Fabulous Weekend-Fly Fishing and Biking Around Louisville

It's so nice to be able to do things outside now.  It's been so blasted hot here, I think we hit record high heat on several days.  We seem to be franticly trying to cram in our summer's worth of outdoor activity in the few remaining days of fall.

I had my waders on in the water, and it was a lot cooler, but, I didn't mind.  Being in nature, early in the morning and trying to catch the fish that all said "Hah! You human fools"!  Ah well, there will come another day my fine little fishies...muoooahhahahhha!!

We went on our longest bike ride since we have had my new bike, 13 miles.  This time we started at Hogan's Fountain at the Cherokee Park and wove around town.  We've still got a lot to learn about winding around CP.  That area was built a long time ago and it doesn't have a lot of straight through connecting streets, so we were switching back and forth many blocks.  There are major arteries around there, but, they've got too much traffic and our book "Wheeling Around Louisville", takes us off those busy roads, which I like.

The highlight of this ride was the grave sites of the Clark family plots.  The Clark's raised 3 generals, George Rogers Clark, who lived at Locust Grove Home, another son that was half of the Lewis and Clark expedition and another son that was the General of a Virginia Militia.  What an accomplished family!  Kentucky does have a strong history of military support, but, I'd say this is pretty outstanding work from those parents.

Another fun day of bike riding...albeit a little warm

On a warmish Sunday afternoon we took another 10 mile trip around the lovely homes of Louisville.

We are not original to Louisville.  I'm from Collinsville, Oklahoma and my husband is from Tulsa, Oklahoma.  We met in college at Oklahoma State University and moved to New Mexico, where we lived in Lovington, New Mexico for a year.  Then we moved back to Broken Arrow, Ok, where we lived for a few more years, then on to Houston for 11 years and now to Louisville for 14 years.

In all this time I've never really driven around the neighborhoods.  Now that we have our bikes and are the Wheeling Around Louisville book, we are well on our way to finding out about the older beautiful neighborhoods around us.

If you get the book, it's designed to start out "slow".  Ten mile bike rides with no hills, called Turtle rides are the first few mapped out plans for your route.

Yesterday took us around Seneca Gardens.  This is near Bowman Airfield off of Taylorsville road.  The winding trail lead us past beautiful homes and pre-civil war era homes, one of which was probably built in the early 1800's and was a home to slaves.

Movie, Book and DVD rental reviews...

Besides making my Grandmother's flower garden/Tillie's Mosaic quilt, which is the best hand sewing project I can recommend for waiting on Doctors, and at bedsides in hospitals, I've been enjoying other sensory perceptions.

The new Indiana Jones movie was like being on a ride at an amusement park. I never really engaged with the movie-action or script. But, you got to see it, because it's picks up somewhat from the original movie and I guess it's okay. If nothing else, they brought back Karen Allen who, a while back was a really great actress that seemed to drop off the planet for a while, but, now we can see her again. She's knitting, I understand, so she must be a great person, maybe could have been a little better if she's a quilter, but, knitting is good...smile.

A better afternoon spent is watching a French film with subtitles, the Diving Bell and the Butterfly. It's about the editor of Elle Magazine who has a stroke at the age of 42 and how he writes a book just by blinking it out to a nurse. The French really are cutting edge movie makers and some of the scenes in this movie are impossible-I won't give away anything. This is an interesting movie and the soundtrack is awesome-I recommend buying that, the variety is wonderful, U2 to Tom Waits, luscious.

The book I was given as some fluff reading is Stealing Shadows by Kay Hooper. It's a nice page turner with detective/psychic/serial killer finder/person...you know what I mean. The book is a romantic thriller and I usually shy away from this type of thing, but, I started reading it and couldn't stop.

So, there you have, may while away the time while I while away the time ideas for you.

Ain't Life grand...smile

Great new (to me) quilting magazine

While perusing the isles at Barnes and Noble and spending my Christmas gift card, already, I ran across this magazine. What an nice new take on our beloved craft, Quilter's Home magazine. Almost all the patterns are free, you get them on line. You don't really need the magazine, but there is a lot more information about the patterns in the magazine. There are polls taken of quilters. One such poll is asking if you spend most of the money on fabric you purchased from an independent quilt store or other. The results are interesting. Personally, I am an independent quilt store supporter. I know we don't have this wonderful hobby without them. Mark Lapinsky has brought us into the current times. Yes, quilters in 2008, with computers and all. It is very refreshing to read. The current issues talks about all kinds of things, like the best vacuum for your quilt studio. Also interesting is the article on Mean Girls of Quilting, what I call the Quilt Police. Ladies that feel the need to look down on methods and quilts that are less than perfect. He makes a point, it's just a quilt, a blanket for goodness sakes! Yeah Mark-you go girl!

