Strawberry Season...

I am busy trying to get packed for a quick trip up to Boston. There is a memorial mass for my Dad. Also it gives me a chance to see Mom and family.

Log Cabin quilt top circa 1900, purchased in Penn.

Silly me...I put a photo of my banana bread on my last post and didn't post the recipe. This is a combination of a Strawberry Breakfast Bread and a Sour Cream Banana Loaf Bread that I make often.

Sour Cream Strawberry Banana Bread
1-1/2 cups All-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon Wheat Germ (optional)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 eggs
3/4 cup strawberries, mashed (I use a potato masher)
1 small banana, mashed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup chopped strawberries.

In a large bowl stir dry ingredients (flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon)

In a medium blow mix together eggs, lemon zest, mashed strawberries, banana, oil, and sour cream.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture. Fold together until just mixed. Add the chopped strawberries and the chopped pecans. Gently fold.

Pour into a greased and floured 9x5 loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. Check after 25 minutes to see if the bread is browning too quickly, if so cover it lightly with foil. Allow the bread to cool in the pan, on a wire rack, for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the pan and finish cooling on the rack. Do not slice until the bread is cool. Bread is best the day after it is baked.

Newspaper clippings

I'm still going through my "things to do" list from Paducah...one those was a promise to Ruby McKim's family to check the box under the bed to see if any vintage patterns were by their grandma.This box was given to me by an elderly member of our guild, Kitty Lamb, a year or so before she passed away. It had been given to her by an elderly friend so needless to say the box is a treasure trove of newspaper and magazine clippings from 1910 to 1970! Since both Kitty and her friend were military wives the clippings cross the country and it is difficult to know where Kitty's started and her friend's begins.
As expected there were a dozen or so blocks designed by Ruby that had been published in the Kansas City Star dated 1929-1931 in the box. Her distinctive name-mark makes them easy to spot! It was fun reading the directions and I may just make a copy of the Virginia Star Quilt before sending these off to the family.

Off to bake some loaves of strawberry banana breads to build up the freezer reserve. Lots of visitors the past week has cleared it out! If I have enough energy many some pistachio biscotti too....

Guild Meeting...

Twice a year the guild I belong to has a meeting on Saturday so the evening group and the morning group participate in the elections, putting in new officers, and a good program. (and since we are in the South good food goes without saying...)

Today we had a lot going on. A nearby guild came by and sold some very fun T-shirts. They are doing it as part of a guild fundraiser.We also had our donation quilt on hand in case members wanted to sign out more tickets. We draw on this one in September at Arts in the Heart. The Quilt show challenge fabric was distributed...(I can honestly say this one has be stumped. How am going to incorporate a monkey in boxer shorts with the show theme of "quilting on the river?" Oh ya, and there has to be a tree, water, and a stone in the quilt design! Say what?) We had our Christmas challenge fabric packets...the block needs to represent a Holiday song. (They are killing me!)

My friend Paula did the program on using silks, woolens and cottons together in projects. It was very good. She brought lots of quilts and quilt-y stuff for her trunk show and gave us lots of tips on prepping fabrics and selecting threads.This a photo of a block of the week she did with Primitive Gatherings. It is really stunning.As usual Rachel, a very talented member of our guild who does not blog brought a pillow she designed and made using recycled linen and woolens. We are in the middle of "face-jug" country so it is very appropriate!
Show and tell was fun but I have to find out who made the blueberry pecan dessert...it was awesome!

A big comfy chair and some needlework...

Oh dear, my leg has decided not to work today so all cleaning, organizing and being otherwise productive has been put on hold. Luckily I stocked up on projects, books, and handwork kits while in Paducah...so I'll have to sideline myself and let the professional cleaners work while I stitch. (I know poor me...)
I made up a sample for our guild meeting on Saturday. My friend Paula is doing a Program on using wools and silks in your quilting projects. We wanted to have a couple of examples handy so I made up this little needle case using cottons with wool applique from a free pattern on the web. Took less than an hour! (Helps that I have less wool to choose from...if it were cottons it would have taken me an hour to pick the fabric from my stash!)

