500th Post and counting....

Dobby - still growing!

I started to draft a wonderful post for my 500th...decided it was way too, well too! So to simplify - thanks to all of you who follow my posts; big thanks to those who leave comments; huge thanks to all of you who post on your own blogs and make this such a great quilting community to be a part of. At the risk of sounding like one of those simpering acceptance speeches I'll stop there.

I did the random generator thingy (but blog is being a pain today and not pasting the link...) anyway, the winner of the "giveaway" is Debbie at #25. She does not write a blog of her own but does follow lots of quilting blogs. I have contacted her by email. She is getting some civil war fabrics for her Brackman block of the week project....

Speaking of the Brackman Civil War block of the week I finished this week's block - forget my initial comment about these blocks being quick! Little 1-inch finished HST's...lets say lots of coffee was consumed in the constructing of this block!
These are the 4 blocks from the project plus my Mulligan block. I a still have the 7 sisters applique block in-process. All and all I feel like I am keeping up. I do want to put a bit more green in the next few blocks and perhaps a bit of yellow.This week I am going to make a dent in my Roll Roll Cotton Boll mystery quilt. I packed it up to take to retreat and have yet to unpack it and work on it at home again. I also want to get binding on one of the 5 (yes, five!) quilts that just need binding to be really and truly finished! A finish would feel good right about now, no?!

Blog Anniversary!

I almost couldn't believe it when I saw the number...this is my 499th post on this blog! So of course I have to celebrate breaking the 500 mark with a giveaway (yet to be determined but sure to include fabric and chocolate!)

Goldie on Birds in the Air and Lemoyne star top

To be part of this momentous event just leave a comment on this post and tell me if you are a traditional/reproduction quilter or a modern quilter. On Sunday at noon EST I will run the number generator and pick a winner. (and if I can't get that to work I will put the numbers in a bowl and let Dobby pick one...if anything is in a bowl he "wants it"...)

Dobby claiming a Turkey Track quilt

Today is a roundup the stray fabric day...bits and pieces have wandered all over the house and it is time for an intervention. Does anyone else store fabric in their guest bathroom? Just wondering....

This came about because last night my DH broke a wineglass. I was at a Guild meeting so he went rummaging through the cabinets for the box of extra wineglasses (hoping to replace the broken one before I found out...) Anyway he saw a box marked "wine glasses" on the top shelf in the laundryroom. He got out the ladder and with significant effort freed the box only to find it filled with...wait for it...fabric. I am so busted.

So when I got home it was the "can you name the fabric in the box" game. Silly man...once I saw the first piece I knew it was the missing box of fabric for my Tobacco Road! But the point was taken...if I continue to stash/hide fabric then I will never know what I have and may continue to add to the stash or pile of UFO's.

The next few days I may not get a lot of stitching done but gathering fabric, roping UFO's, and herding needles and thread will keep me busy for sure!

Mulligan block and road trip...

Like many of you I have been trying to keep up with Barbara Brackman's Civil War block of the week. The last couple of weeks have been a bit crazy with lots of quilting and medical activities so when the block came up on Sunday I thought maybe it would be easier for me to paper-piece this block.

The answer...not so much! Paper-piecing helps keep my points nice and lines even but it does not help with putting the fabric in the right place. oh no, the T's were supposed to be blue! Duhhh...so I ended up with extra pieces and put them together in a slightly different (and easier!) block.

I figure now I have a bonus/mulligan block in case I have to miss a week later on this year!

In other news...What do you think of this fabric stack? So not like me is it! About half of it came from my stash and the other from a trip to Intown Quilters in Decatur, Georgia (part of Atlanta.) Just going into this store makes you happy (a bit dazed, confused and overwhelmed but happy!)

They carry lots and lots of Kaffe along with the other Westminster designers. In the back room are brights and 1930's repros while in the basement are the clearance fabrics. Before the holidays I bought two of the Material Obsession books and have decided to kick the fabric selection in my next quilt up a notch...should be fun!

More on the other places we visited when I get the fabric out of the car...

New Old Orphan Quilt

A few weeks ago my DH got a quilt for me that I had seen on an auction house website. I usually will not do a phone bid if I haven't inspected the quilt. ( It was a general estate auction at a small auction house and they don't know much about quilts so what they say is excellent condition may really be well - not so excellent.)

That aside - I am really happy with this quilt...just so much to look at! It is in good condition. There is some wear on one end and the brown fabric on one block has shattered (but brown fabric of this time period is notorious for shattering...) Otherwise the fabrics are strong and maintained most of their colors.
It came from an estate in Abbeville, S.C. It just looks so southern to me...soft colors, lots of fabrics and big baptist fans quilted right across the quilt. The corners of the quilt are slightly rounded...this is my third southern quilt with "cheater" corners. It certainly makes binding a quilt easier...I wonder why we still don't do it like that?!

