Beth Donaldson: Quilt Doctor

New Project

2012-01-30T21:39:00.000-05:00

I'm starting a new project. It's a variation of Wild Goose Chase from Hearth and Home and Ruby Short McKim's 101 Patchwork Patterns, 1931 and Tangled Cobwebs from Home Art in 1933. My version is a bit different from each and adds some extra stars in the sashing. I'm going to call it Hazel Ridge Path because it's a trade with Nick the Illustrator who lives on Hazel Ridge Farm. He used some of my quilts in his book F is for Friendship a Quilters Alphabet and even painted me for the book. He gave me the painting of me at my grandmother's treadle and I promised him a quilt.

This is the start of Hazel Ridge Path quilt. The block in the lower right was my first attempt,
but I thought the triangle units were too small compared to the triangle units in the sashing.
It took me a few tries, but I finally got the math right. The blocks should start going much faster now.


This is the painting I'm trading for the quilt.

Till next time......Happy Quilting

Bed Turning in Birmingham, Michigan - Update

2012-01-23T10:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the Quilter's Tea at the Birmingham Museum. WOW, what a day! The tea was fabulous, complete with crust-less egg salad and cucumber sandwiches, fresh fruit, brie, crackers and yummy, yummy scones and sweets. I did "The Briefest History of the American Quilt" and then out came the quilts. We saw quilts from the Museum's collection and show and tell from the participants. I bet we saw over 30 quilts including a pristine 1850s Quaker album quilt from the Washington DC area; a fabulous 1840s framed medallion broderie perse baby quilt top; an 1890s silk hexagon with petal border, where each pedal was individually bound in a coordinating fabric; and much, much more. I was too busy to take photos, but I'm happy to say Tim Latimer from Tim Latimer-Quilts, etc. blog took lots. Check out his blog here: http://timquilts.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/museum-quilts/ . I've been following Tim's blog for a few months now. He buys quilt bits and tops on eBay and finished them with fabulous hand quilting, appropriate to the piece. I also got to me Lisa at Stray Threads blog http://quilltr.blogspot.com/2012/01/winners.html.

Thank yous are in order:
Leslie Pielack, Executive Director of the Birmingham Historical Museum who pulled this fabulous day together
The volunteers at the museum for helping make it happen and for the door prize, a reproduction quilt!
Everyone who came to support the museum and the quilts
And to Tim for documenting the day.

And now for a quilt.....

I brought this Civil War era Nine Patch to the Birmingham
Historical Museum for show and tell.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting

Grand Hotel Retreat

2012-01-08T11:04:00.001-05:00

Time to start making plans for 2012 quilting events. If you've never been to a quilt retreat, this could be your year. My recommendation is the Needlework Seminar on Mackinac Island, Michigan.

My quilting friend Jackie Compton is the host and she's arranged a really great chance to stay in the Grand Hotel for a great price. The dates for the retreat, Friday, May 4 - Wednesday, May 9, are before the season gets busy, so the hotel is giving the quilters a great deal.

For those unfamiliar with Mackinac Island it's an island in Lake Huron that doesn't allow cars. All transportation is by horse, carriage and bicycle. But don't worry, you will be greeted at the ferry dock by the staff of the Grand Hotel who will gladly transport you and all your quilting gear to the hotel (no tipping allowed). The Grand Hotel's claim to fame is the world's longest porch and it was the location where the Jane Seymour-Christopher Reeves movie, Somewhere in Time was filmed. The movie even has its own official website, here. To see more about the Grand Hotel, click here.

Classes will be offered by David Taylor, Sue Spargo and Kim Diehl. Price includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, receptions and trunk shows, too. Click here for the registration brochure with full details.

Tell Jackie I sent you......

Till next time.......Happy Quilting

Bed Turning in Birmingham, Michigan

2012-01-03T16:14:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, January 22 there is going to be a Bed Turning at the Birmingham Historical Museum in Birmingham, Michigan. It's not often that museums bring their quilts out, so it's always good to take advantage of the opportunity when it's offered. This is a fund raiser for the museum's quilt collection. The price is $50. There will be tea and treats and everyone who attends will be in the raffle for a reproduction quilt. The quilt will be raffled off only to people who attend the tea, so the odds for winning are huge. I'll be there to talk and turn the quilts. If you come, please bring an antique quilt (or two) for show and tell. There are still a few seats left, so please join us to view the quilts. In these trying economic times it's really important to support those who are looking after our quilting heritage.Call 248-530-1928 for tickets or go to their website at: http://www.ci.birmingham.mi.us/index.aspx?page=1015

And the winner is.....

2011-12-18T13:30:00.001-05:00

<p>&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;The numbers generated by this widget come from RANDOM.ORG's true random number generator.&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;</p>

Remember when award shows announced "and the winner is...."? Now they say, "the Oscar goes to...."
So to be old fashioned, the winner is.....#65, Pat from A Little of This and a Little of Pat. You can find her blog by clicking here. Pat has pictures of two quilts she made for Christmas gifts and the recipients happy faces. Way to go Pat. I'll contact you today to make shipping arrangements.

And a big thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog and left a comment. It's been really fun. And a welcome to all the new followers, too.

Back to holiday cleaning!
Till next time......happy quilting and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and A Happy New Year, too.

Blog Hop Party 2011

2011-12-09T10:25:00.002-05:00

It's time for a Blog Hop Party! Over 250 bloggers from all over the world are participating. Each blogger is promising a give-away to someone who comments on their post. I'm giving away a collection of quilt books from the Michigan State University Museum. They include:

Quilts from the Albert and Merry

Silber Collection

Michigan Quilts: 150 Years of a
Textile Tradition

Great Lakes, Great Quilts

Mary Schafer and Her Quilts

Michigan Quilts postcards

It officially starts tomorrow, December 10 and runs through December 17 (but if you comment today, I'll still include you). On December 18, one of the comments will be randomly selected to receive the books and postcards (sorry, no international shipping). Make sure and click on the logo to find the other blogs and their give-aways.

And now for a quilt...


I made this quilt for my new grand-nephew Charlie. It includes the Cat in the Hat, the Grinch, giraffes, elephants, birds, and lots of other animals. It's a snowball and nine patch. It was fun to make and only took me a week!

Lone Star Finished!

2011-11-23T09:47:00.001-05:00

In June I posted a photo of a quilt top and now I've got it finished.

I also posted the version I drew in EQ7.

You can see the original post here if you want to see the Lone Star this was based on.
I like looking at them together.
So another UFO done!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'll be spending the day at the in-laws, then spending the weekend re-arranging closets and starting a new quilt.

Till next time......Happy Stitching.

Fall 2011 Blogger's Quilt Festival

2011-10-28T10:34:00.002-04:00

For this Blogger's Quilt Festival I'm sharing a summer spread I purchased from a quilt dealer at my local quilt show. It was $50. The giant basket is full of hexagon flowers. A very fun quilt and in fairly good condition too!

Go the festival page, enter your post and win some prizes too. Thanks Amy.

Kit Lang commented that the quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival needed to be made by the poster. Hmmmm, I guess I didn't see that in the instructions. So just to be on the safe side, here's a quilt I made. As for the story, it was made from scraps of a reproduction of a lone star in the collection of the Michigan State University Museum. You can see the original here and the reproduction here. This is also a sneak peak of a quilt I'm almost finished quilting. It too is a lone star made from scraps from the reproduction. I used EQ7 to test border colors and blogged about it on June 21, 2010. When it's done and photographed I'll post it with it's EQ7 version.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting

"Stitched" Chosen for East Lansing Film Festival

2011-10-19T10:15:00.005-04:00

Stitched the film. Behind Every Stitch There is a Story!

stitched - Stitched Videos

For all my quilting friends in the greater Lansing area, let's go out and support this film at the East Lansing Film Festival. The film will be shown on Saturday, November 12 at 3:30pm in Wells Hall (on MSU Campus) and at 6:30pm on Tuesday, November 15 at Celebration! Cinema. The Film Festival has not updated it's website yet, but last year the price was $8.50 for Celebration! Cinema showings.Check their website, http://elff.com/ for updates.

The MSU Museum is sponsoring the film and has a limited number of tickets for sale. I'll have them at the Capitol City Quilt Guild meeting October 20.

Till next time......Happy Stitching

Check Out Our New Show Location – Grand Rapids, Michigan

2011-10-12T09:32:00.003-04:00

The American Quilters Society is coming to Michigan. Here's a link to all the info. I'm going are you?

Check Out Our New Show Location – Grand Rapids, Michigan

My quilt "No But It's My Dog" was juried into the AQS show in Nashville in 2003.

And here's the dog in question, Mickey.

AQS Quilters Flash Mob Video

2011-10-05T10:49:00.001-04:00

Now this a flash mob I could join.

AQS Quilters Flash Mob Video

New Sewing Toys

2011-09-25T16:24:00.000-04:00

Last week I went to visit my sister in Oscoda. We did our own little fabric shop hop. I got lots of fat quarters and a few new toys too.

First is a new light for my sewing machine. I sew in my basement (or as I like to call it, the garden level) and it's hard to brighten all the shadows. I found this light at Delphine's quilt shop in Gaylord.


The light is battery operated and is on the end of a twisty coil (I'm sure the twisty coil has a real name, but I can't think of it). You can see the blue spot it creates on my throat plate.

From the back you can see how the coil wraps around the machine and what the light looks like. You can point it anywhere you want. The best thing is it cost $16. Most other lights like this cost $50 and are plug in.

