Love Shack!!

Sew-Saturday was a complete Success!

Lisa arrived bright and early about 8:30am and we commenced to setting her up in the basement with her featherweight. She had a couple of gift projects with her, and her sweetie dog Shelby also joined us for the day!

Karen came a long a bit later...and all 3 of us had machines whirring as fast as our mouths were gabbing and laughing!



My main project? A little combination sampler for a class I'm teaching in Stuttgart in February. I pulled blocks, letters, stars, a crumby heart, left over 4 patches, some extra string blocks and Voila! It was together in no time, and I even was able to get it quilted. All that remains to be done is the binding/sleeve and I think I'll leave that for tomorrow :c)

I've thought of calling it LOVE SHACK, but I don't know how that will go over in Germany ((remember the song from the 80s?!? Loved that song!!)) so the name for this class is still up in the air.

But it did turn out cute, yeah?? :cD

After I got this one quilted, Karen's quilt for her brother was ready to put in the machine, and we got it under way. 2.5 hours later...DONE! Sometimes you just gotta love a cute and scrappy simple utility quilt that will be loved on the couch by its intended recipient. And we used a very bright neon green thread to quilt it with! Awesome!

While that was in the machine, I was back to piecing pineapples. Only 2 of those got done, but 2 is better than none.

As for the Nonsense blocks, I'm so happy you like them! I think they will be adorable. I haven't had time to play with them, and I'm really not up to writing directions for that when I am still writing directions for the mystery and giving that to you as well.

I will tell you that it is a traditional block, the name IS Nonsense, and if you have block base or Barbara Brackman's encyclopedia of blocks, it is readily available there.

Sometimes it is really difficult to want to post something that I just started because before I can even make headway on it, people are begging for the pattern >_<

I'd really like the joy of finishing a project before I am whammied by people begging for the pattern, instructions or cutting measurements. If it's a traditional pattern, I'll gladly tell you where you can find it, but it is up to you to size it to where you need it to be, okay? I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed between the mystery questions (btw, 120 matched pairs of half square triangles will give you 120 half square triangle squares when they are sewn) and the requests for this block when I've barely begun to play with it!



And I am also feeling overwhelmed because Oscar had to go to the vet today and is still there. He has an infectious pleurisy type illness. He was lethargic, has lost a lot of weight, his breathing is labored, and they had to drain off the fluid from his lungs today...he is on mega antibiotics to hopefully kill the infection, but we don't know. We just don't know if he will be able to return home to us, or if we will have to make the choice of putting him down if he doesn't improve.

Oscar has been the best cat I've ever had...He's not quite 10. He should have half of his life left to live, and he is hanging on to what little he's got right now. So please send purry thoughts for Oscar to respond to meds and come home where he belongs.

I want to share things on this blog...I want you to see what I'm working on. But I can't supply the pattern for everything.....can't I just sew for a while first please? Can't I make something.....see how it comes out? My only other option would be to share nothing, until it is completely done and then only put finished items out there. What fun is that?

More Nonsense!

As in BLOCKS named NONSENSE that is!



Aren't these just the cutest things?! They finish at 3"!! And I think I'm addicted, or I could be!

I was puttering around while Lisa's quilt was in the quilting machine, and thought I'd make just ONE to see how they would turn out in this scale, and before I knew it, I had FIVE! Well, five is not enough to make anything, it doesn't use enough scraps, I know I can do better than this so....there will be more to come!

My only dilemma....I was hoping for another block inspiration that would use up more of the CRUMB STUFF that I've got boxes of, but these require strips. It's still putting scraps to good use, so I'm up for it!

Why? I dunno! Just CUZ! Just because I can, because I want to, because they are calling to me. Simple little blocks with a 100 on the Cuteness Scale, don't you agree?

I've tried different variations, and so far I like the one with the contrasting middle square the best. I tried one with all different lights, and it was okay but...just not as cute as those that have a different color for the centers.

It's midnight as I write this, and I'm about to go to bed...but I'm so excited I could easily stay up and piece some more!

Tomorrow is a Sew-day Saturday at Chez Quiltville...Lisa and Karen are coming over to work on projects and the basement will become a NO BOYS ALLOWED zone! I've got turkey soup already made and ready to be reheated in the crockpot for our lunch. Karen is bringing dessert, Lisa is bringing rolls...and we will be ready to ROCK!

