Anglo American Roadtrip

I haven't been posting as regularly as I should I know. Just having problems getting organized I guess. Weather has been crazy...hail, sun, snow, wind - all in the same hour! Sunday we went on a walk and got caught in a sunny hail storm...it felt like little needles attacking your cheeks.

I haven't been in my sewing room for a week. This isn't like me. Not sure why it is happening. DH goes on a business trip in a few weeks and I hope I can get my act together while he is away.

Yesterday I went on another of the Anglo American Women's club's bus trips. This time to Tyntesfield House which is in Somerset not far from Anne (Quilting Bebbs.) I didn't realize that until I got on the bus and finally read the handouts. The top photo is of the countryside around the house. The photo on the left is a profile of the chapel roof. It has some neat gargoyles on the ends.

The house is fairly new to the National Trust and there is a lot of work being done there but it is well worth a visit. The library and chapel are wonderful. Well, off to do chores.

A bookish Meme

Now this is a MEME I had fun with! I found it on Clare's blog (Dordogne Quilter.) I love to read and will read just about anything from Science Fiction to the Classics. They all have their time and place - heck sometime a cookbook is the perfect read (which is why I have an entire bookcase full of them!)

Look at the list of books below:
Bold the ones you’ve read
Italicize the ones you want to read
Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.
If you are reading this, tag, you’re it!

The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown) Not sure what all the fuss was about?
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) My favorite Austen novel
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling) The real question is how many times have I read this book!
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving) My favorite Irving novel
Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) So much better than the movie.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
The Stand (Stephen King) I have read lots of his other novels though...I love his colum in Entertainment Weekly and find his reccomendations on novels and movies spot-on.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) I have a list of classics that I want to read while in England
The Hobbit (Tolkien)
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) Read for school...not high on the reccomendation list
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold) I'm taking Clare's reccomendation and will read soon!
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte). ditto Clare's comment "Read it at school. Haven't touched it since."
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
Dune (Frank Herbert)
The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) This is the only book of his I've read...not a big fan.
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
1984 (Orwell) Very scarey book but I like it. Very appropriate to our time.
The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
The Red Tent (Anita Diamant) A great read
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) plus all the sequels...
The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) I have reccomended this book to hundreds of people
Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
The Bible - not at one sitting or even one month but I think I've gotten through it.
Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) Does it count if you started it but didn't finish...
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) Doesn't every American High School student read this one!
She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver) I love her writing! I went on to read all of her novels.
A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) Again required school reading
Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
Great Expectations (Dickens)
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough) I liked her series on Ancient Rome better
The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) Atwood is another of my favorite authors! Her short stories are incrediable Wilderness Tales...also, try Robber Bride
The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
War and Peace (Tolstoy)
Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) One of my favorite classes at univeristy was the Political Novel. I've reread more books from that class than any I've ever taken. This was one of them.
Les Miserables (Hugo)
The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
Shogun (James Clavell)
The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
The World According to Garp (John Irving) One of the few novels that I may have liked the movie more than the book!
The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)
Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
Emma (Jane Austen)
Watership Down (Richard Adams)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) Again from the Politial novel class...
The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
Blindness (Jose Saramago)
Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
Lord of the Flies (Golding) Not sure how I've missed this one....
The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)Doesn't everyone go through a secret agent reading phase....
The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
White Oleander (Janet Fitch) A great novel but disturbing....
A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
Ulysses (James Joyce) This is the opposite of my earlier problem...what if you finish reading the novel but are not sure what you read. Does that still count? My Mom told me not to bother reading Ulysses until I'm 50.... Can I get credit for reading Dubliners instead? (A much more enjoyable/accessible read.)


One of the things I noticed going through the list is I don't like to go back and read a book after seeing the movie but I am OK with seeing a movie after reading the book.

So what am I reading right now? I finished The Unlikely Spy (Daniel Silva) this past weekend. A good WWII secret agent novel that travels well (don't have to concentrate too much!) Also reading Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakspeare (Stephen Greenblatt) This is a reread to get ready for a visit to Stratford-on-Avon next month. This is a great book but not a traveler! Finally, I picked up The Skystone (Jack Whyte) which is part two of the Camulod Chronicles. I liked the first in the series so will most likely read all of them! I am also paging through The Sonoma Diet for obvious reasons...it is spring and the diet books are blooming....

The horses in the photo are from the walk last weekend. I loved how different they all are! They were a bit of handfull though...the one with the brown blaze on his face wanted to play and the big (really big) white and brown wanted his nose rubbed and could knock you down if you weren't ready for his head-butt! They say you are not suposed to bother the farm animals when you hike through the fields...has anyone told them they aren't supposed to harrass the walkers!

Walk in the countryside

My DH and I participated in our first organized country walk Saturday. It was beautiful...lots of sheep, lambs, horses, and dogs. The photo on the left shows a field of sheep with their 1 week old lambs. Spring!!! The weather was perfect. It finally stopped raining late in the week and though there was lots of mud it was possible to find your footing. The trek started in the village of Withington and went 5 miles in a loop through the hills. I think the last time I walked that far I was in uniform with a very large rucksack on my back! This was definately nicer.

