Tuesday This & That

Two things that have occupied my time lately and one is something quilty. Some of you may remember the quilt I donated to the wounded female soldier at a rehab facility while I was a member of the Quilts of Valor team that Debra got together. Anyway, it's here to illustrate how lovely it came out after being quilted by Deb of Contemporary Quilting. When I received it back from her I almost couldn't bear to part with it. As luck would have it, I was finding many baggies full of scraps recently and came across one containing many nine-patch blocks and pieces to make many more and even a small one that was already together. Many of the fabrics from that original quilt were from collecting civil war fabric and historical fat quarter packs from Keepsake Quilting monthly mailings. I loved those fabrics a bunch and I'm so thrilled that I cam across this baggie. I needed to reacquaint myself with the pleasure of just sitting and sewing after all these months. What fun.

When I was not packing stuff and moving it to the sewing room I fell into this book by Edward Rutherford. It may not be for everyone but since I am a New Yorker and a history buff, it was definitely for me. In essence, it's the history of Manhattan Island told with characters-some real and some imagined by the author. It begins with the first fur traders in the 1600s and continues on up to the falling towers in 2001. Lots of interesting families and some great research by the author. I guess I really liked it best for knowing the places he was writing about. Mr. Rutherford has written several historical novels. A couple are about England and one of those is a novel that goes back to the first settlers of that island. I am looking forward to reading them as well.
If you are a history buff like me, you will get a great kick out of this site The Manahatta Project I advise you to get a cuppa and something to munch because you will get sucked in here. It is the most fantastic place to visit. They have created the island of Manhattan in the 1600s just the way that Henry Hudson saw it on that first day. It's a wonder to see and there is a way to click on any street in Manhattan and see what was there in those days. The maps are superimposed upon current map and when you click on a square it will tell you what existed on that street in the 1600s. I'm such a sucker for this stuff that I'm sure many would be snoring over it but I just get lost in imagining how very beautiful it must have been.

Well I've been playing around enough now and must get something done so I'll talk to you soon..