Monday, January 17, 2011

Poking my head up
















Sorry for being gone so long. This new life takes getting used to. I think I've finally got most of the paperwork out of the way...whew.. you could paper a room with all that stuff. Not fun.

Last week I got out the sewing machine and started in on a couple of things I had in mind for a while. As I've mentioned before, I'm crazy about any of the American Jane fabric but the Breath of Avignon is a particular favorite. Anyway, I fell in love with my friend Victoria's red cross quilt when she showed it before Christmas. Every time I get a chance, I go back and look at it again. Maybe it's the crosses and my feelings of faith are more on the surface right now, but I am really drawn to the images and her use of color is fantastic. When I see this quilt it just POW...smacks you in the face with it's stark beauty. She did a fantastic job of quilting it herself as well. The woman is so talented it makes my hair hurt. Go to her blog to see a new tutorial for innovative flying geese.....go on.....hurry up. You won't be sorry.
Soooooooo, my thought was to dig into my beloved Breath of Avignon jelly roll and turn out a whole lot of crosses. I'm not positive but I think I will keep this to a large wall hanging size. Victoria makes king sized quilts but she lives in a loft in NY city with room for that kind of work. While my house is big, it doesn't have that kind of floor space to accommodate a king size piece. Old house-small rooms. Someday I hope to take down several walls but that's another story for another day.

The other thing I'm working on is a baby quilt for a friend who is a first-time Mom. Lord knows when I'll get that done though since I can't find any more of that "Whimsy" fabric line by Joanna Figueroa. If anyone knows where I can find it let me know. I tried Fat Quarter Club and Hancock's and Jelly Rolls 2 go. Found more Breath of Avignon but none of the other line.

My son and DIL have been coming over often to have meals with me and it's very welcome. My DIL, Dani, has pretty much decided to return to school for her masters to become a CPA. She has put out so many applications it's ridiculous and they might as well bite the bullet and get her a degree she can work with. It's so difficult right now. The cost of living for a young couple is crazy around here. I will try to help them in any way I can. The thought of them moving away is to awful to contemplate. Besides, I need my grand-pup nearby. Life without Lucy would be very gray indeed. There has been some talk of adding an apartment onto this house to make a place for them. We all love the idea. It will just take time to work out details...Oh, and did I mention $$. Roger and I did that to live here and there's plenty of room for another addition.

I'll try to update more often. Some days, I find it very hard to be cheery and, in fact, to keep getting up at all. Time, and a little warm weather will do wonders. This awful winter has got us all down. We have been so spoiled by the past few years of little snow and ice. Where's some of that global warming I hear so much about?

Back soon.

9 comments:

Janet said...

It's good to see you posting again. I can see why you like Victoria's red cross quilt. It really does reach out and grab you!

Sorry to tell you this but it was in the low 70's here today. We just went through some cold weather with nights into the 20's but today it was sunny and warm.

Barbara C said...

It's good to hear from you cheery or not. Picking a sewing project that reflects your current thoughts will make it very special.

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

wowza! girlie you are already on it! yippee! good for you, sending you big hugs my friend!

Gerrie said...

Well, you know I love that red cross quilt for all sorts of reasons. My sis is dealing with all the paper work right now. She has social security plus the pension to deal with. I know she is lonely. She doesn't have any one near by to share a meal.

It was good to read your post today. And wonderful to see the fabrics and the piecing.

Mary Johnson said...

Your inspiration quilt is gorgeous, I can see why you want to create one of yr own.

Getting through the holidays was challenging I'm sure, I lost my Dad 22 years ago right before Christmas and it was years before I felt like celebrating. Glad your having lots of family time. Take care.

Melody Johnson said...

Woowoo! Quilting again. I feel quilting is the cure for all sorts of problems.
I used to tell my students, don't get a divorce, make a quilt.

Libby said...

So good to see your post and get a peek at your quilting projects. Check in at quiltshops.com. I did a search for Whimsy Fig Tree Quilts and found a few of the fabrics. Hopefully you'll find the ones you are looking for.
As to the snow, I am still loving it. Shoveled the driveway yesterday. I may well be the only person in New England that enjoys the job. Of course, that I can just come in the house and relax when the job is done as opposed to putting a full day of work somewhere probably has a LOT to do with that *s*

Terri said...

Good to see you blogging and quilting again!!!!
I wonder if you'd find the fabric you want online. I have shopped at Hancock's of Paducua, Thousands of Bolts and Fabric Depot Online. They have lotsa fabric, and you can shop in your pjs!
OOO
Terri

Debra Dixon said...

I have been hearing more and more about families combining in various housing arrangements. I think it's a good idea if everyone can get along well. My family is too hardheaded for that!

Just keep us in the loop--good or bad!