I think it is circa 1900...there are a few fabrics that are much earlier than that but a couple that read 1900 so as we go with the most recent that is the date. There is really nothing in the construction or design of the quilt to help with dating it. However if anyone sees something I've missed please let me know!

Eyecandy from retreat

Retreat was a lot of fun...lots of food, laughter and even a bit of quilting. One of the things I really enjoy about my guild is the wide diversity of quilting styles in a relatively small (100 members) group.The first thing I saw when I came through the door was an almost compelted RRCB...Sharon, who pieced this top, kept up with Bonnie through the month of December. This top went to the longarmer on Saturday...btw I was on 410 of my 600 hst.....
Some quilts make repeat visits to retreat...the birthday quilt above was started in 2010 and finished this year. The center is all appliqued and shows her garden and cats! (My block is the basket on the left side...)This red quilt comes from a Piece of Cake Pattern. Last year I believe she worked on the border...now it only needs binding!
Several of the newer quilters were working on Turning 20's and Take 5's.
And I'm not sure of the name of this quilt but it involved sewing a jelly roll strips together until they were the length of the conference hall then folding and cutting...and folding and cutting. Anyway it turned out quite cute.

More later...got to nap!

Packing for retreat....

Each year my guild has a four day quilting retreat at a state park about an hour away. Each year I tell myself I will not pack so much stuff (I've pulled a bag out of my sewing room closet still packed from the year before....)
Four days sounds like a long time and that you will get so much done...in reality - not so much.
So at first I was only going to bring one small embroidery project and Roll, roll cottonboll. Then, well, maybe just another hand-piecing project. And well, I promised to make a sewing roll and a quilt for Q4L....now I have my car full. (This year I did remember to pack enough clothes and an extra blanket!)
Then there is the food. How can you sew without food? And what if we have another ice storm? So....two loaves of Sweet Potato Pound Cake, a pan of brownies, a large box of Ruby Linzer bars, and four bottles of wine. I do have a bag of salad too....
So I will be off the grid for a few days and hopefully will have some fun photos of finished projects to show! And hopefully I will still be able to button my jeans.....

btw...Dobby (new photo at the top of post) had his second set of shots today. He is 4 pounds 5 ounces...he is only 12 weeks old...

Wordless Wednesday

Block a week

Two weeks and I'm keeping up...may be a record! This is part of Barbara Brackman's new Civil War Quilt history blog. I've put up a special "design wall" so I can keep the blocks in view (out of sight out of mind is not good for long term projects!)
We got slammed with ice and snow last night...they say it will continue until tomorrow morning. Good thing I made lots of Beef Barley Soup last night and bought lots of coffee and cat food...ready for a long hunker-down if need be! (oh ya, and I have lots of fabric and quilting projects to keep me busy!)
Can you believe I filled this bird feeder last night! The birds are treating like a McDonald's drivethrough! By noon it was empty and the ice had frozen the top shut. I ended up putting some seed on plates and setting them into the snow. I'm amazed how many different types of birds I saw...cardinals, orioles, a chickadee, and many small birds that I can't quite id.

Easing into the New Year

No I don't have list of resolutions finished..my Christmas tree ornaments are down but the tree is still standing in my dining room...and the new organizer for my closet that I vowed to get in before the new year is still in the box. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come!

Oh dear...between my leg problem and a cold I just haven't been very productive. I spent most of today trying to uncover the parts for my Roll Roll cotton Boll. During the holidays they seemed to have scattered like cotton on the back of the truck during harvest time. (I love driving down the back-roads here in Georgia in the autumn and seeing the bits of cotton drifting along...)

Brownie (the cat) had taught Dobby (the kitten) how to block surf...these cotton boll paper pieced blocks rock as kittie boards. They have been setting all sorts of distance records across the living room....(and I wonder why I am not getting anything done.....)


I did make the first block, Catch me if you can, from Barbara Brackman's new blog. She is posting each week with a block and a bit of civil war era history to commemorate the anniversary of the start of the American civil war. Living here in the south I expect there will be many events in my area. In fact later this month they are re-enacting the handover of the local munitions factory to the confederates at the start of the war. I am going to try and keep up (perhaps rename this block "keep up if you can?) with the blocks she posts. I've seen many around "blog-dom" doing the same...

Wrapping up another year...

Are you working on your New Year's resolutions? I just about the pro's and con's of resolutions on another site and find myself still undecided.I didn't do well with my list of quilts I wanted to finish this year. I did get the important ones finished- like my Guild's donation quilt and a quilt for my brother - but I have a lot of "almost-dones" that need to come off the pile. (or in most cases just have the binding put on!)

