How Far Is She Now?

Since I'm on the road and don't know if I'll have a chance to update anything until I get back, I thought I'd send this on ahead thanks to the delayed publishing feature and let you see how the hexagon medallion is progressing!

I got a TON done over my VA weekend, thanks to not having to drive...I got to be the passenger! That meant lots of progress was made.

I'm piecing the floral borders surrounding the stars in sections:



Can you see the blossoms in the chain? :c)

Here's a shot of the whole thing and how it will fit (some day)



I didn't realize how far that border was going to extend beyond the previous round of star points! I think...yep...I think....that after this border is on, I'll find a way to fill it in to be squar-ish, and call it done. Not sure I want to fill in the corners with all blank hexes...but can pattern in there too I bet...if I plan it right!

My Smithfield Aquisition

When I was in VA last weekend, since class didn't start until 12:30, I mentioned that I had a chance to visit the farmer's market, and the classic car show...did I also mention about the 1760's court reenactment? I just found some pics that I took, not great, the light coming from the windows kind of blurred everything, but it was based on actual court cases on record from the 1760s!

The court case started at 11am, so before heading over there, I made good use of my time wandering the car show, and passing things that made me giggle like this:



The Andy Griffith show had Floyd's Barber shop, but if you are in Smithfield, you go to the HAMTOWN BARBER! And they were doing quite a steady business when I walked past too! (Guess while the guys were out cruising the classic cars, they may as well stop in for a trim, right?)

Along with the Thomas Jefferson statue at the Smithfield Center, I also fell in love with this old couple...after all, Virginia IS for Lovers!



You can't tell, but she is holding a valentine in her hand. I think this is just the sweetest thing :c)

Back to court!



It seems, that THIS GENTLEMAN has been picked up for vagrancy and general disorderly conduct and for being under the influence of too much ale!



Court is in session to try him and apply sentencing. (This was extremely hilarious because he was totally drunker than skunk DURING the trial too, and falling all over the attendees ;c)



Let it be known that drunkenness is not tolerated in the colony of Virginia, and if you don't behave yourself in a manner becoming a citizen of such town, you just may find yourself locked in the stocks!

So what came home with me? While wandering town, between the old lovers bench statues, and the barber shop, and before finding my way to the courthouse, I stumbled upon this at an antique mall:



It's been used, and used lots. The blocks are pieced by hand, but the top was assembled by machine. I'm guessing 1910-20? It's that pale pink that is throwing me off because the red/black print looks earlier. But that's nothing..I've got fabric that is 30-40 years old in my stash and I mix it with new stuff all the time!



This quilt is SO heavily quilted, you can scarcely find a place that is left un-stitched! There are feathers, flowers, pots, wreaths, all manner of foofy quilting....on this quilt that looks like the blocks were more fit for the farm, than for the fancy! Someone REALLY REALLY loved the hand quilting part!



I especially love how the feathers don't turn the corner...look at how this one just is set there to fill the space and goes out to the end of the border...it doesn't match any other corner either! FUN!

Now for the really amazing part.....what would you price a quilt like this at? In a place that was quite historic and very touristy? How about a whopping $92.00??

SOLD! I just love my little piece of Virginia history.

I am headed down to Charleston, SC...another one of my favorite cities on the planet! I'm meeting with the Cobblestone Quilt Guild for a lecture/trunkshow tomorrow night, and two days of classes Friday, and Saturday. I'll be returning on Sunday!

DS Jeff is wanting to go with me...he has some friends in school down in Charleston and if he can hitch a ride with me, he can spend the weekend with them and then ride back up home with me on Sunday. It's about a 5 hour drive from here...it all depends if we can do a "drop off" of Sadie at Jason's house in Columbia because DH is going to WV to go motorcycle riding and though the cats can be left for a few days to fend for themselves, we all know that dogs can't. Here's hoping it all pans out....

Mystery Has A Name!

After spending the weekend in SE Virginia where the cotton harvesting is in full swing....after passing acres and acres of glorious cotton in the field, after following trucks loaded with cotton bales to the gills...and watching fluffs of cotton bolls flying off the backs of the trucks on their way to the cotton gin, lining the edges of the roads in tufts of white...this quilt has a name!