The next toy I found was at the Holly Hock Quilt Shop in Harrisville. It's a mini ironing board that clamps onto a shelf or table. I've clamped it on to my sewing cabinet.


My sister told me a 92 year old man in the area makes them. Boy, does he do a great job. It's easy to install and very sturdy and stable. I bought a hobby iron many years ago and never used it. Now it works great next to my machine. The iron gets very hot and does not have steam. It's great for small pieces and blocks. My current steam iron tends to chew up fabric in its steam holes. The best part, when I installed the ironing board and thought of my hobby iron, I actually remembered where I had put the iron years ago!

Here's a close-up of the ironing board.

I just love all the tools of sewing. I have tons of rules, scissors (all sizes), thread nippers, rotary cutters, and sewing baskets. The more the better.

Till next time......Happy Quilting!

Happening Right Now - Amish Quilts

2011-09-15T10:47:00.001-04:00

The Flint Institute of Arts has Amish quilts on display through November 13, 2011. The quilts are from the private collection of Marsha and Tom French. The exhibit includes quilts from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. Click here for more information. See this link for a Detroit News review.

This is one I've got to make sure and see.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting.

Announcing some new blogs

2011-09-01T09:09:00.002-04:00

I want to announce three new blogs. Two I contribute to and one is from the always wonderful Barbara Brackman.

Barbara has decided to blog once a month about the War of 1812, since next year will be the 200 year anniversary of the event and many quilters are asking her advice while making commemorative quilts of the era. Barbara has named her new blog Quilt 1812: War and Piecing. Since one of my favorite books is War and Peace (about Napoleon's war with Russia from 1805-1815)I love the name of this blog. You can find it in my blog roll. She promised her first post today.

The other two blogs are part of a research project on quilts and health. For those of you who don't subscribe to the Quilt History List, her is the post researcher (and my boss) Marsha MacDowell wrote about it:

A multi-disciplinary cluster of individuals representing the Great Lakes Quilt Center (Michigan State University Museum), the MSU College of Human Medicine, and other university partners have begun to examine the intersection of quilts and quiltmaking and health. Although we have done literature searches, we have uncovered precious few academic or general articles related to quilts and health. We would greatly appreciate input from list members about any published -- or unpublished - research related to this topic. We are aware of the recent article by Jacqueline Atkinson in The Quilter (issue 127, summer 2011) and a few that relate to the NAMES Project quilt. Given the thousands and thousands of quilts that have been made, historically and currently, that are tied to individual well-being, health, patient advocacy, fundraising, education, and memorializing or honoring loved ones, we thought there would be a stronger body of scientific literature from humanistic, social science, educational, and medical perspectives BUT we are not finding much. We welcome any assistance in identifying related research.

I'd like to invite everyone to subscribe to the blogs. The above description is a bit academic, but I know there are 10,000s of quilters across the world who make quilts to donate to children's hospitals, raffle or commemorate a loved one. We'd love to hear your stories and welcome your participation.

The blogs are Quilts and Health and Native Healing Quilts. You can also find the blogs in my blog roll.

And now for a picture of a quilt, just to keep the post pretty!

This is an antique from my personal collection. I purchased
it on eBay. What attracted me was the huge baskets that even
though they were very large, there was no room for the fruit!
The fruit was embroidered outside the handles.

Till next time......Happy Quilting!

Why Quilts Matter

2011-08-08T09:49:00.001-04:00

WooHoo! A nine part documentary on quiltmaking on PBS this fall. Check out their website http://www.whyquiltsmatter.org/welcome/.

Thanks to my friend Phyllis for the link.

Till next time....Happy Quilting

Merry Silber

2011-07-25T09:52:00.001-04:00

Merry called this quilt Rose in the Window. It was made c1860
and was donated to the MSU Museum in 1995.

Merry Silber passed away on July 24, 2011. She was a great friend to the MSU Museum and the Great Lakes Quilt Center. Through the encouragement of her daughter, respected quilt dealer Julie Silber, and the support of her husband Al, Merry began collecting quilts in the 1970s. Starting in the mid 1980s she began donating quilts to the MSU Museum. In all, she donated more than 35 quilts, tops, and pieces. You can see the collection at http://museum.msu.edu/glqc/collections_sample_silber.html. You can learn about her involvement with the MSU Museum at: http://museum.msu.edu/glqc/collections_special_silber.html. Her interest in quilts included judging shows, producing shows and appraising quilts. She encouraged quilt owners to document their quilts with the Michigan Quilt Project and was responsible for other quilts being donated to the MSU Museum. A few years ago, Merry was interviewed and filmed for the The Alliance for American Quilts, Quilt Treasures project. You can see her interview here: http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/treasures/main.php?id=5-16-B.

I will miss Merry, but am happy I got to know her.

Till next time....Happy Quilting

Some nifty quilty services, free online!

2011-07-19T08:45:00.000-04:00

Have you run out of a fabric and just need a bit to finish the project? Try Find My Fabric. Upload a picture and this website will search a database of thousands of prints and help you find an online source for it, or a good substitute. I haven't tried it myself yet, but it sounds really cool.

To prevent fabric shortages, try this Free Online Fabric Calculator from QuiltsShops.com. It's rather simple, but if you want a rough idea of how much to buy before you hit the quilt shop, this will be helpful.

If you're a coupon fan you might try Quilter's Daily Special. It offers online coupons for participating quilt shops. Everyday a new offer. To get a sample of what they're up to go to the Quilter's Daily Special Blog.

Till next time....Happy Quilting

Cut GlassDish

2011-07-08T15:17:00.000-04:00

I just saw a post on facebook where Mark French was asking the name of a pattern. I knew the name, since I made one for my next door neighbor's baby. He just turned 1 last month. Mark's post reminded me that I had never posted Isaak's quilt. So here it is, my version of the Cut Glass Dish.

Happy 4th of July.

2011-07-04T12:57:00.002-04:00

Last night I went to my SIL's for a yummy Hawaiian barbecue and to view the fireworks over Sylvan Lake. It was fabulous! We walked from SIL's house down to the lake and shared the experience with her whole neighborhood. The beach was packed, boaters, kayakers, pontooners were on the lake and kids were in the water. It was a pure Michigan moment. And the fireworks were spectacular. The breeze off the
lake kept the mosquitos at bay. I didn't get a single bite, and I'm a notorious mosquito magnet.

To celebrate the holiday here's a quilt I made with my friend Norine for my Charm Quilts book. The shape is the braid and I love the way it tessellates. Norine has been having serious health problems lately, so I'm posting this with a little prayer for her.

Since I've already seen fireworks this weekend I'll be spending my evening with a James Cagney double feature. Yankee Doodle Dandy and The Roaring Twenties.

It starts tonight on Turner Classic Movies at 8pm EST.

Till next time....Happy Quilting

Another UFO, the tale of many Lone Stars.

2011-06-21T10:14:00.001-04:00

In 2001 I worked on the book Great Lakes, Great Quilts for the MSU Museum and C&T Publishing. It was my job, with my colleague Mary Worrall to reproduce 12 quilts from the collection and write the patterns, too. One of the quilts I reproduced was this Native American Lone Star from the Museum's collection.

Below is the reproduction quilt that I made (with fabulous machine quilting from Kari Ruedisale).

I strip pieced the diamonds and had extra left on each strip. I used them to make this little quilt. It measures 28" x 32".

I still had more diamonds left so I put them together. Just last week I got the star out, added the setting triangles and rectangles to come up with this.

The center diamond is 36" x 36". I pinned it to my design wall to admire it and noticed I put one diamond in backwards. Now I don't believe in putting in a mistake on purpose to appease the quilt gods. I error all on my own. So I took it apart and fixed it. Another of my goals is to master my EQ7 program. I went to my computer, created the center lone star and played around with the borders. I came up with this.

This week I'm on vacation from work. I was going up North, but the weather is bad so DH decided to delay our trip one day. That gives me today to sew. I'm working on the corner blocks in the border. I'll post when the top is done.

So 10 years later, I'll get this project done. Did I mention, I'm only using fabric from my stash? Bonus.

Till next time....Happy Quilting

Old Favorites

2011-06-18T12:16:00.000-04:00

In 1995 I wrote my first book, Block By Block. My favorite quilt from the book is Ships That Pass in the Night. The boat block is traditional and the star is my variation of the Ohio Star. Add to that four patch cornerstones and you get diagonal squares running around the boats.

That quilt was made over 15 years ago, so I was delighted when Debbie Dean from North Carolina sent me this picture of a quilt she made for her grandchild just last week.

It's so fun to see this in other colors. I love the red, beautiful job Debbie, thanks for sharing.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting

Graduations

2011-06-12T21:12:00.000-04:00

Last night, Tom, Katy and I took Colleen out to dinner to celebrate her graduation with a bachelor's degree in Psychology. It's been a long haul for Colleen and we're very proud. She chose Weber's Inn in Ann Arbor for our little party. We had a wonderful time and I highly recommend it. Also yesterday, my block exchange buddy Terry had an open house for her daughter Erin's high school graduation. For this year's block exchange Terry has requested 12" quilt blocks based on her daughter's favorite musicals. Terry and Erin planned to display the blocks at her open house. I didn't finish the block until today, so it didn't make it to the display. I chose Beauty and the Beast and made the block below.

I used the logo from the Broadway version and did reverse applique for the beast and the rose and hand embroidery for the letters. I'm pleased the way it turned out. I've seen some of the other blocks for the quilt and it's going to be a stunner.

