My blog ate my homework!

Twice, I have written up a draft, with the thought that I would add the pictures and post later. Both times, my text has just flat disappeared . . . so, I've decided I'll post whenever I write something, and I can always just post pictures later!

We're at five weeks (four weeks and six days for those of us taking advantage of the extra day) until Retreat for the Old Tippecanoe Quilt Guild. Everything is coming together, and I'm so excited. I really thought that we might have a lot of people drop out this year, with gas prices, etc. But, actually, we have more registered than ever before, and also, much sooner than in previous years. Laura has been handling our hand-outs, and I have some color printing to do. The way things are going presently, the sets of hand-outs will probably be all assembled and ready to pass out long before Camp. Usually, a bunch of us get together a few nights before, and collate the stacks. It's really funny how serendipitous things fall into place for us, too. At my office, we use exclusively legal sized folders. Somehow, a case of letter sized was delivered. We were not charged for them and the office supply company didn't want to pick them up. So, the boss said they were free to anyone who wanted them. I waited until everyone else had a chance, and I ended up with three boxes. That will provide folders for Retreat for the next five years!

On a personal front, I've switched from a piecing frenzy, to an applique frenzy. I just caught up my Elegant Garden blocks, and thought I had about a week to ten days to coast till the next arrive, but it came the next day! It's marked, pieces are cut, and its ready to begin stitching.

I worked on the BOM Sweet Tea blocks, and have all the blocks complete. They are ready for sashing and assembly; then a pieced tea-cup border with appliqued handles . . . only 22, and they should go quickly. The pattern called for a 1/4 inch embellishment of an accent color, but I've decided to add piping instead. It won't affect the sashing sizes, and will make my quilt a little more unique. I'm always "cruising" scrap bags, and remnants, and was lucky to score some extra fabrics for this quilt, including, nearly a complete border kit. There are four pieced tea pots which were to be identical, but with the extra fabrics, each of mine are different.

My friend, Mary J, finished assembly of her Santas of the World quilt, and that enticement brought my project up from the basement. One Santa was marked, cut, and ready to applique. That one is now complete, and the next one needs only the mustache to place it in the plus column. The next two are ready for the handwork, and the last two needle backgrounds pieced, and a couple of templates made before they will be ready for marking. The original pattern is supported with twelve-inch pieced blocks, and called for fourteen six-inch miniatures of those blocks. Four of those are complete, and on one, I danced to my own drummer, using an applique heart in the pieced frame instead. That inspired the idea to applique half of the smaller blocks, using the pieced frame, and some elements from the Santa blocks. One has a little wagon, another a doll, doll house, and teddy bear, a couple have "brass" horns, and one has a rocking horse. I'm all wired up to work on that one now!

In anticipation of Camp, I pre-cut all the blocks from the Paducah booth hop. Pre-cutting saves a world of time, and makes the time at Camp much more productive. This is a lesson that Sossity taught us. Last Thursday, the companion finishing kit for the booth hop quilt arrived. It has a lovely applique pattern, but, of course, I'm thinking about changing it to personalize the quilt to my taste. The fabrics are from the Aspen line by Benartex, which is very rich colors in elegant patterns. I've been looking at some of Pat Campbell's Jacobean designs for inspiration on that one.

I scored an adorable set of patterns on sale for a Christmas quilt. This is definitely an addiction. In addition to the Santas noted above, the stash includes a fabric palette for a Christmas quilt that appeared in Fons and Porters "For the Love of Quilting", designed by Anita Shackelford. Maybe I'll try to cut the pieced blocks before Retreat to take that one along. I also have a Blackbird Farms design on dark backgrounds in progress, and some other Christmas books and patterns lined up. One can never have too many Christmas quilts!

Over the weekend, I'll post some supporting pictures to this text!

Great fun with the grand-kids!

My grandchildren from Virginia were here for a few days. We packed a lot of fun into a short period of time. On Friday evening, we had to have dinner at Arni's, a local pizza legend. Whenever someone moves away, Arni's is the place they head first on a return visit. We shared salads and the ever popular Arni's Junior Salad. I'm sure no one left hungry.

Saturday morning, we went to visit Target. Ben is four, and it's his favorite place to shop. On my last visit out east, I asked if he would come to the airport to get me, and he said, "Sure . . . it's close to Target!" Lucky for us, they had some Pokemon toys on sale for half-price, so I asked my daughter-in-law if he could have two of them . . . she always just shakes her head, and smiles, and says, "Nana . . . ." She stretches out Nana so long, one would think it has 42 letters instead of just four! I don't want to be in time-out, so I always ask, and follow her directions. Lucky for me, she consented in this case!

Next stop was the auction to see Grandpa at work. It was mind-boggling to 8-year-old Addison, who couldn't sort out the Auctioneer's gibberish. He finally had to walk outside the building, because he found it rather irritating.

We had some lunch at home, and then went to Wolf Park. This was the weekend of their big fundraiser, when the wolves are given watermelons with have been filled with other treats. It was fascinating to watch them pick up the watermelon and cart it off away from the other wolves. This was also the first time they had ever given watermelon to the bison, filled with corn. They were mostly unimpressed, but one of the herd of about a dozen seemed to figure it out and enjoy it. We also took our other grandson, Drew, along, so he could spend some time with his cousins. I gave him my digital camera and he took some really wonderful pictures of the wolves and bison. He seems to have a natural eye for framing his subject.

