Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Getting my head back in the game!

  
Hello!  How do I come back from such a long absence?  I'm just going to jump back in with both feet and hope for the best.  Hopefully someone out there will be somewhat inspired by the progress I've made the past several months.  I finished my Shores of Hawk Run Hollow, by Carriage House samplings!  (Hallelujah chorus singing!) It was stitched with Vicki Clayton Silks, and a few NPI silks.  The fabric is 36 count cream, that I hand dyed with tan Rit dye.  Wow, did it ever feel good to put  the final stitches in this sampler.  This sampler took me just over 5 years to complete, and I dedicated it to my husbands 7th grandfather back.

William Mayne Duncanson was a Captain for the East India Trading Company.  He amassed a fortune during his trading days, and moved to Washington D.C. in 1794.

With that fortune he built a beautiful historic home near the nations capital, which is one of the few houses still standing today.  It was named, The Friendship House or The Maples.  The house was finished in 1796.  William entertained guests such as George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson and was influential in politics and government.  Sadly not long after finishing the home, his business partner swindled him out of his fortune, and he lost his home.  He passed away in much more modest circumstances.  The house was later owned by Francis Scott Key. 

It was fascinating to read his story and to learn more about this relative.  In 2012 a development company bought the home, and they are now building upscale condos around the property.  The home will serve as a gathering place for the residents.  I can't wait to go and see it someday.  It has such a rich history.  I stitched a bit of this history on the bottom of the sampler, and will include a more detailed history with the frame. 

I got a few quilts back from the quilters and I have been busy putting on bindings.  This is a quilt top that my mom made for my 40th birthday.  This quilt is called The Journal Quilt and it's by Wednesday's Best Quilts. 

This is The Garden Fence by Fig Tree Quilts.

This quilt is called "Home is Where the Haunt Is".  It's by Kimberbell Designs, and was a mystery quilt that I signed up for a few years ago. 

This is called "A Vintage Christmas" and it's by Bunny Hill Designs. 

I got this framed a while ago, but never showed it on my blog.  This is called "The Village Alphabet" by Cross My Heart.  This one took a whopping 18 years to complete. 

I absolutely love the way this sampler turned out.  This is a Quaker friendship round robin that many friends stitch on.  It is one of my favorite samplers of all time!  I think the frame goes perfectly with it. 

This is Hillside Traveler, by Little House Needleworks.  This is another favorite sampler.  Do you ever have a sampler that  you wish you could hang in several places in your house at once?  I feel that way about this sampler.

Sorry about the flash showing on the glass in this sampler.  This is The Weeping Tree Sampler by The City Stitcher.  I have this hanging in my kitchen.

This little quilt was easy to do.  I just had to add the boarder and binding.  I quilted it myself, because I need the practice.  The doll clothes were ironed onto fusible fleece, and then cut out.  I made a little bag to put all of the clothes in, and I think I'll keep this out were it can be played with during the Christmas seasonI took this to my guild for show and tell, and after the meeting about 5 ladies ran up to the local quilt shop, and bought the rest of their panels.  It's so cute in person. 

In January, I took a class from Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings.  She is a fabulous teacher, and if you get the chance to take a class from her, do not hesitate!  I didn't think I would learn that much, as I have been doing embroidery for 30 years, but I found her techniques improved my stitching by leaps and bounds.  We made this wall hanging on the first day.  Wool, is my new obsession.  I have a lot of wool projects in the works right not. 

In February, my daughter talked me into remodeling her room.  It was quite an undertaking!  I guess after 10 years of being in our home, it was time to make the bedrooms more appealing to teenagers.  So this is what my daughters room looked like before...
..and this is after.  I had to do about 15 coats of paint to get it to this point.  I don't look forward to painting over that black someday.  She absolutely loves her room now!  It's so girly, with lots of black Eiffel tower accents.  The best part is, she keeps it really clean!


