The Kosek's and their Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Summer

It has been a pretty bad summer for us this year - we've had a long string of bad luck.   My husband had two cataract surgeries that went off without a hitch - almost.   The Subaru we own had to be brought around to the carport at the surgical center to be ready when Jim was able to go home after the surgery.   When we tried to start it again - it would not.  We had to tow it to our mechanic ($175 - but paid for by roadside assistance - Thank You - State Farm!), who charged us $123 for a bad wire (labor and parts).   Two weeks later we got a nail in one tire - drove it to the gas station about a half mile away.  I took out the spare, but I couldn't get the tire off because there was no wrench in the storage area.  I then called the tow company to come get the flat tire off.   I had already jacked up the car, so all it took was his power wrench and a fill of the spare to get me to work (1 hour late).    Since the tires were pretty old, we had to get a new pair because we have AWD - to buy just one would cause problems.  $205.00

The computer monitor went out about two weeks later - that was a $100 cost. 

The worst occurred on August 1st.  I had to call 911 because Jim couldn't walk - he was too weak.  He was admitted to the ER, then to the CCU for Septic shock and renal failure.  His kidneys were functioning at about 20% when he came in.  They suspected some sort of infection, so he was put on antibiotics.  That improved over the next several days, but, because of whatever circumstance, he developed DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in his right leg.  He was released to home care, where I stayed with him for about a week - and was unable to work.

While Jim was in the hospital, he was put on IV fluids.  His body was retaining a lot of it so his fingers would swell.  I had picked up his wedding ring from the house, and would have put it on his finger except for that fact of the swelling.  I had been able to work a bit while he was in the hospital, and I brought his ring to work with me.   I had misplaced it - and I tore up the trash in my work area, convinced that I'd lost it there.   I was pretty upset, but I reasoned it out by telling myself I'd rather have lost the wedding ring than the husband that wore it.  A day later, my coworker found it in the women's restroom.   Three days later Jim was released from the hospital.

During his hospitalization - I had called my best friend Sandy (I've known her about 45 years).   I told her about all this stuff.  She kept me on track, mentally during this time.  She also convinced me to call my brother, who I'd been estranged from for about 10 years.   We've since reconnected, along with other cousins on Facebook.   My husband received a telephone call from his former boss, who he hadn't talked to in about 10 years as well. 

So, it's been a time of loss, but more importantly, a time of restoration.

Happy Father's Day - I miss you!!!!

Today is Father's Day - I miss trying to find something to buy for my Dad.  I remember the aftershave, ties, wallets and whatnot I'd come up with.   Dad has been gone for 12 Father's Days now - sometimes I just sit and think and the tears come to my eyes.  I lost my mother, grandmother (Granny of quilt fame), one uncle, my father and one aunt in the course of about two years (1998-2000).

My dad was born in 1931, in Odd, WV.  He did not finish high school, but joined the army in 1947.  He served at Fort Knox in Company D, 7th Tank Battalion, 3rd Armored Division.

He left the Army in about 1951, I believe, and moved to Chicago.  His brothers and sisters all followed.   He married my mom on April 13, 1957.  He worked for Teletype Corporation in Skokie for over 35 years.  Mom died in 1998 - they were married 41 years.  He died December 4, 1999.

Here's a picture he took in one of those photo booths.  I think it was the early '70's.  Maybe for his FOID card? Or for his Teletype ID.

Photo of Toxey Wallace Bolen taken in the late 1930's or early 1940's. The tooth that is missing was kicked out by a mule, rather than being a photo taken when the primary teeth of childhood is being lost. Inscription on back says "Toxey Wallace Bolen - Odd, WV". Possibly a school picture? 

 

The last one is him at Fort Knox.  Note the missing tooth????




Sure, my dad had his faults.  No one is perfect.  But he was there for us kids, and treated the neighborhood kids like his own.  At his funeral, my next door neighbor, Brian and his children cried like I have never seen   anyone cry at a funeral.   They really loved him.  Brian (next door neighbor) reminded me that it was my dad who took him to the ER when he got a bad cut and needed stitches.  Brian's dad was not in any condition to drive.  I remember when he'd go to Sonny's drive-in and buy ALL the kids a cone.  This was the 60's though, and people were true neighbors and watched out for each other.


I miss you.



I Love You, Dad!

I am now a collector of clothespin dolls.....

Unbeknownst to me, I am now a collector of said dolls.  I found the little cutie on the right at Williams' Grove.  Cowboy Earl's "Everything's a Quarter - Quarter Time".  That's what he shouts as the market gets to be about 10:30-11:00 or so.   I've found some pretty neat things in his box lots that were overlooked.

The other one on the left is a little more crudely made.  I've had her in my curio cabinet for a couple of years, and I can't tell you where I found her.  Her face is barely visible, and her hair is glued all the way through so it doesn't fray.   She carries a basket of flowers.  Her mob cap is not hemmed, but she is on a stand made of a section of branch about 2" across and about 1/4" thick.

