McHenry Crazy Quilt - A H Hanley House

I'm working on Block #4 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt.  There is a particular early settler that I'm rather fond of.  Why?  I have no clue!  I've just been compelled to read everything about this man that I could find.

Perhaps it's because he owned such a huge piece of property in McHenry, close to where my parents live.

The man's name is Alexander Hamilton Hanley and this block represents his house:

This is the oldest photo I have been able to find of the Hanley house.  Sadly, this was taken long after it was abandoned.  The house was actually destroyed by fire in 1975 by (supposedly) vandals.  There are those of us who aren't so sure of that verdict.  Anyway, the house is long gone now and a bank now sits on the location where this house once sat.

Anyway, the house was built in the 1860's.  I'm trying to find the exact year to embroider on this quilt.  It had 14 rooms and a full basement.

Alexander Hanley was born in 1816 and died in 1891.  He was born in New York and came to Illinois when he was around 20. 

Here is a the 1872 McHenry map:

Most of you probably don't care but for references purposes (because there will be other blocks devoted to Hanley), he owned the land in the red area.  If you click on the map image, you can see the red dot where this house was located.

My parents live in the green area at the bottom of the map and I live in the green area up  north near the lake.

I will tell you more about AH Hanley in future posts.  For now, here are some closeups of the block:

This little bluebird doesn't show up well on the block but I'm not going for perfection with this quilt.  I'm trying to keep it traditional and Victorian looking.

Any lace that I use on this quilt is antique.  This piece is from the late 1800's.  I'm highlighting the lace pieces on this quilt with some stitching.  I don't want to hand-paint any of it.  They didn't do that in the old days! 

And this piece too is from the late 1800's:

I'm not sure that I care for the way this piece looks on the block but I'm not going to take it out.  Again, this isn't about visual balance or perfection.  It's about tradition and keeping the style within the time frame of the history that I'm trying to share.

I still have to add the little button spider and then the text.  I hope to have an answer on the actual year that this house was built by tomorrow.

Entire Set Of 12 Cats And Quilts Designs - Free Shipping

If anyone is interested in ordering the entire set of Cats And Quilts Designs, I am offering free shipping:

This offer is only good in my Etsy shop and available to US residents only.  The total for all 12 printed charts is $90.00 and the shipping is free!

Never Ending Sampler - Panel 1 Band 12

I'm seeing some really incredible samplers over on our Facebook Group!  Gorgeous color combinations!!!  If you haven't joined yet, please do.  Even just to see the lovely variety of samplers!

Today I have Band #12 ready for you:

This is the entire sampler so far and here is the individual band:

And finally, band #12 with the overlap of the chart with band #11:

The large stars are Algerian Eyelet stitches.  If you need help on how to work this stitch or any other stitch, please visit Sharon B's Pintangle blog and click on her Stitch Dictionary at the top.

Update On How Scott Is Doing

Hi everyone! I hope ya'll had a very Merry Christmas. Scott is doing well. He went to work today and I imagine he will work through until Friday when the next round of chemo starts. It's my understanding that this will be last of the really bad chemo treatments. I'm thankful that he has a little bit of a break before the final round.

I'd like to say thank you again to everyone for your help, your kindness and your prayers. Grateful is not a strong enough word to express my appreciation for your generosity!

I'll continue to let you all know how Scott is doing.



https://www.gofundme.com/scotts-cancer-treatment

Love to all, Pam

McHenry Crazy Quilt Block 3 - The Train Depot Complete

I hope everyone had a very nice Christmas!  I haven't been online for a few days but I did do some stitching and finished up block #3 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt:

I also started on Block #4 but I'll save sharing that one with until tomorrow.

Update On Scott

Scott is finally feeling better today. That 2nd round of chemo was really rough on him. Today is the Christmas party at his work so he decided to go in for just a little while to enjoy some time with his buddies!

Now we have to get his strength back up before the final round of chemo which starts on the 30th. I really hate for him to have to go through another round of that but he has to. If all goes well, it'll be the last one.

I'd like to thank everyone again for your kindness, generosity and prayers. It's a tough road but we're getting there one day at a time.

 https://www.gofundme.com/scotts-cancer-treatment

Love to all,

Pam

McHenry Crazy Quilt Block 3 The Train Depot

I haven't been sleeping well lately so I find myself getting up at 2 am and stitching.  I get a lot of stitching done in the early morning hours!  Here's where I am on Block #3 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt:

I still have a few things to add like the spider and the text.  Remember, this is a traditional Victorian style crazy quilt, not the heavily embellished blocks that I usually do.