I also have resurrected an Ocean Waves project. After looking at several vintage ones at Paducah and on line I've decided I like them best when they have darker backgrounds. Initially I used a light blue and think that may be why it went to the back of the closet. I tried using this indigo flower and am much happier. I am also happy that Brownie is doing much better with the new medications...even if it means she is back to stealing fabric and block surfing again.
When I opened the door for the mailman today he quickly said, "it isn't your test envelope." Instead it was a package from Lynn at Rocky Creek Scotties. A few weeks ago they hosted a "guess the day the puppies are born and how many" contest. I jut love seeing her daily posts with Scottie puppies. Macbeth however was very interested in this box...it got the "sniff-over" by Brownie and Mac. (who always work as a team...)Mac decided any box with a tennis ball is ok by him...
though he does look a bit guilty for taking the ball out doesn't he! Trust me the guilt didn't last...

Still unpacking from Paducah

Why is it I am wonderful at packing for a trip but unpacking? Not so much. Maybe it is that I have a hundred things to do this week and so little time to get them done!

Great fabric placement in these Grandmother's flower garden blocks

So instead of cleaning the house or getting some baking done or getting thank-you notes out...I'm blogging. It is an illness...

It is just I still have so many photos and memories of the week in Paducah that I want to share! This however will most likely be my last post for a few days as I try to do some life maintenance. (which includes calling window and rug cleaners, and getting food shopping done...)

A nice traditional pattern in the Pilgrim Roy Challenge exhibit

So more Paducah...if you haven't gone onto the AQS website and checked out the photos of the winners than jump on over there. They really were beautiful. Their photos are so much better than my own (too many butts and elbows in mine!) One thing I did note was there was a bit less "bling" on the quilts this year and what was there was more appropriate. I guess that is a trend that has come under control!

While riding the bus back to the hotel I heard one of the funniest comments, "I thought we'd save money by not taking a class this year," said one quilter to her friend," but I think in the same amount of time I spent twice as much in the vendor area." As my Dad used to remind us - "don't spend a dime to save a penny." Personally I like to take a few classes whenever a go to regional or national show but I also like to make sure I have time to see all the exhibits and yes, all the vendors. It is a balancing act.

A favorite from the Pilgrim Roy Challenge

Paducah has a wonderful variety of vendors...something for everyone. I always spend a time with the antique and vintage quilt dealers. However this year I also came home with quite a wool stash. We don't have a lot of wool for sale in my area so I could rationalize lots of purchases! Also the hand dyed wools have such gorgeous colors. Yes, I did some damage.

Me, Lisa Bongean and my friend Paula at the Primitive Gatherings Booth

One of my favorite wool and pattern dealers there was Primitive Gatherings run by Lisa and Nick Bongean out of Wisconsin. Since I am new to using wool I bought one of their kits. I'm generally not a kit person but when you do the math it was a no-brainer...particularly when you consider I have no wool stash to use-up! It wasn't until I was on the road home that I realized I had bought one of her Halloween jacket patterns at another wool booth. Seems she does wholesale as well as retail so you may be able to find her patterns or kits locally.

Well, I had best get back to work. Results from the appraiser exam are supposed to be out within two weeks. Let you all know when I find out!

The technology wall...

I interrupt this stream of Paducah posting for a brief technology rant....urgghhhh. Thank-you, that feels better.

been there, done that, and got the T-shirt to prove it!

I'm sure you are familiar with the Peter Principle (all managers are promoted one step beyond their competence level...sometimes this is also stated as it is easier to promote someone than demote them.) Well there must be a similar phrase for technology. There is a point where getting more devises, or switching to a devise that does more, or just doing more with the devises you have actually starts to make life harder not easier.

Just look at the sheer volume of what I brought on my roadtrip- laptop in a padded bag with cords, two cameras with connection cables and power cords, cell phone with charger, a kindle with cable charger, my Tom-tom sat nav with cables, an IPad (only used one night while studying), and a portable printer with cables and paper (never unpacked from the car.) I'm beginning to miss the days when having a beeper and a telephone card was considered enough....

wonder of the first folks driving this baby complained about technology?

