Tuesday, March 16, 2010

So much to look forward to!

I started my day with a quick stop at the local coffee shop for a cup of Irish Nut coffee - after all, my name is Erin, so I should at least be an honorary Irishman (well, woman). We also had lots of green food at work today - I contributed green grapes, but there was a veritable green food smorgasborg! Yum! I enjoy celebrating every holiday!

As I mentioned in my last post, my twin sister and I are going on our third annual "Moms Only" retreat in a couple of weeks. We are heading up to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, hoping to learn more about Amish culture and, of course, quilting! Here's where we'll be staying, The Churchtown Inn.
And check out the fun room we picked out for ourselves - I can't wait to explore all the different fabrics in those whimsical (and not terribly Amish) quilts!


I wanted to be sure to have something small to take along to hand quilt, so I put a quick top together this weekend. My brother-in-law is going to become a father this summer, so I figured that a baby quilt was in order. I pulled out 49 of my brightest 4" squares and sewed them together, then added an off-white border. I've been wanting to try some freehand baptist fan quilting, and I'm thinking this might be the project to start with. I wanted lots of blank space to show off the quilting. I worry that perhaps it is too much white space, though - what do you think? Should I throw some applique on there?


My current "leader and ender" project is my Ribbon Quilt. I now have about 4 rows sewn together, and you can tell which ones they are - right where the pattern seems fractured. I am enjoying this quilt, but I'm ready to have something else on the design wall, so I may need to move this up to my number one priority quilt.


I'm anxiously awaiting some new quilt fiction releases - The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini in April, A Thread So Thin by Marie Bostwick in April, and State Fair by Earlene Fowler in May. In the meantime, I went online to see if I could find some other quilt fiction that I don't have yet. It turns out that I missed the release of Arlene Sachitano's Quilt As You Go, so I'll need to order that.

Plus, there are two quilt mysteries out there by Barbara Graham that I've never heard of - Murder by Serpents and Murder by Artifact. I need to order those, too.

I love finding "new-to-me" quilt fiction. Have any of you read these Barbara Graham books?

Well, laundry and dishes and dirty bathrooms and dirty floors are calling to me. I need to go find some earplugs. Then I'll be back to catch up on blogs!

6 comments:

Becky said...

Awwww Erin.....can you make me a triplet for a while and take me to Lancaster??? I have been several times...but always with a hubby in tow and that makes for NO quilty anything!!! I can't wait to hear all about it!!! I am unfamiliar with Barbara Graham, but I am a friend of hers on the quilt with us site. I'll be anxious to hear how you like her books.

Hazel said...

The room is lovely ,just look at those quilts on the beds. You work so hard you deserve a vacation , have fun with your sister .

Char said...

Hi Erin, Barbara Graham is a member of Quilt With Us, like I am.

I hope you enjoy your time in Lancaster. I'm not that far away from Lancaster, so we go all the time. If you get a chance, make sure you visit my favorite quilt shop, Zooks.

Char said...

Erin, I forgot to say I like the quilt like it is.

Anonymous said...

Have fun with your sister! Is she still quilting? Yes I'd put some applique on the baby quilt. Do you have the Jennifer Chiaverini books? I'm behind in the series and I'd love to borrow if I could.

Em said...

Erin, Your quilt on the design wall is huge and breathtaking. I LOVE amish country and wish I was going also!!!! So thrilled to see you back in the world of blogs and quilts!!! Love, EM