Design Wall September 20. The Wheel Within a Wheel blocks are each labour intensive I'm finding...so many bits and bobs to each one and most of it sewn by hand. Though I've lagged recently while getting Karnak finished for a gift, I'm still liking this.
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I'm curious if this was a thing- covering school text books in brown paper, anywhere else but Canada? Mom would iron the paper I remember. We had to do this in my younger grades...it seemed to have ended by the middle grades.
I was fortunate to get a photo of this bird or one like her several times at the bird bath. Up till this summer, I'd only seen and gotten a photo of one before. A small female Rose Breasted Grosbeak so may be a younger one..JPG)
Leeanna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week was what favourite movie we have that we might watch over and over. I seldom watch a movie a second time unless a lot of time has elapsed between viewings. But there is another exception and that is Christmas movies. For instance, I've watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation many times. I know it is a little lewd and silly but I can still smile when I think of the 25000 Christmas lights fiasco, the out of control hill slide and the fussy couple next door featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
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Leeanna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week was what favourite movie we have that we might watch over and over. I seldom watch a movie a second time unless a lot of time has elapsed between viewings. But there is another exception and that is Christmas movies. For instance, I've watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation many times. I know it is a little lewd and silly but I can still smile when I think of the 25000 Christmas lights fiasco, the out of control hill slide and the fussy couple next door featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. 
Thursday's Three Free
Jennifer at the Hopeful Homemaker still has all the steps on her site to make this delightful quilt though she made it a while ago in 2013. By following her directions, I think I could do this. It's basic squares and hst's.
From the Smart Cross Stitch Folks comes this great little Autumn cross stitch design. You can download the pattern at that link. And here is the link to over 150 free patterns they so generously offer. I especially liked the Christmas Deer one.
I need to share the QAL's I've noted that have popped up now with autumn here almost, and Christmas on the horizon. I'll include one in each of the next few posts.
Meanwhile, hope you are feeling energetic and inspired and gearing up for a great weekend.
Happy to be linking with Kathy's Quilts, Life in Pieces, Wendy's Quilts and More, Love Laugh Quilt, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.
31 comments :
Christmas Vacation has always been a family favorite around here!
Your design wall is pretty with a variety of projects on it, Jocelyn! Beautiful grosbeak photo, too - I would like to spot one of those, but they don't seem to come here. I remember that scrappy Swoon pattern - always wanted to make one! Christmas Vacation is a favorite here, too.
we used paper grocery sacks to cover our school books in the late fifties through the sixties - uncovered books meant losing letter grades - and i remember spending a LOT of time coloring on the covers with crayons so i could tell the books apart (maybe i spent more time on the covers than reading what was inside ... nah, not me)
i watch A Knight's Tales a LOT ... and Prancer
There are so many free designs available , and inspiration galore. Love your blocks, and Kaffee always seems to have fabrics that will fit into any design.
Love your quilt on the wall it is so fun, but I can imagine all the work you are putting into it. Great pic of the bird. I agree about the Kaffe Fassett Roman Glass, I have it in several different colorways it blends so awesome. Um I covered my books up through highschool with brown paper from grocery bags. I agree I watch Christmas Vacation....the bit about college, no carnival spreads the pixie dust on the tilt a whirl. Hoping to be the caller for the Yak girl. :D
Covering books with left over wall paper was also a thing here many years ago, a bit more posh! Wonder if kids cover their books these days?
These are lovely quilt patterns!
Well done on the grosbeak!
I covered my books like that!!! or, rather, my parents - who had lived through the Great Depression - 'helped me along'. This was in the 60's and 70's and top of the 80's - in N.J. (My parents were New Yorkers.) In fact, at that time, in the public school system that I attended, it was considered you had a better class of parenting, if your books were covered like that! instead of the thin, slick ones. And did these paper bag bookcovers LAST!
Hi Jocelyn! Covering school books in brown paper was certainly a thing here. I would say in the middle grades I did it, but I don't recall it for high school. Thanks for the links to the free patterns! Happy Thursday to you. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
We use to cover our school books with brown paper because we rented them and wanted to keep them nice. We still wrote in them, though, so kind of defeated the purpose. My favorite movie to watch over and over is Gone With the Wind. I had a crush on Clark Gable when I was a girl and love him as Rhett Butler. And I still laugh at Christmas Vacation. The jello wrapped up as a present always make me laugh. And the cat with the electrical cord....oh my!
I loved covering my textbooks with brown paper! Good memories. I know grosbeaks are in the area, but have never had one at my feeders. Maybe one of these years...
I also used brown paper bags to cover my books. I made a scrappy Swoon and it was a lot of fun. It wasn't too difficult and I got to use up some scraps. I love that Kaffe Fassett fabric. I have quite a bit of it but it's not brown! I think I have yellow, pink and green. Thanks for the freebies!
Your quilt is beautiful!
Had to cover my books for school and also my daughter's! Love your wheel top! As always, thank you for the free patterns! That wilderness pattern is intriguing!!! Have a wonderful weekend!
Your “Wheel” looks great in those lovely red, white, and blue fabrics. I rarely watch movies many times, but Christmas time is an exception: must see “A Christmas Carol” with George C. Scott, The Nutcracker danced by the Royal Ballet, and, of course, It’s A Wonderful Life!