The redhead on the right has long hair in the back, although it looks a bit unbrushed.   She may have had a purse or something, as there is a yellow felt circle on her right wrist.  She wears pearls like Barbara Bush.   I love her double pink calico dres, and her hat is very smart.

They both have knickers.  The one on the left has a petticoat, the gal on the right has none.  Very daring!


I'm hooked.  I'm looking for more!

What I found at William's Grove Flea Market

Since the beginning of May, my husband and I have gone to William's Grove Flea Market, which is just off Rt 74 north of Dillsburg, PA.  (Dillsburg is home of the pickle drop on New Year's Eve...)

The  Flea Market is operated by the William's Grove Historic Steam Engine Association.   They purchased an abandoned Amusement Park next to the William's Grove Speedway.  For the past 5 years, they've developed quite a following.  The Farmer's Market (Flea Market) is operated year round, rain or shine.   For more information - check out their website: http://www.wghsea.org/  

We've been going there rather steadily since it started operation. In years past, Jim and I have found tons of items here.   I follow the box lot vendors.  Some of them know what they have, and are a bit of a pain about it.  One fellow I visited last week had some Shirley Temple paper dolls for sale.  I asked the price - he said $5.  I countered with $4.  He then took the dolls and put them in his truck, without saying another word.  Granted, it was a really hot day here, but it's generally accepted that there will be a bit of haggling.  I rarely buy from him anyway - he tends to value his stuff more highly than others, even though he's selling the stuff.

Anyhow, here's what I've picked up in the last several weeks:

This is a Detach-A-Spool tatting shuttle with some tatting thread.  I try and get unusual shade combinations.  Generally, the solid colors are still easily found, although I do get unusual colors when they're offered.

This poor Raggedy Ann doll just wanted me to take her home.  She's on one of my shelves.  I'm looking to make another pinafore for her.

 This sewing needle case is in pristine condition.  There's only a few missing.  Who would have kept the original wrapper it came in?  I estimate it's from the 1950's.  All the women are wearing dresses.

I try and pick up sewing supplies here.  Beats going to Walmart and spending three times the cost.  For these, I spent about a dollar.

When I see tatted edging, I pick it up if it's not priced too high.  This I got for a quarter.  I can sell it on eBay for a bit more than that.   I estimate about two or three yards for this.   (P.S - I tat, and this is a simple edging I can duplicate in an evening if I wanted.)   People buy this for crazy quilts.

This doll quilt is very long and rather narrow.  It's all polyester, and I imagine some Barbie had very nice naps in under it.   I like it for the artistic, quirkiness of it.

I pick up rick-rack a lot.  These I'm going to use to make a type of yo-yo.  More on this later!!!

As you can see, I tend towards the sewing smalls.  Why not??

Shaking things up a bit

I realized as I finished my last entry that the reason I was  becoming impatient with the piecing of the quilt top was that I was approaching it too much as an assembly line.   When I began making more blocks for the top, I did all the centers, first the red center, then the green square, then I added the calico.  Once I got to the outer rings, I just did all the green, then yellow then white, then the blue.  Couldn't help but get a bit boring!

I realized that Granny pretty much had done one block at a time.  She had strips made of all the colors she had used, and added them as she went.  Using a machine made that a bit easier.  Me, I'm just a beginner, and since I wanted to make sure I was doing them all the same, I did each block by color.  I now realize that that's the BORING way to quilt.  Never again if I can help it.

So, here's the finished product....

Now, adding the next block alongside.....

I  really DO like this...the red calico as sashing wouldn't add enough color, IMHO, so I'm keeping it the way it was originally intended as my grandmother designed it.   The final red calico strip is 1 7/8".  That's enough to make a slightly larger seam and to allow for adjustment when the blocks are sandwiched with the quilt and backing.  As I mentioned before,  I'm going to do the lap quilt type of thing.   I have several types of hoops and frames, and will try a few different things.   I do know I will machine stitch the blocks together.  That's one concession I have to make.

Assessment, deconstruction and reconstruction of a UFO (Unfinished Object)

When I initially looked at my grandmother's work in progress, it consisted of 2 strips of 7 or eight blocks each.
The pile you see was a little more assembled than what you see now.

Each strip had a final block segment consisting of the red calico you see here.   I realized that I couldn't continue in the same method my grandmother did.  I do have a machine which I could quilt on, but that would mean sitting up in my craft room away from my husband and what he was doing.   I chose instead to hand piece the remaining blocks.

I attempted to find a common measurement amongst all the blocks.  What you see here is my best attempt. do so.  I determined that I'd need about 56 blocks, with 8 top to bottom and 7 across.   I had only about 30 pieced blocks, so I needed to make more.  At this point - I don't want pillow shams.

