Thursday, May 26, 2011

Utter Charm

I've been lucky enough to thrift a couple of lovely vintage quilt tops this spring.  I got the two on the left for an absolute song!  $4.99 and $3.99 respectively.  They both have lots of feedsack fabrics in them, though the center one has considerably fewer.  It's so very nice to know that UFOs span the decades and are not a recent affliction!
I picked this one up today and it made up for the woman in the aisle ahead of me that snagged a printed tablecloth from the fifties in amazing shape.  It's sashed in a pale yellow that lets those gorgeous feedsacks shine!
The blocks are simple but striking. This is probably my favorite block of the bunch! I don't think I'll quilt this, but back it with muslin to use as a table covering.
I picked this up a couple of months ago, and I really wish that I had some history on it.  Each of the star's centers has names embroidered on them and each time I look at it I have to smile!  There are lots of women's names and a few men's as well.  Makes me wonder if the maker identified herself by who she was married to or not.
Two of the blocks say "Mother," though only one has her age!  Thinking about how we identify ourselves, it made me wonder just how often these women were called by their given names.  I don't think I ever heard my grandfather call my Grandma her name.  It was always "Mother."  I'd like to think that these women wore beautifully handcrafted aprons, every single day.
The third quilt is a simple bow-tie that must be the newest of the three, judging by the fabric choices.  It was gifted to me by the oh so sweet and generous Elaine of Soggy Bottom Quilts.  The maker of this quilt used some seriously odd combinations of fabric, but that does just add to it's appeal.

I don't know if I'll ever quilt these as I have quite a few UFOs of my own, but they are my treasures!   I love anything vintage and am so glad that there's still a market for 30s reproductions and that many of the designers use vintage fabrics as their inspiration. 

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend.  Many thanks to our troops and their families for the sacrifices they make on our behalf.  It's a time to send up many prayers and to count our blessings.  I'm off to spend the weekend with my two biggest blessings, my husband Drew and son Tade.  May you do the same!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Running on empty

pretty little pillow to add some color to my dreary day--I'm loving some half square triangles lately!
Do you ever have those times in your life where you feel like you're carrying the weight of at least an elephant if not the world on your shoulders?   This is one of those times for me.  And I am realizing that something's gotta give!  I tend to load my plate so full that I am not even enjoying the process.  I'm a yes girl and need to learn the value of the word, "no."

I'm struggling to balance my creative outlets with family life, work, and other obligations.  The lack of balance here really has me questioning the why of many thing that I do.

Why do I feel the need to do everything?  I'm feeling overwhelmed by my current hobbies of sewing, quilting, cooking, baking and yet I dream of weaving and stained glass.  I try not to even think about the hobbies that I neglect, like knitting and soap making!  Our garden this year is going to be huge, which means time away from what I want to be doing.  Before we even have our little seedlings in the ground, I find myself resenting this intrusion on my time.

I'm constantly raising the decades old question of whether we, as modern women can indeed have it all.  While I've never been able to fully discern what having your cake and eating it too really means, I know that I want that cake!!

I was telling a friend recently that I write hundreds of blog posts in my head that never see the light of day.  I want to blog more, and yet it seems to be the one thing that I can let slide.  I do feel like my creative endeavors have value and merit and should be shared with my online community.  I'm sure my incredibly supportive husband would appreciate a break from me constantly showing him what I'm working on. 


Thanks for "listening,"  I needed to get that off my chest!  Here's to answering no to someone that wants me to hem their pants.  May they understand that just because I have a sewing machine and am lucky enough to have a room dedicated to my crap, that doesn't make me a tailor!

I'm hearing the timer beep on the oven, so I really must go.  Once I have the 3 tier cake for 150 people off of my plate maybe I can practice what I preach and not say yes anymore.  Once I eat a piece, that is!