A Quilt For Danny - Pieces Of The Santa Fe Trail Quilt Finish

Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail quilt

Jenni's new father-in-law Danny is on the right

In March our daughter and her now-husband John took a trip to Abilene to meet his Dad. John ended up surprising Jenni with a JP wedding (read about it here), and her new father-in-law, Danny, was their witness. On that trip, Jenni had a quilt with her that I had made for her to donate to John's former church which they attended on Sunday, and when Danny saw the quilt he said "I'd sure like to have a quilt too!" Jenni and Danny instantly bonded, and she asked me if I would mind starting a lap quilt for him. Of course I would love to! I chose fabrics and a pattern and began to cut a few pieces. But for some reason the fabrics and the pattern did not feel right, so it all got shuffled aside as I worked on other projects.

The recent When Pigs Fly Challenge (see all the projects right here) gave me an opportunity to look at UFOs and I found this flimsy and decided it would work perfectly for Danny! This flimsy was finished in January 2022 for Melva's Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail SAL.  I was first attracted to her SAL after reading Wendy's post in May 2021 and ultimately joined the SAL in September. You can read about the flimsy finish here. 

The flimsy was not large enough for a lap-sized quilt, so I added a

couple of borders using the same fabrics I used in some of the blocks.

The backing was pieced from some of my vintage stash plus a panel from the "Elizabeth's Dowry" line by Marcus Fabrics (originally intended for a quilt I never made) that coordinates with the front fabrics.

I did a meander with Longmire and bound it with the same green check as the border.

I hope to post a photo of Danny and his quilt after John and Jenni visit him again.

Jack carefully inspected every seam

Quilt Details

Pattern: Melva's Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail blocks

Finished size: 59" x 73"

Laundered size: 57" x 70"

Fabrics:

Front: Several fabrics from Elizabeth's Dowry

Back: Panel and fabrics from Elizabeth's Dowry; vintage fabric from stash

Binding: Green Plaid from Elizabeth's Dowry

Threads:

Piecing: Superior Threads So Fine #50 in 502 Genoa Gray

Quilting: Top - Glide 10WG1 in Linen; Back - Superior Threads Magnifico in Ingot

Batting: Quilters' Dream Cotton Mid Loft

I am linking to Brenda's Monday Musings and Melva's Sew and Tell!

Pieces Of The Santa Fe Trail Flimsy

My first flimsy of 2022 is from the Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail sew-along, hosted by Melva of Melva Love Scraps, who began this SAL in April. I joined in September, and you can read my first post about it right here. I enjoyed this SAL so much. Melva offered uniquely interesting block patterns with easy to follow instructions, and I loved reading the stories behind each block. She is considering another SAL for 2022, and I will certainly join in anything she starts!

I loved every single block and had fun choosing some of the vintage-y fabrics from my stash.

Melva has some very attractive layout options involving added borders, and I am mulling those, but for now this will become a UFO and a possible quilt for one of my nephews. Once I finish up I will post fabric and assembly details.

I am adding this post to the Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail linkup hosted by Melva. Thanks for hosting this fun sew-along, Melva!

New Mexican Block - Pieces Of The Santa Fe Trail

Here is this month's block for Pieces of The Santa Fe Trail Sew-Along, hosted by Melva at Melva Loves Scraps. This sew-along follows the memoirs of Marion Russell, who traveled the Santa Fe Trail in a wagon train during the mid-1800s. This block is the New Mexican Star and is representative of an excerpt from Marion's story about meeting her future husband, her marriage, and the birth and death of her baby daughter.

Marion's love story is so simply written, yet it is riveting and poignant. Melva encouraged us to write down our own love stories to preserve for posterity. Our kids know our story by heart, and there is not a whole lot to it! We met in elementary school when my husband and family moved from the "big city" of Tulsa to where I lived in a tiny town south of Tulsa. We started "going steady" when we were 14, went to the same college, got engaged at age 20, and married when we were 21 in 1969.

My Mom and Daddy dating in northern Oklahoma

The more interesting story to me is the love story of my Mom and Daddy. My Mom was raised by her aunt and uncle in rural southern Missouri. Mom was born in 1912, and her real mother died when Mom was 2. Her real Dad was forced by the hard financial times of those years to ask Mom's aunt and uncle (who were childless) to raise her. When Mom graduated high school, she became a teacher and taught in a one-room schoolhouse in her hometown. During one of her breaks, she went to visit her biological Dad, who lived in the tiny coal-mining town of Catale in northern Oklahoma. After Mom arrived she walked to the post office. My Daddy was standing on a porch reading a newspaper as Mom walked by. As she glanced at him she caught him peering over the newspaper to get a better look at her. They soon became acquainted at a church service and fell in love.

