Made with love...

Well about two months ago I turned 30.  

Even though I had to celebrate it on the other side of the world, I felt so much love from my family and friends that it was as if they were all here with me.  My sister created a "box of 30" with something for me to open each day the entire month.  Some days I opened little gifts such as C.D.'s or Starbucks Via. Some days I opened a note from a friend - wishing me well as I turned 30.  I also wanted to showcase the quilt my Momma made me - it's really beautiful and so thoughtfully designed.  

The girl is hand-embroidered, and rising from her coffee cup are 30 appliqued hearts.

  

Isn't that lovely?
The back is pretty too!

Thanks to everyone who has made my life so beautiful, including those of you who read Sew Homegrown.  Turning 30 has been wonderful.  

During the past 10 years I have been challenged, stretched, and grown more than I ever thought I would, but as a result I feel comfortable in my own skin - something I thought I may never achieve.  My twenties held some really wonderful times and some really dark times, but the love I am surrounded by has carried me through all of it, and I am so grateful.  I truly hope you too can become comfortable with who you are - we each have so many unique things to offer and we can learn so much from one another.  Thanks for your support and I know we're going to have a great year ahead!

xoxo

jessica

A Quilt to Pass the Time...

Throughout history women have used quilting as a way to pass the time

- such as when a husband or son was off at war like the Dear Jane Quilt.

That would keep you busy right?

But what a cool thing to do with your time - at the end of the war she actually had something to show for her time - not just a bunch of worrisome nights.

Well my mom, sister, and I have decided to do the same thing while I am in Japan.  We are going to make 36 quilt blocks (one a month).  We have chosen a color palate so that all of the bocks will coordinate, meaning our quilts will match.  At the end, we will make 3 quilts, 12 blocks each, so that we will each have something to commemorate that time (and use it as kind of a countdown system).  So here are our rules - and we haven't come up with a catchy name for this project either, so if you think of one we are open to suggestions :)

RULES:

1. Prewash fabrics

2.  Each finished block must be 20 1/2" x 20 1/2"

3.  The color palate is Orange, Yellow, Turquoise, Navy, and muslin.

4.  You must embroider your initials and the month/year onto your block

5.  Your block must be mailed to the next person by the 7th of the month

(we're going to take turns ex: Oct. mom, Nov. me, Dec. joanna, Jan. mom, Feb. me, March, joanna etc. etc.)

6.  We will mail our block, plus the previous blocks to the next person so that we can see the progress, but we will only do this for 12 blocks, then we will start over ( we didn't want to have to mail tons of blocks )

7.  At the end, we will have a bee.  We will put all 36 blocks in a bag and each grab 12 blocks without looking.  Then we'll piece our quilt tops! 

I'm pretty excited.  We will each have a sampler-style quilt at the end of the three years!

xoxo

jessica

Restoring a 90 year old Quilt

For a few days this week, Charlotte and I flew down to FL to see my parents.  My Grandma and her sister are here - super cool ladies - and they always have some project going.  I mean always.  So my Grandma found this family quilt out in a barn - it was made by my great-great grandmother in the late 1920's or early 30's.

Why it was in a barn I do not know. In case you were wondering - don't put heirloom quilts in a barn. 
I know you are all super smart about that stuff anyway :)
SO needless to say, it needed some repair.  She has been patching some of the pieces, and she put a new binding on it. 
Here's how she's been doing it - in case you are wandering through an old barn and happen upon a 90 year old quilt ;)

*Find some fabric that matches the color scheme of the quilt (the point is you are restoring - try to honor the original artist).

My great-great grandmother used a lot of feedsack fabric for the pieces.  Apparantly they used to sell feed in pretty flowered sacks.  Why did they do that?  I don't know.  But my grandma said she and her sister would go to the feed store to pick out fabric for their dresses.  One of their sisters was voted best dressed in her class - and her dresses were made from feedsacks!  Impressive.  (and I am thankful we don't have to dig through piles of feedsacks to find just the right fabric...)

*Handstitch the fabric on - right sides together - along one edge of the damaged piece.

*Fold it over the damaged piece allowing an extra 1/4" to be turned under. 

Finger press.  Cut along the fold that you made.

*Turn the raw edges under and pin well.

*Start stitching at a corner. 

Secure it well and then continue with a small blind stitch all the way around the piece. 

Pretty soon (...um, I mean days later...) your heirloom family quilt will be good as new!

So sit on the couch in your p.j.s and shop for fabric today - and be grateful you don't have to find a feedsack for your baby daughter's next dress - and wait for the fabric store to mail it to you and have it dropped right on your doorstep - so you really don't even have to get dressed or fix your hair to be surrounded by gorgeous fabric. 

happily spoiled by modern America,

jessica 

A Family of Quilters

I am descended from a long line of quilters. The women on my mother's side quilt. In my home right now I have a quilt from both my great-grandmother and grandmother. My mom just joined the quilting scene, and my sister has been quilting since highschool. When Charlotte was born and I became a stay-at-home mom, I too decided to take up the craft. My goal is to make one quilt a year. Last year I made a quilt for myself. It is feminine and just my size :) I used fabrics from Anna Maria Horner's "Drawing Room" collection, and I also used her Garden Wall pattern. It was really fun to cut out and piece, and I hand-tacked it as I currently do not have the patience to hand-quilt :) This is the finished product- I actually finished it by July, so it didn't even take all year! I also embroidered this quote on the sashing at the bottom left corner: "A life lived in fear is a life half-lived." That quote helped me a lot last year and has become one of my mottos. This year I am making a quilt for our master bedroom, but more on that later. So may you all be encouraged to take up quilting - there is something so comforting about being wrapped up in a handmade quilt. They are durable and will last many lifetimes- something your family will treasure for a long time. So much time, energy, and love are devoted to quilting that I believe they are woven into the very threads of the fabric. When I snuggle under my great-grandmother's quilt I feel like I am a part of her-and she a part of me-our lives being connected by the colorful threads woven into the fabrics she chose.

Pretty deep for a Tuesday night :) Hope you all are as inspired as I am!