Are you ready for:

Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll?? :cD

Where would we be without our COTTON!?



Yardages and prerequisites and other info will be posted on or around Nov 1....That will give everyone almost 3 weeks to get their fabrics together.

There are many scrappy avenues to take on this journey...I've got only ONE common fabric tying it together and I'll show you what that one is...

My colors are brown, red, raspberry (or double) pink, green, and neutrals. As with any other mystery, the laws of substitution apply. If you don't like any of the other colors, pick a scheme that you like, substituting one or more of my colors for yours. But think about value, and keep the same number of colors (4) plus background (1)...mine are the neutrals. So, if you are doing something patriotic, you can't just do red/white/blue. It's not enough. You'd have to do red/neutrals/lightblue/navy/gold if you want something like that to work.

Remember....that mysteries are not a race, and if there is a step you don't understand you can wait it out a step or two to see where that direction leads and then make some decisions as to your own fabric choices, etc.

The fun of a mystery is not knowing where the project is going to end up. Just go with it! Don't stay focused on the FINISH, but enjoy every bit along the way.

I do quilts with lots of small pieces. This one is no different. That said, I know there are those who have done "mystery in a day" kind of things, with big clunky 12" 9 patches at the end of the day that ended up as a table topper and weren't happy about it! You will have a quilt you can be proud of when you are done.

I make big quilts. This one is about Queen sized, so smaller than last year's mystery! I am the shortest one in my family at 5'9". My hubby and my sons are 6' 3" and over! I don't have a lot of use or space for wall hangings and lap quilts, so if you want a smaller project, just wait it out until all is revealed and then you can decide what to do. If you want, you can make HALF the number of each unit required, and then decide how you are going to put them together, and see if you need to make any more of anything if you need to.

I will be posting the links here on my blog with the links to the website. Links will also be sent to the Quiltville friend page on facebook, and the quiltville@yahoogroups notification-only list, as well as the very busy very chatty quiltvillechat@yahoogroups.com email list.

How many steps? Not sure. I'm still writing/finishing, and it depends on how long I think each step is going to take you to do. I'm thinking a couple of clues a week which should take us all the way through the holiday season. This is not a one day mystery, nor a week long mystery. You are meant to take the steps as you complete them. If it takes you longer than someone else, that's fine..

And just like in mysteries past...there WILL be some people who have the time to complete each step in record time! They will be posting their progress on their blogs, and I will be posting the links to the next steps on my blog, with photos, so don't go looking if you don't want to know what the next step is. This is going to require discipline on *your* part, not on the part of those doing the posting.....got it? :c)

I'll do what I can to answer personal questions, but it is very difficult to have people send me their fabric choices and ask if I think they will work or not and for me to explain why without revealing the mystery....If you keep your fabric choices close to what I put up, you won't need to!

This mystery will be for the *next* book down the road (book #4 in 2012) and the pattern will be pulled from the website before publishing as with Carolina Christmas.

I've had fun digging into my scraps and FQs with this one.....I just know you are going to love it...The first clue will be posted November 19th!

Quilts in your Quilt Show!

It has come to my attention that there is a bit of a buzz and confusion in the quilt world thanks to a particular magazine article in McCall's Quilting. The article is requiring quilters to get direct permission from each and every designer allowing them to display quilts made from our designs in your local quilt shows. This has greatly increased both my email and my snail mail and the time it takes to reply is daunting!! It is taking away so much quilting time!

I WANT you to show the quilts made from my designs in your local shows! I love it when you send me pictures! Please consider this public announcement BLANKET PERMISSION for you to do so. You don't need to write me or send me forms in the snail mail to have to sign and mail back to you. (And ones that require me to use my own stamps to mail back to you? FORGET IT! At least some have included self addressed stamped envelopes.. ;c) )

All I ask is that you list me as the designer on the label, and include the ORIGINAL NAME OF THE QUILT if you happen to change the quilt to some other name that suits your own story. Something like this works great:



Carol made her quilt while following along with last years "Carolina Christmas" mystery. She did hers in blue and green and gold, and renamed hers "Happy Scrappy Stars", but included BOTH quilt names on her label.

