Time flying, as usual . . .

Haven't a clue where the last two weeks have gone, not to mention that it's the last day of a three-day weekend, and I haven't done any of the things I planned to do . . . yet. Tomorrow evening, our group is getting together to assemble the top which will be home to the wonky teapot. We had to make a couple alterations to our plan, when we received a few more blocks than we anticipated. Then, having made those alterations, we noticed we were going to run out of background fabric, so we decided to make four more blocks to fill some space. It must be assembled tomorrow evening, because it is going to the machine quilter on Friday. Nothing like a deadline, they always say!

On the knitting front, my DH worked at an auction on Friday, and another on Saturday, and he brought me a prize. About a week ago, I asked him to make sock blockers with a pair of wire hangers. He made them, and that set the stage for this auction acquisition. He brought home these lovely vintage wooden sock blockers in four sizes. I was ecstatic . . . then he said, "don't look in the back of the van, okay?" Yesterday, he occupied some of his time washing the 36 canning jars full of marbles. Today, he is cataloging the vintage 45rpm and 33rpm records he purchased. The best part is that he can't really say anything about my quilting and knitting stashes when they have uses . . . what do you do with 36 jars of marbles, and 45rpm records that you don't have a player for?

Wonky Tea Pot Block!

A few of us are making some blocks to share. The interpretation was that it should represent ourselves, and the criteria required bright fabrics. I decided on a tea pot, to represent my collection, started by my mother's collection, which I inherited. When it came to selecting the colors, I just reached into my bin of brights, and pulled out a handful. The first one that caught my eye was the yellow tiger stripe as the perfect spout. The stripe seemed to "harmonize" with it well, and the other colors just carried on the theme . . . BRIGHT! I'm especially tickled by the lid. I think it looks like a Bowler style hat, except for the knob. When we accomplish our objective, I'll post a picture of our mutual project. Every time I look at it, I just have to giggle. The background is a pale green fairy frost print.

My sock knitting continues, too. DH had arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday, and I knitted about 90% of one sock . . . it was a bulky yarn on large needles, so that's not as amazing as one might think. The other pair that I'm working on are a lace pattern using US Size 1's, and let me tell you, that's small, and therefore progress is slow-going. Don't ask why I do this to myself, but I prefer a longer legged sock, so every pair I've made have a pattern repeat or two added to the leg. They just seem cozier to me that way.

My little teapot stirred up some enthusiasm for applique, so with that little gem complete, I shall go to work on some of my other 37 applique quilts in progress. Where to start?

Remarkable Restraint!

Paducah, Kentucky, home of the American Quilt Society, as well as their annual show, is a tremendous event. There are so many things to see and do, for years, we have made the comment to those attending for the first time, "Bring $10,000, because you will want to buy everything you see!"

In past years, I've wedged bags of fabrics under the seats, and stuffed things into my suitcase to return home. This year, I had taken my Longaberger Market Basket, in which I placed some journals and pens for "room-mate gifts" for my quilting friends. Once emptied, it was the perfect place to put my purchases. Surprisingly, all my quilting items fit into that one basket. I had a stray bag that contained seven skeins of yarn for socks . . . also known as "Socks - some assembly required". Three books came home with me, too . . . Elly Sienkiwicz's newest Baltimore Title, and another applique book, and Nancy Bush's Vintage Sock pattern book.

Inventory of the basket revealed a 7 1/2 yard background fabric (amazingly, shown as background in the picture) for use in a block of the month called, "Songbirds"; 6 sampler packets of 5-inch squares; a few fat quarters; a Benartex tone-on-tone small quilt top in beige, pattern is Autumn Wreath; clearance table finds of another "ready-to-quilt" tone-on-tone white lap quilt, as well as a small pink one; a cute little embroidery kit which says, "Sew , Gather Love" with a sweet little girl quilting by candlelight; and a fun print of pretzels, which inspired me to collect a few batiks to make a wall-hanging.

I brought back a few gifts, too. My friend, Sandra, couldn't make the trip at the last minute because of water in her basement. She's fond of redwork, so I found a set of patterns with little girls month-by-month, a red print fat quarter, a blank lace-edged hanky, and a sampler of 5-inch squares of feed sack reproductions.

I bought my husband a book about buttons. He frequently picks up jars full at auctions, and carefully sorts them into sets. He's always asking if this one or that one is glass. The book has a big section on glass buttons that I thought might help him identify them. The downside? He's been dismayed at how many buttons he's had and given away that are shown in the book!

My youngest son has become a real homebody, and loves to cook. I found a slow-cooker cookbook that I thought he might enjoy, and provide some complements to his grilled masterpieces.

Now that the big trip is behind me, I need to get inspired with my quiltmaking. I have some applique that I volunteered to do for our Guild's raffle quilt, a block for a friend, and several blocks for a block exchange in August. Should be fun . . . but first, I need to "plow" my studio!

Didn't post this right away, because I wanted to add the picture. More photos later!