Grandpa came home from the auction with a box full of costume jewelry for our granddaughter, which was a big hit. She spent most of the evening sorting and untangling the pieces she wanted to keep or share with friends. Some of the pieces were probably high dollar items when they were purchased originally, and had received good care. Needless to say, Grandpa was a very popular person.

We also gave Elise a Featherweight machine for her recent birthday. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to sew. But, I did teach her to do counted thread cross stitch, and she was immediately in love with it. I have a stash of kits that I got on sale, and she picked out one of vegetables. It didn't take her long to catch on and ask about half stitches. As they piled in the car yesterday to head back to Virginia, she was beginning to teach Addison with a dinosaur kit. I promised to find her some other kits, and some books and magazines . . . fortunately, I believe I have a reasonable . . . or DH would say unreasonable . . . stash of all!

I had picked up a card game packed in a little tin lunch box called, Peanut Butter and Jelly. The object was to make three sandwiches before your opponent. I'm sorry to report that I lost all four World Championships to Addison. I seemed to spend most of my time with the big rubber fly on my sandwich, or watching the ant cards take components from my alternate effort. Addison, who remains undefeated, took the game home to teach Ben . . . I don't see a lot of victories in my future.

The World Championship of Frisbee tricks was won by Ben. The score was four infinities, one bazillion, to 12. I suspect one of my weakneses was in letting the four-year-old competition keep score. I was not the only competitor to lose to this champion, however. He also defeated his Uncle Casey, and his dad, Kyle, with similar scoring.

There were several wiffle ball games played in the back yard, and a new variation called, "Calvin Ball" which relates to the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons. This was mostly because Addison's hair needs a trim, and made him appear to resemble a Calvin look-alike from spending a lot of time in the pool this summer. There was a lot of laughing, giggling, falling down, and general good fun. It was wonderful to hear laughing children's voices all weekend, and see them playing in the yard.

Sewing machine may overheat!

As you can tell, I've been busy. First picture is my London Square, which I finally put the outer borders on . . . don't know whyI put it off for so long. It was done in an evening! The outside purple star print border is a perfect complement, and was found in the Eleanor Burns' sale tent in Paducah for only $4 a yard. Not only perfect, but the price was right, also!

Next up is Orange Crush. This is only a portion of it, because it's quite large. I love it! I have sufficient orange left that I will make piping for the binding, and bind it with the floral that I used in the center of the orange blocks. It's so happy, it's delirious!

Finally, the quilt that launched three border projects in one week! This will be a Camp sample (our Retreat is "Hooray for the Red, White & Blue!"), and was made as part of Judy Laquidara's Quilt for an Hour Quiltathon. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will have some sample components to show how to change the look of the star, for a 54-40 or Fight block, for example. I think this will be called Patriot's Stars". Or maybe I should name it for my 6-great grandfather who served in Lafayette's unit in the Revolutionary War. His name was Honyere Doxtator, and he was Oneida Indian. He is depicted in the movie, "Patriots". Or should I call it by his Oneida name . . . Tehewangeraken . . . he who takes up the snowshoes.

I'm going to turn my attention to the Guild Challenge project, making a quilt top from another's scraps. I have a central applique medallion all done . . . chose a Lori Smith design for that, and have pieced borders nearly ready to apply. I don't know where my digit-head brain was when I made the pieced borders which should have been based in a two-inch grid, but I made in a three-inch grid. I'll just have to re-scale when I trim the block, and then I can begin quilting that one.

I've also completed the applique of my sunglasses, so it's on to the "beach umbrella" blocks and borders for that one. Elegant Garden, block two, has also earned my attention as I stitched another corner of it last night. I carefully packed my applique kit to take with me to Guild meeting, and after completing a bud on it, found that the zip-loc of remaining applique pieces wasn't in my kit. Scard me for fear it was lost, but I found it in the container with the other blocks when I got home. Have one more corner to stitch before the center piece, and then a lovely pineapple applique will be the next in that series.

Since I like to work on multiple things at once, one of my well-aged projects is a star block quilt from a class with Sally Schneider. It's going to come upstairs to have blocks added, and hopefully be placed in the finished flimsy column very soon. I think probably two or three additional blocks will push it over onto the completed flimsies list. I just love looking at the list! I can't believe I've moved so many projects to completed quilt tops just since January.

Not neglecting my sock knitting, either, since I am finishing the second sock of a pair of Monkeys, using Schaeffer's Anne mohair, wool and nylon in a pink, orange and brown mix. I've certainly been infected with "bright" this summer!

Vote is in . . .

And the winner is . . . . Example A . . . green narrow border. The final count was about 11 to 7, including my quilt group last night. I've started assembling the pieced border, but need to do a bit more cutting for it.

Also, have my Quiltathon candidate, which I'm going to call, "Patriot's Stars" to the point of assembling borders. Hope to finish both before the weekend, or over the weekend. DH is working at an auction on Saturday, so I should have some sewing time. Actually, I have three tops ready for borders. My London Square has been laying around for weeks, just waiting for a good pressing, so I can measure for borders, not to mention move it to my finished flimsies list on the side bar. If I can show some dedication, I might be able to post three to the list in the next week or ten days.