Till next time......Happy Quilting

A Quilt for Cruz

2011-06-11T09:38:00.004-04:00

My daughter's best friend from high school had her second baby. I decided to use a UFO to make her new baby boy Cruz a quilt. The pattern is The Lattice and you can get a free pattern for it by clicking here. I had fun with the machine quilting. In each of the white squares you will find, a letter from the alphabet, the letters in Cruz' name, the numbers 1-10, or an outline of an animal, fruit, or other fun thing.

Photos by Pearl Yee Wong

Till next time.....Happy Quilting.

Busy Month

2011-05-30T15:13:00.000-04:00

This has been a busy month for me. Along with working full time, I gave a lecture on the history of quiltmaking for the CAMEO Quilters Guild in Madison Heights, MI. I arrived a couple of hours earlier so I could see the show and shop the vendors mall. The quilts displayed were wonderful and I'll share a few of my favorites.

Here's a rarity, a beautifully hand appliqued and hand quilted quilt.

Unfortunately my pictures of the quilt labels weren't all clear, so I don't know who made this quilt, but I remember one of the CAMEO members telling me she designed it, too!

This elephant was made by Ruth McCormick..

I really liked this Michigan sampler, but again didn't catch the makers name.

So, thanks to the CAMEO Quilters for a great show and for the great audience for my talk. I promise next time to do better with the credits on my photos.

Michigan Quilters Win Big in Paducah.

2011-05-02T16:46:00.003-04:00

Michigan quilters take the top two awards, Best of Show and Best Wall Quilt in the American Quilters Society Show. Well done!

Janome Best of Show

Paisley Peacock
Pat Holly, Ann Arbor, MI

Moda Best Wall Award

Port of Cassis
Lenore Crawford, Midland, MI

Till next time...Happy Quilting!

And the Winner Is....

2011-04-21T09:14:00.005-04:00

The book giveaway is over.
From my blog the winner is...

Susan said...
S is for Stitching, which all quilters love to do!

From the Quilting Gallery the winner is
Kylie from Swan Hill, Australia!
W is for wedding rings. I have to make a wedding quilt but I’m not sure a wedding ring pattern is for me

The books are in the mail.

Thanks to everyone who participated. It was fun to read all your posts. I hope you'll come by and visit my blog again.

Guest blogging and Super Modeling

2011-04-11T20:44:00.006-04:00

Welcome to my blog to all the new visitors and old friends. I’m featuring a project I was lucky to be involved with. The illustrations below are from the new children’s book F is for Friendship: A Quilt Alphabet by Helen L. Wilbur, illustrated by Gijsbert (Nick) van Frankenhuyzen. Last summer when Nick was researching with local quilters, some of them suggested he call me. A huge THANK YOU to them.

The blue and white quilt is one I made for my book, Block By Block.

The quilt the kitty is perched on was for an article on pieced borders for the (now defunct) magazine Traditional Quilter. To see the book cover, another illustration (my favorite one) and read more about the project, go to this page where I’m the Guest Blogger!

To celebrate the release of the book (you can find it on Amazon or your local bookstore) and being a Guest Blogger, I’m giving away two books. To enter the give-away, leave a comment below. Starting with A is for appliqué, B is for bobbin, C is for... leave a comment that follows the next available letter after the comment above yours. When you make it to the end, start over again. One book will be chosen randomly from the comments on this page, and the other will be chosen from comments left on the Guest Blogger page. If you’re new to my blog, check out my free patterns, leave a comment here, then go to the Guest Blogger page for another chance to win.

Till next time….Happy Quilting.

Victorian Trade Cards

2011-04-04T21:31:00.024-04:00

The heyday of the advertising trade card was 1880-1900. By 1900, postal rates made mailing magazines cheap and most business people moved their ads to magazines.

When sewing machines were first on the market, they were used mostly in factories and sweat shops. Sewing machine manufacturers recognized women homemakers were a vast untapped market. Singer offered their machines on a payment plan, making them affordable. The other hurdle was to convince their customers that women could run the machine. The trade cards helped to persuade consumers (or their husbands) to purchase by putting the machines in familiar settings.

Ladies could sew together,

or with their family. This reminds me of those happy times with my girls happily playing at my feet while I sewed. LOL!

In fact sewing was so easy, even babies riding bikes could do it.

People were sewing everywhere, in the Sunny South

the Far West

in Italy

and Russian peasant households.

Even in Heaven!

And if you chose the right wedding gift

You could avoid a lot of heartache later on. The first caption reads, "I will have a 'New Home' Machine." and the second, "A 'New Home' or a divorce, Take your choice sir!"

Till next time.....Happy Quilting!

Makes Me Proud to be a Quilter

2011-03-31T09:08:00.005-04:00

His name his Shovelhead, he lives in his mom's basement and he only uses "Classy Panties."

...and on to the sublime.
Click here for Martha Stewart's excellent video on how Infinite Variety was designed and installed.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting

Quilted Kitty

2011-03-27T19:39:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow night is block exchange at Ruth D's. I'll be bringing this kitty Ruth's to give to Louise to bind off. Daisy's charm group is making this quilt to donate to the Capitol City Quilt Guild for their Silent Auction booth. Georgia hand appliqued the kitty and did a superb job. The rest of us made the little stars. Carol Sc put the top together and did an excellent job with the placement. I machine quilted it over the weekend and watched basketball.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting!

It's On!

2011-03-26T11:11:00.008-04:00

Bloggers are starting to post pictures from the Red and White Exhibit in NYC.
Here's a few links to check out the amazing photos.
yarn + needle: Infinite Variety
Quilts in the Barn
The Martha Blog Martha Stewart went to the exhibit with a camera crew and has a slide show with 37 views.
Just got this link via Karen A. that includes cool pics of the installation crew, http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/finally-mrs-rose-and-the-public-can-see-all-her-rugs/?emc=eta1
This link is from sophie junction, she posted lots and lots on the exhibit, make sure and check her out: http://sophiejunction.blogspot.com/
Another blogger reports: http://inspiredbyantiquequilts.blogspot.com/

Time to go and quilt the Charm Quilters Cat quilt for the Capitol City Quilt Guild's Silent Auction.

Till next time....Happy Quilting!

Good lesson for drafting

2011-03-23T08:59:00.003-04:00

Here's a good lesson for drafting a hexagon. Thanks Quilt Show!

Quilt Exhibit in Indiana

2011-03-22T10:30:00.002-04:00

Frugal & Fancy: Indiana Quilts
will be on display at the Indiana State Museum in downtown Indianapolis from through July 17, 2011.
It looks like a cool exhibit.

Till next time....Happy Quilting.

Red and White quilts

2011-03-15T08:28:00.003-04:00

Here's a red and white quilt from the Great Lakes Quilt Center. Click here to find out more about this quilt made by Flushing, Michigan quilt maker and 2007 inductee into the Quilter's Hall of Fame, Mary Schafer.

And if you can't make it to New York for the big show, check out this video from the Quilt Show, very cool.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting.

Red and White Quilt Show

2011-03-05T19:19:00.004-05:00

Taryn at the blog Repro Quilt Lover has a great idea. In celebration of Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts in NYC, she's organizing an online Red and White show. The idea is to post a red and white quilt from your collection (or maybe borrow a photo from a quilting friend) and post it. Then add the post to her site, Repro Quilt Lover. If you don't have a blog, you can send her a photo and she'll post it on her blog.

My addition to the show is this antique I bought at my guild about 5 years ago. The pattern is Melon Patch or Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.

The online show will end March 30 and Taryn even has prizes. So stop by her site and join the fun.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting.

The Passing of a Quilt Legend.

2011-03-05T11:11:00.004-05:00

Jean Ray Laury passed away on March 1. She was a quilting pioneer and a really great lady. The Quilter's Hall of Fame has an excellent post about her. Check it out.
http://thequiltershalloffame.blogspot.com/2011/03/passing-of-jean-ray-laury.html
This is a close-up from her quilt, "Listen to Your Mother."

Till next time.....

Free Square in a Square Quilt Pattern

2011-02-27T15:58:00.003-05:00

This is the block I'm using for this year's block exchange at Ruth's. It's very simple and gives a 3-D effect when many blocks are put together. I'm planning on a bed size quilt. You can find a free pattern on my new Free Pattern page or click here.

Now it's time to finish some chicken soup I started this morning, make a sweet potato casserole for tomorrow's block exchange potluck and make some tasty, healthy snacks for watching tonight's Oscars.

Till next time......happy quilting.

New look for the blog

2011-02-26T17:07:00.002-05:00

I've been fiddling with my blog all day today. I wanted to add a page for free patterns where you could see the picture of the quilt or block. So far it's turning out pretty good. I had to get a new hard drive and four times more memory first. Now the computer is purring along and I can make these blog changes. Click on the tab above to check out my new page.

I'm also watching the Maltese Falcon and Bogart is sending Mary Astor to the gallows, so time to sign off and make Jambalya.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting

Esther's Blog: Applique by Freezer Paper

2011-02-18T08:35:00.001-05:00

Esther's Blog: Applique by Freezer Paper

Check out Esther's Blog for a neat tutorial (scroll down to the little video).

Till next time....Happy Quilting.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2011-02-02T10:06:00.005-05:00

After a blizzard of hyperbole (from the TV news) and 10 hours of snowfall, here's a view of my house. You can see the specks of snow still falling. MSU called off classes yesterday and the MSU Museum closed, too, so a day off for me. I had an appointment for a check up at 9:15am and canceled since the neighborhood isn't plowed. As Tom pointed out, no sense getting into an accident on the way to the doctor (Well Doc, I was fine until about 15 minutes ago when I crashed into the snowbank).

