2,000 miles and more

It has been a while since I've written, and during that time I've been to St. Louis and on vacation to points south. The St. Louis jaunt was to a library advocacy conference sponsored by the Gates Foundation. Our library director, a trustee, and I (representing the Friends group) joined 168 of our counterparts from Missouri, Vermont, and Hawaii for the energizing event. It was fun to travel with Karen and Nancy, and we even got to go up in the Gateway Arch after the conference. It was an interesting ride to the top in an egg-like car.

A couple of days after returning, Paul and I headed south, stopping first to see Fallingwater, a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in western Pennsylvania. The visitors center is a rustic looking building about a 5 min. walk along a woodsy path to the house. The setting is just as spectacular as all the photos suggest. From there, we wound around back roads to West Virginia where we spent the night.

In the morning, we headed toward Bristol, Virginia, with a stop at Tamarack, a spectacular rest area featuring West Virginia artisans and delicious food by the Greenbrier resort. Bristol, the birthplace of country music and home of the Carter Family, is actually in both Virginia and Tennesee. The border is marked in the middle of its cute downtown. We visited a museum of the history of country music in the basement of the Bristol Mall, where a friendly guide gave Paul directions to the Carter Family Fold, the cabin where AP Carter was born, and the graveyard where AP and Sara were buried. Early the next morning, we wound down the back roads to see them all.

From Bristol, we went north to Charlottesville and the home of Thomas Jefferson, Monticello. Many librarians have a special affinity for Jefferson whose collection comprised the beginnings of the Library of Congress, but we also enjoyed seeing the very practical house he designed with its large windows and skylights. The day was gloomy and chilly, but it seemed bright inside. I had visited the house when I was 13, but it was fun to see it from the perspective of someone who knows a little more about its owner and has also owned an old house. We were sorry not to be able to walk around the grounds more, but it was freezing. Hurricane Ida was roaring up the east coast, so we retreated to the warmth of a Holiday Inn for the night.

In the morning, it was still raw weather so we drove through town to see the University of Virginia (founded by Jefferson) before setting out for Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It's only about 3 1/2 hrs. north, and we were able to visit the Eisenhower Farm and view a film about the Civil War and the "Cyclorama" (a huge painting depicting the battle) at the new (2008) visitors center. I was disappointed that the new visitors center eliminated the famous Electric Map which gave an excellent overview of the events of the battle. The next day, Paul and I took a guided tour of the battlefield, and our guide, Bill, told us that many guides regret the National Park Service's decision. Bill seemed to think that there may be a move afoot to resurrect the map somewhere in town.

Bill was an excellent guide, driving our car and telling stories about the battle, the terrain, and the many monuments. History really came alive, and it was the highlight of our visit. At a spry 82, Bill has lived most of his life in the town where the battlefield was his playground. He confessed that he is the mayor of Gettysburg, so we felt honored to have him as a guide. Later, we walked around the well-preserved town and also visited the museum and extensive gift shop in the visitors center. We felt we really "did" Gettysburg, and it was well worth the time.

In the morning, we drove to Carlisle and Dickinson College to stroll around my old college campus and to see the student union where I worked at the info desk, worked in the food service, and spent many hours putting The Dickinsonian together years ago. Then we went to Camp Hill for breakfast with an old college friend, her husband and son before turning the car north for the last leg of a very fulfilling vacation. It is good to be home and sleep in our own bed (hotel pillows are too soft), but we have plenty of good memories to hold us for a while. And we really did put 2,000 miles on the car!

A fall thunderstorm

We are certainly having our share of odd weather. It has been pouring since the middle of last night, and just a few minutes ago I heard thunder. The day before yesterday, it was in the 60's but yesterday only in the 40's. I managed to get out and plant a few daffodil bulbs under a tree in the front yard. I can't "naturalize" them since the yard care people just drive over anything in their path. Not really complaining - at least they do it and we don't have to!

I have been busy working on quilts for kids at Camp Agape, a summer respite for kids whose parent or parents are incarcerated. Last year, our guild made a few, and the grandmother of one of the campers came to thank us at our September meeting. She heard about the camp from the president of our guild at the quilt show, looked into it for her granddaughter, and was so pleased that she could go. I think the camp will be receiving quite a few more quilts from our guild this year due to that inspiring grandmother.

Someone donated three garbage bags of scraps to the guild, so I dug a pink floral out and made a quilt around that. It has pink, black, and white scrappy Shoo Fly blocks, sashed in pink, with a pink back. Now I'm working on a more unisex quilt although I hope it will go to a boy. It has colorful (red, yellow, lime green, turquoise...) Friendship Star blocks on a black and white background with black print sashing. The Camp Agape quilts need to be about 35" x 75" which is odd, except that seems to be the size of the camp cots. Kids get to take them home after the camp which is great.

Thursday, I got to meet my Dear Jane Secret Pal from 2007, which was a lot of fun. She and a friend met me at the Shelburne Museum, and we went to a cafe nearby for a long lunch. It really felt as if I had known them forever. It is amazing how one quilt could bring so many people from all over the world together. There are thousands of "Janiacs" out there!

Rushing the season!

When I woke up today, the telltale "swish" of tires on wet pavement suggested another rainy day. Just perfect for sewing and reading! In preparation, I got the mopping and vaccuuming downstairs done in the dark. By the time I finished, it was just beginning to get light out. When I glanced out the back windows, I was surprised to see snow streaming down from the sky. We have about 1/4" of an inch of wet stuff out there, which is waaaaay too soon in the season for my taste. This will surely make the leaves that are left on the trees fall down.