And who know hardware could impact things like emails and posting so much. I figured...I'm using the same camera and going to the same blog so it would act the same. Oh, no...the photo management software in each piece of hardware I have is different soooooo

Anyway, if my posts for the last week have looked a bit different...that is the reason. At some point I will either figure it all out of try to go back to a simpler time...in the meantime due to this techno-juggle I have lost about 50 photos and maybe 5 hours of my life that I will never get back....

Purchase pile from Paducah...wools, pinks, and embroidery patterns

Thank you for listening/reading....I do feel better now....we will be back to regularly scheduled quilt postings tomorrow....

Home from Paducah...

Well after a long ride and many stops along the way I am home. Macbeth and the cats are very happy...we went for a long walk and they all got their treats. I have unpacked about half the car and will do the remainder in the AM.

I was a bit shocked at the amount of damage we saw in many parts of Kentucky, Tennasee and Georgia. I didn't stop for photos...you've all seen them. My heart breaks for these people.

Ocean Wave Quilt...look at the depth the pink creates

Back to Paducah day two...

First thing in the morning I went to the "Woman's work is never done" lecture by Gerald Roy. He presented several of his quilt tops and discussed why he collected them. It was a fun collection...

This red wheel quilttop is so graphic that even several rows back I was impressed. It reminds me of the single girl's ring quilt that some of the quilters in blog-land are making.

Paducah 3

I guess I could do these posts in chronological order...would make more sense no? While here in Paducah I suffer from sensory overload so making sense is much more difficult than it should be...but here goes.

Day one I signed up for an early lecture on Civil War quilts however the presenter was not able to make it due to the weather so Sue Reich stepped in and presented Quilts of World War II. I went to the exhibit last year but it was still wonderful to hear her speak on the quilts and their history. (I believe many of the lectures are steaming on the AQS website so you may be able to see it online!)

She curated the Antique Quilt exhibit at the Rotary again this year. The theme was quilted gardens. Again a wonderful exhibit. Some familiar patterns and some quirky ones that just make you smile. And as always the human stories and historical context was laid out for us. The quilt photos in this post are a sample of what was on display...

I met up with janette Dwyer, The Farmer's Daughter, who I met last year in the appraising class. She introduced me to Merrily McKim Tuohey who is the granddaughter of Ruby McKim. We went to the pie place near the giant cow (if you've been to Paducah that makes sense!) and had lunch with Merrily, her Mom and Merrrily's daughter. They told me about how they saved the origianal patterns and other ephemera of ruby McKim's from being destroyed after her death. They are self publishing the old series like Rolly Polly, The stories of the bible, and Alice in Wonderland. The books are really nice (I bought three...I love Ruby McKim embroidery patterns and see them often in vintage quilts around Georgia.) She has a website http://www.mckimstudios.com/

Janette and I in the back and Ruby McKim's Great-granddaughter, granddaughter and daughter in law.

Well off to down a protien shake with some more coffee, load the car and get down to the quilt museum for my test!

Paducah Post 2

I'm being good tonight and staying in to rest up for tomorrow's appraiser examination part two...sounds like a cross between B horror movie or an Army addmitance physical. As strange as it may seem I am a bit excited about it (in a good way.) Maybe it is just that I have been waiting a year to take it or maybe it is just I get an hour to talk about 4 quilts...quilts and talking are maybe my favorite things (if I could have a cup of coffee with me they would have a problem getting me out of the room!)

Hexegon Flowers from the Susan Reich exhibit at the Paducah Rotary Club

As Mary Kerr, one of the Certified Appraisers, told us "you are either ready or you're not." Guess that means cramming tonight is out of the question! So instead of cracking the books I am going to relax with my big cup of herbal tea and post some more photos of here in Paducah.

First Congratulations to Sandra Starley, another appraiser, and her Virginia is for Lovers. It was part of the Alliance for American Quilts Challenge and came in third! Here is a photo of the top quilts in this challenge. There were a lot of really nice quilts (of course I was partial to Sandra's)!

