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.