Schnibble and Gee's Bend

The two are not related, but certainly a part of a very enjoyable weekend.  Both the play and visit with dear friends made my quick visit to Hartford memorable. 

Gee's Bend at the Hartford Stage Company presented vignettes of the lives of one family from 1939 to present with a host of beautiful quilts throughout.  The stage set itself created the visual background through a series of back drops of quilt-related geometric designs that mirrored the Gee's Bend style.  Four actors traced the history of the times, family, and quilts.  The stage itself had the river running through it with water.  And the gospel singing throughout the play mirrored the singing of the quilters from the Sister's quilt show video.  There were several quilts in the lobby... so all in all, a worthwhile experience.

And Madeline... there just weren't enough days in the month to finish completely but I used today to savor working on finishing the top - and savoring the Roueneries fabric.  I love working with it.  It probably took much longer than needed because it was so difficult to decide which piece to cut. 

Have a great evening
Lynda

Just Tell Friday

When AmyLouWho started the Friday Sew and Tell, I joined in to keep me honest - and somewhat organized in the order of finishes.  This week, I have to just tell... registering a car means visits to numerous offices for stamps and papers and expenditures.  But I did have projects on the docket...

I didn't finish sandwiching and quilting Picnic - started to rush and cut the backing too small...

I did not finish piecing Madeline...

And I didn't start a wall hanging for my mother's 85th birthday.  This pile of fabric represents the colors of the 20s, 50s, 80s, and 2000+, will be turned into stars of various sizes from large at the top for Mother, medium for her 5 children, smaller for her 6 grandchildren, and 3 for the great-grandsons.

I just organized my Sunday.

I am off to Hartford Stage this evening for the Gee's Bend play http://www.courant.com/entertainment/arts/hc-geesbendrev.art.artjan22,0,7932596.story.. will share about it tomorrow.

Have a great day.

Lynda

Pat's challenge

Pat at A Little Bit of this and Pat... offered a break from the doldrums of winter by challenging her readers to look back at the 5th folder/5th photo of saved pictures.  I had to switch to my old computer to search back, and found this picture of my daughter and Gracie at the Manchester, Vt summer horse show.  What memories!  This particular show is held in a large farmer's field on the side of the road.  For a week, we were at the show grounds for 10 hours a day -- no permanent facilities.  This was Gracie's first major horse show and it is a professional photograph.  My pics of any of the horse shows usually snap just after they finish the jump.  As a non-horse person, my nerves were usually very on edge when C was in the jump ring.  These fences were quite low, but for a period of time, she was jumping 4 foot fences - and had her share of falls.  Thanks for the memories, Pat.

My week has been consumed with replacing my vehicle.   C found the exact model Jeep - it's a unique 98 with a powerful engine and tow capability - so I went to Vermont to test and bring it home.  Registration, inspection, accident paperwork, rental return... just consumes so much time.  Today I will be sitting at the dealer's to address little issues and get the inspection sticker.  With little time to work on quilting, I will take this project that has dragged on for a while.

It is a table runner with a duplicate design on the other end.  It has become one of those projects that I forget for a while, then realize that I do want to finish it. 

Pat has also become my harbinger of weather - doesn't sound great for the weekend.  I will leave with a picture of my view from the sewing machine earlier in the week.  I thought we might be finished with this!

Have a great day!

Lynda

Snow

It started snowing on Sunday afternoon and continued until today.  I wanted to share some pics as if we are hit with another storm, I may not be able to see out of the window.  I did go outside to get the full impact for some of these.  If you remember the snowman picture -- this is the same door...

Here are a few others from outside...

One of the remaining icicles on the porch - the temperature has gone above freezing and these are dropping -

 The older part of the house has a metal roof, so all of the snow piled in front slides down once the sun hits... with a roar and splat that sets Jack Russells to barking and otherwise making fools of themselves.

As far as quilting, not a good week... I finished the second story quilt...

The only difference is the red polka dot in this one vs the green in the first.

Most of the week has been spent dealing with this --

My much-loved car - 98 Grand Cherokee with a 5.9 engine which just means it pulls or pulled a horse trailer with ease.  So much for stopping to call 911 for a roll-over in New Hampshire... you are asked to stay on the phone and provide information - so I stayed in the car on the shoulder of the road and was hit by a young lady without insurance who was speeding!  I ended up with bumps and bruises and the usual aches that appear days later -- and a lovely black eye!  Sadly, my car was totaled - so I have had to be my own advocate all week.

I am committed to getting some work done today and will share tomorrow... need therapy if nothing else.

Have a great day.

Lynda

PS - I have yet to figure out how to easily respond to comments which I would love to do... working on it today.  Always enjoy every comment.

Sew in

Just the thought of many quilters working last night kept me going...  until around 11 when I realized that I had folded back part of the edge of the quilt.  Fortunately we were not in the same room as I sometimes use colorful language when I make such a discovery...

My companion - I have a bad back so I think she thinks she is forcing me to sit up straight!  (yes, she remains there while I'm working at the machine but only in the evening.  During the day, she has a basket and surveys her back yard to protect it from birds and squirrels.

Sorry about the green eyes - no idea how to fix it.  The room has radiant heating so I wear layers that can be tossed after a fairly short time - amazing when you have warm feet that the rest of you warms quickly.

Project -- I had several on the docket - Amish stars, Schnibbles... but quilting the second story quilt took priority. 

So very close, but...

Back to work - need to deliver the quilt today, so will be heading for Vermont. 

Thanks for the company... have a great day.

Lynda

Friday finish .. part one

It is still Friday - albeit evening - but I just put the final stitches in story quilt one.  The second is my project for tonight's sew-in.  The idea for the quilt started with I Spy blocks from a swap and then took on a life of its own.  My sister (Nana) always has to tell a story at bedtime when the boys are visiting, so there are several blocks added that are specific to people or activities that they will recognize. 

Front...

Back...

I am so pleased with the outcome.  Delivery tomorrow, so off to finish #2

Have a great day.

Lynda

Friday Night Fun

I have not had the opportunity to quilt with a group since moving to Maine - and miss the friends and fun when working together... so I have joined Heidi's for this Friday.  Sounds like a fun way to quilt with a group without venturing into the cold!

Have a great day!

Lynda

Peeping snowman

Two posts this morning led to this 'not the pioneer woman' snowman.. Barb's snowman block and and Susan at Blackberry Creek's Silly Saturday .... my farmhouse has a metal roof that deposits snow around the front of the house... so rather than trying to find my snow stuff, I worked from inside the front door... as a result

Greatest challenge - chasing a Jack Russell who kept stealing the carrot.

Have a great day!

Lynda

Fabric Friday

I'm not sure if I am not committed enough or just have been mulling through the past week, but I decided to join Rosebud's Fabric Friday to force myself to at least post once a week!  When I browse my blog list through Google Reader, it reminds me that I decided to blog to create a record of my work... 

Of course, today is quite gloomy in Maine.  While we haven't been hit with the cold wave that has bothered the rest of the country, we have had many gray days which does not help my attempts at pictures. 

My Friday shares... first, a finish of my zigzag quilt for the ORB quilt along from the summer.. quite a contrast to the snow.

The quilting is a series of lines following the zigs and zags - about 1/2 inch apart.  I had a very hard time deciding on the binding -- deciding factor -- didn't have enough of any print to maintain the blue color scheme - and in the end, I love the red.  I think I washed it with color catchers three times as I had a problem with bleeding in another project.

Second finish - my series of little reproduction quilts...

Now, back to work on the story quilts - deadline is next weekend!

Have a great day!

Lynda