A Little Bit of Everything

Hi readers.  It’s raining again, for the second day.  I’m trying to remember the beautiful day we had Sunday but with each rainy day it’s fading.

I think I need to catch up with myself!   I’ve been trying to get some things accomplished in the last two days.   I do have some stitching done…. only I can’t show you it!  I’be been working on the next Row Robin.  Brigitte’s theme is “Home” and I found the perfect row to do for her.  It needed a lot of tweaking and some changing, but it’s coming out great!    I’ve combined different techniques like paper-piecing, needle-turn applique, traditional piecing all in own 36″ row!  It’s a secret, remember?  That’s why I can’t show you what I’ve been up to.

The second thing I’ve been working on is the Feature for Craft Corner.  I have the samples done and the tutorial written.  As soon as I learn the date of the Feature, I will be posting it on here so that anyone visiting Craft Corner will be sent here to see the tutorial, and anyone that visits here will be able to link over to Craft Corner.  I think you’ll enjoy the crafting tutorial I’ve put together.  Sewists and non-sewists will be able to complete the tutorial with equally good results.  That’s all I can say for now.

The other thing I’ve been doing is practicing my paper piecing.  Carol Doak’s Yahoo Group is starting a Block Mystery and I have to get out to get the fabrics needed.  If you’d like a project to do that’s ongoing, with plenty of time between new blocks, check out Carol’s Yahoo Group and join in.  I was practicing with scraps making pinwheels and flying geese.  I realized after I made my first one that I didn’t have enough variety in the fabrics.  Here’s what I ended up with.

“No Go” pinwheel block

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those smallest triangles should be a totally different color.  I’ve set it aside and won’t be using that for any projects right away but I”m not going to toss it out.

Paper-pieced flying geese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paper-piecing flying geese allows you to get nice crisp points on your triangles.  If you haven’t tried a paper-pieced flying geese block, you really should.

 

Today I mailed my ATCs to the recipient.  One project done and gone.  I have a few other small ones to complete over the next month.  One is an ATC made with a page from a book.  Here’s my dilemma.  I don’t won’t to tear a page out of a perfectly good book.  I love books way to much to destroy one that way.  I’m going to wait for one of the local library sales and get an older book that’s seen better days and keep it strictly for the purpose of using the pages for crafts.

Today I wanted to share with you a few good blogs I follow.  I follow a lot of blogs and mosts of them are quilting blogs, but not all.   Michael is someone I “follow” on Pinterest but also his blog.  He owns a B&B and has great design sense.  You should see the cakes he makes for his mother!  For Mother’s Day, he made  a strawberry malted milk ball cake.  It’s so lovely to look at but I’d prefer chocolate malted milk balls.  Michael had exciting news this week.  He reached 1000 followers last weekend so he’s hosting a week of giveaways.  This is a great opportunity to find out about some new blogs and also to put your name in for a free giveaway.  At Michael’s blog “Inspired Charm”, you can win a book called 365 Days of Slow Cooking.  There are some great recipes in there like Slow Cooker Hummus, Slow Cooker Potato Salad, and so much more.  May I recommend a visit to his blog in the coming few days?   I think you’ll agree that he has amazing ideas.   Find him here or search for him on Pinterest.  Check out my Pinterest boards too by clicking on the red button in the sidebar that mentions Pinterest.

It’s Sew Kiki has a lovely tutorial on her blog today.  She calls it a “whirlpool” block.  If you’d like to try some half square triangles (HST), this block’s for you.  Find her blog here.   She’s also doing a giveaway of scraps, etc. that ends Thursday night so you might want to go check those two things out.

 

 

Have you ever visited the Etsy stores?   Crafters, quilters, jewery-makers galore make and sell their items there.  I enjoy browsing…. for a short time.  I’ve been toying with putting some things up there but just  can’t make the commitment yet.  Go check it out, will you?  Let me know if you think I should open an Etsy store.  I bought some sweet pins there for the pincushion swap we did last winter, and my daughter buys a lot of original art there.  I like to look there for ideas, as well as Pinterest for ideas.

 

I have a couple of artsy photos I thought I’d share with you too.  I took these two photos at the New England Quilt Museum.  They were the windows of the museum with unique decorations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I guess I’ve jumped from one bit to another bit tonight haven’t I?   I warned you with that title…a little bit of everything today.   I’m hoping to get to the fabric store soon so I can buy my yardage for the Carol Doak Mystery Quilt and then I’ll have something to show you.  I also need a special green to do bindings on some blocks. I have a tutorial in mind, but want the samples done up before I commit.  I’ll let you know as soon as I can determine if it’s a “go”.

Have a lovely evening and I sure hope the sun shines on you … and me … tomorrow.  We start up our work week again tomorrow and I really don’t enjoy working outdoors in the rain!   Wish me luck.

 

Happy sewing.

Marsha

The Day After

It’s the day after Mother’s Day.  I hope you all had a fantastic Mother’s Day and got to spend it with some people you love.  I sure did.  It’s become a tradition in my family to take part in the Portland Seadogs Mother’s Day 5K Race in Portland, Maine.  For the third year, I participated with my daughter and son, their families and my brother and his family.  It’s become a very meaningful, memorable part of the Mother’s Day celebration to me.  The race is sponsored by the Portland SeaDogs, Maine’s Triple A baseball team as well as training team for the Boston Red Sox.  That’s their mascot, Slugger, in the background of this photo.  Slugger’s mom participates in the race too!

After the Mother’s Day 5 K Race

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Far left is my daughter, Sara; son, Jonathan, grandson Jack, me (white shirt), my son’s mother-in-law (her pink shirt indicates a breast cancer survivor), daughter-in-law Brie.  Behind me is my brother, David; his wife Jana, son Christian, daugher Bailey and my son’s father-in-law Rick.

