Some new books!

I did a bit of "pity-purchasing" last week-end when a virus had me out of circulation...now that I am feeling better I get to enjoy the packages arriving at the front door!

I bought several book but I'll share two of my favorite arrivals.  First, Indigo Quilts: 30 Quits from the Poos Collection by Kay and Lori Lee Triplett.  Love this book!  The first third is data heavy - everything you want to know about the history of Indigo.  Lots of history and some photos.  The next third is titled "Quilt Album" and it is just that - photos of great examples of indigo quilts. (you will need couple cuts of tea to get through the first third and a napkin to keep your drool off the pages for the album section!)  Finally the last section has directions for 5 projects using indigo fabrics.  It is nice selection of applique and piecing at beginner to advanced.

Second book is Tributes and Treasures: 12 Vintage-Inspired Quilts made with Reproduction Prints by Paula Barnes and Mary Ellen Robison..  This book is mainly about the patterns with a bit of American History.  The quilts are nicely designed, the book is laid out well, photography is excellent, and the directions for the quilts look to be well done.  It is a keeper!

I am still working hard to finish a couple more quilts before the show in two weeks.  So of course my go-to sewing machine died.  It has been in and out of the shop so often the past year that I am finally accepting it may be time to let it go...ever since I wore out the feed-dog and had to have it replaced it just hasn't worked the same.

The good news is I finally took out the $10 Bernina 1030 my husband found for me at an estate sale.  Of course then I had to take it in to be serviced - $80.  Then I bought a walking-foot - $170....but I love this machine!  Definitely worth every penny!

I finished channel quilting this little improvisational shirting quilt.  It reminds me of many early 20th century Southern quilts made using scraps from the textile factories.  For this quilt I used colors found around Augusta in the springtime...when we have most of our visitors!  I should be able to get the binding down tonight and then only have one more to finish!

Holiday energy needed...

I think my holiday energy ran out yesterday...no sewing...no cooking...

a bit of reading.  (I am definitely getting the next book in this series, Thomas Cromwell Trilogy!)

and opened a Christmas present early...

Today I am taking it slow...thought I would do some final clean up out front since is it nice and bright out.

But the little gecko's love to sit on the pumpkins out in my front garden....maybe I could paint the pumpkin's stem silver and pretend it is a big Christmas ornament?  I hate to take it away from the little lizards...besides these guys are great for keeping down bugs come spring!

I did cut out some of the next step for Bonnie's mystery.  I love the colors in this but I am missing pinks and reds...guess I know what my next quilt will have in it!

Sandy on the March....

Right now attention has gone from the elections to following the Hurricane Sandy as she marches up the East Coast.  To any of you in her path, please stay safe!  (Take a cue from Goldie and curl up in quilt!)

                                          Goldie on Ribbon Candy...she isn't making it easy to finish those borders!
I'm already reading of folks who have been "stuck" in Houston due to cancelled flight (I'm having a hard time feeling bad for them!  They just have to go to the Houston Quilt Show now....), some with snow falling (which is wrong before Halloween!) and others bracing for the winds and rains.  Sounds like a good time to curl up with some hand stitching or a good book.

Which by the way, I have gone through books at an alarming rate the past couple of weeks!  About one every two days.   I have this pile by the front door to bring to the post office today and send off to my sister for her cabin up in Maine.  They are good vacation reads!

In addition to reading lots of mysteries I did some internet-stress-shopping last week.  I'm blaming this latest delivery on the pain-killers....this pile of fabric works as well as the pills do!

Reading list and what-not

One of my sister's sent me a reading list for fans of Downton Abbey. Almost all of the books were nonfiction. Now I do like to read nonfiction but I think there are a lot of novels out there that can do an equally good job representing the time period.

For mysteries I like Anne Perry and Robin Paige. Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series includes lots of class struggles similar to the what we see on D.A. Paige's mysteries include some real-life characters and early "CSI" developments like photography and fingerprints. Both are great beach and airplane reading.

Do you have any recommendations for historical novels or mysteries set in the first quarter of the 20th century?

Back to quilts...can you believe someone found this quilt top in a dumpster?

That sort of thing never happens to me...

the fabrics in it are really interesting and once it got a good washing it is in great shape!

MS Day 3 and In defense of boring borders...

I'm putting this little announcement on the top of each of my posts this week...I am doing a week-long MS awareness posting thingy...if you play along and comment or even better comment with a hint on an easier way of quilting, sewing or crafting you will be put in for some drawings...cool no?

MS Factoid for today: There is no cure for MS. There are a variety of treatments for symptoms and there are some treatments which mitigate, reduce and/or slow the progression.

