hello november!

this photo was taken at the people's place museum in bird-in-hand where the jo morton quilts are also on view.  amish quilts were the pied piper that lured me into quilting and i love them still today, even more i think.  **** i am busy sewing on the binding on my scrappy pinwheel and next up is the last border on my own center diamond quilt.  ****  with november comes the reality that snow could come anytime.  not a welcoming prospect to many.  adding to that insult, the tolls on the turnpike have gone up again today.  i drove from here to lancaster and paid more tolls in maine than the rest of the trip combined even before the increase.  revolting!

treat from retreat

so this is the finished batik top made from scraps from a pineapple blossom quilt made last year.  i think it looks like a kaleidoscope with all the angular bright colors.  now to pull out the papers and get it basted.  wish i could say i used up all the scraps in that bag but not quite.  it'll just be saved for when there are more batik scraps.  might make a series of them as the quantity of scraps permit.  and to think there was a time when i wasn't enamored with batik fabrics....go figure! now, however, i am a true believer.  **** hoping all those affected by sandy will get back to normal soon.  judging from the images on TV, it could be a while. 

last one, i promise....

fabric photo, that is.  picked this up at a shop where the owner offered our group a special price on selected FQ bundles.  i chose this one because it had the largest number of FQs....25....and because it included some "mod" fabrics that i've seen used and wanted to try.  there are some repeats but no matter, i've got some ideas for some of them already and whatever i don't use will get chopped up into squares or bricks.  remember, if it's still ugly, it hasn't been cut small enough! **** we sailed through sandy with no damage at all and only a flicker of the electricity.  so many of my friends were in harm's way and at the least have no power this morning.  also thinking of my own dear children in maryland this morning.  and my biggest problem so far was that i had to cook my own breakfast for a change.  i do feel blessed and pray for those who are facing challenges today.  

thank you, sandy!

don't get me wrong, i completely sympathize with those whose lives get disrupted and upended by storms like this, but it helped me tremendously in that traveling today was much easier without usual traffic numbers.  i came sailing through hartford with hardly any cars at all to be seen.  all the way north to good ol' maine, the roads were less traveled by hordes, which made driving in the nearly gale force winds easier than it would have been.  maybe, just maybe, we can squeak by halloween without snow, you think?  wouldn't bother me a bit.  i can wait.

bye bye to retreat

it's my last night--for now--at the lovely amishview inn and suites, a stellar lodging place where much fun took place over the past week.  i hope you can stand one more fabric photo.  found these blues/yellows at the old country store.  i've been eyeing this line for some time but shipping costs always held me back, so took the opportunity to pick up a few.  and on the left, 4 more jo morton fabrics.  i also got to see her quilts up pretty close at the museum upstairs from the fabric store.  there were others as well and all were spectacular examples of fine quilting.  i am not keen on returning to maine but that is where i hang my hat for now.  i'll be competing with hurricane sandy hoping there isn't much conflict.  driving in the rain, especially highway and for long distances, is so not my ideal, but not much i can do.  hoping my guardian angel is on high alert.  

birthday boy

if you see this tow-headed tyke today, be sure and wish him a happy birthday.  and yes, that's me holding him with older brother beside.  we were all blondies once.  that includes dear sister who arrived about 3 years after this was taken.  *** thought this would be a respite from fabric photos....LOL....but more tomorrow, i promise!

beautiful batiks!

these are the few i simply had to have as some have color combos i've never seen before.  the bottom is just a pretty print that i am adding to my stash, 2 yards worth.  there is just so dang much fabric within a 10 mile radius, the only way to avoid temptation is to not even go look.  **** retreat is flying by with much fun, laughter, sewing and sharing.  i really needed this, and in this location?  priceless!  today i finished the little batik square-in-a-square top using half the scraps in my bag.  i'll save the rest and add to them for another one at some point.  next up?  the civil war diary quilt with one block completed already.  mapping out my route home hoping i can avoid hurricane sandy!

retail therapy?

it's absolutely mandatory when visiting Penn Dutch country.  you know how gaga i am for solids, so i took advantage of the humongous choice and picked some up to finish my ocean waves project.  bottom left is a piece of indigo paisley....on sale too!  and the bottom right shows 2 christmas prints at a whopping 35% off.  christmas lights and those adorable angels could not be resisted.  we hit sauder's and burkholder's in one day.  and oh, the batiks at burkholder's--the choices were endless.  after careful perusing, i did manage to find a few i couldn't leave behind that i'll save for another post!

retreat fun

if you follow on a regular basis, you might recall a bag of batik scraps posted some time ago.  well, this is what i am doing with them.  little paper-pieced blocks in progress.  a total of 25 will be made.  doubt that will use up ALL the scraps in the bag but might come close.  so far so good i think.  **** and what can i say about retreat?  so far, everything i had imagined...and more.  the venue is perfect, the location couldn't be better, wonderful retreat mates, great shopping and delicious food!  and all the sewing one can stand; it doesn't get much better than that.  so without further delay......

room with a view

no sunshine yet but not a big deal at all.  i'll be in the sewing room for the morning working on one of my sewing projects.  a delish buffet breakfast was thoroughly enjoyed!  pinch me, am i dreaming?  yeah, it's THAT good!