Finally Pack-out!

I'm not sure how much I will be able to post over the next two weeks. Tomorrow they come and pack us out which means the main computer will be disassembled and intansit. My laptop is OK but I haven't used it on the internet in years. Even worse...I'll be using dial-up! I'm hoping the business center at the hotel has access to something a bit faster but I'm not holding my breath!

Some of my quilting buddies come over today for lunch. I made a cheese quiche and a tomato pie. Basiclly I used up all the leftover cheeses in the fridge! We also had fruit salad and toffee bars (just to keep us from thinking too healthy!) They helped me clear out some of the cabinets...I'm amazed at how many bags of chocolate bits I had!!! Mint chololate, peanutbutter and chocolate, milk chocolate, semi-sweet, white (ok...not real chocolate!) and even crunched up heath-bars! You would think I made cookies every day! Anyway, they all went to new homes...I think I'm saved from gaining at least 5 pounds!

The purse in the photo was a going away gift from my friend Rachel. She does great felted purses. These are definately my colors.

The quilt at the left is my first quilt. I made it in the mid 70's as a school project. I only had the Margaret Ickles book to go by which has drawings of blocks but limited info on how to put them together! There was no warning about polyester batting, about using a sheet for the backing, about using Kettle cloth, nor about how difficult curves can be...ignorance is bliss. This quilt has been dragged to concerts, picnics, and campouts all around the world. I don't think anything would kill it (believe me I've tried!)

The packers are here and once again are afraid of dogs! At least this group is nice about it. Poor Macbeth is locked in the back bathroom very confused. My DH is picking up my sewing machine...did I tell you it decided to start making crunching noised on Friday night! The folks at Jeff's Sewing and Vac are so great! I stumbled in there on Saturday morning with my sob story about needing to pack out this week...it was ready by Wednesday morning just as promised! My DH even offered to pick it up!

Anyway, I'll be back on blog as soon as the tecnical difficulties are worked out. Thanks for all you support through this!!

Hot, Hot, Hot

Yikes it is hot today. By the time church was over and I got back to my car the steering wheel was too hot to touch, the asphalt was sending off wavey mirage lines, and my sunglasses were trying to ski-jump off my nose. It is hot!

I had hoped to to do a little bit of work on the yard today but that is tossed! Our deck was pressure washed and stained so it looks nice. I'd just like to get some weeds pulled. I may break down and hire the kid down the street. Heat is the toughest thing for my MS...suddenly I get very tired and then my eyes have trouble focusing. Within a few minutes my eyesight is so bad/wobbly that I can't trust myself driving a car nor can I sew a straight line! It can take anywhere from a few minutes to days to get back to normal. Very frustrating but something that if I use a bit of common sense I can ususally avoid! (common sense = hiring the kid down the street)

The little quilt in the photo was hidden in a bookcase between civil war books. I made it about 10 years ago. It is made out of one piece of striped fabric fussy cut to make it look like a sampler quilt. Yes, it is the size of a potholder but not to be used as one! I had it hanging in the bookcase at one time but I guess my DH piled a few books on top without looking. Doesn't look like it has hurt it any!

Today I will do a bit more packing. Not a whole lot of energy left! My goal to day is to seperate out the items I do not want to ship and put them in one closet. Maybe if I put lots of "Crime scene tape" then they will know not to go in there?! I also have to do one more trip to Lowes to pick up paint for the kitchen...the list continues to grow....

finished a courthouse steps

After writing down the directions for the babysize courthouse steps I started pulling fabrics from the stash (which I was supposed to be packing but that isn't the story today.) Anyway, in a moment of "I don't want to move anymore so I'm going to sulk and hide in my sewing room" I decided to reproduce the little quilt.

In all it only took and afternoon! I only used fabrics I had on hand and didn't try to be too exact in matching the fabrics. The look is close and the fabrics the right period. It is a fun little quilt. When DH got home from golf he didn't quite get why I would make a quilt-top that looked like one I already have?! Poor man gets confused often I'm afraid.

The packers showed up about 10 minutes ago...that is 28 hours late. They are afraid of dogs and allergic to cats. Not boding well!!

My favorite daylilly flowered this week. I ment to take a bit to bring up to my Dad's garden...it is a bit late but I may give it a try anyways. A bunch were given to me by a member of my quilting guild a few years ago.

