If Everyone Lit Just One Little Candle...

...what a bright world it would be! Is that how YOU finished the title for this post?


Tonight as supper time approached here at the Parker ranchero, I wasn't hearing any supper-making noises going on. So I decided to start one of my favorite suppers...meat loaf (with Secret Sauce), mashed potatoes, green beans, and home made dinner rolls. While Isaac (9) and I were preparing the meat loaf for the oven, I lit the candle pictured above and placed it on our kitchen table.


There is a light fixture in that part of the kitchen, but it was not turned on. It was very dark over there. There is also a light above the island where we were working, and that adequately illuminated the work area. Isaac asked how such a small candle could light up such a large area. I explained to him that it was because it was so dark where the candle was placed. If we had the same candle in front of us, it wouldn't seem so bright. Gave me much to ponder as I prepared the rest of the meal. BTW, Isaac's first attempt at meat loaf-making turned out wonderfully.


I started thinking back to when women worked by lamp or candle light. The day's work had to be very different! I'd imagine cleaning lamp chimneys and dipping candles were a priority. Life was simpler in many respects when eating and living indoors took up most of one's time. I doubt many people were wondering what to do with all their free time.


Another thought that came to mind was someone's life being a "shining light" for righteousness. My children will sometimes ask questions about ethical matters. I grasp those opportunities to remind them that they should always do the right thing, even if it's not convenient or comfortable. If we are careful about all our small decisions and try to do right, chances are that we won't make big mistakes (at least not consciously/premeditatively). When we hear about someone that got caught doing something wrong that is huge, I will ask the children, "do you think that person ever meant to_____?" I like to think that using real examples of someone's unfortunate decisions will influence them to make good decisions. Please don't burst my bubble if I'm wrong!


~Joan

Valentine Table Runner

For those of you who are new readers, I must explain that our kitchen table is not status quo. We have 10 in our family, so all runners must be economy size! I realized as I was putting away our Christmas decorations that we did not have a Valentine's holiday table runner.

I like quilted table runners...at least I get to see them several times a day! With that in mind, I pulled out a pattern I bought last year. Since I am handicapped because I only use Thimbleberries fabrics (at least 99% T'b), I was limited in my fabric selection (I have about 100 bolts here). The runner is 58" long finished, so I am only showing half so you can see the details. I changed the pattern from the original, so there was a little unsewing involved.

This is unquilted in the picture. It was machine quilted by me after the photo shoot with variegated cream thread cross hatched in the center and stipple quilted everywhere else with invisible thread. My 2nd daughter offered to hand-sew down the binding...I had to accept.

There is a panel of one fabric (the cream background of the heart blocks) in the center. I think it measures about 16" x 58"). Perfect for our table!

~Joan

Row 3 is Finished!

Who would have thunk it?? I am finished hand quilting the first 3 rows of my row quilt! There are 8 rows in the quilt, then the sashing strips to do.

I also made the runner in the next post from start to finish in the last 2 days. While trying to figure out why I got so much sewing and schoolwork with the children done these past couple days, it dawned on me...

...I have not been inside a vehicle for the past 48 hours!! No errands, no shopping, no driving kids around...

Better not get used to it!

~Joan

Starting Row Three

Today, in between grading math lessons and tests and listening to read-alouds, I was able to finish the hand quilting on row 2 of my row quilt and start the 3rd row. Here is the first block in the 3rd row. Notice the simple easy-to-mark quilt lines. I'm going to finish this row by quilting a straight line down the center of each sashing strip and cornerstone.


Here's a view of 4 blocks...2 from row 2 and 2 from 3 (that looks confusing!)...



And last, but not least, a picture of rows 1 and 2 with the quilting finished. The large yellow stitches are my basting, not quilting.

My DH has been gone all day (he usually works from home), and he will be home soon. I need to finish up a few quick things so I can devote the rest of my evening to meeting his every need.

~Joan

Where Are YOUR Quilts?

I have TWO in my bathroom! This is a picture of a quilt my friend, Misty, made for me. Well, actually she pieced the top, and I hand-quilted Baptist fans on it and bound it. It was the first piece I had hand quilted in some time, and it reminded me how much I enjoy the hands-on process of hand quilting. Every time I see it (which is often), I am reminded of my dear friend.