Read a great book: Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl.

Organizing Cd's and Books are next!

Every once in a while a blog I read, turns on the light in my brain, that's a great topic to write about. I was so inspired by Bloomin' Workshop, where I read an interesting bit about a bookshelf and some of her favorite books. So, I thought I would show some of the disorganized bookshelf that soon won't be-disorganized that is. When I rearrange the bookshelf, I'll tell of my favorite books on my shelf.

I noticed when I was posting about the Kentucky State Fair, there were several blogs that wrote about their own state fairs and I don't know if I was the first to write about it or not, but, it appeared a lot of quilters share the passions, for quilting, books and their state fairs.

I've lately been nesting and recently was stuck in Costco while waiting for my tires to be fixed. These are a couple of things I came home with: A media shelf, which I'm still filling with CD's I'm downloading into my PC and will soon burn a back up of some of them so I can play them in the car, without the possibility of losing the original. I'm sure I'll fill this shelf up with many CD's still to store-off the floor. I think I'll get a shelf in the closet and fill it up next.

I also bought a chair for sewing. You really want to invest in a good chair with lumbar support and a lift so you can sit at the proper height while sewing.

Along with these items, I also got lots of groceries, enough to feed an army-cause that's the way it's sold there. The produce is the best at Costco, I think the perishables as a whole are the best.

Well, need to finish up my organizing, CD's and books.

Make it a Great Day!

Organizing and Waterfront Wednesday today.

What is it in us that makes us need to organize sometimes. It just feels good and best of all, doesn't cost a thing. I really am a nester. I like to organize and rearrange furniture. It makes me feel good. I don't know why, it just does. Yesterday I was stuck at Costco for an hour while I waited to have my tires rotated and balanced. Warning: never be stuck in store when nesting. I left after getting tires done for free but bought $440.00 for organizing. Now the work doesn't cost a thing but, my oh my, what beautiful shelves I have for my CD's. Yes, I think I'm one of the last people in the world that still buys the CD's, cause I think the artist deserves to be heard in whole.

Like reading a book, I like to give the author a chance and read into it, before I give up. The same is true with a CD. I think the group or artist has attempted to create a cohesive work. I imagine it's late hours spent deciding just where a particular song should be heard on a record. In case some of you don't remember what a record is, in "the old days" music was put on a vinyl record and played on a turn table. Most music people still refer to records and their music but, it is now recorded on a compact disc or CD. I suppose in the end, CD's will become obsolete because people don't want to spend the money on a whole CD when it's only one song they really want. Thus the gargantuan success of Itunes. Genius Steve Jobs.

Plaid fabric and Washington's Crossing

Before I begin this post I'm struck by a comment made by another blogger. After my comment on the Kentucky State Fair and the heat in an earlier post I received an e-mail conversation from Leigh at Cinnamon Sticks. She talked about it being freezing here. Isn't it wonderful and amazing that a little box with a monitor on our desks can bring someone from the other side of the globe into our homes, just to say hi and comment on our lives. It's great, I think.

Back to almost all things quilting. In another earlier post I wrote about going to NYC and West Virginia and around Washington DC. This caused my husband to want to find out more. So he went to the library to check out this book: Washington's Crossing, by David Hackett Fischer. After finishing my last book, I happened to pick his up and my gosh, so far so good, this is a good read. I highly recommend it if you like history, or have traveled in the northeast of America, as we just did.

I'm interested in word beginnings and phrases that have origins in the past. Believe it or not there is a word in this book that relates to quilting. Well, maybe not quilting, but, quilter's do use this type of fabric, it's plaid. Plaid is Gaelic for blanket. Here is a picture of a uniform worn by the Scotland Highlander's Forty Second Foot soldier in the American Revolution. The passage begins , "some of the men joined for the uniform. Reading on it says they wore plaid and parenthesis, Gaelic for blanket. I love plaid fabric and I didn't know this about the word origin. Hmmm...smile.

Book Review; Dvd rental review...

The Painted Veil book and movie review.
As is often the case, the book is better than the movie. I read the book first and found it to be an easy read. It's about a woman in the the 1920's that finds herself 25 years old and feeling like she needs to marry the first thing that comes along as her chances of getting married are dwindling. It is so nice that women today have choices, instead of being forced into a bad situation. But, in the end the bad turns good and you must read it to find out.

