Birthday Antique Quilts

In my last post, I mentioned receiving 2 antique quilts for my recent Birthday.

I was honored to be able to select one form my friend Mary's collection and I chose this as my Jubilee Birthday gift:

I have always loved 2 color quits and bow tie quilts.  This one
was purchased in 1997 in Indiana.  Here is the back showing the hand quilting.

I also received this quilt from the 1930s.  It was from my mother's best friend and Hanna's Godmother, Dorothy.  It was made by her grandmother and great aunt.  As far as she knows it is the only quilt that they made.  It is the very traditional Dresden plate patten with that 30/40s mint green.

In addition to selecting a Birthday quilt from Mary, I also purchased 2 antique quilts from her collection.

This one was documented as a Cactus Basket Quilt circa 1885.
I love the butterscotch fabric of the plain blocks.

I love the pinks and browns with the shirting print.  It has simple hand quilting.  It was purchased in Wiscasset, Maine in 1993.

And finally this wonderful 9-patch!  Which is my all time favorite humble block.

I love the pink and brown blocks that march along the top -

What a great study piece of antique fabrics.  They are set with a striped shirting.  I need to get more information from Mary about this quilt.  I am sure it from the late 1800s.

The backing is this wonderful red and white pin stripe.  It has a very narrow and lovely blue binding.

The hand quilting is in a chevron pattern.

It was obviously made for a four poster bed and the workmanship is excellent.

I am so thrilled to add these beauties to my small collection of antique quilts.  I will treasure them!

Wouldn't it be fun to recreate one on these?

Fun For Friday - I'll Have Another

**added at 5pm-
I'll Have Another has been scratched from the race tomorrow due to a swollen tendon :(
He has officially retired from racing.
I'm very sad for him and for history**

I love pageantry, tradition and historical events and it could all be coming our way tomorrow at the Belmont Stakes.

I'll Have Another has an opportunity to achieve one of the highest awards in sports; the Triple Crown.

Here is the trophy -

There have only been 11 Triple Crown Champions, and none since 1978~ that's 35 years I've been waiting for this.  The last chance was 4 years ago with Big Brown.

Here are the jockey silks worn by the champions.

Here is what we'll be rooting for!

My lunch buddy, Norma, took me out for a "fancy" Birthday lunch at Rutt's Hut, a NJ dive thats been around for about 65 years.

here is the take out shop-

Here is the "fancy dining room" entrance-

Here on the east coast they serve "rippers", which are deep fried hot dogs.  Another heart healthy and totally satisfying lunch!

Have a great weekend everyone and root for I'll Have Another and history in the making.

I declare that if he does it, I will create a commemorative quilt to celebrate!

Blessings

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful Birthday wishes!

Today I'm sharing some handmade gifts that I was so fortunate to have received:

Jill made this wonderful Eagle Jubilee quilt based on a Lori Smith pattern.  My family's initials are included in the stars.  I love the Jubilee banner.

I love this backing!  It includes landmarks from Rich's work neighborhood, Columbus Circle.

Susan made this cute cupcake quilt with our photo in the center.  Love that pink border.  These pieces are tiny!

another fabulous backing!

What a surprise!  Rachael sent me this iPad cover as a Random Act of Kindness after I gushed and gushed about hers.  Little did she know it came right before my Birthday - Thanks Rachael.

She selected fabrics of absolutely everything that I love!  My friends would think I did it that is how perfect it is for me.  I am envious of her fabrics.  LOVE the bird.

Love this typewriter-

And an adorable print inside with accessories of all kinds.

Sheila made this tiny, tiny quilt.  The squares about 1 inch.

It commemorative of our visit to the exhibit in NYC last year.

She also sent some great nine patches for an on going project.

Okay, this isn't handmade by Mary Pat, but someone made it out of antique buttons.  I love it - it has a bird and eagle!!

My junk food lunch buddy, Norma, made this adorable pink ceramic tree.  I collect these and had asked her whether they are still available to make and she surprised me with a finished one.

