MS and Glamour Don't

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More pincushions...

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

MS Awareness Week and pincushions!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bits and bobs...

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

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













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

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

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

Happy Mothering Day

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

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

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

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

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

Flog it on Monday

A few months ago I participated in the BBC program Flog It! I just got word that it will be aired on Monday at 1545 on BBC 2. I am a bit nervous to say the least. More nervous than when we filmed...isn't that odd?! (Flog It is a bit like Antique Roadshow - they appraise an item but differs by bringing the item to auction. In my case it was a circa 1880 quilt that I have had for years.)

I haven't gotten as much sewing done the past few days as I would like. We have a house inspection on Tuesday. I hate these! The estate agent comes by every 3 months to do a walk through and even though we have "passed" them all and they say not to worry about them....well, I do. I spend hours wiping down baseboards behind the furniture, searching out cobwebs and battling lime-scale. I used to worry about my quilting room but now that they have seen it (and the agent's sister is a quilter) that at least is one room I don't go crazy over. One of the things I will look forward to when I move back to the states is not renting and being in my own home again!

Since I haven't done much in the sewing room I posted a photo of a silk tie quilt brought into a quilt documentation day a couple of years ago. The woman who made it (around 1900) ran a boarding house and it is thought that the silks may have been salesman samples. She also made one with a wide range of wools in a similar brick pattern. I had a cousin who worked for a major fabric manufacturer who used to send me and my sisters boxes of sample fabric. If they were large enough to make something out of my sisters generally got them (I am the youngest) but I did have a very well dressed Barbie doll!
Since I am in the file of photos from the documentation day...this is another style quilt we saw a lot of...wedding ring. I really like how this one was done. Not too pastelly (is that a word?) and the four patches are perfect. The pieces making up the arches are tiny. This is one pattern that I have never made. I've gone as far as pulling fabrics and making the templates but then I bought one at an antique fair! Maybe someday....

Bonnie's House block

I made a house block for Bonnie using the pattern on here web site. I didn't square it up just in case... This was a really fun block to make. This may be a possibility for the box of 2 inch strips!

I also cut some Ugly fabric for her. Believe it or not this fabric looks better in the photo than it does in real life! "What were you thinking?" you ask. It was on the internet and was really inexpensive and as I said it looked OK on the internet and is a good name. I thought I would use it for a backing but now I am of the mind to cut it into really small pieces and see if I like it better. (very small chance of that!!!)

I am starting to feel a bit better. Seems my MS medicine and my cold medicine wasn't very compatible. Hopefully the pharmacist has me on the right track now.

At the Hunt

This morning went to Fairford to do something very British - we saw Hunters on horseback. They were not actually hunting - it was a scented course. (Hunting fox is now outlawed in England.) I was really impressed by the horses and the hounds I saw - Beautiful! The photo above shows the horses and hounds coming into the park next to the Fairford Church (the tower in the background.)

The hunters stop here and are given a drink and some snacks by a local club. It also gives the hounds a chance to rest...though most of them seemed more interested in checking out the crowd and playing with the other dogs! I was really impressed with how nice the riders were about explaining what the hunt was about, talking about their mounts and the hounds. The hunt goes on all morning and covers about 20 miles. There were lots of young girls on ponies that seemed to be keeping up with the group well!
It was very cold out but it felt nice to be outside and in the sun for a bit. I am still struggling with the flu but I was feeling so housebound that we went to the hunt anyways! Afterwards we went over to the church. It has the only complete set of medieval stained glass windows in England. During the war the windows were removed and put into storage.
I had visited once before but you really need to have some sun to appreciate the windows and the beautiful carvings around the ceiling. Today was perfect for it.
So much for sightseeing. I went into a sneezing fit and fainted. Looks like it is back to bed for a few days!

almost a top!

I haven't been able to do too much sewing the past week. The cold I had the end of January came back with a vengeance...I've been popping antibiotics and sucking down cough medicine with codeine in hopes of someday breathing through my nose and sleeping through the night again someday...

I did however get my bargello strips together for my Vale of Evesham Quilt. (Picture this - sew one strip then sleep for 20 minutes on the couch...press the strip then sleep for 10 minutes on the couch...do I lead an exciting life or what!!!) As you can see in the top photo, Goldie has laid claim to this quilt...it does match her nicely. Cats always seem to know what they look good on!
The top is pretty large already but I think I may add a border. (This quilt reminds me of the chains we made at camp by folding gum wrappers!) I have a black-ish batik but I am concerned that may make it too dark. The quilt is already so busy that I don't think I could piece a border. I am determined not to buy fabric for this so I may have to get creative. Not exactly how I feel right now....

