Garden Lady #9 - FINAL - Caretaker

This is a continuation of three previous posts and is the final one about the making of Garden Lady #9.

After stitching the lady to the background, I did some thread work on the hair and did some shading with colored pencil.

It was finally time to quilt the entire piece with the backing. I know that it seems strange after all of the stitching that was done already, but I really wanted to mash down the background and get the foreground to pop.  Here is the final quilt.  I named it "Caretaker".

It is 32" W x 49" H.

I hope you like it!

Northwest Gardening Lady - part 4

This is a continuation of 3 previous posts about the making of the Northwest Gardening Lady art quilt.

I needed to add the plants in the tall pot and the trunk for the strawberry tree.  These were made from fabric that I had in my stash.  The final selection of plants were the ones that I wanted to place at the bottom of the piece.  I had pictures of poppies, columbines, and hostas that spoke to me.  I printed them off on 8-1/2 x 11 sheets of paper and tested out the placement and size.  In the end, I decided not cover up the dress.   So, here is the top all ready to be quilted.

I printed a black and white copy of the quilt and then traced the outlines onto tracing paper.  Then, I fiddled around until I had some quilting lines that I liked.  Here is the quilting plan.

Of course, the quilting will not end up being so prominent once its on the quilt with the dark background colors. 

Stay tuned to see either more progress, or the finished piece.

   

Quilt Sewing Day with the Undercover Quilters

One thing that the COVID-19 isolation created was a huge need to get together with some long-time quilting friends.  The Undercover Quilters has been going strong for at least 25 years.   We've seen each others' kids grow up, get married and have their own kids.  Some of us have moved.  Some divorced.  Some of our kids have been divorced.  Some are just about to get married.  Through it all, most of us are still making quilts and still trying to see each other as often as we can.

Once the isolation and restrictions lifted, and we all got vaccinated, we started meeting once a month for a day of sewing and friendship.  Here's a picture of us in June 2021.  I'm so thankful that the group still includes me, even though I've moved away from the Portland, OR area several times.  And it was so nice to see them all again.

Here we are:

I hope you all have good friends like I do!  

Grandma's old letters

I have no quilts in progress (what?!).  So, I've attacked a project that has been staring at me for 6 years.  My Grandmother Morgan saved all of her letters and cards from 1913 until the late 1970's.  My mother kept all of those letters, plus a bunch of her own.  When she passed away 6 years ago, I inherited the boxes of letters and cards.  The reason I ended up with them is because I've also inherited the genealogy files and pictures.  My goal was to get all the letters digitally transcribed and then donate the letters to a genealogy center.  Well, this is the time and the year to get it done!

My Grandmother Morgan, Anna Bertha Burkle Morgan, was born in Lafayette, Indiana to German parents in 1891.  She moved to the Seattle area when she was about 21 to be with her sister and father, who had moved out west in 1913 or so.  Most of the letters are from her Indiana relatives, and as her kids moved away, she started getting them from her kids.  In the 1970's, she started getting them from her grandchildren.  (Some of them are from me).

Anna Bertha Burkle

My mother, Helen Ann Burkle Morgan Adams, was born in Kent, WA to Homer and Bertha Morgan.  She lived in either King or Pierce County most of her life, with a short window in York, Pa. My mother's letters started when she went off to college at the University of Washington, and continue through the late 1970's.

Homer and Bertha Morgan and kids

Helen Ann Burkle Morgan

I can see why most Women's histories are not in the history books.  Their lives are full of family duties and they were tired!  And their letters, while written to each other weekly, are mostly mundane details about their daily lives.  Not stuff that the schools want to teach.  But for me, they are a wonderful look into how their lives were during all those old times, how they felt about things, how cheap everything was compared to now, and how much genealogy information is contained in the letters.  My grandmother and mother both sewed and made quilts, so it especially dear when I read about clothes, quilts or blankets they made for me and my siblings and kids.

Bertha Morgan in her garden

Al and Helen (Morgan)Adams 25th anniversary

Bertha Morgan 1970's

Anyway, I have been typing away and trying to transcribe them correctly.  And I hope to finish them soon.

Helen Adams abt. 2010

 What would you do with the original letters?  I don't want to toss them out, but I also don't want them all in my cupboards.  Any advice would be wonderful!