Stitches Through Time: Post 2

 Rather than go on and on about the beautiful quilts in the Stitches Through Time: A Legacy of Quilts that I visited last week, I'll just let them speak for themselves...enjoy! I have included the documentation that was with them where I could...

      

Sorry about the upside down pictures...they're right side up but flip when I put them into the blog!!!

 Thank you once again to the Gloucester County Historical Society, Woodbury, NJ for allowing me to post pictures of the beautiful quilts.  For more information, click on this link:  Gloucester County Historical Society

What's on the Needles?

I'm hoping that if I join in Judy's On the Needles Fridays, maybe I'll feel motivated to knit on this pair of socks!  Or maybe they'll magically knit themselves?

They are Simple Skyp socks, in Malabrigo sock.  The color is Eggplant,and is a beautiful blend of browns that almost fade to a purple.  They're for my husband, who has been lamenting for years that I haven't knit him a pair of socks.  That's because his feet are so much bigger than mine! Check out what others have on their needles here.

Antique Double X Quilts

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Gloucester County Historical Society for a display they called "Stitched through Time:  A Legacy of Quilts, Part One"

I'll be honest, I thought this would be a very quick look at some antique quilts and then my friend Margie and I would head out for lunch.  I was wrong!  Kathy Fleming, who was our guide, was very knowledgeable about the quilts and their history, we spent close to two hours going through the displays.  As you walked into the first room, these Double X quilts were the first quilts you saw...

And a closer shot...

Both quilts were  beautiful and most of the signatures on the blocks were clear, which I found amazing for quilts that were made in the 1840s,

A polished cotton chintz was used on the back...beautiful fabric!

A description of the first quilt...

I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent there, can't wait for part two.  More of the quilts in the next post!

Thank you to the Gloucester County Historical Society, Woodbury, NJ for allowing me to post pictures of the beautiful quilts.  For more information, click on this link:  Gloucester County Historical Society

Wednesday Evening

Spending a little time stitching tonight. It's my first wool project. I see how this can get addictive!

Hand Quilting

Back in July, I decided I really needed to make something and (are you ready for this?) FINISH it.  I knew it had to be small or it would never happen.  

 So, I took some nine patches that I had made using my Jo Morton fabrics and put together a little nine patch quilt. 

  
Then I pulled out my needle and thread and hand quilted it with simple diagonal lines.  It took a few evenings, but soon it was ready for binding. 

Now it lives on my antique sewing machine in the family room.  I can't tell you how good it felt to finish a quilt this summer...even if it's only a tiny one! 

I'm planning another hand quilting project for the winter.  I have two more quilt tops made with Jo Morton fabrics that need quilting...

Empty Nesting!

Here it is, almost Labor Day...it's so hard to believe!  Getting Grace ready for college was a summer long activity.  She's now settled into her dorm, classes have started and she seems to be enjoying it so far.  In the meantime, Lee and I have settled into our empty house.  It's strange.  I think the biggest thing that we've noticed, aside from how quiet it is, is that when we clean things, they stay clean!  Well, except for the litter boxes, that is.  Can't have everything, huh?

 
I do miss having Grace around and I'm looking forward to parent's weekend which we'll head up for in October.  In the meantime, I've been trying to catch up on a few things around here, one of which is the blog!  My major project of the summer was crocheting an afghan for Grace.  Being the daughter of a quilter, it would make perfect sense that rather than a quilt, she'd ask for an afghan for college, right?  I was surprised by her color choice...I figured she'd go with a dark purple or dark green, but she went with a beautiful dark wedgewood blue. The color above is pretty close to what it looked like and you can sort of see the design.We found a pattern she liked and I was off.  I'd hoped to have it finished by her high school graduation, but was only half done at that point.  I finished it the week before she left and was so happy to have that project done!  And apparently she liked it too...

Next up is the little bit of handquilting that I did over the summer.  I'd forgotten how much I enjoy hand quilting!

Be Back Soon

Have had no time to sew and can't really get to my machine. College packing is taking over! I leave to take Grace to college on Friday for Saturday's move in. Then I'll drive home to a quiet house. Lee will be traveling quite a bit this fall, so I'm hoping to have lots of sewing time. See you soon!

27 Years

27 years ago I married this guy.  I hadn't known him very long...he transferred into my high school at the beginning of senior year. I had one class with him in high school, thought he was kind of a jerk...quite full of himself!  I never gave him a thought until Valentine's Day that year when he stood at the door of our English class and handed out little kid Valentines and candy hearts to all the girls walking into class...including me.  It seems he hadn't had much luck in dating after he transferred and hoped this would get him a date or two.  It got him plenty of dates...but not with me!

Fast forward to our 5 year reunion, in November of 1984.  I attended with a very good friend, who happened to be friends with Lee.  I was catching up with old friends, dancing and have a good time..and then he asked me to dance.  We danced a few times, the night wore on and the reunion came to an end.  Afterwards we all decided to go to Denny's and get something to eat.  Lee was invited along, just because he was there when we made plans. When it was time to leave Denny's, I gave everyone a big hug, except for Lee.  After all, I didn't really know him!

The next day he called and asked me out.  We went out that night in early November and that was all she wrote...on New Year's Eve we got engaged and got married that July.  What a whirlwind it was!  Later he admitted that he really wanted to go out drinking after the reunion with some other friends, but decided to come to Denny's with us so he could get my number. 

