Keep on Sewing, Keep on Sewing.... One Block at a Time

                                 

I've always wanted to quilt with friends, but few of my friends are crafty and those that are live no where near me. Its always so nice to be working around the table with a bunch of other women (men, you're invited too) and talk and gossip and actually accomplish something in the process. If nothing else the camaraderie is fantastic.

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If you are in the same boat or just want to join in, I invite you all to do a block of the month with me. I'm working out of the Peppermint Lane Block of the Month from It's Sew Emma. This book is just quilting candy! Doing one block a month (sometimes two or more depending upon the directions) allows you to complete a quilt on your own time while doing other things (and quilts) that you are supposed to be getting done!  At the end of the year, you have a wonderful quilt ready for yourself or to give as a gift. What could be better?

The book is available at The Fat Quarter's Shop or Amazon and you'll need it for the cut patterns.   

As I may change one block in this quilt I'm not necessarily going to do it in order. We will start from Month One but after that I may mix it up. I'll post one block a month as they are completed so we can follow along. I'm so excited to see what your blocks look like so please send me a picture of your completed block in the comments!




For my quilt, I chose to do bright spring greens, grays, icy blue and a white background. After washing, drying and ironing all my materials, I started on block one, the Gingerbread Boy. He is really cute. This block is put together with a lot of snowballing so if you've never done this technique, you'll get a lot of practice on this block.

Cut out all the materials per the cut pattern in the book.

Snowball the head piece by taking the small squares and the headpiece squares and sewing down the diagonal on all four sides as shown. Bend the sewn piece up and if you are happy with the placement, cut the excess off the back and iron it down.

It helps to have a friend make sure you are doing it correctly.

You are going to do this same process following the instructions in the book fro the arms and the legs.














The bow tie is created by a background square and an accent square cut on the diagonal and two of each pieces sewn together like so.

The card stablizes it so the machine doesn't eat it.

As these are on the bias, my machine wanted to eat the corners so I used a piece of index card behind the pieces at the start and then ripped it off the stitches.


You will not use two of the pieces from each square you cut.









The buttons/body section is created out of rectangles and squares and is quite easy to piece.

Iron everything and square up all the edges so they are straight. Add all the background pieces as indicated on the directions. Iron and trim the edges so they are straight and Oh My Goodness... it's the Gingerbread Man!

Isn't he cute! You need to make two for the quilt.

If you are making this quilt along with me, show me how yours turned out! I can't wait to see them!

De-Catting my Craft Room

I finally have my craft room back! For quite a while that room just got to be nothing but a place to stow any and all ephemera that came into the house and I had no idea where to put it.

Aren't they adorable?

First there was an inlaw's house that the extended family was cleaning out. All kinds of treasures there! I'm really into enamelware lately and I found some great rectangular enamel pans that are perfect for holding small odds and ends of fabric. Of course, I'm the only sewist in the group so all my husband's aunt sewing threads, kits, needles, etc came home with me. Then there are the screwdrivers, and, well you get the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

The perfect place for thread!

Aunt Barb's sewing kit.

We'll paint this guy in a future tuitorial.

I had started cleaning up the craft room and got a good ways done when we adopted this monster. Of course you can't just introduce your new cat to the cat family right away so Roman spent a lot of time in that room. Then, just as we got Roman introduced, another cat started living in our garage. It got cold and I'm too tender hearted so you know where Marlowe the cat ended up...yep.

Oh, and what about Christmas, yes, many things were hidden in the sewing/glass/cat room.

My husband's Christmas gift to me!

I'm glad to say everyone has been introduced and the room is finally smells and is cleaned and I can get back to the intended. I don't mind to tell you it was very scary for quite a while but now everything is organized and I made a vow at that point I wasn't buying anymore fabric until I cleared some of the nine totes out...












Then again, you do have to take advantage of all those year end clearances right? I mean to miss some prized fabric would be a crime after all....

Thanksgiving in Williamsburg, VA

Thanksgiving in Williamsburg, doesn't that sound romantic? I envisioned a historical reenactment of the event. We went to Jamestown and found that my romantic notions were just that, romantic notions. The cafe at Jamestown was a cafeteria and the wait was over two hours. We ended up at Crackerbarrel (which was mighty tasty may I say).