Last night, I finished the twelfth sunglass block for my "Fun in the Sun" Florida 2007 memories quilt, so the applique is half done. The kaleidoscope beach umbrella blocks are starting to call to me. The borders will have lots of words, so a start on that is warranted soon.

Marguerite was kind enough to bring a replacement pattern of the Margarita glass block she drafted for our group three years ago. It's the only one that remained in hiding in my studio, and the plan is to use each of the three blocks for 2005, 2006, and 2007, along with a sunglass block as the spacers to assemble the Florida 2006 Shop Hop Blocks. Have some applique planned for the setting corners, too.

The OC group is hot on the trail of another project . . . or projects . . . to carry us through until a new mystery by Bonnie Hunter, projected to launch about Labor Day, the first Monday in September. Our Guild Retreat launches on September 4, so it might be an extra project to take along to Camp. In the interim, some suggestions have included finishing a UFO for June, launching Bonnie's Boxie Stars (shown on her sidebar in the list of patterns) for July, and some others are choosing to make Chunky Churn Dashes. I promised to make some tops for baby quilts for the Home Hospital Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit, so just a few of both of those patterns will work for that project.

Once again, my job is interfering with my chosen activities . . . which I wouldn't be able to afford at all, if I didn't have the job!

Put it to a vote!

Some of the discussion on the Orange Crush chat has turned to studios, storage and custom furniture pieces. It was my chance, once again, to brag about the fantastic custom piece my husband bought me for my sixtieth birthday. All the drawers, except the large bottom left drawer, were salvaged from vintage sewing machine cabinets, while the top drawer was in a spool cabinet in it's former life. At the back of this drawer, the glass still resides!

What can I say about it? I am delighted to own it, and it was a lovely way to face one of those dreaded decade birthdays!

Bonnie posted the last clue of the Orange Crush mystery, so I went to the basement and spread my blocks out to ready them for assembly. I think my temporary title of "Danger - UV Warning" is right on target. Would you believe these pictures were taken with the basement lights off? Well . . . maybe not . . . but you have to admit this is a bright one! I will follow through, and include the pieced border which she suggests, but I also am trying to decide what the border colors should be.

Example A: This example brings in a narrow green strip before the floral accent fabric. (Ignore the dark red . . . that's the carpeting in the basement!)

Example B: Narrow accent fabric border, with wide green. I think the floral is lost in this example.

Example C: There goes blogger . . . maing it's own editorial comment by placing the image on its side. Narrow orange followed by floral border! Leave a comment with your vote, please!

With a little help from my friend . . .

We went to St. Charles, Illinois, this weekend for a great-niece's graduation party. It was perfect weather, and there were lots of people there, including Rachel, who is 4. She had been bouncing around playing with the other kids, visiting with people, and she came to sit by me, asking what I was making. Working on my sunglass blocks, I told her it was a story quilt about my vacation, and what I saw. And, I asked if she could guess what some of the things on the blocks. She was really excited to go through them with me, and she grasped the concept quickly. Her favorites were the spaghetti and the fireworks blocks, because the glass frames were orange. She told me her Ga-ga sewed and baked cakes, but she is dead now, and in heaven, and she pointed skyward, as she gave that information. She asked about my thimble, so I put it on her thumb and let her push the needle through for me. She sat with me for probably the better part of two hours, and we basted all the remaining sunglass blocks, readying them for the applique. I had just brought a partial spool of white thread to baste with, and when that ran out, I was pulling the previous basting stitches out (that held the sunglass lenses in place for applique) and re-threading my needle to baste the complete sunglass unit onto the blocks. I asked her what she thought would be fun things to put on a quilt, and she chattered away, noting snowmen, butterflies, lady bugs, balloons, and unicorns. She didn't think frogs would be a very good subject.

My brother-in-law sat down next to us, and was watching, and chatting with Rachel, too. She told us her last name, and it was the same as a popular singer. So, Steve told her that he listened to this singer in the car when he is driving. She said, "oh . . . he's my cousin, but he's dead, you know", and once again, pointed skyward. I think that little gesture is going to become a permanent part of our "lexicon". Steve chatted with her some more, and told her she is really smart, and she must be about 14. At this point, she bounced up to her feet on the bench where we were sitting, and gestured from the top of her head to her feet, and said, "Look how little I am . . . I'm only four!"

I spoke to her parents, and told them how much I enjoyed her company, and they thanked me for entertaining her for so long, and I said she did all the entertaining. Later, her mother came to tell me that Rachel had reported that she really likes sewing, and she's going to make quilts, too. She also said that Rachel misses her Ga-ga terribly, and that they were very close. She said when they were explaining that Ga-ga had gone to heaven, she was worried about who would make her birthday cake, because I understand Ga-ga was an artist when it comes to decorating cakes. I thought I was so lucky to have such a wonderful companion for a few hours at the party. I keep thinking about making a little quilt for her . . . with snowmen, and butterflies, and lady bugs, and a unicorn . . . but no frogs . . . and telling Rachel it has lots of Grandma hugs in it, just for her.

