Blogging, Near Philadelphia

Blest Be the Ties

2012-01-25T10:20:00.000-05:00

The quilt I've been thinking of as "Rogues' Gallery" has made it to flimsy status. I got the last of the columns put together on Monday and affixed the border on Tuesday. Need to get to the LQS for batt and wide white muslin for backing, I think.

I'm planning to tie it, most likely using DMC white floss on the main part of the quilt and blue on the border (photo of the flimsy to come soon). I haven't tied a quilt in a while. Marsha showed me a way to tie so that there are little "Xs" on the fact of the quilt with the knot on the back. I tied one quilt that way and liked how it looked. Recently I've tied with DMC perle, but feel like the knots are more prone to come untied than with the regular floss.

No, that's not my floss box. It is from the internet. Mine used to look like that, back when I was doing counted cross-stitch. No longer . . . .

What do you use to tie quilts? And do you put the knots on the front or the back? Anything else to share on the topic?

Oh, Washington Post! You've Made My Day!

2012-01-22T16:40:00.002-05:00

Business As Usual

2012-01-21T16:52:00.000-05:00

Contrary to what you may be thinking, I have not forsaken quilting. It's been one of those weeks where I had to be out every single night for one thing or another, and I had precious little time to sew.

A while back I had a vivid dream that I'd made a quilt for a couple that I know and was taking it to them. The dream was very clear, so as soon as I could I began their quilt. I have twenty blocks made and have begun the process of putting the columns together, not my favorite part of making a quilt. I have border fabric selected and I believe I'm going to tie this quilt with white DMC. I'd love to get it finished and delivered to the recipients within the next couple of weeks. However, this Wednesday I'm picking up two toddler quilts from the machinist and getting them bound will take priority.

Woke up to sleety snow with a small accumulation this morning. It is pretty and perhaps a little slippery in spots. I made a yummy baked oatmeal with blueberries and bananas and honey to start the day and after while we ventured out to the food store. The rest of the day I've been sewing and catching up on laundry. Nice.

Hey, Janet -- click on the picture to make it bigger and look at the upper right corner block to see someone familiar. That's all for now.

Saki-rilege

2012-01-20T09:27:00.003-05:00

Joe's birthday. Orchestra tickets. Dinner at a favorite restaurant with dear friends. Had the makings of a perfect evening. When I made the reservation, I mentioned the birthday; the reservationist said she would make a note of it and have a candle put in his dessert. There was practically no traffic and we arrived downtown in good spirits, eager for a delicious meal and a lovely concert.

When the hostess showed us to our table (I could see that Maggie had already arrived), before I could even sit down and while I was still greeting my friend, a short, bustling and imperious waiter asked me what I wanted to drink. I told him I thought I'd like to sit down before thinking about that. He wasn't pleased. The waiter (I found out later that his name is Saki) was standing near me when we placed our drink orders, and I quietly mentioned to him that Joe was the person who should receive the candle (I know you can see where this is going, but indulge me because there's more). Maggie whispered that she had also reminded him that Joe was to have the candle.

Three of us opted for the pre-theatre menu, while Frank skipped the appetizer and ordered a dish from the regular menu. The first course arrived quickly and the calamari was delicious. The restaurant was busier than usual, and there was ~~an interminable~~ a long wait for the main course and eventually we were were supplied with two "complimentary" orders of bread. I find this practice a bit annoying, when restaurants think we might prefer to fill up on bread and not have room for what we had ordered. Nonethless, my lamb shank, when it finally came, was one of the best things I've ever eaten in our many times at Estia.

The entrees cleared away, immediately came the three desserts (none with a candle, but you knew this already) and Frank was never invited to order dessert. When we called the hurrying, officious waiter back, he actually scolded my friend for not ordering dessert, though he'd never been given the opportunity! Saki was so unpleasant when Frank wanted the same little dessert that the rest of us had, claiming that it was available only as part of the fixed price menu. I was furious and this disrespectful treatment and said to him, "You were reminded twice that my husband was to have a birthday candle in his dessert, but you didn't do it." He glared at me and pulled himself up to his rather unimpressive full stature and snapped at me, "I have arranged to do something very special for him! But you didn't give me a chance!" Then, of course, to cover his ostentatious lie, when he finally brought Frank's dessert, he came with a piece of candled cake for Joe. Oh, it was a tasty enough treat, but after a full three-course dinner including all of that complimentary bread, it was, actually, too little too late. I was glad that someone else was handling payment of the bill, because had it been up to me, I would have given Saki exactly two cents.

Don't be put off by my experience, friends. Go to Estia. You'll love the setting, the slide show of Grecian scenes in the lounge, the opulent restrooms, everything on the menu. Just be sure you don't sit in Saki's section.

MLK Day 2012

2012-01-17T12:32:00.000-05:00

The school where I work has offered service opportunities on MLK Day for several years. Up until this year, I didn't participate. I stayed home in the morning and slept in and then sewed. Then I'd meet Honna for lunch and while at the mall stop at the bath gel store where there was always a sale and pick up a year's supply of raspberry vanilla. The stores would have lots of things on sale, and usually I'd get Himself a couple pair of boxer shorts and myself some knee-highs. And then I'd come home and sew. This year, however, I chose to participate. And still got to sleep in and do all of the other things!

After dozing an hour later than usual, I went off to school. We gathered at the Meeting House first, for about 40 minutes and then were sent off to our assignments (there were about a dozen options and we had to preregister). I'd been told I was going to be making dinner and filling meal trays for Aid for Friends, so I took my apron along.

There were perhaps 40 people in the school cafeteria and somebody had done some very thoughtful organizing. There were stations for snapping the ends off of fresh green beans. There were tables for writing out menu sheets and making greeting cards to accompany the meals. Some people who could be trusted with sharp implements were assigned to slicing mushrooms; others to chopping parlsey. I snapped green beans for a while and then wandered over to one of the tables. After my hand got tired of copying the menu (chicken and noodles with mushroom gravy, green beans, peach crisp), I wandered into the kitchen where I was enthusiastically greeted (apparently the apron was giving me credibility) and put in charge of the dessert makers. I had a small tribe of middle school girls and boys and we measured ingredients, stirred liquids, and ultimately with hands made the crumbly good stuff that goes atop the peaches. I had some other folks draining canned cut-up fruit and putting it into huge pans. Then, of course, we had the fun of spreading the crumbly and carefully getting the pans over to the oven! The kids were enthusiastic and cheerful. One fellow, about 13 years old and very tall, washed dishes for literally more than an hour and never complained or asked to be relieved. I had a ball and couldn't for the life of me figure out why I'd never come before.

I had to leave at noon (we were nearly done covering the trays), though, to meet Honna for lunch. I was bubbling to her about my morning as she patiently waited. Got the raspberry vanilla shower gel (and some warm vanilla sugar to try, too) and learned that my store no longer carries the knee-highs. And then came home to sew.

And eagerly look forward to next year's Day of Service. Maybe Honna will come too.

I Survived

2012-01-14T19:52:00.000-05:00

Yup. I survived the pilgrimage to the KoPM. Survived and then some. Despite the thick traffic on Mall Blvd., there was plenty of space in the parking garage on the bottom level. We knew how to get through the first building to the crosswalk to the second, and upon arriving at the second, were greeted by a pleasant soul wearing an untimely Santa Claus Hat with his guard uniform, and he asked if he could help us. He provided simple directions to the Apple Store. That place was populated by three bazillion folks surprisingly of various ages (i.e., we weren't the only bewildered geezers), and about 10% were wearing blue employee shirts. We found the iPad cover and also got a cleaning kit and quickly we were on our way back to the first building; Santa Claus told us on our way out that our next destination was on the top floor. And, indeed it was. While I went in to exchange the slippers (and yes, they had the correct size and the clerk and guard were cheerful and pleasant), Joe went elsewhere to begin another errand. I then went on to find the Rockport store all on my own and again, was greeted by a charming, knowledgeable and energetic person. This one was named Christine and she helped me find brown shoes to wear with dresses and black shoes to wear with pants, both of the things on my list. There was a sale in process: Buy two pair, save $50; buy three pair, save $100. I had Christine hold my two pair and went back to find Joe, who had said he needed shoes. And, behold, they had just what he needed and off we went to the food court for a scrumptious salad.

And then it was time to go back to the errand Joe had begun -- at the Verizon store. He'd bought us each an iPhone. Friends, you have to know what a leap this is for me. I've had a couple of different pay-as-you-go phones that each cost fewer than $25. I feel like I've been promoted! Because I'm [slightly] familiar with the iPad, learning this gizmo is not going to be so hard. It's very, very cute, with a little soft pink protective case and my very own data plan. As my sister said, "Welcome to the 21st Century!"

Possibly Last Blog Post

2012-01-14T10:51:00.001-05:00

Well, today's the day. About once every two or three years, usually in January, we venture out to King of Prussia, the site of "the largest mall on the East coast." I'm at the point where every two or three years is too much. I just loathe it. The hugeness of it is overwhelming. The traffic is terrifying. The parking is confusing and usually remote. I certainly couldn't go there alone. I feel like I should put my affairs in order before leaving the house. Just in case.

We have a total of three errands at KoPM: to get a cover for the new iPad at the Apple Store, to exchange my slippers at Brookstones, and to see if I can get some new shoes at Rockport. I doubt we'll have it in us to do any free style shopping/exploring.

I spent about half an hour this morning on the computer and phone trying to find out precisely where in this concrete jungle the three stores are located so that we can do the logistics of the visit. The website for the place refuses to list the "house numbers" for the various stores. Oh, they do provide a "mall map" but the type size is so miniscule that these eyes can't read it. I went to the iPad to see if I could blow it up (excellent phraseology here) but all I could find there was the map, no list of stores underneath. I even downloaded an app but it was even less helpful. Joe says the mall owners are deliberately obtuse; they want people to get so lost that they have to stop at some expensive place for fortification. I think that perhaps an Ativan before heading out is in order. (Why do I think I'm channeling Murr here?)

So, after phone calls to the three stores to get their locations (Plaza, Lower, near Neiman; Court, Upper, near Macy's; and Court, Upper, Near Bloomingdale's, respectively, just in case you should have the identical errand list), we're heading out as soon as Himself is showered and dressed.

I'm closing comments on this post. The last thing I need would be to return home (God willing) from the outing and find that twenty-two of your have directed me to a simple, easy-to-use site that answers my every question.

See you later. If I make it.

Scrap Talk

2012-01-13T09:32:00.000-05:00

Does it ever happen to you that you are pondering a concept, an issue, a possibility, just thinking about it and considering that when refined it might be fodder for a blog post, and all of a sudden you find that someone else (or several someone elses) has been doing the same pondering? That has happened to me, and it has happened again this morning.

What I'd been thinking about is scrappy quilts. There are some scrappy quilts that I love and some that I find ~~horrendous~~ not to my taste. I've noticed a movement to use up scraps and while this is surely something laudable, I think it can be carried too far. Thirties and Kaffes and daiwabo all together in one project. Makes my eyes blur and my head ache.

Last spring Bonnie Hunter was in town and did a workshop for a group of people I'd pulled together; her topic was letters, wonky stars, and crumb blocks, all made out of scraps. People loved it, and I learned a lot of new and different techniques. Bonnie's such a fabulous teacher, all hands-on, and I was tickled to finally learn the letters and the wonky stars. But the crumb blocks made me a bit twitchy! Putting all that stuff together, stuff that didn't go with each other, not just into one project but into one block. Oh dear. People were giggling at my nervousness. But I jumped in and found the process to be fun. I discovered that the completed blocks that I liked all had bits of one distinctive fabric that sort of unified them. Echoing in my ears were the words of the great Liza Lucy who once hollered out during a workshop, "Oh, Nancy, don't be so anal!"

I'm all for making use of scraps. No issue there. But the end product, for me, has to be pretty, has to have some sort of cohesion, kind of like the way my friend Helen takes scraps, sorts them by color, and then makes wee little montages of one color at a time. My current leader-ender is scrappy crumb blocks (see, I did buy into them!), but there is a theme, MAWL*.

So, anyway, getting back to the beginning, this morning as I was trawling the blogs, I came upon this post and knew, once again, that there is some sort of a collective consciousness out there. Julie's April barn is spectacular, but after you get done admiring it, scroll down to below "Elsewhere in the studio . . . " and come to her phrase for the year. Amen, Julie. Amen.

*More About Which Later
Oh, and BTW, that scrap picture at the top isn't mine. It's from Google images.

Bow Tie Check-In

2012-01-09T21:11:00.000-05:00

Sometime last summer, Bonnie Hunter became smitten with a quilt that featured wee little cheddar bow tie blocks. She and the people she was with thought it would be fun to issue some sort of a challenge to do cheddar bow ties as leader-enders for a while and see what happened. At least that's how my addled brain remembers it. As I recently said, I'm not one to jump onto a band wagon, but I kind of thought those little three-inch bow tie blocks were cute and I had a bunch of CW scraps left-over from another project so I started making double pink bow ties as leader-enders and kind of got to purring as I did. As I worked, I put them up on the wall and tried different arrangements and at some point knew exactly how to set them. I hadn't purchased any fabric so far, and when it was time for borders, I knew I had enough browns for the inside border and thought that doing it scrappy would relate to the center of the quilt itself. I did have to buy some fabric for the outer border -- I thought at that point it needed to be just one print, not scrappy.

I finished it tonight, coincident with Bonnie's request that bow tie-ers check in with a progress report. I love it, and am eager to get it to the machinist for quilting. It is going to a little girl who has undoubtedly begun to outgrow the infant quilt I made for her.

"See You at the Wedding!"

2012-01-09T19:56:00.000-05:00

Joe and I went to a party last night. It was a Meet and Greet for the families of two terrific people. My dear niece, after more than a dozen years of single parenthood, has met a wonderful man and became engaged a month ago.

We were eager to meet my niece's fiance. And to determine whether he is worthy of her. Suffice it to say that he passed our judgment with flying colors! A military man, soon to retire from active duty, he is articulate, warm, engaging (pun intended), and obviously in love. I don't know how long he has been a single parent, but he has two sweet children, younger than my niece's teenage daughters.