My take on this: Sometimes I feel like treating MS is as much art as science. Initially my neurologist and I did a lot of try it and see. There were a lot of unintended consequences...the first med she gave me for spasms made my fatigue worse...the first for fatigue worked soooo good I went out to dinner after work, then shopping then did some housework only to not be able to move my legs the next morning. (She said it kept you from feeling tired not from doing stupid things....nice aye! She doesn't cut you a lot of slack....) It took a few years but I've got a combination that works pretty well most of the time. I have a few I rely on daily but most importantly I have a couple of heavy hitters that I can call in if I have to do something very strenuous (like pack up all of my household goods and move overseas....) or have an episode at an inconvienient time...not that there is ever a convienient time, but say losing feeling in your leg when you are driving down I-20 at 11:00 at night that is inconvienient....

Now on to boring borders....there is a place for them in my quilting world. I often "overthink" my border choices. I have to remember they are a frame...I know a great border can often save a blah quilt (though if a quilt is blah it is most likely still in pieces packed in a plastic bag at the bottom of my closet....) On quilts that already have a lot going on then boring is the right choice...so I went very subdued on my Double delight. I used a Jenny Beyers Brownish Gold stripe on the inner border and a Civil War Repro on the edge. I purposely did not miter my border...I have lots of antique quilts and not one has a mitered border. I like squared off borders. This always gets commented on by quilt judges. When did all this love affair with Mitering start? I think it should be a design choice. For instance I think a mitered border on a log cabin quilt looks silly. That is just my opinion. However on a pineapple log cabin I may consider it...am I making sense or am I simply justifying my general dislike of mitering? (just remembered a time I love miters...with stripes!)

With my DD I could have gone either way. In the end I squared the corners because I didn't like how the miter was going the opposite way of the corner triangle...I wanted the eye to rest/stop at the border and the miter line didn't seem to do that for me. (are you starting to get the picture about my over-thinking things!)A book recommendation to anyone taking up applique - Applique! Applique!! Applique!!! the complete guide to hand Applique by Laurene Sinema. I have this out to bring to a new guild member. It has a nice heart sampler that uses nine different techniques/styles (mola, celtic, running stitch, Broderie Perse, shadow, Hawaiian, button hole stitch, Pa ndu, and stained glass) and since it is small it will not take months (or years) to finish. The instructions are clear and the drawings good. It has been around for awhile (1992) but if you get a chance to pick one up it is a great addition to your quilt library.

Moving is Evil and must be stopped....

Today is a day free of unpacking! I will just avoid Goldie's disapproving stare...though I think she is starting to like hanging out on top of all the boxes...I have a new mantra though courtesy of Karen at Living Life at Leehaven, "moving is evil and must be stopped." I like it.

I spent yesterday afternoon at the doctors. Looks like I may have another kidney stone on the way. Not my idea of a good time. My blood pressure was sky high and about every 10 minutes I feel like someone is punching me in my side. Duhhhhh.... She did give me some good anti-spasm pills that at least got me to sleep most of the night. Amazing how good that feels!

So today is a relax, drink lots and lots of fluids, graze on the fruit salad Dh cut up for me this morning and hope it all goes away soon!

I picked up Carolina Clay - The Life and Legand of Slave Potter Dave at the library this week. If you are interested in American pottery or southern history this is a great book. The author is a distant relative of the man who owned Dave and set about writing the book in part to find out more about his own family history. This is by no means a hard-core history. He sometimes wanders off and makes it a bit more like fiction than history but tells you before he makes the trip so you can suspend disbelief and follow along without wondering where the heck he is going. He doesn't avoid the ugly parts of what was happening in this part of the country just prior to the civil war and the decade following. To say I am enjoying reading this book may be a stretch (it is about slavery and some evil times in our history) - but I am learning a lot and at times it is fascinating.

There is quite a bit about how the style of pottery/stoneware in the Edgefield area developed and the photos are wonderful. He even shows some of the face jugs that began to be popular here in the mid 1800's. It was through the facejugs that I first learned of Dave and Edgefield pottery. (on a quilting note...in the center of Edgefield is a small museum with lots of pottery and wonderful antique quilts!)

On a totally different subject...I pulled fabrics for Bonnie's new mystery quilt. I wanted to use some of my greens and purples instead of the blues and pinks she used in hers but now I am not so sure. I may just make a little test block today....is that cheating?!

Chocolate Mug and coffee keyboard

We start with the keyboard - I cannot believe what a difference a new keyboard makes! I am not the type of person to go out and get the newest gadget...my computers live very long (some may say pro-longed) lives. Today however I had to make a few upgrades. My DH dumped...I mean spilled...an entire travel mug of hot coffee onto the keyboard. (Actually onto the keyboard, mouse pad, open drawer with printer paper, and MacBeth's head....Interestingly DH did not get any coffee on himself...ummmmmm) Anyway, I dried it out but the keyboard didn't work at all...I took it apart and cleaned it (big, big yuck...have the cats been sleeping here?) After a good cleaning I got all the keys to work...well sort of...they didn't always send the right signal which made for intersting typing (so much bleeping you'd think I was governor of Illinois!)