I did over stitch the large piece of Victorian lace in the bottom right-hand corner:

I didn't want to cover up the lace but I wanted to add some color using thread rather than hand-dying it.

I'll post the completed block in my next update.

Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along Panel 1 Band 11

Today I have Band #11 for those of stitching the Never Ending Sampler or working the bands as seam treatments on your crazy quilts.

This is the whole sampler so far:

And here is Band #11 by itself:

And here it is with the Band #10 overlap:

Work the fans with straight stitches.  The little stars are double cross stitch aka Smyrna Cross.

If you need help working the Smyrna Cross or any other stitch, please hop over to Sharon B's stitch dictionary for the instructions.

McHenry Crazy Quilt Block 3 Update

Today I have an update on Block 3 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt:

And here's closeups of some of the embroidery:

Thanks to our McHenry historian, Patrick Wirtz, I learned that new brick Train Station replaced the old wooden depot somewhere around 1922.

For reference purposes, here is a map of McHenry Illinois from the 1872 McHenry County Atlas:

McHenry Illinois is located way up north, about 50 miles north of Chicago.  We're on the Wisconsin border.

Tomorrow, I'll use the map to show ya'll where all these historic buildings are.

McHenry Crazy Quilt Block #3

I pieced Block #3 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt this morning:

This is the McHenry Train Depot.  The Railroad came to McHenry, Illinois in 1854 thanks to a man named George Gage.  He owned much of land on the West side of McHenry.  Back then it was called Gagetown. 

The original Train Depot, according to my research, was built in 1856.

In 1908, the worst train wreck to ever happen in McHenry County Illinois happened on March 30th.  There is a curve just south of the depot.  The train hit the curve to fast and jumped the tracks.  The wooden platform was destroyed but the depot didn't suffer any major damage.  The trains fireman was killed by scalding hot water but everyone else was okay.

This photo is courtesy of the McHenry Public Library. Click here if you're interested in reading more about the McHenry Train Wreck of 1908.

This is our train station today:

I don't know how much if any of the original depot is still there.  I haven't done enough research yet to find out but once I find the info, I'll let ya'll know.

So that's the story behind this block.  One more photo for you:

This is a very old piece of lace.  I've been saving it for something special and I believe this quilt will be very special.  Why?  I've pretty decided, upon it's completion to donate it to our McHenry Public Library where everyone can enjoy it. 

I started this project to take my mind off of worrying so much about my husband and his cancer treatment.  I already feel that it belongs to the city of McHenry.  But first, I have to finish it and that's going to take awhile!

Update On Scott

Just a quick update for today everyone. It's been a really rough weekend for Scott. He's been so sick. He hasn't been able to eat solid food in 3 days but we're going to try some rice and some applesauce today. I just made him some iced tea (he's not big on hot tea). He's going to try to take a quick shower this afternoon. I told him that would make him feel better. He just doesn't have much energy.

The side effects of the chemo should start to lighten up now. I think tomorrow will be better. I'll keep ya'll posted on his progress.

Thank you again for your support, your kindness and your generosity!! 

 

https://www.gofundme.com/scotts-cancer-treatment 

Love to all,

Pam

McHenry Illinois Crazy Quilt Block 2 Complete

Since Scott's been dealing with the chemo, I haven't been sleeping really well.  I've always had one eye open for the kitties but now I have the other eye, ear really, open for Scott.  I've been waking up at 2:30 or so, can't go back to sleep so I just get up and stitch.

I finished Block #2 of my McHenry Illinois Crazy Quilt, The Riverside House:

I use a combination of my waste canvas technique, Sharon B's templates and then a few motifs from this old Ann Orr book by Dover:

The little cross stitch cat and the butterfly are from this book:

This little vine was worked with Sharon B's templates:

And finally, my little spider:

I used vintage Mother Of Pearl buttons to make the spider.

When I finish up on the computer, I'll start piecing Block #3.

Never Ending Stitch Along Panel 1 Band 10

I have another band for those of you who are working on the Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along or for the crazy quilters using these as seam treatments.

