An ending. A beginning.

I suppose my time writing and publishing here are done. Eleven years is a pretty good run. This space was a place to document, process, and share so many things. Thoughts going on in my head. Family moments. Letters to my daughters. Things I made with my hands. Flowers and gardens and greenhouses and seeds. This blog afforded me the opportunity to write a book, contribute to numerous magazines, share tutorials on host websites and be interviewed for podcasts.

This blog has served my family as such a remarkable time capsule of our lives. We access it from time to time to remember stories, snag photos, determine dates of when something happened and, of course, to reminisce. Eleven years of written and photographic history at the touch of a keyboard has been incredibly more useful than I would have ever imagined back in 2009.

These days it's rare that I have a camera in my hands other than my phone. I still stop and photograph and notice and think about things... but the way that I share them has changed. Snap, caption, post to Instagram. That's sorta the pace of things in this current season of life. In a blink that will change too.

What makes all this change bearable is the fact that human connection is the thread that remains constant.  This space created friendships that have carried forward to the next.

For each and every one of you, I'm grateful. I'll see you on Instagram. And whatever comes after that.

With love,
dana

Two More Quilts for Sale

Whew! Since my last post I've sold quite a few quilts and, I've gotta say, it feels much less scary now to let them go out into the world. Thank you for your purchases and indulging me. Many sold here and several more sold via my Old Red Barn Co. Facebook page. I know that this space hasn't been visited by you looking for something for sale and yet, that's what I've had here for awhile. I appreciate your tolerance for such diversions and hope that you know how much I appreciate whatever your reasons are for being here today... and for all the years before now.

In my last post update, I said that I had two more quilts for sale. The first is this traditional log cabin quilt that measures 66"x78". The center square of each block is the cutest little woodland deer measuring 1" square. The blocks are arranged in a way that makes bold strips diagonally across the quilt.  It's backed in a light blue fabric with scattered daisy bouquets. Machine wash and dry.  For sale for $300 plus shipping to you.

The second quilt is a traditional postage stamp quilt with a modern twist. The tiny squares are set among rainbow hued solid colors that cascade across the quilt. It measures 60"x73" and is backed with a mix of some of my favorite fabric prints of all times. This quilt has hundreds of fabrics in it from little bits and pieces of quilts that I've made over the years. Machine wash and dry. For sale for $300 plus shipping to you.

Ok. These (plus the few remaining in my last post) are all that I plan to sell for now. If you see something you'd like, shoot me an email by hitting that envelope icon over on the top on the right hand side.  Once you claim one, I'll work with you to calculate shipping, send you a PayPal money request and get it in the mail to you.

Selling these quilts that I've poured my heart and soul into feels like such a vulnerable act. I bet you can relate to that. Right? I mean, when I make something for someone I really, really hope that they like it. Do you too? It doesn't have to be a quilt. It can be a birthday card and a pan of lasagna. You make something for someone and you really hope they like it.  These quilts were not made for someone specifically but they are creations from my inner most self. I spent hours choosing fabrics, block designs, sewing, placing and rearranging, basting, quilting, and binding and they feel like bits of me. Putting "bits of me" up for sale makes me feel, like I said, vulnerable. But it feels much less scary now.  Thanks for allowing me to share them.

-dana

Quilt Sale - Prices reduced on remaining quilts!

UPDATE as of Nov 15, 2019 -- I've deleted photos of quilts that have sold. Any image remaining here means it's still available.  AND, I've reduced the prices. I've got two additional recently finished quilts that I plan to sell as well and hope to get them added next week. If you're curious what those two quilts are you can view snippets here and here. (Those will be priced at $300 each.)

It's time for a quilt sale. Why? Because we've got lots of quilts. And I keep making more.

Every quilt is handmade by me. 100% cotton. Machine wash and machine tumble dry. Prices and quilt measurements are indicated in each photo above. Shipping will be whatever the actual shipping cost is to send it to you.

Interested in one in particular?  Send me an email (click the envelop icon in the upper right hand side bar) and I can answer any questions you have.

Let me know which one you want. We will figure out shipping together and I'll send you a PayPal invoice. Once paid, I'll wrap and box it up and send it on it's happy way to you. Sound good?

Fingers crossed you find something you love.

And thank you from the bottom of my heart.

-dana

P.S. I plan to post this on my Old Red Barn Co. Facebook page and would love any re-shares you might consider. I'm trying to figure out an effective way to succinctly post it on Instagram too. :)

Back to it

Here it is the end of summer where I find myself like I have every year for the last 16 years. The girls go back to school and I deep clean and organize a few things that were put on hold during the summer months. I eventually sit down in the over sized office chair, spin it around to sit squarely in front of the computer, and then stare at the screen for a few days.  Wanting to encapsulate the last few months into words, I sit here and surf the Internet instead. And play a billion games of solitaire.

One daughter returned to college. The other entered her senior year of high school. First apartments. College tours. Passports obtained.  Quilts made. Coaches met. Trails hiked. Lakes paddled. Cars repaired. Gardens harvested. And many hours sitting in the living room waiting for one or both to arrive home in the dark stillness of night.