There are a number of remarkable things about this group.  Sher, the lady in pink, was in a wheelchair last year and no one knew if she would be able to walk again.  This year she walked in the “race” using poles to stabilize herself.  She finished the 3.4 miles (5K) .  Bailey, the young lady second in from the right, is my niece.  She is the “biggest loser” in a weight loss program some of this group took part in.  We had a kitty of $105 that we awarded to Bailey because she lost the highest percentage of body weight.  It was pretty close, though.  My daughter was neck to neck with her  and both lost more than 10% of their body weight.  The other remarkable thing is that almost all of us bettered our pace over the past two years.  We are very proud to do this to raise money for breast cancer research, and very proud that we could accomplish what we did.  We don’t actually “race”, just participate and try to do our best —  and we did!  In case you are wondering, yes, I did better my pace.  I checked this race times against the last two years and this was my best time.

After the race we had a wonderful brunch at my brother and sister-in-laws that’s also become a tradtion for Mother’s Day.

Besides all that wonderful stuff, I was given a beautiful hanging basket of flowers from my son and daughter-in-law.  It’s pouring out so I couldn’t run out and take a photo for you.  My daughter and her family gave me this wonderful necklace that Sara made herself.

Necklace made by Sara

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a little nest with three eggs.  I think of the eggs as my two children (white eggs) and my one grandson (teal egg).  I love it.

I also received another gift I love.   Sara organized a lot of photos she’s taken over the past year or so and had them made into a hard-cover book for me.  I believe she uses Snapfish.  I took a photo of the cover (a scene from last summer of our family campfire) and a few others to give you an idea of what it’s like.  I love it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Such thoughtful gifts.   I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family.

I’m sure you have many wonderful thoughts about your family too.  That’s the way it should be!

Tomorrow I’ll share a little bit of what I’m working on. Yes, I actually sewed today!   Good night, everyone.

Marsha

Quilt Shop Visit

This is Part 2 of my Quilt Bloggers’ Get Together “series”.  I’m leaving the American History Textile Museum for last as I have lots of photos and not enough time to get in a post for you.  I’m going to tell you about our visit to a fabulous quilt shop.

We finished up our visit to the American History Textile Museum (AHTM) about 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.  Actually it was slightly before 4 p.m.  Margaret and Irene have been trying to visit as many quilt shops as possible while here in the U.S. and time was running out so we decided to add a trip to Candlelite Quilts on at the end of our day.   Stella decided to leave us at that point so we had a round of hugs and good-byes.  At that point I put in a call to Candlelite Quilts to see what time they closed.

I spoke with Cathy, the owner of Candlelite Quilts.  When asked what time they closed she answered with “4:00 but where are you?”  I explained we were at the ATHM (which is only about 3 miles from Candlelite).  I was floored with her response then.  She said she would stay open and we could come in through the back door!   Yes, there are businesses that still believe in the importance of customers and bend over backward to accommodate them when possible.  Thank you, Cathy!

Candlelite Quilt Shop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candlelite Quilt Shop is located in this 300+ year-old house in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.  The building was owned by General Mills at one time and sits beside a lovely babbling brook which used to have a grist mill situated where there is now a parking area.The view of the brook is such so peaceful and listening to the water run through the brook is so restful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The front of the shop is the oldest part, filled with nooks and crannies where show-stopping displays catch your interest.  The back part, shown here, is the classroom area and was added on later.

 

The brook beside Candlelite Quilts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The brook where the grist mill once stood.

 

Cathy Ruggiero, Owner of Candlelite Quilts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We introduced ourselves when we arrived at the shop, and I explained to Cathy that both Irene and Margaret are recognized quilt designers in Australia.  She got very excited and asked about getting their patterns in her shop.  Candlelite Quilts has its own line of quilt patterns.  Cathy gave us each an early Mother’s Day gift, one of her “Postcard Patterns”.

The store is just filled with goodies, as I said earlier.  I’m going to share some of the photos I took there.  We were all excited to the Moda’s “French General” fabric available there.  Check out some of the eye-catching displays.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quilt hanging in the classroom at Candlelite Quilts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Corner for “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Irene and Margaret shopping

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margaret’s choices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Irene shopping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candlelite Quilts’ Notions Wall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one well-stocked house of eye candy!   I hope you get to go there sometime.  If you do, tell Cathy that Marsha from QuilterinMotion blog sent you!  You can check out Cathy’s shop here.

 

Now I’m off to bed for a good night’s sleep.  Tomorrow we work until noon and then we make our trip to Maine to have a wonderful family weekend with our children, siblings and little ones plus a large part of the group will be participating in a 5K Walk/Run to benefit Breast Cancer Research and all the monies earned stay local which is an awesome thing.  I walk in honor of my mother-in-law, Alice, and aunt, Mary.  Notice I said WALK; I’m not running and I’m not even walking as fast as most of them do but I’m walking because I believe in this cause and 5K (3.6 miles) is manageable.  Last year I did it in under an hour which is what I expect I’ll do again this year.

Have a wonderful Mother’s Day to all the mothers reading my blog, and a pleasant weekend filled with joy and pleasures for all of you.

Marsha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bloggers’ Get Together

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back left, Irene; Back right, Margaret; Front left, Stella, Front right, Marsha (Me)

 

 

Do these look like four friends enjoying themselves?   Well, I can tell you right now that we did enjoy ourselves and we made the most of the one day we all had together.  We’re gathered in the New England Quilt Museum library where we grabbed a couple of chairs and a willing volunteer who took our pictures … one five cameras (2 iPhones, 3 regular cameras).

