Looking for some help...

Well it has been a long time since I have posted anything on this blog.  You see after my mom passed away in August I had a difficult time coping.  I let a lot of things slide this blog being one of them.  I am happy to say that I am coping better now and hope to revive this blog.  For now I would like some help dating a piece of furniture.  Over the last few months my sisters and I have been sorting out my Mom and Dad's belongings.  (My Dad passed away in 1996). My parents lived in my father's family home which he inherited when his parents passed.  There are generations of belongings to sort through.  This buffet is a piece of furniture that had sat in my parents living room for as long as any of my sisters and I can remember.  I have a vague memory of my parents saying that it had belonged to my grandparents on my fathers side.  I have looked over the piece and I can't find a manufacturer's mark or anything that could help date it.  A friend at the library where I work suggested I do a google image search but it didn't help.  Does anyone have any ideas how I could find out how old it could be?

A finish! *Updated*

Remember the wall hanging I have been working on for a co-worker

I finished it on the weekend!

I hand quilted some sea gulls in the sky portion and in the background just above the water line I hand stitched a couple of dolphins jumping out of the water. I delivered the finished wall hanging to my co-worker this past Thursday and she was thrilled with it. She kindly let me share her photos of it hanging on her wall.

A Precious Treasure

For a quilter/sewer there is always treasure in the form of thread, pins, buttons etc. in the drawers of a  sewing machine cabinet.  As I sorted through the drawers of my new/old treadle machine they proved to have much of these items in them except one of the drawers held more. A different kind of treasure that I wasn't expecting. This is what I found tangled amongst the thread.

In the bottom left of this photo you can see a locket with no chain. It has some decorative scroll work and my Mom's name engraved on the front.  I believe this is the same locket that my mom is wearing in this photo.  She would have been in her mid teens in this photo.  Mom was 85 years old at the time of her passing. 

I cleaned it up using toothpaste, added a chain from one of my old necklaces and found the perfect frame from a thrift store and now the locket sits on the fireplace mantel.  It has no monetary value but it is priceless to me.

My New-Old Machine

It has been awhile since I have posted anything to my blog.  With the busyness of summer, time got away from me.  In some of my previous posts I have mentioned my mother and her battle with dementia.  The Lord called her home in August and now she is at peace.  I miss her everyday. 

On this past Saturday I met with my sisters to start the task of sorting through our Mom's belonging's.  She was the type of person who very rarely got rid of anything.  (I think it is a habit she has passed onto me.) One of the things that I brought home with me was her treadle sewing machine. Over the past years the machine has been stored in an unheated covered porch.  My sisters are not big sewers so  the machine hasn't been used in many years. 

As you can see from the photo the top of the cabinet isn't in very good shape. The veneer is cracking and chipping and it is in need of refinishing.  

The machine itself needs refurbishing and the cables need replacing. 

 The center medallion.

I have looked up the serial number from the machine and discovered that it was manufactured in April of 1914.  I would like to restore this machine to working condition in the future.  I have never used a treadle sewing machine but I am looking forward to learning especially since this was something that had belonged to my mom.  

A Flimsy Finish

     Have I ever mentioned that I work in a library?  Well a couple of months ago one of the librarians put together a display of quilts and books that had quilts featured in them.  She asked me if I could bring in some of my smaller quilted items and some of the items used in quilting to use for her display.  I took in some of the smaller projects I have and I included a wall hanging of a paper pieced farm house that I made several years ago. 
     One of the other librarians saw that wall hanging and asked if I could make a wall hanging for her if she gave me the dimensions  and a sketch of the picture she wanted.  I told her I would try.  I have never sewn curves before and have done very little applique but with the help of several YouTube videos and websites I think it has turned out well.  I am not happy with the sun so I may try making it smaller and in a lighter shade of yellow.  I had thought of using white but that may make it look like a moon.
     What do you think?


  

Current Work in Progress

It has been quite a while since my last post so I thought I would share a picture of my current work in progress.

I will share more details in a later post.

A Special Finish

Sometimes when I am asked to make something for someone I like to make it special by putting something personal in the project.  That is what I did for my mother-in-law, Connie, when she asked me to make a decorative pillow for her. 

