Saturday, October 20, 2018

Sajou revisited--and Massachusetts visited

I made part 1 of Lori's (Humblequilts blog) Sajou SAL before heading east. Upon my return I discovered that my center block would end up on point. Was planning on this being a wall hanging, not a table topper, so I needed to tweak it so Abe would be on the square. This is what came of my first efforts in my sewing room in two weeks. It finishes about 13 inches square. Still trying to decide if I should trim down that outer border to tone it down a bit more.
This was not my first attempt with Sajou. Initially I had tried to stay as true as possible to Lori's instructions of using the setting triangles, but then I had to add another set to get Abe hanging straight.

There was a lot of dead space with those large triangles, and the fabrics overpowered the finish, IMHO.
The outer dark blue edge is what I had chosen for binding, and I did stick with that. 

Our week in Massachusetts was for the purpose of our son and DIL's reception in her home stomping grounds. It was held at the Hancock Historic Shaker Village. It was colder than it looks!       


The reception was in one of the barns at the village. It was cold in there, too.
We finally got warmed up during the dancing that went on for over 2 1/2 hours after the meal. 


During the week we did some sightseeing, and looked for Fall color, which was elusive. Probably the best we saw was on a walk through a local cemetery. Most of the trees were still green wherever we went.


We visited the flower bridge, a covered bridge and the natural marble bridge, 
  
                                 Seems like we signed up for a bridge tour. :)

We really enjoyed the Norman Rockwell Museum.
I loved seeing this tender painting that includes a simple 9-patch.

In the museum entryway they have a large print of the painting of Christmas on Stockbridge's main street (Rockwell lived in Stockbridge). There are benches in front of the print, and we took some goofy photos there. It's a little blurry, but in this one 3 of my kids and I are replicating parts of Rockwell's "The Gossips".



















It rained six out of the seven days we were there, but that didn't stop us.  In the town of Lee we had a great lunch at the Starving Artist Cafe, and then got drenched visiting several of the little shops. Water was flowing down the street and my pant legs were wet halfway to my knees.


In the antique mall across from the cafe I picked up this little Hummel figurine called "For Mother". When I saw it I thought of the little basket quilt I wrote about in my previous post. I mentioned the song with the line "Dear Mother, all flowers remind me of you."




 And when in New England, you must have seafood, right? Our son's in-laws were kind enough to have us over for a fresh lobster dinner, and hubby couldn't have been happier.


 Enough of the travelogue. We had a great time, and met wonderful people, but it is good to be home. Next post I hope to have more of a quilty nature to share. I didn't take a single stitch during the entire trip, even though I took handwork with me. And it was days after our return before I did more in my sewing room than just walk in and look around with longing.
Until next time,
Janet O.


This was the view on my evening walk. It was dusk, and that is the moon in the sky.

35 comments:

  1. Janet, what beautiful photo's and yes, it looks like a great time... even with wet clothing up to your knees. yikes, I would have been miserable! Cute photo of you all being the gossips. I can now see the dilemma with Abe that you mentioned in your email... ha ha. He looks GREAT in that first photo. You amaze me.

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  2. I guess I should say "I understand the dilemma..." not "see it". ;-))

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  3. Sounds like a fun trip with some good times. Love the gossip photo....too funny. It is always good to be back home to settle in.

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  4. Lovely family, trip and scenery!! Thanks for sharing with us!! Ave looks right smart! Love the fabric choices!!

    Blessings and hugs!

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  5. Great job figuring out Abe's re-positioning! Your trip sounds like it was wonderful...except maybe the cold part ;-) I'm envious of that lobster dinner!

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  6. Your Honest Abe looks perfect - and the red print border is wonderful. The dark blue binding frames everything well.
    Despite the rain, your Massachusetts adventure looks wonderful...perhaps you were receiving the residues of Hurricane Michael? Lovely wedding party images - your daughters dress and the attendants dresses are beautiful with the lace.

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  7. Your travel photos are great but that view at home? Priceless! Your Sajou is just right.

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  8. Isn't it frustrating to make something and then you have to make it again? I really like the way Sanjou turned out. Can't wait to see the quilting that you will use to enhance it. Looks like you had a wonderful trip. Congratulations on your son's wedding. Sorry you were so cold. The little Hummel piece is perfect.

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  9. I think you did the right thing with your Sanjou--the border fabric is perfect! I'm not used to making small quilts, so I may keep going on mine--lol! Your trip looks like it was a lovely time. It's great that you were able to visit so many interesting places with your family--fun!

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  10. I love your version of Sajou, the red border fabric is perfect. I think the on point setting threw many of us off track a bit. It seems the entire northeast is having a dull color fall, in our area most of the maples have dropped their leaves without them turning color, the oaks have yet to change but now that we've had a bit of snow I suspect they will just drop too. So glad to had the opportunity to visit the Hancock Shaker Museum, it has been many years since I had the pleasure of visiting there. I always love seeing your photos of the view from your home, so beautiful!

