Have Coffee With Me

There's nothing quite like a hot cup of coffee to perk me up. I was enjoying my coffee outside the other morning while the dog romped through the hostas looking for sleeping chipmunks and I had to smile. But it wasn't the dog and it wasn't the freshly ground brew in my still-going-strong percolator that was making me smile. I was thinking, what could be better than this - drinking coffee out of this special mug I designed myself?

 

You know I would love to actually have coffee with some of you. Imagine - we could talk fabrics, small quilts, favorite tools, etc. Maybe even gossip a little . . .  But face it, that's just not possible. You live there, I live here. So, for a limited time only, I am offering these cute Sentimental Quilter mugs so you can still have your morning coffee (or tea) with me. We'll be thinking of each other!

 

The mug was designed with the same banner photo that's on my blog, showing some of my favorite quilts. How cool is that?

 

And, if you're hankering to place your mug on a sweet little mug rug/quilt  - you're in luck. Make one that's similar to mine with a kit you can purchase here. (Colors will vary but all will definitely be scrappy. If you have a preference, e-mail me with your favorite colors and I'll see what I can do.) This would sure make a cute little gift for a friend.

 

 

Order your mug now, before I run out . . . . (Sorry, no international orders on the mug.)

Last Day of Summer

Today is the last day of summer. Autumn is my favorite season and it looks like it will be starting off perfectly with mild temps during the day and cool ones at night.

 

I love looking at all the beautiful fall colors, don't you?

 

 

 

Today I am finishing up my last signature blocks for the second swap in my Yahoo small quilt group. I mailed in the first group of Snowball blocks last week.

 

I had so much fun making these and all of the other blocks below, picking through my pretty scraps to put the fabrics together. Most of them are different. I think they all turned out splendidly. You can probably tell which ones are my favorites.

 

 

Seems to be a theme here. I didn't really plan it but when I laid them all out I realized I used an awful lot of red prints. And blue too, of course. I wanted to send in blocks that everyone would like and I had to remind myself that not everyone likes blue (or red, apparently) as much as I do. So I had to throw in some made with brown and green to balance the whole lot out a little bit.

 

Pink made a frequent appearance as well.

 

 

I wonder - who will be the lucky recipient of this one??

 

 

Or this other one? I really hope they find their way to good homes . . . .

 

 

It was fun but also grueling at times, finding the time to make so many blocks (over 100) and also make sure they weren't too wonky. I had to rip and resew more than I want to admit but, the best part is  - I'm DONE! What a great feeling. All I have to do today is trim them up and mail them in on Monday. No more unfinished blocks hanging over my head. I can now work on other things for a change without that nagging feeling in my head.

 

I made a few extra blocks so I can pick out the best ones. I will have a few blocks left over that may not be perfect but I don't quite know what to do with them. So I am putting the word out  - if any one of you would like one of these signed, imperfect blocks to put into your own signature quilt, send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope and I will mail one out to you.

 

Mail to:  Kathy Tracy

P.O. Box 1083

Deerfield, IL  60015

 

 

* * *

 

Yesterday was my birthday and tonight we are going out to dinner with both of my kids in the city to celebrate. Last year we ended up stopping for gelato for dessert when we were finished with dinner. Who needs cake? It's not a real celebration without ice cream I always say.

 

 

Of course, no one but me remembers that we did that, so this year I picked another restaurant near that same gelato place . . . .

 

 

 

 

Nature's Gift

I love the rain. We haven't had enough of it this summer. I woke up this morning to the sound of a soft, gentle rain tap tapping against the window and my heart lifted up just a little.

 

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the sun. But sunny days often make me feel pressured, unlike rainy days.  When it rains, I feel justified sitting inside reading or sewing or just doing nothing. I believe it stems back from my childhood when, if the day was bright and sunny, my mom would nag me to "go outside and play, get some exercise - it's a beautiful day! Why waste it sitting inside reading?" Hah! Since when is reading ever wasting my time, I thought. But during summer vacation from a long stressful school year  there were so many days where all I wanted to do was read or be quiet, not go out and play in the hot sun even if it was good for me as my mother believed. I'm still like this.

 

Rain places no such expectations upon us. Rain gives me permission to stay inside and be quiet if I want to and reflect, not necessarily be DOING something. If it's raining, it's okay to curl up with a quilt and a cup of tea and read a good book.

 

 

 

 

"Anyone who thinks that sunshine is true happiness has never walked in the  rain. . . . " With a dog, I might add.