More Pie, Please!

I love pumpkin pie! I adore pumpkin pie! Is there anything else that smells better baking? I don't think so. Something about the spicy cinnamon-y goodness filling the air and I'm a goner.

In my house, left-over pumpkin pie is considered the perfect breakfast food! It has pumpkin which is a vegetable, right? It has eggs, and milk....which are wholesome, right? There ya go! Left-over pie...I've got my sights set on you!

Today was a lovely laid-back affair with plenty of food, plenty of Nap Time after. I love Nap Time ALMOST as much as I love Pie Time...and I got BOTH! Pie time came after WALK TIME..which came after Nap time...it's a Trifecta of Perfection!



This is what it looked like on my walk about 4:45 this afternoon post-nap. It was kind of drizzly, but not really cold, and I was amazed at how much things have changed since I left for Maryland about 10 days ago. Enough rain and wind has come through that the trees are now mostly bare with just a few stubborn ones hanging on to the leaves that remain. While I was gone last week, a doozer of a storm rolled through and took out two big trees in our front yard. They fell across the driveway with a crash, and there was much chain-sawing the next morning to enable the cars to get up the driveway and out onto the road.



Sadie and I walked and walked, and then when I doubled back for another loop, she cut back to the house and left me to finish on my own! Silly dog! As I walked I noticed things....houses with full driveways, signaling to passers-by that a lot of extended family had gathered there to share the warmth of the holiday. Nice. Some houses had fires going in their fireplaces. I could smell the wonderful wood smoke and I had to giggle to myself ((Okay people, it's probably still over 50 degrees here, and you are burning wood?)) that temperature has little to do with it, it's all about Ambiance!

Someone was BBQ'ing what smelled like ribs off their back deck. ((Hey, it IS North Carolina! We can be thankful for ribs too!))

Further down the street I could smell someone's laundry....you know, that smell of "downy" from the drier vent on the air? Work never stops for a busy mom. It might be a holiday and day off for everyone else, but the MOMS just keep it going....cooking, cleaning, laundry, dishes, planning what is next for the crowd...

I walked until dark in the misty not-quite-rain that was hanging low, and came back in for my much longed for pie. This getting dark at 5:30 is for the birds, but I kind of like the settling in feeling of winter evenings too...the slower pace.

On the Quilty Front:



The multi-decade quilt is quilted! And as I quilted it, I kept finding OTHER blocks that became my new favorites just for the quirkiness they presented!



I chose a panto by Hermoine Agee of Lorien Quilting called "Country Garden". It was perfect! I wanted something leafy/viney because of the many floral fabrics in the quilt, but not something over-done. It still needed to fit the time period and feel of the quilt....

My first thought of course was BAPTIST FANS! But...come on...it's a busy busy quilt, nothing is going to really show anyway, and why not have some fun with the quilting texture?



This block is also one of my new faves! Look at that adorable shirting!



And this one!

I want to thank everyone who posted with their expertise regarding the time period of these fabrics! My good friend Mary Koval, quilt historian and textile-expert-extraordiare left me a post on my face book!



This just tickles me so much! But I tell you, I had the jitters when the machine quilted through that 1870's patch of fabric. I kept telling myself.."IT'S JUST FABRIC, IT'S JUST FABRIC" But you know... :c/ It's a very OLD fabric! Still. It's in good shape, and the top was machine pieced.



It's not a Paducah quilt museum piece. It's a utility quilt. It deserves to be finished. I don't have time to hand quilt everything, nor do I want to. Seeing this machine quilted and finished and preserved so we can enjoy it makes me happy.



This is also one of my faves....see that rectangle pieced every which way?! The patches are not even cut on grain. They are cut however the template would fit on the scraps of fabric. Weeeee! Today I'm grateful for this maverick quilter who made this top...even unfinished...so that I could have it in my life!

The turkey carcass has been simmering in the crock pot. It's time for ME to get back to the kitchen and separate the meat from the bones, strain the broth, and set it in the fridge to separate the fat as it cools for tomorrow's soup!

And then I'm coming back down to the studio to put the binding on the Fungly Thanksgiving Churndash!

Fabric Dating Help, Please!

