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September 11, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Finally Quilt Seminar week has arrived. Spent yesterday afternoon at the museum with Kim G. and Jan R. setting up folders etc. I know more ladies are there today working on door prizes and favors. Jan and I will be picking up the two national teachers, Anita Grossman Solomon who is visiting her brother in Williamsville after teaching in Rochester last week, and Beth Ferrier who is flying in from Michigan. Planning to take them up to Niagara Falls and then out for a nice dinner. By Anita’s request they will be back at the hotel early so they can be well rested for tomorrow and the remainder of the week. Hoping you will be joining us for a class–either from one of those two ladies or from one of our talented local teachers. You still can sign up for some of the classes-check […]
September 8, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Did you know September is National Sewing Month? What’s a good way to celebrate? Attend a quilt seminar-anybody know of one near by?! Got up early this morning and am checking e-mail before heading out the door. (no, you’re not! you’re writing a blog post). In my e-mail was a notice of a blog hop from Moda designers, showcasing their new pre-cuts which they are calling “Candies”. They are bundles of 2 1/2″ squares. Each designer has a free pattern for using the candies-and the blog hop goes on for 10 days. Go here to get started if you want to have a look. The first designer I visited was Barbara Brackman, a quilter of a bit of renown. The post that came up when I arrived at her site was her Thursday Sept 6 post about problems with Sunbonnet Sue’s anatomy. It brought to […]
September 3, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I’ve been at the computer quite a long time today, working on things needed for seminar. I took a break to check my e-mail and found two things “seminar-ish”. The first is from a blog done by Martingale, a publisher of many quilt books, including those done by Karla Alexander, one of our national teachers from last year’s seminar. In it the writer talks about being a traditionalist and a way in which Karla helped her get out of the box. Here’s the post. If you took one of Karla’s classes last year, or have made anything from her “stack the deck” series, you’ll enjoy this. The second was sent to me by Anita Grossman Solomon who will be teaching for us this year. Anita was a member of our guild many years ago, and has not forgotten her connection to us. If you have […]
September 3, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I think we’re all dating ourselves who can remember what happened for years on Labor Day weekend with Burt Parks singing that famous song “There she is…” I won’t finish it, so if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’ll be able to kid yourself that it’s because you’re too young!! I finally got the next Lucy Goosey directions (#5) worked up. You’ll find the pattern here: sept lucy goosey. I’m kind of amazed that we’re at month 5, one more to go! I must admit that with the summer hub-bub and seminar preparations, I am behind. I have to finish my #4 and get a sample done for #5. I had told myself that if I was organizing this quilt-a-long, I would have to keep up! Oh well, life happens. Do you have any kiddos heading off to school this week? My 5 […]
September 1, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. You probably haven’t heard of Ada Lovelace, a female who was WAY ahead of her time in a man’s world. Well read here to find the connection between Ada and a man billing himself as a “heterosexual quilter”. Maybe a bunch of us should “bomb” a building on the grounds!
September 1, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I guess I shouldn’t call it a delay, since I said way back at the beginning of this Quilt-a-long that we have few rules if any for this. I have the block concept-just need to write up some directions for you. This will be number 5 (out of 6)-TTFN! Have a great holiday!
August 30, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Despite the facts of our weather this summer, it seems like summer has been very short. Trying to squash lots of fun into the few days remaining. Went to the zoo yesterday with the 5 year old twin boys I have mentioned here before. Made the mistake of buying them each a glass of orange pop early in the adventure! Acted like hi-test gasoline in those little engines. We did the zoo at a very fast clip. The weather was perfect for the day-so many families and school groups were there enjoying it as well. Lots-o-fun! Picked up a new quilt magazine the other day at Wegmans. It’s called Generation Q. I’ve followed their blog for a while now. (The Q is for quilting.) It says on the cover that it’s the premiere issue-no subscriptions yet. I often start reading a quilt magazine with the […]
August 20, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I was surprised to find that title phrase at the top of one of the blogs I periodically visit. When I sounded it out, I thought “is that Chautauqua?” and I was right. All of us around here know about the fall Chautauqua quilting weekend. Mary Fons, daughter of quilting rock star Marianne Fons, who is taking up the reins that Liz Porter put down for retirement will be at Chautauqua with her mom this fall. See her post about it here. Many of you have tasted and loved Linda Hunter’s easy butterscotch cake. She sent her recipe to me to share with all of you.Click here Butterscotch Cake Recipe for the recipe. Are you into English paper piecing? Love those Grandmother’s flower garden quilts made with gazillions of hexagons? You might be interested in this new book Hexa-go-go and the blog tour about it. […]
August 18, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Are you like me, buying lots of “one-use” gadgets for your sewing? If so, you probably have at least one of those Clover brand yo-yo makers in your sewing room somewhere. Maybe it’s a basic circle, for the traditional yo-yo shape. Or perhaps you went for one of the unusual ones-the heart, or the pentagonal flower, or the butterfly. Here’s a clever use of those tools, from the designers at Nancy’s Notions. Nancy demonstrates in this video how to use those yo-yo tools for a smocked effect. This really got my creative juices flowing. What can I do with this idea? The holidays are on the horizon-this effect makes a simple technique look quite glamorous. I love those kinds of things, don’t you? Sometimes it’s so easy to fool the recipient of your gift into thinking it took hours to make it, and quite a […]
August 12, 2012
Hey y’all, ME here. Just was listening to an interview done by Pat Sloan with Kim Diehl on the American Patchwork and Quilting weekly podcast. If you haven’t tried those out yet, give them a listen some time. I find them perfect for listening while walking that same old boring route with the dog each morning. I had a chance to eat dinner with Kim when she and Jo Morton were our seminar teachers a few years ago. What a nice lady-very “normal” and friendly. Just like a neighbor or colleague might be. (well…some neighbors and colleagues, anyway!) She mentions her freebies in the interview. Here’s a link to her freebie section; lots of goodies there for fans. I’m pretty sure I’ll be making her free ornament for some folks this Christmas.