Fabric Goodies from Amish Country (Ohio)

I’ve posted before about the beautiful Amish country of Holmes County, Ohio.  My oldest daughter and I made another trip just in time for the peak colors and gorgeous landscapes.

This area is also a shopper’s paradise, particularly for quilters.  My three favorite quilt shops are Helping Hands (Berlin), Gramma Fannie’s Quilt Barn (Berlin), and Miller’s Dry Goods (Charm).

Although I buy a lot of fabric for specific quilt projects, I especially love to find a bin filled with bags of remnants.  I found three this trip – a 75-cent bag…

…a $2 bag….

…and a $5 bag.

The little Amish lady behind the counter told me the remnants in the $5 bag were from a quilt she had just completed.  I would love to see her quilt with all those pretty fall colors.

We always stay at a cottage set in the middle of Amish farms – very quiet, picturesque and charming.  There are plenty of restaurants serving Amish-style, hearty meals and lots of fun things to see and do.

I would highly recommend a visit if you’re ever in this section of Ohio.

A Linus Quilt for a Little Girl

For the past 6 years, I’ve been making 3 quilts a year for the Greater Cincinnati Linus Project.  This year, I made an additional quilt.  I had bought some panel fabric on Etsy showing girls and boys at work and play.  I cut it apart and used the boy panels for one quilt and now I’ve used the girl panels for this one.  For alternate blocks I found an interesting block on my Judy Martin Stars & Sets software.  Judy has a way of giving a relatively easy block a twist and making it special.  This block is called Waltzing Matilda and is also in her book, Ultimate Book of Quilt Block Patterns.  There is a tiny amount of partial seaming at the very beginning of the block and from that point, it’s an easy block to piece.  It’s a good introduction to partial seaming for beginners.

The software was used to make a 4″ version for the border and I used the outline shape to quilt in the center of each 12″ block.

I used red calico as sashing to bring the panels to the correct size and did some decorative stitching in the sashing and borders.  Fleece forms the backing/batting as recommended by the Linus Project.

The quilt measures 40-1/2″x50″.  I hope some little girl in the hospital enjoys the bright colors and cute pictures in this quilt.

A Storybook Linus Quilt

The third quilt I made this year for donation to the Linus Project is one that was made with a large panel showing rows of storybook characters.

The top border incorporated a “Whirlwind” block from the Electric Quilt 6 software alternating with 9-patch blocks.

The bottom border was all 9-patch blocks.

The backing/batting was light blue fleece and machine quilting was minimal, using free motion stitching around the rows of storybook figures and in-the-ditch stitching on the borders.  The inner border had decorative stitching going down the center.

The finished quilt measured 38″ x 57″.

The Linus Project distributes donated quilts and blankets to seriously ill children in local hospitals.

Back-to-School Redwork Wall Hanging

To commemorate back-to-school time, my oldest daughter gave me a redwork panel she had embroidered with a charming old-fashioned schoolroom scene.  She got the pattern from Quilting Bee Designs and used her usual excellent embroidery skills to make it special.

I thought the size of the panel would make it an ideal piece for a wall hanging and started thinking of what I could use as a border that would frame the work without overwhelming it.  I found a block pattern on Judy Martin’s Stars and Sets software that I adapted to use as a border.  The name of the block is Virginia Backroads and typical of Judy Martin’s designs, it takes a relatively easy pattern and adds an extra twist or two to make it interesting – to sew and to view.  I like the way the star overlaps the adjoining blocks and I extended the 9-patch portion to make the size I needed on each side of the embroidered piece.

I used a lot of scraps in red and white to piece the backing and the quilting is made up of very simple outline stitches and stitch-in-the-ditch with machine embroidered feather stitching along the edge of the panel.

The finished size of the wall hanging is 20×26-1/2 inches.

Above the wall hanging I like to place a small picture or piece of needlework.  My daughter adapted an internet drawing to make a design of a schoolhouse and tree with falling leaves which she did in redwork.  I simply framed the piece with a border.

These cheerful, colorful pieces are a nice addition to my living room.

A Linus Quilt for a Little Boy

Each year, I try to make 3 quilts to donate to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky branch of Project Linus which provides quilts and blankets for hospitalized children.  For my second donation this year, I used some fabric panels that I found on Etsy.  The beautiful, colorful images are of children at work and play.  I picked out 5 panels that featured boys and used fabric incorporating white stars on a red background for the sashing.

For the alternate blocks, I used a block called “Perky Split Nine Patch” from my Electric Quilt 6 software.

For the top and bottom borders, I used a technique for putting together small diamonds that I had seen on the Fons & Porter TV show.

I used fleece for the backing/batting, as recommended by Project Linus, and machine quilting was in-the-ditch and outline stitching.

The finished quilt measures 37×49 inches.

I hope some little boy will enjoy this quilt.

Fresh Corn-Zucchini (Squash) Relish

Over twenty years ago when my husband and I lived in rural Ohio on the Indiana border with a huge vegetable garden, I tried a lot of recipes to deal with the surplus produce.  In 1985, I found this recipe for Fresh Corn Zucchini (or Yellow Summer Squash) Relish in a cookbook called, “Seasoned with Sunshine”.  I made it on July 21 and the next week entered it in our Hamilton County Fair (Cincinnati).  It won a blue ribbon and became a family favorite.

Since I’m by myself now in a small bungalow with no garden, I pick up produce at the farmer’s market and make one quart of the relish.

