A Vintage Pinafore, Tea, and Friends

Kara and I (Teri) love to collect vintage linens. I have a drawer filled with tablecloths, doilies, handkerchiefs, pillowcases, and the like. A few weeks ago, I went with some friends to visit Dollies Tea Room and was chatting with the owner, Amy. She does such a lovely job setting the tables for tea, using vintage hankies as napkins. Amy mentioned that at times, they get worn and she has to get rid of them. As I have used them for a few projects—and always looking for inspiration to use more—I told her that I would be happy to take her cast-offs, and in fact might have some that she could use.

Before we left, Amy brought out some embroidered linen napkins that she had bought at a sale but wouldn't serve her purpose, and she gave them to me. As yet, I don't know how I might incorporate them into a project, but I feel certain that between Kara and me, we will be able to put them to good use. When I added them to my drawer, I searched my pile of handkerchiefs for some suitable prospects that Amy might be able to use.

Years ago, when I made my Grandma Quilt, I cut one her handkerchiefs into quarters and used them for the cornerstones of the quilt. One of my memories of Grandma was the pretty hanky she always carried, so it was special to incorporate this piece of her into my quilt honoring her.

To read more about My Grandma Quilt, click here.

This handkerchief belonged to my great-aunt, Annabelle. A few years ago, I took a class at the Academy of Appliqué—before we were teaching there—and chose to use her hanky as part of the dress on this lady. I was able to fussy-cut it to add to her hat as well. It was fun to honor Aunt Annabelle, as she was also a stitcher, who helped to make the reunion quilts which I've written about in the past. (See Reunion Quilts; Reunion Quilts, Revisited; and A Quilty Family Reunion.)

To read more about this lovely lady designed and our class with Cori Blunt, click here.

Well, last week, I took my friend Bonnie to celebrate her birthday at Dollies Tea Room. I took a few of the handkerchiefs in my stash for Amy, and to my surprise, she said her mother had a dress to show me. I couldn't imagine what it would be, but my curiosity was indeed piqued. 

After a while, Amy's mother, Jane, came to our table to show us this charming little dress that her mother had made. She told us that her mother—Dollie, for whom the tea room is named—had drafted her own patterns for their clothes and made them. They were a farm family during the Depression in the village of Big Pool, Maryland, and owned a canal boat in which they would travel to Georgetown. When Dollie made this pinafore, she embroidered the names of all the cousins around the hem.

The clover blossoms stitched around the neckline complement a three-leaf clover on the waistband.

Lena Jane went by her middle name, Jane, as did her cousin of the same age, Frances Jean. Jane told us when she was little, she would hop over the fence to play with her cousin, who lived right next door. Since Jane and Jean sounded so much alike, her cousin ultimately went by her nickname, Pid. She explained that nicknames were common then, though since her name was short, she kept her name, Jane. 

Can't you picture this sweet dress on a little girl, running through a field of clover?

When Jane finished telling us her story, she handed the dress to me and said that if I'd like it, it was mine. She said no one in her family really wanted it, and she was happy to have it go to someone who would enjoy it. In fact, Amy also thanked me for taking it. I was feeling humbled and honored to own such a treasure, and that they were thankful and willing to share its story made it all the more special. And they agreed to let me share the story with you!

Dollie's story, shared on the back of the menu

The tables set for tea, with vintage tea cups and plates, and old handkerchiefs for napkins.

Dollie is pictured on the wall above. Amy told me Dollie would have loved the Tea Room, but she died just after they purchased the property to open Dollies Tea Room. 

As I sit here writing this, I am enjoying the rest of the pot of tea—bought at Dollies, of course—that I just shared with a neighbor. I am thinking of the mission statement on the Dollies Tea Room website: 

"To feed the soul as well as the body. To provide a place for quiet thought, gentle communication, sweet respite from the hectic everyday world; a place filled with a sense of hospitality and graciousness. A haven for the gathering of one's strength, the refreshing of one's body and spirit."

Indeed, I have found such a place at Dollies. In fact, my friend Bonnie and I have made a monthly date to visit and enjoy such nourishment for our souls.

Bonnie sent me a link to this website that evening—a truly delightful discovery! I have not formally "met" Grandma Rae yet, but I hope I may at some point. Her page is so inviting: quilts and tea on one site! You may wish to pay her a visit at www.grandmarae.com. Grandma Rae welcomes visitors to her site with these words:

"Having tea with friends fills a spot in my heart. Tea Time for me is not a lovely table or perfectly made sandwiches and desserts. Tea Time is the fragrance of friendship—it's the aroma of lives shared and the sweetness of sisterhood—bonds that cannot be broken by time, economic circumstances, health situations or lifestyle changes." 

