The bonds we share as women are so important to our lives.
We are each other’s support and cheerleaders. We are the arms of comfort, ears of listening, hearts of understanding.
We are the voices of shared laughter, the tellers of stories, the smiles of acceptance of one to another.
Quilting is great by itself, but really – it’s simply the activity that brings us together. The REAL important things that happen in class are the relationships.
And you know how I love it when Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Nieces, and always FRIENDS come together. They add so much to our day.
Mothers & Daughters!
Sisters & Friends!
It was a Garden Party Day from the Addicted to Scraps Book for group 2! They came with machines, boxes and bags and totes of fabric, everything you could need and MORE for a fun workshop day and we set right in.
I love this Kenmore!!
The Kenmore machines, right through the 1980s were hard to beat. I know. I had one that saw miles and miles of sewing before it finally gave up and I moved on to my first Bernina. But these Kenmores are so dear, and such workhorses. And easy to maintain.
I had been married less than a year when all I wanted for Christmas was that Kenmore sewing machine…I think it was $99.00 on sale, and it felt as expensive as buying a new car on our very young and newly married budget. But that machine saw me through all of the designing and sewing for my “Needle in a Haystack!!” doll pattern business back in the 1990s, all of the patterns I had published by Butterick as well as my own – those dolls and their clothes were all sewn on my humble little Kenmore. Sweet memories!
Blocks being sewn in so many color varieties!
Who doesn’t love a red 9-patch?
Laying out all of our blocks from our workshop day!
Thanks for a wonderful day, everyone!
You’ll find our workshop fun and ALL of our show & share photos from yesterday’s class in the slide show below:
There will be so many beautiful Garden Party quilts finished by these folks from all over!
Check out these beautiful Rose of Sharon bushes!
Or is it a Hibiscus? I’ve been told both.
I got close enough to see someone VERY busy!
How this bee even can FLY with this much pollen on it is amazing!
We enjoyed a lovely dinner back at Mary’s house and talked until bed time. Great food, great friends, great conversation. And a full 8 hours of sleep. I’m ready to tackle this day.
Box Kite, Round 2 is up on deck!
Quiltville Quote of the Day!
Vintage quilt found in Pennsylvania
It's going to be a great day!
It is a hibiscus:)
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your story I had to share: Soon after I married (1982) and moved away from home (and Mom's sewing machine) I found I needed a machine of my own. My husband and I headed to Sears and I was shocked at how much I was going to have to pay for a Kenmore, but my new husband stepped up and said to get the best one - I think it was $250! I remember asking if it could hem blue jeans and the salesman showed it sewing through 16 layers! We bought it and it, too, got me through 2 decades of sewing and quilting until I got my Bernina. I still keep my trusty Kenmore for a loaner when I teach quilting to someone who doesn't have a machine but thinks she might be interested in quilting. We can't let something like not having a machine keep us from our passion!
ReplyDeleteAmen to the need for a Machine. Mom always said you can't keep house without one. I git a used Machine for Graduation. Took that heavy thing up flights of stsirs to 2 Doirm Rooms. Made lots of shirts and pants on it. I don't remember the brand. My mom got a Bernina soon after. My lucky sister got it. I have bought 2 of my own since then!
ReplyDeleteRose of Sharon, here in the U.S., is a type of hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus), so both names are right! We had three huge bushes, all different colors, when I was a kid--gorgeous! :)
ReplyDeleteI would love it if my sister quilt d, and didn't live in the opposite coast! I sewed on my mother's Kenmore until I got married; then I got a Riccho? And not long after a blue Singer. That's the machine that carried me from my early 20's to my lar 40's when I got my first Bernina whish is still my go-to though I also have a treadle and 2 featherweights.
ReplyDeleteFun to see in the slideshow that othes besides me have their books spiral bound eo they lay flat.
As for your flower, I thought a hibiscus too, then I looked them up on the internet. The main difference between a Rose of Sharon and a Hibiscus is the stamen. As for your Mother/daughter, sisters, friends. I would love to quilt w/ someone like that. My mom and I share a love of fabric, but she prefers to make doll clothes, which I do as well, but she had never really pieced a quilt. Have fun, and thanks so much for posting and blogging. Love to read your posts.
ReplyDeleteI had a boss who called the Hibiscus, which that is, a little boy plant. You can figure that out yourself!!
ReplyDeleteRose of Sharon is a member of the Hibiscus family.
ReplyDeleteOh Quiltville! I was scrolling through and reading this post this morning, and came upon the picture of the Kenmore machine. THAT IS MY MACHINE! Mine was a high school graduation gift from my parents in 1976. It is still my daily at home machine. and, (knock wood) it's never been worked on, just my cleaning and oiling.
ReplyDeleteof course I do have other machines including my trusty featherweight, a Singer Treadle, Singer Handcrank, and one of the new Singer cheapo machines that I got just for the "fancy" stitches when I was doing postcards. Thank you for sharing, it was fun to see a machine like mine.
Hi Bonnie - I enjoy your blog so much, and learn a lot from you. I wonder if you might write a bit about how you travel safely with your quilts. Both by air and car. One hears so many stories about car thieves - how can you keep your quilts safe?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know more about this subject, if by chance you would like to blog about it.
thanks, Kathleen
I too have that same Kenmore, it was my graduation gift from my parents in 1977. Right now my its living at my daughters house. She knows it's to be given back to me when she doesn't want it any more. About nine years ago I bought a compurtized new machine. I remember thinking what have I done! I liked my old one better than the new. But in time I got used to it and then I found your blog and delved into the vintage machines. ♥️♥️
ReplyDeleteIt is a Rose of Sharon. I have one blooming in my front yard right now
ReplyDeleteSounds like there are many quilters out there that are my age and loved/sewed on a great,old, all-metal Kenmore. I would still be using ma's (I'm the only one of my sisters who still sews) if it hadn't rusted in humid Michigan after storage in our damp basement.
ReplyDeleteSorry to contradict from a avid gardener in the UK, the one that Bonnie shows is a Hibiscus: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hibiscus&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjXnKTSj47VAhVNbVAKHcjYAmwQ_AUICigB&biw=1138&bih=711&dpr=1.13 the Rose of Sharon shown here: https://www.mediastorehouse.com/rose-of-sharon-hypericum-calycinum/print/6283717.html?nochkip=1&hr=1&pid=676&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnazLBRDxARIsAECdausauXggFakxqhiu8o_At5UHjbS6lnuiz-sqbRVI9ZbWM915IL433dMaAsgdEALw_wcB
ReplyDeleteAs you can see the Hibiscus comes in so many different colours and forms it could be seen as a Rose of Sharon.
My grandmother had those shrubs all around her house and called them Althea bushes! She had purple, pink and white. I love them! I looked up the Althea online and found Rose of Sharon shown with them. Apparently, they are one and the same. We've had many hibiscus plants, and their flowers are somewhat different... Love them all!
ReplyDeleteI see two other comments saying that they too have that Kenmore. I had that same one too! It was a true workhorse and I literally wore it out. :-) I bought it in the late 70s with tip money I made at my summer job. At some point I did a little research and found that these were made by the Jaguar company. Yes - the car company. And I have to say that it was an awesome machine. And as you can see.. it still is!!
ReplyDeleteQuilt on!!