Overall Bill and Sunbonnet Sue, the way Mom taught me.

Abby with her Sunbonnet Sue quilt

This is how my Mom (Lorene Burton Blackham) taught me to do the Sunbonnet Sue/Overall Bill baby quilts. I started helping Mom make the quilts.  This is the first applique and piecing of quilts I remember doing with Mom.  I used to help Mom mark and quilt tricot quilts for weddings and babies.

Here is Aria's Sunbonnet Sue quilt.
















Here is a detail of one of the Sunbonnet Sue blocks.  We used folded white bias tape for the hand at the end of the sleeve.

Here is my David's Overall Bill quilt.  I found the pattern and adjusted the size so it was the same as our Sunbonnet Sue pattern.  Some of the quilts we made have both Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Bill.  The quilts I made for my David and for Bailey just have Overall Bill.

I sent the pieces cut out with the outline drawn on in a marking pencil for placement of the pieces. The white background is 8.5" x 10.5" for a finished size of 8" x 10".  Aria's is 3 x 4 blocks.  It's a bigger crib size.  I did David and Bailey's 3 x 3 blocks and think that's a better baby quilt size.  There are a lot of methods to applique and you can do it however you want.  Variety adds spice!

 Put the feet and arms on first. 

Place the overalls on it to check placement.

Check to make sure there is enough overlap so the pieces will be covered when you turn up the edges.

Mom taught me to roll it under as you stitch it.  You can, of course fold it and iron it under before you place it.  I find you can "finesse" the fit of the pieces if you turn as you go.  But I haven't tried ironing it first.

I find pinning can help smooth out the rounded edges--especially on the tight turns of the feet and somewhat arms.  You don't kneed to turn the edge of the feet and arms that will be covered by the overalls.

You can just slip the needle along the edge to turn it over as you hold it.

Make sure you start and end with firmly knotted thread.

This is doing the buttonhole stitch on the edge.

Completing a buttonhole stitch.  Make sure you go very close to the folded edge for it to be good and secure.  11/2016 Laurel's quilt label attached itself here and I can't do anything about it.

Once you have sewn the feet and arms you put on the overalls.  Notice I have 2 different blocks here.  On one of them I did the buttonhole stitch on the arms and the other I did a running stitch on the arms and feet and buttonhole stitch on the rest.  I noticed when I pulled out Aria and David's quits out that I had done the whole blocks on a running on the whole thing.  You could machine sew it.  Many options.

If any of the edges don't look very secure you can whip stitch it firmly with some white thread.

With the overalls in place you slip the needle along the edge to turn it under.

Buttonhole stitch on the overalls.

When you get to the leg you need to clip the wedge a little deeper.

Continue stitching up the inside edge of the legs.

When you get to the upper neck edge you need to clip the corners at an angle.

Turn the edges under and stitch.

After you have stitched around the overalls and neck add the hat.

Do a running stitch to give definition to the hat.

Add the pocket.

The first 10 blocks  top row L to R:  Melissa, Abby, Jessie, Nan, Bekah.  Bottom row:  Doris, Me, Aria, Alayna, Eliza.  I can't get this picture to move to where I want it, it randomly popped into this spot.  Here it is, whatever.

Add your initials.  You can do the initials big . . . 

 . . or the initials can be small.







Update:

Eliza, Miriam, Nan, and Abby with the blocks they made.

Jessie with the block she made.

Alayna and the Blocks that she made...

 This is the proposed layout for Baby Ethan's quilt.

Sad for the babies, I am working on a wedding now so they'll be delayed a bit.
Hopefully before the end of the summer!

Aunt Abby holding Baby Ethan's quilt as she took it for Grandma Nan to quilt.

 Detail of Aria's and my blocks for Jessica and Eric's new baby's quilt.  Tip on the hand . . . you fold the bias tape "hot dog and then "hamburger" and sew it in.

Quilting Baby Reed's quilt!

And here is Reed on his baby quilt with lots of love stitched in.

Baby Hayden Hilton with her quilt January 2015

Doris Blackham, Melissa Een, Melissa Hilton, Eliza Een, and Miriam Een pointing to our blocks on Hayden's quilt.

January 2016, the quilt for Roma and baby Enna

November 2015, quilting Kimberly's Mama and Keiki
Whale quilt

This is Laurel's quilt

Anne Hilton with her quilt November 2016

Anne's quilt

Problems and Victories

October 12, 2013- Bonanza's first Marching Band Competition for the year.