One of my favorite Christmas movie lines is Lucy saying "Get the biggest aluminum tree you can find, Charlie Brown, maybe painted pink".

With all the well wishes, emails, FB posts and gifts, my Jubilee Goblet runneth over.  Thank You Everyone!

I'll be back soon to show you the 2 large quilts I received and the 2 antique quilts I purchased.

My 50th Jubilee!

I made it!  Yesterday was 50th Birthday Jubilee!!

I've been reflecting for a while what it means to turn 50 and what comes to mind is Gratitude.  I decided to create a list of 50 things that I'm grateful for.

Here is my Top 10:

Being Alive and enjoying good health.

Rich;  the love of my life who makes everything possible.

Andrew and Hanna; who have defined my life and brought me much joy!

My Parents; who loved me and left too soon.

My home; which has everything I need.

Girlfriends; who have been like Sisters.

Girlfriends; who have been like Mothers.

Quilt friends; who have encouraged and inspired me.

My garden; which provides peace and serenity.

Coco; who is a mommy's girl.

And the other 40 in no particular order:

Champagne, quilting, the farm, my iPhone, french fries, my cats, good books, lamb chops, my bed, cake, good movies, sun rise, a crackling fire, Paul Simon, wine, my bike, a belly laugh, getting mail, hot coffee, snow, Christmas, my sewing room, my hair, Mad Men, Moby Dick, my computer, junk food, family dinners, playing games, cinnamon rolls, my Dyson, Rome, cruising, dancing, art museums, NYC, car trips, Anthropology, Museum of Science and Industry, my iPod, Yankee candles, rainy days, going to the movies, the mid west, hot dogs, walking with coco, roses, Lucky jeans, chocolate and pizza night.

And all other Blessings large and small.

Thanks Mary for the crown, I'm off to dinner in my Mad Men crinoline dress and magnum~ cheers!

Fun For Friday - Butterflies are Free and UFO Report

I'm interrupting the usual FFF post to bring you a special report from my friend, Susan McD.

In her own words:
Finally!  My UFO Cupcake Challenge is done......late!  A major problem with UFO's is that U Forget.  I picked up my notes, cut out all the letters, fused the letters to two of the borders.....and then found that I had the wrong oath.  What??  One side of my notes had the Presidential Oath, the other the Officers Oath.  Why both in my notes?  I can't remember why I did that.  Redo.

The UFO curse continued while basting.  Went to the last section remaining to baste....short a few inches.  What??

I had not centered properly.  I could not bring myself to remove all those pins so I cut off some of the backing, inserted about 6 inches of another fabric and put it back on the table and finished basting.

This spring Gwen Marston came to NJ.  I took a wonderful class with her.  She mentioned that she uses a single width binding on her quilts.  I tried it here.  Perfect!  This worked beautifully with the stripe and saved lots of yardage.

So 'POTUS 1789 - 1901" is done!  When I told Barb and Jill the name of the quilt they said Huh??  POTUS means President of the United States.

My UFO had a baby.  I ended up with lots of black and white triangles, right sides together, when making the second block. Can't waste them!  Turned all of them into little hsts.  I accidentally put some of the together wrong forming white "flying geese".  Decided I liked that mistake, makes it a little more interesting, so they are at the top of this little quilt, 12" X 13", called The First Four.  It is now in my UFO pile.....

Butterflies are Free (FFF)

For the past 12 years or so Hanna and I have raised butterflies around this time of year.  This year we had 5 painted ladies and the best release ever!  We did it while coco was at school.  You can see last years release here.

It's alway a challenge getting them out of their house.

In the center of these bushes across the yard, one sat for quite a while.  Usually they fly out and leave our yard immediately.

This little one was the last to leave and didn't want to.

I finally got it on my finger where sat for a while.  It really was the best butterfly day we've had.  They stayed in the yard for at least 5 minutes.

Have a wonderful weekend~