The walk started and ended at the Mill Pub. It looks exactly like what an American thinks a country pub should look like! Lots of small rooms with big fireplaces. The food was very good and the cider great. (I was famished by the time we got there!) I wanted to post more photos but Google isn't participating...I'll try again later.

More on the sampler quilt

The sun has finally come out here in the cotswolds. My cats have been sleeping on the windowsills for the past two days just soaking it all up!

I've been trying to make some headway on the sampler quilt for the group in Fairford but my other blog spot is not cooperating. I get halfway through a post and it kicks me off! Sooo frustrating. I may end up posting the directions to the blocks here. The photo on the right is the block we worked on this week.

As I was looking for blocks that would use the techniques we've already done I did find one that I hadn't done before and really like. I think it was called Comforts of Home. (Or something like that.) It isn't pressed in the photo so looks a bit more wonky than it is. Even my DH liked it which shocked me!

As usual I am having problems focusing on what to work on. I have at least four projects going and the kitchen is now covered in fabric!

I bought a chair at a government surplus sale the other day. It is pink...really pink. It wouldn't bother me since it is very comfortable and I got it to hand quilt in, but as expected DH really, really...did I say really...hates it! So other projects have been pushed aside as I quickly try to make a slipcover to hide the offending pink. Good think I hauled all this fabric over here! My slipcover my not be perfect but it will not be pink! Maybe that was why the chair was only $15?!

I also started a class on Tuesday on Medieval Pilgrimages. It is hosted by a local historical society. I'm having to brush up on my English history so as not to be the dimwitted American in the room! It is supposed to be fun and here I am cramming like I'm at university again! I hate to admit it but beyond a few basics at school and from watching Cadfael...OK more from Cadfael than school...my knowledge of that time period is pretty limited. So I guess if there was ever a time and place to work on it this it! I did find some nice images to use in my journal page for this month...don't think this is what the instructor expects me to get out of the lectures though!!!

What if I was a European....

I got caught up taking a half a dozen of these "What if..." surveys. I found out I am not scarey, I am more dog than cat, and that my year is 1961. No big surprises there however the next one did take me back a step....

Your Inner European is French!

Smart and sophisticated. You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so.

Who's" Your Inner European?

Couldn't beleive it...French! My Mom would get a real laugh out of that one! She wanted me to keep at my French after taking it for 3 years in grammer school. Now I wish I had taken her advice by instead I switched to Spanish - a much "cooler" language in the states. I was sure I would be British or German! Not that I have anything against the French....I plan on visiting there soon and do love french food, wine, and mmmmm-bread. Since I do a great deal of my life planning around my stomach I guess this does make sense!

Well it is raining again. It is getting really hard to walk the dog because of all the mud. If he doesn't get out though we'll both go crazy! Short post today...got to clean house :(

A day at the Auction

I went to my first antique auction here in the UK yesterday. It was a lot of fun. The weak dollar made me a little timid and though I bid often I only unded up with one lot - 10 pieces of Winchcombe pottery. I was happy. The phto on the left has a few of the pieces - there are a few more mugs, a pitcher and a bowl. There were some chairs that I really wanted but they went for double what I had planned to spend. I was happy when I overheard one of the old dealers near me say the winning bidder was "%$##! mad" to bid that high for them. He saw me smile and told me those types of chairs come up fairly often. (I think he was being nice because I gave him a box with some packing materials...)

Now you folks who live or have lived in the country will find the following paragraph a bit odd but remember I'm a city/suburban woman. I had no idea pigs were so big. Across the street from the auction house is a organic farm and they have a field with pigs and piglets in it. As I was walking from the farm stand to my car I was startled by somthing the size of my DH's Mazda...it was a pig...a big pig. No, a big, big, huge, slightly scarey pig! Pre-historic may be a good adjective. Forge the MS - I was in my car in seconds! So much for my image of cute little piglets!

Traffic is a bit crazy today. An actress, Liz Hurley, is getting married in the town/village a couple of miles from here. There were helicopters overhead as I walked the dog. They have even blocked off most of the parking around the town. What a pain! Of course today would be sunny (ok, at least only partly cloudy) and a perfect day to finish a walk around the town there that we were rained out of a couple of weeks ago....maybe i will get some more sewing done instead.

Blenheim Palace

I took some time out this week to be a tourist. I visited Blenheim Palace with a British American Group. The palace was built inthe early 1700's and is a World Heritage Site. It is the home of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Both the castle and the gardens are beautiful. Unfortunately it was raining (you see how grey the photos turned out!) so I only got to see a fraction of the gardens...I plan to go back in the summer.

There was an exhibit of Winston Churchill's letters that was very interesting. There were also several of his paintings. I had no idea he was such an artist. I really liked them.

The inside of the palace is impressive. There are several large tapestries that are gorgeous. Just above the front door is a large heraldry flag that gave me some ideas for an ATC. I have to say my favorite room was the library...two story tall walls of books! There was also a large organ at the end of the long room.

