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While visiting Loose Threads Quilt Shop in Milton, WI I found a pattern that intrigued me. I don’t buy patterns very often, because I like to come up with my own designs, but this pattern really tickled me.

My granddaughter Rainee was approaching her 10th birthday and it was time to make her a new quilt. But what colors and fabrics? A great question to ponder in a great quilt shop. I found a purple fabric with colorful bugs that set the palette,

and my search for purple and lime fabrics began. Isn’t it fun to have a project to buy for?!? Then, while in Paducah, I found a lovely light purple solid for the background and spent my stitching time there making her blocks.

When I got home I laid them out and stitched them together.

I chose a bright green, super soft Minky™ for the back and I didn’t use any batting. Then I took it up to our June quilt retreat ~ a great time with great friends ~

and echo quilted around the shapes. When I got home I decided to “write” my label on Rainee’s quilt with my Sweet 16 in the open spaces.

Did you notice I’m actually using my “scissors holster”? The tweezers are in the perfect spot for removing the Press and Seal™ from the stitches (for a post about using Press and Seal™ to mark your quilts click here).

I had planned to turn the Minky from the back to the front as a binding, like I did on the quilt I made her when she was 3 (for my tutorial on that technique click here).

This time I made a pillowcase to match and got it in the mail to our sweet Rainee in time for her birthday!

I’ll send a photo of her with her quilt when I get one (it’s so hard to have grandchildren so far away 😔).

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Also…

Karen emailed me about a charitable project and I’d like to pass it along.

It’s a plea for quilts and blankets to be made for the homeless in our nation that will culminate with an event at the Capitol in December. For all the information go to: https://memorialblanket.org/

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And one more thing~ We’re moving!!!

Mike and I decided it was time to downsize a bit and we’ve left our wonderful home in the woods. We’re excited about our new home which is closer to Watertown.

As I’m cleaning out and packing up I’ve come to the conclusion that I really do have too much stuff. What a blessing it will be to get through it all and settle in. Our new address is N9081 River Road, Watertown, WI 53094.

While visiting a vendor booth in Paducah, Cathy and I came upon a small plastic device that I just had to try!

My favorite scissors to have near the machine while sewing is the Fiskar’s Spring Action Scissors… and there’s a story that goes with this photo:

A few years ago I was having some back pain and my doctor recommended I get an exercise ball. He said that sitting on it while doing tasks would help to strengthen the muscles in my back, and using it while sewing would be good. Well, one afternoon while stitching on the ball I bumped the scissors off the edge of the table, they fell point down right into the ball and ~ I ended up on the floor 🤣!

Since then I’ve attempted to use other scissors that can be attached to the machine with zinger cords, etc., and I just miss my Fiskars. This brings me to the Sew Very Smooth booth at the AQS show in Paducah this year. They had a basket full of colorful blocks

and this ad:

I was intrigued. You can click here for a direct link to their site. To watch a YouTube video about the scissors holsters click here. They are made on a 3D printer and after watching the video I had a friend explain to me what a 3D printer does. If you’re in the dark about them click here to watch a 75 second video.

When I returned home from the show I taped my new holsters in a number of spots on my machines (making sure they wouldn’t be in the way when I put the travel case on), to determine where I’d like them the most, and then actually adhered them in the best spots for me. Here’s one on my Bernina,

and my HQ Sweet 16:

I squeeze them just a bit when inserting them in the holder and the spring holds them securely until I reach for them again. I love, love, love them! Cathy does too 😊!

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After last week’s post I had a great time receiving a number of emails about kids and quilts. Lucy sent me photos of her grandkids learning to sew with grandma’s scraps:

Asher is intently stitching a quilt for his panda Bob.

Granddaughter Clara chose fabrics and stitched

a beach scene with sand, water, flowers and sunshine (very creative)!

The next email I received was from Sandra: “Earlier this spring, my granddaughter Sloane asked if I could make her a Barbie blanket, as I had for her American Girl doll. This grandma had an inspiration and decided Sloane, now eight years old, should know her way around a sewing machine. She was game, and did very well. Here is her photo”:

Sloane looks so intent – I’m sure she’ll make a great quilter.

And here’s a quilt made by Shellie’s granddaughter Vivian. She said the center print is a drawing Vivian did in school, printed on fabric as part of school fundraiser.  She picked out the colors and arranged them by herself.

