Strip Danger

I overdid it a bit this past weekend so my eyes were a bit "wonky" today. A good day to sort fabric and iron...not a good day to use a rotary cutter!
The first bag was for the school kids in the next village. One of the woman in my quilting group is teaching them to sew so any fabric goes to good use there. Next was fabric that I know I will not use but is big enough for a project - such as making the jewelry bags or the sewing caddies. The final bag was for fabric to cut into strips. None of it was supposed to return to the shelves...ya, right.
As I unpacked the bag I started finding fabrics that...well, I wanted. No wait...needed! No, they needed to be cut into strips. I was afraid if I waited then they would sneak back into the stash so I began to cut. Bad move. I now have three fingers bandaged! Didn't bleed on the fabric though! (I have priorities....)

Guess I will try again later...

Lambing Day

One of the things on my "to do before leaving England" list was to visit a sheep farm and to see a lambing. Even though it was a cold and dreary day it was great to see the sheep and all the tiny lambs. Unfortunately because of the cold my friends and their children didn't go (she is getting over a cold.) So this post will have lots of lamb photos...in no particular order. The first photo is of my favorite sheep...one of my neighbors called her Audry Hepburn because of her smile! (All you farmers can laugh now....)


The little one in the photo above is in the orphan crib. The light keeps her warm. I think she just assumes everyone is there to feed her!This pair was born about 20 minutes before this photo was taken. Mom was still busy cleaning them up.


The farm is over in Overbury which is only a couple miles away and sits on the side of Bredon Hill. the folks working there did a great job of explaining how the farm is run. There were two young vet students there getting some practical experience...a lot of experience. I learned that lambing is quite hard work!I was surprised at how different the lambs all looked. I have to admit this little white one was a favorite. On the quilting front. I spent some time this afternoon to search the internet for some redwork patterns with - you guessed it - sheep!

Happy Easter!

Well it doesn't feel much like spring this weekend. Bits of snow fall, then sun, then black rain clouds...and all of those changes in less than an hour! The photo on the left shows the edge of one of those clouds coming into the next village of Overbury.

Holidays are tough to be away from home. On Good Friday my family usually goes into the North End of Boston and shops at the "farmers" market and the Italian Bakeries. In ends with a large pizza (no meat) at one of the Italian restaurants. I have to admit I missed that a bit. This year I helped out with a village tearoom to raise money for a new dishwasher for the village hall. There is a long history of folks walking up Breedon Hill on Easter weekend. Participating did make me a bit less homesick.

I am trying very hard to organize my fabric and sewing stuff which means I am not getting as much sewing done. Don't you hate when that happens? I have a quilt for my Fairford group that needs to be quilted but I just can't get myself going on it. Uggghh...


I cruised through my photo files to find springy quilts without much luck. So here is one of my antique log cabin quilts. The center is a red wool and the entire block is just over 4-1/2 inches.

What a day it was...

First, thanks for all the feedback on the chair question in my last post. It looks like the shabby chick roses win. I will work on one this weekend and post the results later!

Yesterday was a day to just stay in bed. I had plans to go on a tour of Cirencester, a nearby town, then go to a very nice hotel for lunch and spend a few hours sewing with the group in Fairford. All and all great plans. I even put on make-up! You can already guess none of the plans worked out.

It started when my husband was waiting for his ride to work and noticed water coming up from a drain outside the house. He hates it when anything isn't working right. So after flushing toilets and running water we deduced the drains were again blocked. I was determined this was not going to ruin my day so when I called the estate agent I asked her to send the drain cleaners/plumber out on Wednesday or Thursday morning.

Now it was only 8:15 so I still had plenty of time to get to the tour bus...I get into my car, turn the key and nothing. No sputter, no cough, no blinking lights. Nada. I can handle this...I go into the garage and find the jumper cables. Oppps, they don't reach the Miata's battery (which of course is on the opposite side) I move the Miata ever so carefully onto the other side of my car, attach the cables, start the Miata, start my car...nothing. I jiggled the leads a bit. nothing. Frustrated I stand back and wipe my hands on my trousers...oh no, I'm dressed up today and just wiped car engine guk on my bet wool slacks! It was now 8:40. I gave up. I went inside left messages for some of the folks going on tour and then called the garage. I changed into sweat pants and decided to spend the day sewing. I mean how can that be bad...right?

