Thursday, March 18, 2010

A quilt every few days or so #10

In the mid to late 70s we lived on a farm in Kansas . . .


No, we didn't farm, but we rented out the pasture and the stables to people with horses. It was a great time for the kids - all that space to roam, a barn to climb in, chickens and of course the horses to watch. There was a pond out in the pasture for ice skating on in the winter. One year one of the horses came right out onto the ice with us and scared us silly. Fortunately the ice was thick enough - but I didn't have my camera so didn't get a picture of that frightful scene.


One of the stables was rented to some people with a dog. They wanted the dog played with, fed and run so they paid Rusty every week to take care of their dog. He couldn't wait to get home to play with the dog.

We also had cats - quite a few, but not many photos of them.


This is Calvin and Coolidge . . .

They liked the dollhouse . . .

The farm was wonderful for the kids - playing catch . . .


Playing mud football with Don . . .



The first summer there Rusty was eight and he wanted to mow the lawn by himself. He begged and begged until finally I got out the mower and started it for him - and he mowed the whole big lawn. Don was either at school or at work - so I got pictures of the first mowing for him.


Lori, Rusty, Beccy and Jamie, a little boy I babysat . . .in matcing summer outfits of Jolly Green Giant Fabric - that I sewed for them. I've recently seen this same fabric being reproduced.

A favorite game - chase Daddy . . .

All dressed up - near the end of our three years in Kansas . . .


Oh, yes, the reason we were in Kansas - so Don could finish college . . . with straight As and many awards - including Outstanding Young Men of America.

I made a lot of quilts in Kansas - it was very cold in the winters - sometimes -20 degrees and lots and lots of snow. The farm house was not insulated and many winter mornings we would wake up to snow on the window seat in the dining room - it had sifted through the window casings from the constant wind that blew in Kansas.


A Lone Star - a huge Lone Star - made in 70s colors. This pattern came from a McCalls Craft magazine and I copied the colors almost exactly as the pattern - we've come a long ways baby!

This was hand pieced and each separate diamond piece was cut out and pieced together - this was long before rotary cutters and mats and strip piecing. I gave this to friends when they got married the summer before we moved away from Kansas.

This was my first Grandmother's Flower Garden - again from McCalls Craft magazine. The pieces were larger than I use now for GFG quilts - all hand pieced - and not English paper piecing either. I pieced this before moving to Kansas and quilted it the first winter in Kansas.


Double Wedding ring, made using cardboard templates and hand pieced. Also hand quilted. We wore thise quilt to shreds.

A machine pieced quilt, made the first summer in Kansas. It was so cold and we had moved from sunny, warm California. I had several quilt tops and needed them quilted, so I found an ad in the local newspaper for machine quilting.

The machine quilting was done in the basement and there was a long track on the ceiling that supported the machine on "long arms", and it was operated by moving the machine on the tracks in the quilting pattern you wanted to produce. I had four quilt tops and we really needed them to keep warm. The price was $7.50 - each - that's right - $7.50 per quilt - no matter the size. There were three double/queen size and one king size quilt - and each cost $7.50, plus she provided the batting. It stretched our budget to have all four done at once, but we were cold so we managed.

I had pieced this quilt in Wisconsin, many years before and it was one of the quilts that were machine quilted in Kansas . . . (we still have this quilt)


Every fall there was a big fund raiser in Kansas City, MO - not too far from where we lived. Interior decorators would pick a room in one of the many mansions in Kansas City and decorate them in their style. Tickets were sold for home tours. One of the decorators contacted me about making quilts for twin beds in the room she was doing. She bought the fabric and I made the quilts. These are done in the quilt-as-you-go style so when the piecing was finished - the quilt was finished. Again - you see the colors of the mid 70s. The decorator kept the quilts, as she had paid for the materials - and that was ok with me - not my favorite colors. It was fun to know that my quilts were in a home tour.



13 comments:

luv2quilt2 said...

Thanks for sharing such wonderful memories.

Pat said...

You have a truly incredibly quilt history, Jo. I really enjoy seeing all these things you have made in years past.

Sunny said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sunny said...

That was me that deleted the above comment. I am not awake yet this am and had too many mis-spelled words.... My comment is
"You are a very interesting lady, and sooo many quilts! Thanks for letting us see some of your quilting and family history!" (sp corrected :)

Jocelyn said...

What a sweet memory post. Thanks for sharing about your time in Kansas.

Crispy said...

What a lovely trip down memory lane Jo!! How fun for the kids to be on a "farm" for a few years and great quilts too :0)

Crispy

Lili said...

Love the one with the lone star! The winter is a great time in a cold climate, especially when you have a talent to outfit your place with some beautiful and warm quilts.

Peggy said...

What wonderful memories - and so lovely to have quilts (or pictures) to go with those memories. This is why I started quilting - to add to the memories.

Mary said...

WOW, $7.50 to have a quilt machine quilted! Loved the Jolly Green Giant matching clothes. I made matching clothes when my children were small too, (usually for family Pictures).

Browndirtcottage said...

Oh Joann....I'm 'weepy'....I love going down YOUR memory lane. That farm house kind of reminds me of the house I live in.
My favorite quilt is the one you made in Wisconsin...LOVE IT! I only WISH I had 10 finished quilts to show!!!

*karendianne. said...

I luv, luv, luv the cats and gosh, check out your talent on display yet again. It's fun to read how you put these quilts together. Times really have changed. I can't imagine working such beautiful quilts like you describe. The one you pieced in Wisconsin... my fav! I love them all, appreciate them all, bow to your talent but can't help it... *(is that ok?)

Julie said...

I really enjoyed the photos and family history in this post and the quilts are stunning!

Dena said...

Jo ~ Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories of living in Kansas. I loved seeing pictures of the kids as they were young and a very young Don. LOL

Your quilts a beautiful and it is especially nice that you were able to take pictures of them as a record of you work. I only wish I had done the same... But I've corrected this oversight and have recorded the ones I've made in the last couple of years.