My Mother was a fabric hoarder quilter. After she died we gave away some of her fabric to people who sew. I do not sew, so I saved some for our daughter Trica and Jen picked out some pieces that she wanted. I have a friend that I grew up with that makes quilts and donates them and does a quilt raffle for Leukemia every year. I picked out pieces of material that I thought would look good together in a quilt and saved them for Janet.
My Mother was a maker of quilts. I took nine of my quilts to the church, but I still had a few in use at home.
The quilt on the right is made from my fathers shirts, she made four of them one for each of us. She was finishing the bindings on the last two when she took a turn for the worse...my cousin Wilma took them home and finished the bindings for Mom.
Far Guy is a tad bit better today, I am still exhausted.
Far Side
I had a bunch of old photos to take to Mom for her to look at. We got them kinda sorted out.
If you were married 25 years "The Aunts" used to send out instructions for a cotton quilt square with embroidery on it that included your name. Then they would get together and sew the top together and have a quilting bee.
This was my parents quilt, Mom said they got it when they were married about 35 years...because they had lots of catching up to do when they started the project.
The "Quilting Bee" was held at my cousin Art and Kathy's home on the lake.
Mom still has her quilt, I packed it at her apartment and it went to storage.
You can see the squares were all different pastel colors of cotton material....each design unique.
Far Guy and I have two quilts...two double size quilts because by the time our anniversary rolled around I had many cousins participating!
It was a great family tradition. Many thanks to the Aunts that started the tradition!
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Jen finished her Robot Quilt. It was quilted with a nuts, bolts and gears pattern.
It is a work of art! She gifted it to her husband for his birthday.
She does not get her talent for sewing from me.
Far Side
It is turning colder. Not unusual for this time of year...just a fact of life here in Minnesota.
This looks like a quilt that would be nice to snuggle into.
Far Guy has three medical appointments today...normal stuff for him. Scans and six minute walks and a Dr visit. His weekly infusion went well yesterday...the nurses are getting better and faster and that cuts into my Hobby Lobby time...but I did get all the groceries!
Far Side
My Mom also made this quilt a number of years ago. It is on the bed upstairs at home.
I should have pulled the coverlet off the bottom of the quilt, it matches the quilt. It may have been a Christmas gift also...I do not recall exactly. Someday someone may wonder about all the quilts we have...and the blog is a great way to leave a bit of history behind!
We had a quiet day yesterday with Little Elvis supervising afternoon naps. Far Guy managed the stairs a couple of times and he was on the treadmill. His recovery will be slow and we all have to be patient. That is just the way it is.
Far Side
My Mom and Dad gave each of us a Christmas Quilt for Christmas.
Mom worked long hours to get four quilts made.
The backing is a soft plush fabric. Mom takes all of her quilts to my cousin Wilma to be machine quilted.
The Christmas colors are so beautiful and cheerful!
We had a quiet day yesterday with a bit of laundry, puppy sitting and naps. Far Guy is about the same, he ventured upstairs for supper ( Smoked BBQ Ribs, Potatoes and the rest of the "salad") and to watch the Hockey game.
Far Side
In honor of High School Graduation my Mother likes to make quilts for her Great Grandchildren.
Noah was the first to receive his.
Noah and his Great Grandma.
Noah with his Great Grandpa who always pulls stray threads so he helps with the quilts too.
Adam was next although he didn’t graduate or anything my Mom thought he should have a quilt too…both the boys are tall so their quilts are extra long.
Adam and his Great Grandma
Paige was next.
Paige and her Great Grandparents.
My Mom loves to sew, a trait which she did not pass down to me. Mom sews the blocks together and prepares the quilt top for the long arm quilter who happens to be my cousin Wilma. When they come back after being quilted they just need a binding! Mom sews half the binding on to the quilt with her fancy smancy sewing machine and then turns the binding to hand sew the rest. Mom sits in the easy chair and hand stitches the binding on. More ofter than not Mom has a quilt in the works all the time.
Next door neighbor Jo and I went to an Amish Quilt sale…up north.
Of course they were auctioning off other things too…fresh produce especially potatoes, green beans, onions, broccoli, eggplant and even some cauliflower.
There was oak furniture…complete bedroom sets, quilt racks and shelves. Baskets, breadboards, birdhouses, homemade rugs and potholders.
Every kind of pickle you can imagine, pickled beets, jams and jelly.
I was respectful of their dislike of cameras.
The quilts were in the back of the sawmill…yes the auction sale was inside a huge working sawmill.