This is one of those multi-decade blocks that just has me wondering!

The corner triangles with that brown print, and the rectangles are definitely 30's era. The plaid? Undetermined.

The CENTER SQUARE?!

It looks late 1800s to me...it's a green-y brown background with a grecian key design embelished with pink flowers. The texture of the fabric is a bit coarser than that of the 30's prints.

Anyone want to take a stab at dating this piece? I'd love to know more. It's a gorgeous little print!

((Click the pic to view it in biggie-size!))

There are no "reproductions" in this quilt. Even though some of these may have been copied and re-printed lately, this quilt top is OLD!

The Day Before T Day...

And all through the house....

Not a creature is stirring, not even my spouse...

Who has settled himself in the living room recliner, meds on the chair side table (Along with other necessities for surgery recuperation, like Carmel Nips for an anesthesia based sore throat and a water bottle that he can drink from without dribbling!) remote in hand, laptop next to him, iphone right there, wrapped in quilts. This morning? Well on the mend.

We all had a good night's sleep, but I awoke...oh yes, I awoke...to the sound of SQUIRRELS in the eaves or behind the walls. (((*@#&$(*&@#$(*&))) We thought we'd patched the holes, and I have those electronic pest repellers plugged in, but this time of the year, the scratching and scrambling has returned with the little nest building buggers. Oscar was even aware there was something going on behind that wall...he was meowing, tail twitching, just waiting....but it can't be seen, just heard, and there is no way to get at it from within the room itself.

I got nearly two sides of the binding hand stitched down last night, and I'll probably finish the rest tonight, but today...what to do?!

I figured out that if I want to do a pieced border or something on the pineapple quilt, that I need only SIXTEEN more blocks and I am DONE! It's an OH NO! Moment, because I certainly hoped it would use up a lot more scraps than this. I need to keep finding scrappy paper-piece-y patterns that will use these gems. They are so fun and so cute, and the incredible variety of fabrics and colors just makes me so happy. SOOOOO..figuring out what to do with borders is on the list.

I've got the last quilt from Lisa to throw on the machine. She and Karen are coming over for a sew day on Saturday and I can get that going then.



I've also got THIS beauty that came home with me from PA that I could quilt up quickly! I just love finding quirky happy scrappy quilts, and this one came from the same antique mall as the Lemoyne Star I showed you yesterday. Isn't it FUNGLY!?



I put it over the quilting machine rails to see if I could get a better pic of the colors, more light down here even if I don't have floor space! Yes, that is my kitchen floor above, so you now know that I don't have a very large kitchen either, which is fine with me. LESS. TO. CLEAN!



This quilter even mitered the corners on this top! I love the fabrics...you know, I've said before, I'm not a big fan of 30's reproduction cutesy quilts. Too much muslin,((Don't even get me started on the use of way too much white-on-white in reproductions..bleh!)) only the pretty sweet fabrics, none of the every day fabrics that I love to see in a quilt from that time period! This is a great example of the kind of 30's - 40's quilts I DO LOVE!



Stripes, Plaids, Geometrics and Dots, weird combinations in colors and fabric choices, some really fungly-uglies, NOT just baby bunnies and little umbrellas and overload-of-pastel-sweetness. THIS! This makes me smile!



Aren't these fabrics great? There are also several decades of scraps in this quilt. It's hard to date plaids and stripes, but the fabrics include some mourning prints from an earlier time period. I also love the substitution if not enough of one fabric was available! And that green in the center? I believe it to be way earlier than 1930.



If I were to ask you to pick my fave block for me, I just know you would choose this one, and you'd be right! :c)

Remarkably, this quilt is SQUARE, not a trapezoid :c) It's 78" X 78"....and I have a hankering to load it on the machine today and turn this long-time-flimsy into a real quilt!

When Goodies Come Home....

I have to scramble to find places to put them! I just love antique textiles. And I think of the hands that held these pieces, traced, cut, pieced, layered, quilted, and those that were covered by these works of love...put to hard use in their life-of-a-quilt duty to keep a family warm, and I just feel connected somehow.

Is that strange? Maybe just a bit. I also admit that I love looking through the old photographs in antique stores. Children, couples getting married, old ladies sitting on porches, all different stages of life. I can't make myself buy them as if they were family, but I feel like acknowledging the existence of each and every one of those individuals and wonder about the lives they lived. There was one box that had family photos all the way up through the children's lives as they had grown into adulthood and beyond.

