Civil War Club - 6 Months

I am amazed at how much history I have been learning as we sew a block each month from the book Civil War Love Letters Quilt. I certainly must not have been listening when I was in school!

Along with just reading the letters the men wrote to their wives and families, we have learned more about places where battles were fought, notable events and even songs that were popular at that time.

Did you know...

~ The motto In God We Trust was added to coins in 1864 in response to the religious sentiments during the Civil War.

~ Fortress Monroe, where Civil War battles were fought, is a 6-sided fort surrounded by a moat and still an active Army base today.

~ Wait for the Wagon was a popular song in the Ozarks during the Civil War.

~ West Virginia was formed as a state in response to Virginia's secession from the Union.

You can still join us in making these blocks! Learn more about the Civil War and at the same time make a quilt that can be shared with your friends and family.

City of Lights

When you think of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Champs Elysees are probably among the first things that come to mind. But it is the people, rather than the monuments, that make traveling to a foreign country the most memorable.

The Best of Quilting shop

My husband and I recently had the opportunity to visit Paris and in turn to visit with some of the ladies from our sister shop, Best of Quilting, just outside of Paris. There are no words to describe the warmth and sisterly love that greeted us. Well, maybe there are words in French, but all I know how to say is "Where are the bathrooms?" (Ou sont les toilettes?)

Old castle ruins of Marcoussis

Best of Quilting is located in a small village not far from Paris called Marcoussis. It is about the same distance from Paris as Woodinville is to Seattle. They even have their own castle ruins.

Valerie, the owner of Best of Quilting

Valerie and many of the block swap sisters greeted us with cake and champagne! The cakes were lovingly made by many of the ladies from the shop, generously shared and graciously eaten. We toasted to all of our sisters in the quilt block swap and to our continued health and happiness.

Gary's hand-knit socks

When they found out that I had knit Gary's socks, they wanted to examine them closely. Sharing ideas and experiences over coffee and cake is the important part of quilting. Without that, quilting would just be fabric and thread and batting. It's what makes a quilt become an heirloom to be passed on from generation to generation.

Genevieve and me

And I would like to introduce to you, Genevieve, my block swap sister. She so generously invited us to her and her husband's home, fed us an amazing traditional French meal and made us feel like family.

Valerie, and her husband Philippe, also made us feel like family. Over dinner, we laughed at our inability to speak much French and their attempt at an American accent. They have two beautiful daughters and a dog who desperately wanted to meet us. Their younger daughter is learning to play the harp and gave us a small recital. This is what we will remember from our trip to Paris in years to come. Thank you for making our visit so memorable.

Yo Yo Love

We have been playing around with Clover's new Yo Yo tool. It is the coolest thing since sliced bread.

Kathy and I made this pillow... well, Kathy made the Yo Yo's and I made the pillow... with the new Moda fabric line, Madeira, from Blackbird Designs. This is the same fabric that will be used in our 2008 Saturday Sampler Quilt.

What you need:
1 charm pack for yo yo's
1 fat quarter for background behind yo yo's
1 fat quarter for the border
1 fat quarter for the binding
1 fat quarter for the pillow back

Come in to the shop to see it in person and join us in our yo yo craze.

Home Sweet Home

Woodinville just finished a month long celebration of the Harvest and I was particularly pleased to be able to hold a quilt show with the Woodinville Heritage Society to honor our early settlers who stitched their names in cloth.

