Wednesday, December 30, 2009

the last wip wednesday of 2009

wip wednesday has been good to me.
it has been an eye opener as to what i'm working on.
what gets finished.
and so on.

it has been almost 2 months since i admitted to 14 wips in jacquie's challenge...
and in early december i told you i had 7 done.
well i'm still at 7.
and i don't see myself finishing anything in the next 34 hours.


so here are some wips that will hopefully get done in 2010.

my nest braid just needs quilting.
but i keep changing my mind on how i want to do it.

same thing with this one.
its been done as a top & left that was for over a year!

and then there are these.
two done. four to go.
remind me why i decided to do all the stitching by hand??

i did finish over 50 quilts/projects this year.
not bad.

so with the end of 2009...
comes the start of 2010.
a fresh slate {minus the wips}
a new day.
new goals.
new resolutions.
new hope.
new dreams.

and lots of exciting things to come for jaybird quilts...

so have a happy new year.

and in the words of rent...
forget regret or life is yours to miss

Monday, December 28, 2009

yes i know this is a quilting blog...

and i promise soon enough i'll get back to blogging about quilting
i'll make it one of my new year's resolutions... deal?

anywho.

i did get some books....
thanks to my brother.

and i went shopping just because
really just because
i think i needed toothpaste... and socks...
but that was all that was on my list.

but i came home with this.
its red... scalloped... and you probably are sick of hearing about it.

between here
& here ...with a lid...

i don't know who started it.
i think it was on twitter.
but once i was at target...
and saw it half off...
somehow it just ended up in my cart.
really.
{cause come on... like i need it?... now i have to figure out how to make a cake...}

will be here soon... i'm thinking early jan.

but even sooner.
will be one for these babies.
loaded chocolate covered pretzels.
they are my specialty
and i don't make them for just anything...
but they are so much fun... so i'm gonna share.

what about you...
good holidays?
productive sewing?
total slacker?
ate your year's worth of calories in a month?
any last minute end of the year confessions?
;-)

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

wip wednesday... its almost 2010

wip wednesday...
so many works in progress...
sewing was put on hold for a while there...
but i hope to make it into the studio this weekend.

in the mean time.

you can enjoy this holiday card from my brother... his wife karin... and elijah

--


Dear Friends and Family,
Wow another year has flown by and it is again the holidays! We have had a very busy year here in the Herman household, I hardly know where to start. Most of you already know by now that we are indeed expecting another baby in May. Karin's pregnancy is going well and we have been told through genetic testing that it will be a girl. All of us are very excited to welcome her into our family. As if that wasn't big enough news we also bought a new house in August and we are all enjoying having more room in our grown up house. Elijah is growing by leaps and bounds. Everyday he is talking a little more and making a little more sense. He loves playing with cars and trains, he is all boy. He has learned to petal his tricycle and can ride quite a long way when given a chance.

This year we also welcomed some new faces and said goodbye to some others. In March Brad sadly lost his Grandpop Nate. He is missed greatly, but we feel honored to have had such a wonderful man in the family for as long as we did. In December Brad lost Mommom Emmy. Just a week after her 89th birthday. She had an amazing life and Brad gave one of the eulogies. In June we were blessed with a new niece, Cadyn Nyland, she was born healthy on her Gramma's birthday. She is a beautiful baby and is already growing so fast. We have also made new friends and seen some old friends move away.

All in all we have had a busy yet wonderful year. Our family is healthy and happy. We hope that all of you are well and ready to ring in a new year. We are so glad to have you all in our lives and for the many blessings we receive from having wonderful friends and family like you.

With Love,

Brad, Karin, Elijah, and One on the way in May.