Well I guess I'd best get back to either keeping the animals calm or packing...

Missed Packing Day

The quilt on the left was purchased in West Virginia about 15 years ago. It's one of those Happy Quilts...not quite pastel with lots of gingham, shirting plaids and cambry. This week I need happy quilts!

I am not looking for sympathy...but this week really has been bad.

When I get nervous I grind my teeth. I ground them so bad this past week I cracked my back tooth and yesterday I had to have surgery to remove it. This of course knocked me out of commission for the last two days. My DH, who hasn't done a whole lot getting ready for the move to date, went into hyper-drive. Here I am with a swelled up mouth filled with cotton and two black eyes and he is asking me questions every three minutes about what is going into storage, what is being packing, who does this or that box go to? If I wasn't so pumped with pain meds I would have screamed!

Today I am feeling much better. We got up early and walked the house and garage with the ship vs. hold tags one more time. DH felt compelled to seperate everything in the garage into two seperate piles. During which my little dog decided to take himself for a walk. (he was feeling unloved and ignored I'm sure.) Now Macbeth would not hurt a fly...a rotweiller on the other hand if fair game in his book. Someday that Rot up the street will realize that Mac is only 17 pound and she is 75 pounds...Anyway, I go into the garage and ask where the dog is? For 20 minutes we walk the neighborhood looking for him. When we get home he is sitting on our front porch looking at us like we were lost. One panic over.

I did run over the quilt guild and drop off 4 boxes of miscl. craft stuff that isn't coming with me. I needed to cull the herd a bit. It is good to see it go to places it will be used. I rushed home because we had/have several appointments today: First and foremost the movers were coming to put things in storage, the yard guy is coming to fix the inground sprinkler that my husband ran over, and the handyman is coming to fix the window in the back that cracked. It is now 1:40 and I have not seen any of them. The movers have called and are running behind on another job and would like to reschedule to tomorrow...there is a goodbye lucheon for my DH but I guess I'll just have to pass on a free lunch! Fortunately there is a goodbye golf tournament for him this afternoon so he is not here pacing and complaining about the no-shows! I am trying to reschedule showing the house to some potential renters tomorrow so they are not here during the move but so far no answer on their cell phone!

At this point I almost don't care....what happens happens. Moving is too much work! Sorry for all the whining..... To make myself feel better I am going on-line to order another basket fromDawn Gabrielli. I bought the one on the left at the Quilt show last spring in Charleston. It fits blocks 15x15 and has a rod across the middle to hang your thread. I have been using it to keep my applique blocks together. She doesn really nice work. Nothing like some quilting shopping to cheer ya' up....

More than you'd ever want to know...

The photo on the left is of me and a few of the folks in my guild in front of the donation quilt we raffled off last year to support Camp Rainbow. I am the one with the white pants second from the left. The quilt is from Barbara Brackman's Prairie Flowers. I made the purple flower block second down on the right and pieced the baskets in the corners.

I took the ABC tag from Anne at QuiltingBebbs...here goes.

