra had become, "The ripper is my @&!%---!." Finally I got it right.
Now sampler block 7 had 77 pieces. You'd think that this would be the one to give me fits. However, it went to together like a dream. It was a bit time consuming, but was so much fun to do.
Lastly, block 8 came into being. I really like the colors and design of this block.
So now it is onward to make the medallion center block this week. It is 18 1/2 inches. I'm so looking forward to seeing it come to fruition.
This is sampler block 6. Looks fairly simple, doesn't it? But did you ever have one of those days when you manage to turn around pieces and have to have "do-overs"? I can't tell you how much ripping I had to do. My daughter tells me to say this mantra, "The ripper is my friend." But by the time I finished this block, the mantra had become, "The ripper is my @&!%---!." Finally I got it right.
Now sampler block 7 had 77 pieces. You'd think that this would be the one to give me fits. However, it went to together like a dream. It was a bit time consuming, but was so much fun to do.
Lastly, block 8 came into being. I really like the colors and design of this block.
So now it is onward to make the medallion center block this week. It is 18 1/2 inches. I'm so looking forward to seeing it come to fruition.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Material Girls
Once again I want to thank Shay over at http://fairybreadmusings.blogspot.com for hosting Favorite Things Friday. It is always rewarding to be able to focus on your "favorites" and read about others.
This week my favorite thing is a quilt shop in Wichita called "Material Girls". The shop is run by two sister-in-laws that took their love of quilting to new heights. For this size community, it has a vast selection of quilting fabrics. The number of possible fabrics in a given color makes my head swim.
And this is just regular greens and blues. There is another whole section for for the green and blue batiks. I couldn't even begin to show all the color selections.
Besides their wide selection of fabrics, they provide a place to just sit and visit with other quilters. It is a cozy, gathering place for area quilters with coffee provided.
They also have classes which I will investigate down the line.
The walls are covered with beautiful quilts made by local quilt artists. Here are a few. I wish my photographic skills were adequate to show the quilting in many of these quilts.
Aren't the colors gorgeous in these two? Because they are hung high on the wall, I wasn't able to capture the beautiful quilting that was done on each.
This one was made by one of the owners for her coming grandbaby. It is a combination of regular quilting and minkee fabrics with the backing made of the minkee.
This store is housed in a historic building that is part of the Delano District of Wichita.
This is another reason this store is one of my favorite things. This building has a long and interesting history.
The Delano District, at one time, was separate from Wichita due to the Arkansas River that runs through the town. Delano has seen many changes in the more than 135 years since its founding. Delano started out with the reputation of being the rough side of town. In 1870 Delano became an important cattle-shipping center on the Chisholm Trail.
In December of 1925, Beech, Cessna and Stearman started a new company called Travel Air Manufacturing Company located in the building that is now "Material Girls". This company became the forerunners to Boeing, Beech (Raytheon), and Cessna aircraft companies.
As you can tell the window and doors have been modernized in the building. The interior, though, has much of the original wood work. Recently, the owners were able to buy two large crystal chandliers that were being sold before the renovation of another historic building in Wichita--The Broadview Hotel. It was built in 1922 and is just across the river in original Wichita.
Hope I haven't bored you too much with the history of the building, but I find this fascinating. I'm always so pleased when I hear of someone preserving our heritage.
This week my favorite thing is a quilt shop in Wichita called "Material Girls". The shop is run by two sister-in-laws that took their love of quilting to new heights. For this size community, it has a vast selection of quilting fabrics. The number of possible fabrics in a given color makes my head swim.
And this is just regular greens and blues. There is another whole section for for the green and blue batiks. I couldn't even begin to show all the color selections.
Besides their wide selection of fabrics, they provide a place to just sit and visit with other quilters. It is a cozy, gathering place for area quilters with coffee provided.
They also have classes which I will investigate down the line.
The walls are covered with beautiful quilts made by local quilt artists. Here are a few. I wish my photographic skills were adequate to show the quilting in many of these quilts.