--

have a happy holiday...
see you in a few days... or sooner if i have time??
either way enjoy your time!!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

a wedding... a funeral... and some much loved quilts.

so i've been mia for a little while.
it's because i had a unexpected busy time here.
{thank you for the emails of support}

on saturday {the 12th} i got to watch two friends get married.
two people that couldn't be more perfect for each other.

then a flight back to philly...
to attend my mommom's funeral.
we all knew it was coming.
it has been for months.
but it really doesn't make it any easier.
12.2.20 - 12.9.09
Emily Fischer Kardux
my brother took this picture earlier this year.
the last time he got to see our mommom.
she loved orchids and asked him to take pictures of hers...

on 10/29/2006 i finished a quilt for my mommom
it was flannel...
purple..red..and white.
and i hoped she'd like it.
{if she didn't...she wasn't the type who would hold back}
luckily she did.
but little did i know that day.
that she actually loved that quilt.
loved it more than i think any quilt i've ever made has been loved.
it was on her bed each and every single day.
and when it needed to be washed... a fleece throw i made took its place for the day.
she made sure that all of her nurses... and anyone who walked into her room knew that i had made it. she was so proud of me... and always told me.
now the quilt is mine again.
and while i thought it would be strange.
and hard to look at... instead it brings me comfort.
and i'll treasure it knowing what comfort it brought to her.

all along the last few months i knew my silver lining was that my brother, his wife.. and this little one would fly in when it all happened... this little one is only a bit over 2 and was a ball of energy all week.

but there was another silver lining
one i never could have dreamed of.

i have learned some amazing family history in my absence from my blog this past week... i have often mentioned that my mom doesn't quilt... she is an amazing seamstress & embroiderer but unfortunately not a quilter... my mommom.. who was my mom's mother was also an amazing seamstress... but that was all i knew... as our family gathered to remember her... a quilt was taken out and shown to me... a quilt i had never seen before.. and didn't know existed.
{me examining it with my dad looking over}

it was only a few minutes before i found this.
AEK 1933

it is hand quilted... and i think pieced by machine

it is worn a bit in some places
but overall is in good shape...

the detail in the piecing is amazing
all the seams are perfect
and the pieces are tiny as can be.
edit {the pattern is a Burgoyne Surrounded..thanks PKM}

for the first time... here was my quilt i had made for my mommom
with one from her family... my family...
all kinds of emotions were flowing.

it wasn't long before i remembered that there was a double wedding ring quilt that had been passed down to me... i took it out and started searching the back... and found AEK 1939.


now i had the challenge of figuring out who was AEK... who made these quilts?..
they are both hand crafted beautiful pieces of art.... true heirlooms...
the "K" was easy.. Kardux... my mommom's maiden name.
but past that... i had no idea.
her mom was Joanna Boda.. and since Kardux was her married name it wasn't her mom... it had to be someone else...

my mom pulled out a bound book of my mommom's family history which goes back to my great...great...great grandparents. the table of contents was no help.... no AEK... so we went page by page... till we found it.

I discovered that my Great Great Grandmother's name was Alice Edith Souter... she was listed as Edie Souter in the table of contents... it had to be her. she was born in 1863 and died in 1952... that means she was 70 when the one quilt was finished and 76 when the other one was.

here is a scan from the family history book.
Alice Edith Souter married Joseph D. Kardux and became Alice Edith Kardux.. AEK
Edie's son George married Joanna Boda...
they had 4 children... including a set of twins.. Emily & George...
Emily {my mommom} married William Fischer...
they had 4 girls... one of which is my mom.

all this time...
i had thought i was the first quilter in my family.


I am very grateful to have in my possession these pieces of my own family history, at the same time I am sad that I did not discover that my mommom's grandmother was a quilter... I would love to have had the opportunity to have my mommom share her stories of her grandmother with me.


the family history book had a lot of information... this excerpt stuck out to me...

a perfectionist... i'm far from perfect...
but there have been times that i redo a seam until it is perfect
so i guess when that happens.. i'm having an Edie moment.

I will treasure these quilts and the history i have just learned of them... and make sure that their history is passed down to future generations and kept alive.


