Merry Christmas!

Yikes! How did we go from Happy 4th of July to Merry Christmas? I for one, got totally sidetracked after the 4th with preparing for back surgery. The surgery was in September and then had to deal with the healing process. I had planned on using my recovery time to work on the blog, do some quilting, etc; but it didn't work that way. I had no idea I would be dealing with the kind of pain I was having. But enough of that! I'm well on the way to recovery. I'm trying to get sister Susan to either upload a picture of the quilt she made for her grandson and his new wife and also one of the crotcheted hats she is making. She was describing them to me today and they sound adorable. Crotcheting isn't one of the things I have ever mastered. My sister Denise is expert at it and makes the most beautiful things. At Quilting Cousins, we like to brag about any of your sewing or crafting accomplishments. In our album of quilts we have made, sister Susan (country quilter) put pictures of the quilt top that was made by our grandmother and Aunt Dorothy. There were only two that survived that we are aware of and sister Barbara had one that she recently gave to me. I am going to do some repair work on it and then hand quilt it. The entire quilt top is pieced by hand with the tiniest of stitches. I remember Aunt Dorothy telling me how she and her sisters and mother made their clothes by hand. A treasure such as this quilt top made of pieces of my grandmother, Aunt and grandfather's clothing, can only be hand quilted into a quilt. If you looked at each individual piece of fabric, by today's standard, they are not beautiful, but some really plain while others really loud and old fashioned. When you think of how each piece was cut by hand with precision,without the benefit of our sharp cutting tools we use today and then pieced together by hand with tiny stitches and as my mind can envision, done so while sitting in the front parlour by the radio while listening to music or their favorite radio show. The tradition of quilting was not passed down to us by grandma or any of our aunts as far as I can remember. That is to say, they didn't sit us down and show us how to do it. I will say that I remember Aunt Dorothy talking about sewing and things like that. I appreciate the treasures they left us in the wonderful memories we have of them and obviously the ability to sew and create. In conclusion, for this Christmas holiday, I am making doll clothes for my granddaughter Madison, and a few other things. Hopefully next year, I will get ambitious enough to start early and make some quilts for my kids or start on the quilts I want to make for my siblings, or finally make the wall hanging for Christmas I have been wanting to make for a few years but just never started on it. For Christmas I would like for Santa to help me understand finding my way around the blogspot so I can add patterns and things like that. This has certainly been a challenge for me. Have a great Christmas and quilting cousins, keep those wonderful pictures coming of the things you create so we can share them with whomever comes across our blog. By the way, the adorable picture inserted is of my grandchildren ( Natalie, Noah and Evan helping grandma recreate the nativity scene about 12 years ago. Quilting Cousin Debbie

Happy 4th of July

Last year for the 4th of July, fireworks were banned because of the drought we were having. This year they were allowed everywhere except the Schaberg household. The 4th this year was also the 2 year anniversary of our house fire caused by fireworks! My son took his kids to see a display in a nearby town instead. I was home visiting the last week in June and got to see Susan's sewing table up close. So impressed I was that I came home and bought my own cabinet bases at Home Depot. I'm so excited and plan to start working on it today. If anyone wants to make one, I'm sure Susan and I can help you. Susan has an awesome sewing room. It's really big. Alot bigger than mine but the sewing table does not take up alot of room. Right now I'm using a 6 ft table and a 4 foot table set in an L shape. The only problem with that is that it is not really wide for spreading out a quilt when you are sewing. At first I was using 2 6 ft tables together but that really took up too much room. The room I use for sewing is a 11x10ft room. We all have to create our work areas on what will work best for us. What is good for one isn't always good for another. I found that Susan's is perfect for me. I hope you all find what works best for you. On to another topic. I decided awhile ago that I wanted to make quilts for all my siblings. When you have 9 living siblings, that quite a job. I wanted each one to be special and have special meaning to each sibling. I already have made a quilt for Susan and made a quilt for Barbara that Susan and I worked on. Right now I'm planning on making all the quilt tops and then quilting them afterwards. I've got one in the making at the present time and also want to start another one. Before our sister Steffie passed away, she spent nearly a year cross stitching a beautiful poem for each of her siblings. She died before she completed the last one and I finished it for her. It means so much to all of us that she did this.Before I close, make sure you click on the link to "AllPeopleQuilt". They have an awesome video on a quick way to make pillowcases. All kids love these pillowcases. I've made them for my grandkids. They especially love the ones made of flannel. Until next time ladies, happy quilting!

