Spoiled Rotten!

SPOILED! I am. My very dear friend, who lives in Utah, sent me a care package of over a dozen gorgeous quilt books and calendars. I'm sitting here on my love seat, wrapped in a quilt with a cat on my lap, making plans!

I'm particularly fascinated by the Civil War book and current Christmas projects. I may never emerge from this quilt stupor.

See the card in the picture? From her personal printing press. Have I mentioned how talented my friends are?

Butterflies Everywhere!

Third time today! See? Weather is colder so this smart girl stays in!

Here are 160 butterflies, ready for trimming and then on to step 2. So cool!

Dylan's Eagle Scout Project

Had a bit of fun with the Gooden family last week. Dylan is working on his Eagle Scout project. He assembled friends and family to whip up over 200 polar fleece blankets for Detroit Veterans.

I missed the first of two gatherings but made this one. I had volunteered my quilting skills but was told he had volunteer cutters. So, imagine my surprise when I showed scissor-less only to find we had to cut our own. Ugh.

All those beautiful, expensive scissors and rotary cutters at home... And all I had access to was the rusty utility pair seen here. I sent Steve off with a flee in his ear until he found me a more usable pair. (He's a good sport! All in fun)

It must've worked - between Steve, his daughter and myself, we assembled 7 in about 2 hours!

These were my first polar fleece blankets. We laid out 2 - 4'x10' polar fleece rectangles, wrong-side together. We cut a fringe through both layers and along all 4 sides at about 2"x4" (or 1 knuckle-width apart). Tie them together with granny knots.

And, Dylan met his goal. I was so impressed with his organization, his patience, his dedication. Good time had by all. Afterwards, the Gooden family convened for an early Thanksgiving dinner - they can cook!

Belle Isle Adventure!

Today was the annual koi wrangling at the Belle Isle Aquarium. Lorna and I made the trip down, but they had an abundance of volunteers. So, instead, we spent a little time wandering around the Belle Isle Aquarium and the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory. Beautiful day!

Hard To Quilt...

On days like this...

My Quilt Legacy

I'm sitting here at Algonac State Park, wrapped in a flannel quilt made in 1998 while I lived in Portland, Me.

I told my boyfriend that it was OK for me to take it as it was an early "practice" quilt. It's made from flannels (when they first came out), typical 90's fabrics (I was poor), and used 3D techniques (my first attempt).

I looked around and realized most of the quilts around me were "practice" quilts - early paper piecing, snails trails, fussy cutting.

Where are my good ones? Well, I made them and gave them away. They went to good homes. So I started thinking of my legacy. Decades down the road, as my good quilts were handed down to those future generations and all that's left in my trunks are the "practice" ones. What will the historian say?

"Well, she was willing to experiment, but she wasn't very polished." Interesting? I wonder how many long-gone quilters we've judged based on the few examples that remain? How do we know we are judging by their best work? Those quilts stored in their trunks may be their early work, work with inexpensive fabric and shaky stitches... the only examples of their work that remains because they were rarely brought out to light.

Deep thoughts at the campfire.

Halloween Nights

The family had a great time at Greenfield Village, Trick-or-Treating! I think Lorna and crew had the best costumes!