Who’s ready for Spring? Not this raining stuff but green in the trees, the pretty flowers, the American Goldfinches back to their yellow feathers. I am and here’s my latest project :The Finch House”. Oh, please Sister Sun, come out!
A Quilted Mailbox??
Late this past January, I read a small blurb in The Advertiser (our local small communities newspaper) about the Sand Lake Historical Society calling for artists to decorate mailboxes for an upcoming fundraiser. This sounded intriguing. I called the phone number the very next morning and spoke to a lovely woman named Barbara. She explained that the response to her article had been very positive and she thought she was all set. She asked what I had in mind. When I said a quilted one, well, let’s just say that suddenly there was an opening! She would provide the mailbox in couple of weeks, I’d have a couple of weeks to create and deliver the box back to her.
I considered several different blocks, should I include my signature embroidery and whether the end result would be ornamental only or work as an actual mailbox! Deciding that a working box was the way to go, the design and colors should be recognizable by folks driving past it. I also needed to use material that would stand up to the elements. A trip to the local Curtis Lumber helped me find very thin sheet metal (the top and backing) and 1/4″ sheathing insulation (the batting). I cut the metal sheet down (first time with tin snips!) being sure to leave a few inches on each side – just in case – like not cutting off the extra backing and batting until you’re completely done quilting. Then to the drafted layout and started painting.
Tin sanded & primed, initial drafting of quilt layout
Pattern with colors selected
First white paint, let dry. Then red paint.
It was about this time I realized that I would need to draw the line for each log cabin strip in order for the pattern to be seen properly. I started with an ultra fine Sharpie, then to a fine Sharpie and settled on a regular Sharpie. Also, I should have been more careful when noting what color went where. Even though I used a #2 mechanical pencil, and did my best to erase some of the notes, the only way I could get rid of my writing was to paint over – especially on the white areas.
Blue centers
I painted in the blue centers, touched up several oops and started drawing in the lines of each strip so as to make the pattern be more noticeable. More touch -ups (need to be more precise next time – I know better from my decorative painting days!) and now onto the layering of the “quilt”. I cut out a piece of the insulation to the exact size of the mailbox, shaving off just a little around the edges to help facilitate wrapping the front part to the back. No binding on this quilt. Then on to the “quilting”
Quilting done with template, small straight head screwdriver and hammer
It was a bit tricky to “quilt” – hit too hard and you go through the thin metal, the surface of the quilt was slippery so almost lost a body part here and there. I cut down the front so that it would wrap around the insulation and used pliers to bend each inch of the quilt top down and under the “batting” (the insulation). Finally would fit nicely on mailbox. But then needed to gently but firmly wrap the quilt into it’s new shape – and keep it there!
Used a few C-clamps and let sit for a day.Had planned on using nuts and bolts to attach quilt to mailbox but wasn’t strong enough. And I felt the edges of the quilt along the bottom of the box should be smooth and safe.
Quilt shaped to mailbox
Called an engineer friend, who came over with rivets (would have been another first for me but wasn’t strong enough to use), which he used to secure the quilt to the mailbox. There was also the issue to reattach the flag (and be usable). I needn’t worry, friend figured it out! I completed the project by using spray expandable insulation in areas between top and bottom of quilt (to protect batting), painted that insulation and the edges of the quilt glossy black and applying 3 coats of special exterior spar urethane.
Mailbox completed
Mailbox flag reattached
All of the mailboxes for the fundraiser are on display at the West Sand Lake Key Bank for the silent auction. You can also see them on the Society’s website at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyslhs/mailboxes/index.htm. Auction is complete and boxes off to new home on Tuesday, May 9th at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts. This is just another way for quilting to beautify the world and I’m already planning next year’s mailbox! Until next time…
Keep Stitching!
Lynn
Snow Day!!!
It’s a “snow day” today here in the Northeast. We haven’t had many this season and certainly not like this one. Took the time late yesterday to refill the bird and squirrel feeders, suet holders packed and smeared peanut butter on a dead tree for the woodpeckers (boy, did they like that and there were lots of them). After shoveling the car out and cleaning it off, I shoveled an area for seed for the ground feeders. The many birds look twice as big today as their feathers are all fluffed up to keep them warm. It has been so much fun to watch them all!!
Today, I will stitch away the hours, stopping only to walk the Puppy Girls or replenish the feeders and a chicken pot pie will be in the oven shortly. Be healthy and safe today, it’s a snow day!
Lynn
Finding Inspiration at your Local Guild …
Finding inspiration at your local guild…. (February 2, 2017)
Two Wednesday nights ago was blocked out on my calendar since before Christmas, it was the first meeting of the new year of my home quilt guild, East Side Quilters. I look forward to the monthly meetings – visiting with quilt buddies, talking quilts, seeing quilts, eating yummy desserts.
Set up for 1/18/17 monthly meeting @ East Side Quilters, Photo by Lynn Kane
January BOM on left, upcoming February BOM on right
The yearly schedule was released with programs and bus trips, several challenges and some “Cabin Fever” days scheduled. There was the Block of the Month, which I was piecing at 6 am the morning of the meeting (am I the only last minute sewer??). I didn’t win this month’s but have hopes for next ones – love the blue and white combo. 2 color quilts can be so pretty.
Unfortunately, try as I may, work and life sometimes gets in the way of me attending the meetings. And I usually feel quite sad about that. It is 2 hours out of what is usually a very hectic week but they are a very important 2 hours. Those hours allow me to reconnect with like-minded others, to celebrate the art and beauty of all things quilts, and to remember what in life is truly important – people over things. Spending time at the guild also prompts me to spend the time on quilting. If you don’t belong to a quilt guild, I strongly recommend you find one (or more). Your level of experience is not a consideration – beginners are often celebrated more enthusiastically. As at your local quilt shop, look in your local Penny Saver type newspaper, check out bulletin boards at the library or search the internet. Creating in the presence of others can be fun and rewarding. And most of all, it’s good for you!!!
Until next time, keep stitching!
Lynn
Myth BUSTED: Hand Stitching Takes too Long!
I often hear “I don’t know you hand stitch all your projects. I would never have the time”. Like many of you, I have a demanding job, a home and “kids” (4 of the 4-legged kind!) to care for, volunteer work, etc., etc. Yet still, I am never very far away from a piece of fabric and my needle and thread. Hand stitching is very portable and you can get quite a bit accomplished in 10-15 minutes at a stretch. And there are many different types – from hand embroidery, to hand piecing, to hand quilting, all of these projects can easily fit in a Ziploc bag and tucked into a purse or briefcase.
If you are still skeptical, please meet NASA Astronaut Karen Nyberg!
In the June-July 2014 issue of Country Woman magazine, was a fascinating article about Astronaut Nyberg, a mechanical engineer who spent 5-1/2 months on the International Space Station. She stitched during her limited free time. With none of the luxuries we take for granted these days – rotary cutters and sewing machines, she hand pieced a Texas state flag for her husband AND a stuffed dinosaur for her son. In the photo above, note how her supplies are attached to a small square of Velcro – to prevent them from drifting away in the weightlessness of outer space. And just like me, when finished, she stowed her few supplies of needles, threads and projects in plastic bags.
Hand stitching of whatever kind, can be available to you with minimum of prep and ready to go for those bits of time when you are waiting for an appointment or on a lunch break. And don’t forget the restorative value of this “me” time. I find that just 15 minutes helps to calm me, to give me new energy for the rest of my day. Won’t you give it a try?
Lynn
