"Quilt By The Mile"

Tedium

2012-01-22T03:27:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, my dear friend Pat Eaton (www.birdnestontheground.blogspot.com), came to visit. I love company and Pat always makes me smile, plus - she is a fabulous ego boost. I am her #1 Fan and, happily; she seems to enjoy my work as well.
My house is where I live - I don't live for my house, if you catch my meaning. I use my house and it is evident - everywhere. My dinning room, for example, has my Elna set up at one end of the table. Also, there is a storage box with three drawers (now this is not a permanent fixture, I just brought it in because I have been making some Christmas ornaments and the supplies were in the bottom drawer). Actually, the Elna isn't a permanent fixture either - I just don't have the room in my Studio to set up another machine. Also, I've been dying some woolen fabric and yarns and they are spread out all over one end of my table, too; along with a Quilt top on which I am currently working.
In my living room, where I nest each evening after dinner, I have my drawing tablet out and my tray of pencils. I've been working on a tree. I enjoy drawing sometimes and trees are one of my favorite subjects.
I said all that just to make the point that if you come to my house, it is evident that I'm doing stuff and sometimes it brings comment.
Pat came down to North Little Rock from Searcy, AR., to bring me presents. Oh, YES! Wonderful, fabulous presents.
Last Thursday at our monthly 'Beader Bunch' gathering at my friend Jim's house, (of which Pat and I are members) my 'Show and Tell' was my dyed fibers, my canvas on which I have begun a rug hooking project, and several of my new 'Baskets' that I made from men's neck ties. (And that's another thing - every flat surface in my home is covered with my 'Baskets')
Well, Pat said that she had a lot of ties that she wanted me to have. That got me really excited but then she added that she also had a cutter that rug hookers use to cut large pieces of wool into tiny strips.  I hadn't had any idea that Pat was ever involved in rug hooking and it seems that she really never was. She had inherited it from our dear friend Sharon Heidingsfelder. She said that the cutter was in a box on a top shelf out in the 'Birdnest' and it was not being, nor had it ever been; used. She wanted me to have it. Now, I am an excitable Chic, but this put me 'over the moon'! I had asked EC to look on e-bay to find me a cutter, but so far he hadn't found one - so this was just fabulous!
At this point I feel that I need to mention - last April, while in Paducah, KY. for the annual AQS Quilt Show, I met a vendor selling rug hooking supplies and because it was all so beautiful and; she convienced me - so easy; naturally I bought some things to get started. A hook, a canvas and a stack of beautiful wool.  When I got home I mentioned to a friend about my purchase and she told me I needed to talk to a mutual friend who was deeply involved in rug hooking. Well, time passed and during Christmas I ran into the friend, Ann, at Joann's. We got together on the first Saturday of this month for the first time.  It seems there is a rug hooking group that meets in Jacksonville at the Library on first Saturdays - who knew? - so Ann invited me. I took my little box of 'beginnings' (I had never hooked the first strand of wool) and a whole new world of 'Hookers' was opened to me! It seems that 'Hooking' has it's own little sub-culture - sort of like Quilters! Again - Who Knew!? Now, on top of all my other 'addictions' - rug hooking has my attention. But to be a real 'Hooker' you really need a cutter and my friend Pat was offering me one as a 'Present'!
So..............., that is why Pat came to my house. She brought me a very large suitcase and a large pink box, both loaded to the top with men's ties and she brought me the 'cutter'! We spent time going over the cutter and the different blades that came with it and we also looked at all the other treasures that she wanted me to have. She brought books and magazines on rug hooking, some additional canvases and yarns. What a deal! It was better that anything!!
But, as the morning passed, and we finished the tour, (tour - that part of the visit when you trapse around the house looking at all the stuff and since my work is all out for anyone to see, it is easily picked up, inspected and commented on) Pat and I were talking about the stuff we do. You know, the Quilting, the beading, the embroidery (Pat's embroidery is fabulous - Billions upon Billions of the tiniest French Knots - oh My!). Anyway, Pat mentioned that she would be a great factory worker. Doing something on a line over and over again! I agreed. In my youth (when I was 18 - 19) I worked at the RCA plant in Memphis, TN. on an assembly line. I was a wire wrapper. I had my little gun and I would 'zip' those little wires on that post 'quick like a bunny'. As a matter of fact - I was so fast I would work back up the line to the beginning and then take off to visit my friends elsewhere in the plant.  Then run back and wrap some more.
We agreed that tedium did not bother us. That is why we love to sit and make the small things that we do. I like to make 3 1/2 inch log cabin squares with 100 pieces, or fussy cut ferns, or draw trees with all the tiny branches, or wrap thousands of feet of cording with fabric to make a few baskets and never get bored. Pat loves to make the billions of tiny French Knots that make her beautiful framed art and her wonderful pin cushions so fabulous.
And the reason - Purely for the love of it. The Quilts, baskets, pin cushions, rug hooking, painting, drawing - we do it for the love of it. Because it adds some beauty in the world and puts a smile on faces of friends.
In conclusion - Pat and I spent a wonderful time - we are a mutual admiration society -she is a fabulous artist and a generous friend. Thank you Pat.
We'll talk later - Carol Ann

What have I been Up To????

2011-05-23T05:55:00.000-05:00

Hello,
It's been a while, I know, but this year has been very busy. Being retired - that means I don't have a formal job, but it doesn't mean I don't work - gives me a certain amount of freedom. So EC and I have done a bit of traveling. We went to Maui, my favorite place in the whole world, during the first couple of weeks in March. We returned in time for me to go to my Guild's retreat - AWOL (Arkansas Women on the Loose with Jim & Eddie) where I had a wonderful three days of sewing and visiting with about 40 friends from my Guild.
I was home for a couple of days and then EC and I drove to Saint Simon's Island, Georgia for my only niece's wedding. That was a beautiful trip and we have never been there before so we really loved seeing that part of America.
I was home long enough to wash my clothes and re-pack and off again to Quilt City, USA - Paducah, Kentucky, for the wonderful AQS Quilt Show. What a wonderful time! My traveling companions, Shirley- the driver, Natalie-tour director, Brenda, Bea, Debbie and me - all six of us plus our bags and two air beds, fit nicely into Shirley's van. After three days of Quilt Show, MAQ Museum, Hurt Books, Hancock's of Paducah, and various other places all over the City - we looked like Gypsies! The van was stuffed! It was great fun and we made it back before all of the major flooding!
I actually stayed home for two weeks - I had to go to my Guild meeting and I have a sew day here on 2nd Saturdays - then this past Monday morning I breezed off to Victoria, Texas to visit my friend Crayola. That was a 1200 mile drive. We had a great visit, Victoria is a nice small town down in 'way' South Texas, but it is hot down there. I got back to North Little Rock just in time for more rain.
I guess I posted this to let you know that I'm still here, even though I've not been here.

During my short stays here this year, I've really gotten a lot done with my Quilting. I finished a Quilt top that features my "Jibbles & Bits" & "Century Log Cabins". I've made at least 20 baskets on my new Industrial Bernina 950(I love this machine-it's really 'no nonsense' sewing & it really gets the job done), and before I left for Victoria, I made four new "Century Log Cabins". These take me about a day to make, but I am so happy to have them. The completed block is about 3 1/2 inches square and there are over 100 sewn pieces in each one of them.
I just wanted to let you know I'm still around and still working on my Quilts. I'm also very happy that I seem to have successfully posted some pictures.
Anyway, I'm happy to be here, Home is always best. Enjoy the photos, we'll talk again soon (I hope)

"All Tied Up!"

2011-03-25T15:57:00.000-05:00

Hello,
During the Winter of 2009/10, my husband came home with a rather large box of men's ties. EC has a friend, Darrel, who has a brother named Dalton. EC and I privately refer to them as "Darrel and his other brother Darrel", from the old 'Bob Newhart Show' (which still remains a very funny memory). Anyway, their father passed away and EC was asked if he would like the ties, among other things. EC asked if I wanted them - as he didn't have any use for them - and of course I said "yes".
Over the years - at least the past 20 years - I have collected and accumulated a stash of ties, gathered from yard sales, some of EC's, and from others in the family that have passed away. But, once I received the box from Darrel and his other brother Darrel, I had so many that I decided I really needed to do something with them.
My friend Jim, a very talented and creative fellow, brought several items to 'Show & Tell' once. One item that caught my eye was a foot stool that he had covered with old men's ties. It was fabulous. I think he may have also brought a Quilt top that was pieced using men's ties. I simply filed these away as interesting things to do with men's ties, but never considered actually doing either of them.
There are folks who acquire an item only when they know for what they will use it.. My thoughts on that are; "Bless their hearts"! Think of all the possibilities that are missed because there isn't anything there to spark the imagination.
Should be collecting them, you may discover that men's ties may have an errant food stain, they could be really old and recall the days of the 'skinny' tie, or that other day of the really 'broad' tie, but in all cases there is usually the tiny little tag sewn inside that gives the fabric content. The little tag that held the most interest for me says 'pure silk' and those are the ties that I wanted.
So, I dug through all my ties, now a pretty large collection, and pulled out all the ties that didn't have the little label that announced the fiber content as being 'silk'. Oh My! I seem to have collected a couple of hundred ties of silk. Surly there was something to be done with them all.
Everything I had noticed made from ties were constructed using the whole tie. The ties had been left as they were found, maybe cut in half, but I didn't remember any being de-constructed.
For some reason, that just didn't suit me so- -at some point during that Winter season, I sat with my collection of men's ties and began the process of taking them apart.
Right off the bat, I feel I should share, this is a time consuming process. Men's ties include a decorative facing on the large end, some have lining, there are tacks in several places and - above all -every single tie without exception is sewn with ugly, thick, black thread! And, it doesn't matter the color of the silk, the thread is black. I feel the need to mention at this point, I have an imagination. In all that I sew I love to use either a matching thread, a variegated thread or a contrasting thread. How sad all those 'tie making laborers' must be - only allowed to use "BLACK"! Boo Hoo for them.
It took me several weeks - just working in the evenings - to de-construct all these ties and; since I had nothing planned for them, they were put into a storage bin and put on a shelf in my Studio.
Time passed.
I have been on a basket making tear since the first of the year. EC bought me a wonderful new sewing machine - a Bernina 950 Industrial Machine - and I have kept it hot making baskets. The only thing that slows me is the fact that I must wrap at least 100 feet of clothesline with 3/4" bias strips of fabric, or I would have many, many more.
But, alas, I was digging through my polished cotton stash and noticed I was getting low on selections. Now, I'm not saying that my stash is getting low, I still have bou-cous of polished cottons, I'm just saying my coordinating selections were getting thin. And here, you may have guessed, is where the de-constructed silk men's ties come in. Yep! I imagine they will make some beautiful baskets!
I prissed myself into my Studio, fetched my storage bin of ties and picked out a few to cut into bias strips.
In case you didn't know, men's ties are made of bias cut fabric to begin with, so all I had to do was cut. There-in lay my first problem. Men's ties are folded and folded and folded! And then probably steamed. There wasn't any way to just lay them on my cutting board, place a ruler on them and cut them into strips. Every single one of them would have to be ironed!
I failed to mention that most of the ties I have were made of at least two pieces and very often three. So I didn't have just 200 pieces of silk to steam iron, I have over 500 pieces. So, to make a long story short on that subject, I've been ironing daily since Tuesday. I still have a lot left, there doesn't seem to be an end to them, but I have enough to be able to choose some colors and I have begun to cut and wrap.
Very shortly, as I plan to wrap at least 400 feet (I can make a beautiful set of three baskets from 400 feet of wrapped clothesline) I hope to have a set to photograph and show.

We'll talk later------------

One Quilters Trash ~ Another Quilters Treasure

2011-01-19T11:08:00.000-06:00

Hello!
Something amazing has happened and I want to share the story with you.
Several years ago, my friend Crayola and I planned a trip to Houston to go to the International Quilt Festival.
At the time, Crayola lived in San Antonio and I, of course, was here in North Little Rock. Crayola's daughter Desiree` lives in 'way-west Houston' and she offered us a bed and wonderful food and drink, so who were we to turn down such a 'sweet' offer.
I had not seen Desiree` in forever or met her husband and daughters, so this was to be a multi-faceted visit. Desiree met me when I got off I-10 and I knew her the moment I saw her. She hadn't changed a bit and it was a fun reunion. Crayola arrived from San Antonio later and the fun really began. Tons of really great 'show and tell' about our lives, reminising about the 'good old days', Desiree` showing us her home, yard, introducing me to her beautiful little girls, making friends with another generation of Crayola's family, meeting Doug - the husband (who took us out to a fabulous resturant for dinner). It was all good.
Crayola and I shared a bedroom and bath, and I must mention that Crayola feels the need to sleep with the television on. This is important because of what was on the T.V. when we where getting up and getting ready for breakfast on our first morning.
I do not remember the name of the show - but it was Quilt related. Some wonderful Quilter was sharing her Technique. I don't recall if she named it "Pagoda Blocks" or if I did, but it caught our eye and we watched with great interest. Crayola and I were really excited and couldn't wait to try the method that we had just viewed.
I can honestly say, I haven't the vaguest notion as to why I was attracted to this, but; looking back, perhaps it was that it really hadn't any rules to speak of. If you know me, you know I don't read instructions and make up my own rules and "Pagoda Blocks" sort of 'fit that bill'. And, no two blocks are the same.
After the Quilt Show, Crayola and I went to San Antonio for a few days, to her home. She had a wonderful Studio and a fabulous 'stash'! I, of course, had bought an ample amount of fabric in Houston and we thought we should put some of it to good use. "Pagoda Blocks"!
Crayola picked out some reds, blacks, and yellows. I had some beautiful green/black batik and a blue/green batik that I chose. We got busy. In no time - a couple of days, working day and night - we had two Quilt tops completed.
All good things must come to an end and so too did my visit. I got home and immediately added boarders and that is exactly how the "Pagoda Block" top remained for a year or two. The making of it had been the fun. I went on to other Quilts. One day, however; I took a look at it and decided it needed something. I took my rotary cutter in hand and cut it up into five or six big chunks and pieced it back together with a black and white fabric. Again, this top - I just couldn't get a feel for it - sat for a couple of years, until-----------!
Sharon Schamber came to town! That, in and of itself, is a happening. She stayed in my home, I got to drive her to all her appointments and of course, attend all her workshops! It was wonderful. Sharon is the most giving Quilt Queen I've ever met. She shared many of her wonderful techniques. The one that really made an impression was how to cut circles in fabric and glue in new pieces. This was an epiphany!
Guess in what I decided to cut holes! You guessed it - the poor little, chopped up "Pagoda Block" Quilt top.
It was time for AWOL - Arkansas Women On the Loose & Jim - and the Quilt top is the thing I decided that, at last, must be whipped into something I could love. I spent the entire three days making "Jibbles & Bits", cutting holes in the Quilt top and inserting my work. I thought, "At last, something to 'love' about this top!" But, alas; even this didn't do it for me. Sharon had also shown us how to really curve a bias strip and even the addition of a winding, orange ribbon, cruising through the holes of "Jibbles & Bits" just didn't make me love it.
Again, time passed. Years!
One day, recently, EC asked me "why", since "Pagoda Blocks" are not my thing, "would I keep on trying to make something that was someone else's, into something that was mine" The light bulb finally came on. Isn't EC the smartest thing?! I grabbed both the "Pagoda Block" tops (yes, over the years I had made another) and my rotary cutter and cut them up, removing all the parts that were me, my "Jibbles & Bits", and tossed the remains into a basket.
Suddenly, I knew exactly what I wanted to make - a Quilt of all my "Jibbles & Bits" with no trace of that silly "Pagoda Block". I have been really focused, since before Christmas, on making that happen and I am loving the results!
My friend, Jim comes to my house for 2nd Saturday Sew Days. Jim is a majician with all left-over scraps and I love to see what he can do with pieces that I can no longer find a use. Jim was the lucky recipiant of the poor, misbegotten, wacked up, (three large holes in the middle) "Pagoda Block" Quilt top.
Today, while checking my Facebook account and reading my e-mails, I read one from Jim. He has a suprise for me tomorrow when I go to his place for a sew day. However; posted on Facebook were the photos!
You guessed it! The green, pitiful "Pagoda Block" is finally at rest. Jim cut it up, removed the boarder and reperposed the top. Then he re-applied the boarder, added touches that only Jim can imagine - a crow sitting on a watermelon - and called it 'finished'! It is wonderful now and just simply proves "There is always someone that will love it"!
I have no moral for this story - just thought it needed telling.
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann

Quilters Block

2010-11-15T11:44:00.000-06:00

Hmmmm. After I looked at the title I choose for this writing I decided that it could be taken more than one way.
As a Quilter, the first thing I learned about making a Quilt is 'the Block'. One doesn't necessarily have to make a block to make a Quilt, but that is usually where we all started.
I, however; am referring to the sort of 'block' that I seem to be experiencing at the moment. I can't explain it other than to say, "I seem to be stuck in neutral." I've heard of 'writters block' so I am drawing a comparison.
This very last Saturday I took a class in machine Quilting from my friend and very talented Quilt Artist, Judy Tipton Rush. This was going to be the very inspiration that would draw me from this malaise.
I loved the class, Judy is an expert at her craft. Her work is perfection - really - I can find no flaws in her pieces and each one is beautiful. One example of her perfection - she hand ties each thread at the end and then threads them through a needle and buries them in the batting, just like in hand Quilting. I can't imagine the time it takes to accomplish this task.
I've never taken this step in my Quilting. I don't feel that I'm doing something wrong, I just think 'I'm not there yet.'
Well, here it is Monday and I haven't even looked at the Quilt in my Longarm. I think I am afraid of it.
So, right now, when I finish posting my musings on this subject, I'm making a pledge.
PLEDGE!
Every day, until I finish this piece, I am going into my Studio, no matter what, and do something to this Quilt!
No more goofing around! I am not ruining it! I must attack this with the same 'gusto' with which I began it! I will finish it! I will enter it in a competition! I will! I will!
So there!
Thanks! I needed that. I'm off to my Studio!
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann

2010-10-31T12:09:00.000-05:00

WOW! I learned how to post photos on my Blog!