The House of Lords

 Colonial Williamsburg was wonderful however. The three day pass is about the right amount of time to see the village and the museum. Imagine getting off a bus and finding yourself smack dab in the middle of 1785. Each day different houses are opened up along with a presenter who tells you what life was for the trade of the house.

If you are a history buff this place is phenomenal.








If you stay until the village officially closes, you are able to witness the regiment drum core. 

Dixon and I with the judge and the "witch".

After hours there are additional events such as the "Cry Witch" based on an actual case. The gallery (which is us) hears the whole case, can ask questions, and then votes. My group unfortunately voted against my vote and she was found guilty. As the courthouse burned down where many of these records were located, we do not know the actual outcome of the case. However, the accused had a will that was enacted 20 years later so it appears one way or the other, she survived.

There are also ghost walks through the village with a guide and of course, the taverns are open late. 

You can even become part of the artwork!

Included in your ticket price is the Abbey Rockfellar museum. Definitely a must see. Doll houses the size of some of our rooms, all different types of pianos, furniture from the colonies, paintings...it's wonderful!

It's fantastic to see all this artwork in one place reflecting
America's early history. Quilts, signage, the Presidential paintings
it's our shared history.

So I hope all of you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season!

Haunted History

Can I just say I love this time of year? The leaves on the trees changing. The crispness of the year. The local history.

Yes, the local history. 

This is the time of year that WNY does a lot of "Ghost Walks". Last weekend I was trampsing around the Mt. Albion Cemetery yet again. With 19,000 departed souls buried there you can bet there are plenty of stories available to be told! 







Every year, we are taken to a different part of the cemetery to learn about the pioneers who came to our area and created the villages/buildings and the long forgotten history of our area. Far from being morbid, it's a celebration of those that were our founding settlers who's names grace our villages, streets and businesses.

This year I added another "Ghost Walk" to the itinerary. This was the Cobblestone Society Ghost Walk. While cobblestone houses are found from Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and into Ontario, Canada, 90% of them are found in the Rochester area. These unique houses are truly beautiful and the Cobblestone Society works hard to preserve them. The Walk takes us to some notable buildings including the Universalist Cobblestone Church which, built in 1834, is the oldest cobblestone church in North America. 


We met several notable "spirits" at these various places. Horace Greeley never lived in the area but owned a house in Childs to support an aunt who could not pay the mortage when her husband died. Horace was the founder and editor of the New York Tribune and was especially famous for constantly calling out the Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed Republicans in that prestigious newspaper but eventually succumbed to his influence. He made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency but lost to President Grant.



We also met Rufus Bullock who was mentioned rather defamatory in the novel Gone with the Wind. We met him both at the Mt. Albion cemetery where his mortal remains are buried and again at the Cobblestone Museum. Rufus was governor in Georgia during the Reconstruction Period after the civil war. He believed in equal rights and education for all Georgians. Because of racial tensions, he eventually called upon the federal military to help ensure the rights of the newly freed African Americans. This did not sit well with a majority of his citizenry who grew to hate the governor with such a vengeance that he fled his term with two years remaining.


Jennie Curtis only 18 when Confederate soldiers took her prisioner and declared her a spy. She vehemenly denied it and refused to meet up with Robert E. Lee feeling that he was a traitor to the republic. She stood her ground and eventually was released.

Starr Chester's shop was visited and he explained how it began as a shop for shoes and became a harness shop later. The shop was originally in Gaines and donated later to the Cobblestone Museum.

We also visited several other buildings in the museum's coffers including the print shop, the blacksmith and the Farmer's museum, both which highlighted the region's rural roots.

The Farmer's Museum:

And local tragedies: In 1859 at the local fair, a bridge collapsed killing 18 people. 500 people were on the bridge at one time attempting to watch the ropewalker when it collapsed into the water. 

Some of the dead were buried were buried on the museum's property.

Autumn just seems the right time to reflect on all who came before and to honor them. So much of our local history is simply forgotten or goes unknown. A local "ghost walk" or "cemetary walk" is a great way of learning and honoring all of those pioneers that were here before us.