Father's Day Table Runner

 

For Father's Day the girls and I made this table runner.  The girls used fabric markers to draw on the white fabric and then we sewed it all together with the colorful pieces of fabric.  It was Addy's first time to help me sew.  She sat on my lap and Ella pressed the pedal.  They both did a wonderful job and actually helped for the majority of the project.  Its so much fun to sew with my girls!

Christmas Stockings

 

 

 

 

 

I bought the material (1930s reproduction to match the fabric in the quilts we have hanging in our living room) for these last year but probably wouldn't have finished them until the girls were in their teens if my mom had not been here to help me (she appliqued the names) and watch the girls so I could have some time to sew.

The buttons are from L's Mema and great-grandmother, Ma, and the pins are from my Grandmommy (plus I now have some from L's Grandma to add!).

Ella's Handprint Quilt

 

 

 

When my mom was here in the fall she brought all of the supplies to make a handprint quilt with Ella.  They would go upstairs to work on their secret project and it is amazing!  Ella was always so eager to go work on it and it is priceless to know how excited she was to be making this for us.  This will be one of my most prized possessions.

Dr. Seuss Quilt

 

 

 

 

 

I've had this incredible Dr. Seuss fabric for over a year and am finally getting started on the quilt for Ella's (and now Adelaide's beds).  It will probably take me another year to actually finish these two quilts but at least I've got such good helpers!  Adelaide did a superb job of helping me pick out the fabrics, and while I was beginning the sewing process Ella came back to my little sewing/stroller garage room and announced that "one day when I grow, grow, grow I will sew by myself." 

Aunt Mamie Quilts

I feel incredibly blessed to have been given these quilts made by my Grandmommy's Aunt Mamie.  She passed away before I was born so I never met her (and don't know much about her), but I've always wondered what she would have thought to know her quilts would one day be the focal pieces of decoration in a great-great-niece's home halfway around the world!  Almost everyone who walks in our home comments on them and the girls both love looking at all the different fabrics.   

The top one (Snail's Trail) hangs on our wall and the second one is draped over a chair.  Grandmommy gave me the first one when I was in college and I would often spread it out on the floor when we had tea parties in our dorm room.  The second one was given to me after Grandmommy passed away.  I am actually not 100% positive that it was made by Aunt Mamie but the stitching is very similar and we have even found a few fabrics that are the same in both quilts.  I'm not sure when they were made but my guess is sometime in the 40's, 50's, or 60's.

Grandmommy's Christmas Quilt

 

 

My Grandmommy made this quilt and it was given to me after she passed away.  I absolutely love having this out during the holidays and even though L likes for all of the Christmas decorations to be put away asap after Christmas, he makes an exception for this one.  We keep it out until January 14th, which was her birthday. 

Blue and White Quilt

I made this for L's professor because we wanted a nice way to show him how much we appreciate all he has done for us these last three years.

In Memory

Joy Cunningham Albea, beloved mother, grandmommy, sister, aunt, and friend went to be with the Lord on May 5, 2009 in her home in Collinsville, Alabama, after an extended illness. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

Joy was born on January 14, 1928, in Collinsville, Alabama. After graduating from high school in 1945, Joy spent a fascinating period of time working for the FBI in Washington, DC. In 1950, she graduated from Jacksonville State University with a B.S. in Education and a Minor in music. She later earned a Masters Degree in Library Science from Peabody College.

Joy married Woodrow Albea in 1952 and they made their home in Anniston, Alabama. They were members of Parker Memorial Baptist Church where she expressed her love of music by singing in the choir. Joy blessed the lives of many students with her enthusiasm, organization, and wisdom during her 30 years of working as a librarian in the Jacksonville and Anniston school systems. She taught speech classes at Gadsden State Community College and worked as a mentor for student teachers.

After retiring, Joy opened a charming quilt shop, The Quiltique, in Anniston, Alabama. Her creativity and gift for teaching the art of quilting inspired and challenged many. Her quilting retreats will be warmly remembered by all who had the privilege to attend. In addition to making quilts for her family, Joy was an avid contributor to the Wrap Them in Love Foundation, an organization that distributes donated quilts to needy children. Many around the world continue to be warmed by her beautiful handiwork. Joy was a true artist. In addition to her talent for quilting, Joy was a gifted painter and writer of poems and short stories.

In 2002, Joy returned to her childhood home of Collinsville, Alabama. She became a member of Vernon Baptist Church and enjoyed taking part in the Singing Seniors. She was devoted to her family and friends and generously dedicated much of her time and energies to them. She relished a game of dominoes with her grandchildren. She often planned family gatherings and her gift of hospitality made a visit to her home a pleasure. Joy loved any type of travel whether it was a train trip across America, a visit to Disney World with her children and grandchildren or a tour of Europe.