The movie fills the very few wholes that the book leaves and I believe the movie is set in China and the scenery is spectacular. I recommend reading the book then watching the movie. Especially if you are a hopeless romantic that likes period pieces like I do.

Finished quilting Mary's quilt...

Well I finished quilting a king size quilt for my friend. Mary's Bloomin' Rose quilt from our signature block group exchange. I hope she likes it.

Movie review: The Bourne Ultimatum is pretty good. Lot's of action and government conspiracy type things going on, which my husband likes and oh you know that's probably real...smile...the editing will probably be up for an academy award.

Book review: Middlesex-it's an Oprah book club selection...enough said. Or at least it is to me, good but, something of a downer-but good.

Quilting notion/tool review: The Alto's Quilt Cut-if you love piecing, and you have room for it to stay out all the time, it's a great gadget to have. It cuts multiple layers of fabric easily and efficiently. Check out their website for a demo.

We are of to NYC, DC and white water rafting...smile

Before I begin this new post, let me make a correction about the last HP book review. I said to reread the Order of the Phoenix. Excuse me! I meant the Half Blood Prince. Reread the Half Blood Prince. The Order of the Phoenix was on my mind, cause I just saw the movie. My husband has never read any of the HP books and he picked up the last one and had lots of questions that the Order of the Phoenix movie could not answer. Please forgive my confusion.


On to the newest post:


We are off to collect our daughter, Chelsea, who has been away for 2 1/2 months on an internship at the American Museum of Natural History. She has been researching the Allende meteorite. Apparently this is a famous meteorite that fell to earth in Mexico and is being researched by the museum. Besides her time at the museum, she is having the time of her life in NYC. She started a blog called Chelsea's New York Capers. She is so sad to leave that town. It is a young person's town. Like Disney World, it is full sensory bombardment to the max. Maybe with a bit more smells than DW, that aren't all that pleasant, you can imagine. We are driving to New Jersey to catch the train into NYC. Then we'll spend the day seeing the special sights she wants to show us, this now professional tour guide for New York. Then we are driving to Washington DC. Following our time in DC, we will be going white water rafting in West Virginia.


We will return in time for me to enter 2 quilts in the Kentucky State Fair. I'll take pictures of my entries and past winners when I return. There is much debate about our fair and the judging, but, that probably goes on no matter what. What was that judge thinking when a particular quilt won a blue ribbon. I have to keep in mind the quilt I enter may be the one to inspire some one to want to learn the craft of quilting. What a wonderful craft it is. Quilts are beautiful and are a legacy left by the designer.


More than anything, put those labels on your quilts for future generations to know who made it and what it was made for. This will increase the value of your quilt as well. The Antiques Roadshow calls it Provenance. Anyway, if you watch that show at all, you know that any extra trivia articles or personal, historical information means at least an extra $50,000.00...smile...

Quilting Zones

"You've taken over the whole house!" This is what my husband told me and so here's how I've taken over the whole house with my wonderful obsession, quilting.

This is my hand work zone, in front of the TV in the basement.

This is my machine quilting zone, in my dining room on the first floor.



This is my sewing/piecing zone upstairs, I've taken over 2 of the three bedrooms.

Next week we leave for NYC to pick up my DD Chelsea. She's been away for 2 1/2 months now and I'm sure she's grown up in so many ways Kentucky could never begin to educate her about. Life moves at such a fast pace there and keeping track of everything in the big city is a growing experience, to say the least.


Quick movie review: Miss Potter-sweet biography of Beatrix Potter, with Renee Zellwiger in the lead. Nice, if you like a period piece.

Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead. It's a lot of violence and so hard to believe the tale is based on true life in Africa. It is a good movie, in my personal opinion.

I finished the last Harry Potter book-great. No book has done more for establishing the habit of reading for children and adults than this series of books. Have the tissues handy. It probably wouldn't hurt to reread the Order of the Phoenix before you start this one. I didn't and I wish I had.

New music I'm listening to: The Avett Bros-wonderful banjo, stand up bass, and guitar along with a cello-Emotionalism is their new CD.

Will Mason is a young singer songwriter with an old voice in a young man's body. Beautiful lyrics in his new CD The Ocean Gets Rough.

The greatest book on quilt history I've ever read...