My sister held the party at her home -- the wedding is to be early in the spring, and she wanted the two families to meet. It was the finest event I've attended in years. Much of our family was present (alas, our sons and their families were unable to come up) and even more of his was able to come. They are a gregarious lot, conversational, funny, and interesting. We all marveled at the peculiar connections that the two families had -- it turned out that one of his aunts is someone we've met at our neighbors' New Year parties -- and as we moved in and out of conversations, relationships and names became blurred. But nobody cared. By the end of the evening, everyone was saying, "I'm still not sure who you are but I'm so happy to have met you!" and with great joy and enthusiasm, "See you soon! At the wedding!"

2012: First Finishes

2012-01-08T09:28:00.000-05:00

Late yesterday I had my first two finishes for the New Year. Polly's birthday is this week. She has just moved into a new apartment, alone, and I thought it would be nice for her birthday present to be something she could use in the new home. Since I haven't visited yet, I don't know her colors. But I think that an Amish-style something will go almost anywhere. I had some Cherrywood FQs that I had bought a few years ago that I'd never used, and chose three of them to make Polly a table runner and a pair of pot holders (of course!). They are bordered in Kona black. The pot holders are insulated, but the runner isn't. I had never sewn with Cherrywood before, and was amazed at how sheddy it is. I had wee wisps of fabric all over the place.

On Friday night I had a terrific dream! There is a party scheduled for this evening, to honor Abby's mom, who has just become engaged after many years as a single parent. My dream was about the party; it was well-attended and everyone was so happy. When I saw Abby, I reached into my handbag and pulled out a dark pink belt that I'd made for her as a surprise, and she was just delighted, putting it on immediately!

Clearly, I thought, this was a dream to make come true, so yesterday at Burkholder's I bought the fabric and when I came home, I made the belt, and it is all ready to go into my handbag, to surprise Abby when I see her later today.

Retail Therapy to Cure a Cold?

2012-01-07T19:48:00.000-05:00

A head cold that began on Tuesday night while we were at the movies seeing "War Horse" (save your money) settled in for real on Wednesday morning, putting me out of work and home at rest for three days. I slept and slept and slept and sipped peppermint tea and took assorted drugs and by Friday night believed that the worst of it had passed and I was, indeed, fit to participate in a fabric outing with the Executive Committee on Saturday.

I'm still collecting scraps of fabric with people for a crumbs project and was delighted to find nurses, chefs, and Elvis today and bought a FQ of each. I know at one point there was a line of fabric with Scarlett and Rhett on it and I'd love to get some scraps of that -- if anyone has any of it -- or any other distinctive fabrics with people including The Grinch -- and would like to trade for scraps of the above, Alice, or some other "peopley" fabrics, please write and we'll see if we can do business together. Seriously.

After a satisfying lunch at TDFKAZ, the four of us went to indulge in the 30% off sale at Burkholders and I bought the people shown above and the fabrics to the left. To my credit, I did not buy anything I did not need to complete a project -- the Kona bone will be for Brian and Erin's quilt, the pink for the brown and pink bowties, the blue as a binding and also the red on brown (isn't it gorgeous!) and the two pink prints will be made into belts for a couple of people. In fact, one has already been made and will be gifted tomorrow. We apparently charmed the big guy in suspenders at Burkholder's, because each of us found an extra bit of fabric or a free pattern in our bag upon leaving! The only thing on my list that I didn't find there was D-rings for the belts, but I was able to pick them up at Sauder's.

I always have a wonderful time with Judy, Helen, and Honna, and today was no exception. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch (in particular the 7-layer cake with four forks), laughed a lot, sang a little, and pondered Great Issues, even reaching some conclusions.

And now it is time for some hand-binding (photos tomorrow, perhaps) of a table runner gift for a friend, in front of a Netflix with Himself. And perhaps a bit more peppermint tea. Life is lovely.

Starry Eyed

2012-01-05T19:16:00.000-05:00

I was interested to read the comments yesterday about why people do [and in some cases do not] participate in mystery quilts and quilt-alongs. It all made sense to me. We do what works for us.

I don't believe I've ever directly copied another quilt, but goodness knows that I've been inspired by so many projects I've seen on the blogs. Take the one to the left, for example. I ran into the picture on Thelma's blog and just loved it. But that fabric isn't to my particular taste. And the size of the blocks 16" doesn't work for me. Thelma is going to make the blocks bigger (18"); I'm going to make mine smaller (12" finished). Oh, and I'm not going to follow the directions in the link -- I know there is a pattern somewhere in Around The Block for that particular star and I'd prefer the points to be regular rather than wonky. So I'm inspired by this quilt that Thelma shared, but am making my version, much the way dear Nicole often does (she's back, by the way -- why not go pay her a visit?).

Who will this quilt be for? I knew you'd ask. There is a young couple at school; I've watched their relationship start and grow for several years. They are the sweetest kids and they got engaged last summer. When I learned recently that they had selected for their wedding date the precise date of Joe's and my 45th anniversary, I knew they were quiltworthy. And -- wouldn't you know -- they both like William Morris! So, I've got a couple of things in the works that need finishing up, and then I'm eager to adapt "Starry Eyed" (what a great name) for Brian and Erin.

Quilt Projects and Musings, Early January 2012

2012-01-04T17:11:00.000-05:00

Got a couple of things going on down at the design wall. One is a Leader Ender and the other a Real Project but I'll be dipped if I can tell you which is which!

Bonnie Hunter last summer casually suggested bowtie leader-enders might be a good thing to be doing and although I'm not one to jump on quilting bandwagons, I pretty much agreed. Bonnie was doing cheddar; I had gobs of pink and brown left from another project, and promptly began cutting. My bowties are made from 2" and 1-1/4" squares and finish nice and small. You can see that I've begun to sew the little blocks together; my quilt center will be 9 x 9 bowties.

Because crumbs didn't get out of my system with Pictures At An Exhibition, I'm making more of them; these will finish at 6" rather than 4" and each one has a person or an animal among the bits and pieces. Talk about addictive! I'm going to need a couple of off-to-college quilts in another year and a half, and I'm convinced that these crumb blocks will be just the thing.

Speaking of bandwagons, I've been thinking lately about people who participate in quilt-alongs and in mystery quilt projects. I've never done either of those things and I've sorted out the reasons why:

(a) I more than enough ideas for quilts I already want to make!
(b) I don't want to be doing the same project that a bazillion other people are doing.
(c) I can't imagine going out to buy fabric for a mystery quilt -- that I wouldn't know how it was going to turn out -- talk about a possible expensive mistake -- and I don't have a huge stash of yardage.
(d) I don't want to invest time and fabric in a project without knowing what it is going to be.
(e) So far, I haven't wanted to make an exact copy of another quilt.

All of that being said, I'm fascinated by the number of quilters who do get involved in quiltalongs and mysteries and enjoy seeing the various outcomes. I'd be interested to hear the reasons (if there are any!) that people choose to participate in these activities.

Home sick today with a head cold, I spent a couple of hours sewing, but more time reading (the current book club selection, Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler which so far I'd give about 5 stars) and sleeping. My hunch is that I'm going to be here another day but if staying home from work in any way prevents this from morphing into bronchitis, so much the better.

Christmas, 2012

2012-01-01T20:09:00.001-05:00

We're just home from a week of traveling. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at home, going to church, visiting family and neighbors, entertaining Sherry and her family for Christmas Dinner, giving and receiving gifts.

Here's a picture of the wonderfulness that I received from this year's SSCS swap -- I'm a charter member of this group and each year it is wonderful. I was assigned to make goodies for someone on a different continent; I made her a tote bag and a hand-crafted ornament, but I've not heard back from her whether she liked them. My name was given to dear Annette in Oz, and she sent me the darling stocking that held the blue FQ, the wee zip-tote, and the Australian birds calendar. The main gift that she made for me was just amazing -- she made a block tote out of lovely CW fabric appliqued in a William Morris-like motif! I was so delighted with Annette's thoughtfulness.

Bright and early on the 26th, Joe, Blackberry, and I left home to visit Richmond, Virginia. We had to make a stop at the local camera shop -- Joe had given me a wonderful new digital camera but it had a bit of a problem that we needed to have fixed. That took us some time, but soon enough we were on our way and we arrived in Richmond just it time to sit down to a delicious pasta dish Anastasia had made.

I couldn't wait to try out my new camera and this wonderful subject, Nate, was readily available! We spent two nights staying at a motel that is very close to Tom and Anastasia's home. It is a bare bones kind of place, but for $49 per night, we had a clean, well-heated room, excellent mattresses, comfy pillows, a fine shower, a free breakfast that we did not indulge in, and permission to have the dog stay! One morning Joe helped Tom do install a new fixture in the powder room and the second morning they did some work under the kitchen sink. Anastasia took me up to Quilting Adventures, where I'm a faithful but infrequent customer, and I bought some FQs and a couple of yards of "finish the bolt sale" Kona Snow.

We arrived home on Wednesday evening and on Friday afternoon we set south again, this time to Alexandria where Sherry and family had already arrived to spend New Year's with Andrew and his family. Another most photogenic subject, Eli, awaited me.

We did presents again, and of course there was more eating and merriment. Andrew's guest quarters were filled by Sherry's family, so Joe and I used our Holiday Inn points to stay at a nearby hotel. It was more grand that most Holiday Inns and for some reason, we were upgraded to a suite! That was kind of fun. We received a complimentary breakfast one day but took most of our meals with the family.

One afternoon we went to the Botannical Garden to see the trains exhibit, which was really very nice, and then wandered through several of the other exhibits. There were so many of us that we had to caravan in two vehicles, and the kids were all such good travelers.

We thought about going to see the National Christmas Tree and the MLK Memorial, but parking was an issue and some of our personnel were feeling a bit under the weather, so we elected to go home and some of us went over to run around in the park instead.

One night we went down to Old Town for dinner and after the meal visited a shop or two and then walked back to our cars by way of the marina. I enjoyed trying out my new camera again.

Another night we went out to view some rather ostentatious Christmas decorations. I forgot to take my camera, but Joe had his, and I'll share pics in another post.

So here we are at the start of a new year, having had a wonderful week with our children. I'm fortunate to have another day before I need to return to work.

I wish my readers much happiness and only good, good things in 2012!

Pinning Away Near Philadelphia

2011-12-29T19:39:00.001-05:00

I'm well aware that I've been absent the Blog scene this past week. Partly Christmas and the aftermath are to blame. Partly the tension across my shoulders and upper back are to blame. Partly a return to Bernina with yet more pot holders and now some new crumb blocks a la Pictures at an Exhibition are also to blame. And so is Pinterest.

Y'all know I'm not one to rush into the latest craze. I held out for quite some time before giving in to French General Rouenneries. We never bought an 8-track, and were late to the party for cassette tapes. I still don't have a "real" cell phone (though I think that's about to change). I was late to get into email and blogging. So it is little wonder that I'm just now getting around to the new(est?) time gobbler, Pinterest.

Oh, my, is it fun. Quilty and gorgeous grandchild content to resume before too long.

Pot Holders in Remission

2011-12-24T15:46:00.000-05:00

My pot holder making frenzy seems to have concluded for a bit. I had a wonderful week and a half making pot holders, trying several methods of finishing them. The method I liked the best was to measure the finished top and add two inches in width and two inches in length and cut a piece of backing fabric this size. Centering the top and layers of insulated batting, I pinned them in place and then double folded the inch hang-over and hand stitched the binding in place. Yes, this took longer than the other methods, but I really liked the way they finished. We eat our breakfasts at the island in the kitchen, and have taken to keeping our pills there so we can remember to take them. I had put a little metal tray there to hold all of those bottles and today decided we deserved something better. A bunch of William Morris blue scraps went together to make a 9 x 11 mat (regular batting, not the insulated type was used) and I'm pleased with the result.

I made four pot holders like this one and gave two of them away. The fabric was left over from some Christmas stocking I'd made to hold small gifts and since I've seldom met a Log Cabin that I didn't like, I thought that would be a nice change from the random scrappy crumb batiks. The two that I kept may be used as pot holders at some point, but for now, they are nice insulated mats on the table -- one for the pineapple stuffing and the other for the scalloped cheesy potatoes.

This mat, made with more William Morris, is also on the table at present, though I don't have another hot-hot dish planned. I thought it looked pretty there with the cyclamen that someone gave me earlier in the week.

So my Christmas sewing is finished. I gave one quilt as a gift and have another to give tomorrow. A wedding gift quilt is in the binding stage in the living room.

Looking ahead, a friend has a birthday coming up and I think an apron is in order. With a pair of matching pot holders.

Thinking briefly about political correctness in holiday greetings, and certainly not wanting to offend a sensitive non-believer by saying "Merry Christmas," I'm remembering what the angels said to the shepherds, and think no one could be offended by their message. So to all of my readers, whatever your faith tradition might be -- if you even have a faith tradition -- "Peace on earth; good will to mankind."

With love,

The Birds

2011-12-23T14:42:00.001-05:00

An important part of Christmas for me since I've become a blogger is to publish my friend Frank's poem that he shared with me many years ago. I've shared it each year with my readers, and -- God willing -- I will do it again next year, and the next and the next.

If you like Frank's writing, you can read more of it by going to the link in my sidebar, Carolina Singerman.

THE BIRDS

IT WASN'T THAT HE DIDN'T LIKE CHRISTMAS

HE ENJOYED THE HOLIDAY FUN

ALL THE BRIGHT COLORS AND SUDDEN GOOD WILL

AND THE CHILDREN'S HAPPY SUSPENSE

BUT HE COULDN'T BELIEVE IN CHRISTMAS

IN THE INCARNATION I MEAN

GOD LIVING A MAN-LIFE LIKE HIS? WHAT FOR?