This is really important when it comes to tracking back a quilt to its origin.

Designers are losing their connections to their own designs as patterns go out there and are constantly renamed by everyone who makes the quilt. So including the designer AND the original name of the pattern keeps all that important information intact, and gives credit to the designer.

You will also notice that Carol gave proper mention of her machine quilter as well! Quilted by Kristy! This is IMPORTANT!

The only thing I would add if I were Carol, would be her own signature somewhere on there, in pigma pen. Future generations are going to be missing out on our personal handwriting, and personal handwriting is very valuable on antique quilts. It gives a connection to a REAL PERSON, not just a computer-generated-die-cut-printed-thing made by a machine. Don't forget to SIGN your labels!

Happy Quilting, Happy Showing!

I have to tell you, talking about this article while at the Colorado Quilt Council retreat sure opened up a CAN OF WORMS!! I think mostly from me...LOL! First off, whoever wrote the article never considered the designer's point of view on all of this "must get written permission to display anything" issue. It has increased my email and snail mail 10 fold and has really thrown me for a whammy.

Luckily, gmail has a "canned response" feature that I have put to good use, and I have also put my reply out there as a blanket statement on my website to try to calm not only my own nerves, but the nerves of those poor quilters out there who just want to show a quilt in their guild show, and are now afraid that the designer will say "NO! YOU CAN NOT SHOW THAT QUILT!" (We all know that there are designers out there like this, don't we? Why, I will never understand, its the best advertising there is for their designs!)

And don't get me started on the need to give credit to a certain designer for a simple "9 patch on point" that has been in public domain for centuries? I don't care if a pic of a reproduction showed up in a magazine. A 9 patch is a 9 patch, I don't think you need to list the magazine's 9 patch maker as your SOURCE?! Who was THEIR source? And who was their source before that who did that same 9 patch on point? It's ridiculous.

The hilarity increased and escalated as we sat around the table at retreat discussing what we'd like to do with this article and the ideas and REQUIREMENTS in it...including stuffing it into places where the sun will NEVER shine....

I really really, while in the thick of this, thought of forwarding every request I got in my inbox on to the author of said article just to give her an idea of what this article had started....and even thought of passing her email address on to other designer friends as well so they could do the same. I thought her article was not very well thought out, and just created so much extra work for those of us who have already put everything we can out there for public use as it is.

Then I thought of grabbing all the Colorado Quilt Council ladies, and going to TP her house since she lives right there outside of Denver *Evil Wicked Grin* but we thought better of it, calmed our nerves with copious amounts of chocolate, and thought we'd rather spend our time quilting!

Home from Smithfield....

Smithfield was SO great! Virginia is definitely one of my favorite states. The scenery is beautiful, the terrain is varied! And Smithfield is an easy 5 hour drive from Winston Salem.....This pic is of me and Thomas Jefferson, posed in front of the Smithfield Center, where the Quilting & Sewing expo was held!

There were three shops that combined to sponsor the Quilting & Sewing Expo, the first of many I hope! I had a great two days of classes, reconnected with some students that I've enjoyed previously (They are brave to come take another class from ME!) and met new students as well. People came from all over, and classes were very full, so I am really hoping this becomes an annual thing for the Hampton Roads area.

I also enjoyed the fact that classes didn't start until 12:30pm, and ran until 6:30pm....so I could get out in the mornings and see a bit of the town! It was a festival weekend of sorts in Smithfield, so there were fun things to visit like the Farmers Market, The Classic Car Show down main street, a reenactment of a 1760's day at court in the Courthouse (complete with costumes, and a drunkard being locked in the stocks!) good smells of things cooking from baked yummies to BBQ....topped off with the 5k HOG JOG! (Smithfield is known for its meat packing district, giving them the name Ham Town....you can actually smell bacon on the breeze on any given morning.. :c) )

I took a few pics, most of them are not in any kind of order, and my mind quite doesn't know where to start to write this post. Travelogue? Or Hexie Quilt Progress? Or...Antique Quilt Acquisition?! Maybe I have 3 days worth of posts here.