Welllll...I had taken some of my MD prescribed Ritalin so I would make it though the tour/day. They changed my meds again last week and they have made me a bit fatigued. Now a half a Ritalin will do me for an entire day (I can't believe they give this stuff to kids...it is so strong!) The first thing that goes for me when I get fatigues is my ability to make sense...word choice gets pretty difficult. Also my eyesight gets poor and Ritalin helps...either that or I'm so hyped up I don't care that I can't see! Now before you think I am a junk-y quilter -I only take a pill once or twice a month. The aftereffect can be brutal because my brain no longer listens to my body when it says it is time to rest (though I generally have a really clean kitchen afterwards....)

The scene is set...I am sewing like a crazy woman. Strips are flying everywhere. I have bits of my civil war 6 inch blocks right behind the 1930's around the world strips which cover my sampler block sashings....whoohooo. I even have the greens pile to work on my Tonya class blocks. Nothing is impossible. I'm on my second spool of thread and the machine is smokin...that is when the first spool of thread came to haunt me. In my manic enthusiasm to sew I had tossed the spool towards - not into- the trash barrel. Brownie, my cat, took that to mean it was a play toy and promptly brought it back to me. When it came time for me to stand up and go to the ironing board...you guessed it. Fabric wasn't the only thing flying! First step away from the table and my foot rolls on the spool of thread...crash goes the chair as I grab it to get my balance. The chair then topples over the ironing board which lands on the rocking chair that holds the box of strips which catapult across the room and cover the cat. I landed somewhere between the chair and the ironing board.

So at the end of day what do I have? A 6 inch civil war block with a bit of pink Alice in Wonderland fabric in it (so wrong I can't even post of photo of it!,) a brown paper bag filled with random pastel 4 inch 4-patches, a pile of around the world blocks, a sampler top with two squares set upside down, and a sprained ankle! Can you claim a mulligan on a quilting day?

So here I sit. Waiting for the plumbers. My car is back from the garage with a new battery but I can't drive it due to the swelling of my right ankle! Just as well since I have to pick out about half of what I did yesterday!

Today the sun is shining and the coffee pot is full. Who knows, I may even get some real sewing done!

Chair decisions....

Hope everyone is having a great St Patrick's Day! I am wearing green going to make some Irish bread!

I am in need of an opinion and my friend who was going to come over and help had to go pick her sick child up at school...guess I can forgive her. So I turn to you....

I bought the chair above at auction a few months ago...actually there are two of them. I thought it would be good practice restoring and recovering. In the end the chairs are in much better shape than I thought they would be (they were only 10 pounds for the pair so I didn't expect much!) I was surprised when I got them home just what good condition they are in....a bit of polish on the wood and new covers are all they need. It looks like someone did the springs and muslin covers fairly recently. The material used for the chair cover was a bit light for upholstery use which is why they got so ragged so quickly.

So they have sat in my sewing room with potential fabric choices sitting on top of them. I need to make a decision....help....

First, I don't want to buy any fabric...I also have a decorator and upholstery stash in addition to my quilting stash! Most of it is left-overs from other projects or picked up as a remnant on one of my many trips to the decorator stores around Georgia and North Carolina. Second, it doesn't have to "match" anything. These chairs already don't match anything in my house! They will most likely sit in my very eclectic (nice word for packed and messy) sewing room and be covered in material or a cat and only be brought out when we need extra seating.

So number one is the "shabby chic" faded roses. (at one point this was going to be curtains then my DH nixed it...no flowers on curtains!) Number two is "blue polka dot." Number three is the "suiting patchwork" (I made a great tote bag out of this.) Four is the green silk. Five is the Grape silk. (both of the silks are decorator weight that I got as remnants thinking I would make some crazy quilt patches and reupholster with them...not happening in this lifetime.)


I also tried paisley and some buffalo checks but they were all too large. Taking a photo did help as did pinning the fabric in place. There are some more choices in the garage but I am too tired to get them so I am limiting myself to these! What do you think?

Thanks for all of your nice comments on my posts during National MS Awareness week. Now it is nice to get back to quilting....

Wind Damage!

The winds are so strong in our part of the UK they even canceled the horse races at Cheltenham. The big shock was finding a large section of our fence laying on its side last night! It sounds like trains running through the garden. I had to bow out of sewing this morning so the workmen could come over and shore up the fence...It is so strange because looking out the window the sun is out, the sky is blue, and it looks quite spring-y. You walk outside and take one wrong step and the wind will sail you off the front steps!!!