And then . . . depression set in!

Mail delivery brought me a communique from The Stash Store that the finishing kit and block kit for the AQS Booth Hop are delayed by back ordered fabric. While I'm absolutely thrilled that they took the time to let me know, I'm bummed that I've got another month or six weeks until it arrives . . . What can I possibly do to keep myself busy until then?

Had a distinct moment of weakness this morning, but I counted to about 42 million, and overcame the urge to sign up the the 52 Pair Plunge II which launches in June. I have plenty of sock yarn, but I also have sample quilts to prepare for our Guild Retreat in September, not to mention my various and sundry other projects. I told myself that even though there is an adequate supply of yarn for the 52 pairs of socks, I would have to dedicate myself entirely to that project, and call a halt to my continuing progress on various quilt tops. As a matter of fact, we will be going to Chicago for the weekend to a grandniece's high school graduation party, and I'm looking forward to the trip, simply for the knitting time. I desperately need to complete my obligation of a pair of Monkey socks to a dear gal in northeastern Indiana with the patience of a saint! I didn't manage to knit one single stitch while my cousin was here, so I really need to dedicate myself to finishing that project this weekend.

This weekend is also the Friends of the Library book sale. Like I need to buy another book! But, I have tried to control that urge, too. I always read about fifteen to thirty minutes before I go to sleep. If I don't get my chance to read, I have trouble drifting off! DH always grumbles that bed is for sleeping, so it's clear that he didn't have the comfort factor of reading in bed when he was growing up, as I did. The last few library sales, I have limited myself to the purchase of titles which will fill out a series by particular authors. With few exceptions, I take my index cards, alphabetized by author's name, and listing the missig titles, and attach the whole list to my tote-bag with a springy cord. Then, when reviewing the mounded tables of books, its easy to check and stuff them in the bag, if the book qualifies by being on the list. Hard backs are $1 and paper-backs are 50 cents, so it is a very economical purchase. As we finish reading our acquisitions, and perhaps passing them around among friends, we pack up boxes to return to the library for the next sale. It works out very well for us! In fact, when some of my friends are done with their books, they cycle them to us for delivery to the library as well!

Wonder when the next Orange Crush clue will be posted . . . I'm guessing in about another week on the approximate two-week intervals that Bonnie Hunter originally mentioned. I'm driving myself nuts trying to figure out how the remaining pieces will be utilized. It's just like Christmas . . . I want to open that package!

Hope everyone has a pleasant weekend!

Picture This!

Progress Report: First image is the first applique in the Elegant Garden blocks by Laundry Basket Quilts. These are small, and just so enchanting. This might be my favorite of the first five block kits I have received. I know you have been waiting to these, Dawn!

Next up is Clue #5 of the Orange Crush . . . I chose to work in a bright palette. Would you believe that the lime green in the alternate block actually tames these DOWN! I think I should call mine, "UV Warning!"

Now, back to the archives! The above is a Christmas quilt pattern with non-traditional colors and fabrics. It's been so long since I made it, I'm not sure of the designer, but I want to say it was a Pat Campbell design. Don't count the berries . . . it wll make you tired. I'm sure they were multiplying as I appliqued them in place. Sort of like an ugly piece of fabric that never gets any smaller . . . the stack didn't seem to get shorter very quickly!

Another from the archives . . . Perfume Bottles from a swap several years ago. These were the inspiration for the blocks I have been making subsequently for a quilt for my cousin. Actually, I started to make a larger quilt for myself; when I decided on a setting . . . different from this . . . I realized I had many more blocks than I needed. This little quilt was one admired by Diane when I first met her, so I decided I would make her quilt first, and my larger quilt later. I let her go through the box of about 180 blocks and pick out her favorites. I'm ready to cut cornerstones and sashing for that one, so the intention is that you will soon be seeing an assembled quilt top, ready to go to Viki Kirby for her magical machine quilting!

On other PIP's, I've got all my sunglass lenses in place, and started to apply the sunglass units to the backgrounds. I'm going to my niece's high school graduation party this weekend, so maybe I can get a few finished blocks put aside for that project, since I have about a 4 1/2 ride, while my husband drives.

I've been all but stalking the mailman, waiting for my last three AQS shop hop blocks to arrive. I'm getting more anxious all the time. I'm going to give it until next week, and then contact the shops that haven't forwarded my blocks and ask what the status is!

I guess I'll have to give the old roulette wheel a spin to see what project will come up next! (Reminds me of going to a Super Bowl Sale with Marguerite once . . . they had a roulette wheel to spin for a discount. As we walked in the door, and heard it clacking, she said, "Wow! Sounds like my first sewing machine!")

Extended week-end still went too fast!

My cousin, Diane, was here to spend the weekend with me. We didn't do a whole bunch except get to know each other, something we missed as children, because we didn't know she existed. I had a great time, I know, and I'm proud to say she got her edits done and wrote the last chapter of her book at my house while I sewed quilt blocks. It's amazing how much we resemble each other, and we compared some childhood photos, and we look like twins! In addition to writing a novel, she makes beautiful jewelry, so I made her do a show and tell of that when my quilting friends came over last night.