Sewing / cutting table

This has been my project for several weeks.  My largest carpentry endeavor thus far...The surface is 44"x51" a great size for cutting and handling bulky sewing projects. The open back is a great sewing space.  Storage is galore & the cabinet space is for sewing machine storage. I bought 2 inexpensive 24" kitchen units, joined them together, veneered the sides & back, topped it with an extending top and finished the back as a table.  I reenforced the bottoms for weight of old machines, stained & finished.  It's a nice piece, built to last.  I debated on the height.  I wanted a comfortable cutting height, but needed to keep it accessible for reaching my sewing peddle. it is 32" tall and my sewing chair is 24", so it works well.   Now I have no excuse for the mess....right?

History of the Apron

The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a holder for removing hot pans from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears. From the chicken-coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds. When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner. It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes. REMEMBER THIS! Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw. They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I don’t think I ever caught anything from an apron…… But Love !! Until next time cousins......

Cool New Stuff

I did add some cool stuff today. One is another website to follow. All People Quilt is an exicitng website full of free patterns and videos on "How to Do" stuff. I also added inspirational daily prayer. I thought we could all use that from time to time. The creator of allpeoplequilt.com is Better Homes and Garden, a name we have all known for years. I received a free magazine and decided to buy a subscription after visiting their website. You can never get enough inspiration and tips on quilting. I've been searching for a project and decided on a picture quilt of my grandchildren. This is where you take a picture and duplicate it with fabric. First I have to gather the kids together for a group picture. I want to take them all out in the country for a picture in a Texas bluebonnet field. Our wild flowers (thanks to Lady Bird Johnson) are something else and you havent' seen anything until you see a field of bluebonnets. What a beautiful wall hanging that would make! I will be home in late May or early June and I thought it would be nice if the "quiltingcousins" got together for lunch and quilting. We could also get our picture taken for the blog. Let me know what you think of that idea. Until next time ladies, keep on quilting! Your quilting cousin Debbie

a modern baby quilt

I wanted to share my latest creation, a baby quilt that I made with my dear friend, Molly. She is due in April with her first baby, a boy, named Carl Champ. Molly designed her nursery using a fabric collection by Moda, called "wee woodlands." She and I designed the quilt, and I machine quilted the piece. It was a wonderful collaboration, we worked together several days, in between nap times and lunches, to create this beautiful baby quilt. I will add pictures of her nursery soon, so that you can see the quilt in its "natural environment."

Look mom, I'm blogging!!

Well Sisters, I am blogging....Debbie is talking me through this. She is definitely the computer guru in the family and I might add a creative quilter.  I am in the process of setting up my new/old sewing room and committed to getting at least three prayer blankets done before mass this Sunday.  Some of you may know that we have a prayer blanket ministry in our parish, St Joachim in Old Mines.  Myself and another woman in the parish started it after receiving prayer blankets/shawls when a family member died.  Steffie's death was my inspiration and Monica's son, Austin, killed in Afghanistan, inspired her action.  To date our ministry has made and given more than 200 blankets.  I will post more information about the ministry, after Debbie shows me how.    

I fell in love with the pattern to make these dolls. It is Simplicity 2462. I made these three for my triplet great nieces on their 3rd birthday. When my 8 yr old granddaughter Madison saw the dolls, she wanted one so I made her one for Christmas and most recently made one for the 5 yr old daughter of a friend who is like a granddaughter to me. All the dolls take on a charater of their own as I made them. On each doll I put a heart on the tummy with the child's name on it except for Madison who wanted a peace sign on hers. I myself love dolls and am considering making some for myself for my sewing room. The pattern is really easy to make. I wish now I would have thought to make a label to put on the back of each doll saying who it was made by. I didn't think of it at the time. All the little girls I made them for just loved them. On a new note, I added some more pictures to our album of quilts. Sister Susan(country quilter) and I made a quilt wall hanging for our sister Barb's 70th birthday. Make sure you go take a peak at the quilt and the label. Keep on quilting and crafting ladies... til next time.... Debbie