Some of my time on the couch has been spent flipping through magazines, ripping, filing and tossing. Knowing I am moving again in the autumn gives me a lot of incentive to be ruthless. There are a few magazine that have made several moves though and remain untouched. These include: every Christmas issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion; the past 6 years of Country Living's Halloween Issue; the Bon Appetite Ireland and Italy edition; several months of Country Living (some of which are -5 years old) that I go back to over and over again(one has a kitchen that I dream about!); and then a binder full of the McCall's Vintage quilt magazine. After the last move I just accepted that I would have some magazines "forever" and bought a couple of the magazine holder/binders so they can sit in the bookcase (save from DH's cleaning efforts!)

I promised a group of Americans that I would take them to an auction and just my luck it is today. Here's hoping the auctioneer doesn't take my sneezing for bids!

Signs of spring...maybe

Today it was so nice out that I took some time out from sewing to go hill-walking with some friends. The fields are starting to turn green. There were lots of snowdrops still and some daffodils were starting to come up in areas protected from the wind. It gives you hope that spring isn't too far away. I particularly liked all the sheep we strolled past. Not too long before the hills are covered with lambs! The walk was about 5 miles and took us through the village of Dumbleton where this impressive manor is located. Afterwards we all had a pub lunch. Afterwards I came home took a shower and slept for 3 hours! I am so out of shape!


So now I am set to finish the last strip on my Bargello! I'm hoping to have the top done in the morning. Photos soon!!

Superbowl challenge

I hate to admit it but my super bowl challenge quilt became more of a super tuesday project...

When Bonnie said she was going to work on a scrappy bargello as her super bowl project and challenged others to do the same I jumped right in! Without thinking of course...first, the super bowl is on in the middle of the night here and second, New England was playing so most of Monday morning would taken up with my husband watching a tape of an already finished game....

I may have done Ok if I stuck with my original plan. (I hear internet chuckles at this point...) I had cut a basket of 2-1/2 inch strips when I cut the pieces for the Carolina Crossroads. When I raised my hand (digitally speaking) for the challenge I thought I was halfway there. Way too easy...by this point I was getting tired of pastels, 1930', and anything too cute.

So in the early hours of Sunday morning/Saturday evening I ransacked the batik cabinet. Some of these I have had longer than my husband! A lot longer! Anyway, I started cutting. It takes a long time to cut enough batik strips for the quilt. At this point I have worn out a rotary cutting blade, a sewing machine needle and my right arm.
So as of this morning I had three of the six long pieces done and the strips for the other three pieces sewn together but not cut and re-sewn (a process that fascinates my husband..."you're cutting stuff you've already sewn" he said with a really worried look on his face. Like I was so engrossed in the early returns from the voting that I wouldn't notice the yards of fabric I am struggling to keep on the cutting table! I may be spacey but please!)

Anyway, it will be done soon. I am amazed at how much fabric it has used...almost an entire shelf. I think this is destined for one of the nephews...though it is starting to grow on me. I am naming it Vale of Evesham because the colors remind me of driving around the orchards in that area last fall. The bits of black and white batik are for the black and white Tudor cottages there.

Hearts

I took a break from working on my Carolina Crossroads to make a few heart blocks for the leukemia quilt project. It was a lot of fun to play with something different if even only for an afternoon. I tried a new technique on the paper-piecing (I think I read it in the magazine that Bonnie's article was in but I'm not sure...but I am sure it was in print and not something I came up with!) Anyway, instead of including the outer 1/4 inch seam on the paper you just use a ruler to cut the seam allowance. This is one of those time the photo makes so much more sense....
It just makes less paper to tear away...and that double piece of paper was always a pain. Anyways, it took a couple of trys but at the end of the day I really like this technique.

I am also trying to clear out my quilting room a bit. The thought of packing all this fabric and shipping it yet again is a bit daunting. I gave away some fabric today to one of women in the village and it felt good!
I also went through some of my boxes of vintage fabrics and found these blocks that had been missing since the last move! The one on the right is a favorite of mine...it is about 8 inches square and shid a tiny monkey wrench in the middle and is surrounded by tiny pieces of fabric circa 1870's. Looks just like one of crumb blocks we make now!!!