Accent: Not much of one. Originally had a Boston accent, but several years of traveling and broadcasting classes pretty much broke me of it.
Booze: OK, with that I have an accent! I have no alcohol tolerance anymore so one glass of wine or a good beer and I'm done. Two drinks and I'm asleep!
Chore I hate: Vacuming. The dust makes my eyes swell shut and my nose whistle.
Dog/Cat: One Scottish Terrier named Macbeth and two cats, Goldie and Brownie.
Essential Electronics: Obviously the computer and digital camera. Beyond that I need my heavy duty mixer...can't bake without it.
Favorite perfume: Beautiful
Gold/Silver: When I had my colors done the man told me I always had to wear gold (I'm an autumn.) However I love southwestern silver and tourquise and continue to wear lots of it.
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts.
Insomnia: All the time. I have MS which sometimes requires me to take lots of muscle relaxants for the spasms...the relaxants make me groggy so I take a stimulant which can keep me up at night. If I don't take the relaxants my legs can be kicking at night and keep my DH up too. I usually read for awhile and/or drink warm mild with lots of honey!
Job Title: Ouch...as of last Friday, unemployed. Once the move is finished I am going to take a crack at writing full time again. (I am surpressing this need to list my entire CV to show I am not a slug...I've had important jobs...corner offices...secretaries...being unemployed, even by choice, is very scarey!)
Kids: Three stepsons and four step-grandkids. (my husband is a lot older than me!)
Living Arrangement: Boxes. We are two weeks away from moving.
Most admirable trait: Uhmmm, I used to be organized...now, I'd say generous.
Number or Countries: Join the Army see the world (or was that Navy?!) Anyway between my years in the Army and in business I've traveled a lot.
Overnight Hospital Stays: Join the Army see the inside of a hospital room...not a great recruiting slogan aye! Let's just say I've had parts broken, parts removed and a few metal parts added. I even got to liking red jello.
Phobias: Heights and water. Each allone I am fine - for example I can jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but say standing at the edge of a bridge and looking down at the water. Not good.
Quote: "Your can lead a whore to water but you cannot make her think." Dorothy Parker
Religion: Boston Irish Catholic (we feel slightly more guilty than any other Catholic)
Siblings: Youngest of seven.
Time I usually awake: See J above...anyway, I am still getting up around 7:00.
Unusual talent: Not that I can think of.... I am sort of a math geek.
Veggies I hate to eat: Raw tomatoes. Even just slightly cooked and I'm OK. My sister eats them right out of the garden like an apple...yuck!
Worst habit: overcommit...this has gotten worse since the MS. I just can't do as much as I used to and my mind hasn't quite trained my mouth to say NO/sorry/not going to happen. Yesterday my DH rattled off a long list that included touching up paint on the cabinets, rolling up carpets, and picking up 5-gallons of desk stain...I asked him what woman did he think he was living with? I guess my mouth-brain connection is getting better!
Yummy Food: I love little tiny fancy desserts like eclairs, cannollis, cream puffs, and chocolate dipped strawberries. My mom's sister used to bring big boxes of them to family gatherings from Montillio's Bakery. They would carefully put them on fancy china dishes and to a small child it was heavan. My Aunt would take the first one off the tray and give it to me saying if the tray was full no-one would take one.
Zodiac: Gemini...and boy does it fit!

Courthouse Steps

I posted this baby/crib courthouse steps a couple of weeks ago and got some requests for meaurements. My DH deleted the emails so I'm not sure exactly who it was so I am posting them here along with the photo.

All measurements are finished size. They start in the center of the quilt. The long side is A and the short side is B. After the center I only wrote out the width of the strips With all the seams it is best to measure as you go...just be careful not to allow it to get too wavey!

Center - Brown#1, 1-1/4 x 1-1/4; A - Pink,3/4 x 1-1/4; B - Brown#1, 3/4; A -Pink, 3/4; B - Brown#1, 3/4; A - Pink 3/4; B - Brown#1, 3/4 (this should be a center brown block with three pink and three brown steps.)
A - Shirting#1, 3/4; B - Brown#2, 3/4; A - Shirting#2, 3/4, B - Brown#3, 1; A - Shirt#3, 1-1/4; B - Tan, 1-3/4; A - Shirt#4, 1-1/4; B - Red#1, 1-1/2; A - Shirt#5, 1-1/4; B - Tan#2, 1-1/2; A - Red#1, 1-1/4; B - Dark Stripe, 1-1/2; A - Shirt#5, 1-1/4; B - Tan#3, 1-1/4; A - Blue Stripe, 1-1/4; B - red#2, 1-5/8; A - Shirt#6, 1-1/4; B - Dark Stripe2, 1-1/2, (NOTE here the B side repeats) B - Tan2, 1-1/2; A - Light stripe, 1; B - Dark stripe 1-1/4; (repeat again) B - Green, 1-1/4; Border Tone on tone beige 2-1/2 inches on each side.

The backing is a brown and green homespun. The binding is just back to front with the homespun. It finishes about 44-1/2 by 35. (several of the strips are pieced...particularly the shirtings.)

Looking at what I've typed it reads more like a crochet pattern! Good luck.

Pots and quilts

My DH and I decided I should use today to decompress so no schedule. So what happens - we go to lunch at my favorite Indian restaurant and who is there but 3 folks I used to work with! It was like my goodbye luncheon all over again!


