Little Mama Hen: July 2017

Friday, July 21, 2017

Swedish Grandmother Part 3

Through my local quilt guild I have made a lovely new acquaintance, Margreta. She in turn has a sweet sister, Mira. I've only just met Margreta and I only talked to Mira for a few moments on the phone. They are women with very kind personalities. I also hint a bit of 'fun' and 'adventure' in their tones with each other.

These women have a most wonderful treasure. Their Grandmother left behind 62 dresden petals that need a home in a warm and loving quilt. Well...actually two quilts. I'm going to make two quilts from these gorgeous dresdens and plan to have two left over for a couple of pillow shams. Each sister will have a keepsake from their Grandmother and these dresdens will finally have a happy ending.

This is Swedish Grandmother (SG). She was born in the midwest in 1887. Grover Cleveland was president. Her parents were immigrants from Sweden. They were early pioneers. SG spoke Swedish and cooked many Swedish dishes. Margreta says that, besides her snoring (so endearing), what she remembers most was her old fashioned pedal sewing machine. Margreta and her cousin use to visit SG on her farm. She made Muumuus for them, aprons, and monkey sock dolls.

What sweet memories. I have no idea what it's like to be an immigrant. My family has been here in Florida since the early to mid 1800s and in Georgia before that. I can only imagine the excitement, anxiety, and all the jumbled emotions that must go with starting a new life.

I've had such fun going through each of these dresdens, trying to decide which remnants were from aprons and maybe which one were dresses. Which fabrics did she love? Since these were fabrics from her many projects, each one must hold a memory...a special event...someone she loved. I can tell that she loved her fabric; she sewed and pressed them with great care. She took the time to save such tiny pieces and join them together to make something so beautiful.

Now that I have them...now what??

Well, these lovely little dresdens have been sitting still for quite some time (over 50 years). So the first thing was to take a look at the petal's points.

I took my tiny thread scissors and ever so gently made the petal points sharp. I went under the fabric and pressed gently with my scissor point to make sure that each petal had a point at the end. This will make sure that each dresden looks crisp and it will also make the sewing go more smoothly and straight.

I also trimmed little threads so that when I sew the dresden to a block these threads wont be peeking out at me.

Then I needed to decide what top thread I wanted to use. I tried out yellow, white, blue, and black. With all of SG vibrant colors, I felt that the blue would blend in best. We shall see.

I'm taking my time with these beautiful treasures. They will reside with me for a short time in their long life; I'm honored to be a small part in their story.

Life is sweet and the rain just stopped. The weekend is starting and I can't wait to see what memories I can make with those I love. Life is but a breath and I cherish each one. -Little Mama
Hen

Swedish Grandmother Part 1
Swedish Grandmother Part 2

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Swedish Grandmother - Part 2

Someone once told me that every quilt has a story. I had just started my quilting adventure about 5 years ago and I had no idea what that meant. Sure, quilters have stories, but Quilts? I didn't get it.

Then I made her ... my first quilt.

I look at her and my heart listens; she whispers so many things so me. Such sweet memories pull my mind to observe other quilts in a new light, a new perspective. I'm continuing to grow as quilter, a wife, a mama, a daughter, a friend. Which brings me to the new bend in my path...Swedish Grandmother.

Swedish Grandmother

A meeting by chance...a lovely lady, whom I will refer to as Margreta (pearl), needed some help. She reached out to a local quilt guild leader, who then reached out to other members. Margreta had some antique Dresden petals that needed completing. Of course, I was immediately intrigued. The Dresden was not only my first quilt, it is my most favorite quilting block...

I am always trying to fit her into a quilt, a purse, a pillow sham...

I knew I needed to at least find out more about Margreta and her Dresdens. After corresponding over emails, I discovered that Margreta's Grandmother had passed back in 1962 and her Dresdens had been resting safely for over 50 years! I was so excited and honored to have such an opportunity! Margreta and I met up at a local quilt shop to buy some fabric. I was also able to meet by phone Margreta's sister, whom I will refer to as Mira (happy).

So here I am, starting a journey to give Swedish Grandmother's quilt a happy ending. I am beyond delighted and look forward to being apart of her beautiful story.

Swedish Grandmother's beautiful and ever so lovingly cared for Dresdens...

If there is one thing I've learned so far about Swedish Grandmother, is that she new how to sew!

Her stitches are neat and her pressing is impressive. Even after being tucked away for 50 years her pressing is straight and beautiful.

All these fabrics were remnants from other things she had sewn...clothes, aprons.

I love just going through them, wondering what it was like 50 years ago. What it meant to sew, to create, to love fabric. :)

Stay tuned for more. For now, I am called away by two sweet lovies that need their Mama.

-Little Mama Hen

Swedish Grandmother Part 1
Swedish Grandmother Part 3

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Swedish Grandmother - Part 1

Upon rare occasion, we find a treasure along our path. For me, I discovered a pearl that I feel will lead to an entire cavern of treasure. This beautiful story, that I'm not even entirely aware of yet, will begin to unfold under my headlines, Swedish Grandmother. For now, I just want to share a pearl that I've discovered on this sweet journey we call life.