I left home at 7:30 yesterday morning and DH dropped me off at the car rental agency.  I had requested an “Economy” car as I was the only person going in the car.  Surprise!  I got a truck!   THey had a Dodge Dakota ready and waiting so he asked if I would mind taking that.  DH and I laughed as I often drive our GMC Sierra, 4WD, dual-wheel truck.  SO, by 8 a.m. I was off on my way to meet Margaret, Stella and Irene at the New England Quilt Museum is Lowell, Massachusetts.

We all arrived within minutes of each other and decided coffee/tea was in order so we slipped over to The Coffee Mill to sit and get acquainted. This gave us time to connect with each other on this new face-to-face level.  We talked about all kinds of things, asking questions we had of each other that hadn’t been answered (or even thought of) in our blogs.  We heard a bit about the wonderful tour of quilt shops, quilt museums, quilt shows and quilters that Margaret and Irene have seen in this past month as they toured the U.S. by train and car.  We all felt so comfortable with each other right away; it was just wonderful to be talking face-to-face.  We just kept smiling, laughing, talking and hugging.    A very fast hour later, we decided we better get going on our visit to the museum.

The New England Quilt Museum is housed in an 1845 building that was a savings institution.  On the first floor of the museum is a lovely gift shop.  You don’t really feel like you are in a gift shop as there are so many quilts on display.  It feels like a quilt show!  Here are a few quilts we saw yesterday in the NEQM gift shop.

Burgoyne Surrounded

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quilt of satins, velvets, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tumbling Blocks quilt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Seven Stars” or “Seven Sisters” quilt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mind you, all these things are in the Gift Shop which means they are FOR SALE.  Margaret and Irene both got some antique fabrics; Margaret bought several antique 2-sided album blocks and we all bought various books, magazines, pins, etc.

Marcus Fabrics works with New England Quilt Museum and they currently have a new line that just arrived.  They were giving away the free pattern “Union Forever” which can be made with the lovely line of fabrics.  The quilt is made in the Potholder Method which was popular in the Civil War era.  We were fortunate to see, when we went up to the second floor of the museum, a Potholder quilt that had been made during that era.  We were not allowed to photograph any quilts displayed in the exhibits.  The Potholder method is similar to the “Quilt As You Go” method of today with several exceptions.  Each block is made, then bound.  After all blocks are bound, the blocks are then joined together with a feather stitch.

The antique Potholder Quilt we saw was done as I explained above.  What all of us remarked about was the holes.  Most of the blocks had rounded corners and when joined together with the feather stitch there were often holes where four blocks met.  Another interesting thing about those holes…they weren’t uniform, meaning they were all different sizes.  Imagine making your quilt and having holes (I should use the term “spaces” I think) where every four blocks joined.  I don’t think most of us would be happy with  that.

The NEQM owns about 250 quilts that have been donated to the museum by families of quiltmakers.  Most of them come with plenty of information about their history, thanks to labeling and family interest.  The museum rotates the quilts so each time you go, you could conceivably see different quilt.  We saw a collection of wholecloth white quilts.  The quilting was SO tiny and the quilting designs were incredibly complex and near perfection.   Another exhibit was a modern quilt collection commemorating the Fenway Park Centennial.  For those of you not from the New England area, Fenway Park is home to the Boston Red Sox, our major league baseball team.  They were quite diverse and absolutely enjoyable.  Even a non-baseball fan could enjoy the scenes caught in fabric.

Part of the upstairs of the NEQM is a fantastic quilt library.  The books there do not leave the library, but anyone can go in and do research or just sit and read the books.  We were told if they museum gets duplicates they do put the dups up for sale so we were able to look at what was available.  Books, magazines and calendars were among the items we took home with us.   This is something you might like to know.  Margaret and Irene shared with us why they were so enthusiastic about buying books at the NEQM.  A quilt book that we would buy here in the US for, say, $25.00 would more than likely cost them, in Australia, about $60.00.  Imagine how thrilled they were to buy second-hand quilt books at $10/$12 dollars.   While I’m at it, we learned from them that fabric goes for about $25/meter (about a yard).   It’s amazing, really, that people still do as much quilting as they do when you consider the investment in patterns and material over there.

Margaret and Irene are both quilt designers and have lovely patterns for sale.  Margaret’s “Maltaville Album Quilt” blocks are available for sale on her website. You can find them here.  She designs reproductions of antique quilts, her love.  She knows so much about these repro fabrics; I couldn’t believe how often she would see a fabric and call it by name.  She can recognize the work of various quilt artists that work with reproduction fabrics.  Margaret teaches quilting and applique and also does long-arm quilting for others.   Margaret has several patterns pending that will show up on her blog eventually — maybe after she gets back home.

Margaret’s pattern

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Irene is just getting started in the quilt design business and has just set up a blog.  As soon as I get her blog address, I will share it with you!  I saw pictures of several of her designs and they are beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a wonderful time at the New England Quilt Museum, we dropped in at the Athenis Restaurant, a great Greek restaurant.  Here we had a wonderful meal.  Again, Stella and I found out some interesting facts from our Australian friends.  We had a three course meal for $10 each.  For example, I had a cup of lentil soup, Moussaka, and a Greek salad.    Margaret and Irene told us that in Australia, each of those “courses” would have cost $10 so the meal we had would have cost each of us $30.    With a glass of wine and a DH along, dinner out in Melbourne usually costs about $100.00.

After lunch, we took a short trip just minutes away to the AmericanTextile History Museum.  I’m going to save that part of the day, and the next part, for another day.  A 9-3 workday today and all my excitement yesterday has left me wanting to kick back and relax – with a needle and thread.  I’m off to put a few more stitches into those DWR sections.