{photo credit for all but one photo goes to my brother, brad herman... thank you for continuing to inspire and push me... and for being just as creative as i am... i couldn't ask for a better brother.}

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

dolly dresses... the quilt

here it is.
my day.
have you been visiting all the blogs for dolly blog??

anyway...
i was lucky enough to meet holly @ market
and well the rest is history.

so here it is.
my dolly dresses quilt.

keep it simple.
since i plan on having this be a gift...
and have the recipient be able to play with it.
i went with no embellishment...
you can never be too careful with little ones!
{and while all the ric rac & what not is super cute.. so are the dresses on their own!}

i love how the triangles frame each dress...
and i quilted it in a fine white so the dresses stand out.. not the quilting.

and a pieced back.
as usual.
i used my more personal label since it is a gift.
and framed it with the leftover border from the panels...
i think any little one would be happy to play with this...
playmat
nap time quilt
wall hanging
tablecloth
just about anything!

{tutorial available here }

i hope you like it as much as i do!!

wip wednesday... dolly binding

i just got up.
its pouring.
like flood warning pouring.
and its cold.

anyway this is my task for the day.
{between actually going to work of course}
i do have a job ya know...

bind dolly dresses...
cause my time is coming up fast!!


have you been following along??

there have been 6 super cute projects shown so far.
and 6 super cute ones left to be revealed...

ok i gotta go...
my binding calls.

Monday, December 7, 2009

happy monday.

i tried to have a productive sewing weekend.
it just didn't happen...
but so far since jacquie started the joy in the new year challenge i've had 7 finishes
so since i admitted to 14 wips...that puts me half way there... with 4 weeks left in the year... wish me luck.



so instead of seeing what i'm not working on now..
here are some photos of holiday runners i've made over the years.
{new tutorial coming soon..hopefully tomorrow}

Pattern is from 12 Days of Christmas by Nancy Halvorsen



these two are from a pattern in Quilts & More Magazine ... I took the block from a quilt and made 6.. put 3 into each runner.. they were a gift set for family friends... {a mom & daughter}


this one is from the book Quilts Through the Seasons by Eleanor Burns...
i have a large spring one from this pattern that i've been working on forever... i think with me if i don't have a deadline.. and the quilt isn't small.. chances are it isn't getting done anytime soon.


last one is Tree's Up! Light's On! by Sandy Gervais of Pieces from My Heart
the pattern is for a 30 block quilt.. and i started one of those too.. one day i'll finish it!!


as for the giveaway... the winner is lucky #13
JacquieLH who said "I would make a quilted coin purse."
JacquieLH please send me your info!!

Friday, December 4, 2009

dolly dresses

so if you haven't already checked it out...
has become..

so go look...
it's so worth it.
i promise.

ikea & pier 1

so i spent my birthday out shopping.
lots of fun.
pier 1.
the container store.
crate & barrel.
mall.
ikea.

since i bought mostly holiday presents.. i can't show you what i got.

so i'll show you things i want.
one day i want this bed frame...

and this bedding set.

this we would have gotten if the large one was in stock in black.

once we get it we are gonna add a bit of this...

and a bit of that.
oh and i want this for my studio.. so great for holding all my tools.

once the work week is over i'll take pics of the things i got that aren't gifts and i'll share them with you... here's to having a productive sewing weekend!!

{ikea & pier 1 are only 15 minutes down the road from me.. its dangerous.}


fyi giveaway is still open till sunday.. here

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

giveaway day! {ended}



it's giveaway day over @ sew mama sew!


so i'm offering up 8 fat eights of "A Breath Of Avignon" the new line from American Jane {Sandy Klop} that will be out early 2010!

to enter... leave a comment saying what you would make with them... simple as that!!
{shipping in the US only}
{you have till dec 6th to enter}
{ended}

--

ps.. thanks for all the birthday wishes!! i had a great one!

--

oh and take a minute to go check out what rachel is doing... and join in to help!! i've donated my quilting services...