I took this pic off the deck at Smithfield Station, where we had dinner. Isn't the reflection of the boats and out buildings in the water just awesome?! Yes, again..it's a phone cam. You've come a long way baby! Dinner was fabulous! If you go through Smithfield, definitely do not pass up Smithfield Station.




This is a partial view of our classroom.....see that large window/glass door?! We opened it up and had the most beautiful fresh air come through, great light! I had to photoshop the pic a bit because it came out rather dark, but this was our inspirational view off that back deck:



I was so WOW!!! over this. Temps were in the 80-85 degree range. Humidity was low, it was just perfect perfect perfect! So yes, having the mornings to be able to be outside and enjoy the town was super.



Farmers Market! There was everything from apples to candles to soap to pumpkins, squash, gourds, home baked goodies, crafts..you name it..it was there!



I loved the displays and the colors of the produce and just the feel of being out on a gorgeous October morning. From the Market, I walked on down to the main street, where the Classic Car Show was going on!



classic car show, smithfield va

This was too fun, watching the men strutting around their rides like a bunch of proud roosters! If you can't view the slideshow..click through the link above and it will take you directly to the webshots album. I love the 1940s cars. Those are my faves! There were also lots of 60's and 70's GTOs, Cameros, etc, but you know? A car can't really be antique unless it is WAY older than I am, so those didn't catch my eye as much. If they happened during MY life time, it's just not as cool as something that happened before I was born!

This Monday morning is getting away from me already so I'll stop here and write again later!

Hexie Project Progress.....

I just wanted to upload a pic of the hexagon medallion now that it has been completely surrounded by a row of neutral hexies, followed by a row of green hexies. There are more hexagons than you think in this project! I haven't counted them yet..I'm not sure I want to. I just keep going!

Working the two rows in sections was definitely the way to go. I like to keep my thread as continuous as possible, so if I can tack-baste a hexagon (I don't go through the card, just fold it over the edges and tack the corners...the basting stays in, the card pops out easily when I need it to)and connect it to its neighbor without having to knot and break the thread, I feel like that is the more secure way to go. No short seams. I like it when I can continue around two sides of a hexagon instead of stopping every 3/4" and knotting and restarting.

Doing the neutral/green border around the central motif gave me workable sections, sewing the neutral to the green allowed me to sew at least two sides per seam, and it is fairly continuous. Adding the units to the center was easy, much easier than adding one hexagon at a time to the center working on the big piece.



So now I'm up to the little flowered border....can you see it in my map? Good thing, as I'm tired of just stitching neutral and green together, I'm ready for some red :c)

We'll see how much stitching gets done on the road this weekend...it's going to be a bit more challenging to work this round in sections and get it attached to the "mother ship!"

Oh! And see this?



A month back when I was in Columbia visiting with my son Jason, his sweetie Kim, and her mom Charlotte....Charlotte showed me this hexagon punch she had bought. WOWIE!! This thing played on my mind and played on my mind....

Turns out while we were retreating at Peaceful Valley Ranch, there was also a group of Scrap Bookers there (My thought is that they really are closet quilters, they just don't know it yet! *LOL*)and the sign on their dinner table said "Creative Memories" which was the same name that Charlotte's hex punch had. I asked them if they had a rep with them, or if anyone had a hex punch they'd want to part with. One gal did!! She said "But it's used....." I said, "I don't care!" Retail it runs $20, and she sold it to me for $15! So now...I can punch hexes all I want..in TWO SIZES!

The "paper pieces" hexes that I had been using cost me over $20 for 750. Worth the time it saved if I were cutting by hand, but this? BETTER!

The larger one is the 3/4" per side size that I have already been using. The smaller size? Well, it's awfully cute, but I don't know if I want to really work smaller than 3/4". I'm already thinking on the quilting for the one I'm doing, and there is seam allowance to deal with. It has to go somewhere. On the 1/2" hexes, the seam allowance is going to mostly fill the whole shape. You can't go with less than 1/4" seam allowance or there is not enough to fold over the edge and hold your paper in.