IT JUST DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO HIM

HE SAT BY THE FIRE

WARM IN HIS HOME

ON CHRISTMAS EVE ALONE

THE FAMILY GONE OFF TO MIDNIGHT MASS

HE HEARD A THUMP AT THE WINDOW

AND THEN ANOTHER

SOME MISCHIEF BOY OUT FOR FUN HE THOUGHT

HE WENT TO THE WINDOW TO CHASE HIM WITH A GLANCE

BUT FOUND NO BOY

BUT A SPARROW FLOCK

LURED BY THE LIGHT AND SIGHT OF WARMTH

HAD TRIED TO COME THROUGH HIS WINDOW

THEY HUDDLED NOW IN THE SNOW

WITH NO PLACE TO GO

AND HE FELT COMPASSION FOR THEM

HE PUT ON HIS BOOTS AND JACKET AND SCARF

AND OUT HE WENT TO OPEN THE GARAGE

TO GIVE THEM SHELTER

BUT THEY WOULD NOT COME

SO HE TURNED ON THE LIGHT

BUT THEY WOULD NOT COME

HE WENT AND GOT BREAD

AND THREW IT MANNA LIKE UPON THE SNOW

A PATH TO FOLLOW

BUT THEY WOULD NOT COME

HE TRIED TO HERD THEM IN

SHOUTING AND WAVING HIS ARMS

BUT THEY WOULD NOT COME

I'M SCARING THEM HE THOUGHT

I'M SO BIG COMPARED TO THEM

AND DIFFERENT

IF BUT FOR A MOMENT I COULD BE A SPARROW

I COULD LEAD THEM THROUGH THE DOOR

I COULD LEAD THEM THROUGH.....THE DOOR

FRANK A. VOLLMER

Out of Iraq

2011-12-21T10:21:00.000-05:00

Ever since I heard that the last U.S. troops had left Iraq, I wanted to write a blog post. But nothing came. Words failed me. I thought Chez might take a stab at it; in fact, I was counting on him to. But he's got other stuff going on so I'm cutting him a break.

I'm ancient enough to remember when the nation held a moment of revernce with only church bells breaking the silence when the Vietnam War ended. But there's been no word of anything like that this time.

Then, this morning, I read Tom's post (December 21: "Out of Iraq") and realized that I don't need to write my post after all. Tom's done it. And done it good.

There's nothing more to say.

Vindicated!

2011-12-19T12:44:00.000-05:00

The people in this picture are jumping with joy. Which is how I felt yesterday when I heard the news. Nine months ago, I wrote this sad post when I learned that the pastor of the Roman Catholic church in our town had been placed on administrative leave pending investigation and resolution of An Accusation. The man isn't my own pastor, but I honestly could not have been sadder if he had been.

And now it is [nearly] over. The pastor's ordeal reached the stage of depositions, and the accuser postponed and postponed and finally came to court and the case was thrown out. Just like that. He's not back in his parish yet; apparently it will take a bit of time for the Archdiocese to process paperwork (?). But his name has been cleared and it is a joyful day not just for the Roman Catholics of Near Philadelphia, but for our whole little town.

If anyone calls for dancing in the streets, by golly, count me in!

Miss Myers

2011-12-16T08:43:00.001-05:00

On reading the comments from yesterday's post, I was surprised to learn that several of my readers also "speak" Gregg shorthand. I wonder if they've found it as useful as I have over the years.

When my children were little, I used to buy their Christmas presents and wrap them immediately to prevent snooping. So that I didn't forget what was inside each package, I'd write the contents in shorthand on the package tag. It drove the kids crazy; they'd try to get my sister (another shorthander) to tell them what it said.

I use my shorthand at work, of course, and at meetings I attend for church. I write my gift list in shorthand so that if my family finds it, their surprises won't be spoiled.

Here's my best shorthand story: I was spending a night as the on-call chaplain at our local hospital. The beeper was being very well-behaved and it seemed I was in for a quiet evening. I stopped by the family lounge, where people wait for news of someone in surgery. A small gathering there looked anxious, so I approached them. It seemed that their person had been in surgery far longer than they had anticipated; they had had no word, and were very worried. I offered to check into it. I went to the OR suite and checked in at the main desk; someone there was able to give me a progress report about the patient, giving me a great many details which I wrote down on the little notepad I carried. I was glad to be able to take good news to the waiting family.

Since it was still pretty quiet, after doing the visits I'd been requested to handle, I sat down with the patient census to see if there were any recognizable names. There were a couple of patients who came in and out fairly regularly, and I liked to check on them. And, of course, I would want to visit people from my church or neighborhood. Up popped a name I recognized immediately, a name I'd not thought of for thirty-five years: My high school shorthand teacher.

I went up to her room and she looked up expectantly. She was alone. "Miss Myers?" I began. "I don't know if you remember me." She looked me over and she did. She'd been my homeroom teacher as well as shorthand, so I'd been with her for three full years. We settled in for a visit; she wanted to know about my life and I wanted to know about hers. She had been retired for some time; her brothers and sisters were all gone. She lived in a retirement community and this was the first time for her to be hospitalized. It was all overwhelming. The next day would bring surgery for her breast cancer. She was terrified. She was thinking through what her life had meant.

I spent a long time with her, listening, reassuring, praying, listening some more. As I got up to leave she stopped me asking, "Nancy, do you ever use your shorthand?" "Of course I do!" I assured her, pulling the pad from my jacket pocket. "In fact, I used it just before I came up to see you!" I showed her the notes I'd made at the OR desk and her sweet anxious face lit up. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I can read every word!"

PS: What's Linus saying? "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night."

Becoming Extinct

2011-12-15T15:45:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week someone gave me a gift of an English-to-Swedish phrase book. For a tiny volume, it is amazingly complete, covering every possible emergency or need, all the way down to "I need a typewriter ribbon, please." It got me to wondering how many shop clerks, Swedish or otherwise, know what a typewriter ribbon is.

Which led me to pondering other things that I used to use all the time that are no more, things like camera film, reel-to-reel tape, phonograph records and, to a certain extent, fountain pens.

And this, of course, got me to realizing once again that I'm acquainted with only two other people who know Gregg shorthand. It isn't even taught anymore. Neither is cursive writing, I understand, but that is a subject for another ~~rant~~ time.

For many years I made my living as a typist of dissertations for Ph.D. students at a big university. It was fascinating work; I learned intricate details of narrow subjects indeed, and took particular satisfaction in the setting up of the footnotes and bibliography. I used #20 bond paper, an electric typewriter, and changed my ribbon frequently. I could make an imperceptible erasure. I loved meeting the students and making their research work beautiful. Now word processing programs, I believe, have pretty much made that occupation obsolete.

Another job I held for a long time was medical transcriptionist. Doctors in hospitals would dictate their reports into casette tape recording machines, the transcription service/middle man would pick up the tapes, log them in, and deliver them to the homes of the transcriptionists. I'd have 24 hours to get my tapes transcribed and have the work ready for pick up. Again, I learned a lot of very peculiar, specialized terminology and information. Now casette tapes are very difficult to find, and voice-activated software produces the discharge summaries and operative reports. Medical transcriptionists are no more; they are being replaced by transcript editors who read the magically-produced reports and check for context errors.

It's an odd feeling, this becoming extinct. I find myself wondering what other commonplace items and experiences will become obsolete in my lifetime.

So it is a bit comforting to imagine that there is an area in Dalarna, Sarna, perhaps, or Rattvik, that is so rural and behind-the-times that someone like me would feel right at home. I'd see if I could still find my old IBM Selectric and wander into the local stationer's shop and most politely request a Färgband till skrivmaskin. And then I'd get to typing.

Fun Fun Fun

2011-12-13T08:41:00.000-05:00

I thought I had a meeting to go to, and was a bit grumpy about it -- I've been out so many nights lately and really needed some time at home to get reacquainted with Bernina who has been pretty much abandoned for the past couple of weeks. Fortunately, my wonderful husband, who is much better about calendar accuracy than I am, realized that my meeting is next Monday; hence, I was able to spend my evening sewing.

I'd been wanting to make some pot holders out of scraps from Good Morning Starshine (who is at the machinest presently and will be home and ready to bind this weekend!). I'd already gone to the LQS to buy the special insulated batting needed for pot holders, and was just itching to get going!

I worked on four, completing two, using three different finishing techniques. I have one more technique to try -- that one would be standard binding applied from the front and hand-stitched down. It will take considerably longer than the other methods, but I believe I will be more pleased with it.

Thinking fondly of dear Bonnie Hunter who taught me to crumb!

Busy Weekend

2011-12-11T17:32:00.000-05:00

Shopping, wrapping, trimming, decorating ... but ...

... all of this, but not a stitch of sewing!

Red Queen Days and Nights

2011-12-09T10:58:00.000-05:00

My fondness for all things Alice is well-known. My sister and I are famous for dropping Alice lines here and there ("Clean cup! Move down!") and Honna and I had such a good time at the movie.

There's another bit from the Alice story that has long been a piece of my life.

Carroll writes:

"'Well, in our country,' said Alice, still panting a little, 'you'd generally get to somewhere else -- if you ran very fast for a long time as we've been doing.' 'A slow sort of country!' said the Queen. 'Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you wanted to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!'"

I'm not one to do things in a hurry, nor am I much of a runner. But sometimes the calendar gets over-fill and obligations pile up along with the laundry, and I don't seem to have time to do things I want to do, I'm so caught up in what I need to do. And somehow all of that makes me think of the Red Queen.

This is one of those times. Been out at night more frequently than usual. Been shopping and wrapping and thinking about decorating. Been sewing just a little. But not been blogging. Because I'm hanging out with the Red Queen. I believe she's scheduled to leave this weekend. If not, I'm evicting her!

A Monkey and a Ladybug

2011-12-05T16:50:00.000-05:00

. . . came to my house yesterday.

Good Things in Abundance

2011-12-02T17:31:00.000-05:00

Today was an in-service day at school; we had assorted sessions on identity and racial diversity and the embracing of both. It was a full and rich day and, as so often is the case, tiring. All of that thinking, reflecting, learning just wears a body -- and a mind -- out. So I was happy to be able to leave a bit earlier than usual. When I came home, I was delighted to find that the postman had come bringing many things. First was the last of the parcels for the swap I organized a few months back -- it had been mailed the day before Thanksgiving and took this long to get here from North Carolina. But now it is here, at last, safe and sound, and this weekend I shall swap out the blocks and return them to their rightful owners.

The second parcel that he brought contained the inviting and enticing red package above. It was mailed after the one from North Carolina, all the way from Australia from Annette who received my name in Chooky Blue's annual SSCS adventure. I am trying to be obedient and not open this parcel until Christmas morning, but have little hope of success, now that I have visited Annette's blog and see what beautiful things she makes!

Now you and I both know that I am seldom one to purchase a kit for a quilt. But I had seen this kit on a post from the Fat Quarter Shop some time back and was utterly smitten with it. Recently they had a ~~sail~~ sale that was too good to pass up and so I indulged myself and the kit also came in today's mail.

I do believe that this would be a nice quilt for a certain young boy in Richmond who is going to get a new brother or sister at the end of April -- it would be delightful to have this made and ready to take to him when I go to meet the new baby, don't you think?

I'd been feeling remiss that I hadn't posted any quilty pics for a while. That does not mean I have not been sewing! In the chair upstairs, once I finished stitching the ornament I made for the SSCS swap (no pictures permitted at this time), I have been hand quilting Rhett Butler Slept Here, which is my default hand project when there is nothing else in the queue.

Downstairs at the Bernina, I'm facing my perennial problem: the leader-ender bowties that Bonnie Hunter enticed so many of us to work on this year (yes, mine are pink instead of cheddar -- one works with what one has in some instances) rose up and flat out demanded to be made a real project. I know a little girl who is growing too big by now for the quilt I made her as a newborn, and I plan to get these bowties ready for her sometime this winter.

And then there is this block. It isn't mine. I did not make it. I wish I had.

I saw this block on some blog or another sometime this autumn; I no longer remember where. But I just loved it and still do love it and downloaded the photo and want to make one. Actually I want to make more than one. A whole quilt's worth, if you really want to know.

Isn't it gorgeous?

And now the timer for the beef in red wine is ringing so I must go and cook the noodles.

Wishing you Good Things in Abundance.

Today. And always.

Even Once

2011-12-01T05:31:00.000-05:00

At the school where I work, each of us received a form to fill out sometime in the next month. It is an "Arrest/Conviction Report and Certification Form," which is required for the protection of our students. Apparently the completion of the form is mandated by the State. We are required to list any reportable offenses for which we have ever been arrested; these include a couple of dozen offenses that have to do with indecency, exploitation, sexual contact, and drug trafficking with minors.

The exercise made me think of the years when I was a blood donor (and the reason for stopping, she hastened to add, is because her low blood pressure caused a tendency to faint after donating), when there would be a list of colorful behaviors and the question of "have you EVEN ONCE" done any of these things. (The EVEN ONCE in all caps always reminded me of the clothing pattern instructions that would shout RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER, but that is a whole nuther thing entirely.) I'd look down the list and rather wistfully check "no" beside each box. This always made me feel like a really dull person.

Just so you know, I had nothing to report on today's form in any of the questionable areas including stalking, prostitution and related offenses, and all of the others. I'm not sure what "institutional sexual assault" could be, but I'm pretty sure I haven't done it and certainly haven't been arrested for it.

In the interest of full disclosure, however, I did EVEN ONCE receive a traffic ticket for going 30 in a 15 mph zone. This was in 1980, in Cuyahoga Falls, and is prolly still a blemish on My Permanent Record.

At It Again

2011-11-30T09:02:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite lay theologians is at it again. Laurie has written a thoughtful and soul-searching post that spoke to me. Loudly. You can check it out here.

And, BTW, my photo to the left is not a picture of Laurie. It's the safest option that appeared when I Googled "blonde woman with cowboy hat."

Thanksgiving, 2011

2011-11-29T16:44:00.000-05:00

"Getting to Know You" -- Tom, Nate, and Blackberry

"Got the turkey out of the oven, now to make the gravy."

Brothers and cousins take on the problems of the world; a very solemn conversation.

Grandpop loves Eli. Eli loves Grandpop.

"How do I get this horse into third gear?"

Where Were You?

2011-11-22T15:38:00.000-05:00

My friend Peter posted this picture on Facebook this morning, and throughout the day, I've remembered November 22, 1963.

I was working in my first job after graduating high school. It was at what was then The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, in their offices at One Parkway, kitty-corner from the Suburban Station Building in Philadelphia. I had gone with some coworkers from the steno pool down to the Suburban Station Concourse for a bite of lunch and a bit of shopping. At that time, the Associated Press office had a glassed-in office in the concourse, with a couple of teletype machines running inside the windows. People would glance at the teletypes on their way by, getting a first-hand glimpse of the news before it made its way into The Evening Bulletin or the evening news.

We heard someone over by the AP window cry out and went over immediately to find out what was going on. And there we saw the news of the assassination coming across the teletype machine. We hurried back to One Parkway, fourth floor steno pool, and shared what we'd learned. Our supervisor didn't seem to believe us, so we asked her to turn on the radio, which quickly confirmed the news. We were so sorry to be right . . . .