2010-08-21T11:09:00.000-05:00

I am really happy! This computer still remains a very mysterious animal, however; I seem to have managed to get some photos posted. This has been a very frustrating task for me in the past, but I'll probably drive everyone nuts posting photos. This is wonderful!
I've posted on past Blogs that I've been working on my "Ode to Fish with Lips" Quilt. Well, now that I've mastered the maneuver of getting photos from camera to blog - here's a peek!
The ferns that I 'fussy-cut' are three feet up the side of the Quilt, cut from a single piece of fabric. It also goes across the bottom of the Quilt for about three feet, as well. It took two months to cut the fern from the fabric and it is taking a great deal of effort to Quilt it to the background. I am using #100 YLI silk thread to accomplish this, but it, like all the steps to a finished piece, takes time.
And I will not be rushed into messing this up. I know I've had this in my machine for most of this year, but I personally do not like empty spaces where there is no Quilting, so it takes time. The bottom of the Quilt is heavily covered with a lot of 'underwater' stuff that came from my brain so I'm taking my time.
I hope you can tell, from the one fish that it Photoed, the little darlings do have lips. EC didn't much care for them, he's a fisherman and thinks way too literally, but all the fish in my world have wonderful lips! There are many on this particular piece.
There is also a photo of another underwater plant, it too is fussy-cut from a single piece of fabric. It is also about three feet tall and took days to place on the Quilt. You might be surprised to know that once cut, all this fabric is awful to untangle and place. So many tiny little pieces that want to go in many different directions. It really does take a lot of time and patience.
I have a couple of friends that scuba dive and I'm sure both will tell you that they've never seen this sort of stuff underwater, but, as I mentioned, it's my world.
Also, I included a couple of photos of a rug I am crocheting. I have a few more rounds to complete and since it was on the floor of my Studio I thought you might like to see what I did with a lot of decorator fabric that I purchased several years ago. Since I have yardage, this is the perfect solution.
I do, however; have a problem with these rugs (and I've make several), I hate to put them on the floor to walk on. They are so beautiful. I use 3 to 4 inch wide strips (you can only get 7 stitches per strip torn selvege to selvege) and I fold the raw edges to the center and then fold that in half. This makes the rug thick and feels wonderful under a bare foot. This particular piece fits perfectly in my entry hall and looks good there, but we'll see if I actually place it there.
Anyway, another peek into my world, Quilts, beads, rugs, baskets - the manic side of Carol Ann!
Hope you enjoy the photos.
We'll talk later.

Photos from Yesterday - Lunch at my Place

2010-08-20T13:45:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess you can tell, I've figured out how to post Photos on my blog!

2010-08-20T13:37:00.000-05:00

Things that keep me busy!

2010-08-20T13:27:00.000-05:00

So often, by the end of the day, and recently I seem to be putting a lot more into my days; I just need something quiet to do. I always love to finish dinner and all things kitchen and just sit down with my feet propped up. That quiet, last couple of hours left in the day before I close my eyes.
During this time I love to do something gentle, quiet and simple with my hands. I am the sort that loves a nest, so when I finally end up on my couch, I have lots of projects near my hand. I've told you about the hexagons that my friend Marylou got me hooked on. Well, it seems that for the past couple of years I've also been doing a little beading.

I started this particular project while sitting with my Father in Law while he was in the hospital. Beading is a quiet project and there are a lot of free times while caring for a loved one when beading can be picked up and I worked on this one little item. It was some sort of little satin pouch that, because I didn't know any better, I thought needed some beads. I used a beading thread that was suggested in a class I took years ago taught by Nancy Eha.
Well, that was about 3 years ago and every so often I have revisited the little purple pouch and added more beaded fringe to the bottom.
At some point I noticed that the thread seemed to be frayed and I loved the little beaded fringe that I had added but was concerned that I might, at some point, loose the fringe due to thread failure.
Enter EC. My husband is a fisherman and he gave me a spool of some of his fishing line. I know what you are thinking, monofiliment. Not exactly. This stuff is called "Spiderwire". There is zero stretch and it doesn't fray and cannot be broken without some really good scissors.
Having said that, the only thing I could do was re-string all my fringe. While at Ferndale this past Spring, my friend Pat told me of a wonderful fiberfill call "Morning Glory". It comes in a 5lb. box at the local Wal-mart. I had to have it and there is enough to stuff anything I'll ever make. I just picked out a lovely little scrap of my batik fabric and sewed a square. I stuffed if very well with the fiberfill and started my new Odyssey.
I started transferring all my fringe from the pouch to the little stuffed pillow. Now it's like something that is stuck to my fingers and I can't shake it loose. I love adding more and more beads. I am on the third side now and love what I'm doing.
I haven't a clue what this wonderful little object is or what or how it can be used. It is just something very pretty and I love to see it.
My friend Pat and my friend Marylou were at my house yesterday with a group of friends I had over for lunch. Most of the day, Pat just held the little pillow and fondled and petted it. I think that is probably for what it will be used. Just a pretty to be fondled.

2010-08-20T12:51:00.002-05:00

A Day in the Life

2010-07-26T14:18:00.004-05:00

My friend, Marylou started me on an Odyssey last month. On every third Thursday a group of us meet to meet and eat and visit. We don't necessarily sew, knit, or bead but we do all sew or bead, just not on that particular day. We always have show and tell and the talent and ideas just flow into whatever room we happen to meet.
We were at my friend Jim's house and Marylou brought out this wonderful stack of 'Grandmother's Flower Garden ' Blocks. She passed them to me. It was love at first sight!
I am strictly a machine kind of 'Chic'. I piece on the machine & Quilt on a machine. I learned when I made my first Quilt that doing it "by hand" would take me the rest of my natural life and that was just about the last thing I did by hand. Up until that point, I had loved hand work, I crocheted. But just little stuff, like doilies. Learning that Quilting was a much bigger project, I thoroughly immersed myself in machines and love all that having them affords me. I am still the slowest Quilter in the world but I have always admired the "fast" Chic's. Amazing to watch Charlotte or Marilyn or Deb or Eddie turn out things in days that seem to take me months.
But I learned my niche and pretty well stick to it.
However; seeing Marylou with all those pretty hexagons really turned my head. I am spending my machine time these days working on "Ode to Fish With Lips". This is a complicated piece and it requires all my attention. I've had interuptions, EC made me a light bar - how could I have ever sewed before LB - and three of my Grandchildren have been here for a visit - but every free day I spend in my 'Studio' working on the 'Fish'. It is tedious and time consuming.
So, seeing these wonderful blocks that my friend had solved a problem.
In the evenings, after supper, usually by 7:30 p.m. EC and I move to the living room to my couch and his chair to watch a little TV and unwind and talk about our day. I always have something there in my 'nest' for me to do. It is hard for me to just sit with nothing going on with my hands, I've been doing some beading. Marylou showed me the hexagons she had bought on a web site, 1200 of them in a baggie, one inch on each side. When I got home I ordered me a bag full and the following Monday they arrived. WOW!
I just happen to have a drawer full of 2 1/2 inch blocks that fit these hexagons to a tee! Now each evening after supper, I make little 'english paper pieced' flowers. I love the look of them. Friends that come on 2nd Saturday Sew Days can't believe that I actually sew with a needle & thread in my hand. It is really fun and fills a desire to hold and fondle my fabrics. Also fills the need to stitch little bitty - something I just can't help.
I've made 25. That isn't a lot and certainally won't be a Quilt any time soon, but it is some cute handwork and a great diversion.
Happy Sewing, we'll talk again, soon.
Carol Ann, Quilter

What Are We To Do?

2010-05-29T15:19:00.004-05:00

This past week something happened that has given me pause for thought.
Sharon Heidingsfelder was my dear friend and Mentor. She passed away several years ago, way too young and talented, and a great loss to me personally and many in the Quilting Community.
Her husband Jack sent an e-mail wanting someone to help him decide what he could or should do with her beautiful Quilts. He just has them folded and put away. He was very sad that they weren't being seen and wanted suggestions as to what he should do with them.
Well, we've sent e-mails back and forth and we've come to a couple of solutions, but this is what has started to bother me - What will happen to our Quilts when we are gone?
The Quilts that I give as gifts are not my "Art" Quilts. They are not the ones that I have appraised. But I do spend a lot of time making them, binding them, lableing them and putting hanging sleeves on them.
I said all that to say all this, and I'm sure all of you have stories about what has befallen some of your Quilts, but what should be done with them after we are gone?
Is there a place that will have them, some Museum, Art Gallery, School?
I have also collected several Antique Quilts. I found them at flea markets. I'm sure the maker's
children sold them at a yard sale for pennies because the most I've ever paid for an Antique Quilt was $200.00 (and that was in Monteray, California - everything was high).
Anyway, where will your Quilts go when you pass away.
I'd love suggestions. Or perhaps selling them at yard sales is a good thing, maybe they will find their way to a good home where they will be appreciated.

Finishing The Quilt

2010-05-22T17:06:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone,
Well, my Quilt, "Ode to Fish With Lips" is in my Longarm. My friend Jim wants me to sit at it until it is finished.
When he said something to me about it not being finished, I had to give some thought to my answer. Why wasn't it finished?
The answer is complicated, but my first answer is "Fear".
I've spent literally years working on this particular piece, not daily of course, but months at the time or weeks. Lots of sitting up late into the night or rising from a sound sleep at 1:30 a.m. to work on the hundreds of small and intricate details, one of the ferns took me two months just to cut out. One of the Corals took three days just to lay out after I had spent days 'fussy cutting' it out.
So, for me to rush in and sew with the intent of just finishing is very hard for me. I guess I just love to stand over it and worry, but starting that needle to move is scary business to me. With every stitch I worry that I'm ruining it.
Today, after a lot of thought, I started in earnest working on the background. Since it is an underwater scene, I'm doing a lot of wavy water stitches plus going over my sea grasses - adding stitches to add to their drama.
Naturally, this means a lot of thread changes so one of my favorite sayings is 'It just takes time.'
I've finished about ten inches and I like what I see.
I also did some touching up on one Fish. He needed a little more color so I've dosed him with colorful threads to really make him pretty. And , of course, he is.
Must run, EC is home for supper and my fish are calling me.
We'll talk later about this,
Carol Ann, Quilter

Getting Started

2010-03-04T05:09:00.003-06:00

Hello Everyone,
Several years ago, and I say 'several' because I really can't put my finger on the exact year, I made a beautiful blue "Quilt By The Mile". I made it because I teach classes and I've suggested to student's that they use the blues to look like water. I've designed several for others, yet I hadn't done one for myself. Mine turned out to be wonderful and I had ideas of how I would transform it into a beautiful underwater scene.
Well, worlds collide and stars align!
I had shown my Quilts at an event the past December and "low and behold" a lady contacted me in August (9 months of thought after the event) to do a 'commission piece' for her. I remember that! It was August 2. Anyway, after agreeing on the details and with a dead-line of January 1 the following year, I plunged into the creation of a new Quilt. All other projects were lain aside and I had to do something of which I am really bad. I had to 'Focus'!
I know none of you realize this, but I am a "Flibber-de-Jibbitt"! My mind works like a shotgun blast. Hundreds of thoughts zipping out in all directions, all the time. But I did it.
After that Quilt, I did a lot of traveling with my classes and there were also family issues. Both my husbands parents became ill and it was necessary to be in Memphis for months at a time. Anyway, a lot of time passed. As I could, I would create parts of the Quilt. The first were the coral in a bright orange and some sea grass in a deep red. Then I had this fabulous idea for seaweed that turned out to be 'not so great' (actually awful) but, that began me on the Odyssey of the art of "Fussy Cutting". That original seaweed was cut into many small pieces and then 'fussy cut' into even smaller sprigs and shoots of seaweed. That turned out to be OK.
I've written of "Fussy Cutting" before. I love it. All you need is a good pair of very small, very good scissors. I thought up this wonderful underwater bush. It is all cut from one piece of fabric and very intricate. It took forever to cut out and it is beautiful to me. The cutting wasn't nearly as difficult as the placement. It took me two days to get it to lay correctly on my blue "Quilt By The Mile"!
That done, I also created the wonderful fish that would live in my under water Quilt world. They all have great big lips. It was necessary. I just cut them out and placed them.
Also, as time permitted, I would sit while watching TV and "Fussy Cut" long strands of sea weed and stuff that would be in my underwater world.
But then came the visit to Houston to my friend Crayola's. She had a Dr.'s appointment and I know that was last May, 2009. While I was waiting for her, I began doodling on a piece of paper. Something that just popped into my mind. It was some sort of fern. I liked it. So, one Sunday after returning home, I drew it again. Then again and again. I started putting them in a sketch book. Then it happened. I knew what I was drawing had to become part of my "fish" Quilt.
I drew it on my fabric - just something to go on one of the bottom corners. It took a few hours to cut out, but I loved it. I placed it on the lower left corner of my Quilt and it looked good to me. Well, looking good is one thing, but placing another would naturally make it fabulous! So, I started on the second one.
Well, I got carried away. This one became more complex, more curling fronds, more delicate and intricate curves, more fronds curling around other fronds. 36" tall and then all across the bottom to meet the other original fern. It would be magnificent. It took months (literally) to cut it from the fabric in which it was encased.
And then the placement. Such a large, delicate work, one-eighth inch or less blades on the fern and they all had to lay flat. Mercy! What was I thinking?
I got it placed. That's a miracle all by itself.
Well, about 2 weeks ago, I gave my sister Susan her Quilt, also a detour in my life that kept me from finishing my 'fish', but; once that was taken care of, I told myself, "no more detours"!
Yesterday, I made the back and got it pinned into my Longarm. Today, I plan to place the batting and pin the top in.
I am suddenly experiencing a bit of fear. I guess I always do, right before I start a project like this. It's a Quilt I love and want. I've thought about how I would Quilt it, over and over in my mind but putting that needle down really causes me a bit of anxiety.
But, I live by a couple of rules - one of them being - "The right day comes for everything" and today is the right day. One of the others - "If you stare at a shelf in a store long enough, the item for which you are searching will appear" and the last but most important - "Whatever it takes"
"Whatever it Takes" is my motto for my Quilting. And that's what I do. The "Fish" needed the ferns and I guess it needed the years it's taken to create. But it is done now and it needs the thread with which I am about to color it.
The day is dawning and I have miles to go before I rest again.
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann, Quilter

I'm Back!

2010-02-23T05:41:00.002-06:00

I have been locked out of my Blog since last September and even though I've tried to become more friendly with my computer, this has really been a source of agitation. Anyway, after contacting the fella that set up this site, he changed the password to one of my making and "I'm back!
Between Facebook and Blogging I think I will be able to let all my tendencies toward writing 'out' and chronicle pieces of my life as we enter the 'Golden Years'!
I love keeping 'in touch'!
Yesterday I did a brilliant thing. I ordered 4 yards of Super Soil from my local Nursery and they will be delivering it in the morning. What was I thinking?! I'm off to Quilt Camp on Friday morning, early! And my Friend Crayola is coming Thursday! I have already dedicated Thursday to loading my car - Quilt Camp requires that one remove everything in one's Studio and pack it into the car and haul it over to Ferndale, AR., and place it all out on a 6 foot table so that there won't be a dull or sewless moment -and Crayola will be here in the late afternoon. So that leaves Wednesday afternoon for me to shovel a truck load of dirt into my front flower bed. That may be doable, only problem, I need to dig up all my Iris and Day Lillies before I can shovel the dirt into the bed.
So when daylight hits today, you know where I'll be! My front flower bed seems low and flat and I wanted to elevate it a bit. That Black Super Soil will be a wonderful medium with which to do that and the Iris and Day Lillies will love it!
I have determined that this year will be the one in which I complete some of my Quilt tops that are finished but not Quilted, bound or labeled. I have about 7 in various states of completion and that's not counting the ones that I've cut out but not pieced. I have 2 or 3 of them to complete as well.
Below are listed some of my excuses for not finishing the Quilts but mainly, I made my Sister, Susan Claire a Quilt and it occupied this past year. But while not working on her Quilt, I was busy with other joyous persuits.
I've been on a bowl making jag, every surface of my living area has a 'clothesline' bowl on it. I usually wrap 300 feet of clothesline before I start a bowl. That way I can make a set without stopping. It is such a fun and mindless time of sewing. And I just love the results. I have 300 feet wrapped now, that I am taking to Ferndale, so I can make a set for my Daughter Laura Michelle.
My other distraction; the other excuse for not completing the Quilts, is a rug that I was crocheting. Well, I wasn't exactly crocheting it - it has been deposited in the bottom of one of my hall closets for about 8 years and every once in a while it would yell at me to finish it. So this past winter I got it out. What I had done didn't suit me so I pulled the entire thing out and re-crocheted it. When I completed the fabric I had cut to make it, I decided that I needed to add more to it, so after digging through my stash of designer polished cottons, I discovered several that would be beautiful. I had 5 yards of a black polished cotton that was perfect and I found a two yard piece of one fabric that I had already included. Eureka!
I tear the fabric that I use to crochet rugs. I rip it into four inch strips that I fold. I fold the two outside edges to the center and then fold it in half. This process puts all the raw edges inside and leaves me with a 1" wide, mile or two long strip to crochet with. The rugs that it produces are about and inch thick and beautiful. And they feel great to walk on. They also have a more formal look to them than the raw edge ones that you rip up an old sheet to make.
Well, my largest clothesline bowl is full of the strips and I've already stitched them end to end, so they ready to be crocheted. I want to finish that rug at Ferndale this weekend. It is beautiful already, so with the added fabric it should end up about 4' wide and 8' long and perfect for my entry hall. And I made it.
Susan Claire, my sister, gave me some fabric, actually quite a bit of fabric. She had beautiful, custom made drapes in her formal dinning room. One day, she decided they didn't suit her; she took them down, cut them off leaving an 18 inch drop and gave me the remaining 8 feet. That was 8 panels, 54 inches wide X 8 feet long. Oh my! What to do with all this beautiful Oriental fabric? I could make another beautiful rug, or; I'm thinking table runner, place mats, seat pads all made from the clothesline bowl technique. It will make a lovely set, don't you think? I'll probably still have plenty left for a rug and bowls. I'm taking that with me too. I can cut it up while I'm at Ferndale.
As one can see, the rest of my week is chocked full of stuff for me to do. And this day just dawned. I must get that shovel out and see if it still fits my hand. Oh, and breakfast!
So happy to be back!
We'll talk again - and soon I hope!
Carol Ann, Quilter/digger of dirt/bowl maker/rug crocheter!

