We leave tomorrow!!!

I can't believe how fast these last 4 weeks have gone by!  It seems I just got back from Lancaster, and now we are leaving for the west coast tomorrow!  How did that happen????  And I haven't been posting at all!  Sheesh!

But I have managed to make a few things in these last few weeks!  And first and foremost......while in Lancaster, I finished making the 8 pointed stars!!!  Woohoo!  And now here's the tricky part!!!  To finish the star and make it a square, I need 4 triangles and 4 squares of the background (cream) fabric for each square.....that means I needed 1,452 squares and 1,452 triangles (because there are 363 of these blocks!).  Yikes!

There was no way I was going to template these!  I had fun drawing out the star points with templates, because I was only doing 8 or 12 of the same fabric.  But the background is all just plain old cream!  Cripes!  I think I would go nuts trying to draw these out.  So instead, I did a faux-Inklingo production with my computer and printer!  And I say faux, because I've downloaded the tutorials for Inklingo before, and have never had the time to really play with it, much less get anything printed.  But the concept of printing these out is great!  So I got busy in CorelDraw and drafted the perfect sized squares and triangles on a sheet, and then printed them on my fabric ironed to freezer paper!  Awesome!!!!!  And in no time I had the gazillion printed off!  Woohoo!  I definitely am going to invest some time into learning Inklingo when I get back from vacation.  It saved me so much time and effort.  And her pieces are already drafted and figured!!  Yay!

So here's a pic of the first star with it's surrounding background.  It finishes at 3" square.

So I have 60 of these and their parts packed for my trip.  We are gone for a little over 3 weeks, so I think I can make a dent in that bunch!  :o)

Our trip is to fly out to San Diego and visit with John's Mom (she's 83).  She was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, but she is feeling really good right now, and they are not doing any treatment until she starts to show symptoms (which could be ages from now!), so we're glad we get to visit with her while she's feeling so good.

We'll spend a week there, staying with our son and DIL, and they are so wonderful to us......they are giving us one of their cars!  Sweet!  In CA, there is a CA Emission 'system' with the cars, and last fall, my son's went bad and needed repairs/replacement.  Well, that was going to cost a small fortune, so they were going to just donate the car.....then thought......'maybe Mom and Dad would like it!?!'   Uh......YEAH!!!!  So they are giving us this car, cuz Maine doesn't care (ha!) about emissions, so it's not an issue here!  :o)

We'll drive our 'new' car (an Audi S4, by the way!  Nice!) up to Washington State to visit my folks, who both have recently been admitted to nursing homes.  My mom (93) has been in and out of emergency rooms in the last couple of weeks, but is now back in the nursing facility.  My father (87) decided about a month ago to go to the Veteran's home.  My parents have been divorced for over 25 years, and have lived with my sister and brother in nearby towns in WA.

It's a bittersweet trip in that John and I have realized this will probably be the last time we see our parents.  For mine, definitely, but John's mom may have years ahead of her!  We hope!  They are very close, and talk several times a week on the phone.  I, on the other hand, am not close to any of my family, parents or siblings, but not for lack of trying!  I've spent the last 30 years coming to terms with this, but it still bothers me sometimes.  Every trip (about every 2-3 years) I've ever made back home was in trying to be a 'good daughter' and visit.  But it's always been an extremely strained and superficial meeting, and the quicker the better.  Nuff said!

So we'll just spend a few days in WA, and then start driving our way back to Maine.  I've got tons of notes about quilt shops, antique shops, museums and the like along the route, and, of course, our plan is to spend a couple (or several!) days in Shipshewana, IN!!!!  Woohoo!  More Amish!  (Like I didn't get enough of that in 10 days in Lancaster last month!  Ha!)

Now, in the last month, I have been quite busy in the sewing room.  In fact, in the 6 days after returning from PA, I made this!

I'd seen this pattern in a pic from a quilt shop that Bonnie Hunter went to ages ago, and loved it!  But couldn't find the pic when I wanted it, so I drafted it up a little differently.  Those are 49-patch blocks in repros of 1" squares finished.  The alternate block is a fabric called Alsace, and the minute I saw it, I knew it needed to be a featured fabric in a quilt.  This finishes at 46" square.  I just love it!