A Fall Flimsy

2011-11-20T17:48:00.000-05:00

I really prefer "autumn" to "fall," as words go. But I couldn't pass up the alliteration.

Remember those 6" HSTs I found a few weeks ago and didn't know what I'd intended them for? Well, I never did figure it out! I had 'em up on the wall for a while and decided there weren't enough. So I made some more and let them all hang on the wall together for a couple of weeks. And then put borders on.

I like it. That green border was a real reach for me, and I'm so happy that I did it! It's a size that would be good for a little kid, not a baby. Perhaps for an 18-month-old boy to take to day care for nap time.

What do you think, Amy?

Kindness

2011-11-19T19:31:00.000-05:00

Joe and I had been thinking that we wanted to get a little kitchen for Nate as a combination Christmas and birthday present. We had marvelous memories of a little wooden kitchen that our kids had, and were looking for something like that. We found a couple of wooden kitchens but they were a bit pricey. We had about decided to go ahead anyway, rather than get a plastic kitchen.

A new-since-spring friend from school teaches in the early childhood division, and a week or so ago she was visiting my office and I spoke of our interest in kitchens, wooden vs. plastic. And she brightened up and said that she had a wooden kitchen that her son had outgrown and really we would be doing her a favor to take it!

We picked it up today and, by golly, it is the cutest kitchen ever.

This morning while we were figuring out the pick-up logistics, Carol mentioned that she also had a rocking horse that was looking for a new ~~home~~ stable and would we like that, as well?

Of course we would. Our other young grandson, Eli, is a bundle of unspent energy. It would be just the thing for him. When we went to Carol and Ana's for the pick-up, we were dazzled by the pristine condition of both the kitchen and the horse, and I, in particular, thought the latter had a bit of a Swedish look about it.

It is just a matter of days until both boys are here. I predict that their older cousins will join Nate at the stove and Eli will put a few dozen miles on the horse. What a lovely and generous thing for Carol to do!

In Which the Ballet Comes to our School

2011-11-18T23:03:00.000-05:00

There are many joys in working at an independent school. One of them has to do with serendipity -- one never knows when a treasured moment will occur.

A local ballet troupe uses our stage a couple of times each year and while I never can remember when it is that they are coming, I always know when they have arrived. I walked over to another division today and the lobby in front of the auditorium was full of slender girls in poses that no one else I know could assume. With their tights and their buns, they were captivating. It took me back to my childhood when a book, Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfield captivated me. I read it over and over and over, wishing that I could take ballet lessons.

Coming out of the cafeteria after lunch, I passed a group of middle school boys sitting on the floor, engrossed in conversation:

First Boy: It's some ballet, I think. I don't get it. I don't get ballet.

Second Boy: Me neither. It's weird.

Third Boy: Oh, I do. I like ballet. Except that they are on their toes all the time. But other than that, I like ballet.

I don't ever want to work anywhere else.

Autumn Reading

2011-11-16T14:44:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've done any brief book reviews. That doesn't mean I haven't been reading.

This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman failed to live up to its promise. An intriguing premise -- a happy family moves to Manhattan in a career step for the husband, who settles right in. The wife misses her past life, her friends, her activities, and doesn't feel accepted by the other kindergarten moms (yes, they have an adopted Chinese daughter). The son, age 15-1/2, attends a party where a 13-year-old girl comes on to him, and the next day tries to dissuade him from "you're too young!" by sending him a sexually explicit video. Astonished and unthinking, he forwards it to a friend and all too soon it has gone viral. This could have been a fine book, but the characters are so one-or-two dimensional that I just didn't care about any of them. There are a whole lot of adjectives, too. Not that I personally abhor adjectives, but I really need them to be there for something other than their own sake. Don't bother with this one.

The Language of Flowers, on the other hand, is captivating me. I'm about a third of the way through it, and had trouble turning out my light last night! We meet the protagonist, Victoria, on her eighteenth birtday as she is emancipated from the foster care system. Told in alternating chapters between now and ten years ago, we piece her unhappy life together. She's had horrible experiences and is a loner, but one person who had mattered taught her about the symbolism of various flowers and flowers become her world. Except there are still people in it. I'm loving it. You might, too.

And the book club has read Howard's End for this month's selection. It is still mighty fine, and the struggles between the economic and social classes are relevant today.

Help?

2011-11-14T08:51:00.001-05:00

Oh, it has happened to me! And I need to remedy it. And I do not know how.

I made a little baby quilt using Kona white and batik scraps. I had always heard that one need not pre-wash batiks, that they were colorfast.

I put my finished quiltlet in the washer and when it emerged, the dye from some of the blue, the purple, and the orange batiks and bled into the white.

I have heard people speak of something called a dye magnet. Do you know anything about this? Or is there something else I can do to get these colors out of the white?

Strange that this is the first time after all these years.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUGGESTED COLOR CATCHERS. I SHALL GET SOME FORTHWITH!!!

Thank you.

Tuesday's Quilts

2011-11-13T19:17:00.000-05:00

The Uvulati, our monthly hand-sewing group/guild met this past week. There are eight local members and, oddly enough, two from Canterbury, UK. Judi and Mary attend meetings infrequently, but are, nonetheless, card-carrying Uvulati members.

When they heard about the need for hospice baby quilts, they were quick to respond.

They recently sent eight quilts for hospice infants, some simple, and some more complex. Mary made the one above, so sweet.

This simple churn dash was one of Judi's efforts -- you can click the photo to see how she achieved the most interesting setting for the blocks.

Our Marsha has a passion for purple, a love for lavender, and a vigor for violet and it's a good thing she doesn't have an infant for she was quite smitten with this Judi-Mary offering.

A couple of months ago, I rediscovered a group of muddy and murky blocks that I'd received in a swap and I just couldn't get excited about them. I offered them up on my blog as a give away and Judi was the one who won them.

She said she would make a lap quilt for a hospice patient and send the finished project back here, and so she did.

Isn't it wonderful, what she did? Muddy and Murky no longer!

On Tuesday evening, Marsha was working on this quilt, a gift for a young man who attends Temple University (colors, I believe, are red and white, and mascot an owl). I thought it was a very striking quilt and needed to get a picture of it.

Lucky guy.

Several of us were binding this month, and Emily's project was this beauty. You know how I am about baskets. Well, I was not alone in my fervent admiration for Em's masterpiece.

As with all of the pictures in this post, you can click on them to make them larger.

Hey, Joe!

2011-11-11T14:53:00.000-05:00

This one's for you!

This and That

2011-11-09T10:39:00.001-05:00

. . . Last evening some fellow quilters were talking about a new phenomenon that involves cutting fabric into strips or using purchased jelly rolls and sewing these strips together as quickly as one can and having an entire quilt top finished just like that! They didn't get it. Neither did I.

. . . I cleaned out my blog links recently, adding a couple, deleting one who hadn't blogged in months and months and also one who was sharing photographs of her uncovered pregnant belly each month. I just didn't need to see that.

. . . I know there are people who go to thrift shops and buy shirts and cut them up to make quilts. Some of these people have a nice sized fabric stash. This is something I do not understand.

. . . There's something about the "Occupy" movement that feels sentimental, like back to the 60s and 70s where many people felt more strongly about social issues than accumulating things. I'm not involved in the Occupy movement, but I admire those who are for taking a stand about something that matters to them.

. . . I'm not really sure who Kim Kardashian is or why her marrying and divorcing is of such interest. But then, I never really knew who Anna Nicole was, and I somehow doubt we've heard the last of her.

. . . In those Cialis commercials with the two bathtubs on the beach, are they filled with sea water? If not, how did they get filled? Sitting side-by-side with my man in separate bathtubs on a beach is something I never dream about.

. . . Now, just because I don't want to make a high-speed strip quilt or cut up a stranger's shirts to make a quilt, that doesn't mean I think you shouldn't be able to do those things. And if you know the full scoop on Kim and the other Kardashians, well, by golly, you know something I don't and more power to you. If you want to post photos on your blog of your ever-expanding bare belly, stretch marks and all, by all means go ahead. It's your blog.

And this is mine.

DNA

2011-11-08T19:11:00.000-05:00

Mary posted this picture of her friend Anne's quilt a short time ago and I couldn't get it out of my mind! I knew it was only a matter of time before I had a go at it, though I didn't know what form it was going to take. I could see that it was made from HSTs, something I generally produce like a virus. After I finished Good Morning Starshine, I put together a couple of baby quilt tops using the batik scraps and Kona snow. I ended up with a bunch of extra HSTs from trimming the blocks. And over the weekend, I knew exactly what to do with them! I'd put them up on the wall in the pattern, but in random order, and liked them very much. But I wasn't sure about that random order. Then it hit me: they needed to merge from one into the next. Like DNA.

So, friends, here is DNA, as far as it goes. My HSTs aren't anywhere near as large as Anne's. Mine finish at 2". I need to put some more white around it and then some sort of a border and then it will be yet another baby quilt.

But so far? I'm lovin' it just the way it is.

Quilty Stuff

2011-11-05T10:44:00.000-04:00

I've finished hand quilting this little baby quilt. You remember, the one that was to be for a Thanksgiving Sunday baby shower and then I found out that Tom and Anastasia had a baby coming in the spring and I needed to keep this Mayfly Madness quilt for that baby. I still love this little quilt so much.

The replacement quilt for the T'g shower baby is at the machinist's at present and I'll have it back in fewer than two weeks, so I'll have enough time to get it bound before the event.

Last night I picked up two quilts from the machinist and as soon as Pictures at an Exhibition is bound, I'll be binding them and photographing them.

I had a pleasant voice mail this week from our LQS. They have a policy that if you bring your own bag to the shop they give you a ticket to fill out and once each month a ticket is drawn from that month's shoppers to receive a gift certificate from the shop. I've been filling out tickets for months and months and this just happened to be my month! So I'll be off to the shop later today to see what I need from them. They've recently started carrying Aurifil thread and I know I need a different color of that -- I've really liked using the white that I purchased a month or so ago.

And, on a non-quilty front, I just thought I mention that I made these pancakes this morning (photo from internet, not my kitchen). I'd impulsively picked up the mix a few weeks back and we've found it to be delicious! I need to go get another box because I want to cook these for my houseguests on Thanksgiving morning. They are wonderful made just the way the box says to make them, equally wonderful with Eggbeaters substituted for the egg, and I'm thinking that a handful of toasted pecans wouldn't hurt a bit. No affiliation, yadda yadda; just a smiling customer.

The State of the Blogosphere, as Perceived by N, NP

2011-11-01T15:30:00.001-04:00

A blog that I have been following for god-knows-how-long is on hiatus -- not because the writer has lost interest in the art but rather because family responsibilities have claimed the time she used to spend on her blog. Another blogger -- somebody I've never met, but feel like she lives right down the street -- has [temporarily?] lost the passion and is thinking of giving up her blog. Others are frustrated with technical issues at Blogger.com and others have been the recipients of unpleasant comments. There's a wind blowing through the blogosphere, I think, not an ill wind that blows no good, but rather a kind of "disturbance in the force" sort of a wind, as bloggers independently and collectively seem to be sorting things out for themselves, and for and with each other.

When I began my blog back in May of 2006, I had no idea at all what I was getting into. I started because I have always enjoyed writing and thinking and journaling, and a blog seemed to be a way to tie those things together. When I first began, no one knew I was blogging and that was pretty much the way I wanted it. As I visited blogs and left comments, folks tracked me down through those comments, and the whole connectivity of the world of blogging was revealed.

There are quilters who blog for glory and those who blog for cash, to promote their products and to sell their wares. Some bloggers make money from allowing advertisements to show up on their blogs. There are other bloggers who think about their blog traffic and know how many Followers they have. Some bloggers collect and bestow blogging awards.

I'm none of those.

I have the "Follower" button up because some people use that device to keep track of blogs they follow. I used to have a site meter that told me how many people had visited my blog and where they came from but I removed it because it didn't seem to matter.

I'm a wife, mother, and grandmother who quilts and happens to be a Lutheran but spends far more time among Quakers. And a blogger.

Oh, how being a blogger has enriched my life! Let me tell you . . .

. . . that I have a small, small art quilt on my dresser; it was made by another blogger whom I've never met, who is dedicated to Alzheimer's research

. . . that I have a "round robin" hanging on my office wall; it was made with care and artistry by more than a dozen bloggers, most of whom I will never meet

. . . that on more than one occasion, one particular blogger and I have exchanged prayer requests and felt the power that came from those prayers

. . . that I treasure a bag that came from a blogger I once met up close and personal at a Mexican restaurant

. . . that when the first of August comes around, I get positively antsy waiting for a certain Australian to announce her annual international secret Santa match-ups and that there's a small owl from one such match-up four or more years ago, still residing on my sofa

. . . that such joy came from participating in the making of a group quilt gift for a blogger who was going through a hard time

. . . that when my husband had a heart attack and I nearly lost him, the support and caring messages I received from other bloggers was part of what got me through that hard time

. . . that more than two dozen bloggers from all over the world, some of whom I'd never heard of, responded to my request for blocks depicting cows, most of them asking nothing in return

. . . that I've been the winner of numerous give-aways from generous souls, "just because"

. . . that on the few occasions that I've met up real live in person with another blogger, it really and truly was as if we had just been together a few weeks ago

. . . that when one blogger I follow lost her dear husband, I sat in my den and cried for her loss and when another announced that a grandbaby was expected, I rejoiced along with her

I'm not naive enough to imagine that what people share on their blogs is all there is to them; we all have our shadow sides that we choose not to reveal. I imagine that if some of these people whose blogs I enjoy popping into really did live down the street, one or the other of us would become annoyed by the other; it wouldn't all be just peachy.

But being a blogger has enriched my life more than I know how to say.

It is, as a blog-friend said last week, like being a member of an on-line guild. A guild where meetings are not scheduled regularly (and often inconveniently), dues are not required, and there is no expectation that the members will work at the biennial show, and no one will complain if I forget that I was scheduled to bring the refreshments. It's a guild where I don't have to find my boots and go out in nasty weather, listen to the occasional poorly-presented program, or live up to expectations that I didn't help to define.

If you are a blogger reading this post and you are thinking of perhaps giving it all up, that the mystique is missing, please think again. If you are a blogger reading this post, chances are excellent that I read your most recent post.

And I hope it wasn't your last.