So today I am staying in and sewing. I made several St. Patrick's day placemats and a couple of potholders! (all from the scrap bag I may add!)
I've even cut into the last of some of my Liberty fabric. Can you believe I used this for the back of my Mom's quilt! I was able to get a few squares out of this. My sewing room is slowly getting neater.


I did finally find my recipe for Triple Chocolate Bread Pudding. A couple of you asked for it but I had put it away and of course figured it never to be found again....but surprise!!!

2 cups day-old French bread, torn into pieces
1 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used Baker's Chocolate Chunks)
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
2 cups chocolate milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa (I used Hershey's natural unsweetened)
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Powdered sugar
whipped cream

Combine bread, chocolate, and butter in a large bowl and toss. Divide mixture evenly among eight 8-ounce ramekins.

Beat eggs then gradually add milk and next 4 ingredients, mixing well. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread mixture in ramekins. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Place ramekins in a large shallow baking pan. Pour hot water into pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until set. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I actually prefer to refrigerate this overnight then heat it up in the microwave for about 90 seconds then top with whipped cream. The chocolate flavor comes together more this way. The additional bonus is if you are having folks to dinner then the dessert can be done ahead but look like it is timed just perfect (if only I could turn off that darn microwave bell!)


So today we are on to MS funny story #4. This is done to support National MS Awareness Week - see earlier posts for more info. (I do have to add - the heading to the National MS newsletter was "Happy National MS Awareness Week." Does that strike anyone else as just strange? Happy....not a word I'd use in the same sentence as MS Awareness! Anyways, I digress.....)

Back in the states several of my coworkers at the college had only recently immigrated to the United and States and they had widely differing commands of the English language and American Culture. Since I had lived overseas for many years I empathized with them and often found myself explaining some of the strangest things.

One hot summer afternoon I was met one of these new arrivals on my way to the parking lot about 4 blocks away. He was in the process of buying a car and wanted to know the difference between lease and buy and why did some of the dealers want to make you take out a loan if you only want to pay cash? OK, so this conversation took a lot longer than the walk. After about 30 minutes of standing in the sun I realized my leg was getting heavy. I started to walk to my car and instead lurched forward. My coworker grabbed my arm and helped me to the car. He was very worried about my driving. "I'll be fine," I told him. "I have MS. Once I'm in the air conditioning I'll be fine." He dropped my arm (really quickly) and without saying anything walked to car and left. To be honest at the time I didn't really make note of this...I just wanted to sit in the A/C!

The next morning his wife, who also worked with me, came to my office. She brought me a little bag with some loose teas in it. "In my country," she said quietly " women drink this when they don't feel well." I thanked her for it and put on the tea kettle. She still looked a bit concerned. "American women are so different." she said, " we would never talk to another woman's husband about her woman problems."

I was a bit taken back. "It is a bit more thank a women problem." I said. "I almost fainted in parking lot," I said a bit indignant. "In our country," she replied sitting up a bit straighter, "we handle our monthlies better."

Oh no! I said I have MS...not PMS!!! I forget sometimes there are parts of the world that there is no or almost no cases of MS. Since this couple was from the Middle East they had never even heard of it! I brought up a website and showed her. "Men," she said as we finished our tea," they can be very stupid in any country. He should have helped you!" I have a feeling he was in big trouble in any language!

MS and Glamour Don't

I have got to admit one of the things I really love about England is tea. Not just drinking it (though I dashed into the Cheltenham Museum to get out of the rain and had a nice hot cuppa that was close to heaven....) I love the teacups, the teapots, and of course the teacozies that go on top!
I made this one as a sample for class. I love Mary Engelbreit's fabrics. In fact I made two - the other is black, yellow and red and made with squares on point. (OK, almost maid. I don't want to put it together until the class!) The apron photo on the top came out of a recent auction box of textile. I really love it!

I have been cutting up stash like crazy! There are three plastic bins with strips, a couple of cardboard shoe boxes with squares, and two plastic bags with crumbs. I'm waiting for DH to meltdown since I am using the kitchen island as a cutting table! So far he has been very patient (mainly because I told him I was following Bonnie's method and he still remembers when she came to visit and organized my reproduction fabric in the middle of the night!!! It was like the elves that came and finished the shoes for the cobbler!) Cutting the stash gets easier the more you do. At first I only cut up the odd pieces (less than say 1/8 or a yard or the ones that look like a huge moth got at them - fussy cut leftovers!) Now I have moved up to 1/4 yard pieces and only putting aside pieces that I would likely use for appliqué.