And then I started working on the leftover shirt scraps wall hanging.  It went together very fast, but the quilting is taking forever!  Remind me next time NOT to do pebbles everywhere!!!!  Sheesh!  Each block takes about an hour!  Cripes!  But I am loving the look!

Of course, I didn't get it done before I needed to pack up my sewing machine and take it in for a tune-up while I'm gone.  I figured that's the best time for tune-ups, because just having it gone for these last 2 days has just about killed me!!!!  LOL

Ok......so that's all the quilting I've been doing.  But I managed to get down to Boston to visit my two quilty friends, Jean and Rita, and we had lovely visits!

And my friend Pat and I went to the MQX show in Manchester, NH last Friday, and it was awesome!!!

Here are just a few of the pics (I took a gazillion but these came out the best).....enjoy!

 "Under the Southern Stars" by Pat Cunningham

"Chocolates and Cherries" by Dawn Larsen

Isn't that fancy border quilting just gorgeous!?!

 "Outta the Loop" by Karen Marchetti

 "Standiford Star at the Quilt Museum" by Herbert Menzel Jr.

"Mistaken Identity" by Gail Stepanek          (Black just doesn't photograph well in those lights!)

 Just look at those tiny tiny star points!  Yikes!

"Sunset" by Kathie Beltz

 I LOVE that orange on blue!  Perfect piping, too!

"My Cottage Garden" by Deborah Ferguson

 I just loved these fanciful baskets and the wild flowers!  :o)

 "Cozy Comfort" by Linda Gilmartin-Hancock          (I think this was the only repro quilt there!)

"A Picket Full of Paisleys" by Lorilynn King

"Fanciful Flora" by Lois Podolny

 "Red Feathers" by Claudia Clark Myers

"Red Velvet" by Lisa Calle

 This wall hanging was stunning!  The stitching is beyond tiny!

"Whetstone and Stars" by Carolyn Rider

"A Letter Bit of Baaltimore" by Janet Stone      (There are sheep and letters, hence the name!  Sweet!)

 We loved everything about it!

 We fell in love with the topper section!  So gorgeous!

 "Serendipity" by Darlene Cordero

"Pennsylvania Hearts & Hands" by Kelley Cunningham

 We just love those PA Dutch colors!

 "Enchanting Roses" by Mary Rossi


 And I'll leave you with the BEST OF SHOW.........Totally stunning!

"Big Bertha" by Margaret Solomon Gunn

 Everything about this quilt was gorgeous!

Just look at that beautifully executed binding!  Perfect!

We're taking a laptop with us, but I'm not sure I'll be posting on the trip.  We'll see what happens!

regan

I'm back from Lancaster......

and I can honestly say that I......

1.  Survived the avalanche at Obie's!  Ha!  (If you've been there.....you know!)  It was only 6 bolts that fell on me, so it wasn't too bad!  lol

2.  Shop hopped like crazy at all the great spots!  Burkholder's and Sauder's were my two favorite spending spots!  Great deals, and the girls at Burkholder's were the most efficient fabric cutters I've ever seen anywhere!

3.  Ate some really good food!  If you go, don't miss Shady Maple smorgasbord, Jennie's Diner (awesome french toast!), Katie's Diner (Amish run, and the Amish Peanut Butter spread is SO good!), Diener's Restaurant, and in Lancaster city, a couple blocks from the show is the indoor Farmer's Market.....had a couple yummy Greek cookies.....I was very happy!

4.  Saw a wonderful exhibition of quilts at the Museum upstairs at the Old Country Store.  And the gift shop (truly beautiful items) had so many amazing books on antique quilts from Schiffer publishing.  I guess I hadn't paid much attention before, but their books are beautiful.

5.  Got to meet up with Maureen from Pursuit of Quilts Blog!  She was at the show with a bus tour, and had only a few hours to see the show before they headed to Zooks, so I was really glad she took a few moments out to find me!  Sweet!  So great to see you again, Maureen!

6.  Saw some really amazing quilts at the shows!  The AQS show, of course, does not want you to publish any pics of the quilts.....(Boohoo face!)......but I went through my pics, and found several of my favorites that have links elsewhere on the net......so I've linked them at the end of this post, so you can see them easily!  Ha!

