Farm Quilt

 Back in the 1970s I wanted to be a landscape painter. When I lived on the edge of a small town in 1977, I rode around the country photographing barns, planning to use them as models for paintings. I managed to begin one of those paintings, but never finished it. Life got too busy for that hobby, and then when I later discovered quilting, I abandoned painting altogether. I'm really too messy for painting; fabric makes a mess, too, but it's easier to clean up.

Last summer I started taking photos of barns again while on vacation--this time as inspiration for quilts. And today I have a quilt to share, not from one of the recent photos, but from two I took in 1977.

Okay, that might be enough for anyone who just wants to see what I made, but if you are interested in the process and some details, here's more. First, those old photos, fuzzy images from a cheap old film camera.

I took digital photos of the photos and enlarged them to use as patterns, tracing over major lines with a marker for seams.

I also made a tiny sketch of my idea.

I traced the barn parts and added more lines on newsprint for a pattern,

divided it into sections, and traced each in reverse on freezer paper for no tear-off paper piecing. 

                   Sorry about the bad images. These were hard to photograph. 

The first part of my piecing was with fabrics from my scraps. I gradually built up the quilt top, piecing sections and layering fabrics to determine the next placements. I ended up having to shop for some greens (as well as the sky) because I didn't have enough on hand. So now I have leftover fabric for more landscapes if the mood strikes again. Here are some in-progress photos.

I cut a narrow freezer paper pattern piece to help me attach the sky to the land piece. This was the only tricky seam in the quilt. All the others were straight seams. I used a technique from one of my Ruth B McDowell piecing books for curved piecing. Since the seam was gentle, it was pretty easy to do. 

A finished top:

I quilted the quilt the way it wanted to be quilted, mostly following structural details and contours of the land with a walking foot, but meandering in the foreground and sky with a free motion foot.

I finished the quilting and did the machine sewing on the binding and sleeve just before we went on vacation and did the hand sewing to finish them on the porch at our charming rented house. The binding is a combination of two navy prints.

I also started the embroidery of the fence wire, but didn't quite finish it until I got back home. Just for fun, and because it's kind of part of my art signature, I also added four buttons from my ceramic collection by Sandra Lance.

Here are the usual garage and driveway photos back at home. I should have probably taken the quilt to a farm. In recent years, I have not found those barns from the photos in the area. I suspect they have been demolished. We still have lots of similar barns around here, though.

                                           Breeze bulge at the bottom.

                                I suppose that red button could be a wheel.

           Yellow button just 'cause it matches. I think this is wheat, so not a bale.

I like how some of the flowers poke through the fence. They are the last bits of fabric that is in a very old bedspread and many past quilts. I see my fence wire is sagging a bit. Tired, old fence.

The back is a woodprint I've had for years. Joel Dewberry, I think?

                                                   More breeze play.

On the driveway, again.

          If you look really close, you can see my initials and date below the button.

Some stats, such as they are--

Pattern: My own, based on my own photos

Size: 43 3/4 inches by 23 7/8 inches

Fabrics: A variety of old and new cottons/batiks

Binding: Two navy prints, cut 2 5/8 inches

Batting: Hobbs 80/20

Thread: Superior Masterpiece in Granite for piecing; Superior King Tut in White Linen for bobbin when quilting; a variety of all kinds of threads for top quilting thread (I think I finished up at least five spools); Superior Treasure in Antique for hand sewing.

Embellishments: Hand embroidery with DMC floss in 3072 (Beaver Gray); four ceramic handmade buttons by Sandra Lance Pottery.

Machines: Singer Featherweight for piecing; Singer 115 Treadle for walking foot and free motion quilting and first stitching of binding.

I was going to share some other photos from our trip, including quilt-related ones, but I think I'll put them in a separate post in a few days. This is enough for now. I must say this though: When I started this quilt, it was meant to be a somewhat challenging distraction from all the horrific and disturbing things going on in the world--and because I live here--in my country. As I worked on the quilt, I was often thinking of the chaos we wake up to every day when tuning in to the latest news. I was making a seemingly idyllic scene, but as I worked it felt more like a protest piece. Protest about so many governmental actions that affect farmers/food security/human life--all of us:

--Ping ponging imposition of tariffs 

--The dismantling of US Agency for International Development (USAID) 

--Proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

--Proposed cuts to clean energy programs and climate protections 

--Cuts and proposed cuts to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding to food banks and schools, food safety regulations and agricultural research, and

--Recent raids on agricultural workers without regard for their constitutional rights.  

