Blogger's Quilt Festival

It's time again for the Blogger's Quilt Festival. I am showcasing one of my favorite quilts, Storm At Sea. I started this quilt in October 1985 and finished it in February 1991. Twenty years ago! I love how it looks like waves undulating across the quilt, even though there aren't any curved pieces. There are over 1700 pieces in this 77" x 98" quilt. I hand pieced and hand quilted every teeny, tiny little stitch in this quilt.  The quilt hung in one of my homes for 5 years. It has been washed and snuggled under many times. It now is lovingly displayed on one of the beds in my home. It still warms my children and guests when they spend nights here.

The label I made for the back of the quilt, documents my journey and the making of this quilt. Note the "finally" penned on the bottom of the label. :-) During the making of this quilt, I took a machine piecing class. . . my sore fingers gave a sigh of relief.

Detail of quilt

Thanks for stopping by to see my quilt and thanks to Amy at Amy's Creative Side for hosting the festival! Click on the button below to see more amazing quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

Autumn. . . Snow!!??

Today seems like a really, really, really good day to blog about my trip to Florida. Just a few short days after arriving home from Florida, it did this. . .

Really??? The leaves are still on the trees!!!

Makes me want to hop back on the plane and go to this. . .

The second annual meeting of the "Flip Flop Girls" convened in Naples, Florida. The weather was perfect. The water was refreshing and the food was delicious. We went to Sanibel and Captiva Island for lunch and a stroll on the beach.

We rode through the mangroves to get to the beach club. We saw alligators. . .

. . . and cool birds. . .

Little Blue Heron

Stork

We had good food, great conversations, and a lot of laughs. I believe on those glorious beach days we may have even solved all of the problems in the world. That's how magical this trip was for me.

Me, on the beach.

We combed the beaches for beautiful gifts from the sea. . .

I fell in love all over again with these little guys. . .

Sandpipers

Their little legs go a mile a minute, they crack me up!

And this tall, graceful one. . .

Snowy Egret

We saw amazing sunsets from the pier in downtown Naples.

We went to restaurants with delicious food. . .

That's me, third from the left.

There I am again! *smile*

We had a nice visit with Martha, the charming, funny step mom to my friend Lynn.

That's Lynn standing between me and Martha, on the left. It was a fun week with some amazing ladies that I am blessed to have as friends.

Lynn, Maureen, Denise (me), Marnie, Debbye and Joan

The Fabulous Flip Flops!

Thanks for stopping by. May you have many memorable, wonderful days in the sun...

FALLing for. . .Soup

Although I hate to see summer end, I love the cool, crisp days of Fall. My favorite part of a day spent working in the yard, pruning shrubs, raking leaves, cleaning out the garden, screaming when I see a bug. . . is mealtime. There is nothing like having a bowl of hearty, homemade soup! It smells wonderful and tastes super delicious. It just warms me up, inside and out! Add a nice crusty loaf of fresh baked bread and you have a meal.
I ♥ soup!  Today I made Chicken Barley Soup. Easy peasy and yummy too. You can find the recipe here.

Enjoy. . .

The Mint Museum~ Charlotte, NC

Last week I went to visit my son Sean. He lives in North Carolina near Charlotte. One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to the Mint Museum located in the city of Charlotte. There are two Mint Museums in Charlotte. We went to the Mint Museum Uptown, which opened in October of last year.
The Mint Museum Uptown houses the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, as well as collections of American, contemporary, and European art. The museum is housed in a beautiful contemporary building. We had a great time exploring the different exhibits. They have quite an eclectic collection of art. It's not a large museum, by New York standards anyway.  If you find yourself in the Charlotte area, visit the museum. It's worth the trip!

 

 

Go. . .Visit. . .Explore. . .

A Day of Rememberance

America, the land of the free because of the brave.  .  .

Never forget.  .  .

I'll never forget watching the television reports and seeing the WTC in flames, not knowing what was happening. I remember the horror I felt watching the plane hit the second tower, knowing then that we were under attack. For days after, sitting outside, the eerie silence in the sky only broken by the fighter jets soaring by. I just wanted to gather up my children, hold them close and never let go.  .  .