I pulled out my box of Perfume Bottle blocks and told her to pick out her favorites for a quilt. She was worried about taking my favorites, but I said I would just make another! I have a wonderful black fabric with tiny gold squares sparsely scattered on it to use for sashing, and a gold sort of "window-pane plaid" to use for corner stones. I also gave her the Peppermint Pinwheel quilt. I hadn't put a label on it, and when I reached for the quilt to add it, she grabbed it and hugged it . . . I had to promise that I wasn't taking it away from her!

I have ten Orange Crush blocks to make, and once those are done, I'm going to work on the perfume bottles until the next Block Central BOM block is posted next week . . . I have the framing for that block all done, so it should take less than an hour to get that one done.

Before Diane arrived, I finished making the Quilt for an Hour blocks . . . I didn't follow that format too closely. Once I knew the block size, I just kept the sewing machine pedal to the metal! I made my blocks in red, white and blue, so it will be a sample quilt for our Guild Retreat this fall.

I just have two lenses on one pair of sunglasses to applique for my Florida 2007 quilt, and I'll be ready to start setting those onto my blocks, and making the alternate "beach umbrella" blocks. I ran across some Tampa Bay fabric I bought in Florida, and my first thought was that the scale was too large to use anything in the sunglass lenses. However, there was a section showing the Sunshine Skyway Bridgein an applicable scale, and since that is an integral part of our quilt shop hopping, I deleted another design with wine bottles, and added the bridge to my quilt. I'm getting really wired on this one. Of course, I don't have too many projects that I don't get wired for sooner or later!

Now that DH is off painting every day, I can really keep the sewing machine rocking during my lunch hours! Pictures next post . . . I just wanted to get caught up!

Machine versus hand quilting?

Last night was Guild meeting, with show and tell. Several people had quilts returned to them by their favorite machine quilters. It is amazing. We had five talented machine quilters at the meeting last night. It has become much more common place for people to make the quilt top, and send it out to be quilted. I still love hand-quilting, and it's an emotional response for me. I find it relaxing, and satisfying. With the backlog of quilt tops I have, one would think I could easily give in to the trend. When my cousin, Diane, arrives this weekend, one of the things I plan to do is let her go through my perfume bottle blocks, and select her favorites for a quilt. I'm working on my mental attitude to assemble them, and turn the resulting top over to Viki Kirby for quilting. Otherwise, I know I can't get it finished. Though my frame is not in the living room, it still has a quilt in it that just needs one more turn to be finished, and a design added to the narrow outer border. I'm sorry to say it has "celebrated" more than one anniversary in the frame. Just too many irons in the fire, I guess!


A few days ago, a friend of ours called, and I chatted with her a moment before turning the phone over to DH. She was once a student, and then a colleague of DH, and now a long-time friend to both of us. Anyway, she asked how much longer I plan to work, since DH has been retired ten years. I said I have years to work. Later, I overheard DH say to her, "oh, I don't think she will have any problem filling her time when she retires". He keeps saying it's not going to be as many years as I think, but I keep pointing out in return that he retired with full insurance benefits. I hit the door, and I'm uninsured. I think there are lots of people in my shoes.


I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch hour sewing yesterday. I stitched the components for four additional star blocks, rinsed markings out of my Elegant Garden block, and posted notes to my journals for those quilts. I've collected some stickers with various phrases on them, and have been having fun adding those to the journals now and then. I should make some of my own on the computer, and I could tailor them more to the situation at hand!


I got to show my Shining Star quilt top at show and tell last night, too. It was so well-received that I'm fired up to do more lettering. Well . . . obviously, it doesn't take much to fire me up to make a quilt or knit something! I also took my Colonial Girl quilt top that was a gift from Patti. Everyone was envious.

Blogger doesn't like my pictures, so I'll just post this and try again next time!

Officially Summer!

My DH has launched his summer job today. He paints for a couple sororities at Purdue each summer. For me, that means when I go home for lunch, I have the house to myself, and can sew without interruption . . . until it's time to go back to the office. It's amazing how much one can accomplish with about a 40-minute window every day. Today's project is my Shadowy Stars; I have the units to make four more blocks laid out. Since this is Tuesday, I should have them all done by Saturday. Then, I just have to decide what I want to work on next!


I managed to mark and cut the next two Elegant Garden blocks. They are just enchanting in the lovely reproduction fabrics. At this rate, I'll have the first five done when the next packages arrive.


I'm still waiting for four of the AQS Booth Hop blocks to show up, as well as my finishing kit from The Stash Store. I haven't cut into any of those yet, preferring to wait until I have accumulated all of them.


I'm so excited . . . my cousin, Diane, is coming from Atlanta, and will stay with me this weekend. We only met about 12 years ago. My uncle, a musician, had a bad habit of getting married, and taking off. Diane located her brother, the eldest child, and about four years later, another sister found them. Unfortunately, Woody and Angelia both passed away in the last few months, so Diane is really an orphan now. We just clicked immediately, and I know we will have a great time going through the few family pictures I have. She is a writer, and master gardener. She resembles my mother a great deal. It really is amazing how much we are all alike, and is rather a strong demonstration of genetics versus environment! Everyone of the group is crazy for books and reading, and has some innate talent. Our grandmother was said to be quite a gardener, and both Diane, and my sister have inherited that talent. I hate to garden . . . my brother says it's because I don't like to get my hands dirty, and it is true . . . everything I like to do, one must have clean hands . . . sewing, quilting, knitting, and cooking. I obviously took after our other grandmother, who was a fantastic needlewoman!