Someone had taken the time to write on the back of each photo who was in it and when it was taken. But enough generations go by and it just doesn't mean so much to the future generations any more. Is it sad that these end up in an antique mall? Or is it a lovely appreciation and a glimpse into the lives of others? Better than in a box on a shelf in an attic? The jury is out. Makes me wonder if my photos will end up on a shelf in an antique mall some day! If so...I hope they leave out my 2nd grade pic, I really hated that one. Bad glasses, bad hair, a bump on my chin from falling off my bike... ;c)



Lemoyne Star! A TINY LEMOYNE STAR!! I've always wanted to hand piece one of these, but I know me. It probably isn't going to happen in this life time, or maybe this decade at least. But I am in love with all-things-small and this one just made me squeal right there in the store! Lois was holding it up as I turned around. I just about dropped my parcels and purse drooling over this. Yes, some many of the patches are shredded from hard use and age. But it hasn't lost its impact! It contains mid to late 1800's fabrics, some maybe a bit earlier. Let's face it, I have over 30 years worth of scraps in MY scrap bag, so did this quilter!



The little blocks finish at approximately 4.25". The points are PERFECT..no chopping and lopping going off on this quilt. It was pieced by expert hands. Stitches small and even..



I love how it was quilted...due to the small size, the maker simply stitched two diagonal lines through each block, corner to corner in both directions, and then did the same with the horizontal and vertical...8 lines sectioning the block like a pie, following the inner lines of the diamonds. So some of the quilting is in the ditch, some of it extends into the corner and side background patches, can you see it?

Simple but effective, she didn't feel the need to outline quilt a 1/4" inside each patch, and the quilt is stronger (probably why it survived this long) because the quilting CROSSED the piecing lines in the patchwork.

The blocks are also quilted in the ditch between the block and the sashing, and the 1" sashing has one long line of quilting down the center.

The backing is a lovely stripe, and it is turned over the edge and machine stitched down as binding.

Now wait for it...in case you think that this quilt broke the bank (or maxed my credit card!) Price? $28.00!! Now you know why I about fell to the floor! And I think Lois would have adopted it if I hadn't been there, but she thought that the guest-traveler should have first dibs. Dib I did! Thanks Lois for passing on this one!



You know, I really thought this would cure my need to MAKE a tiny lemoyne star quilt? What was I thinking? I want to MAKE one more than ever now! GAH!!! Someone help me please!

A bit of info on the home front:

We left the house at 5:15am this morning after waking up at 4:45am to get Dave to the hospital for his hernia surgery this morning. He was first on the OR schedule, and I'm glad...we could both pass on breakfast and catch something later since he had to be NPO since midnight. Everything went fine. He's always been a very healthy guy, very active. He doesn't smoke or drink, and hasn't had any anesthesia since he had his tonsils out at 6 years old...and due to this was classified as a total LIGHT WEIGHT when they put him under! He had the hardest time coming around, and feeling like he could move, get dressed, go to the bathroom, etc. I think he has a new appreciation for those of us who have had surgeries, borne children, and lived to tell the story!

He's a trooper, and is resting in bed with the remote on one side, and the dog on the other, entertaining himself with things like "Ice Road Truckers" and copious amounts of "The 70's Show" and whatever else floats his tv-watching-boat. I'm glad this is behind us. Any kind of surgery where they have to put you completely under is scary.

I did buy a turkey. I'm cooking. And basically the turkey was free...I went to Harris Teeter and bought all the "buy one get one free" type holiday items that I would have needed anyway. The turkey was even on sale, and by the time I checked out they said I saved $18.00 which makes the turkey MORE than free. So we are good. The only thing I need is some whipped cream for the pie, and some dinner rolls, and I don't want to buy those too many days in advance. My plan? Get the rhodes frozen whole wheat dinner roll balls and bake them myself to make the house smell good. Works for me...more time to sew!

The mystery still needs the binding finished, so I think that a couple of movies and my behind in the reclining side of the couch stitching away is in order. There will be more goodies from the antique mall next post, I think I've probably stretched this post out as far as it can go, and if you are still here reading along with me, pat yourself on the back, get away from the computer and go DO SOMETHING! :c)

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Monday Motivation...