I found another use for my quilting ruler. I went out at about 9am to take these photos and took the snow measurement with one of my rulers. So far 12.5 inches with maybe 4 more to come on my front lawn.

Tom made pancakes for lunch since LCC is closed too.

Last night I stopped for groceries on the way home. Meijer was packed. I haven't seen this many MSU students buying liquor and snacks since the blizzard of 1978. I heard a student on his cell phone making plans to go to a snowball fight with over 2000 in attendance.

So I think I'll work on Katy's chair cushions and mend Colleen's blue jeans today while watching soap operas and Bette Davis in "The Little Foxes."

If we get lots more snow I'll probably re-measure the front lawn.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting.

Rolling Stone Round Robin

2011-01-22T10:44:00.006-05:00

Finally, another UFO done! This quilt was started before 1997. That was before I started working full time and I met once a month with the Outlaws. My contribution was the center Rolling Stone mini-blocks (everything before the coral and yellow checkered border). It was added on by Diedre Garlock, Debbi Brunner, Karen Mirras and Rhonda Anderson. I remember Debbi did the circles in Japanese fabrics, but I don't remember who else did what. Last fall pulled it out and practiced my machine, free-motion quilting. It turned out pretty good. I've gotten some more hints from Diane Gaudynski's blog, so the next machine quilting should get even better.

Now I'm working on red, black and white checked chair covers for Katy's Chicago kitchen.

Till next time...... Happy Quilting

Inspirational

2011-01-16T11:40:00.004-05:00

Wow here's an inspiring quilter.

Till next time......Happy Quilting.

Arizona tragedy

2011-01-10T11:18:00.003-05:00

Just a sad day. One of the victims of the Arizona shootings was Phyllis Schneck. She was a quilter. So sad. Read more about her here:
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_8fa84b49-2e3a-5267-9af8-a5809386e583.html

Brandon's Quilt

2011-01-03T13:13:00.002-05:00

I can finally post a picture of the quilt my daughter made for her boyfriend for Christmas. She gave it to him Christmas Day so the cat's out of the bag. DD made nine patches out of 5" charm squares and appliqued cats on the bottom. I machine quilted it in strips, put on borders and bound it. It's a little larger than a twin bed size and I practiced many different machine quilting patterns. It came out pretty good. Now on to making my patterns for Ruth's Block Exchange.

Happy New Year and
Till next time....Happy Quilting.

My Month in Pictures

2010-12-28T12:21:00.001-05:00

What a month! First we went to the taping of Homecoming for Magic Johnson at Jenison Field House.

Then a party at the Nightcap!

Some walking of Boomer in the Woods, first Grand Woods Park

Then, Rose Lake.

We finally attended the Tom Izzo Christmas Show where he played his accordion and had the freshman, including Keith Appling, lead the crowd in Jingle Bells.

On Christmas Eve, my brother and his kids, including Kevin pictured with Boomer, stayed for a few days. We went to a family party where my brother saw relatives he hadn't seen in 30 years.

Finally, here I am in the Christmas sweater that my daughter Katy found for me in Chicago. I call it "everything but Santa," my daughter calls it "Christmas threw-up." And for you dog lovers, there is a puppy on the back.

I've finally got a bit of time to sew, and of course, my daughter brought me some ripped jeans!

I hope everyone had as great a Christmas as we did. Now looking forward to New Year's Day. Go State!

Living the Dream

2010-11-08T16:45:00.001-05:00

Went to the Spartan game on Saturday. Not only did we win, but I caught a hot dog from the guy that tosses them in our section (20) during the first quarter. Another dream achieved!

Quilts and Football

2010-10-09T22:26:00.002-04:00

detnews.com|Sports|Photogallery|Sports Photo Gallery - MSU 34, Michigan 17 - The Detroit News Online

What a day! I spent the day at the Cuesta Benberry Symposium a the MSU Museum and if you weren't there, you missed a special day. After the symposium I was able to listen to the last part of the MSU, U of M game. After the 34-17 Spartan victory I'm still doing my happy dance.

A big thanks to Pearl for bedazzling me with Sparty. She said if I run the Dino Dash next year, she'll get a picture of me really hanging with Sparty.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting!

Great Quilt Show

2010-10-01T14:56:00.003-04:00

If you're looking for a great quilt show and are anywhere near Grand Rapids, Michigan, don't miss Quilts on the Grand. Everytime I've gone it's been well worth the drive. They usually have multiple raffle quilts (all fabulous), and the quilts on display are dazzling.

Till next time....Happy Quilting!

Cool antique quilts

2010-09-28T10:47:00.002-04:00

Quilts from the collection of the Atlantic Heritage Center, are on exhibit there until October 10, 2010. The Center is located in Somers Point, New Jersey. If you can't make the exhibit (like me), you'll find a really cool page of their quilts at: http://gallery.me.com/merryquilts#100100.

Enjoy!

Till next time....Happy Quilting!

Fundraising Quilt

2010-09-23T10:00:00.003-04:00

Each fall, Habitat for Humanity Lansing partners with the ACF Capital City Professional Chefs and Cooks Association to put on Harvest for Habitat, an evening of gourmet food, fabulous door prizes, and wonderful company. This year’s event will be at the East Lansing Marriott at University Place on Sunday, October 24^th, 2010 beginning at 5:30pm.

I just finished this mini-Churn Dash quilt for the "fabulous door prize" portion of the evening. It is machine pieced and machine quilted and is 22" x 28". Each block is 4 1/2" square. I found the border fabric at the Michigan Quilt Network Show last weekend at the Ethelbird and Eliza Kids booth. All the rest of the fabric was from my stash. My color choice was inspired by Roxie's black/white/bright block exchange choice.

Too funny and too true

2010-09-14T13:20:00.001-04:00

This one's dedicated to all my long arm friends.

Till next time....Happy Quilting!

Textile Conservation

2010-09-08T08:47:00.004-04:00

Restoring the Palampore

Working at a museum with a large quilt collection, I frequently get questions about quilt care and I give good advice about basic home care. At the museum we store our quilts in archival tissue and breathable nylon. We do minor stabilization and cleaning (with a low suction vacuum where the quilt stays dry). However, when a quilt needs major work, we send our quilts out to someone qualified, as we don't have a conservation lab or a conservator at our museum. Watch this excellent video on a palampore from the Royal Ontario Museum that has been conserved by a team led by Shirley Ellis, Senior Textile Conservator at the ROM. From the video you can see how expensive it is to properly treat an old textile and why it costs so much money to conserve and clean a museum quilt.

Till next time....Happy Quilting!

A Quick History of Colonial Womens' Art

2010-09-07T08:52:00.005-04:00

Preview of "Women Only: Folk Art by Female Hands"
- an exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum

Check out this cool video from the curator. It's about womens' art history.

Till next time....Happy Quilting!

Sad news

2010-09-06T10:38:00.004-04:00

I just heard that Bonnie Leman has passed away. For those of you who don't recognize the name, she was the founder of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. For those who do know her, a booklet is being compiled by Xenia Cord. To contribute a message to the family email it to teresad@quilts.com with Bonnie Leman in the message line.

For over 30 years, Quilter's Newsletter has been my bible and favorite quilt magazine.

To learn more about Bonnie you can find a biography of her at the Quilter's Hall of Fame and an interview with her at the Alliance for American Quilts.

Quilt Exhibit in NYC

2010-08-31T08:39:00.005-04:00

The American Folk Art Museum in New York City has a wonderful collection of quilts. They'll be on exhibit in two parts. Part 1 starts in October. They'll be switching to part 2 in April. There is also a catalog of the exhibit that will be available in their gift shop. If I can't make it to the exhibit, I'm surely going to get the catalog. Click on the picture to get more information.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting!

Cuesta Benberry Symposium

2010-08-20T10:03:00.017-04:00

Check out this great symposium this fall at the MSU Museum.
You can get the full brochure or sign up by clicking here.

(Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Great Lakes Folk Festival

2010-08-12T09:27:00.002-04:00

This weekend is the Great Lakes Folk Festival. If you're anywhere near East Lansing, stop by. Music, food, stuff for the kids, arts and craft show, author book signings, etc., etc. Lots of fun stuff and all for free. My favorite is the dance tent. I love to watch everyone dance to all the different styles of music. Make sure and get a root beer float, too! This year's theme is Green. Everyone here at the MSU Museum has been busy putting together a great event. So come downtown and remember to give generously to the bucket brigade when they swing by.

Till next time.....Happy Quilting!

Major Grant for the Quilt Index

2010-08-05T09:41:00.002-04:00

IMLS AWARDS NATIONAL LEADERSHIP PLANNING GRANTS TO 13 INSTITUTIONS,TOTALING MORE THAN $750,000

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the primary source of federal support for the nation's museums and libraries, announces that 13 institutions are receiving National Leadership Collaborative Planning Grants (NLG) totaling $763,715. Grantees will contribute $491,995 in matching funds. There were 62 applications to the program with requests totaling $3,752,309.

Michigan State University Museum is one of two organizations in Michigan to receive funding and the nearly $100,000 grant will be used to expand technology and access for its innovative online resource, the Quilt Index. (The other institution in Michigan to receive a grant is the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum for a partnership concerning literacy in rural communities.)

The NLG program includes two types of collaborative planning grants, which enable multi-institution project teams to work together to either plan a single project or to produce a white paper that will encourage multiple projects; and project grants, including both research and implementation grants, for which that preliminary work has already been done.