Now in honor of National MS Awareness week here is Funny MS story #3. (any questions see my Sunday Post....) Brownie is keeping me company while I write...

The spring after I was diagnosed I attended the North Carolina Annual State Show and weekend conference up in Raleigh. Now at the time I wasn't moving very well - sort of like an Edgar walk (reference to the first Men in Black and Vincent D'Onofrio's movements as the bug...you either get it or you don't!) The medical term is spasticity - for the nonmedical and non movie buffs imagine someone had tied a string to your ankle and and then tied it to your waist only the string is about 1-inch too short. This means each time you stand you have to adjust or maybe tip over and "wall crawl." Now there are meds for this but they tend to make me a bit spacey - like I need to be more spacey!

Now I was going with a group of other quilters from my guild several of whom are nurses and swore that I could get through this. I really wanted to go. I had gotten my first choice in classes - an appliqué class with Pat Campbell. (a super class!) There were also two other classes...

Now remember, we are in Raleigh. It is very warm. We are at a quilt show so there was lots of walking around. And finally, we were staying in a college dorm. No A/C and beds similar to prison cots (not that I've slept on a prison cot...but I can imagine!) So by the second day I was hurting. This is when I had a embellishing your clothing class - and before you email, I do not remember the name of the instructor (selective memory perhaps.)

It was a little outside my comfort zone. But I love beads and embroidery. I am addicted to the Project Catwalk show here in the UK. I also had just made a batik jacket for my Mom. Also, one of my quilting friends wanted to take the class so I figured I would give it a try. What a disaster.

First, the materials on the supply list filled a medium size suitcase. (it did give us an excuse to go to Mary Jo's the week before though!) And then you also needed a your sewing machine! We wheeled the bags over to the building only to find the class was on the third floor and the elevator wasn't working! No problem. I slowly walked up the stairs while my friend shuttled the bags up. I was glad I had worn a loose linen dress and sensible shoes since we were all sweating...woops I mean glowing (southern women don't sweat!) Our first exercise was to embellish a bit of fabric with paint. Here is where is gets bad. The instructor told us to put the fabric outside so it would dry quicker. My friend grabbed my fabric and took it with hers downstairs. Another friend dropped by with some ice coffee after which the instructor laid her perfectly manicured hand on my sewing machine and said in a loud whisper, "a little exercise wouldn't hurt you you know." It was like the air was sucked out of the room. I chose to ignore what she said.

I'm not sure how she learned about what happened but during the next break my friend packed up her stuff and said she would be back for mine in a few minutes. The instructor took this badly. She came over to my table and pawed through my fabrics and trims asking me,"how could you buy such nice things and dress like that?" For once in my life I was speechless. "You really need to increase my glamour quotiant." Suddenly it became very funny.

Glamour...me. I don't think so! Even when I wore a size 6/8 I wasn't glamorous - I was wearing combat boots and camouflaged! When I wore an 8/10 I was a business consultant and bought most of my clothes from Talbots. Nice yes. Glamorous no.

At that moment I was just happy to have matching socks and all my buttons buttoned! I couldn't use mascara for fear of putting my eye out and IV steroid treatments had made my skin blotchy and reddish. My post below tells you the sad story of the shoe cull....Anyway, my friend showed up for my sewing machine and we spent the time shopping at the quilt show.

When I got home I told my DH about what happened. Like most men he wanted to "fix" it so he brought me home a certificate for a full day at the spa. Hey, I may not aspire to glamour but I'll never turn down a facial and manicure!!!

So what happened to that suitcase full of fabric and other fun stuff. Well some got absorbed by the sewing room however most of the fabric went into this bargello quilttop. It would have made a nice jacket no?! But would it have been glam?!

More pincushions...

We had terrible wind storms and rain last night. Add that to the cats wanting to stay safely in the bed with us (storms can't get them if they are under the quilts) I didn't get much sleep so this may ramble a bit!

First, an auction find...the painting above I got last week for 3 pounds! I know it is a bit naive but I just love their dresses and the braids down her back. It will look great in my sewing room...or maybe the hallway outside my sewing room - there isn't much wall space left inside!