So..back to the pic! Card stock shapes are best! And what fun to use greeting cards and other things that come in the mail that are this weight? I generally like to give cards double duty.....if the inside of the cover has not been written on, and it is a cute one, I'll cut that off and use it as a post card or a gift card. But the other side with the messages? Cut them into hexes, and relive that message puzzle every time you baste one on! Fun :c)

Cathedral Stars Class..

I love teaching the Cathedral Stars class! Two specialty rulers, Easy Angle and Tri Recs and a whole lotta scraps make up for a great quilt!

I've uploaded a slide show for you so you can see the blocks in progress! I just love everyone's color choices. I "KNOW" I have a weird sense of color. And I know that not everyone wants to make a quilt just like mine, in fact I'd rather see people coming up with their own colors! Be sure to check out the one in all shades of purple and gray....awesome! There is one with soft greens and gold too, I loved them all!



colorado cathedral stars

You might have to click to the actual album if you can't view the slide show. those of you in a reader, you probably cant view it there either, so just click!


High above the ranch, on the side of the mountain, sits a little chapel. The view from the chapel window is spectacular. Yes, they have weddings up here! What a gorgeous backdrop for a wedding or a memorial!

But first...you have to go up here to get there:



And follow more of this...on your hike up the mountain!



Inside the chapel were these wonderful stained glass windows....



And just look at this view?!



it was from outside in front of this window that I got that wonderful shot of the valley below that I posted a couple days ago. The clouds had come in, but they were gone by the next morning...it was just unbelievable!

Update on the leg...I'm walking...but more on my toes on that leg than anything else because it keeps the calf muscle from fully extending. I'm still going from heat to ice therapy wise....and little by little it's getting better, but I sure look funny!

DH and I are headed to Smithfield, VA today....for the Quilting & Sewing expo this weekend! I've got stuff ready to pack in the car, doing last minute stuff this morning while he works a half a day and then we'll be off. I was hoping that leaves would be turning, I'm not sure they are really ready to turn here yet, but as we get further north, I hope to see some prettiness.

We will be going up I-85 to the Virginia line, and going East just below Petersburg, VA....this is big time civil war battlefield country, there are markers all over the place. Memorials and parks, etc....and maybe on our way home on Sunday we'll be able to stop and see some. I don't think I can walk them yet, but I've always wanted to stop. SE Virginia is also well known for their PEANUT FARMS! I'm not sure when they are harvested or if that is going on now, but there will be stands along the road...I'm not a fan of boiled peanuts. They are an acquired taste I think. Kind of slimey and mushy, I much prefer mine salted in the shell, or dry roasted! But still fun to see how they are grown.

Hexagons in the car?!? Oh yes!! I'm ready!

More Colorado....

Update on the right calf muscle.....

I kept it elevated and iced yesterday. Rest! You know me, it is very hard for me to sit still, but never fear, there was a binding and a hanging sleeve to finish! That plus netflix, topped off by some hand quilting when the binding/sleeve were done, kept me busy for most of the day. Upstairs, in the recliner, away from my photos which were on this desktop computer.

I wrapped the leg with an elastic ace bandage, and that extra support really helped. This morning....things are better, not all the way well, but on the mend I'd say. More resting, more icing, it's just not easy for me to do!

So...I did manage to hobble downstairs here in my basement studio along with my hot tea and my ice pack, and I think I'll be able to prop the leg on a foot stool and get some stuff done.

I just flipped through my photos...all taken on my phone, because I forgot my regular camera, here plugged into the computer.....and they didn't turn out half bad!

These first three were all taken from Lori's car as we drove up, so pardon any bugs on the windshield!



All I could do was try not to ooooohh and aaaahhh and wwwwooowwww outloud as we drove up the windy roads! There is a REASON they call these the Rockies!



Look at this gorgeous change of color! The Aspens are really the most beautiful part of fall. The way their leaves are shaped, they DO quake when the wind blows. They shine and they shimmer and the color changes from green to gold to yellow are just breathtaking!



We keep climbing...closer and closer. Windy roads mean a speed of about 35 mph with good reason!



Upon our arrival at Peaceful Valley Ranch, we were instantly thrown back in time. Isn't this carriage great?!



