Design Wall Monday, May 31, 2021

Memorial Day in America is a day to honor those who have fought and died for our country.  When I was a child, it was called "Decoration Day" and we decorated the graves of soldier in the cemetery.  When I was 28 years old, it was changed to "Memorial Day" and was made a holiday on the last Monday of May each year.  One of my favorite Memorial Day pictures, which I've posted here before, is of a little girl helping her mother decorate soldier's graves:

This week has been a sad one for us as we had to put Mojo down.  Mojo, the rescue dog was only with us for five months, and we knew when we adopted him that he was an old dog.  This last week  was his final week (tumors of cancer).  While hubby was on his golfing trip, I spent most of my time with him, letting him sleep with me, and lay beside me wherever I was.  Last Wednesday, he was not able to walk and hadn't eaten anything for days, so it was time.    It is amazing how much we loved Mojo after only knowing him for five months.  He was a very wise old soul and we miss him a lot.  Penny Lane doesn't quite understand where "her" dog went.

Here are some pictures of Mojo, with Penny Lane in one of them:

I did finish one more May Day basket block, as May draws to a close.  This one is number 26, with four more to go.  A picture below shows my finished block:

Here is another older version of the same block, that was on my computer, and I don't know the source:

It looks like the older version has blue sashing.  I like them set on point, but I don't have further plans on how to finish this quilt.  It will come to me.  

What are you working on this week?  Please link up with the Design Wall Mondays Linkup Party below, and show us what you are making.  Thanks for participating.

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Design Wall Monday - May 24, 2021

 Good Morning Quilters!  Unusual week around here:  Hubby went on a golfing trip with other golfer friends for five days and I am at staying at home with the two dogs.  What did I plan while he was away?  A one person quilt retreat!

Retreat rules (there are none)

No set retreat hours

No set mealtimes (except for Penny Lane and Mojo)

No bed time or rules.  In fact, since I was alone, I slept in the guest bedroom and let both dogs get up on the bed.  They were so happy, and I enjoyed having them snoring beside me.  They are not allowed on the bed in our bedroom.

Old movies that I've seen before have been my go-to entertainment choice.

So far I've watched Sweet Home Alabama, Sixteen Candles, Erin Brockovich, and The Breakfast Club.  Plus several old black and white movies of WWII era.

Visits by friends:  Saturday my two nephews who live in Ludington came over to visit me and play with the doggies.   They brought dog treats, and the pups were in love with them.

Sunday my quilter friend Joan came over.  She had just returned from a trip out of town that was quite fruitful.  She showed me her vintage fabric purchases, vintage kit purchases,  and vintage quilt purchases.   I love to see what friends buy (quilt related) because I have no guilt and it is not adding to my stash.  I can thoroughly enjoy the purchases.

Retreat accomplishments so far:

Appliqued 12 more stars on the first flag of the "10 Cents A Chance" quilt.  One more 12 star week and I will have one of the six star fields completed.  I'm afraid you are going to get tired of seeing appliqued stars on my blog posts.

(The bottom row center star is extra “wonky” and I am going to take it off and place it better.)

Started and finished another basket of flowers for the May Day quilt.  Basket #25 of 30.

This means only five more blocks to applique! I pencil traced the next four of the last five blocks onto the background fabric.  The very last block is filled with French knots, and I saved that one to trace tomorrow, on my last retreat day.  It is exciting to get near the end of the embroidered baskets project.

Have you ever had a retreat at home all by yourself?  Not nearly as much fun as a retreat with quilting friends, but it is the best I can do until the real quilt retreats start up for me.  

What is on your design wall?  I hope you are making more progress there than I am.  My next project for assembly is up on the design wall is my Jane Stickle quilt, and I seem to be stalling on working on it.

If you choose to link up with this blog post (and I hope you will) please follow the two link-up rules:  (1) Ask your readers to visit Design Wall Mondays and (2) provide them a link to this post.  There is only one more Design Wall Monday in May, after today, so I am challenging you to get some of your UFOs up on the design wall and get them finished.  

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Design Wall Monday - May 17, 2021

Good Morning Quilters!

The little doll quilt I started last week is now finished.  It measures 12 x 13.5 inches.  As I said last week, it is a copy of one of the doll quilts in the Mary Ghormley Collection which is at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska.  The original doll quilt is 17.25 x 19.5 inches.

I made the little triangle corners on the back for ease in hanging it up, should I decide to do so.  If I remember them, they are so easy to add before the binding is added.

And next is my progress on the stars for the “10 Cents A Chance” quilt.  12 stars each week is just enough of a goal for me.  The first star field is now half finished.  

Since there are six flags in the quilt, I have 1/12th of the stars finished.  I like the primitive look of the appliquéd  stars, and am learning how to do them better with each star.

I spent a lot of time outside last week in my flower beds, now that the weather has improved.  I think I overdid it a little bit yesterday though, because I can really feel it in my tired muscles.  Today will be spent inside looking at all of your lovely blogs.  Please participate and show all of us what you are working on.

A reminder that if you choose to link up, I request that you link back to this post and urge your readers to come to Design Wall Mondays so your readers can see all the design walls here.  And no, you don’t have to have an actual design wall to participate.  But please do link back to this post.  Thanks!  

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Design Wall Monday - May 10, 2021

Good Morning Quilters!  This week I copied a little doll quilt from the many doll quilts in the Mary Ghormley doll quilt collection.  Her collection can be viewed online at the international Quilt Museum.  Here is the link to this particular doll quilt (Here)  This little quilt is also in  a book about Mary’s doll quilt collection, Childhood Treasures, by Merikay Waldvogel.

Quilt top next to the picture in the book:

Sometimes I must stop whatever I am working on and make a little doll quilt.  I can’t explain it, I just do it.  This week I plan to machine quilt it and add pink binding.

I also made one week’s worth of stars in the “12 stars a week plan” for the 10 Cents a Chance Flag Quilt.  So far, so good.  

Friday, we visited The holland Tulip Festival, in Holland, Michigan and here are some of the beautiful tulips we saw:

What are you going to show us in your linky pictures this week?  I am looking forward to seeing your linkups.  The rules are the same each week:  Please say something about the Design Wall Monday linky party, and provide a link to this blog post from somewhere within your blog post.  Thanks!

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Design Wall Monday - May 3, 2021

 May Basket Quilt - an update for you for the first week of May.  Here are the latest two completed blocks:

There are 30 basket blocks in the quilt, and these two are #23 and #24.  So I’m down to the last six, and it is fun to be on the home stretch.

And here’s where the flag quilt “10 Cents A Chance”, is right now.  There are 288 appliquéd stars, so I decided to make one flag, 48 stars, and then decide if I want to make the whole quilt.   To start, I took freezer paper out and cut a piece the size of the blue star field.  I then sectioned it into smaller sections, and traced the star pattern onto it.  I decided to think about the project as four sections with 12 stars in each.  I am now starting to appliqué  stars, and yesterday, I appliquéd three stars.  At this rate, I could do 12 stars each week, and finish the first flag this month.  

Here is my Freezer paper “pattern”:

And yesterday’s three stars:

What are you working on this first Monday in May?  As usual, the rules are to link back to this post from somewhere within your post, and to talk about Design Wall Mondays on your blog.  Looking forward to seeing what you are working on.  Thanks for joining in!

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