A Call for Help

No emergencies here, so don't worry. The help I need is in the form of suggestions. I am scheduled to be the speaker at a quilt guild in May. (I know!! Me??!!?)  I am considering all the myriad topics on which a quilter can focus - there are lots!!  I do expect that I will be getting some direction from the meeting planners, and as it's still quite early, I am not too worried about it.

Since my current sewing involves making more Shoo Fly and Snowball blocks, and you all have seen plenty of that here already, and since this is the sort of thing I think about as I stitch, I thought it would be interesting to see what my quilting readers like to hear/learn/see when someone comes to a guild meeting to speak.

(NOTE: Because blogs are all about pictures, and so far this has none, I interspersed pics of four quilts I made soon after retiring.)

Here are my ideas for the May speaking engagement:

1. Having just finished a year of UFO completions, I thought I could take each one of them (they've all been shared here on the blog) and talk about that project in greater detail.

2. Take quilt tops from my closet that I've finished since retiring and do something like a trunk show of quilt tops.

My first quilt top of retirement - Snowflakes at Dusk.

3. Take a load of boxes of my grandmother's sewing/quilting things, most of which are still boxed as she had them, and "explore" the contents.

A kit, which I rarely buy, called Americana Rose.

4. Teach something - I don't think I know anything more than most quilters; I am open to ideas here; I don't have a specialty, to my knowledge.

A controlled scrappy quilt - Sorrento.

5. Talk about blogging. I am by no means a rock star blogger like some gals are, but I do try to be consistent and provide content that I think will be of interest.

My first QAL with Humble Quilts called Cheddar and Crackers.

6. What else?? Am I missing something obvious??

To extend my query a bit further, I will join some linky parties - Let's Bee Social and WIP.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

DH Retires!

Today I sent DH off for his last day of school. Yep. He's retiring after 35 years. Let the celebrating ensue!!

A tradition for the teachers at his school is a year-end golf outing, so he will be late coming home this evening, but no biggie - we have all summer and beyond to begin our retired life together.

He is a special ed teacher, so he didn't have the file drawers full of stuff that yours truly, an English teacher, had. He's not been bringing much home. But I just had to show you a couple of things he DID bring home.

Now I know why we could never find any umbrellas around the house or in the cars. These FOUR were in his room!

He also brought this very flat, very faded pillow. I don't even remember it, let alone remember making it. He must have had it for an extremely long time. I think he used it for a seat cushion for awhile, then he got a padded desk chair and it's just been haning out in his room ever since. The 3 buttons on the other end are all missing, so I think I will replace those and use it! A well-worn pillow works for us!

Happy Retirement, Sweetheart! Hope we don't drive each other crazy!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Birthday Surprise

Tomorrow morning I will be hostessing a brunch for a group of very close friends to celebrate the recent retirement of one of our number. She is the one who will receive the quilt I've teased you about for a month or so.

My menu:
Spinach and egg strata
Cheesy potato casserole
Fresh fruit
Scones
Pound Cake with whipped topping
Bellinis

The strata, casserole and pound cake will be made tonight, leaving just prep work for in the morning.

In addition to celebrating the retirement, another of our group has a birthday this month, so I stopped at Creations Sew Clever in Chillicothe earlier today for a little birthday gift.

A pattern for making little quilts with fat quarters, 3 fat quartersin  red, white and blue for Sherrie, the birthday girl, who does a lot of quilts in patriotic colors, and a tiny pair of scissors. I have a pair of these little snipperstand they are really nice. So I think Sherrie will like them, too.

I hadn't been to Creations for quite awhile. I worked in Chillicothe for 30 years, however I surely don'g get over that way nearly as often as I did then. While at Creations,  saw several quilts on display that I liked, and a few pieces of fabric tried to get me to buy them. But I remained strong in my resolve to focus on using the stash.

Okay, so that's sort of a little white lie, because if you go back through this blog you'll learn that I'm not a real strong person when it comes to resisting the urge to buy fabric, but I did today, so good for me. In a few weeks, I know that I will be going to a big quilt shindig in Cincinnati. You don't think I'm going to be resisting fabric purchases there, do you???  *grinning!!*

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Another Retirement Quilt

In keeping with the tradition of retirees in our group of close friends, tonight we presented Pam with her Ohio State Buckeye quilt. Notice her scarlet and grey lei? We all had one!

Here are a couple of better shots of the quilt.

For this Buckeye quilt, I took on the responsibility of binding it. All free time this week was spent applying a very pretty red bias plaid. I love plaids on the bias for bindings.

Our history for retirement quilts began in 2001. The first quilt was for Kay who loves blue and white quilts - we made blue and off-white, and she was thrilled. We always make the same pattern. So far, I believe we have done 6 retirement quilts.

Last year, Lyn got her green and brown quilt in March, and I got my Kaffe quilt in May.

We use the same star pattern, but each one always looks so uniquely different - quilters know that the choice and placement of fabrics makes huge differences in a pattern, but it still amazes me.

Even more amazing is the friendship we all have. We all taught/teach at the same high school and bonded over our love of quilting. Three of the group still teaches, but they know when they reach retirement, they, too, will be getting a star quilt...just what fabrics will we use? That will be the surprise.

Did You Know That I Retired??

Well, I don't like to brag about all this free time I have, but...

Actually, what my retired friends have been telling me is true: it's hard to believe a retired person can be so busy! How did I ever get anything done when I was working?

