The French Connection

 

I’ve been watching Adrian and Carole restore Chateau de le Ferte on YouTube.  Adrian and Carole are amazing:  motivated, disciplined, no job is too big or small for them to tackle.  From plumbing, electrical, painting, refinishing floors, landscaping and yes mucking out a stable, they do it all.  Chateau de le Ferte was built in 1854 and no one has lived in the Chateau for 20 years.  Restoring it is a massive undertaking and they are doing an amazing job.

Watching them select paint colors and fabrics and visiting brocantes has influenced me.  I purchased the Marie Antoinette panel several years ago, because I loved its whimsical nature and I have quite a stash of French General fabric.  AppleJack’s granddaughter visited France in the spring and I thought this quilt would be a nice reminder of her visit.  

French General fabrics are rich in color and design and am going to try to make the fabric do the work in this quilt by fussy cutting.  

Lady of the Lake

 

                                                                 Lady of the Lake

                                                   54” wide  x 73” long without border     

One of my 2023 stitching goals has been to finish big projects.  For me a big project is one which is large in size, $$$ investment, time needed to complete or the space it occupies in my craft room.  Lady of the Lake has been a WIP for a long time (more than three years).

If you like making HST’s (half square triangles), this is the quilt for you.  With the exception of the wide border, the entire quilt is HST’s.  If you do not like making HST’s, this is not the quilt for you.  There are a total of 781 HST’s in this quilt.

In her book,  Remembrabces’, Jo Morton has included this quilt and calls it Peaceful Time.  Jo did not make HST’s for the right side of the quilt or the bottom.  She was either in a deadline to have the quilt finished for a market or she got tired of making HST’s.    I wanted my quilt to be symmetrical and made HST’s for both sides of the quilt and top and bottom.  The wide border was added to give the quilt a drop and to use up fabric in my stash.  Gulp, I purchased the border fabric several, several years ago.  Note to self:  stop saving fabric for that special project.  

It’s a great feeling to finally have Lady of the Lake pieced, now to get an appointment with the long armed quilter and call her a quilt.  

Sad irons

 Antique shops, consignment shops, second hand stores, Goodwill are some of my favorite places.  Oh the treasures which can be found there.  I go with an open mind, no list and no expectations.  Some trips I walk away with treasures, other trips I walk away empty handed.

My last adventure, I saw these irons and they were called sad irons.  I had never heard them called that name.  Decided to do a little research, since laundry and especially ironing is one of my least favorite chores, I figured they were called sad irons because the poor laundress would be hot, tired and sad after doing the ironing.  Nope, they were called sad irons because sad came from the English word for solid.  The irons come in different sizes and weights.  When heated, the temp had to be just right:  not hot enough would leave wrinkles and overheated would leave scorch marks on the clothing.  The laundress would spit on the iron to gauge the temp.  

Two of these irons have been in my family for years.  They were passed to me because everyone knows my dislike for doing laundry.  Hmm, might just be the beginning of a whole new collection.

Seeing Red

 

 

Inspired by Janice Wright Greene’s red sampler wall, I decided to stitch red samplers and create my own red sampler wall.  This design is a reproduction by Needlework Press called H. Purdy.  The design was part of the Advent box released by Kitten Stitcher/Shakespeare’s Peddler in 2021.  Mine was stitched on 36 count French Vanilla by R & R with NPI silk 575.  Following the direction of Anne, my needlework mentor, I changed H. Purdy to Julia Shultz, a treasured family member.  “Make it your own” were words Anne often shared.   

Julia is off to the framer today and will soon be joining Catherine (another Needlework Press sampler) and Two Birds by Blackbird Designs.

My next red sampler will be Maria Davis, by Needlework Press.  Her alphabet is stitched in eyelets.  Maria Davis will be changed to Maria Stocker, another Grandmother.

A little about Julia.  She was the daughter of Johan Martin Shultz/Shults and Maria Eva Stocker (my Great Great Great Great Great Grandparents).  She was born in North Carolina.  Julia grew up in Emert’s Cove which is part of the Great Smoky Mountains.  Julia would have been one year old when Thomas Jefferson was writing the Declaration of Independence.  She would wave goodbye to her father as he accompanied John Sevier and the Over-the-Mountain Men to Kings Mountain and defeat the British.  She married Richard Reagan in 1796 and was a Mother to several children.  Julia is buried in the White Oaks Flats Cemetery in Gatlinburg, TN.  

Trash, treasures and tomatoes

 Cleaning out closets has got to be one of my least favorite tasks.  Merging, purging, donating, downsizing, decluttering and rediscovering some lost treasures.  AppleJack saved this cookie tin for me, it was the perfect way to display my tomatoes.

A Little of this, a little of that

 This is Lady of the Lake, she’s a work in progress.  I hope to have her completed for the next Gathering.

Nashville had a storm blow through last Friday, March 3.  This is approx 250-300 yards from my house.  It was really scary.  I lost shutters and siding, lots of yard debris to clean up and a giant limb took out my split rail fence.  Thankful my home is still standing and intact.

Lucy always has a watchful eye on me.  She had some serious health issues and am thankful she is much improved.

Catherine

 

Catherington 1882 Needlework Press

40 count Old Massachusetts linen by The Primitive Hare

Gloriana Schoolhouse Red

Catherine Bright Price Plemmons was born November 25, 1837 in South Carolina.  Catherine's parents were Tobias Bright and Rachel McElrath Bright.  Her siblings were Rebecca, Tobias, Sarah and Mary.  The family moved from South Carolina to Madison County, North Carolina.  On August 7, 1858, Catherine married my Great Great Uncle, William Franklin Price.  

 To avoid prosecution and persecution by the North Carolina Home Guard, William joined the Army of the Confederate States of America.  He became part of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry, Company B.  He was killed in an ambush on July 1, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.  At the time of his death, William and Catherine had one son, John and she was pregnant with their second child.   

Catherine married Levi Plemmons on July 5, 1865.  Catherine and Levi had five children:  Jesse Sylvester Ray, Merimon Fletcher, Steven, Mary Elizabeth, Merrit R., and Harley.  Catherine and Williams sons became wards of their paternal Grandparents, Daniel and Nancy Price.  I have often wondered why these children lived with their Grandparents.  Was Catherine financially and emotionally unable to provide for the boys?  Was there a disagreement between the families? My Great Great Grandparents Daniel and Nancy lost two sons in the Civl War, William and Phillip Fidella.  William a soldier in the CSA and Phillip a soldier in the U. S. Army.   Perhaps these two grandchildren filled a void in their lives and helped them deal with the grief and death of their sons.  

Catherine died April 7, 1921 and is buried in the Mount Pleasant Church Cemetery in Madison County, North Carolina.  She died from valvulitis, an inflammation of the values of the heart probably caused by rheumatic fever.

This sampler was stitched in remembrance of Catherine.  Historians have described Madison County as the most disputed and fought over part of the mountains during the Civil War.  This sampler is a reminder to me of the strength and resilience Catherine demonstrated during her life.