Needless to say I was wiped out by the time I got home so got little quilting done and DH had to settle for some Indian takeout for dinner. (Which we hardly ever do anymore but we were also celebrating a 50 point drop in his cholesterol level..that is my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Oscar morning

I've been up since 0530 this morning so DH and I could watch the Oscars (taped) before he went to work or listened to the news (thus spoiling the surprise...and there were some.) We both love movies and find that is one of the things we miss here. Though we have a huge collection of DVD's and sky has lots of movies available, DH bemoaned the fact we had only seen a few of the movies up for the awards. Guess we will need to do better next year.

We got a few walks in this weekend. The photo on the right is of one of my favorite pathways. I'm getting a bit more confident about finding my way from "post to post." Next week we may get a bit more adventurous and try the hill walk.

I saw the quilt posted on Bonnie's Blog last Monday and almost immediately started pulling and cutting fabric. Now I have a pile of half square triangles and squares covering the kitchen table. We'll see how long it takes before my Dh goes "postal!" He hates piles! It is fun rummaging through my reproductions fabrics. The hardest pieces of fabric for me to cut into are those last 8-10 square inches. Like the little pile of Smithsonian repros, Cobb Quilt Collection, that was out in the mid-90's. I've used bits and pieces in at least 5 quilts and am down to the last little bits. I've been down to those last little bits for 5 years at least. I just have a hard time thinking I will never be able to replace that fabric. (forget that there are hundreds of other fabrics I like....) Anyway, I used the last bit of two baskets of the less-than-fatquarters and am feeling better for it!

Bottons!

I got a great package in the post yesterday. I bought the buttons in the photo at the Quilt show in Lowell last summer. My sister did the embroidery and framed them for me! They look great. The frame even opens up so you can get close to see the buttons.
I drove up to Fairford for the quilting group. We worked on a chrun dash block and learned to do half-square triangles. One of the folks finshed her block in class and two others came very close. As on woman noted it took three weeks for the first block and now they can do a block in class and get a block to work on between classes...they just may finish a quilt top. Last night I worked on writing up the next two blocks - Hidden Star and Virginia Star. We will be learning the square in a square technique. I'm growing quite a stack of 12-inch blocks with this whole excercise.

The days are finally getting longer. There is plenty of light when I drive up to Fairford in the morning now and I don't worry that it will get dark while I am still on the backroads coming home in the afternoon. The photo on the right is the view on the Quarry Road which I take to get to Fairford. It has beautiful views of the countryside. It is the halfway point so I often stop and finish my coffee by the side of the road here. It is very relaxing.

Today I lots of life-maintanence issues...perscriptions to pick-up, car MOT to have done, and then come back and wait for the plumber. Hopefully I can sneak in some sewing somewhere!

Who's got the map

Well my DH surprisd me Saturday with a flyer on a quilt show in Bristol and offered to drive me there! Mapquest said it was only 46 miles away so we packed the directions into his little Miata and went off. Two hours later we finally pulled into St. Peter's curchyard! We got to see a lot of Bristol...

The little black cloud continued to hover over us...my camera's battery was dead. Oh well. It was a small show but had some nice quilts in it. There was one with lots of yellows, creams and apricot colors that really grabbed my eye. Unual colors for me to be attracted to but it was my favorite.

Sunday we drove to Birmingham to go to a Mexican restaurant...repeat the problems of Saturday. We ended up with a Kebab! Yesterday I made chili to make up for it.

The spring flowers are starting to come up. It makes the morning walks more fun. I'm trying to get in shape again...not easy. Dh and I are doing some streatching, pushups and situps every morning and I am gradually increasing my morning walks with MacBeth. We never found the scale when we unpacked so I have no idea if it is making any difference...I'm just hoping to fit into a "little black dress" that has hung in my closet for the past 5 years!

The photo is of my large hexegon project. The hex's are getting a bit too repeditive for me so I'm auditioning some other blocks to finish the quilt. I have a stack of mixed blocks to work with...they may all end up in this semi-orphan block project.

a forgotten package

I thought I may have placed an order back in December for some fabric but had forgotten where. This week it showed up. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I ordered it! I have enough repro fabric to make a dozen quilts and am never really happy when I get the entire collection in fat quarters ( I find I only like half of them in the end.) With this set I do like the shirting fabrics and I alway use those up. From the other collection I pulled my favorites and immediately cut the others into blocks (6-1/2 inches) and strips (2 and 2-1/2 inches) and tossed in the baskets. That way I am more likely to use them. The patterns are nice though I wonder why I get them since I hardly ever use them? I think I did some homesick shopping....

Today I went to a craft sale at the racecourse. It was selling craft making supplies including quilting "stuff." I got some rotary blades and a new mat - my mat was rolled up during shipment and has never flattened again! The other one I cut right through.... Anyways, it was an interesting show. Lots of scrapbooking stuff and wool for knitting. Unfortunately it is times like that I get really homesick. All the tables in the coffee/snack show were filled with women and their buddies talking about the show...miss my running buddies in the states.