Back from Malta

I've been away from the computer for a few days because we went to Malta to get some sun and relax a bit. It was a nice time. We got a three day bus pass and covered most of the island. I really liked the old buses there...made me think of Disney cartoons.
I was amazed at the number of churches and shrines on the island. After the second day my DH opted out of the tours...he did go to the blue grotto with me which is really stunning spot. We went out on a tiny boat and went in and out of the "caves."

All and all it was a nice trip but it is even nicer to be home. Now back to the Carolina Crossroads.....

Cleaning up photos

While I was housebound this past month I took some time to go through my ever-growing photo files on both my computer and my laptop. What a mess!

I have photos from three cameras ago in various files on the laptop. Some are of such poor quality compared to my new camera I am just putting them on a disk and deleting the original. Then there are the photos I only took to put on the blog...a new fabric, a block, and almost block...you know the ones. Those are gone too. Then I copies the remaining photos on to disks so if something were to happpen to the computer I would have a backup. I know - I am supposed to do this on a routine basis. Oh, well.

Some of my favorites were of the quilts that came in to the quilt shows for appraisals. At our first show a man brought in about 20 quilts that had belonged to his grandmother. He told great stories about how he remembered sitting under the quilting frame and helping poke the needle back up if it slipped out of her fingers while quilting. The blue quilt at the top was one of his.

The bulls-eye photo below is only one block of 12 that made up one of the heaviest "quilts" I have ever carried! The blocks are about 20 inches by 20 inches. It is an incredible piece! I loved the colors. I am slowly working on the Carolina Crossroads blocks. This may take me awhile. This week I also worked on a charity quilt at Fairford...we almost finished an entire quilt top in one day. Amazing what can happen when several folks get together to work on one project!

On to Step Six!

I've been pretty much house bound the past couple of weeks. My eyes haven't been very good but I have done a lot of cutting fabric and a bit of piecing. Now I am very happy with how my Carolina Crossroads is coming along but it does show how wonky my eyes got...I thought I had only used blue fabric! It wasn't until I took some photos of the 9-patches that I realized I had slipped into the green stacks...Oh well! Colorblind Crossroads may be a better name for it.

My eyes are getting better and I even ventured out to the grocery store today...I mean tried to venture out. The road at the end of the village was flooded so I turned around and went home. Not that I will starve. Besides being slightly chubby (slightly - hah!) I also keep a very well stocked "larder." I could eat for weeks out of my cabinets. It is the cat food that I am worried about...looks like they will get a can of tuna tonight!

Back to the Crossroad project. Had anyone else working on this found themselves with lots of extra 1-1/2 inch squares and other bits? It has nothing to do with the directions...just an overenthusiastic rotary blade. I don't want to toss them but...they are pretty small. Ideas?

Stir crazy

I only have enough energy for a quick post. The cold I complained about in my last post got worse and I ended up flat on my back for the past 4 days! I'm afraid I may be there for at least two more. The worst part is how it effects my eyes. The fever sparks my optic neuritis which is both very painful and aggravating. I can't read nor can I watch TV. When it gets bad I start to have problems with color-blindness...disaster for a quilter!

Before I crashed I started Bonnie's mystery quilt. I finished step one with the 100 rail fences with the red/pink centers and started step two with the white and red corners. I hope to get back to these soon.

Sorry for the whiney post...will be better and posting much more interesting stuff soon.

Buttons treasure!

It has been cold and rainy for the past two days. Not that I have seen much of it since I have been housebound with a cold! It seemed the perfect day to sort buttons.

In the past year I have bought several "sewing lots" at auction and still hadn't gone through all the boxes. The box in the photo above was one of my favorites. Lots of large sets of buttons or buttons close enough to be made into sets. At the bottom of the box was this little silver "purse."

When I opened it up there were these tiny tourist photos of Rome!

Anyway, with this cold that is about as much excitement as I can stand...more later.

Happy New Year

I am a big one for making lists - grocery lists, to do lists, lists of quilts I've made and of quilts I would like to make. So that I am working on a list of New Year's resolutions isn't a surprise to anyone who knows me!

I will not bore you with the lose weight, walk more, be better about taking my meds stuff and just focus on the Quilting and travel "fun" stuff.

First - organize my quilting and sewing room. OK, this has been on my list every years since I first started quilting. Lets just say it is a process! I am planning however clear out the fabrics I have no plan on using in the next two years and donate it. I also want to finally clear out some craft things that I don't want to pack up and move back to the U.S. again. When we go back to the U.S. my DH has consented to my having the largest of the spare bedrooms to use for my quilting room. This gives me a much larger closet which I can fit out with shelves for my fabric.

