I am maybe one of the few who actually likes being my advanced age. Take for example this fading memory. The other day I had finally dug my way to the back of my Fibber McGee's closet. I had dragged out a tub full of fabric. If you are one who sews, or more particularly, one who quilts, you have a stash of fabric. And you never, ever throw any of it away, not even the scraps. Because you might need it.....someday. And if the fabric shop has a really good sale on cotton quilt fabric, you buy more. Because you might need it.....someday.
Anyway, about halfway through sorting and folding, I found these.
Yep...my fading memory handed me 30 quilt blocks that I had completely forgotten about. Once I saw them, it came back to me how I had cut the squares from a set of fat quarters that I bought a long time ago for a project long forgotten. I had sewn the squares into simple blocks and then got busy with something else and had put them away. So as soon as my nose unstuffs and I stop sneezing, I will sew the blocks together into a quilt top. I'm sure I have fabric for the back, but I will need to make a run to the fabric store for quilt batting. These blocks will make a nice sized quilt - just right for snuggling under on a cold winter evening.
I just love this kind of surprise!
I can certainly identify with the fading memory. I've been cleaning out closets and found things I don't recall ever buying. I love the colors in your quilt squares. That is my favorite quilt pattern, simple and a great way to combine colors and patterns.
ReplyDeleteNice find. I'm like you, I don't mind getting older and I very much enjoy being retired. I was driving into our local hospital that is about 20 miles away yesterday morning to have some lab tests for my annual physical and was thinking how nice it was not heading to a job like all the other folks rushing around me. I really like having no where to go in a hurry.
ReplyDeleteAnon...I have learned never to hide anything away for safekeeping for chances are good I will never see it again!
ReplyDeleteI like the colors in the quilt blocks, too. I had purchased a bundle of fat quarters where the fabrics all go together. I don't make fancy art quilts. Mine are utility quilts meant to be used. The old patterns that are simple work well for them.
Jim...The part I like best is not having to be awakened every morning by the blaring of an alarm clock. "You will get bored," they said. I've been retired nearly 8 years now and I am never bored. There is always something to do and usually it is those things I never had time to do while working a job. Or I can take a day just to read and nap. Perhaps it is the fact that I can decide what to do with my day without someone else telling me what I have to do. Whatever the reason, retirement is a good thing. :)
ReplyDeleteThey're really cute. I like the colors. I hope you feel better!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisa...I like the colors, too. I'm hoping that within the next couple of days I can get the blocks sewn together. The cold...it's getting better. Just has to run its course. :)
ReplyDeleteare you going to add sashing?
ReplyDeleteDeb...No, not between the blocks. This is just sort of a random put together quilt top to use up some of my excess fabric. I may add a border if I can find some fabric in my stash that goes with the rest of the colors. Otherwise I will just bind it with the backing fabric. This is just a utility quilt - nothing fancy.
ReplyDeleteIt will be beautiful, warm and full of memories, the best kind of quilt. I stock up on batting too, when it is on sale, like you, I like to have everything on hand I 'might' need. Fern
ReplyDeleteFern...I don't think a quilt has to be "Best in the Quilt Show" beautiful. I tend to favor the old patterns. And I can lose myself in thought while hand quilting. Sort of like losing one's self in a good book. I dropped the ball this time on the batting, though. As soon as Joann Fabrics runs a sale on batting, I will need to buy several. Like many quilters, I have three or four quilts in various stages of completion. :)
ReplyDeleteSorry you have a cold. That's miserable, especially when winter is exacerbating every symptom.
ReplyDeleteQuilting is very big here. My wife and her mother makes quilts. We use them for bed spreads, they're very handy. Being able to make them is a useful skill.
There's a custom here in the mountains that involves quilts. When a veteran comes home from the wars overseas, the women sew a quilt and give it to him. It's called an "honor quilt". Every week in the paper there are pictures of men with these over their shoulders, surrounded by the older women who made the quilt. Some of the guys who get them date back to world war II.
Harry...I get maybe one cold a year and this is it. It is getting better. Today I feel almost human again. :)
ReplyDeleteMy mother sewed, but her area of expertise was making clothing. I have loved handmade quilts since I was a little girl and slept under the warm quilts my grandma made. I just sort of taught myself and the making of quilts has turned into something I truly enjoy.
I have read about the "honor quilts." What a good thing to do - honoring servicemen in that way. MN (and probably other states) has a "Quilts of Valor" organization that makes quilts for wounded soldiers when they come home. Around here, the local quilters would donate quilts to the police departments. Officers would carry these kid sized quilts in the trunks of their cars to give to kids caught up in stressful situations. There is just something comforting about a handmade quilt.
Also love the colors of your quilt. I sleep under a quilt my grandma made using my mom's baby clothes as the material. It's getting a little frayed but I love it. I have another quilt made by a great aunt. When a cousin visited recently,he said, 'oh I have one of Aunties' quilts just like yours'. There's something special about that family history.
ReplyDeleteJust so you know - I read here every day even when I don't post. Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC
SJ...I like the colors, too. I thought I might start sewing the blocks together this evening. It is nice you have quilts made by family members. The only one in my family who made quilts was my Grandma who died when I was about 9 years old. Hers were mostly flannel pieces sewn together and tied with yarn, but oh, they were so warm. Each of my grands have a quilt I made. Nobody seems interested in learning to sew any more. But I keep hoping when they get a little older, maybe one of them will learn. Quilting, except for the fancy quilt show quilts, seems to be a dying art.
ReplyDeleteEven though I enjoy comments, don't feel like you have to comment all the time. It is enough to know that there are those who stop by and read, besides my kids and grands. :)
You have so much going on that its easy to forget about a project. Now you have something to work on in your new sewing area until you can can again.
ReplyDeleteRob...Sometimes I wish I were one of those people who are content to just sit and stare at a TV screen, but I"m not. I'm hoping that this stinking cold will settle down enough by tomorrow so I can spend some quality time with my sewing machine. Right now sneezing and hacking and coughing aren't really compatible with using a machine with a sharp needle on it! :) I don't bounce back as fast as I used to.
ReplyDeleteI love my new sewing area and I think it will get lots of use.
I know the feeling, I'm sick again too. 2 time in like the last month. My cold is breaking up, but now I have that cough. I haven't done a post cause I'm trying to sleep more to bust this cold. keep sewing..
ReplyDeleteRob...Hope you get to feeling better soon. Must be something going around. Oldest Son missed two days of work with pretty much the same thing. When he stays home from work I know he is really sick! Sewing is going to have to wait until I get better. I make mistakes if I try to do things like that when not feeling so good. Can't last forever. :)
ReplyDelete