3/12/13

Triangle Tuesday

Before I go on, I wanted to show you Sock Monkey in his new home.  Here he is with Baby Ezra and Ezra's auntie.  You can see why Ezra needed a sock monkey, can't you?  Honestly, he is the sweetest baby.  His mommy posts lots of pictures of him on Facebook, and I've never seen such a smiley baby.  He has a big grin in every picture I see of him.  Clearly, he's a happy guy.  Having four sisters in the house can't be all bad for this little man.


Also, before I go on, I wanted to say more about Monday's guild meeting.  I decided to join the guild, and now I'm in possession of this nifty Member's Handbook.


I got such a kick out of the woman who gave me this handbook.  Apparently, it is her responsibility to publish the handbook, and she apologized that it wasn't in color.  Instead, she gave me those two stickers to decorate it as I wish.  So there you go.  Very cool, and so original.  And I was interested to know that the guild has been in existence since 1980!

Then, my newfound quilting buddy, Quilting Babcia, surprised me with a pile of vintage embroidery transfers she picked up.  She has rightly pegged me as someone who enjoys this sort of thing.  And just look at this cool stuff!


There was a crocheted apron pattern as a part of the mix, and some of these embroidery transfers look very similar to designs my grandmother did on her thousands and thousands and thousands of dresser scarves and pillow slips.  Now, check out the postmark on this envelope:


I don't even think I'm old enough to remember when postage was one cent!  (And believe me, that's saying something.)  And check out this crib quilt:


Vintage embroidery transfers for the Three Little Pigs.  You know...I seriously need a grandchild.

But this is my favorite of the whole bunch.  It's a book featuring a collection of vintage advertisements in which cats were used to sell a product.


Such fun!  And check out the dedication page.  This touched me.


Here are some of the ads that caught my eye.  This one was for Carter's Ink for your fountain pen.  How long has it been since anyone used a fountain pen?  But if you still use one, just know that Carter's Ink is as gentle as a kitten.


This clock for shoe repair:


I would kill for a clock like this.

How about this one for silk thread.  Does not knot!  And I have to say that my sewing room looks like this occasionally.



How about this one for Ivory soap.  I can remember these ads where the Ivory soap was claimed to be so pure "it floats!"  And I was never sure how purity and the ability to float were correlated.  Maybe it has something to do with witch hunting and the Salem Witch Trials when women suspected of being witches were thrown into the lake.  If they floated they were obviously witches.  Those that didn't float...oh, sorry.  Or maybe not.


Here's one advertising the "New Home Sewing Machine".  Anybody heard of this brand?


Aren't these precious?  I'm going to spend some more time with this book.  I've always loved vintage advertisements.  They are such a commentary on the time in which they were published, and to find this collection of cats is just wonderful.  Thank you, Quilting Babcia.

So what about those triangles, you ask.  Today I turned my attention to my "True Hope" quilt.  This was my December 2012 NewFO project, and this is the first time I've worked on it since then.  I did all the cutting back in December, and today I started sewing it together.  I'd like to get that center panel finished.


The pattern comes from a Creative Machine Embroidery magazine, and the swallows on the center panels of the quilt are intended to be embroidered.  I'm using fabric that has swallows on it.


So, I didn't actually work with this fabric today.  Maybe tomorrow I will take it to that point.  For today, I was making the blocks on the other center panels.  The instructions were less than complete, but good enough to follow.


I started by making the four patches.  There are 36 of these:


Next, I wanted to sew the bottom triangles onto the four patches.  There are 72 of these red triangles all together.


So does anyone else besides me get their head all turned around when they work with triangles?  Please say yes.  I was chain piecing these and got three triangles into the group when something in me decided I needed to stop before going any further.  I was sure there was something wrong with these, and even after staring at the diagram for a few minutes, I couldn't figure out why it seemed wrong.


Obviously, the triangle is too large for the block, but that wouldn't be the first time I'd trimmed a triangle to size.


