Valerean

By the time this post publishes I will have attended the county quilt show (all the things in the pic were what I bought there in 2024.) Last year I had a lovely time at it with my guy and my favorite person, and invested in a few things for myself, but this year I will probably just go to take pics of the quilts and only buy a little fabric for a friend and finished quilted projects made by the guild members (my way of showing support.) I need to stop buying fabric for myself, as my ability to quilt things by hand is almost over, and I already have enough to last me ten lifetimes. It's a little sad, but it's also part of life. I've been hand-quilting for over thirty years with hands that have been partially crippled, and I knew the day would come when my fingers would no longer cooperate. I'm happy I was able to quilt as long as I have. It's tempting to wail over losing my dexterity, too, because honestly it does seem so unfair. Then I think of what my lif...

I've been tucking a little money away all year so I could shop at the county quilt show, and this was my haul. I really didn't buy a lot of fabric by comparison to past years, and I spent about half my money in the guild's boutique buying things they made like the placemats and chili pepper hot pad; this helps support their work. I also got some fabric carrots and a pin kit. I visited many of the vendors, who offered some very cool bargains. One was this mystery bag from The Quilted Peacock. Lots of scrap and yardage fabric inside, plus a book quilt pattern and a walking foot for a Janome. I'm going to pass along the latter but I might make a book quilt out of all the fabrics. :) One vendor complimented me on my OOAK shirt, which a dear friend made for me. So I bought these embroidery threads from her booth. You say nice things to me, I buy something from you. :) I met the guild member who made this adorable note pad holder as I was checking ou...

On Friday I attended the annual county quilt show, and took a ton of pics. This year was even better than 2024. If you'd like to see the quilts from the show, check out my album here.

This was part of my little haul from the country quilt show back in November. I also purchased some holiday gifts for friends and my favorite person. For myself I bought some oven mitts, some used magazines and a book, a couple of fat quarters of fabric, and a kit to make a little gift bag. It was all super cheap, and allowed me to show support for the guild and some of the local vendors. I saw a lot of things I loved, but I stopped myself from buying them, especially kits and patterns. I already have more kits and patterns than I probably will ever make. It's definitely time to put on the creative shopping brakes. This didn't make me sad, oddly enough. I'm at peace with the fact I'm a senior now, and living the last part of my life. Of course I'd like to stick around for twenty or thirty more years, but given my health issues that's highly unlikely. How I spend the time I have left on the planet is what's important to me now -- not what I accomp...

My favorite quilt "Even in the Shadows" by Lynne Raborn from this year's county quilt show. To see the other quilts in the show, go to the album I've posted online here.

While at the quilt show I randomly picked up some scrap and bargain bin fabrics without really thinking about making anything particular. My subconscious must have done the choosing because they all weirdly work together. Add a little black, a little violet, and a little blue, and they'd make a pretty lap quilt. This scrap bundle of bird fabrics was labelled 6 half yard cuts for $4.00. They actually gave me 8 half-yards. I got this tiny tote with ribbon and tissue paper from the guild's boutique. I considered going back to the show on the second day, but since it was on a Saturday there will be a lot more people there. I don't want to get sick right before Thanksgiving. I got to take pics of most of the quilts, and picked up some fun things from the vendors and the guild boutique, so I'm happy.

You know you haven't been to a quilt show in years when the prices for fabric, notions and trims doubles (and some tripled) while you were absent. I really didn't need anything, so I mostly bought Christmas gifts (some of which I am not showing you) from the guild's boutique and a few bargain bin items from the vendors. I did buy myself these two spools of new, pretty thread, as I don't have any variegated thick rayon. Also, I love these colors. Since I don't want to buy new fabric I did get a couple of scrap bags, also sold by the guild, for $5.00 and $3.00. The $5.00 bag of scraps; looks to be about four yards altogether. The $3.00 bag of scraps, which I thought had nicer fabric than the pricier one; about three and a half yards of fabric in this one. I saw a lot of vendors selling hand-stitched penny-rug type kits, as evidently prims and candlemats and little rough pincushion kits are a trend again, or maybe they just sell well here. The new...

For the first time since 2019 I attended the county quilt show, which had moved from the old time and place to a completely different month and venue. My guy went with me yesterday, and actually enjoyed it. It's always insanely tough to pick a favorite quilt, but I did like this one a lot. Here's a closer shot. I love this patchwork pattern, which is very hard to piece, and the energy the quilt had with all the beautiful colors. I'll have more to post about the show once I sort out all the stuff I brought home with me, but in the meantime you can see an online album of all the photos I took of the quilts at the show by clicking here.

Although the county quilt show is being held again this year, with Delta still raging here and people not taking it seriously I decided not to go. Instead I started looking through the many years of pics I've taken at the shows in the past. I remember how blown away I was by this paper-pieced swan. So many tiny bits of fabric. The box lunches they sold in the little outdoor cafe were wonderful, too. I've always been impressed by what little old ladies in this area can do with fabric and thread. This was the quilt that made me determined to learn how to do bargello piecing -- and I taught myself, too. Mostly I just miss being able to walk around an enormous room filled with so much creativity. Ah, well. Maybe next year.