Shut the Door, Lock and Latch It -- Here Comes Lizzie with a Brand New Hatchet

2011-10-31T21:14:00.000-04:00

When we go to White Oak, Honna brings the music along. We listen to Kingston Trio, New Christy Minstrels, Smothers Brothers -- you know, stuff from our era. Turbo just kind of puts up with it, asking a question or two on occasion. The first time she heard about Billy Joe McAllister, et al., it led to her doing research and preparing a unit on the ballad for one of the English classes she teaches.

Anyway, always one of the songs gets into my head and stays with me for a few days upon my return to the real world. Many times I hum "It takes a worried man, to sing a worried song," and after other trips "through the open window, she hands Charlie a nickel," you get the idea. This time around, for no particular reason, it's the Chad Mitchell Trio's greatest hit, "Lizzie Borden."

Song has nothing to do with the churn dash baby quilt I spent a lot of time on. I had to take apart half of the blocks and remake them. And then decided they needed lattice. And cornerstones. And it has turned out to be a quilt that I like very much. I hope the young mother-to-be does, too.

And now, please, enjoy having the song stuck in your head. You know, you can't chop your papa up in Massachusetts. Massachusetts is a far cry from New York.

Sewing and Snowing, Near Philadelphia and Lancaster County

2011-10-30T19:35:00.000-04:00

The weekend just ending was our semi-annual White Oak Getaway. My Crud was not totally gone (nor is it yet) but I was not to be deterred. Honna and I drove out Friday after work, leaving too late to do any shopping on the way. We arrived shortly after the wine and cheese had been set out, and promptly settled in.

Two of our regulars were unable to go this time, but we had two terrific ringers, including none other than Suzan, who endeared herself immediately by presenting each of us with a tiny trick or treat bag that she had made and loaded with treats.

There was the usual variety of projects, but I forgot my camera so am relying on the kindness of colleagues to illustrate the weekend. Judy took this picture of Helen holding up her coffee quilt.

Saturday morning we woke up to falling flakes. Certain that the 1-3" forecast would hold and perhaps be an exaggeration, Honna and I set forth after breakfast to shop in Intercourse. She went to Zooks and I to the Old Country Store. I noticed that they've done some rearranging and have a lot more kits than they used to have, including some very small CW looking projects that I resisted, even though they were enticing. I bought a few things that I needed.

On the way back, we stopped at the Bird-In-Hand shop and although they did have the D-rings that I needed and could not get at OCS, I don't believe we will return. The trip back to White Oak was interrupted by a car accident on a snowy uphill hogback road; we had to turn around and go back down, with no idea how to get back to the inn. The two cars ahead of us turned left and Honna concluded that they must have a GPS (which I've never felt the need for since I don't go to unfamiliar territory often), so we followed them for a while, but when they turned right, we decided to turn left and after a bit of very rough road, I realized that I knew where we were -- it was on the route I'd taken for my early morning walk the last time I was at White Oak! We got back just in time for lunch and Carol's delicious soup never tasted so good.

Honna wanted a bag-making lesson on Saturday night and Helen wanted a refresher. I needed to make a bag myself for a gift, so we began prairie pointing and handle-making. I'd bought some Pellon 987F fusible fleece at OCS since they didn't have the stabilizer I normally use, and I was delighted with the result. My bag is in the middle (I made another, too, but didn't get a photo of it) and Helen's is the teal and chartreuse batik. Honna's is the sweet sunflower print and I was very impressed with what a fine job she did on her first attempt.

All too soon it was Sunday morning. To our amazement, the newbies offered to go out and brush the considerable snow off of everyone's cars! What a lovely thing for them to do. Someone said that they must really have wanted to be invited back. And that had been settled hours earlier -- they were wonderful additions to a terrific group. Already counting the days until we return!

Battling The Crud

2011-10-26T16:29:00.000-04:00

If you've read this blog for a year or more, you might know that the first head cold of the autumn sends me for a loop. It usually settles in firmly about a week before Thanksgiving, morphs into bronchitis, and hangs around for three to six weeks. My throat gets sore from the coughing, my friends and family avoid me, my disposition frays, and I go through lots of tissues.

This year it has hit much earlier than usual, and -- knock wood -- seems not to be as forceful. I've been in and out (mostly out) of work for a week and one night I had trouble sleeping because I was coughing. A colleague told me not to drink anything cold, only warm or room temperature liquids and lots of them. Joe brought home a jug of cider and let me tell you how good that is heated up. My wonderful neighbor brought me chicken soup. And I go through tissues. I nap every day, sometimes twice. I take lots of drugs. I'm doing my part.

I finished hand quilting Mayfly Madness and as I was doing the border I realized that I need to keep it for Grandbaby #5, arriving late in April, rather than give it away at that Thanksgiving shower. So I've begun a new quilt for that mom-to-be and hope to post pictures before too long. It's a Churn Dash.

I've also been on Facebook a lot more than usual. Beyond my regular Facebook Scrabble games, for no good reason I have indulged in Bubble Saga and Bubble Witch Saga to the point where I hear the background music at night when I'm trying to go to sleep. A tremendous waste of time that I'm going to discontinue as soon as I finish writing this post. Instead of shooting bubbles and attracting spiders, I'm going to get back to binding Mayfly Madness. And make a few more Churn Dashes. And blow my nose.

Day Four

2011-10-22T16:50:00.000-04:00

On Day Four of The Crud these things occurred:

. . . Whatever was clogging my Facebook Scrabble game cleared up and play resumed
. . . I took a one-and-one-half-hour nap
. . . I decided to tidy up the cutting table
. . . I coughed and snarfed less than on Day Three
. . . I re-found these blocks, pressed them open, trimmed the ears, and wondered whatever I had had in mind when I made them
. . . Thought Kathie might have some idea or another
. . . And pretty much decided to make four more pair and turn them into a little hospice baby quilt

Unless, of course, someone can refresh my memory as to the original plan!

Good Morning Starshine: The Earth Says Hello!

2011-10-21T20:00:00.000-04:00

"Good Morning Starshine" is a flimsy! My days at home dealing with The Crud have resulted in the completion of this project that has been in the works for a couple of years, actually.

It began when someone I knew subscribed to a BOM and when the kits arrived, she knew batiks were not her thing. So she gave them to me. I used them as a leader-ender project until just a couple of weeks ago when I realized there were just a few left and I finished them off.

The color of the border is a little bit off in the picture; it is much more of an aqua than a green. I'd like to get it quilted soon; we'll see what the checkbook has to say about that.

"You twinkle above us; we twinkle below . . . ."

Still Alive

2011-10-21T12:44:00.000-04:00

Still alive, but out of commission.

The crud hit on Tuesday afternoon; at that point I was hoping it was leaf mold allergy. By night-time, it was clearly much more than that.

Stayed home from work on Wednesday and Thursday and went in for just a couple of hours this morning. Trying everything I can to keep it from morphing into bronchitis.

Cold medicine helps. Naps, tea and keeping warm help. My dear neighbor's chicken soup helped. Fabric therapy hasn't hurt -- I'm putting borders on "Good Morning Starshine," and "Pictures at an Exhibition" came home from the machine quilter today.

Back soon, if all goes well.

Remembering Bob

2011-10-15T11:54:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you, but I often will get caught up in a "woe is me" kind of status -- you know, when the vacuum cleaner and the toaster break on consecutive days and you drop your toothbrush in the toilet and find that the milk has gone sour. All at the same time. And sometimes this goes on for a couple of weeks. Joe and I will say to each other, "Well, we haven't had one of these spells for a while. I wonder how long it will last." And then when there is a day that is stressfree and beautiful and things are going well, I will fail to notice.

Today I awoke on my own (without the alarm clock), pulled on my sweatshirt, and went outside and walked 2-1/2 miles. After breakfast and shower, I got to thinking about my dear late brother-in-law, Bob, who was fond of singing, "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!" on some of the least likely days. Yesterday was his birthday; when he was alive, the four of us used to go out to dinner on the guys' birthdays.

So, perhaps in Bob's honor, I'm humming "OWABM!" today as I realize it really is a beautiful, crisp autumn day and there are all kinds of glorious possibilities for it.

I just took a break from "Good Morning Starshine" which is just about ready to be assembled, and now find that song going through my head. I never heard Bob sing it, but he prolly would have if he'd known it.

Stars and Bars, 2011 Style

2011-10-13T20:29:00.000-04:00

When my kids' closest friends are expecting babies, if I know the parents-to-be and like them a lot, I make a quilt for the new baby.

Tom and Anastasia's friends, S&A, are expecting at long last, after some real doubts about whether this would ever happen.

I had bought this fabric about a year ago when I was visiting Tom in Richmond, knowing it would make a cute baby quilt, but not sure exactly what the design would be. I love the richness of the batiks. If you look closely, the background fabric is rainbow stars. I'm going to have my machine quilter quilt stars all over and even though I don't generally go for light bindings, I'm going to bind this in the background fabric. I have just enough.

Things the Postman Delivered

2011-10-12T05:03:00.001-04:00

Blogless Kathy B was struck by some sort of a Dreaded Cleaning Virus recently, and her studio was the area most affected. She offered up two sets of blocks, one was to be sight-unseen.

I said I'd take them off her hands to make hospice quilts and the parcel that arrived today contained this beautiful set of blocks plus a generous sized piece of the focus fabric. There are more than a dozen blocks, and I believe I can turn them into a lovely quilt for a hospice patient.

The second set of blocks that Kathy sent was a group I was familiar with; they were the yield from the Coffee with Cream swap we did several years ago. I'd made a lot of them and they turned into a most satisfactory quilt that became a wedding gift.

Generous Kathy B sent not one but two big pieces of coordinating fabric; one will be enough to be a back and the other will set the blocks into another terrific hospice quilt, this one, I think, for a gentleman.

At the beginning of this year, Anya and I entered into a maker's choice kind of a swap, to be completed before year's end.

Anya's part of the bargain is complete -- she sent me this wonderful handbag that is so autumn without being blatant autumn with orange and brown leaves all over it. Look at the care she put into this project! And these aren't Anya's regular colors!

There's a magnetic clasp and this sweet side pocket with a darling yo-yo. I started carrying it on the first chilly day.

My part of the bargain will be fulfilled, too. Before year's end!

For unknown reasons, I failed to post when Kathy B's cow sauntered in a few weeks ago. I had my mind on other things, and the cows were all gathered together in a pasture downstairs, and then this grazing bovine appeared in the mail.

Thanks so much, Kathy!

A Lake Anna Getaway

2011-10-11T09:42:00.001-04:00

For years, Joe and I had a practice of going away over Columbus Day weekend. Most of the time we went to Cape May. When the kids were grown and married, that weekend became a time for everyone to gather. Sometimes in Cape May.

This year they all decided they wanted a destination closer to the Virginia contingents, and Amy and Andrew took the responsibility for finding a place. They did well.

The first night Andrew was the grillmaster, with Eli as apprentice. He looks pretty serious here, but has a winsome grin, and is not at all shy. He couldn't get enough of climbing stairs and looking down from the balcony into the living room.

The house that they found to rent was immense and luxurious with five bedrooms, two family rooms, a home theatre, and all of the other rooms you would expect. It is located on Lake Anna in Virginia.

We spent a great deal of time on the huge deck, eating our dinners, watching the lake, chatting, and playing Go Fish.

Sam, in kindergarten now, is beginning to sound out letters and words, and can even read a little bit. He was a helper when I played Scrabble on my computer.

Caroline is plagued with carsickness, and had a rough trip. I spent some time coloring with her and helping her to strategize during a cut-throat game of Go Fish.

She's a quiet little person, in contrast to her more loquacious brother, but has a vivid imagination, and likes to tell stories.

One evening it was her turn to say grace before dinner. Her little voice was so soft that most of use couldn't hear her. But that was okay because God could.

Tom and Anastasia had the shortest travel time, as Lake Anna is not far at all from Richmond. Nate, a month Eli's senior, is a very busy person who loves to push things around (he was a superb help with the vacuuming at the end of our stay), and to get the pots and pans out. He's such a busy person that it was hard to get a good photograph; he's not too busy, though, to settle in with a good book if invited.

The twelve of us had a marvelous time for three days and nights, and look forward to doing it again next year. It will be even more wonderful, because Tom announced that there will be thirteen instead of twelve!

Away from my Desk

2011-10-04T19:05:00.001-04:00

Dealing With Something.

Nobody's sick, so please don't worry.

Mayfly Madness Design

2011-10-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

Somebody asked me if I'd share the plan for the baby quilt top I just finished creating. Well, I was flattered, of course, so here it is, in its own rather pathetic form.

Since I'm not a pattern designer and have no art or drafting training, I just began with a piece of graph paper and a pencil and drew the first sawtooth star and then started building around it. Each square on the graph paper finishes at 1-1/2 inches. The sawtooth star is a basic 6" finished piece.

To know how to assemble the little squares, I made components and put a little code beside the pattern. For example, the "K" component is 2 x 4 squares, and I needed 4 of them. I worked on one unit of components at a time, starting with the star in the upper right with the 2 "D" and one "H" and one "J". Then I moved to the left and did that star-A-J-F unit, and so forth with the H-star-K unit being the last one.

And, yes, I cut out all of the individual squares and did not use strip sets.

I know that for those who have EQ, my technique is absolutely primitive. But it works for me, and if you want to download and print out my "pattern," please do! Just don't go transforming it into something you can publish and make money at. That wouldn't be nice.

Mayfly Madness is a Flimsy!

2011-10-02T15:02:00.000-04:00

I've spent most of this weekend smiling. Because I've spent most of this weekend putting this quilt together. Besides being amazingly cute fabrics, they feel wonderful -- working with them is an absolute joy.

Now I need to put a back together, make a sandwich, and start pin-basting because, yes, it is going to be hand-quilted.

Size: About 38" square
Fabric: Mayfly Mischief by Tony Fernandes for Clothworks

Click to see the amazing prints, please!

Mayfly Madness

2011-09-30T21:45:00.000-04:00

I will be attending a baby shower on the Sunday following Thanksgiving. The mom-to-be does not know the gender of the little one, so a neutral sort of a quilt is needed.

I had bought some of the Mayfly Mischief fabrics when I was in Asheville back in July, knowing they would be for a baby quilt at some point, but not knowing it would be this one -- I didn't even know at that time that Kendra was expecting!