The Alliance Challenge exhibit was out at the old Circuit City-alternate site. There were a lot of vendors there as well. Paula and I got to meet Lori Smith. I have a dozen of her patterns at home so it was nice to put a person to the work! (and yes, I picked up a couple of patterns.)

(Me, Lori, and Paula)

There were a lot of wool vendors at this show. This is something we don't see a lot of down in Augusta Georgia so I picked up a bit. I am tempted to try Lori's "A celebration in appplique" in wool....could be fun!

More tomorrow....

Paducah

Sorry I haven't posted as promised but as you may have heard things are a bit different here at the AQS Show in Paducah this year. It started out easy enough. The first 7 hours of our 9 hour drive was smooth all the way. Then we hit Nashville. I watched a tractor trailer demolish 2-3 cars only feet away from us.

A quilt angel...my only question, "do you clean quilt rooms?"

Thought we had dodged a bullet...then an hour or so up the road the sky turned dark. We turned on the radio for local news and all we could hear was the loud beeping sound of the National Weather Alert System. They preceeded to name countied in Tennesee and Kentucky that were under a tornato warning. This is really helpful if you know what county you are in...which we didn't.



About 20 minutes into listening to a buch of local weather and news guys toss around towns and streets and counties finally one of them decided to let us know what exits the tournado (which had now been spotted) had decided to touch down in....luckily we had just passed that exit. We may rename this the "dumb luck" tour!

Great Vendors...

All that aside the folks from AQS are doing a great job of keeping the show going. I am sort of exhausted so not too many photos now...promise lots later...

Happy Easter...

We have perfect weather here in Augusta for Easter Weekend. The sun is out and with all the rain we had yesterday the yard is bright green!I spent some time out the garden this morning getting some plants in and pulling some weeds. Hope it will be enough to keep the place from going crazy while I'm away next week.

Can you believe the AQS show in Paducah is next week? It has felt so far away for so long! I packed my clothes last night (am I just a bit anxious!) and pulled some hand sewing projects (like there is a such lack of fabric and thread in Paducah next week that I have to pack some?! Just so you know I am the person on the plane who always has food packed in her briefcase!)

I packed my "appraiser" bag last week but will run through it again tonight. And probably again tomorrow night. Yes I am nervous. I am so glad I am driving there with my friend Paula. Driving means I don't have to be so careful about what and how much I pack...when I doubt toss it in the car!

Knock on wood and hang the rosary beads out the window - my eyes are doing good and my legs as good as can be expected. If I pace myself I should be able to get through the week. My handwriting is good for about 10 minutes...guess I'll need to keep my answers short on the written portion of the exam! (after that they may need to bring a cryptographer in to decipher it! )I did a lot of catching up this week...I mailed my quilt to Utah fullfilling my promise to the Quils For Leukemia group. Two quilts were mailed off to Quilters Newsletter for Japan. The quilt in the photo was made by my friend Ille. (I've posted photos of the brown on I made in earlier posts...)Now off to try a new recipe for Strawberry bread...they are coming in great this year! Nothing beats a local berry!

Happy Easter!

Memory failure...

After posting the Ocean Wave quilt from Statesboro I decided to pull two of my OW quilts from my own collection. The memory failure wasn't when I went to look for them...it was how I remembered them! I had told several of you that my quilt had 1-1/2 and 2-1/2 inch hsts...well it is more like 1-1/4 and 3 inches. (And that my friends is why we do appraisals and documentation on our quilts!)
First is this turn of the century OW with the large "mostly" 3 inch HST. This came from Pennsylvania (doesn't it just scream it!) I purchased it in Gettysburg at a street fair in the early 90's.

