Central Vermont Quilt Show update

Most mornings will find me sorting and sifting through stuff and, eventually, packing a little to move. We made a major trip to the library earlier in the week with many boxes of books for the July book sale. We'll be making a few more trips before all the books are packed.

In the middle of the days, I've been working on quilt show details - getting insurance, exhorting people to enter, finding vendors. So far, the following vendors have committed:

• A Quilter's Garden, Montpelier
• Jenny Hermenze, Bolton
• Country Quilt and Fabric, Poultney

I'm working on a few more, including Darwin's Sew & Vac here in Barre. There's room for six vendors as well as a demonstration space that is reserved for Froncie Quinn of Hoopla Patterns. Some quilt shop owners have told me that they are stretched thin, and just can't commit to the two days away from their shops. So I've been looking for vendors like my friend Jenny who work from home or have online shops. I am optimistic that it will all come together.

I've also had a couple of calls from people wondering if there's still time to enter. The deadline is April 8, so I am hoping there will be a flood of entries toward the end of March. Still, I've got to continue beating the bushes. My next task is to nail down a few more judges. There will be vendors' and viewers' choice awards, but also some "celebrity" judges, including Richard Cleveland, creator of the Vermont Quilt Festival.

A very meaningful reversible quilt

A couple of weeks ago I finished a quilt commemorating 2008, the year I retired. It is throw-sized and will be a great memento to wrap up in when I'm reading on a snowy day. No matter how I wrap in it, I'll see something to make me smile.

During the fall of 2007, several retirement parties were held - at the Fletcher Memorial Library, Ludlow; the Georgia Public Library; the Olive Garden, South Burlington; the Northeast Regional Library, St. Johnsbury; Sean & Nora's restaurant, Barre; and our own Aldrich Public Library, Barre. All were great fun. When the events weren't surprises, I brought 3" muslin squares for librarians and DOL staff to sign. Jerry Carbone, librarian at Brattleboro's Brooks Memorial Library, offered the perfect title for the quilt that I put together, "Il dolce fare niente," which means "The sweetness of doing nothing." I grouped the signature squares together by event and the many little squares in between were scraps from various quilts I made over the years.

The other side of this quilt has signature blocks from "Janiacs" all over the world. These are people who are making Dear Jane-inspired quilts. Throughout 2008, I sent block D-13 to over 100 ladies and one man. In exchange, I was flooded during July with good wishes which I arranged more or less by color. I decided not to participate in the 2009 "siggie" exchange since we're moving and I have plenty of UnFinishedObjects (UFOs!) to work on.

We continue to look for a place to live but think we are getting close to making an offer. Meanwhile, sorting, tossing, contributing stuff to the Salvation Army and ReStore, giving stuff away via Freecycle, and other pre-moving stuff is going on here daily. There's a lot to go through!

New beginnings!

This morning I changed the name of this blog, and I will have to find another photo to feature. We sold Maplecroft yesterday! We are looking forward to having more time for travel and other activities, although we will miss the house and the denizens of the B&B. The new owners are enthusiastic and will take the business to a new level and in new directions. We will enjoy watching!

We are going to stay right here at Maplecroft for a few months while we pack and figure out where we want to live. We have begun telling everyone in town in hopes that they will know of a house, walkable to downtown, that has not yet come on the market. Although we looked at quite a few houses and condos beginning in November and even offered on one, we have not yet found the right house for us. Our needs aren't that complex but we do want smaller, manageable, quiet, walkable, with garden space. Keeping our fingers crossed that something "ideal" comes along.

Productivity!

At least in the handicrafts department, 2009 has been pretty productive so far. Could be because of the very cold and snowy weather we've had. Last week, I finished knitting and then sewed together a bulky sweater I started in the fall. It looks good, and I've been wearing it almost every day because it is so warm.

Yesterday I finished a seven pocket bag that I worked on at the Calico County Quilters group Saturday. Choosing the fabrics was the hardest part, but I finally settled on black, white and a hint of red. The photo doesn't really do it justice. It has outside pockets with flaps for my cell phone and keys, and then there are several pockets of different sizes on the inside. The handles are long enough to wear over the shoulder. Quite a handy little thing that I filled right up.