I did go to the pottery talk on Friday. Unfortunately I was a bit late and most of the items brought by my favorite were already gone! He did make a cat riding a fish for me but a woman bought it from the gallery owner as he was unpacking his van! I ended up buying the green vase in the photo. The color is much more vibrant than the photo looks. I am also posting a photo of my one piece of Dorchester potter because the green vase is in the background and the color is much truer. If he doesn't make a cat before I go then it just isn't ment to be...




My DH finally consented to hold up a few quilts for me to photograph. (my apologies for the kitty butt!) This quilt is from Pennsylvania. Yellow and red quilts are typical of that area. There are about 15 different red calicos. The quilting is simple but good and it has a very plain muslin backing. As I'm packing up my quilts I'm noticing I went through a serious "red period." Maybe I was thinking Christmas?! It is my favorite holiday. I just never thought of red as my favorite color...I must be drawn to it though.

It is well over 90 degrees today so I think I am just going to go hide in my airconditioned sewing room for awhile. Who knows I may finally make enough Tonya letters to finish a sentence!

Last day of work

I barely slept last night. Today is my last day (very, absolute, not even for a few hours) of work and I had lots of those "go into a classroom only to find it is a major exam and I'm not ready" dreams. I hate those!
I like my job. The folks I work with are interesting and my boss very understanding of my need for flexible hours. It is just working with MS can be challenging and when combned with moving...ughhh. Add that to not having an operable AC system in my building and then facing summer in the American South again and I just get depressed! It will be in the high 90's today...that is just plain miserable hot. Picture sweat running off of your fingers while you try to type...Projector bulbs exploding...students passing out...Fortunately they have scheduled a luncheon today which will take up several hours and the rest of the day is mainly cleaning out the office and saying goodbyes.
Moving and packing I've decided is a full time job. Next week there is something that needs to be done every single day. I had hidden hopes of being able to sneak in a quiet day of fabric fondling but it doesn't look to be in my future. We are going to one of my favorite art studios tonight however to see a local potter's new exibit. They gave me a pretty generous bonus check for staying on the job a month longer than I had planned and this potter makes some great animal pots. (Last time I asked him if he ever did cats and he said he'd consider it....)
The quilt in the photos is another of antique ones from Maryland. It is crib size and has some amazing hand quilting. I can see why some folks only collect crib-size. It is so much easier to handle and store!

Roadtrips and pottery

Let's just say my roadtrip this weekend didn't live up to expectations. Not even close. Too much driving, too many u-turns, too much really bad coffee, not enough road signs, too many mistakes in the Mapquest directions, too little reception for the cell when the tire no longer has enough tread, too few tow trucks when the two truck carrying our car also blew their tire, and way too many bug bites from sitting next to a cotton field waiting for someone to find us in the middle of nowhere. Now I have whined about it for too long...

So we got home last night very late. Piled a U-haul truck full of stuff for my stepson and his family. Doesn't seem to have made much of a dent? Scarey, a truck full of stuff and there is still too much here! Our next shipment is on Thursday...maybe then it will seem a bit more managable!

Needless to say I haven't gotten any stiching time in so instead of talking quilts I decided to show some photos of my other love...pottery. (I saw Laura's collection on her blog Pine Ridge Quilter and really enjoyed them!) I love the feel of hand-thrown pottery. I particulary like it if I get to meet the potter or know something of them. A majority of my collection is either from Ireland, the southern U.S. or New Mexico. A few I've made myself...the two face jugs at the top of this posting are mine! Edgefield S.C. is famous for it's facejugs made in the late 1700's so I felt I should make one...paticularly since that was the only way I'd ever be able to afford one!

The center piece is a Majollica dish my Mother gave me. She bought it in England when she was stationed ther during World War II. How ironic that it will make the trip back there again! The blue and tourquise vace to it's right is typical of what I buy when I'm out west. On the shelf below are several Irish pieces fromNicolas Mosse Pottery. I visited his pottery back in the early 1980's and have continued to add pieces ever since. My earlier pieces from him are a lovely grey with a blue dove on the side. (those are aleady packed.)

