A special book to read

I am happy to tell you about a special book that has just been published. Dr. Anne Kaler, a dear friend, and others have collaborated to write Writers Who Quilt, Quilters Who Write. The book explores the connection between the two creative processes and how they interconnect. A perfect read for all the quilt bloggers out there. We do indeed share our quilting by writing about it and can really appreciate the similarities of both processes. If you are in the area, the book is available at the Pearl Buck Gift Shop and also on Amazon. I just know you will enjoy it!

Quilts and great weather - perfect together!

Today was the first day of the Quilt and Garden Festival at the Pearl S. Buck House in Perkasie, PA. The event coincided with Pearl Buck's 120th birthday which was celebrated today with a special ceremony and Coconut Cake, one of her favorites.

The quilts certainly did not disappoint. If you are in the area, you still have two more days, Wednesday and Thursday, to stop in to enjoy the quilts. In addition to the quilts, there are demonstrations, guided tours of the house and gardens and terrific raffle baskets to win.

Notice the beach picture with sand and water.

 And very appropriately, flowers and the weeds that seem always to be there.

Notice the little beach scene with hydrangeas on the bottom quilt.

 The raffle baskets are waiting for you.

 Not there when I took the picture, but the table pictured above was for our visiting authors.

 Berries, anyone?

 Color and patterns.

 Fish in the ocean.

Embroidery, wonderful!

I hope we will see you at the show. You won't be disappointed!

Quilt and Garden Show!

I have been meaning to post this but things keep coming up and I forget. June 26-28 there will be a Quilt and Garden Show at the Pearl S. Buck House, 520 Dublin Road in Perkasie, PA. Come and tour the beautiful gardens around the estate, see some wonderful quilts made by The Variable Star Quilters and even take a tour of the house. There will be garden and quilt lectures daily so you might want to come more than once.

More details can be found at Pearl S. Buck International

I have been remiss...

Our quilt group met on Tuesday night and it has taken me until now to actually post the pictures from our meeting. And it was a good one since everyone had something to share!

Above and below is Cindy's baby quilt. She was very proud of her quilting. It looked really great.

Now check out the baby bag that Debbie made. Great fabric and lots of pockets.

And even better are the darling crocheted animals that go inside. Aren't they too cute!

Peggy brought a puzzle. If you look closely you can see that the blue is not straight like the other  pieces. It was very frustrating for her but we all agreed that if it was consistent, it was fine. We even suggested different names, like broken steps.

Lynn had the chance to finish someone else's blocks and put them in a quilt shawl. Isn't it so very pretty? Sure to please the person who receives it.

 Have you tried Kansachi flowers yet? Lynn has become a real fan of them and has used them on various items. This is simply one sample.

Dru took this off her sideboard to share with us. Can you see the wine fabrics she had collected?

This is also Dru's baby quilt. Look at the print fabric which is close to the Harry Potter theme for the baby's room. Wouldn't you love to see that?

 I had to give you two views of Laura's quilt. It is a garden theme with an interesting layout. I love the way the center blocks have more flowers as it progresses. I bet the finished quilt will be lovely.

 Fran shared the beginning of her latest quilt. What a nice quilter she is. She lets people pick their own pattern. That can be dangerous!

And this fun quilt from Fran was made with some Valentine charm squares that she had around. We all think she should make a quilt for each holiday. What do you think?

And very proudly, I finally had some sewing to share. This is my baby quilt being held up straight. Today it went to the long arm quilter. I will probably be waiting 2 months or so but decided this one deserved to be machine quilted by a professional and that is not me!

I hope everyone has a good weekend. Our weather has been absolutely perfect. Open windows are the best part of summer!

Knowing when to stop

I do believe in magic but it has never worked that I finish a quilt top and then leave it out for the finishing fairies to do their stuff with my quilt. I am always disappointed that it still looks the same in the morning! Now the top is finished, the backing is finished and I have decided to stop, give it as it is and then bring it home to finish. I think I could do it if I kept at it but really want to make sure it is done right. I may even decide to give it to my favorite machine quilter to finish.

The backing is very simple. The pink center fabric is also in the quilt and the white is actually small polka dots which go with the white on top. I do love the soft colors in this quilt.

Have a happy sewing week!

I'm sewing!

Yes, think of Mary Martin singing, I'm flying, in Peter Pan. If I could add a soundtrack to this post, I would. I know there is a way to do that but just not doing it now. Feel free to sing on your own.

This was the beginning of the process. As you can see, it has a white background, which I have wanted to try. This was a kit from Fat Quarter Shop. I don't usually do that but fell in love with this one when I saw it. And I must say, there were very good directions. Kudos to FQS.

The white background fabric is white on white polka dots. Only problem with that is trying to choose the right side of the fabric. You could go blind trying to do that. The other fabric is Vintage Baby by Riley Blake. Such soft, pretty fabric. I'm loving it. I know that I will be able to show the finished top tomorrow. Working to get backing made and quilting started. This quilt may be given unfinished and then brought home. You know that giving it a few times thing. Gotta love it.

I also wanted to share my newest treasure with you. I found this wonderful pitcher at French Bleu Vintage. Adrienne finds some unique items to sell online. This pitcher does have some repaired cracks near the spout, which I knew about, but since I'm putting it up high, you really can't see it. In her description, she gave ideas on how to repair it and I might do that, someday...

Not a great shot but these are my lupines growing in the back garden.
Didn't know what they were until they bloomed!

I hope you're enjoying the same gorgeous weather we have been having. It was hot and sticky early in the week but now just perfect. It almost felt like fall this morning.

Happy Sunday to all.