Saturday Misc.

Time to answer some questions and make some general comments.

Dyson vacuum runs 40 minutes on a complete charge but cleaning involves lots of stops and starts, doesn’t it?  So, no, I couldn’t be completely finished cleaning in 40 minutes but the all the vacuuming of floors could probably be done in that time.

Cornerstones on my Homey Triangles quilt would interrupt the “float” aspect.  I will use the patch as my label – thanks to all who suggested that.

Yes, I am feeling much better – but I still have the cough.

Here is last night’s progress on NYB.  It’s coming!


And the dogs this morning – so their parents can see them.

Bentley like to lay outside on the rug and look around.


Hope likes to nap under my desk.


And Telly likes to be real close to Dad.


I thought this was interesting – I came across the first quilt book I ever bought.


The date is 1976!


You could pick up this book today and learn nearly everything the quilt world is doing today including landscape quilts, patchwork, strip piecing, hexagons, triangles and diamonds and my favorite – log cabin!  This is how I learned to make log cabin blocks in 1976 – on a foundation.  The first log cabin quilt I ever made went to the local gift shop and was sold.  I’d like to see that quilt again today!


This book has been examined so much the pages are falling out.  It was my first introduction to the world of quilting other than seeing quilts in magazines that year because it was the bicentennial year 1976.

Remember Holly Hobby?


I also made this ABC baby quilt – have no idea what happened to it.  It was pink and blue gingham – about the only fabric I could find back then.


This was made back in the days I was hoping to have kids.  Primary infertility is a devastating condition – and one that changes lives forever.  Too much information?

Can you tell I have time on my hands?   Guess I’ll go back to NYB – it’s calling to me.  And soon the college basketball games will begin.  Happy Saturday, Everybody!  Hope the cruise is going well, Connie!


And one more.

26 thoughts on “Saturday Misc.

  1. Sue

    The NYB is gorgeous!! Yes, it should be Iowa Beauty.
    That book reminds me of some of my oldies, but I don’t have that one. Have a good week-end and get all the way well. Those coughs can sometimes last forever. Yuk.

  2. Bonnie

    Mary, the New York Beauty is lovely!
    I think your sense of color is fantastic!
    Can’t wait to see it come together 🙂
    Bonnie

  3. Rita S

    I’m curious about the table behind Telly, I have a table similar to it that sat in the breaseway of my grandmothers home. I was one of the things I statched, also some of the quilts her and her mom made. One is a variation of grandmothers flower garden done in diamonds and a green pathway around the diamonds.

    1. CountryThreads Post author

      Rita – it’s a gateleg table that opens up and when closed it’s very narrow. It belonged to my Aunt Charlotte and every year I think she gave it a new coat of orange paint! It was a devil to strip down!

  4. Diana

    I love your old book! My first book was by Marti Michell and I still use patterns from it today for very simple quilts.
    Infertility is awful and you never really get over it. Took us nearly 10 years to have our oldest son and then we adopted our youngest. Some of the girls at work are struggling with it and I feel very fortunate they come to me to cry on my shoulder. Glad I can be of help – I’ve been there.
    Love the NYB, wish I were brave enough to try it!

  5. ellie

    I think I had that book too, but made my first quilt from Eleanor Burns Log cabin quilt in a day.
    And you shouldnt worry about sharing your lost hopes, we are your friends. Thirteen years ago my DIL and son became parents thanks to a test tube !!! Life doesnt always go as planned but you learned to live well anyway. God be with you.

  6. Kathy

    What a trip down memory Lane with the book from 1976. I have my first store receipt that same year from a quilt shop class. It was cathedral window!!! What was I thinking doing that in the age of Patchwork! Love to see all the pets snuggled in on a winter day with such good people as you are to love them. Your cares are our cares too so never worry about what you share. We all love seeing how your day is going.