Connie is a war bride and was in London, England during the war.  She is 93 years old and still is active in her community and still travels, mostly on her own, to see her children that live out of the area. Her oldest daughter found this pillow top in an antique shop in the city where she lives.  The shop owner told her that during the Second World War that wounded soldiers would paint these as therapy while they recuperated from their injuries.  She purchased it for her mother. 

 

 

 

My mother-in-law has been cleaning out some of her closets and things and she found this dress that her mother, Lucy,  had worn in 1968 for their 60th wedding anniversary celebration.

 

Lucy and Charles King--60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration



Connie didn't think anyone would want the dress since it was so old so I asked if I could bring it home and did she mind if I cut into it.  She said I could take it.  I thought it would make the perfect backing for the pillow especially since the poem on the front was about mothers. I purposely didn't tell her what I wanted to do with the dress.  I used some iron on interfacing to make the fabric stronger and easier to work with. 

 

 

 

I was able to surprise her with the finished pillow last Saturday when we when to visit with her.  She was pleased to have a piece of her family history on display in her living room. 

 



 

 



A Gift for My Mom

My Mom has had some on going health problems for the past ten years or so.  She is in the later stages of dementia.  She hasn't known me for quite awhile now but I still know her and that is what is important.  I was looking around the internet the other day and found the idea of a Touch Quilt  for dementia patients from the Waterloo County Quilt Guild.  I decided to make one for my mom.

The quilt top has quite a few different types of fabrics in it.  I have included silk, faux suede, terry cloth, cotton, denim, flannelette, seersucker, quilter's cotton, velveteen, fun fur and corduroy.  The blue floral corduroy in the top corner were scraps my mom gave to me a long time ago from a project she made.  The denim and plaid flannelette block, bottom center, are pieces left over from the memory quilt I made from my late brothers clothes. The satin blanket ribbon binding I found in a box of things mom gave me that I rediscovered when I cleaned up the laundry room.  Most of the fabrics in this quilt have been gifted to me by one person or another over the years. 
 

 

The backing is a piece of fun fur that I picked up from a remnants bin a few years ago.  It is quite soft and cozy.





Learning to communicate

So as I have written before my youngest son, Sean, is totally non-verbal.  He communicates using gestures, sign language and picture cards.  Sean's receptive language skills are very good.  He understands most of what is said to him but he can get frustrated when he can't express what he wants or needs.  This frustration can often lead to behaviours that can be harmful to himself and/or others.  Over the years he has only used a few signs consistently and picture cards when he is working with his support worker.  Over the last few weeks my husband and I along with Sean's support worker have been taking sign language lessons.  It is our hope that if we use/model the signs with him he will repeat them back to us.  Sean has always learned new skills through observing others. 

Because of this new initiative I have had to come up with some new ways of presenting Sean's communication system.  Since Sean goes to a day program two days a week with his support worker this system also had to be portable. 

I was able to buy a 7x5 inch plastic frame from the dollar store.  I put two stripes of Velcro across the frame.  Then I found the sign illustrations that matched the picture on the picture card, placing them side by side and then printed it out on a business size card.  Once I cut out the card I covered the card with contact paper and attached a small piece of Velcro on the back of the card. 

 

 

After I made the picture/sign cards I needed something to store and transport the cards in.  I found this tutorial for this credit card wallet and thought it would be ideal.  The only thing I changed was I made the outside squares 10" and the inside squares 9".  It will hold 38 picture cards which will be more than enough for my purposes.



 

For ease of transport and use I attached a piece of Velcro to the back of the frame and the back of the wallet so they are together and easily accessible. 

Christmas Crafting--alittle early

 

Shortly before last Christmas I saw this video on how to make a Swedish Heart Craft. 

 

 

I had a great idea to make 24 hearts and hang them on a small Christmas tree for an advent calendar.  With the business of the holidays I didn't get out to get the felt to make them.  While sorting through the stuff and junk in the basement laundry room I found some felt squares that I bought for another craft about 15 years ago when I was doing child care for a bible study group.  There was enough left over felt that I was able to make the 24 Swedish Hearts for this coming Christmas.  I even found some silver craft thread that I can use for the hangers. 

 

 



 





Happy Birthday to my boy!

Today my youngest son turns 23 already.  I know we all say it but where has the time gone! 

