Kent Free Library Book Club

It seems that many quilters are also readers, so I thought it would be appropriate and fun to blog about some of the books that I have recently read.

I decided to join a book club sponsored by our local library, Kent Free Library.  The group meets once a month and we have tea or coffee while discussing our latest book.  So far, I've totally enjoyed being in the group and reading the books that were chosen.  I started in February with Liar Temptress, Soldier Spy written by Karen Abbott.  It was an amazing book and well researched!  I learned so much about the Civil War that I had never realized and also discovered the many rolls women played during that period in history.  I highly recommend it!

Our next selection was The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline.  Everyone in our club liked this historical fiction selection.  Again, I learned about some interesting facts from our American history. If you have never heard about orphan trains, be sure to check out this book.   This is a good story!  

The book we are reading this month is Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel.  I saw the movie, which I enjoyed, but am looking forward to reading the book this month.  I'll let you know what I think about this book in May after out next meeting.

Happy spring reading to all my quilting friends and remember you can always listen to a book on CD or on your Kindle while you are quilting. 

Back from Florida

Barbie and I flew south for a few days and had a wonderful time in the sunshine.  It was not our usual quilt tour, instead it was a get-away to visit a good friend, Jan, who lives in Cape Coral, Florida.   I want to share a couple of adventures that we enjoyed.

Sanibel Island

On Saturday, we drove out to Sanibel Island which is about a half hour from Jan's house.  For more information about the island, CLICK HERE.  The day was full of sunshine but a little cool by Florida standards, only 70 degrees.  For the winter weary from Ohio, it was perfect.  How fun to get my toes in the sand and walk through the waves on Bowmans Beach.  The island is famous for sea shell hunting.  

What a gorgeous day!

  

 CROW

After Bowmans Beach, we went to visit CROW which stands for "Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife."  -  "For more than four decades, CROW has provided compassionate care to animals at all stages of illness and injury. Whether providing for an orphaned baby rabbit or rehabilitating an injured raccoon and releasing it back into the wild, our staff and volunteers are making a difference and our 4,800-square-foot wildlife hospital is where it all takes place."  
CLICK HERE for more information about CROW.  They are helping nature whenever possible and it's a worthy cause for sure!  We enjoyed visiting their center and learning more about the program.

A big thanks to our friend Jan who took time to drive us all around and explore the island.  What would we do without friends?

"I cannot even imagine where I would be today if it were not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy.  Let's face it, Friends make life a lot more fun." 
~ Charles R. Swindoll

Celebrating Quilting Day

"The Late Wisconsin Spring" by John Koethe

"Snow melts into the earth and a gentle breeze   

Loosens the damp gum wrappers, the stale leaves   

Left over from autumn, and the dead brown grass.   

The sky shakes itself out. And the invisible birds   

Winter put away somewhere return, the air relaxes,   

People start to circulate again in twos and threes." 

Finally!  The weather opened up its closed fist and we were able to drive south on Saturday - National Quilters Day - for a QBee quilting day with Miss Carol of Sweet Peas and Possum.  Michelle, Earlene, Barbie and I joined Miss Carol in her snowball Nine-patch "9 Snows in a Row" class.  We started out with show and tell and below is Barbies "Floral Tumbler Quilt." The lively colors make you dream of spring!  What a fun Grape border!

Below:  Earlene's very first snowball block!  She is getting hooked on quilting.

Hey!  Where did all the quilters go?  I think there was a karaoke party in the back room.  Our guard dog, Gus, is keeping an eye on the fabric.  You can see the sample class quilt on the board behind the tables.

Michelle had a plan for her colors.  It is looking good!

Mama Barb's snowball blocks

First sign of spring

 Mama Barb's scrap box!  How fun!

Earlene's 9-patch.  Check out her corners!  Miss Carol is the best teacher ever!

We continued quilting at home where Toria completed her first small project.  A little string mug rug.  She did a great job sewing and quilting it.

Happy Spring Quilting!

It's in the Bag and and on the Wall

The weather in Ohio continues to be colder than average, this morning 10 below zero in Kent, but I heard 20 below zero and more in other outlying areas.  Big sigh!  Can't wait for spring!
Meanwhile . . .