Most of the ground where the quilts were displayed was covered in carpeting. Three fourths of the building was set up with bleachers and chairs for bidders. One fourth was for the auction platform and the quilts. There were 155 quilts for sale.
The quilts were brought up one by one and held high in the air. While we were there the most expensive quilt sold was $525.00 and that was for one called the Minnesota Star. Most quilts were selling for around $200 give or take. After the quilt was sold it was bagged and marked with your number for pick up after you paid your bill. All quilts are hand made and hand quilted…no machines involved.
If you are a connoisseur of fine Canadian whisky you will recognize the bags that Crown Royal comes in. Who woulda thunk it?
A colorful quilt
Some kind of a star quilt
There were many pieced quilt tops and wall hangings. Jo held this wall hanging up so I could take a photo.
There were two auction rings one inside and one outside. Outside they were selling lumber, misc tools, what not and chickens and rabbits.
It was a fun day…no I didn’t buy a thing…other than lunch.
A few weeks ago with urging from Nancy I submitted the paperwork online for a Quilt of Valor for my husband ( Far Guy) who served in the Air Force and the North Dakota Air National Guard for a total of 26 years.
I knew the request was in the works, I spoke with the Minnesota Coordinator. She said “We will try to get it presented before August 1st …I will let you know.” I figured I had time to organize something… a small gathering with our daughters and the grands. I think it is important for the grands to know about service to our country and the sacrifices that Veterans make.
Things happened faster than anyone anticipated. On Tuesday whilst I was home mowing the grass, Far Guy was at Respiratory Therapy and then went by the Museum to do some work on the High School Memory Room when the Veteran’s Service Officer walked in and presented the quilt to him! I guess it was meant to be.
I wasn’t there to get a picture.
I got a photo later at home.
For now we have it draped over one of the railing upstairs, so it is the first thing that you see upon entering our home.
We know that a gal by the name of Jean put the quilt together and also did the long arm quilting. That is all we know. What a labor of love these women have taken on. So far 102,587 quilts have been awarded through the Quilt of Valor Program.
My husband was so pleased to be honored for his time in the military!
I live in Becker County, however I work in Hubbard County. I know much more about Becker County History since I was born and raised in the county. I did go to High School in Hubbard County..for what it is worth.
Sometimes the county lines are crossed..since we live so close to Hubbard County the lines are easily blurred.
Such is the case with a number of items in the museum. Today I will address the Colgrove Quilt.
The quilt hangs in the Heritage Room at the museum. It is one of two items that is “on loan” to the museum. “On Loan” so that all people may enjoy it.
During WWII local residents of the Ponsford Minnesota area brought things into the Red Owl store in Ponsford to sell. The store was owned by Ted and Mary Colgrove. They sold the store in 1949 to Ray and Bev Masog ( who I remember at the store).
Mrs. Clark’s quilt was not sold. It’s original price was $10.00 but she offered it to the Colgroves for $7.50. The Colgrove children remember the quilt being stored in a trunk..and on really cold nights it was brought out and put on a bed. The children felt special to sleep in the bed with the Indian Quilt.
So this is a bit of Becker County history that resides in the neighboring Hubbard County Historical Museum.
Last winter it was taken out for appraisal. I did not hear the evaluation. This spring I called Joyce..because the wall was so bare..and she brought it back into the museum.
It is a beautiful piece of art! The room where it is displayed has UV filters on the windows and on the light fixtures. I would like to see this quilt have a sleeve hand sewn at the top so that it can be secured to the board through the sleeve and not through the quilt itself. It would require approval by the family and someone to do the hand sewing.
Light and dust are the worst for quilts..and gravity. Quilts that are folded in cases must be refolded every once in awhile or their folds will become creased. All the quilts in the museum that are in cases need to be refolded. I put it on my “to do” list.
I recently read an article that said cedar chests are bad places to store quilts long term..that the wood should be sealed for proper storage of heirloom quilts.
Personally I have three quilts..well four..but three that I store in a Rubbermaid tote..I wonder how that rates for storage?:)
I finished the quilt square! It is done is plenty of time!
Here it is ready to backstitch.
Back stitching is just that.. sewing backwards stitches with one or two threads.
Back stitching complete and the work of art was signed.
The next step requires that you cut the excess of the waste fabric away.
Then you soak the whole thing in warm water..it softens up the waste cloth that must be removed.
Far Guy loves to pull the stitches..he pulls them one at a time with a tweezers. The stitches are exposed one by one..it took him about an hour of gentle tugging to get all the waste cloth removed.