To make myself feel better I did splurge on a new tool...it is called imagepac and it allows yo to make your own stamps. You can use just about any noncopyrighted image - including photos. It is a very cool process. I'm going to try and make a Macbeth stamp tonight....I'll let you know how it comes out.

At the left are two more of the blocks for my beginners group. I feel the need to do some applique or something tiny...

Hometown tour

I've stayed away from most of the MEMES but I saw one on http://quilttilyouwilt.blogspot.com that looked like a lot of fun. The only problem is I'm not sure if I should do it for where I live now, where I consider my home, or where my house in the U.S. currently is...

The premis of the memes is to imagine you've made a connection with anohter blogger who lives in a completely different part of the world. This blogger is about to take a trip and she is going to sotp by your house. Unfortunately she can onlys tay for 24 hours. She would like to see some sights but yo have to keep in mind that time is quite limited. Look around you with the eyes of someone who has never seen your area and tell us some things you'd share.

Since I am going to have folks visiting I decided to go with where I am currently living in England.

1. Your visitor wants to see something historical where would yo take her and why?

This is a tough one since everything in England looks historical to Americans! I think I would start witht he Cathedral in Tewksbury. (the photo on the left is from the inside) It is only about ten minutes down the road and has lots of black and white Tudor style houses in the town center. There are also several good antique shops.I fit is a nice day would could take a river boat up the Severn to one othe pubs for lunch if not we could stop at Hobnails In which was established in 1473 and is only 2 miles from my house. They have incredible mushroom turnovers with goatcheese and for dessert - sticky pudding! (I hope this person likes to eat!) I would also include a stop at my friend Emily's house which is a thatched cottage from the 1500's (The Baker House.) Lots of little stairs, uneven florrs, and a beautiful garden. Then a quick trip through a couple of villages around here on the way to Winchcombe. If time permits we could go to Sudeley Castle or cruise done into Cheltenham to see some Regency style homes and get a pint....with my driving she'll need it!

2. She wants to see somthing hysterical...well mildly amusing anyway. She'd even go for cute, quirky, off, or unique. Where would ou take her?

First I would stop off at the next village, Alterton, and take her to see the cottage with the patchwork windows (not really but that is what they look like!) The entire cottage looks like somthing Tonya would hav put together - very wonky! Then we would htake the back roads to the Cotswold Farm Park where they maintain lots of the old species of farm animals...some of the cutest sheep and pigs I've ever seen! The views along that road are beautiful too. From there we would go to Bourton-on-the-water to miniature World where they made an exact replica of the town (including the miniature world!) in 1:9 scale.

3. She want to take some beautiful and/or interesting phtoto to fill her albums when she gets home?

See one or two above...there isn't a corner of the Cotswold that you can't get a great photo. Maybe a trip up to Stratford-on-Avon....

4. She would like to buy a souvenir that would rmind her of your area every time she sees it. What would you suggest and where would you go to get it?

If she likes pottery we could stop at the Winchcombe Potters and pick up a mustard pot and get some Tewksbury mustard to go with it! (very hot with lots of horseradish in it - my DH goes through a jar a month!)

5. It's been a long day and you're both ready for a snack, or maybe even a meal. Where would you take her to really get a flavor of the area?

I guess I jumped the gun talking food in the first question - tells you a lot about me! If not the Hobnail then there are several good tearooms round - one in Broadway that serves a great turkey, garlic and goatcheese sandwich,, or the one in Cheltenham that is also an Antique Textile Shop. If it is late I woudl to to the Royal Oak in Prestbuty. It has some of the best foold I've had in England and it is on one of the most haunted streets in one of the most haunted villages - makes you want to "tuck in" for another dessert before going back out into the dark!!!

Progress on the blocks

It is still snowing but the ground has warmed up enough that it is just turning to sleet. Not as pretty as yesterday. I stayed in and worked on blocks for the beginners group. I've toned down some of the blocks from my quilt to keep them from being frustrated but there is one quilter there who has lots of experience and I'm afraid she is getter bored. I know staying with a limited number of fabrics (to make it easier to match up to the instructions) and working with a 12-inch block is making me a bit crazy! I just cut the fabrics for an alternating 4-patch and it was killing me not to add more fabrics...wouldn't it be better if all fo the 4 patches were different? What if...no, no, no...keep it simple I had to keep repeating to myself. (The rows in the block above haven't been sewn togther yet...it isn't that my points are that bad!)

This is the village church in yesterday's snowfall. It St Nicholas is a small church but very pretty. It was built around the 13th century.

Snow!!!

This morning we got the first snow of the season. It is beautiful! When we got up this morning there was already about 2 inches and it is continuing to come down. A great day to stay in and quilt...at least I think so. Macbeth on the other hand just wants to get out there and run through the neighborhood! You would think he had never seen snow before. He is so short legged that after a few minutes of playing in the snow it all bunches up around his paws and he ends up looking like he has a poodle cut because of the snowballs around his paws! Needless to say the cats have not ventured beyond the windowsills and are spending most of their time curled up in front of the radiators.