The MSU Museum project encompasses:
Award Amount: $98,173; Matching: $54,136
Grant Category: Library-Museum Collaboration--Level II Collaborative Planning Grant

Project Title: "The Quilt Index: Collaborative Planning for Internationalization"
The Quilt Index is a popular online scholarly and cultural resource that is growing increasingly global in its content and the communities it serves. Internationalization is encouraging, but it presents new challenges, such as supporting multilingual indexing, searching, and retrieval of information. The Michigan State University Museum, partnering with the MATRIX Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online, the Alliance for American Quilts, and the International Quilt Study Center will identify key challenges for globally constructed and shared online resources, and develop a model plan that responds to those challenges.

"National Leadership Collaborative Planning Grants provide opportunities to conduct research and develop the framework to support future projects that have the potential to generate new tools, research, models, services, practices, or alliances that will positively impact museums, libraries, and the communities they serve," said IMLS Acting Director Marsha L. Semmel. "These projects encourage partnerships that address national issues of importance impacting education, scholarship, and public service and encourage the broad application of standards and models to improve professional practice."

IMLS National Leadership Collaborative Planning Grants position museums and libraries as partners with other community institutions -- from medical centers to gardens and nature centers -- in ways that explore assess community needs, solve problems and share data more widely. For a state-by-state list of grant recipients, see: http://www.imls.gov/news/2010/073010b_list.shtm#MI .

About the Quilt Index

The Quilt Index (http://www.quiltindex.org) launched seven years ago, and was developed at Michigan State University by the MSU Museum and MATRIX, the Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online. The third primary partner is the Alliance for American Quilts, based in Asheville, N.C., a non-profit organization comprised of a broad range of key scholars, curators, librarians, and quilt artists in the U.S. dedicated to the study, preservation, and sharing of American quilt history. Over the years, the Quilt Index's growth and expansion has been supported by grants from IMLS and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Quilt Index merges tradition with technology and springs from the work of a uniquely-specialized team of researchers and experts who are committed to making significant quilt-related data accessible for research and teaching as well as developing replicable applications of technology in the humanities.

The online resource extends understanding and use of the museum's textile collections. The MSU Museum's Great Lakes Quilt Center has evolved from the sustained and significant quilt-related activities and resources at the Michigan State University Museum and the museum's long-standing interest in and commitment to preserving and presenting traditional arts history. More than 700 historic and contemporary textiles in the MSU Museum's collections are used for exhibition and research, and the Quilt Index, in part, helps make these collections - and others -- more connected to repositories and users worldwide.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, Washington, D.C., is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.

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Sad News

2010-08-02T08:27:00.005-04:00

I'm posting this quilt to commemorate the life of a quilting friend, Irene Pavlik. I knew Irene in the early 1990s when we both belonged to the Wednesday group, a small group of friends who met every Wednesday afternoon to stitch and chat. The Wednesday group made the blocks for this house quilt for Block by Block, a book I wrote in 1995. Irene's block is in the lower left corner. The Wednesday group still meets, but has gotten smaller. Irene lived 50 miles away and came less frequently to spend more time with her daughter Miah. I got a full time job and no longer had afternoons free. Irene was a wonderful quilter and was always fun. Recently, Irene's husband became very ill. She was flying to the Mayo Clinic with him when their plane went down in Lake Michigan. This is truly sad, as Irene was a great lady, fun to be around and fun to quilt with.

For more about Irene go to:
http://obits.mlive.com/obituaries/saginaw/obituary.aspx?n=irene-pavlik&pid=144350502
and
http://www.9and10news.com/Category/Story/?id=243786&cID=1

Till next time.......

Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild Show

2010-07-28T09:16:00.003-04:00

Just a reminder to everyone in the area to check out the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild Show this weekend. It's always one of the best around.

Till next time....Happy Quilting!

Quilt Symposium at MSU Museum

2010-07-20T15:01:00.003-04:00

JULY 19, 2010

PRESS RELEASE

CONTACT: Lora Helou (helou@msu.edu), Communications Manager, Michigan State University Museum, 517-432-3357

MSU MUSEUM SYMPOSIUM CONNECTS COLLECTIONS, RESEARCH AND QUILT HISTORY

MSU MUSEUM, EAST LANSING, MICH. -- Michigan State University Museum announces a major event this fall: "Unpacking Collections: The Legacy of Cuesta Benberry and a Symposium on Using Quilt History Collections," to explore the connections between using collections in making or studying quilts.

The symposium is set for Oct. 8-10, 2010 in East Lansing, Mich., and is planned in conjunction with an exhibition that showcases examples of materials from the Cuesta Benberry Quilt History Collections that were recently acquired by the MSU Museum.

Scholars and creative artists use private and public collections of objects and archival materials to inform their work. What do they collect? Where do they find collections and how exactly do they use them? What do they do with the collections when they are done? How have they been inspired by collections? What obstacles do they encounter when building or using collections? These questions and more will be explored in the MSU Museum symposium.

"We were wonderfully surprised and honored that Cuesta Benberry's collections have come to the Michigan State University Museum," says Marsha MacDowell, MSU Museum curator and MSU professor of art and art history. "Research-based collections like hers are critical to still under-studied but important aspects of quilt history and of African American art and cultural history. We know that this collection of primary materials will enable scholars here on campus and around the world to benefit from Cuesta's trail-blazing work and to carry it forward. Her collections and others held at the MSU Museum allow us also to examine the importance of building and using collections in creative, scholarly, and educational ways," she adds.

To download the symposium brochure and to register by mail or online, go to: http://museum.msu.edu/Events/cbsymposium/

Noted individuals who have used collections in their scholarly and creative work and will speak at the symposium include Lauren Cross, Kyra Hicks, Carolyn Mazloomi, Patricia Turner,and Merikay Waldvogel. In addition there will be a showing of Cross's film The Skin Quilt Project film, book sales, author book signings, and an information session on using The Quilt Index; "Sit and Stitch" with quiltmakers and "Sit and Share Collections" with quilt history collectors; and a reunion of participants in the African American Quiltmaking in Michigan Project. Optional symposium package add-on activities include "Behind the Scenes" tours of the MSU Museum African American and African Quilt Collections and an opportunity to have your quilt documented for the Michigan Quilt Project/The Quilt Index.

Self-guided tours of the exhibition Unpacking Collections: The Legacy of Cuesta Benberry, An African American Quilt Scholar, and the concurrent Dear Mr. Mandela, Dear Mrs. Parks: Children's Letters, Global Lessons (an exhibition produced by the Nelson Mandela Museum and the Michigan State University Museum in collaboration with the Keeper of the Word Foundation) will also be available.

Members of the Great Lakes African American Quilt Network, the Lansing Sisters in Stitches, and Flint African American Quilt Guild will serve as volunteer hosts and will have information on their organizations.

The symposium is being organized by the Michigan State University Museum and has been supported by a major grant from the Salser Family Foundation with additional support from the MSU Museum Studies Program, MSU Department of Art and Art History, MSU Women's Resource Center, African and African American Studies Program, MSU Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, and the MSU Residential College of Art and Humanities.

For more information about the exhibition, visit http://museum.msu.edu/Exhibitions/Current/TheLegacyofCuestaBenberry

The Great Lakes Quilt Center at the Michigan State University Museum
Michigan State University Museum's Great Lakes Quilt Center continues the Michigan Quilt Project documentation project, initiated in 1985; has completed major documentation projects on Michigan African-American quiltmaking and North American Indian quiltmaking; is currently engaged in a documentation project on South African quiltmaking; has a collection of over 700 quilts, a strong collection of quiltmaking ephemera, and a library of over 2000 quilt-related publications; and regularly mounts and tours exhibitions of quilts. Michigan State University Museum partners with the Alliance for American Quilts and MATRIX: Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online to lead the development of The Quilt Index and Quilt Treasures. For more information about the collections and programs of the center, go to http://www.museum.msu.edu/glqc/.

The Michigan State University Museum
The MSU Museum is Michigan's natural science and culture museum and the state's first Smithsonian Institution affiliate. The MSU Museum -- accredited by the American Association of Museums -- collects, preserves, studies and interprets cultural artifacts and natural history specimens, with collections numbering more than 1 million in four buildings on the MSU campus. The MSU Museum is committed to education, exhibitions, research and the building and stewardship of collections that focus on Michigan and its relationship to the Great Lakes and the world beyond. Learn more at: http://museum.msu.edu .

Arts and culture at MSU
Arts and culture at MSU play a critical role in nurturing the human spirit while contributing to a richer quality of life. Museums, galleries, and gardens along with libraries, historic sites, and performance spaces provide a catalyst for cultural exchange of diverse ideas and inspirations. At the same time, audiences on campus and around the world take advantage of academic and research outreach programs such as public broadcasting, online resources, and publications. Find out more at http://artsandculture.msu.edu .

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Antique Quilt Exhibits

2010-06-10T08:46:00.009-04:00

Here are links to two exhibits I'm hoping to visit this summer.

American Quilts: Selections from the Winterthur
Milwaukee Art Museum has the exhibit from May 22-September 6, 2010.

Quilting Traditions: The Art of the Amish
at the Dairy Barn in Athens, Ohio from May 28, September 6, 2010.

Till next time.....happy quilting.

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2010-05-21T12:23:00.008-04:00

This is my first time at the Blogger's Quilt Festival. How cool!

I've chosen an antique top I bought on eBay to share. It's in poor shape, but I loved the pattern. After much searching I found the pattern in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Patterns. The name of the pattern is Cut Glass Dish and the version in the top is set on point.