In the beginning, I left all her blocks alone, and just made up new ones from the fabric that was left.   I soon ran out of the calico print near the center.   I reviewed MY stash and found this color.   It carried over the same theme and had that scrappy look I like.

                                                                       



About halfway through, I realized I'd transposed the block centers.  Some were oriented one way, some

the other way.    I don't have a problem with this, as it represents a learning process, as well as an opportunity to arrange the blocks in the way I see fit.  It might not look the best, but at least I tried!





  I had to buy more white fabric - I accomplished that by buying some pillowcases at a thrift store.  This satisfied my requirement for being "scraps" and also being frugal.  I paid $2 for 4 cases,   I got a lot of fabric from just two.   The remaining two I just might use!

When I finished with the white, I realized that 1) my grandmother had used bias cuts on some of the blue strips.  Not wanting to make it any harder on myself, I ripped all the blue out.  That way, I could resize some blocks and verify that I could finish the quilt with some measure of accuracy.

So, that's where I am today.   I've got about 20 blocks to add the blue units to, and to make sure that they all end up reasonably square.   Some are a bit smaller, but I believe I can make that up with the blue or red.
I haven't decided yet whether or not to add the red units to the block.  I'm thinking I will, but I'm just playing it in my head.   Sashing with that color might look ok too.  I just have to get there first!

I do know that I can't piece the top as a whole.  I don't have the frame to do so.  I did pick up a smaller one at a yard sale a while ago, but haven't yet used it.  I think quilting the blocks and assembling is what I'll do.

Having worked with these blocks,  I still can't imagine not being able to see, yet managing to put these together by machine!!   What intrigues me is that she used the courthouse steps variation on the log cabin, but didn't continue it outwards.   I really can't wait to see what comes out of it.   

Channeling my inner "Granny"

Gosh, it's been over a half year.  I've had the best intentions, but life got in the way.  I've started a new job since I made my last post, and I've had some time to adjust to that job.  I work evenings and afternoons, so there's been some adjustment from a 9 to 5 mentality.  Shortly after I started this blog, I began working on some family genealogy.  I located some pictures which got me to starting on a new project.

I've recently dug out a quilt that my deceased grandmother had started.  She's been dead nearly 13 years.   

My grandmother, Ruth Arvel Wallace Bolen, grew up in Odd, Raleigh County, West Virginia.  Born in 1911, she was one of three daughters of Levi and Coralie Wallace.  She married at a young age to Roy Carl Bolen, and had 5 children.   Here's a photo of some of the family in the early 1950's.

Granny is in the middle here, with my Grandmother Coralie Wallace to her right. The young girl on the left is her niece, Bernice Vaughnette, and to my Granny's left is her daughter Joyce, and son Ronald.  This was taken before 1955.

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 My Dad, Toxey (yes, unusual!) is on the left, with my uncle Jack, my grandfather, Roy Carl, and son Ronald on the right.  This was taken probably in the mid 1940's.


When my grandfather died in a mining accident in 1949, she began working as a cook at Odd Elementary School.    Granny's in the middle of this photo. 

 

When her children moved to Chicago, she followed them in 1955.   My father found work at Teletype Corporation in Skokie, IL.  Ruth (aka "Granny") found work in their cafeteria there.  She eventually moved to a wiring assembler position in the plant.  She worked there approximately 20 years, until she was diagnosed with macular degeneration.   This insidious disease robbed her of her ability to work.  She retired, legally blind, but determined not to sit around and do nothing.   She took up quilting again. 
Now, she had sewn for years, making me dresses as a child.  I used her sewing machine to complete my home ec class in Junior High, sewing a hideous outfit in polyester.   (Hey, it was the 70's.  I plead insanity!)  Fortunately, no photographic evidence of the outfit in its full, vivid glory exists.  I do still have the calico top I made to go with the marigold yellow polyester pants.  (Baggy Elephant style....sigh.)
 She'd quilted back in WV, but hadn't worked on any quilts since her move to Chicago.   She bought fabric.  Lots of fabric.  She made a quilt for pretty near anyone who wanted one.   I believe each grandchild received one, and each of her children.  That's 19 quilts.

Sure, her seams weren't the best. Her accuracy and technique were off, but with macular degeneration robbing her of eyesight, she did pretty darn good.

She retired with her disability sometime in the mid-70's.  I recognize the suitcase on the right.  That was one she used continuously for nearly 30 years.   Another suitcase usually accompanied her, which carried the material and other items she required for quilting.   I don't know where this was taken, but it wasn't at our home.


She's working on "Trip Around the World" here.   I don't know who this quilt went to.

The quilt she was working on was the courthouse steps, but with my grandmother's own unique variation.  I began the quilt right around what would have been her 101st birthday, March 6, 2012.