I'm going to make a batch of chili and a cornbread and call it a day as far as cooking is concerned. (mayabe I'll get to making a batch of brownies...) I want to finish at least 3 more blocks for the quilting group. We met yesterday and I felt I was only one step ahead! I'd prefer to get the top finished by the time we meet again...ok at least 12 blocks done!

Getting back to business

Unpacking is such messy business. I'd much rather curl up read or hide in my quilting room! I finished "Pompeii" by Robert Harris. A good read.

I played with some old files on my laptop and found the block pattern in the photo. It was from an antique quilt from North Carolina that was in the Augusta History Museum Show last year. I'd wanted to replicate the quilt for a long time and had drafted the block but then stopped there. I made it a 9-inch block though the original was about 7-inches and the blocks are set in a zig-zag pattern with a black on black shirting stripe for the setting triangles.

While in Greece I was really taken with all of the orange and lemon trees. In an otherwise drab landscape they really jump out at you. The photo is of some trees at a winery outside of Rio where we were staying. Citrus colors and blues play a big part in the quilt I am designing to remember the trip.

The photo on the left is of sunset off the coast of Patra. The colors were beautiful in person...not sure my little camera was up to it!

Home from Greece

Well we got back safe and sound from our week holiday in Greece. I of course packed all the wrong clothes but had plenty of books to make up for it. We stayed in small town called Rio which is outside Patra. It was a very quiet vacation with lots of walks and eating...DH and I love Greek food and we were not disappointed! We did trek up to Olympia - the site of the first Olympics - and wondered through the archeological site. It is really impressive. I'm glad we were there off-season. It was warm but not hot so I was able to get around better. The sun is so strong there even with the sunscreen (SPF 30) I came home with a sunburned face!

The second photo is from up by a town called the Ksilo castro (wooden castle) that was a few miles up the coast from us. The water changed color every day but was always beautiful. I made a lot of sketches in my journal. In a way it was good to be away from all my "stuff" for awhile. It made me concentrate on design over just how to use something that I had at hand. A very different process.

I didn't bring brain-food books this time. I finished "The Shadow of the Wind," by Carlos Ruiz Zafron. The writing is beautiful though it took me a couple of chapters to get into the story. I would strongly reccomend it. On the other hand I also finished "Atlantis," by David Gibbins. I usually really like novels like this but unfortunately I couldn't wait to finish this one and move on to something else. I even considered not finishing it - somthing I never do with a novel.

I also re-read "Screenplay" by Syd Field and outlined a concept that I had been playing with writing as a novel. I think my background as a news producer makes it much easier for me to do in screenplay format (ie. I think in pictures) So I am going to make a schedule and for the next 8 weeks try and get myself to finish this in the new format. Between 10 and 1200 each morning (except for Wednesday when I meet with the quilters!) I will be chained to my computer and write at least 5 pages.

This and that

I am going a bit crazy trying to get packed to go out of town for a few days. It seems as if I am trying to put everything into two small bags. Half of what I am hauling I am sure I will never touch until I am home unpacking again.

One of the projectrs coming along is the large hexagon top. I'm trying to decide on what to do to finish this one off...believe it or not I am getting tired of hex's!

The sampler class is going well. We did the first block this week. In the end I will have two sampler quilts - one cowgirl and one roses. The cowgirl one is going to my niece in New Mexico. Not sure what will happen with the roses. They are cutting into the stash though which should make the move back to the states in a couple of years a bit easier! (back to packing again...I think my brain is finally focused on something....)


It has been really cold the last few days but the sun has finally started to stay around a bit longer. Brownie found the brightest spot in the house and claimed it for her own. Sun and some soft quilt blocks and she is one happy cat!

Focus, Focus...hey look at that

I have so many projects started it is even starting to bother me! Last week I pulled out some tops I had finished and started piecing backings. I finished the backing on the right for my nephew's quilt and have three others in various stages. The problem with this project is I end up spending way too much time in the quilt room rummaging through piles of fabric and coming up with ideas of new projects. Say, string piecing perhaps? I pulled a large basketful of fabrics that I no longer thought I would use and cut them into strips and have now made twelve 10-1/2 inch blocks. That was while I was supposed to be piecing backs!

Focus, Focus....Before I was supposed to be doing the backs I was working on a sampler quilt for a class. The cowboy Desden Plate in the photo is the newest addition to the group. I have twelve blocks finished, but now do not like 2 of them (too dull)....do I redo or just make more strip blocks or backings. Oh ya....I also got into making a small quilt to using the block from the first class (this Wednesday.) I was making great progress until Brownie (see post 2 below) decided to "help" so I rolled the whole thing up. and hid it under the sewing table.


Focus, Focus...I started to lay out the string blocks this weekend so I would get them done and then I could get back to the backings but my leg started bothering me again so I snuggled up on the couch and played in the hexagon bag instead...before you know it there is half a quilt there. This will need a back soon....maybe I should go play in the fabric stacks for awhile. There is the great lighthouse fabric that would make a great border for an Around-the-world that I've always wanted to try....and what do yo know I found the 3/4 finished blue log cabin that only needs the a few hours work to pull it together.