I don't know if you're like me but I was forever rummaging through my sewing drawers looking for my scissors, seam ripper, etc; until my sister Barbara made this for me. She made one for me and our sister Susan off the one she had that someone had made for her. I found a pattern in Simplicity for the sewing bucket and wanted to share this with everyone. Now I no longer have to rummage, everything I use often like scissors, seam ripper, tape, marking pen, etc; is right there in my bucket and it looks so cute. It fits over a 48 oz coffe can. It would make a great gift for yourself or a friend. On a different note, I spent most of yesterday reorganizing my sewing room. I had been sewing on a 6 ft folding table with another one set up as a cutting table. It worked alright but I have a very bad back and the table was just too low. Hancock fabrics have their Hobby tables on sale and I went over and bought one. The one I bought has two large drawers (good place to put your olfa cutters) and folds out to 60 in. but better yet it folds up when not in use. I still am using one of the 6 ft tables to sew on. I have my regular sewing machine, my embroidery machine and a 1951 Singer electric. Sews like a dream and is great for those heavy items you might need to sew like hemming jeans and things like that. I might add I call this my "Woman Cave". My little peace of heaven where I can go in, shut the door, turn on the tv and chill. Till later, keep on sewin' and creating ladies!

Organizing Fabric

A few years ago, July 5th, 2010 to be exact, we had a house fire and my entire life's worth of sewing notions, patterns, fabrics, etc; was destroyed. Now that I'm rebuilding my "stash", I'm trying to organize it in colors. I bought a wall shelving unit at the Container Store and I have big plastic boxes sitting on the shelves with specific colors in them.As you can see it is still a work in progress and more shelves and units can be added as needed. One thing I had issues with were prints that had off white or white background with different colors in them. I finally decided to go with putting those all together in boxes rather than put them with the coordinated solid colors. Like I have a white background with a black print on it and it goes in with the white and off white backgrounds instead of the black prints. I'm not the kind of quilter who just shops for fabric when it's on sale. I have to have a specific project in mind before I shop for material. I also have a tendency to buy a bit more than what I will need so I have something left over. It's going to take awhile to rebuild what I lost.I still struggle with fabric choices when I go to make a quilt. My sister Susan has a great eye for putting fabric together. She was a great help to me when I was picking out material to make my daughter Susan's "Memories of Monet" quilt. I'm sure I will improve with time. It does seem to be getting easier. We at "Quiltingcousins" would gladly appreciate any suggestions anyone has on how they organize their fabric. Until next time.....Happy Quilting! Debbie

The Love of Vintage Sewing Machines

Quilting Cousins

Recently I purchased my first Treadle machine. It was built in 1917 by the Standard Sewing Machine Co. in Cleveland Ohio. My sister Susan got me started on vintage machines when she purchased two beautiful machines. One is a 1906 vintage treadle and I can't remember what the other one was but it is in a beautiful cabinet. While vintage machines are not really valuable in the antique market for the most part, they are truely treasures to those of us who love them. My first vintage machine was a 1951 Singer electric. This was one of their centenial machines as their first machine ever was put out in 1851. It was one of those electric machines that weigh a ton but was considered "portable" back in the day. The beauty of these machines is that they last forever as their parts are made of cast iron. They will still be around when my expensive new janome will be dust. I have found out that treadling is an art and it takes practice to get the proper rhythem going. These machines will sew through anything, especially those heavy thick denim jeans you need to hem. I also can't help but think of all the quilts and garments that were made on this machine and how excited it's first owner must have felt with her "new" fancy machine.

Be sure to check out the new quilt additions to our album. Quilting Cousin Mary Lou sent these in and they are gorgeous! Until next time; Happy Quilting!

Our Quilting Designs

Quilting Cousins

Lost on Blogging

I am totally new to blogging so please be patient. So far I have figured out how to add an album of pictures of quilts I have done with one done by two of my sisters. I hope to be adding more as we blog on. Today I also added our first quilting tip. So I am progressing. I am anxious to receive blogs from the other quilting cousins as well as tips, hints, pictures and ofcourse anything they want to add.

Debbie

Welcome to Quilting Cousins

We are 5 cousins originally from Festus Missouri, who share a love of quilting! We hope to share our quilting designs, tips, and patterns with each other and blog viewers. I only recently started quilting about two years ago, although I have been sewing for about 50 yrs. I had no idea it would become so addicting. What I love the most about quilting is that every quilt I make is a unique work of art that is designed for a specific person or persons in mind. I have put together a binder that has a picture of each quilt along with details about the person or persons I made the quilt for and where I got my inspiration for their quilt.  I took a quilt class about a year and a half ago and  the quilt that we made in class was by no means a beginning quilt. The pattern was a Jelly Bargelly and there were times I was ready to pitch it in the trash can. My sister Barb encouraged me to keep going on it and it turned out beautiful. It was doing this quilt that I learned one of the most important rules of quilting; be very precise when cutting your fabric strips. I also learned that no quilt is perfect but all are beautiful.

Debbie