Kirby's Mill

There is an old mill in the next town, which has been restored by the historical society. It's a wonderful place, full of history. Every year they have a number of different events there...art shows, an apple festival in the fall and a quilt show in June. This past weekend was the quilt show. I brought my "Almost Amish" round robin quilt to be displayed. It was draped over an old wagon (with a sheet underneath for protection!) and looked lovely hanging there. My daughter also displayed her quilt there. I had put a picture of her quilting the quilt on my longarm and she was quite proud of herself when people looked at her and said, "Aren't you the girl in the picture? Your quilt is beautiful!

The top picture is of a general store they have set up in the mill. Next is my quilt and then there are antique quilts which were on display in the woodshop.

After looking through the new American Patchwork and Quilting magazine I started a new quilt. I love the red nine patch quilts they have in this issue. I have lots of blue 2.5" strips and decided that I would like a 2 color nine patch quilt as well, so now I have 24 blocks made. Lots more to go, but they do go together easily using Bonnie's method from her Sister's Choice quilt! Thanks for coming up with that, Bonnie!

I also picked up a copy of Quilter's Home on Judy's recommendation. Mark Lipinski is from NJ and I'd heard of him through the state quilt guild and the Quilting Professionals Network. The magazine is interesting and fun! Thanks, Judy...I'd known it was coming out but didn't realize it had already hit the newsstand!

Great Screen Door Quest

So, I don't know how handy all of you are around the house, but our motto is, "If we can pay someone to do it, write the check!" No matter how hard we try, something usually manages to go wrong.

We've been waiting for this weekend to replace the screen doors on the back of our house. We did this 6 years ago when we bought the house, but we got very cheap doors and they have warped. Our cats also learned to pull the spline out of the track so they could walk through the screen when it was loose. Smart cats...don't bother with just ripping the screen!

We took all of our measurements last night to Home Depot. We looked at doors. My husband found some metal storm doors that he liked. I didn't. To me, the sound of a wooden screen door banging is one of the sounds of summer. We looked around some more and realized that our door openings are 33" wide. The doors are 32" and 36"...33" is a special order. We headed to Lowes, hoping they would have doors to fit. Nope...they didn't even have a door we liked. We went to Home Depot #2 and they didn't have anything either.

At that point, we called it a night and headed to the ice cream shop...we were going to get SOMETHING good out of the night! This morning we got up at 7 and continued the quest. As we were standing in Home Depot #3 (isn't it great that they are just EVERYWHERE???) I said to my husband, "I'd really still like a wooden door. I wonder if we can just take some 1" furring strips and cover the spline so the cats can't get it?" We went to find the wooden screen doors to see if this was a possibility. After 10 minutes we finally asked someone to show us where the doors were. He showed us a BRAND NEW type of screen door that was made for pets...it has a wire mesh on the bottom in addition to the screen to keep pets in, AND the spline is covered. Just what I wanted! Of course, they only have one 32" door. We need 2 - 33" doors. So, we have to go home and measure our doors to see if we can use a 32" door and pack it to make it fit. Home we go.

On our way to Home Depot #4 we decided that now that we had a plan, they probably wouldn't have the doors we need...and we were right. So we headed to Lowes #2 to see if they had something similar. They didn't. So, we went back to Home Depot #1 and don't you know...they had the doors we need. We couldn't have thought of this last night and saved all the aggravation today? They just didn't have the right size boards for the packing and we don't have a table saw, so we can't rip them to what we need. Anyway, we bought the doors and hardware, then stopped at the hardware store to get more of the green paint that all of our outdoor trim is painted. MAB Montgomery Green. Only, the hardware store is now a Benjamin Moore dealer and doesn't carry MAB. We decided on a color match and called it a day.

Now, this is just the buying the supplies part of the project! I dread to think what will happen next week when we try to install the doors! On a much better note, after we got home I sent my DH off with our son to play golf. My son just texted me...DH just got a hole in one!

Oh...the eye candy is a customer quilt. She wanted shamrocks in the plain squares. I'm guessing this is one of those times it would be nice to have a Statler Stitcher! But, they are all done, she loved the quilt and told me it will be hanging in the same quilt show that I'll have one hanging in next weekend.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend!

Shelves are Filling Up!

