Dollie quilts

Given the likely crazy few weeks ahead, I am sharing a "mini" of sorts a little early.  These two dollie quilts were cut and finished by my Grandma Mary Lou in the early 90's, from a tiny Grandmother's Flower Garden top she rescued: 

She meander machine quilted the white backgrounds, and tied the centers of each "flower" - 

They are so charming and sweet.  

And now they are packed away.  *All* of my quilting stuff is ready to move over to the "dated-but-new-to-us" townhouse next month: 

This does not even include all the quilting stuff I had in Tokyo, which was part of our "sea shipment."   It's just too much stuff.   Sometimes I daydream about chucking it all and taking up embroidery, watercolor, and knitting - all of which, combined, would take up far less space! 

In other news... David and I have been walloped by Covid.   We had avoided it for SO long that it was sort of a shock to get it.  The worst symptoms for me have been bad headache (like, scary bad) and extreme fatigue.  We are on the upswing I think, and counting the days til we will safely be able to visit with people again.  

With September right around the corner, I've also been considering joining a local quilt guild.  I feel shy about it, but I think it might be a good idea.  What about you... do you participate in a local guild? 

xo

Cynthia 

July Mini - doll quilt with three flowers

This month I made a sweet doll quilt,  from the "Esse and Ayla" doll quilt in this beautiful book by Susan Smith:

I used some of the leftovers from Charlotte's baby quilt and my "Soft Quilt for Hard Times" as well as bits from the 2 1/2" squares bin.  Hand quilted it and bound it with some leftover fabric from last month's mini.  

On a cloudy day, hard to get a photo - this is real life - foyer not staged;). 

Pinning it here for a photo gave me the thought that I could use this wall near my machine as a design wall.... mmmm maybe.  We aren't really supposed to put anything on the walls.  But, the interior walls are paper thin and it's easy to just use a pin or an old machine needle, which won't mar the wall paper.  

The other day David had two days off work and one of those days, we beat the rain, just barely, and ventured out to Hibiya Park - it was a short train ride away.  Socially distant the whole time - train and stations nearly empty, wore masks, didn't touch a THING.  It's the first time we've been on a train together since February.  

Hibiya Park is the first Western style park in Japan, created in 1903 in the style of a "thickly treed" German park: 

Benches all but empty.... 

In Tokyo you never know what you'll find - this monument shows an ancient Viking epitaph: 

Bluebells so pretty: 

Loved this old expressive tree: 

Thanks Wendy for gathering us for our monthly challenge to make a mini!  I am finding that it guides my quilting life in a nice way, during this stressful COVID time.  I will link here to The Constant Quilter when Wendy posts our links!  

xo

Cynthia 

Humble Quilts doll swap quilt - Birds in the Air... on a slow boat?

This is the quilt I sent over a month ago, and haven't heard whether it's arrived to its destination in Spokane, but I sort of doubt it has.  In my last post, I showed you the quilt I received from the swap - from Lori herself - and I love it!

The one I made was inspired by a quilt I saw in the book Hidden Treasures by Lori Lee Triplett and Kay Triplett:

I used good Nogawa indigo from the family-run indigo factory David and I visited two years ago.  It is the deepest deepest indigo!

I also wanted to use a wide variety of scraps in the quilt, so I used a lot of pinks and browns -

And attached the scrappy border, log cabin style:

See so many special little doll quilts here at Lori's blog. 

I don't *think* Robin reads my blog but on the off chance she does - Robin.... so sorry this quilt is late getting to you!  I thought it would fly airmail..... birds in the air and all - but instead I'm sure it's on a slow boat!

UPDATE July 14 - quilt arrived!  I will never take airmail for granted again.  Just got a nice email from Robin. I'm so relieved it finally made it!  

xo
Cynthia

Humble Quilts Doll swap quilt from Lori

Today is one of those "rainy days and Mondays" in Tokyo... and here's something cheerful for it - a couple weeks ago I received my Humble Quilts doll quilt swap quilt from none other than Lori herself!  I just love it and I find myself looking at it often.

Double pinks, lighter pinks, blacks, chrome yellow.  Just terrific!

Thank you Lori!

It has a lovely feel.  Lori hand quilted it.

It's soft and drapey.  It looks great from afar, and closeup.  I just love it.  I am going to add it to my rotation of mini wall hangings.

Thanks again Lori!  I know it's a lot of work to organize a swap.

Check out all the quilt on Lori's blog Humble Quilts!   Lori also has an active Humble Quilts facebook group.  It's fun to see all the doll quilts there.

xo
Cynthia

Quilts at the Worcester Historial Museum part 1

Patchwork doll bed quilt, circa 1870, collection of Worcester Historical Museum, Worcester MA

Last month I spent a day with ladies from the New England Quilt Study Group (we are a subset of the AQSG) exploring quilts at the Worcester Historical Museum.

We started with a wonderful curator-led walk through the exhibit:

The exhibit was called Quilts: Practical Pieces so I knew immediately it would speak to me -

This first one is for you Wendy - potholder all the way!

And how about this awesome display of little doll quilts:

I kept going back to it.

Just so many cool quilts - I will post a couple more tomorrow -

The show is on until August 25 and if you find yourself in Worcester MA, it's worth a visit!

x
Cynthia

Humble Quilts Doll Swap 2018

Time to share our Humble Quilts swap doll quilts!

 Here is the little quilt I got in the mail from Mary Ellen in Tennessee (not sure if she has a blog).

I really love it.  Love the double pink, the scrappiness of it, the striped binding, the whole thing.  Thank you Mary Ellen!

Extra fabrics and a nice card.  What a fun package to get in the mail!

And here is the little quilt I made and sent on its way to Melissa in Wisconsin:

Thank you Lori for another fun swap.  Bloggers, go here to see the full linkup!

x
Cynthia