Recently my daughter asked if I had a quilted item I could
donate to my grandson’s band fundraiser. I thought I might have something in my
UFO box. Indeed I did. A small turquoise
and beige wall hanging about 30” X 30”. The top was complete and ready to sandwich,
I thought. It just needed something
special for the backing so that meant a trip to the store.
I sorted through my stencils and books for a design. I
wanted something more than ‘stitch in the ditch’ quilting. I found what I wanted and marked the
top. I basted the 3 layers together, as
there are always leftover scraps of batting around the sewing room. I thought I had the perfect color of thread,
I did but it was hand quilting thread not machine thread. So it was wait for
the next day for another trip to the store.
Now I was ready to quilt. I decided to try something different. Not
always a good idea when time and purpose is important but thought it would be
okay. If I am ‘stitching in the ditch’
quilting I use the walking foot on my sewing machine. If free motion quilting
is required I take it off the machine and put on the appropriate foot. The quilt design I chose was mostly straight
lines with some gentle curves. I thought I might try using the walking foot and
gently turn the quilt sandwich as I stitched along the lines. In a couple of
places I did have to stop and needle down the machine and pivot for a tighter
turn but it did work.
I have finished the project and taken a picture of the wall
hanging. I am pleased with the results. Tomorrow I will deliver it to the
chairperson for the fundraiser. I hope it brings a good price. Not just because
I put a lot of work into it but because I love my grandson!

Learning and Growing

A couple of days ago I attended my local quilt guild
meeting. Our program was by Shannon Shirley. It was a trunk show illustrating
her growth as a quilter over 25 years.
There were a lot of quilts!

One might think that her growth would be of perfecting her
sewing and quilting stitches , perhaps the complexity of design. It did all of that and more. She spoke of her
entry into the quilt world and how her personality affected her quilts. She is
not one to sit still! By now you are wondering what she did? She continued to
learn, not just for betterment of skills but learning new techniques.

Each time the opportunity arose to learn a new technique she
took the class. She said in learning she “would put that skill into her
toolbox.” Most of the time she would
make a small project so she would complete it and therefor have a record to
refer to. She may never use it again but she knew now how to do it. Actually
she did incorporate many into her quilts.

As it happens she has opened her mind to new to new
possibilities and created new twists on some of the techniques. She certainly
lite a fire in the minds of some of our members. The emails are appearing
quickly in response to her program. I expect that we will see some terrific
quilts in the near future by our guild members.

Shannon is currently writing a book and has two more in
line. We are looking forward to their release.

Weekend Activity - Creative Arts Summit

Just a quick comment. I am attending the Creative Arts Summit in the Dulles area of Virginia. I had felt I was at a crossroads in my business and was not sure how much I would get from this event. I have pages of notes and a renewal focus and energy to continue. I have met some wonderful and inspiring women. So glad I came.

I'm Featured in 'Quilts from 100 Blocks'

“Quilts from 100 Blocks” is a special issue released by Quiltmaker’s Magazine. Quilts featured in this issue were featured in previous volumes of the “100 Blocks” magazines.
I am pleased to say that I have a quilt featured in this special “Quilts from
100 Blocks” issue. The quilt uses my Ahoy block from Volume 1 and it turned out quite stunning. There are 18 quilts are featured and you will want to make each one. The magazine will be on the newsstands today.
Quiltmaker will be giving away 20 complimentary issues on their blog site today. Just go to www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures and look under Recent Posts for 'Rocks the Blocks'. Good Luck.

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.