Connecting with My Inner Fish

My son was home for Spring break from college last week and so we took a trip to the Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago with his girlfriend and my daughter. I originally suggested the Natural History museum since I'm not a fish person but I was outvoted. It was fun to spend time with them and see them enjoy themselves, however. Also, Chicago is a great city and I love being able to drive down there and visit for a day.

The Shedd Aquarium itself sits on Chicago's lakefront and the Oceanarium (housing beluga whales, Pacific dolphins, sea otters and sea lions) allows a great view of Lake Michigan.

Fish (some) are beautiful and all but I much prefer a pet that fetches . . .

Waiting for the show to begin . . .

Beluga whales

My, they swim fast!

Feeding time for the stingrays

As I mentioned before, I am not really a fish person. When my son, the budding scientist, was in second grade his teacher obtained tadpoles for the children to observe and study for the Science unit on amphibians. By the end of the school year, only 2 of the frogs had survived. So "Swimmy" came home to live with us that year (1996?) and my son kept him in his room in a fish tank (he's an aquatic frog). My son is 22 now and I can't believe that that darn frog is STILL alive.

When my son went away to college, he handed the frog "torch" to my daughter and so now she feeds and takes care of Swimmy. My son says he is NOT taking that frog with him after he graduates and gets an apartment of his own. My daughter will be going to college in the Fall. Can you see where this is going? None of us has the heart to take Swimmy to a "Frog Farm" or throw him into a pond to fend for himself in the wild so I think my husband will have to inherit the torch because, I'm telling you now, I'M not taking care of it when she leaves. My husband recently came up with a brilliant suggestion  -  a frog giveaway!! On the blog!! Swimmy is really cute and has a great personality when he's not trying to eat your fingers. Anyone?? Free to a good home but you'll have to come pick him up . . . .

Swimmy

Giveaway Winner

I have to say, all of you played along with me on this one rather nicely, LOL. I'm sure there were some who thought I was absolutely nuts, though. I really needed a silly distraction and a little fun and I hope you all had some fun too. Can you believe it? Dress #1 came in first, followed closely by The RED Dress. In case you didn't read the comments, here are some of my favorites:

• Go for the red number...hot, hot, hot!! --QuiltinMama
• Absolutely #7. This is no time to be shy. Go for it! Hubby will love it! --Grandma Rita
• #7 It's a good thing to shake a husband up once in a while ;) --Melody
• Red one - it has the most fabric in the dress, therefore, you will have more to cut up and put in lots of special quilts after you wear it to the awards!!!! --Kristy in Ohio (She thinks just like a quilter, doesn't she?)
• I think #1 is the winner- Go for elegant - you could make a shawl of hexagons from your scraps. -- Peg from NJ (Good idea! I sure have a lot of hexagons already made and I do need to do something with them . . .)
• Oh dahling, you must wear number 2 -- all your lovely scraps would go so well over it. Rip off the ruffle and add prairie points.—Bonnie (Yes! I can visualize it!)
• And number 4 is also ok but more for skinny people – Heleen (Thanks a bunch, Heleen.)

• Love the color blue too, but I think the neckline might hit your waistline. --Karen  (I know exactly what you're saying here . . . .)
• OMG......# 4 YES #4, and if that dress could make my thighs look that good, well....I'm just saying I'd wear the damn thing night and day, to the grocery store too!! –Wendy (I'm right there with you, Wendy. I don't see any pockets, where would I keep my coupons??)

• Love love #2 in the blue! What I love best about it is the ruffled neckline which I think will draw the eye away from anywhere you would not like to be focused. Does that make sense? --Louise  (What are you trying to say, Louise? That my hips are too big, LOL?)

You guys crack me up and I wish we were all  in one big quilt guild together - think of the fun we'd have!

*  *  *

So, last night, before he went to bed, My Random Number Generator picked -  Diane H  of Ontario, Canada, as the winner of the 3 fat quarters of Alice's Washday Blues! Congratulations, Diane! Send me your address. Make a cute little quilt, okay?

It's still not too late to vote - go to http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/p/golden-quilter-awards.html  and choose your favorites.