Don’t you just love seeing young people stitching!?!

My niece Kaitlin is an amazing artist. Her business is entitled: Lyon Road Art – the Intersection of Art and Anatomy. In college she took a combination of fine art and med school courses and earned a graduate degree in Biomedical Visualization. Her story is fascinating and you can read all about it by clicking here! She has found her niche in the art world and specializes in abstract anatomical watercolor and oil paintings. Her work has graced the covers of Radiology today magazine and hangs in hospitals, art galleries, medical clinics and homes throughout the world. Here are just a few of her wonderful pieces:

I am in awe of her creativity, talent, and compassion for people. I remember her telling me a story years ago of a woman suffering with Crohn’s Disease who wanted to see something beautiful in the midst of her struggles. Kaitlin did a lovely watercolor painting of a colon for her.

I hope you’ll visit her site and explore her fascinating art at: https://www.lyonroadart.com/.

Well, this week’s post is actually about Kaitlin’s daughter Rosemary. Earlier this year Kaitlin called to ask if I’d teach Rosie to quilt. I was thrilled! I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to teach other children in my family how to sew and they’ve each made a doll quilt as their first project. Sommer was the most recent quilter and in the post I wrote about her stitching adventure, I included links to all of the other kid’s stories. If you’d like to read about them please click here!

So Kaitlin and family arrived on a Sunday afternoon. The “men” hung out upstairs and Rosie began by choosing 12 fabric squares from my box of charm squares. I love that she chose florals.

She began to sew them together, but she’s a bit taller than the other kids were when they learned to quilt

and my featherweight on the bench didn’t quite work with her long legs. “Sew” she moved to my Bernina and did great! She learned good hand position and speed control.

The quilt was finished in less than 2 hours. Rosemary and Jill doll were both happy 😃 .

What a joy it is to share a passion with kids ~ especially kids you love ❤️.

Do you have any photographs of children you’ve recently taught to quilt that you’d like to share? Please email them to me at: .

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And – I want to share a photograph of a unique thimble Karen sent me after last week’s “Digitabulist” post.

Here’s her comment:

“Just read your latest blog and I too have a small thimble collection. I love your little house with all the cubbieholes to display them!!

The photo attached is a thimble made of bone with an etched rose that I found at a scrimshaw shop in Ephraim, Door County that has since gone out of business.  The owner also had a shop on Mackinac Island that also closed, unfortunately.  I used to love going there every time we traveled to Door County.” 

Lovely. Thanks Karen!

I bought a book at the barn sale in Jefferson, WI last year. I blogged about this amazing barn sale at the time and you can click here to read that post. The Spangler sisters have opened the barn again with new merchandise arriving regularly. The address and other information is available in the link above, and the weekends they are open this years are: June 9-12 and 30-July 3, July 14-17 and 28-31; August 11-14 and 25-28; September 9-11, 23-25 and 30-October 2. Time: 9:00 to 5:00 (Sundays only to 4).

So here’s the book!

It’s a fun read. Recently I turned to a page with this heading: “Why Do Thimbles Have Holes?”

There I learned that thimble collectors are called digitabulists. I never knew I was a digitabulist. When I told Mike he said he thought “thimble-inas” would be a better name 🤣!

The dimples in the thimbles are called “knurling”, and the reason for the knurling is to prevent slipping of the needle. I think most of us already knew the purpose, but the name for the dimples was new to me too. This got me to thinking about my small thimble collection which I’ve featured at the top of this post.

Here’s a little bit of history: The oldest thimbles are thought to be over 3000 years old and made from bone. First century thimbles from Roman times were made from bronze, and early European ones were made from bronze or clay. In more recent times they’re not just for finger protection when stitching. Some are decorated to attract collectors, as well as tourists who want to remember a trip to an exciting destination. Along the band of some thimbles, logos, company names and even political parties or candidates have been featured. In fact I read that political thimbles came on the scene way back in 1920.

Thimbles are a fun collectible because they are pretty, often inexpensive, and they don’t take up much space. All of this research got me to look a bit more closely at my small collection. I have a number of simple utilitarian thimbles. A few are plastic, including this one from Paducah, KY:

My parents have traveled the world and occasionally they’d bring me back thimbles. This one is from a trip to London:

Others include a wooden one from their trip to Israel, and a wonderfully detailed beer stein from Germany:

I don’t remember where this cloisonne bird is from, but I think it’s delightful (note the knurling in the heart on the top of his head).