As a quilter nonplussed and over quilted, to some extent, I've been eager to find something new in quilting. Little did I know that I'd find renewed enthusiasm for my craft in the past. This book, Antique Quilt Masterpieces, by Shelly Zegart, is just the bit of quilting history to ignite my passion once again. Blips, here and there, in the quilt world-a new gadget, a new technique or style of fabric will spark my interest, but, after reading the first few pages of this book, I am renewed and will begin a greater understanding of the historical and yet practical reasons why I quilt.

Here is a sample of the fine history and writing in this book, which I could not put down.

"A woman sometimes used a quilt to record her memories and, in the process, to immortalize herself as its maker. An elderly Ohio quiltmaker described a quilt she had pieced as follows: "My whole life is in that quilt. It scares me sometimes when I look at it. All my joys and all my sorrows are stitched into those tiny pieces. When I was proud of the boys and when I was downright provoked and angry with them. When the girls annoyed me or when they gave me a warm feeling around my heart. And John, too. He was stitched into that quilt and all the thirty years we were married. Sometimes I loved him and sometimes I sat there hating him as I pieced the patches together. So they are all in that quilt, my hopes and fears, my joys and sorrows, my loves and hates. I tremble sometimes when I remember what that quilt knows about me."

Isn't that beautiful? "I tremble sometimes when I remember what that quilt knows about me?" OMG! Quilters are awesome! Again, this was written, according to Ms. Zegart, by a woman named Jane Carr, in 1814. I've just begun reading this book, and felt I had to share a little of what I've read so far, with the quilters I've come to share things with on my blog.

I don't have just one quilt that I share my trembles with. I have many, I guess that progress for ya...smile...

Purchases at Chicago

It is so hard not to buy things at a quilt show!! I'm quite a Nester, but I've got to stop, because I don't need anything, but retail therapy is so fun!!

Here's my purchases from Chicago. In keeping with Stash Busting, it was the hardest thing I ever did, but I did not buy any fabric. My friend bought enough to make 4 quilts, so she made up for me. I did buy silk batting.

My all time favorite batting is wool. Like a good suit, it breathes with you and is light but warm. It machine quilts nicely and has a gentle loft-not too high or too low, just right. I've never tried silk batting, it's 90/10 the 10 being polyester. I'll let you know the results later, when I quilt something with using it. So many things go into quilting a quilt, the thread can make a big difference as well. Nylon/Invisible thread cuts sharply into the fabric, when cotton is lighter and silk thread, I've learned appears to lay just right. I'm going to use up my cotton thread and start buying silk to quilt.
My next purchase is a book from Elenore Burns. Her company, Quilt In a Day, (yeah right) publishes great books

She really knows her audience and writes very nice books, easy to read and understand. If you are going to Paducah this year, don't miss her tent show at the fair grounds and she has bought a building downtown, which may or may not be good, I've never been to it. Her tent show is a lot of fun and very entertaining and informative, she gives quilting tips all through the show. Get there early, it fills up fast, but the shows repeat all during the day. They are pretty corny, but, hey, we are quilters in Kentucky and you know they kind of go together, and I like it that way, for a day is about all I can take, but, it's the spirit of the event that counts. You can never do too many chicken dances...smile

Last but not least, I bought this program. It was helpful for shopping and planning to return to booths to look at things again or buy things. I also wrote the name and e-mail of a woman that asked if I'd send her a picture. I said sure and am going to send it out after I finish here.

Happy Quilting!

a good book and 2 movies

The wonderful world of blog has all kinds of information and opinions. Some you like, some sound vaguely interesting and some are filled with kindred spirit information that connects to us and compels us to put ourselves out there, for the world to see...literally.

On one such blog, and I wish I'd copied it, there was mention of a book called Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

The person writing said she tried to check it out at the library and it had 23 holds on it already, so she purchased it and liked it. I read it and it's a good read. It's about growing old and life on a traveling circus.

The next item I found on a blog, Inside the Black Apple, was a movie called Grey Gardens.
This is a fascinating look at Jackie Kennedy's Aunt on the Bouvier side. It's a documentary about Jackie's cousin and Aunt that live together. These destitute women and their codependency on each other is what the movie is about. Great, Great, Great.

Last, but maybe least, depending if we are kindred or not, is my recommendation for something odd and good, that being a movie called Brideshead Revisited. It's about life in England at Oxford and stars a young Jeremy Irons, John Gielgud and Sir Lawerence Olivier. This was a PBS television series that aired in the '80s, I think. It is based on a book written by Evelyn Waugh. Great, Great, Great, Great, Great. It is a 4 disc set.