Finally, I pressed it open and then it was obvious that I was sewing the wrong side to the four patch.


So I ripped out the three I'd done.  Actually, I ripped out two and then spent ten minutes search for one that vanished into thin air.  I finally found it behind my kleenex box, and who knows how it managed to make its way there.  That's quilting for you.  Do things vanish in your sewing room too?  That nearly drove me crazy because I knew I'd done three, and I could only find two.  Oy.

So anyway...then I sewed it together the right way.


There.  Now that's more like it.


And just to be sure, I sewed the whole block together.


And I sewed and I sewed and I sewed, and I sewed all 36 blocks together, and then sewed the first strip of 12 blocks together.  I need two more strips like this.


And then I was terribly tired of triangles on Tuesday.  (Awesome alliteration.)  I'll do more on this tomorrow.  If I have time.  Tomorrow will be a day of errands, so I'm only hoping to get some sewing in.

Any triangles trifling with you today?

30 comments:

Betty said...

Love the cat ads, especially the New Home one! New Home sewing machine company is now known as Janome.

Betty said...

Some history of the brand can be found here: http://www.sewalot.com/new%20home%20sewing%20machine.htm

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

No triangles today but you have inspired me to go sew for an hour or four before bedtime. Thanks, Barbara, I needed a push and seeing your triangles sewn on the wrong way made me realize I could be sewing. O's gone and no one here but CatCAt and me. So Off I Go...

Jackie McGuinness said...

Aunt Martha's how I loved those when my mother introduced it to me as a child!!
Gorgeous cat prints, making me miss my cat!

Junebug613 said...

Congrats on joining the guild! I hope you enjoy it. I love the old ads. I have heard of New Home Sewing Machines. I did a lot of research on my Grandmother's machine when it came to me upon her passing. It actually turned out to be a Brother from the 1940's. There are some great websites out there for antique and vintage machines and I have a great book on them too. Many of the ones you have stitched, I have seen in the book. :) Non Knotting thread? How Novel!! Although, if it doesn't knot, how do you keep your (hand) sewing together? Yes, I'm a smart a$$. Your new quilt is going to be so pretty!!

Junebug613 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Quilting Babcia said...

Why, you're very welcome, fellow guild buddy! And I think the answer to most of your questions is "yes" especially those having to do with triangles getting sewn 'wrong side to' as my MIL used to say, and those pesky pieces (and scissors) that are always wandering off somewhere, setting off search & rescue missions of extreme proportions.

giddy99 said...

I love your posts! I used fountain pens up until about 2007 (I used to buy disposable ones online), until I found out that the pressure in an airborne plane will cause the ink to ooze (or "jet" - see what I did there?) out, causing a horrific stain-y mess.

I'm fascinated by postmarks without a zip code, and amazed that mail ever reached the recipients in "The Olden Days!" :)

Brown Family said...

The cat clock looks familiar to me! Those are cute advertizements.

Swedish Scrapper said...

What a delightful and eclectic post! I'll have one of each please! Those vintage transfers are marvelous, and the red and black bird fabric, divine. I am still laughing about the floating soap/witches/purity/not!
Hope your nosey feel better!

Lyndsey said...

I love all the transfers you were given. I've got some old ones that I found when we cleared my dads house after his death. My mother loved embroidery and would always have a piece of stitching on the go.

The Japanese company Janome eventually took over the company that amalgamated with New Home.My over-locker is a New Home badged machine. My sewing machine is a Swiss made Elna and Elna is now owned by - you guessed it Janome.

I was going to work on some triangles today but having read your post I'm putting them away for another day as yes I do find them particularly tricky little critters.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

My favorite ad is the one where the mamma cat is hanging her kits up to dry on the line! Adorable. They need to have pretty and more creative ads these days, the artwork was so good back then. I like that four patch/triangle block.

Sherry said...

That was a lovely gift! I have a New Home machine that is very old, need to research how old and also an electronic New Home made just before the company was purchased by Janome. They both are nice machines. Anxious to see the triangle quilt!

