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April 15, 2012
Good morning all, Mary Ellen here. Do you remember when Sundays used to be a day of rest? Stores were closed, not much was happening outside of the family. Maybe a musical performance, a club get together but generally it was a day to reflect and rewind. Couldn’t we please go back to that? Catching up on a few of my favorite blogs this morning. I tend to follow a group of rather “modern” quilters in blogland. I think it’s the fabrics they choose that I like so well. The blocks are generally just traditional ones done in a slightly tweaked way. Sometimes they are improvised or wonky, sometimes the pieces are skewed a bit-rectangles instead of squares, ovals instead of circles for example, often they are just as they’ve been made for a hundred years. One quilter I’ve always associated with free form wonky blocks is Gwen Marston. Her […]
April 14, 2012
Hello again, Found this on another quilter’s blog. If you aren’t smiling when you finished watching this little film about a 9 year old with a great imagination, then your heart is made of stone. There still are people who will go out of their way to make a little boy’s day. Thanks so much for that!
April 14, 2012
Hello all, ME again. Just got an e-mail a few days ago from a young man I mentored while I was teaching. He and I locked horns a few times, resolved our issues, and have become friends. He loves gardening as I do and we have traded many plants. He keeps my most tender plants in his classroom over the winter and brings them back to me for their summer vacation in my garden. He has provided some muscle for me, when the plants I wanted to divide and move were too much for my somewhat (?) older back. Anyway he and his wife (who took my place when I retired; that’s how he met her. I get some credit for that match by default then, don’t you think?) are soon to have their first baby. And a request has come for a custom baby quilt. Of course I am […]
April 13, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Going to try to have a simple day today. Going to grocery store to find something non-processed for dinner. I’m thinking homemade pasta fagiola. One of my college roommates, 100% Italian, had a mom who thought I should be able to make a few “from scratch” Italian specialties. There was no sauce in a jar to be found in her house. She always served pasta fagiola when I visited since I loved it, and it was the first recipe she taught me. Definitely is a humble folksy dish. I have modified it a bit-added a second type of bean, and a second tomato product, but she would recognize it-I haven’t gone Food Network on it at all. (Let me know if you’d like the recipe; there’s another feature of this blog I could try!) It’s even better the second day, which is a good thing […]
April 12, 2012
Hi, ME again, Still on a bit of a button kick. I wonder how we get those expressions into our language. If you are a reader of ours from the previous blog, you know I am a lover of words and language. Thinking on other expressions and definitions of button that we have in our vernacular. I’m certain that buttons will come around again. I’ve decided that if I want to buy any button boxes at this season’s yard sales, I ought to make a dent in the ones I have. Been looking on my favorite craft sites and at Pinterest (have you joined or visited there yet?) for button crafts and have found a few that will make a significant dent without being too tacky. I was inspired by Paula’s comment about covering a picture frame with buttons. I need a graduation gift before long and I think a […]
April 6, 2012
Hello everyone, it is so great to be back in the blogosphere!! Of course I could wait ’til weekend – had to post a quick lunch-time chat – yes I am one of the few working today, mostly “holding the fort” while most of my colleagues are off and feeding my cell cultures to survive the weekend. I could have taken the day off (boss offered!) but I am saving those days for the Quilt Show! Speaking of Quilt Show – are you excited yet?! I am getting really excited to see all your entries, to work with so many of you and set-up another amazing Show, to mingle with all the visitors admiring our works, to educate ones who want to know more, to showcase Alice’s quilts, to hold some great demonstrations of good quilting techniques, tips or gadgets and yes – to enjoy some serious retail therapy with […]
April 6, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Marija and I spent a couple of hours last night getting the blog back in business. That gorgeous photo in our header is a border from our 2012 raffle quilt. Marija did the quilting on a long arm–you should see it “in person”. Lots of leaves, flowers, McTavishing (did I spell that right?). I think I’m going to buy lots of tickets. I would gladly redecorate the bedroom, were I to be so lucky to win it. Make sure to come to the quilt show (Apr. 27-29) so you can get a good look at it, along with about 300 other quilts. The retrospective of Alice Bachraty’s quilts (one of the founders of the guild) will be wonderful, and of course all the work from our members is not to be missed either. One of the reasons we have been wanting to go to a […]
April 5, 2012
We are back!!!! Hello everyone, we are currently quite busy getting ready for our biannual Quilt Show ( www.amqg.org ) but we started working on our new blog! Yes, there is a lot to learn about this new blog host and site, but we hope that is what will make it a much better blog for all of you! Please keep checking back, we will add a lot more new content soon! Thank you for your patience, Mary Ellen and Marija