Found this interesting color quiz . . . I'm not sure that this is my color! It's not a color I wear, because it washes me out so much . . . but, perhaps it does suit my personality!

you are lavenderblush #FFF0F5

Your dominant hues are red and magenta. You love doing your own thing and going on your own adventures, but there are close friends you know you just can't leave behind. You can influence others on days when you're patient, but most times you just want to go out, have fun, and do your own thing. Your saturation level is very low - you have better things to do than jump headfirst into every little project. You make sure your actions are going to really accomplish something before you start because you hate wasting energy making everyone else think you're working. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Quilting along with a Quiltathon!

Stumbled onto Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times, and her scheduled Quiltathon for May 17 and 18th. She had posted a block called, "Shadowy Stars", which I recognized as being a component of the historic block, "54-40 or Fight". Since I planned to make a sample for our Guild Retreat in September, I decided to play along, an accomplish two tasks at the same time, having fun with a block sewing with others, and getting a nice sample ready for Retreat. Theme for this year's Retreat is, "Hooray for the Red, White and Blue", so I selected an appropriate palette for my quilt top. Managed to cut all the components for the blocks, and assembled eight of them over the weekend. I might add that the fabrics were ALL from stash . . . doing that is giving me a real buzz!

I also finished the applique for my first Elegant Garden block. It's all reproduction fabrics, and I just love it. Before going to work, I managed to get the next block marked, and ready to start stitching.

Checked to see if Clue #5 of Bonnie Hunter's Orange Crush has made an appearance yet. I'm sure the "early warning system" of our little group, my DSIL, will notify us all when it appears.

I'm lagging behind in my knitting, trying to finish my Monkey swap socks. I have been in contact with my pal, Natalie, and she has been very gracious. I'm almost to the heel turn, so I did manage to get quite a bit done on those this weekend. I also volunteered to donate another pair to the Almost Home Humane Society, Barking for Bids Auction. I thought that would be an incentive to get the second sock off the needles. They need to be turned in by May 30.

Have a couple other projects lined up to start, but need to get back on track on some of my PIP's. I was doing so well at getting those quilt tops finished, but have fallen off the path with my current infection of Start-itis! The good thing is that I never seem to run out of things to do!

Give photo upload another chance!

Continuing the review of "flimsies" on parade, this probably my favorite block in another quilt in my "quilt top collection". I had some fabric with huge lilies, and one petal became the chest of my little hummingbird. The blocks are from a book by Brandywine Design, but I enlarged them to 125%. I just wanted to work with bright fabrics on a black background.

This is the whole quilt top. The only block that I can say I was disappointed in was the sunflowers at the bottom. That's because my bird is just a bit too dark, and it somewhat disappears, I think. I had great fun fussy cutting butterfly wings from striped fabrics. I bought a different print for sashing, but the whimsical stripes reaally punch it up. I have backing, and the bias made . . . just need to get started quilting it.

Here are my clue #4 blocks for the Bonnie Hunter Orange Crush mystery. Finshed them yesterday evening. When I was assembling the four-patch units, it seemed as though every patch I picked up was pink. Imagine my surprise as I began to assemble the spinning stars to realize how much green I found in my finished four-patches. I wonder what made them change like that? At the top of the picture is my journal, "Fresh Squeezed", for this project. As clues are posted, I print them off and paste them inside. Then, I add notes of my own, and follow up with the picture of my finished clues. These journals are most helpful when I have put something aside for a while, providing notes on plans discarded, or a technique to explore. I think someday, my grandchildren may enjoy reading the story of the quilt and what was happening in the world as I made it.

Have about a week until the next clue will be posted. Can't decide what should get the majority of my attention in the interim. Might have to start something new!

Start-itis virus rages on!

Last month, I was able to go to the Chicago show, where I fell in love with a quilt with wool applique called, Primitive Garden, by Primitive Gatherings. So, last week, I thought I would take a peek at their website, just to see if there is a regularly scheduled shipping date for said blocks. While there, I read their newsletter, and noticed an applique club, dedicated to making the Elegant Garden blocks by Laundry Basket Quilts. So, I hurried up and e-mailed them, asking for those blocks to be included in my monthly shipment. Today, I had a wonderful package from them with all these rich applique projects.



I'm working on Bonnie Hunter's Orange Crush, and through it's chat-list, I played along in a fabric swap. My partner was Renee, who was looking for some dark fabrics. I received her package last Friday, and it was wonderful . . . lots of 2 1/2 inch strips, which can be added to my Civil War Love Letters project, and a couple of darling Christmas medleys from Keepsake Quilting, which she said she will never use . . . well, I will, and I will certainly enjoy them, too.



Another "Crusher", Wanda, noted she was working without the EZ Angle ruler, recommended by Bonnie in making this quilt. I had a couple extras that I bought in Paducah, and put away just for such an opportunity. So, I sent one off to her, and today, I got a package with three adorable food related fabrics. Timing was perfect for this, because in reading Renee's blog, she made mention of a quilt-along at Amanda Jean's blog. She has just launched a star quilt, and in thinking about whether I should play or not, I thought I could use some of my food fabrics for a fun quilt . . . if I played. Well, you know . . . Wanda just pushed me right where I wanted to go anyway!



