PA Souvenirs :c)

Guess what I finally unpacked yesterday! MY GOODIES! Yes, I know..I've been home a week, and this stuff was still in the bag on my cutting table down here. Yesterday afternoon I put a movie on, and cleared surfaces in my studio area...and I got to fondle this!:



I bought three of the flat folds at Sauders:



I was in search of things that would make great backings. They had a whole table that was $2.49 or some such ridiculously low price. Of course, you had to take the whole cut, so there are about 6 yards in each piece!



The brown/red/green one was from Zooks, and I think it was $2.29 a yard, with 4 yards in the piece.

That's the ONLY fabric that came home with me! But I had a lot of fun perusing the shops. One of the shops in Bird-in-Hand has a shop in the basement owned by one person, and then there is another shop up above. I can't remember the name, but I DID find the YLI hand quilting thread on the large wooden spools that I love in the basement shop. I love to quilt with colored thread, and I found a Cabernet, a Rust, and a funky pinky-tan that is called "mauve" but is ANYTHING but. It's a weird color, but I think it will look great against a lot of things. I also picked up another plastic thimble...still my favorite!

Oh, and the bulk foods at Sauders...lets just say that the peanut butter pretzels were gone before I ever got all the way home to Winston Salem :c) YUM! I love those.



Up above in the "main floor shop" I caught THIS on the rack! I was just so tickled, Especially to find it in a place so far and so different from my own home. I also enjoyed following THIS down the road: (These are things that make me slow down and breathe and appreciate...smell the roses--maybe that would be the CORN? etc...)



I know that people who live near these areas get used to seeing this. For those of us in areas that are not around this, believe me...it is hard to consider this as "Normal every day life". It just is. It fascinates me.



It just makes me think of what life would have could have been like for me if I were born 150 years ago. Not that I would choose that now...I mean....last night I cleaned my oven simply by setting the dial to CLEAN and completely cremated everything that was baked on. Do I want to go back to the days of cooking on a wood stove? No...but I did have "Little House on the Prairie" fantasies when I was a young girl (of course I was in love with Charles Ingalls! *LOL*)and seeing this takes me back to my childhood dreams.



At the Hershey show, after my lecture, I was gifted a special book by Jean Boyd! Jean must know that I ADORE books on antique quilts...there is more inspiration for my soul in these than in any amount of regular pattern books out there. This one is called "Quilted Memories of Schuylkill County (how do you PRONOUNCE THAT?!) All I know is it is full of beautiful quilts, the stories of their makers and information about the Schuylkill County area of Pennsylvania. Thank you Jean!



I also picked up a couple catalogue/programs from the Christ Collection, there was a display of antique 4 block applique quilts at the Hershey show, and one of the booklets goes with the display. Of course, no photography was allowed of the quilts, so I had to have the program right? Great for drooling and inspiration! And they had one of a previous viewing for 2009 as well, so...burn a hole in my pocketbook, I had to have them both.



Just a sampling...too many goodies in these to share them all!



I love how the green has faded to grey in this lovely....Oh. My. Goodness. I just might have to take up applique? I just LOVE it...it's the prep work that slays me. I'm a piecer, but I sure love the look of applique!



And anything ANYTHING with the makers name on it...big bold letters on the FRONT of the quilt? That is someone I wish I knew. It says to me: Here I am. I lived, I loved, I quilted. Who were you, Elizabeth?(Or is it really Eliza Beth ?) Would we, could we have been friends?

I have more pictures to show as I get time to edit them. As of right now, I'm running out the door for the gym, the bank, the pedicure :c) I'm teaching in Asheboro with a lecture tomorrow night and a Cathedral Stars workshop on Friday. Sunday I'm off to Kansas City and I don't return home until the 14th. August will be half over by then? It doesn't seem possible does it?

Color Trend Conspiracy!

I was asking for ideas on color choices the other day, posting the question to the Quiltvillechat@yahoogroups.com list, and to the Quiltville fans page on facebook "What three colors are wow to you right now?"

The majority of people, I'd say easily 80% All shouted out Lime Green! Fuscia! Turquoise! Orange! (okay, there are 4, but pick any 3 of those 4 mentioned and you get nearly the same effect! *LOL*)

I have this theory that there is a bunch of brain washing going on!