Earlier this week I came up with a design and tonight I began working on it. The little squares finish at 2", the stars are 6" finished, and there will be five stars irregularly scattered throughout the quilt. I'm loving it. Click to see the hilarious prints . . . .

Academia Disrupted

2011-09-29T09:25:00.000-04:00

Many, many years ago, before I became a quilter, before I went to seminary, before I had children, way back when, I was engaged in a vocation that I believe is now obsolete. We lived in a small town that was the home to a big university, and I typed papers for students. I prepared all kinds of manuscripts from basic 10-page research papers all the way to Ph.D. dissertations in fields as diverse as education, music history, and physics. Obviously I read every word, and over the years, I received a vast and diverse education.

The book pictured to the left (the 3rd and 4th editions, back then) was affectionately called "Turabian," and along with copies of the MLA and APA style guides, was my bible. I enjoyed my work. I liked meeting with the students, learning what they had to share, and making sure that everything in the paper was precisely "according to Turabian." Once I even received a personal letter from Kate after I'd written her to question the punctuation in one of the examples in the book.

I always asked my customers if setting up the footnotes and bibliography were a part of what they would be graded on (for example, in the "Introduction to Educational Research" class, formatting of these pieces was part of the learning process), and if not, and they found the process intolerable, I would offer to set them up for twenty-five cents per entry. I loved my job. Especially with the Ph.D. candidates, I loved being a part of their contribution to the Body of Knowledge.

This morning I was reading a quilter's blog and noticed a comment from "custom term papers" who wrote, "Cool! Thanks for the post." I believed it to be a canned comment from a nonquilter who was looking to draw traffic to his/her own site, and it seems I was right. And look what it is! A "hire it done" place for the writing of research papers, theses, and even dissertations. And "personal statements." Academic fakery rather than academic integrity -- even to the stock photos and trumped up quotes -- that I found utterly appalling.

Thank God Kate isn't alive to witness this travesty of scholarship.

Inspired by Mr. Mussorgsky

2011-09-28T21:48:00.001-04:00

"Pictures at an Exhibition" is nearly finished! All it needs is borders, and I bought the fabric this afternoon. Tonight I finished putting the rows together, a tedious but rewarding process, getting the verticals all aligned. Pin upon pin upon pin was the approach.

Oh, I cannot tell you how smitten I am with this quilt! And, as so many have pointed out, it is so not me! About as far away from William Morris, I think, as one can get.

I have an appointment with my gourmet machine quilter and will put it in the mail to her at the beginning of the week.

As often is the case, you can click on the photo once or even twice to make it large enough to view the pictures. Do not, however, expect to find Baba-Yaga or the great gate of Kiev, but instead some other little treasures.

Apropos of Nothing

2011-09-27T20:41:00.000-04:00

With candy corn, did you ever notice that the white part tastes ~~different from~~ better than the yellow and the orange?

I don't know why. But it's true.

Oh, and on the lattice/cornerstones question, y'all were about evenly divided between the plain lattice and the lattice with white cornerstones.

I went with the plain lattice. It is harder to do, of course, but I'm liking it. I'm about half finished with this phase. Tomorrow -- oh, woe is me! -- I have to go to the LQS to pick up additional grey fabric for the border!

Okay. Go grab a piece of candy corn and bite the white off. You know you want to.

Need a Consultation -- STAT!

2011-09-25T16:08:00.000-04:00

Here's a sneak preview of Pictures at an Exhibition. I'm delighted with its progress so far. I love the lattice fabric.

Here's the question: Do I use the white cornerstones with the lattice or keep it all the grey print? I think I know which I prefer, but would like a couple of other expert opinions before I put the rows together. Keep in mind that both versions show the horizontal lattice before being stitched; it will finish at 1/2" less than shown, matching the lattice between the blocks. Which way do you think I should go? As always, clicking on the picture will enlarge it for better visibility.

Oktoberfest Quilt

2011-09-25T09:46:00.000-04:00

A month or so ago, my friend Linda asked me if I would make a baby quilt for the silent auction at our church's upcoming Oktoberfest. Of course I would, only I wouldn't have time to hand quilt it, so I would need to tie it. I put it together with scraps left from a wedding quilt I'd made earlier in the year, thinking it would be gender-neutral for a baby. I was planning to tie with white floss but Joe talked me into the teal. It's nice, but I would have liked it better with the white.

I'm continuing to work on "Pictures at an Exhibition," and will share a little preview soon.

Happy Cow

2011-09-22T09:33:00.000-04:00

What is this cow so happy about? Simple: Hoss, the tech guy at school, got the laptop to work! Crisis averted! He spoke some sort of mumbo-jumbo, removed and reinserted the battery, waved his hands, and *viola!

On the quilting front, the binding is machined onto the baby quilt for the Oktoberfest and the hand-stitching of same commences tonight.

And Pictures At An Exhibition is coming along gloriously! I haven't been this excited about a quilt since my basket period a little more than a year ago. I've written to my custom quilter for a quilting date -- the local panto lady is amazing, but Pictures is going to get the full treatment!

I hope this weekend to have a photo to share.

Once again, Life is Good!

*Yes, I know it is voila. But my son plays the viola.

Crumby Pictures

2011-09-21T19:10:00.001-04:00

Do you remember these crumb blocks that caught my fancy a week or so ago?

Well, they are still very much in the foreground for me. Now there are twenty-five of them and I've begun working on putting them together.

I'm so excited about this project and at the same time frustrated that I can't keep moving on it. I'm having a busy week with a lot of evening commitments and in the time available for sewing, I have a baby quilt that I promised to make for a church function in a little more than a week -- the top is finished and I need to get it sandwiched and tied. And then bound. And once that is finished, I can return to "Pictures."

VERY Cranky Old Woman

2011-09-21T12:17:00.001-04:00

And cranky is putting it mildly. The truth involves language I don't normally use. My fourteen-month-old Dell Inspiron laptop appears to be suffering from backlight demise or some other godawful malady. Very much like what had killed off my beloved Toshiba.

When the Toshiba got all dark around the screen, I went and bought the Dell, only to learn later on that she might well have been repaired at a moderate cost to me. I wish I had done that because despite its purpleness, I've never been all that fond of the Dell.

I don't have the money to buy a new computer at present, so I suppose I'm going to have to take the Dell up to the Geek Squad and see what they can do and for how much. And I have too much going on to even attempt that until the weekend, it seems.

Moo. Again I say, Moo.

Sunflowers

2011-09-20T16:11:00.000-04:00

Joe had bought a short series of Chamber Orchestra tickets and last evening was the first concert. Since we seldom go downtown alone together, we decided to go to dinner before the concert, and were delighted to discover that it is "Restaurant Week" in Philadelphia, a week when many restaurants offer a prix fixe menu as a way of enticing new patrons to give them a try. Joe was interested in Italian food and I was interested in something close to the Kimmel Center and we found both in a delightful new [to us] place, Girasole.

It's a small place, although in the nice weather they have tables outside as well as inside. The decor is nothing to blog about, except that on one of the walls was a large mural of sunflowers. Girasole, I've learned is the Italian word for sunflowers. For the first course, we each had a different carapaccio, and they were delicious. My second course was a pasta dish and Joe's was salmon; we both had a unique toasted-almond infused ice cream for dessert. The food was very good, and the portions were perfect.

I was really pleased with the service. The wait staff were very pleasant. They were not snooty, nor did they call us "guys." They were knowledgable and considerate without hovering. There weren't many people in the restaurant (we had an early dining time since our concert began at 7:30) and when the men next to us were served a salt-crusted fish preparation, we watched with fascination as the waiter carved and served it. Timing was flawless, the pinot noir was smooth, and a lovely time was had by all, including the men with the fish who were friendly almost to the point of offering us a taste!

Would we go back? We surely will. They have a prix fixe pre-theater menu even when it is not Restaurant Week and they're one block from the orchestra hall. No affiliation, yadda yadda; just looking to share a good spot with good friends. You might want to give Girasole a try if you're hungry in Philly.

"Remember Me" is a Flimsy

2011-09-19T18:32:00.001-04:00

I'd found the fabric for the border of the "Remember Me" quilt from the Prairie Women's Journey series of kits and got it sewn on. So now this quilt is a flimsy waiting for a destination.

We have an old cane-seat nursing rocker that we've been thinking of bringing down into the living room and retiring the loveseat that is presently there. If we do that, this little quilt would look pretty across the back.

I think it should be hand-quilted, and I am not likely to get to even starting that before truly cold weather sets in.

It feels good to have it finished to filmsy status, however.

2011-09-18T15:39:00.002-04:00

Helen, Judy and I spent the weekend at White Oak. There was no one else there, and it felt absolutely luxurious. Two of my favorite people, one of my favorite places, and one of my favorite activities -- how could it have been other than grand!

Helen had been after me to teach her how to make a big tote bag, so after a delicious dinner on Friday, that was the first order of business. Judy and Helen are both teachers and, of course, I am not, so I was a little intimidated. But they are good learners and shortly before breakfast on Saturday, we had these three dear bags to show for our efforts! No, we didn't sew through the night -- I retired relatively early and they worked on other things for a while.

Judy and I had promised a basket to the guild for their show that is coming up in a few weeks and we decided on a Hallowe'en theme for our basket. I bought a soft sculpture pumpkin, some skeletal stickers, a bag of good lookin' candy corn; Judy made a nifty table runner and I made a trick-or-treat bag.

The other two trick-or-treat bags are for Sam and Caroline.

I finally got all the rows together on the Prairie Women's Journey First Project and was ready to put the border on, when I discovered I would not have enough fabric for the border. Either I picked up the wrong fabric or I was not sent enough, or I used the wrong fabric for something else; whatever. Upon returning home, I rediscovered the correct fabric and have begun making those borders. There should be a finished photo soon . . . .

Fortunately, I had brought along the little kit for the second project in the series and enjoyed getting it cut and stitched together. It finishes at 26 x 30 inches and I supposed it is meant to hang on the wall. Not sure if I will do that or not. In any event, it is finished, and attractive, and soon I will move onto the third project.

Helen was working on a variety of things, including a pair of grinchy pillowcases for one of her sons.

In Honna's and Marsha's absence, Helen provided some music for us to listen to, and we sewed along to Ol' Blue Eyes and Simon and Garfunkel and had a very pleasant time.

Carol's cuisine was as terrific as ever, and on Saturday night we tried something new, getting veggie pizza from a little place in Quarryville; some of us pronouncing it the very best pizza we'd ever had.

Judy liked bag-making enough to plunge into a second one after her first was finished. We won't go into detail about what happened, but all's well that ends well, and her red and blue bag certainly did end well.

I caught up on sleep, read my book for a while each night, and took a long walk one morning.

And sewed.

Meanwhile, Joe and Blackberry went off on their own adventure for the weekend, backpacking together in the mountains above Bloomsburg, sleeping in a tent, hiking, and cooking over a fire. They are due home in a few hours and I'm eager to hear all about it.

Here's Blackberry modeling his backpack.

Quilts for Lives Cut Short

2011-09-14T09:13:00.000-04:00

The Uvulati, our monthly hand-sewing group, met last night at Bonnie's house and held the ingathering for our summer's labors, wherein each member committed to making one (or more) baby's or child's quilt for the local hospice. Not everyone was present, and one member forgot to bring her quilt. Nonetheless, it was a fine harvest.

Bonnie and Judy with Zebra and Lizards.

Two of these quilts were from a block swap we did from "ugly Australian fabric"; no one seemed to have the courage to try to put the finished blocks into one quilt. Honna brilliantly make them into baby quilts.

Bonnie and Marsha with two sweet quilts.

Helen hiding behind her offerings; the one is still being bound.

Emily with her bright rail fence and Helen with two more of Honna's "ugly fabric" quilts.

Emily helps me share the two I made.

Diverted

2011-09-11T18:29:00.000-04:00

Today's sewing time was to be devoted to getting "Remember Me," the first project in the Prairie Women Journey Two series, completed. The blocks are all in horizontal rows. The lattices and cornerstones are all pieced in their rows. Today was designated for sewing the horizontal rows of blocks and lattices together and perhaps even getting the border on.

Some months ago, Bonnie Hunter came to Near Philadelphia and taught a crumbs workshop for about 30 of us. I had a wonderful time that day and really surprised myself at how much I enjoyed these wonky techniques that we learned. I didn't know if I'd ever use them again, but I certainly did have a good day and felt proud of my completed project.

This morning, with no warning whatsoever, I went downstairs and was seized with a powerful, uncontrollable urge to make crumb blocks. There was no putting it off. I made three and set them aside and started putting rows together. Broke for lunch, ran an errand or two and went back down, thinking I'd get the rest of the rows together and think about the border tomorrow, Scarlett. Not to be. The crumbs rose up and demanded attention.

I've had a ball.

Let Us Not Forget

2011-09-11T11:47:00.000-04:00

In church this morning, we remembered September 11, 2001. All over the television, the radio, and the blogs, people are remembering the tragedies of that day. It is the custom in our to have announcements at the very end of the service. In addition to news about Sunday School, the upcoming men's group retreat, and the plugs for fair trade coffee being sold in the narthex, it is a time for sharing of celebrations: birthdays, anniversaries, other important family news. Today I had something to share.

Do you see that happy, happy man with the sleepy baby right there to the left? That's Tom, our older son, born on this date in 1974. A good friend from church, Paul, shares this birthday, albeit in a different year.

Even as we remember our horrible losses of ten years ago, let us not forget that God is the giver of life, and give thanks for the birthdays of Tom, Paul, Jason, Brenda Filer, Woody's Mom, and all of the others for whom this day has been significant for all of their lives.

Snortworthy

2011-09-10T07:49:00.000-04:00

Well, y'know, she doesn't write about her quilts, her theology, or her Springer Spaniel, so I really don't know how I connected with her. Perhaps it was through a portkey. Who knows?

She writes on other important topics and does it brilliantly. This post may be her finest piece ever. Don't take my word for it, friends. Go read it for yourselves.

She bills herself as "snortworthy," and that's no joke. After the requisite months in my bullpen of "favorites," today she moves to my links in the category of "Thinkers and Theologians." She's gotta be at least one of those.

Plagues?

