Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Some of this and some of that

 Hi everyone! How are you all doing today? I am happy to say that this past weekend was one of the best weekends ever, as we got to go to visit our Wisconsin grandchildren for the first time in 15 months, and to meet our smallest granddaughter for the first time ever. I'm happy to say that Giggles is just the happiest child, and is so cheerful that it's contagious. It was glorious, and so long awaited. I think my heart grew several sizes. Also, restaurants are now called "the french fry store," which is what the 3-year-old calls them. Guess what her favorite food is?

After that, how can anything else compare? It can't, but I've got a few irons in the fire-- or in the sewing room-- right now, and I'm making some progress. I've got one machine set up with the walking foot and am really trying to power through some more donation quilts. It's going okay, mainly because I'm sticking with plain straight stitching. It isn't fancy, but it gets the job done.

 
And on the other machine, I'm making some dolls today:
 
 
This is a panel by Stacey Iest Hsu and it is just darling. The dolls themselves are very easy to make, just stitch around the edges and stuff with fiberfill. The hardest part is the cutting. And look-- they even come with some tiny pets:
 
 
I need to get these finished up, because my local tiny granddaughter is finally coming over, on Mother's Day. By then her parents will be all vaccinated and ready to re-enter life. I can't wait to hug her too, and I'm in a hurry to get "her room" ready. Too bad that darned job keeps getting in my way! (There's only 25 days to go in the semester, not that I am counting or anything.)

I've also started cutting these half-hexies for another donation quilt:
 

I think it's going to be quite lovely, and it's also the first time I've really appreciated how fast the Accuquilt can cut shapes. I'd been using it to cut some scraps into squares to add to the bins, but I think this summer I'll have to explore using it a lot more. For now, it's going to make quick work of cutting this donation quilt, so maybe I can have it finished by June.

One other thing that I'm working on is what to do with these little crocheted circles:
 
 
There are about 50 of these, and they were all made by my grandmother in the last months of her life. She had had a stroke and couldn't sew any more, but a lifetime of needle work meant that she needed something to do with her hands, so she just kept making these over and over. She didn't really know who we were, but she certainly remembered how to do this.
 
I had thought that I would applique these to different-colored solid squares and join them into some kind of a quilt top. When I started putting the colored squares on the design wall, they looked awful. No matter what colors I used, I didn't like them. Then I thought about just hand-stitching the circles together for a kind of free-form blanket of sorts, but I don't know how that would work, really.
 
 
My current idea is to make type of whole cloth quilt using one solid color and then applique the circles onto it. Maybe I could quilt a crosshatch and then applique a circle in each square? I'm not sure how that would work, either, but I'm kind of stuck. Anyone have a better idea? 

So, that's what's happening around here. some of this and some of that. Plus a lot of zigzagging batting together, but that's a boring story. At least it gets used! I'm sure many of you have heard about the email issue with blogs and the widget that emails posts to you going away, but I haven't had time to look into it yet.. I'm sure there's a workaround somewhere, but I just haven't had any time for research. We'll see what happens.In the meantime, let me know if you know anything!

Hope you're all having a good week with long-postponed happy small gatherings and hugs. And if not, they're coming soon! I have high hopes for a semi-normal summer. Another thing to wait and see!

Sharing at Midweek Makers.

15 comments:

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

Yay! So pleased that you got to visit with your family and to meet your newest grandbaby. Both of my grandmothers used to crochet with this fine type of cotton thread and I inherited a number of table runners that they made. They'll look beautiful in a whole cloth style quilt, though I do look forward to reading what others may suggest.

piecefulwendy said...

Oh, I'm so glad you were able to see your littles, I know you've been waiting and waiting for that. I have the Stacy Iest Hsu cats that I picked up on a whim. Haven't made them yet, but they are so darned cute! I have snowflake doilies my mom crocheted, and I hang the on our tree at Christmas. I also have some that have been heavily starched and formed into angels. No ideas on the ideas for a quilt though. Maybe others will have some ideas.