How did you Meet your Guy?

2009-09-01T08:36:00.002-05:00

Finally, after trying for six months, and responding to everyone that asked for me to "be their friend", and watching my sister Susan maneuver through her Facebook, I successfully became a Facebook member.
That has started an Odyssey. In very short order I have located so many old friends, looked at all their photos, replied to all and in general had a very unexpected good time.
One of the faces, among many, that I tracked to their home page was a lifelong friend of my sister's. I, too have known Paula since we were children.
Paula, as I recall, was an only child. I knew both her parents and went with Susan to her home.
She and Susan have always stayed in touch, and over the years I have heard Susan speak of her and what was going on in her life.
Paula, like so many of us, have moved away from Memphis, usually because of transfers by companies our husbands work for. Paula has been in St. Louis for some time now but returns to Memphis often to visit her parents who are still living.
Susan's graduating class is very active in having 'get together's' and Susan tries to attend most, especially in recent years.
Susan, like myself, gets together with her girlhood friends and posted several photos. It is amazing to me that everyone looks just the same and I would know each of them if we passed on the street. I saw the photo of Paula and was astonished at how much she looked just the same.
I wrote to her.
It seems that Paula married a guy that I graduated with and I just happened to ask how she met him. Her answer started me to thinking.
I grew up in Whitehaven, a suburb of Memphis, and the 'drive-in's' (the old places that Sonic tries to mimic now) were around but not places that I, as a child, could go to. With the exception of Leonard's. My parents, our church, my boyfriend - Mike Douglas - all took us to Leonard's. You could drive up, car hops would come out, take your order (the best bar-b-Que ever - in my opinion and still is) and bring you a wonderful sandwich, a real cold coke in a glass bottle, and an order of fries. Wow!, the memories that brings back.
I said all that to say this, there were not a lot of places, like now, that kid hung around. Shoney's on Summer - and that is how we referred to it - all the way across town from Whitehaven, was a cool place to show up.
My Father had a 1938 Green Packard and the only time I remember getting to drive it, I went straight to Shoney's on Summer. Boy, was I a hit. That car was Mint and quite a conversation starter.
Anyway, Paula told me that she and her friend Diane were at the very first McDonalds in Whitehaven, put there after I think I graduated in 1965. Paula met Freddie there. He came over to talk, I think he knew Diane, and 42 years later, Paula and Freddie are still married.
Well, Susan, my sister met her husband Larry at Shoney's on Summer and they have been married for 45 years.
I met EC at - not a drive-in - but a Restaurant, Chenault's. My parents had taken our family there all my growing up years (until the Piccadilly came to the Whitehaven Shopping Center) for lunch after Church on Sunday's.
My Dad died when I was 23, and a friend, Ramona told me her Dad needed a cashier at his place on Friday and Saturday nights from 11p.m. to 7a.m. Well, I wasn't doing anything during those hours, (I already had two other jobs - one 40 hr. a week and as a salesperson at Goldsmiths at nights and Sat/Sun). So, I found myself at Chenault's sitting on a stool behind the cash register from eleven to seven on Friday and Saturday nights.
EC was already working for the railroad, then the Missouri Pacific, and at 2 a.m. his job would drive up in a big orange Mo.P carry-all and come in to have coffee.
My heart would skip a beat. I lived for the 2 a.m. coffee breaks. Mercy! And of course, it is 40 years later and we are still married.
Where did you meet your Guy?
Susan, Paula and I are still in love. How about you?
We'll talk again soon,
Carol Ann, Quilter/Old Married Chic

What's your Biggest Mess?

2009-08-15T09:15:00.003-05:00

I spent a week with my son and his family in North Platte, Nebraska last week. While there, I showed my Daughter In Law photos of something and she noticed the new colors of my walls.
She loved the colors and I promised that after I got home I would send her the colors.
Well, I did. I got out my Sherwin-Williams color chart and sent all the numbers and names of the paint in my hall, living room and dinning room - the part below the chair rail - and the bathroom.
I did not, however; send her the name of the color of the dinning room above the chair rail, a bright red enamel.
She mentioned it to me, she really wanted her dinning room that color, so not having a color chart for that color - I had painted that part myself 3 or 4 years ago - I went out to my garage and got out the extra gallon of paint (there is a reason for the extra gallon, but we won't go into that now). There is a color chart and numbers on the lid of the gallon.
Doesn't this sound like something you would do. It doesn't sound troublesome. Not a big deal, right?
Well, well. The chart was on the lid, as I said. The light from the bedroom window caused a glare and sitting here trying to send an e-mail, with both hands on the keyboard, well, I needed to turn the can over so I could see the lid.
I tried propping the can on my mouse so that I could see it better, but it rolled off. So, I typed what I could remember and tipped the can again to see the next set of numbers.
All of a sudden the lid just blooped off. Can you see the problem with this?! A flood of red swooped out of the can, across the year calendar and onto the desk. This is red, gloss enamel, something like the nail polish OPI makes, that I love to paint my nails with.
And my nails were painted with this.
I had both hands in it, trying to get it back into the can.
Realizing I needed more than hands and being the sort of Chic that always remains in control in the face of adversity, also picturing EC's face when he saw the new color of his Oak desk, I ran for the Bounty.
I feel I should mention, I did not become hysterical. I just didn't want the stuff to puddle on the carpet. I hate the carpet, but a puddle of red in the middle of it would not make me hate it any less.
When I returned, the pool was creeping towards the edge of the desk, a pool bigger than a dinner plate, and yes, it was on my mouse by now and under my keyboard. This is starting to look very bad.
I had paint all over my hands so getting the Bounty package open was frantic. Did that and rolled off a lot of paper. I started to wipe, there was so much that soaking it up was out of the question. So I raked it into EC's trash can. I could deal with cleaning that up later.
Mercy! It was on the cover of EC's address book, too!
Paper towels in hand and EC's trash can under the edge of the desk, I started to wipe an encourage all that crimson in the direction of the can. There was so much paint, the bottom of the can was covered. Dear, Dear! I used half the roll of towels, my calendar/blotter was a giant smear of red and the grain of the oak was soaking up the red.
EC would definitely notice, I couldn't throw away the calendar, my life is written on it. Phone numbers, birthdays, e-mail addresses, events - - - and speaking of events - EC and I are supposed to be at the Historic Arkansas Museum for our friend Jim's Grand Opening. (His wonderful collection of Petite Point Purses and other Petite Point object's of art were going on display in an hour and a half and my hands up to my elbows were covered in red.
(Small wonders - a blessing actually - my ring was at the jewelers having the set tightened and my other rings were in the jewelery cleaner) Now, wouldn't that have been pretty!
Oh!, for Pete's sake! It is on the rug. It's just a little line of red. Quick, a paper towel. Oh, Great! Now it's a smear eight inches long. Will this never end. Ah yes, the scissors. Surly I can cut the worst of this away and none will be the wiser. Yes, yes, this works. Good Grief! there's another blop the size of a nickle. From where is this stuff coming? Lesson learned, don't use the paper towels, go straight for the scissors. Wonderful! That worked great. A little dog fur and no one will ever notice.
Back to the desk top, I rubbed and rubbed, little scratches and pecks are now nicely filled in with red. I won't come out.
I've decided that we will just have to live with it and with the blotter over it, who will be the wiser.
EC ran by the Jewelers on his way home from the Golf Shop and picked up my ring, we were and hour late to Jim's opening, but I had to get the paint off my hands. August will forever be red, I really need this page of the blotter, I can still read through the smear.
Of course, nothing like this has ever happened to you - Right?
Just another day.
It's these little, unavoidable trama's that make life sweet and really make for funny stories to share with friends. None of this killed me, no one yelled, and a little red isn't so bad.
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann, Quilter/Paint Remover

Another Fun Day

2009-08-11T18:40:00.003-05:00

Hello Everyone,
Our Guild Meeting was last evening.
Guild meetings are a wonderful gathering of lots of folks with the same core interest. I love to go early so that I can see everyone as they arrive, hug friends that I only get to see once a month, visit and catch up on lives, as much as one can in a short amount of time, and the big plus - we learn so many new things.
Our Guild starts off with a short business meeting - we have to get that out of the way, then on to the fun stuff.
Last night we gave away 49 orange fat quarters in a drawing. It is such a fun opportunity to see the faces of the winners. Bobbie and Catherine were the Lucky Chic's! I like to tease and tell them they must have a Quilt made from them by December. So far, no one has shown up with one. I'm still hoping.
Three girls and a guy joined our happy band last night. I hope they really do join in and become active and participate. It's more fun that way. There's no glory in participating, it just makes it all so much better for the whole.
Jim showed several of his recently completed Quilts during 'Show and Tell'. The man is a wonder. He and our friend Tom must have had a laughing good time naming the pieces. One of the Quilts he made from scraps that I gave him was named "Carol Ann Goes Bar Hopping". All the left over pieces were sort of string pieced and that's the name they came up with. It was pretty funny, as were the rest of the names.
I hope you'll go to the Arkansas Quilters Guild web site and look at the pictures. I think you'll enjoy seeing all of them.
Anyway, since Saturday and Monday were such a good time, I just wanted to write down that I had fun.
There should be memorable times that are fun. And they should be written down.
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann,Quilter

Friends, of the Quilting Variety

2009-08-08T13:32:00.003-05:00

This is Judy, Natalie, Marilyn and Jackie. They are Quilters, too. Almost every month I have friends over to sew.

Each one of us attacks Quilting from a different angle. Most like to follow patterns, directions, teachers, books. A lot like to make baby Quilts for friends and family members. Some like to look at pictures and get ideas and some, like me, make it all up as we go.

I never plan a Quilt any further than choosing a stack of fabric, I use whatever thread is in the machine at the time to piece my work. Lime green, red, it really does not matter as I use 1.0 stitch length, and that makes it fairly impossible to see what I use.

On the other hand, I have Quilting friends who always use beige thread to piece with, always use 2.5 stitch length (the machines come set at that length), must have a pattern, picture, directions, precise cutting instructions and they always buy exactly the amount of fabric the pattern calls for. 7/8 of a yard? Not at my house.

None of this matters, however. We are all Quilters and we all like each other. We sit and sew, some in 'mud' fabrics, some with homespun, some use batiks, some use Kits and none of that matters. We all love Quilting.

Some leave their threads hanging at the end of each seam, I, on the other hand; cannot stand any loose or hanging threads. Actually, in the end it makes 'not a hill of beans' difference because, in the end it is all covered with batting, backing and binding. We're all just different.

Today, there were nine Chic's and Jim. Adele, on crutches after foot surgery, worked on things for Quilt Arkansas. Jackie put a thousand French Knots in an applique piece that she is working on. Marty, Marilyn, and Geannine were all appliqueing too, Marilyn on a piece she has been working on since I first met her in 1998. Debbie was making a 'Turning Twenty' from fat quarters, Jim was embellishing with buttons and beads on a piece he started probably in 1998 as well. Corrine was helping Adele, ironing pieces that Adele had cut, Sharon was making flying geese (I believe she needs 1000 for the Quilt she is making) and Natalie was working on the background for a lion she is making. Natalie loves to make Quilts with animals on them. Her Christmas Quilt has a sea lion in the center and it is wonderful. I personally like it better than a snowman, but that's just me.

We do Pot Luck for lunch, everyone brings something and we all get plenty. That's what Quilters do; sew, eat, talk. All in all, a great day!

All Quilters are alike, in that we love the Art. All Quilters are different, as we each approach the Art from different viewpoints, perspectives, backgrounds and abilities. But it really doesn't matter, we were drawn together by the same thing - we all love Quilting.

I'm a Quilter.

We'll talk again soon,

Carol Ann, Quilter

A Visit to Susan's

2009-07-28T15:44:00.002-05:00

I have spent the entire day trying to get a picture out of my new camera into this befuddling computer. I have no idea how I managed, but nonetheless, a photo seems to be here.

I left here last Tuesday, spur of the moment, in that driving rain storm, and drove over to North Carolina. I finally ran out of the rain in Crittenden County. We all know how the scenery is between here and Memphis. All fields of rice, corn, some cotton and soybeans. And, yes, the Rivers. The White, The Cash, The L'Anguille, The St. Francis, and the 'Big Muddy' - The Mississippi River. I've crossed them all many times and never tire of looking at them, in their banks or out of their banks, this past Spring in particular, practically covering all of the eastern part of our state. I love the changing of the seasons, the changing of the fields and the changing of the Rivers.
I also love to drive. I don't mind driving alone. I love it! This trip, I took my Bernina and my sister Susan's Quilt that I am working on. The photo that I transferred to this site is of the center of the Quilt, resting on a couch in her kitchen/sitting room.
The drive, once I got to Memphis, took me across the 'Old Bridge' around the South side of the city so that I could get on Hwy. 385 that would zip me out to Collierville and connect me with Hwy 72.
Hwy. 72 is a lovely drive across the very northern edge of Mississippi and Alabama, and a fabulous, uncluttered change from I-40 across Tennessee.
Living in Central Arkansas, you pretty much accept the fact that to travel anywhere by car, you have to get on I-40 and deal with the heavy truck traffic. And it is the same in Tennessee. A 'Nightmare'.
My brother in law, Larry, told me about this route and I love it. Four lanes, divided, and no traffic. What a wonderful change. And the scenery is so different. Up and down the rolling hills of Mississippi to Corinth. Fields with horses or herds of cows. Crepe Myrtles that have not been desecrated by the Crepe Murderers, lovely old barns, gardens with corn and pole beans, watermelon and cantaloupe and tomatoes. Vender's along the way, selling what they had grown.
On into Alabama to Florence. You don't actually see Florence, you go around on Alt. 72. (The only thing I know about that city is that it was told to me in high school, that if one wanted to run away and get married, Florence was the place to go.) I wonder if anyone actually did that?
The only real city that you go through is Huntsville, Ala. and you know that because of the large Rocket on the South side of the highway as you drive through the City. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center is right there, on the right. Once through Huntsville, your pretty much in mountains, as opposed to hills.
Highway 72 loops you up to Chattanooga, Tn. where I got on I-24 and the chaos that is the Interstate. I drove around that city in four and five o'clock traffic. Always a thrill. On the east side of Chattanooga, I got on I-75 north, for 25 miles and go off at the first Cleveland, Tennessee exit that would take me to hwy. 64.
If you've never been on Hwy. 64, let me tell you how exciting it is. It runs along the Ocoee River, the site of the 1996 Olympics White Water Challenges. The road is very winding, speed limit 45 mph, for a reason. It follows the River and there are sheer rock walls on the other side. It is a wonderful sight. Huge boulders cover the river bed and the swift racing water roils through the basin. On Saturday morning the 'joint is jumpin' with adventurers and the blue and white inflated rafts are rollin' on the river. It's quite a show!
At the end of the 'Copper Road' as it's called, you're in the mountains of North Carolina. Murphy is the first town of note and Hayesville, my destination is just 9 miles further down the road. I found my turnoff and made my way up the winding roads that lead me to my sister's home, at the very top and end of the road. WOW! My little Explorer was in high gear just to make the climb. Thank Goodness Susan's' driveway is level and long. Sort of a landing strip/resting place.
I needed the 'get away' and this is definitely 'away'.
Bears, turkeys, Indigo Buntings, wild cats, owls, hawks, raccoons, doves and a view to die for. The view changes every fifteen minutes. Fog, low clouds, rain, sunshine, all lovely. And it is cooler up here.
I was happy to spend time in this wonderful retreat. I got to sew, I finished piecing the top for Susan's Quilt and got the first boarder finished. I couldn't stay as long as I wanted. EC and the Pets wanted me back home. I got here Saturday night, before dark.
I hope you like this photo, maybe I'll get better at this and post more. I have a lot to share.
We'll talk more later,
Carol Ann, Quilter/Traveler