My next AQS block from the booth hop arrived today, too. And, my son sent me the Rosie the Quilter t-shirt for Mother's Day. Is this a great country, or what!



So, you won't think that I have just been launching new projects, I'm moving along on my Orange Crush Clue #4, though I almost messed that one up. I forgot which fabric I chose for my accent, and made some triangle squares with it. Fortunately, I looked back in my journal, and caught my mistake, and I have plenty of yardage to finish the quilt, in spite of my mistake. I'll probably use the squares I made to make a quick neo-natal quilt top for the hospital.



Last night, I finished the applique on the Guild challenge, working with fabrics selected by others. I'm going to look through what remains of that fabric palette, and I think a flying geese border is in order. At this rate, I'll have this done by July . . . and, it doesn't need to be complete until December. Usually, I'm terrible about waiting until the last minute.



Speaking of which, I am knitting Monkeys for Swap #4. They are all I need to get done to send off my care package to my swap pal. If she's been reading my blog lately, she probably wonders if I have ever knit! I might send all the other elements to her, and follow up with the socks as soon as I get the second one off the needles, just so she knows she hasn't been neglected.

Blogger is being obstinate, refusing to upload any pictures . . . so I'll try that the next time!

Look what found me!

Some of my friends say they would like to follow me around, because I am so lucky at finding special quilts and quilt tops. Well, this one came to me! One of my dear friends, Patti, who now lives in Atlanta, brought this perfectly delicious 1930's Colonial Girl quilt top to me. It was discovered among her husband's grandmother's things, and they don't have any idea who may have made it. It isn't in a style that any of the family members was interested in, so she put it in her luggage, and brought it to me when she arrived for our Paducah pilgrimage. The colors are just stunning, the seam allowances are generous, and the applique and embroidery is perfect on all 12 blocks. I will finish for my grand-daughter.

Have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the mail each day, watching for delivery of the AQS booth hop blocks from the various Paducah vendors. The fabric line for the booth hop is Aspen by Benartex, and it is really beautiful. Acid greens, and rich burgundies are the main flavor, support by light golds and mauves. As I made my rounds of the booths in Paducah, I looked at each booth's finished quilt. The one that took my breath away was The Stash Store.
Theirs had a central applique medallion, and I love the combination of applique and patchwork. I didn't rush into it, however. I waited until arriving home and thinking about it a few days before I called to order the finishing kit. It didn't hurt that DH gave me some money from the garage sale that he held while I was gone, so I didn't have to "go into debt" to order it. Kerri gave me the option of choosing the acid green or large burgundy floral for the outside borders, and I chose the floral. They were awaiting additional fabrics from Benartex, but she anticipates the kit will ship in about another week.

Yesterday was a dry spell for quilt related mail. Just credit card offers and catalogs. All the credit card offers were for platinum cards . . . how ordinary. I'm holding out for Plutonium . . . I want a card that is radioactive! The suggested limits on these cards are outrageous . . . more than my gross annual pay. I love to buy fabrics, and books, and yarns, but I don't think that even I could spend that much!

I have my Orange Crush components up to date, and I'm anxious for the next clue to be posted. In the interim, I have been bouncing from project to project, stitching on my sunglasses for my current Florida quilt, setting fabrics aside for my Civil War Love Letters quilt, cutting the setting pieces for my 2006 Florida shop hop, and launching the current Guild challenge. In April, we each brought a quart bag with up to 20 pieces of fabrics within, with a minimum size of 4" square. These were all placed in a large container, and we stuck in our hands and pulled out our prize. My palette was quite a challenge, with both vintage calicos and bright fabrics. Fortunately, we only need to use half the fabrics, and can add as many of our own as we wish. I started working with the vintage calicos (more than half of the collection), and I'm fairly pleased with how it is coming together. Of course, the reveal won't happen till December, so you will have to take my word for it!

I wonder what the postman will deliver today?

Oldies but Goodies!

I promised Sossity that I would haul out the warehouse of completed quilt tops. She still gets to see them in person, but this makes a record of them, too! First up, a mystery quilt from the second Guild Retreat . . . about 1997, I think. Carol Hopkins had us going, making four-patches and connector corners. Nobody guessed where it was going. I liked it, so in my usual fashion, I kept going . . . cutting from my scrap drawers after I got home. I finally decided to quit as I was nearly out of my setting fabric. I'm afraid to measure this one . . . it's big!

My husband has always loved Norman Rockwell. One day, on one of my quilt adventures with my friends, in the dead of a hot summer, I found this Rockwell panel on the clearance table for $1, so I promptly snatched it up. I added a striped border to bring it to a measurement which would allow the addition of the rising star blocks, and finished it off with another striped border. I do love this one . . . need to get it out of the "quilt top collection" and onto my frame!

Another Retreat mystery project, this one led by Roseanna, again at a Guild Retreat. I love how it turned out. The next picture shows the piped border that frames the quilt.