Unlike my son, who's room was such a disaster, we opted to take things out of it, rather than clean it up for a before photo opp.  It looks like his comforter needs some readjusting in this picture, but at least he made his bed, right?  We added a queen bed to his room, and painted the dresser to match.  I am going to paint his room this summer.  I'm thinking gray and white.  I am a little tired of the tan and red, although it's not bad. 

My in laws moved last summer, and wanted to clear out some of their things, so we inherited this antique type set case.  It's kind of a fun way to display little treasured knick-knacks that you don't know what to do with.  Many of the things in here came from my husbands grandparents, and then we added little special things that have been given to us over the years too.
I made more Abbey Bags.  One for my sewing room, and one for a gift.  They are so much fun to make.

I got some wonderful treasures for my birthday.  I have sweet friends!

One of the wool projects I started is this wool lamb by Buttermilk Basin.  I am working on getting blankets cut out to take on vacation.  It's easy to get them cut out and ironed down, the sewing is the part that takes me forever. 

This little project was intended for Valentines day, but I just got it sewn into a pillow last week.  This comes from the Valentine Need'l Love book.  I still need to make some buttons flowers to tuck into the heart pocket, but once summer hits, I should have time to work on it.

I'll leave you with another fun antique we inherited.  Another summer project on my list is to make a Gail Wilson doll to put on this chair.  I love the way it sits in my stairway.  






I hope this post finds you all well dear blog friends.  May you enjoy each moment with your sewing and do as much of it as you can.  Talk to you all soon!

14 comments:

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

Oh my gosh, Sweet Loraine! You have been busy! Congratulations on finishing your Shores! It is spectacular and what an awesome story to go with it. Next time I'm in the DC area, I'm going to check out the house. I have probably seen it before but now, it will have more meaning. I love how you added the over one detail at the bottom. You have definitely created an heirloom that will be passed down thru the generations.
I don't even know where to begin with all of your other projects! I remember you talking about the alphabet sampler and I know how thrilled you must be to have that one done. All the other samplers are beautiful, as well.
Of course, your quilting projects are to die for. I love them all but how special is your 40th b-day quilt from your mom?
The kiddo's rooms look wonderful. DD's room is especially wonderful and such a bonus that she loves it enough to keep it clean. YaHoo!!! Who wouldn't love such a girly, Parisian inspired room?
Love the little abbey bags, too.
I know I've forgotten something - oh, the printers tray is adorable! I used to have one of those but have no idea where it is now. Yours makes me want to go find mine! Love the chair in the corner with your sweet doll sitting in it. I love dolls - didn't love them when I was a young girl but adore them now that I'm older and only had boys!
Wonderful post, dear friend. Your projects and pictures and stories are just wonderful! Have a happy day!

Edgar said...

What Super pieces!! Congrats on the SoHRH finish, I love the way you personalized it!!

Deb said...

Oh. My. Goodness. Loraine!! I can't believe how much you've gotten done since your last post. I knew that you had a lot of things going, but I never imagined just how much.

I am so happy that you finally finished Shores and I love the story about the house and I think that it's amazing that it's still standing. And your Village sampler!! Wow! I am in awe that after all this time you finished it.

I love Cambry's room. It looks fantastic, but I can imagine that it was so much work. I'm glad that you posted the pictures so that I could see what the final outcome was. Beautiful.

And all your projects are wonderful! I'll write more in an email tomorrow! Glad to see that you've posted again!!

Carol said...

What a great post, Loraine--your finish of Shores is so amazing!! And all those framed pieces--just awesome.

Your daughter's room is so chic--I'm sure she's thrilled with it. And I have to say, I'm so envious of your printer's tray--I've been wanting one of my own for so long. My grandpa owned a newspaper and used to have tons of them, but they were all discarded years ago before using them for collectibles became popular...

Jackie's Stitches said...

Wow! You've accomplished SO much!

Congratulations on your finishes! I just started block 5 of Shores and am probably on the 5 year plan too. I love the personalization you made and enjoyed the family history you shared. Love all your quilts and the kids bedrooms look fab.

Catherine said...

