The Quilt Show Contest

Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims online program, "The Quilt Show" is holding a placemat contest. The theme is summer. I submitted this 20x15 placemat which I called "Thirsty?" If you are a member, I hope you will vote for mine! All entries have to be in by July 1 and they will announce the winners on July 3, so I don't think there is much of a window for voting. Not too many entries so far. I'll keep you posted!

Strawberries=Summertime!

"That beautiful season the Summer!
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Remember this little quilt? It is about 7 inches square.


I made another one. This one is 12 inches square. I made up my own design for this one.


Here it is with my watch for size comparison. I love these little quilts. So fun to embroider the center and then add a border.


I went strawberry picking early this morning just down the road. Walking through the field, past lush rows of lettuce and squash to a far corner where a group of people were already filling boxes and bowls with juicy red berries. Fragrant strawberries, the best smell of summer. At least until the blueberries come along.

"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."
-L.M.Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables)

Enjoy this fine summer day, kindred spirits.

A little trip

Last Saturday, June 19, we rode to Laconia, N.H. on our Kawasaki Voyager. It was the first time I ever was at bike week! We rode over on Rte. 11 with a couple of friends and their friends, about 18 of us in all.

Boy, was it hot! Boy, were there a lot of bikes! Boy, were there a lot of people! We shuffled up and down this street. Weare's Beach on one side, vendors on the other.

My ears perked up when someone mentioned Meredith was nearby. Because I knew if Meredith was nearby, then Center Harbor was nearby, too! Home of Keepsake Quilting!


After we had our fill of bikes and tattoos, we headed out of town and towards fabric mecca. I was so hot and tired by then, it was lovely to stroll around the shop looking at all the beautiful fabric in air conditioned comfort. Bill sat comfortably on the porch in an Adirondack chair while I browsed. I bought 2 yards of $3.99 sale fabric, a Thimbleberries quilt label panel, a small quilt hanger, and a book on redwork. My treasures! On the way home we stopped in Cornish, Maine for a delicious dinner at Krista's restaurant.

This photo is called "Quilt Dreams" sent to me by my friend Sue. She was freshening up her quilts outside on the clothesline. Isn't it beautiful? Thanks, Sue! May all your quilt dreams be as lovely, my friends!

Pat Sloan

If you are a Pat Sloan fan you will enjoy her new podcast. I listened to it this afternoon while driving to Rockland to visit a friend. I was going to spend the night and then take the ferry to Vinalhaven, a beautiful large island off the coast of Maine. with my quilt group. Unfortunately, when I arrived I found out that the trip got canceled due to weather, so I came home tonight to my own Quilt Island.

Anyway, on Pat's show her guest was Maria Nerius who is a long time crafter. Maria has a website called FaveCrafts. I just checked out the quilting section and found a free pattern for this:


The pattern is by Patrick Lose and is in Poster Quilts from C & T Publishing. I think someone had this at a quilt meeting and it was very bright and cheery. My niece has a 7 yr old and a 3 yr old and I think she would really like this. It would be fun to make.

Zoe French

My dear daughter gave me a blog makeover. Zoe recently graduated from UMaine with a BA in New Media. She specializes in webpage design. She whipped this new look up for me in no time. I love it and I hope you do, too. Here she is with her BF Jesse.


I've been working on my Lone Star quilt this afternoon. Quilting diagonal lines through the borders. Once I go all around the quilt in one direction I want to stitch in the opposite direction for a crosshatch effect. If I didn't think I would die of the tedium I might go for a double line, but I don't really think that is going to happen.

Previously, I quilted the star with a free motion zigzag. Love that! I free motion quilted around the roses and butterflies. That was fun.

This is one corner of the Art Quilts Maine challenge quilt I have finished. It is for the Maine Quilts show in July. Can't show any more than this until next week! Next Saturday is the big reveal of all our challenge pieces at our AQ meeting. We had to include a something from the hardware store. This is just a little something to pique your interest

This is a little machine applique project I am playing around with. That means that I didn't really want to finish any of my other projects that have deadlines, so why not start something new? The pattern was from a magazine I got from the library. Probably Quiltmaker. I used a number of pieces from a William Morris collection I bought. I don't usually buy fabrics that are grayed, but I really like these. This piece was on hold while I bought more thread to match and I haven't done anything with it since.


Here's a little redwork piece. These are so fun to make. Quick to embroider and sweet on the wall. Not finished. I-really-need-to-finish-my-star-quilt!!!

Do you like my new look? Leave a comment, I love to hear from you!