My next door neighbor is having her first baby. At her baby shower, I brought muslin squares and had the attendees sign them. Now I'm using those squares to make a baby quilt from the Cut Glass Dish pattern. When the baby quilt is done, I'll post a picture and a pattern.

Make sure and click on the button to see the whole list and links to other Blogger's participating in this festival.

I'm taking a moment to edit this post. The quilt block, Cut Glass Dish that I isolated
from the antique quilt top is not accurate. While making the baby quilt for my neighbor, I noticed it was not turning out how I had planned. I'm continuing the baby quilt using Cut Glass Dish because I don't want to start over. Meanwhile my quilting buddy Carol Sc also noticed the block was not going to work. Thanks for keeping my on my toes Carol. So I re-worked my EQ7y drawing and found the real block in the top is this.
The difference between the two is the first, incorrect version was a three-by-three unit, when the correct block is a four-by-four block.

I'll post the baby quilt when it's done, so you can see how the quilt looks when the three-by-three, Cut Glass Dish block is used.

I couldn't find the four-by-four block in any of my block sources.

Till next time...Happy Quilting.

Lansing Area Patchers Quilt Show

2010-05-18T10:16:00.005-04:00

Make sure and make time this weekend (Saturday May 22, 9-4 and Sunday May 23, 9-2)to go to the Lansing Area Patchers "Love of Quilting" Show. Admission is $6.00 and it's being held at The Summit (9410 Davis Highway, Dimondale, MI). There will be 50 vendors, 400 quilts, door prizes, and a silent auction. It's everything you could want in a quilt show and more! I'll be there, I hope to see you too!

Till next time.....Happy Quilting.

Blind Man's Fancy

2010-05-02T12:20:00.005-04:00

Blind Man's Fancy, 15" x 15"

Just a quick note especially for Carol Sc.

This blogger is making Blind Man's Fancy blocks too! Click to see her progress: http://humblequilts.blogspot.com/2010/05/sewing-too.html

And if you like the blocks, you can get a free pattern here.

Till next time....Happy Quilting!

Spring at MSU

2010-04-29T08:23:00.010-04:00

It has been an absolutely gorgeous spring. I took a walk on my lunch hour a few days ago and snapped these pictures of the MSU Campus where I work. So before this beautiful April comes to a close I'll share.

Till next time.... Happy Quilting!

Block Exchange, catch up

2010-04-25T11:04:00.011-04:00

Fans, ~40" x 40"

For the past 3 months I was busy working on a Power Point presentation on the Detroit News Quilt Club Corner Column of the 1930s to present at Macomb Community College. I had a great time. We had a big crowd, complete with a super show and tell. A lady in the audience (I'm embarrassed that I didn't get her name) offered this fan quilt top to me. She found it while cleaning out an estate and didn't want it. I jumped at it and am taking this opportunity to thank her again for this wonderful piece.

Now that the lecture is over, I've been able to spend time catching up on my block exchange blocks. So here's a little show and tell....

Dorothy's Rose

Daisy's Squares

Cindy's House

The last block is for Debra. I took two birds that were published in the summer of 1935 in the Detroit News Quilt Club Column Corner's Laurel Wreath quilt. The Detroit News probably purchased this from Florence LaGanke Harris who published it in her Nancy Page Club column in 1934. Since The Detroit Free Press carried the Nancy Page Club, but the Laurel Wreath was being published in the News, the pattern from the News does not carry the Nancy Page byline or include the Florence LaGanke credit.

Cedar Waxwing and Hermit Thrush, 9" x 12".

I've added a free pattern for my version of Cedar Waxwing and Hermit Thrush.

Till next time........happy quilting.

Rags and Tatters free quilt pattern

2010-04-12T20:46:00.007-04:00

The Lorenzo Cultural Center at Macomb Community College is displaying 15 quilts from the Michigan State University Museum's Clarke Family Collection. I gave a lecture on the collection on Sunday afternoon. I want to thank everyone who gave me such a warm welcome and to those who brought such great quilts for show and tell. I've made a pattern for one of the quilts in the collection, Rags and Tatters.

In the 1930s, the Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit Times, all offered quilt patterns to their readers. Rags and Tatters was in the Detroit News in 1933.

The top quilt was made by Detroiter Bozena Clarke from 1941-44. Click on the image to find the complete record in the Quilt Index.

The quilt below is an EQ5 version that I made to write the pattern.

The Clarke family made over 40 quilts covering all the classic 30s patterns. If you're in the Detroit area before May 8, make sure and see these quilts, they're worth the trip!

Till next time....Happy Quilting!

Sunbonnet Sue

2010-04-07T22:48:00.004-04:00

This is an antique Sunbonnet Sue quilt from my collection. It is one of 10 that I'll bring to a lecture I'm giving for the exhibit,

And Still They Prospered: Living Through the Great Depression
February 27 - May 8, 2010

at the Lorenzo Cultural Center at Macomb Community College in Clinton Twp., MI. The title of my lecture is:

Quilting in Detroit in the 1930s
Sunday, April 11 - 2 p.m.

I'd like to invite everyone to attend. The power point will have lots of great stuff from the Clarke Family collection at the MSU Museum. In fact 15 quilts from the Clarke Family are on loan for this exhibit.
For more information, directions, etc. go to:
http://www.lorenzoculturalcenter.com/schedule/index.asp

And if you come, please bring a depression era quilt for show-n-tell after the lecture!

Final Four Baby!

2010-03-28T16:58:00.003-04:00

My MSU Quilt in honor of our Final Four Spartans!

Till next time.....Happy Quilting!

Cool pillow case video

2010-03-21T16:34:00.002-04:00

The first half of this video is half square triangles, nothing new. But the second half is a demo of a nifty pillowcase.

Until next time.....Happy Quilting.

Center Diamond Quilt

2010-03-13T12:19:00.002-05:00

I made the top for this Center Diamond quilt last year for my boss, Lynne. She brought it to Kari Ruedisale who did an exquisite job on the quilting. Lynne chose the colors and most of the fabric (I filled in with stuff from my stash). She wanted to use fabric from her son's nursery. She likes the Center Diamond pattern and her favorite pattern is Flying Geese, so I combined them both.

This quilt is 96" x 96".

Till next time.....Happy Quilting.

Quilting Video

2010-03-01T19:21:00.001-05:00

How much fun is this? My favorite quilt book author has videos on YouTube. Check it out!

Till next time.... Happy Quilting

Lattice Quilt, Part Deaux

2010-02-24T07:43:00.003-05:00

I got an email from astute blog reader Sandy R. She gave me another source for the Lattice quilt pattern. It can be found in Treasures From Yesteryear: Book Two, Replicating Antique Quilts by Sharon Newman (That Patchwork Place, 1995). Since I had this book (who knew it had the pattern in it!). I looked it up and indeed, it is the Basket Lattice/Reflection of the Past quilt, on page 59. Sharon shows pictures of two quilts, one made in the 1930s with lots of navy and her own reproduction of it. She put the quilt together using partial seams. She also figured out a way to make it in units, so some chain piecing can be done and she has many more diagrams (four pages of instructions to my one). The biggest difference is the size of the units. She cut her's 2"x5" (based on the size of the original quilt) and I cut mine 3"x8". The 3"x8" size will be easier to work with. When you do partial seams, it helps to have room to maneuver. Sharon's quilts also have an interesting diagonal movement of color across the top. I googled the book's title and found many on line for as little as $2.50 (used) or as much as $44 (new).

So there you have it....Two sources for the Lattice Quilt.
Till next time....Happy Quilting.

Lattice Quilt

2010-02-17T19:48:00.005-05:00

Donna, a blog reader from Connecticut, sent me a link to a quilt called Scrap Lattice: http://gingerquilts.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/scrap-basket-lattice/ and wanted advice on how to make it. Well I took a look at it and couldn't figure it out, but never one to back down on a drafting challenge, I gave it a shot. I played around on EQ5 and started cutting and piecing. To get the fabrics to weave in and out requires partial piecing of the seams. I wrote it up as a large crib size quilt. Click here for the pattern for the Lattice Quilt.

The quilt I started here to test the pattern will probably be a baby quilt for my next door neighbors. They are having their first baby in June. Mom's a redhead, so I'm hoping for a redheaded baby!

Till next time.... Happy Quilting

A Great Guy

2010-02-15T09:47:00.001-05:00

Check out George Trippon, he's a hoot!

Till next time....happy quilting!

Block Exchange

2010-02-13T14:36:00.008-05:00

Last weekend I went on a sledding weekend and actually sledded! Wow, it was really fun and I didn't hurt anything!

Here are my first two blocks for the block exchange.
The first one is for Bonnie, who wanted last year's block only lighter. Working on this reminded me of the avacado and turquoise color combination so popular in the 1960s.

The second one is for Carol Sc. She wanted it really scrappy.

Till next time..... Happy Quilting!

Jan and Irene, You Go Girls!

2010-01-31T09:18:00.004-05:00

Here are Irene (l) and Jan (r). "The BBB's (Bitchin' Biker Babes)." They have set off to fulfill Jan's dream of a cross country bike ride. Jan is riding from the Atlantic to the Pacific and Irene is driving the sag van. Jan is grateful that Irene signed on, so now she can bring her featherweight, too.

Jan is keeping a journal of her trip at crazyguyonabike. Jan is an excellent and funny writer, so I'm encouraging all my quilting friends in cyberspace to follow Jan and Irene by including links to her posts on this blog. (Just below the Daily Puppy.)

They left yesterday and I can't wait to here more of their adventures, especially revues of quilt shops on the way. Since both are avid quilters, I'm sure this trip is going to produce some cool quilt inspirations!