There is a Guild meeting tonight, thank goodness! It's only been a week, but seems like a year since I saw my friends. We are truly all addicted to one another. I have Paducah presents for the girls who didn't get to make the trip this year.

I've had a lot of fun getting some scraps and strips ready to send off to a couple gals in a swap. We were supposed to gather about one pound of strips in the Orange Crush swap. My partner, Renee, needed dark fabrics. Since she lives in Florida, I know that not many shops in that part of the country offer dark fabrics . . . they are a great source for bright fabrics, however. I just kept stuffing fabric in a zip-loc bag, making sure it would still zip. When I thought I had enough, I took it to the post office. Before going over there, I checked it on the postal scale in the office. I'm sorry to admit that my path to an alternate career as a butcher's assistant, or deli-worker, is in jeopardy. I would soon bankrupt the company. The package weighed in at 3 3/4" pounds! Renee is swapping fabrics with me, and has advised that she included some plaids, in short supply in my stash!

This morning, I took my care package for Kim to the post office. I was able to control myself a bit more in this case. Kim was looking for 1800's reproduction fabrics. She'll have to suffer through with only 2 pounds, 12 ounces! Kim is sending me some sock yarn!

Finally, in Paducah, in the Eleanor Burns tent (can't stand her, but her sales were good!), I found EZ Angle rulers for just $3 each. I grabbed several of them. Posted to the Orange Crush chat, Wanda inquired about cutting triangles for a 3" finish from a 3 1/2" strip. Someone told her to just cut 3 1/2" squares and cut them in half! Having made this mistake in my early quilting career, and ending up with squares that were 3/8" too small, I hurried to stop her from this mistake. I promised to send her one of my spare EZ Angle rulers, because that's the exact reason I bought extras . . . to share! Wanda is sending me a fat quarter.

In Paducah, I played the AQS booth hop, paying for kits for a 12" block with Benartex's Aspen fabric line. Most of the shops were out of the blocks, and promised to mail them. One arrived yesterday, and I only have 9 to go, and one component of the 10th one! Also, I called the Stash Company, and ordered their finishing kit, which has a beautiful applique medallion center. Kerry gave me a choice on the border fabric, and I selected the large burgundy floral.

So, getting the mail in the next week or so, is going to be great fun! Having Murphy and his ridiculous laws, several will probably show up today, because my car is being serviced, and I can't go home for lunch! If I ever see him, I'm gonna give him such a smack!

Funny story never gets old!

I'm very lucky to have wonderful quilting friends, and we have had so many fun adventures through the years. One event came to mind this morning, and though it happened many years ago, I sat here and giggled till my sides hurt!

Melanie and I were together in a flea market outside Waynesville, Ohio. There was a fabric outlet, and we were cruising for bargains. Suddenly, I saw it . . . our Guild Retreat had featured an ugly fabric exchange several times, and presuming that would be featured again this year, this was the perfect candidate. It had a black background with large neon pink blossoms, and acid green leaves. It was hideous. I couldn't wait to show Mel . . . and I kept saying, "I love it!" Took it over to the clerk for cutting, and she was looking at me strangely. I explained my purpose, and she said, "oh . . . I was afraid you really did like this!" I had a half-yard cut, knowing that no one could possibly find anything more gruesome than this piece of fabric. The weeks flew by, and it was time for Retreat. On Saturday evening, we were each instructed to bring our fabric to share in a brown paper bag. We played a game passing right and then left. When all the passing was through, Darle was chosen to select three letters from a bowl, and use adjectives to describe the fabric inside the brown paper bag she now held, at which point, anyone playing could call out to receive the hidden treasure for her very own. Her adjectives were, "bright, stunning, and cheerful". It sounded to me as though it was right up my alley, and of course, I spoke up, knowing that this was one fabulous piece of fabric, and I was going to love owning it. The bag was passed to me, and I think you can guess what was in it. I peeked inside, and instantly was laughing so hard, I couldn't breathe, much less, speak. Melanie was sitting next to me, and she tried to help me, by taking the bag, and looking, too. Now, two of us are hysterical . . . but not nearly as amused as everyone else when they saw the fabric! I think I threw it in a dumpster before I came home! I should have been ashamed of myself, contaminating a landfill that way, but it hasn't found it's way back to me yet!

Progress!

Keeping my sewing machine going almost non-stop . . . except for those hours when I have to go to work, of course. First accomplishment is that I am current on the blocks from the Block Central "Somewhere in Time" BOM. Here are those results!

Next, the picture of my Clue #2 results for Bonnie Hunter's Orange Crush Mystery. I chose to work in brights . . . and they are not misnamed!

This evening, I finished Clue #3 . . . now, I have about a week of waiting for the next clue!

Gloriosky! I finished the applique and added the borders to my Rising Star. I am just delighted with the way this turned out. Initially, I thought I would use the border fabric for all the lettering, but then decided that the scraps in the blocks should be reintroduced. Glad I did . . . I think it unifies the whole thing much more.

Here is a close-up . . . I printed a banner with full-scale lettering in Printmaster, and traced it on my background fabric. Then, I just appliqued the individual letters. It was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again!

Next up are a couple of Florida quilts. I've been working on my sunglasses, and I have an idea for the 2006 Florida Shop Hop Quilt setting.