When skates were not quite so fancy . . .

Have you ever talked to someone older than you, and heard the "we didn't have all the things you have today" speech? Giggle! Hey, I've even given that speech to my kids --- they've rolled their eyes and remarked about how I was living alongside the dinosaurs! I think that when they were younger, they half expected to look in the photo album and see a much younger Dad, brandishing a club, and dragging a young Mom by her hair!

Well, in between the "we didn't have a car, or ride the bus to school --- we walked five miles uphill both ways . . .and in the snow!" routine, and the "we didn't have Nintendos and things like that" one, too, are some elements of truth. Our block today is a nod to that simpler era of the early thirties.

My mom-in-law has told us how her friend and she would walk to school together. They had a certain place to meet, and if one girl wasn't at the meeting place, the other would wait if she could.  If the first friend was in a hurry, she would leave a pair of crossed sticks by the path, so the other would know that she'd gone on her  way. My mother-in-law would often share a pair of skates with Jinks (her best friend); not inline skates, mind you, but a very simple metal pair with a leather strap for fastening each one on. They would each take one skate, balance a Geography book on the skate, and then sit down on it. Then they would whiz down the hills, racing each other and their friends.

I couldn't find what I wanted in the line drawings that I saw, so I drew this skate and key, and turned it into a stitchery for this block. Here it is:

The photo was taken before I squared up the block, so please excuse the wonky edges, there! Oh, and by the way, if you like any of these stitcheries and want to use them, you can find links here on the blog . . . just click here.

This past weekend I put some sashing or lattice strips between the blocks, and now I'll be working on two long blocks of patchwork and stitching. I'll post those as soon as I can!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love,

New Arrivals at DewberryLane!

Hi everyone! I'm as happy as a penguin on an ice slide . . .

 YEEE - HAAA!! Outa my way, I'm headed into the water!!

Why am I celebrating? Why, because today is Friday! LOL  And I'm hoping to spend some time in my happy spot (my sewing area) this weekend!

Speaking of which, I wanted to give ya'll a shout-out about some new things popping up over at Dewberry Lane! They are one of our fabulous sponsors, and they have some new arrivals that might make your sewing time lots of fun . . .

First, I saw that Rachel had the Shaggy Mosaic Jeans E-pattern from Brassy Apple. Since many areas of the country are already feeling an autumn "nip" in the air, ya'll might be thinking of putting aside those shorts and pulling out some jeans. This innovative technique will transform new or worn jeans into an individualized, one-of-a-kind fashion statement!

And the best part is that since it is an E-pattern, you can hold the nine pages of instructions in your hot little hands just moments after you purchase --- no waiting for the postman!

Another pattern that caught my eye was the Kitschy Corset Apron . . .

 . . . the DewberryLane site promises that it will "bring some heat" to a kitchen near you! (Hmmm, perhaps one of you special peeps can try this out and let me know the results?! LOL) 

Don't forget, now, you can click on their button on the left-hand side of our blog page, and sign up for their newsletter --- and they pick one of their subscribers each month for a free pattern! While you are there, look around at the great selection of notions and other patterns . . . you'll like what you see there!

Have a lovely weekend; we'll be back with another thirties block on Monday!!

Love,

Another Thirties Block!

Whoo hooo! I got another block done, and just have to show it off! This is for the memory quilt for my mom-in-law, and if any of you are dropping by for the first time, click here and here to see the blocks we've already showed, and to read the stories behind them.

Here is the block that I designed:

Elby suggested that I use the traditional Sunbonnet Sue block, but put two of the girls, for this block --- and here is the reason why: can you see the words stitched below the two little "sues"? It says, "the Gold Dust Twins" right below them.

(And yes, I know I got them a little bit "off" on the block! I'm going to add a few more stitched "sparkles" and try to balance it a little.)

Ahem.
Back to our story . . . one of her sisters was born less than two years before her, and they played together constantly, and even looked a lot alike --- her daddy called them "his gold dust twins." At the time, there was a popular brand of soap that carried that name. She has told us of that nickname many times, so Elby and I thought we should make a memory block for that. I'm sure that many of us can identify with having a special nickname used by our family; hers was even more special since she had so little time with her daddy before he died.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing another block in this special quilt. It may be a few days before I have another to show you; the last two are fairly involved!

In the meantime, why not leave me a comment, and tell me what nickname your family called you?

Love,

Feedback from a Giveaway Sponsor!