So off the the Office Depot I went. This is one of those things that makes not sense to me at all...it was less expensive to buy a keyboard with a new mouse than the same brand keyboard with fewer features by itself. I know...quite complaining! The bottom line...the new keyboard and mouse is so much easier for me to use. Maybe I will break down and replace the monitor with a larger screen for when my eyes go wonky...

Next the chocolate mug - maybe you have seen the recipe for a Chocolate Mug Cake in blogland. I think it was on Paula's but also saw it on the Quilt Gallery Newsletter. It really peaked my interest...chocolate cake for one "baked" in the microwave? I had to try it.

My first one wasn't a big success. I don't think I got it all mixed together enought. So on my second try I put all the dry ingredients in the mug then in a seperate bowl broke the egg and mixed in the oil and vanilla. Then I used a tiny whisk from the liquor cabinet to mix the cake...much better. The recipe says the cake will rise above the rim of the mug...they are not kidding! It almost touched the ceiling of the microwave! (I think I may make this with my nephew at Christmas...sort of looks like it is going to grow so tall it will topple over.) The consistancy is more like a teacake or bread than cake but it is good all the same (particularly with a bit of butter pecan icecream on top!) A warning...tip the cake out onto a plate while it is still hot and immediately fill the mug with water. Cleaning the mug was a bit of a challenge...I wouldn't use a mug you are too attached to....
I just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer. She is one of my favorite writers so I am not sure how I missed this one! Anyway, I would definately reccomend it.

Wow...I've written this much and nothing about quilts yet...or unpacking! You didn't think that would last did you! Last night I spent a lot of time photographing the breakage...not a fun night. Anyways I also slipped in some of the vintage quilt blocks I had packed away. This idigo and gingham 9-patch in a is one of those blocks. I'll be posting photos of others during the next couple of weeks...I have to dig out my encyclopedia of quilt blocks first!

I'm not sure if we are making progress on the unpacking or it just isn't bothering me as much. Either way things are better. Oh, I still can't walk into my sewing room but I do have a plan. Friends are coming over and moving the boxes out into the garage so we can put in the new (unbroken) bookcases and gradually move the fabric into place. If I am lucky this will happen before the end of the year....

Another reason for needing more bookcases for fabric (other than still having more fabric than I need!) is the number of books that find their way into out house. I must have given away a carload of books before I left England and still we have them piled in corners, on crowding counter-tops, double stacked on shelves and lined up on the bedroom windowsill.
Last night I finished "Ice Road" in the photo above. It is a historical novel based in St. Petersburg at the start of WWII. If you like historical novels or this period in history I would definitely recommend it. It is a fairly complex group of characters and it takes a good hundred or so pages before the plot gels...stick with it though. (I don't know if you could write a novel set in Russia and it not be a bit complicated!)

So it was a fairly lazy weekend. My DH did most of the heavy lifting when it came to the boxes. Did a bit of Christmas shopping, a bit of baking, and a lot of looking through recipes.

A question...a couple of years ago a quilter posted a "baked oatmeal" recipe. I made it a dozen times or so then lost the recipe. Does anyone have it or know who posted it?

Home again....

It is a statement on a vacation when you are as happy as I am this morning to be home again! My DH and I took a cruise around the med this past week. Between the rough seas, canceled excursions, not so great food (on an Italian ship!!!), and a missed flight home it wasn't the vacation we though it would be!

We did have some good days though! We visited Patmos and toured the cave where St John was exiled. The photo of me at the top of this post was taken outside the cave. That evening we had a great meal in Mykonos.

I really liked the tour of Ephesus in Turkey. The ruins were amazing and the tourguides very organized and able to handle the crowds well. The cats or course were very well photographed. They may require a post all their own! My DH was getting a bit aggravated with me since I stopped every time I glimpsed a feline...which in the ruins is often!

OK, I added just one of the many cat photos. This kitten looked so much like my Brownie that I couldn't help but slip her a few treats. (After Patmos I thought to wrap up some fish from breakfast in a plastic bag so I had something to give the cats...DH claims that is why they followed me all around the site...could be right!)

After Izmir the weather turned nasty. Really nasty! Fortunately I travel with a small pharmacy in my bag so I was able to stay ahead of the sea sickness! The dining room was half empty the next two evenings so I think I was one of the lucky ones!


We arrived at our final port in Rome about an hour late. It was the worst disembarkation I have ever experienced on a cruise! No information and it took forever. We ended up missing out flight home by about 20 minutes! We couldn't get on another flight until the next day so we got a hotel and took the metro into the city. We did a bit of sight-seeing and got a really good Italian meal (finally!) We were both tired though and by the next day we were happy to be home!

While on vacation I finished The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld. It was a very interesting read. The first 50 pages or so are rough but once you get into the story it holds up well. It is a murder mystery set in New York circa 1909 and uses Sigmund Freud as a central character. If you like any of E.L. Doctorow's novels or Devil in the White City (can't remember the author) then you would like this book.

Today I get back to quilting. It will feel good!