Ahhh, Rejection

2009-07-07T04:38:00.000-05:00

Hello Ya'll,
I guess I need to get over this feeling.
Yesterday, EC took me out to buy me a digital camera. One with which to photograph my Quilts, or pieces thereof, to post on this site. We were going out to get in the car and , as an aside, EC asked me to get the mail.
Three things were in the mail box, things at which I never look, but EC's eagle I spotted. There it was, addressed to me. I told EC, "either this is very good news, or very bad news." As it turns out, it was the bad.
The letter was from the International Quilt Association and, yes, it was a rejection letter. It was a very long rejection letter, but at the end of a long first paragraph, it did say my entry in the Quilt Festival had been rejected. The term they used was, "not accepted", but rejected none the less.
Well, I have tried not to think about it. After all, I'm not dead or anything like that. However, it does sting a bit. I thought my Quilt was a good effort, one that would add a bit to the overall event that is "Quilt Houston". They didn't agree. The letter, from Charlotte Warr Andersen herself, went on to explain about the number of Quilts entered and how some had to be eliminated, blah, blah, blah.
Anyway, it is a 'low Chic' that I am.
On a high note, we did get me a camera. Those of you who know me, know that directions are not something that I get, and there is a book full of them, but hopefully, soon there will be photos to accompany my writtings. The very first of which will be some of that 'Fussy Cutting' that has been taking up all my time of late.
We'll talk more later, when I pass this 'Blue State'.
I am still,
CAW, Quilter

Fussy Cutting 101 Continued

2009-07-01T13:25:00.000-05:00

Hello Again,
Well, well, at last, early yesterday morning, I finally completed the second fern for my Quilt top. I must say, I had begun to think I would never be able to successfully complete this one. It was way too complicated. But, at long last, it is finished. The fern is finally free from the fabric in which it had been hidden. All the snipping is done.
I spent most of yesterday removing the release paper from the back of the fern. A tedious task.
The leaflets are so thin and delicate, a pull too hard and one could come apart. Or several. Once it was separated from its paper, the task of laying it out begins. I will share that where I had planned to place it had to be changed, but just slightly.
I put the base or root of the fern in the lower right hand corner and began unfurling the snarled and tangled little leaves. I got the right side layed out flat and started on the frond that would swoop across the bottom. Almost immediately I recognized that there was a problem. Because of the curve and flow of the frond, some of the leaves were hanging off the bottom of the boarder. Bummer!
I had to pick up the entire piece and move it up and in about four inches. I had to begin all over again. No problem. It was only noon. Well, I fiddled with it the rest of the afternoon and decided I had to leave it alone for a while. Some things, because they are tedious, need to be left alone for a time. I was becoming frayed around my edges and needed a break.
This morning, after breakfast, I decided to dive in again. Today things went so much smoother.
I have the Quilt layed out on the dinning room table, to have a large smooth surface on which to work. The right side moved along so well. I had it layed out and flowing just as it had when it was in the fabric.
I moved to the other side of the table to work on the bottom frond. It was a little more troublesome. Leaves, because they were intertwined with other leaves, did not want to lay flat against the surface of the Quilt. Well, obviously I did not have the flow of the frond going in the same way it had been in the fabric. I gave some places a little more curve and straightened out other places. Finally, all seemed to be laying correctly.
I got out my tiny little ironing wand, a hot little bugger of a thing that can burn me if not treated with the respect it has earned. (I've been burned by it before) I wanted to tack down the center stem and some of the longer leaves before I got out the big Rowenta.
Once I had tacked some strategic spots, I moved my ironing surface underneath the Quilt and stuck the big iron on it. I held my breath. When working with such small pieces of fabric, I was concerned that it might not stick. I removed the iron. Yeah! It looked great. I placed the iron in another spot and held it, one, two, three, four, five, six, & seven. Picked it up and moved it once again, counted to seven and repeated. Fifteen minutes later and it was done.
EC and I looked through the thread I bought earlier this year from Karen French, down at the French Seam. EC picked out two great colours and I have them threaded in the Bernina. I am ready for some top stitching.
I've looked through a lot of the stitches available on my sewing machine. I found one that makes a beautiful pupil for all my little fish eyes. I looked at the button hole stitch and dismissed it as being way to uniform. I don't know, at this very moment; with what stitch I will top stitch this major fern down, but what ever it is, I know it will take forever.
But, I am a determined Chic! "Whatever it takes" is my motto and this fern will take some thread. I'm off to the machine.
We'll talk again later,
CAW, Quilter/Determined Chic

Hello, Everyone

2009-06-30T08:18:00.000-05:00

Hey! Hey!

I've been on a trip. EC and I started out last Monday on an Odyssey. To be able to leave our home together for an extended period of time, first we have to bed and board our Pets. That feat in and of itself is quite a big deal.

Months before, we must have them all Vet checked. No respectable Kennel will allow them to stay without the proper papers and shots. This, for my pets Mack and Thelma, isn't a big deal. Scrunchie, on the other hand, is quite a big deal. The last time we boarded Scrunchie, my 6'4" Vet reached in the Pet Carrier with his massive hand and grabbed my 'Baby's' head. 'KittyBoy', feeling attacked, reacted. The whole event left me in tears for days. It was not pleasant for me or my 'Boy'.

So, being the good Mother that I am, I asked around and found a sweet, petite Lady Vet with proper manners and gentle hands to check out my perfectly healthy 'KittyBoy'.

This time things went so much better.

Anyway, after all that, the appointments were made at the Kennel and the date and time for our departure was finalized. We would be leaving by 6:30 a.m. to get to the Kennel by 7 a.m. when they opened. Nice simple plan.

EC and I would be driving from here to Memphis, stopping by EC's Mom's house to get a rather large leather chair for our Son, and then proceeding to the very Northeast tip of Tennessee, La Follette to be exact, and Lake Norris to be precise. If you've ever driven the West to East trip across Tennessee, you know that driving on I-40 is mandatory. A 'Trucking' Nightmare! Mercy! Anyway, once you've struggled on I-40 to Memphis, the 'schlog' is no better to Nashville and around that city and then on to Knoxville (which seems to be growing in leaps and bounds) and around to I-75 North. Thank Goodness, only another 40 or so miles.

Well, that was the plan. But, you know how plans are. EC and I left, in his truck, (not a choice I would have made,) because of the huge chair that Chad wanted from Jewel's house. Also, we needed to take lawn chairs, (so EC had gone to Sam's and bought us a couple) and a cooler with water & G-2 for our trip.

We left on time. However, getting to the Kennel in Maumelle proved to be a complicated ordeal.
It seems that, at 3 a.m. a 'Trucker', hauling a load of porkers/pigs, wrecked on the I-430. For some reason, at 6:30 a.m. the little piglets were still running around on the Express Way and all traffic was being sent elsewhere. If you know anything about Maumelle, the most important thing you should know is: there is only one way in and one way out. So, as it turned out, we were on I-40, diverted West towards Conway and our entire trip was to be in an Easterly direction. You know, "The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray!", as someone before me has aptly put it.
Moving right along. The traffic was backing up in all directions. Monday morning, you know.
We finally made it to the Kennel, by way of Mayflower, and of course, the Kennel Keepers, too, were trapped in the snarl. We waited. Later, the Keepers arrived. We checked in the unhappy 'Babes'.
When I say unhappy, I use the word loosely. The 'Kitty-Boy' pitched a large Royal Fit. It seems there were other docile, sweet little Kitty's already in the Kittty Room. Scrunchie does not like other Kitty's, no matter how sweet they are. Hissing and Squalling, Squalling and Hissing! Mercy! Now isn't that the way you love to leave town?
Oh, and poor Mack and Thelma. They were in a lovely large Kennel with an outdoor run attached. Nice, Roomy. But we would not be there with them. Thelma would not leave my right foot. Every time I tried to back out, so would Thelma. Very Sad.
It's 8:30 and we are still in Maumelle. Nothing to do but to get out on the Boulevard and sit in it until the 'Snarl' works itself out. And that's what we did.
By 9:30 we finally made our way on to I-40 and headed, at last, towards our destination. You know, God knows where we are at every second, and although I never saw a one of those poor little 'Piggies', I'll never know what that delay/detour kept us from being involved in further down the road. A blessing in disguise.
Merging into 'Truckers Ally', I think we finally arrived in Memphis at 11:30, went to Jewel's house, took doors off hinges, moved the chair out of the house, took everything out of the truck bed, put the chair in, secured it with tie-downs, re-loaded the truck, found (and this is fortunate) a Church's Chicken, (my favorite) and a Krystal, (EC's favorite) right next door to each other for a quick lunch and hit the road for Nashville.
I didn't mention, but on Sunday night, we talked to Chad, (they had arrived in La Follett/Lake Norris on Saturday, three Kids, and a ski boat in tow) and Cassidy, their middle Babe, had already had a skiing accident, that of a ski in her lip. Nasty slash, resulting in many stitches, swollen face and in need of a hat and something to do, since getting in the water was a definite 'no' and getting in the sun was also a definite 'NO'. Chad had requested yarn and a crochet hook to go along with the hat.
Jackson, Tennessee, just 70 miles up the road, had a Wal-Mart just off I-40. Again, we were stopped. I, shopping for yarn while EC bought gas. Chore done, back on the road again.
La Follett, Tennessee is in the Great Smokey Mountains. Beautiful scenery, and once off I-75, heading towards our final destination, the Hills of East Tennessee really started to take on new meaning. No more Express Ways cut through Mountains or around them. We were on small, two lane roads, winding our way, up and over these hills in a more personal way. The roads became narrower, the sun no longer made its way through the thick covering of trees and the road became steeper. We followed our directions without a bauble, the last line of which read: ---"after you go over the big hill" and that was no exaggeration!
Finally, 8:30, and we arrived! Our Lake house that Leslie (my daughter in law) had rented was hanging, litterally, from the side of a mountain. The developer had simply cut a road out of the side of the mountain and the only part of the house that was attached was the front, three foot wide porch. The rest of the five story home was on piers. You know what that means?
87 steps to get into the house from the lake. That's NINE stories up. And our room was on the 4th floor! Mercy!
The Grand Kids ran out to meet us and so did Chad and Leslie. We were all so glad to see each other. And poor Cassidy's lip. The whole side of her face was swollen and she couldn't even smile. She felt pretty rough. We all had a pretty good laugh about the Mountain we were going to be perched on. All the early arrivals had 'huffing and puffing' stories about the climb.
The house was really very nice, except for the height.
The fifth floor was a loft where Leslie's brother, Austin, stayed. He is a young, handsome, single 21 year old and the treck could not possible hurt him.
EC and I were on the fourth floor along with all the Grand Babe's and several of the Grand Babes' Cousins. Jacob, Laura Michelle's youngest (12 years old-going on 18) beautiful in face and form, and Faith, (10 years old and Leslie's brother Mike's oldest) cute, blonde, tanned, and could make some really interresting 'cartoon voices' that really made me think she would be a star in. Hollywood. The voices were strange, wonderful and like nothing I've ever heard.
Cole, Chad's oldest, has grown so much since I last saw him in January. Not just in inches so much, but he has taken on the look of a very handsome young man. He, too, is 12 and seeing him and Jacob romping together, riding on the Tube together, I am so thankful for what they are becoming. And at this particular moment in time, they are so perfect, flawless, healthy and beautiful to see. I was amazed and thankful to God.
Caleigh Anne, my youngest Grand Daughter, is a wild, untamed little imp of a child. Nothing scares her, parents, heights, Tubes, skis, hills, water or kids bigger than her. She wades right into everything, full steam ahead. She is the definition of "The Strong Willed Child". Chad and Leslie were so fortunate with Cold and Cassidy. They are very compliant. They do as they are told. Caleigh is not like that. She keeps Leslie and Chad hopping. Her future scares me only in the fact that she will have to learn everything the hard way. As have I.
We shared an adjoining Bath that the Kids had already littered with wet towels and bathing suits. Ours would soon be added.
The middle floor, is where the Kitchen, den/dinning room, and Master Bedroom/bath was located and the hub of all activity. Food/Drink Central. A nice deck off the living/dinning area had a table and chairs and a large gas grille. Chad and Leslie stayed on this floor. There were indoor stairs leading down the the second or fourth floor, depending on whether or not you were coming or going. That's were Mike (Leslie's oldest brother) and wife Tanya and their youngest son, MJ stayed. Also, the other Chad, Leslie's middle brother and his wife Brandy stayed on this floor. They had the two youngest cousins, Cadin, 2 1/2 and a 5 month old little girl, Brenna.
They had a deck on this floor also and the living area had another flat screen TV and a Game/Card table that all the kids put into good use.
The bottom of the house, first floor is where Leslie's Dad, Art and his wife Linda stayed. There was a hot tub on the deck out side this level and out door stairs that led down to the bottom of the hill where a little cart path was.
But wait, we aren't at the bottom of the hill yet.
We aren't at the water or the boats, but we could see them from here. I didn't mention, but, sitting on the decks on any of the above levels, you could not see the water. The house is on the lake, however, to see the water one must stand up and look over the railing. We were that high up and it was that far down.
Once across the cart path, you guessed it, more steps, straight down to the boat dock. Chad, Leslie's brother, had rented a large pontoon boat, and our Chad had brought his large ski boat.
I cannot imagin the trip from North Platte, Nebraska to La Follett, Tennessee, pulling that boat, but they did it. They traveled the length of Nebraska, crossed Missouri thru Kansas City and St. Louis, across Indianna into Kentucky to Louisville, where they stayed the night with Laura Michelle, and then onto I-75 South thru Lexington into Tennessee. That's determination, to say the least.
My boy Chad is a good man. He did all this so that all the family could be together and see each other.
Leslie's Mom, Linda and her Husband Rick were also there. Rick had to leave Sunday night and go back to Marysville, TN. to work and Art and Linda had to leave on Wednesday to make their way back to Hughes, Arkansas. They were going to do some sight seeing on the way home. Rick came back on Wednesday night after work.
As you can see, large crowd, lots of food and fun in the water.
There is a bridge. I thought a bridge like the ones here that I have junped from. Deserted, old and certainly no traffic. All I heard from the kid's is "Granny, will you jump from the bridge?" and of course - and I am nothing if not a 'Good Sport" - I told them I would. How bad could it be, after all. Mercy! Not only was it not deserted, huge dump trucks, pick-up trucks, cars, folks pulling boats, and more huge dump trucks - Red ones! All we had to do is swim over to a rocky shore, climb a rocky cliff, crawl over a baracade, run down the hi-way in traffic, climb up on a two and a half foot high concrete railing while dump trucks whizzed by, balance yourself, wait for the camera's to get focused, say your prayers and jump 20 feet out and down into a bottomless, mountain lake to the cheers of everyone safe in their pontoon or ski boat. Now doesn't that sound fun? Well, I did it, not once but twice. I told you I was a good sport. It made all the sissy's look bad, seeing an old Granny jumping off this presipiss, so even Leslie, a confirmed chicken, had to jump. And so did EC, just so I didn't show him up.
A great time was had by one and all. I managed, by sun-block, sun-block shirt, and large brimed hat, not to get sunburned. I helped Cassidy and she had successfully crocheted the start of a nice sized afgan, which her Mother has already planned will be in the Nebraska State Fair. I also managed not to gain any weight, no small feat, considering all the food that was there.
Also, a fabulous aside - Carol Ann, Leslie's Aunt and Uncle Jim came for a couple of days, also bringing more food.
Carol Ann and Jim are retired from the Air Force and from owning their own business back in Michigan. They moved down to God's country some time ago and fill their lives with hiking and a lot of volunteer work. They volunteer at 'Dollywood', Pigeon Forge, and other places. One of which, Pigeon Forge, it seems has a huge Quiltfest that is hosted by 'The Piecemakers' and the 'Sevier Valley Quilters Guilds'. Carol Ann wanted to know why I had not entered one of my Quilts in their show. I had no excuse.
Carol Ann is also heading up a committee that is looking into the possibility of having a Fiber Artist Confab for next year. She said she would put my name into the hat to be one of their guest Fiber Artists. What a wonderful thing to have happen, and all just by chance. This is a great thing to look forward to. Carol Ann invited me to come and stay in her home and drew me a map of how to get there. I think she is serious. I think I'll go, not only to the Quilt Show next year, but if the Fiber Artist thing works out, I'd like to be involved in that, too.
Altogether, not a bad trip. We got home late Friday night, picked up my Pets from the Kennel, and you guessed it, my 'Kitty-boy' was still mad. He seems to be getting over his 'snit', but I don't think I'm fully forgiven.
Yes, it seems I've written a book.
We'll talk again soon,
Carol Ann, Quilter/Traveler

Sew Days

2009-06-18T19:41:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone,
I have often noticed that I seem to get a lot more done when I am spending a day or weekend away from my home, working on my Quilts.
I've given some thought to why that is. Conclusion: My house is filled with pets, my Husband, a surrounding yard, a telephone, a washer/dryer, dishwasher, stove & refrigerator and all of it demands my attention.
When I leave, I never take any of this with me.
I have made a decision. Every opportunity I have to go away for a Sew Day, I'm taking it!
Today, I spent the day at my friend Jim's house. We had the best time. I got more done there in five hours than I did working here all day yesterday. And I was with a room full of friends.
Jim has a wonderful home. Jim has never met a Treasure that he did not collect. Petite Point Purses, wooden spools, buttons, (and not just any old button) mini perfume bottles, Chrystal, antique furniture, China, antique Quilt tops, Mercy! The list goes on. Anyway, we chatted and I got so much done on that 'Fussy Cutting' stuff I've told you of in an earlier post.
My friend Linda, from Yellville, drove down early this morning. I met her in Conway and we drove to Morrillton. Got there by 9 a.m., toured the Jim Museum and then I got to work.
I've spent the past three weeks working on this 'fussy cutting', don't see any end in sight. You may all get to have me at your Sew Days and I'll still be packing this box with this 'fern thing' I'm cutting out. I love it, I think it is beautiful, and if ever finished, it will add a great deal to the Quilt it is intended for. However; it seems to be a great deal more work than I had first anticipated. The first one I cut out was too easy. So when I drew this one I added a few more flourishes, I made almost every leaf curve under five or six of its neighbors, and this one is three times bigger than the first one. What was I thinking? It's certainly not a two or three day job.
My motto, and I try to follow it in all things Quilt, is: "Whatever it Takes". I feel very strongly about this. I believe it. If it takes one hundred feet of 'racing stripes', that's what I do. If it needs to be doubled in weight by adding thread, that's what I do. And, if I must spend a month cutting out a fern for the lower right corner, that's what I will do.
Pay no attention to my 'mully-grubbing, I truly love what I am doing. It will just take me longer than what I imagined.
My Daughter In Law, Leslie got me a sign for me to put in my home, and I'll get it next week when we meet at a Lakehouse in Eastern Tennessee. Of course, you can now guess what it says:
"Whatever It Takes"! I was asked if it would go in my Studio; I think not. I think it needs to be in my Living Room. I'll have to pass it everyday.
"Whatever It Takes". Sometimes it takes a Sew Day!
We'll talk again later,
CAW, Quilter