We went to some great lectures at the show given by Pat Delaney, Alex Anderson and Suzanne Swenson.  The All Star Review was nothing more than a commercial, and so poorly organized and set up that I will be sending AQS a comment!  (If you are going to a future show, don't waste your money on the All Star Review!)  But everything else was great!

We saw a wonderful slideshow presentation from Jenny Bowker on the Tentmakers of Cairo.  She is the curator of the Egyptian exhibit, and there was a fantastic display and sale of their work on the 3rd floor, as well as two of the men working away on pieces!  Awesome!

There were also the quilts and vendors at the Continental Inn and Lancaster Host Resort out on Rt 30.  Sue Reich had a wonderful display of antique signature quilts, and in the lobby of the Inn were some amazing antique quilts, as well.  I have pics of some of those below!

I, of course, did not take any pics of any Amish folk, so there are no photos of the Gordonville Mud Sale (huge Amish Auction) that we went to on Saturday!  Really fun......and I wish we had been in a bigger vehicle, cuz I would have bid on some of the furniture there!  (Note to self....next time, bring a U-Haul!)  They were auctioning off 650 quilts, and the girls handling the quilts have it down to a science!  Totally fun to watch!  The next day, we hit the Renninger's Antiques & Flea Market.....fun to walk through, but again.....no space in the car for any big purchases!  lol

Oh.......and between the 3 of us......we purchased 234.25 yards of fabric!!!!!  HOLY COW!!!!  And yes.....I WAS THE WINNER....with 85.75 yards!  HA!  And here it is, in all it's glory!

The solids in front made up over 30 yards!  But they were just such a great price.....I had to get them!  All the rest are mostly 1 to 2 yard cuts of repros......I hate getting just a smidge of anything, especially when it's such a great print and ALL were purchased at a major discount!!  I know I'll use it......someday!  lol

Look at that great pillar print with the eagle!  LOVE IT!

I just couldn't pass up charm packs with repro chrome/cheddar/purple and all blacks in the other!  So hard to find and yummy!

This pile of wool was purchased before we ever left Maine!  HA!  Couldn't pass it up, either!  All big remnants at $2 to $4 a piece!  Awesome!!!  I think I'm just about ready to start some wool projects!  :o)

Here are some of the quilts hanging in the stairwell at the Continental Inn.

 This antique was really lovely, but the reds were shredded.  The quilt next to it is a reproduction of it!  Beautiful!

 Just look at that wonderful pillar print on the border!  And what a great edge treatment!  Sorry it's blurry!

Here are a couple of the signature quilts that Sue Reich was showing across the street at the Host Resort.  Her tour of her quilts was wonderful, and so informative!

Here are some links to view some of the quilts in the AQS show (websites/blogs/etc)......all the quilts were wonderful, but these were a few of my favorites (that I was able to find links to!).  Enjoy!

Simple Elegance by Margaret Ferguson
Sam's Owl by Barbara Korengold
Trees AND Tree of Life by Tim Latimer
Rainbow Nouveau AND Meet Me at Giverny by Margaret Solomen Gunn
Masquerade by Birgit Schueller (BEST Longarm Workmanship award)
All Around the Town by Teresa Rawson
Tennessee Treasures by Linda M. Roy (BEST Hand Workmanship award)
Sampling the Silk Road by Christine Wickert (BEST of Show award)
Zebra by Lisa Gorski
Desert's Glory by Lois Podolny (BEST Machine Workmanship award)
Doormats #1 by Marcia DeCamp
Flourish on the Vine by Kathy K. Wylie
Tangerine Dream by Karen Watts


And this was my hubby's 'little joke' when I returned......the poor man was left to suffer with paper plates and cups for 10 days!  HA!  I sure missed him!

I've finished unpacking, petting new fabric, doing my laundry, and food shopping!  Tonight.......I'm sewing!

regan

Just 3 days.......

......and I'll be in Lancaster!!!  WOOHOO!

I'm so excited, I can't stand it!

And I'm nearly all packed already, which is unheard of in our house!  We usually are packing at midnight the night before we leave for anything.....racing around, trying to find the shoes, or pants, or necklace that we MUST have!  LOL  This is totally groundbreaking for us!  Truly!  It must be that over-50 thing, working it's older/wiser magic on me!  Ha!  I'm liking it!  A LOT!

