Virtually visiting Atlanta

I'm guest posting over at Whipstitch today!  Deborah asked for stories from people who have antique quilts, and I'm sharing a quilt by my great-aunt Tildy.  Go have a look!

And since the photos in Deborah's blog are not live, you can click on the photo above to go to my Flickr photostream to see other blocks from this quilt.

Back in the saddle again

Huzzah! I sent my report off for the first round of feedback, which meant I got to do some sewing on the weekend!  I am happy report that I have completed half the curved pieces for my ogee quilt.  I like to sew all the curved pieces first, and then do all the straight seams.  I keep the pieces for each row segregated in sandwich bags so that I can keep everything straight.  This must be a relic from my childhood when I would eat all my peas first, then all my potatoes, before I would eat the chicken.



But I also made this little zipper pouch out of one of the practice blocks I made when I was warming up for the orgy of curved seams required for this quilt.  Ain't it cute?  The clothespin shows the scale.  I like to use the linen for these pouches, especially the larger ones, because it provides a bit more support.

Must run and charge my camera.  Tonight is my daughter's high school formal - lots of photos to be taken! Here's one I managed to get this morning, while checking the settings:

Laissez les bon temps rouler

a dog's life, originally uploaded by Shadrach Meshach & Abednego.

Some of us around here are kicking back and taking it easy. But not me! The roles are definitely reversed in this joint - as I mentioned in my last post, I am working like a dog while she is lounging around in the lap of luxury. But I did want to post to say that I am still alive, although still on a strict no-sew diet until I get my report written. With the blessing, however,I will send this [expletive deleted] report out for feedback to my committee tonight - and if I do, it means a whole weekend in front of my machine - I don't care how beautiful the weather is. Please send me good vibes and wish me luck!

My 15 minutes of fame

What a great piece of quilty news I got last night!  Remember the Naked Bed Challenge run by Sarah Fielke?  Her judges picked my quilt top as the overall winner! I'm flabbergasted, and so so so honoured!  The quilts that were entered were all stunning - and some were original designs, as well.    I win a copy of Sarah's book Quilting: From Little Things.  You can go here to see the other prizewinners  and go here to see all the entries in the Flickr group.

Here's another look at my entry.  I'll sleep GREAT under this quilt!

Bow wow - That's me, working like a dog

Thanks to my husband for being such a good yard man.  These are some lupins and poppies in our front yard.  When I took this picture it reminded me so much of a fabric stack I had seen somewhere.  I finally hit on it - these are 1001 Peeps by Lizzy House.  Good match, eh?

This photo from Lizzy House's photostream on Flickr

Isn't this stuff just gorgeous?  I am treating myself to a load of this fabric after I finish this report I am working on.  Hence the title of this post - I am slaving away on that report, and as a result I am on a no-sew diet until I get it finished.  My late mother-in-law's passing and all the activity associated with that really put all my regular life out of whack.  That includes both my university-related work and my quiltalong.  I'm feeling like everybody is enjoying a bit of a slower pace, so perhaps that part is okay.  This report, on the other hand, is definitely not okay.

Also, I wanted to share with you all something I read recently in The Globe and Mail.  A woman wrote an essay about how she made a quilt out of old t-shirts, so that she could preserve the memories they carried, in the same way memories were captured by the fabrics in quilts made by her mother.  And the end of the essay, she speaks sadly about her impression that quilting is a craft that is dying out.  "Unless I am mistaken," she writes, "there are no young quilters."  I can hear you laughing from here.  Go read her essay - although she is definitely mistaken about the presence of young women in our vibrant quilting world, her piece about the emotional resonance of quilts is very touching and right on the button.