Yesterday I had trouble posting photos - so here are a few of the pincushions I tried to get on my blog. First is the lazy quilter's pincushion. This cup had a tiny crack at the bottom so I stuffed a ball of batting inside and covered it with a scrap of fabric. Ta-da! A pin cushion that I don't have to worry about the cat running away with....


Below is one of my favorites - and my cat's favorite too! This little rooster/chicken was given to me by one of my friends at guild. I love the sparkley glove tip that she used for the feathers on the head! Because of Brownie's fascination with this pincushion it stays in my traveling bag and goes to quilting bees and classes.
And since this is National MS Awareness Week I am going to post Funny MS story #2 (see yesterday's post for an explanation of this!) The first spring after I was diagnosed I went to see my neurologist wearing a typical Georgia spring outfit - cute little sandals and peddle pusher jeans. My doctor just shook her head and said she had bad news...those sandals had to go. She only wanted me to wear shoes that fit firmly on my feet and gave them some support. Now I never considered myself a shoe junk-y but when I went home I filled three (big) bags with flip-flop type sandals, cloth espadrilles and tiny sling-backs. I put the bags in my car to bring to Goodwill in the morning and tried to console myself with how much room I now had in my closet. My husband brought me out to dinner to show how proud he was of me. I wore some boring brown loafers.

About one o'clock in the morning there I was in the driveway rummaging through the bag to find my red leather sandals that I bought in Santa Fe...and the white silk sling-backs I wore at my wedding...and then the really cute fabric flats I got in San Francisco's china town....the pile of shoes on the driveway grew.

At this point my neighbor, who was an intern at the my hospital, came home and wandered over to see what was going on. I looked very guilty! She went into her house and came back with a couple of glasses of wine. We sat in the driveway and I talked about each pair of shoes and why it was so hard to part with them. In some ways I felt like it was giving in to having MS though the logical part of me knew that some of these shoes were just plain dangerous! (Even in college I once fell off my high-heeled clogs and broke my foot and that was when I was a jock!) Eventually all but the red Santa-Fe sandals went back into the bags. A girl had got to have some limits after all......

So I am now constantly on the look out for safe but fun shoes....those above I just got a Christmas and are my current favorites!

MS Awareness Week and pincushions!

In the U.S. this is National MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Awareness Week. To do my bit I am going to try and post everyday combining a bit about MS with my quilts and other "stuff." (like pincushions!)

This isn't the easiest thing to do. It isn't that I don't want people to know I have MS or anything like that. It is just how do you write about it and not come off as whiny, self serving, or (gasp!) boring! "Just write a few funny things about MS," my husband told me this morning as he ran off to golf with his buddies. What great advice! Never would have thought of that? I'll have them rolling out of their computer chairs in no time! (Just so you know - mother nature heard him. When he left it was sunny but about the 7th hole it hailed and by the 9th it poured rain. Should I ask him to just write a few funny things about that!) Anyways, I digress....

Check out Karen's blog over at http://Leehaven.blogspot.com who is also a quilter with MS. She asked me what quilting means to MS. First, I have quilting a lot longer than I have had MS. When I got sick (had my first episode) it was my quilting that gave me focus. It gave me something to do on days I couldn't get around much. I could quilt even if my eyesight was so bad that I could read or watch TV. I could quilt if my legs were to weak to walk the dog. I could quilt when my speech was so stammered and nonsensical that I wouldn't even pick up the phone. And when it got to the point I couldn't quilt a quilting friend would come to the house and drive me to a quilting bee so I could at least "absorb" quilts.

I definitely approach quilting differently now. I was a bit of a quilt snob. I liked fancy appliqué, tiny hand stitches, and ity-bity pieces of fabric in intricate blocks. Things like optic neuritis and wicked muscle spasms have changed my perspective...a born-again maverick perhaps?! I learned to appreciate machine piecing, machine quilting, and hey, if the points don't match who really cares? In the big scheme of things did I have fun doing it and will the person who gets the quilt enjoy it? Besides I've found myself working more with beginning quilters and really enjoy it. I am defiantly less up tight.

Some things about MS and quilting that I am still frustrated about...there are days I cannot use a rotary cutter (OK, I could use one but would most likely end up in the emergency room!) I have wanted to get certified as a quilt appraiser but have let MS hold me back. First, MS is so unpredictable that to commit to being at the show the one time a year they give the test is iffy. Also there are days I cannot lift an antique quilt...I get really angry at myself. Finally, I get angry at myself an ask why do I want to do it anyway? It isn't like I'm going to do it as a business or anything. Anyway, now that my MS is under control I may try it when I go back to the states.....just to show I can!

