wonderful program

This evening I attended a program sponsored by a local historical society about the Underground Railroad and Quilts presented by three women from A Stitch in Time Quilt Guild in Dover, DE. They combined storytelling and song and used quilts to illustrate their story. They showed traditional quilt blocks and quilts of their own design. They also had some very old quilts.

My pictures aren't the greatest. There was a large crowd so I really couldn't get any pictures of them while they were presenting but I did get a few snapshots of their quilts.

I have also been posting about my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt...thought I might give you a preview of one of the flowers. Most of the flowers are in the top now and I am getting ready to fill in the edges with more of the white. Much more is done than shows in this picture!!

Well, it's late and I'm tired....hubby and I spent most of the day getting ready to get our taxes done on Tuesday....I hate all the paperwork sorting!!! ....and dreading the bad news from the accountant!!!! I guess I'll get ready for bed.

Still hangin' in there

I haven't posted for a few days...I spent the past weekend at my son's babysitting so mom and dad could go away. I love my grandchildren but even taking care of one really poops me out! I had a lovely time though and wouldn't give it up for the world.

I do want to share a picture of some vintage fabric I found at the hospital thrift shop last week. It is 36" wide and about 2 yds long. I only paid one dollar! I don't know what I will do with it yet but just couldn't pass it up.

I'm still working on my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. It does take time since it is all by hand but I enjoy the handwork so much. I am arranging the flowers in a way that is different from the patterns I usually find. I like the way it is coming together but the edges will be a challenge. I'll address that when the time comes. I tend to not follow patterns and often design as I go so who know what will happen. I like traditional quilting but still have to do my own thing.

My rule: IF YOU OBEY ALL THE RULES YOU'LL MISS ALL THE FUN!! I should probably put that on my blog heading ...it hangs on my wall.

Thinking of spring

Can spring be just around the corner? I hope so. Yesterday two flower catalogs came in the mail...set me to dreaming.

Then today the temperature was in the mid 60s which added to my spring fever. So we spent a good deal of time out of doors, walking, checking out the new trees we planted last year, and enjoying the sunshine. We turned off the heat and opened the windows! Needless to say, I didn't get much quilting done. But I am working on my Grandmother's Flower Garden so I am in the spring mood. I prewashed some of the fabric I bought recently and got it ready to store. Unfortunately, one piece of dark red seemed to bleed so I soaked it in vinegar water...maybe that will help. It's in the dryer now...we'll see.

Almost Three Weeks....

Has it been almost three weeks since my last post? I can hardly believe it! I have been busy working, quilting, and visiting.

At the beginning of the month, our guild had our UFO presentations. I did two orphan blocks, two vintage blocks, and one almost 30 year old unfinished quilt.
There were 5 of us who responded to the challenge. What fun we had sharing! I finished all my contracted items - I finished the last one about 11 pm the night before it was due.

Here is the final one. I call it Attic Treasures 2 because it was the second piece I made from my finds in the family home attic. The Sue was appliqued onto the oval then I appliqued the oval to the background and made the border. It is hand quilted. All the fabric, except for the backing and batting, was found among the family home fabric.

I took my machine to have its annual professional cleaning so I decided to do some hand work. I have always wanted to make a Grandmothers Flower Garden. I used the English paper piecing method. All of the fabric so far is from my stash but I think I will go out and get a white on white fabric for the fence around the flowers. I had an off white that I thought I would use but it just doesn't look right. Anyway, the white is more traditional. Here are the flowers I have done. Each of the hexagons is 1.5 inches. Some of the petals aren't sewn down yet but I just had to get them on my design board to see how it was going.

I also spent three days with my daughter in law while my son was at a training in Alabama. The second day my grandson went to preschool so we had about 5 hours for work. She painted their entry hall and I recovered dining room chairs.

So, now I am off to work this morning...ready for a new week