Bowl Again

Here's a view of the inside of my Halloween bowl. Colorful, isn't it. I couldn't get the zigzag stitch to work for me so I used the #4 stitch on my Husquvarna 855. It's a zig zag stitch but takes about 4 tiny stitches instead of one straight zig.

This is the little rice filled wrist cushion I use when I am using a mouse as I don't have an ergonomically correct mouse pad.

Today's NASCAR race from Talledaga, AL should be a good one. The track is a challenge to drivers. It is sometimes called the Alabama Lottery.

Now to drive up to Greene and deliver Caleb's quilt. I don't get up there often and am so thankful that Becki & Jeremy post pictures and videos on Facebook.

Caleb's daddy Jeremy is having foot surgery tomorrow to reconstruct the bones. Jeremy was in a horrid accident on Feb. 14, 2008 on Kattelville Hill. He was hit headone. Luckily his Dad wasn't with him that day as he'd planned to be as there was only an airbag on the driver's side of the truck. His heel and ankle were shattered and his knee was badly messed up. Prayers for Jeremy.

Chris

All Wrapped Up Bowl

Happy Halloween, all my witchy friends. Here's a bowl I finished last night for Halloween candy. It is clothesline wrapped with Halloween colored or Halloween fabric.
I made a small bowl before the book It's a Wrap by Susan Breier arrived. Sue McDonald made several at retreat a few weeks ago and I thought I could make one. With the instructions in front of me the second one was much more successful. Bob has the first bowl on his table for keys.
Now I'm waiting for Amazon.com to deliver the Carol Doaks Reversible Vests book. Triangle Guild is holding a vest sewing class on November 6 at St. Patrick's Church in Whitney Point. Barb Ackley is the teacher. She sent a vest and several of her beautiful quilts to our show. Barb did a trunk show for us last winter. What fun it was. I'm looking forward to making a vest. I can wear it to the Lancaster show in mid March.
It is almost a requirement that one wear a quilted item to a quilt show.
Triangle Guild is having Jean Ellis do a program on the little dresses many church ladies have been making for the Haitian children.
Guild members continue to make pillowcases for Conkerr Cancer and bibs for the residents of the Oxford Veterans Home.

Chris

It was a Wonderful Day

This is Carol Maslin's time and Seasons from Piece Makers. It was one of the hits of the show. Carol and her sister Eleanor Lindow are skilled applique artists. From where my sewing machine was I could see people stop and study the quilt for a long time. Carol embellished the quilt with a bell on the church steeple, buttons and other materials.

This is the beautiful raffle quilt made by our members and raffled to raise money for the Triangle Fire Department. Gladys Hamilton was the winner.

We do a raffle quilt every two years for the fire company's benefit. This is a Disappearing Nine Patch.

I keep thinking of all the fun I had yesterday sewing and meeting folks. It's Old Home Day at its finest.

We are holding a vest making class with Barbara Ackley on November 6 at St. Patrick's Church in Whitney Point. I ordered the Carol Doaks Reversible Vest book.

Thanks to all of the Triangle Guild members and to Mary Hibbard who coordinates the Fall Festival events at the school for their work in making our show a success.

Chris

Our Fall Festival Quilt Show

Today was Fall Festival and Triangle Guild held a quilt show at the Riverside Academy in Whitney Point.
This is Caleb's quilt, made from Eleanor Burns Quick Trips book.

Mary Hibbard's One Block Wonder Quilt.

My Roosters and Chickens wall hanging. The poultry fabric came from the scrap basket at Keepsake Quilting in NH some years ago. I used a feather stitch on the strips around the roosters and hens and machine quilted corn leaves on the border.

Sue McDonald's quilt from the Fons and Porter's Cutting Bee book. At least six years ago Sue had an idea after seeing this book. She sold the quilt retreat organizers on doing this on Saturday morning. After a lot of confusion we swapped the strips we'd cut at home. I've only seen a few quilts made from this swap. My Jacob's Ladder is a UFO. Maybe before next year's shows.

Mary Hibbard who is the Superintendent of Schools at Whitney Point and also a quilter.

Margo holding a squash Steve Aboff carved. Steve and his wood carvers group were on hand again this year to carve pumpkins. Margo and her husband raised the pumpkins.

It was a great day, beautiful weather, no rain like we had the previous three years.

We set up a sewing center and had kits cut for pillowcases.

Beth's Water Lilies from Quick Trips. This was made for her daughter who is a fan of Claude Monet.

Here are some of the pillowcases we made for Conkerr Cancer. We think we made 32 today.
In the center of the pillowcases is an adult clothing protector that we made for residents of the NYS Veterans' Home at Oxford, NY.

It was a great day to sew, visit with old friends, meet new ones, do a bed turning a number of times and visit the vendors. I brought home a delicious apple pie.

Now off to bed.

