Busy life, wouldn't have any other way!

I was lucky to be invited to the Northern Lights Quilt Guild in Lebanon, NH.  A beautiful ride and awesome sunset and falling star on my way home. Great idea for the Program Chair to take me out to dinner because most of us come to your towns and don't know where to eat, especially, if you just driven 2 or 3 hours.  I usually drive thru McDonald's!
I am always amazed how helpful members are in dragging my heavy suitcases in for my trunk show and always thankful! especially grateful, when they pack it all back up and help lug it out into the car!
I calculated that there is 3000 yards of fabric in my coats and quilts and misc stuff I bring.
The hats were a big hit and many members wore them with different jackets !
I am so thankful to be asked as it allows me, over and over again, of how much I have created  but it also puts pressure to create something new!
I made a Creature Comfort vest, yes, a swamp vest, this week because I bought an alligator rhinestone necklace that needed a vest to show it off!   I made an alligator soft sculpture scarf to wear too!  Just need to sew the teeth and claws on it before I post!
more later........

Hitting the wall!

Back again
Have you ever had a span of a day or weeks where you are so busy doing multiple things and then, one night, you hit the wall!
In the last 2 weeks;  (pictures will follow of these events)
I planned and hung  a quilt show at the Fitchburg Art Museum, and volunteered to make a floral interpretation os an African Mask during Art in Bloom
Made colonial era dress for my grand daughter and my daughter-in-law
Did a Selvedge Queen Trunk show in Waterford, CT, far away
Planning a tea for our Museum's Founder for 40 people
Did my President thing at Material Girls Quilt Guild meeting
Brought my oldest sister, finally, for hearing aids, long in coming
I spent 5 long hours in Ikea with 15 month old grandson to buy all the bathroom fixtures for renovation. Imagine pushing a carriage and and cart with all kinds on boxes and asking a 15 month old to hold on to it and he did!
Cleaned out every closet in my small camp  and stacked the stuff everywhere in my small camp for Plumber to finally begin our renovation again.  No more lone toilet sitting in the middle of the closet.  Entire inside of camp incased in plastic dust walls!
Packed for a quilting getaway with another guild.  The only thing I sewed for my self were 2 elephant pillow cases and a NICU blanket.
My other sister hit me up to make another  arm sleeve, to cover puppeteers arm, for a puppet. This was puppet number 4.   I spent 4 hours attaching an arm sleeve to a rubber flower!  You can't sew through rubber.  I told her no more!  Puppets were not my passion!
I was tired, I did not pay attention to another member's request to help machine  quilt a "small" lap quilt for the hotel owner's 80th birthday.  So flippantly I said that if no one else volunteered I would!  Ha! twin sized and it took me 7 hours to quilt on a very small travel Janome with 4.5" space between needle and side of machine.  I never quilt even my own!
I need a getaway from the getaway!

The best part of the week was doing my Selvedge Queen talk to the Clamshell Quilt Guild in Waterford, Ct.  I was able to meet some people before as they invited me to dinner, great ides because the speakers travel far and wide and this is not a familiar place so we tend to drive through places to get fast food.  Ride was long and I got lost but many people helped wheel my show in and unpacked.  When it came to time to pack up again they did it all and actually  the bags had extra room in some of!  Impressive.  They have a male President and, I have had a male model before at A Quilters Gathering 2 years ago,  I thought it would be great if he modeled too!  He did and he was awesome, such a good sport as his members really laughed oveytime he went around the room.

The one great thing about doing trunks show is that you meet such wonderful people and I always try to stay for the meeting and show and tell.  It makes me realize that you may believe your guild is the only one that needs more volunteers, money, fundraisers, etc.  But i see that we have all the same issues and it is always great to see how others resolve theirs.
Enjoy the sunshine
Jessica

Holding on to cart at IKEA

Fitchburg Art Museum quilt show

I sewed the belt and and breasts!

My Art In Bloom interpretation of an African Mask!

Colonial Days

New hair color!

Clamshell Quilt Guild talk

came home to plastic house!!!!

No Puppets are not my passion, and sewing through rubber is not either!

Spring, but, ice storm cometh!

I live in New England and, in a place that has its on weather,  we expect ice in April and May too.  Just don't want it anymore as this winter was brutal.  I live on a lake and our Heron returned and I watched him try to find open water, what he did find was some ones ice fishing hole!

I have been to 3 getaways and worked on the same Judi Niemeyer quilt at each and will bring it to my next one too!  I am making my son and his wife a queen size one and even though paper piecing is accurate it takes time.

This week  I am curating a quilt show with the Material Girls Quilt Guild at the annual Art in Bloom weekend at the Fitchburg Art Museum, where I am a docent as well and also interpreting an African Mask with my handwoven basket, using batik wax prints selvedges, of course, and dried material and a lone white orchid.  I will send pictures after I finish it and hang the show!

