A VISITOR FROM NYC WITH ANTIQUE BLOCKS

One of my cousins came to visit from New York City!!  She and her hubby had never been to Oregon before and were on their way to a conference in Newport.  We were able to spend most of one day together.  Of course, I had to clean house first !!  But, we were so busy talking she probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't cleaned.  They came over for dinner and besides myself and DH, our son & grandson were here.  We didn't stop talking until they had to leave.

Sometime, in the past, she bought these blocks at a sale in New Hampshire (probably 40 years ago) and she never got around to sewing them together (nothing new there, right?).  I thought some of you might have a guess as to when these fabrics were made.  I'm thinking 30s.  There are 49 of the X blocks.

There are 12 9-patch blocks and a lot of them have pieced sections like this one.

Then there are these appliquéd panels, but they are not finished either.  They are appliquéd on a printed panel and there are stains as well.  Maybe I can cut out the good sections and make something out of them.

This one has pieces pinned to where they go - and I'm sure they have been pinned for at least 40 years!  I don't know what I will do with these.  She said I can do whatever I want to do.

 During the summer I started these socks for my 2 younger grandsons (ages 8 and 11).  I just finished them and sent them with their Halloween cards.

I have been very busy sewing for Christmas craft shows, so I haven't done much blogging.  Thanks for visiting!

CHRISTMAS QUILT FINISHED

 I finished the Christmas quilt that was made from a kit.  This is just about the first time that I didn't wash the fabric before sewing it together.  The fabric was cut into pieces, some of which were pretty small, but other were large.  I just started cutting it up without thinking too much about it.  Then, when I was pressing some blocks, it seemed like the red would stick to the iron and move over to the lighter color.  I was afraid it would bleed, so I tested some red and white together in water and it didn't bleed.

My first post about this was September 12.  I had the blocks done but not sewn together.  Last week I was reading Barb's blog and she was showing a finished quilt - just awesome - and showed how she washes it in her bath tub.  She had some bleeding and needed to fix that.  I have also read in other blogs that some quilters wash their quilt as soon as they finish it.  I rarely do that.  Now I'm wondering if that is something a lot of quilters do.

Anyway, I decided to wash this one in my tub because I wanted to be sure that it wouldn't bleed as I plan to sell it and my washing machine doesn't have a gentle cycle (well, it has it, but it certainly isn't very gentle).  I used 2 color catchers and some Dawn.  I soaked it for a couple hours and rinsed it a couple times, then put it in the washing machine to spin and dryer it in the clothes dryer.  It came out perfect!

Here' a close up of the appliquéd ornament in the center.

This is the backing fabric and you can see the quilting better.  I quilted it with a goldfish thread on top and bottom.  The backing fabric is dark green with light green and gold dotted lines.

Another project that will be for me is this wool appliqué wall hanging.  I really need to get it finished or I won't be able to use it this year.  All the pieces are stitched down by machine and I just need to do a little hand embroidery and find some more buttons to sew onto the backing on the sides.

My cousin from New York and her hubby is in town this weekend - her first time to visit Oregon!  We will be spending the day with them today and then they will be going to Newport, on the coast for a conference.  I rarely get to see her, so this is great!!

Please let me know if you wash your quilts as soon as you finish them - and why.  Do you wash the fabric before hand?

Here's a couple pictures of the beautiful fall trees in the area.

 I love fall!!