The purple-blue round pot is from Polly Whitcomb who has a gallery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe. The glaze on this one is so unusual I love to just stare at it! The round dish next to it comes from Carlsbad N.M. Whenever I visit my sister who lives there I go to the Artist Exchange downtown. A group of artist share exhibit and sales space. I've never walked out of there empty handed or had buyers regret! I particularly like Bill Crabb's work. He uses lots of blue and tourquise glazes which I am obviously patial to!


The raku vase in the photo on the lower left came from Dave Warfield in Maryland. The smaller jar with a top was made by Jack Mason from around Atlanta, Georgai. He also painted and did sculpture pieces. This piece has traveled with me a long way...over twenty years! And unlike the couch, clothes or even plates that I bought back then, I still love this jar. Most of my pieces are already packed or are in places I've made unaccessable due to huge piles of "stuff." I'm acually looking forward to just getting there so I can refind things again!

Post 60!!

I am writing my 60th post...I can't believe I've hung in there this long! My DH is starting to refer to it as an addiction!

Well I took Tonya's advise and we went and picked up a new Lazyboy recliner for DH. I didn't have a choice really...he saw her email saying they were scarce outside the US. I was in the middle of a presentation to a conference room with about 20 people when DH sticks his head in the door. I give him a hard-what-are-you-doing- stare. 15 minutes later I go to my office and there is a note telling me to meet him at the LazyBoy store at 5:00. (he only saw the email the day before..he was serious!) I get to the store and there he is sitting in the biggest ugliest recliner in the store (and that my friends is saying something!.) I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. "Try it," he begs. I get in. I shift the chair back...back again...and then yet further back. I felt a bit like Edith Ann from Laugh-in. This chair was as big as our love seat! "I feel a little lost," I said, "could we try others?" So off my husband runs in search of anther chair. I try and get up. Nothing happens. I'm flapping my body like a fish on the pier. That chair isn't moving an inch. I'm afraid of what would happen if I try an climb out while it is reclined all the way back. Do I wait there? Call for help? Take a nap? Finally I roll over so I can reach the wooden handle that helps move the chair and almost gracefully slide to the floor on my knees all the while trying to make it look like I'm just inspecting the fabric.

In the end he got slightly smaller chair which is slightly more attractive. He and the cats got to use it last night watching the basketball games. I took several photos of the chair but it is even uglier in the photos...instead you get one of brownie sitting on the give-away pile of craft stuff going to the next quilt bee!

We are headed down to Charleston for an overnight and then to drop my DH's car off at the port. Are we taking a sensible auto with us...like my beloved Hyundi Tuscon? No. We are taking a bright blue Mazda Miata that doesn't even fit my husband's full set of golf clubs in the trunk. I lost on the car controversy but settled for final say on the apartment/house/flat rental. I am looking forward to stopping at a few quilt stores on our way down to the coast. I have a favorite in Summerville, SC called People Place and Quilts. She carries everything from repro's to Kaffe Fassett. The samples on the walls are really fun and original. They also have a store in Charleston.

After the car drop off we will visit with his son and grandkids in Savannah and then head back home. His son is coming back with us and will haul a rental-truck full of stuff back with him. He is taking the huge couches (my DH likes biggggg furniture), some tables, bookcases, and dishes. He just recently bought a house so this trip should fill it up!

I'm also bringing down lots of daylillies. The photo on the left is how some of them looked this morning. Last year I divided them up and have a dozen pots filled with "baby" lillies. SS's house doesn't have any flowers around it yet so I'm bringing everythig from the potting bed. It also saves me trying to get them all planted at our house before I leave!

Not too much in the way of quilting stuff to write about. Very sad. I am packing some to bring with me on the road trip though...

Thanks for all the reading reccomendations. A few of the authors I've already run through (Brown, Michael Connelly, Austin and Kingsolver!) When I find an author I like I tend to just load up on all their books. That ends up leaving me on hold until they write more! A neighbor just gave me copy of the latest Laurie King "Mary Russell Mystery." I have a real soft spot for historical mysteries. Also for the Jane Austin fans, the Jane Austin Bookclub (which I've already loaned out so I can't remember the name...) is excellant. It has some of the best character development I've read in a long time. It does help if you've read a bit of Austin, but she gives you enough to keep pace if you haven't read them or are just Austin-rusty. In honor of Austin I give you this 1850-ish turkey-red signature block purchased in Annapolis Maryland. The quote reads, "May you be happy."