Focus, Focus...what was I planning on working on? Why is it I never finish anything?

Day after the storm

Just a few moments after I posted yesterday we lost power due to the wind storm. We didn't get it back until almost 24 hours later! Yikes. Not too much damage at our house...a broken lamp and some scratches on the front door when a broken branch blew up against the house and part of the roof blew loose on the garden shed. There are several trees down in the village. The ground was so wet they just blew over.

It is amazing how different today is...bright, sort of warm, and just a slight breeze. The two days couldn't be more different. I did check on the flowers emerging in the garden and they all came through the storm OK.

I spent most of yesterday cutting up strips of fabric in the kitchen. (It has the best natural light and the island counter is so comfortable.) I filled two baskets - one with brights (in the photo above) and the other with traditional fabric. This morning (when the power came on!) I strip pieced some of the traditional. It moves along very fast. I think I prefer using paper as the foundation rather than fabric. I have piles of packing paper in the garage that I may cut up...another blackout is needed for that project!

Backwards Day

Just after I posted yesterday I grabbed the puzzle block to put in with the other cowgirl blocks and stopped dead in my tracks...yes Calico Cat there is a block turned in the wrong direction! I haven't decided if I'm going to pull it out and restitch yet.

I'm blaming it all on my cat Brownie. She has turned into an evil quilting cat this week. After spending an hour setting up all my thread on a new shelf I went to get my camera to take a photo of it (if I do say so myself it looked great!) No, decided Brownie, there can't be anything as cute as me in the house. I walked into my sewing room just in time to see her batting the last spool onto the floor. I'm still waiting for the glue to dry on the wooden spool rack that broke in the fall. Maybe it is just the camera she is jealous of...when I tried to get a photo of some Amish blocks you see what happened. She like to run across the room and dive into the blocks so she can use them as a sled and slide across the carpet. It is my own fault for not using my design wall but the wall is full at the moment and this was just supposed to be a quick project (are there quick projects with cats?)

The wind is so strong today it blew my baseball cap 20 feet up and is now caught in a tree branch along the walking path! It reminds me of when I worked at a TV station and the weatherman would try and think of silly ways to demonstate how strong the wind was by dropping different objects and measuring how far they blew, how heavy the rain is by putting pails out on the roof, how hot is was by either "frying" an egg on the pavement or leaving a Vidio on a case inside a car and showing how it "melts." Those were some slow news days!!

I did go out and cover the flowers that are coming up with some leaves to help protect them. Most of what is coming up are small and under other vegetation so already are protected. We have a lot of these little white flowers in the photo on the left. I think they are snowdrops but not sure. I love their shape and white sort of glows in the morning. )Yike, I just looked outside and it has started to pour...Anne is right, it is going sideways!)

I was going into town today but with the weather it seems like a good day to stay in and sew. Like I need an excuse!

I have one last blackberry and apple pie in the freezer and a container of Tikka Marsala sauce that I made en-mass over Christmas so if I can just get the chicken to defrost dinner is basiclly covered. I'm just going to "hunker down" and sew out the storm!

First signs of spring

This morning I found a flower blooming in our garden...it was so nice to see some color after all the rain. Looks like there is a chance we may even glimpse the sun today!

Yesterday I was really worn out so I did some mindless organizing in the sewing room. There's nothing like folding fabric and lining up spools of thread when you barely have the energy to pick up your cup of coffee. (for me that is saying alot!)

My big achievement however was to pull fabric to piece backings for three of my quilt tops! I knew I had some in there that would work and with just a little persistance and a few seams I am both one step closer to finishing these quilts and did some significant stashbusting! I estimate I used about 9 yards of fabric to but them together. I need to put in an order for some batting now and resist the temptation to buy more fabric while I do it! I may get really ambitious and cut some binding too.

I finished another of the cowgirl blocks. This one is called bachelor's puzzle. I've decided to alternate dark and light blocks and not do a sashing. At least that is the plan for now.

I've also started a small quilt using the blocks we are doing in the first class. I'm using Amish fabrics which have been in my stash for at least 10 years! Some even longer. I was looking at the first Amish Style Quilt that I made and was amazed when I read the label - 1987! Twenty years! Amazing. Some of the fabric I'm using now may even have been scraps from that quilt. The good thing about solids is they never really go out of style!

Long weekend

Boy was I surprised to see Quilt Mavericks mentioned in a recent article in British Patchwork Quilting January Issue! One of the women in my quilt group loaned me the magazine last week and I just got around to reading it last night. There is a very good article by Helen Conway on Quilter's Blogs and in a sidebar she lists five quilting blog rings including Artful Quiltiers, Quilters who embellish, Quilters Lounge, Stash quilts, and Quilt Mavericks!

I think I really overdid it this weekend....too much fun and I am paying for it! Saturday my DH went out golfing so I took over the Kitchen counter to cut fabric for the sampler block demos. I cut fabric for 15 blocks! I had printed out the directions on Friday so now I have a binder ready to go for weeks. I have 9 of the blocks made up in cowgirl fabrics too. I also made Kung Pao Chicken so he wouldn't complain about the kitchen becoming a quilting room too!

