You know how some days you just look at work that you did, that you really loved when you completed it, and think—what was I thinking, That’s not much at all?!!? Well, today was one of those days. The placemats I’m making look good. The art….. yep, that ol’ devil self-doubt is back.

Good thing I’m an optimist at heart. My participant’s copy of the I Remember Mama book arrived yesterday. That may be part of it…I looked at the other quilts, and then at Bedtime, and thought–the faces aren’t so good, and I really shouldn’t have used that commercial fabric for my sweatshirt–it’s awful. Would have been better to paint or dye something (or both). But then, I remind myself that I got IN to that exhibit, and it really can’t be so bad if it got in. It’s a privelege to be in the company of the other quilts in that show!

And then, really really really wonderful, is the opening to the 2003 part of the exhibit…the first year. The “kimono” quilt I made for my mom is the first one!!! Wow….
What’s special is that I made this quilt years before I ever dreamed of actually entering let alone getting juried into a national level show, and here it got into the exhibit, and is now the first time I’ve ever been published in a real, honest-to-gosh book….

Now, to do that well again! Guess I’d better stop wallowing and start sketching out ideas ’til I get to a good one, eh?

And…brag on behalf of my friend Deb B.—her guardian angel got start-of-article billing in the new Quilting Arts magazine! I looks great and I’m SO THRILLED for her!

OK…so the numbers don’t quite jive. This is the first evening mug, but the fifth mug. Oh well!I LOVE the home-y-ness of this mug, which I’ve had about 10 years or so. Bought what was nearly a decade’s supply of Sleepytime tea to get the mug with it. It reads on the back “Bread and water can so easily be toast and tea.” Hear, hear!

And I promise I’ll get back to quilting. Probably after the week, since it is National Over-eaters Celebration. And I promised Eli to make him a pillowcase. And I’m making (gag, but …) holiday placemats. And I ran out of red thread and had to order more. Bummer. So I’ll work on the autumn ones, now that autumn is almost over (but I didn’t get the needed remaining fabric until today). And to complete this scene of domesticity, after 22 years with the world’s ugliest Christmas tree skirt—which I made in 1983 of pre-quilted cotton-poly fabric–I may even finally use some of that decade-old Christmas fabric in my stash and make a new tree skirt………

Then when the kids are blessedly in school for three weeks before the next onslaught, I’ll start on my Tableaux quilt…more on that anon.

And happy mashed potatoes and gravy to all!

This one’s for DebR…. Here’s the entire shot of the mug you liked. Believe it or not it is from (gasp, shudder) the gift shop at Yellowstone near Old Faithful! The circle on the front says Yellowstone on the top, National Park on the bottom, and has a moose or elk (indistinct horn structure…you pick) in the middle. I really like the thumb “pad” on the handle. It’s also very large, so usually I don’t fill it all the way. If I do, the tea is tepid (at best) by the time I reach the end of the mug!

Some mugs, by the way, are definitely “morning” mugs. Others, like the Sleepytime mug (more on that one in the next entry), are definitely “evening” mugs. And some are afternoon/evening. This mug is an afternoon/evening mug. Please don’t ask me WHY these mugs go with a certain time of day, they just DO. Like Earl Gray tea is truly an afternoon tea.

What fun…I got to meet Elizabeth, a fellow pirate from aboard a slightly creaky but fun cyber-ship. Elizabeth moved to Maine last year, not long after we moved here, and lives about an hour or so South of me (I’m in Camden, for those who are familiar with mid-coast Maine). We decided to meet for lunch, at Elizabeth’s suggestion at the Thomaston Cafe in (you guessed it) Thomaston….

What FUN…we ate and gabbed and shared projects and were there nearly two hours. Interestingly we were both intrigued by the same thing…Wild Mushroom Hash with poached egg (I like my very well done, she likes hers runny) with home fries. It was quite tasty, a bit tart and tangy. I think I need to go back to this cafe!

Clearly, this lunch thing and getting together needs to happen again. So it’s good news, next month I’m driving down her way and we’re going to a bead store I haven’t visited yet…wooohooo! After seeing her quilts, I now know I need more BIG beads….even “pony” size (size 6 I think) beads are on the small size compared to her beads…and I love the way they work on her pieces. She’s really an embellisher and embroiderer where I am much more a machine quilter….in love with the thread and line. But there’s room to grow…and I think the next thing I need to grow is more beads!

I thought we’d share our lunch, but since the thought of taking my own photo makes me shudder, and since I wouldn’t want to ask someone else to flash their face on my blog on the first lunch (ahem!), I thought this would be a fun phoot. Elizabeth’s long blonde hair was held in place with these great hair ornaments with silver tips with Celtic interlace designs on the top the comb… So for all you pirates out there, here we be…I’m behind the camera, eco is in front of it!

When we moved to Maine, I got a great place to sew (as long as I share it with the guest bed, which is fine since that stores the quilts!). The only drawback is the lack of flat wall space…one side is windows (a good thing), the other side is narrow dormers in a sloping (garage) roof, the far end is two windows in the middle, and the final wall has my “design wall.” The surface area goes up to maybe 7 1/2 feet at the tallest point, maybe 4 feet at the bottom of the slant, and is 6 feet wide (which isn’t bad at all). I still dream of an 8×8 design wall, but for now this is great.

The outsides edges have evolved into bulletin board type of things, with various and sundry bits pinned up on them. The right side is the fun one:

At the top, Deb B’s bird, a b-day gift. Wish you could see the “look” in his French knot eye…he makes me grin! Next are two photos…one taken at arm’s length of me and the boys the day after hubby’s open heart surgery for him to have in the hospital, another kayaking on Lake Megunticook this past summer.

Next are three postcards…a simple yet stunning card by Carol Thompson (mango/fuschia stripes on black–how did she know mango and fuschia are some of my favorite colors?), one of my own Hot August Night cards–a yellow female nude, and Deb Richardson’s Tequila Sunrise with her red toenails and red shoes!

The knight slaying the dragon is Eli’s artwork (he’s 7)…the original drawings are cut out and pinned next to the fabric postcards. I helped him with some of the cutting of the fabrics, but he picked all the fabric, and told me what thread to use and how to quilt it…a collaborative effort!

Finally, Kate Cutko’s flower, using some of her discharged fabrics for the leaves, another b-day present from another of the Frayed Edges. Along with Deb B and Kathy Daniels, the four of us started our mini-group in January, and we are already mourning Deb’s upcoming move to Dallas….we met yesterday and….boo hooooo….the for sale sign was up outside the house. We know she’ll bloom even in the Texas heat, but we’ll miss having her here! But we still have her for at least another three months…….