Ummm...I had a little fun this weekend! We took our daughter up to our Diocesan Spring Youth Event in Lebanon, NJ. On the way home on Sunday, after picking her up, we stopped at my favorite quilt shop. I only did a little damage...not nearly as much as last time! The two large pieces were on the clearance shelf...how can you pass up neutrals when they're on clearance? Apparently I can't!

The others are repros for a pattern I picked up awhile ago...or for two, actually! One is Amadeus
and the other is Rose Pistola, both by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.

My daughter picked up the pattern for the sheep from Rumpled Quiltskins. She picked the cow fabric to make the body, the hot pink Moda below for the ruffles and a teal green for the inside of the ears and the foot pads. This will be one interesting sheep!


Other than that it's been quiet here. My DH is off to New England for the week. He called me from the ferry that runs from Orient Point, Long Island, NY to somewhere in CT. It's a gorgeous day and he was sitting on the top deck of the ferry while he crossed. I wish I was there with him!

Tonight I'll be watching American Idol while I sew...I've gotten so much done during that show this season! My kids have been wandering into my sewing room to watch with me...it's been nice! I still can't believe Chris got voted off the show...I was heartbroken. This has been about the only show I watch on a regular basis, aside from House. I'll have to tape tonight's finale of that...will be out picking up my daughter from work when it ends.

Starting new projects

Remember the stack of Christmas fabrics I bought about a month or so ago? I've started the quilt that I'm making out of them. It's from the book Thimbleberries Holiday Collection. I have to make lots of flying geese for it...about 144, so they are what I've been working on lately. I love the background fabric with the little Christmas balls...too cute!

I've also finished another customer quilt (thank goodness for those Baptist Fans! She picked it up today and just loved it. I love the pattern she used and her fabric choices are beautiful!
Other than that it's been pretty quiet here. It sounds as if you all had a nice Mother's Day. I did too! I spent most of Saturday working in the yard. Saturday night we met some of my husband's customers at a little Italian place in Philadelphia called Ristorante Pesto. The food there is amazing and the limoncello is divine! We were a little early so we spent some time driving around Center City Philadelphia. Now, I'm not a city girl at all...but I could see myself living in Philly. In the right areas, of course! The architecture is beautiful in Center City, Olde City and several other areas. Everything you need is in walking distance...food, shopping, restaurants, coffee shops, book stores, museums, historic sites, medical care...you name it and you can find it. Moving to the city once the kids are grown is something we've been knocking around for awhile and I've always been dead set against it. I'm beginning to see where there could be some advantages too! Oh well, we have a lot of years before we have to think about that!

On Mother's Day, after church we headed to my parents' house. My brother and sister and their families all met there for lunch. Mom seemed so happy to have us all together. When we got home, my husband got ready to leave on a business trip while I worked in the yard. For MD, my DH and kids gave me 4 David Austen Old English rosebushes. I got those planted...I can't wait to see them bloom. I've ordered a few more hybrid tea roses for the side of the house as well as two climbers to put on either side of the Old English roses to be trained up the posts of the porch. I love roses. :o) Anyway, DH left for Connecticut, we ordered sandwiches for dinner and that was our evening...very quiet.

Not much to report from NJ...I think I'll go look for an update on Judy's cabin!!!

The rains came last night, the air smells fresh and my plants are no longer drooping! I hope to get out and work in the garden at some time this weekend...maybe on Mother's Day. It's now time to plant some annuals and get some hanging pots. I want to plant white impatiens along our walkway. They will catch the light from the garage and will glow at night...I love white gardens at night!

The baby quilt is done...when my DH stops traveling and heads into the office once again, it will be going to its new owner. That picture is last. The other pictures are of my Amish Round Robin quilt. I don't have a good place to take pictures, so I did what I could. This is something I need to address over the summer when I paint my studio. I don't have much wall space in there...I'm thinking maybe those pinch clip quilt hangers. I could space them about every 10" on the wall over the door and could clip my quilts up to photograph. Any other ideas out there?