I’ll try to give you another post tomorrow, then it will most likely be Tuesday as I’ll be in Maine without my laptop from Saturday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon.

Marsha

 

WIP Wednesday

I haven’t done a WIP Wednesday since April 18th.  That was the Wednesday before we left Alabama.  I think it’s time to do it again.

The Janome Tote Bag made from fabric strips (crochet) is complete.

The 4-Patch Flowers blocks are at the same point they were on 4/18–in a project bag.

The Cloned Cats with a Twist blocks are also in a project bag, with the exception of 2 sets of 4-patch blocks.  Read on to find out about that.

The Double Wedding Ring Quilt (queen size, completely pieced by hand) is slowly, slowly progressing.

Row Robin – I just, today, received my next Row project.  It’s not due to be mailed out for a month or more so I’m holding off on it for now.

ATC Swap – That’s what the bulk of my post today is about.

Butterflies – Since I just heard about the Holocaust Butterflies, I haven’t begun except to decide what process I’m going to use:  needle felting.

Art Trading Cards Swap (ATC)

Today I focused on my Artist Trading Cards.  Quilting Gallery is having an ATC Swap coming up.  I signed up to participate.  I’m waiting to find out who my partner is.   Each participant will prepare four ATCs for the person they are given.  The cards can all be the same, or four totally different cards.  ATCs are like fabric postcards, or paper postcards, but smaller – 2.5″x3.5″.  You make your design on fabric or paper, then attach it to a card that gives your personal information.  If you use fabric, it is typical to use batting and quilt the design.

Go to www.quiltinggallery.com and read about all the many things Michele does with Quilting Gallery!  It’s too late to sign up to participate but all the details are there on her blog.

Yesterday I tried a couple of ideas which I did not like at all, paper pieced.  I meant to take photos of them but didn’t get the chance.  I tossed them before I thought of it.  Suffice it to say, they weren’t anything special.   Then I went to Quilting Gallery to look at some samples that had been provided.  “Quiltrat” has some amazing ATCs.   She uses a variety of techniques that look like so much fun.

I decided to go with an idea I had originally.  You will remember my “Cloned Cats with a Twist” from a post several weeks ago.  I decided to try using a few of those to make the 2.5″x3.5″ cards.  I found I could actually make two ATC’s from one 4-patch block.

Here’s one that I cut from the 8″ block made from the four separate “clones”.  I took the remaining pieces and found another repeating design from those remaining pieces.   Then I stitched and trimmed to make another 2.5″x3.5″.    These I fused to double-sided fusible Peltex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the four ATCs I was able to make from two four-patch blocks.  Each came out totally different with some interesting designs.  I like them and hope the recipient will also.  We don’t mail them until later so it will be a while before I’ll get any feedback, if I do.

Next step was to prepare the card for the back, a card that would give the necessary information.  I took a piece of cardstock, divided it up into 2.5″x3.5″ sections and played around with a few designs.  Here’s what I ended up with.

 

 

 

 

 

ATC Card Back

OOAK (One Of A Kind) original design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After this I had to fuse this card to the back of the fabric section, again just fusing it to the second side of the Peltex with a hot iron.  After being placed, it was time to zigzag around the outside edges.

Four Completed ATCs

It was a fun project and gave me some ideas for a possible new header for the blog and also “business” cards if I decide I’d like to hand them out at craft sales.

I hope you enjoyed the project and perhaps you’d like to make some ATCs yourself.  If you are interested in finding an ATC Swap, you could check here.  You don’t have to be a crafter to do swaps; a lot of them are just sending greeting cards, postcards, a letter, fabric squares, etc.  Check it out!  You meet some nice folks this way.

Guess what?   I found out  this morning that Stella, one of my followers whose been with me since last December’s Blog Hop, is going to be at the New England Quilt Museum tomorrow to meet Margaret (and me!).  What fun that will be!  Also, Sara, another follower lives about 10 miles from the State Park where we are located this summer so we will definitely be getting together for a “meet and greet” over a great cup of coffee, or a bolt of fabric.

Life is good!

Lastly, Rest In Peace, Maurice Sendak.  Your  Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen were close friends during the years of raising my children and teaching others’ children.  Your legacy will live on in your wonderful drawings and magical words.

Now I’m off to meet Margaret, Stella and Irene.  Have a wonderful day everyone.

Marsha

Holocaust Museum Butterfly Project #2 (edited May 4)

Have you ever heard of this project?   I just learned about it on Swap-bot.  They are requesting 2-dimensional butterfiles be made and sent to a certain address.  There is a deadline to sign up, then you have a month to create ONE butterfly.  The butterflies can be made of fabric, paper, crocheted, knit, origami -just about any technique you’d like.

They maximum size is 8″x10″ so if you have a Cricut, you could make some paper ones using that.

Each butterfly made and sent will represent one child that was killed in the Holocaust.  Please go to Swap-bot.com and search for Holocaust Museum Butterfly Project #2 (edited May 4) and join up to make and send one butterfly.  The details are very clear and are right there.  If you have any questions, you can comment to the coordinator (read all the comments left, they are great!) and she’ll reply quickly.

 

This is such an easy thing to do and so meaningful.  Thanks!

Marsha

There’s Always Something to Look Forward To

Don’t you agree?  There’s always something to look forward to.  I recall in the latter years of my father-in-law’s life, after his dear wife passed away, looking forward to a family event was more fun for him than the actual event.  I really believe that, and I even understand it.

He would talk about it for weeks, or day, and plan and plot.  It was hard for him to lose his  soul mate, the woman he had been married to for fifty (plus) years.   She was a very special lady, and the best mother-in-law in the world.  I tell people she was my model for being a good mother-in-law.  I think I’m doing okay; my SIL seems to be happy enough with me and we enjoy each other’s company.  My DIL also tells me she loves me and we have a lot in common.  It’s wonderful to have a family that just keeps on growing!