Sunday we drove up to Broadway again...or should I say he drove my car to Broadway. Very scarey! He brought his car over from the US and so has not made the transition to having the steering wheel on the right side of the car. He wanted to take another shot at it and we thought a Sunday morning may be the safest for all concerned...everyone but me. By the time we got to the village I was a white-knuckled wreck! The worst part was how the car would bump when he went off the road (I'll leave off how many times that happened!) It was torture on my leg! On the way home we got caught in a Cotswold traffic jam - a road full of sheep! At that point he gave up and let me drive the rest of the way home.

On Monday I went on a coach/bus trip with the Anglo American Women's group to Stoke-on-Trent. The town has dozens of Pottery/China outlets. It was incrediably organized and exhausting! It was about a two hour drive to our first stop - Burleigh. I never would have found this on my own - tiny sidestreets and almost invisiable signs - but this ended up being my favorite shop. (lucky for my bank account I didn't know that then!) The pink mug, pitcher and blue cow creamer all came from that stop. I got a few more of the pink mugs in diffent patterns for one of my sisters. I may have bought more but we only had 20 minute at this stop...and they were serious about keeping on schedule - the train system could learn from these women! The coach drove about 10 minutes then stopped at the Dudson Outlet. I was better there and only came away with a postcard and 30 pence plate (the brown one in the photo!) Again this was a 20 minute stop and we were quickly off to the Royal Doulton factory shop for yes, another 20 minute stop! I was starting to need caffine...that may have influenced my picking up the white teapot.

They said there was enough time to eat your bag lunch before the next stop but they must eat faster in this country because I only got half a sanwich and two sips of juice in before we pulled into the next outlet. I bearly remember that one - I went straight to the coffee shop with the bus driver...fading fast! The next stop was in the town. There is a huge Spode outlet with several other outlets and a museum. We had one hour and 15 minutes there. Still caffine deprived and without enough energy to finish my sandwich I had lost the ability to make a decision. I love spode but wandered around aimlessly and left without anything in my hand! We walked up the street to the Portmeirion shop. I was starting to panic...the boot of the bus was starting to fill up with boxes and bags...my stuff fit into the overhead compartment! Obviously I wasn't trained for this! I grabbed the jar with lilacs on it for my Mom. Panic shopping.

There was one more stop at a place that had 3 shops...vague memories. They opened up a few bottles of wine, some cheese and chocolate and passed them around as we drove back home. I'm glad I went even though I can barely walk this morning. I think I'd like to do it a bit less frantic pace (maybe just do the Burleigh and the Spode then "tuck-in' for a good lunch somewhere!

So today I will spend clearing my fabric out of the kitchen again and maybe making a few more cowgirl blocks...

More cowgirl blocks

I finished a few more blocks for the cowgirl sampler quilt. It feels funny doing such large blocks - 12 inches! The group is mainly beginners so I am trying to keep it easy. I did realize after doing the color confidence class with them that I should try and limit the number of fabrics I was using...that is tough for me! So after being careful with the these four and getting a bit frustrated I have decided the cowgirl quilt could have lots of fabric (yahoo!) and instead the blocks I do as demo's in class will be limited to only 7-9 fabrics. I hope it doesn't confuse the group too much.

The log cabin on point block has some of the fabrics I will use for the demo quilt. They have been maturing in my stash for quite a while...always thought I would get around to doing an antique rose quilt. Some of these fabrics are in that middle ground - too much of it to just use as a scrap or filler and not quite enough to use as part of a backing. I wasn't able to sew much today...sitting is just too painful...so instead I cut fabric and put together packs for the first 8 blocks. Unbelievable for me - one of the original last minute quilters!

The leg pain is still pretty bad. I went online to find out if there was anything else I could do and the advice on the MD Website was to stop wearing tight clothing, lighten the toolbelt, and lose weight. So I guess no more spandex and big leather carpenter belt around the house anymore! Seriously though - my DH describes my clothing style as "Amish" I'm not sure how much looser it could get and stay on! I don't wear belts or backpacks. Unfortunately that leaves lose weight. I think in the second year of medical school the baby-docs are told if you can't cure them then just tell them to lose weight. So as I have been re-examining my New Year's resolutions (ya, I know it is almost halfway through January...) I've put weight loss back onto the list. So I guess I am on a fabric and food diet for the next few months. The question is how to make this fun?!

Cowgirl sampler

Sorry I have been bad about posting. I've had a bad case of Meralgia paresthetica...which is quilt literally a pain in the butt! I can't sit in one position for more than a few minutes before the burning in my lef and "hip" muscles becomes unbearable which makes doing anything on the computer tough! The option is to take lots of pain-killers (which I hate to do!) or tough it out (stiff upper lip and all that!) I'm finding a happy medium between the two.