I made the row with the square in a square and the pinwheels. The other rows were all done by online friends from Arizona, New Mexico, New York and Ohio. I'm not sure what I'll do with it now that it's done, but I do love it! I'm sure my youngest daughter would steal it when I wasn't looking if she thought I wouldn't notice! :o) It will be hanging in the Kirby's Mill quilt show the first weekend in June. This is a display of quilts from local quilters. They call every year and ask me to bring quilts for the show...this year, because of Stash Quilts, Mavericks and Stashbuster, I actually have quilts to show! I'm so glad you are all here to motivate me!

Housework is calling my name...I've been ignoring it all week, I guess I should answer!

Anticipating Rain...

The weather for the last few weeks has been absolutely glorious. Temperatures have been in the 70s, the skies have been clear blue and it has been wonderful to be outside. Except for the pollen. The town I live in is part of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey...which, obviously, has a lot of trees. Pine trees, maples, oaks...they're all here. And they're beautiful. However, in the spring, they all release their pollen at the same time and EVERYTHING is covered with a thick coating of yellow dust. I've never lived anywhere with so much pollen! Normally the rain will wash it away, but we haven't had any rain. This allergy season is horrible!

Today we're anticipating rain...and lots of it. I can't wait! I love the sound of rain drumming on the windows, the smell of the air during a storm, the feeling that home is exactly where I should be...I love rain. It will also nourish my roses which have started to bloom. The pictures are of my absolute favorite rose, the Rio Samba. The buds are red/orange/ yellow and they open up into beautiful blooms. As they fade they turn pink, so at any given time there will be roses ranging from red to orange to yellow to pink on the bush...it's gorgeous! I've shared a few pictures of mine...buds on the kitchen table, a full bloom and the bush of many colors. If you love roses, give this one a try!

Speaking of roses, my family has given me 4 David Austen old English roses for Mother's Day. Of course, I have no bed prepared to plant them, so they'll have to wait until the rains go...sometime next week. I can't wait to get them in the ground and watch them grow.

Better Day...

Today was a much better day than yesterday! I spent the morning cleaning house, doing laundry and all that fun stuff. This afternoon I headed up to my sewing room. The windows were open, there was a cool breeze blowing and I have a nice view of the green leaves and wisteria swaying in the breeze. I finished piecing the baby quilt for our friend's baby. It's WAY out of my comfort zone...so much color broken up by the black sashing. I love how it turned out. I'm thinking either clamshells or Baptist Fans in black thread for quilting...any thoughts? I'm hoping to load it on the longarm tonight if I have something suitable for a backing. This came completely from my stash!

A Very Long Week

It's been such a long, draining week here. I finished a very challenging customer quilt, but still haven't finished the binding on my Amish quilt...maybe tonight! Took this picture in my studio this morning...I store all my thread in a china closet and the colors were shining out at me this morning...I needed a bright spot in my day!

This week has been eye opening...we learned first hand how young girls can be so very cruel. I know they don't think of how their actions affect others and that's a shame. It also amazes me that parents can turn a blind eye to what their children are doing. I'm not a parent who believes my child can do no wrong. Apparently, I'm one of the few. It also floors me that they will blame bullying and abuse on the victim rather than address the problem at home. It's been a sad and frustrating week...one that I don't care to repeat any time soon!

Done!

The sister's choice quilt is done, quilted and bound. I used different blue 2.5" strips that I had cut to make blocks as the binding. I like the look of it! Now what to do with the rest of the 2.5" strips I cut?

My next project is a baby quilt. I've been making bright 4-patches as a leader/ender project. They will be set with black sashing and bright cornerstones for a baby quilt. Tracey James was born on Tuesday...and since his brother and sister have quilts, he'll need one of his own!

Weird? Me?

Blogger won't let me post this...maybe I'm too weird???

Who would ever think there is anything weird about me? Of course, when I asked my family they were able to come up with a thing or two! I'm amazed at how many weird things I have in common with others who have posted their lists!

6 weird things about me...

1. I absolutely HATE to have my feet touched. By anyone, including me! I'd love to have a pedicure, but it will NEVER happen!

2. I hate to ride as a passenger in my own car. I don't like to drive either...but I'm fine as long as I'm not the passenger in my car. I guess another weird thing with my car is he has a name. Bubba. I have a little Volvo S40 and on a vacation to Vermont with my daughter right after I got it, she kept pointing out Volvo trucks and saying, "Volvo". I didn't know what she was doing and asked her why she kept saying Bubba. Now everyone in my family calls my car Bubba!