Anyone got any to spare?! I could use some!

First off, I need to thank those who have emailed and commented so gently and so encouragingly regarding my blogger-stranger-friend's choice to take her own life. I think the last time I felt this haunted was when Princess Diana died. Yes, someone we didn't really know in person, but someone we felt we did in some ways. It's a really odd feeling. When someone is just "GONE" in such a senseless preventable way. My thoughts and prayers continue to be with her real life family and friends. And I am renewing my efforts in focusing on my real life family and friends. I want to be more aware where I should be. There's just been a whole lot of thinking and regrouping going on.

I've just uploaded all my pics from my phone to my computer and there is a whole LOT of editing and uploading to be done! It's one of those "BUT WHERE DO I START!!" kinds of deals...so I'm just going to go with it! And if the posts over the next few days are a bit disjointed, you'll know why!

Today is my one day to get ready for this week. DH is having hernia surgery tomorrow bright and early (still don't know what time, and waiting on the doc's office to call and give all the particulars)and our whole week will depend on how he feels over the next few days.

We don't have any extended family here in NC, so Thanksgiving IS just the three of us this year. When I add in the cost of the food, the prep time, the clean up....we've had a better time going OUT for Turkey dinner and really enjoying the day, than for me to spend the entire day (or consecutive days) cooking to excess for 3 people. The one thing I do miss is the leftovers, so that is a toss up.

My dilemma? Not knowing how Dave is going to feel come Thursday, 2 days after surgery and maybe he won't want to get in the car and drive anywhere, so do I run out today and buy a back-up turkey? LOL! If that is the case, I should just plan on doing a low-key turkey dinner here, just PLAN it and do it.

Dave has lost 40 lbs. I've lost 30. We are in no way wanting to over do food in any shape or form, and the thought of making a big meal just does NOT turn me on. So if I do, it would be

*Turkey (no stuffing)
*mashed potatoes & gravy (Can't get by without them....)
*Baked yams (YUM)
*green salad
*fresh cranberry relish
*And a veggie of some sort....I'd opt for sauteed green beans at this point.

And yes, there would be pie, but I don't have to bake it. And I don't have to eat it.

As far as bread goes? If there has to be, whole wheat rolls can be baked or bought.

And that is about the simplest form of a Thanksgiving dinner that I can come up with, or have the desire for.

So..back to the pictures! I know I've shown great pics of inspirational quilts from my jaunts and haunts and I've got plenty of those to share, but instead, I thought I'd share some of the WEIRDER side of things you can find when traipsing through antique malls!!

You never know what you are going to find when you round a corner in a place with many booths, and this one really brought out the weird! Somewhere in PA..I don't remember which town or location this was but it set us off to laughing til we almost lost control!



Someone....had taken dolly parts, and assembled them with miscellaneous cans and tins and jello molds and all sorts of pieces and items. You wanna talk WEIRD?! It was like walking into that movie "Chuckie"....This stuff gave me the creeps! LOL!



How bout this little guy?! We just could not "GET" what it was supposed to be about..hmmm! It's like the little tin man in training? I suppose you "COULD" set him on your kitchen counter or on top of your fridge? :cÞ



THIS ONE?! I'm not sure if it is supposed to BE a functioning oil lamp or what. Opinions? All I could think of is when my brothers used to pull the arms, legs and heads off of my dolls and I was left with trying to find a way to put them back together. This is just plain weird..LOL! And SHE has no legs....just an oil lamp bottom set in a basin? She was sporting a price tag of $125.00 I'm not sure if that is a deal or a steal!



We rounded another corner and came face-to-face full front and center with two headless male mannequins sporting nothing but throw-rug togas! Oh yeah, more hilarious laughter, had to take a picture, and make a bee-line to get OUT of there!

There were more delicious finds of the quilt-variety, and I'll show those to you next post. I just chose to go through these today for a good laugh.

So today's to-do list involves copious amounts of filling mail order, doing the grocery shopping, a bank run, a post office drop off, I'd like to get to the gym, but I'm feeling unmotivated (but would probably do good if I could just GO!) and other things.

