Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Recent stitching



Poinsettia Baskets. Pattern from APQ. Approx. 24 x 32.
This will likely be my contribution at our AAUW holiday party in December.









Birds in the Air. A wedding gift for Cherie and Justin (he's the son of my college friends Alex and Randy). Cherie wanted black and white. Justin is a Navy pilot, hence the block pattern. This was quilted by Wendy Maston.






(It really is black and white, despite the greenish cast in the photo.)









Maple Leaves. Blocks from an exchange last year. The setting is from a back issue of Fons &Porter. The square-in-a-square border adds interest.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

ALA Annual Conference with Disney and Quilts












(1) Log Cabin Stars; (2) in hot water again (51 years later); (3) Sterling Touch (Jill P. and me); (4) Carol N. and me at M&L Fabrics with the huge conference tote bag; (5) M&L; (6) Jewel Box in batiks
I don't intend to be a twice-a-month blogger, but it seems to work out that way. I took the laptop with me to the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. I had internet access for one day, then managed to screw up the settings and there went connectivity. (Yesterday, thanks to my patient coworker Tara, the settings were restored so here I am.)
The conference itself has been blogged and photographed and reported on, such as here:
Since 1984 I've missed only one Annual Conference (and two Midwinter Meetings). Committee work has kept me busy (especially when I was on the Executive Board) but this time I was able to go to several programs, each of which was very good. It is always nice to reconnect with colleagues and friends--virtual conversations are fine, but in-person is often better.
Disney, you say? The Saturday Scholarship Bash tickets were "twilight passes" to Disneyland. It wasn't exclusive; ALA attendees shared the park with the thousands of other people, but it was no problem. The only previous time I'd been to Disneyland was *1957*. My sister and I both remembered the Mad Hatter's Tea Party ride in Fantasyland -- so I had to go on that one again!
Quilts? But of course! The ALA BiblioQuilters had three quilts in the scholarship silent auction. Several of us took time to go shopping at M&L Fabrics. WOW!! Name brands (Kaufman, Hoffman, Moda, etc.). First run $7.98 and $8.98/yd. Slightly older fabrics $2.98 and $3.98/yd. My mind went blank when I walked in the store: what projects did I want to buy fabric for? How much could I fit in my suitcase? In the end I spent $56 for 14-3/4 yds. Not bad!