3. I have a hard time starting new projects. I love to look through books, plan, buy fabric (or plants, whatever I need) for a project, but have a hard time actually getting going on it. Once I do, I'm fine...it's just that initial push to get started!

4. I'm not a shopper. I haven't been to the grocery store in weeks, I don't like to go to the mall and if I could buy everything I need online and never leave the house, I would. I love to be at home! Fortunately, I married a man who LOVES to shop...so I leave it to him.

5. I think I'm a hippie at heart. I'd love to dress in flowing clothes, poet shirts. I loved having a big garden when I had the yard for it, and providing food for my family. My mother always said I was a "flower child" when I was little...if I didn't get such looks from my kids, I'd probably be one now too!

6. My favorite line around the house is, "Life's a musical!" Which is why I sing frequently (and horribly!) to my kids...even if it's asking them what they want for dinner. They just roll their eyes...

So, I guess that's what's weird about me! I'm tagging anyone else who wants to play!

Sister's Choice

After much consideration I decided that I didn't like the Sister's Choice blocks enough to make an entire queen size quilt of them. My husband didn't like them at all, which also figured into the decision! So, using what I had on hand, I managed to get them all together. Since I didn't have a decent looking fabric for a border, I put on a piano key border and now the top is done. Funny thing is, I LOVE IT! It would make a great quilt for a little girl. I'm thinking that this one is destined to go to Keepsake Quilting. I haven't heard from them about the first quilt I sent, so I'm assuming that hasn't sold. Maybe this one will...especially if it's priced well. I think this will be quilted with Baptist Fans...I hope to get it on the machine tomorrow!

Found it!

What a relief! The block on the right is the one that I struggled with...and we won't even pay attention to the fact that it's not very square! As Brenda says, "Better finished than perfect!" Keeping the block from you know where company was another applique block that I'd forgotten I'd completed. It hasn't been trimmed down yet.

It's another beautiful day here in Southern NJ, sunny, cool and breezy. The clouds are starting to roll in though and the weekend is supposed to be a washout. Maybe THEN I will get some sewing done!

I just received the book "Create Your Perfect Quilting Space" by Lois Haller. What beautiful studios are pictured! Makes me want to recreate my spaces...the longarm studio (AKA living room) downstairs and my little quilting studio upstairs. I'm so fortunate to have 2 rooms in my house dedicated to my quilting! I know the longarm studio needs a makeover, I've chosen my paint color and will be painting this summer. There is only so much furniture rearranging that can take place, though, when the room is 18 feet long and the machine is 14 feet! Upstairs, I know I can arrange it better...and that room won't need painting! It even has the same stenciled border as one of the rooms in the book, just in different colors. All in good time...

Vacation?

Wow, this week is going so fast. My thoughts of having lots of time to quilt have gone right out the window. It has been a good week. We had a wonderful dinner at my sister's for Easter. Salad, ravioli, spaghetti, meatballs and sausage...it was all delicious. The rest of the week has been spent running to appointments, taking the kids to the doctor, taking my older daughter job hunting and soon I'll be leaving to meet my sister for lunch. A busy week, but a good one!

Here are the few Dear Jane blocks I have managed to complete...can you tell I like to do the applique blocks? I have one more that I really struggled with, but now I can't find it. I hope I haven't lost it for good...I don't want to make that one again! It's a slow process, for me at least, as I try to squeeze these in among my other projects. It has never been a priority...just one of those projects I'd like to finish in the next 20 years or so! The close ups are just to give you an idea of the fabrics I'm using. Most are Robin Pandolph's Christmas fabrics, but there will be others in the same color families mixed in. I don't want it to be a Christmas quilt...just a pretty quilt!

I did manage to finish the quilting on an Amish style quilt that I had on the machine. I'm hand sewing down the binding now, so once that's done I'll post a picture.

Slow Progress

I've only managed to make 11 of the Sister's Choice blocks this week, but I also put together 3 Dear Jane blocks...all of them with applique! I'll dig those out later and post a picture. So far I'm pleased with how these blocks are turning out, although it does look awfully purple!