My fabric picture of a farm is pristine--no people, no equipment. Is this beauty or a prophecy of loss? I can hold two thoughts in mind as I view it--appreciation for the beauty of farms/farming as well as a sense of outrage over decisions that would certainly roll back progress made in addressing a basic need of humans--food security and safety--and result in the loss of farming livelihoods and communities.

As Willie Nelson said, "Farmers and their fields are the fabric that holds our country together."

I'm linking up today with Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty for Brag about Your Beauties, and later this month I'll link up with Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl for June's Favorite Finish. I appreciate your comments if you wish to make them. I know some may not agree with what I have said about my protest, but I believe that we have a right to speak up (and must) when we disagree with our government. This is my way, whether you agree or not. Know that I might not post related comments, but I will respond to you personally through email. 

Keep quilting; keep speaking up.

(Just a reminder: I'm not affiliated with any company, so when I mention products, services, or stores, I'm just documenting what I used or liked, not officially promoting anything. )

Front Door Quilt Redux

 Nearly three years ago with a sense of urgency, I made a quilt for my front door to voice my support for the people of Ukraine in the midst of the cruel attempt by Russia to take over their country. As seasons and years changed, I put other quilts up, and although the quilt was not forgotten, I stopped displaying it, perhaps out of dismay that there was no end to the aggression.

This past week I decided that it was time to make my voice heard again. So I took the quilt out of storage, but before I put it back up, I made a change.

Here is my Front Door Quilt Redux:

And here is how it looked before:

If you'd like to read more about how I made this quilt, you can click here and read the second half of the post. 

I'm sure you can immediately see the alteration I made. Yes, I still think we need to pray for peace. But given the notion of the current administration of my country about what it means to "make peace" (giving in to an aggressor, letting others make decisions as if Ukraine was the aggressor, paying back for support which was intended to be a gift, giving up resources and without guarantees of security), I can't pray for that. I don't want my quilt to reflect that. So, I covered up the words with appliqued strips of fabric with the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Who couldn't love that flag--the blue sky with the fields of wheat? What a beautiful image, rich with symbolism. I just happened to have yellow fabric with a print of children holding hands. Never mind that I'm about the only one who knows the fabric is there--no one will see it from afar. But it needs to be in this quilt. Think of the children. 

I hung the quilt up yesterday with my own prayer that Ukraine will be recognized and supported as the sovereign country it is, that the aggression will stop, and that the country will not be used as a pawn in a dangerous transactional global game. 

This isn't the only thing on my mind right now. I am embarrassed by and ashamed of the cruel and senseless actions of the administration to destroy every aspect of my country and in doing so, to bring instability and devastation to our world. I could say a lot about this, especially about the unelected citizen and his illegal department of government (in)efficiency and co-presidential stance (talk about waste, fraud and abuse!), and rule by executive order, but I'll try to restrain myself. I know I am supposed to continue to live my life and find joy, etc., etc.. To maybe even live as if the breakdown of our democracy isn't happening. Perhaps I don't even notice much of a change in my personal daily life. Yet. But by the time I am personally affected, it will be too late. And there are many, many people-- domestically and internationally--whose lives have already been upended, perhaps forever broken. I am slowly trying to finding ways to protest the dismantling of the government--educating myself on current issues, contacting my congressman about issues I care about (discouraging in itself as there is apparently only voicemail). I'm doing some other things, too, and I know there is much more to do. Yeah, I'm just one person, but there is strength in numbers...(Please join me.) 

There was no quilting here the last few weeks except for this quilt redux. Instead I was saving my blog posts to my own computer. Since I wonder what might happen to social media in the future, I decided I wanted to preserve a copy of my blog content. I looked up how to save it, but kept reading that once saved, it was sometimes hard for people to access the format on their computers. So I painstakingly made screen shots of each post (not the comments) and pasted them in locally saved Word documents  There was lots of cropping going on. I did get more comfortable with my newish computer and learned some shortcuts along the way. It doesn't look like the blog, but all the content is preserved. After all, it's mine. Now if something weird happens to Blogger in the future, I'll still have everything. It was a great distraction from social media and news consumption. I had fun visiting old quilts, old posts, and old photos of my vacations, bike rides and flowers. Time consuming, but not really a waste of time.