I am so glad it is done..one more project off the list. No more cross stitching for me for awhile. It will be interesting to see what birds my other cousins have come up with! This quilt will be put together and hand quilted and given away at the Family Picnic in 2013. The girls decided that having a picnic every year was getting old so they will skip the usual picnic this year:)
I forgot all about the Cousin’s Quilt Square that I need to have done by February 21. Old age I guess..the theme of this years quilt is “birds.”
I usually do a cross stitch pattern on waste cloth.
The waste cloth is attached to the top of your quilt square. Waste cloth is a patterned cloth that has threads running through it..so that a cross stitch design can be stitched upon it and then the cloth is soaked and removed. The threads are pulled..Far Guy likes to do that part.
Here is my pattern. My eyes are not as good as they used to be..but it is coming along.
I pulled some pinky looking floss..I am not sure that it is quite right for the thistle flower so I need to go to town to get some more floss.
I organize all my floss onto plastic holders, that are marked with the color and then they are put into the containers in numerical order. It is one of the things I am anal about…I like it perfect and not a mess. I have been cross stitching for about 30 years and there is nothing as frustrating as having a balled up messy bag of floss to sort through when you want to begin a project.
Years ago I began with cardboard thingys to wind the floss on..then the plastic ones came out. I have a bunch of extras..I am not sure that they even make them anymore. I am not sure why I have three boxes either..I may have used a box for each of the girls..they both enjoyed cross stitching too. I used to cross stitch on sweatshirts and give them away as gifts.
Someone asked for my Pork Chop Recipe. Use one box of Uncle Bens Wild and White Rice and 2 cups of water and a little butter put it all in a roasting pan and submerge three uncooked pork chops into the rice. Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes…whilst you are napping:)
I took lots of photos and have many museum stories to share and from time to time I will blog about some of my experiences.
When something comes into the historical museum as a donation, it needs approval to stay. I can approve some things..some things sit around my office until enough board members have been by to vote one way or another. It is a pain in the neck..I have a very small office that I share with the gift shop.
This quilt was donated.
I accepted it right away because we have nothing similar to it. It is made from Men’s Suits. If you look closely you can see suits from church long ago. I knew right away that I had a perfect spot for it.
I filled out the paperwork. All donated items are called accessions..they are assigned a number. The number is marked on the item with a special pen. The people that donate items receive a copy of the paper work and a thank you letter. I photograph everything..the museum has no camera..but I donate mine for the photography work. The accession is then entered into a fancy smancy museum inventory program. Nothing leaves my office until the paperwork has been filled out and a photo has been taken.
When I have about ten accessions to record I begin the computer work..usually on a day when I know it is going to be quiet..and before our monthly meeting. Accessions are part of what I report about during those meetings.
Many museums have a room where their accessions are stored until they go out for display. Sometimes things need small repairs..a nail in a frame or some supporting documents attached. For me all this happens in my office…sometimes my desk looks like a disaster area.
I was in my office the other day..I dropped off some catalogues and some research files that I had finished with. It was colder in the building than it was outside. My boots were a little snowy..I slid across my office floor..it was like a skating rink. I was real happy to lock up and leave:)
Tuesday I spent the day with my cousins. It was a quilting project. We each brought a half of a yard of fabric that was cut into 2 1/2 inch strips.
It seems everyone had more than plenty of scraps. These are Hilda’s. We threw them all inside a paper bag and mixed them up. Those who sewed were supposed to blindly grab three pieces of fabric out of the bag and sew them together. There were four cousins ( Geraldine, Diana, Evelyn and Hilda) that sewed the strips together. They are multi talented and can talk and sew all at the same time… and giggle.
I pressed the seams all the same way and Kathy squared up the blocks and cut them to the correct size. Aunt Anna did whatever needed doing..sewing..ripping out seams that were too fat..and squaring up squares.
Then they were sewed into long strips.
And finally a quilt emerged.
This one had two more strips to be sewn on..but it was getting dark and it had been a long day..so I came home.
Things heard at the gathering:
“How big of a quilt are we making?” “We are just sewing all the fabric up.” “We have no idea.” “Who knows?”
“What if we don’t have enough fabric?” “Never fear I have more fabric stashed in the house.” OR “I can run home and get whatever we need.”
“What time is lunch?” “Noonish..what time is it now?” “12:30 ..time flies when you are having fun.”
Lunch was a feast..Roast Pork for sandwiches on homemade from scratch flat bread, two kinds of homemade soup..and enough bars to feed your sweet tooth for days. I brought grapes and pumpkin bread.
The quilts..I think there are two in the works..one full size and possibly a twin or a throw will be completed over the winter and they will be put away for a family in need or donated to a good cause:)