Tonight our daughters are in a reenactment of the Stations of the Cross at our church. This is always a very touching service. Last year my son played Jesus...it was so hard to watch him die on the cross and be laid out on the stripped altar...even if it was all pretend. Tomorrow we're headed to the Keswick Theater to see Jesus Christ Superstar. I haven't seen it since I was in high school. My kids grew up listening to the soundtrack, so hopefully we'll be able to control ourselves and not sing along to the performance! In July we're taking them to see Godspell in Philadelphia...that's another of my favorites, although I've never seen it onstage.

The weather has been damp and dreary all day. Other than a 2 mile walk this morning, I've been inside all day. It's so nice to be off school...I'm really looking forward to next week. It will include a trip to a quilt shop in my area, The Little Shop. I remember going to this store when I was a child, maybe 6 or 7 years old, to buy fabric. I picked out a pale green swiss dot (remember that stuff?) that my mother made my Easter dress out of. Over the years it has changed owners, expanded to the storefront next door and has become a delightful little quilt shop.

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter!

April Finish...

I finally have a new finish report! This is a quilt I received after a dear friend had passed away. She had pieced it, done some machine quilting and had marked the large triangles for hand quilting.

When I received it, I added some more machine quilting. I then bound it and started looking for a rayon variegated thread that matched what she had used so I could continue hand quilting. I finally found some and started the quilting during the Olympics. When they were over I set it aside and picked it up again last week to finish the quilting. The first picture is of the whole quilt and the second is one of the hand quilted motifs.

I also have started a Sister's Choice quilt from Bonnie's Quiltville using some of my older FQs and strips. I didn't intend to make all the points purple, but since the first 4 blocks turned out that way, I think I may stick with it! I'm using the same background throughout the quilt, so with that and the purple points, it should pull the quilt together.

So, that's what I've been doing!

March Wrap Up

It seems as if March was a month of starting, not finishing...adding to stash instead of using it! My only finish was the flannel quilt which I donated to Camp Reach for the Sky. I did quilt a number of customer quilts and charity quilts.

On the starting side, I cut and started a Sister's Choice quilt, all from stash. I also made a stretched stars quilt top, almost the same as the one I did with my 5th grade class, but smaller. Somehow the stars are going the other direction too...it just looks wrong that way! This will be a class gift for the teacher I work with...the students will all sign it. I'll post a picture later. I also started a 4 patch baby quilt which will need to be done by the end of this month, since the baby will be arriving in early May.

So...I've created a few new stash projects and will be starting some Christmas gifts this month. I also hope to finish a few older projects. It's time to make a new list!

Birds in the Air

I've quilted several Birds in the Air quilts in the past few months and I found this one to be so striking! The customer used all civil war prints and the colors just went together perfectly. I did a freehand feather meander over the entire middle of the quilt and feathers in the outer border. The inner border is a curlycue design.

I just bought the book, so I think I may have to make one for myself!

Other than that it's been pretty quiet here. Except for the couple of hours I spent in the emergency room on Friday! My youngest, Grace, was at the beach with her friends on Friday afternoon as they had the day off and it was gorgeous out. She managed to trip over a cement step and rip a nice hole in her toe...it was about the size of a quarter and only attached on one side. She calls me and says, "mom, I'm bleeding. My shoe is bloody, my pants are bloody...are you going to be home soon? I came home, put a call in to the doctor and he said to take her in. Grace managed to talk the ER doc out of giving her stitches (she's good, isn't she?) and he superglued the whole thing back on using Dermabond. She didn't manage to talk him out of giving her a tetanus shot, though! I have to take her to the family doctor this week to have it checked. Don't we know how to have fun?

Last night, my DH and I took a ride over to Dave & Busters on the Philadelphia waterfront and met some guys who came in from all over the country for a big sales meeting at my husband's office. There was a 3.5 hour wait for a table...and we didn't get there until 8:00 at night! We hung out at the bar with the guys and finally were seated at 10:30, a whole hour early. We had a great time...I can't remember the last time I had drinks with 9 guys!

Today was a quiet one, spent most of it finishing this quilt, then I dropped Grace and a friend off at our church youth group meeting and my 16 yo daughter and I went to Panera for dinner. I love that place...I had a chicken caesar salad that was just delicious.

Tomorrow I'll have to do my March wrap up, but I can't remember what I did last month, so I have to think about it!