At the end of May I completed 30 years of teaching high school English at CHS. That being a Friday, my dear GFs had a little shindig at a local eating establishment - one that featured a lovely patio for outdoor dining. We wore tiaras and boas; what a raucous group we were!

The tradition with this group of friends has been that the retiring friend gets a quilt made by the rest of us in ssshhh...s-e-c-r-e-t! After about 4 retirements, though, it was sorta' hard to keep that secret. We have used the same quilt pattern for every retirement quilt, and I suspect that we will continue to use it, as it is fun to see how totally different each retiree's quilt is from the others. We typically select fabrics based on the retiree's interests or color schemes.  One friend loves blue and white quilts, so naturally that was what we used for her quilt. Another decorates with a lot of Americana, so hers was red, white and blue. 

Here's what they made for me:

Once upon a time, I would only consider traditional fabrics and quilts. That all changed when I discovered they eye-popping intensity of Kaffe Fassett designs. I became an extreme fanatic. Isn't this a beauty?

Doing this in secret is quite an accomplishment. One or two will take the lead and cut fabrics for all the stars, then distribute to the rest. Generally,  individuals are assigned 2 stars to make by a given deadline, and then, somehow, the group schedules a secret sewing day for construction of the top. It works pretty well, actually.

The pattern is from Lynette Jensen's Thimbleberries book, North Bay Quilts. It is featured on the cover and is called Christmas Confetti. I ought to get all the other retired girls to bring their quilts on an outing so we can get pictures. The study in contrasts would be interesting.

Here's the label they signed and attached to the back. Isn't the swirly quilting a nice touch for this very lively quilt?

Gift from Mailman

Does your mailman make deliveries like this? Doesn't it look delicious? This was in my mailbox yesterday. I am always interested in adding to my Kaffe Fassett collection, and a quilting friend had just introduced me to some of his older polka dot and target prints. (My dear friends, the "Frienzies," made my retirement quilt out of Kaffe fabrics because of my recent love-affair with his material -the fabrics and the quilts. That will be another picture in another post.) In searching around on the internet, I found a site that had clearance-priced some of these older pieces, so I was prompted to take advantage. The out-of-place floral in the mix is an Alex Anderson print which I took a fancy to as I was "shopping." Online fabric shopping has become the norm for me, lately. I just haven't had the inclination to make it out to the actual shops. And, I do think I am getting pickier, in that I want fabrics that will enhance what I already own. Won't these fabrics look great in my stash? And even greater in a quilt?

Okay, now I already own more fabric than I will ever be able to use. Quilters know this reality, I am sure. This fact, however, does not stop said quilters from continuing to add to the stash. I wish I could explain this phenomenon. Perhaps it's inexplicable. Besides, who needs an explanation? We just "need" more fabric! This next statement will be shocking, so prepare...I truly am cutting way back on my fabric stash-building! Yes, it's true. Since I have retired, I plan to focus on the making of quilts, rather than on the accumulation of fabric. As a matter of fact, I will go one step further...

My goal for this first year of retirement is to see how many quilt tops I can make. It'll be sort of like a contest I will have with myself. I have an unlimited number of patterns to choose from what with all my magazines, books, and print-offs from the internet. I also have a more-than-ample stash of fabrics at my disposal to use on these quilts! Won't I have a great time making gorgeous quilts? I am very excited to get started.

What is stopping me from proceeding right now? I have one more baby quilt to finish hand-quilting. The completed one is shown here. The girls, my nieces, will be 2 in October, and I've set their birthday as my arbitrary deadline. A second UFO that I want to strike off the list is Erin's quilt - the one that just needs to have the borders added. Finish those, and I will, in earnest, get cracking on quilt-top creating!

A New Beginning!

I have an old blog, but want to begin a new, improved one. This is my test/transition post. Working out the bugs, so bear with me...

The summer has come to a close, the school year starts tomorrow for Emma, and I begin my first day of being retired. Technically, I retired in May, but when you're a teacher, summer vacation doesn't really count as being retired. There's no going back to school for me this fall! I am embarking on a new adventure--one that opens up many possibilities! Each day I will get to decide what I want to do - finish a work in progress? begin a new project? read a book? have lunch with girlfriends? whatever needs to be done or whatever is "calling me" to be done--I now have the freedom to make the choice!

Brings a grin to my face just thinking of it! :-)

This has been a good day in a couple of ways. First, I managed to get a new blog started in time to chronicle the goings on in my newly retired world. Also, my dear friend Kay came out to take advantage of the monthly fabric sale at our local Ben Franklin store. She brought the Kaffe Fassett project she is working on; we ventured upstairs to my sewing room to look at my enormous KF stash; we shopped at BF (she bought fabric; I bought none!); and we went to the Greenfield Farmers' Market. And finally, Kay ran an errand for me by picking up my sewing machine from the cleaning & repair shop. I now have a newly serviced machine to use when do begin the next project!!

The stars have certainly aligned for me.

I continue to quilt away on the 2nd of the baby quilts. I put this one in the frame about 10 days ago, and currently have 15 blocks quilted. There are 48 blocks in the quilt, plus borders. I am working as much as my sore fingers will allow. My goal is to finish by the twins' 2nd birthday, October 11. I will attempt adding pictures of the finished baby quilt and the one in the frame in tomorrow's post.