Week 8 of this sew along!
Are you ready for the border? The original quilt was made with 4" wide strips.
If you are a quilter that likes to have borders cut to a precise size that's great.
I'll help you figure out the length of the borders you need. Here's the quilt math lesson...
Each block is 10" finished.
Number of blocks in a row _____ x 10 equals ____ + 1/2".
My quilt is 8 blocks wide, 8 rows long. 8x10 = 80+ 1/2"
I need two 4" strips for the side borders cut at 80-1/2" long.
The top & bottom borders calculation is as follows:
number of rows _____ x 10 equals _____
Add in width of border x2 (4x2=8) minus 1/2" (because there are two 1/4" seams)
8x10= 80 + 8 equals 88 minus 1/2" = 87-1/2"
OR... You can be like me and forget about the precision of the exact measurements and make sure the border pieces are a little longer than the sides, sew it into place and call it good.
I have found that if your (scant) 1/4" seams are imperfect, you can cause the borders to be a little wavy if you force the length too much. Watch a video here to hear my explanation...
It's family story time!
June 11, 1943... Mr. & Mrs. W.D. Teegarden were featured in one of the local newspapers announcing their 50th anniversary with all of their children attending.
The Teegardens will preside over a family dinner at their home at noon today, and this afternoon will have open house during which their friends will call.
The open house will be under the direction of the Ladies Aid of the Christian Church, in which Mrs. Teegarden is a most active member. She is always a member of the Rebekahs and the Royal Neighbors. Mr. Teegarden is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Many friends of the pioneer couple are expected to call and pay their respects this afternoon.
The article continued on with details of their marriage in Missouri in 1893 and their move west to Colorado in 1902 and W.D.'s employment with The Santa Fe Railway and their lovely flower garden.
The reporter stated that "Variety is the theme in the Teegarden yard and included in the collection of plants is a big rose bush, the root of which came from the Teegarden farm home place in Missouri."
My descendants were not necessarily hoarders... they did keep articles, letters, cards and documents. I am the current holder of such items and discovered, much to my surprise, photos from the celebration. This is W.D., Lala and their children.
I also found the guest book from the day's celebration along with some poems to commemorate the special day.
This article, 17 years later, noted the 92nd birthday of W.D., with the author's memory of his visit to W.D.'s flower garden in 1940.
I guess social media now fills that role... though it is just not the same! LOL. Even (many) newspapers have stopped printing their news and gone digital.
In the collection of "important documents" I found the deed of trust and promissory note for their house at 800 Western Avenue, as well as the record of payments. The loan was $1500 with 8% interest, signed on September 25, 1922... it was paid in full December 8, 1925. This paperwork and assorted keys from the house are now in the hands of the current owner of the house. (Who happens to be our realtor whenever we have a need for one.)
That was a deep rabbit hole! Thanks for hanging with me. I will let you go now... but, of course, I need to ask a question... ;)
Have you ever taken flowers, plants or even a tree from a previous residence or a "family farm"?
We have... we brought a collection of iris roots from the family farm in Illinois.
Several years before we moved to Colorado I dug up all the different varieties and mailed them to my Mom & Dad. Dad cared for them for a couple years until we were settled into our home. Dad helped me to start several flower garden spaces. The iris multiplied and became overgrown. After thinning them and separating them they didn't do as well. I still have a few, though between the drought and the deer munching on them, I had only 2 small flowers.
Keep Piecing,
Melva
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You are right, the days of community news is sadly gone. In our community in Oklahoma, a retired journalist wrote "The Bixby Bulletin", and all of her social posts ended with "a good time was had by all". Mom and Daddy used to laugh about that all the time!
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely a different era when it comes to community news! When our paper announced digital subscriptions and doubled the price of home delivery, I terminated our service. We'd been subscribers for more than thirty years. We didn't receive a call, a note or even a coupon to lure us back. We did pick up the Sunday paper at the grocery store for a while; but, we don't even do that now.
ReplyDeleteI used to love those social announcements in our paper - I was just thinking about that the other day. I was in the Loveland newspaper in my wedding dress with the announcement of our marriage! You definitely don't see that anymore. I've made four Irish Chain blocks so far - will share them in my post that I link up to Sew and Tell Monday. Nine blocks will make a 30 inch quilt, so could be a tabletopper unless I add a border. Thanks for the measurement help!
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I have ever taken plants from a previous residence. At leas, not that I can remember. I have divided some of mine and passed them out to friends. Stuff like Aloe Vera that has to be thinned out periodically. I see that your Irish Chain has a four inch border. I like my borders a little larger, so I may go to five or six inches.
ReplyDeleteI had a rose bush that my ancestors (about four greats ago) brought with them from Germany when they immigrated. It was hard to get started, but I planted it where a chicken coop had been and it LOVED that. It was an old variety, bushy and extremely thorny, so when the company we hired to take down the collapsed coop took it too, the hubby was happy. I'm not, but until he is willing to let me restart it, my mom has one! I also have a peony from each of my grandfather's and a number of shade wildflower-type plants from my (very green-thumbed) mom. I enjoy hearing your family history - I wish school-taught history could be more people-oriented like this and I would have liked that subject a lot more! The quilt is also wonderful and a temptation, but I have so many others...
ReplyDeleteSadly, little hometown papers are mostly gone now. Getting them online is just not the same IMHO. I wish I had some of the gorgeous daffodils from my grandmother's house. They were beautiful and she had a large patch in front of her fence. Good of you to let folk know how to do the border calculations! Thanks for sharing with us at Monday Musings.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about your descendants, Melva--is that your great-grandparents? I wondered about the Modern Woodmen of America. Googling it today brings up a financial service?! Is that what it was back then, also?? I was expecting men who like to chop or carve wood!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Melva, thanks for the history. When we moved into our home, I brought back some ferns from my father's cottage. They are still doing well. Thanks for linking up to I Quilted This!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great history! Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2026/09/02/wednesday-wait-loss-500