Let me just say right now a HUGE THANK YOU!!!!! to all of you who sent me more suggestions for our trip!  You are awesome in every way!   Eegads!  I can't wait!!!!!  This is going to be so much fun!!!!

Since it's been so dang long since my last post......I thought I'd share the latest quilt top with you!  I just finished it up 2 days ago!  (With all the travel clothes laid out on the spare bed, I had no where to take pics of it, until now!)

OMG!!!!!  I'm totally loving this quilt!!!!  LOL

Here are some close ups of some of the fun blocks!  It's completely made from recycled shirts, and I had the MOST fun making the blocks where 'anything goes'.......stripes heading off in different directions, random colors, reversed piece placement!  So much fun!!

And I'm so glad I have a hubby who shares his opinions with me!  He was such a huge help when it came to the alternate blocks.  I originally had a mix of the plaids and the stripes for the alternates, but when I got it all laid out, it was awful!  It was such a jumble, and chaotic; what a mess!  Then hubby said that the stripes were sending your eyes off in too many directions, and he was TOTALLY RIGHT!!!  So I removed all the stripes, and replaced them with all plaids, and now when you look at it, the alternates fall back and allow your eyes to see the pieced blocks.  Even though the plaids are busy, so many of them read as solids, that they give your eyes a chance to rest.  Yay!  I'm so happy with it!  :o)

And I've been working like crazy on the log cabins blocks, too!  I have 257 now......I just need 203 more!  Woot!  Past the half way mark!  Haha!

And while I've been making these churndashes and log cabins, I just couldn't stop myself from putting the littlest scraps together for 'made fabric'......and this is what I've come up with for that!......

I auditioned a bunch of fabrics for the background, and of course, cheddar won!  (Duh!)  I had thought maybe to alternate cheddar and red, but then it became stripes of alternate blocks, and I just don't know about that.  Still in the playing stage, so who knows what the end will be!  But then I thought it could use something more, so.......

I just might have to add a little wedge on the corner of each block, so they create a spinning star!  Yes!!  Because we all know that when it comes to piecing......more is better!  LOL

This is planned to be a wall hanging, about 30x40ish.  The blocks will finish at about 5", and I already have all 48 pieced strips done!  Woot!  Maybe it will get a red border......we'll see!

I think one of the best things about quilting to me is the 'playing, and see where it goes' part.  I rarely use a pattern, and when I do, it usually gets played with, too!  I love sketching an idea out, working it out on graph paper, and figuring as I go.  (I don't have the computer programs for designing......I'm totally happy with graph paper.)  Sometimes I don't even figure it out, but use what I have and let it determine what I'm doing.  For this scrappy quilt, I had a stack of 3x8 pieces of phone book pages, that were the trimmed off part from another project.  I just grabbed those, with no idea in mind, and started piecing the bits on them until they were covered.  I've seen some antique quilts on the net in this pattern (don't know the name....sorry!), and thought it would be fun in the shirt scraps!  :o)  I'm so glad I put those littlest of scraps to use!  (A lot of them were less than 1" square.)

It's so funny, when my friends give me little baggies of scraps, they roll their eyes, and I'm sure they're thinking, "What the hell is she going to do with those!?!  What a nut!"  :o)

Yep.....I'm a nut!  :o)

And since I have not really played with my new phone much, I don't think I'll be posting from Lancaster, but you can be sure I'll have plenty to post when I return!  :o)

Oh, and I almost forgot!  On Saturday, we were at a historical quilt lecture given by Kathy Kenny!  It was awesome!!!  From her brochure, it looks like she travels the New England area, with lectures on The Mill Girls of 1830's (that's the one we just heard!), Crazy Quilts 1880-1900, Feedsack and Fancy Work 1920's-1940's, and more.  Each lecture includes over 20 vintage quilts!  If you're in this region, and your guild is looking for a speaker, she would be an excellent choice!  Here's her site:  www.kathykennyquilts.net

Ok......I'm heading back to the machine, to get more log cabins made.....yay!  I hope you're getting some stitching done, too!

regan

Have you been to Lancaster???