Chris

Quilt Retreat

On Friday I left for Quilt Retreat at Casowasco on Owasco Lake. We had a wonderful time eating, talking, eating, helping each other, eating, and occasionally we did a bit of sewing.D

Donna and Ann are shown in the top picture. Ann volunteered to act as coordinator of this semi annual event. The quilt on left is Donna's and on right the stars are Mary R's.

Second picture, Donna H. (the other Donna H.) and Sue McD are walking to breakfast at Emmaus. This building was rennovated, added onto and refurbished to seat many more people who gather for retreats, meetings and summer camp.

We stayed in the Case's summer cottage Galilee.

The Case family developed technology that put sound in motion pictures.

The group in the third picture are some of our retreat members. We sew in the Foster Center underneath the Lakeside Chapel.

Our meals are so good thanks to the chef who came there last year. We had a couscous salad with pommegrante seeds, dill and grape leaves for lunch yesterday. Barbequed brisquet on a roll was part of lunch. Last night we had a turkey dinner with a wonderful seasoning on the turkey, dressing, smashed potatoes, dressing, gravy and vegetables, complete with a salad bar and cake.

Now to finish unpacking.

Chris

Going Public Here Today, Vital Records Index

Today at the Broome County Public Library, 185 Court St., Binghamton, NY, the New York State Vital Records Index will be open to the public for the first time.
The hours the Index is available will depend on volunteers who will provide the service to the public. Today, Monday, October 11, the hours are 1 pm to 4 pm. I'm the volunteer who will be assisting the public.
We have two microfiche readers. People will be limited to one hour's use if a third person wants to use the Index.
As there hasn't been any publicity in the Binghamton Press to date, I expect today not to be busy.
Chris

Yes, I do sew

Here's Bonnie Hunter's latest block Hot Cross Buns which appeared in Quiltmaker Nov Dec 2010. After I quickly sewed it together I realized I had sewn the green strips to the two squares haphazzardly. 'Pay Attention Christine,' my mother is telling me. If she was here she'd make me take out the stitches and resew the block correctly. It will make a great donation block. I used 2 1/2" strips and squares instead of the 1 1/2"strips and squares Bonnie called for.
I'm going to add a border so the block will be 12 1/2" unfinished and I will call it Hot Cross Bun on a Plate.
We are busy preparing for our little quilt show at Fall Festival in Whitney Point on October 23rd.
Our display will include quilts, wall hangings and table runners as well as a display of donation quilts and Conkerr Cancer pillowcases. Some members are cutting kits for pillowcases and we will be sewing them at the show. Anyone can sit down and sew a pillowcase. We'll be glad to show people how.
Triangle Guild is a small guild but we do a lot of donation work for several places. In a blog back in the spring you saw the adult clothing protectors that our members made for the men and women at the NYS Veterans Home in Oxford.
Bob was so good to model several for me. By the time I did the second one his expression was more like 'Bah humbug.' He's Korean War vet and he thought it was great we were doing for veterans.
Tickets are being sold for our beautiful blue and yellow Disappearing 9 Patch quilt. The drawing will be held at end of the show on October 23rd. The proceeds will benefit the Triangle Fire Company where we hold our meetings.
Chris

Now I'm a Family Group Photographer

Bob's daughter Dawn asked me to take a group picture of her family the other day.
From left to right, Kohdy, Natalya, Tom (her boyfriend) with his daughter Destiny on his lap, Dawn holding Jaylynn and Mikayla at right.
Raining here again, or should I say still.
The extension table for my new sewing machine came in the other day and I have it installed with my sewing machine. I know I will like it.
Now I can quilt larger items much more easily.
Chris

Rainy Day for Campfire Girls to Play

Here's Sophie, Ella Mae new dog. She's part Lab, Golden Retriever and Akita. Five minutes
after this picture was taken, she had given the giraffe a lobotomy. Fluff was all over the floor.
Pat was there, out from Arkansas. She brought all of us plum jelly and hot pepper jelly.

And here's June Lee and cousin Ella Mae. "See, I'm sick. JoAnne had to take off work to take care of me."

And arfen't these two so sweet. JoAnne and her auntie June.

We had a great meal, seafood chowder, made by Shelly, Ella Mae's daughter. Just right for a rainy day. BTW we got about 5" of rain on Thursday.

On Wednesday I lost my cell phone. Didn't realize it until Thursday night. I called or went to each place I'd been on Wednesday: VA Affairs, grocery store, son in law's garage, hairdresser. Nobody saw it. Brian at VA Affairs in county office building even picked up the helmet on his desk to look for it.

I have been dialing the cell # from our house phones. Finally today, in the bedroom, I heard a faint ring. Kept trying it and moving around. Pinpointed it to the laundry basket. There it was in the pants I wore on Wednesday. Apparently I took them off when I had a nap, tossed in basket and put on something else later. Phone is on the charger getting ready for our next adventure.

Chris