I brought this decorative silk one back from my trip to the Great International Quilt Festival in Tokyo two years ago. It’s pretty, handmade, but not very useful.

I’m sure this next thimble was handed down through the family, but I don’t know who it came from. The interesting part is whoever owned it must have been quite a busy stitcher because the thimble has holes worn through it:

When I know the history of a thimble I usually write it on a piece of paper and tuck it inside. This is the note I placed in this lovely brass thimble I found in my mother-in-law’s jewelry box after she passed. She admitted to never sewing anything, so I don’t know who it belonged to.

Then I have a whole collection of thimbles I actually use!

I can now joyfully admit I am a digitabulist. How about you? Any stories or photographs you’d like to share? If so, please email them to me at: .

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And… I just have to share one closing photo. I am so blessed to have a husband with a great sense of humor. He also is known for never making a quick decision ~ about anything! Last year I bought him a t-shirt that states “Wait a minute ~ let me overthink this” (he still is thinking about whether or not he’ll ever wear it 🤣). So, the other day he did a little demonstration of something his crazy brain came up with and I laughed so hard it hurt. I asked him to allow me to photograph it and he agreed (which I thought was amazing in itself). Here it is. I hope it makes you smile!

Have a wonderful week!

From the image above some of you Wisconsinites might be able to guess where I was teaching a few weeks ago. Yup! I had a wonderful adventure speaking to a guild in Hayward, WI ~ and staying with my friend Cathy in her log home on the Chippewa Flowage.

She, and her husband Tom, are extremely talented at building and renovating ~ and staying with them was a delight (especially eating REALLY fresh fish for breakfast – thanks Tom!)

The members of the Hayward guild were welcoming, fun and inspiring. My Gone to the Dark Side lecture seemed to go over quite well, and afterwards a group of us went out for lunch. There was a lot of laughter and sharing, and I sat across from a very talented fiber artist, Carol Fure, who invited Cathy and me to see her work in a gallery in a nearby town. So the next day we drove to Webster to visit the Northwest Passage Gallery.

I was surprised to find such a lovely gallery in a small town in northern Wisconsin (silly me). The building is an innovative, multi-use community center and gallery, developed in partnership with the Burnett Area Arts Group, and showcases local artists’ work in many different mediums. The building also features the InaNewLight Gallery. The work of these young people was amazing.

Carol was the fiber artist on display and her unique pieces really intrigued us.

We all went to lunch again and she was so willing to share many of her creative techniques. I think it’s time for Cathy and me to have a play day and experiment with some of the interesting products Carol recommended.

We also visited the River’s Edge Antique and Quilt Loft in Hayward.

It was fun to chat with Gail and hear about her adventures as a quilt shop owner.

There came a moment on this trip where I mentioned to Cathy that I’d lived in Wisconsin all my life, but I’d never seen Lake Superior. She told me it was about an hour’s drive away and there was a great quilt shop in Duluth, MN (just north of the city of Superior, WI along the edge of the lake), that she’d been wanting to visit… Road Trip!

It was a beautiful drive and Hannah Johnson’s quilt shop was well worth the trip!

After spending a bit of time and money there we made it to the shore of Lake Superior:

Stunning! But I must admit, after growing up in Milwaukee ~ it looks a lot like Lake Michigan 😁. Thank you Cathy for making this trip fun and memorable.

I feel so blessed to be able to travel with good friends, to wonderful destinations, and to meet friendly quilters who I consider to be my new friends. God is so good!

And …

Since I started this post with a photo of a log home, I’d like to share a bit of information about another log home – mine. After 18 years of living in our beautiful house in the woods,

we’ve decided it’s time to move closer in to Watertown. So we have a house to sell! If you or someone you know is looking for 20 acres of nature, a log home, and a pond, halfway between Milwaukee and Madison ~ with a gorgeous quilting studio, click here!

And, in case you’re wondering, I have room in our new home to build my new studio. Did I already mention that I’m very, very blessed !?!

