By the Fireside

Hey ya'll.  Wow, what a time since I last wrote.  I left you after Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN.  I've worked and worked since then and my quilting time has suffered, but I've still made progress.  My "Linked Up" pattern is still on the table, not quite finished.  Let's just chalk that up to the pile of UFO's I've got.  We've all got those UFO's, but I like to think that when I start working on all those UFO's I'll look even more productive, because I'll be able to crank out lots of finished projects in a hurry!

My version of Donna Thomas's
"Pipe Dreams"

I've worked a good bit on my Pigeon Forge projects.  I've assembled most of my remaining blocks of my Double Wedding Ring which I plan to turn into a bed runner.  With the 16 blocks I will have when I finish, It will be 2x8, the perfect size for the foot of a bed.  I've also finished the top of "Pipe Dreams" by Donna Lynn Thomas.  I thoroughly enjoyed this pattern and look forward to working on more of her projects in the future.  The colors work beautifully and look so good.

"Pipe Dreams" blocks waiting to be assembled.

 I haven't finished the rest of my projects from Pigeon Forge, but I am sticking to what I said going into Quiltfest this year.  All of my class projects will be gifts this year.  I'm not keeping ANY of them.














This weekend, I traveled with my parents and a friend to Standing Indian Campground in Franklin, NC.  This is a family tradition to go in late April to dig ramps.  Many of you are probably thinking "What are ramps, and why are you digging them?"  For those of you who don't know, ramps are a wild plant that grow mainly in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  They have a very unique taste that can be compared to a cross between garlic and onions.  Ramps are something that most people either love or hate.  I, love them.  While we camp each year, my dad goes to the ramp patch on Saturday morning.  I let him dig them, because I break far too many to make it worthwhile.  I'll clean them if he digs them.  While dad's digging, my mom and I go into town.  I visit Deb Heatherly at Deb's Cats and Quilts and mom goes next door to the Habitat Home Store.  Deb has a great shop and I love her selection of Civil War reproductions.  You can spend lots of time in her shop.  She has an awesome classroom space in the back of the shop.  Her shop was the original Ford dealership of Franklin.  Deb's even celebrating 10 years this year!  If you're in the Franklin, NC area definitely visit Deb's Cats and Quilts.  You can check her out of Facebook as well.  While at Deb's, I bought a few random things off the clearance table.  I also found some Navy Blue Batik that I plan to use in an upcoming wedding gift!

I'm also working on "Appalachian Memories" by Beth Dix of Primrose Lane.  This is a series of 12 original barn designs that each have a different quilt block on the side.  This barns are each hand embroidered onto muslin to be later combined into a gorgeous quilt.  I'm embroidering all of my barns in a warm brown which will look great with other earth tones in the final quilt.  I took my embroidery with me on our camping trip so I could still be productive, since we didn't have electricity.  Well, night falls and it gets dark.  We had some lanterns, but they still weren't quite bright enough for embroidery, so I pulled out the headlamp and kept on working.  My parents thought I looked quite funny with my reading glasses on my nose, my headlamp on, and working on a barn, but I was out for much more than fashion.  Function definitely trumped!  While at the campground, I finished one barn and got a good bit done on another!  Taking a class on Redwork embroidery at Pigeon Forge definitely sparked my love of handwork!

Well, I'm home from a long day at work topped off with a staff meeting, but all is well.  I think I'm going to find my bed.  Sewing day at the center tomorrow!  Until next time, quilt on!