Till next time...Happy Quilting!

Correction!

2010-01-25T20:48:00.004-05:00

A big shout out to Ruth D from Quilts, Books, and Dogs. At block exchange tonight she noticed that I had turned a pattern piece in my illustration for the Ribbon Quilt pattern. I have corrected the situation and am really grateful. I have asked my block exchange friends to each make me 3 blocks. That would make 48 blocks that I would have to take apart and re-sew. Dodged a bullet there! In the next couple of days check out these blogs; Lavender Pie, Quilts, Books, and Dogs, and quilts and kids to see all 16 projects for this year's block exchange. Although this only my second year as a member, the group is in it's 20th year. The projects this year are really fun. Coming home with a bag of goodies, it's like Christmas.

Till next time.... Happy Quilting

New Floors

2010-01-24T15:57:00.005-05:00

I moved into my house 15 years ago. Everything in the house was white. White walls, white carpet, white wall paper (grass cloth). The only color was a grayish cast, sort of reminded me of a dentist office. Slowly I've been replacing a lot of the white. Now, I'm not totally against white, I did like the white appliances and white cupboards in the kitchen and I even liked all the white trim. But I hated the white floors and walls. So the kitchen was painted yellow, but the white floor remained and drove me crazy until now. Last Wednesday we had a new vinyl floor installed. It's gray and yellow and it looks great. Even in today's yucky weather, Boomer's paw prints don't show. The gray works with my counter tops. I'm not thrilled with the color, but the counter tops are in great shape and I don't want to spend the money to replace them. The little bit of yellow picks up my walls. Yeah!

The next floor to get a re-do is my stairway and upstairs hall. You can't tell in the photo, but the walls are a warm tan, with white trim. The carpet used to be a grayish white and always looked dirty. So we chose a carpet color I like to call Boomer Brown. I had a rug this color in my living room when I lived on Horton Street and it always looked great.

The next project is replacing the cheap 1960s interior doors with some six-panel ones. I love projects where I just pick stuff out and someone else does all the work!

Till next time... Happy Quilting!

Ribbon Quilt

2010-01-17T21:28:00.005-05:00

The name of this block is Ribbon Quilt and I've included a free pattern for a queen size quilt. I've also chosen this block for my block exchange quilt for Ruth D's small group. The blocks were started probably 10 years ago in the Wednesday Group. I was digging through my pile of UFO's and still loved these blocks and decided I needed more blocks to make a queen size quilt. In the box were 48 finished blocks along with 2 1/2" squares and 2 7/8" triangles, so I made blocks to finish off the cut pieces and ended up with about 100 blocks. I'll need 156 for a queen size quilt (each block finishes 6 1/2"). I'm excited for block exchange to start. I love making blocks for everyone in the group. It's fun to play with patterns and colors that I haven't chosen. I'm also happy to continue my quest to finish UFOs and that the blocks are still interesting after all these years.

Till next time.... Happy Quilting

Philena's Friendship Quilt

2010-01-09T10:49:00.002-05:00

This book came out last year and to my surprise, my pattern for the quilt was in it! I met Lynda Chenoweth a couple of years ago at the MSU Museum. She was working with Marsha MacDowell on the manuscript for this book and learned I had written quilt patterns. She asked me to write a pattern for Philena's quilt. I wrote the pattern, got paid and never heard another word. Then, last fall the book came out and the museum got a free copy and and sure enough, there was my pattern (with credit given to me), exactly how I wrote it, illustrations and all. I've since got my own copy and found it to be a good read. It's not only the story of Philena's quilt, but of the whole community and a chapter on signature quilts as well. Also included are many photographs of the people involved in the story. You can buy the book on Amazon and lots of other sites.

Today is a beautiful, snow covered, cold day here in Lansing. I'm looking forward to a day of sewing blocks and writing instructions for my block exchange while watching some old movies (right now I'm watching Golden Boy, Barbara Stanwyck, William Holden, Adolph Monjou, 1939, Columbia Pictures). Then 5:30 brings the Spartans vs. Iowa. I went to the Wisconsin game on Wednesday and even though it was low scoring, it was a great defensive battle.

Till next time....Happy Quilting!

Christmas Done! Back to quilting!

2009-12-28T12:24:00.003-05:00

I love this ad featuring Joan Crawford and Whitey delivering the always perfect gift, Lucky Strike cigarettes. I found this on the back of a circa 1935 quilt pattern in an old magazine.

Colleen came in on Tuesday from Ypsilanti and Katy arrived from Chicago Wednesday night. We had a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, just the four of us. Colleen worked Christmas afternoon and Tom, Katy and I saw It's Complicated with Alex Baldwin, Meryl Streep and Steve Martin. I highly recommend it. It's nice to see romance with people my own age.

Saturday, Colleen went home to Ypsi and on Sunday Tom's family came over. I made a pork loin (brined, then dry rubbed, yum), wild rice with cranberries and pecans and roasted asparugus. After the party I drove Katy downtown to East Lansing to hook up with her old college roommates.

This afternoon Tom is going to tie up some loose ends with his Dad's estate and Katy is going shopping.
Could this be my opportunity to get in a little sewing? This year I'm determined to teach myself more free-hand machine quilting. I'll be starting on a wall hanging from a round robin with the small group the Outlaws probably five or six years ago. Colleen wants to hang it in her new apartment. So, I'll quilt the whole then free-hand, and finish another UFO.

Tomorrow, it's on to Chicago where we'll stay overnight with Katy (and possibly ice skate at Wrigley Field), then spend a night in St. Joseph having our New Year's Eve celebration a day early at the Grande Mere restaurant.

So, till next time.... Happy Quilting!

Santa is coming to town

2009-12-18T16:41:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone. If you live in the greater Lansing area make sure and take in some of the exhibits produced by the Michigan State University Museum's very own Santa, Val Berryman. In the YouTube video he talks about his fabulous collection. He has seven different exhibits this year all around the area including these on the MSU campus:
A Merry Dairy Christmas at the Anthony Hall Dairy Store
Christmas Around the Globe at the Student Union
Crackers & Biscuits, An English Christmas at the MSU Museum
Santa Takes a Break at the Spartan Stadium Tower
and these around town:
Signs of Santa (my personal favorite) in the window of the Knapp's building, downtown Lansing
TAKAAN, Christmas from the Phillipines at the Williamston Depot
and
Where's Santa at the MSU Credit Union headquarters of West Road, East Lansing.
Val has one of the world's best collection of Santa Claus and Christmas items!
Learn more about the exhibits here.
I'm lucky to work with Val and I look forward to his displays every year.

Till next time.... Happy Quilting!

Christmas Quilt

2009-12-05T20:08:00.005-05:00

I've been keeping up with the blogs in my list and have been inspired to post my Christmas Quilt. I called it Christmas Eve since that has some special memories for me. My Mom's birthday was Christmas Eve and every Christmas Eve when I was a girl, my Uncle Ed would come over. He was a bachelor and was my Dad's best friend, so not really an Uncle. But he would come over with TONS of gifts for me and my older sister and my two older brothers. On top of the gifts he was very funny and did a great impression of Mr. Magoo! At midnight my mother would take all the kids to midnight Mass and my Dad and Uncle Ed would stay home, drink whiskey and watch the Pope serve midnight Mass on TV!

About two weeks ago my daughter Colleen moved out. I've been a bit worried about her transition, but she seems to be doing great. When she left, she took lots of stuff, so I was able to rearrange my sewing room. I'm anxious to get some sewing done and try out the new arrangement.

Today, Tom and I bought a snow blower (we're not getting any younger) and a Christmas Tree. Tomorrow, I'll be decorating and hopefully doing a little sewing, too.

Till next time... Happy Quilting!

Jigsaw Puzzles

2009-11-27T15:23:00.002-05:00

I went to Jigsaw Planet and made a puzzle out of one of my quilts. Very fun!

Cake and Ice Cream

Just click on the quilt to do the puzzle.

Till next time...... Happy Quilting!

Great Dane Puppies

2009-11-18T08:42:00.002-05:00

Beware of the cute Great Dane in today's Daily Puppy!

He could turn out like this!

Learning from Blogs and Tutorials

2009-11-08T12:37:00.003-05:00

Here's a picture of an antique Bay Leaf quilt from my collection. I'm including just because I love to see pictures of quilts when I go to blogs.

My first blog was May 26, 2008. In the 18 months since I've started blogging I've discovered a few things.

I love other people's blogs and follow many of them. The first blogs I started following were my friends. They're great quilters and great photographers. I really enjoy the show and tells from the small groups they belong to. Also included in these blogs are old friends who have moved away. It's an excellent way to keep in touch.
The next group of quilters I started to follow were bloggers who were interested in reproducing antique quilts. Again, the show and tell of projects keeps me coming back.
Then I discovered many famous book authors and quilt teachers are blogging. I get to keep up with the latest on their work.

The best thing about having my own blog is the ease with which I can keep up with everyone. My blog list shows the latest blog entries at the top of the list. Even though I follow more than 40 blogs, there are only about five new posts each day. It makes it manageable.

I'm always adding new blogs and sometimes removing them, too. What I like in a blog is lots of pictures and just a little bit of writing. I also enjoy the links to other blogs from the list. This has led me to adding features like "The Daily Puppy." Everyday a new puppy, what's not to love. I've also decided to add a new feature with links to quilting tutorials. My latest interests have been to improve my applique and machine quilting. My skills aren't bad, but I'm looking for ways to make those processes more enjoyable. The first tutorials are one Back Basting for Hand Applique.

