Lawdy, Lawdy these gray days of the Ohio Valley

So what's the solution for these gray days and you can't take a trip to the Caribbean?  Well, it's a Happy Light of course.  Well, maybe not.  It does brighten the room, however and it can't get too bright for me.  

Also, this is the time of year we should all be "fluffing/fondling" our fabrics.  It's really hard to remember all the fabric I have so a once over of my material is a great way to remind me, I don't need any fabric this year.  It will be a stash busting year for me.  

If all else fails, in the happiness department, and things are out of your control, put out a bird feeder and take pictures...smile. 

I'm working on something a little different

A long time ago quilters used fabric from worn clothing to make quilts. They could be beautiful but more often than not they were made for practical reasons. Then there were the calicos in feed sacks and of course the Victorian era rolled around and we were give the joy of luxurious fabrics and embellishments but we were still limited.

It wasn't until the boom of quilting began I think around the 1976 bicentennial celebrations that brought us the fabrics we enjoy today. This article at Womenfolk.com explains this very well.

Today we have the nicest variety of material to create our artwork. I was at a retreat this weekend and here are just of few of the beautiful types being made.

One Block Wonder Encore third tumbling block

The OBWE quilt is growing. If you like to be creative and experiment and don't know what you are going to get until you put it together, i.e. you mystery quilt people, then you would like making this quilt.

One note about fabric. The saturation of color from my holy fabric-Ricki Timms material 24.00 a yard at the time it was for sale-I think it's more now-really stands up to time. I got it several years ago and my goodness it is still bold. The yellow hollow cube on the left side is "regular" quilt material, from a LQS in town called Among Friends. I probably paid 8 to 9 dollars a yard there. It is no slouch fabric, except when put in a quilt with an extremely expensive, hand dyed fabric. The other yellow hollow cube in the middle is also Ricki Timms fabric.

Oh well, my quilting goes on and my scrap can runneth over!

One Block Wonder Encore background

Well, the background has begun. This is going to have floating cubes in it. I've got some holy fabric I'm going to cut up and use in it. It's some lovely hand dyed fabric from Ricki Timms. The background is really muddled and I think it need something with a strong contrast. We'll see.

I'm going to try to use some of my holy fabric for the hollow cubes-you know that fabric you bought because you just loved it and like looking at it, dare I say worship? Naaah! Just really like it. but, haven't found any use for it. I'm planning on working on cubes tomorrow.

Ding dong the clutter is gone...smile

Yep, it's my closet the one in the previous post that was overflowing with fabric and notions and sewing machines and just about any gadget or item you might use in quilting or sewing. It's amazing all the things you find when you prepare to move. We are not preparing to move, but, it felt like all the packing and organizing is what we will do if you get a chance to move. I think I'm ready for a new how and of course, a quilting/sewing studio. It is a part of my life. I've tried various other hobbies, making cards, scrap booking, you name it, but, I always come back to fabric. Creating anything can be good for the soul. You are able to expand your self confidence in creative expression. When you make something practical and useful, like a quilt, that is an added bonus in this hobby that we are passionate about. Now I have all the projects I'm going to work on in boxes and labeled. Has everyone done a Dear Jane quilt? This is the Next one in a series, I guess, it's the Nearly insane quilt. I forgot all about it and can't wait to dig into it. I'm doing it in civil war reproduction fabrics. This is the fabric types in the boxes. Woohoo!! Now I can feel good about getting back to making quilts.

Third part Quilting...everything is getting back to somewhat normal...whew!

Oh my goodness, my husband is so happy like the proverbial snug as a bug in a rug. Men especially like routine, at least mine does. Which is good, cause you know we marry what we need, and myself, like so many quilters are a bit all over da plaze....smile.

This is a very good thing. It makes me happy to stay busy with variety to indulge in.


While cleaning out my closet, I've found so many quilts and tops I thought I'd lost to the sock thief, I suppose. You know, the one in the dryer that makes making all matched sets from a load an impossibility. It's terrible when you know you've made something and you want to work on it and you can't find it. That's a testimony for finishing, finishing, finishing. If I say it enough times, maybe it'll stick and I will do that. When the deck dries off I'll bring my quilts outside and take pictures of the ones I have here. I don't give that many away. I find the work and time make them quite like my children and so, hard to hand over to anyone. But, my pile of quilts grows steadily and I really must give in to, if nothing else, space constraints! I have several quilt racks and a stair rail that currently hold a lot of my babies, but, now I must start to move them on. My wonderful quilt group gave me a nice gift certificate and I also had another one from a friend, so I just had to spend it and add to my growing collection of fabric. While cleaning out my fabric closet, boy was I surprised to see all the fabric!!! I hate to think I'm going to give up some of my volunteer efforts, but, it seems I've been doing way too much of that lately. It's always a good thing to give of your time to worthwhile endeavors. My public radio station gets a lot of my time, especially in the summer when I help out with Waterfront Wednesdays. Then there is the church, I lead our quilt group, Northeast Quilting Friends, every Tuesday from 10:00 to 1:00. We have a pretty special group of ladies that quilt and share their talent as well as their lives. But, I've just returned from Target, where I purchased a multitude of sizes of bins to color sort and store my fabrics in.

Here's my Christmas house...smile

It's that time of year when we all should slow down and remember the reason for the season. Just Believe. A long time ago a human came to us and spoke the truth. So much so, that the world was changed forever, even time was started to be kept track of since his birth. The truth was written in the bible and every self help books was written to copy it's wisdom. You know the truth...smile.In my own small way in our home, I celebrate that glorious day and don't judge those that choose not to. Here's what you see when you open the door of my home. Our tree,filled with ornaments that mean something to us and some that don't.

Our kitchen table and my front room. I love Christmas carols. I don't think any other religious songs are as pretty as Christmas carols...well, maybe a few others.

These are crazy quilt Christmas Stockings I made several years ago. This is my tree skirt.
Then there's the shopping and you know what quilters like best: FABRIC. I'm all about supporting the small independent quilt shops and marketers on the internet and around the world. Here's fabric from Australia that I fell in love with and the really cool designs. I like juxtapositions-you know, things that shouldn't go together, but, do work together. This might be a great gadget, The Gypsy Gripper, I'll let you know. I plan to keep one for my mom and give one to the quilt group. I use the Alto's Quilt cut and love it. It has a built in holder so, I really don't need another one, I don't think. So why do I support the independent quilt shop? There's no free fabric or discounts in it for me. I get people that know my name when I shop, and I like that!


Here's a new Judy Martin book. I really like her work. I think she is not for the beginner quilter and I like that. I've never done a whole log cabin quilt, just a sampler block here and there, but, here's my book and I'll start one next year, I think. I also bought this kit. It has a Barbara Brandeburg pattern. I've read her blog a lot and am happy to support a fellow blogger, when I can. My niece is having a baby and they don't know what they are having. I thought owls are good, cause no matter what they have, it will be smart. Happy Quilting!