Michigan Quilt Show

Quilts shows are fun. Wonderful quilts, demos, vendors selling fabric, kits and tools, etc. and best of all - QUILTERS galore.

(Photo from the Batavia, IL, quilt show a couple of years ago)

I'll be taking my "dog and pony show" to a quilt show in Hastings, Michigan, this Saturday, March 14.

I'd be delighted if you'd come see me and my quilts at the Stars over Thornapple Quilt Show.  I'll be doing a lecture and book signing as well.

Buy a book and have it signed or bring a book you already own and I'll sign that too  (as long as it's one I wrote and not, like, Anna Karenina, or anything. But, who knows, you may want me to sign one of those instead. Whatever.).

Can you think of a better way to spend a weekend?

Something Old, Something New

Many of the quilts I make include pieces of scraps from my scrap basket. Do you do this too? Some of the scraps are pretty old--not necessarily antique or vintage, but just small pieces of some of my favorite fabrics I've saved over the years that are left over from other, earlier projects.

Isn't it true that, when a fabric calls to you, you just have to buy it even if you have no particular plans for using it right away? Recently, I bought a little bit of new fabric and, since I like to use a LOT of different fabrics in my scrap quilts, I am going to combine it with some of what I already have and add it to those quilts.

I love going through my fabric looking for just the right small scrap from years ago that will add a little something to a new quilt. Actually, I'm doing this right now as I try to finish some quilts that are half-started (but also half-done!)  and work on putting some blocks together that I sewed a long time ago. When I took them out of their box I decided I still liked them so that always motivates me to work on them some more and maybe finish another quilt or two.

Old but not forgotten

Lordy, I'm STILL hanging on to some of the same old scraps so I can use them in other quilts someday. I guess I've really formed attachments to some of them. Crazy, I know. Somehow it feels very satisfying to use those familiar scraps and place the ones I particularly love in several different quilts. Then, every time I look at one I have to smile because I feel a little tug.  Seeing the special fabric in a quilt might make me recall where I bought it or remember things I did that year. Women from the 19th century did this too. Pieces of scraps from worn dresses often found their way into their quilts. 

Some of you who have my books and are pretty sharp may have already noticed that I like to use some of the same scraps over and over in the quilts I make. Often, you'll see a certain lovely blue print everywhere you look, making an appearance in several different quilts. It makes me feel good to put something old into a new quilt.

My DJ blocks make the best use of  my old fabric.

                       

Some of the pieces of fabric I love and am hanging onto are now pretty small. But they are often lovingly spread throughout my scrap quilts. I never get tired of looking at some of them.

For the best of both worlds I buy fabric often because there's nothing like new fabric to inspire you to begin a new project. But I also make use of the old too. Much of what I buy coordinates with what I already have because I usually only buy what I love. And that’s always changing.

Cold Comfort

Some of you may be feeling sorry for those of us in the Deep Freeze, either here in the Midwest ("Chi-beria") or over there on the east coast. Don't.

It was -8 degrees when I woke up today.  Pretty darn cold.  My sister-in-law is in Florida right now and, like many, has been there awhile in order to avoid this Chicago winter of ours. She invited me to go with her but I declined. She keeps sending me pictures of all the fun she's having in the sun. Don't get me wrong, they're nice and I'm glad she's having fun but I'm not really envious. Actually, we're okay here. More than okay. We're kind of used to this weather. And we've still got sun. Supposed to get all the way up to 4 degrees later.

Can't imagine where the Weather Channel is getting their pictures from . . . .

The real view.

I'm sitting on the sofa right now, curled up in a quilt, wearing my pink fuzzy socks, drinking coffee and beginning to work on the binding for a small quilt I started a long time ago. Life is good, I think to myself.

A few days ago I also became inspired to quilt then finish my little Valentine's Day quilt so I'm on a quilting/finishing roll again.

It felt good to finish something I'd started for a change. Yesterday, I looked at my stack of small quilt tops and half-finished quilts and wondered why I usually just reach a certain point and then quit. Some of them I actually like. No good reason I guess, except that I buy fabric then become inspired to try new projects pretty often and those push the others into the background, then the Unfinished drawer. Many of them I know will not even take that long to finish. So, I pulled out an old one and decided now was as good a time as any to finish something small. 

Anyway, yes, it's cold here. But, for some reason I don't ever mind. I guess I'm just a natural home body. My nesting instinct really kicks in during the winter and every winter I find a strange comfort in the extreme cold. I'm lucky to be able to work at home so I don't have to go anywhere. I don't have an outdoor job - unless you consider standing out in the back yard every hour on the hour, watching the little dog, making sure she doesn't get dragged off by a hawk or coyote my outdoor job. (It kind of IS now that I think about it . . . . )

My husband is working from home today, my daughter came home a couple of days ago to "nurse" a cold or the flu (actually, I am the one doing the nursing . . . . ) and is resting on the other sofa, the dog is curled up next to her, the coffee's hot and I have my sewing to do. It's kind of quiet and cozy here. What could be better? I wouldn't trade it for Florida, that's for sure. 

