Bit 'O Green

Writer's Note:  This was suppose to be posted a week ago.....ugh....not sure what happened to it, I am sure operator error.  The amount of silly things I do or forget to do on some days is ridiculous.  

Top of the morning to ya.....trust me I have no Irish accent and don't drink beer.  But even still, I always felt like I should have some Irish ancestry, but to my knowledge I don't.  I really like Celtic music and enjoy listening to it.  I thought I would share some things of mine that are green.

Here is part of the green stash that is not batik or reproduction or homespun.  I keep most of my fabric in glass covered lawyer type book cases.  It keeps them dust free, but I can still see what I have.  I also fold my fabric in a uniform way so they stack nicely and can always be seen.

 Dear Jane block G-7 Indianapolis, I think it is the only green block in my quilt so far.

 Oh my cutting mat.....could not live without several of them.  I am working on some string piecing of selvages and this narrow roll of muslin type fabric and the other stack are stitched on used up dryer sheets.  These will make great borders or a strippy quilt at some point.

The stash 'o repro's in green, thought you might enjoy the little J & P Coats box too.  I got that from a neighbor of mine and have it full of vintage spools and threads.  It has a floral motif on the top of the lid.

We are enjoying a beautiful week here in Ioway!!!  70-80 every day.....it has been wonderful and the Silver Fox and I have been uncovering flower beds every day we have been home.  It is so nice to have his help.  I planted some new things outside my front door, so am looking forward to seeing how things are going to look as they all come up.

 Hen and Chicks......these are the tiny ones.  I love these things and have them in several varieties, sizes all over the farm.

 A green friendship star.....this is a great block to make and one I have enjoyed putting together over the years. This little beauty is a 3" block finished, so each one of the little squares is 1" finished.  This is from a charm patch quilt, so each patch is different.  You would need to cut your squares 1-7/8" and cut them once diagonally to have the correct size to piece.  You can see the quilting I did with my machine that looks like hand quilting.  I love to do that on small pieces because of all the seam allowances ....hard hand quilting if you ask me.

 Now hear is the whole quilt......  I really like charm quilts, but they are time consuming to cut out.

I kept some of the books from my Great-Grandma W.'s house.  I don't think I have read this one and I should.....I love the cover on it and from perusing the pages it has an Irish theme to the story.  Isn't it a charming cover with the pooch and the shamrocks?

What a lovely shaped pitcher in green of course.....It came from my Grandma K. and I like to put flowers in it sometimes.....sweet!

This little house was on my Grandma K's big gas cook stove and she kept her salt in it.  It is chipped up and has been lovingly used, but it reminds me of her standing in front of her stove making fried, crispy potatoes in bacon grease for me in her big cast iron pan.

Enjoy!!!!

Civil War Collection and Pattern

I just ran across this pattern using the new 1862 Battle Hymn fabric collection.
This quilt called the Checkered Past 1862 was drawn up by Barbara Brackman and the directions are found at the link below.
https://acrobat.com/app.html#d=5zuBtmwF6YnnxsgFNaNaZQ

I am sure most of you quilters know about Barbara's blogs.  They are wonderful and she has several going, which you can sign up for.  I would highly recommend the Civil War blog.

http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/

Candy Dish Quilt Workshop

There is nothing more fun for a quilter than to get to sew for a full day with other quilters .....piles of fabrics, bags of equipment....rotary cutters, mats, rulers and the humming of Singer 201's all over the room.  BTW, we were commenting on the different sounds that come from each one.  They are charming little machines.  There was a group of 15 of us who spent the day with Heidi Kaisand, who many would know from her days as the past editor of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine.  I have heard her speak on several different occasions over the years and have always enjoyed her very approachable and friendly demeanor.  I had never taken a class from her so Monday was the day to take advantage of that opportunity.



She shared more of her personal life with us on Monday night during her lecture about what to do after the quilt top is done....all the decisions that should go in to finishing your piece for the best results.  I learned we have several things in common besides quilting and memory keeping.  She also has iris from her grandma and she boasts her own 2 cylinder John Deere tractor that she has driven on the Great Iowa Tractor Drive.  Although I don't have my own put-put tractor as I like to call them.  My dad has restored his 530 out in the machine shed and the Silver Fox drives it with the grand kids.  I love the sound of those old tractors and we usually go to the 2-Cylinder Club show in Waterloo if we can.

