First Egg!!

So, on a whim, I opened up the hens' nest box...

 Omg!I don t even know what to say... I found this!
It's the most beautiful egg ever.  Light blue-green.  My hens were just as amazed as I.

This is the mama.  Allison.  She's the most beautiful, and yet most aloof.

 The kids were thrilled.
And it happened on the day my mother was born, July 17th.   Rest her soul.  She would be over the moon with such confirmation of the world's goodness. (We never had colored eggs like this from the brood we raised on the Cape.  Just weird shaped eggs from an old hen named Big White.)  I miss my mom especially today.  It's been 21 years since she's been here. So you can imagine my utter delight when I opened the egg box and saw this perfection.  As my stage manager once put on the call board on the last night of our production of THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH:  "As it was in the beginning, Is now and ever shall be, World without end, Amen, Amen."
I feel close to the cycle of Life today.

And then there is this. It's nearly killing me.  But it proceeds.

How cool is that? 64 excruciating blocks. But it's rockin', no? (I hate it, but I know it's good)

Sorry, I can't stop thinking about that egg...

I wish there was a quilt equivalent, but, no, I get it.  There is nothing as remarkable as an egg.

breathe, sooz...

My birthday present to myself came this week!! My family thought I was having some kind of weird attack when they saw me nearly hyperventilate when I saw this.  But, really:  Its a whole BOX!  From HARTS FABRIC!  I opened it, and that's when I thought I would pass out...

Do you see what I see?

Oh yeah, baby...

The whole freaking line.  Half yards.  My heart is palpitating just writing about it now.  My friend Meg (my true stitchywitchy sis) just stopped by and told me I should write myself a "Thank You!" letter.

Dear Me,
Thank you for giving me half-yards of the whole line of Heather Ross' "Far Far Away II".  I like it even more than I thought I would. You rock.
Love, Me.

So I have to move a couple of projects out of the studio before I'm allowed to wallow in FFA2.  Good thing it's July and I can stream the Tour de France whilst I work on my heinous string quilt.

Maybe you can't see, but that's Lance in the Alps.  Oh, how I love the Tour...
And I caught up with Amanda Jean's Quilt A Long.

That's gonna be pretty.
Now I've gotta go mail my letter to myself...hee hee...

oh me oh my

Yes.

This is a good indication of a fine day.

This confirms it.

Ben dropped off Ella with me today, as  I am putting in the final push to get the Chatham house ready for 6 weeks of renters. Painting, cleaning, supervising handymen (who happen to be somewhat unhandy, but that is a different story...)

I was so happy to see my Little Little, as I call her, as I haven't seen my family for  a few days, and she seems to be missing me a bunch now.  Maybe it is the new teeth growing in that makes her want to be with her mama?

I had brought up the quilt that is now finished (and for sale!) and when the heat broke this evening, I grabbed it and said to Ella, "lets go to the beach!  Isn't it awesome to be somewhere where you can just say that and make it so?

To the beach we went.

We had a most excellent photo-shoot for the quilt, and for her, but I'm saving most of those pix for Etsy, and my 13th anniversary with aforementioned hubby.

But I'll tell you one thing:  now I know why the pattern is called "new wave".  I mean, just look at that...! 

I feel so blessed....

a pilgrimage and a design wall!

I can't believe I've been quilting for 15 years and have never made the pilgrimage to Lancaster County quilt and fabric shops.  Oh sure, I'd gone out to take in the gorgeous farmland, ogle at the Amish, and indulge in fresh produce and shoofly pie.  But the Amish are also known for their striking quilts, and as the tourism has grown around their lifestyle, several amazing fabric and quilt shops draw crafters from up and down the East Coast.

Amish quilts are usually simply, traditionally designed, with bold, saturated colors, highlighted by the signature black sashing and borders.  So I was surprised (and elated!) when I walked into the Old Country Store and saw this!

My dear friend and stitchy-witchy sister, Megan, was my partner in crime.  In fact, the pilgrimage was her idea, her birthday present to me.

We didn't hold back...
We became giddy....

.... and a little immature...

but at the end of the day, we'd gathered some goodies...

The rows and rows of Kona could not be ignored...

And I just adore the border on these... another skirt is in my future...

I promised my daughter a little somethin' somethin'...

 Meg and I split a Tula Pink layer cake.  We're looking forward to making sister quilts!



And we went back the next day and did even more damage.

So when I got home, I exercised great restraint and, instead of immediately cutting into my new acquisitions, I put together the design wall I've been wanting and needing for a while now.

A frame custom fit to my wall space, about 64" x 64".  I used 1x3's, painted them a nice purple, cuz that's how I roll...

I cut up some 6 ft x 2 ft foam insulation to fit in the "frame". 
I mounted the frame on the wall first, separate from the hard foam.  Then I glued the foam pieces together, covered the pieced panel first with an old cotton sheet (to give it a bit more structural integrity), and then stapled the batting on.

Then I screwed the finished panel to the wall, inside the frame, and voila!

And it really works! Even big blocks stick up there easy peasy.


I don't know how I went so long without it!  Notice my crazymomquilts Quilt A Long block in the upper right hand corner?

And the promised fairy project in progress on the right...

(I can't tell you about the blocks on the left...yet...)

Now... back to those goodies from Lancaster!