I am getting happier about moving...not so much about moving - but excited to think the move will be over in the forseeable future and England will be exciting. We went to an Irish Pub the other night with friends and had Shepard's Pie, Bubble and Squeek, and Fish and Chips. (Can you believe this Irish Pub hasn't gotten their liquor license yet! At least the food was good!) It did occur to me that maybe I should be getting my last taste of American or Tex Mex before heading out instead of getting the American version of what we think we will get over there? Guess the next night out will be somewhere else!!!

Looking for good reads

There is little I love more than a good book. I've gone through several "must read" book lists (USA Today's, NPR, and the NYT Book Reveiw) trying to get togher a stash for all my traveling this summer. I know is isn't like I'm going to a country that doesn't speak english but books are something like a comfort blanket...I like to have a couple on the side. Sort of like hiding enough money in my car to fill the tank with gas or to buy lots of Dunkin Donuts Coffee....

So any suggestions? I love mysteries, good sci-fi, and even current events. I just finished The Bookseller of Kabal(really good), The First Man in Rome by Colleen mcCullough (this is a reread from several years ago and I still like it), Longitudes and Attitudes by Thomas Friedman (aferwards I reread the Harry Potter series...Friedman is intense and not optomistic...I needed some fantasy in my life after that book), and Dragon's Lair by Sharon Kay Penman (braincandy...a good beach read!)

About the only things I don't read are horror (alright an occasional Stephen King, but just becuase I like his writing style) and romance.

The quilt top in the photo was mixed in with my 1930's repros...go figure. I made it during our move to Georgia a few years ago. I had a lot of oriental fabrics left over from making jackets and had seen something like this done in Idigos. I like the simplicity of the circles. The fabric really takes on center stage in this quilt.

Late night quilting...

Picture this...all the closets are emptied and the contents stacked sort of neatly in various corners of the house...furniture all has a funny little red, green or yellow sticker on it...bathroom walls are primed but not painted...and every inch of the kitchen counters is covered with slightly damp glassware packed so tightly you only vaguely make out the colors of the towels beneath them. That is my house this afternoon. What am I spending my evening doing? Sewing.

One or two hours isn't going to make a differance. I'll either be ready in June or they'll pack all our junk up and I'll deal with it them. Besides, while sorting books I came across one of my favorite Kaffe Fasset's and since my sister dropped the hint that she would like a more modern blue quilt (preferably a courthouse steps) I've had it in the back of my mind to start working on it. Of course the responsible part of me was whispering, "you are in the middle of a move, you've complained non-stop about all the half finished projects and quilt tops your are packing...what are you thinking!" (Note a sort of panicy whineyness to my conscience - at this point I had alread grabbed an armload of blue fabrics from the bookcase. Evil-quilter-me was winning, "there must be a reason I haven't packed the blues yet, Tonya says I shouldn't overdo it with the packing, and K is a good sister." Woops, the basket it now full of 2 inch strips...

Anyway, I've finished a half-doen blocks only using fabric from the stash...my theory - it doesn't take up any more space as a top than it does as just fabric. So K may have her courthouse steps after all. I'm also leaving an antique crip quilt from the turn of the century with her...also court house steps.

Just wanted to point out a new blogger that you may want to visit. Anne at Quilting Bebbs is from England and does some really beautiful applique and some fun quilts.

Now back to work....

Another finish!

Yes, more 1930's reproduction fabric from the same dark corner of the closet! I think I won the blocks at a guild raffle several years (and states!) ago. Setting blocks like these can be a challange. There isn't any one color to tie them together and the needed something to break up the white. I opted for varied sashings with yellow cornerstones (but different yellows!) There is a double border with 4-patch cornerstones on the outside. The quilt top is starting to grow on me.

The weather turned brutally hot today. I am not a hot weather person at all! Worse I wasn't prepared at all! During the summer I almost always leave the house with a fozen bottle of water in my bag or car. More often it is used as a cold compress than to drink. Since it is early in the season I'm not back in the habit yet so today was tough.

I'm hoping to get a few hours of sewing in tomorrow. I guess it finally dawned on my DH that we needed to do some work around the house before moving (shock and awe!!) so I'm sure I will not get near my quilting room on Saturday or Monday!