It was definitely a "I love these fabrics" purchase. The mix of pinks with yellows, blues and blacks just makes me smile. Also, the maker wasn't too concerned about the dark and light placement. Sometimes that can make this pattern look very formal but when you ignore the pattern...fun. (repeat after me..."this does not have to be perfect"...just feel the stress leave your shoulders...)The second quilt was purchased in the same area of Pennsylvania around the same time. It is from the 1940's and uses a peach sateen cotton that still shows the pencil quilting marks. The hst measure 1-1/4 finished...we are talking tiny! I haven't had this quilt out in awhile and can honestly say I like it better now than when I bought it! Isn't that a great feeling!
The fabric choices have a rather modern feel...a bit like the Material Obsession books that I am drawn to right now. (check out the red polka dot in this quilt...I'm using lots of that right now!)

If you are thinking of making your own Ocean Waves quilt you may want to start at Bonnie Hunter's website, Quiltville.com, where she has a free pattern for one using 1-1/2 inch finished HST (of course that can be changed! Personally I am leaning towards the 2 inch like the Statesboro quilt!)
I was asked in my last post if my cats like quilts...of course. They also like to have their photos taken with the quilts. Can be quite a challenge to do quilt photos sessions!

Guild Program

Yesterday I went down to Statesboro Georgia to meet with the quilters of Staying in Stitches. Lots of talented quilters in this group!I went down a bit early to view some quilts at Pauline's house. The quilts were really nice...here sewing studio to die for. Gave me lots of incentive to get organized. Though it was more than organized - it was comfortable and cute! Sorry no photos....but mine will be looking like it soon and will send pic then (ok, I can hear the laughter already!)

We then went over to the college museum where a couple of Pauline's quilts were being displayed along with artifacts from a local civil war archeological site. Her scrappy Ocean waves has great fabrics in it! You can study it for ages and still find new pieces to marvel at!

The program went well. I brought fewer quilts with but still found myself going a bit over time. But as long as there are quilts to look at or questions I'm happy to talk! During break they had some delicious trifles - chocolate or fresh strawberry. Strawberry fields around this area are bursting so how could I resist!
On a different note...here is a photo of Brownie (11 years old) and Dobby 5-1/2 months old) taken just yesterday. They now both weigh 7-1/2 pounds...though by now I'm sure Dobby has already grown a bit more....

Day of Rest...not so much

Today is supposed to be a day of rest but since I am sitting on a To-do list longer than my arm I've got to get a bit of work in before the list is dragging on the floor and trips me up!I've already spend a few hours on the deck preparing for a guild program next Tuesday on Quilt Appraisals. This did double duty as review for the exam later this month...cannot believe it is finally here! (Dobby likes to sit play on the deck when I have my morning coffee...can you believe how much he has grown!)
Also the kitchen needs to be cleared of fabric and quilt-y stuff before I leave for Paducah which means I need to start now! And speaking of "kitchen fabric," I finished this week's CW Block of the week. I pieced it a bit differently from the directions - instead of sewing a 2-1/2 square to a 2-1/2 inch HST I sewed a 2-1/2 inch square on the diagonal to the 4-1/2 inch strip. That gives the stripe continuity...and me less of a headache! This may be one of my favorite blocks in the growing pile!

Finally, the dreaded spring cleaning of the closet. Temps here are already into t-shirt weather so the heavy sweaters and coats have to move to the to shelves.

So with this...I'd best be off seeing to chores...even if it is a day of rest!

A finish!

Take a good look cause you don't see many of these on this blog...a completely finished quilt! Binding and everything!I have several in the binding basket...my goal this year is to reduce the number so quilts don't spill out of the top! This one fell on my head the other day (quilting poltergeist perhaps?) as I moved some things around in my sewing room. Guess it really was tired of being an "almost quilt."

Speaking of almost quilts...the Quilt for Leukemia project is now quilted and I will be putting the binding and label on this weekend! My goal is to get it in the mail on Monday morning. Could we have two finishes in one month? Be still my heart...
I have a new project going from the bits left over on the cutting table. It comes from the second Material Obsession book. It is a spider web with a crumb/random pieces connecting block. To give it some continuity I am using red in the center of each of the webs. I used lots of older fabrics for the foundation piecing so cleared some hard to move stash....I have a feeling this is going to be a really heavy quilt! And just in case you are wondering...this will not be finished this month....