In the meantime, I read gentle chick lit (not a usual interest for me) to help myself fall asleep at night because anything more thought-provoking just leads to insomnia. I have fantasies of quilt making. Remember the old Sunbonnet Sue quilts (and Denim Dan, maybe)? Quilters either loved or hated them. There was a trend for awhile of quilts with lots of different blocks showing the demise of Sunbonnet Sue. You can imagine the blocks swirling in my head depending on the news each day. No, I won't make that quilt. It will exist only in my mind. I wouldn't be surprised if someone does though. We have a long history of protest quilts. Seriously, I think my next quilt will be some sort of landscape or lakescape so I can remember what our country looked like after we  lose our national parks and clean air and water. We'll see. Have to pep myself up to get inspired. 

Thanks for the tips from people about my no-reply problem with comments. I haven't tried to figure out a fix yet. If you don't see your comment published or hear back from me, know that I do appreciate your feedback. 

Okay, time to wrap this up. Here's my quilt from the steps.

With Selfie!

And from farther back.

Look at that open window! It was in the 70's here today.

 Simple pleasure. :) 

So, if you are still here, I know that you might agree with me, or at least have an open mind to read my take on the state of things. Thank you. 

There are some fun things going on here. On Tuesday, we celebrated the 47th anniversary of the day we decided to get married. (Much better than the current reference to 47, don't you think?) We baked a Rusk pie together, and ate the last pieces tonight on Pi(e) Day. Yum. 

                                               More simple pleasures. 

I'm linking up with Cynthia this weekend at Quilting is more Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap, because there are a few scraps added in my project, and the original was also made from scraps. I hope you have scraps to put to use. Ha, who doesn't? Also, please make your voice heard to fight injustice where ever you see it. We can do this.

Bear Paw Placemat Finale

 Well, here we are in February. (January was rough, and it's just as well I didn't have a post to write then.) I have the last of my placemat project to show today. Let's enjoy a photo of them together, and then before we look closer, I have a question or a few to ask of people who use Blogger.

I used to get email notifications of comments which I moderated and then published. After they went up on the blogpost, I got another notification, and to respond to a comment, all I had to do was click on it and I could quickly reply to the commenter to thank them or to chat. In my December post, everyone that commented came up as "no reply," even though I had corresponded with them for years. I didn't notice until my responses were flagged as undeliverable, apparently due to new restrictions set up by Blogger. I was able to figure out a way around with alternative email addresses, but there was no indication of how my replies looked to the commenter. Was there a connection between their comment and my reply so they'd know what my reply was referring to? I spent too much time figuring out the email and then explaining that I was replying to their comment on my post. I haven't responded to the last few comments I got (yet). So here are my questions: If you received a reply back from me, was it clear what I was replying to (if I had not explained)? Did it reach you? And, is there a simpler way to do this? Also, am I showing up as no-reply, too? I don't know how to fix this. I appreciate everyone's comments and don't want to have anyone unacknowledged. So, thank you for your comments, and any advice would be so helpful. I feel like this is one more thing in a whole host of frustrations right now. In a time when communication is more important than ever to hold onto our sanity, it seems there's a drive to keep us from communicating (algorithms and all of that). I know a lot of people don't blog anymore, but with people quitting other forms of social media it might become one of the only ways to keep in touch authentically, so I'd like to keep this going even if I don't blog as much as I used to either.

Okay, enough of that. So here are each of the last seven placemats I made for Meals on Wheels from my Bear Paw blocks I made in 2020, along with a few tidbits about them. Most finished at 14 by 18 inches. I sewed them on my Featherweight and quilted them on my Singer 115 treadle. 

This placemat started with two blocks. I had enough fabric in the scrap bins to make two matching ones before adding borders. 

The back was easy--wholecloth from a piece of fabric I used in a quilt and some pillows for our family room years ago. This leftover was going to be part of a table runner that never got made.