A few weeks ago I was skimming through FaceBook and found a fascinating video about the quilt collection of filmmaker Ken Burns being exhibited through the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, NE (click here to watch the video). It was so interesting I shared it on my page. I then discovered that the video was 2 years old and his quilts were currently at their last venue: the Peoria Riverfront Museum in Illinois.

The day after I shared the video my friend Kathy texted me to see if I’d like to make the trip to Peoria with her. So… this past Friday I drove down to her home in Spring Grove, IL and together we began our journey to Peoria. Here we are with the delightful gnome garden she recently created:

On Saturday morning we visited two quilt shops:

After making our purchases and a delicious lunch, we made it to the museum. In the video I remember Ken Burns saying that he makes his films for others, but he collects quilts for himself. He was finally persuaded to share some of his collection and what a blessing it was to be able to see them.

Many of his quotes were posted near the quilts and his insights were fascinating.

Another of his quotes (I’m paraphrasing) stated that they didn’t need to be perfect, and he didn’t need to know their history for him to love them ~ and I agree 😊. The first quilt I saw was a red and white Oak Leaf and Reel.

It reminded me of one in my collection. Mine is not in as good of condition as the one above, but I do love it.

I’m not able to share all of the quilts, but I’d like to include a few more of my favorites, with my comments in the captions:

I saved this next one for last because it has a story. Last week at our ThreadBenders meeting Carol Butzke brought one of her antique quilts. She said it was from Pennsylvania, but other than that she didn’t have much information. It dated to c1910.

The reason she brought it was that she had recently been to the Ken Burns exhibit and she was sure it is a sister quilt to one in the collection:

Carol is a quilt historian and appraiser, so she knows her stuff ~ and she was really excited about the probable connection between these two amazing pieces. The colors in the stripes have a bit of variation, but everything else is virtually identical. WOW! I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to see them both in one week!

On the way home we made one more quilt shop stop at the Quilt Corner in Morton, IL.

Each shop had its own personality and was worth a visit. Then it was back to Wisconsin. It was a fun time with a dear friend, and it was filled with so much inspiration. Thanks Kathy!

If you want to see the Ken Burns collection, do it soon. The quilts will be going home to him after June 5th.

Last week there was just too much to share about our trip to Paducah for one post, so I hope you’ll indulge me a bit longer. I did mention that you’d be able to see all the winners online and, if you haven’t yet, simply click here.

Bonnie Browning recently posted this drone photograph of the shoreline of Paducah. I was so pleased to see my “stomping grounds” in one photo. I’ve added points of interest so you can see that the show and other points of interest are truly walking distance from each other (if one is so inclined 😊).

Everything is quite close together and we can enjoy the beauty of the river too. What a wonderful photograph – thanks Bonnie!

After viewing the quilts and doing some vendor shopping (and purchasing some things I really need 😁), I also attended a few classes and lectures.

I mentioned that Karen Stone sat at our table at the Awards Presentation and went up on stage to receive two awards. Cathy and I were thrilled to be taking her all day class the next day. It was all about curved appliqué with men’s necktie fabric (or similar slippery stuff).

Years ago I stayed with a sweet quilter who shared with me a bag full of silk fabrics she’d bought at a local necktie factory. I’d previously used some of them in my Oak Leaf and Swirl quilt (click here for that post), but I had plenty leftover.

I was anxious to play with these gorgeous fabrics once again. Plus, I was looking forward to learning new tips for working with them. Cathy and I had a wonderful time in class and learned a lot. Karen is a fun, knowledgeable and excellent teacher!

The other workshop I took was with Sally Manke. I love teachers who are having fun and excited about their techniques. Both Karen and Sally fit this description. This class was on Confetti landscapes.

Her samples were great and making confetti was a playful, messy rotary cutting experience.

We began by choosing a photo for inspiration. Sally told me this one was taken on a walk near her home.

We chose fabrics, “wizzy-whacked” them into teeny-tiny pieces, and sprinkled them onto layered backing and batting.

I’d never done anything like this before and I was amazed at how much fun it was (especially with all of Sally’s helpful instruction). Once the base landscape was done, trees were added:

And then the foreground flora:

As class came to an end we covered our pieces with black tulle, pinned through all the layers, and took them home to quilt. I was very pleased and I look forward to getting it quilted.

