W.I.B.W.O.

Considering my travels, my household "issues", and the on-and-off presence of one or both of my daughters, I'm kind of surprised I've gotten anything done at all.  However, I did finish the Rubik's Rings quilt, including a couple of miles of binding.  Quilted by my favorite local long-armer.

Between binding sessions, it would be draped over the back of the chair in the living room.  Tabbitha approved.

Did a little gardening and appreciated the progress of last year's plantings.

Still have more planting to do -- some more perennials in the ground, and some annuals in new pots for the front porch.

I can only garden in spring and fall -- too hot and humid otherwise.  That's when I hide inside in the air-conditioning and sew, read, and watch movies.  Not complaining...

Paducah KY

Paducah is "Mecca" for quilters.  Especially during the American Quilter's Society quilt show, held each April.  Attending this show has been on my "to do" list for some time.  Last fall, I decided to "just do it" and made travel arrangements.  Though it is supposedly possible to fly into Paducah, instead, I booked a flight to Nashville and a rental car (about a two hour drive away) from Wednesday through Saturday. Even last October, the only hotel room available was about 20 miles away!   As I didn't arrive until 3-ish, I chose to check in, rest up and wait until Thursday morning:

The show was absolutely fantastic -- and absolutely overwhelming!  I could barely decide which quilts to photograph, though I did take a lot of pictures.   Here are a variety for your perusal:

The one that made my jaw drop was the winner of the handwork category.  Called "Star Struck", it was made of more than 12,000 hexagons!   Here's a short  interview with the quilt maker.  

By mid-afternoon, my senses had gone into overload and I called it a day.  My plans for Friday were to find the bricks-and-mortar store of Hancock's of Paducah, and to visit the quilt museum.   Took a long time to find the store, as I drove all around Paducah, mostly the wrong way on the right road, but it was worth the trouble!  My goal was to purchase fabric for a new quilt and curtains for D#2's room, and I was absolutely overwhelmed by the bolts and bolts and MORE bolts of fabric in the store!   Every time I thought I'd located just the right coordinates, I'd stumble across something new that made me rethink my plan  After a great deal of second-guessing myself,  I gave up looking, took what I'd chosen and checked out, making a substantial contribution to the local economy.

The quilt museum was smaller than I'd expected but no less impressive. 

There were two special exhibits on view, on either side of the main exhibit space, with previous award winners from the 20 years of the AQS show (and the lifetime of the museum) on display.   No photos were allowed inside, but here's a nearby sculpture installation, commemorating the Lewis and Clark expedition.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip and would happily do it again in a couple of years.  Maybe with company next time!

White Oak Retreat: April 2012

Between traveling and inertia, I find myself seriously behind on blogging, so here goes a first step to get caught up.  

Arrived home from Chicago on Wednesday night and, after work Friday, left for the much-anticipated spring White Oak retreat.  We had, as usual, a wonderful group of women where  I met Suzan for the first time, as I'd missed the fall.  The others the regulars I've known and loved for several (or more) years!  Here's what I worked on.

Started Friday evening with red, white, and blue star blocks made by the Uvulati for a quilt to be given to a veteran in hospice.  One of our international members, Judi, had sent fabric and I'd agreed to set blocks into a top.  Came out quite nicely, I believe:


 



Wrapped up that top on Saturday morning, and turned my attention to a top that I had thought was finished.  You may remember the pastel + fish jelly roll "mile a minute" I finished a little while ago. 

 

I had not planned to put borders on it.  But a few weeks later, in my LQS, I found this, which demanded to be added! 

So....  I added a white border first, then the stars, with green and white QST corner blocks

That project wrapped up and added to my pile of projects to quilt with my new QE4 (Pfaff Quilt Expressions 4.0).  

I seldom use a single line of fabrics for a quilt, but I was quite taken by the "Amelia" charm packs when I found them a while back and bought a couple, plus some yardage for borders.  I borrowed a book of patterns for "Schnibbles" from Pat Deck and found one I liked a lot.  Got the center of the top finished.

 
The last project of the weekend was one made of scraps that I'd pulled out sporadically but wanted to get done and ready to quilt.  The strips were done, so it didn't take too much to finish the main part of the top:  In one of my shopping expeditions I bought fabric for a small border but didn't get it added during retreat.

When I arrived home on Sunday, I discovered that the water heater had been leaking and I had a wading pool in the basement.   I do thank heaven for small favors, as, had it happened during my previous or succeeding trips, it would have been four days, rather than two, before I got home!   After doing the limited amount of disaster control possible, I unpacked my sewing stuff, keeping in mind that I was to leave for Paducah on Wednesday morning!

Progress report: month 22 (April 2012)

This month, I passed the two-thirds mark on my 1001 days.  Coincidentally, on that precise day, I was in the middle of completing one of my goals.

Completed:
61. Go to Paducah, KY for big quilt show (was here on Day 666)
82. Gave small gift to White-Oakers (bookmarks on 4/20)

Progress:
7,26,28. Kept up-to-date.
33. Went to gym (unless traveling).
48. Watched 8 movies: (181/125)
      The Debt
      Seven pounds
      Midnight in Paris
      Impromptu
      Rabbit hole
      Memento
      Truly, madly, deeply
      The Bible tells me so
49. Read 4 books: (76/60, 43/30, 30/10)
      The Lovely bones (Alice Sebold)
      Bury your dead (Louise Penny)
      The Union quilters (Jennifer Chiaverini)
      The Black tower (Louis Bayard)
84. Extra contributions: St. Paul's Memorial Garden, UNICEF
90. Read Bible daily throughout Lent. (year 2 of 3)
99. Updated blog post with progress (22 out of 22)
101. Blog posts (3):
      W.I.B.W.O.
      That toddlin' town
      Water, water, everywhere

Extra quilts: Finished Asian anvils and mini-Morris quilts.  Completed novelty "Bricks & Stepping Stones" as healing quilt.  "Pastel fish" healing quilt top is done; next healing quilt top (30's V-blocks) just needs a border.  Need to get going on some machine quilting.

Priorities for May:
6/9.  Back to basement...
  20. Get estimates for electrical work.
  30. Make a will.
100. Blog posts for White Oak and Paducah.