It is a Barn Raising setting of log cabin blocks--my favorite block! The bathroom walls are painted a nutmeg brown color.





This is a shot of the curtain in there. This is a Thimbleberries fall fabric from a few years ago. I used the same print to make the large blocks in my shower curtain, below.

A funny quilter's story. One day, my DH came out of the library (where these photos were taken) and asked, "Why have you been holding out on me? Why don't we have a quilted shower curtain?" I wondered if he'd slipped and konked his head, but found out that he'd been perusing a quilt magazine while (ahem) in the library.

I took the same focus fabric as the curtain valance had been made from and came up with the shower curtain...

I just made very large 9-patches (Each block in the 9-patch finishes at 3"--good scale for a large piece). Having never made a quilt top into a shower curtain before, I was stumped as what to do with it after I had the top pieced. I checked a couple pattern books I had and saw two viable options. One had batting and one didn't. I opted to not use batting, but just line it with a coordinating fabric. It isn't truly "quilted" at all, merely lined. Then--how to hang it?? I didn't want to use fabric tabs because it would be pulled back and forth several times a day (hopefully!). I ended up binding it like a regular quilt and then putting small buttonholes (vertically) spaced across the top to slip the metal shower curtain hangers through (that were already there). Works like a charm. Even after 2-1/2 years of wear, there is no visible wear to the buttonholes like I suspected there might be.

Thus endeth the bathroom tour. Aren't you glad to be moving on to something else??

~Joan

Row Quilt: Row 2, Block 1

I am counting the HST row as row 1, so this is row 2.

This block is very near completion. I just need to do a little more in the top left triangle (the gold one). Don't worry...I won't be giving you my progress in block by block blog posts! All the Monkey Wrench blocks in this row (there are 5 of them) are made of the same red, blue, and cream. The triangles around each block are scrappy.

One of the things I like so much about hand quilting my extremely scrappy quilts is that you get up close and personal with each fabric. So many of my quilts have the last of a favorite fabric in them.

Since I pieced this with 2 other ladies, I get to see a sample of their Thimbleberries collections. Some must have been designed right after Lynette Jensen got off the ark. I'm talkin' old.

Soon I'll post about my quilty bathroom. Curious??

~Joan

Maiden Stitches Made in New Quilt

Our family's schedule has gone to pot. Everyone is staying up way late and then subsequently sleeping in nearly daily. Except for my oldest son and one child per day who has to get up for work. I have somehow miraculously been getting up early most of those days. I have used the quiet, alone time to finish basting and then hand quilting my mystery quilt. Anyone think they know the pattern?

I am quilting across the HST and in the ditch going the other way, to form an "X" in each of those blocks. I am always interested in what designs others use for their hand quilting, so I'll be giving lots of details with each picture. I like to quilt as far as possible w/o starting in a new place. I also like to mark as little as possible. Just yesterday I ordered another Hera marker. The one I have has a sharp point on the non-marking end that (to me) makes it uncomfortable.

In the above picture, the dark green at the bottom is actually the top outer border. There is a 2" finished cream strip between each of the rows. At the top and bottom of the quilt are a row of HST flipped every other one so that the black (which pulls those rows together) is as shown. I have a perfect stencil for the cream. I used Mark-B-Gone to mark it and have quilted across halfway. I am going to remove those markings today. Then I decided to leave the cream rows for last so the Mark-B-Gone won't be on the quilt as long. My intention was to quilt it from top to bottom. Now that's been changed a smidge. I will skip the cream divider strips until the end.

This was a commercial pattern. I'm not sure if it's still available. I know I sold mine with a kit on eBay. One of the two ladies I made it with emailed me. She doesn't remember the date (other than a really long time ago). She hasn't yet completed the first quilt the 3 of us made together (the original Thimbleberries BOM kit, which I call the calendar quilt). Unfortunately, although I love the quilt, I did not make a label for it or even date it on my Web Shots page. If you want to see it, click on the Web Shots album link to the left. It's in the first album, which consists of my personal quilts.

I also quilted most of the first block of the row quilt last night. Pictures coming later. Hopefully taken with my camera which has spent the last 6-7 weeks vacationing in GA. I hope it comes in the mail today. This new camera is not only taking mostly-fuzzy pictures, but there are white spots on most of the shots. They look like semi-transparent perfectly round circles floating around that don't add to the pictures at all.

~Joan