Mom about age 20 circa 1920s and a later photo of Daddy in the mid 1940s

Mom was 20 and Daddy was 17! They had a three year long-distance relationship and corresponded by letters. They were so much in love and only had infrequent visits, and they became so lonely for one another they decided to get married. Daddy had only gone through 8th grade and finding jobs was hard, so he worked as many odd jobs as he could find. What Mom earned as a teacher was very little, so their decision to marry was a difficult one with an uncertain future, especially during The Depression. But they were young and in love!

This photograph Mom sent to Daddy in 1933. It was made in her aunt's front yard in Missouri

and the caption on the back reads "Don't I look lonesome? I was thinking about you."

My fashionable Little Mommy early 1930s. She made her own clothes!

They married on a clear and very cold December day in Catale in 1935 and honeymooned that night at the home of one of Daddy's aunts. Daddy's youngest brother lived with that aunt, and they both kept knocking on their bedroom door, asking if they needed extra quilts or wanted something to eat, purposely being pests and telling them jokes through the closed door and making them laugh. Mom and Daddy had three children and never got rich, but they were successful in SO many other ways. The fact that I still pine for my childhood and our home in Oklahoma indicates what a happy upbringing they gave me! They were happily married almost 50 years before Daddy died from a heart attack at age 67. Their sweet love story still makes me cry even as I write about it.

There is only one more block to come on the sew-along, then the blocks will become a quilt! This sew-along is so enjoyable and meaningful. You still have time to catch up! You can see more details on Melva's blog and view the linky party for other versions of the New Mexican Star right here.

Pieces of The Santa Fe Trail - Catch Up Blocks

Four of the 10 blocks for Pieces of The Santa Fe Trail

I finally caught up on my blocks for Pieces of The Santa Fe Trail sew-along. This SAL  started in April, and I didn't begin sewing until September, but it was really fun catching up!

I first read about this SAL on Wendy's blog, and after clicking on the link Wendy provided to Melva's blog, Melva Loves Scraps, I found excerpts of the most interesting story "Land Of Enchantment" to accompany the blocks. I began to look forward to more of the story, and finally decided to join the SAL. You can find my first block right here and read more details about the book and the blocks on Melva's blog.

Top row (L-R): Indian Star, Shoo-Fly, Prairie Flower, Grandmother's Block, Comfort of Home

Bottom row (L-R): Kit in the Corner, Snow, Double Nine, Indian Corn, Wagon Trail

Melva's block patterns are really fun, and I truly enjoy choosing fabrics and making these pretty blocks. I've gotten a few pieces turned differently than the pattern, but they still look good!

Indian Corn

Wagon Trail

I am so drawn to this story that is centered around the memoirs of a young girl on the Santa Fe Trail, probably because I've had a love affair with New Mexico since my first visit there with my Mom and Dad at age 16, when we had a glorious few days in Red River. I am really enjoying Melva's block patterns and look forward to the next one!

I am linking this post to the linky party on Melva's blog , where you can find other versions of the Wagon Trail block for October!

Late To The Party: Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail SAL

I started reading about Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail Sew Along on Wendy's blog several months ago, when Wendy posted some photos of a recent trip to New Mexico. (It's a great post - read it right here!) Melva at Melva Loves Scraps started hosting this SAL in April, and the blocks are inspired by the book Land of Enchantment, written by Melva's distant relative Marian Russell. 

At first I just admired Wendy's blocks, but then I began reading the excerpts on Melva's blog. Marian's memoirs of traveling the Santa Fe Trail as a young girl are evocative and memorable, and I don't use those words lightly. I liked the excerpts, which Melva manually types into her posts, so much that I bought the book. As I read more SAL posts I would occasionally save a pattern (they are free for 6 weeks), and this morning I downloaded the rest of them at Melva's Payhip shop (a bargain at $2.00 each!)

The first pattern in the series is called Kit in the Corner, so-named for the mention of a kitten in the excerpt read about it right here. Nine-patch blocks have always been a favorite of mine, and I like the little "kitten" in the corners of this nine patch. 

Back in 2019, I ordered several fabrics from the Elizabeth's Dowry line by Marcus Fabrics with the intention of making a quilt inspired by an original Mariners' Compass quilt from the 1800s. I never got around to making it, but when I was looking for fabrics for this SAL I was so happy to find this stash from which to pull!

I even have a panel from the same line that should work as part of the backing!

I'm planning to finish the first eight blocks by the time Block #9 becomes available on September 23. If I can catch up, then you know it's not too late for you to join in the fun!