Quilting at Minglewood (click for link to their page)

I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Minglewood Lodge near Gretna, Nebraska, with 9 other quilters. We worked on lots of different projects and had a great time. The lodge is new, finished last fall. It is a great spot for a get away like we had, and not too expensive. You could have 11 people stay if two people do not mind sleeping together in a double bed. The rest of the beds are all twin size, two or three to a room. I would like to get another group together that could go during the week.

Quilts

Last fall I decided that I would make quilts for my grandchildren's birthdays, and possibly for children and in-laws. So far I am not too far behind. I made a doggy-themed quilt for Natalie's 2nd birthday in November. Next I made a flannel quilt for my son-in-law for his December birthday. He told me a few times how much he liked the flannel quilt I made for Dave a few years ago, and I have a hard time thinking of a good birthday gift for him, so, when I saw a flannel quilt kit that looked fairly masculine I bought it. Next came Maggie's December birthday and since she likes frogs I found a kit which had frogs prominently featured. These three quilts were well-received, so I was encouraged to keep going with this idea.

Liz had a January birthday and I have a quilt top finished, but have to find backing for it before I can finish it. I did check with her before I started another quilt just in case she wanted something else. I should be able to finish her quilt this week, just a few weeks late. Shelby and Jill have February birthdays and I have a good start on Jill's quilt, but have to shop for Shelby. Jill suggested cats, so that is what I will look for.

Mark lives in Phoenix and I don't think he needs a quilt (didn't ask him though--maybe he does???), so I am not making one for his January birthday. I have a plan for Sam's quilt which won't need to be finished until July, and that just leaves Austin in June.

Whew! What was I thinking?

Retirement

I retired earlier this fall and I have to say that I do not miss work. I miss seeing the folks I worked with, but I do not miss doing the work. I guess that means that it is a good thing I left! So, what have I been doing with my times since I retired?

I read a lot. A few of the books I read get reviewed in this blog--maybe half of them. I have been doing a lot of sewing. I made quilts for Natalie, Rob and Maggie in October, November and December. Right now I am working on a quilt for Baby Floyd Johnson, and I am thinking about the quilts I will make for Liz, Shelby and Jill in the upcoming weeks. I am knitting, but not as much as I thought I would. Probably because of all the sewing I have been doing. There really are a lot of things I want to make. I sometimes go to quilting on Wednesday mornings at the Seward United Methodist Church, and then I stay for the Knitwits meeting. The Knitwits make baby afghans for each baby baptized at the church and prayer shawls and lap robes which are distributed to those who need them.

Dave and I joined the YMCA in Fallbrook (a Lincoln neighborhood). Our plan is to go work out 2 or 3 times every week. So far our workouts have all been the Water Fit class. This is good because we have not hurt ourselves! We have been providing child care for Sammy, who has been sick several times this fall, and that has cut into our workout time. We also spend time with Eleanor. Dave sees her every day; I don't go as often. Maybe after the first of the year we can get back to our original goal, and also try out some of the other classes and equipment.

I spend quite a lot of time on Facebook, and reading various blogs and on-line news, as well as email. I recently "unfriended" about 20 people on Facebook. There were different reasons--some people I really did not know very well and rarely see, so I decided I didn't need to read their postings on Facebook, and some people posted things I found offensive, silly or just plain stupid. My favorite thing to do on Facebook is play Scrabble with my cousin Jim. He has beat me every single game that we have played, but I think I may have a chance in the current game--I believe it is game number six. Fortunately for me, he still wants to play!

One thing we have not done is travel. We talk about place we would like to visit, especially Mexico. Maybe next year.

BVQG newsletter

I wrote a short article for the Blue Valley Quilt Guild October newsletter, so I decided to get a little more mileage from it and post it here:

        What Inspires You?

I like to ask myself that question now and then. The answers vary widely depending on my circumstances. A cup of coffee at 7:00 a.m. is very inspirational! Not so much at 10:00 p.m. I am writing this on a day that follows several days of inspirational fall weather. It has been absolutely beautiful outside—the colors and the temperature combining to make glorious days.

What inspires you to create a quilt? Seeing beautiful quilts displayed gives me lots and lots of ideas about things I would like to try myself. Threads Across Nebraska offered an opportunity to do that earlier this month. While there I purchased fabric (on sale—this is often inspirational for me!) and a book. I watched a vendor demonstrate a process I am anxious to try. I was inspired! At our meetings we get inspired by speakers who let us in on their sources of inspiration and their particular ways of getting the results they are looking for. One of my favorite parts of our BVQG meetings is “Show and Tell” where you show what you have been working on and we can see the results of your inspiration.

A deadline can also be the inspiration that pushes me to finish a quilt. What about you?  We have a deadline looking us in the eyes right now: Our “Bits & Pieces” Quilt Show is literally just around the corner. Could this deadline be the inspiration you need to finish a quilt or make something for our boutique? I know our quilt show will be an inspiration for everyone who comes to see it.

Working with friends is also inspirational for me.  I will miss working with outgoing president Diane Swartzlander and newsletter editor Katy Coleman. Thanks ladies for being an inspiration in so many ways for our guild. I am anxious to see what you will do next!  I look forward to being inspired by incoming vice-president Becky Wallroff and newsletter editor Mary Robbins. 

Pender "Barn" Quilts

Click to see a bigger image.
Dave and I drove to Pender, NE today to look at the "Barn" quilts that are hanging all over town, and also out in the rural area, a part of the town's 125th anniversary, or Quasquicentennial. This project started when several women from Pender went on a road trip through Iowa and spotted unique quilt block creations painted on barns. They put their heads together, designed and made 8 of the quilt blocks to display in Pender. Their idea caught on and now there are 147 quilt blocks in Pender and 40 out of town. We took a few pictures, but it was overwhelming since there were so many. It seemed like there were more houses with blocks than without.
We also checked out the quilt show at the Legion Hall. A nice variety of quilts, old and new, were displayed.

Staying at home

Since I am on hiatus from my job I find I am spending a lot (most!) of my time at home. This has led to a large amount of sewing: I am done piecing a quilt for Dave and am considering how I will quilt it. His birthday was on Monday and the quilt was not finished, but he knows it will be soon. I am gardening quite a bit as well, and this morning I am making strawberry jam with berries picked this morning from our little patch. Since we found that we can stream movies from our Netflix subscription through our Wii to watch them on our television we are spending quite a bit of time watching movies.