Stash

As I looking over my last post, I started thinking about how excessive it seems to purchase 37 yards of fabric, even if it will all be used very soon. There is a line of discussion on Stashbusters about not spending money on fabric and it has made me think about my fabric spending habits.

The picture here is of my stash. Except for a few pieces of yardage in a drawer and my mostly empty boxes of strips (except for those pesky 2" strips...have a ton of those!), this is the whole thing. I have to admit, I'm a fabric snob. I will only buy quilt store quality fabrics. When I first started quilting I made 2 quilts, one for my son and one for my daughter, with fabrics from Joann's. Those quilts have not held up well...especially my son's quilt which has literally fallen apart at the seams. They were not heavily used, just slept under at night. I figure if I'm going to do the work, I should use the best supplies I have available to me. That includes quilt shop fabric. I'd rather buy smaller quantities (except when it's half price, of course!) of better fabrics and combine them with those already in my stash, if that's possible.

I joined Stashbusters and Stash Quilts because I want to use up what I have and needed inspiration to do so. I've found that inspiration in both places...even though I just lurk at Stashbusters! I've used quite a bit of my older fabric...which has made way for some newer ones. I don't think I could ever have a stash that is huge...I'd feel the weight of it hanging over me and would have a hard time going into my sewing room. I think my stash is just right for me. I guess we all need to find that place where we're comfortable with what we have in our stash, and can add to it if we find a great deal or a fabric too beautiful to pass by. I've come to that point with my stash...made my peace with it.

That being said, I'd still like to use up quite a bit of it so that I can purchase new fabrics to add to it! I'm doing that with the inspiration that comes from all these sources available to me online. I love looking at pictures of everyone's projects and imagining how I can create that quilt with what I have on hand. What would make it mine? The colors? Adding a different border? Setting the blocks on point? I find that with a small stash of small cuts, I have to try to be more creative in getting things done. I guess that's what makes us mavericks, the ability to change a design to make it distinctly our own.

As for my spending habits, which is where I started this post, I guess mine aren't too bad. I subscribe to Sweet Treats and receive a package of FQs monthly. I used to leave them all tied up with their pretty ribbons, but now I immediately take them apart, and add them to my stash or use them in current projects, if it's appropriate. Other than that, I make it to a quilt shop about 2 or 3 times a year. Funny, when I worked in a quilt shop, I rarely bought anything! I guess it was too much of a good thing!

Sometimes....

You just need a fabric fix! How about 37 yards worth? I NEVER shop like that...but today I made an exception! I went to the Pennington Quilt Works which has just moved into a brand new store and it's bright, large and wonderful. :o) The first group of fabrics here is just for me because I liked them. The second group actually has plans. The top yellow is a flannel for a rag quilt my 11 year old has started. The other 2 yellows are for a Sister's Choice quilt I'm making and didn't have enough yellow for. The pink is for the borders of my daughter's friend's graduation quilt. She doesn't graduate for 2 years so I'm ahead of the game!


The last pile is for a Christmas quilt that I've already picked out the pattern for and will get done...I swear! AND...all of the fabric in this pile was 50% off, so I didn't feel so bad buying so much of it! I may be able to do some of the quilt as a leader/ender project since the pattern has some flying geese in it. I guess I'll just add this one to the list...the list just keeps growing!

I have to smile when I read all the notes about hiding your stash from your husband. I'm so fortunate when it comes to that. You see, my husband has always supported my quilting habit and tends to push me to buy more than I would if I were alone. Not only that, he travels all over the country as the national sales manager for a boiler company from Philadelphia. When he has the opportunity, he stops in quilt shops and buys fabric for me. Sometimes he'll call and ask if I need a color or a style of fabric, but usually he just surprises me with something. Today, he was wonderful enough to drive me an hour back and forth to the shop, encourage me to pick more fabric that I would have, carry all the bolts for me, tell them what to cut so I could keep shopping, then he paid for it all! So, I treated him to a cup of Starbucks tea on the way home. :o)

All in all, I think I have it pretty good!