We in the USA did the book covering with paper grocery bags. Memories. Now everything is on-line. I have a few movies I like to re-watch but I am usually hand stitching while 'watching' or listening. The first Harry Potter is one of my favorites and Hocus Pocus in the fall. Princess Bride is in the mix too. Amazing photo of the Rose Breasted Grosbeak. You are a very talented photographer! Have a wonderful weekend.
One time, and only one time, I spied a rose-breasted grosbeak too! They are beautiful birds. Thanks for the freebies. I may try that big Scrappy Swoon one day. What a statement that would make on a bed!
Gorgeous pic of the bird! Yes, we used to cover our books like that. My favorite movie used to be My Fair Lady - now I'm hooked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy (NOT the Hobbit, ugh, Disney ruined that one) and watch them every year. I read the books every year as well, have since I was nine years old, lol. At Christmas, I love the classics - Going My Way, White Christmas, and even Elf. Love them!
I do indeed remember covering our school books with brown paper and woe betide the student who was bored enough to doodle on them.
There are numerous movies I rewatch regularly but have to see the tops are probably Sound of Music, Dirty Dancing and Ghost. Scrooge (the old Alistair Sim version) at Christmas time.
Your design wall has such pretty blocks on it! Do I spy some Christmas embroidery? Christmas Vacation is one we always stop and watch, no matter when we encounter it while channel hopping. Yes it has bathroom humor and silly slapstick, but we never fail to laugh. That is a cute cross stitch for autumn. I remember brown paper!
I really like how your wheel blocks have different sized centers. Too cute! Brown paper book covers? Yes, I'm that old too. Some teachers in hopes that the books are going to be used for more than a year or two now actually give credit to students that cover their books. It's crazy to see how much money goes out of the school budget for new text books because someone wants to capitalize in that market because they thought of a stupid way to do "new math". Oh I hate the new math! I kept our son home for over a year because of the Covid stuff and taught him old school math. He got the concepts right away and now excels at math.
Thanks for the cross stitch pattern link. I'm good at math, but sometimes get distracted and my cross stitch pieces need a little "design change" here and there to make them look correct. LOL. Can't wait to see what QAs you post. I really shouldn't join one because I have too many projects in the air, but you never know. I love FREE patterns here and there. I actually participated in the big Swoon Along around 2013. It was easy peasy and a great scrap buster. I did mine in red, white, and blue.
Jocelyn, my dad covered my books with brown paper from large paper bags when I was in elementary school. It was required to cover them. Mother let him do it because he was very exacting and did a beautiful job. He also would cut out my paper dolls for me! He was a saint! It seems like in later grades there were commercial covers with ads from local businesses, and we covered them at school using those….but they were never as excellent as my dad’s covers!
It dawned on me a day or two ago that I was not getting your blog posts. I enjoy them so much and it took a while for me to miss them…..same with Jenny of Elephantz! I just resubscribed to you both. I don’t know what happened, but the up side is that I have a lot of back entries to catch up on…..I’ve been asleep, I guess! I’m so happy to find that you’ve been blogging right along. The fault was with me, somehow.
Yes, we wrapped our schoolbooks in brown paper when I was in school, mid-sixties in Scotland. Haven't thought about that for a long time!
I've been providing links to different sew alongs and mystery quilts for my guild's newsletter every month. Recently I haven't found very many. I'll be really happy to see what you pass along. Must keep the address for the cross stitch patterns. I have all the supplies and I actually might start one again. Of course the eyes aren't what they used to be! Happy quilting.
I always covered my books in either brown paper bags or specially bought paper covers. Your quilt is beautiful. In terms of Christmas movies, I am willing to watch The Santa Clause each year. I don't think I have ever seen Christmas Vacation. Thanks for the freebie links.
I guess I am right up there with you as I covered books in school with brown paper! We have Grossbeaks visit here, but they aren't as prominent as they used to be, so sad as I love their melodic sound. Oh oh I will have to check out that cross stitch blog, I have really enjoyed turning back into the cross stitch world:)
Oh yes - the paper book covering was definitely a thing here in the states too. I did it when I was a student, and my students were still doing it when I was teaching HS. By the time I retired however the practice had mostly ended, although a few kids still did it.
I so remember covering my textbooks with brown paper bags. I even did a few of my binders that way as well.
Thanks for the free cross stitch pattern.
God bless.
Love Karnak! It's too the point a lot of people don't know that that refers to anymore. Happy stitching this week.
Yes, as a kid, I covered my textbooks in brown paper. The paper was a grocery bag and I remember ironing it to get it as flat as possible too! I have that Kaffe print in purple. I bought it three times because it went well in a couple of projects! Now, I'm off to read about those free patterns! Thanks for the great post!
Neat design wall! I see you are progressing on the Xmas one! I am delinquent! Love the bird picture. Well, here in South Texas we made book covers out of paper bags also. Cannot do that one anymore - plastic doesn't work. Also they used to sell the ones that went with our school. Probably for $.25! Life is a changing for the worse thank you! LOL
I love all of Clint Eastwood movies that he makes, but the last one is a bomb! We purchased the entire series (all 20 years) of Gunsmoke to survive the next 2 years here in America. I love Gunsmoke and all of the older movies. In fact, when TMC put on Bogart's movies from the '40's I watched all of them! Have a great week! Hugs
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