However I did do pretty well on working towards getting my Appraiser Certification with AQS. I took some classes at Paducah, went on regular rounds of the antique malls, attended lots of auctions and major quilt shows. My application was also accepted to sit the exam in April. On a totally different note: Dobby is growing by the minute. He cycles through "eat, play, sleep" about every 8 hours. He is getting to be handful but always fun. When he arrived he fit on this little bed...now it looks like something from an old B horror flick...the kitten that ate the house!

Happy postman....

My poor mailman. He knew I was waiting for a couple of packages and was starting to get concerned...wouldn't you know it they both showed up on the same day! Whooo hooo! (He really earned his box of cookies this year!)

Thanks you Jane from Sew Create It for the wonderful box from your anniversary give-away. Love the V&A calendar. I've been to the V&A a dozen times but never seem to see it "all." It is one of my favorite places in London (which is one of my favorite cities! and that is saying something...)

There is even a box...which for Dobby is almost as fun as a sock! He has been playing with this box since I unpacked it (and hopefully will play with it for quite awhile and give the other animals a break!)

The second box contained a gift for my DH. It was replacing the original with arrived a month ago broken...for weeks they have been telling me a replacement had shipped but looking at the label this box only left their distribution center on Monday...hummmm. Oh well, at least it is here!

A small Christmas miracle...I've been looking for a specific piece of blue batik for the past couple of months to finish a UFO. Several quilters in my guild thought they had it in their stash but to date - no fabric appreared. Imagine my surprise when I opened the box from Jane and there it was...
just enough to finish the last few points on my strippy blue batik star! How wild is that? Thank you Jane!

Good weekend to be in the kitchen

I came back from my visit up to New England only to find it rainy and cold here in Georgia!
So Saturday was spent taking care of Dobby the kitten (we now can have our two cats and the kitten in the same room without a hissy-fit...that is progress!) I also got a start on my Christmas cookies with two batches of biscotti and the batter made up for the molasses cookies (stays over night in the fridge.)

Today I got the Christmas tree which we will put up tonight while eating lots of cookies and chili (not at the same time) and keeping a close eye on the animals as they adjust to a new "thing" in the house. We are taking bets on how long it will be before Dobby breaks and ornament...

Hopefully I will be able to get back to working on my Cotton Boll mystery quilt tomorrow when all calms down again...

Word Play Quilts...

Tonya's book is now available...

I can't wait to get my hands on it!

I met Tonya about ten years ago (yikes) when I moved to Georgia. She was teaching a class at our LQS. I was new in town and so happy to meet another quilter (who didn't take themselves too seriously! she is the unruly quilter after all....)
Our "styles" couldn't have been more different. I was still working on a Baltimore Applique and collecting Antique and Vintage Quilts. Tonya was already piecing without measuring and antique stores made her sneeze! But we became friends anyways! Now I make an occasional wonky-freestyle quilt and Tonya almost bought an antique quilt at Houston....

Mystery quilt temptation

I know I am supposed to be finishing up UFO's but I went ahead and started working on Bonnie's new mystery quilt anyway. No excuses.

This time I am using the same colorways as Bonnie. It takes some of the stress out of a mystery! I cut up a lot of the pinks that weren't quite right (at least I didn't think they were) for some reproduction projects and leftovers from some Moda projects from years ago. Some of this fabric is more than a decade old!

Things came to a screeching halt last night though...I cannot find my easy angle. Let me restate that - either of my easy angles! (The last time I couldn't find it I went out and bought a backup.) While I was cleaning up for Thanksgiving I distinctly remember taking them out of the basket on the kitchen counter and putting them someplace safe. Ya, good luck with that.

This morning I have found dozens of quilting acrylic rulers in a wide variety of sizes in some of the strangest places but as of yet not the size I need. A quick prayer to St. Anthony and I'll move on to the next step of the mystery and hope he gets on the case for me!

Dobby, our new kitten is settling in pretty fast. Our cats aren't interested in him and have gotten to the point where they will eat in the kitchen while he is eating on the other side of the room...of course Macbeth, my Scottish terrier, sits in the middle of the room like a UN peacekeeper. He has lost 3/4 of a pound since Dobbie arrived - not a bad thing for the old dog.

I am a bit worried about just how big a cat Dobby may turn out to be. I swear he grows by the hour! And his paws are growing at twice the rate of the rest of his body...yikes!

And just for grins..."Rocker Dobby"....

A start and a finish!