A New House

No, not really, it just feels that way! We've lived in our house for about 6 years and one of the things I've always hated has been the front yard. We can't grow grass very well, too many trees, pine needles, a high water table and very sandy soil. (That's what happens when you live in the Pine Barrens!) Our house was also built on reclaimed swamp land, which means if we get the teeny-tiniest amount of rain, it floods. Since we're now staying in the house, we decided it was time to do something about it. We called on the experts at a little bird store near us called "A Wild Bird Oasis". We love this place and were so happy that they reopened after our floods 2 years ago...they were completely flooded out after having only been open a few months.

We decided we wanted to go with lots of perennials, virtually no grass (we have lots of moss though!) and a very natural landscape, that would hopefully reduce the flooding during rainstorms. We had the paved driveway ripped up and replaced with stone. Then Dan came with his crew and did his magic. I'm thrilled with how it looks (especially my new walkway and dry creek bed!) I can't wait until the perennials can go in and to see how it will look come summer.
So, the top picture is the "before" and the two below are "afters". Enjoy!

Stash Rescue

A few years ago, I worked in a quilt store. It was great fun. While there, I made a flannel rag quilt as a store sample. Once finished, the extra blocks were thrown into a bin in the closet of my sewing room. Just before I had to rip the quilting out of that quilt, I rescued them from the bin and decided to make a little quilt from them.

I just set them into diagonals and put them together...doing most of the sewing last night and today. I put a narrow border on, then finished it pillowcase style, since I didn't have any more fabric to bind it. I turned it, slip stitched it closed and did a little quilting on my sewing machine...SID around the border and tacks at each corner. Everything from stash...even the back. Now there's no more of this fabric left in my bin....hooray!

This little quilt will be donated to Rosie's Calico Cupboard for the kids at Camp Reach for the Sky. I quilt about 12 quilts a year for the children. Rosie is always looking for people to help quilt...if you have a longarm and time to quilt for charity, get it touch with her...and let her know I sent you!

Family Treasures

Several years ago, my mother visited my grandmother who lived in Racine, WI. She brought home a beautiful machine appliqued, tied basket quilt. She gave it to me. As we were looking at it, she turned it over and said, "Look at all the beautiful hand quilting on the back!" Lights started flashing, bells started ringing and I said, "WAIT!!! There's no hand quilting on the front, it's tied! I think we have two quilts here!" Sure enough, I clipped the threads around the back edge of the quilt and we found this buttonhole appliqued beauty underneath! My mother looked at it and remembered the quilt from her childhood...her grandmother made it. Apparently, my good, German grandmother made a second quilt when the first one got worn and put it right over top of the first quilt! No need to waste that quilt...it was perfectly good! I'm so glad she did because although they are worn, they are wonderful! In the second basket quilt picture, you can see that she added a last row of baskets upside down and off centered. This part was folded over and stitched down on the back of the quilt...maybe to be folded down when the bed was made and the baskets would be right side up? I plan to fix what I can on the baskets and quilt it with Baptist Fans on my machine. The other quilt is in very delicate condition and I have it hanging on a quilt rack. I feel so blessed by these treasures...and now I have quilts from 5 generations of quilters in my family...from my great grandmother, grandmother, mother, myself and my daughter. On another note...I finished unquilting the quilt and it is back on the machine to be quilted again. It's going much better this time! Thanks for all of your encouragement...I certainly needed it!
And now I'll post this again...blogger hasn't let me do anything since yesterday!

Sunday Musings...

A gentle rain is falling and it's warm enough to have the windows open...seems like a perfect day to sew! Unfortunately, I'll be "unstitching" a quilt that I was unhappy with the back of when I took it off the machine...LAST Sunday! I've spent about 30 hours frog stitching...it only took 2 hours to put all those stitches in! I hope to have it undone and back on the machine by tomorrow morning.

Of course, since I've been unstitching, no stitching has happened in my house! I'm so ready to sew...but it will have to wait. The quilt in the photos is one that I purchased from eBay a few years ago. I love the blues against the pinks and especially how the maker threw in a few reds and navies among the pastels. She was a maverick! It's actually just part of a quilt...3 sides are bound and one is just folded back and sewn. It was sold as a "cutter quilt", but I couldn't bear to cut it up. It's hand quilted in a hanging diamonds pattern. If I get a chance, later this week I'll post some pictures of my great "find" from my grandmother!

Philadelphia Flower Show

Just thought I'd share a few pictures of spring...taken at the Philadelphia Flower Show this morning! It really is coming....LOL