Back to our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Didn't this blog used to have a lot of quilty content? Doesn't she sew any more? Did she give up buying fabric -- not just for Lent -- for ever?

Yes, no, and no. It's time to return to our regularly scheduled programming.

First off, however, is a hearty thank-you to Tracey, who sent me this wonderful assortment of her gorgeous cards. A good, good person, excellent writer, magnificent photographer, and fabric fondler extraordinaire, Tracey drew my name from her recent give-away. Am I lucky, or what?

Someone asked whether I'd bought any fabric when Joe and I were visiting the Caribbean. Well, yes.

The last island we visited was Martinique, a French colony. We took a guided tour of the island, ending at the market place. I'd told the tour guide that I'd heard about Martinique's distinctive madras fabrics, and she pointed us in the right direction for "fabric row." There were several fabric shops close together, each selling more or less the same types of fabrics. We selected one and went in -- Joe was a wonderful help in getting the bolts up and down from their racks, as we were short on time. I'm not sure what I'll do with this collection of brilliant hues -- any ideas out there?

On St. Kitts we took an island tour with a guide whose personal appearance as well as his vehicle rivaled that madras fabric for intense color. He was quite a character, too, pulling over to the side of the road around ten o'clock in the morning to offer us a complimentary refreshing beverage from the back of the jeep -- imagine our surprise to find good island rum among the selections! Subscribing to the old premise that "it's five o'clock somewhere," we had a little bit of the most delicious light -- and dark -- rum ever!

Back on the road, the next stop was at a place where there were gorgeous gardens surrounding a batik shop. There we saw the batik-making process broken down, and did a little shopping. Most of what they had for sale was made-up merchandise -- shirts, skirts, table linen, bags -- but there was a small pile of 2.5 meter pieces, many of them featuring the local lizard.

Since returning home, I've been happy to do some sewing. We have three weddings coming up this summer among our friends' children. The Good Guys traditionally have showers for the brides, and Emily's and Stephanie's weddings will be in August and September, respectively. Someone thought the theme for the joint shower we will have should be "Christmas in July." This was easy for me to work with. Back last Christmas Nicole was making aprons like there was no tomorrow. At my request, she revealed the name of the pattern she'd been using, and I lost no time in purchasing it. It took a little longer to get the fabric, but when we were out at White Oak last month I stopped at the Old Country Store and found exactly the right subtle Christmas prints. The directions to the pattern are clear, and I had a lot of fun putting these together. I see more apron-making in my future.

Finally, March was my month to send out fabric and get back blocks from one of my internet groups. I had a pattern that I'd been dying to get to, but was a bit delayed by the thought of all of the intricate piecing involved. I also had a group of Civil War Crossings FQs that someone had sent me in exchange for a set of BOM kits that turned out to be more to her taste than to mine. Viola! There will be 13 of these blocks when all of them have come in; meanwhile, I need to get started on the alternate blocks. Z&S is having a big sale right now and I ordered the Civil War Crossings yardage I'll need for those blocks, as well as the shirting.

So, the answer is yes and yes -- she does still sew and she certainly still acquires fabric!