One becomes three - not bad for me!

I know I asked what would you bring if you could only have one project for a month...I've revised the question to read "one box of projects" for one month. Sigh...so much easier. No more Quilting equivalent of Sophie's Choice! I have three projects in my box and still have space for a bit more!

First, I've been working on a Carpenters Wheel quilt based on one in my collection from the 1838's. The photo is of the original. (With my cat Goldie who insists on being in almost every photograph!) Anyway, the quilt is from Maryland. There is a stamped signature block in one corner with the initials M.A.Shriver or Shriner. The center has the month and date embroidered on the quilt with a star in the center. The brown fabrics are very fragile but the muslin and the indigos are like iron..still strong and holding their color! I waited a long time starting on this quilt hoping to find the perfect fabric for the border...well I finally just started on the blocks keeping the faith that the fabric would find me! I am hand piecing the blocks so this makes a great carry along project. I've cut fat quarter of the various repro fabrics and just bring a couple yards of white and I'm set for project #1 and still only filled the box halfway!



The next project is a hand applique - the Mary Manakee (sorry about the spelling Finn!) quilt from DAR. I'm doing it in the Moda red and greens. (Photo at a later date.) The next project is of course my English paperpiecing! I've posted photos before and will again...the problem with this project is I don't know when to stop! It started as a wall hanging. It grew to a a lap quilt. Now it is somewhere between lap and twin. I don't have a twin bed so...

Enough for now...the Yankees and the Red Sox are at it again. Yes, I am a Red Sox Fan...the Yankee in my sign-on is a sign of my being south of the Mason-Dixon line too long! They think anyone who "Ya'll handicapped" is a Yankee regardless of who your "people" are!

When did this happen

Sometime in the past few years I must have had a real 1930's fetish...only I don't remember it?! I knew I had picked up some of the fabric for a donation quilt and made a few baby quilts but as I pack they just keep appearing! This around the world was done from squares traded on an internet exchange from before I moved to Georgia so I'm guessing...1995!? Why didn't I finish it?I have no idea.

I found a smaller version of the same quilt...a project for a silent auction maybe? At least 6 years old...not quite sure. There are at least four other tops, a box of blocks and a case of "less than fat quarter" pieces. Reproduction fabrics I have bags full. I just didn't think of the 30's fabrics as something I had hoarded! I guess as I'm cleaning out the closets I'm learning a bit about my own "quilting past."

In ohter news...my DH and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary yesterday. We went to dinner and watched the final episode of 24 while the Boston/Yankees Game was in the small screen. Thankfully the Red Sox won!

Rent vs. Sell

Well if my quilt room looks bad to quilters you can imagine the face on our Real Estate Agent when she got a look at it! I had wanted to wait a few more weeks but since this is the hight of moving season (and my DH was getting Antsy) I just swallowed my pride and had her come over.

It was a good meeting. My DH and I decided to rent the house out for lots of reasons...mainly because it gives me a sense of security to know we have someplace to come back to if something happens. Getting sick has made me such a wimp!!! Besides real estate in our area is a good investment and we are on a good piece of property (no on can build in back of us.) Also it is very accessable...one story and an open floor plan.

The trouble is about every other day my DH changes his mind. Yesterday it was sell...today rent, definatly rent...it drives me crazy! I have a Masters in Finance, his degree is in History. I've done the numbers over and over again. Have I mentioned he is driving me cazy!! So I end up having to pull the ...it just makes me feel better card to end the conversation.

Moving is soooo much work. I know I keep whining about it...slap me...I need to stop! Anyway, three more bags of bad clothes and high heeled sandels (what was I thinking!!) The more room for fabric!

The quilt top is a Grandmother's Flower Garden from the 1930's. I really like how the maker fussy cut the stripes. It is in perfect condition except it wasn't finished...I have to add 6 hexagons to one side before I quilt it! Think I will do this one by hand.

If you could only take one...