This store is housed in a historic building that is part of the Delano District of Wichita.
This is another reason this store is one of my favorite things. This building has a long and interesting history.
The Delano District, at one time, was separate from Wichita due to the Arkansas River that runs through the town. Delano has seen many changes in the more than 135 years since its founding. Delano started out with the reputation of being the rough side of town. In 1870 Delano became an important cattle-shipping center on the Chisholm Trail.
Cattle were herded up to Delano from Texas. The cattle-shipping industry became a crucial
part of the formation of Delano as a recreational district for cowboys.
“Vices” were kept out of the Wichita area. Most of the gambling,
drinking and prostitution took place in the township of Delano, which
did not have any law enforcement. Guns were checked at the bridge
before you could cross into Wichita. Often, drunken cowboys would shoot
their firearms much as boys shoot fireworks off today. Occasionally
there would be gunfights.
Herding cattle was a hot and dusty job. The cowboys would take baths in
the river. This resulted in an ordinance in 1872 prohibiting nude
bathing, but only during the daytime.
During the years of 1872-73 the saloon keepers sponsored a
curious form of entertainment on Sunday afternoons (weather permitting
of course). Cowboys would load the Saloon girls into wagons and
take them down river a short distance. The girls would then strip
naked, tossing their clothing in the back of the wagons. At the sound of
a pistol, the girls would race back to the saloons accompanied by the
whooping and hollering cowboys. Bets were placed on the race and the
winner would receive a prize.
Due in large part to the death of the local cattle trade in the late
1870s, Delano was incorporated into the city of Wichita in 1880. A
building boom in the 1880s brought brick buildings and paved streets to
Delano.While I could not verify this, I assume that the building housing the quilt shop today was built during this time.
In December of 1925, Beech, Cessna and Stearman started a new company called Travel Air Manufacturing Company located in the building that is now "Material Girls". This company became the forerunners to Boeing, Beech (Raytheon), and Cessna aircraft companies.
As you can tell the window and doors have been modernized in the building. The interior, though, has much of the original wood work. Recently, the owners were able to buy two large crystal chandliers that were being sold before the renovation of another historic building in Wichita--The Broadview Hotel. It was built in 1922 and is just across the river in original Wichita.
Hope I haven't bored you too much with the history of the building, but I find this fascinating. I'm always so pleased when I hear of someone preserving our heritage.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Potpourii
This was another week where other considerations took precedent over sewing. I worked on the cookbook and finally have all the writing completed. I'm down to preparing some of the dishes so they can be photographed for the cover. Oh, darn! That means I have to do some cooking. Of course, cooking is another of my favorite things to do. Such torture! Woe, is me! Actually it is rewarding to do the cooking and then try to make the dish look like they do in the magazines. Well, I may never quite achieve that as I'm definitely lacking in any kind of photography skills. But here are the dishes I cooked today.
Pot Roast and Spaghetti
Mediterranean Salad
As far as sewing goes, I was able to complete Block 5 of the Wing and a Prayer quilt. Since it is a new twist on Bear Paw, there were 60 pieces in the block. Does having a lot a pieces count for my lack of having much to show? I've always wanted to do a Bear Paw so having it in the sampler has added to the fun.
My daughter and I had to feed our fabric addiction this week with a trip to Material Girls. She had received a 25% discount coupon from them for her birthday and it was about to run out. I planned to just "look". Well, you probably know the end of this story already. I was lucky to escape with spending less than $15 by finding beautiful fabrics in the sale bin. (The "rotten rack" as my mother-in-law always called sale racks).
Most of the fabrics in this store run $9-$14 per yard. The sale fabrics were only $5 per yard. And, Oh, darn, again, you had to buy in 1 yard cuts. I chose two fabrics that were metallic (the two on top) and another that was complimentary in color. Since I have no clue what I'll make with these fabrics, I thought it best if I bought 2 yards of each. I let Michelle pay for them so I got in on the 25% off too. Does a trip to the fabric store count as sewing for the week?
