Fanciful Quilts

Nothing sparks my interest than something new. Oh pfffttt. I just do NOT like following directions nor a pattern. Scrappy strip blocks. What a great way to use scraps (and who doesn't have a few - ahem - bags of scraps?!?!). In the retreat room (aka sewing area which I share with Riley), I've whipped up over 50 of these babies. Four 5 1/2 strip square blocks sewn together and then trimmed to 10". Seems like I could whip up a quilt in no time. I jest and surely you do too. Not being one with the mathematical mind (other than balancing the checkbook), I used 2 inches of a beautiful mottled gray blender in between each block. I do believe we quilters call that "sashing". When I become a quilter with terminology, I'll let you know. At any rate, put a few together - threw it on the bed and nope, not quite wide enough. Added a few more blocks. Threw it on the bed. Nope, not quite wide enough. Finally at 7 blocks, it's wide enough. I think. That...

I am convinced. Works in Progress need to be set aside for an unspecified time. Translation: Oh my - when did I put THAT together?!?!?! And how long has it been in that box (bag, underneath the table, in the closet...)?!?!?! There is much to be said for WIPs...UFOs...PIGs..(which I still have problems remembering what PIG stands for)....Especially if one is tired of working on the project. I stopped just short of trashing (horrors) this particular quilt top. I'm so pleased I didn't. Now it will become a rescued lap quilt for someone for Christmas. I have no shame. I don't put together a quilt with someone in mind...unless you count myself. Seems a bit shallow to admit but there you have it. I figure a good friend, member of the family or a passing acquaintance worth their salt would be thrilled to receive something handmade. No matter how badly it was put together. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. In the meantime, I quilt. Angel45402

Belonging to several yahoo quilting groups, I read almost all the posts (averaging 50 a day) and was struck by one post in particular. There are times when we all leap out in faith and post photos of our work. I'd like to think we do this with some sort of trepidation, looking for some sort of feedback. Never have I witnessed other than pure kindness when comments are posted in response to a completed project or perhaps just a block. However, this one post brought out something I didn't give much thought to until several days later.. The author pointed out a simple lack of courtesy that prevails among us all. Someone takes the leap - posts a photo of a current project and not one comment was posted. Looking back over several postings and indeed, there were several noticeable lack of comments after one brave soul posted a photo. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. The author of the post simply asked - what does it take of your time to simply post "great job" or "love the...

...and that about sums it up. Spent the weekend at a womens' retreat. My third retreat. Each one has brought about a hmmm moment - or moments. This one was the most intense. Health wise - all in order. Emotional wise - not so in order. Work has a tendency to define us...or so I've believed for years. When you meet an individual for the first time, the top five questions will always include "so..... what do you do?" - no need to add "for a living" - it's just assumed this is exactly what you're inquiring. It's usually good for a good two minute monolog. Fast forward 32 years and then the big R hits. Retirement. So....what do I do? And then it hits. I do? I maintain a house (okay, an apartment); I cook (okay, so maybe on a rare occasion); I clean (don't go there) and I quilt. Sometimes quilt. Sometimes less than more. I make breakfast for my dear husband and me every morning. I pack a lunch for him. I shop for groceries. We walk. What is missin...

Ahhh - it is the 22 nd of April....and I finally tackled a new project. While at a local LQS (not shopping - honestly - not shopping!!!) (uh huh - sure), I saw the neatest table runner - made of a shape called TUMBLERS. Googled it later and found a very, very nice pattern courtesy of Quilters' Cache. If you don't know this site, find it and immediately bookmark it. It is a TREASURE of blocks and patterns. Love it. I digress (love that word). For several years I have received birthday fabric from my quilting buddies who belong to an online yahoo group. Size of the fabric ranged from F8 to some not-known sizes. After a good seasoning (all quilting fabric must season for awhile - it's a known fact), I took them out the other day and thought... ahhh ha! Eureka. I had an ah ha moment. And promptly started cutting.....and cutting...and cutting. First off - very important prep. STARCH your fabric pieces first. It really does make it easier to cut out the shapes. Rotary cutter,...

It is the 19th of April. Taxes completed and already the meager refund has been deposited in our checking account. Moving takes a lot out of one. And then there's the settling in. And then there's the discovery of a roof drain pipe that leaks - and of course, it extends the full length of the building. Translation: when it rains, it leaks. When it leaks, it leaks on to the floor of the lower level. Further translation: it leaks on to the carpet. And one more translation: this is where the chess players play in the tournaments we hold. We're praying our multi-talented contractor comes back from Florida very, very soon to replace that last bit of iron roof drain pipe. The part that leaks. The part that makes me grit my teeth. My, my, my. Of course, those are not the words I'm using nonverbally when it's 3am and I'm using an old carpet shampooer to suck up water. Drought in Texas and Oklahoma and Dayton, Ohio has enough water coming down to make one wonder where in...

This is the entrance to our soon-to-be new home. It is now February 13, 2011. Early December 2010, we took the plunge to renovate/rehab the mezzanine - now known as "Riley & Sharon's Treehouse ". Over ten years ago, we bought a 3 story business building with a lower level in the heart of downtown Dayton. Whether or not it really resides in the "heart" of downtown Dayton is left to those scoffers. Within a year of rehabbing it (the building has quite an interesting history), the former mezzanine was torn down and a new one built for a "dot.com" company. Eight months later the company went bankrupt. It sat vacant for quite awhile...very sad. Riley & I started talking about renovating it for living space. Why not. The space is quite unusual....spans the entire length of the building...100 feet roughly by 16 feet...and split up in business room fashion. Whatever that means. The conference room was tagged to be the sewing/study room. A lon...