If you could only pick out enough fabric or projects from your stash to fill one tote bag knowing that it would have to keep you buzy for 6 weeks, what would you pack? That folks is my latest dilema! I will be in-between homes for about 6 weeks and most of the space in the car will be taken up with a few suitcases and three pet carry-alls! Basically the entire back-seat will be devoted to the cats and Macbeth! I initially put aside what I thought was a reasonable project pile...think more like a stuffed army duffle bag! So, not going to work. Add this to my knowing I will visit several really fun fabric places on my drive up North (ie. Mary Jo's in Gastonia, G street fabrics in Rockville, Seminole Sampler in Catonsville.....) and at each one of them I will say, "I may not be back for two long years so I will treat myself to _______ (fill in the blank!)

When I travled for work almost every week I was a fanatic about only packing what I could easily carry through an airport. If my flight was cancelled I was the first one running to the next counter lookig distainfully at the folks flagging down porters or lumbering along like pack animals. This trip I am afraid I will resemble a small donkey with many, many bags piled on top, on the side, and maybe even kicking in front of me! Porters are sounding like a really good option!

The quilt is an orange peel from 1930-ish. It is Queen size and has some really fun fabrics in it. I bought it at an estate auction in the early 90's. Originally I loved this quilt now...I'm not sure why but I'm not as excited by it. It may go to one of my nieces instead of traveling with me....

Taking time to simplify

I never really considered myself materialistic (aside from the obvious huge stash of material/fabric!) That is until I started packing. Why do we have 4 computer printers? Where did all these wool suits come from (and when was the last time a size 8 woman lived here anyways!) I'm finally getting brutal. If it can be easilty replaced and it doesn't have any sentimental value...out it goes. Gone are the office christmas presents that are still packed with the holiday ornaments. I am banishing the fish plates of my husband's first wife. Say goodbye to the promotional briefcase with my maiden name embossed on the side. I am on a roll....

The quilt top in the photos is going into storage. It was another ebay purchase by my sister. It is too fragile to quilt and the stains will never come out. (I did try and now there is only one option...a sissors!) If the fabric was in better condition I would have taken the blocks apart and cut out the stains from the border making a slightly smaller quilt. I'm keeping it only because it has some truely great examples of indigo...and because I like the pattern. It is in my someday pile!

A few folks had questions about where we are moving. Eventually we will be in the Cotswald area of England. I will leave the southern US in early July and head up to New England to spend a few weeks with my family. (And maybe get to the quilt exhibit at the Shelbourne in Vermont!) We leave for England in early August. I've decided to take the "bring it all" approach. (For all read fabric...I just gave away my husband's old recliner. Old recliners and excess golf clubs do not equal all!)

Taking a break

I really did overdo it yesterday. Last week my doctor started me on some new meds to help with concentration. Other than an upset tummy they are working great...a little too great. As she told me once before when I complained after working a 12 hours day, "these pills gives you energy not common sense." She is tough!

An unexpected bonus this time however - my eyesight has cleared up! The past year my eyes have been as wonky as one of Tonya's houses! They can't give me glasses because my vision changes almost daily! Instead I bought a dozen reading glasses of varying streaghths (a co-worker thought it was a vain fashion statement! me fashion?!) Last night I picked up some applique to work on while wathcing TV and it hit me...I could see the stiches - and no, it is not because I take really big stitches! What a treat!

My DH surprised me with a new Star Trek Time Travel collection. What a great concept! It has episodes from all but the last series with the common thread being time. The episodes were voted on by fans. We watched one last night...I forgot how obvious the makeup on Spok's ear's was!! It was fun all the same.

Anyway, this morning I finally finished reading Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood. She is one of my favorite writers and I had been holding off on reading it so I would have something to look forward to. I like having 2-3 books "on reserve." These are books are pretty sure I will like so I hold them for times I really need a good escape. There are references to quilting and quiltblocks in the book though not as a central themes. It is not my favorite Atwood but I would still recommend it.

Well guess I should go back to the boxes soon...I wish I knew a quilter in England (where we are moving) so I could make better decisions on what/how much of my quilting room to bring. Each time I put something aside to either go into storage or to leave behind I have these tiny (or not so tiny) panic attacks! I emailed a store in the town I will be living but didn't get a response. I checked the internet for a guild but didn't see one anywhere close. Any suggestions?

ps. The quilt in the photo is a very rustic princess feather made in western Maryland. I bought it about 12 years ago at a flea market. It reminds me of the Red Wagon designs! It is heavily quilted and very soft.