birdsandtrees

Gee's Bend, Alabama

This year at school, the girls and I have been learning about Gee's Bend, Alabama. Gee's Bend (renamed Boykin) is a small community in the Black Belt of Alabama.  It started when hundreds of slaves were brought down from North Carolina by the Pettway Family (You can read about the history of the town here.)  The town is in (and has been in) one of the poorest counties in Alabama. 

The women started making quilts from what they had - work clothes, sheets, etc.  And people started to notice them and recognize that their quilts are works of art. (Sidenote: Pottery Barn even has a line of bedding inspired by the quilts of Gee's Bend...and an interesting article about that here).  Their quilts have now hung in museums across the country.

What's incredible to me is that they had never seen any type of artwork in their life...which in my mind, makes them true artists.

Here are some of their quilts:

Many of these, like this next one, are "Housetop" patterns.  They came up with this pattern when they laid down in bed and looked at the ceiling in their shack.  I'm going to use this pattern to make my next quilt, all from fabrics and old sheets, pillowcases, and clothes that I already have. 

We watched a documentary about Gee's Bend at school, and one quilt that stuck out to me is one that a woman made after her husband passed away.  She used all his old clothes to make the quilt, so that when she missed him, she could wrap herself up in him.  Here it is:

So yesterday, our little school made the trek down to Gee's Bend.  The girls were so excited.  We made a small quilt (inspired by their quilts) to give to them, as well as a Gee's Bend Alphabet Book that we had them all sign.  Each of their quilts tell a story, so ours told the story of our school - each flower representing the girls. 

I wasn't sure what to expect - none of us had ever been there before.  But it ended up being a perfect day, meeting these sweet women we had come to know and love. 

This is Ruth Kennedy, my favorite person of the whole day.  I really wanted to take her home with me.  She quilted the potholders that Selah (above) bought. We were all able to buy one of their small works of art.  I'm so glad I have something to remind me of these wonderful women, their quilts, and this day.

"Breathe it in folks, smells like fall." *

I love days like today.  The weather is absolutely perfect.  It makes me want to drink pumpkin spiced lattes, make a pot of soup, and get out the flannel sheets.  I had to do something to celebrate fall's arrival.  So I decided this morning that it was time to break out the finished picnic blanket!  I gently encouraged the girls to do some schoolwork out back today and put this blanket to the test. 

To make the blanket, I used scraps of fabric that I already had plus one yard of fabric from etsy.  I used binding that was leftover from my quilt, and the backing was from tablecloths I got from a yard sale (see picture below).  So all in all, this project was super cheap...my kind of blanket, right? 

I cut all the fabric in 7x7 squares and then sewed them together in a random pattern.  This was the first time I have actually "quilted" something - I decided just to go for it and use my sewing machine.  After pinning the three layers together (top, batting, bottom), I just lined it up with the seams and sewed along every row and column.  It puckered in places, but I didn't care.  I was on a mission. 

I'm really pleased with how it came out.  I'd say it passed the test. 

___________________________________
*quote from Taylor Doose, Gilmore Girls

Patchwork continued

When I finally finished my quilt, I couldn't get that whole patchwork thing out of mind.  I know I should move on to something other than squares, but for right now, I'm loving them.  When I saw Posie's "Summerhouse Pillows," of course I had to get the pattern.  Of course!   I've got tons of scraps and this is really the perfect way to use them. 
Her pattern is really easy to follow and I know there will be many more in my future.  The thing that makes them so quick and easy is that you use interfacing (when you iron fabric onto it, the fabric sticks).  So basically, you cut all your squares and them place them on the interfacing in the pattern and order that you want them.  Iron them on, and then sew through each column and row until it's quilted.  It's easy, I promise.  I did have some trouble with the piping (never really done that before), mine came out a little smaller than it was supposed to (how'd that happen??), and as I was sewing the back on, a roach crawled on my foot.  But I persevered and I'm so glad I did, roach and all!

A finished quilt and a cute dog.

The past few mornings it has felt like fall.  And that makes me incredibly happy.  I know it will get hot and muggy again, but at least I know it's coming.  So in honor of the arrival of fall, I thought I'd share something I've recently finished that will really come in handy when the temperatures start to drop. 