I have been fixated on the Sci Fi Channel, disaster movies and the Vikings.  I guess a long winter will force you to feel better by watching this!

I will be making my grand daughter  a Colonial dress for her class's special week on reliving this historic period.  She told her teacher that her "member" would make her a special dress and wants it in purple!  I guess you could say that a eggplant could have been used for a dyeing compound!  Also she wants to be a lady......... don't even want to think about the reason.... maybe she doesn't want to do house work like me...........
I made 2 quilts for Art in Bloom and have almost finished a raffle quilt for an environmental group, WEST, in my area, that is being saluted for its 25 year of local diligence.  To think that they formed, when I was a Selectwoman and I can't believe it was so long ago.  Time flies when you are really living it!

Please check out these websites as they are quilt shows that I am hanging and also showing my work.  Of course I have entered a vest that is still wandering around in my head so it can be started.  Think alligators!   fitchburgartmuseum.org,  materialgirlsquiltguild.org and quilters connection.org,  for info and dates and times.

If you are looking to  see one of my talks please check out the calendar that I am in the process of revising!  (I have to figure out to do that and then it will get posted!"

I have gotten better with my procrastination complex and have thing done at least 2 weeks before they are due.  We should congratulate ourselves when we actually do it!  In the middle of closet renovation and went to IKEA today and bought what I need in anticipation of the plummer and electrician and son, the contractor coming soon.  Just like the real spring, flowers, raking black flies will be too.

Enjoy
Jessica

Promised Resolutions already gone!

OK.................../././././././?????
I know I said I would write more and go to the gym, well....... didn't happen yet.  The good thing about making and keeping resolutions is that you can stop and start many times as long as you keep  trying.  There are 2 songs on the radio about the word Try and one, by Colbie Callait,  has to do with accepting and liking yourself, that you "don't have so try so hard" because you should like yourself and the second is about continuing to try, by Pink, no matter what.  So I will go to the gym as soon as the snow stops falling a foot at a time and I will try,  and see, I am writing!  Trying........

Dolls from my Naughty Friends doll making years!

Since last I wrote I went on a getaway, 10 miles from my camp and house and I did stay for 3 days.  Much better to stay at the getaway as you can sew for 14 hours straight and get a lot finished!

Made a "Monster" quilt for a new grandson, Reese, who will be arriving in February and I recontinued, a new word,

The getaway and the Monster Quilt for new grandson Reese!

I used a pattern for most and a few are my own plus I dressed them like family!

Judy Niemeyer easy Desert Sky, well as easy as it gets!

the Judy Neimeyer, paper pieced Desert Sky one, that I started last January.   I made  30 blocks!  (This, of course, is the easier of her patterns and if you were making a King size quilt for a family, with 3 children, who jump on the bed, you would too!)  I also started my Material Girls Quilt Guild Mystery quilt and, low and behold, I screwed that up in the cutting!  Don't ever rely on pictures and
never use 10 year old fabric that you will never be able to match, but I will try try try so hard..... to continue,  no matter what!

Grinch hat!

Snow shoveling in the Elephant hat!

 45 stairs shoveled of 20" of snow!

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Meanwhile, the husband has been gone since January 4th and does not return until February 7th,  so I have been shoveling 40 some odd steps, uphill, 2 decks and path up the driveway.  He bought me an easy small blower to do the decks and lower walkways but the problem is the snow, rushes and twirls like a tornado, across the lake and hits me front and center.  The snowblower's vent is tilted toward the lake and,  thus, it blows back and I end up looking like the abominable Grinch or elephant depending on which hat I grab!

I also made 2 more "Minkie" blankets, one for new grandson, Reese, and one extra, in case someone has a baby boy as  I do have an extra "girl" one from when everyone seemed to have girls.  First time I am ahead of the baby gifts.  Quilt and Minkie blankie!

Decided the Grinch bedding and Grinch and Snow Miser and Heat Miser critters had to go into hibernation and will now make Zebra pillow cases for  8 bed pillows to match the African theme going on in there still.  The grass  bedskirt needs to go as it is falling apart  and will try to figure out how to get the 2 queen size Memory Foam mattresses off the bed to put a new linen bedskirt on I have planned to make, notice the word, planned!

Patriots won and I held my iPad up to the Tv so my husband, who is in China, could watch the final winning moments, exciting plays for both teams!!!!  I did not watch the beginning as I was watching "Best In Show" dog movie and I don't really like dog movie but this one is special!  Plus I am not into football!

Well, now to watch the weather and plan my fashion wardrobe for tomorrows shoveling!

Grand daughter, 9 going on 17 and dressing like a New Yorker,  from NYC Strawberry Fields Memorial in Central park, a favorite place for us!

jessica

Stay safe and warm, eat Girls Scout cookies!