I love when this happens....someone from the past resurfaces in the present in a most unusual way. When I first came to Austin, TX, in the 1970s, I took a community school class that was offered in quilting for beginners. I'd always been a stitcher but never did any quilting. Connie, a very accomplished quilter, taught me the basics and then I was on my own. I never did come in contact with Connie again. Some 25 or 30 years later, I joined a quilting bee and met Barbara and Margaret who talked about Connie as they were all members of the Austin Area Quilt Guild. Connie had passed away in the early 90s and Barbara had quite a few of Connie's pieced blocks that had never been quilted. About two weeks ago, Barbara showed some of those blocks at quilt bee and there was one that I admired because it looked like an old cotton hanky. Barbara generously offered it to me and I said I would make a pillow. Well, I so enjoyed hand quilting that block that I did nothing else for a couple of days. I put an edge on it with some fabric from my stash and made it into a pillow. I just love it....especially the connection that this is Connie's pieced block and she was the one who taught me the basics of quilting. I will gift the pillow back to Barbara if she likes it.
click on the images for close-ups...
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| hand quilted and edged |
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| the backside showing the quilting |
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| the finished pillow measures about 12" x 12" |
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I was also given this small patchwork piece that I hand quilted and edged with piping. It will become an outside pocket on a future pouch.
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| measures 4½" x 9½" |
I stopped at the thrift store this week looking for something specific and couldn't pass up this beautiful white tablecloth, in pristine condition, that measures about 36" x 60". It was $4. It looks like Indian Chikan Embroidery. Hoping Anita from India will weigh in on this and tell me if I am right.
I have managed to spend some time knitting in the evenings and made some headway on this Love and Loyalty Pinball. It is done on size 0000 double needles so it's quite fiddly to handle. I do love watching the pattern emerge with each row.
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| Love and Loyalty Pinball |
Have a great week and enjoy the present moment.