Now where I was going with this before I got on to my FIL?  Oh, yes, of course!   I have things to look forward to, of course.  You do too.

When I first started “On the Go Quilting”, the official name of my blog, last August I was very fortunate to meet (not in person, of course, Margaret Mews.  Margaret is a Australian quilter and also a quilt teacher and quilt designer.  She is most interested in quilts of the 19th century.  I had written a blog posts about Weathersfield Historical Society and the wonderful Weathersfield Rising Sun Album Quilt.   Margaret saw my blog and I’ve always wanted to ask her how she happened upon it.  Of course I wonder about that with all my readers.  How do you find me?   I’d love you to leave me a comment and tell me what caused you to be searching, and find my blog.  (No need for those of you who are face-to-face friends and family to do so unless you really feel like you must.)  You can find Margaret at http://www.quiltstation.com.au  and go to her blog from there.  It has the nicest name:  Margaret’s Mewsings.  There you can find out about her Maltaville quilt blocks and how to purchase them.  Margaret is a hand and machine quilter and loves applique as well.

Anyway, one of the things I’m looking forward to is meeting Margaret Mews.   The wonderful thing is it is actually going to happen!  Margaret is on a tour of the U.S., a quilt shop tour.  She’s been to Paducah and on the West Coast and is in New York, I think, as I write.  She will be in Boston tomorrow and at the New England Quilt Museum Wednesday.   When she told me she would be there, we tentatively planned to get to meet each other in person.

Today I made a reservation for a rental car.  I’ve been debating what to do.  Our truck is in the repair shop awaiting a new water pump which will be installed on Thursday.   We are using our old Honda which stays with our daughter and son-in-law in the winter, actually most of the year.  They have let us borrow it for a few days so we can do laundry, get groceries, etc.  I didn’t want to take the Honda to Massachusetts as it has a muffler issue.  When you step on the gas, it sounds like those speedy little motorcycles my DH calls “rice rockets”.  I decided yesterday I would just go rent a car and stop worrying and wondering if I was going to get to meet Margaret.  I’m so happy I did it.

The New England Quilt Museum is located in a historic textile district in Lowell, Massachusetts.  Lowell is home to the historic cotton mills.  In the 1800′s when all of New England had many active textile mills, Lowell was the location that many young girls came to from Europe.  There were jobs for them in the textile mills.  Their lives were not easy; conditions were very tough but those who survived the horrid conditions settled there and became mothers and their offspring are still their today, their great-grandchildren and great-greats.

I’ve lived in New England, namely Maine, for my whole life until 10 years ago when DH and I went on the road full-time.  We used to go to Boston to visit my paternal grandparents by train when I was little.  I was actually born in Boston while my parents were on a very short trip to Boston.  I have NEVER been to the New England Quilt Museum!!!   That is going to change on Wednesday of this week!   I’m driving down in a rental car, meeting my Australian friend Margaret and her traveling companion, Irene, at the New England Quilt Festival and we are going to enjoy the wonderful antique quilt collection there.  Of course I’ll be sharing it with you later in the week, you know it.

As if that isn’t enough to look forward to, there’s also Mother’s Day.  My daughter allows that we will be away for most holidays and is very supportive of our travels.  However, her words have always been “You have to be home by Mother’s Day!”  So far, I’ve never let her down.  Two years ago, we started what has now become a family tradition.

My brother David moved back to Maine from Indiana and brought his lovely Southern wife and children with him.  David and I have always had a very special connection.  Two years ago, Sara (DD) asked me if I’d like to walk in the Portland SeaDogs Mother’s Day 5K with her, her husband and son.   I’ve always enjoyed walking so it was a no-brainer!   Well, her husband ended up not being able to participate so my brother David jumped in to take his place.   This year will be the third year of our, now annual, Mother’s Day event.   Each year it has grown to include more of the family.   Now we have David’s family, our son and his wife, his wife’s parents, and any others that want to join us.

It’s a great weekend of family time, usually the first time we get to see our son and DIL after returning to New England, first time to see my brother and his family and we stay at his house.  DIL’s parents stay at our son’s house.   After the 5K, when we are all tired and hungry, we work together to put on a Mother’s Day Brunch for the whole group.   It’s a fantastic way to spend Mother’s Day and it has come to mean something  very special to me, as the mother of two wonderful children with  incredible spouses, and a fantastic grandson.  I sometimes get very emotional about how lucky I am!

Anyway, that’s what on my docket for this week:  New England Quilt Festival with Margaret on Wednesday and then after work on Saturday, we head to Maine until Tuesday.  Life is good!

I hope you life is good, or that you choose to focus on the best parts.

Happy Stitching!

Marsha

Seasoning

 

 

First let me say I now have 100 Followers.  That’s pretty great for someone who hasn’t had a blog up for a full year yet, I think.   Thank  you, all, for your consistent readership and your faith that what I write here might be useful to you, and if not useful, at least amusing!  Thanks also to those who drop in and read the blog occasionally.  I appreciate your time and interest and I hope someday you’ll decide to become a Follower too.

Seasoning

Seasoning:  Merriam-Webster gives several definitions.  Def #2 is mine right now:  To season (verb) is to accustom or habituate to something, to acclimatize.

Webster in 1913 gave “seasoning” this definition:  to fit for any use by time or habit

Other definitions from other sources:   make more acceptable or suitable; adjustment, accommodation; breaking in; tempering

Do you see where I’m going with this?