Macbeth has a new kitten...meet Dobbie! In less than 24 hours this kitten has turned out house upside down. He has stolen Brownie's food, taken a bath in Mac's waterbowl, and made a mess out of my DH's favorite blanket (what was he thinking holding a kitten that long after it ate?!)
Mac isn't getting much sleep. He follows Dobbie all through the house. The cats aren't too sure they like him yet so Dobbie still spends lots of time in his "own" room...good thing kittens need lots of sleep. BTW, he was named Dobbie because I put some old clothes from the "rag" bin into a basket for him to sleep on. When we came back he had crawled into an old white sock and just his head poked out. And a finish...finally got the binding done on this quilt. Just in time too! It is a pattern/technique from Bonnie Hunter's website. A great way to use up scrappy strips. Now only 4 more quilts to bind! Zikes.....

A bit like Christmas

So how do yo do your Christmas decorating? Not what it looks like - but do you put it all up at once or do it casually a bit at a time? Or do you hire someone else to do it for you (somehow I don't think folks who read my blog are that type but you never know!)

In the past I was really organized...I would put some containers in the middle of the room and go around taking down my year-round decorations, pottery, and some photos. Then I would clean and polish all the surfaces. Then would come the boxes with the Christmas "stuff." I would spend a weekend arranging (and rearranging!) I even have a change out a few of the paintings on the wall to ones with winter scenes!

Well fast forward to this year by passing a couple of moves and MS...I've developed a new method I'm calling Christmas Creep. It started the first week of November as the Halloween decorations were boxed up. Instead of getting the raku vase out of the cabinet when the Jack'o'lantern left the top of the bookcase bare I went right to the Santa Elf.....besides I had to move the Elf to get the Halloween box back into the closet!

This past weekend we also cleaned the garage a bit. (My DH wants to park his new car in the garage...can you believe that?! anyway...that is an entire post all on its own.) I found boxes of Christmas "stuff" that hadn't been unpacked in 5 years (or two moves in "crazy life" time.) As I unpacked I had to make decisions...if I wasn't going to put it up in the house this year it had to go to charity.
Good "quilt" news - I found three quilt tops I thought were lost forever. They were used by one of the packers as packing material around some German nutcrackers! Just what I needed - a few more UFOs!Back to the decorating...the creep continues. Every-room as a little bit of Christmas in it already so even if I stopped now it wouldn't be too Scrooge-ish. It takes the pressure off a bit. (I live in a neighborhood where holiday decorating is a like and Olympic sport....I think some of them have Martha S. on speed-dial)

Still have a few boxes to go and need to work on the front door but I think i will wait until it is December for that!

Happy Turkey Day

I love Thanksgiving. It is however one of the holidays that makes me realize how much different it is living down South than up in New England where I was raised.

(W. Virginia plaid and gingham tree quilt)

First, there is the weather. I ran out to the bakery this morning and most of the other customers were wearing shorts. The day before Thanksgiving and it is 76 degrees out! I can remember in High School in Massachusetts playing my French horn in Thanksgiving Day parades and worrying my lips were going to stick to my mouthpiece...it was that cold...

Then there is the food. My husband is a southerner (born in Virginia.) I don't think I ever had a sweet potato until I graduated from College and joined the army. Oddly I now love sweet potatoes so I don't object to his insisting we have them at Thanksgiving even though he will not eat them. (I also make a large pot of black-eyed peas on New Years...but that is another holiday!)

And who north of the Mason-Dixon line ever thought of deep frying a turkey! This is part of the testosterone driven barbaque mystique of southern men...they may wear pink with no problem but they still still proudly cook like the cavemen. Now don't be thinking I don't like deep fried turkey...my neighbor has some "secret" ingredient that he rubs inside the bird before it goes into the big pot of peanut oil and it makes the entire neighborhood smell just too good to believe. (Luckily he does the entire set up several times in the fall and for one homemade pecan pie will fry up a turkey breast for me.... )

But Thanksgiving is still the same in one regard - it is a time to stop and reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

There be gremlins....

If you are looking for great photos of all my progress on the Blue and White Guilt Quilt then look no further - my sewing machine died after only a couple of strips. There be gremlins about!

(inked block by Margaret Hunt, strippy borders by me...)

Besides I've spent most of the day trying to figure out why there is dark water intermittently coming out of the taps....can you say "new hot water heater for Christmas!"

So as I waited for the plumber to call back I decided to make a pot of coffee (known to cure most of what ails me) only to drop the coffee carafe and watch shattered glass cover my kitchen floor. The only upside I can see is I needed to clean the kitchen floor today anyways...I just didn't want to do it with a bloody hand. But then again when the plumber did finally call back I did get many sympathy points (he thought I was crying about the water-heater! Silly man, I'm crying for lack of caffeine!)

Oriental fabric sampler wall hanging (45 x 45)

So my sewing today will consist of organizing some of the photos, looking through some old books, and maybe, if my hand heals a bit, basting this little Oriental circle wall hanging in the photo above so I can get it to my niece before the New Year....