The Art of the "Fussy Cut"

2009-06-09T06:54:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone!
I was wakened from sleep thinking of how 'fussy cutting' was now effecting my life. I can remember back, and not too long ago, when I first heard the word 'fussy cutting'. Now isn't it really funny sounding! I thought so. But, I also wanted to know what 'fussy cutting' was, don't you?
It is simply cutting on the lines. If you have a fabric that has a pretty flower on it and you want the flower re-located, you would just cut it out, very carefully, following the line of the flower. Then you would take the flower and move it to where you wanted it to be; perhaps on a new Quilt you are creating.
Well, that technique has worked well for me in the past few years. I have 'fussy cut' my way through a lot of flowers and leaves on a lot of pretty fabrics. I have also witnessed the 'fussy cutting' of others and realized that not every one's Mama taught them how to stay in the lines. In 'fussy cutting', Neatness Counts!
Also, one must know what a 'Good Pair of Scissors' means.
As a teacher, I request that students bring a 'good pair of fabric scissors' to class. Would you be surprised to find that what some think of as 'good fabric scissors' will not saw through a single layer of fabric, much less a few layers? Well, sadly it is true. Investing in a single pair of good scissors is well worth the money spent.
Anyway, I love to cut my fabric. For my "Quilt By The Mile" projects I use my rotary cutter to cut my one inch strips. In my world, neatness counts there, too. Then, in the evenings, while EC and I sit to relax after Dinner, I bring out my favorite pair of KAI scissors and cut the forty-five degree angles at each end of every piece. Usually there are thousands of little four and five inch lengths, so having a good pair of scissors is a 'must'.
However; for 'fussy cutting', you need something a little more specialized. I have discovered some truly wonderful little scissors, made by KAI for Omnigrid. They are very small, very pointed and very sharp. I 'fussy cut' nothing without them!
After spending several years on the fringe of the 'fussy cutting' world, cutting out flowers on others' fabric, lately I've discovered that 'fussy cutting' freehand can be fun and challenging.
What, you might ask, could that mean? Well, I started by cutting leaves and stems, but I'm working on a Quilt that needs some under-water stuff. I've not studied under-water stuff, but I know wavy, flowing stuff grows under-water so I set out to create some.
I thought I had enough 'fussy cut' under-water stuff cut, until about three weeks ago. I decided on a fern.
I've become obsessed. I often hesitate to use that word, but in this instance, it is appropriate. I and now willing to add the word 'Art' to the term 'Fussy Cutting'. The entire world may have been aware of 'Artful Fussy Cutting', but I was not. Now, I don't see my future without including 'Artful Fussy Cutting' in it.
We all grow and change, our styles change, our appearance changes, our work and Art changes.
Mine has now changed, once again.
Quilting is my focus. Creating something pleasing to myself from fabric is something I have to do. For the time being, adding this one more wonderful creative feature is a must!
Make something pretty today.
Cut something wonderful.
I am:
Carol Ann, Quilter/Fussy Cutter

The Art of the "Fussy Cut"

2009-06-09T06:54:00.001-05:00

WOW! What A Day!

2009-05-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

Hey, Hey!
I told you about my trip to Houston. On Tuesday, while there, I accompanied my friend, Crayola, to the Dr. She has had a rough two years, battling cancer. While I was waiting during her check up, I started drawing on my calendar. I liked what I saw.
Crayola's check up was good and we spent the afternoon driving down to Edna, Victoria and Port Lavaca, Texas. Crayola and James are planning on retiring to Victoria, perhaps next year. We just wanted to get a lay of the land. Very flat, for the most part.
Downtown Victoria has been ruined. There is a beautiful nineteenth century court house in what was the Town Square, but Wells Fargo built a monstrosity of a huge bank across the street as did some other bank on the opposite side of the Court house. Somehow, a lot of charm was lost. Just blocks from downtown, are beautiful antibellum homes. White with huge collums, great brick and wrought iron fences and, in one instance, a chicken coop and lots of fat Chickens. Martha Stewart would be proud.
Anyway, back home, I started drawing the same thing on my Sunday School book. A sort of fern and added a bloom to it this time. I never have drawn this sort of thing before, but it seemed to be a lot on my mind. At some point, it struck me.
"This needs to be on a Quilt"!
I could not wait until Monday morning. Sometimes everything just falls into place. I walked into my 'Studio', and pulled one of my teal green fabrics. No big decision, it just fell into my hand. Grabbed my 'Wonder-Under' and I was off. Pressed it on the back of my fabric and drew, once again, the 'Fern'. Only this time, 'life-size'!
It took a couple of hours to draw all the leaves, tendrils, stems. But, finally, it was done. I loved what I saw and so did EC. (Although, EC had no idea what I had in mind.)
Now, for the "Fussy Cutting".
I spent the rest of Monday and all day yesterday (Tuesday) cutting. Tiny little leaves, little bitty holes. I got the Fern free from all that fabric late last night. I could not rest, it had to be placed.
Three or more years ago, I began a large "Quilt By The Mile". I have helped students for years to make and I have designed their work, but had never taken the time to do one for myself. This was to be my own Masterpiece, just for me.
Well, life got in my way. I had just finished the "Quilt By The Mile" when I was asked to do a Comission Piece. I did the Quilt, learned my lesson and started back to work on the "Masterpiece". I spent days and nights "fussy cutting' my way through lots of red, orange, green and blue fabric. I cut out one huge, beautiful under-water sea bush from one piece of fabric. It got lost in the blue of the background. Moving right along, I fussy-cut, fish, coral, grasses. Then I set to work top stitching. Since it was such fine little fussy-cutting, it had to be fine, little stitching. I worked myself blind. I had to set the "Masterpiece" aside. I was way too close to it.
In fact, I was burned out.
The Masterpiece has been shuffeled, folded, covered up, moved and re-shuffeled. I just could not get re-inspired. But lately, it has been calling to me. All Spring, I've heard it calling me. At first, just a whisper, but recently it has been hollering. With this fern, it has be a full "YELL".
It was time to miter the remaining two bottom corners. It was time for the "Fern"!
I stayed up last night arranging all the hundreds of fern leaves. Moving, un-twisting, placing, smoothing, re-arranging, patting. Finally satisfied, I stuck the iron to it. No turning back now.
It is in its' place. It is beautiful. I can't tell you the difference it makes. I am so happy with it.
However; I really think it needs more. I'm going to look at it for another few minutes, but I really think 'more is more'.
We'll talk again about this. Isn't making Quilts the most Wonderful thing? Probably not a question, more a statement of fact.
See ya,
Carol Ann, Quilter

The - To Be Continued

2009-05-23T19:55:00.000-05:00

Moving right along- - - - -
I started putting the binding on on Tuesday night, and discovered that I had begun at the top. That's no problem, except that I was stitching down the binding on the top of the Quilt and I hadn't put the sleeve on. Now, there is a problem! I had just finished the corner and stitched about 14" when I realized that I was stitching the binding down on the top. Well, that is all wrong.
I put a knot about every two inches, a permanent knot. Soooooo, it all had to be taken out. Tuesday stitching, a total loss.
Wednesday, I started all over again. I made the sleeve, beautifully, I might add, and then moved on to attaching the binding, once again.
This time, more successfully!
I worked all day long, never moving from my nest at my end of the couch. Thursday, I had previously made arrangements with my Sister, Susan, to meet in Memphis and give her the Quilt that I had Quilted for her neighbor (in North Carolina) George. (An old piece that his now Dearly Departed wife had, at one time worked on) I wanted that Monkey off my back. I decided that I could ride and stitch at the same time. EC could check on his Mother's home while we were there and I could sew while I visited with Susan at her Son's home.
I never looked up, all day, on the trip to Memphis, while I was at my Nephew's, and all the way back to Little Rock. I was stitching.
We got home a little before sunset. I came inside and sat back down at my appointed spot, the end of the couch, all the while, stitching.
I finished at about 1 a.m.
12:30p.m. I was at George's and ready for the photography session. George had a black background up and the light's were ready. He pinned the Quilt to the background and took one photo. He asked what else I needed. I was surprised, but told him I needed a close-up.
Margarete told me the be sure to use the 100 piece "Century Log Cabin" for the close up. So George took a photo of that and showed me the digital. Well, it didn't suit me. I saw a great patch of Quilting and asked for him to shoot that. He did, and WOW! It looked fabulous.
So that was the close-up we chose.
He said he would call when he got the CD ready.
Sunday, 11:30a.m. he called. I was at Church. I got the message as soon as I got home and
raced over to pick up the CD. It was great.
I couldn't sleep because of the excitement, so at 2:30 Monday morning, I was up filling out my paper work for entering my Quilt in the International Quilt Festival in Houston in October, 2009.
I had thought all along that the deadline was Monday and the postmark was the qualifier. Wrong! The dead line was Monday! Period!
Well, I was going to Houston anyway, so I packed everything up and hit the road for Houston!
I would "Hand Deliver" the application.
Crayola called, they said it was OK to bring it into the office. The Office was in Crayola's neighborhood, so when I got there, I changed clothes, put on some lipstick and off we went.
The rest is now history.
What a wonderful day it turned out to be.
We had a great time .
We'll talk again soon,
CAW, Quilter

The Quilter In Me

2009-05-23T11:50:00.000-05:00

Hello,
I've been to Houston. I left here Monday morning, 4:15 a.m. and headed to one of my favorite spots. I like Houston. And, for many reasons.
Houston is the 4th largest U.S. City, behind NY, Chicago, and LA. So, besides express ways, large mega Airportropolis', and lots of traffic, there are wonderful things to see and do there that can't be found any where else. And, lots of wonderful foods in restaurants and in fabulous speciality stores. (Rice Epicurean, Whole Foods, Central Market, to name a few of my favorites)
And they are all close to my friend Crayola's house in downtown Houston.
The main reason I like to visit Houston, (and the heat down there has nothing to do with it) is the International Quilt Festival that is held there every Fall.
Also, Quilt, Inc. is located there. If you've ever entered a Quilt into the International Quilt Festival Show, you had to send it to Quilt, Inc.
I visited their offices on this past Monday afternoon. Ann greeted Crayola and I when we walked into the beautiful 'cut glass' Front Doors. She was very nice. She asked if we would like to tour their office's. Well, of course. To the right of Ann's desk were shelves that went all the way to the ceiling and Quilts were folded and stacked neatly on each shelf. Beautiful Quilts were hung on every wall. Quilt, Inc. has a wonderful collection of antique white Quilts. There are touches of red and green on each one. (I'm sure there is a name for this type of Quilt, but I don't know it.)
Also, each office and conference room had Quilts hanging on almost every wall. They were all wonderful.
The reason I was there was because the Monday night before, the 11th of May, Margarete Heinisch and her Husband, Helmut, had visited in my home, after our Guild meeting. She encouraged me to enter one of my Quilts in the show.
After we had looked on the internet, we discovered that the deadline was Monday, the 18th, exactly one week away. The Quilt wasn't even bound. I may be the slowest binder in the world, it takes me three full days to put a binding on.
Anyway, Margarete told me that I could do it, if I got in gear and got busy. Well, Tuesday morning, I called George Chambers, the photographer we Quilters use, and made an appointment for Friday, the 15th, at 12:30 p.m.
Then, EC and I began the search for the perfect fabric for the binding. EC won! He picked out the greatest Alexander Henry Fabric in my Stash. It was perfect. Then all the cutting, sewing, pressing and attaching. Also, the hanging sleeve has to be attached as the binding goes on. So, that had to be made, too.
I got the binding on and the sleeve, but the time consuming part, the hand stitching that must be done to attach it to the back. And that's where the time comes in. Mercy, it does take a while!
Must run, EC wants to take me shopping. Never turn down a man when he wants to take you out to spend money!
We'll finish this story later,
CAW, Quilter

Overwhelmed & Out of Touch

2009-05-15T17:22:00.000-05:00

Hello,
Life has a way of taking over sometimes. Since last we talked, I feel as though I was pushed into a siding and left. Things have been going on around me and I guess I was just caught up in it.
My Mother-In-Law's illness and subsequent death took me to Memphis and left me there.
I couldn't leave while she was ill and after her death there was so much there to do.
I feel as though I have turned a corner and EC and I are moving on.
One marked occurrence, EC's hair has turned almost solid white. Just a little stress.
Mercy!
Anyway, I have rejoined my life. Our Quilt Guild has a wonderful guest, Margarete Heinisch. Her work is world famous and we loved having her as a guest and the opportunity to see her Quilts in person. WOW! Also, I feel as though I've gained a friend. She made me promise to do something which has sent me in a very positive direction. She left here Tuesday morning and I have been sewing ever since.
Earlier today, I took my latest Quilt, " A Fish in My Garden" over to George Chambers Studio.
George photographs all my Quilts. He is an excellent photographer. Margarete made me promise that I would get it into a show. This is the first step.
I plan to take it easy all this week-end and Monday morning, 4 a.m., I plan on driving to Houston. I promised my friend, Crayola, that I would come to see her last October. Since I've been otherwise occupied, that trip hasn't taken place. We had moved it to February, but I was sitting with my Mother in law in Memphis, so that didn't happen.
Anyway, I am looking forward to the drive and the visit. We both have had losses and crisis's and the 'get away' will be fun. We plan to sew.

Good Morning!

2008-11-03T02:41:00.000-06:00

You've heard the saying - "The best laid plans of mice and men, oft go astray."
Well, I've been planning to be in Houston, TX., for the International Quilt Festival all this year. My friend Adele was going with me. We were going to stay with my friend, Crayola, in Houston. Crayola was a victim of Hurricane Ike and went to Memphis to stay with her Mom and Dad to wait out the results of the Hurricane. She had no electricity. During her stay with her parents, her Father passed away. Of course, this was awful and very sad for my friend. Loosing a parent is a hard thing to go through, at any age. Crayola returned home to Houston to deal with the results of "Ike" and a couple of weeks after returning to her home, learned that her Mom had broken her hip. My friend Crayola is very sad.
At first I thought I would go to Houston alone, to be of comfort to my friend, but life stepped in and my Husband cleared things up for me. We (EC and Me) needed to visit our Daughter in Louisville, Ky. and Crayola needed some time to get her life calmed. The trip to Houston was canceled and new plans we made.
Adele was in New Orleans the week before we were going to Houston, and after talking to me about Crayola, decided to stay in New Orleans with family and friends. Houston will happen again next October.
So, last Thursday morning, about 4:30 a.m., we packed the Explorer with our stuff, our Dogs, Thelma and Mack, and left NLR headed North and East.
Louisville and our daughter are about 535 miles from here, so an early start was mandatory.
We made the trip without incident and arrived at about 2:30 p.m. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The sun was bright and in our eyes the whole way. We decided on and interresting route, we left here and got on Hwy. 67/167 to Newport, AR., got off a little south of Newport on a two lane thru Amagon, AR, Waldenburg, and on to Harrison, AR., the turned North to Jonesboro, and Paragould, AR., to Hwy. 412. 412 took us over to Missouri, at Cardwell, to Kennet and then to Hayti, where we crossed the Mississippi River into Tennessee just east of Dyresburg. This is a lovely expressway, except for about 8 miles of four lane up to Union City, Tn. We crossed into Kentucky onto the Purchase Parkway, which could take us to Paducah, KY. (Quilt City, USA) but we were on a mission to get to Louisville, KY. We swerved east and crossed the Tennessee River just above the two huge Lakes just east of Paducah and got on the Western Kentucky Parkway. Now there's a road! Absolutely no traffic! Actually, there was no traffic of any sort for the whole trip. Probably because there is absolutely nothing on this road. No houses to see, no farms, no towns to pass. Just trees, rocks and hills for 137 miles. What a pleasant change from I-40 from here to Memphis to Nashville! Then take a Left to I-65 to Louisville. Boring, boring, boring.
This other was is about the same distance, took about the same amount of time, but no traffic, and no Trucks.
The Western Kentucky Parkway took us to Elizabethtown, Ky. were we did have to get on I-65, but only for about 35 miles. Then we got on the Gene Snyder - I-265 - and cruised around Louisville to the east to get to our Daughters' home.
We had a good visit, got to see both Grandson's play football games, and both played well. You must know that sports, except Golf, hold no interest for me, but I did go and watch. I am nothing, if not a 'Good Sport'.
Now, for the good stuff!
Louisville has several really nice "Fabric Stores"! On Friday, after the Grandsons were off to school, my mission was to visit a couple of them. My Daughter knows Louisville, so she had to go to help me find them. My husband, EC, had to go - he said - to "look out for his own interests".
Anyway, I got to go.
I have been on the lookout for three particular families of fabrics. Reds, I don't seem to have any in my "Stash", Greens, I can never have too many, and Black and Whites. True Black and Whites. No grays and nothing that reads gray from a distance.
First Stop: "Among Friends". This Quilt Shop is in a strip mall setting. Here, in Arkansas, Little Rock in particular, our Quilt Shops are in old houses so I guess that is what we get used to. However, "Among Friends" has a great selection of fabrics.
I hit the 'jackpot'. I found a fabulous selection of 'Green' Batik's. I pulled a whole stack of bolts, Laura helped and EC was sweating. We layed them all out and I chose the ones I really loved. One stood out and has taken it's place as my #1 favorite Green. It is a beautiful Hoffman Batik. Tone on tone and yummy. EC let me get four yards. It is really wonderful! The rest, I got half yard cuts. I found a couple of reds and a couple of black/whites.
It didn't take me twenty minutes to find these fabrics. It doesn't take me all day to make up my mind. I know what I want and what it looks like. The ladies that cut my fabric were very nice. I am on their mailing list and have been since the last time I was in Louisville, a couple of years ago. They send out news letters and I enjoy hearing from them. After you buy 75 yards, you get a $25 gift certificate. I'm not there yet, but they are keeping track. Since I was from out of town, they gave me one of their cloth shopping bags with their logo. I used it for the rest of the trip, to store my new 'Stash'.
Sorry, I must cut this short. Will finish the rest of the trip later,
Carol Ann, Quilter

What's UP For Today?