Four Patches for a Small Quilt

I've been playing with fabric scraps and making some four-patch blocks for the past week. The more I play, the more inspired I get. The four-patch block thing started with the current issue of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. They’re doing a sew along for some pretty quilts that use four-patch blocks in this issue (April).

I may not have time to make a really large quilt like some of those in the magazine, but I was able to whip up some four patches and make something of my own design. Something small and cute for Valentine's Day.

I always Think Pink this time of year, probably a carryover from decorating the house with hearts and  making valentines with my kids when they were young.  It was always a very exciting time for my school-age children as I recall.  The possibility of "secret" valentines, candy, parties, etc.

So, after becoming inspired to make four patches I went looking through my scraps and picked out some pretty left over pink and red pieces. Then  some shirtings. Some squares were already sewn into four patches, can you imagine? My project was already started for me!

The four patches wanted to be made into a little strippy quilt. I had a hard time deciding what thread to use for the quilting.

Finally went with cream colored thread. It's looking good and I got some quilting done on it the other day. With a little luck, I'll be able to finish it before Valentine's Day. Thanks, APQ,  for helping to inspire me to make my little quilt.

 Why not try making something with little four patches yourself this weekend? Pick up the magazine for more four patch inspiration. Just Go Four It.

Winter Walking

I love snowy weather and we sure got enough of it here in the Chicago area a few days ago. They said it was one of the highest snowfalls we've had in years. You know me -  I have to post snow pictures at least once every year.

There's no place to put it all.

Our dog is little and the snow is deep -  about 19 inches. I have to shovel paths in the back yard so she can run around. A little more every day. Can't possibly manage it all at once. Fun to watch her navigate in the snow.

I love the snow so much I even like to walk in it. Our neighborhood streets are plowed but that's boring. And the salt burns the dog's paws. Unfortunately, the down side to living this close to the city is that there aren't a lot of places to hang out in nature, in any kind of weather. I live in Illinois - it's not like we're close to mountains or anything. There are plenty of forest preserves nearby but they're kind of desolate and I hesitate to go walking there all alone. Sorry, I'm not brave like Cheryl Strayed of  "Wild" fame. (Good movie, though. Better book, read it twice.) I'm also pretty sure they don't plow the forest preserve hiking trails in winter either. 

I am lucky enough to live near the Chicago Botanic Garden, however, so that was the perfect solution for my spur of the moment desire to be outdoors the other day. Sure it was cold, but I bundled up and had a great time and got my snow fix and my "nature" fix and some invigorating exercise to boot. 

View of the lake

Pond

The afternoon light lent a blue cast to the snow at times.

The English Walled Garden

The greenhouses are warm inside.

Paths! All throughout the garden - and I didn't have to shovel them!

Surprisingly, there were quite a few others hanging around the gardens that afternoon, judging from the amount of cars in the parking lot (apparently I'm not the only fool for snow) but it's a large enough place that I didn't really run into many people. Nice and quiet and pretty too but you can be sure I'm not going to mention the words "Winter Wonderland" or some of you who hate winter will have had enough of me and my silly talk for one day. (More next year.)

End of January: 1. Finish Small Quilt. Check!

I finished my January small quilt challenge a few days ago, just under the wire! Remember, we were making small quilts using disappearing four-patch blocks in my Yahoo small quilt group? There's a tutorial I posted earlier this month for making the blocks, below. They're quick and easy and quite fun to make.

I don't know what possessed me to use a light print for the setting triangles since I often use a darker setting, but I think it turned out well and I like the contrast between the light print and the tan. First, I tried an indigo, then a poison green, and also a chrome yellow fabric (!) for the binding and I thought they all looked good with the blue but sort of bold for me. So I chickened out and went with red checks. Now I call it "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm." Somehow it fits. 

The quilting isn't perfect but it's always still fun to do. I'm a long, long way from being a master hand quilter but there's nothing more relaxing than sitting down with a cup of tea and doing some handiwork on a small project. We've been watching Grantchester, on Masterpiece Mystery, and enjoying it very much. About a crime-solving Anglican priest in a small English town, it puts me in the Hands to Work, Hearts to God sort of mode, LOL. Gotta love any show with a handsome vicar and the English countryside as a backdrop, even if there are murders (and romance, of course) very week. It's on Sundays after Downton Abbey. You should watch.

                                               

                      

James Norton as Sydney Chambers, the Vicar of Grantchester, riding his bike all over town, solving mysteries and flirting with the ladies. (But it's okay, vicars can marry and he's a bachelor.)

On Instagram* today, Martha Stewart asked her followers to comment on what they'll be making for Superbowl Sunday. I ALMOST shot back:  "A Quilt!" but that's probably not what she had in mind so I didn't.  I'll be watching Episode 3 of Grantchester this Sunday, perhaps quilting another small quilt. I've only got, like, 15 tops that I still need to finish . . . . Hope there are enough good mysteries on PBS this year.

*I'm loving Instagram! There are so many talented, creative people out there and it's fun to connect with some of you in this way. Thanks for following me.