She taught a fun kaleidoscope block with repro 30's prints that is just charming.  We used a Marti Michell ruler that I had not used before and of course had to buy that, to add to the ever growing speciality ruler inventory.  I brought my basket full of vintage 30's and 40's fabric pieces to work out of.  I thought this quilt just lent itself to those scraps.

The only issues with this plan....it takes a lot more time....no speed cutting here.  These all came from my Grandma K and/or Great-Grandma W.  Then I have another fairly large basket full of larger pieces and yardage with quite a few solids among them.

This ruler has great markings on it to make up to 8" blocks...prompts you as to what size strips to cut.  Since I am doing scraps, I just need 1 straight edge and am cutting one piece at a time.  :)  I am making the 5" block.

Then using the other edge of the ruler and adding another ruler, then taking away the Kaleidoscope ruler, you have the straight edge to cut the strip for the corner triangles.

 

Using the other point of the ruler then cut the corner triangles from the strip you just cut.  Very slick!!!  The only thing I would add .....I like to add tape to my rulers to mark the line I am working from, so my eye doesn't have to hunt for the line for each cut.

Here are the pieces I got cut during the workshop and was able to sew pairs together, 1 light to 1 dark.

I sewed a group of 4 together just to have for show and tell during the guild meeting.  Most of the triangle corners are missing.  I will need to do them from the design wall, as all the triangle squares must be the same color....so do need to do some planning when I get a bunch of the blocks made.  I will keep you posted as I get farther into this project.

Heidi shared about a new venture that she is in the process of working on......Hen & Chick Studio.  She recently purchased the building in Conrad, IA where the General Store was located.  She has remodeled it and added a retreat center on the second floor to house up to 20 people with showers and kitchen area.  She told about making the quilts from her huge stash for all 20 of the beds.  The retail space is in the lower level will include quilt making supplies, fabric, scrapbooking supplies, & a long-arm machine, so you can hire someone to finish your pieces for you.  I have included her link below for those who want to hear about her opening and what is going on in her life.

http://blog.heidikaisand.com/

Thanks, Heidi, it was a fun day!!!

New Beginnings

I must say as I begin this blog, I am some what intimidated by it.  I did start a family blog several years ago and really didn't do that much with it.  I find myself needing a challenge and hopefully I want to develop some online friends through this means.  I need a new beginning, but after seeing the devastating pictures from Japan, my losses that I have endured last year seem small and insignificant in comparison.

Just to give a little explanation of the title of my blog 4 & Fifteen.  It comes from my four beautiful, grown daughters, who are in the trenches of motherhood and raising our 15 grandchildren.....hence the 15.  I consider them my treasures.  If you remember the movie Sarah, Plain & Tall, she referred to her spinster aunts in Maine as the "unclaimed treasures."  I always loved that, so my 4 & Fifteen are MY claimed treasures.

What better time to talk about new beginnings, than March in Iowa and the end of winter.  I always enjoy my Easter decorations so much.  I thought I would share with you some of my fav Easter decorations.

I finished a couple towels last week from two pieces of vintage huck toweling that I had from my Grandma T's stash.  I found this darling machine embroidery design and have the towel draped over an old scale with a vintage child's chick bowl.  In the bowl is a egg toy that you push a button with your thumb and the egg spins around and opens and exposes the chick inside.  A fav with the little kids.

Here is the green towel, I used it to line a napkin basket.

Here is my serving basket on my dining room table in my kitchen.  You can see some of the plastic eggs that have cross stitch little bands around them with simple designs.  In the background is a tablecloth I bought on a trip to Germany.  On the far left corner you can see one of the salt and pepper shakers that has a beautiful pink flower on the top.  They are so sweet.  The basket is lined with a 60 degree star quilt made out of 30's reproduction fabric and it was English paper pieced by a friend.