I’ve been seasoning.  I’ve been getting accustomed to being in a different location after six months in Alabama.  I’ve been adjusting to having less time to quilt and do my own thing.  I’ve been accommodating my schedule with DH now that we are together 24/7.  No tractors to take his attention and time or to have him off on his own for the entire day.  I’ve been accepting my schedule of working again, fitting in my hobbies and interests around the work schedule and other needs.

I think I’ve got it now.   I couldn’t seem to get myself settled in last week.  One week to accustom, adjust, make acceptable.  That doesn’t seem bad.  I think I have a hand on it now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve read some good books, seen a movie (make that two by 9 p.m. tonight), had a sleepover with Grandson, hauled my paints out and started my online class, and I’ve gotten some supplies so I’m ready to hit the ground running.  Finally!   My quilting pals call me the Energizer Bunny of Quilting because I do complete a fair number of projects when I”m down there.  It’s because of them!  They invigorate me.  They flood my imagination and fuel mycreativity.  I must thank them for that! Without them this past week, I haven’t been flooded with that desire to quilt but I can feel it coming back.  Seasoning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been months and months since I painted regularly.  However, I started an online class offered by Strathmore and I have kept the watercolors wet for 3-4 days now.  It feels good.

I’ve also gotten my ideas in order about what I’m going to do for my tutorial that will be featured on Craft Corner in the future (don’t know when yet) and I know what I’m going to do for my ATC swap, I think.   Artist Trading Cards are just small bits, 2.5″x3.5″ cards, that can be made using whatever medium the artist desires.  I’ve been toying with watercolors, but I think I’m going to stick to making them quilt-related.  It’s more who I am these days.  I am going to start on my 4″ blocks tomorrow and see what I can use by just trimming off a bit to make the ATCs.  I’m not really into making miniature quilts, nor miniature paintings but I do love the ATCs I’ve seen.  I bought a pack of watercolor paper cuts that were meant for ATCs and still they sit in the package.  Oh, I bought them three years ago for sure, when I was in Sarasota, FL and had a wonderful group of artist friends that met regularly to paint and critique and encourage –  like what my quilting friends do when I’m in Alabama.

The fact that I’m more productive when in the presence of other creative people must mean something.  Yes, it does.  I like people; I like to be around people; I like to be around creative people.  See what I just learned about myself?  Well, not really.  I’ve always known I like people.  Every job I’ve ever held has been involved with the public:  teaching, human resources, campground hosts, workcamping.

That said, I’m also very happy to be by myself.  My DH is a very quiet man.  He doesn’t just chat to keep noise moving through the air.  We spend much of our time together in comfortable silence.  He has always given me that freedom to create, to be messy with my fabric and paints, to be quiet with my painting and my books.  I really do have the best of both worlds, readers.  I do.

I wanted to share my work yesterday.  I told you one of my primary jobs at the park, besides taking care of the campsites, is to care for the gardens.  I also told you that we have construction workers here replacing the water system including the RV Sanitation Center (dump station).  That means there’s a lot of ground that has been torn up; a lot of things moved or removed.   Fortunately, the workers were really good about places where we had plants.  They dug up huge plots of hosta we had in front of our split rail fence and yesterday I replanted some of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plots of hosta were so crowded.  No one here knows how long, if ever, since they were split and moved.  It was long overdue!   Five plots of hosta to be replaced.  Three of them went into the ground as three big plots, just as they came out of the ground, but in a different location.  If I’d been working at that time, I would have insisted on thinning them out, but timing is everything and they went into the ground the day after we returned.  Someday they will be thinned out, but now I want to let them “season” where they are.

I took the other two plots and divided them up into 40 plants, placing them around the edging at the Sanitation Center.

Before:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They will look really good once they “season” themselves and the leaves grow out to their full size–they are the big-leaf, dark green hosta.  Over time they will fill in to make a nice solid border there.  It already looks better!

Here’s the main garden area where things are just starting to poke up.  The ground is still cold here in Vermont, and there’s still the likelihood of frost between now and Memorial Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The back half is a mixture of phlox and a tall yellow flower whose name escapes me.  That section has been there a long time.  The front half has been overhauled since I started taking care of it.  They used to plant annuals each year and I have slowly been replacing that space with perennials.   There’s more to be done, but we work with a very specific budget so it takes time.  When the whole garden is in bloom and the plants are up to their typical size, it looks quite nice.  I’ll share some photos later in the summer so you can watch the transition.

Lastly, here’s a frontal view of the grandson, Jack, that I promised.  He’s a tall nine-year-old, bright (of course!), handsome and he’s growing his hair out to copy a college fellow he saw whose long locks he admired.  Last summer he had a buzz cut!

Jack is on the right in the Sea Dogs maroon jersey. Remi is his buddy on the left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wondering what all the strings are?  They are participating in a Maypole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to the movies yesterday with DD, DSIL, and Jack.  The movie was “The Avengers” and it was much better than I anticipated. I”m not really a Superhero kind of gal, but if you have a grandson, you have to know a certain amount about them.    The popcorn was great!

Tonight DH and I are going to see “The Hunger Games” at Dartmouth.  I loved the three books in that series when I read them last summer.  DH read the first one and didn’t care for it.  Since DD got us tickets, he’s going to go with me “kicking and screaming” as they say and I”m sure he’ll enjoy it once he gets there.  There’s no popcorn allowed in this theater so DH has a chip on his shoulder to begin with.  The theater is inside one of the buildings on the Dartmouth College campus and they don’t allow good and drinks in their lovely theater.