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  11. Sanjou is perfect as it is - I don't think the outer border is too large and it gives you a great space for special quilting. Fun seeing photos from your travels. You have a beautiful family. No flaming color in the landscape but I like the muted tones of late summer and early fall.

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  12. Great holiday photos. I like Abe mini, looks good, dont think the border detracts.

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  13. A wonderful time to visit Massachusetts if it's been cool enough to trigger a change in foliage color! We lived in Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts for 4 years. Loved every minute of fall each year! Good save on the Sanjou little quilt! I do like both!

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  14. I have to say I adore your version of Lincoln Sajou! The top one looks the best!
    Too bad it rained so much, but it looks like you had a great family time.

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  15. Oh, sounds like you had a wonderful time back east!! Glad you made it home safely!! Loved the the Rockwell picture with you and your kids!! Made me think of the old ladies in Music Man!! And your Hummel is great!! Somehow my Grandfather (on my Mom's side), Robert Hummel is part of the Bertha Hummel family that made the Hummel figurines!!

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  16. Happy to see pictures from your trip. Beauty can be found on the odd places, even in the rain. Lol, on the Gossips. My Mother-by-love was a fan of Norman Rockwell. You're ahead of me on Sajou. I had a deadline quilt to finish. Big Reveal tomorrow.

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  17. What a lovely family time, a wedding is always a good time to come together.

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  18. What a wonderful trip back east for the reception and timing it with the change in the leaves. I think Norman would have included all of you in his picture if you'd been there when he was painting. Too funny. Some centers do look better standing upright and you came up with a simple solution. I'm still plugging along

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  19. Both versions of Sanjou are pretty!
    What lovely photos you have of a special family time!
    Fresh lobster... YUM!

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  20. Your final setting for Abe looks good and I like the wide red print border. You aren't the only one who made adjustments to their little quilt to keep the center block design oriented the way the maker had originally intended.
    P.S. The candy corn is luscious. I am stretching it out by limiting how much I eat in a day.

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  21. We have just the tiniest bit of color (well, excluding green). I'm afraid that we'll have a cold snap, they'll all just turn brown and fall to the ground!! The little Hummel figurine is darling; when *I* saw it I thought of your post/comment about your mom. Perfect! The family pic is wonderful -- you're every bit as beautiful as the bride! Welcome back home, sweet friend! :)

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  22. Beautiful photos from your travels Janet. Just stunning scenery despite the rain & gorgeous family photo. I love your little "mother" figurine. I hope you get to spend some time in your craft room this week Janet.

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  23. I love both renditions of your Sajou. Abe looks comfortable withe either setting! So happy you had a wonderful time in New England. Looks like the rain didn't stop you one bit! What a beautiful family!

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  24. Love your abe piece! so did you make 2 or did you change it? The fussy cutting is just wonderful.
    We are finally getting more color here in CT. Sorry we didn't connect, but what a fun trip it looks like you had.
    loved the gossip bench.
    Looks like a beautiful setting for a Wedding Reception. The family photo is beautiful!

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  25. Love both your Sanjous! I haven't started mine yet, but was just looking at some fabrics. However, I'm leaving on a trip on Saturday, so I doubt I'll get much done. We spent September in New England for our 50th anniversary 6 years ago and loved it. The trees turned color while we were there and we it was gorgeous - didn't rain at all for us. Looks like you had a great time anyway!

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  26. beautiful area...my bro was married at the red lion inn one year but it was late november and also cold, foliage gone by with bare trees...nice photos of family and lobster, which is always good!

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  27. You have done Honest Abe justice with your setting him on point and fussy cut fabrics I know you have some special quilting in mind for those triangles

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  28. Looks like a great trip! Wonderful family time and the lobsters sound delicious.

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  29. Looks like you had a great trip for the wedding reception. What a great opportunity to experience life in a different world altogether!
    Funny that you and I both changed Lori's instructions to make our Sajou wallhangings!
    Love how yours turned out!

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  30. What an absolutely lovely trip! Your family is beautiful and I know the memories made of time spent together are priceless. That little Hummel figurine reminds me of my mother. She has a lovely collection of them. I am envious of your breathtaking views on your walks. I may need to consider your area in retirement. Is there a long dirt road somewhere? -Grin-

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  31. I enjoyed reading this post very much. Love family get togethers and also seeing places folks visit around the country. So much to learn! Have always been a Rockwell lover too.

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  32. Both renditions of Sajou are wonderful! Looks like you had a wonderful vacation in the east. It was a good time of year to visit. That last photo is amazing!

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  33. Love your little quilt, Janet! Your family trip looks like it was so much fun!

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  34. It looks like you had a fabulous time Janet - great photos and great memories for you all; it's always nice to explore another part of the country with loved ones. I love how you finished your Sajou QAL - I liked version one but see with the final version the great improvement :-)

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  35. Your Abe quilt looks great so far either way. Looks like you made the best of your MA trip and congratulations on your son’s marriage. I like the Norman Rockwell Museum and another good one nearby there is the Eric Carle museum.

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