Debbie said...

The cat made me buy it photo is so priceless.....perfect for you. Thanks for sharing all of them for us to enjoy. You really lucked out with all the treasures from QB....what a great buddy to have.

Mommarock said...

Really? You chose the cats?? Shocking!!

Judy1522 said...

I love the cat book. I actually have an old New Home machine like the one pictured. I know what you mean about losing things in the sewing room. I do it all the time and it makes me crazy.

Marei said...

I didn't even know it was "Triangle Tuesday" and there I was, working with triangles. And there I was....sewing the wrong side of my triangles to my square, too. Barb....are we psychic-ly connected?

Patricia said...

Love the cat ads! You should share the cover and title of the book. I've had an issue or two when sewing triangles. Have you ever had two stick together when adding them to something. You get a perplexing 3 layered unit. I have some old Work Basket magazines that were my grandmother's. They have articles recommending DDT use in the garden. Things have changed a bit.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

I have a New Home sewing machine that I converted to a hand crank (not without some difficulty). I just purchased a New Home buttonholer last week. Janome now owns the New Home brand. Most were made in either Rockford, IL or Orange City, NJ.

Snoodles said...

I LOVE the ads! What fun! I know how the triangle unit ended up behind the kleenex box....Moses told me he thinks that Smitty was playing with it. :)

Snoodles said...

By the way, don't kill anybody...just fork over the money on ebay.... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Retro-Nostalgic-Cats-Paw-Cat-Tex-Soles-Lighted-Clock-/300371860963?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45ef8edde3

Heehee! I'm such an enabler!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Absolutely love the old patterns and the sweet kitty ads. I have a New Home, but not as old as that one. And I have been working with Tri's for HSTs - love it!!

barbara woods said...

i did some of those iron on to make my granddaughter's quilt the first of this year. had them for 15 to 20 years and it was the first time i had used them.

Diane Wild said...

I know it's Wed. but why am I only seeing your Tues. post? I don't live that far off the planet. Love the embroidery patterns and the kitty ads. I've seen most of them in my lifetime. What a treasure. Oh yes, the triangles? Done that!

mogsinc said...

Hi Barbara
You are a women after my own heart. I too would kill for that cat clock. I enjoy your blog so much.
Thank you
Di

Meg said...

I love the "cat made me buy it print." It is so cute.

I too love the vintage stuff, like prints, postcards and patterns.

Am always looking for patterns, etc at thrift stores. I am truly not sure what I will do the many old patterns I have collected but someday will be in a sewing studio of sorts. Am still looking for a Simplicity peasant top pattern that was one of the first tops I made when I was a teenager. I should just break down and buy it on ebay as I have seen it there. For some reason I just want that one particular pattern. I guess because it's the only particular pattern I know I made. There are probably a few "smock" tops out there too if I looked around.

Love the quilt you are working on! Nice colors! I am getting the itch for some reason to make a more contemporary quilt next. Maybe because I haven't made one before and as of late, I can appreciate those as well.

Hope you nose is better!

Meg

Michelle said...

Ooooh -- I love the embroidery patterns and the advertising pictures. Those are great!

quiltzyx said...

Congrats on joining into Guild fun! I'm sure you will continue to enjoy it. And what a great start - a book and stickers. That's a cute idea. We just got our new roster last night - no color printing, but we have turquoise covers.
Q. Babcia is another treasure! What a wonderful gift you got from her. By the way - check this out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Retro-Nostalgic-Cats-Paw-Cat-Tex-Soles-Lighted-Clock-/300371860963
Ain't googling great?
I remember some of those embroidery patterns - well I think I do anyway!
Good job on the triangles. And yes, I sew pretty much the same way !!

Julian Levi said...

Love the post... cat clock looking amusing... thanks for sharing.
embroidered patches

Kate said...

Love the old advertisements. I really like the old seed packets and think one day that would make a great quilt.

Your True Hope project is moving along. Triangles are tricky, they usually make my head hurt when I have to work with them.