The Golden Quilter Awards

The word is out and the nominations are in. The rumors are true. I must be totally clueless, because I have to admit I'd never heard of this before so I was taken unawares when Gerda told me I was nominated  for a Golden Quilter award in the Best Author category. Wow, you can imagine my surprise. (It was 3 a.m. and the phone rang. "Whaaat??  You're kidding me . . . " For once I was speechless.)

Seriously, friends, thanks to whoever cast those votes to nominate me. (Bonnie, are you absolutely sure you didn't vote twice??) If you are itching for some great giveaways, check out The Golden Quilter awards on SewCalGal's blog for those who cast votes.

http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/p/golden-quilter-awards.html

Anyone can vote for their favorite nominee in any or all of the Quilting categories. Post a comment on SewCalGal's blog and you'll have a chance to win some fabulous prizes. Voting ends on March 31. If I win, there'll be a few nice giveaways here too. I promise.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get started on my acceptance speech. All the nominees have to be prepared cuz you never know . . .  "You like me, you really LIKE me . . ." Oh wait, that's been done before . . . Maybe I'd better go talk to Susan Lucci and see how she did it . . . Oh, and I have to find a dress . . . Black, I think, it's slimming . . . and perfect  for my Long Shot status. Does my husband need to rent a tux or will anyone even be looking at him on the Red Carpet??? What WILL I do with my HAIR??

What oh what should I wear?? Here's the deal - pick the gown you think is best suited to me to wear to the [imaginary] Awards Ceremony (be kind) and I will throw your comments into a pool to win a few fat quarters of the new Alice's Wash Day Blues fabric designed by Carrie Quinn for Blue Hill.

Quilters, here are your [imaginary] choices. (Work with me . . .)

# 1 - Simple and elegant, not too flashy. And I know I can fill out the top much better than she does.

#2 - I love blue, but is this one a little crazy or what??

Too Smurfy?? I don't know, I kinda like it. The ruffle on the bottom, not so much . . .

#3  - Also very simple but I might  have to lose a few. This one only comes in Junior Miss. But then my daughter can wear it to Prom afterwards.

# 4 - Nice. I love  Ralph Lauren, but would I be able to wear my Granny underwear with this??

#5 - This one would make my butt look waaay too big . . .

#6 - Totally classic and dramatic. Perfect if I happen to lose.

#7 - My husband wouldn't know what hit him and would probably have a heart attack if I wore this . . . . Do I take that chance? Or is it too dangerous?

So, choose your dress, post a comment and you'll have a chance to win some really cool fabric. Dress comments will close at 10 p.m. CST Tuesday, March 22.

Also, don't forget, go to http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/p/golden-quilter-awards.html before March 31 to cast your vote for me or your other favorites. Take your time and vote wisely. Voice your Choice. Tell your friends. I need all the help I can get.

Charm Quilts

When we think of charm quilts we think of quilts that are made without two pieces cut from the same fabric. Sometimes they contain hundreds or thousands of pieces that are all different. Actually, however, many quilts we casually call charm quilts today do have pieces that are used more than once and the name often includes quilts that simply are made with many different fabrics, whether it's accurate or not.

You know I love scrappy little quilts and a charm quilt is on my list of quilts to make someday. Lord knows I have enough charms . . . .

Charm squares, not yet turned into a charm quilt, LOL.

This one should have been a charm quilt but I used a few pieces more than once. I decided to call it a "Charming" quilt instead . . . .

Sometimes, quilters from the past would include 2 pieces of the same fabric in their charm quilt to make it more interesting while also making a game for others to search for the duplicate patch. Here's one that claims to have only 2 patches alike in the whole quilt.

I recently found a perfect book for those of you who want to use up some of your scraps. Tara Lynn Darr's new book, Simply Charming, is just great for lovers of small scrap quilts and includes patterns for 20 little quilts! Any one of them would be perfect for making a small charm quilt.

I had fun looking through the book - so many of the fabrics Tara used in her quilts are ones I have in my scrap collection too.

I know I have enough scraps to make several of these quilts without repeating a single fabric. Do you too??



Show & Tell

Aside from meeting so many wonderful quilters, one of my favorite things about traveling around and visiting guilds is staying for the Show & Tell part of the meeting where members present quilts they've made. They always seem to enjoy seeing my quilts and I love seeing theirs too.