Both statements touch a spot in my heart. I am not sure I ever appreciated tea, or even thought much about it, in this way before. The gift of a sweet little embroidered pinafore has brought new appreciation to that precious cup of tea—and the friends with whom I share it!

Our Quilting Road Trip Continues

Last week, we invited you to join us on our quilting road trip to Virginia. We met new quilting friends at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, visited a great antique mall, and tasted some great wine. The remainder of our trip was spent at the Academy of Appliqué at Kingsmill Resorts in Williamsburg.

Colonial Lady, by Cori Blunt

First thing on Monday morning, Kara and I (Teri) headed to the resort to check in and go to our classroom. We took a class by Cori Blunt, of Chitter Chatter Designs. We loved this colonial lady and thought she would be charming to make. She reminded me a bit of the colonial ladies in the quilt that my mother-in-law gave me. (See What a Lady!) Also, because Kara and I both love adding embroidery to our appliqué, this clearly offered opportunities for us to add some embellishing stitches. Cori was a delight; she had a personal and engaging method of teaching, circulating the room and connecting with each of us in the classroom. She taught a freezer paper method for appliqué, which was different for us, as we typically use a back-basting method. But taking classes is all about broadening our skills, so we jumped in to give it a try.

The morning was spent stitching leaves. Note the handkerchief in the foreground; more about that later.

Breakfast and lunch were included with our tuition—a perfect opportunity to meet new friends and get to know the teachers. Here, Cori is sharing some of her work with us, as well as her desire to "keep handwork alive" by sharing her passion for it.

After lunch, leaves are stitched, and we are ready to create roses.

I stitched all the leaves with Cori's freezer paper method, but I must confess that I reverted to back-basting for the rose.

Kara's roses

After class, several friends from the Baltimore Appliqué Society got together and went to dinner. The restaurant was wonderful, and we all had an enjoyable time sharing stories of our classes that day. What could be better than to be surrounded by friends who share your love of needle and thread? 

Colonial Lady,  by Cori Blunt

On Tuesday morning, we were ready to start stitching the lady. In the morning, we worked on her arms, neck and head. Cori showed us how to embroider the lips, using one strand of floss and a fine needle. She takes just a thread or two of the background fabric at first and gradually increases just by a thread or so to create her mouth. She has perfected this and makes lovely faces. Kara and I embroidered  our ladies' lips. Kara thought hers looked like they'd had a Botox shot, while my lady looked more like she'd put on her lipstick while driving and hit a bump.  

When it was time to work on the skirt, Cori helped me to redesign a little. I had an old handkerchief that belonged to my great-aunt that I wanted to use for her skirt, but the design was such that I would have to do some fussy-cutting to maximize the floral print. There wasn't enough to do the six sections as designed, so I planned to alternate with a coordinating silk fabric that I had. Cori adjusted the pattern so that it would work, making a five-sections skirt. Here, I did use her freezer paper method in conjunction with the back basting. The freezer paper templates helped me to choose the parts of the handkerchief that would work best for her skirt.

     

At lunch, we had further opportunities to "talk to friends we hadn't met yet," as well as hearing a couple of other teachers share and show some of their work. Barbara Blanton, the owner of the Academy of Appliqué was gracious enough to allow us to share our fairy tale quilt, since we were not going to be able to stay for the rest of the event, when the regular Show and Tell was to be held. We were so grateful for her kindness.

Barbara Blanton, owner of Academy

Barbara Burnham, teacher

Barbara Burnham's Baltimore Garden Quilt
in background

After lunch, we took a tour of several of the classrooms. Alas, we had no time to reach them all before returning to our "ladies," but here are a couple of this year's Academy classes.

Some of the stunning blocks made by Rita Verroca . . .

. . . and some of the colorful work of Nancy Chong.

Cori's basket with embroidery

These eyes . . . two methods

During the afternoon, Cori showed us how to embroider leaves with the fishbone stitch and lovely bullion-stitched roses. Kara prepared and began a bit of embroidery, but I wanted to continue with my appliqué before moving on to the embroidery. We were intrigued by the quaint faces, especially the eyes, that Cori embroiders on her Paper Ladies blocks. At the end of the class, she gave Kara and me a special demo of how she embroiders her eyes, even though this pattern had the eyes hidden by the hat. We were so impressed with her fine, detailed work—and those lovely eyes that seemed to come alive on the fabric! 