 

Life gets busy and hectic for all of us at times. I found a great App for my phone for when I feel like I'm spinning my wheels a little too much and need to slow down a bit and take a breath - Simply Being - a meditation App that you can set for a few minutes or more (up to 20 actually). You can get it for all types of phones or your ipod. One of the options is to relax and listen to nature sounds instead of calming music. I always keep mine set on Rain (of course I do). Just listening to the quiet sounds of rain refreshes my spirit.

 

 

 

                                      

 

It's my birthday month and more often than not, for as long as I can remember, it has rained on my birthday. I like to consider it Nature's special gift to me and have learned to be grateful for it. Slow down, life is good, take a breath, you made it through another year. . . .

                    

 

 

 

Back to School

 

 

Little Red Schoolhouse

Quilt of the month for September

(from Prairie Children & Their Quilts)

 

 

An antique Schoolhouse Quilt I bought several years ago. It's a little frayed here and there and patched in places but these types of quilts are so rare. I love it very much just the way it is but perhaps will try to restore it someday.

 

 

September always means back to school time. Even for those of us who are not school age anymore. Quilters go to school too and I know many of you take quilting classes. The latest thing appears to be video classes on your computer,  taken at your own convenience and leisure.

 

Today I am offering two of you a chance to enter a giveaway here for a crafting class. Take a look at Daily Craft TV.  They have some wonderful video classes taught by popular, experienced teachers. And there are not just quilting videos either -  there are classes on knitting, crocheting and scrapbooking  as well.

 

                                            

 

A class on bindings taught by Liz Porter

 

 

A class on making Log Cabin quilts taught by Marti Michell

 

 

How to make a quilt of valor

 

There are many classes to choose from. So here's how it works - you can enter a comment here on my blog and then when I pick the 2 winners they will be e-mailed an access pass code to get into the class of their choice for free. Simple. The hard part is going to be following directions carefully. Listen good.

 

In your comment, tell me one of your memories from when you first started school. What was it that really sticks in your mind that made you either love or hate school? Try to keep it short.

                                                   

 +  =  +  =  +  =  +

 

I had a love-hate relationship with school. I loved learning and playing school with my friends was a favorite game. I always did well in class but I was a very shy, anxious little girl and being at school all day, away from my mom, was difficult. Some teachers were mean and did not understand and just told me to grow up when I cried or got a stomach ache while others - like dear Mrs Riccio and later Mr Hollander - understood. They nurtured me and became my friends and because of them I went on to become a successful student. Compassionate teachers hold the key I believe. My son is a teacher now and I know he understands and is one of those nurturers himself. 

 

Good luck to everyone!  Include some way for me to reach you (e-mail) in your comment. Winners will be posted in a few days. Maybe as soon as Monday.  I know you're all eager to go back to school . . . .

 

 

Stay Safe This Weekend

If you are traveling this weekend to celebrate Labor Day, don't drink and drive. If, like me, you are staying home, don't drink and quilt -

 

See what can happen??

Honest, all I had was 2 cups of coffee this morning . . . . Probably should have stopped at one.

 

(My husband tells me that I shouldn't fix it - that the person who gets this block in the signature swap is a lucky duck. Might be worth something someday.)

 

To my friends in the U.S.  - Have a Happy Labor Day

 

Some of us will be laboring away this weekend, trying to finish those 120 "What Was I Thinking" signature blocks for 2 swaps -

 

 

Others, not so much:

 

 

(In her defense, it's a thankless job chasing squirrels and chipmunks and just looking so darned cute all day long. But somebody's got to do it.)

 

No chores for me this weekend. I've had a busy time of it recently launching my daughter (no, not to the moon, although some days I thought about it . . . . ) off to school. I already told my husband he's on Home Duty. I'm taking time off for good behavior -  I did not kill or maim any members of my family (who shall remain unamed) this summer. Moms, back me up here!  

 

When things get too tough at the sewing table I plan on taking a break and doing some reading this weekend as well.

 

 

Funny how a good crime novel nearly always fits the bill.

 

Have a good weekend! 

Old Signature Blocks

Some of you who have been reading my blog for a few years may remember when I wrote about the signature blocks I received.

In 2011 I gave a presentation to a guild in Peoria, IL. Someone there had brought in 28 signature blocks made by the founding members of the guild that were hand pieced and not only signed, but signed with embroidered letters. At the meeting, they offered them up to anyone who wanted them and no one in the group did! So, Sentimental Me, I took them home. I couldn't bear for them to be tossed out or thrown away.