So funny thing about MS #1....I went to a Christmas party a few years ago and since I wasn't feeling very well I only drank coffee. On the way home I "rushed" a red light (I am from Boston after all...) and was pulled over by the police. My speech was slurred and I was a bit spacey so he had me get out of the car and made me take a breath-i-lizer! This was only two months after I was diagnosed and I was more willing to be taken for a drunk than to admit to having MS!

Ok so what are all these pincushions about and how are they related to MS? Well, there is a site with a drawing for blogs that post photos of pincushions that Carole E. pointed me to after I posted a pincushion earlier this week. (I spent a couple hours looking through some very fun sites this week - who knows I may even try to make the suitcase pincushion!) The little brown hat I bought at a quilt show years ago...it had a couple of buttons and feathers when new and obviously I use it a lot! Because of the MS I use lots and lots of quilts and so have lots and lots of pincushions...knew I could make a connection there somehow!!!

Well blogger is acting up and not letting me post any more photos...more tomorrow.

Bits and bobs...

Bits and bobs...that is one of my favorite British expressions. And it is the best way of explaining my sewing the past few days. A little of this a little of that but not a whole lot of anything! I have finished some small projects. Last weekI made a "sewing partner" with the group in Fairford...imagine that a one day project that we all finished in a day! I made quite a dent in my Mary Englebreit fabric box since once the group saw it they all wanted a piece. They each used a different complementary fabric though so we could tell them apart! These partners have both a pin cushion and a little bag to toss your scraps while you sew. I have one on the sewing table, one on the cutting table and am about to make one for my ironing board! Can you tell I like them?

Yesterday we did another one-day project and made these little traveling jewelry bags. They are really fun to make and used up about 1/3 yard of fabric. I may make the next one a tad larger. (It looks a bit like a head a cabbage in the first photo but in real life it is pretty - promise!)













On the home front....my house passed it's inspection. She was only here for about 10 minutes. I don't know why I worry about these so much but I do. At the end of the day she really only looks at the bathrooms, glances at the yard and the window frames and then goes. My other inspection, my car MOT, did not go so well. Before I could get my sticker/paperwork I had to get two new tires, new wipers, and (sigh) a new exhaust system. The first two I suspected but the last was a shock. The car is running much better now so I shouldn't complain....

I have been purging the sewing room. I gave a bag of fabric to a friend's daughter when she came over on Sunday. She got a sewing machine for Christmas and hadn't used it yet. We made 4 placemats and a pillow. Pretty good for one afternoon! Hopefully she can practice with the fabric I gave her and get some confidence on her machine. The fabric I am not going to use for a specific project but I still like is sitting in my kitchen to be cut into strips (using Bonnie's method for stash control!) What I don't like anymore (like piles of oriental fabric with bits of metallic in it) is sitting in a brown bag to go to the quilt groups and find a new home.

So far it has freed up a shelf in the sewing room so I have space to refold and resort fabric. Organizing tip: you need space to make space.

Happy Mothering Day

The past week you could just feel spring sneaking into the area. Just in time for Mothering Sunday some of the spring flowers like daffodils and crocus are peeking up and making the village entrance look quite festive. I wish I could post some photos however the camera has been acting up and will not be back until tomorrow.
The Flog It show was fine. I looked a bit heavier and a bit older than I expected but it has been 10 years since I saw myself on TV...I did have a very heavy American accent (that I expected!) but I did make sense so in the end I was happy. The quilt that was auctioned is the one on the right hand side.

I got a call from a woman asking me if I could show my quilts to her quilt group (more than 50 vintage/antique quilts.) I haven't done that for awhile so I am looking forward to it. Gives me a good chance to take the quilts out and refold them.

As I was cleaning up photo files last week I came across this pine tree quilt from West Virginia. It is made of all plaid and stripped shirting fabric! Reminds me of a "Bonnie" quilt. (except that the blocks are 15 inches across!)

Today I worked with a friends daughter making placemats and a pillow. Pretty good for just few hours!

I made a totally disgraceful dessert. Triple Chocolate Bread Pudding. It is sinful! It is made with chocolate milk, dark dutch chocolate powder, and semi-sweet chopped chocolate. Yikes. It is wonderful. I am on a diet and only allow myself one dessert a week so I really have to make it count!