I've unpacked the car. I'm putting stuff away...I'm going through the motions...but I really want to get back to sewing on my pineapples!

In fact, I just got off the phone with a lady who called to ask if the pattern was available yet! LOLOL!!!! I just laughed and said, no, it is a project in progress, and the quilt has to be finished first. She said "Oh! Well get on it then, I'm ready!" Thanks for the laugh, whoever you are! I needed that call and it came at the right moment!

Part 1 PDF

SO, nothing is perfect as you are all sure to let me know!

There seems to be a typo/file issue with the pdf printer friendly version of part one and some of you can't open it. I can't fix it remotely from Maryland...until I get home and fix it, you'll just have to deal with what is in the previous blog post. Sorry about that!

I couldn't check everything as thoroughly when setting a post to send later....I couldn't make it go live to double check. But I'll fix it...just give me time! I'm driving home tomorrow and will get home tomorrow night. I'll see what I can do Monday to get that printer-friendly version more user friendly. Those of you who are having trouble, please be sure you have adobe reader installed and updated as well.



I'm having a great time at retreat, the ladies of the Southern Comforters guild have been fabulous!

My little pile of pineapple blocks is growing, my bucket of scraps is NOT going down as people keep doing a "drive by" to drop their cast offs into my bucket! But it is so fun....

I took this pic after our lunch break today. The retreat place is right on the West River, and I love looking out the window and seeing the boats moored there...Beautiful blue sky, lots of sunshine. At one point I didn't know whether I wanted to be in sewing, or out taking a walk and soaking up some vitamin D! (The sewing won out...)

Several of the ladies are also playing along on the mystery, and it was awesome to watch them making their strip sets and cutting them into units for part 1. I love seeing what everyone has chosen to use!

Playing Hookey!

That would be ME!

I spent yesterday traipsing around Pennsylvania with Lois, digging through antique malls!

Can you believe that we didn't even hit a SINGLE quilt shop? NADDA-ONE! But Oh, the lovely antique textiles were petted, fondled, appreciated (okay, some were hysterically laughed at!) and SOME...are coming home!

You'll have to bear with me...There isn't room (OR LIGHT!) to get pics of what I bought in this hotel room...but I know you will love my finds if you can just wait a couple days for me to get a good way to get them photographed!

I did, however, bring you some eye candy!



Look at this lovely Sugar Loaf type quilt with the great red setting triangles! This quilt was a "display only" and it must have served its purpose because we made a beeline for it. :c)




It must have been our lucky day because we found blocks and textiles everywhere. Even Lois said it was unusual to find such a bounty!



This was an antique mall in Strausburg, PA and there were lovely things around each and every corner! I just love the simple designs of these blocks, and the very very VERY Pennsylvania Dutch fabrics and colors. Yummy!



Oh I love the rusty-madder/pumpkin color of this album quilt! And it was in such GOOD condition!



Yummy reds were everywhere...this log cabin was wonderfully quilted! And what you see in the left of the pic was a HUGE spinning wheel, I couldn't get a good shot without that wheel being there!



Close up of the wonderful late 1800s fabrics!

There are more pics to show...but if I post them all here now, you'll be scrolling forever, so I'll save some for a rainy day!

Today I left Bel Air, MD..and drove down to Annapolis! I went to the visitor's center and signed myself up for a 2.5 hour walking tour, and it was the best choice I could have made! My guide was fabulous, all kinds of historical knowledge and walking these historic streets and thinking...Wow...George Washington really was here....two signers of the declaration of Independence attended this church, seeing the other buildings, and having the awesome opportunity to stroll across the grounds of the Naval Academy, wander through the naval academy museum, walk down on the water front, have a wonderful lunch at the coolest diner ever (I had a hot pastrami on rye and a bowl of Maryland crab soup! Mmmm!) was just....I can't put it into words!

I'm now writing to you from Cambridge, MD...I have plans tomorrow to do some more sight seeing here, and in St Michaels, and perhaps on into Easton if there is time. The Southern Comforter's retreat doesn't start until 3pm, so there is a nice opportunity for me to do some more wandering and browsing.

Yesterday and today have been total medicine for my soul. You know, the internet does strange things. Blog reading and email lists and forums and facebook and all a sundry make us think we "KNOW" people. I'm going through a bit of a difficult time trying to find balance with how much of "ME" to put out there. No matter what you think you know about me ((or anyone else for that matter)), just know there is an awful lot that isn't said. That goes for any of us.