Especially amongst quilters who frequent TARGET!!!!

You want to know what I mean? Well just take a walk with me through target and see what I'm talking about......there are subliminal messages for quilt themes on EVERY AISLE!



Let's start with the school/office supplies. So, okay, highlighters have always been bright yellow, lime, orange, turquoise. So maybe...they were planting the seeds early on??



I love office supplies....especially when school is about to start! I love to see all the binders and organizers and goodies. Don't you?



This little notebook really wanted to come home with me. See! It's a conspiracy! It's not even FABRIC...it just LOOKS like fabric...it's getting under my skin!



School chalk in bright tropical colors. How come we never had these?! I think the conspiracy is to get the kids USING these colors so the parents become used to them.....it starts LONG before the fabric store!



It goes on to the lotions and deodorants! I still see a tropical theme going on....it's starting to hum a quilt tune to my brain! Orange! Purple! Lime! Fuscia! I can hear it...my fingers are starting to tingle! :cD



Who would have thought a shampoo end cap could have dangerous results for a quilter who is trying to tame her stash? Is this not madness?! It's everywhere I turn!



And this aisle blew my color senses!!



It's in the kitchen aisles! Little does DH know that this has me also contemplating changing the colors in my kitchen. Conspiracy indeed! Target, you are poison to my budget!



Summer dinnerware....I see some gorgeous turquoise lime and yellow (with a bit of raspberry) possibilities here, don't you? Uhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm! I'm feeling myself giving in, I can't hold back much longer!



Good grief! It's in the electronics department....even the CD labels are infiltrating our ability to think of color schemes ourselves. It seems the colors have already been chosen for us. We only THINK we are doing something "NEW AND FRESH!"



I'm running out of words.....are there any OTHER colors in the world other than Orange, Turquoise, Lime, Yellow and Fuscia?! ANY!? By this time I'm starting to feel like what's "New and Hot" is getting really,really OLD!



AAAAUUUUGHHHHH!! Our feminine products have gone to the Tropical Side! Do they think we will buy them more just because they are in these "NEW" cool hot colors? *snicker*



Okay. Lime, Orange, Fuscia, Turquoise on BLACK!! That's one we didn't think of before! We'll really buy into it now! ;c)

I came home exhausted from color sensory overload. It was like there were no colors in the world that existed beyond these tropical colors. I came back to my fabric...looked at what made me feel peaceful and content. Maybe I can tone it down a little. Maybe my next quilt doesn't have to match the shampoo aisle at Target to be considered "NEW"....the fabrics I already have have served me well and will continue to do so. Orange is always a staple around here, but maybe I want to try a different combination this time around.

For the November mystery...I need some warmth, but not HOT HOT HOT. So be ready. I've decided on Chocolate Browns, Raspberry pinks, Green (not bright lime...but you could use it if you want)and a deep red. Neutrals will be my canvas, whites to creams to beiges all the way to a light tan. My eyes like it better. My brain likes it better. It's my quilt.....I'll color it my way, and not feel like I have to follow some trend.....

(But I still think I need to go back and buy that NOTEBOOK I liked!!)

More Cheddar.....

This time in STARS!!

This is the one that really had my jaw dropping when I opened the box. You guys KNOW me..you know how I bleed cheddar and red! And I love small small small....and LOOK AT THIS!?

This is "NOT" a quilt I would ever make myself. I love the scale, but to do the whole thing in 3 fabrics? All those white open spaces for heavy hand quilting? I just can NOT make myself stay focused with my ADD to do it. I might dream it..I might want to, but I KNOW ME. (Knowing myself is half the battle!)

And as much as I was blown away by the stars (Just over 2 3/4" each)I was doubly blown away by the quilting. Or make that QUADRUPLY!? The alternate blocks are filled with quadruple rows of wavy lines followed by a negative unquilted space, and then the 4 wavy lines repeated again to fill the area. Just check this out!!

These stitches are smaller than the previous applique peony quilt I showed the other day. There are no answers for why....we don't even know if they were quilted by the same person. But this one could have been made earlier when the quilter had younger (and better!) finger control. The batting is thinner, which also allows for smaller stitches.