Second - Try new things. I feel like I have stagnated a bit in the past year. I am cruising the internet and my piles of books and magazines to make a list of some new techniques or projects for the new year. I'm going to start with improving my machine quilting....

Third - Make the best use of the last year I have here in England. That is right. It looks like we will be going back to the states at the end of this year. So all the trips I have been putting off and all the folks I want to to visit I have to do soon!

Fourth - Simplify. If I don't use it or love it I will pack it away. If I don't miss it by the time we leave for the states than I will get rid of it. This extends to the large piles of recipes, home decorating idea pages, and paint chips!

Notice what is not on the list this year - finishing projects. (That usually follows cleaning the sewing room.) I'm accepting this as a non-finish/play year. I don't want to use up time working on projects I am no longer excited about just because they are half done. I think I will be more careful with my time and focus it on things I really want to do.

I was asked for the Bourbon Apple Pecan Bread recipe so here goes....

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1-1/4 cups vegetable oil
3/4 cup bourbon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large or 6 small peeled, cored, and chopped apples scuh as Granny Smith or Golden Delicious
1-1/2 cups raisins
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Butter and flour two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans and set aside.

Mix 3-3/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.

In a large bowl cream together brown sugar, sugar, eggs, oil, bourbon, and vanilla.

Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir until just mixed.

Crush apples with a masher or place in a food processor and pulse several times.

Mix raisins and pecans with remaining 1/4 cup of flour in a small bowl. Add apples, raisins, and pecans to batter and stir until blended. (Don't over-mix or the bread will be tough.) Divide into the two pans and bake in center or oven for 50-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let rest for 5 minutes before removing from pans.

Serve with cream cheese sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon.

(I apologize for not siting which magazine this came from...it was in the middle of the ripped pages that I mentioned earlier in my resolutions! It could be an old Country Living or Home Companion?! Who knows!)

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Well I am back from the states and slowly recovering from the holidays. Didn't realize how tired I was until I woke up in my own bed with a very angry cat staring me in the face and a persistent terrier throwing himself against the bed demanding his morning walk. It is good to be home.

I didn't get to travel as much around New England because of snow...lots of snow! I did get to Scituate which is where I took the photo above of the lighthouse. It is one of my favorite towns in Massachusetts. The photo below is the view towards the lighthouse from the town pier.
I didn't get any sewing done at all. At one point during a lull in the storms I did venture out to a yarn store and pick up a crochet hook and some yarn just to have something to do with my hands! You can only make so many batches of cookies before you need a fabric/craft fix!

I also stayed home to spend time with my Mom. She turns 88 this year! I think she liked having the Christmas Eve party at her house again this year. It is easier for her than traveling to one of my sisters's houses. The photo is of her and her great-grandson Kai sitting together on Christmas Eve.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a preparing for a wonderful New Year!

Christmas notes

I love the holidays but I do tend to over-do it. The past week I have been cooking, cleaning, traveling, and attending holiday events like a crazy person. I took yesterday and today off to try and rest up for my flight back to the states Wednesday.


My choral group sang on Sunday at the Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham. It is a beautiful Regency style building. There were two new members so I ended up having to make more capes this year. As usual I put it off until the last minutes ...literally. I was hemming the last cape as I drank my Sunday morning coffee!

I have made dozens of cookies this past week. My mint chocolate chip, lemon sugar, spice, coconut biscotti, and toffee cookies were loaded into bags and given out to neighbors this week. Somehow I also gained 3 pounds! The photo on the top is a loaf (prior to slicing for second baking) of my favorite biscotti. My family calls it California holiday biscotti. Here's the recipe.

1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2-1/4 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons aniseed
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup whole shelled pistachios
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
egg wash

Beat butter in a mixing bowl for 30 seconds. add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir together eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat into butter mixture. Beat in the flour until stiff. Stir in the anise, fennel seeds, cranberries, pistachios and apricots. Turn mixture out onto a lightly floured board and lightly knead in the remaining flour. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until easy to handle.

Divide mixture into thirds. Shape each into a log 1-1/2 by 12 inches long. Place the logs 3-inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Pat each log to 3/4-inch thick. Brush with egg wash (one egg beaten with a tablespoon of water.) Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven and cool for at least one hour. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Place cookie logs on a cutting board. Cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place vertically on a cookie sheet; bake for 5-8 minutes.

I did finish a couple of table runners as Christmas gifts. I was so tired I forgot to take photos before I wrapped them!


I just started reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I really enjoyed his first book The Kite Runner.