Fantastic post! Congratulations on your Shores finish ~ I love the way you personalized it ~ fabulous family history!
I am sure your daughter is loving her new room ~ I know I would have loved that room as a teenager! So much eye candy in this post!!

Chris said...

WOW! Wonderful stitching, framing, quilts, woolwork and redecorating! You do amazing work! I loved this post.

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Well Loraine, I don't know where to start! First off...I LOVE LOVE LOVE your shores. I'm currently working on this...had a block a month goal...we are at May...let's just say (YEAH RIGHT!) :)
Love all your other many stitcheries that you showed us too. That alphabet village...well utterly stunning! Now on to the quilts....YOWSA! Each and every beautiful one....jealous! :)
and Wool...don't get me started. I too love Lisa Bonegan, never took a class from her, but did take one 3 years ago from a local lady. It opened a new door to me! Wool applique creates stunning beauties for your house!
And your daughter's bedroom...I'm not showing my daughter, then I'd have to change ours! LOL!

Katrina said...

OMG, eye candy!!!!!!!!!!! Everything is fabulous, love all the quilty stitchy pics :-). Your SHRH, is just gorgeous.

Your daughter's room is just too sweet, the Paris theme is so much fun. And boys definitely need minimal :-).

Very nice to see a post from you!!!!!!

Margaret said...

Wow! What a great post! I love everything you've done! Congrats on finishing Shores! I loved hearing about your DH's relative -- so cool, and also sad. Your quilts and framed samplers are wonderful! I love that Fig Tree Fence quilt. You did a great job with your DD's room! And your son's as well! Lovely presents from friends too. I hope you and your family are happy and enjoying each other and life. So nice to see a post from you! Sorry it took me a long time to get to your post -- I wanted to make sure I had the time to enjoy it and to say hi. :D

Brigitte said...

Welcome back, Loraine. And wow, you come back with a super post with lots and lots of eye candy.
Congratulations on finishing Shores, a major finish. Dedicating it to one of your husband's ancestors was definitely a great idea. I liked to read the story of that man.
All your samplers and quilts are stunning. My attention was particularly drawn to the Village ABC which I once started and then it became one of my oldest UFOs because I realized that I had cut my fabric too short. I had stitched the upper row and then I stopped. Whenever I get an idea how to finish this wonderful ABC anyway, I'll continue stitching it because it really is a fun stitch.
Your daughter's room is a dream.

Karoline said...

Nice to hear from you again, you've been very busy.

Congratulations on all your finishes, SoHRH is stunning & I love how you personalised it.

All your framing is lovely & your daughter's room looks great

Jeanne said...

Oh Loraine! I saw your post awhile back but wanted to wait to comment until I had more time. I'm overwhelmed with everything. I just love your Shores of HRH and how cool is it that you have this history in your husband's family! That is really special and I like that you included some of that on the back of the piece.

Amazing that we have such similar (and good) taste! I've been wanting to make that Garden Fence quilt by Fig Tree Quilts for ages...have the pattern if I can ever find the time. All the quilts are beautiful, I love Bunny Hill Designs. I've been wanting to make that one they have that looks like chocolate bunnies for a long time but I just don't know how I'd find the time. I love applique.

All of your projects are gorgeous and what a great job you did with your daughter's room, I'm sure she loves it. You know you and I have chatted before about our Gail Wilson kits...someday!! I have a whole drawer-ful of them and even a display box I got on sale that needs painting and finishing -it's for the Early American doll which I have a kit for as well as many of the clothes and accessories. Did you see on eBay recently they had that big finished 3-store cabinet of hers with all the dolls and accessories for sale for a mere $10,000! It's a museum quality piece of course but not in this girl's budget haha.

Take care Loraine and glad to see what you're up to. I went to the new Attic Needlework store this past weekend - they moved, but they haven't really got the store back together yet so I think I'll wait awhile before I go again.

Tammy said...

I don't even know where to start with this post! Everything you do is so beautiful. You have a wonderful eye for color and design and it shows in the projects you choose and the way your home is decorated. And finishing an 18 year old WIP? You win. :P Amazing work-everything!