The above quilt is from a pattern called "Stripe Me Lucky" by Michelle McKillop for Jen Kingwell Designs.  It is one of my favorite quilts I've ever made. It's scrappy and you know how I love a scrappy quilt. And that zig zag border is just so cute. I collected dozens of 100% cotton striped shirts from thrift stores for this quilt in order to have a variety of striped fabrics. Honestly, that has changed they way I think about buying fabric.  I've got a keen eye at the thrift store now looking at clothing as possible quilt fabric.  This winter I'd like to amass a good variety of corduroy and try something new. We shall see. 

I also made this solid 2x4 quilt (it's a free tutorial from Film in the Fridge and this is the third one I've made.) That new apartment needed a new quilt and my daughter wanted it to coordinate with the quilt I made her for her dorm freshman year. She picked the fabric and helped pair them up for each block. She also kept me company and opened safety pins for me while I basted it. Love is stitched into each and every seam. 

I also made this quilt after seeing @jaceynotjc on Instagram making similar blocks. I loved, loved, loved making those blocks and can totally see myself making more in the future. The color palette was a fun departure for me. I used brown in each block and didn't use any red. The end result feels very vintage to me. 

That's summer. In a nutshell. With so many of the delicious details brushed aside that make summer special. Like the music of the crickets floating through the windows. The fireworks exploding over the sunset lake. A crowd of people eating popsicles to remember Papa. And the notes left on my bathroom mirror telling me thank you for this and that. 

Fall is my favorite. But summer is pretty alright too.

-dana

Stray cats that become stay cats

Over the years, several stray cats have stopped at our house. Dogs too, for that matter. The guy in the top, Sweetie Boy, showed up about 14 years ago as a 4 month old kitten. You don't earn a name like Sweetie Boy unless . . . unless . . . well, unless you're sweet. And he is. He has been the proud hunter of more mice that I can count, let mean, wandering tom cats know to keep on trucking and graciously welcomed new pets to the circle over the years.

The other two showed up earlier this year and have quickly wiggled their way into the family. Bomber, the black one, is young. Still a kitten for sure. He's one of the coolest cats I've ever known. He could be hundreds of yards away when he spots me step outside and he comes running and drive bombs right into me. Hence the name Bomber.  He also really likes to hide in the bushes and jump out and scare me. As absolutely as often as possible. He's especially fond of my husband. They all are actually. Probably because he stops and pets them every single time, no mater what.

Then there is Brownie. She is timid. So soft. And now that she knows us, she is loyal and sweet. WE really like having her and her scratchy little meow around.

Outdoor, stray cats that become stay cats are pretty cool.

-dana

Sharing what I will

Earlier this year, my blog turned 11 years old. Back in the day, I would post thoughts and photos on motherhood. But my beautiful daughters reached an age where it just didn't feel right to share them so freely here. I still have big thoughts about motherhood and what my role/responsibility/meaning/am I doing it right/future looks like, but they just don't get top billing around here anymore.

Like, prom was a few weeks ago.

But spring here is beautiful. And it's comfortable to share images of that.

-dana

Father's Choice quilt

My latest finish. The individual block is historically called Father's Choice. Bright happy colors in an over sized block. An excellent quilt holder that knows to keep her feet hidden. And a stray outdoor cat that has decided to call our house home.

-dana

P.S. If you want more details about this quilt and progress photos of it along the way, search the hashtag #danasfatherschoicequilt on Instagram.

Spending my days

The past weeks have been busy. One has been home from college for spring break. The other had spring break the week before that. I've taken on a bit more work from home and that always comes with loads of hours of learning curve. I've been out in the greenhouse putting tiny seeds into tiny little pots of dirt and checking them incessantly for signs of germination. And in a mad frenzy of weed pulling, I tweaked my shoulder. Or that could have been from making the bed. It's hard to say really what did it but it's prevented me from sewing.

In between all the busy, however, I have pulled lots of blue fabrics. I've wanted to revisit the Wyoming Valley quilt block and thought I would do so with a scrappy mix of blue and white fabrics. I made a sampler quilt a few years ago  and one of my favorites in that quilt is the Wyoming Valley block. You can see some of the blues in the photo above. That is if you can look past the beginning pile of what has become my stripe fabric obsession. 

I've been wanting to make the Stripe Me Lucky quilt and realized that I needed a massive variety of striped fabric in order to do the pattern justice. So, one day at the thrift store, I wondered over to the men's button up shirt section and found several 100% cotton shirts. That has led me to visiting every thrift shop in the tri-state area and beyond. The men's button up shirt section is a gold mine! What amazing finds to be found! I mean, look at all those stripes.

Wonder when I'll get to do something with them. . .

-dana

Scrappy quilts for the win!

You don't need me to tell you of my deep love for scrappy quilts. Broken record on repeat. Interestingly enough, I just searched my own blog with the term "scrappy quilt" and the first thing to pop up was a post from about this time last year with photos of a quilt I made with this exact quilt block proclaiming my love of  . . . wait for it . . .SCRAPPY QUILTS!

