Memorial Day Gig

 My drummer and bass player.  Do you think they look alike?

Happy Memorial Day

It feels more like July 4th , though, with the temperature predicted to reach 92 F!  My husband and I finally got the vegetable garden planted yesterday.  We had so much rain, this is the first time the ground was dry enough to work.

Tomatoes, eggplants, red peppers, green beans.

 The mulch pile is definitely decreasing in size, thanks to my sons and husband.  I love my job as mulch dumping director.

Kousa dogwood is in bloom now.

 Seems I ended up with a red, white and pink theme this year for my planters.

Who likes cheddar?

I took down the show towel hanging in my living room and replaced it with this bright PA German 19th century bolster cover.   Sometimes you just need a little cheddar to liven things up.  It measures 19" x 63".  The PA Germans made patchwork pillowcases and sometimes bolster cases too.

The front fabrics are solid cheddar, solid brown, and green calico.  The back is a black and white mourning print.  On one long edge, cheddar from the front wraps around to the back.  You see this often on pillowcases, where the back wraps to the front or the front wraps to the back.  I think they just did what they had to do to make the case fit the pillow.  Often it will be symmetrical on both sides, but not in this piece

 One of the unusual features of this particular bolster case is that it is quilted.  Only occasionally do you see quilted pillow and bolster cases.  If you look inside, you can see that the backing of the quilted front is a mourning print, although not the same print as the back of the case.  The back is not quilted.

Sleep Tight: Doll Quilt and Bed Contest-check it out

http://www.callforentriesiqfselvedge.com/

I know there are a lot of small quilt makers out there...Looks like a fun contest, for a doll quilt and a bed.

changing of the quilt

No yardstick photos this time, I promise.  I switched quilts in my living room and took a few photos to share.  I put up this red and white quilt today.  I have a blue sofa, so this makes for the start of summer patriotic decorating.  The fabric is a solid turkey red.  It is always hard to date a quilt with solid fabrics.  This is probably a late 19th century quilt.  The binding looks like it was replaced, as the red is different than the red in the appliques and looks sort of like bias tape.  The quilting is nice, though not super dense.  The red appliques are precisely done.

 This the quilt I took down.  Of course, I forget to snap a photo while it was still on the wall.  It is pink, green and indigo turkey tracks with fantastic quilting.  It is one of my favorites in my collection.  Again, probably from the last quarter of the 19th century.

Yardstick mania...I just can't stop

What else can you hang on your vintage yardstick?

How about a grouping of antique doll aprons and quilts?

What about some family photos?

It would be cute to display a child's school photos from kindergarten on along the yardstick.  

One more yardstick photo

I received more little clips in the mail today, so I could complete the yardstick/quilt display the way I wanted it.

Antique Crib Quilt

Just hung this beauty up in the quilt lab. It is an early crib quilt, dating to 1830-1850. Maybe someone out there can help me pin down the date better.  The chintz border is just beautiful.

 The bright blue leaves are actually a repaired area.  The repairs were done so well, that I didn't notice them at first.  They are possibly done with period chintz.

 I took a funny angle shot to try to show the quilting; the motifs in the setting squares are not all the same.

The brown backing fabric has deteriorated.

Rulers and Yardsticks aren't just for measuring anymore...

 Remember the cute yardstick boxes I got on my trip to the Temecula Quilt Co.?  While there, I also purchased a yardstick.  I didn't mention it before because I was a bit embarrassed since it cost me much more to ship the silly yardstick home than I paid for it.   I figured if I tried to carry on the plane, it would either snap in half at some point during the flight or be confiscated by the TSA.

So why did I buy the yardstick?  To copy another of Sheryl's great quilt hanging ideas, of course (remember the vintage clothes hangers?).  In the shop, she had several little quilts hanging on the wall attached to her store yardsticks.

I used metal clips with hooks from a wire hanger that I had--I have since found them for sale separately from the Ackfeld Wire Company.   The hook part hangs nicely over the yardstick; the clips hold the quilt.  To prepare the yard stick for mounting on the wall, I stuck two felt pads to the back to keep the yard stick from being flush against the wall--to have room for the hooks.  

 I nailed the yard stick to the wall, putting the nail through the yardstick and the felt pad.  It helped to tap both nails in part way before holding it in place on the wall.  Voila.  This is in a narrow hall, so hard to get a great photo, but you get the idea.

You can also tuck the corner of a quilt behind the stick.

Hang as many quilts as you want.  Do multiple tiers of yardsticks.  Use vintage rulers or yardsticks.  I have some vintage 12 inch rulers that I am going to try.
When I was grocery shopping this week I picked up the latest edition of Flea Market Style magazine and what did I find?  Lots of project ideas using vintage rulers and yardsticks.

One of the things about Temecula Quilt Co.'s yardstick, it was stained to give it a vintage look, so if you have a brand new yardstick you can stain it to age it a bit. Also, if you do a search on ebay you will find lots of vintage yardsticks and even more rulers for sale.