Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sunday contentment

Yesterday was Saturday.  It was an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day!  I had an out of town board meeting to attend (4 hours), plus a bit of a commute (3 hours round trip), but the meeting went well and I enjoyed the beautiful drive and listening to CDs from my daughter.  Given a choice, I would have chosen a different sort of Saturday, but I made the best of it, and despite being tired, I made a nice dinner for my family and then finished my January Dollies Online quilt top.



The pattern is called Hurry Home, and it was designed by Amy Lobsiger, aka Mrs. Schmenckman.
There are so many things to love about dolly and mini quilts.  Not only are they adorable, but they are quick to make and use up scraps of beloved fabrics too small for a larger project.  See my Amy Butler Gypsy Caravan scraps?  Still one of my favorite lines.

As you can tell by the picture, we are not having a repeat of yesterday's glorious weather.  My plan was to take a picture of  my dolly quilt top outside in the sun, but I looked outside to find a light but continuous drizzle.  And I found it oddly comforting.  Today is a stay-in-my-cozy-home-in-my-comfy-pajama-pants-and-do-whatever-I-want kind of day.  And a little gray drizzle is just the perfect stay-at-home kind of weather.  Throughout the area, there are probably plenty of people complaining about the weather.  Not me.

Earlier in the week I finished this block for a quilting bee:



Jessica is making a Coffee and Brown Sugar quilt and included the solid teal in the fabrics she sent, asking that it be used near the middle of whatever block we made (our choice).  This is Pinwheel #9, one of many free patterns available from Quilter's Cache.  This was just one of those blocks for me!  I think I made a mistake at virtually every step in the process.  You would have thought it was my first quilt block!  But it came out just fine in the end.  Phew!

As I leave you today, I just want to share that after 24+ years, my husband still leaves me scratching my head about so many things!  If I tell him something 100 times, he usually acts on the 101st time as if just hearing the information for the first time.   But occasionally I say something to him that gets melded into his brain immediately (if I could just figure out what and when!).  Well -- at the beach last weekend I casually mentioned that someday I would like to get a quilt stand.  On Monday he called a man he knows who owns an antique store.  The man emailed some pictures to Steve which he forwarded to me at work.  Two days later we were to meet outside the antique store at 5:00 p.m.  I got there a little early and they were already closing.  Steve got there about 5:10 (he had a meeting that went till 5:00 and another that was going to start at 5:30).  I told him they were closed, but Steve said he could still see them in the store.  So he called them on his cell phone and they opened for us. Not only that, but they discounted the price without us even asking!  And I went home with a new quilt stand in the back seat.



We got it so fast, I still haven't figured out where to put it!



These are two old quilts that are very special to me.  The double wedding ring was the quilt on my bed when I was growing up (and, no -- I did not grow up in the 30s!).  I loved that quilt so much and know every fabric by heart.  The rings were like roads for small dolls, paper dolls, and even cars.  Notice the red and green at the "intersections".  The lone star was given to us by our downstairs neighbor in the town house type apartment we lived in when we were first married.  She was a single woman much older than us, and she so appreciated any little chores we helped her with.  When she moved she gave us this old quilt that someone had given her years earlier for similar reasons. Talk about paying it forward.

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

17 comments:

  1. I had the same kind of day that you had. Loved being at home stitching away and doing other domestic type things. What a lovely thought from your husband. The quilts hanging on the new quilt rack are gorgeous and I love the story behind each. He sounds suspiciously like my husband though. Hmmm... wonder if all husbands are the same?

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  2. I love that pinwheel block you made for your quilting bee. The colors are great and the pinwheel has great movement. Love your mini quilt too. What a great way to use some of your treasured Gypsy Caravan fabrics. To top it all off, you get a quilt rack surprise from your husband! I know just what you mean about the 101th time you say something. Must be a guy thing! Great post!

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  3. I love the quilt stand it is so cool and the pinwheel block turned out great!

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  4. I love hearing about your day. What a great quilt stand, and your quilts on it are fabulous! It is so fun to hear the stories behind the quilts. Your Dollies Online quilt is a cutie too.

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  5. How thoughtful your husband is - at least he remembers the important things. And the quilts on them look perfect. Love your dollies quilt too.

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  6. Thanks for sharing your day - it was a treat to read about! I do love how Jessica's block turned out - don't you think her quilt is going to be a stunner? And what a nice treat from your husband. Sounds like you should consider renewing his contract! I really liked hearing the stories about those two quilts on the stand. I do know what you mean about knowing by heart the fabrics in the quilt you grew up with.

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  7. I love your dollies block Joan, fabulous colour choices! Great quilt stand, I love the story behind these two gorgeous quilts, and the story of your hubby who got it quick this time!!! xo

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  8. Your dollies quilt is so pretty in the lovely Amy Butler fabric! And those antique quilts are wonderfully displayed on the "new" stand. I would love to have a stand like that, it's such a great idea....

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  9. Oh my god, soo beautiful old quilts on your great "new" quilt stand. I wish I had a neighbour who would give me one, too.
    Your dollies quilt is very cute, and thanks for the link, I am just searching for PP patterns.

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  10. You are a busy lady, Joan! :-) Love the Amy Butler fabrics in your dollie quilt! Great idea to put those precious pieces to use (rather than being packed away, ahem...). What a beautiful quilt stand!! Loved the story and the glorious quilts on display!!

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  11. Joan, your dollies online quilt top is so pretty. I really like the way Jessica's block turned out too, it has great movement, it looks like it is tesselating. Thanks so much for sharing your day.

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  12. Wow! What a nice post. : ) Your block and the dollie quilt are wonderful!!!

    LOVE the quilt stand and your hubby too. ; ) Your quilts look spectacular displayed on the stand!!! And, aren't the stories and memories as fond as the quilts themselves...!?

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  13. you had such a productive weekend even though you were at a meeting for much of Saturday! Your comment about your husband made me laugh, soooooo true. ah, well, at least you know what your saying will eventually sink in! what a sweet thing he did for you!

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  14. Cute little quilt, I love the quilt rack, it is so nice to have quilts and positive memories to go along with them

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  15. Isn't it interesting how our men can tune us out but appear to be listening. What a wonderful surprise that he was listening this time. Love the rack. I enjoy having a place to show quilts when they are not in use.

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  16. I can't imagine my husband getting me a quilt rack -- that was so nice, and your quilts look wonderful on it. I wish I had a quilt from my childhood.

    Your doll quilt is so cute, and I completely agree -- they are so fun to work on and they make such a lovely gift.

    Thanks for visiting my blog so I could discover yours!

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  17. I love the pinwheel block! I have to go find that pattern and do something with it...

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