 

My collection of 28 signature blocks, signed by women from the recent past I do not even know, LOL - 

The embroidered signatures are just lovely.

Along with the blocks was a newspaper from 1984, which is around the time I assume the blocks were made, so no, they are not that old. An article in the Arts section contains photos of some of the women who made the blocks. Quilt blocks from 1984 certainly do not qualify as antiques, but many of them are so nice and do have an older look.

My Yahoo group is working on signature blocks for 2 different  signature block swaps right now. I've had a very busy summer and have been preoccupied with family and home stuff and so still have to sew quite a few of the 120 blocks I committed to making. Slowly but surely . . . .

 

I will not be embroidering my name on any of the blocks I'm working on now (Whew! Can you imagine??), just using a Pigma pen to sign them. The geese are finished . . . now I just have to sign the centers and put the blocks together. And then finish the other 60 odd snowball blocks for the other swap . . . They go pretty fast if I can only get enough time to work on them at one sitting without interruption - Hah! Not as easy as that sounds in my house.

 

The finished blocks will look like these. This quilt is very special to me - it's the Friendship Quilt from my last book The Civil War Sewing Circle, signed with names of some of my friends in my Yahoo group from all over the world (the pattern is in the book). 

I've blogged about my fascination with signature quilts from the past before so these old blocks were right up my alley and I was glad to receive them. Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with them. You know how good I am about finishing unfinished projects . . . . especially ones that are not even mine. Sharon, Rosalie, Betty, Pat or Shirley - if you are still alive and reading this and want your blocks back and promise to make them into a quilt, they are all yours!

 

 

See more about the history of friendship quilts and signature blocks here

 

P.S.:  Notice anything especially cute in this photo below? Yes, I had my own Sentimental Quilter mug made up and I am working on making them available for purchase very soon.  If I can figure out shipping and handling that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (or more than the mug) you may soon be able to have one for your very own too.

 

 

 

Playing Around

After a couple of busy weeks I am finally getting back to working on some signature blocks I started for an exchange in my Yahoo group Small Quilt Talk. There are 2 swaps/exchanges going on simultaneously and I signed up for BOTH. So, yes, I am making 60 blocks for each swap = 120 signature blocks total. I know I am nuts. I can't imagine what I was thinking. All I can say is it sounded like a good idea at the time. When we were planning this I reminded people that if they organized themselves and paid attention it would be easy. Hah. Not that I am struggling, mind you, or stressing yet, but seriously -  120 blocks??!!  I have only 45 blocks finished so while I'm on my way to meeting the deadline in September that still means I have to get cracking.

 

 

 

I had pieces cut for a few blocks and so sat down and made a few last week. I was really getting into the swing of things but then had to stop on the weekend to clean and cook for a fondue birthday party we gave for my son's girlfriend.

 

Remember fondue? Does anyone still do this? I know at  my age I don't need to eat that much cheese so we also cooked beef and shrimp and vegs in hot oil. Oh sure, that's so much better than cheese, who am I kidding? LOL. But my kids always loved it when they were young and so it was fun to get the family together and bring out the old fondue pots again.  I never actually get too full from fondue. It always takes forever, eating one morsel at a time, and so the best part was just being with family and socializing a bit. 

 

 

On Sunday, I made sure I had  a little time to make some progress on my signature blocks. I even bought a pretty new project box so I can keep all the pieces together and close it up without losing anything if I need to work on something else.

 

 

The tool everyone in the group has been using for making Flying Geese units -

 

 

I have to admit I've never been a "tool" freak or buyer of every gadget  that comes out. This Quilt in a Day Flying Geese ruler sure came in handy though. I love using it so I also bought a few more in different sizes.

 

 

 

 

September will be here before you know it.  Why is it something always comes up to take me away from my sewing routine?  I hope to get some more finished today. But right after I finish writing this and then play with the dog. Since she lost her companion she's been awfully lonely and clingy and follows me around everywhere. I'm her companion now and she doesn't understand why I can't spend every waking minute playing. When I sew, she's always at my side and just sits there and stares at me until I get up to go outside with her.

 

 

It's lonely being an only . . . .

 

C'mon, Mom, throw the ball. You know you want to.

 

 

Playing with my dog. Much more important than sewing some days . . .