MEMORIES OF LAURA

 

 MEMORIES OF LAURA

a quilt

made in 1988

by 

Patricia Eaton 

The last time I posted was in September of 2019.  I intended to carry on, really I did, but

 last year was not the happiest year I have lived through and it got the best of me.  My heart just wasn't in it. My blog posts suffered because of it...I could no longer come up with anything I thought interesting enough to mention to you.    So, I let things go.  I thought many times of just closing my blog. 

I'm so sorry about that.

The holidays came.  They are always hard for me. I'm not sure I've ever told you that.

And, I thought a lot about things during the last two months.

Being kind of a hermit....there is lots of time to think.  It can wear you out, especially during hard times.

 And, oh...there is also that OCD thing.  

Yes, I AM my own worst enemy.

Do you ever talk to yourself?  I do.  One day, recently this just came right out of my mouth:

"It's hard to be me....even I have trouble doing it."  

Now that is a quote from actress Tallulah Bankhead.

But, that day, it seemed clear as a bell that it actually fit me.

It IS hard to be me....and it may ALSO be hard to be you.  We are going through tough times.

So, I need to just get a grip and get on with it.  

You want to try it with me?

Right then, I decided to get out a quilt and show it to you, even if I have shown it many times before. 

And, this quilt got my attention one more time.

Yes, I made it in 1988...a lifetime ago.

I wanted to remember Laura Ingalls Wilder as I had read all her books in my youth and loved them dearly...then watched all the Little House of the Prairie shows on tv too. 

Below a quote from her I believe to be quite fitting for current times.

 

 Below, take a closer look at all parts of this quilt.

The quilt hasn't changed either...after all these years.

So, once again, Laura can inspire us with her words.

And, maybe this quilt will also inspire us in it's own way.

 

  Hand appliqued, embroidered and quilted.

  

One stitch at a time.

Each one, as I've always said, a prayer, a meditation, a poem.

 The sky fabric and all those shades of blue....hand-dyed specially for me by my dear friend, Mary Morgan.  Upon giving it to me, she told me "don't make a scene."

 What she meant was she didn't want me to try and pay her for it.

So, I just made another kind of scene!

 

 

 One of my favorite parts of the quilt is Laura's tiny pocket, it's a real pocket.

 

 The label on the back of the quilt.

(Gosh, it seems like only yesterday when I sewed that label on!!!)

I just may read these all over AGAIN.

 

 Yes, studying this quilt again and thinking of Laura also...I like to think she was right and the "real things" haven't changed.  

I will carry that with me through this year.

So, a HAPPIER New Year to you too!

 until next time

BE WELL

from

Bird Nest Cottage

❤️❤️❤️ 

Rescue the Perishing, Part 3: A Dresden Plate Quilt

 

 A couple of weeks ago, I mended this quilt for a friend.  He had mentioned this quilt to me...saying it had just one hole in it and he'd love to know how to repair it.  Oh, my goodness gracious.  This project had my name all over it.  Because I knew I could actually 'rescue' this quilt and it wouldn't take a huge amount of time to do it, I asked if he'd like me to do it.  With stipulations....he would have to trust me with his lovely quilt, I would have to do it as I saw fit, and I would have to be creative with the fabrics used to mend it, as I have a few, but not a lot of fabrics from the 30's.  A trusting soul, he agreed to it and I brought it home.

 

 It's a wonderful vintage DRESDEN PLATE quilt.....and in great condition...well, except for that big, glaring hole right there!

 

I just wonder how that hole got there, don't you?

 

 I'm sure there is a story there somewhere.

 

 All I can say is we were lucky the hole is where it is.....if it had been in the sashing of this quilt, it would be much harder to mend so it wouldn't show....but, as it is...well, these print fabrics can hide a multitude of sins......including this hole.  I went to my 30's fabric stash (which is slim) and chose a pink fabric to use.  Also, a piece of white for the background.  A bit brighter than the original, but the closest I could get to matching.

