St. Michael and A Quilter's Reader for March

This past week has been one of the most emotional and challenging of my life. Well, it is one of the top two, most challenging weeks of my life. If at all possible I hope I don't ever have to revisit something like that ever again. However, with two out of the three kids in police work, the likelihood for scary scenarios is always lurking somewhere on the horizon. However, both offspring have been firmly placed in the protective hands of St. Michael the Archangel, Patron Saint of police officers. Last Sunday was proof of his intervention. We are so grateful and most blessed.

That being said, on to more fun stuff, like what I was tinkering with this afternoon.

In our Quilter's Reader book club, we are reading, "A Single Thread", by Marie Bostwick for the month of March. I read the book about three years ago, and just loved it. This is my second time through and it's as if I am revisiting old friends all over again, Evelyn, Charlie, Abigail, Liza, Franklin, Margot, etc. Since this story is the introduction to the Cobbled Court Quilts series, I wanted to make a quilt block that reflected Evelyn's discovery of the cobbled courtyard and the dilapidated, abandoned drug store on her walk through the little town of New Bern, Connecticut in the Fall.

So here it is....ta da!!! My block, The Courtyard Quilt Block.

I had a bit of searching to do to find the block, then I had to reconfigure it to finish out as a 12 1/2" block.

The white center is for the brightly lit courtyard that Evelyn encountered walking through the dark alley (the black blocks). The red at the corners of the courtyard symbolizes the red sign over the shop door, as well as the bright red geraniums she envisioned would bloom in pots around the courtyard. The yellow leaves symbolize the falling leaves of Autumn when she first discovered the little run down shop.

 

The Courtyard Quilt Block

Once again, respectfully submitted by,

Baroness von Thomas Haus, Queen Yours Truly   :)

 



 



A Quilter's Reader

February ~ "The Persian Pickle Club", by Sandra Dallas

In traipsing through the Kingdom of Blogdom, I came upon a lovely little blog from the Starwood Quilter. The predominant theme is very much a quilt block theme woven through the life and times of the Starwood Quilter. She is in the process of making a quilt with blocks that reflect themes from her locale, life, and times.

As part of her blog, she began a book club. The point and purpose of a book club is to read a particular book, for that month, chosen by the Starwood Quilter. She posts discussion questions and periodically, quilt blocks that reflect the different themes, locations, and characters in the book. I plan on making a quilt with blocks that reflect each book we read. Depending on how the story effects me, I'll make a block that reflects a character, the surroundings, the plot, the locale or whatever theme pops out at me.

Our first book, entitled, "The Persian Pickle Club", by Sandra Dallas, was the designated read for February. The story revolves around the time of the Great Depression in the 30's, in the town of Harveyville, Kansas, and the Persian Pickle Club(a quilt guild) and it's members. It was written through the eyes of the principle character, a young married woman, Queenie Bean. She is the inspiration for my block called "Prairie Queen".

 

In the middle is the material containing the "Persian Pickles" or fancy paisley. It is surrounded in a pink fabric with multicolored circles that reflect the beautiful friendships within the club, despite the quirky times, differing personalities and the trials they faced. On the outside of the pink is a black background in which a variety of prairie daisies bloom. I love it!!!

A Simple Woman's Daybook

 

One of my oriental lilies from Timothy Lane.

______________________________
FOR TODAY   20 February, 2013

Outside my window...It is dark and cold, temp. 25F, but we have a steady wind coming off of Lake Erie making it feel like it is much colder. The freezing rain/snow mix doesn't help.

I am thinking...how wonderful it is to see the various moods of the lake in winter and that we actually live here to see it every day.

I am thankful...for a warm house and electricity.

In the kitchen...tonight's meatloaf is cooling, so I can slice it later and package it up for the freezer.

I am wearing...my purple Pasmina shawl...takes the chill off my shoulders and is very cozy.

I am creating...this Simple Woman's Daybook. I noticed it in a blog I discovered today through Starwood Quilter.

I am going...tomorrow evening, Opa(German for Grandpa and my DH) and I are attending the Taste of the Northcoast @ Kalahari resort with new friends that live behind us across the golf course. The event will be featuring local restaurants and their wares. We figured it would be another venue to get to know our new locale better.

I am wondering...if we'll get any more real snow this winter...not just the scattered snow squalls that don't amount to anything.

I am reading...The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas, as part of a quilters' book club through Starwood Quilter blog

I am hoping...all goes well for my daughter and grandaughters tomorrow...long story.

I am looking forward to...Spring and seeing how many of my newly planted Spring bulbs will come up. My crocuses have been up since the beginning of January, not bloomed, just out of the ground. VERY unusual for us.