This morning, I finished another bathmat, this time for our bathroom. Every time I pass the bathroom now, I smile because it's so cheery.

I had a packet of April Cornell charm squares that I just loved but didn't quite know what to do with. There weren't enough for a quilt, not even a lap-sized one. I pulled all the blue toned ones out and arranged them windowpane fashion with solid black sashing, much like the bathmat I made Chris for Christmas. Then I cut some other ones in quarters. These all went on top of an old Maplecroft bathmat with a thin piece of batting in between. Very "green." My next one will use green and yellow charm squares with green sashing.

This morning I started making yarn out of Chris' old t-shirts. I am hoping Sandy will help me learn to crochet them into rugs. I cut 1.25" continuous strips from two t-shirts and will give her a ball of "yarn" tonight. I knit the other ball of yarn on #13 needles into a potholder. It's darn ugly but utilitarian. Don't know if it's worth the effort, but it is green!

Resolutions

What can be more appropriate for a new year than the ubiquitous resolution? I have many things I'd like to do, but one I am hoping to stick to. That is, to go to the gym every other morning, to walk in the mall with Cindy at least once a week (the weekdays I don't go to the gym), and to walk downtown whenever the sidewalks allow safe passage.

In 2008, I completed quite a few quilting UnFinishedObjects. At this point, I have the following UFOs in process:

• hand quilt and bind small white-on-white and "Candy Land" pieces
• finish quilting pink Lone Star throw
• sandwich, quilt and bind siggie throw
• bind raffle quilt
• figure out what to do with the last two of Tante Wil's UFOs
• work on All-Sorts blocks (DJ, DH, etc.)
• make a DJ block a month for my secret pal
• put together 3 years worth of holiday Dear Jane blocks

Of course, there are always new projects to distract me, including the 7 pocket bag we'll be making at my Saturday group. The hardest part of that so far has been choosing fabrics, but I finally ended up with black and white scraps with a hint of red. And Chris' bathmat (Indonesian prints with solid black) turned out so nice that I want to make one of my own. Maybe for the new house!

Candle mat

While in Colorado I tried my hand at making a "penny rug," raw-edge applique using wool and embroidery floss. My Dear Jane Secret Pal sent me a kit, complete with pre-cut wool, floss, a glue stick, needle, and a small pair of scissors. It was really fun!

I haven't found out who my SP is this year, but I should soon. She has an incredible sense of humor and has known just exactly what I'd like each month. The Jane Stickle quilt has brought an incredible number of people together, all around the world.

Changes ahead

I got back from a quick trip to Colorado late last week. Mom needed some surgery which kept her overnight in the hospital. When she got home, my job was to see that she didn't over-do. Dad, of course, needed help getting around, getting in and out of bed, etc. I ran errands, did some driving around, and generally helped out. We had some snow twice while I was there, and I was surprised at how bad the roads were one day. I expected Coloradans to be as able to cope as Vermonters, but maybe it was a particularly icy storm. I also went to my favorite haunt - the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden - and bought a few fat quarters in the quilt shop across the street from it. Traveling in winter is always fraught with hang-ups, and so it was with this trip.

We have received an offer on our house and business! The prospective buyers want a closing date of January 19 - yikes! We've been looking at houses, and once all the signatures have been affixed and all the changes have been accepted on the Maplecroft offer, we will most likely make an offer on a house. I don't relish the thought of moving in winter, let alone moving twice, but if need be, we will move to Pat & Jay's house on the Barre-Mont. Rd. for a while. I have been cleaning out junk for quite a while, but the more I throw out, the more there seems to be.

Our Christmas tree is up and gifts have all been bought. If the sun ever shines, I'll post a photo. I've even done some holiday baking although that is dangerous considering the 25 lbs. I have lost. I made some fruit cake for the first time since the 1970's. Every year I wait for someone to give me some, and no one does. So I will enjoy this batch except for one loaf I took to Midstate.

All this talk of moving has made me loath to sew much. I made 5 Dear Jane(R) blocks while in Colorado and just finished a wool candle mat. I have 49 red and beige blocks to put together. I'll need to decide whether it needs a border soon because I hope to get it and another quilt to the long arm quilter's next week, so I can deal with them after we move. Wow - everything seems to be hinging on that all of a sudden!