Happy Birthday Dobby!

My youngest cat, Dobby, turns two this month.  Not entirely sure when in October is his actual birthday as he was a "rescue" kitten that came to me via my local vet.

Now that Dobby has turned two he has calmed down a bit...not more getting stuck in trees, or on the roof, or behind the refrigerator....

He weighs in at over 15 pounds but there isn't an ounce of fat on him...

He isn't the type of cat to "cuddle" but he takes his role as "head of the pride" seriously and even as a young cat when I was sick in bed one day he brought his toys to me and even made a small pile of dry cat foot next to my pillow.....

He isn't quite the "ham" that my other cats are so there are fewer photos to chose from...

If Dobby were a quilt it would be circa 1900 done in plaids and stripes....

Maybe like this Sugar loaf....

Screeching halt!

Sometimes you just need to take some time off...

that is what my doctor told me yesterday.  They had changed some of my MS meds and my body didn't like them one bit.  Bodies have a way of letting you know!  So my wildly packed schedule for the next week has been whittled down to drinking lots of fluids and a bit of stitching.

I'll continue to work on my Halloween quilt and maybe get some writing done.  Also want to organize my photo files a bit...amazing how quickly they get out of control!

I do love to look at them and see what I was doing a few years ago the same month...

Cotswold Village (2007)...

One of my favorite stops at the local boot sale (2007)...

Great quilt "finds" (2009)

Windy day in the Bahamas...(2010)

always seems more exciting than what I am doing right now! (but then we only take photos when things are interesting right!)

Frenzied Stitching...

I pulled out my Halloween UFO from last year.  The pattern is 1904 by Blackbird designs.  I did switch up some of the blocks, added some yellow, gold and a bit more green and am changing the border but it is close to the original.

When I took out the blocks I was surprised how far I had gotten...I should be able to finish it by Halloween...at least if I can stop Brownie from block surfing... and if I could stop playing with other projects

like this one that was hidden in the same box as the Halloween one....

or from playing with the Ribbon Candy quilt that is still scattered around the cutting table...

Fan Quilt

I really tried to be disciplined while shopping the vendor room at Quilt Study Seminar last week in Lincoln.

  There are three styles of quilts that I would like to add to my collection and I was "holding out" for one of the those.  Well, only found a couple of blocks.  So then I decided on another quilt but when I went back it was gone!

So when the auction started I decided I'd get one that wasn't on my "list" but at least then I'd be donating to the Study Group.  Well I bid on many and only came away with one.  (it was so crazy that at one point Julie Silber, the auctioneer, was bidding for me....)  I ended up with the last quilt of the auction!  And a fan embroidered quilt at that!  Not my usual style but I do like it.  One of my sister's loves crazy quilts and this one is in very good condition.  I think it may find its way to Massachusetts...

I didn't get much sewing done this weekend.  Dh took lots of time.  We finally went and got some new clothes for him that done require a huge belt to hold his baggy pants up (he went from a 40 waist to a 32!)  He looked much better going off to work today.  So now maybe I can get some work done....

Halloween came early

For the past two years my local quilt guild has celebrated Halloween early with a "spook-takular" party.

Lots of fun Halloween themes quilts...

Halloween themed food....

                                                               "Finger" food...

                                                                     Creepy eggs....

                                                            "Punch in the eye"
Halloween projects....

                              Bottle-cap pincushions...don't we all need one with the eyeball!
and of course costumes....

So this got me in the mood to start putting out some Halloween decorations and working on a couple Halloween themed UFO's that were put on the shelf when I didn't finish them last year!

Finally Unpacked!

Well I am unpacked but I haven't taken photos yet so the finds from Seminar will have to wait another day.  Isn't it amazing that only being gone a few days can generate such a long list of things to do when you get home?  I feel as if I've been running errands non-stop!

                         One of the quilts on display at the IQSC&M, Signature Quilt Exhibit

                                          Soldier's Quilt in the storage room at IQSC&M

Regardless, today I will sew.  If I don't then it will be over a week without a needle in my hand and that just will not do!

So do I finish up my ribbon candy quilt or pull a Halloween quilt UFO out of the closet in hopes of finishing it in time for this year's holiday?  Tune back tomorrow...

In the meantime Mac and I need to get ready for tonight's debates....

More from the study seminar

Last night unpacked all my purchases from the American Quilt Study Seminar in Lincoln.  Hope to get photos today.  Mainly I bought books this year...though the carpenter's wheel block in the photo at the top of the post was impossible for me to resist!

                                   "Hollywood" one of the Mountain Mist Quilts recently acquired by the IQSCM

                      Isn't it interesting to see the solid colors that are again so popular ...it all comes back around!
After all the energy from the past few days I'm having a hard time settling in and getting back to sewing.  I keep going back to my notes and checking things either online or in my collection.  Hopefully I'll settle down a bit today!

Also I came back to a bit of the neighborhood crisis...leave it to say a cat-hater has threatened to either run-over or worse to any cat he finds outside.  Unfortunately the two people he said it to do not know where he lives...just that he lives in the neighborhood.  So I am taking it on and tonight am going door to door to find him...I waited a day to get my "Irish" under control (I came by this red hair honestly...)  I am hoping it is a cultural misunderstanding and he just needs to learn that in this country poisoning another person's pet is not acceptable and if done intentionally, illegal.  Realize this face to face talk was my third option...my first involved my military training, the second taking his photo and posting on warning notices around the neighborhood (I'm keeping these options in reserve!)  Wish me luck....

Back from Quilt Study...

                                                    A unique chintz applique block from a quilt at the IQSC&M
I am back from the American Quilt Study Seminar in Lincoln.  I haven't unpacked yet so this will be a short post...more photos than writing (I know you'd rather the pictures!)

                                                                Two quilts from the Indigo Exhibit at the IQSC&M
If you are interested in quilt history but never been to seminar you really need to treat yourself and check it out next year (it is in Charleston, SC which is a great spot too!)  The seminar is broken up into many types of events...

                                                                In the work room at the study center...
First there are tours.  This year I took tour of the International Quilts Study Center and Museum...the staff there were really great.  Not only did we see the exhibits hanging in the three galleries but we got a behind the scene tour...and who doesn't like that!

                                                                       Storage area of the Study Center....
Then there are study centers that this year ranged from World War II Quilts with Sue Reich, Beauty Secrets: 150 years of History in One Quilt Pattern with Bill Volckening, to Digital Imaging/Imagining: The 21st Century.   There was a long list of study centers so something for everybody!

There are research paper presentations that also span a wide range of topics.  The papers are published in AQSG's annual Uncoverings.  And yes,  there is more...

                                                                  Julie Silber running the live auction....

                                                                   The "Julietes" who help with the auction....

              My table doing its part to keep the bidding going...money goes to the American Quilt Study Group
There are roundtable discussions.  I went to the one on 300 years of plaids and was excited to see Roberta Horton and her sister attending!  There were also posters sessions where ongoing research was presented.  A book sale, a vendor area, a silent auction, a very not-silent live auction, and two exhibits - Quilt Study: Quilt Revival, and Pot-of-Flowers.

                                                         Sandra Starley and her Mom at the Quilt Revival Exhibit
There is also a show and tell night....

                                             Bill Volckening with an amazing applied Chintz which he is researching....

                                                                   Mary Bywater Cross with a wool quilt....

                                                            Cindy Rennels with a gorgeous Russian Sunflower....
So I hope you got the picture...there was a lot to do.  This doesn't even include the time just talking quilts with anyone you meet at breakfast, in the elevator, in the van on the ride to the airport....no wonder my brain is just a bit tired...but very happy!