I have been working on a new sampler quilt as teaching aide for the new quilt group. The phto on the left has four of the blocks. Our first block is going to be the London Stairs (lower right) and the the variation (the one with the cowgirl in the center.) I've tried to find blocks that have something to do with England. A bit of a challenge. The project will keep me on a schedule though and hopefully I will finish it! There will be a total of 25 blocks which at this moment feels like a lot.

Winds and flooding around our area the past couple of days have been bad. The cats are being very needy and are battling for the warm spot in the hallway in front of the radiator. I'm hoping it clears out by the weekend so we can get out and do some sightseeing again.

Happy New Year!

I thought about writing out a list of New Year's resolutions but then I realized that my list was the same for the past five years...lose weight, exercise, get financials in order, take a class, finish more projects...almost verbatium! So I'm, going to take a bit more time and make sure that none of them are repeats!

The big ball hanging from the tree in the photo is mistletoe! Since the leaves have fallen you can see big balls of it high in the trees around our house. It finally dawned on me where the "kissing balls" came from that I used to make back home. (If you look closely you can see the sheep too!) We are going to walk up the village hill today. We are so relieved to see sunshine we have to get out of the house. This morning I saw the two peacocks in our neighborhood. Their feathers have all grown in and they look beautiful! They make a horrible sound though.

I've started to work on the sampler quilt for my quilt group. I looked for quilt blocks that has something to do with England. Our first is Roman Pavement. I'll have photos in my next post. My camera is acting up again...I think the battery isn't sitting correctly.

Tourism Day

I finally got my DH to drive down to Cirencester to visit a local museum there - Corinium. It was really interesting and a very neat little town. We are both reading the Libertus Mystery series (set in Roman Britain) and the first book happens very close to Cirencester. The artifacts and exhibits there also helped visualize some of the book passages as well. The photo on the left is of one of the Roman tile floors that was excavated in the area. I'm adding them to the list of things I need to include in my Cotswold quilt.

Because it gets dark so early I can't drive too far from home right now. Driving in the dark is a bit iffy for me...even with DH driving the headlights blind me a bit and make it very uncomfortable - OK I was holding the door handle so tightly I lost feeling in my arm! DH is not a great driver and it is even worse when I can't see how badly he is doing! Does that make sense?!

I've started pulling together fabric for a color confidence workshop for the new quilting folks. At the same time I am trying to pull together my quilting room. It definatly needs a few more days with long hours! My goal is New Years Day...we'll see...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone.

We finally have the house decorated and a few dozen cookies to wash down with eggnog. We went out this afternoon with friends but are spending tonight watching Christmas movies...Patrick Stewart in A Christmas Carole, the Grinch, Charlie Brown, to name a few. They have caroles at midnight at the village church if we can stay awake that long!

Fog, Fog, and more Fog

Well I'm back from the states and in the land of Fog! Yesterday I couldn't even see Mac at the end of his leash! It took a few days to get used to being on this time zone but I think I'm just using that as an excuse for being so far behind in getting the house ready for Christmas. Yesterday I did a marathon decorating session...the tree is up, dozens of santas are spread around the house, and all my cookie making supplies are spread across the kitchen counters! This is as Christmas as I'll get this year...there are still 4 boxes marked xmas in the garage but I've run out of energy and space!


I brought the quilt I am making for my great-nephew (yikes!!!) home to see if he would like it. What a fun kid! He first wrapped himself up in it, then spread it on the floor and laid down on it, then draped it on a chair to sit on it, he then covered the coffee table with it and then finally put it over his head and walked around the room....yes, my camera was going the entire time and may have contributed to his fun.

With all the fog and darkness right now (all making it very difficult for me to drive) I should be able to finish quilting it over the holidays. When someone shows that much appreciation for a quilt it is easier to finish it and to think of making them another!

We went into to town today to do some last minute shopping. It was crazy! Typical Christmas crowds. I was amazed the candy store we usually go to was almost stripped bare! I did find some chocolate covered raisins so I can make my DH's favorite Oatmeal cookies. It is hard being away from home for Christmas.

Computer problems

Sorry about the down time on posting...computer has been acting up. Seems in the move one of the connections in the back got loose so when one of the cats would jump on the CPU it would disconnect me!

I've been really busy trying to get ready to go back to the states next week and to get ready for Christmas. Our choral group sings on Sunday and I've been sewing capes like a crazy person! Hopefully I'll have some photos on Sunday. They came out nice...makes us look more like a group.

Also I took a roadtrip up to another base to see a new doctor...what a waste of time! The man was soooo rude and dismissive. I thought my DH was going to come out of the chair and hit...which only made me more nervous then I normally am when at a doctor! I don't know what the phobia is when you start shaking when you enter the doctor's office, sweat through your shirt, mind goes blank...my DH once brought me to the emergency room because of a Kidney stone and when the doctor came in the room and asked how I was doing I said "fine" then threw up and passed out! The problem with doctors is they always find something wrong with you that you didn't go in for in the first place....


Anyways the photo is of the horse Macbeth and I pass each morning on our walk. He is feasting on the small apples the wind has blown down from the tree next to him.