2008-10-13T05:59:00.001-05:00

My Sister Susan Claire is on her way! The Whirling Dervish of the Paint World! I am excited and anxious. I still have wallpaper in a couple of places and she'll be here with paint brush/ladder in hand.
I am still thrilled with the Quilt I finished last week.
I will be doing the Program tonight at Arkansas Quilters Guild and am so excited about doing that. I don't think I have shown my work or told the story of becoming a Quilter since 1998. Susan, against her will, is coming with me. She would rather be painting, I know, but I told her this was a big deal to me. She'll come.
I think my kitchen is going to be green. I have white cabinets so I know it will look fresh and new. EC wants me to paint the cabinets, now there's a lot of work! But, they really do need it. I love the paint I used to do the front door, it will look great on the cabinets.
Lowe's and Home Depot opened about 10 minutes ago, Susan should really be in my driveway right about now. I can feel it.
I'll try to let you know how things are going, but we'll see--
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann, Quilter/Wall Paper Stripper/Whatever it Takes Chic!

Oh, The Misery

2008-10-09T02:10:00.000-05:00

Mercy!
My kitchen does not have a single open space of wall. Six inches, a door, six more, another door. Then eighteen inches, cabinets, then a corner. My Goodness! And the ceiling is nine feet so I have to climb an eight foot ladder, stand on the third step, leave room for my 'Helper Kitty' so that he can come and go, hold on to a squirt bottle, the wall paper claw, and my scraper, reach over the top of the cabinet to claw, squirt, then scrape.
I must say, builders who allow 'wall paper applicators' to apply wall paper on raw sheet rock should be taken out and glued and papered and left to the elements. At this moment I hold them in very low regard.
I worked ten hours on Tuesday and twelve hours on Wednesday clawing, scraping and squirting, and still have the oven wall and sink wall left to claw, squirt and scrape. My right hand is permanently deformed. I've poked wallpaper and that mud stuff under my finger nails and into the quick, so my finger nails throb and standing on that ladder hasn't done my poor feet any favors, either.
Oh, and we still have to pull the refrigerator out to do all the above.
EC says that there should be an enforceable law that states, "If you put the stuff up, you gotta be the one to take it down". And I'd vote for it!
"Got any cheese for this whine?"
Oh, but there is a wonderful 'up' side. I can stand in certain places and see no wall paper at all and I can imagine how beautiful my kitchen will be. I have white cabinets and no matter what color I choose to paint these walls, it will be beautiful.
My sister, Susan, told me one month ago that I had thirty days so I needed to start pulling the paper off the walls. She said to do a little every day so it would be finished when she gets here on Monday morning.
As I mentioned earlier, however; I had a Quilt in my longarm that begged to be finished. You can now see where my priorities are. I spent the whole month working like a 'mad woman possessed' on this beautiful Quilt and left these few remaining days to strip the paper.
I work better under pressure. This is the story of my life. I must love doing things this way.
Be that as it may, there is still no excuse for builders. I still wish them ill and deplore their shoddy methods. Pity the next poor fellow I meet that tells me he builds houses for a living!
Next week, we will be painting again. Susan paints like I Quilt. We will be up day and night with buckets and brushes and she loves wet rags. Kitchen towels to me. It will be a wonderful time spent with my sister.
I realized, after her last visit, that it was the first time since we were children, that we had spent that much time together. We've always allowed time and distance and our own lives to get in the way. It will be a fun thing to do together. She is a remarkable woman.
Must run. I really should sleep. The walls will be calling when daylight gets here. Why am I up at 3 a.m.?
We'll talk again, soon.
Carol Ann, Quilter

My Life Continued

2008-10-08T08:04:00.000-05:00

As I was saying yesterday, I think my last Quilt is my favorite. I like the colors, the design, and the Quilting. And the entire time that I was Quilting it, I kept saying to myself, "your ruining it"! I don't know why I feel this way when I am working on a piece. I still have a lot of work to do. It needs binding, a label and sleeve, but-----.
My Sister, 'The force of Nature', returns next Monday to paint again. I must spend this week peeling this horrible wall paper. It was applied directly to un-prepared sheet rock and comes down one little jibble at a time. It is slow and laborious, however; it will be worth it in the end. It will be like living in a new house. I will have a new kitchen, powder room?, and bedroom. Also, the wallpaper under the chair rail in the dinning room has to go. So a new dinning room, too.
Must run, you know, the breakfast thing.
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann, Quilter

Where In The World is The Quilt Queen?

2008-10-07T08:51:00.000-05:00

Yes, yes, it has been a while.
Remember, a while back I mentioned that I really must work on the Quilt that was in my longarm. Well, the right day did come along ( I am a firm believer in the "Right Day") and I have been attached to the Longarm.
Yesterday afternoon, I removed the Quilt from the rollers and "The Quilt" and I have been having a 'love-in' ever since. I can't take my eyes off it. I have only seen it in sections since last February. Yes, February! It is laying on the bed to the right of me and I keep glancing over my shoulder to look at it. Can you tell, I think it turned out beautifully. It is heavily Quilted, I haven't counted how many different colors of thread I used, but more than ten.
I don't know how many yards of thread I used either. I know that some Quilter's keep track of the yards of thread, but I did not. I used four 1000 meter spools of Madeira Verigated and emptied several other spools of solid colors.
Naturally, since I am in a thread shortage, a road trip is called for. I need more thread. EC calls this the "Needmore" Disease. That's true.
I share this machine with EC and He seems to have an emergency.
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann, Quilter

A Day In The Life

2008-09-17T13:42:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about all the talented people that I've met, just because I'm a Quilter.
When I first joined our Guild, Paula Nadlestern was our Guest. Her work is fascinating. Her challenge is to make each of her blocks look as though it is something you would see while looking through a Kaleidoscope. And she succeeds. During her presentation, she showed pictures of her apartment in New York City. She did not have a fancy studio, in fact she did all her tiny piecing at her little kitchen table. I was amazed.
Velda Newman came to our Guild when I was a new member also. Her work is bigger than life, but it is true to life. The butterfly Quilt that she brought with her was perhaps sixteen feet long. It was covered with butterfly's. Each butterfly, in relation to the others was exactly the size it would be if it were sitting next to which ever butterfly that was next to it. Some very small and the Monarch, as I recall was the largest. I could not believe I was getting to look at such marvelous work. She stayed in my home so EC and I could look at the Quilts, up close and personal.
She had her newest Quilt with her, "Bassin", that was covered with Bass. That's fish. My husband is a Bass fisherman and he really appreciated the work that was involved. I think the next year she entered it in Quilt National in Ohio and won a first place.
Laura Wazalouski has been a Guest at our Guild and also in my home. She taught me about fusing a made me a lover of "wonder-under". Her work is amazing and so is she. Any woman that can stand in front of a room full of strangers and burst into song - songs that she made up- is a 'Wonder Chic'! They are songs about herself and her work. Songs of the 'Chicago School of Fuse' and the friends she has there. Amazing!
This year alone, Sharon Schamber visited our Guild. Sharon has to be the greatest Longarm Quilter that I have ever met. I cannot imagine how she does her work. It is so 'over the top'. And yet, there are Quilter's out there that match her work and exceed it.
The bar has been raised each year that I have been a Quilter. In the years that I have Quilted, the Longarm has been accepted, machine Quilting has been accepted, Art Quilts are the norm, and it seems to have changed before my eyes.
This is a wonderful Art Form that we have chosen.
Let's all go make a Quilt!
We'll talk more later,
Carol Ann, Quilter

Another Day In the Life

2008-09-09T12:53:00.000-05:00

Hey, Everyone:
Last night we had our monthly meeting of the Arkansas Quilters Guild. I am the Program Chairperson, and because we had to cancel our 'out of state' teacher/lecturer, I decided that a 'Bag Sale' would be a great, fun thing to do.
A Bag Sale, simply put, means all Guild Members bring a sealed bag (of any sort) full of all the things that they may have bought in the past that no longer hold the appeal they did on the day they were purchased. It could be a pattern, a ruler, or perhaps your tastes in fabric changed.
Whatever, we all have stuff that we no longer want or use. This is a great way to pass it on.
We use the Silent Auction method. There is a time limit set on the shopping, everyone puts their name and bid, someone else raises it, so one is encouraged to place another bid. It's fun, only minor fights, no hair pulling, and a good time is had by all.
We also had a Vendor, The Rabbits Lair, from Rogers, Arkansas came down with loads of fabric, and other goodies from their Shop. We don't have any great sources for Batik Fabric here, so it is a great way to get some new stuff. I had a wonderful time shopping. I've been to their store, it is 'over the top' full of beautiful fabrics. It is well worth the three and a half hour drive. A great excuse for a road trip.
All in all the evening was a success, we raised money for our Guild and everyone had a good time.
Must run, Quilting calls,
Carol Ann, Quilter

This Past Week In The Life

2008-09-08T07:39:00.000-05:00

Hey, Everyone:
This past week has been non-stop action. My Sister Susan, a major 'Force of Nature', on a 'spur of the moment' trip', came to my home and WOW!
Susan Claire lives in Hayesville, NC and she and her husband decided to spend the Labor Day Holiday in Memphis, with their Son. She called me and said that if I would come to Memphis to get her on Monday, she would come over and make my dream of a yellow family room a reality.
She paints at her home all the time and is very talented with a Paint Brush! I knew for a very certain fact that my husband wasn't about to allow me to take on this project, for the simple fact that it would take me years to finish and he wasn't about to do it. Susan, on the other hand, wouldn't even ask, and her projects get finished - "TODAY"!
I went to Memphis on Monday. Susan had come to her Son's home prepared. She brought her own ladder, paint tray, roller and extension pole. I mentioned, she has done this before. Well, I loaded her up and all her equipment, hugged my nephew, his two boys and his wife and we left for North Little Rock. We didn't get here until 4:45 p.m. and since it was a Holiday, thought the paint store would be closed. Instead we literally ran through Sam's, I needed a few things for the meals I knew I would be fixing, and then on to my home.
I fixed supper, fed EC and Susan, made plans for the following day and we went to bed early. That was the last time!
To say that Susan is an early riser, is an under-statement. She and her husband have, for the last 5 years, gotten up at 3 a.m., dressed for the day and driven to Atlanta, Georgia, to work. It is only 100 miles. Susan retired this year so Larry has had to drive in alone. He decided to go in earlier so that he could get home earlier. Well, now he gets up at 1:30 a.m. gets dressed and drives in to be at work at 5 a.m. so that he can leave by 1:30 p.m. and get back home by 4 p.m. to see Susan.
Well, naturally, just because Susan was here, her habits did not change. She was up at 3 a.m., waiting on us to get up. I don't have the same sleep habits.
Around 6 a.m., I woke up and discovered Susan, showered, with make-up on, tapping her foot, waiting on me, and wanting to go to the paint store. I fixed breakfast, and we left to buy paint.
The rest of the week is a paint splattered blur. My entry hall had really ugly wall paper on it, the front door was ugly faux wood grain, and the 45 foot front hall and my living room was painted off-white. Yuk! My task was to get the wall paper down. Whoever put the wall paper up was, at the very least, lazy. Although the job was well done, they had put it up on un-prepared sheet rock. That made my job very difficult. The paper came down in little jibbles.
A tip to all wallpaper removers - use vinegar and water. The stuff you buy at the paint store is a waste of money and didn't work at all. The vinegar/water solution works great.
In all, we used five gallons (the wall paint was not actually gallons-three quarters of a gallon is actually the truth) on the wall, one quart in the entry hall for and accent under a chair rail, and one of those three quarter gallons on the soffet in the living room.
WOW! you should see the results! It's like having a new home. The whole place takes on a glow that is wonderful.
Susan worked, non-stop every day. Her ladder was too short, so we sent EC off to get an eight foot one. She painted, spackled, caulked, and painted and painted. She changed brushes, changed paint, wiped, climbed the ladder, moved the ladder. Mercy! and the whole time EC and I did what she told us. EC ran errands, we changed out all the plastic switch plates and electrical outlet covers, to brass, so we sent EC to buy out all the Lowe's stores. (there are only two in this area) EC was sent out to buy more caulk and some ceiling paint.
I was determined to rid my entry hall of all that paper and I stayed up Tuesday until the last jibble was removed from the wall. Then, I had to paint, with oil-based paint, the front door and the two side panels and all the trim. It took two coats, but you should see it now. It is beautiful!
It took me two days, but I got it done.
On Thursday, Susan said she would probably be through by noon, then she changed her prediction to three o'clock. Well, at three the next morning, we were still at it. Then she said, "Well, I didn't say what three!" Friday morning came, EC had set the clock for 6 a.m. to race to Lowe's for a quart of ceiling paint. We had only slept for two and a half hours. I told them they were killing me. Susan was up, she had a lot of touching up to do. We thought we would leave for Memphis by 11 a.m. You guessed it, it was much later.
We did not get finished until 5 p.m. on Friday. I had to get Susan back to Memphis. Her Son was taking her to Alabama to meet her Husband at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning. Also, we wanted to go to the two Lowe's near her Son's home to get the rest of the outlet covers. We got to Memphis by 7:30 p.m. and hit both stores, and got Susan to her Son's by 8:30 p.m. I was back on the road by 8:54 headed for Little Rock.
I got here a little after 11 p.m. I needed sleep. I was teaching a class at 9 a.m. in Bryant, AR., the next morning and my Sunday School Class was having lunch here on Sunday after Church. At some point I would have to put my house back in order, bake a chocolate cake and make banana pudding, as I had promised some members of my Class.
That all done, I figure if I make it through today, I deserve a rest. We'll see.
We'll talk again soon,
Carol Ann,Quilter

A day in the Life- -

2008-08-29T23:15:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone,
I've been busy.
I may have mentioned a rug I was making. Well, I've had it, or the parts of it for a long time. In the recent past I have pulled it out to work on, but for some reason, I couldn't make it look right when I would work on it, so I would just put in back on its shelf and forget about it for a while. Well, while my Grand Babes were here, I had it out again. My Daughter in Law took an interest in it so I showed her how to make her own and even gave her a bolt of fabric to take back to Nebraska. The more I messed with mine, the more disgusted I became. It seems, it kept wanting to look like a boat instead of a rug.
I was talking to EC about the whole thing, after I had pulled out several yards of fabric, yet again.
Suddenly, it became very clear as to the problem. I was trying to make it by doing a chain stitch and it was supposed to be a single crochet. What had I been thinking! After working on it correctly for a couple of days, I decided that I wasn't happy at all with the results of all the time spent and the confusion. I layed it on the floor, sat down in the middle of it and started pulling. I pulled for about 30 minutes and dismantled the entire rug. I feel so much better now.
Starting over was the only solution. By erasing all the past errors and starting anew, the entire project has taken on a different aura. It has gone so much more smoothly.
The rug is an oval, made from decorator fabric - polished cottons - that I had collected years ago when I lived in Memphis. Broomcorn's is a wonderful fabric institution that has been in business in Memphis for over 100 years ( I believe this to be correct). When a fabric pattern is discontinued, they would have a fabulous sale, yardage left on those big cardboard rollers, as little as $1.00 a yard. Naturally, I had to buy it, it was too good of a deal. With absolutely no clue as to what it could be used for in the future, I would load up the trunk of my Buick and haul it to the house to be included in my stash.
As time passed, someone showed me that, with a large plastic crochet hook, one is able to crochet with fabric. I was told to tear up old sheets into three inch strips, stitch them together end to end and just crochet as if with yarn. Well, that was cute, small, and had no color. My eye was on greater things, and after all, I do have a 'Stash'!
1997 - My rug making began. I've made seven or eight area rugs, one is nine feet by five feet. I did all this in about six months, you know how it is when you grab on to something new, and then I just layed it aside. This last one has been occupying a shelf in the hall closet for lo' these past ten years or so. The right time came along and now it is time to complete the task.
Even if I do say so, this one is very nice. EC likes it a lot, although the day that I tore it apart he did mention that I was - I believe the term was - "Crazy as a Betsy Bug" (not sure what that means, either). Now that it is taking shape again, he does see the wisdom in my decision. It is laying flat, as a rug should. In its other form, I believe I am safe in saying, it has ruffles on one end. That is not acceptable, no matter where you put it. It is much better this way.
Moving on, my Sister, Susan Claire, will be coming to my home next week. I am going to Memphis to pick her up at my nephew, Houston's home, on Monday. Susan lives in North Carolina and will be visiting her Son for the Holiday. Her husband, Larry, is leaving her in my care for a week. We are going to have a great time.
I am so excited. She has determined that she is going to paint my living room and hallway for me. She said that I could sew, she did not want any help. Yellow is the new look I have chosen and cannot wait to see it actually on the walls. New 'perk' at my place. How exciting!
I started teaching a "Quilt By The Mile" class last Saturday at Pinwheel. This group of Ladies is a lot of fun. I want them to be successful so I intend to spend whatever time it takes to make that happen. So far it has been fun.
My friend Adele came over this morning and spent the day. We had a lovely time. She worked on two Quilt tops for her nephews and I wrapped cotton clothesline with a wonderful red fabric for some bowls I have on my mind to make. Maybe I will get that done while my sister paints.
I must run, I think someone needs to empty the living room of all those rugs, bowls, paintings, etc., and tape off some woodwork.
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann

Thoughts of a Quilter

2008-08-18T11:38:00.000-05:00

EC and I live in a three bedroom home, one is my studio (if you ask EC, he would say the entire home is my studio) one is shared by EC and I and our extended family - Thelma, Mack and "KittyBoy" and the third is where I am now. This room has our desk and computer and one king size bed. Of course there is a dresser and a small roll top writing desk and a connected bathroom. Well, I use the bed as the place to lay all my Quilts. I've mentioned before that I am a Quilter. It is what I do, and the rest of life revolves around that fact.
I make the Quilts because I love them. They are not for me to sell, (although I have sold several - and I still miss them and greive their loss) and they are certainly not for me to give away. And, my Quilts are not made for cover. I make them, as I do all the other little crafty, creative things I do, for the results. I love to look at my Quilts, I love the baskets and bowls I make, and I love the wonderful rugs that I crochet from vast quantities of decorator fabric in my stash.
Part of the pleasure I derive from making any of these is the joy of showing all of it to guests in our home, or; when I travel, taking them to Guilds to show during the Programs. I don't care if it is the Terminex Lady, I love to thrill them with an impromptu showing. I have discovered that most people do not have a clue as to what contemporary Quilter's do nowadays.
Anyway, because we have had company, EC folded all the Quilts and stacked them away in my 'Studio'. It has been over a week since everyone left, and the Quilts are still not in their place, on the bed.
Today is the day! I can't wait to unfurl each one, and place it in order of its creation, back on the bed. My very first Quilt goes on the bottom and each subsequent creation goes on top, until I get to the very latest. That's saying a lot, as I have three Quilt tops that I am working on. There are two that are pinned on the design walls in my Studio and I have 'center medallions' for a couple more.
Mercy, what am I doing sitting here? I really need to get busy!
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann, Quilter

This Day In The Life of a Quilter

2008-08-15T21:55:00.000-05:00

I was sitting here quietly, in my home, when I heard a loud crack! Gunfire? Thunder? I glanced out my front window just in time to see half of my Bradford Pear tree, topple - almost - to the ground. The section that fell was as big as a 'big' tree, and it was still hanging on to the trunk of the main tree. I looked at it for a moment and decided that I, alone, being the competent 'Chic' that I am, could take my trusty hand saw, priss out front, and saw the mammoth mess into 'Chic size pieces, and get it to the curb in time for the Monday morning pick-up.
As is usual, first impressions may not give you the actual scope and depth of a situation. Once I actually got up close and took a look at the mess, I realized I and my trusty hand saw might be a bit over-matched. The only thing that was holding the section to the trunk was the bark and the limbs that had hit the ground first. The top of this section was also caught up in the branches of my neighbors Bradford Pear. All in all, really a mess.
I began to saw all the little limbs that stuck out around the perimeter, working my way into the bigger limbs toward the center. My thought was to whittle away at everything up to about four inches thick, beyond that, I wasn't sure I could manage. Besides, I really didn't want the main trunk to dislodge, as I could see in my mind's eye, me - squashed and bloodied - pinned beneath the part still hanging by its bark.
I worked very hard for at least an hour, the cool breeze that I thought I had felt when I began this task, seemed to have disappeared. I didn't have a dry thread left on my body and I am sure my 'Croc's' sloshed when I took a step. I sawed, gathered limbs, carried them to the curb, went back and sawed some more. This had really turned into a 'Mighty Chic' sort of affair.
I was working my way towards the hart of the broken mass, when - and this really did scare me - while sawing a two inch limb, I felt movement. The piece of bark that had held the trunk had turned loose and the whole mass started rolling towards me. My feet were tangled in the branches that were smashed into the ground, but believe me, this 'Mighty Chic' moved.
I guess, because I had moved most of the top weight, it wasn't balanced anymore, so it just rolled over. The heavy end was still against the tree, but now, the branches that held it up off the ground, were up in the air. Suddenly, I realized I was totally dehydrated, soaking wet, hot as a fire-cracker and really tired of sawing.
I made an executive decision. The rest of the mess could wait until Saturday. I needed a shower, my locks needed shampooing, and my dear friend Adele needed to come see me.
I wouldn't want you to think that I'm a quitter, but I started Friday morning with a plan that really didn't include sawing up a tree.
At this particular time in my life, tomorrow really is another day, and I don't see the need to kill myself on things that 'pop' up out of nowhere and demand my attention. Anyway, when EC sees what's left of that poor tree, I afraid we'll have to saw down the last remaining three limbs. It does look pretty pitiful. Of course, that will entail the chainsaw, gasoline, smoke and EC being in charge. On the whole, I really did enjoy all the 'Mighty Chic' stuff that I did, making little pieces of a big mess. It is pleasant quiet work, albeit, sweaty work, but I did what I could manage without a lot of confusion, or major disaster.
I must run, I need an ice creme freezer, I want to make homemade boiled custard with strawberries, and a 'made from scratch' chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Sounds really good, tomorrow afternoon my Church is having an "Ice Creme Social" and I need to make a showing.
We'll talk later,
Oh, and I really should finish what I started, that tree is calling-------
Carol Ann

The Last Week in the Life of a Quilting Granny

2008-08-11T09:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I think my summer vacation is over.
My Family left on Saturday morning, heading home to North Platte, NE., after a month on the road, visiting other family and friends around the Country. My home was the last stop. They arrived last Sunday afternoon. My Son Chad flew into Memphis to meet the rest of his brood as they drove in from a week in East Tennessee. He drove them from Memphis to Little Rock. By the time they arrived here, Leslie had driven over 3000 miles and still had 876 miles left before reaching North Platte. I plotted her route home and we sent her on her way at about 6:30 a.m. I talked to her at 10:45 p.m. and they were getting off of I-80 at their exit and were so excited to finally be back home safely.
During their stay, every single day was packed from before sun-up to way after sunset. Because I had encouraged them to bring the bicycles, we had to prove to nay-sayers (Chad) that it had been a great idea. Each morning at 5:30 a.m., I jumped out of bed, got everyone up, and we loaded the bicycles onto the back of both SUV's, and headed for the bike trails that beautifully run up and down both sides of the Arkansas River, as is rolls between Little Rock and North Little Rock.
On Monday we parked the cars at the Soccer Fields and rode the trails to the "Big Dam Bridge". The going "UP" on the North Little Rock side is KILLER! If you are out of practice, it is a long hill. We all made it to the top of the Bridge. The 'view' is wonderful. I think you are 90 feet above the River and watching the water rush through the dam is a WOW! Just being up there is a great experience. I am so proud of our city for building it for us. Whether walking or riding a bicycle, it is a wonderful outing. However, tiring for little kid's and 'mature Chic's'! The rest of the week we explored many of the other trails that run through Burns Park. We even took a loaf of bread one day and tried to feed several hundred Geese that now love us.
We also road toward Downtown North Little Rock, except that the skateboard park lured us off our intended route. We played there for a long time, until real skateboarders showed up. We felt out of place there, on bicycles.
Can you tell, we had a lot of fun?
Recently, another bridge that links both cities was opened to bike and foot traffic. This bridge includes elevators. It is fabulous! I had never crossed it before. Since there were five of us and our bicycles, it took two trips to get us all up to the upper level. I felt as though we were soaring over the River. It is a wonderful experience.
EC and Chad took the Babes fishing at Lake Ouachita on Wednesday, so Leslie and I road over the newly opened Bridge by ourselves the first time. We discovered a lovely, bicycle park in Downtown Little Rock that included a boulder climbing wall with slides, tunnels, & rope ladders. There is also a water park area and if you know what to rub, sprays of water shoot out of the ground. Leslie and I decided not to tell the Babes, but let it be a surprise. It was wonderful to watch as they discovered each new, fun aspect of the area.
The bike trail isn't very long on the Little Rock side, I think you have to get on the streets to get to Rebsaman Park were the trail starts up again. But, you can go east from the Park, underneath I-30 and - Surprise!, you find yourself at the Clinton Presidential Library. There are beautiful, manicured lawns, wonderful trees and a lot of wide sidewalks to ride on. We road around to Heifer International and then back to the Downtown Bridge. The lawn sprinkler system came on in one section of the Library property and we circled it several times, on the sidewalks, to catch the spray. It was a great time of giggling and fun.
We rode everyday, except Friday, when exhaustion finally wore us all down. EC and Chad golfed everyday except the day they took the Babes fishing, but they never cried "Uncle". Chad's flight left at 3:56 p.m. on Friday and they played Golf until 1:30 p.m.
I may have mentioned in an earlier blog that I had a sewing machine set up in my living room, behind the couch. EC can still see me and I can sew in the evenings. Well, my Girls, Cassidy and Caleigh discovered it on Sunday when they got here. Cassidy convinced me that she could be careful if only I would show her how to sew on it. I'm a touch, so I showed her how to work the machine, I put it on the slowest speed and she became obsessed, almost immediately. Before they left on Saturday morning, Cassidy had made 56 nine patches out of some 3 1/2 inch blocks that I had cut. Personally, I believe the child is a Prodigy. I am amazed! One morning, when I got up, the sewing machine light was on. I thought it had been left on all night. Not so! Cassidy had been up, before me, and was sewing. A "Little Chic" after my own heart!
Before the week had passed, Caleigh Anne, my almost 7 year old on the 16th, was sewing blocks together, too! Either I'm a fabulous teacher or they are mini-genius's. Which ever, I was amazed.
Cole got a Wii while he was here, He had searched every possible store and found one left in Bryant, so his mind was set on becoming a "Pro" at every conceivable game that came on the thing. Bowling, Golf, Baseball, Tennis, and in this short week, succeeded. Now, what's left?
Well, you can probably see, the week was full. I showed Leslie how to crochet a rug from 4" strips of fabric. I sent her home with a crochet hook, fabric and a dream of a new rug. I also show her how to wrap clothesline with 3/4 inch bias cut fabric so she can make bowls. They think I'm so smart.
Actually, I feel sorry for Chad. He has to buy a Sewing Machine. All his "women" need one. Bless his heart.
Must run, I need to finish a rug I started years ago, since we got it out for a lesson. Once you get in with a Quilter, you can learn a lot of interesting techniques.
We'll talk again soon,
Carol Ann, Quilter

A Day In The Life of a Quilter

2008-08-01T04:27:00.000-05:00

Today, I have set myself a task. To the Longarm! I want to finish the Quilting on a piece I have pinned in.
I like the dense work of my favorite Quilt Artists. I think there must be some magic that they practice to achieve such beautiful work. In trying to emulate them, I've put myself in a difficult situation. I forget, as I start the machine, how long and arduous such a feat is.
I want to please myself with what I see as the needle enters the fabric. I love the effect of different colors of threads and I don't like to see open space. I looks as though (to my eyes) I forgot to put something there. That's great if your piece is 18" by 24". However; that is not the size of my piece. Something like 73" by 80" is more like it.
Why can't I just do a big, overall ramble that takes no thought and simply covers the Quilt? I have no answer. I just can't. When the piece is finished and taken out of the machine, I love to stare at it and be amazed at what I've achieved. It's just the 'getting there' that is so hard.
I may have mentioned in an earlier Blog, that the Quilt that is in the Longarm may be one of my favorite pieces. I don't know why I like it so much, but it really pleases me. I took a very simple block idea and put lop-sided boarders on it. A lot of boarders, so many that it is hard to tell that they are the boarders. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed making the Quilt. It's just the Quilting of it that is stumping me.
So, today is the "Day"! To the Machine! I can and will figure out 'What goes next', and get this Baby out. I want to see it! In the Machine, all I can see is the section where I am sewing. I want it unfurled and on the bed, all squared up and waiting on me to decide what the Binding will be.
There's another bridge to cross. But I'll cross it when I get to it.
Wish me well,
Carol Ann, Quilter

More About The Trip - Fabric/Food

2008-07-31T04:43:00.000-05:00

I continue on:
Crayola, from where in the world did that name come? Well, we've been friends now for at least 45 years. In and out of each others lives, depending on husbands, boyfriends, children, divorces, jobs, life-style changes, and life in general, but always - friends. We have always enjoyed each others company and have always laughed, hysterically, usually at each other and the things we say, our past and all that covers and all the events we have shared. Since we share the same first name, who knew who was being addressed, and so one day, I don't remember which one, The Redhead became Crayola. She's always been Crayola, I can't recall a day when she wasn't. I used to tell folks, upon introduction that it was because she "is so colorful". She still is.
We see each other 3 or 4 times a year, her parents are still living in the Memphis area and Little Rock is on her way from South Texas to their home. She stops here for a few days going or coming and I go to Houston, usually at the end of October. The International Quilt Festival starts then and it's a great excuse to go. Also, our son Chad lived in The Woodlands, TX., just north of Houston, for a couple of years and Granny had to go often.
So, we find ways to see each other and then there's always the phone. Usually, our conversations last up to 5 hours and always at least 2. And, if you listened in, it's a lot of laughter.
We had lost touch, in the 80's and when Crayola found me again, I had become a Quilter. Well, being a good friend, she became a Quilter, too. She jumped into the deep end, buying fabric with wild abandon. Her stash well equals any life-long Quilter's,She has learned "Stack N Whack", "The Blooming Nine Patch", "The Nine Patch", "Pagoda Blocks" and "One Block Wonder". Her first Quilt, "Frog's in a Blender" was a Stack 'N Whack. It was bright and bold, just like her name.
She and my husband spent days on the floor in my great room laying out her 9-patch. They didn't want my input, they just wanted me to keep making more blocks. Finally on the third sleepless day, they figured out the design. It's a nice piece, as 9-patches go.
During one marathon, we made Pagoda Blocks, something we had seen on Alex Anderson's show, during the Quilt Festival.
On this trip we made the "One Block Wonder", and that's where the shopping comes in. The fabric I chose from her Stash was a beautiful floral Hibiscus/Antherium bouquet on a black background. Crayola cut and I sewed. Each block, 4-Patches, went up on the design wall, and after two days, we decided on a pattern. Naturally, it needed boarders. Thus, the shopping.
We heard about "It's a Stitch" from a friend, we looked in the phone book, found the nearest location - FM1960 West - printed it out on MapQuest, and struck out.
Nothing is nearby, in Houston. It was about a thirty minute drive. We found it and went in. Boy, were we disappointed. No Fabric! Just machines and thread. The lady there was very nice and explained that the other location, in Humble, TX., was where the fabric was located. Look on a map, Humble is at the East end of FM1960, but, we were promised we would not be disappointed.
So, off we go again.
In the meantime, we both decided we were starving. Neither of us appreciate 'fast-food' (except Chic-Fillet) and Crayola's eyes landed on a Peruvian Cuisine sign on the left side of this six-lane street. She managed a Texas U'ie into the strip mall parking lot. I said we were hungry. Neither of us knew what to expect. But, it was a lovely experience. We were seated and given menu. The owner, and nice looking, friendly, middle-aged fellow, came to our table with a warm loaf of bread and two brightly colored dips. One, my favorite color of lime green, the other, a sort of orange. Both were wonderful. And so was the bread. We asked the Owner what he suggested for lunch - The menu was in Portuguese - and he suggested a dish. Stew is what I am reminded of, but whatever, it was good and filling. We had Peruvian Cola to drink - reminded me of Creme Soda - and for dessert, wonderful shortbread cookies with a caramelized creme filling. WOW! I bought a half dozen for us to share with coffee the next day. They were really good.
Back on FM1960. Urban sprawl. It just went on and on. Finally, Humble. In a new strip mall on the right, "It's a Stitch"! And this time we could see the fabric from the parking lot. I can't explain my excitement when there is a prospect of fabric, and lots of it!
WOW! WOW! I loved it! "It's a Stitch" in Humble, TX. is worth a side trip. Actually, it's right off Hwy 59 and we could have driven right to it, had we not taken the tour of FM1960. We do live and learn.
Back to the Fabric! "It's A Stitch" has lots of Fabric, employee's, threads, notions and Fabric! Their Batik selection was great and that's where I headed. They had so much that I had not seen, even tho I had been to Paducah, KY., only the month before. Of course, I had to start my stack of bolts. The nice ladies there showed me a spot on the corner of a cutting table where I could stack my finds. It was wonderful.
Crayola, on the other hand, was having a hard time finding the right red to go with our "Piece". Just when we were about to give up, we found a collection of new Fabric, in a low, knee-high case by the front door. We had completely overlooked it. And there, waiting to be discovered, was the perfect red! The green we wanted was easy, it was in the huge Batik display. We also needed a black & white piece for the "Racing Stripe" that we wanted to include in the boarder. That, too, was an easy find.
I wish I had gotten the lady's name that cut my fabric for me. She was very sweet, and folded my fabric so that I could see every different piece. It was lovely. I hate to have my fabric bagged. I want to hold it on the way home and be able to see all my beautiful choices. Even after I get it home, I don't include it into my stash right away. I like to keep it out, on my couch, to look at, fold, unfurl, refold and touch. I really do love my fabrics.
I know, I do run on. There's more to tell, but the dawn is breaking and you know, it's breakfast time.
We'll talk again,
Carol Ann, Quilter

Where Have I Been?