Fabric Grocery Bags

This week our Streetsboro Quilt Guild met early on Tuesday night to work on grocery bags for the church pantry.  It's an easy pattern and such a good idea for a better, more sturdy way to carry those paper bags full of food.  The paper bag fits right inside the cloth bag.  You can click on the pattern to make it larger.

The pattern is basic and you can use any fabric that you have on hand.  Here is a finished bag:

With all the ladies sewing, we were able to finish about 20 bags.  We need more and want to have them finished by Easter.

On the Wall

If you look back at my blog in August of2012, I was at a retreat at the Rural Thimble in Charm, Ohio.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THAT POST!

During that retreat, I started a tumbler quilt.  You can see it hanging over the railing in the picture if you look closely.  It wasn't very big.  I found that UFO during my sewing room clean out and decided that it is going to be a "table topper."  And that's that!  Here it is on the wall:  Post Script:  That plan has now changed. 

Stay warm and think spring!!

Six More Weeks of Quilting

“Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen.” ― Willa Cather, My Ántonia

The sun was shining today so I went outside, saw my shadow and headed back down the basement for six more weeks of winter quilting.

I have not been quilting so much, but I've been sorting and organizing material.  It warmed me right up to iron all that material.  New storage bins inspire me, so I bought some color coded bins and filled them with that specific color or something close. How satisfying to see the material folded and put in a bin where I could find it more again easily.    

I discovered that I don't have much red or white material.  I then counted and found that I have almost 100 fat quarters, including the Christmas fat quarters.  I have to say that I have neglected my stash collection far too long and now I am getting ready for my six more weeks of quilting.

I even started reading the bias edges as I ironed.  

I forgot that I bought this panel.  I love the covered bridges.

This was a piece left over from a quilt for my granddaughter.  Sorting material takes you down memory lane.

This bias edge kind of describes how I am feeling right now.  Trying to get through the rest of the winter on a "Wing and a Prayer."  

Not done yet! 

First Quilt of the New Year

I'm honestly a very slow quilter and every time I complete a quilt, I'm a little amazed.  Now, this January I have one quilt totally finished.  Of course, I started it last winter, but I'm not going to mention that.  I finally finished my "Falling Charms Winter Quilt" and delivered it to a special neighbor.  She was thrilled and that's what matters.  I found the pattern on Missouri Star Quilt and if you are interested in the pattern, CLICK HERE.  It's a fun, easy and quick (for some people) quilt.

A fellow quilter from the Streetsboro Quilt Guild, Shari, did the machine quilting and I was very pleased with the pattern and the quality of her work.  The spiral quilting gives the quilt a sense of movement.  Here is a close up the quilting.

If you remember, last January I made a goals list for quilting.  I put 10 quilts on the list and did complete six.  Not too bad for a pokey quilter.

I have been in the basement pressing and sorting material for the New Year.  It's a great way to stay warm on a cold winters day - hot iron in hand.

Stay warm and happy winter quilting!!

Raclette /rəˈklɛt/ New Year's Eve

Instead of a "Rockin" New Year's Eve, I had a "Raclette New Year's Eve."  My niece Heather and her friend from Germany, Steffi, provided the Raclette cheese and grills for us to use to celebrate the new year German style.  Steffi brought the cheese back from Germany.  Here is how it goes.  Before the meal, beef, chicken, kielbasi, peppers, mushrooms, onion, potatoes, cauliflower and other vegetables are cut up and put in separate dishes.  The grills are set on the table and each person gets to cook their own meat and vegetables.  The Raclette cheese is melted in wedge-shaped coupelles that are placed under the grill to melt and brown the cheese; the top gets all bubbly. The coupelles are non-stick, so the cheese slides right off onto your meal.  

It was really fun to try this German tradition.  Delicious!

Check out this information on Raclette in Wikipedia  CLICK HERE

Raclette Cheese all the way from Germany

A big thanks to my sister-in-law, Michelle.  She worked hard to prepare the food for our meal and make the night special.

Thank you, Steffi, for sharing your German New Year's tradition with us!

My Mr. Potato Nose creation

HAPPY NEW YEAR