 

 Oh, and let me say, that one white piece on the right side of the plate....isn't a faded piece or a mended piece.  The quiltmaker actually did use a white fabric for that.  It's odd, I think.  Maybe all  she had.  Sometimes we have to do crazy things to make something work out.  I'm glad it worked for her, as her quilt is beautiful.  I tried to make the mend as invisible as possible.  If you look closely though, you will see the mending.

 

 So, look closely.  The white patch on the background.  And, a pink piece between the yellow and lavender pieces.  See it?  I unsewed* the lavender and yellow pieces (old torn piece was a white/blue print) removed the white/blue altogether, mended the white background, and then appliqued the new pink along with those on each side to finish the top.  I then, added some batting and patched the back of the quilt, returned to the front and requilted where necessary.  And, there you have it.  Done.

 

I'm pleased. 

 

 And, here is the back.  You get to find the patching here yourself.  Not perfectly done.  But, pretty good.  And, now the quilt is whole again.  And, ready to use.  Charles, I hope you enjoy owning (and also using) this beauty!!!

Another rescued quilt.  I love it!!!

* Let me say....I prefer "unsewed" over the word "unpicked."  I can't exactly say why, but maybe because I think it's almost as hard to unsew as it is to sew it in the first place.  And, oh my, I also love to unsew as much as I love to sew.  To unpick, well, it just doesn't sound fun to me.  That's just me though, so I say suit yourself.  In any rescue work concerning a textile, there will be lots of sewing,unsewing and resewing.  All  can be challenging and  tedious, but also FUN!

My next post will show you a very happy quilt top.  I think you will enjoy seeing it!

until next time

BE WELL

from 

BIRD NEST COTTAGE

Sunshine and Shadow

 

Yesterday, while making my bed, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the sun shining brightly across it, highlighting here and there the color and the quilting stitches.  I finished this quilt in 1981.  That's thirty-four years ago.  Seems like only yesterday.  This quilt has been used more than any quilt I have ever made and it's still in pretty good shape....actually, very good shape.  I suppose, like me, it is trying its best to last as long as possible!   I can remember sitting at the quilt frame all those many hours, taking my little 'one stitch at a time" and wondering if I'd ever get it finished.  This was only the second quilt I had made at that time.  But, finish I finally did.  So, yesterday, I stood there and admired it for a little while, thinking all those nostalgic thoughts and realizing that the sunshine and the shadows I was seeing pretty much sum up the last thirty-four years. 

 

Lots of happy times mixed in with the very sad times....I suppose we would never know one if we didn't experience the other.  How would we?  Anyway, seeing the sun shine on that quilt was a good thing.  A reminder of life, back then and now.

 

Yes, thousands of stitches, by hand, one stitch at a time.  Reminds me of the hands of a clock and the sound of the ticking somehow, with each stitch marking a second of my life at that particular time. 

I have recently begun to quilt on a top I've had waiting for several years.  I couldn't wrap my head around  stitching it while the old navy man needed me for the last few years, and didn't have the time anyway,  but now...well, I'm determined to get it quilted.  Maybe it, too, will be finished one day and a few years from now, if I'm lucky,  I may be seeing the sunshine and shadow glorify it also. 

 

 Every stitch a prayer, a hope, or a dream. 

 

By the way,  my grandson made that heart pillow when he was six years old.  We sponged painted the hearts, then he sat in my lap at the sewing machine to stitch the blocks together, with me making sure he didn't stitch his fingers!   At that time, he called every piece of fabric in my stash a 'quilt.'  Funny, what you remember.

 

 I do so love the quilting stitch....

 

 Sigh!

 I found this quote earlier today.  Not only did I think it perfect for this post, but it pretty much sums up the last thirty-four years too! 

"YOU CAN ONLY COME TO THE MORNINGS THROUGH THE SHADOWS."

 J.R.R. Tolkien

From Bird Nest Cottage,

Until next time,

♥♥♥