I can barely believe it myself, but I finished a quilt I started a couple of years ago.  And let me tell you, when I finished sewing that last bit of binding, it was an amazing feeling. 
It's a basic quilt.  Simple design, light colors, all things I like.  I  really love it and am excited that I will have it forever.  Molly was excited, too.  I can't blame her, really.

 

I pieced the squares using my sewing machine (with the teaching and help of my friend Lauren- I've got to give her some props, because I probably would have never made a quilt if it wasn't for her!), but then sent the quilt off to a fabulous lady named Lena here in Birmingham.  Together, we came up with a quilting design...I thought doing a flowery pattern would work well, since so many of the fabrics have flowers.  Along with books and baskets, I might have a slight obsession with flowery fabrics.  I can't stop myself. 

Now that I've finished this one, I'm on to another.  This time it's a quilt for picnics and for the kids to use in the backyard for reading and working during school.  Later this week I'll show you how that one's coming along. 
But in the meantime, I'm going to go and enjoy this one.   

Quilted Coasters

One of my favorite books from Christmas is Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson (of Purl).  I don't know if I've mentioned it yet this year, but I feel like I need to becuase it's a lovely book.  Ever since I got it, I've looked through it countless times and have wanted to pick one of the projects.  If you've never seen the book, it's organized by the amount of time you have (less than 2 hours, 2-4 hours, 4-8 hours, 8-12 hours, and more than 12 hour gifts).  I obviously went for the less than 2 hour section to make a project. I decided on the "quilted coasters," which are really easy to make (I think James could even make these) and (other than my dang sewing machine messing up) they hardly took me any time at all.  If you know how to use your sewing machine and cut fabric, you're good to go.  And another great thing about them is that you can just use those leftover scraps of  fabric that you've got lying around (or old sheets, tablecloths, etc.). 
Bascially what you do is make a small "pillow" from fabric, stuff it with batting that fits in the inside, fold up the open end, and then quilt it shut (going in a continuous line all the way to the center of the coaster).   See? 

I think these would make wonderful housewarming gifts, Christmas presents, you name it!  So get your sewing machine out, find a scrap of fabric, and make your glasses something cushy to rest on!

Quilt Frames Part 2

This school year, I wanted the kids to give their families something handmade, and I decided to take the idea from the quilt frame I made (using Posie's instructions from her new book).  Instead of using a photograph, I had the kids draw a portrait of their family.  I put it on fabric using iron-on transfer paper.  Then they added some detail with embroidery (they've been learning some basic stitches at school- straight stitch, backstitch, split stitch, and satin stitch).  After that, I framed it with fabric and added two loops on the back to hang it.  And voila!  Many hours of sewing later, here's what we ended up with:

 


 (apparantly they taste good)





 

I'm so happy with how they came out!

Class Quilt Frame

After my last post about handmade gifts, I've been hard at work in the basement/schoolroom/craftroom.  I had been looking through the new Posie craft book (see post here) and decided to make the quilt frame.  I had an idea to make it with our class picture and to give it to all the parents as a Christmas gift.  I then changed my mind (mid-project, which happens a lot) and decided to make just this one for me and I'm going to do something similar (but with something instead of the class picture) for the parents.  I'll be sure to show the revised project next week when me and the kids finish them all.  I'm thinking there are going to be some late nights next week.  Crunch time is upon us- two weeks to go! 
Anywho, I just finished making our class picture quilt frame and thought I'd share.  The lighting is so bad today (and has been all week), so please excuse the bad picture. 

The instructions in the book made it easy to put together, and I will definitely be making something like this again.  After my eyes were opened to printing pictures on fabric, it opened up a whole new world of craft possibilities. 

Looking at these pictures, it's hard for me not to point out all the faults, but I'm slowly learning that no one really wants to hear those.  And I am happy with it, so I'll just leave it at that! 

Posie's book is all about making projects that will help you always remember a special time, place, event, etc.  And so for me, this picture will help me remember one of the first weeks of our school- the air was getting cooler, leaves were just beginning to fall, acorns were being collected and stuffed in pockets, and I just managed to get the perfect shot of our sweet little class.  It was a good day.