We've had our ups and downs as all marriages do, we raised 3 wonderful kids, and now we're getting ready for the next chapter of our lives...the empty nest.  It won't be completely empty since Grace will be back from college on breaks and for the summers, but it will be so strange to have just the two of us rattling around in our house.  I'm looking forward to the next 27 years...and beyond! 

Happy Anniversary, Lee...I love you!

The Philadelphia Color Run

Up until a few months ago I had never heard of The Color Run.  Then our kids decided to run this 5K race, so of course we had to go cheer them on! Here they are, all bright and shiny at 6:30 this morning!

Andrew, Dayna, Ellen and Grace

They all started running at approximately 7:30.  Dayna, Andrew and Ellen headed off in one group, but Grace wound up a group behind because she was asked to take a picture of some other runners.  Here's Grace, starting her run.

Grace - without a foot on the ground...she's flying!

Ellen, Dayna and Andrew

Since Grace took off late, Andrew, Ellen and Dayna finished before her.  Grace came in a few minutes later...

Grace

 And here they all are after the run!

Since it's not a race, just a fun run, there were loads of people walking, jogging, in wheelchairs, in strollers...you name it. Lee and I are thinking that maybe next year we'll join them!  It was a great way to start the day, but I have a feeling that bedtime will be coming early tonight...a 5am wake up call is just a little too early for me!

Sunday Evening...

I got to spend a  little bit of time with my longarm today.  I finally finished stabilizing the quilt that I had on the machine and got to move onto the fun stuff!  Some freehand quilting and some wreaths with my Circle Lord made me realize I am SO out of practice!  I guess that's what happens when you don't longarm for a year or so!  I'm glad to be back at my machine again.

With the heat we're having in the East, I decided to cut the prettiest of my hydrangea flowers and bring them in the house to enjoy.  The ones still on the bushes are just shriveling up in the heat, no matter how much water we give them.  

Time to get back to the afghan...I really need to take pictures of this thing!

Design Wall Monday

 I do have something new on my design wall!  I've signed up for a 6 month block of the month called Vintage Rouge from Stitchin' Heaven.  I got my first shipment two weeks ago and made my first blocks over the weekend.  I just love this quilt...I hope mine turns out okay!

Here's the complete quilt...

What's on your design wall?

Of Quilting, Percocet and other things...

I made my annual pilgrimage to Pennington Quilt Works in Pennington, NJ on Saturday.  Every year for your birthday, they send you a postcard good for 20% off of a purchase. The coupon is good for the month of your birthday.  In the past, I've usually purchased fabric with no idea what I'd use it for, but this year I had a plan. It's been a challenging year.  Back in November, I was diagnosed with Shingles.  I read up on it and knew that once the rash cleared, there would be some pain and discomfort, but I figured by Christmas, it would be gone.  Wrong!  If you are of an age where it's recommended that you receive the Shingles Vaccine, do it! You don't want this, trust me!  Postherpetic neuralgia is the name given to the pain that ensues long after the shingles are gone.  Now, I've suffered from migraines for 30 years, given birth to 3 children and have never felt anything like this!

I've been on a combination of Neurontin, Percocet and lidocaine patches since last December in an attempt to control the pain.  Although it varies in intensity throughout the days, it's a constant presence and is totally exhausting.  As a result, I've been too tired by the time I leave work to do much of anything, especially quilting or knitting. And I've missed it.  So this quilt will be my way of working through all of this.  Up in Pennnington, I picked up the pattern Sherbet Stars by Bonnie of Cotton Way. The jelly roll and coordinating fabrics are Blackbird Designs "Meadow" for Moda. My goal is to have the quilt completely finished by the time my next birthday coupon comes in the mail in a year...and hopefully the pain will be gone long before the last stitch is taken.

Hard to Believe

I'm absolutely amazed that all 3 of my children have now graduated from high school!  Grace graduated on Wednesday night from high school and I'm so proud of her.  Above are my parents with her, right after she collected her diploma.  Next week we take her for college orientation...then come August she'll be going to college and we'll have a big, empty house.  It will be strange!

I have so much to share...a quick trip last weekend, a finished mini quilt, the afghan project and so much more, I'm excited to get back to blogging!  Andrea from Welsh Quilter and I are going to encourage each other to post on a regular basis.  I know we can do it!

Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks to the greatest kids in the world...I love being your mom!

And a happy Mother's Day to my mom...I hope you have wonderful day!

Wishing all of you a Happy Mother's Day too!

Wish I was there...

Grace is on her senior trip and is hanging out with my favorite character!

I'm so glad she's having fun!

Would you be happy...

If you came home from the groomer looking like this?  When we took Daisy a few weeks ago, she didn't seem very happy!  I thought she looked pretty cute though.  Still love her eyes, it amazes me that one can be ice blue and the other, dark brown!



I've begun quilting my Kansas Troubles block of the month.  So far I'm just stabilizing it because I can't decide how to quilt it.  Any suggestions?

 Another new project is in the works...a wool Christmas table mat from Primitive Gatherings.  I've fused everything down, now need to do the buttonhole stitch along the edges of the appliques.  This WILL be done before Christmas...pictures soon!  Oh...and I've started a crocheted afghan for my youngest to take to college.  Can you believe she doesn't want a quilt?!?  She's leaving for her senior trip to Disney World on Wednesday morning.  With the Boss in Denmark/Italy this week, I think I'll have a little bit of sewing time in the next few days...can't wait!