Tear Open to Find Joy!

This tempting proclamation appeared on top of an item purchased at the grocery store yesterday. What was the item? Did I tear it open in search of joy? You betcha’! Did I find joy? You’ll have to keep reading to find out. ;-)

 Clearly, I have not kept up with my intention to post twice a week. So, how has 2024 been going for you so far? I was grounded with a foot issue for two weeks . . . offloading. . .  That means that for two long weeks I wasn’t supposed to put any weight on my foot. Fortunately, I had quilting, wool applique, cross stitching, and reading to keep me busy.

I was able to resume normal activities last Thursday. Yeah!!! Everything was good. . . but . . . not so fast. I happened to glance up at the upstairs ceiling in the hallway and spotted a crack and water stain! No!!!!!! A new roof is in my future when we have a warm, dry stretch. For now, I have a bucket in the attic. We are expecting rain a few times this week; wish me luck. (By the way, this roof is only twenty years old; usually a roof lasts twenty-five to thirty years, but the leak in mine is around a vent pipe. I’d say 2024 can only get better, but I sure don’t want to tempt fate.)

I don’t have any finishes to show, but I have been busy. A child’s quilt just needs an outer border and then to be quilted. My cross stitch focus has been alternating between two pieces, and I have a wool applique piece about 95% done. I also prepped a wool applique piece on which I plan to work while on an upcoming quilt guild retreat. 

At yesterday’s meeting of the Crosstown Quilt Guild, our guest speaker was Pat Delaney of  Crabtree Lane Studio. Her talk was very informative and the quilts that she showed were stunning. If you are not familiar with this award winning quilter, check out her site to see her quilts, the lectures that she offers, and learn about her upcoming retreats.

So, back to the title of this post . . . did I find joy? I didn’t, but Emma did and I got the idea for this post. 

Isn’t that something! Hope it made you smile.

Stay safe and may you find moments of joy each day. :-)

Downton Abbey and a Very Quilty Month

If you are a Downton Abbey fan, drop everything and go see the movie. It's wonderful in every possible way, and it is as if you were visiting dear old friends (albeit those who live and work in a house a bit fancier than mine.) I saw it yesterday with a friend, and we both loved it!!! It was delightful seeing it all unfold on the big screen. I cannot wait to see the next movie which I imagine Julian Fellowes is already in the process of writing.

It has been two weeks since my last blog post, but I have been happily very, very busy. The only finished stitch piece was this wool applique, autumn themed vintage truck scene which was a pattern from Buttermilk Basin.

So, what else have I been doing quilt-wise? On Monday, Sept. 16th, I attended  "Meet the Teachers" at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell. This program allowed representatives of quilt guilds to hear from teachers who are eager to speak at our guild meetings. I'm mentioning this because there is currently at the museum an exhibit of the work of the late Sue Garman which is not to be missed. Her daughters have allowed the museum to host an amazing collection of her work. Her Baltimore Album quilts were exquisite and the range of her other quilts is definitely worth a visit. I first became aware of Sue Garmen when I made her Old World Santas quilt in 2012. Here is my quilt. I apologize for a not so great photo as it was was taken while it was hanging at our 2012 guild quilt show.

Sue Garman had designed many of the BOM quilts for The Quilt Show.  Her patterns are still available from her daughters on their website, Come Quilt.

At our first meeting of the year at the Herring Run Quilt Guild, I took a class taught by delightful, energetic Beth Helfter of Eva Paige Designs.  Beth has developed a fun technique for creating very scrappy "Accordion Sewn HSTs." She has a number of instructional videos on Youtube and a new book, OOMPAH! which explores her method.

On Friday, Sept. 20th, I took a class with award winning, improvisational quilter Marge Tucker at her Rockland studio. The class was "Eel Grass and Eddies (Long Layered Curves,)  and I have been addicted to making these blocks ever since. :-) [Marge was at the "Meet the Teachers" program at the Quilt Museum, and each of Marge's quilts was met with audible gasps. Her work is fresh and exciting, and she is an excellent instructor.]

Finally, at Tuesday's meeting of the Crosstown Quilters, our speaker was award winning quilter Pat Delaney whose trunk show was perhaps the most impressive trunk show that I have ever seen.  It was beyond words.

All of these lovely ladies have trunk shows and offer classes and workshops.  Click on their names to go to their websites for more information.

And now it is time to finish this up and take ever patient Emma for a long walk . . .

New York Beauty Floral

     Here's the New York Beauty Floral piece that I just completed. It was begun in a class taught by the pattern's designer Pat Delaney at the  Heart in Hands Quilt Shop in South Weymouth, MA. Pat talked about choosing colors, values, shading, scale, fabric selection, etc. which I found very helpful. Many of these florals I had in my stash, but the class was an excuse to go purchase more. I had initially planned to add some embellishments, but I've decided it's just fine as it is. Overall, I'm thrilled with how it turned out. While my piece is a wallhanging, you should have seen this pattern done as a bed quilt. The arrangement of the circles was different, and Pat's large quilt was truly magnificent.