A couple weeks ago, a blogger that I had been reading for a while took her own life.

It's sad. It's senseless. It has made it really hard for me to try to be chatty on superficial things. And I don't know the story. All I knew is I had followed her blog, and then for a long time there was no update, and it was from someone else that I found out what happened, but not really what happened. I don't know why she did what she did or how or anything. It feels surreal that she is gone. I couldn't have stopped it, and by her blog you would have never have seen it coming. She was engaged to be married to a great guy...she loved her dog and posted about her doggie adventures all the time. Life seemed to be good, so what happened? I'll never know. There is no way to find out, and I think I'm not supposed to find out. Why are we so enthralled with the details of someone else's life? I'm just sad. She was a beautiful person, and no matter how public her blog was, evidently she was suffering behind the scenes and it has just made me think so much. What could have been different?



So...no matter how perfect someone's life looks like on the outside, we've all got our hurts and challenges and struggles on the inside. I love this pic. I think it's a good thing to remember especially through the upcoming holidays. Be Kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle~~ Plato.

Quilt stolen at Festival

I'm sharing this post because I think it is important to get the word out there! I hate hearing of stolen quilts, and this just puts all kinds of knots in my stomach. SHAME on whoever would do this! I hope they can get this quilt back...it's a beauty for sure.

Read the original post that caught my attention here below:

Quilt stolen at Festival

Let's all help get the word out!!

Maryland Road Trip!

So here I am in Edgewood, MD, kind of half way between Churchville where my workshops are, and Bel Air, where the guild meeting and my lecture was last night. I'm tucked in all cozy, and though yesterday was crazy busy with a workshop that ended at 3, and a dinner that started at 5 and a guild meeting that started at 7, getting me home about 9:30, all is good!

Before I left NC on Sunday, there had been a few emails flying back and forth that a group I've met with before was also having their retreat this coming weekend, just a couple days after I finish here in Bel Air!

So, just to be prepared....I packed a couple extra projects ;c) One must be prepared, you know? I will be retreating with the Southern Comforters of Bowie, MD this coming weekend! They have their retreat at the West River UMC Church camp which overlooks the river and is just lovely. I'm looking forward to some sew time and me time! ((Thanks for letting me crash the retreat, girls!! LOL!))

The driving up here was beautiful...in NC and Virginia, the colors were still radiant and I was amazed at how everything glowed against a crystal blue sky and a warm autumn sun. Temps were about 70! This is so nice for November!

I stopped in Richmond at the Fine Arts Museum to see the Winterthur collection. Oh man...there was one quilt that blew my mind! My pics aren't great..but...I couldn't help myself!



I just fell in LOVE with this quilt!



AUUUGHHH!! I could have stood there for hours and studied it!



So much work and perseverance! There were other delicious quilts too...several white on white beauties that really showed needlework skill. I've never seen stitches so tiny. I wish I could just sit and watch someone sew like that..see how they managed it. I know I try to get my stitches small and even, but maybe my hands are just too big? Hand quilting is like your own signature, you might not quilt like your neighbor...but I wish I could quilt like that!



The museum gift shop had this book for $40, but I also had my phone with my amazon app, and found it was only $26.00 on amazon with free shipping....so...I promptly ordered it from amazon, and it will be waiting for me when I get home. There is a huge difference between $26 and $40. A girl has to draw the line somewhere! I can't wait to read it and find out more about the quiltmakers!

I've been set up in my hotel room, but other than Sunday night ((I arrived about 5pm and had a few hours before bed)) I haven't had much time to sit and sew! But I've sewn a few pineapples while watching Law & Order and Bones :cD



I brought the janome because I am paper piecing and I need NEED the thread cutter feature for these projects, so because I was driving, the big beast came along! I'm glad I also brought my not-quite-ott-light because the lighting in hotels is dim at best!



This is the bin of crumbs I am working with! It's chock full of goodies and snippets....and I also found myself digging through people's cast offs and trimmings at yesterday's Sisters Choice workshop! It's amazing how far those little corner triangles can go with these blocks, and the more variety the better!

I better run or I'll be late for today's crumbs workshop!