I have mentioned in previous posts that he is autistic with a severe global developmental delay.  He is also non-verbal and mentally operates at about 3-5 years old.  Yes, I know life hasn't been easy for our family since we had Sean. Now before anyone says anything about how difficult is must be to raise him or oh, that poor thing, or calls him the "r" word, (retarded), a word I despise, I have to say how much I have learned from him. 

His name is Sean and he is totally non-verbal.  Before Sean was born he had a stroke and he had breathing problems when he was first born.  Having Sean in my life has made me more grateful for what we have, to appreciate the small things around me and not to take for granted the things we just assume we will have. He has taught me to look for the positive in every situation.   He has taught me to break down everyday tasks into steps so I can teach him the routines and he has taught me that there is nothing that a smile and a hug from him can't fix.  The unconditional love he shares with us makes caring for him easier and I would not want to think of what my life would be like without him.  He makes me a better person.

 

For years now Sean has had a favourite stuffed Tiger. He has needed a lot of repairs over the years but for now it is still being well loved.

 

"Tiger" goes everywhere with Sean.

 

That is why I decided to make him a tiger cake for his birthday!

 

Tea Anyone?

Our clothes dryer broke down in August so I have been making do by washing a load of clothes in the evening and hanging it on a clothing rack to dry. Then earlier in January the washer stopped working as well.  I could make do without the dryer but I refused to try to make do without a washer.  My husband and I went out and bought a new washer and dryer set and arranged to have it delivered.  Should be no problem except one little detail.  In order to take out the old set and bring in the new you have to be able to get to them and have space to get them out. 

 

I will admit that I have a difficult time throwing things away so the laundry room became a dumping ground for all the stuff that I am sure I may need again even if it could be twenty years from now. I had a walkway from the laundry room  door to the machines, not big enough to get the machines in or out.  Also all the lights except one were burnt out and I couldn't reach them to replace them because of all the stuff in the way. 

I have spent the last couple of weeks sorting through the stuff, throwing out a lot of the old papers and broken toys, donating the things that are still useable etc.  I still have all the toys my children have ever been given. (My oldest boy is now 26.)  While sorting through all the stuff I found The Tea For Two machine that my sister gave me a long time ago. So I cleaned it up and plugged it in and it still WORKS. 

I found this video on Youtube that shows how it works.

 

A Tale of Two Slippers

Here it is the end of another year and I can't believe how quickly this year has gone.  I haven't posted very much this year.  I haven't even taken photos of every project I have made this year!

My mom is 84 and has most everything she needs so I had no idea what to give her for Christmas this year so when my sister bought Mom a new winter coat I said I would make her some mittens and a scarf to match.  You guessed it I forgot to take a picture.  I also have finally started on a quilt repair job that I have been asked to do and again no pictures yet.

When my Mom was healthier she used to knit slippers for us. The pattern she used was the stripped slippers using Phentex Slipper and Craft yarn.  I loved those type of slippers.  I wore out the last pair she made for me and since my feet are a bit over sized it is difficult to find a pair of slippers to fit me that I like. 

My mom knitting a pair of slippers back in the late 1980's with our cat, Harry, supervising.

 

I was taught to knit when I was young and I can knit fairly well, with regular yarn.  I do not enjoy knitting with the Phentex yarn my mom used for these slippers.  When I was exploring a few thrift stores back in November I found a couple of balls of that yarn for only $1.49 a piece and I decided to try to make the same slippers that my mom used to make after all I have made them before and it only took me a year to finish them, eek.  So early December, this year, I pulled out my knitting needles and the yarn from the thrift store, cast on the stitches and starting knitting.  The reason I don't like working with this particular yarn is I find it splits so easily and I have to be very careful that I don't add stitches while I am knitting.  It is now the end of December and shockingly I finished my new slippers last night!  Only took me a couple of weeks to make this pair.  Maybe cold feet were my incentive, lol. 

 

 

The Big Day!

My daughter has known her best friend, BFF, for about 15 years ever since they became friends in 4th grade.  This friend got engaged last year and asked my daughter to be her maid of honour.  She also asked me to make the bridesmaids dresses. (My daughter's dress was bought at David's Bridal.)  I said I would but since her bridesmaids live in the States I wouldn't be able to do fittings.  So BFF found a pattern online, printed it out, bought the fabric and I sewed them back in June and told her that a lot of alterations would probably have to be done.  BFF delivered them to the girls and the alterations were done in their city.  Fast forward to yesterday and the wedding day had finally arrived.  It was a warm fall day in a colourful fall setting.  The girls all looked so beautiful. 