I'm sure that somewhere in the fold of reality there is an explanation for how the incoming freshmen seem more immature than the previous freshmen. I haven't found it yet.
This year I've been worried about the freshies in my section, especially the ones that are actually freshmen, and not older band people being moved into my section.  They all mess around and say things that are neither funny nor intelligent.  They've been better lately about being quiet during rehearsals, but I was ready for this competition to be over already. In the back of my mind I thought that once they went to a competition they would suddenly be mature and competent.
Right before we went out to perform, we lost a triangle beater. It was ok, we found a temporary solution and had a good show. Back in the parking lot everything was reorganized and prepared to load into the U-haul. That is when I realized three things. One, we had lost a triangle, Two, our Gong had a crack, and Three at least one person knew this and none of them told anyone. (especially me)
I found all of this out when I went through to check that everything was there. Then I got to go and tell my instructor and my director what was going on.  The past few days (weeks, months) have been very stressful. I have done some kind of amazing things, figuring stuff out, helping everyone, making sure everyone gets, has, and does what they need. Just fixing problems and trying to make life easier for the people in charge who are going crazy. Now, I feel like it's not even worth it. What good are small victories when they get replaced by big problems?  At the time they gave me a sense of confidence and control, so I'll just try to focus on that.
Even after all that happened, my freshies still act...like freshies. Should I have been more hard on them? It doesn't seem like they understood the impact of what happened. I was in a bad mood for a bit. I had too much time to think, and when someone interrupted my thoughts I wasn't too kind. I called Mom once we had everything put away, and broke down. A few people noticed, and they were nice about it, they helped keep the pit in line for the rest of the day. I didn't let on to anyone else what exactly happened, I don't want them to ever see me like this; it would change things, they need to see me as some one who won't take crap and knows how to handle themselves. When we got to the stands to see the rest of the bands I didn't make them sit with me. I don't think I could've handled it. 
People are right when they say that the Band and the Sections are a family. Today I felt many emotions similar to those that i feel with with my own siblings. But they aren't my siblings, so i couldn't yell or throw things even though I wanted to, and I couldn't go hide in my room. When I got home and helped do the dishes with much resistance on every part, I realized that I didn't feel like the pit members were my brothers and sisters, I felt like I was their mother. I still like kids, but I'm not ready to be a mom, so I'm still hoping that they will suddenly grow up so I can feel like an empty-nester. 

One other thing, because my life revolves around relating everything to a movie. (And I'm tired of sad stuff)
    The Incredibles: Cave after Elastigirl leaves
Not that this isn't fun... But I'm gonna go look around    (ect. ect.)
Do you think this is some kind of Vacation?
    And: In the car on the way home from fighting a giant Robot
This was the best Vacation ever! I love our family.

They just don't understand that this isn't a Vacation, this is a Competition. And no one should have to be your mother.

Book Sympathy

   It's a thing, I have it. I call it Book Sympathy, but it could also be called book empathy. It's caused by book cruelty and thoughtlessness.
    This is a story about a book. A good book; a beautiful book, with creased edges and a smooth shiny cover. This book was bought along with four others in a custom fit box that sat on a shelf. All of these books were read, enjoyed, lived in, and carefully put back on the shelf for future enjoyment. The future came and a girl came to read these books. She was an inexperienced little girl who didn't suffer from book sympathy and didn't understand the joy and suffering books could contain. She made her way through these books casually and sporadically until she reached that book. This book left the shelf and saw many places the other books didn't see (ex: The car, the pool) and touched substances the other books didn't touch (ex: ??watercolor paint maybe??) and it's spine stretched in scary ways. When I found it, my heart died like so many trees that fall under the blows of a woodsman. This book was cried over and returned safely to the box on the shelf with its friends. The cover is torn, the pages are folded and ripped in places.
    My heart bleeds bleeds bleeds and cries for those who suffer from book sympathy and for those who cause it. So far there is no cure for Book Sympathy, but the only victim is myself. Don't scar the books and don't let them suffer alone.

For Alayna

 I realize that this is a little early, but you know why... so suck it up. Read it later.
Hopefully this will end the past month of catering to you and waiting upon your every need (although it was enjoyable for most of us as well) it is becoming very exhausting.

 Well, it's your birthday, and you are getting REALLY old. You will be heading off to college soon, and I won't be able to be with you all the time, but that's okay.  We spend so much time together and you are one of my best friends (I DO have other friends you know).  
 To ease your parting, for me at least, I made a list. Now that it's written though, I don't think it will actually help that much. But, for all your old friends, new friends, and friends you  haven't met yet; and mostly for you, here it is.

TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU

• I hate the way you are always right
• I hate the way you win every game
• I hate the way you aren't there when I make a deeply fabulous reference
• I hate the way you get songs stuck in my head
• I hate the way you quote stuff that isn't funny
• I hate the way you compel me to watch shows with you
• I hate the way you eat all the strawberry yogurt first
• I hate how you are more talented than everyone else
• I hate how you will leave me and go away to college

But mostly...

• I hate the way I don't hate you, not even a little, not even at all.

I love you Alayna, Happy Birthday.

Your 'Lil Sis'

and if any of you don't get what I'm referencing... look it up