15 Minutes Play

A recent treat was the purchase of a new book, 15 Minutes Play by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.

If you love scraps, as I do so much, this is the book for you. I tend to piece stuff together rather aimlessly. Victoria calls that made-fabric. She had the good sense to wrangle it all into designs, setting it all into traditional quilt designs! Of course, with her mad-wonderful color sense, the quilts turn out to be anything but traditional.

I had a good deal of work to do recently and not much time to sew. But I tried Victoria's method and just gave myself 15 minutes to play. Ah! That was a lifesaver during a busy time.

I'm piecing a red/white/black scrap quilt (with a few liberties as you will note - a little blue, etc.). Here is a peek ...I nearly have two 1 yard square pieces together! I'm calling my sewing time this week Pt. Petalabooma East, thinking of my friends sewing together in California without me ... Yachi should know this is ALL SCRAPS! 

Oh Happy Day

Well! Any day that I get to hear my favorite Yellow Dog Democrat (his words) sing America the Beautiful at the presidential inauguration is a happy happy day for me.

I follow politics. I have my favorites. It is good to have leaders you admire.I grew up in a family that paid attention to politics, that talked about current events around the dinner table. Imagine my delight to realize (as a grownup) that my paternal grandmother Anna Schrader Gehlbach had a similar outlook. She actually gave her youngest child the middle name FRANKLIN in 1933 in honor of a favorite leader of hers.

I was reminded of that today by a photo sent by my favorite quilt historian, it's a quilt that features states that elected FDR, courtesy of the NC Quilt Project and the Quilt Index. Thank you, BB.


And I will reveal a guilty pleasure: I regularly check this blog that features the fashions worn by Michelle Obama. Today will be a happy, busy day, keeping up with that!

Severe Book Withdrawal in Lawrence, KS

There are many things my beloved hometown of Lawrence, Kansas is known for.

We are a Civil War destination town, since Southern sympathizers burned our town to the ground in 1863. That's history.

We are a basketball town, known as the home of James Naismith and a continually HOT basketball team. Here is my current favorite player on this year's team, Kevin Young. I love his enthusiasm almost as much as I love his FRO. (Kevin is on right below, photo courtesy of our shriveling local newspaper, the Lawrence Journal-World.)

What you may not know is that is a town of book lovers! Really! This is something I've long suspected BUT with the closing of our public library for the past 2 weeks as it moves to temporary quarters (while our new, improved library will be built in the next 2 years on the just vacated current downtown site), let me just say the library lovers are in a total frenzy. WITHDRAWAL tremors were detected at a luncheon last Thursday. I actually overheard this statement, "Yes, I have 10 books checked out but I've already read them ALL!! What time is that university library open?"

Then yesterday we stopped in Half-Price Books and the place was JAMMED! People needing a book fix on a January day were crammed in the place!

Tuesday. if we can just last until Tuesday, we can visit our beloved library in it's temporary headquarters, either ironically or fittingly in the old Borders store site downtown. Surely we can wait a few more days, right?

Fabulous Sherry Kent dress

Here's my favorite holiday gift, from someone who knows fabric is the best gift.


It's a vintage dress. My friend Linda said she found it at a thrift shop for very few $$.










Since my new fascination is all things Modern era, I was blown away. And so delighted to see a rip in the front, which makes it easier to cut up and repurpose.

I promise to do some research and see what I can learn about Sherry Kent dresses.
and the exact age of this beauty...Here's a close-up shot  of one of the pockets:

Parental discretion advisory, warning, warning, read only if you are immune to shock and naughty words, thanks to raising kids regularly dragging them through thrift shops:
There is a new song out about Thrift Shops! My daughters heard it first, and now I am hooked. I listen to it when I want a good chuckle. It includes lyrics like: I'll wear your grandpa's clothes!  I'm gonna pop some tags, Only got twenty dollars in my pocket...check it out on you tube.

Jean's Pine Burr Christmas

I just visited a lovely quilt retreat south of Lawrence. It's a peaceful place called Walkabout Retreat and History Center. You can reserve it for quilt retreats. There is room to sew, room to sleep, a kitchen...Jean Ayres co directs the retreat with property owner Judy Long O'Neal.....

You might remember Jean as the owner of the spectacular pine burr quilt that got us all going in May.

Guess what Jean has made now? Yup, holiday pine burrs. This potholder sized one...

And another larger one, below. That is Jean holding it, inside the retreat. She's crazy for pine burrs..

Our book tree

Visions of a holiday book tree have been dancing in our collective heads this year ...

Sylvie, a fellow Friend of the Library, started it. She saw a book tree, recruited several friends to help create it, and started saving books from our reject pile.

Her husband Glenn wisely devised a different way to stack the books so the tree could be transported. He was the main creator behind this tree - the rest of us helped apply some paint, hang lights, cover the base ...

The books are also cleverly arranged by title, so they make little stories, like this:

You can view this and many other beautiful holiday trees this week at the Festival of the Trees, a benefit for our community Shelter.

It's at Liberty Hall in downtown Lawrence. The trees will be auctioned tonight, but will remain on display through Thursday. 

Quilt Sale at Final Friday

Big Lettuce, inspired by a Ruth McDowell workshop

Save some shopping money for the upcoming Final Friday art walk in downtown Lawrence!

Our esteemed Georgann Eglinski is divesting herself of a backlog of her quilts. She is a prolific and enormously talented quilter. She does not keep track of the many quilts she makes, but there are few more productive quilters than Georgann. Her work has appeared in numerous galleries and books over the years. It is one of Lawrence's best kept secrets. Best of all - she almost single-handedly funds several worthy organizations in Lawrence with the proceeds.

At Last a Lotus, pattern by Miriam Nathan Roberts

So be there on Friday November 30, 5-9 p.m. You'll find her a collection of her small quilt "Soft Art" work at the Art Party in the Hobbs-Taylor Loft space in the 700 block of New Hampshire.

Small quilts make excellent holiday presents and all these are one-of-a-kind quilts. Complete originals!

African Market II. a large version of this is in Carol Jones' and Bobbie Finley's new book, Fresh Perspectives.