So, look for the tutorials list and "The Daily Puppy" and take few minutes to surf for blogs on your own. You'll be surprised how much time you can waste!

Till next time... Happy Quilting!

MSU in the Fall

2009-10-31T10:25:00.008-04:00

I can't remember when I've seen a more beautiful fall. Not only do I have the best job, but I work at the best place, the campus of MSU. Here are a few of the trees I snapped last week.

Today being Halloween, I've got all my candy ready for tonight and since my husband is going to the MSU football game in Minneapolis, I've got the next two days to sew. I'm starting to add fish and plants to the Mermaid quilt.
Till next time..... Happy Quilting.

Busy Weekend

2009-10-18T18:21:00.018-04:00

It's been one busy weekend. First we went to see the new final four banner raised at Midnight Madness at the Breslin Center. It's was great to celebrate the last season's basketball team again. We got home about 1:30am.

We got up (not too early) and went to tailgate in the Commuter lot.

Next, was the football game. It was homecoming and we won, but my favorite part of homecoming is always the Alumni Cheerleaders. They always cheer in front of our section. This year they managed some pyramids. Making it to the top of the pyramid is a great achievement, but getting down is even more fun to watch!

After the game was the Otto's annual Octoberfest. This is the best dinner party of the year. Mark and Jennifer spend months, researching the menu, then spend weeks, working on the meal. It was a great way to end the day!

Today was the last event, a pumpkin carving party.

Tonight, it's time to rest up and face the work week. It will feel like rest compared to this weekend!

Till next time... Happy Quilting!

Whoo Hooo!

2009-10-04T11:37:00.004-04:00

Wow! I went to the MSU/U of M game yesterday. Not a fan left early. Tom took a picture of the scoreboard for posterity. As the fourth quarter wore on and U of M tied the game with 2 seconds to go, the biggest thought in my mind was we need to win to shut up the 2 nutty teenage boys behind us wearing maize and blue. Now, I didn't say anything rude in response to these kids, because they are just kids. But what was really disgusting was these kids dads. At one point, one of the kids took chewing gum from his mouth and threw it at unsuspecting MSU fans. The dad's response? A big high five for the kids. I guess this is why Michigan fans are hated all over the country!

But alls well that ends well as you can see by the two happy fans pictured here. I taped the game and watched the first half this morning. I'll be watching the rest tonight, then savoring it all season long.

Go Green, Go White!

Till next time.... Happy Quilting!

Block Exchange

2009-09-28T20:17:00.005-04:00

I just got back home from block exchange. I'm going to post only 2 pictures and direct you to Cyndee, Linda, and Ruth for more pix from the evening.

This quilt was made by Bonnnie. She did a clever take on the Courthouse Square pattern.

I pushed hard last weekend to finish the Ocean Waves border on the Mermaid quilt for tonight's show and tell.

Now I'm ready to applique some friends for Colleen in the form of fish, sea horses and star fish.

Till next time...... Happy Quilting!

More Quilts from MQN

2009-09-15T20:51:00.007-04:00

Here are a few more quilts from the Michigan Quilt Network's Showcase last weekend.

"A Garden For My Wedding Ring"

"Stars Around My Garden."

"Blocks of the Past."

My favorite was this "Love Apple" from the antique collection of April and her mom, Virginia.

I'm really enjoying all the quilt show pictures on our blogs. With three quilt shows in one weekend, it's great to see a bit of each show.

Till next time... Happy Quilting

MSU football

2009-09-12T09:38:00.001-04:00

Time to get dressed, get out the tandem and tailgate! Go Green, Go White!

Till next time... Happy Quilting!

Michigan Quilt Network Showcase 2009

2009-09-11T18:14:00.014-04:00

I've just spent 2 days at the Michigan Quilt Network's Showcase 2009. They had great quilts and I saw many, many friends from all around the state.

Here's a Daisy quilt, for Daisy!

This quilt was called "Stargazing Down Under" that I snapped for Ruth D.

This quilt is "Sizzling Sampler" and the owner won many of the blocks from a UFO raffle!

Here's my colleague Julie at our MSU Museum booth. We are selling books, quilts and fabric for $1.50/yard. I'll be working again on Sunday, so stop by, say hello and buy some great stuff!

Till next time..... Happy Quilting!

The Mermaid Quilt

2009-09-06T15:07:00.003-04:00

Around 1993 I hired Charlotte Warr Anderson to teach at my Northern Michigan Quilter's Getaway retreat. I admire her work tremendously and for my money, she is the best living quiltmaker! I didn't have time to take her workshop so with the help of 10 friends, we hired Charlotte to teach us a private workshop in one of our homes. My project was to make a quilt of my daughter Colleen as a mermaid. During the workshop I got the pattern for her body drawn and her face appliqued. I also chose fabric for her body. I got stuck on the background to put her on. 10 years later (I think) I heard Charlotte was going to teach a workshop in Flint. I signed up for the workshop and brought my mermaid. At this point I had her hair appliqued to her face. I told Charlotte I was stuck on the background and in 2 minutes she had drawn the waves! Again I was amazed by her talent and willingness to share. Her waves were perfect, but because I was a unsure about where to start appliqueing them, the mermaid went back into her bin. Meanwhile I made many other quilts and was working on finishing Unfinished Projects and my Colleen grew up. She started asking if I was ever going to finish her mermaid quilt, so I decided to be brave and jump back in and finish it this time. So you see how far I've gotten. Now with an extra day off work I'm piecing triangles for an Ocean Waves border. Then I'll be appliqueing fish, sea horses, coral and plants to keep Colleen company.

Till next time....... Happy Quilting!

Welsh Quilts

2009-08-03T08:25:00.004-04:00

Check out this link about Welsh Quilts. It's only 1:46, but the quilts are wonderful. They are wool, solids and look very much like Amish quilts. Thanks to Sally Ward of the UK for posting this on Quilter's Heritage List.

And make sure and check out Pepper Cory's Quilt Flap blog (the link is in my blog list) for more on Welsh quilts.

Pictured is a small Amish-style quilt I made in the 1990s.

Till next time... Happy Quilting!

Great Lakes Folk Festival

2009-08-01T15:46:00.002-04:00

Next weekend is the Great Lakes Folk Festival. This wonderful 3 day event happens in downtown East Lansing and brings great music, great food, great dancing and great crafts and all for free. I want to invite everyone to come. My personal favorites are the dance tent and the Traditions Food Court. Where else can you get a perogi, a gyro, ribs and home-made root beer all in one spot? See you there.

Till next time.... Happy Quilting!

Busy Weekend

2009-07-29T19:44:00.004-04:00

Katy arrived from Chicago on Friday afternoon. Tom, Colleen, Katy and I jumped in the car and drove to downtown Detroit to see the Star Trek Exhibit. We had a ball. When the girls were between 10 and 15 we were big fans of the Next Generation. We got to pose on the bridge (left to right, Beth, Katy, Tom and Colleen), visit Jean Luc Picard's ready room and transport.

The next morning Katy and I went to Oscoda while Tom went to Grayling. Saturday night Tom watched the launch of the Oscoda Canoe Race and woke the next morning to ride the Black Bear on his bike. He and his gang, The Barfly Bike Club, rode the 100 mile tour and arrived that evening at my sister's in Oscoda where I had cold drinks and a barbecue ready. Monday morning brought breakfast for 14, then a trip home. We stopped at the World's Largest Jerky Outlet on the M-61 exit on I-75 where Katy found snacks for her train ride home. On Monday Katy and I chose fabrics for a quilt for her. Her colors are chartruse, deep turquoise, carmel and orange. Lucky for me she found a Geisha fabric with the colors in it for me to refer to. Then we went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I even managed to squeeze in a little more applique on the Mermaid quilt for Colleen. This morning she hopped the Chicago train and I went back to work.

Wow, the summer is sure going by fast. It's almost football season and here's a little teaser.

Go green, go white!

Till next time...Happy Quilting

Up North

2009-07-07T19:32:00.017-04:00

Pepper's designed a free pattern for Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. It's a Drunkard's Path quilt called The Road Home. Click here to see it.

Last week Tom and I spent a few days Up North. We started by spending a night on Mackinac Island where we toured the Governor's Summer Home. We met some great girl scouts there. Each summer different girl and boy scout troops are invited to spend a week on Mackinac Island where they serve as tour guides and handle the flag ceremonies at the Fort and the Gov.'s Summer Home. They were very friendly and were especially good at taking pictures of tourists on the porch! After this picture we rode our bikes around the island. We logged 26 miles that day!

We left the island the next morning and made our way to Petoskey where we pedalled the Little Traverse Bay Wheelway. The Wheelway is a paved bike path from Charlevoix to the Little Traverse Bay State Park. We rode from Bay Harbor to the State Park and logged 16 miles. Here I am on the Wheelway as it overlooks the marina in downtown Petoskey.

Our last stop was Glen Arbor. We bicycled around the lake and canoed the Crystal River. We also drove the Pierce Stocking Drive. Pierce Stocking was a man who built a private road through the Sleeping Bear Dunes so people could enjoy the area. When he passed away the state took over the road named it after Pierce and now oversees its operation. There is a 1.5 mile hike on the drive called the Cottonwood Trail. We took the walk and I was surprised that it peaked at the top of the Dune Climb on M-109!
What a view, you can see both Glen Lakes and the Day Farm Barn.

Then we began our drive home. As we were driving past Crystal Lake we passed our Lansing biking pals Kathy and Mark! We just had to stop and get a picture.

Till next time... Happy Quilting and Biking!