Meet Gigi ~

I thought it might be fun for you guys to meet my Grandma, Delma (affectionately known as Gigi by her grandchildren).

Today my little sidekick and I stopped by my grandparents home to get some pictures of my grandma and some of her quilts. These are just some of my favorites, but I've got lots of pictures to share, so let's get started.

First up - she just had to show me this new purchase that she made a couple of weeks ago:

Isn't this quilt fabulous?!?  She got it for $100 from an antique store while on vacation in California!  It had only been in the booth for two days when she found it.  $100 dollars?!?  That is a steal of a deal if you ask me.  It's in great condition and is hand quilted with a scalloped border.  She's got it on her bed for Spring.  I just fell in love when I saw it.

Then we ventured into her sewing room to see some of her works in progress.

These blocks on the chair above are for her most recently started project.  A replica of an antique quilt.  She definitely likes scrappy quilts, which I know has rubbed off on me too.

I love the scrappy flying geese on this border.  They're tiny (2 inches wide)!  What a great way to use up scraps!

When my grandma was a little girl she learned to hand sew when she was about 8 years old.  This is the machine she used when she started on a machine at the age of 10.

The basket to the right of the machine is full of her yardage stash.

Here's some more of her stash.

Now this is what I really went over there to see.  Her red work quilt.  I love this quilt and I remember seeing this on the hoop in her front room as she has been hand quilting it over the years.

These red work patterns were originally for tea towels, but she decided to use them in a quilt.  She only had 7 patterns [and really wanted 8] so she found another pattern similar to the little girls. 

The one in the top right-hand corner is the one that was not part of the original set of patterns:

 

[This is Gigi!]

 

My grandma referred to this kind of echo quilting as "Hawaiian quilting" because it's all "eye-balled" [if that's a word?].  None of the quilting was marked on there except for one of the little waves that you see in the big four patch blocks in-between the red work blocks.  Amazing!

The embroidery is so beautiful on this quilt.  My grandma learned to embroider as a young girl [you know, when they didn't have t.v.'s and such.  That's how they entertained themselves.  I'm pretty sure my kids are not doing anything that even closely resembles that right now :)]  The embroidery that is on the red sashing is a pattern that my grandma had kept from the 40's or early 50's.  She was so thrilled that it worked so well with this quilt.

I absolutely ♥ that quilt!

Another quilt that absolutely boggles my mind is this one:

 

Does anyone recognize this?.  The pattern was in an American Patchwork and Quilting magazine from a few years ago [I'm sorry I don't know which volume.  Mine are lent out right now, so I can't look it up right now.]

This quilt is crazy!  There are 12,600 3/4" squares in it and it only took her 4 months to make.  Absolutely amazing!!!

One last thing I want to show you is another antique quilt that my grandma keeps on her kitchen table:

Look at the curved piecing and the flowers hand quilted in the circles!

She purchased this quilt for about $300 many years ago.  [Wouldn't you agree that the other one at the top of this post was quite the steal at $100!?!  That one fits their queen or king bed - not sure what size it is, but this one just fits over this table.  Your latest purchase was a great find Grandma!  But I really think they are both beautiful!]  

Well, I do have more pictures from our visit with Gigi, but that will have to do for today.  Thanks everyone for staying around long enough to see why my Grandma is so amazing.  I love having her close by.  It was a treat, Grandma!  Thanks again!

Oh, and thanks to you too Grandpa~

[for the songs and coloring!]