Something to Think About

If you look to the left you will see the book I recently added to my collection. The Help is one of those books you cannot put down. Today I saw the movie and have to say it was amazing. My stomach actually clinched in the same places it did while reading the book. I promise, I am not starting a book club here. I am after all a quilter!!! however, I would love to hear from those of you who also read this book, and what your feelings are. It took my breath away.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello everyone. I hope you have had a great day filled with family and friends. I almost forgot to send best wishes early enough for you to know I am thinking of you on this special family day so here I am. Our family sometimes has a hard time gathering everyone together so this year we will sit down to turkey, dressing, Aunt Bee's yummy jello salad, Kelly's pumpkin pie and grandma's bread which Kelly converted from hand kneading to bread machine perfection, Carrie's sweet potato casserole, my own apple and chocolate pies and so much more to celebrate on Saturday. It is so worth it to have almost everyone we love and care for in one room. We learned a long time ago that is is not the day or the time of day but the people that counts. My children could tell you that it was really hard to wait for daddy to get home on Christmas morning. For many years he worked third shift and weekends. Poor guy, he managed to stay awake but when the festivities were over look out! So if you celebrated today I hope it was a good one. You deserve it.
I am doing very little quilting right now because home therapy rules the day for now. I promise, if I do add something I will share it instantly!!

Today I am Seventy

Well, the days get away from us all at times but I must say this is a big one for me. When, how did I become seventy years old and have it turn out to be a surprise to me? I knew it was coming, as it is one of those inevitable things for all of us. So here it is and I find myself wondering where fifty went! I suppose we all had moms that told us year after year that they were only 29, again. I know mine did. Over time as I grew older I realized that perhaps my generation really was younger than the one that came before. I can certainly see that in my children's lives . They are younger seeming and also more attuned to technology. That doesn't even address the grandchildren. Our thirteen year old has been able to do a power point for years, me not so much. She keeps Mimi and papa in line for the most part.

This last year and a half has been difficult, and I do feel I have aged more than I might have under different circumstances but nevertheless I still wake up most mornings thinking initially once more that I am fifty. It could be denial I suppose but I don't think so. I am grateful to be as healthy as I am. Life could be so much more difficult.

Life does go on and so I share the flower above. I didn't plant it, I don't know where it came from, but it made me feel better that day. I passed the planter almost every day and saw the stem and leaves evolve and would often think that the next time I come out here I should pull that weed. Understand that in addition to losing a large number of my perenials last winter due to really cold weather, I have not had time to garden a whole lot so confined what I did do to the front garden. This pretty yellow bloom was the only color in the back yard this year. So happy I did not pull it in it's infancy.

Not Quilting for now

Life once again gets in the way and that is the case for me right now. I am still learning the right way to do physical, occupational and speech therapy at home. It has been at times daunting and difficult. I think I am finally developing a routine, but it still takes a long time to get through everything expected. Even if we begin by nine o'clock, we do not finish until well past two. Then there are days like yesterday.

I will begin by introducing you to Danny, our adult son with developmental disabilities. Danny is a pretty good guy and he definitely loves the girl in his arms. "Samantha" hasn't been herself lately and so Dan has been pretty concerned. Over the last few weeks we have observed that she was hard of hearing and shortly thereafter that she was also losing her sight. She appeared not to be hurting because every time someone petted her she would purr and push against your hand. Yesterday was different. She stopped purring and simply went to sleep. Before long she was gone. I have to admit that she and I were not always compatible. Over the course of her life and mine, she bit me viciously , twice. Each time she was provoked by a strange cat walking across the patio. I had the audacity to move and she struck.

Now, having said that, I have over the years come to an understanding with Sammy because Danny loved her so much. Danny never a vet appointment, not one. He held her closely after she had her shots and reassured her that this was good thing, and babied her always. Sammy lived with my husband and myself because it cost a lot of money to keep a cat in an apartment. He visited her often. When he comes to visit he he always sought her out and they had some serious conversations. I found myself weeping yesterday while I buried her. Weeping for her and for Danny. Danny has taken a stance of no speaking about his loss, period. He is my son, I have known him for 45 years. I know we will speak of this but not until he processes his feelings.

Another thing you should know about Samantha. She was born 23 years ago on Halloween day. I had hoped she would still be here for her birthday but it was not to be. For now I will keep my eyes and ears open and Dan will talk about her again.

