Happy New Year

Isn't this a pretty photo (enlarged shows more detail)? It's the last page of the January 2007 "Country Living": "Teach us delight in simple things" --Rudyard Kipling

Happy New Year, Everybody

WW:190.8/154/135

Inspiration

Almost Christmas.

Last night's class at Little Quilts (Quiltmaking Study) was fun and inspirational. I can't wait to get at my projects. We had our usual dinner beforehand at the Sidelines Grill (just across the parking lot; the food is so great). Mary Ellen slipped off to see the waiter when we were finished and treated us all to our meals for Christmas. A visiting Little Quilts regular brought cookies for us and I brought mine home for my son: am I a good Weight Watcher or what?? Class was great. Mary Ellen went over binding technique. Remember the 16x20 small quilt exchange that the employees did at their Christmas party? Mary Ellen showed us several of those and they were just darling.


There were several good Show and Tells. One woman has a goal of finishing one UFO each month and she brought the latest one she had finished. A good idea to help us along on our Quilting Journeys, eh?


Mary Ellen passed around a bag of charm samples and we got to choose one as a gift. I chose Malvern Hill and of course would like to zip that up into a little quilt one day soon. The Jelly Roll concept was discussed (2 1/2" strips from a fabric line for about $30). There are patterns coming out for Jelly Roll strips, from Cozy Quilt Designs, for example. We got to see the mock-up newsletter with the Spring Classes (ye gods how tempting).


We went up to the shop of course and cruised around and signed up for the successor class to Quiltmaking Study (which is the successor class to Moda University): Stash Sisters. We're going to get hints on breaking into our Stashes.

Little Wall Hanging

Well, at Jo Morton class, both Kathy the teacher and Muriel the Little Quilts employee who was in the class, advised me to add little borders of the same fabric to the central block so I wouldn't have to re-do the blocks. They said it wouldn't show. At this point, I just don't think I can do it. I'm planning to re-do the blocks. Also, Muriel advised me to get The Angler 2 to help with getting that quarter-inch seam correct. It tapes to the sewing machine bed and has definitely been a good buy.

Meanwhile, back at the (Quilting) Ranch, Karen humbly looked for her 1/4" foot for the Pfaff (why oh why wasn't she using that before? why was she eyeballing a 1/4" on a foot that didn't measure 1/4" and why has she been doing that for years? It always worked in the past, but Dimensionality failed her on the dozen 5x5" Jo Morton blocks.

So instead of putting up the Christmas tree, etc., like I should have today, I stuck the 1/4" foot on the Pfaff and made the new Jo Morton class wall hanging and as the craftspeople who post their primitive creations on eBay say in their listings, "I really like how it turned out" :-).

So I have a nice quilt to show you but no Christmas decorations like other quilt bloggers have posted. Well, hopefully later tonight or tomorrow night I can show you some of mine. I love seeing all of your decorations.

Jo Morton Slide Show

A slide show of a selection of Jo's quilts:
http://folkartist.home.comcast.net/jomorton.pdf

Class Last Night

Well, Jo Morton class was last night. We had a good time. Some people couldn't make it. One woman who is really fun and interesting to have around decided to join a bee that meets on Tuesday nights, so she is gone unfortunately. They are expecting to pick up some new Jo Morton members for the next session. Sigh, can I sign up again....it's a hard drive over there after work, but I do love it once I'm there.

All of the Little Quilts employees (20-some) held a Christmas party Monday night. Guess what they did: a 16x20 little quilt exchange, either in a Jo Morton or Lori Smith pattern. Can you imagine how pretty the quilts must have looked all in a group? Here are two of them that our teacher, Cathy, brought to show us. They are probably going to put them on display in the shop soon or on display at the Bulloch Hall quilt show in Roswell, whenever on earth that is. But I want to see the rest of them! The one on the left is Lori Smith, Jo Morton on the right.

Unfinished Homework

First, thank you ALL so much for your well wishes concerning my son, it just warms my heart to know I can post to the blog when there's good news and hear from friends.

Oh, arrrrrrrr, Jo Morton Club class tonight and I did not finish my homework. Truly made an effort to make the 12 5x5ers last night and this morning before work, got them done, but the two horizontal sets are too wide to attach to the central portion, so must re-do. Arrrrrrgh. I'm gonna get a bad grade in class.

Oh, blogger. Why do they have the "remember me" box to click when it doesn't work? Does everybody else have to sign in each time they want to edit their blog? And of course, there are the times when it doesn't let you sign in at all and you just repeatrepeat until it gives up and lets you in.

My Rowenta has stopped heating. Does anybody have an iron they like that gets really hot?

WW: 190.8/158.0/130

Success

My wonderful news is that my only child has received a Congressional appointment to one of the military academies! Have to wait to see what happens with applications but I am so happy for him to have gotten this far with it. He has worked so hard and wants this so much.

Does anybody have any information on becoming a pilot via the Air Force Academy and marginal color-blindness? With irony worthy of great literature, Timothy's only physical flaw is a bit of color-blindness and he had his heart set on becoming a pilot. I have heard that he cannot do it, but today my dentist told me that his nephew, although he could not have become a pilot via the Navy, did become a pilot via the Air Force Academy even though he has a bit of color-blindness.

Over the River and Through the Woods

Hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving; Vogel State Park was so nice that my son and I went up there for a few days over Thanksgiving. I fixed the meal as low-fat, no-fat, Splenda-ized as possible and do you know, it was all absolutely delicious. We did some rugged hikes, one a loop trail out from the park up to a view of Lake Vogel:

from Brasstown Bald:

on the Raven Cliffs hike:

around the lake:

More pics if you are interested:
PictureTrail

I saw this needlework frame and hoops at an antique mall in Hiawassee on the first trip and went back and got it the second time. I love the little bit of age that it has and though it may have been intended as a needlepoint frame, I think it will work well for quilting wall hanging sized quilts:

Quiltmaking Study

Hi there, a quick post; my son and I are driving up to Vogel State Park where I stayed a few week-ends ago for Thanksgiving. I figured it would be easy to fix Thanksgiving dinner in the cabin's brand-new kitchen with the full-size fridge (and microwave!) and we will do a lot of hiking. A very Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Last night was Quiltmaking Study class at Little Quilts. Photos are from Show and Tell.

This one was made in a Little Quilts class (that I also took; did a version in very bright colors with little embroidered faces in the centers) that taught the use of the Pineapple Ruler; she used a lot of fabrics from Wuthering Heights and may use a Chocolat fabric for the border she will add.

This is a quilt created by attending the Little Quilts Second Saturday Sampler from a few years ago. I have this one made into a top but not quilted yet (as ever).

Circle quilt, such bright happy colors!

A Little Quilts employee showed us the beginnings of her antique quilt collection; her husband bought her two quilts on eBay to get the collection started. This quilt is from a Kentucky estate. It looks like it might have been made in Ohio or Indiana, though, to me.

These last three photos are of a lovely sampler applique quilt called Les Fleurs du Jardin, I believe, and is also the result of a (year-long) quilt class taught at Little Quilts. Isn't it amazing?? The quilting was sent out to be done by a local longarm quilter, I'm assuming in the Marietta area.

Nell's Flower Shop

Been waiting forever it seems for this line to become available. Love it!!

190.8/162/135*

*Weight Watchers (original weight/current/goal)