2011-09-08T10:36:00.000-04:00

It's been a summer like no other that I can remember, Near Philadelphia. We've had weeks of top-of-the-chart temperatures, a hurricane, an earthquake or two, and unprecedented rainfall leading to dangerous flooding in some parts of the area (so far, not my particular location). The other day during a period of relative calm, Joe thought it would be good to clean the downspouts. Which led to his cleaning the window wells. In one of them he encountered a very, very small frog* (who, it must be told, was not overjoyed to make Joe's acquaintance). We've had bunnies, skunks, deer, turtles, possums, racoons, and even a turtle or so. But never before a genuine frog.

I'm convinced this guy is the start of the next plague.

*The frog pictured is not the actual one Joe met. They both declined to pose for a photo.

Tying Up Loose Ends

2011-09-05T20:51:00.000-04:00

One of my goals for summer had been to make the things that some people requested in exchange for the cow blocks (another one arrived in the mail this week -- will post a pic in another day or so). Today, being the last day of summer, was finally when I at least started these odds and ends. Brenda asked for a "B" and it is finished and will go in the mail to her tomorrow. Liz's scraps for her pineapple blocks have been cut and sitting waiting waiting waiting to go in the mail and tomorrow is the day for them, too.

Gari's cow mug rug is bonded and ready to hand stitch as are Nancy's dancing ladies. Going to work on those two in front of the Phillies this week and hope to have them mailed by this time next week. I'm annoyed at myself for letting them hang around so long.

I also have a PIF to do for Anya. Our PIF has turned out to be a crafty exchange and I had one idea in mind for her, but the gift she made for me (picture to follow) arrived and is so lovely that I've changed my plan. Bought some Kaffe fabric for Anya's project on Friday and getting it made is on the schedule for sometime in the next two weeks.

As for Muddy and Murky, the winner of those blocks is blogless [so far] Judi who writes:

Judi said...

I'd love to take your blocks and turn them into a Hospice quilt for Bonnie!

So, Judi, darling, send me your address one more time (you'd think I'd know it by now) and the M&Ms will go in the mail next Monday along with the aforementioned reciprocities.

Here's an update on the Prairie Women Journey Two Project One progress. Slowly and steadily it is coming together. I like this intricate lattice-and-cornerstone arrangement (click to enlarge).

No picture, but something else I did this weekend was to put satin binding on a frayed, ancient blanket. I've recently made the acquaintance of a young woman -- early 20s, I think -- who grew up in a home of absolutely horrific abuse, robbed of her childhood, her self respect, and her potential by two horrible parents, one of whom is now beyond bars for what he did to her. She has a security blanket, a hand-me-down from a mutual friend, and it is falling apart. When I was asked what could be done to salvage it, I knew the only possible thing was to buy it a little more time by covering the frayed edges. Took most of last evening to get it done, but it felt good to bring a little kindness into this kid's life.

I'm not the only one tying up loose ends. Our dining room chairs have cane seats and for years, when one would wear out, we'd send it home with Joe's dad for a couple of months, and it would return recaned and beautiful. Pop's been gone for a number of years, and last summer Joe took a caning class while we were at Chautauqua. He made a small stool for his project. This summer, he practiced the skill by making a second stool, and this weekend he began work on the chair seat that has been crying out for attention.

So it's been a pleasant and productive weekend, Near Philadelphia, and I hope the same is true wherever you happen to be!

Up For Grabs

2011-09-04T09:27:00.000-04:00

Well, friends, a lot of you had really good ideas for making Muddy and Murky more palatable and some of them had the potential for a nice-looking project.

I wish I had the enthusiasm to take on one or two of those good ideas. But I don't. And I suspect that if I put them away again and hope for the interest to germinate, it won't.

So . . . Muddy and Murky blocks are up for grabs. Here's the deal: If you commented previously on the original post and want them, leave a comment of "Count Me In" and if you didn't comment previously but want them now, leave a comment telling me what you would do with them. Tomorrow night, i.e., Monday evening, I'll do a random pick. The people who commented earlier get two chances and the new commenters get one.

So, think hard! These Muddy and Murky blocks could be headed your way on Tuesday!

Hazy and Humid, Near Philadelphia

Going In Circles

2011-09-03T20:13:00.000-04:00

About halfway through the summer, I wrote a post about a "project of the month" that I'd rather foolishly subscribed. At that time I shared the circles I needed to freezer-paper applique to squares. This was to be my first attempt with this technique.

Six weeks later, the blocks are all finished! And I didn't mind doing it at all! I don't know that this means I'm going to take up applique willy nilly or get involved with teensy weensy pieces to applique. I just know that I can now applique a circle, having done thirty of them.

Which is a good thing. Because I've been smitten with Emily Cier's Pinwheel quilt ever since I bought Quilt Remix and made her Irish Chain. I'd love to make the baby size of this quilt. When I was looking on the internet for pictures, I came across this variation and I might do that instead. Don't know. But it feels good to have "applique circles" checked off this summer's list.

A Southern Lady Comes to Call

2011-09-03T07:43:00.001-04:00

Somebody asked me, "Well, what's it like when you meet up with one of these blogger types?"

It's like having lunch with somebody you've known for ages and just saw a couple of weeks ago. Really. Salem Stitcher was taking a class in Harrisburg this past week and wondered how Far From Philadelphia that was. Not very. So after her class was complete, she drove over and spent a couple of nights with us. You can see that Blackberry took to her immediately.

On Friday, since I had a holiday from school, we had a leisurely breakfast on the deck and then set out to discover how we might best support the economy of Lancaster County. There were several ways, as it turned out, from purchases at the bakeries of the Bird-In-Hand Farmers' Market and the Village Pottery in Intercourse to a delicious lunch at TDFKAZ (Thank you, Lisa!) to fabric shopping at Old Country Store, Log Cabin Quilts, and Burkholder's -- who was having a major sale and one of us purchased no fewer than three bolts!

Got home, made dinner, and then had visitors -- some of the regular crowd came over to meet my friend and do some hand sewing. Then we indulged in the peach crumb and cherry pies we'd purchased earlier in the day, and I recommend both, most sincerely.

Lisa has to head back home this morning, leaving me with three whole days to play before school opens on Tuesday.

Here's one of my two non-fabric purchases from yesterday. As you can see, it comes with design ideas to try out. Lisa pretty much pooh-poohed those schemes and came up with this beautiful arrangement. I'd bought the puzzle with the grandchildren in mind. But, frankly, I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Neither Muddy Nor Murky

2011-09-01T17:40:00.000-04:00

Our monthly hand-sewing group made a commitment in the spring that over the summer each of us would make a quilt -- preferably a baby quilt -- for the local hospice, where one of our members is a volunteer.

I made a quilt for an adult male hospice patient at the start of the summer and thought that since I was on summer hours and had more time to sew, that I would make two more hospice quilts. I had bought the Lily and Will fabric to make a quilt that Sherry needed and there was a fair amount of the jelly roll remaining. So I picked up a little yardage and made these two baby quilts for the hospice. The smaller one is big quilted in the center and tied in the rest of it; the larger one is tied. It is sad to think that there is this need; it feels good to be able to do something to help. When our group meets in a couple of weeks, I'll try to get pictures of all of the quilts.

Muddy and Murky

2011-08-30T19:56:00.000-04:00

I cannot tell you what was in my mind when I made these blocks. Nor can I tell you what insight prompted me to put them away. Half of them finish at 8" and the other half finish at 4".

They came to the surface this week, shortly after the dozen Bill Morris blocks which are now all together and just waiting for a border.

Now these are up on the wall. There are a lot of partial FQs remaining, and some uncut FQs of this murky, muddy strain.

And, as I cannot tell you what started these blocks or what put them on hold, nor can I tell you what will become of them. Perhaps you can tell me. I wonder if they would do better in a straight rather than on-point set. I wonder if they would like some breathing space in the form of lattice. I wonder if there is any hope at all that they can turn into a nice project.

Ideas solicited. Even if your idea is "throw them out."

Sweet William

2011-08-29T20:33:00.000-04:00

It was one of those swaps where I sent out a piece of my fabric to each participant and gave her the specifications for what I wanted. In this case, I sent out pieces of various William Morris fabrics that were predominantly green. I asked people to use a white or WOW background and, if they liked, another color to coordinate with the Morris. I wanted 12.5" blocks. I think I received two dozen back, and the first dozen were made into a quilt a long time ago. I found this remaining dozen this weekend and decided to do something with them. They seemed to want some nice white lattice and border and I thought that some stars in the cornerstones would be nice.

I finished setting the blocks tonight and have been looking at the piece of white fabric that I have left to determine whether there is enough to make 6" borders. There might be just enough. Or there might not. I need to do the math again when I'm not tired!

If I need to get more white, that's not a problem. I'll just add it to the shopping list for Friday when my visitor and I go out to Lancaster County. I'd like to get the top all finished this weekend. Because I found another set of blocks from another swap that could use some attention.

Three More Sleeps!

2011-08-29T05:09:00.001-04:00

Guess who's coming to visit at the end of this week?

To sleep over for two nights?

To visit and play and meet some of my friends?

If you're guessing Shelby, you're not right but you're mighty close!

Three more sleeps!

Irene: The Morning After The Night Before

2011-08-28T09:41:00.000-04:00

Well, the storm of the ~~century~~ ~~decade~~ news cycle* has come and gone, leaving our little section Near Philadelphia pretty much intact.

In no way minimizing those who had real damage or threat to life, I can write only of my experience. It is still slightly windy and there is a very light rain still falling. And there are some fallen branches. We have perhaps a couple more hours of this.

Our basement is dry, thanks to a major investment we made several years ago, and no trees or wires are down as far as I can see.

Church, however, has been cancelled for today. So it looks as though I face a brief period of pick-up sticks and then can return to Bernina!

Thanks to all who expressed concern for us.

*Timothy J. Wengert, FB posting, Sunday morning

Good Morning Starshine!

2011-08-27T20:37:00.000-04:00

The Alps quilt is a flimsy! I spent a fair amount of today waiting for Hurricane Irene to come, finishing the last few blocks, and sewing them all together. We've got rain and some breeze, but -- so far -- nothing like what had been predicted.

I thought I'd share a picture of this leader-ender project that has been in the works for ages and ages. When I don't have another leader-ender, I pull this one out to use. Unlike most of the others, it has never demanded to be a primary project.

This picture shows half of the blocks that are made and there are the same number in a pile and the makings for twenty-eight more. I'm thinking when it is all done of just putting the blocks together like this and not adding any kind of sashing.

The rain is getting a little heavier and the wind is supposed to pick up later on tonight. We have a lot of large trees, so I'm going to take my car up to the high school parking lot where it won't be in any danger of having a tree fall on it.

I'll likely get back to these stars -- and perhaps a new project! -- tomorrow. Thinking William Morris. Which is what I'm often thinking. As you know.

Several Times

2011-08-23T21:32:00.001-04:00

When I was growing up Near Philadelphia, there was a large (for the times) amusement park not very far away. I remember riding past it, looking out the window from the back seat while my father drove. It looked like an enchanting place. I don't specifically remember going there with my family, but I must have. I went plenty of times as a teenager and young adult. My parents told me that at one time John Phillip Sousa and his band played there.

One of the rides was a roller coaster, the old-fashioned painted-white-wooden kind, and it featured an enormous mountain structure. As a child I couldn't imagine having the courage to go on such a thing, but I was fascinated by it. Because of the mountain structure and the up and down hills, the ride was called The Alps. Eventually fascination won out over cowardice, and I rode The Alps. Several times.

When I first saw the pattern, Roller Coaster, on Katy's blog just before it was published in Fat Quarterly, I thought it was a nifty quilt. I didn't think much about the name of it; I just knew I wanted to make it. Most likely several times. I liked it that much. I bought the issue as soon as it was available and as soon as some other odds and ends were cleared up, I started working on it. The blocks are two-thirds made at this point and I still like it enormously.

It has to be called The Alps.

If you're still with me, here's something sort of related: There's a wonderful semi-autobiographical novel by James Michener called The Fires of Spring. It is totally different from his other tomes. I read it for the first time when I was newly married and had moved Far From Philadelphia. I loved it and was thrilled to identify landmarks near Philadelphia in its pages, especially the amusement park which had to be the same one that housed The Alps. I've reread the book several times and have suggested it to friends. And now I commend it to you.

A Quick Visit

2011-08-22T08:14:00.000-04:00

Tom, Anastasia, and Nate were in town for a very quick visit.

In this family, curls start from the back . . .

. . . and then spread all over.

Tom and Nate.

Aunt Anastasia reads a story.

Two out of three happy.

Three out of three plus Magnolia happy.

Summer Quilt Day

2011-08-20T17:33:00.000-04:00

Today was the semi-annual Quilt Day at church. I love this event and only miss it because of being out of town or having bronchitis (that latter more likely in February). Some of the participants are women I see all of the time and others are folks I run into only at these events. There are always some new people.

Here's Kristina, who I see all of the time, but in the workplace setting mostly. She was working on this very pretty and crisp looking creation.

Late in the morning I was talking with a couple of ladies near the ironing board when out of the corner of my eye I saw something amazing. I interrupted myself mid-sentence to dash over to see this quilt (as though it might have disappeared if I'd loitered!). Debbie, who was new to me, claimed to be a new quilter, and must have been telling the truth because she had no idea what a masterpiece she was producing.

Debbie's quilt, of course, reminded me of the granny square afghan that Joe's grandmother made for our wedding gift.

As of last evening, I still didn't know what project I was going to take to Quilt Day. There were a lot of things on a lot of burners, in a manner of speaking. This morning when I went downstairs to pack up, I realized that I just couldn't wait any longer to start my [first] Roller Coaster quilt. I had a French General jelly roll and some yardage of solid tobacco-or-coffee French General that I'd bought a few months ago with another project in mind.

And this is what I've accomplished. I love it as much in reality as I did in the picture! Won't take long to get this one finished . . . .

Simplicity

2011-08-18T16:25:00.000-04:00

The summer reading for our administrative team this year has been A Quaker Book of Wisdom which is full of wisdom for Quakers and non-Quakers alike, IMNSHO. Each chapter title has a black and white photograph of a quilt. The book has nothing to do with quilts, but they certainly do make a pretty chapter title page!

The title photo for the "Simplicity" chapter was particularly appealing. I tried without success to find out what color the original quilt was and how large it was.

Here is my "Simplicity," in browns and creams. The finished size is 12" x 13.5". It is hand quilted.

Have You Ever . . . Even Once?