As far as sewing goes, I was able to complete Block 5 of the Wing and a Prayer quilt. Since it is a new twist on Bear Paw, there were 60 pieces in the block. Does having a lot a pieces count for my lack of having much to show? I've always wanted to do a Bear Paw so having it in the sampler has added to the fun.
My daughter and I had to feed our fabric addiction this week with a trip to Material Girls. She had received a 25% discount coupon from them for her birthday and it was about to run out. I planned to just "look". Well, you probably know the end of this story already. I was lucky to escape with spending less than $15 by finding beautiful fabrics in the sale bin. (The "rotten rack" as my mother-in-law always called sale racks).
Most of the fabrics in this store run $9-$14 per yard. The sale fabrics were only $5 per yard. And, Oh, darn, again, you had to buy in 1 yard cuts. I chose two fabrics that were metallic (the two on top) and another that was complimentary in color. Since I have no clue what I'll make with these fabrics, I thought it best if I bought 2 yards of each. I let Michelle pay for them so I got in on the 25% off too. Does a trip to the fabric store count as sewing for the week?
Monday, January 16, 2012
A Little of This and That
The last week and a half my sewing time has been rather sparse. Since my daughter has figured out how to self-publish books, I dug out a cookbook that I had written 3-4 years ago and had done nothing with. So I have been busy proofreading, editing, writing an index, and adding prep. times and cook times. I think, at last, I'm down to writing an introduction. Then I'll turn it over to Michelle and let her work her magic. (Anything too complicated on the computer is pure magic to me).
However, I have been able to finish 3 more blocks for the Wing and a Prayer. Each one is a new learning experience for me. One thing this pattern does, is have you make block units a little larger than the actual size that is needed. The unit is then trimmed back to a specified size. For example: Flying geese come out 1/4" to 1/2" larger than needed. The directions say to trim each one back to 2 1/2" x 4 1/2". I made a template that size to speed up the process. My first thought on doing this was that it wastes fabric, but it does make for a precision sized piece. My blocks are coming out much more uniform. I think with blocks this complicated (45-55 pieces each) that it will save me a lot of headaches down the road. At least that's what I'm telling myself now.
So here is the sum total of my sewing for the past couple of weeks.
Sampler block 2
Sampler block 3
Sampler block 4
I have another on going project that keeps me entertained while I watch TV. My nephew and wife are expecting their second child in April. Therefore, something needed to be made for the new little one. I've been working on a shell stitch baby afghan. It is about 2/3 done. When the body is finished, I would like to add a ruffled edge as the new one is to be a girl. Pink, I think, or maybe a pastel variegated yarn. I'm still searching for a pattern for the ruffle.
However, I have been able to finish 3 more blocks for the Wing and a Prayer. Each one is a new learning experience for me. One thing this pattern does, is have you make block units a little larger than the actual size that is needed. The unit is then trimmed back to a specified size. For example: Flying geese come out 1/4" to 1/2" larger than needed. The directions say to trim each one back to 2 1/2" x 4 1/2". I made a template that size to speed up the process. My first thought on doing this was that it wastes fabric, but it does make for a precision sized piece. My blocks are coming out much more uniform. I think with blocks this complicated (45-55 pieces each) that it will save me a lot of headaches down the road. At least that's what I'm telling myself now.
So here is the sum total of my sewing for the past couple of weeks.
Sampler block 3
Sampler block 4
I have another on going project that keeps me entertained while I watch TV. My nephew and wife are expecting their second child in April. Therefore, something needed to be made for the new little one. I've been working on a shell stitch baby afghan. It is about 2/3 done. When the body is finished, I would like to add a ruffled edge as the new one is to be a girl. Pink, I think, or maybe a pastel variegated yarn. I'm still searching for a pattern for the ruffle.
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