Here are some quilts made by members of the Prairie Patch Quilt Guild in Mundelein, IL, taken when I visited earlier this week. 

These are VERY small. Gotta love those tiny scrappy stars . . . .

See what you can do with charm squares? Whip up a simple table topper in no time at all.

 

The tiniest one yet!

A Vintage Collection

When I was at the retreat last weekend, Jill brought in her collection of antique sewing kits from the 19th century to show me. Oh my goodness! We all fell in love with them! See this gorgeous collection for yourself:

Made of leather with a green silk lining. Exquisite. A beautiful assortment of threads.

Since all of an Early American household's cloth items had to be sewn by hand,  hand sewing was an important skill for most females in the 1800s and earlier, and these skills were of necessity passed down from mother to daughter at a very early age. Thus, young girls (some as young as twelve)  were often very accomplished. In addition to sewing and mending garments for the family,  we can see many of their skills evidenced in needlepoint samplers of the time period and other fancy work such as embroidery.

The needle holder on this one is embellished with a tiny tiny blanket stitch and embroidered flowers. So sweet.

Sewing kits were often very personal items and women took care with their contents. Needles, pins and scissors had to be carefully wrapped to protect against rust. Sometimes women ran their needles through the natural oils in their hair to protect them and make them easier to pass through fabric. (We wash our hair much more often than women did in earlier days so I don't think that would work today!)

This small case is called a Lady's Companion and the other is also lined in silk. Some of the kits contained bone crochet hooks and stilettos and even a tiny pocket knife.

This case came with a note saying "Made by Miss Abby Buckingham and given to me by my mother - 1839." Made of purple velvet and silk with a patent leather outer case.

See the tiny hiding place for the thimble?

A page from an old newspaper folded up into a small packet is unfolded to display some pretty antique glass head pins.

This sewing roll-up contained needles organized by size. Numbers are embroidered in the different sections so every needle has a place. What an organized sewer!

Author and collector Nina Little, in her book Neat and Tidy: Boxes and Their Contents Used in Early American Households, notes: “When one considers the large amount of needlework, both plain and fancy, that was accomplished by young ladies and their mothers during the 18th and 19th centuries, it is understandable that personal sewing boxes should be among the truly cherished possessions of most American families.” 

It would be fun to collect some of these antique sewing kits, wouldn't it?  For now, I'll just have to content myself with making sewing kits of my own to cherish. Those of us with daughters hope that  someday they'll be among someone else's  treasured possessions. 

A Pieceful Retreat

This past weekend was the retreat I attended in Woodstock, IL sponsored by Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop. I was sure many of you would be curious about it so I snapped a few pictures. Everyone had a great, relaxing time and I was happy to participate and meet some new faces and renew a couple of friendships with those quilters I already knew.

The retreat venue itself, run by Loyola University of Chicago, was very nice. Not at all monastic, LOL. It was still quite cold yesterday, however, and I wish the weather had been a little warmer so we could have taken advantage of the lovely grounds. I brought my walking shoes and everything but the wind was bitter. Still pretty and tranquil despite the small traces of snow and ice on the ground. It's definitely not Spring yet . . .

Large and spacious general meeting areas

Plenty of good food. Very important as you work up quite an appetite with those foot pedals, LOL.

Quilters often pack up and bring everything but the kitchen sink, LOL! I was happy to see soooo many little purple Rowenta travel irons -  my own personal favorite. Not only for classes but perfect for using at home too when you're pressing those small blocks. It really heats up well.

I taught the Union Stars quilt from my new book, The Civil War Sewing Circle.

I love to see how others make the blocks and what kinds of fabric they choose.

I suggested patriotic prints for the center of the star blocks. Someone chose to make hers with Nancy Gere's Presidents fabric for the centers.Very cool, I thought.

This is all I know - Windham, by Nancy Gere - don't ask me where to buy it.

It was also fun to see what a few others brought to work on for the weekend.

A happy group of quilters!

Check back TOMORROW - I'll show you a  lovely little collection of antique sewing kits someone brought to the retreat to show me.

ALSO coming this week - A peek at a charming new book I just bought that I'm sure you'll all love.