Joy is survived by her daughter, Woodlyn (Mike) Jorgensen; her son, Jim (Lisa) Albea; her six grandchildren, Alycia (Landon), Joanna Jorgensen, Helen Albea, Colin Albea, Philip Jorgensen, and John Albea; and her great granddaughter, Elizabeth Grace. She is also survived by her three brothers, Herbert (Bibby) Cunningham, Wayne (Carolyn) Cunningham and Vernon (Bobby) Cunningham; and her sister, Joanne Gunnin, as well as many nieces and nephews and a host of friends. She was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, Woodrow Albea, her parents, TC and Susie Mae Cunningham, and her brother, Carey Cunningham.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Vernon Baptist Church at 835 County Road 39, Collinsville, Alabama 35961.

Ella's Reading Quilt

This is probably my favorite quilt I've ever made partly because it's the first quilt that I made specifically for Ella and partly because so many others helped me with it. All of the fabric came from my Grandmommy's stash. L picked out the fabric and the pattern and my mom picked out the thread to quilt it with and mailed that to me as well as the batting. I

I meant to have this finished before Ella was born but that just didn't happen!

We call it the reading quilt because of the fabric that has little bears with books.

Black and White Quilt

Here is my black and white quilt top! I can't buy batting or a back here though so I am going to send it home to be quilted.

~A

Quilting Again

This week a friend is letting me borrow her sewing machine so I have finally been able to sew. I am working on the black and white quilt that L gave me the fabric for as a Christmas present (2005).

~A

Quilt Baby

One of my favorite parts of quilting is watching people enjoy the quilts that I give them. Here's Noah on the first quilt I made for him. Isn't he cute?

Strawberry Shortcake Quilt

I call this my Strawberry Shortcake Quilt because when I was working on the border, the color of the fabric made me crave strawberry shortcake. The rest of the fabric in this quilt is a combination of ones given to me by Landon and Denea for Christmas. I adore this quilt.

Noah's Dalmatian Quilt

When I went to the conference in Alabama I took a class called "Guess Who's On My Quilt." This class taught you how to make a quilt that incorporated an animal in the design. I chose to make a dog out of spotted fabric. The red fabric used in the rest of the quilt has dalmatians as well as fire hoses and hydrants.

Footprint Quilts

One day Landon went to the quilt shop for me because I had run out of border fabric for the Strawberry Shortcake quilt. He came back with some baby footprint fabric since so many of our friends are having babies, and we decided on the pattern together. Later I found the same fabric in flannel so I used that for the backing. I had enough of this fabric to make two quilts...one for Abigail Claire and one for Aubrey Evangeline.

Woven Log Cabin

This quilt is very special to me because the fabric and pattern were given to me by a good from from GMS. I had made log cabins quilts before, but this is a unique twist on an old design.

Kayley's Quilt

Denea and I picked this fabric out together and I made this quilt. She used some of the same fabrics to make bumper pads, a dust ruffle, and pillows for Kayley's room. It is an adorable nursery!

Barn Quilts

Last week as my family was traveling through Iowa, we discovered barn quilts (www.barnquilts.com)! The "quilts" are painted on wooden blocks by students in the area. Here are some pictures of the ones we saw...

Quilt Symposium of Alabama

Last week I went to Alabama with my mom to attend the Quilt Symposium of Alabama with Grandmommy and my cousin, Helen. We had a wonderful time! At the beginning of the week we spent time at Grandmommy's house playing games and working on quilts. On Thursday we went to Cullman for the Symposium where we took classes about quilting, shopped for quilting supplies, talked about quilting, thought about quilting, worked on quilts...I loved every minute!

The first day we were there my family was interviewed by the local newspaper and on Saturday we made front page news! You can read the story at http://www.cullmantimes.com/siteSearch/apstorysection/local_story_161115554.html.

Here we are going through Grandmommy's fabric stash...

The four of us taking a class...

Within the next week I should have some more pictures of the things that I made!

Helen's Calendar Quilt

Here is the calendar quilt that my cousin, Helen, made. We used the same blocks, but different fabric. You can see my calendar quilt in the post below.

Calendar Quilt

This is actually the first quilt I ever started! In July 2001 I went to Alabama for a week to spend time with my Grandmommy and cousin Helen. Helen and I decided to make a calendar quilt where each block stands for a certain month. We used the same pattern but picked different fabrics. This was a great way for me to learn to quilt since I was able to learn a variety of techniques. We only finished the first ten blocks while I was there in 2001, and we were not able to get together for the last two blocks until last October when my mom and I went to Alabama for a quilting conference.