Can you see the cross-hatching in the small blocks between the stars?



I also love how this quilt was OBVIOUSLY not squared up before adding the binding...by all counts, this border was probably rippling with the wind before it was quilted, so is this a story of "It will quilt out??!" Look at those diagonal lines behind the border feather and how they alternate direction...AWESOME!



This pic is a close up of the quadruple parallel lines of the quilting behind the border feather. Look at those stitches!!



More close up of the border quilting. Be sure to click all these pics to make them BIGGER. Really, seeing it up close just gives me the tingles! (I'm sure my DH wishes I said the same thing about him..hehehe!)


The stars are also quilted with triple lines of quilting. Remember the scale...these stars are just over 2 3/4"..less than 3"....how many triple lines would you do in a 3" space? There are 15 lines of quilting in each 2 3/4" star.



I wanted to get a pic with the ruler to help show you the scale. Does this prove it to you?



How about if I plunk a 10 cent euro piece down...maybe THAT will give you a good idea :cD



Am I the only one who's mouth waters at quilting texture like this? I took this pic out on my back deck in natural light to see if I could get the quilting to pop....and pop it did! I really am in awe. I wish I knew the maker. As hard as I try, I can NOT get small stitches like this. I am a tall/big woman. My hands are NOT dainty, the distance between my knuckles and how my fingers bend pretty much dictates that I will not have the same small stitches as some small boned woman even though we use the same rocking stitch. This is beyond my ability, but oh how I love it!



And THIS my friends, is what inspired my pondering over the past week. This is why I feel compelled to leave a part of myself, my OWN SIGNATURE, directly on the quilt. See this signature? The family name is Adams. I believe it says A.S. Adams, February 18th, 1862

Dear Miss Adams,

I just wish I could let you know how much I love and appreciate being the care taker of your quilts. Seeing as the gentleman down your family tree "Couldn't Care Less" (Being of the male gender and all!) I think he did a real fine job of passing them on to someone who will cherish them the rest of her life. Thank You!

My Recent Aquisition...

*NOTE* Please click on the pics to get the BIG PICTURE!!

Several weeks ago I was contacted by a lady in Florida who was friends with an older gentleman who was looking for a purchaser for a couple of family quilts that had been passed down.

How she found me, I have no idea, but she put us in touch with each other and sent pictures of these quilts which blew me away!

I want to share this one with you today, saving the other one for another time because I think there are too many pictures to cram all into one post!

I emailed Richard on the quilt history, trying to gather as much info as I could to keep with the quilts, and this is what he sent:

I'll tell you all I know, which is very little. They were kept in the cedar chest and seldom saw the light of day. Being of the male gender I couldn't care less. When both parents passed away the cedar chest went to N.J./N.C./ and finally Fla. I think they were made in early 1900's in Washington County. 24 miles from Pittsburgh,PA. Probably in an area called Mingo Creek which is now called Finleyville or Crookham. The main family involved was ADAMS. The McFeelys may have been involved. (My mothers maiden name.) That's about all I have. If any thing else comes to my mind I'll let you know.

Well....Richard could be about 50 years off or more. They are second half of 1800s by what we can gather from the style and the type of quilting used on them. And wait til you see the NEXT one! (How's that for a teaser?!?)



These quilts showed up on my door step the day before I left for Pennsylvania and it was VERY FUN to be teaching in the same area that these quilts originated. I brought the quilts with me hoping to get some information from other quilt historian friends at the Hershey show....My breakfast partner just happened to be Pepper Cory, and she ended up using these as examples in her Quilt Marking class! So it was a double win, she helped me with some info...and her excitement over the quilts intensified my own, letting me know that I had really stumbled upon some treasures.



We are not sure if the quilts are made by the same maker...the stitches in the "Other" quilt I'll show you in a future post are a bit smaller, but it could have been made earlier in the quilter's life. Also, the batting in THIS one is thicker, which can account for stitches not being as small, right? the binding on this one....could have been a replacement binding. It's quite wide, and doesn't fill to the edge of the binding..it's not showing the quality of workmanship that was evident in both the applique and the hand quilting...why would a quilter who was THIS skilled put on a sloppy binding? So maybe....we'll never know! But it is fun to wonder!

