White Glove Opportunities

A week has gone by since Mid-Atlantic Quilt show. I’m now
settling into my daily routine. But before any more time goes by let me tell
you about a memory I have from this year’s show. The Mid-Atlantic quilt show
has been an annual show for many years and I often attend and recognize faces
that I see each year. Some I may have taken a class with but most I just pass
in the aisles each year.
The quilts on display are always wonderful and this year no expectation.
I did white glove duty on Friday’s last shift of the day. I was given the
completive aisle of innovative and traditional quilts. Half way thru the shift a lady and her friend
stopped at a quilt and the friend started taking pictures of the woman. It was obvious
that she was the maker of the quilt. Upon seeing me approach she remarked that
she was indeed the maker and would not have touched the quilt otherwise.
She then started explaining the meaning and methods used to
make the quilt. The quilt is titled ‘de Los Muertos Celebration’ by Nancy
Christopherson. She was informative and interesting about her quilt. The conservation
ended and the small crowd that had gathered disbursed.
Some minutes later another woman was having her picture
taken by her quilt. The maker is from Australia that was all I heard about her.
A few minutes later another woman and a couple of friends
came to visit her quilt. I believe the title was ‘Cameron’s Dream’ but most
people were referring to it as the ‘VT’ quilt.’ VT’ is for Virginia Tech. She had used the official fabric and duplicated
the ‘VT’ logo; with permission she stressed that point. She created a lap size quilt that any
entering college student would love. After her group wandered away I checked my
watch and realized nearly an hour had passed.
White glove duty can offer interesting opportunities.

Mastering the Art of French Quilting...hum Cooking

My husband and I are empty nesters. It is common for us to
eat dinner on a tray in front of the television. The last two nights we watched
the movie “Julie & Julia”. Half last night and the second half tonight, the
reason for this is not important.

Watching this movie makes one hungry! So tonight I cooked fish,
not in the French way of sauté with butter but with a little bit of spray ‘Pam’.
We have to watch our cholesterol. I did however drizzle a little garlic
flavored olive oil over the top of the cooked fish. It was pretty good and made
us feel very gourmet'.

Dinner is over and the kitchen clean. He is off to the
basement to finish something. I went to my sewing room to press a few quilt
blocks I made today. I thought about the
movie and Julia Child’s passion for cooking.
Quilters are passionate too.
Quilting is our French cooking. If planned correctly, cut and sewn
accurately the quilt will be a feast for the eyes.

Bon' Appetite'

New York Christmas

I must say I am glad the holidays are. Not that I didn’t
have a good time but the quite routine of January is smoothing to my soul.

One of the highlights of the holiday season was a trip to
New York City. My daughter made arrangements for herself, my granddaughter and
myself to take a day trip to New York City. We were to ride a bus and have a
day of sightseeing, shopping and see the Radio City Rockettes Holiday
show. We boarded a bus at ‘0 dark 30’,
which is a military term of - before the sun comes up, rode 4 hours to New
York. We had 3 hours before the show to
head for our first destination – The American Girl Store.

It’s an impressive store.
3 floors of dolls and related stuff to spend your money on. I bought my younger daughter an AG doll some
20 years ago from their catalog. She
loved it lot and I enjoyed making clothes for it. A lot of clothes. The company has expanded the original 4
historical dolls to a dozen or more historical and a design your own doll with
color choices. We thought the store
was busy but an employee stated that this was moderate and busy meant you
couldn’t move. This statement made us
think of Disneyland in July.

We walked back to the Rockefeller Plaza and enjoy the store
window displays along then way. We entered the Radio City lobby and were amazed
by the giant crystal chandelier Christmas tree hanging from the ceiling.
Everyone in the lobby had their heads looking up at this amazedly beautiful
sight. To see it was breathtaking and in
addition to its beauty was the fact that it rotated! The whole theater was a look back to the
grace and décor of the 30’s. The inlayed
woodwork on the walls and inside the elevators was eye catching. And we hadn’t even seen the show yet.

The show was terrific and we were ready for 2 more hours
before the bus trip home. The Plaza was
packed with people by this time. The Plaza and the Plaza Christmas tree are so
much larger than it appears on TV.
Additional trees are set along the area and lots of lights. We even saw
one man propose to his girl at ring side of the ice rink. We returned to our bus stop, boarded and
watched the skyline disappear into the distance. The weariness of the day set in and sleep
overtook us for the next few hours. I
think we may make this an annual event.

First Frost

Scientists speak of people’s need of sunlight to keep up one’s motivation to do things. I agree that on dreary days it’s hard to accomplish anything. The arrival of autumn seems to give quilters a burst of energy. Autumn gives a show of color to inspire great works of quilts.
It’s my opinion that the autumn colors give quilters their peak of creative energy. The cooler weather entices us to use the burst of ‘color energy’ to create a new quilt to snuggle under. As the summer events, family vacations, etc. settle down, it’s now time to quilt in earnest. Many quilt-related activies also happen in the fall, which also inspires our creativity: Houston Quilt Festival being the biggest and well known event amongst many others.

Enjoy the color and let it inspire you to create, quilt, or write about a beautiful quilt.

Autumn colors

Autumn is in the air! The leaves on the trees are beginning to change color. I put an Autumn quilt on top of my bed. I just finished quilting and binding the quilt this last month. I chose a pattern on my own design. The "Ahoy" pattern that appeared in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Vol. 1. My goal is make the same block in as many layouts as possible.

This quilt has fabrics with leaf prints in bright colors of greens, yellows, oranges, reds all on a cream colored background. It really perks up the room. Like many people I had been collecting the fabric for a while. A year ago I began cutting and sewing. This summer I finished quilting it with a maple leaf design. Now it is on my bed, just in time for these cool nights.

Quilt Show Rained out

A hot summer and a wet autumn. We can’t seem to get it right. A hurricane and a tropical storm within two weeks left our area water logged. Each year a local historical site - a small plantation- hosts an out door quilt show. Quilts are hung out of doors, speaker’s present lectures, vendors set up tents, and tours are given of the house. The show goes on rain or shine for one Sunday afternoon. It’s a lot of work for one day. The region looks forward to the show has a sign of autumn’s coming.

This year the show has been cancelled. The storms rained several inches over the region and many streets flooded. The park where the show was to be held on is saturated and it would be impossible to set up. The poles for quilt hanging would droop and leave the quilts hanging in the mud. The tent would not hold up and booths would sink. The auto park would be a quad mire of mud with cars becoming stuck. It was the correct decision to make.

The decision was made just a few days before the event. The participates were informed
and the word was placed on the Internet to the local guilds, quilt shops, and etc. The word spread like wild fire among quilters.We will have to wait another year for the next Sully Plantation Quilt Show. Hope the weather is better next year.

What I did on my summer vacation

What a hot summer we have had, not as hot as the south and mid west, so there is a bright side. A quilting friend of mine as a pool; so along with another quilting friend we try to swim each morning for an hour. Actually we tread water and tell ourselves we are toning our muscles – we know we are not losing weight!

We seldom meet but 2 or 3 times a week due to schedule conflicts, appointments or teaching commitments, etc. We talk about quilting or family. Mostly the water feels good and it is away to connect and give support if needed. Our swimming will come to an end at the end of this month. One of us will have knee surgery and we will shift our activities to the indoor.
Hope your summer has been a memorable one.