Here is another one with two added blocks. If you look closely, you'll see that some of the fabrics are different prints but close matches. The dark paws look black, but are actually rich purples.

The back is just strips of whatever coordinating fabrics I could find that fit.

This one has fabrics from both long-ago projects and more recent ones. The three prints in the upper right Bear Paw were from back when I made miniature quilts and needed tiny prints. Hard to let go of these last bits, but why keep them stored in drawers?

The back is more leftover strips. The white print was the edge of a quilt back, I think.

I started the above three placemats at the end of 2024 but quilted and bound them this year, all with meanders.

Not much to say about this one. I chose strips to complement the blocks, trying to not go too much toward a Christmas color scheme as these will be distributed in the spring. The narrow borders at the top and the bottom are a bit wonky, but I don't think it will matter to whoever uses it.

More strips on the back. That dark green tone-on-tone print was a favorite in quilts over the years.

The Bear Paw in this one started from the multicolored print, a fat quarter I bought during a vacation trip. Why I only bought a fat quarter I don't know, but it was a challenge to use in a quilt. I ended up sprinkling it in some blocks on a quilt back for a donation quilt. This is what was left.

The back is leftovers of many quilts, both very old (the tan print is leftovers from our bed quilt that took lots of years to make and spent 20 years on our bed until it wore out) and newer (such as the teal prints from a grand nephew's baby quilt a few years ago).

The Bear Paw that started this placemat was a block with a winter snow theme. I had actually used the back side of the geode-ish print to try to show all the subtle shades of snow. The claw parts were lighter. Here is it in its original form.

I unsewed the block and made new deeper colored claws. The original fabric was a fat quarter, and I had enough to make three more blocks to complete this placemat.

The back is random strips again. I think at this point in the project, it was the easiest way to move the work along. 

This placemat started from the two Bear Paws in the upper half. I had enough of most of the prints to make two more matching blocks, but I only had some random strips of the red/green/black print.

I found another floral scrap with a different print but similar feel and coloring, fussy cut it, and laid out the strips around it to see if it would work. 

It did, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. This placemat might not be everyone's "cup of tea," but I quite like its cheerful vibe.

The back is once again random strips (the one on the right is from a baby quilt I made for my niece more than 44 years ago)--becoming my favorite placemat backing format--and I wonder why I don't just make whole placemats that way. Now that the Bear Paw supply is depleted, maybe I will! This placemat had an oops with my rotary cutter (don't ask--I didn't lose a finger), so I had to retrim it a bit narrower than the others.

I meandered two of these placemats and did organic wavy lines on the others. 

So there you have it--my placemat finale. Funny that it took the reworking of one block and nine more Bear Paws. I didn't mind. It's one of my favorite blocks to make. 

I now have 22 placemats to donate to Meals on Wheels in the spring. When I made them, I intended to simply brighten the mealtimes of whoever receives them. I never thought they would become an expression of protest. If you read my end-of-the-year post you know that my hope for the new year was to try to keep a "positive but realistic attitude of hope for peace, decency, compassion and maybe even wisdom" in a new era of uncertainty in my country. The realistic part of me was expecting some problems. But what's happening now, although along the lines of what I expected, is so much worse faster. I could give many examples (I'm sure you are aware), but here's just one. While I was finishing these placemats, there were indications of "pauses" or "freezes" of funding for many supportive programs, not only domestically, but internationally. One program that could be affected is the Meals on Wheels program for seniors in need. Last week, a judge issued a stay to stop the domestic "freeze" at least temporarily, but who knows what will happen next? The placemats have become a symbol of my protest against the small mindedness, injustice, and cruelty happening within my country's government. 

A placemat probably isn't a big statement, but it's what I have to give right now. It's my continued hope—no, plea—for peace, decency, compassion, and maybe even wisdom.  May God have mercy on us all.

I'm linking up with Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauties Pageant and with Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap. Oh, and Cynthia, you might like to know that when I'm not sewing for my sanity right now, I've been rage cleaning. No, it's not as fun as quilting, but it does serve a purpose.

(Oh, and everyone, don't forget to give me your advice on the no-reply issue.)