I am learning...to quilt. It began about two years ago when a high school classmate passed away, leaving her twin sister grieving. They were/are both quilters. It has been such a joy to be creative again. Thank you Sharon and Susan.

Around the house...Opa is building a bar in the upper loft area. It gets pretty noisey around here when he's hard at it. It will have a white beadboard front and a mahogany top. It will be a magnificent "man corner".

I am pondering...

A favorite quote for today..."Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but rather learning how to dance in the rain"...ok that might not be it exactly, but you get the sentiment.

One of my favorite things...beautiful oriental lilies. There is a sprig in my current flower arrangement for Valentine's Day from my sons. The home we sold last year had magnificent clusters of them growing in the front gardens. The new owners dug them all out.  :(

A few plans for the rest of the week: ....contemplating setting up quilt blocks for the new quilty book club I'm in. Checking in on my mom and dad.

A peek into my day...cleaning, cooking and laundry are just so everyday.

 

Joyfully submitted,

The Baroness of Thomas Haus, HRH Queen Yours Truly

as adapted from:   http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

Sew Fun

February 8, 2013  ~
When we made plans to downsize to a condo, a sewing/craft room was proposed by my dearly beloved. He truly knows my heart.
Why furnish another room with bedroom furniture that we simply dust, hoping for the kids to come and visit and stay overnight. That's what hotels are for...right?
Since moving in, Rick has made a white, sewing machine table with a gorgeous maple top for me, as well as a cutting, piecing table that has an extended leaf on it. It is moveable on casters, so if I need to access all around the table I can move it where I need it. Plus, he helped me hang my design wall. All of these have been put to good use over the last month.
I've enrolled in three block of the month clubs (Craftsy 2013 BOM, Sugar Block Club with Amy Gibson and Lucky Stars, from Don't Call Me Betsy blog) and I'm in a Newbie Quilters Bee Hive through the Threadbias website. I am having such fun! Add to that that I am now a card carrying member of the Ohio Star Quilt Guild ( guild #131 in NQA).

Here are a few of my projects.

 

This is the quilt top from my 2012 Craftsy Block of the Month club. Despite unloading our house of 23 years, having an Estate Sale, moving three times, my dad having health issues, in and out of the hospital, and a few other challenges, I slowly worked through each set of blocks through 2012. I named the quilt "Metamorphysis", for the butterflies on the white on white background fabric as well as all the changes we encountered in 2012. It still needs to be quilted and a binding put on it.

This is our Thomas Haus 2012 Christmas ornament that I made. Now that the kids are grown and all have their Christmas ornaments with them, we need to get more of our own to decorate our tree.

My Lucky Stars blocks ... Intro block above and January's block below.

My January block from the Sugar Block Club with Amy Gibson

The February block for "Queen Bee" Cathie in California in the Threadbias Newbie Quilters Hive #3 quilting bee.

A fun lap quilt that is pin basted and ready for quilting.

Nine crazy 12 1/2" square scrap blocks I made one afternoon from the overflowing scrap basket.

 

So...can you tell I'm having fun. I simply don't understand people who are bored.

Until next time. I remain the Baroness of Thomas Haus, Queen Yours Truly!

 

 

Christmas Eve on the Island 2012

May the blessings of Grace of our Dearest Lord Jesus, on this His birthday, be upon you and yours today and throughout the coming year.

Well, it's our first Christmas here on the island. The Christmas gifts as such, are wrapped for the most part and under the artificial Christmas tree. We have always had a live tree for Christmas, but the logistics of keeping it fresh in a condo may be a bit daunting. It is certainly less messy, but the scent of a live tree cannot be duplicated in plastic. Oh well.

The golf club has strategically placed Christmas tree silhouette groups, in lights at various spots on the course. Lighted decorations, trees, snowmen, candy canes, wrapped presents, etc. are everywhere. It is so very beautiful. They did all the work and we simply enjoy it. We haven't had any snow to speak of, so everything is still rather barren and stark. It began snow/sleeting a few hours ago, but it remains to be seen if any of it sticks. Wednesday, December 26, they're calling for a big storm to hit us. Go figure, the day the kids are to travel in from Cleveland(Erin,Madison, Aubrey, Frank and Trevor) and Columbus (Ian). Erin assures me that Trevor's 4 wheel drive Jeep can tackle anything the weather can throw at us. I pray their Guardian Angels will escort them safely here and then back again.