2011-08-17T22:22:00.000-04:00

I don't know when or how I first stumbled upon Murr's blog, but I'm awfully happy that I did. She's got a wry (this may be the first time I've ever used that word [and it feels good]) tone that I thoroughly enjoy. Most recently she wrote about giving blood and that made me thing about my years of blood donation.

I gave for a good long time, twice a year usually, from the time I first realized I was eligible. I just thought it was an important thing to do. Because I've always had low blood pressure and rolling veins, it wasn't always an easy thing to do. But that didn't stop me.

Until one night in May.

I went down to the church and gave my blood and skimped a bit on the juice and pretzel table because I needed to get home. It was the night of Sherry's junior prom and because we had excellent rhododendrons, the crowd was gathering at our place for pre-prom photos. I sure wish I had a digital version of one of them because those kids did look good. So I hurried home and we hurried about getting things ready and then standing around for this pose and that pose and kibitzing with the other parents who had come over for the photo op. And it was warm. At last they were all in their cars and off for a lovely evening. The parents dispersed and Joe and I headed down to the pub for our dinner.

It was crowded and we couldn't get a table right away, so we were standing at the bar. And it all caught up to me. And I said, "I don't feel right." And down I went. I passed out. In a bar.

And that's the last time I gave blood.

Hey -- go read Murr's post, won't you? It's better than mine. And give blood. If you can. And don't skimp on the pretzels and juice. Trust me.

Nancy, NP

Baby Boy Quilt

2011-08-15T18:58:00.001-04:00

I took a break from my Schnibble project (which seems to go on and on and on) to make a baby quilt with left-overs from a previous project. This was easy and went together quickly. I'm not going to border it -- it is 40" square at present. It needs to be backed, tied, and bound.

I may have mentioned earlier that a group of us has committed to having one child-size or baby-size quilt to donate to the local hospice by early September. I had already made a quilt for an adult male and had a few ideas for a baby quilt and decided on this one. I need to get the floss for tying and make the binding and am thinking the aqua rather than the brown. Responsible opposing viewpoints will be entertained!

NP's Peachy Day

2011-08-14T08:45:00.000-04:00

On Thursday afternoon, we drove down to Cape May to have dinner and then return. A lot of driving for a short spell. But a delicious meal. A silly thing to do. Perhaps even sillier, we stopped at a farm stand and brought home an enormous box of peaches. I had this hankering to make peach jam.

Friday evening we had company for dinner, so that afternoon I was busy getting ready for that. By Saturday morning, the peaches were at a do-or-die stage. I started out by making the cobbler featured in yesterday's post. That took care of a dozen or so of them. Then I went out to the grocery store to buy Sure-Jell and sugar while Joe retrieved the water bath canner.

Except he didn't. He looked for a long, long time, here, there, and everywhere, and it was not to be found. Meanwhile, the peaches were getting riper and riper. So I looked at the recipes in the pectin box and decided to make freezer jam. Got out my jars and washed them and looked at the recipe again and it said to use plastic containers. So out to the store again I went.

Plunged into scalding, peeling, slicing, and pulverizing, and after a long time (some of those skins just wouldn't come off) I had two batches finished. About sixteen cups.

And still had beaucoups peaches remaining. Peaches that looked even less perky than they had in the morning. So I continued to scald, peel, and slice, and mixed them in big bowls with a little sugar and lemon juice. Near the end, Joe came in from his day of installing a new threshold and getting acquainted with a new storm door, and took pity on me. He began to peel and I continued to slice and mix and at last we were finished. The neighbors received a bowl full and there's another bowl ready for Carol, later today.

Guess what we had for breakfast this morning! Golly, were they good.

Dog Days of August

2011-08-13T11:58:00.000-04:00

Someone -- who shall remain nameless but let the record show that she has no blog of her own -- has taken me to task for a week of no blogging! I told her it's August, and everything slows down. She didn't buy it.

This past week was the penultimate week of Summer Hours at school. After next week, we return to our regularly scheduled 8-4:30. So I've relished my afternoons this past week. I made more belts. I worked on my Schnibble/Schnobble. I finished a teensy weensy project (noticing that spell-check flags "teensy" but lets "weensy" slide), more about which later.

One afternoon after I came home, we drove down to Cape May, walked on the mall for a bit, had a scrumptious dinner at our favorite restaurant and drove back home. It was a lot of driving. But a memorable dinner and evening.

Been playing ~~too much~~ Scrabble on Facebook with a bunch of very intelligent people. Tried a couple of new recipes. Made old favorite peach cobbler this morning. Recipe here for those so inclined.

It's August. Last year I remember researching the origins of "dog days." What I found wasn't impressive enough to remember. But somehow, that seems perfectly fine..

In Which I Resist a Clever Title

2011-08-07T16:55:00.000-04:00

Spent yesterday morning cleaning up and organizing [most of] the sewing studio. It's looking much better. At least on the surface.

I found a whole bunch of 6" CW HSTs that I'd made earlier this summer. Clearly with some project in mind that was so obvious that I didn't jot down any notes. And now do you think I know what my intention was? Oy.

So I moved into my new passion: beltmaking! A whitish one for me and one for Judy and one for my dear neighbor and a pink one for a little friend and then got started on the red . . . . Oh, what fun! And there are three more ready to be made as soon as I pick up some more thread. They go quickly and are very satisfying to make.

A Lovely Outing

2011-08-04T18:47:00.000-04:00

I enjoyed a lovely outing this afternoon. With summer hours ending in another couple of weeks, I took advantage of having a long afternoon to meet my dear relative Susan for our annual summer lunch. She lives about two hours away from me and her life is crazy-busy with three children, a full-time teaching job, and a pastor husband, so we don't see nearly enough of each other.

We met today at The Diner Formerly Known As Zinns where we had a delicious lunch. The portions are so generous and the prices so low and the menu so extensive; I swear I don't know how they manage to stay in business. I then shared my Burkholder's coupons and we drove out there to see what was what.

For years, ever since they came out, I've been interested in a lazy susan cutting mat. It just made so much sense. But the price was off-putting. Pat recently bought one and seems quite pleased with hers. So with my 30% off coupon, today seemed the right time to indulge. And so I did. Susan said she hadn't bought fabric in so long that perhaps she had forgotten how. She hadn't.

What a nice afternoon.

More Chihuly and Some Odd Lads

2011-08-02T19:09:00.000-04:00

"And through the open window, she hands Charlie a sandwich . . . "

2011-08-02T08:19:00.000-04:00

Last Friday morning we drove north to do something we've wanted for many years. Ever since we'd seen a PBS documentary on Dale Chihuly, Joe and I have hoped to visit one of his installations. They've been in places like Seattle and Venice and Tennessee, all pretty much out of our reach. Finally there was one in Boston! Very driveable from here. And our dear friend Sharon lives just a short train ride outside of the city, so we had a place to stay and good company for our visit!

On Saturday morning we hopped aboard the MTA, humming the old familiar tune and hoping not to embarrass ourselves by bursting forth into song, and traveled to the Boston Museum of the Fine Arts. The following is a sampling of what we viewed there. It was everything we'd dreamed it would be!

Quilt with Feet and Kids Without

2011-07-30T16:38:00.001-04:00

Here's Argyle, Anyone? all finished. I really like how this quilt turned out. My long-armer used a variegated thread that seemed to include all of the colors in the quilt.

I'm thinking it would be interesting to make this pattern again, but asymmetric -- you know, with the center square not in the center? I think that would be very interesting.

It's not a big quilt, just enough to pull up on a chilly evening. Which we will have again. Someday.

Sherry and her family went to visit Andrew and his family a couple of months ago and somebody snapped this photo and sent it to me. It's great of Sam and Caroline and less so of Eli and Woofie. It's hard, you know, to get that many folks to sit still and look at the camera.

Sherry pointed out recently, "Caroline sure lucked out in the hair department." I agree.

In Which my Schnibble Goes Rogue!

2011-07-28T05:52:00.001-04:00

First of all, I need to say that the turn of events had nothing whatsoever to do with the Schnibble pattern itself! Ya gotta believe me on that. It was all about the fabric choice I made. I know that. It was something or another by Kate Spain (I didn't keep the paper label that came with the charm packs) and the fabrics were gorgeous. Very gorgeouos. And the "Mon Ami" Schnibble pattern was and is a truly nifty pattern. Done in the fabrics Carrie chose, it is so appealing! But that the fabric and the pattern would not play nicely together. Oh, no, they would not.

Each individual block was nice enough. And after awhile, I got the hang of the "contrast thing." But putting those blocks together the way the pattern called for was making me cross-eyed. And cranky. I was not liking my project one bit. And I wanted to quit. It wasn't the pattern. There was just too much going on. And I did not wish to continue the chaos.

So I went over to start to take the blocks down from the wall and try to figure out some use for them, when it suddenly hit me: These particular blocks just needed some breathing space! They were smothering each other!

Much the way my infamous leader-ender projects will insist on becoming "real" projects instead of leader-enders, these stout-hearted little Schnibbles demanded that I give them a chance. And some room to breathe.

And just look at that! Alternating a plain white square makes all the difference. An individual block can be seen, identified, and appreciated. And would you look at the secondary pattern that is emerging from the white? Is that not a joy to behold?

The Schnibble pattern is 5x5 blocks. But these rogue Schnibbles want more. I'm going to go 7x7 and then finish the project with the borders that Carrie calls for. And end up with a Cousin to a Schnibble, I think, a little quilt that will please me very much. Stay tuned!

Roller Coaster

2011-07-27T15:48:00.000-04:00

This quilt is killing me. I must have looked at it twenty times already today. And it's not yet four o'clock. My first glimpse of it was in the wee hours of the morning, when I was awakened by a foot cramp and couldn't get back to sleep. Rather than toss and turn, I got up and looked at the blogs. And there on Katy's blog was this stunner. I sat there and soaked it up. And then tried again to go back to sleep. Hah!

The pattern is through Fat Quarterly, a little e-zine that I've successfully resisted for a year and a half. Well, not any more! As soon as I can get some other things wrapped up, I'm going to start making [what may be the first of many versions of] this amazing quilt. I'm thinking William Morris, French General, batiks . . . . . where to start!!!! I'm going to be rolling and coasting for quite some time, I'm afraid.

Summer Learning Progress Report

2011-07-25T16:30:00.000-04:00

I have about half of the blocks made for the Schnibbles project and have learned a few things already, none of which are directly about the Schnibble experience: (a) just because a fabric is pretty and makes nice 5" squares doesn't mean it will make nice 2" squares; (b) pinked edges are not my friends; (c) contrast can be harder than I'd thought. But I press on and will get this Schnibble finished!

As to another of my summer projects, learning to do freezer paper applique, I've painlessly (other than the thumb incident!) completed two of the thirty blocks and look forward with pleasure to finishing the remaining ones as a travel-or-television project. I don't think I'm going to convert into any kind of prodigious applique maven, but it is something I might do again.

Last night I finished binding Argyle, Anyone? and had hoped to take a photograph of her today. But -- praise God -- it is raining and so that will need to wait another day or so.

Haven't done anything with the paper piecing goal as yet. But there are at least another five weeks of summer left, aren't there?

Beatin' the Heat Near Philadelphia

2011-07-24T11:16:00.000-04:00

Trying to keep some semblance of cool has consumed the energy of a lot of Near Philadelphians, and it doesn't look like a whole lot of relief is in the forecast. My sewing studio isn't air-conditioned; it is on the lower level of the house, though, and tends to be cooler than the rest of the home. I have a nice big floor fan that helps. But these past few days, it just hasn't been very inviting.

Yesterday I had a double treat of a day: (a) spending it with a dozen other quilters and (b) doing that in a spacious, air-conditioned church hall! I stayed from 8 until 1:30 and got nine of my Schnibbles units finished. Will do a total review of the Schnibble experience when it is complete. You can see my blocks here along with my bowties. I don't believe I'll be sewing downstairs again for a few days; I tend to get a little sick with extreme heat and feel fortunate that I've been okay for the past week. It was just this morning that that queasy feeling started, so I'll be staying pretty much on the main level of the house, which has a pair of window units, three ceiling fans, and strategically placed floor fans, all working overtime. I continue to applique the circles for those prairie women and bind Argyle, Anyone? when I sit with Joe in front of the Tour de France or whatever Netflix is playing.

Last evening our neighbors came over for dinner and I had a good time making a refreshing meal for them. I didn't tell them until the very end of the evening that the sangria, the appetizers, the salad, and the dessert were all Weight Watcher recipes.

The sangria was very light, and I think not a lot like traditional sangria. But it was delicious and easy to make, so I'll tell you how: To 1 cup dry red wine, add 3 cups low-calorie cranberry cocktail, 3 cups of cut up fruit (I used strawberries and pineapple) and 1/8 tsp cinnamon. Let it chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

I was suspicious of the cinnamon, but it made all the difference. The photo isn't mine, but came from the internet. I didn't think of taking a picture last evening because I was too focused on making and serving my skewered cantaloupe, mint and prosciutto and also grape tomatoes with basil and mini-mozzarella balls. Of which there are one of each left over -- and it is nearly time for lunch!

End of the Week Update

2011-07-22T09:26:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was our forty-fourth wedding anniversary, and we went out to dinner at a wonderful restaurant, Blackfish. It is not inexpensive. However, the food is delicious and original and the presentation is exquisite. In case you live Near Philadelphia and are looking for a place to go for a special occasion, you might want to take a look at Blackfish's menu and give it serious consideration.

On the quilting front, I picked up Argyle, Anyone? from the machine quilter and, as always, Mary Ellen did a spectacular job, using variegated thread that seemed to contain all of the fabric colors. I got the binding machined on and began the handstitching yesterday and it should be done in just a few days, at which point a photo will be shared. It's a nice quilt to be working on and the 60" square is a nice size for a quilt.

I also got all of those circles-on-freezer-paper starched and pressed and have even completed the applique of the first one and begun the second. This is my current portable project, and I'm kind of liking the applique. I don't think it is something I'm going to want to pursue on any kind of a grand scale, but it is nice to know I can [sort of] do it.

The other new technique I wanted to attempt this summer is paper piecing. Once we get into August, I'll get serious about that. Speaking of getting into August, before July is over, I need to finish up the in-exchange-for-a-cow projects, make Anya's PIF, and mail out the charm packs to the winners. Bear with me, friends. I'm on "summer time" when the livin' is easy . . . .