This Appliqued "Peony" for lack of a better word has 9 blocks, and the green fabric was most likely a blue over dyed with yellow....the yellow has faded away leaving a teal color that is crocking a bit. If you look on the back of the quilt, you can see where the yellow dye settled around the applique motifs on the backside, nearly outlining them in pale yellow in the stitching lines.

The quilting in the blocks is executed in triple rows followed by a negative space, then another group of triple rows...the borders and wide sashings are crosshatched.

I just can't stop looking at these and running my hands over them! I was also able to show them to my friend Mary Koval (She came to the show on Saturday with her grandson...what a cutie pie!)and she also confirmed that they were definitely PA quilts (or made by someone from that area who quilted in that style) so again, I was thrilled with the confirmation that indeed, these were a treasure and I was so lucky to have them!

Little by little life is getting "back to normal" around here. I returned home on Wednesday evening as you know...Thursday I had some extensive dental work, so that day was pretty much a wash out. Yesterday was mostly an office work day, getting caught up on book orders and updating my calendar and taking care of piles of stuff that had accumulated over 10 days gone.

Last night I finished the last hanging sleeve on the quilts to ship out to Kansas City Star for photography! They are boxed up and ready to go to Fed Ex today, tomorrow, monday...doesn't matter, I'm ahead of the game at this point!

I'm headed to the Kansas City Area on the 8th! Whoot! on the 13th....we'll be doing the photo shoot for the next book and I get to BE THERE! This has me so pumped because it's always been a "ship and wait" kind of thing..and now I'll get the experience of being there, being a part of it...this will rock!

My laptop quit on me while I was in PA....so...I'm doing the win7 upgrade hoping it will fix everything. I saved all the photo files and all the documents to my external drive, and I'm hoping this upgrade will get me a couple years more use out of this poor laptop. I hate that technology is so disposable anymore...we need a new cell phone every how often? (this one is 1.5 years old..so I'm keeping it til it dies) and how often do we need a new computer, a new tv, a new EVERYTHING?!?

Don't get me wrong, I love technology...I love the advancements. I just hate the waste of the stuff that is obsolete.

And I've rambled on long enough....if you made it this far, thanks for listening in! I appreciate the comments on yesterday's post about the Canadian border issues. It's a hard decision to make. It has nothing to do with my love for the Canadian quilters, some who have become very close friends! It does have everything to do with bureaucracy, incompetence of officers on BOTH sides and the hassle factor that needs to be minimized in my life. At some point...I need to draw the line where jumping through flaming hoops is concerned.

The jury is still out, but I'm waiting anxiously on the sidelines to see what other designers and quilting instructors are doing to combat the insanity.

With Sad Heart....

It is with deep regret that I feel compelled to cancel my visits to Canada in 2012

I am not sure if you are aware of the recent troubles with bringing quilts for show across US/Canadian borders. This past spring, a Canadian designer was forced to deface her quilts by writing "SAMPLE" across the front of all her quilts on the way to quilt market. The quilt world is in upheaval. If I were that quilter, I would have turned around and gone home rather than deface my quilts. Please see here: http://daphnegreig.blogspot.com/2010/05/quilt-market-report.html

The last time I traveled to Canada, I had a tough time getting 2 bags of quilts back OUT of the country at the airport on my way back to the US.

My heart is sick, I was really looking forward to these trips, but at this time, I can't risk the hassles that have been coming from border customs.

The trunk show is too valuable to me to ship it ahead of time and most of the time I don't have the convenience of enough time between guild dates to have it out of my hands...I go from one to the other without enough time to ship in between. Not to mention that shipping 100lbs of quilts would be of great cost to the guilds involved.

I regret that I am leaving Canadian guilds with big holes in their 2012 calendars. I hope that my letting you know NOW instead of later will enable you to find someone to fill these spots. And I hope in the future, if things ease up on quilters, that I'll be able to visit you again!

I've sent email to all the guild chairs involved, but I wanted any guild members who hear of my cancellation to know WHY...and to understand from my end too.

