Hopeful Homemaker

A Prayer For My Country – Finished Quilt

June 30, 2022 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the first day of July. The year is half over, but feels like it just began. In anticipation of the 4th of July weekend, I’m here today with photos of A Prayer for my Country, a finished quilt. I love this piece. It will have a permanent place in my home.

It all began with scraps, castoffs from other projects, and then it grew into something more as I grappled with all the opposite feelings I feel about the state of my country. So much has happened since, and while some concerns have changed shape, it’s interesting that many have not. In other words, I’m still praying.

In the middle of the quilt is a very abstract, broken flag.

Melissa custom quilted this one for me, and one of my favorite parts is the tiny star in the blue square below. So perfect.

That broken flag is surrounded by a more recognizable flag, all made from scraps as well. This means several different shades of white, and a few prints found their way in. I love the wavy quilting in the white stripes, too.

I foundation paper pieced all the stars, and these photos tempt me to start a quilt of just stars. That thought means I don’t accurately remember how much time it takes to pull off all the little paper pieces afterwards. (It takes forever! It’s my least favorite part of paper piecing!) Still, they’re pretty. I opted for a binding with two different blues, one to reference each version of the flag, a little red, and a red/white stripe in opposite corners. I really enjoyed stitching the binding on.

And now for the back! I added a red stripe at the bottom because the blue floral piece wasn’t large enough on it’s own. Thankfully, I pieced together enough scraps to add the hanging sleeve.

There’s something special about this floral, though. Can you see it?

It’s very faded, but this piece is an original feed sack. It’s stamped “Gooch Feed Mill Company, Lincoln Nebraska” I did a little research , and sure enough, it was established by Herbert Elmer Gooch in 1908. It feels appropriate for this quilt, a bit of history mixed in with everything else.

Like my seashell banner , A Prayer for my Country is about the broken and beautiful nation I call home. It’s about our undoing and our making. I made this quilt with a heart full of sadness and hope. I believe in a better future as we work together to improve. We have a marvelous opportunity sitting in our laps, and I hope we use it well.

It needs a label, and I’m working on that. Still, I finished it, and it’s up in time to celebrate.

A Lesson in Holes: My Finished Seashell Banner

June 28, 2022 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty, Quilting and Sewing

A few years ago I began sewing my seashells with holes in them to this linen seashell banner . I’ve written here and here about how I love these simple, ordinary shells. Especially shells with holes. After years of adding one here and there, my banner is covered in beautiful shells found on the beach. Each one of them came from the same 1.5 mile stretch of beach where we spend time every summer, collected over years. So here it is, my finished seashell banner.

The holes were there when I found them. Actually, the holes represent their undoing. The telltale hole is evidence of a drilling predator, which drilled the hole and ate the soft flesh inside, leaving the shell empty. At some point, it washed ashore. Unconsiously, my eyes now spot shells with holes faster than anything else on the beach. That hole was the end of the story; but it’s the hole that makes it useful to me.

I think life is like that. A hard thing comes along, drills into us, eats us up inside. It leaves a mark, a hole, evidence that we’re flawed. But the very thing that appears to be our undoing, can also be our making! I look at these ordinary, flawed objects, and I see beauty, survival, grit. Did you know that the older the shell is, the more white it becomes? I look at these shells and see me, my journey as a mother. I see my undoing and my making.

So I’ve slowly filled all the space with rows of shells, organized by size, color, type. Each one so unique. Look closely and you’ll never find a duplicate. These shells I’ve collected for years are now hanging on my wall next to my study desk. They remind me daily that my holes actually make me more useful, more relatable, more compassionate. They are part of me and it’s ok to have been changed by them. In fact, they’ve made me better, even if I look more flawed. I treasure my finished seashell banner, full of memories and hope.

So many walks along the beach represented here, plus a reminder of my worth. This was a rewarding project. I wonder what I’ll do next with my shells…. time to start brainstorming!

Jennifer

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Ragan’s Soccer t-shirt Quilt

June 23, 2022 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

Have you ever made a t-shirt quilt? I hadn’t, until 2020 when a dear friend asked me to make one for her daughter. I was nervous, but said yes. So here it is: Ragan’s soccer t-shirt quilt, filled with memories and evidence of great accomplishment.

Ragan selected her favorites, and on many of them they pinned a note saying what she liked most about the shirt. This really helped me when cutting the shirts and deciding which parts to use. In addition to t-shirts there are some jerseys and a large mix of fabrics. I chose a few basic measurements and started cutting.

I ironed a stabilizer to the back of each piece so it wouldn’t warp and stretch when sewn together. Mine was really lightweight, perhaps lighter than is ideal. But it was a pandemic and SO hard to find things, so I had to work with what I could get. In the end it turned out ok.

The layout is one I worked out based on all the shirts I had, and I filled in the holes with small strips, patches, or emblems from various shirts. I tried to balance color to some degree, but this is really a gallery quilt. The one inch black sashing ties it all together.

Melissa quilted it for me , and she was so great to accomodate the thick necklines, patches, and other obstacles to her machine. It turned out fantastic. Honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan of t-shirt quilts until I made this. Now, I see their value for preserving memory and history, and I want to make one for each of my kids.

Ragan is more than an exceptional soccer player; she is an outstanding young woman in so many ways. My family and I are blessed to know her and her family. This was a fun way to serve people we love.

Because it was 2020, I included Ragan’s soccer t-shirt quilt in my 20 in 20 project , which I also finished recently. I’ll share it soon!

Happy Sewing, Jennifer