From the 20-23 of December, my brother Mark, my niece Sarah and my nephew Andrew were here for a visit from Charlotte, NC. It was so good to be in their company. Distance makes it so difficult to be a part of their lives. None-the-less, we made a few good memories. On Friday, we had a chili fest here, both the Manly Meat Lovers Chili as well as the White Chicken Chili with homemade cornbread and butter. Tasty! Saturday we had an early dinner at Ingrid and Bart's....yet another food fest, medallions of bacon wrapped beef and chicken from the grill, holiday kielbasa from Kilgus Meat market, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, cranberry mold, Betty's pasta salad, rolls. Oh my, then there were still desserts. My parents came to enjoy the festivities. We are blessed to still have them with us @ ages 87 and 88. A few photos documented the memory. My youngest brother Bryan, his wife Dawn and their nine girls also shared the day with us.

Rick and I will be attending midnight Mass here @ St. Joseph's, Marblehead in a few hours. It won't be anything like our beloved St. Joseph's in downtown Toledo, with the Latin Mass, and beautiful Latin hymns and traditional Christmas hymns, but it is still the Mass.

Merry Christmas!!

Respectfully Submitted,

Die Baroness von Thomas Haus, Queen, Yours Truly

12-12-12....A day that just needed a post!

12-12-12     The Feastday of Our Lady of Guadalupe; Empress of the Americas!

It's a crisp, sunny winter day here on Catawba. No snow yet. It's been too warm for snow....temps in the upper 30's and 40's mostly. Perhaps we'll have a green Christmas again this year. Meteorologists have reported large solar storms spitting plasma at the earth as the culprit for us, yet my aunt in Germany has seen more snow in the last few years than she ever has. Oh well, that's all above my pay grade.  :)
It's taken a while...ok, a long while, but I finally feel like I am home. For so long I felt lost and disconnected here. Timothy Lane was a fading memory, and this place just hadn't felt truly like home. How blessed we are to live in such a beautiful place. The lake with all its moods is just down the street and a wonder to behold. Bald eagles periodically soar overhead. Seagull calls fill the air. Deer have wandered past our window, a big buck on one occasion. Despite the bare trees and lack of flora, the starkness is still beautiful on a sunny day.
About two months ago I joined the local library's Monday morning quilters/crafters gathering. From there I joined the Ohio Star Quilt Guild. What a wonderful world of women I have discovered. (perhaps that is why I now feel a connection, I don't think I could ever be a good hermit). Through a quilt block challenge, I have perfected the technique of making the Ohio Star block. I submitted 9 blocks for the challenge. Overall 68 Ohio Star blocks were submitted by the group. Each block submitted earned you one chance in the drawing to get all the blocks. Since I never win anything ever, I just enjoyed the exercise. Well....@ the November Guild meeting, my name was drawn! Pretty overwhelming for a "baby quilter"! Sixty-eight Ohio Star blocks on cream backgrounds are mine. With the help of the Monday morning ladies, all of the blocks are staged and layed out and ready to be finished into a King sized quilt top. It won't be started until after January 1st, so stay tuned. Right now I need to finish sewing my Mrs. Claus outfit for Saturday's Christmas party for the children of the local Air National Guard base. So adieu for now.
respectfully submitted, Baroness von Thomas Haus, Queen Yours Truly!

A Stitch in Time

As a little girl...maybe age 11, my mom sent me to the Singer store in Miracle Mile Shopping Plaza in Toledo to take a sewing class. That would begin my love for all things fabric. I made a simple bathing suit cover up out of terry cloth with a matching beach towel.

Fast forward a few years, high school to be exact, Junior year @ Notre Dame Academy. It was the annual Christmas formal. I had a gorgeous, full length black velvet skirt that I wore with a white blouse. Something seemed to be missing with the ensemble, so I designed a black velvet bolero with elaborate frog closures. It was stunning! That began my trip into sewing all my prom dresses.

Moving on from the 70's to the 80's. Now married life to Richard, the love of my life, and new little bundle named Erin Maria. Rick was in dental school and we had no money to speak of. My sewing machine was once more whirring. The little flannel baby clothes morphed into gorgeous little overalls, embelished with my needlework and eyelet lace and frills. I wish I had them now.

I stopped sewing clothes when Ian arrived.  His little brother, Trevor, came along a few years later. Oh I would repair the worn out knees on their pants and rips and tears and such. Ok so I DID sew their Halloween costumes, but nothing more elaborate than that.

When the kids were little we had a neighbor that lived across the street briefly. She was an avid quilter. She could throw together a lap quilt top in an afternoon and have it finished within a few days. She taught me the art of hand quilting and took me on a field trip to the Sauder Village annual quilt show in May one year. Ohhh, ahhh!! When she moved I tried to connect with a quilt shop on Sylvania Ave., but the ladies there were most intimidating. The quilt/fabric bug would go dormant until now.