In Stitches---



PS...I also want it understood that it was a US TSA Agent who enforced the defacing of the quilts in Daphne's case. My previous trouble returning from Winnepeg last year was with Canadian officials at the airport.

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooommmmmmmmme!

I made it home in 8 hours, door to door from Kathie's house in Pittsburgh, PA to my own home in Wallburg, NC....I thought it would take longer! But then I didn't stop anywhere other than to fill up with gas and visit the facilities...just couldn't make myself even pull over for an antique mall or a gorge view overlook photo op in West Virginia....just...KEEP ON DRIVING!

I've got a week before I teach in Asheboro NC, and I am so excited to be visiting local quilters! That's only an hour down the road and I love those ladies down there!

This week's goal is to get the next book quilts ALL LABELED and ready to ship to Kansas City for the photo shoot on Aug 13th. They need to be shipped ahead of time because I can't carry those AND the trunk show on the plane with I go there on the 8th.

I've been thinking a lot about labels....and while computer generated looks great...more and more as I study antique quilts I am leaning to grabbing a micron pigma pen and just writing on the back of the quilt....it can't be removed that way....it will have MY handwriting on it to tell the story.

I just think that over time we will lose the intimate connection to a person's signature if everything is printed out in computer font all the time.

My mom still writes letters. She writes hand written notes and letters to all of her 8 kids, and all the grand kids in turn...I have stacks of her letters and I love seeing her handwriting on an envelope. I also know that inside that envelope there will be cartoons cut out of magazines she knows will bring a smile to my face, and there will be a stick of gum wrapped in a dollar bill. And I am always so excited to see it come!

So here we are in the information age, and we are great on communication by email, by text, by phone calls,by internet chat.....but all of our contacts are electronic and gone with a click of the delete button.

What about that stack of love letters? Remember those, the ones you saved? (if you did) Do kids save anything now? How personal can it be when it isn't written by that person's hand? How can we reflect back to it if we just reply and delete, reply and delete..poof, it's gone? That is....unless it is on twitter, then it goes into the library of congress? O_o

This is just something I've been thinking about as I face labeling these 12 quilts ready for the next book. Hand writing. Personal signatures. That connection with that person from years ago long gone. The stories that quilts and letters and personal memoirs leave behind for those who come after......what do our own signatures and handwriting tell about who we are?

Or doesn't it matter any more??

In between gigs....

It has been a go go go go go kind of week! Hard to believe it's Monday and I left Tuesday, and I haven't had one minute to post an update! How can that be?

Well, Tuesday I was on the road all day. And
I do LOVE being on the road all day.....Sites to see, places to go! And heading toward these mountains? Bliss!

I take some back roads to get me on 220 up toward Roanoke, VA. I get so excited when I start seeing the Blue Ridge appear in front of me!

Roanoke is one of my favorite small cities. It has a vibrant downtown district, unique shops, great restaurants, and I was hankering to visit a place that I went to on a past trip, maybe 8 years ago. EIGHT YEARS? Would it still be there?


I parked here...just below the historic Hotel Roanoke, and went up into the walkway that goes across the train yards:

There is my little car viewed from the walkway windows...


and on down the escalators to the other side! It was about 150 degrees in that walkway...it was a HOT DAY!

And on to the streets!

And the place I remembered, the place I was hankering for....was still there!



Back in the car.....a couple more hours up the road, and tom tom took me up to Harrisonburg, VA and to the Virginia Quilt Museum!



Even the logo had my palms sweating! I couldn't wait to get inside and see the collection.



I couldn't take pics inside, but I will tell you that it was well worth the drive and the visit to see the beautiful antique quilts. I've got two books of Virginia quilts, and to see these in person was just such a thrill.

The museum was open til 5...and I pushed the limits on my welcome I am sure! From then on....I drove on up to Lancaster, found a place to stay for $45. Yes. $45.

Now this is funny. It said breakfast included...which to me meant maybe cereal, yogurt, fruit. In fact, it was a loaf of white bread and a toaster!! No kidding! Breakfast? well...for $45 a night, I could afford to wait until I got to the Amish Bakery and really make it worth my while (There was no jam for the bread either, just butter...lol!!)

I'll continue on later...this was just my travels for Day 1!

Remember to set your watches for Pat's radio show today!