Illinois, Circa 1924, Before They Lost the Farm

My father’s parents Alta (b.1895) on left and Floyd (b.1892) on the right in overalls with the pipe in his mouth, My father’s younger brother Alan (b. 1916) along with Forrest and Martha (don’t know who they are) and my grandmother’s sister, Sis. Farmersville, Illinois.

A Photo with names written on the back

What can we tell from a family photo album? I wonder who took the picture?

Birthday T-Shirt Quilt a Hit!

Happy Birthday Mark

Thanks to FedEx, the Pittsburgh themed T-shirt quilt arrived this afternoon. Right in time to celebrate my son Mark’s birthday on the 26th. Happy Birthday Mark.

I knew you’d love it! I was excited when you FaceTimed me as you opened it up. And of course your second call, showing me how Henry the Airedale was sniffing the quilt, looking for grandma.

My granddaughter Maura took the photo of her Dad with his birthday gift. Thanks for sending it Maura.

I took the shirts Mark gave to me and added a few so it was a row longer, scouting a thrift-shop, the closet here in my home, and ebay for the vintage Gateway Clipper T-shirt, where Mark worked when he was in high school.

Henry getting a scent from the new quilt.
Airedale approved.

I learned how to back the shirts with interfacing so they were flat and stable when they were sewed together. Thanks to Lisa S of Storm Sew for her tutorial and for her professional long-arm quilting services. Lisa can create a t-shirt quilt from start to finish, or complete your own sewing efforts like she did for mine. The quilting pattern was called Broken Glass. As soon as I finished handstitching the binding, I boxed it and drove to the main FedEx shipping center. He received it less than 24 hours later.

It looks gray in the light but it’s actually black flannel 108” wide backing with gold stitching

Lightning Scars on the Maple Tree’s Trunks

Sunday afternoon, I was north of the city, picking up a finished T-shirt quilt for my son’s birthday, but that’s another post. While we chatted in the front yard, I admired the beautiful plantings of bleeding hearts in bloom and giant leafed hosta plants, Lisa told me her enormous three-trunked Maple tree (sadly), has to be taken down. Cut down before, as one arborist consulted said, before it came down into her living room. The tree has been struck by lightning several times. She pointed out the scars from the lightning strikes. I’d never seen this phenomenon before.

Like a snake climbing up the trunk