To quote myself (ha!!!):     I love a billion different fabrics and colors together in one quilt. I love making the riot of color come together. This quilt has me fired up and committed to making ALL THE SCRAPPY QUILTS!  All scrappy, all the time!   (all caps, jazz hands and bug eyes too!!)

I'm nothing if not predictable.

-dana 

Absence. Explained.

It's a waffling back and forth kind of thing. It's a I-have-time-for this or I-have-time-for-that kind of thing. Sit at a computer (more than I already do) or play with fabric. Or, even as the sun starts to shine more and more each day, play in the dirt.

Waffling, sure. But also 2018 was doozy. My mom dealt with a very serious health issue that began in May of last year. My dad continued to deal with ongoing health issues. It was new ground for our family to have two parents needing such careful attention. I'm a days drive away from them.  Much of this fell on my brother. I love my brother. He's an amazing man. He was there in so many heavy ways. Heavy in the sense that your chest feels compressed and forcing it to move up and down with breath is hard. He has his own wife and daughter and business to tend. Dude. My brother - he's the real deal. 

Posting pretty quilt pictures seems frivolous in depths of heavy family stuff, no?

Plus there's the whole thing of by mentioning the heavy stuff, the attention somehow shifts to me. That feels like misguided and unwarranted attention. Makes me kinda squirmy. I'm more of a heads-down-hands-in-my-jeans-pockets-nothing-to-see-here kinda girl.

My dad passed in early February. Parkinson's took him swiftly at the end but it never owned him, for he was always there. He knows how much I love him. And I certainly know how much he loves me.  He guided me in life and I miss him. And I'm so very glad that he is free of his broken body.

Absence. Explained. And I'm feeling squirmy.

So . . . pretty quilts!

xo,
dana

Winter Posies

I love winter. I really do. I love layering up in warm clothes and drinking hot chocolate underneath a pile of quilts. I love to cook winter foods . . . stews, roasts, soups. When it comes right down to it, I just love to hibernate. I like to gather everyone from their outside pursuits and just cuddle inside. But as February creeps by, and the seed catalogs start piling up on my coffee table, I start to get the smallest, little hope for spring. It's rained a bazillion days this dark, gray winter. Our driveway is a sloshy pit of mud. Our roof is leaking in two particularly pesky spots that we can't attend to until it's warmer. And those 70 degree days that we had last week tipped me over the edge.  I'm ready for spring. Luckily for me, my hellebores bloom each February and remind me that I can be patient.

So I'll keep hibernating.

-dana

New year. New quilts.

Just like that 2018 is over. I made 15 quilts, two large cross stitch projects, two small cross stitch projects and several zipper topped bags.  Clearly, 2018 was a good year for making.

In February of 2018 I pulled every bit of fabric I owned out and sorted, organized and took a long, serious look at it. I decided to spend the remainder of the year sewing strictly from fabric that I already owned. In other words, not buying anything new  . . . no matter how much I wanted to. I also used that time to sell or donate fabric and supplies that I would never use.

I stuck to it, mostly. I did buy the fabric and pattern to make my Synchronous Firefly Quilt.  But, how could I not?  And I immediately used it so it never became part of my fabric stash. I also bought 12 fat quarters of Halloween fabric that also got immediately turned into a quilt. I never shared that one here but certainly did on Instagram. I'll do my best to share it next Halloween because I absolutely love it.

Anyway, I used up a ton of fabric in 2018 and it felt really good. As the year progressed and I used more and more fabric, momentum continued to build and I'm carrying it forward into this year. I'm going to continue sewing from the stash of fabrics I already own. I spent yesterday taking stock and sorting my supplies and have 10 quilts worth of fabric ready to go before I then start working solely with scraps. By scraps, I mean the fabric that is random cuts of a fat quarter or less that I have organized by color.  If I had to guess I would say that I probably have five or six quilts worth of fabric from my "scraps." So, that probably means that a more realistic guess is eight or nine.

Twenty quilts in 2019? I doubt it. But I do plan to continue to make huge progress in using up what I already have.

One final comment in this regard, I still continue to buy vintage sheets/linens for quilt backings. They have the prettiest prints, the best colors and are always super soft. The fact that they cost nearly nothing doesn't hurt either. I don't count these purchases as "buying new fabric" even though it is new to me. The vintage sheets get used up 100% of the time and I don't have many sitting around giving me side eye.

As for other crafty goals for 2019, my plans include:

1. Choosing at least one long term cross stitch project to work on in the evenings (or at track meets!)
2. Selling a few quilts. After all, how many quilts can one house hold? I have never figured out the best method for this. I've sold some here. I've sold some on my Old Red Barn Co. Facebook page. I even opened an online shop for a short time and sold a few there. I'm thinking of trying Instagram this time but I'm not sure as most people that would see the posts are quilters and I can't imagine many quilters wanting to buy quilts. I don't know.  People generally love quilts but when they see the price tag, it's often more than they want to pay. I get it. But supplies and time are expensive.  I digress.
3. Hauling out the big camera (instead of the one on my phone!) and getting back to photography. Documenting life and noticing beauty. 

Happy New Year, y'all.

-dana

P.S. The two finished quilts were my last quilts of 2018. The blocks in progress above are my first of 2019.