Thursday, January 24, 2008

Sewing and Reading

I have been cocooned in my sewing room for the past two days, finishing up two quilt tops and cutting out another. I have finished the deer fabric Yellow Brick Road, including borders and backing, and also added the borders to my Lilly Pulitzer fabric quilt and made the backing. One of these will go on the Gammill today. It might have to be the Lilly: its bright cheerful fabrics will be a solace for cold winter days!


The one I cut out is using up lots of the other deer/mountain related fabric. I am a little tired of Yellow Brick Road, so I pulled out another Atkinson pattern, Lucky Stars. This one also uses fat quarters cut into strips. This is the quilt on the pattern and the website. I am thinking of combining flannel and regular cotton in the top. Anything wrong with that?


Bonus: Much more space in the sewing room after cutting up all those fabrics and making backings!

While I have been sewing, I have been listening to the audiobook, On Agate Hill by Lee Smith. I love to read books by North Carolina authors, and Lee Smith is certainly a master story-teller. This book follows Molly Petree from her girlhood on a plantation during reconstruction days, to her adult life teaching school. Guess where? In Ashe County, North Carolina! Huge smiles as I listened about living in Jefferson, NC in the late 1800's. Of course this is where we go shopping when we are in the mountains at our cabin. I want to go to the sewing room and make some bindings before quilting on the Gammill, just so I can listen to the end of the story.

When we got back from the very same Ashe County on Monday, I had a Voice message from a woman in my Cary High School class with information about our 40th Re-Union. Yikes! That seems impossible! Our re-union will be very informal, a pig-picking followed by a DJ and dancing. This is to occur on the day we return from our annual beach vacation. Usually that is a day to unwind after frantic packing, traveling, and unpacking. I may be attending by myself if I can't talk DSH into going. I live about 45 minutes from Cary in non-rush hour traffic, and may join the group of planners at the monthly lunch meetings. How fun to re-connect with old school chums.

2 comments:

Vicki W said...

Wow! You have been supremely productive!

Cathie said...

Hi Jeanne.
Love your stars quilt. I checked up on those Lily Pulitzer fabrics and purchased a few -- but I want yardage so I have to search some more. I love Lee Smith -- I took a Southern Literature Class at NC State a few years ago and had the pleasure of meeting her. "White Linen" is one of my favorite books she wrote. She makes appearances at Quail Ridge (an independent bookstore near the outer beltline) every year or so I think.
You've been extremely productive as Vicki said -- what a great life!