Cathy and I both attended Susan Carlson’s lecture about her amazing animal quilts which were on display at the show. It was such fun to learn how she made all her pieces. Especially her 20 foot long Crocodile!

All 3 of us attended Heidi Profetty‘s lecture, and found her technique for mosaic quilts fascinating.

As we enjoyed her quilts and the process she uses to make them, we had no idea that we would become fast friends. Here’s the story: at the end of the show on Saturday Cathy and I helped to take down and roll all the wall quilts that needed to be mailed in tubes. Heidi’s flight home to Massachusetts had been canceled, so she volunteered to help with the rolling. She accepted our invitation to join us for dinner and then we had a wonderful “gab-fest” in our kitchen studio afterwards. We found all three of us had so much in common and I’m very grateful for this new friendship!

I feel so blessed to have been able to attend the last 31 AQS Spring Quilt Shows and hope to continue for a long time to come. The quilts and activities were all wonderful, but being with quilters was the best part.

It’s been 3 long years since I’ve been in Paducah ~ but I’m happy to report that the AQS quilt show was back and better than ever! This year my friend Cathy joined me for the first time.

We drove through Illinois and made some fun stops in Amish country. We settled into our second floor “condo” and set up our studio in the kitchen… it’s a tradition!

On Monday it was time to help hang the quilts. Over the years our job was to make the wall quilts look their absolute best. This year we also had the fun of pinning the miniature quilts into the cases.

Wow! They were beyond amazing! Just look at the size of the logs in this pineapple quilt!

We must have done it well because we were exhausted by the end of the day. Then the fun of the show began. Linda flew up to be with us on Tuesday. She had the nerve to move to Florida a year ago – so it was really fun to spend some quality time with her!

Linda has roomed with me on this trip before and the 3 of us make a great team. However – Cathy took so many classes, we never got a photo of all of us together 😔. Separately I made it to Etcetera Coffee House for bubble tea with both of them.

The first night Linda was with us we went to the Awards Presentation. There were yummy snacks in a lovely venue. Susan Cleveland did a great job of announcing all the winners and it was fun to see the ones who were there go up on the stage and receive their award.

One of the quilters at our table had a quilt in the show. Lori said she made it to go on her bed, not a wall. And I was excited to see it in the show.

Two other women joined us right before the ceremony began and both of them were ribbon winners. In fact, Karen Stone won two ribbons and Cathy and I were in her class the next day. I’ll be posting about my classes next week.

After the ceremony we attended the “Sneak Preview” of the quilts for two hours and it was overwhelming and inspiring.

To me the quilts are the best part of the show (with apologies to all you “vendors first” quilters out there 🤣), so I’d like to share some of my favorite ones with you. You can see all the ribbon winners on the AQS website, and some of my faves were among them, but some were not and I hope you’ll enjoy the variety of the ones I chose (and believe me ~ I could have included so many more!).

We’ll start with the best of show quilt: Crazy for Ewe by Janet Stone.

As I examined this quilt front and back I was confused because the quilting didn’t match. This was the center elongated rectangle filled with the alphabet, from the back:

and here it is from the front:

Where’d the alphabet go?!? Fortunately the maker was there and she explained that the front of the quilt was made with blank red “boxes” wherever a block was supposed to go. She quilted and bound each block separately and appliquéd them into the red boxes which had previously been quilted from the back, and thus a frame was created around them. Amazing!

The best wall quilt was equally fascinating in a completely different way. Just look at the depth the maker acheived by using the appropriate value of fabrics in this stunning pictorial quilt!

As I share more of the quilts I hope you get a feel for the variety and skill level each required. I can’t imagine judging a show like this. The following award winning quilt in the modern category stopped me in my tracks.

My friend Sharon and I made a quilt with almost the identical design for the National Quilt Museum’s New Quilts From an Old Favorite contest in 2009. It was part of the touring exhibit and won numerous other awards. What a hoot to see it done as a modern quilt in this year’s show (Do note our center block is 3/4″ finished 😁).

Here are the rest, in no particular order (and note that I tried to include the tag in each so you can read the name and maker – but in a few, I was so excited I missed it):

There were challenge exhibits, and lectures, and bicycle taxi rides too this week, but I think they’ll have to tumble over into next week’s blog. I’m so grateful for another wonderful week in Paducah!