Last week, we drove over to Lake Champlain to visit a friend and noticed, despite the rain, that the foliage was at peak. It was a lovely ride, and I decided to drive home via one of my favorite towns, Westford. The views were beautiful. This is indeed a great place to live although this morning's weather has been thinking more seriously about planning a trip south in Jan.-Feb.!

Meet the "neighbors"

After many months here without someone next door, we finally have a new neighbor. It is good to see lights on there at night. But imagine our surprise when these guys (and gals) started coming to the backyard almost every day! They have grown considerably since we first saw them a couple of months ago. Ungainly, yes, but quite amusing. What's interesting is that the dog doesn't bark at them. A friend told me her dog doesn't bark at them either. Guess they know they should be here.

Yesterday I took quite a few photos of quilt blocks and projects I've been working on lately. I have made about 20 6" blocks for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler (there are about 150 so it will be a while before I make them all, if I ever do). I have also made a couple of class samples for an applique class I'll be teaching this winter. Here are a couple of the little blocks:

These are fun to make but sometimes time-consuming. A 6" Dresden Plate took me 3 days to finish. I am using fabrics that I like in a very random way. I plan to use a tan or other neutral sashing to put them together... someday!

Quilting at the Big E

We got back from W. Springfield, Mass., around 11:30 Thursday night and agreed that we'd had a good time. After leaving at 6:30 am on Wednesday, I was quilting and sewing in Sheila's SM Creations booth by 10:00 am. Our booth was in the Vermont building of the Big E, the Eastern States Exposition, just across from the sugarmakers and Ben & Jerry's. The fairgrounds are huge and over a million people come during a two and a half-week period.

Each state has a building on "State Street" and there's a historic village (Storrowtown) along with the usual farm animals, food and craft booths, and other displays. Every day at 5 pm, there's a parade featuring various high school bands, and at 7:30 there's a Mardi Gras parade. We ate plenty of fair food, including lobster rolls in the Mass. building, tomato/basil salad (Conn.), apple pie a la mode (Vt.), artisan pizza (Vt.), and a New England turkey dinner (Storrowtown).

It was a thrill to see my tulip quilt (from 1994) and my tulip vine quilt ("Summer" - just finished below) hanging over the entry doors and quite visible as people left. I pointed them out to the Vermont tourism person who looked at them all day long, and I told quilters visiting our booth to look up when leaving. The third quilt was made by one of the sugarmakers in the booth across from ours.

I spent most of each day, from 10 am to 9 pm, quilting a colorful appliqued piece and sewing a few other pieces. I had prepared a few quilt blocks to hand piece as well as some appliqued items, including the Basket Case Quilters block of the month and a class sample in batiks. A lot of people stopped by to look at Sheila's quilt based on a photograph of sugarmaking. One woman called it "guy-catching," and it did attract quite a few men. Women browsed through the table toppers, tote bags, patterns for fusible applique, and other items. One couple asked for advice on buying a sewing machine, and a young woman showed me a photo on her phone of a table runner she had just made out of yo yos.

We didn't sell a whole lot, but I did chat with quite a few quilters and wannabes, as well as "Mr. and Mrs. William Gillette" who strolled by on Wed., Connecticut Day, to promote Gillette's Castle. I was also pleased to reconnect with some librarians, current and former, including ones from Wells River, Franklin, and Stamford/Wilmington. Paul helped out the sugarmakers who were very busy the whole time, and we decided it would be fun to come back sometime and "do" the whole fair.

Quick update

There is a definite touch of fall these mornings, which are generally foggy and chilly. Last night, it got down to near freezing, though, since the midnight sky was clear and full of stars. We went down to the Tunbridge World's Fair on Thursday, and our drive took us through a valley where the leaves were definitely turning and the views just beautiful. We looked at prize-winning vegetables, some quilts, and lots of historical exhibits. We also had hot dogs (me), Italian sausage (Paul), and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream for lunch.

I have been busy getting things together for our two days at the Big E next week in Springfield, Mass. I need a variety of projects to work on and to last me two full days. I have one set of Sylvia's Bridal Sampler Christmas blocks to make, assorted SBS blocks, and a couple of applique pieces to work on. I'm afraid I'll run out of things to sew, so I will probably be over-laden. I've also been working on a class sample for Dee to hang in her shop to advertise an applique class I'll be teaching this winter.

Besides the Big E next week, I also have meetings of the quilt show committee and the Heart of Vermont Quilt Guild. Saturday night we have tickets to see the Maori dancers at the Barre Opera House. Should be fun!

Now a "basket case"

As if I didn't have enough UnFinished Objects (UFOs), I heard about some quilters in various Dear Jane groups that are doing a block of the month project, with all the blocks being baskets and designed by members of the group. I love the shape of baskets, especially those with flowers in them. So I finally jumped in, too, and joined the "Basket Case Quilters" group on Yahoo!UK.

We can do September's block in either 6" or 12" (or both), but the blocks will vary in size. I chose to do mine as a 12" block, figuring I might end up with a nice throw by the end of the year. I finished mine yesterday. As people finish, they are receiving patterns for a bonus block but I am going to try to resist doing one. I need to turn my attention to sewing a sleeve onto "Summer" so that it can be hung in the Vermont pavilion at the Big E, the New England States Exposition in Springfield, Mass., later this month. Paul and I will be there, too, working in the sugar makers' and quilters' booths, respectively. I plan to take some hand quilting as well as some fabrics for making Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks along to demo in the booth. Pat and Jay will be there promoting cheese, but we will probably all be too busy to do more than say "hi." Should be interesting!