Still thinking about my trip to the International Study Center

I am still going over in my mind the quick trip we made to the museum in Lincoln NE. First of all it is an incredibly beautiful facility. It was built entirely green and therefor a point of pride to those involved in it's creation. It is dedicated to the preservation and sharing of the richly diverse collection. What it means to someone like me is that there are many vintage quilts. I learned early on that was where my heart would always land. Our trip this year was pretty quick and I would have enjoyed a longer stay, but nevertheless enjoyable. The quilt seen above was a real favorite of mine. I wish you could see it first hand as it is exquisitely crafted. The maker was especially gifted. Of course it doesn't hurt that this is red and green, my favorite pallet. Those red flowers with the reverse applique slits add a new level of interest for me.


If I ever get the chance to make a quilt like this, I would definitely like to use a form of this border. On this side alone there is an eagle, a cornucopia filled with flowers from which the vine is escaping and stars . At the top of the quilt a vase containing more flowers and an extension of the beautiful vine. Take the opportunity to click on the image and catch your breath in the beauty of the quilting. No matter what the quilting is always my favorite. Okay. I admit it everything about a quilt such as this one is always my favorite. yes, I love it all. Thanks for coming. I hope you keep returning.

International Quilt Study Center & Museum

This was my third time to go to Baltimore On The Prairie in Omaha NE. as an instructor of Baltimore applique. The whole experience for me is always enhanced by the people in my classes and the quilts they bring. This year was really wonderful as usual. Students dedicated to learning as much as possible, beginners realizing their potential, in short an amazing experience for me and I think, for them. The spots for next year already more than half full before we left the building on the last day. The applique block above is a part of the Major Ringold which is part of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Ashland NE. If you haven't been, you need to go. At the very least get online and enjoy! Checkout this block for the various techniques. There are both ruched and stuffed roses, rose hairs and more. There is also a bible or album, so prevalent in the Baltimore quilts.



I loved the block above. It was referred to as a star flower design. I am so going to use this somewhere. I don't remember whether there is quilting in the flowers but they are large and so I will have to address that very thing.



Now. tell me, can you accidentally miss those stuffed roses. This stitcher was intent on making a statement and she did! Once again there is a lot of ruching.


In this block all of the roses as well as the buds are stuffed. There is a lot of black in this design. I speculate that because this appears to be a memorial quilt. There are three monuments and the black seems appropriate.

More ruching and a good closeup of the black hairs on the leaves and stems. This is a type of ruching on the outside edge with the center manipulated so it is contained. The white flower appears to have a button in the center? The red one has two layers of the most typical ruching. I haven't used this in just this way before but you can be sure I plan to do so.



The blue flower in the vase appears to be gathered from the center out rather than the way ruching tracks in a circle. Interesting. In this block we can see rose hairs around virtually every motif including the vase.



My first response upon seeing this block was awe! I am sure I was influenced by the sweet colors and shapes including the whimsical shape of the wreath itself. Pink. yellow, and blue in fondue print. It doesn't get better. This is a sweet block.
I am loving this too. Three simple flowers and the equally simple wreath above. Nice!


Remember the monuments I spoke of? This is one and and is similar to the others. This quilt appears to have been made during the Civil War because these images were common at that time.

This one is the Ringold monument and is upside down because this was my vantage and when I tried to turn it with my photo program it was just weird. So here we are. You know this monument is war related particularly because of the arsenal on either side. Nice design and the monument fabric is used on three of these designs. The fabric may have faded as the color shades from the top lilac color to brown. Brown often does this so it may not be the original shade.


Another monument similar to the other two.



This is an over view of this special quilt. I do wish I could have taken a full view. However the web sight of the International Quilt study center. They have over 5000 quilts!! Many online and a really user friendly web sight.

Aunty Green September 2011

Well, things are pretty slow in the quilting department so have decided to share as I go rather than waiting to finish a section. I am quilting on the fly these days so not sure I will always be happy with the result. For this section I have only the one corner pattern and will have to draft my own for the other corners. I guess I will have to see how that goes. I know I am better than my ninth grade teacher thought I was but it will still be a struggle for me. Mrs Anton took me aside at the end of the semester and told me I was a delight, the kind of student any teacher would love to have but this was an art class and I was simply not up to it. Well, Mrs Anton I think I did find my art and because of you I spent most of my life in pursuit of just that.

This is a fascinating, complex pattern and in some ways I think I may not be up to it. Oh, I can do the work, but my time is somewhat limited these days and while the stitching is not difficult, it is still a little hard to have all the starts and stops connected with the care of a loved one.

But enough about that. What I want to share is the reason for my fabric choices. I am using a background that is a subtle tone on tone print in a buttery yellow. It is a departure from the original quilt but okay I think. As I study my photo of the quilt I am taken with the variety both in design and color of the fabrics. It is almost as if she had decided to make a charm quilt and that charms me. So, I will continue to add as many different fabrics as I can.

I am headed for Baltimore on the Prairie on Tuesday and hope to see you there. I will take pictures and share when I return home. Thank you for dropping by.