Good morning...time to start another quilt!

Hello campers! I am finally back to blogging again. Life got really busy there from last fall to almost spring this cloudy March morning, although it is supposed to snow 6 inches tonight so to say it is almost spring might be stretching it. But it is spring in my pointy little head so there you have it... the calendar and weather will just have to catch up!

I want to take a few minutes to get you all caught up on my life since I was last posting semi-regularly. I finished the quilt for Laura and Rob in November and they received it on Thanksgiving day. I think they like it. Rob looked a bit stunned, I must confess. Maybe it was the sheer size of it. We were in Chicagoland for that holiday and stayed home for Christmas. We had our annual holiday fling on Boxing Day, December 26th and it was very successful. Jamie and Jeff and the little stranger to be born in the next few weeks here arrived on Christmas Eve. Becky and Todd arrived on the 26th. We had a wonderful time together. One really neat treat was that Jamie has started sewing on a sewing machine (she and Becky have always handsewn, mostly cross-stitching) and we made some baby blankies together!



Here are my girls taking care of each other!



January was cold and snowy but we managed a trip to Chicagoland again for a baby shower for Jamie and I was so pleased to see both my girls and lots of friends and family. February was February... I say no more....George skiied alot and I planned the next quilt which will be Jamie and Jeff's wedding quilt, called "Road to California." I will post a picture of the plan tonight. Jeff wants me to blog it like I did Laura and Rob's but Jamie wants to be surprised. I'll let them work it out.

In the meantime, Becky and I have been very busy working on the baby quilt. More on that later!

Have a great Thursday. I'm back........!!!

Where have I been????

I haven't posted for the longest time but tonight my cousin, Vicky Sierra called me and we talked about quilts. I mentioned I had this blog and it then occurred to me that I had not posted Laura and Rob's finished quilt so here it is!

It's hell having a disagreement with your quilt

After three weeks of sullen silence and uncooperative piecing, the quilt and I have struck a compromise. You see, I wanted this multicolored strip border and the quilt kept insisting on a very complicated 48 piece log cabin star. I just knew I didn't have the energy for the stars, especially since I hope to finish this by Thanksgiving so I can give it to the Bride and Groom then (thanks, guys, for being so patient!). So after placing one multicolored strip border on (and it just didn't sing guys),I finally gave in and made one of the intricate stars. My friend, Phyllis stopped over and mulled over the dilemna with me and then my loving spouse came home and once he had dinner started, threw the star into the space where the border and body meet and voila! Magic!

So here is a picture of that result. I only have to make three more stars and can still use the strip borders. I am a happy (quilting) camper tonight. Time for bed!

There's a hole in the quilt!

Good morning Campers!

Here I am back on line after a summer of NO QUILTING and lots of exciting news to report. First off, I am happy to tell you all that George and I will be grandparents for the first time in Spring 2011. Daughter Jamie and her husband Jeff are expecting. We are over the moon! And just when you thought life couldn't get any better, Daughter Becky and her sweetheart Todd got engaged this past weekend. Our blessing overflow! We are twice over the moon now. Can life get any better, I ask you?

As you know from my previous posts, we are having an art quilt exhibition at the Museum and since I have the opportunity to talk to lots of quilters/shoppers who visit the exhibition and then the Museum Shop, I printed out Laura and Rob's quilt so that I may share what I am working on. Well, the other day, I was looking at the print out of the quilt and noticed that one square is in upside down. So last night, after my hour swim at the YMCA pool, I sat on the porch and ripped out the square and turned it around. As I was giving that area a nice press when finished, lo and behold - I found another square in backwards! So glad I caught these two oop's before I went any further.

After making the necessary repairs, I started cutting out the fabric for the borders (or corners, however you want to look at it). Once again, I was so grateful for the gift of the rotary cutter and other necessary equipment from Pam Allmendinger, my friend and sister (I would say sister wife as she is married to my first husband, Mark, but that sounds too much like BIG LOVE). The cutting went so smoothly and quick! Now I am ready to start stitching! Ironically Mark called me as I was cutting fabric (and listening to the President on the radio, announcing the end of the Iraq war - God, please make it true!) He wanted to know if I had any clue as to when Becky's wedding would be! I think he will need to go to the source there! We had a nice conversation and I was able to ask him to thank Pam again for the rotary cutter stuff.

More later. Have a super first of September day!

Sitting on the porch last night I realized, hiatus is over!

It was a beautiful evening last night and my sweetie made us a delicious summertime meal, steak and corn on the cob which we ate on the front porch. After dinner, not wanting to leave the beautiful breeze (it had been a 90+ degree day), we decided to take it easy and enjoy porch sitting a little bit longer. We worked on a couple crossword puzzles together while I starting sketching quilt designs for the rest of Laura and Rob's quilt. By 10:00 PM, the borders were decided and planned, the crosswords were done and it was quite dark!

I am happy to report today that besides being very relaxed from such a great evening and a good night's sleep, I am also officially off of "quilt hiatus." Quite honestly, I was never really totally idle. I know I am working on the next step of the plan in my pointy little head even when I do not look like I am working (or thinking) about it at all. I think this part of quilting has always confused my very rational husband! But then again, maybe not. He is a philosopher by trade so he spends a great deal of time just thinking about things as well.

I have accomplished the re-organizing of the quilt studio and come up with a plan for this quilt so this weekend, I begin sewing again! There is no way I will have this quilt done by fair time (next month) which was my original goal but I should wrap it up this fall rather quickly.

People always ask me, when I show them a quilt picture, "How long did it take to make that?" So much of the time is spent pondering or waiting for the quilt to tell you where it wants to go, that it is a very difficult question to answer accurately. I guess the answer is it takes as long as it needs to....

More Art Quilts to view!

Here are some more art quilts from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum!

Rooted in Tradition: Art Quilts from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum

Those of you who know me or know something about me, know that I am the Museum Shop Manager at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.



As Manager, my job is to purchase products for sale that relate to the Museum's collection and to the traveling shows featured in our transitional galleries. I have been very busy this spring and summer getting ready for the exhibition which starts Saturday night, July 24, 2010 called "Rooted in Tradition: Art Quilts from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum." As a quilter, you can image how fun this was for me. Tomorrow I will bring my camera in and take pictures of the great merchandise available. Until then, please enjoy some pictures of the art quilts you can see here at the Westmoreland from July 24 - September 19, 2010. Enjoy!