MissPat said...

I guessed that your surprise involve seeing the grands. So glad you finally got to meet your new granddaughter. I've no suggestion about the crocheted doilies. It's snowing here this morning which has put me in a funk. So long pretty hyacinths, they'll be flat on the ground by the time this is done.
Pat

The Joyful Quilter said...

Congrats on a fabulous visit, Mari! Regarding those lace doilies... You may wan to consider quilting your quilt and THEN adding the doilies. Three dimensional items are somewhat challenging to quilt around.

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

it is really nice being able to start reuniting with family isn't it.

Sara said...

It's wonderful that you were able to go see your family finally. Hopefully none of us will have to go that long between visits again. I really do feel hopeful that life is beginning to return to normal.

I don't have any clever ideas for your grandmother's crocheted circles. A very special treasure, and I would have thought appliqued to colored squares would have looked good. Maybe putting them into small batches, applique to a backing and frame them along with a photo of her?

Preeti said...

I love love love the dolls. I have never done stuffing like that and I am intrigued. may be you will let me play with them when I visit :-) The crochet circles are tricky. How to do justice to those heirloom circles? Centers of Dresden plates, may be.

kathyz said...

My grandmother made those endlessly -- and then joined them at the edges to make lace tablecloths. Hundreds of tiny crocheted circles times 7 -- one for each grandchild. I would go with a runner.
I use the tablecloth for holidays and change the solid color tablecloth underneath as appropriate.

Quiltdivajulie said...

I took the small crochet bits from my foremothers and heavily starched/flattened them and hang them on our Christmas trees like snowflakes (I use narrow silk ribbon to tie them to the branches or sometimes I tuck the flat snowflakes into gaps between the branches so the white lights reflect through the holes). Such a treasure that you have.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Oh I am loving this!! Giggles and the French Fry Store!! Your French Fry grandchild and I could be friends haha!! What fun to finally get to hug everyone - oh I am so happy for you!!! Hugs!!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Mari! How fab-u-lous that you got to visit your Wisconsin peeps. Fifteen months is a long time to have to wait but wasn't it even more sweet?! The french-fry store!! I love it. My bestie is a teacher and she has 34 days to go, not that she's counting or anything - 25 sounds even better! Woot woot! Here's to a nearly semi-normal summer. We're holding our own doll buggy parade with our littles and few more from the neighborhood. I've picked up a bunch of red, white, and blue crepe paper for decorating. We'll make it a fun, short event for bikes, wagons, and perhaps a stroller and an actual doll buggy. ~smile~ Roseanne

Danice G said...

So glad you got to visit your family. I have not gotten to see my daughter and her family in about 15 months. They also have a new son who was born in December. I love the idea of a wholecloth quilt for the doilies.

Bernie Kringel said...

Hi Mari - The French Fry Store is also my favorite restaurant - Yum. It is the happiest thing to read about all of these reunions happening now that people are vaccinated. Today my sister and her husband arrive from Texas. They will stay at mom's but I am excited to see them. It has been over two years now.

As for the doilies - I have a few ideas. One is to put them on a neutral background. It seems like they would be lost but really it makes such a soft vintage look. Like a tone on tone floral that is cream and taupe? Also, if it was a voile or a soft silky cotton, rather than a normal quilting cotton.

Cindy Needham does gorgeous work with doilies and lace. You might google her work, or look at it on Pinterest. Unfortunately, her website doesn't have a good search function. But it you are on Pinterest, you can find lots of her work and some YouTube videos she has made. She was at our guild, back when we could have speakers, and her trunk show was amazing. I think you could find inspiration thee.

Go vintage - it will be lovely with your mom's handwork.

Bernie Kringel said...

Another thought - you could make a smaller piece with the doilies too. Here is a link to something I did several years back.

https://needleandfoot.com/2016/05/12/spring-blossoms-and-a-finish/

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

You need a soft color with those doilies. Very little contrast.