Another UFO completed!

It was a little breezy when I took this photo last night but I got the pic snapped!  Anyway, this is another UFO completed!  I'm going to give this to our family doctor who is expecting her first baby in the fall.  Hope she likes it!

Thanks to all who have been asking about Teddy.  He is holding his own.  The new doctor was not helpful and we've decided to just keep him comfortable while he is with us.  He has good and bad days like the rest of us...

Today I'm off to the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center to do a lecture on the history of the Sunbonnet pattern.  Looking forward to seeing all the activities for their special weekend called Penn Dry Goods Market Show and Sales!
Have a great day!

Peace and Plenty Towel

Oh sure, I say I am going to feature a vintage towel each Thursday...and then promptly forget until it is Friday.  Anyway....This is one of my favorite vintage towels.  I just love the piece because the embroidery is really showy from even far away ...not to mention great sentiments and it is the name of a quilt pattern!

 Wishing you a Thursday full of peace and plenty!

New acquisition...

I know I've been AWOL, I'm really booked up through the Spring and Summer for guild programs and don't always have time to post.  However...

I just acquired this quilt top.  I don't buy much anymore but...I've wanted a quilt or a pattern for this quilt since I first saw it in a Home Arts 1939 magazine.  Here's the original add:

I'm going to include this in my Story Time Stitches program (the focus of which is baby and kid's quilts) and my new program that features Embroidered Quilts.  I love that the maker of my top used a nine patch instead of plain fabric.  

These days our dog Teddy is having many challenges with his hip.  He is seeing a new doctor on Monday and we are hoping that we can find some relief for him.  

Well I'm off to pack, two programs to do this weekend!  Have a great day!  

Green Grows the City...

Green Grows the City is one of my favorite books, by one of my favorite authors, Beverly Nichols.    If you aren't familiar with his works--and you garden--I highly recommend him.  He is the only garden writer that I absolutely adore.  

Today I finished mulching the garden.  Sounds simple enough.  The front yard I had done a week or two ago (took 13 bags--or 26 cubic feet); today I finished up doing the back yard (20 bags or 40 cubic feet).  Afterwards, I have to be very very kind to my body but if I pace it right, I do okay with out a sore back :)

I'm not the only gardening nut in my neighborhood, these are photos that I took on a walk the other day.  We have our challenges in the city, so sometimes I just need to remind myself that there is loveliness everywhere.

Throw in the Towel Thursday...

Yesterday, I realized that I have a collection of vintage towels.  I certainly didn't mean to have this kind of collection; it just happened that when I found a charming vintage towel, I bought it.  I mean think about it, towels are usually really inexpensive and they are fun accessories in the kitchen.

So I decided to feature a different towel each week.  This is the one that I put out after Easter, mostly because the garden has been invaded by a lot of bunnies lately.  Do you have any fun vintage towels?

PS--If you are wondering why I increased the security on this blog, I was getting spammed a lot and just had to tighten things up!

Big quilt, little quilt

Well these two are off my list.  You may remember that a few weeks ago I finished a wee miniature quilt:

I made it from scraps of this top that was in my UFO basket:

The most fun was embellishing it using odds and ends that I throw in my "odds and ends bin" :D

This is what I do with earrings when one is lost or broken:

Plus I used a little embroidery as well, like on this bird:

I have a lot of aqua left and hope to make a twin or throw to go with this lot.  We'll see, meanwhile, I am working on another finish.......Have a great day!

On the road again...

You may not realize this, but I have a little business doing speaking engagements about quilt history to guilds and organizations.  I always take January to March off because of weather challenges.  Today I'm kicking off a new season and speaking at Drexel University.   

I'm thrilled that Beth from Backstitch Quilt Repair returned my crazy quilt on Friday after doing major conservation work on this quilt for me.  I love the embroidery on this piece but really REALLY wanted the Civil War commemorative ribbons preserved.   

Beth's work is exceptional; I actually have to feel the quilt to find all the places that she stabilized the piece.  She uses a barely visible fabric and her stitches are hard to even find!  Thank you Beth!

Today I am presenting my "Quilts and History: Why You Should Care" program.    I'm excited I'll be able to include this piece.  I've been doing this lecture for many years after a museum asked me to write a talk on quilt history for an audience of non-quilting men.  It should be a lot of fun at the University plus I'm going to be seeing my my son and his girlfriend for dinner as well!  

Tomorrow I will post a photo of another finish that I completed last night.  Ya'all have a great day!

A finish

Finally another finish I can post.  I completed the embroidered blocks last year.  I think it took about 7 months to embroider the blocks.  Now it's finally completed and another UFO is off my list!  Special thanks to my friend Julie who let's us use her deck to photograph quilts :)

Prayers for all those in need...

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it"

                                             ---Helen Keller