Sadly, we had to leave the Academy early, as many people were just arriving for the main conference. Before our departure on Wednesday, we stopped by to shop in Barbara Blanton's new show, Huzzah! We did some visiting and shopping, and we may have purchased a pile of beautiful reproduction fabrics that may not yet have a plan for usage. On our way out, we ran into a dear friend from Canada who had just arrived, so we got the opportunity to briefly catch up with each other. Hopefully next year, we will be able to stay longer and enjoy the full Academy.

Chatting with Mimi Dietrich while buying fabric

These lovely daffodils were an indication of the gorgeous spring weather we had during our stay. They seemed to be saying goodbye as we got in the van to return to Maryland. The road trip home included a stop at a Steak and Shake, because I had been coughing a lot and thought my poor throat should have a milk shake. And of course, there is never a time that one can avoid traffic around DC; every hour is rush hour, it seems.



All in all, it was one wonderful quilting road trip. Time to start planning the next one! Thanks for riding along with us.

Colonial lady progress report:
Kara is further along than I am, as she spent two full days stitching on it when we got home. I spent those two days sleeping off a bout of bronchitis. I did finish appliquéing the lady though. We are both looking forward to the embroidery part. Stay tuned for final photos. Isn't it nice that they can look so different because of the fabric choices, and yet all look so beautiful? Many thanks to Cori Blunt, for sharing her talents with us and provided these charming Colonial Lady patterns.

Kara's Lady

Kara's block progress thus far

My Lady

My progress thus far. I love the way the handkerchief worked. What a lovely tribute to my great-aunt!

My Grandma Quilt

Several years ago, our local quilt guild held a challenge: we were to make a quilt about something that was an inspiration to us. My grandmother has always been that for me, so I (Teri) instantly knew that my quilt would be about her.

I started by gathering a variety of photographs of her throughout her life. Fabric choices were relatively easy; I had a pile of her old handkerchiefs that I knew I wanted to incorporate, and I had fabric left from the back of my parents' anniversary quilt (See A Learning Journey to Celebrate Fifty Years) that would be perfect to reflect my grandma. The corresponding green and purple for framing the photos were in my stash. I used Printed Treasures to transfer the photos to fabric.

To tell you the story of my grandma, I will take you on a tour of her quilt, block by block.

This is a picture taken of my grandmother as a young mother. She is standing in the backyard of my great grandparents' house in front of their wisteria tree, which was a backdrop for generations of family pictures. 

My grandmother with her four children. My mother, in front, was the youngest. Grandma was a single mother from the time my mom was a baby.

This photo was taken of my grandmother about the time I was born.

A favorite photo of mine: Grandma holding me with my new doll on my third birthday.

One of my fondest memories of spending time with Grandma as a young child was cuddling on her lap and listening to her read. The Little Red Hen was probably my favorite book that she had. When I had my children, I searched for just the right version of the story to buy (the Little Golden Book) so that I could read it to them just as I remembered her reading it to me. When I read the story even now, I can hear her voice in my head saying, "'Then I'll do it myself,' said the Little Ren Hen, 'aaaaand she did.'" 

Grandma always had two things beside her recliner: her Bible and her Upper Room devotional, both of which she read daily.

Grandma, about a year or two before she died. 

Two of the blocks contain poems that I wrote about Grandma. I shared them at a family reunion one year, bringing back many wonderful memories. One thing I learned about printing text on fabric is to be very careful in choosing your font and text size. What looks wonderful on paper may not work quite so well on fabric. Unfortunately, I didn't see that an exclamation point sort of ran together looking like an l until after I had finished the quilt. So if you choose to try something like this, test your fonts carefully!

A reference to The Little Red Hen

Grandma was an inspiration for all of us!

Grandma always carried a pretty handkerchief. As a child, I remember asking to see which hankie she had. It seemed fitting to use one of her handkerchiefs for the cornerstones of her quilt.

This border fabric was perfect to represent Grandma's source of strength.

I always wished my children could have known my grandmother, but I like to think that her legacy has lived on through the stories we tell about her. I know she lives on in my heart, and now generations to come will know something of her story through this quilt, stitched with so much love for a truly special lady.