My friends Pat, Betty and I are counting down the days until we go!  Woohoo!.....17 and counting!  :o)

We're so excited we can't stand it!  We'll be there for 10 days, and plan on doing a ton of other stuff besides the big quilt show!  Woohoo!

So......here's my question to you!.......Have you been to Lancaster, and can you recommend anything that is a must see/do/eat/experience/talk to/or take a picture of???

Here's our list of stuff we're knowing about and/or have done before and have to go back and do again......(I've never been, so this is really Pat and Betty's list).....

Sauder's
Gordonville Mud Sale
Renninger's Antiques
Old Country Store and Museum
Zook's
Fabric Shack
Bitty Kinna's
Weaver's Dry Goods
Burkeholder's
Fisher's Quilt shop
Bird In Hand Bakery
Eldreth Pottery
Jennie's Diner
Dutchland Quilt Patch
Diener's Restaurant
The Family Cupboard Restaurant
King's Buffet
The Pretzel Shop outside of Zook's
Obie's Country Store
Good's Store
Shady Maple Smorgasbord

And, of course, we'll be spending several days at the quilt show and attending several lectures, including ones with Pat Delaney, Susanne Swenson and Alex Anderson.

So......if you can think of anything else that is a must for a list......I'd love to hear about it!  We're there for 10 days, so we have time to add stuff to our agenda!  We're game for anything fun, exciting, yummy, and of course, quilt related!  :o)

Thanks a bunch in advance!

Oh, and as of tonight I have 166 log cabin blocks done (not all pictured), and 102 churn dash blocks done!  Woot!  I just need another 27 of the churn dashes......yippee!

OMG......I'm loving making these blocks!  They are so much fun!

Hope you're having fun, too!

regan

A new addiction!

Oh yes!  These scrappy churn dash blocks are so addicting!  I now have 78 of them!  I just need 50 more to set my quilt top!  Woohoo!  (They'll finish at 5".)

(I don't know why my pictures are sideways......sorry!  It wouldn't correct!  I know it doesn't really change anything, but it's just annoying on the perspective!)


AND.......since I was swimming in shirt pieces and scraps.......I thought I'd give those mini log cabins a whirl!  I am using up all the little scraps left from the churn dashes, too........so great!  And I now have 24 of these!!!

Holy cow!!!  They are so much more fun doing them the way Kathie at Inspired by Antique Quilts showed!  (Thanks, Kathie!!)  I've done little blocks like these before (they'll finish at 4"), and have always paper pieced them, just because I thought I had to for the accuracy in the small piecing!  NO MORE!  Ha HA!  I'm doing them in batches of 12, but as I'm finishing one batch, the leader/enders are starting new ones......so they just keep coming!  I love that!  I had these 24 in no time at all!  (Well, ok.....I was up until 3 this morning, just sewing away......not even realizing what time it was!  They are THAT much fun!  lol)  The centers are a mix of the red plaids I had.  Totally scrappy!

I worked on them again today, and now I will do some more churn dash blocks!  I'm really loving using up some of these shirt plaids!

Ok.....back to it!  :o)

regan

Why did I do that?

Why on earth did I ever make a list of my UFO's!?!  That was the dumbest thing EVER!!!!  Or rather, I should never have mentioned it to my hubby......because the very first time I mentioned starting another quilt, he said "NO!  You HAVE to finish one of these others first!!!!"

WHAT!?!

I was totally crushed!

He, of course, was joking.......but deep down inside, I knew he was right!  DANG!

So, I worked diligently on one of the warm-hug quilts, and finished it the other day.  BUT.....to my utter shock (and thanks, Pat, for pointing it out......) THAT quilt wasn't even on the list!!!!!!

WHAT!?!

SHEESH!

How did I not pay attention to that!?!

Oh well.....I'm counting it as done, a completed UFO, a giant check mark on the list (cuz I added it to the bottom!), and NOW........I get to start a new one!!!

YIPPEE!!!

It's a lap sized quilt for a lady, as the prints are all florals.