FRESH CORN-ZUCCHINI (SQUASH) RELISH

• 2 cups fresh corn, cut from cob
• 3/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. pickling salt
• 1/2 tsp. celery salt
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seed
• 1/4 tsp. dry mustard
• 2 cups zucchini or yellow summer squash, unpeeled, sliced 1/4″ thick (cut larger diameter slices in half)

In a large pot, combine all ingredients EXCEPT ZUCCHINI/YELLOW SQUASH.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add zucchini/squash slices and simmer uncovered on low heat for 20 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Spoon relish into sterilized jars – one quart or two pint jars.  Relish can be kept in the refrigerator for use within a month or so, or processed in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes for longer storage.

I could refrigerate the two pint jars for my own use, or even more fun, keep one jar and make up the second one for a neighbor.  It’s easy to dress up the giveaway jar with a circle of fabric placed between the jar cap and lid.  Yes, I think I like that idea best.  Now, which of my neighbors would enjoy some relish today?

Quilted Shopping Bags

I made this shopping bag-size tote several years ago for the Warren County (Lebanon, Ohio) Fair.  It won a blue ribbon and I enjoyed doing the harness horse design.  I used a coloring book sketch transferred to white fabric, then embroidered the design with black floss.   I used crayons to color the picture and heat set it by placing a piece of white paper over the coloring and pressing it with a hot iron.

I used the same patchwork blocks to make the back of the bag, machine quilted it with low loft batting and made a lining and handle.

I found the large size of the bag to be extremely useful.  My oldest daughter recently mentioned that she would like to have one the same size and I started looking through my orphan blocks and scraps to see what I could put together.

The center block is a Morning Star block  I posted last year and the center with vintage-type fabric was appropriate for my daughter because she is interested and talented in any type of hand sewing.  I looked for scraps with shades of yellow and blue and cut 2-1/2 inch blocks to accentuate the focus block.

On the back, I put together 2-1/2 inch blocks with 2-1/2 inch strips to continue the color theme.  The front and back were machine quilted using low loft batting.  The sides  were left unquilted to cut down on bulk.  I made another bag of plain fabric for a lining and made the handle extra-long so my daughter can swing the bag over her shoulder if she wants.

The bag is large – 22 inches wide x 25 inches long and should accommodate a lot of stuff when my daughter comes for her weekend visits.

A Linus Quilt with a Vintage Look

I like to make quilts to donate to the Linus Project which distributes blankets and quilts to hospitalized children in the Cincinnati area.  I’m always on the lookout for cute, kid-oriented fabric and found a remnant while shopping in Holmes County (Ohio) Amish Country last fall.  I thought the 1930s era panels would work out well with some type of filler block.  I tried out several patterns but wanted to avoid taking attention away from the cute pictures.  Since I always have scraps, I tried making a block with 3/4″ finished postage stamp squares and this seemed to be the perfect block to accompany the puppies, kittens, bunnies and kids in the panels.  Each postage stamp square block took about two hours to make but I used up a lot of small scraps and liked the vintage look.

I used some pink, blue and yellow fabric to complete the borders….

…and used a fleece backing, as recommended by the Linus Project.

All of the sewing was done on my Bernina and the quilting was very simple and minimal since I wasn’t working with batting.  For the binding, I sewed together strips alternating in pink, yellow, white  and blue.

I’m not usually tempted to keep the quilts I make for the Linus Project because they’re designed to appeal to kids, but I wouldn’t have minded keeping this quilt with its vintage images from my childhood.  My granddaughter and her friend, George, liked the quilt, so I’m hoping some little girl in the hospital will like it, too.

A Valentine Memory Wall Hanging

One of my favorite Valentine surprises was a small wall hanging that my oldest daughter made.  It incorporated a snapshot of my mother and me on my wedding day in 1952.  My daughter started with some felting from some old sweaters and the snapshot and created a beautiful, meaningful hanging.  The details of how she put the piece together is here.

Her work is always creative, imaginative and usually includes a beloved picture or keepsake.  What a wonderful treasure!

Quilting with Laura Quilt

One of my Christmas gifts was a pattern book by Linda Halpin, Quilting with Laura – Patterns Inspired by the “Little House on the Prairie” Series, published by RCW Publishing Company.

My youngest daughter, who is an admirer of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her books, gave me the pattern and I considered making the quilt for her, although I knew this type of quilt was not her decorating style.  Surprisingly, she volunteered that she would like to have the quilt with all its scrappy blocks, so I started getting the fabrics together.  The pattern is for a large 37″x46″ wall hanging and I added borders to make it large enough for a single bed.

The quilt includes blocks actually mentioned in the television series as well as traditional blocks whose names reflect events in Laura’s time.  Instructions and templates are given for 14 blocks of varying sizes and a diagram is given for the layout of the quilt.  My main complaint is that no measurements were given for the many types of sashing used to separate blocks.  I was able to work it out but beginners might have a bit of a problem.

I’m not good at hand sewing, so all of the piecing and quilting were done on my Bernina.  After the quilt was completed, I made a label for each block, printing on fabric and then making a frame for each from backing fabric.  Each label, sewn on the back of the quilt at the spot where the block appears on the front, gave the name of the block for my non-quilting daughter and a brief explanation of why the block was chosen.  Example:  Nine Patch – a block that Mary was able to make even after losing her eyesight.

The most difficult block, and my favorite, was Doves in the Window, reportedly the pattern used by Laura in her wedding quilt.

The patterns in the book are:

• Nine Patch
• Snowball

• Sawtooth
• Indian Trails
• Flying Geese
• Corn and Beans
• Prairie Queen
• Trail of the Covered Wagon
• Bear’s Paw
• Dugout
• Album
• Log Cabin
• Schoolhouse

• Doves in the Window

My daughter tells me this quilt with low loft batting has replaced her handmade, very heavy afghan and is just as warm.