And just look at all this color!



And more color!



I had to stop and take a photo of the reflection in the pond...look at that blue blue sky!




This was the view from the balcony in my room. There was a babbling brook making it's way downstream just below my window, the water crashing over rocks and around branches, following the path it has for unmeasured time.



We unloaded the car, set up our sewing stations! I had help bringing in the 100lbs of quilts, and hung the class quilt from the display rack....but really, we all wanted to be OUTSIDE enjoying the weather, so not a whole lot of stitching was going on! I had my hexagon project.....I've completely finished the rounds of neutral/green that surround the center motif, so now I'm on to flowers in the next round! Whoot! That project travels so well, I'm already thinking of other hexie projects I'd love to do. More on that in another post.

I also had the "In The Pink" along for show and tell as well as a hand quilting project to work on. It's getting progress put into it..little by little.

And I think that's about all I can write before I have to go ice this dumb leg down again....more tomorrow!

Stupid.

Now this is really stupid, and I don't have time for shenanigans like this!

I'm in the living room on the couch recliner....with my right leg on ice. :c( I was going down the stairs, stepped down, and something in my right calf went OWWWWWWWWW!!!!

I've been having trouble with it lately, lots of jog/walking...but I stretch. I told my massage therapist about it, and we did some deep tissue on it last week before going to Colorado. It felt fine.

Then this. Yesterday I felt tightness in my calf....but stretching helped.

So here I sit...leg on ice...unable to reach my other computer downstairs where the other colorado pics are, waiting to see if there is more that I need to do with this non-functional leg or just wait it out.

I am heading to Smithfield VA on Thurs for classes on Thurs & Fri at the Sewing/Quilting Expo! This is NOT going to keep me from going!

It might slow me down a bit...but...the show must go on!

Oh, Colorado!!

Have you ever witnessed scenery that just about made you cry? Put a squeeze on your heart and made it feel like it was hard to breathe?

Okay, maybe that was the ALTITUDE, but really, BREATHTAKING does not do it justice!

I returned last night (getting home about midnight) from my visit to Lyons, Colorado, where the Colorado Quilt Council held their fall retreat! The Venue? Peaceful Valley Ranch. I have one thing to say....this retreat was NOT LONG ENOUGH to get in as much of this as I needed! :cD

But first...before the scenery....comes my arrival!



I was picked up by Lori at the Denver airport, and off we went to go have lunch with the staff at Quiltmaker Magazine. What a treat. I love going there, if you have a chance to visit Golden, call and stop by, or just stop by! There is always a display of quilts in the lobby, and everyone is great and welcoming!

We talked about "STUFF"

We talked about the possibility of taking all the scrappy blocks that I have done for my "Addicted to Scraps" column and putting them all in one volume in a future book along with FULL QUILTS (Yes, this means I'm going to have to do some serious sewing!)and how fun that would be.

We talked about the new issue of "100 Blocks" by 100 designers that is due to hit news stands in the next several weeks. WEEEEEE! I have a block in there, and I'm so excited for this issue!

We also talked about future issues of 100 Blocks and my mind is whirling on that.....

We talked about a KING SIZED quilt I'm sending off for a future issue this week...

All kinds of exciting things going on!



And then, since we were so close....Lori took me HERE!! You might have to turn your head sideways...it's the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum!



They have moved since the last time I visited. This time there was a display of antique basket quilts, and they were fabulous! Of course, I also made a beeline right to this display in the gift shop:



$1.00 Fat Quarters! Oh, there were some old favorites in there, and yes, I had to do my duty and support the museum, so several came home with me. They also had their own line of fabric there, and I bought a couple yards for good measure. :c)



I spent the evening back at Lori's house where I was loved on by her two golden retrievers! A home cooked meal with Lori's fantastic lasagne couldn't have been better after a long day of traveling, and we topped the evening off by roasting marshmallows and making s'mores in the firepit off the veranda.

Friday began our trek up to Peaceful Valley Ranch, and I'll write more about that next! Suffice it to say that my Colorado Adventure had begun, and I needed a good night's sleep before we could launch ourselves into the weekend!