Here is the entire sampler so far:

And here is Band#10 all by itself:

Here is a close up of the fan:

And finally, here is the overlap with Band #9 so you know where to start Band #10:

Just right click on the image(s) you want and then click "save as".  Once on your hard drive, you can open it in any image software and print it up.

Work the fans with straight stitches.

McHenry Illinois Crazy Quilt Block 2 - The Riverside

After finishing up Block 1 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt, I immediately started on Block 2.  The purpose of this quilt is partly because I love my little town of McHenry and it's history and, I thought it would help get my mind off of worrying about Scott and everything else.

So this is Block #2:

This block is titled, The Riverside.

The Riverside House sits on the corner of Rt 120 and Riverside Dr. which runs along the Fox River in McHenry.  Back in the day, Riverside Dr. was called Water St.  I have no idea when they changed the name.

In 1851, a hotel named The Fremont House was built at this location.  That burned down about 1859.  Five years later, in 1864, This beautiful hotel was built and still stands today.

Here's another historical photo of it:

Sadly, the beautiful double porch was removed in 1940 when Rt. 120 was widened.

And here it is today:

This block will get some more stitching on it.  I need to embroider the name and date on the block, add the little spider (all blocks will have a spider for good luck) and I think I'll stitch a little cat on this block.  I'll post another update when it's finished.

Update On Scott

Cancer is a disaster! Nothing but a painful chaotic disaster!

Scott is having a rough time today. He's having horrible cramps despite the Imodium and he's having trouble keeping anything down. If this round of chemo goes like the last one, he should start to feel better on Sunday or Monday. I hope that's what happens!

Please send prayers everyone! He has 1 more round of chemo after this one and then we move on to radiation.

If you can, please share this on your social media sites. I just got another bill for $1,400.00 from the hospital. That's on top of the $1,500.00 worth of bills I got last week. I don't know how they expect people to pay for all this. But I'm so grateful for all the help and support that we've received. And again, please keep saying prayers for Scott. Only God can help him get through the horrible sickness from the chemo.


https://www.gofundme.com/scotts-cancer-treatment

Thank you everyone!


Pam

McHenry Crazy Quilt Block 1 Complete

Well I must tell you, working in the traditional Victorian style is quite fun!!!  I love focusing on the stitching rather than sewing all the beads and do-dads on!

Block 1 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt is all done now:

Tell me ladies, does it look traditional?  Does it look old?  That's the look I'm going for so please let me know what you think!

Here's a closeup of the little roses at the bottom:

I've already pieced Block #2.  I started last night and woke up at 3 am this morning.  Couldn't go back to sleep so I worked on it some more and now it's ready for stitching.  I'll post photos and tell you the story about the building tomorrow.

Never Ending Sampler Panel 1 Band 9

Here is Band #9 for the Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along (NESSAL) Project:

Here it is as part of the whole sampler:

And finally, here is an "overlap" so you can see where it goes in reference to Band #8:

And here's a closeup of the little leaf so you can see how to work it:

For Band #9 = Work the little "diamonds" with straight stitches.  For the little leaves, use 3 strands of floss so they look like satin stitching.

For my crazy quilters, these borders can all be used as seam treatments using waste canvas.  All are available individually now.  You find them here:  Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments

I will give you all a break now until next week.  I know some of you need time to get caught up and with Christmas coming in another week, you have as much stitching time but I'll give you 1 or 2 bands next week so no worries.  I just don't want anyone to feel pressured.  This is for fun!

Update On Scott's Cancer Treatment

https://www.gofundme.com/scotts-cancer-treatment

Hi everyone! Scott is doing pretty well. Today is the last day of round 2 of the chemo. They'll be stopping it this afternoon and then he'll have a 2 week break before round 3. Other than being tired and trying to balance the side effects of the chemo, he's actually doing better with it than the 1st time around.

Thank you again for your generosity, your prayers and your kindness. We still have a way to go but you helped to make the road a little easier. Thank you so much! I'll keep ya'll updated on Scott's progress.

Love and Hugs, Pam

My McHenry Crazy Quilt

I thought I'd share an update on Block 1 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt:

As you see, all seams are now embroidered.  I added a spider with and used vintage Mother Of Pearl buttons to make the spider.

And here's a closeup of the little yellow flower that I added:

I have a little more embroidery to do on this block and then I'll move on to block #2.