It's also the first FINISH of 2013......AND......the first finish on my Grace quilt frame!  I've had the Grace frame for over 5 years now, and the first quilt I put on it stopped me dead in my tracks!  For some stupid reason, it was the first time in my life that I 'let' the machine wind the bobbin without me guiding and checking the thread.  I've always done that since junior high home-ec class.  BUT.....this one time, I went crazy, and didn't pay attention to it.  And I was doing a stippling across it, back and forth, several rows, and when I rolled the rollers up for the next section, I saw that the bobbin thread was all screwy, and loopy, and a giant mess on the back!!!!  CRAP!

And I walked away disgusted!

For years I kept saying I was going to get to it, but it became a make-do table top for pulling fabrics, laying out pieces for measuring, etc.  I almost forgot sometimes that there was a quilt on it.  Well, a few months back, when I was showing someone the room, I realized (like a lightbulb moment!) that it was a hand-pieced quilt on that frame!  So......of course I needed to get it finished!  Sheesh!

I took the quilt off the frame and rollers, and picked away at it.  Some of the stitching was SO tight that I ended up cutting into the back a couple of times, but that's ok, cuz I can piece the back now.  And it's a Christmas quilt......so now I have the rest of the year to actually finish it!  (Yep....that's another ufo to add to the dang list!)  lol

Well......since the Grace didn't have a quilt on it, hubby was so nice and he dismantled it, and brought it down to the 1st floor parlor room so I could start quilting on it where there is heat!  (Our third floor, where it used to be, isn't heated!  It's always been the rule that I'm able to quilt up there in spring and fall, but not in winter or the stifling heat of summer.)

And.....the Grace frame is designed to be used with a Juki machine.....which is what I have now!  Perfect!

So I'm happy to say that the Grace is getting used now......and maybe those ufo's won't be far behind this one on it!

BUT.......because I finished SOMETHING.......I got to start something new!!!!  Woohoo!  :o)

I've been in love with all the churn dash quilts I've been seeing on the blogs lately, so I had to start one of my own!  It's made entirely from thrift store shirts!  The blocks will finish at 5", so I'll need about 130 of them for my quilt.  I have made 19 in the last two days!!!  Yippee!  And I just love em!  I'm making some with matched fabrics, and some totally scrappy.  I love that look!

The quilts I've been seeing have a solid one-color alternate block, but I just threw a bunch of shirt squares to fill in the alternates......and I really like that look, so that's what I'll do.

I love that I'm using up some shirt plaids......I have 3 extra large shopping bags full of shirts that have just been deboned, but not cut down at all.  I have so much of them......and I need to stop hoarding, and start using them.  :o)

And, to totally change the subject......hubby and I just got new phones!  Smart phones!  Holy cow!!!  I know, I know.....most everyone in the world is leaps and bounds ahead of me on this!  In fact, while we were in the phone store, I sent my very FIRST EVER text message!!!!.....to my son, who promptly replied "Glad you are now living in the 21st century, Mom!"  lol

We figured with all the traveling we do, it just made sense.  And I was worried that if we didn't do something soon, we'd be so far behind, we'd never catch up!  I'll be playing with it for weeks until I have a clue what it does......but it looks like fun!  :o)

Hope you're having a wonderful day!  I'm going back to the sewing room to those churndashes.....they're so addicting!

regan

Easy Street!

Just a quick post so I can link up to Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Reveal!  I finished it up last night, and I really love it!  I still have to put on borders.....they will be in the reds and browns.  Haven't decided what yet, but that will come.

I did mine in completely different colors than what Bonnie was doing.  I just didn't have much of her colors, but I had a ton of these, and I used a fabric I love for the inspiration of the palette, so I am very happy with the mix of colors.  My pinks were fairly light, lighter than some of the beiges I used, so the triple arrows pointing out don't really come off like that.  And that's ok......cuz I like the focus of the star patches more anyway.  The centers of the crosses were supposed to be pink, but I really wanted to bring in more red, so I changed it!

I also didn't make it square......cuz it would have been way too big for our bed......so I made it a 3x4 instead of 4x4.  Now, when the borders go on, it will fit my bed perfectly!  Yippee!  And I have a ton of pieces left over, that can just go into my borders, or back in the bins!  It's all good!

I just can NEVER do a pattern as it calls for!  Just a thing with me!  I don't know why!

AND, I have two of the blue/beige 4-patches turned wrong!  (You can see one of them in the pic.)  Oh well!  I don't even care!  I'm chalking that up to extra fun!  lol

regan