 

Three books I’ve read this week that I would recommend:

Directed Verdict by Randy Singer (a legal thriller with some Christian faith thrown in for good measure)

Shoot Him if He Runs by Stuart Wood (a:”who-dun-it” with  two of Wood’s favorite characters: Stone Carrington and Holly Barker)

Sanctuary by Nora Roberts ( a love story that takes place on an island off the coast of Savannah.  There s a great mystery in the story as well and I’ve been having a hard time putting it down.  50 pages left!)

I’m off to finish my book and then tomorrow will begin some quilting projects so I’ll have quilting to share with you again.  You’ve been very patient!

Here’s to simple stitches and sharp needle.

 

Marsha

Ah! A Quilt Store!

After several weeks without visiting even a Wal-Mart with a fabric department, making a quick trip (this time) to a fabric store was like a birthday present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made a brief trip to 4 Pines Quilt Shop in Claremont, New Hampshire this afternoon.  It’s not too far from the State Park and it looks to be filled with everything anyone would need.  They have a website here.  I definitely need to go back and look around more but I did talk with Brent, the owner with his wife, and took a few shots of some projects they have up around the room.

4 Pines is located in an out-of-the way area with quiet streets and older buildings.  The building that houses 4 Pines is brick and looks like it’s been there for some time, not new. It’s right down the street from the high school which is how I remember where it is.

They have classes and put out a monthly class schedule which I grabbed as I was going out the door.  Superior University looks very interesting.  The newsletter states that Superior University has been “designed by Superior Threads to give you hands on experience using a variety of threads and techniques.  Each month you will receive a pattern and easy to follow instructions to complete a project.  Many projects will include a product or technique you may have never tried before.”  I’m definitely going to check into that!  I’ll let you know more about it after I get the chance to go.  First class is May 24th which might work out for me.

Look what I found!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How could I not like a store that features a Mariner’s Compass up on the wall?   Here are a few other featured projects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a large quilt and I just love this block.  Would you call that a medallion?  Pat Sloan has a new book coming out featuring Medallion quilts so I guess my mind was thinking of her and the book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at that lovely panel which is only one part of a gorgeous quilt!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m wondering what brand/model of sewing machine this is.  Lovely red don’t you think?   Here’s another old friend:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are classes offered for  “Braid in a Day” by Eleanor Burns and “Pinwheels and Rectangles” by Eleanor Burns.  They have a Thimbleberries Club in the store and a “Quilt Smart Club”.  I need to learn more about all these things going on there, as well as about something called a Quilter’s Card.  That sounds like it might mean a little $$$$ savings.  They also do Open Sewing times and a number of other goodies.  There is a guild that meets there once a month.

I was able to pick up the items I needed to get to work on my project for Craft Corners so I’ll be busy with that for a while and then once I know when it’s going to be featured on Craft Corners, I will share the project with you.

Now, I didn’t mention DH was with me but he was waiting in the car while I was in 4 Pines which might explain my “brief” stop at the store.  I did have time to discuss Pinterest with Brent and I gave him my blog address at his request.  Brent, I hope you stop in and leave me a comment.  Remember what we talked about…no comments makes you wonder if anyone’s out there reading it!

 

I forgot to show you the back room of 4 Pines where people can go for Open Sewing and work on their projects.  There’s also a long-arm quilting machine which the business uses to quilt people’s quilts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we left 4 Pines and got a few groceries, we made a stop at a new store for the Claremont area.

 

Yes, there’s a new Tractor Supply in town.   Now the DH’s antique tractor is still in Alabama, but that doesn’t stop him for having interest in Tractor Supply.   As you know, if you read my blog often, I also enjoy going to Tractor Supply.  That’s where I usually find my “MaryJanesFarm” magazine.  I asked about it at this TS and they had never heard about it. That’s not a good sign!

As often happens with a trip to TS, I spent more money than DH.  I found this awesome garden tool.  I forgot to take a photo of it for you but you use it to dig up weeds and scratch up the ground.  It’s best feature it has a telescoping handle!   My knees aren’t as happy about kneeling for long periods of time as they used to be so this tool will be so handy when I’m in the park taking care of the gardens.  I also picked up some green beans seeds that I’ll try in the tiny raised bed I have on our site.  I tried spinach last year and it was a bust.  Here’s hoping the beans do better!

 

 

How about these baby socks for the younger John Deere set?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s dog toys too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Wellies (rubber boots) for the gals.

 

 

 

 

Tractor Supply is so much more than a tractor store!

Off to start working on my project.  What are you working on this weekend?

Happy stitching,

 

Marsha

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Thursday

We started our volunteer jobs yesterday.  Boy, does it take some discipline to leave the house to go to “work” on a rainy, cold day!  I could easily have stayed inside stitching or reading or cooking, or even cleaning!   Desperate aren’t I?

I thought I’d share a few photos of some places in the park.  There are a LOT of workmen in the park currently as the water system has been replaced and they are in the process of finishing up.  We can barely get into and out of our RV site with all the machinery.  It should be paved and easier to get around in a few days.  I left out the RV site area as it’s not very attractive in the front right now but I will show you later.

I also thought I’d share the very first completely hand-pieced and hand-quilted quilt I made.

Tumbling Blocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a queen-size Tumbling Blocks quilt.  When we were getting ready to sell the house and go off in the RV full-time, I had a huge sewing/craft room in the barn.  It was a wonderful room with plenty of space, plenty of shelves, a 5-foot rolling work table, sofa (bed), my sewing machine table and several chairs.   The many shelves were full of fabrics, batting, crafting supplies, etc. Yes, I gave it all up to travel full-time and live the dream DH and I had had for years.