Sometimes we bloggers get discouraged . . . We spend time making what we think is a lovely post, or putting together an awesome (at least we think so!) tutorial or a spectacular giveaway, and sometimes this is all we hear:

But this time it's different!! Not only did we have a great giveaway recently, but our sponsor was happy, too!

Remember the tutorial on Heat Press Batting Together? Here is a link to Jeanne's site, to refresh your memory.  We'll wait and sip our cuppa Joe while you sprint over there to see.

All set? I wanted you to read Jeanne's note about how all of you wonderful quilters responded to her generous giveaway, and check it out --- she has a new product, too!

Hello Jacque,
I don't know if I told you but I loved the way you presented our product. People forget the stretchy part and that's the part that allows the edges to be exactly together after the quilting. I've kept a record of the Lilypad contacts and orders. We've had 24 orders! Thank you Ladies! Along with each shipped order, I put in a bonus of our new 3/4"x10yd product. It's being used 'quilt as you go' projects, stabilizing the bias for piecing tops and for hemming all fabrics but especially soft fabrics, knits especially. It's been interesting how people are beginning to use the product.

We have received many nice comments.. Thank you Ladies, you made my days! We have big companies that are making a copy of our product even though we hold the patent pending. They don't have the correct formula yet (they are not quilters)! I've tested the others and we are still the easiest and best!

This has been my first experience with bloggers.. How nice to really connect with quilters. I have found that the quilters are the nicest group of people. I love meeting them at the quilt shows and hearing their stories. Besides finding new techniques for quilting, fabrics, fun quick patterns, the quilters are the BEST find of all.  Thank you so much for exposing our product to your group. 

Happy quilting,
Jeanne Harwood
Heat Press Batting Together


I don't know about you, but hearing something good like that really cranks my tractor!
I hope that many of you will make the quick trip to Jeanne's online store and get a roll or two of her product --- you can't beat free shipping! (And don't forget . . . tell her that Snoodles sent you!!)

Love,

More Blocks and Stitcheries!

The first part of this story is here. It's the story of the quilt that I'm making, with stitcheries to remind my mom-in-law of fun and funny times in her childhood (she'll be 89 in October).

I finished another block, and this one will probably need a little explanation! First of all, can any of you special peeps speak another language (other than English)? Can you "parlez vous" or can you "sprechen Sie Deutsch" or . . . can you speak Fish? Aha! I got you there!

Let's see if you can translate this old Southern nursery tune:

Down in de meddy in a itty bitty poo,
Fam fee itty fitty and a mama fitty, too.
"Fim," fed de mama fitty, "fim if oo tan,"
And dey fam and dey fam all over de dam.
Boop boop dit-tem dat-tem what-tem --- Chu!
Boop boop dit-tem dat-tem what-tem --- Chu!
Boop boop dit-tem dat-tem what-tem --- Chu!
And dey fam all over de dam.

Now before you go and tell all your friends that Snoodles has finally gone completely off her crumpet, let me translate for you!!

Here it is in everyday English:

Down in the meadow in a little bitty pool

Swam three little fishies and a mama fishy, too.

"Swim," said the mama fishy, "Swim if you can,"

And they swam and they swam all over the dam.

A popular big band leader, Kay Kyser, was introduced to this tune by a member of his band, Saxie Dowell, and some folks say it was an old nursery rhyme, while others say it was a tune made up by a college coed. Wherever it came from, it was a #1 hit for Kyser and his singer, Ish Kabibble (yes, they called him that!) in 1939, and others have covered it since.

Here's "The Smoothies" singing it for you. If you want to skip some of the instrumental part (but it's really good) you can skip over to about 35 seconds and just get the words!

Now, my mom-in-law remembers this as one of the songs that her daddy sang to her, and her four siblings. That is a fond memory for her, since her daddy passed away when she was about seven years old.

Years later, it was a song that she sang for her grandbabies, while bouncing them in her lap. They giggled and sang it with her, when they were old enough to learn the words!

Here are some blocks that I adapted from Tonya's May for Me pattern, and the stitchery is my own design:

Again, I'm using thirties repro prints from my stash, and adapting Tonya's piecework to make it just right for my mom-in-law.

Here's a peek at the "itty fittys" up close and personal:

I'll be making some more blocks and stitcheries with special meanings for her, in the coming days --- stop in and see how they turn out!

Hope you enjoy seeing the process behind the finished quilt!

Happy Labor Day weekend!!   :)

Love,