Susan M. Woodin stitched her initials, SMW, into a crazy quilt in 1895. At age 47, she embroidered the names of her family on wool crazy blocks along with other pioneer settlers from the early days in Woodinville. Names like Bothell, Turner, Sanders, Anderson, Jaderholm and others appear in colorful threads that are pieced into patchwork blocks typical of the Victorian crazy quilters of the late 1800’s.
The Woodin Family quilt was passed down from generation to generation to a fifth living descendant. Great-great-granddaughter, Roberta Steiger, was entrusted with the vintage quilt from her grandfather, the second Ira Woodin, and tenderly keeps it for her mother. Roberta delicately unfolds the quilt from box that might have kept a wedding dress, well preserved and in fine condition. Hardly a blemish or a tear, the quilt is a spectacular story in cloth. Roberta’s daughter Grace, sixth in line, sits by the quilt made 111 years ago by the great woman whose namesake we now call home. We listen to the stories told about the pioneer woman, Susan Woodin, and we can only wonder, if this quilt could talk.
But the quilt does talk. It speaks of people whose names we hear about at city functions and gatherings. The names are on street signs and city buildings. Names for townships and wineries are there, names of farms and dairy’s, whistle stops and retreats, all there, telling the Woodinville story.
The blocks aren’t perfect, you wouldn’t expect them to be, but what strikes the onlooker is the way they are all pieced together into patchwork. The blocks are made of irregular shapes of varying color and texture and not one seems more important than it’s neighbor. Each one is part of the whole, the sum is not greater than the parts. Better stated, each pioneer is part of the community and all are important and valued.
Susan M. Woodin was a quilter. She was also a feverish knitter for the Red Cross and is recognized for the hundreds of pairs of socks she knitted for the war effort. She raised three children in Woodinville and started a school in her home and a post office too. Daily, she was seen constantly walking the slough (now Sammamish River) while knitting socks with only saplings to use as needles.
She had a spirit of giving that knew no bounds. At her funeral, many paid tribute for it was well known that Susan Woodin fed and clothed the impoverished. She was a small woman of commanding stature, full of energy and passion. Think about the many contributions made to our community.
Susan M. Woodin gave tribute to the many men and women that shaped our city and our future in a woolen crazy quilt of 1895. The quilt is a symbol of her fortitude and expresses reverence for her family and community. Every quilt tells a story. Susan Woodin ‘s quilt is the story of Woodinville.

Christmas in July

What is it about those hot, lazy days in July that makes us think about Christmas five months away? Perhaps we're basking in the warmth of summer knowing that winter and all it's consequences lies ahead. Summer is time off, vacation, long days and lemonade. It's also an opportunity to view, plan and look forward to the seasons ahead. So we're programmed to think about Christmas in July from the subtle ads in the retail industry. And actually, there is a real Christmas season in July. Just step inside the quilt shops to see why. Here's a Thimbleberries Window Wreath quilt from market that made it's way to Woodinville this week. So right now for a glimpse, it's Christmas in July.

Besty Ross Sewed Our Flag

Betsy Ross made the first American flag after a visit in June 1776 by George Washington, Robert Morris, and her husband's uncle, George Ross. She demonstrated how to cut a 5-pointed star with a single clip of the scissors, if the fabric were folded correctly.

I imagine we all learned about Betsy Ross as young girls in a history lesson. Betsy Ross was a woman of great vision, courage and creativity. She sewed the first American flag by hand with precision and accuracy. Considering the time and place of which she lived and the circumstances of her life and hardships she endurred, she was truly an American Icon. Many of us love to hand piece and quilt. Think of Betsy Ross when you pick up a needle and thread and remember what she gave us all symbolically and spiritually. She is a grand ole flag.

Quilting Memories

I think I'm a bit of a romantic. Last week I was reading the last page of the June 2007 issue of the American Patchwork & Quilting magazine. It contains a short article on a quilt that Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the U.S. made when he was 10 years old while his mother was dying of tuberculosis.

I love the history that is behind each quilt, whether old or new. I love how lives are woven together through the making of quilts... or anything really - a loaf of bread, wedding or baptismal dresses, birthday or Mother's Day cards made by children.

That is what makes the art and craft of quiltmaking so rewarding. The magazine article points out that Calvin Coolidge's quilt certainly wasn't perfect. Some of the blocks are facing the wrong direction. It didn't need to be perfect. But it's a wonderful job done by a 10 year old spending time with his mother.

I think that is the heart of our clubs like Saturday Sampler or Thimbleberries. And it's certainly a part of best friends or mothers and daughters shopping together and making quilts together.

It's also a little bit of the romance that I was trying to capture in my latest quilt, Wish You Were Here. We, at the shop, are really starting to enjoy this year's Shop Hop Theme fabric. I know that it is so similar to last year's theme fabric. But the more I look at it the more I really like it.

Wish You Were Here is a little bit like a giant postcard. You know those old Route 66 postcards? It's kind of like that. The Shop Hop fabric is in the sashing rather than the blocks. But the blocks pull out some of those fabulous colors in the fabric. And there's a little surprise on the back. I really wanted it to be a little bit like a postcard. The whole back becomes the "label" of the quilt. Take a peek the next time you're in the shop.

And join us in our excitement for the Shop Hop. Grab the arm of your best friend, mother, sister, or son (as the case of Calvin Coolidge) and put your memories into cloth.