  7. Cindie

    Your color selections amaze me. Really beautiful. Love seeing pictures of the animals and where they find their space.
    Our 10 year old golden sometimes layes where he can keep an eye on the both of us. Often gets in our way. He really loves his peeps. Would love to take him out for a walk today. However, the roads are overly salted and am worried it might bother his paws.
    Enjoy your sewing time. Hope to see cruise pictures next week. I think they may have stopped at ports that I will be seeing in March.
    Take care,

  8. Jeanine

    Your NYB is gorgeous. And all your points and curves are so perfect. I, too, am amazed at all you get done in a day. Is the NYB paper pieced? I would never even attempt it unless it was paper piecing. I enjoy reading your blog every day. Love reading about the animals and quilting. We just have 10 chickens and some farm cats at our farm. The chickens are taking a long break from laying eggs. I may get 0-3 eggs a day now. But we do enjoy our chickens a lot. I am in Oskaloosa, IA, and we didn’t get the snow you received earlier in the week. My brother in Orange City was hit hard as well.

    1. CountryThreads Post author

      Jeanine – yes, it’s paper pieced and I have never done much of that so I had lots to learn when I started. Hope your chickens start laying again – soon it will be spring!

  9. Diane

    Your solids in the NYB/IB look great. I am not a fan of solids so I am happy to see how nice they can look; maybe I’ll try some. Your blog friends support you so don’t worry about sharing. Infertility is hard. I have some OLD books, too. They are now worth money, but I love having them so won’t sell.

  10. mary hawk

    Love the NYB. Which book did you say you are using? I like the shot cottons in it.

    Mary, I’m sorry you couldn’t have kids, you’d have been a natural at it. But know in your heart how many kids and creatures you have mothered. And now there is a baby in your family! Just finished The Lost Boy by Camilla Lackberg and it was a really good audio.

  11. Kate

    Back in the seventies it was hard to find any really good quilting fabric. Remember all the polyester knits? I actually made a lap quilt for my husband’s grandmother out of polyester knits. And there certainly were not a lot of quilt books or magazines. I had to teach myself how to quilt and looked everywhere for quilt patterns. I remember the first quilt book you and Connie put out and I was so happy. Still have it. Still make quilts from it occasionally. Your quilt pattern “Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, Or do Without,” is one on my list to make. Don’t think I will ever try that one you are doing now. Not enough patience.

  12. Martha Engstler

    Always love your blogs. You have a LOT of blog friends and we all love you and appreciate the time you give us with news of the animals and your quilts. Your Dyson sounds super, I’d like to know the model.

  13. Paula

    I started quilting in 1976 with scissors, a square cut out of cardboard and I made nine patches out of polyester. Still have those three quilts; they will long live all of us. lol. Paula in KY

  14. Sneed

    Glad you’re feeling better. Taking care of the barnyard can really get huge when the weather is bad and “not feeling well” is added. These dreary days are just great for hiding in the sewing room.

  15. MartyCae

    Mary – life sure takes some different twists and turns doesn’t it? Thank goodness for good friends and family, our pets and quilting!
    I love your New York beauty. The solids really are striking.
    Love, love, love all the animal stories. Keep em coming!

  16. Cheryl Nesbit

    I had always watched my grandma quilt and I tried it, but until my friend and I took the class you taught many years ago-Trip Around the World- I was hooked on quilting and have you and Connie to thank for that love of quilting. That quilt looks pretty worn, but I still like the simple way you taught to make that one and someday maybe I will make another. Love to read your blog with all the animals and of course the quilts. You are truly a talented gal!!

    1. CountryThreads Post author

      Cheryl – thank you so much! We always enjoyed having you in class as well as the shop!

  17. Holly TH

    Not too much information at all. I’m sorry that was part of your journey. How devastating.

    I have some fabric printed bases for NYB somewhere and now they may just stay there. There are so many fun things to try, or challenges that I really love the looks of, I don’t know that I’ll expend the effort for something that I’m not over-the-moon crazy about for myself. Yours are looking beautiful!

  18. Marsha Ransom

    Your blocks are coming along beautifully!

    No, not TMI. But probably not all that easy to share.

    That quilting book sent you (and us, your readers/followers) on a trip down memory lane!

  19. Ann Barlament

    Personally, I like the solid colors in your NYB. Reminds me of Amish quilts.

    I feel your pain…I wanted 12 kids, but Waynegot what he wanted…zero. Then there was that one time…false alarm. Wayne bought me 5# of chocolate and said I could still get fat…almost strangled him.

    I would love to shake the hand of the person that created rotary cutters! My first quilt was made in 1964…when I learned hand and foot coordination, because we had a treadle. But I hated drawing out and cutting the pieces.

Comments are closed.