2008-07-30T06:37:00.000-05:00

I started to tell you all about my flying adventure, but suffice it to say, Flying just isn't like it used to be.
My daughter in law made it her business to see that I got to visit the Quilt Shop in North Platte. It's called the "Quilt Rack" and I was pleasantly surprised. What a great Shop. It has tons of fabrics and notions and the Shop owner was very helpful. She mentioned that the Quilt Guild would be meeting on Thursday night and invited us to attend.
All I can say about that is - It wasn't an AQG meeting. When our ladies do "Show & Tell" and hold up a beautiful new Quilt, we applaud! There were a lot of beautiful new Quilts shown, but the audience kept silent. It was different.
I have been teaching my Grand Daughters, Cassidy and Caleigh to piece by hand. We spent a lot of our time doing hand work. Cassidy is nine years old and does nice work. Caleigh is six and her idea of piecing is - "Sew Granny". Every chance we had to spend time on it, Caleigh Anne would put the needle in my hand and tell me to "sew". She said she could learn better if I would do it for her. I made six 'nine patches' so she could be 'caught up' with her sister.
Cassidy is quite the little 'Horsewoman'. She and her horse, Pony Joe, were in a horse show on Saturday. Cassidy won all 'first places' and two 'Best of Shows'! For a tiny little nine year old, she does very well. She takes Equestrian lessons at 'Jumprope Stables' in Ogallala,NE. If you like, you can go to their website and from there to a link to the photos of the show. You'll be impressed, too! Cassidy jumps like a "Pro" and her instructor says she could be an Olympian. Time will tell.
We left North Platte at 4 A.M. on Sunday, driving east on I-85 to York, NE. and from there South on Hwy 81, a nice 4-lane that took us to Kansas. North of Salina, it turns into Hwy 135 an in Wichita in turns into I-35. That beautiful drive took us all the way thru Oklahoma and into Dallas, TX. just in time for morning rush hour traffic. Now there's a stark contrast. From no traffic to "mega" traffic. We made our way to I-45 south and headed into Houston, TX. Leslie and the Babes were going to The Woodlands,TX. just north of Houston. Their old neighbors were hosting them while the Kids visited their friends.
My friend, Crayola, was picking me up and I would be going on into downtown Houston, to her home in the River Oaks area. It was wonderful to see my friend. Her husband James works out of town all week so we had the house all to ourselves.
Since moving to Houston, a year ago, my friends life took an ugly turn. She found she had breast cancer and has spent the past year taking care of that. Surgery to remove her breast, treatments for the cancer, reconstructive surgery. Anyway, she had not been able to fix up her Studio. Well, I was there for a week and now she has one. All of her fabric is out, both of her sewing machines are hooked up and sewing and we made a beautiful Quilt top. When I left, it was all layed out on her design wall. All she has to do is sew the boarders on. We were both pretty proud of it.
There's more to this story, but EC is awake and it's time for breakfast. I'm home now so we'll talk more soon,
See ya,
Carol Ann, Quilter

A Day In The Life of a Quilter

2008-07-05T05:58:00.000-05:00

Monday, July 7, I begin a Journey. I will be leaving my home and flying to Dallas, TX., changing planes and going on to Denver, CO. Chad, my Son, Daughter-In-Law Leslie, and my three Grand Children, Cole, Cassidy, and Caleigh will be flying into Denver from California where they have been visiting friends for the 4th of July Holiday. I think they will get into Denver about 30 minutes after I do. They said they would find me so I'm to stay put.
Anyway, after we find each other, we will be driving on to North Platte, Nebraska, where they live. That's about a four hour drive. Chad is the General Superintendant of Bailey Yard, the largest railroad yard in the world. That's a Brag, in case you may not have recognized it!
I will be staying the week with them in North Platte. We will be doing all the fun things Grandmother's do with Children and Grandchildren. I love to play with the Babe's. There will be domino's, bicycle riding, going to games; Cole is the pitcher of his Baseball Team, Cassidy rides in Competition on Pony Joe, her horse, and Caleigh Ann plays Softball. I'll also be cooking for the family, as I think they miss their home cooking.
Cassidy's last Horse Show will be next Saturday, then we'll be loading up the family SUV. Sunday morning, Leslie, Me, Cole, Cassidy and Caleigh will be starting off for Houston, TX. That's where their family lived before being transferred to North Platte. I haven't figured out the distance, but we may be driving for a couple of days. The Babe's will be visiting friends and so will Leslie and I.
My oldest friend, Crayola, lives in Houston and I will be visiting her. I can't wait. We share so many things in common. I'm going to show her a new Quilt design that I have discovered. She is going to cook for me. Her husband, James, will be out of town, so we will be on our own. We love to go to "Whole Foods" and graze. We plan to watch movies, eat, and sew. I know we will have a great time. Leslie will pick me up on Monday morning, the 21st of July and we will be heading to my home in North Little Rock. That's only a seven hour drive from Houston. Leslie will spend the night with EC and me and then she is off to East Tennessee to visit her Mom.
For sure, EC will be glad to see me when I get home. My cat will be mad at me for two days, but he'll be glad I'm back, too.
I hope I'll be able to enter updates about my trip while I'm away. I love to keep in touch.
I haven't written this whole week. I've had two different friends over each day this week, both wanting to sew with me.
Judy wants to learn how to Quilt. I've helped her buy some of the "Toy's we Quilters use, and taught her a simple block to make, so that she can get her feet wet. She's doing a great job.
Also, my friend Marilyn loves to come over to sew. She's making her friend Patty a Quilt using "Quilt By The Mile" and I helped her with her boarders. It's a beautiful Quilt. Patty will be so happy when she gets it.
EC is awake. That means it's time for coffee and breakfast.
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann, Quilter

A Day In The Life of A Quilter

2008-06-30T08:27:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, June 10, 2008, Sisters Adele and Bonnie, Their Mother Patty and I left my house at about 5:15 a.m. and headed north to Paducah, Kentucky - Quilt City, USA or Quilters Mecca. Adele, Bonnie nor their Mom had never been. I, on the other hand have been many times. It's about a five hour drive.
For those of you who do not know, Paducah hosts a huge Quilt Show ever Spring, the Museum of the American Quilter's Society is located there and the entire City, sitting on the banks of the Ohio River, supports Quilting year 'round. Also, a major draw, Hancock's of Paducah is located there. Just driving into town, knowing that Hancocks was only a mile futher down the road, I broke out in laughter. They have nine rows of Hoffman Batik's and that's just one manufacturer.
Naturally, we went to Hancock's first. After spending double the amount my dear Husband, E.C., had set for me, we directed our attention to the Museum. There is a time capsule burried out on the front lawn of the Museum, I was there when it was placed in the ground, with a plaque that says it will be dug up in 2043. I'll be very old, but if still able, I'll want to be in Paducah for the unearthing. As a Quilter, the Museum is so facinating. Some of the finest Quilts in the World are displayed there. It is wonderful to stand inches from the ones I am in awe of, and be able to study each stitch. Or stand back from them and be amazed be the design. I also wonder of the hands that created these masterpieces.
Sharon Schamber, Carol Bryar Fallert, and Diane Gaudynski, are my very favorits. Their skills overwhelm me.
After the Museum, we dined at Flamingo Row, a local eatery. I liked the old location better, then got us a room at one of the Druery Inns, across the hi-way from Hancock's. We were sitting there mulling over the possibilities and I remembered that someone had told me that Carol Bryar Fallert had moved to Paducah.
It was late in the day, after 5p.m., but the girls convinced me to call, perhaps listen to a recording and find out the time that we could go over the next morning.
I diled the number and a female voice answered. I didn't have a clue that someone would answer, so I wasn't prepared to speak. I think I stuttered, "Carol"!
Well, it was Carol. I told her that we were visiting Paducah and wondered if we could come by to visit her studio the next day. She said she would be teaching a class but if we wanted, we could come be right then.
I was astounded. I had met Carol before, at Quilt National in Athens, Ohio, several years before, but I knew she would never remember me. Anyway, we piled into the car and drove the 5 minutes to her Studio.
Carol has built herself a magnificent home/studio where she creates her wonderful Quilts, teaches classes, she has a small shop. It is also her home. She greeted us at the door, welcomed us in as though we were old friends and introduced us to her assistant Linda Baxter Lasco. We were ushered into the Classroom in the back of the home, a bright, spacious, fabulous room, a Quilter's dream space. Actually, she showed us the entire home, the huge kitchen with tables to seat 20 during classes, her private living room, and she directed our attention to her beautiful Quilt Collection, Quilts by some of the worlds finest Quilt-makers, and they were 'over-the-top' wonderful.
She took us upstairs and showed us the student's rooms, her private rooms and then she took us to her personal studio where she creates her magnificent works of art.
I was almost in tears. Carol was so generous to a group of strangers that wandered in off the street. I have admired her since I saw her work years ago (fifteen, at least) hanging at the Quilt Show in Paducah.
We stayed for at least an hour and when we left, she huged our necks.
I said all this to say, "On the whole, Quilter's are the most generous people". I don't know if Carol does this for everyone or anyone, but she did it for me. I will always remember the experience. She encouraged me, and showed a very personal side of herself that I think of as "tender". I will use her as an example of how I should be to 'beginning' Quilter's that cross my path.
Just thought I'd share the experience.
We'll talk later,
Carol Ann, Quilter

2008-06-27T15:49:00.000-05:00

"A Day In The Life of a Quilter"
I am giving thought to why I like to sew. I like every aspect of the process. I love choosing fabric from my stash to get started. I don't think I ever have a thought of actually starting a project, I just see something and it gives me an idea. I have never planned a Quilt.
I love the cutting of the fabric. The rotary cutter, mat and ruler are wonderful tools, but I love the feel of a 'great-cutting'pair of fabric scissors. I love to sit for hours, EC beside me in his chair, Mack and Thelma at our feet, and the "Helper Kitty" roaming around contemplating mischief; with my best scissors, a pair of KAI's, in my hand. Sometimes I cut six or seven hundred one inch strips that need to be cut into six, seven or eight inch lengths. I love arranging the strips and then the cutting of them.
I fill one of my home-made baskets with all the smaller pieces. The next part of the process is the sewing together of all those (sometimes thousands) little pieces. Now why would a grown woman want to sit for days,mezmerized by a sewing machine needle going up and down. The simple, short answer is: for the love of it.
Finally, when I see the completed piece that I've sewn, my head starts racing with ideas of what to do with this newly created piece. Should I cut this up and add new fabrics to it? Should I leave it alone and just add boarders? What kind of boarders? Racing Strips? Blocks? Maybe it needs fish, maybe a bird, should I put a cloud above the tree? Does it really need a tree?
All this is the fun stuff for me.
At least I'm sure of one thing, I have definately decided on the batting. Years ago I discovered that Hobbs Washable Wool Batting was the best. I buy that by the 'giant, huge roll. I love the drape of it, the loft of it and the hand of it. Since I travel with my Quilts, it folds well, without leaving that horrible, permenant crease.
I've even learned to love 'reverse stitching'. To quote my friend Marty, "Mr. Seam Ripper is my friend!" I have one Quilt that I removed all the Quilting from, not once, but twice. It had to be done. There is no reason to sit and wonder about it. If it has to go, it just has to go.
Even after the Quilt is finished, with the binding, backing, hanging sleeve, label, I may sit for weeks, painting the thread . Don't ask. It is just something I love to do. My most often used motto is "Whatever it takes" and if that's what it takes, I love to do it.
The binding takes me three full days to hand-stitch down. That is such a peaceful time. I love all the tiny stitches.
There are so many awful things one could be hooked on, I am so fortunate that Quilting is my choice.
Oh, I forgot! The Top of the List! The never ending hunt for the most beautiful fabric. The 'road Trip's,wonderful Quilt Shops, the stacks and rows of color that is FABRIC! Oh, and the thread that is the 'glue' that holds it all together.
Aren't we lucky. How many times have you ever met a Quilter that you didn't like? Very seldom. What a great craft we have chosen to be a part of!
What's not to love?
We'll talk again soon,
Carol Ann, Quilter

2008-06-26T21:20:00.000-05:00

Hey, Out There!
My friend Charlie, he set up this blog site for me, has been working on it today. I think it looks so much better now that we have done a little tweeking.
My friend Charlotte called me today. She owns Pinwheel Fabrics in Bryant, Arkansas. We set up a "Quilt By The Mile" Class for August 16th and 23rd and September 6th. I'll be teaching the "Quilt By The Mile" Process. Charlotte has a great new Classroom. I'm pleased to be in her shop. She's got a lot of great fabrics!
I spent the morning working on a new Quilt. I think it may be one of my favorites. I am taking such a long time to Quilt it. I can't help it, though. I always think that I am messing up with each stitch. Do any of you Quilter's have that hesitation problem? I love the piece and don't want to mess it up.
I've probably Quilted more than 100 Quilts but I still worry.
I bought some great polished cotton a couple of weeks ago. Three yards! I cut it up today, into 3/4 inch bias strips. I'm making bowls. I wrap the bias strips around cotton clothes line and then zig-zag it together on my trusty Elna. All you do is sew in a circle. It's great, especially when I suffer from that hesitation problem I seem to have with my Quilting.
I've made several bowls, one is more like a basket. My cat, "Kittyboy" loves to sit in it. I think the high sides give him a feeling of security. (My cat's name is Schrunchie, but I've never called him that. He is a Bengal and very much a free spirit. Kittyboy or Buggers really fits him so much better. He cannot behave.) He is my helper, why only today, He rearranged the fabric on my shelves. He thinks it looks better on the floor. I think he just likes to watch me pick it up and re-stack it.
When I learn how to post pictures, I show you the Quilt and the Bowls. If you go to my friend, Pat Eaton's Blogspot -www.birdnestontheground.blogspot.com - and check out the April posts, there is a photo of my quilting. Yes, it's been in the machine that long. I told you I was having problems.
We'll talk again soon,
Carol Ann, Quilter

"In the life of a Quilter"

2008-06-25T12:14:00.000-05:00

Hey, everyone!
I just got home last evening from Fort Smith, Arkansas. I had a two day class there, teaching "Quilt By The Mile. Lula, Angie, Joanie, Joyce, Margaret, Amy and Meridith worked wonders with their fabric. Amy finished first, she took a shortcut, because she has young children at home and couldn't attend the second day.
Joanie was the second over-achiever. She stayed up until 2 a.m. and finished hers'. Her color choice was 'bright batiks' and the only way to describe her finished piece is to say "Tropical"! Picture the drinks you have in Florida and that describes her piece. It is beautiful. We worked on a design for her to finish her Quilt top, so I hope to have a picture to post very soon.
Angie and Lula promised to come to Little Rock to see me for a consultation on how to finish their
tops.
Angie decided to use bright red and whites. After sewing for a while she changed her mind on what she wanted to do with the finished "QBTM". She decided to add a third row, one of the techniques taught in the class. We picked out a wonderful bright red Hoffman Batik. It will be a beautiful addition and make her original piece really sing in a bright red.
Lula chose reds and purples for a 'Red Hat' effect. But after seeing her finished piece, she changed her mind. It is too pretty to cut up. There was an orange red fabric in her Kit and she was concerned that is didn't go with the other reds, purples, pinks and lavenders. Now that the piece is finished, she said it would be hard to picture it without that color. It really made the finished "QBTM" stand out.
Lula loves cats, so now she is considering adding two Siamese silhouette's, fused to the top. I can't wait to see the finished Quilt. It will be wonderful!
Meridith bought a Kit from Blossoms Quiltworks, our local fabric shop. It is all 'Fall' colors. She wanted to add a tree and branches with falling leaves. She had see Debbie Hedden's beautiful Quilt and wanted to try her hand at something similar. She promised a picture and I'll post it as soon as it arrives.
Amy is Meridith's daughter. Amy's piece is all black and whites. Since she left early, we didn't have a chance to talk about what she will do with her piece, but it is lovely.
Joyce chose 'Desert Colors'. I was in Rogers, Arkansas the week before and had a chance to visit Pam and Cliff at Sager Creek Quilt Shop in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. They have such a huge selection of fabrics, so I pulled the 'Desert' Kit from their stock. WOW! It is beautiful! The colors are all subtle pale greens, sands, purples, and oranges. Joyce said she would mail me a picture, as the Internet is not her 'thing'. I know it will be a wonderful Quilt.
Rianna came for the second day. She had been in Kansas for the Quilt Show there. She is making a piece that will be water. She had some beautiful 'fish' she wanted to put in the water. I can't wait to see her Quilt. I hope I can get a photo for you.
I must run for now, I have the water running in my back yard. We need rain here. My yard is looking a little puny. But, my daylillies are still fabulous and I ate a huge fig from my tree last night. I have six or seven tomato's, too, still green though.
We'll visit again soon
Carol Ann, Quilter