One of the first things I did was to make up project bags.  I would put the pattern, all the fabric I had for the project together in a zipper bag.  I had plenty of those zipper bags that sheets and comforters come in as DH worked for Macy’s Dept. Store and he was always bringing them home to me.  Once I got closer to leaving the room behind, I numbered all the projects and put them in a Rubbermaid tub which I deposited at my son’s house.  He was given instructions that when I called and said “Send me #2″, he would know how to locate said #2 project and sent it off to me.  (It worked great, by the way).

I donated most of the craft supplies and quilting supplies to the Women of the Salvation Army in Portland, Maine where I lived at that time.  Every May the Women would have a sale of quilting and crafting supplies to the public.  Monies made from the sale went to help families that called upon the SA for help in times of need.

Before we left in mid-April of 2002, I cut the pieces for the Tumbling Blocks quilt and put them into a Project Bag.  I used every fabric that I had that was large enough to cut into one of the pieces.  The only difference was that this project bag went along on our “maiden voyage”.  We traveled to Texas to the Escapees Park in Livingston to do a month of volunteer work at their CARE Center, an assisted living program for RVing members who could get help and stay in their own RV.  We took a circuitous route and it took from mid-April to November for us to get there!    All that time we were traveling, when we would stop for the night, I would pull out my Tumbling Blocks.

It took me one full year to make the queen size Tumbling Blocks quilt, and that means my stitching each stitch and quilting the entire thing.  I stitched 1/4″ inside each segment of the blocks.  My stitches were not all tiny, nor were they all the same size but by the time I had that quilt done, they were much smaller than when I started and much more uniform in size than when I started.  When we came back in mid-April of 2003, my Tumbling Blocks quilts was finished.

 

Close-up of the Tumbling Blocks quilt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the scrappy look of this quilt.  I can look at it and remember certain other quilting projects that I did back when we had our home and our children were growing up.   It’s a wonderful keepsake and it is often on our bed.  The batting I used, and I’m quite sure it was a thin Warm “n Natural, gives warmth but is lightweight and very comfortable on a chilly night.

Here’s a shot of the edge.  I needed it to be a little larger than I had blocks for so I did two borders.  I had a fair amount of red and blue in the quilt so went with red and blue borders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought I’d share a few other photos of my life since I really haven’t been doing much quilting; in fact, the only quilting I’ve been doing is my DWR sections.  I hope that will change soon.  I have some ATC (Artist Trading Cards) to make for a swap and I’m also needing to get to work on samples for a project I’m going to share on Crafty Corners, the website that honored with the “Editor’s Choice” award last month.  I need a few items for both projects so I’m waiting for the opportunity to visit the new Jo-Ann Fabrics in a near-by town.

My grandson is playing baseball for the first time this Spring.  We went to his scrimmage the other evening and I tried to get a few shots with the new Nikon CoolPix camera.  He didn’t hold still for long and he didn’t look straight at me when I had the camera in hand so I didn’t get face shots.  I’ll share one of those soon.  Here’s Jack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of shots of the grand-dogs.  They were happy to have us back also.

 

 

 

This is Finn (Finnegan).  He’s a chocolate lab, about 3 years old.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Luna.  Forgive the red eyes.  I have to figure out how to keep them out with my new camera.  Luna is about 12 or more and is a golden retriever/yellow lab mix.  She’s a sweet old girl, troubled with arthritis but she’s got a lot of heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ranger Station, Wilgus State Park

 

I took a photo of the side of the ranger station at the park here where we volunteer.  The stonework, fireplaces and chimneys, were all put in by the CCC.  The Civilian Conservation Corps was made up of men who needed jobs back in the 1930′s.  The Ranger’s kitchen is on this side of the house.   The other side hosts another lovely chimney where we have fires on chilly or rainy days for the campers to enjoy.

Flying squirrels make their home in the eaves up around the top of the chimney.  They launch themselves off the roof about dark every evening.  The bench shown in the photo is for park guests to view the squirrels.

 

 

 

 

 

rhododendrons.

 

 

These are the prettiest things in the park right now. With temps in the 40′s, the rhododendrons are brave to be in bloom right now, don’t you think?   The lilacs have buds, the forsythia is sporadically blooming and one daffodil has shown it’s lovely face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know what these little “powder puffs” are but they are lovely pink too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Eagle” and “Osprey” cabins

 

 

Right on the Connecticut River, these two lovely cabins were just built last summer.  They each have a comfortable (really!) futon and two bunk beds, a table with four chairs, an electric outlet, lights and ceiling fan.  Each comes with a porch with two chairs, a picnic table and fire pit.  They are very popular.  We have four in all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Osprey Cabin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The  lean-to sites

 

 

 

With lots of space for vehicles, toys and people the lean-to sites are very popular.  They are usually full every weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of the Connecticut River

 

 

 

Canoeing and kayaking are popular at this park on the Connecticut River.  Lots of people start further up the river and come down to this park, camp for the night and move on down the river.  It’s a great group activity and a great family activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my photos today.  I promise to have more quilting in my posts; I’m just having a slow time adjusting to a different schedule, a different climate and I haven’t even taken my sewing machine out of the closet yet.

Our truck developed a coolant problem right after we arrived and we’ve been kind of stranded here in the park.  The repair place couldn’t look at it until tomorrow so our comings and goings have been very limited.  Hopefully they will be able to fix it quickly and get us back on the road.  We do have some errands to run and I really want to see the new Jo-Ann Fabrics in West Lebanon.  It was flooded out during Hurricane Irene last fall and just opened recently.

By the way, there a Blog Hop going on right now that’s part of the 100 Blocks magazine by Quiltmaker.  If you go to www.quiltmaker.com, it will direct you where to go to see the blogs of each of the block makers.  It’s nice to see how they put the blocks together, what made them decide on the design they come up with, and see the variations of colors they used.

Happy Stitching, one and all.

 

Marsha