 

The bride made the tutus for the flower girls.

Distracted

Not much sewing going on in my sewing room.  This summer has been just too hot, we don't have air conditioning just fans.  I have gotten distracted with family history.  I got the idea to make a memory book for my mom who has dementia.  After talking with family members and a social worker at the Alzheimer's Society I decided that maybe that wasn't the best idea.  The thought of discovering my Mom's family history was appealing.  I never knew my grandparents because they all passed away long before I was born.  Genealogy research can be very distracting and time consuming. Each time you find the answer to one question you discover questions to about a dozen more!

In the mist of all my research I thought about the parallels to quilting.  I have been using many Internet sites and family sources for information.  This I equate to going to fabric and thrift stores to find just the right fabric.  Then I have been organizing the information into a presentable form that future generations can understand and expand on.  This is finding the right pattern and preparing the fabric.  Next I have been putting the information; birth and death dates, family members etc. on cards and cutting these to fit into photo albums and finding photos of the family member to go with the information.  This is cutting the fabric and sewing the blocks together.  Next is writing a narrative to include some of the stories I have gathered from family.  This is putting the quilt sandwich together and quilting the "quilt".  The binding to all of this is the insight and love I have gained for the family members who are the foundation of my past.

Dress Number 2



The second dress is finished! These dresses were made for two young ladies that live quite a distance from me so fittings were impossible.  I made them in the sizes that were closest to their measurements and now they will have to have them altered, but my part is done.  The colour is washed out in this photo but the dresses are a lovely plum colour.

Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day.  Both my father and father-in-law passed away years ago so my husband and I try to visit their final resting place if we can.  We were able to do that yesterday. My father-in-law was laid to rest in a large cemetery in the middle of the city where we live.  My dad is laid to rest in a small country cemetery just outside the village where I grew up.  After paying our respects to my father-in-law we drove around the cemetery. When we were in the older section , the dates on the headstones were in the mid to late 1800's, we saw these peaceful creatures. 

 

 There are over 30 head of deer that live in this cemetery. 

On our drive through the cemetery we also saw some geese and a ground hog.  I didn't take any pictures of those.  I just find it fascinating that so many deer would reside in a place in the middle of a city. 

 

 

A different type of sewing...

When I was in grade school and high school many, many years ago I studied Home Economics.  Back in those days one semester would be cooking and the second one would be sewing.  I haven't done very much garment making in the last 30+ years.  My daughters best friend is getting married in October and she decided to try to save some money and have the bridesmaid's dress made. She asked me if I could help her out and try to make two dresses.  I finished the first of the two dresses this afternoon.

 This dress has an invisible zipper which I have never worked with before.  It turned out pretty well considering I am a bit rusty with this type of sewing.

I am still here!

Hello everyone! Wow, I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted anything to my blog! I have been busy working on two queen sized quilts.  When I moved my sewing space to the basement it allowed me to finally open my quilting frame to its full width.  The first quilt on it was the quilt top that a friend asked if I could finish for her.  I am embarrassed to say that was over a year ago, but after a few false starts and a sewing machine tune-up there it is on the frame. 

I put the final stitches in the binding yesterday and will be delivering it to her tomorrow. 

This is the other quilt that I finished last week.  Another friend asked if I could make her a queen sized quilt for her bed.  After some consultation she decided on a pattern in the Dec/Jan 2013 issue of Quilt magazine.  The original pattern was for a twin size. I love the way this turned out. I especially like the binding which I used a 2.5 inch strip of each of the colors in the quilt. 

 

What else I have been doing?

A couple of posts ago I said changes were coming. Changes to this blog, my job and my life.  Well if you have followed or view this blog you can see the changes I made to it.  The name, the background, colorings etc.  As for my job, well I resigned from that in November for various reasons that I won't go into here.  As for my life I was not feeling challenged. I was bored and needed to do something different. I am needed at home because of our youngest son who has autism. For me working outside the home would cost more in care giving than I would be able to earn.  So I had to come up with another solution. 

 

Over the last couple of months I have moved my sewing space to the basement in hopes of starting a small home based business selling quilted and knitted items.  I also hope to open an Etsy shop in the near future once I get a few more things ready for sale.  The pics in this post are some of the things I have been working on.