Weekly update: picture books, some surprises, remembering + MQG swap #2

The special exhibit at the Dunn Museum opened back in October.  I finally went to see it on Friday, two days before it closes. (Hmm. I went to last summer's big exhibit at the Art Institute a couple of days before it closed.)

The Dunn Museum is a division of the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Museum programming includes county-wide history (the annual history symposium (Zoom) this month was great), natural history, and traveling exhibits like this one.  Just $3 admission for seniors.

So many familiar and favorite illustrators were included.  You may not know their names but surely you recognize their art. Top: Wesley Dennis, Garth Williams, Feodor Rojanovksy.  Center:  Richard Scarry,  Gustave Tengren, Dr. Seuss. Bottom: (unnamed) Dick and Jane, Alice & Martin Provenson, Gerald McDermott. 

Saturday morning I went to Northbrook, my hometown, for the celebration of life for Judy Hughes who passed away in December.   She was the president and director of the historical society for decades, a school board member, a Rotarian, and so much more.  Judy and Mike and their new baby moved to the house at the end of our block in 1963 when I was 11.  That's practically forever ago!  Though I went off to college and work out of state and our family home was sold in 2002, knowing that Judy and Mike were still on Lincoln Ave. was an anchor.  They were wonderful neighbors!  (Judy always remembered that my mother was the first person to welcome them.)    And it's still their house; at the memorial service Mike said it's too soon for him to make any plans.   My sister came to the memorial service as did the Schulz "kids" who lived next door to us (all three of them moved away long ago, too; their mother is now in memory care).   It was providential that I went to the Northbrook Historical Society open house in November where I chatted with Judy.  She told me quietly that she was in treatment for cancer, and it turned out that the cause of death was a brain bleed, not the cancer.

There's a quilt shop in Northbrook!  I'd never been to it so after the memorial service I checked it out.   The shop owner is Maureen O'Connor. You may recognize her from her YouTube channel, The Opinionated Quilter.   (I've recently discovered a wealth of YouTube quilting videos....topic for another blog post.)   She was there so I met her in person.  But I didn't buy any fabric, not even a tempting bundle in the sale bin.

Still on my way home I went to Maggie's estate sale in Waukegan.  She passed away last year at age 97.    I'd known her for a long time, through P.E.O. and AAUW friends.   Maggie was a wonderful artist -- oils, mostly, but also drawing, knitting, and sewing. 

Look what I found!   This is the first time I've been to an estate sale and found pieces that I made in the sale!  

I made the daisy wallhanging as a thank you gift for Maggie when she gave a program for my P.E.O. chapter.  (It's signed and dated--2005.)  I made the tote bag and filled it with books for her 90th birthday party in 2017.  

I did not buy either one ($30 and $40). (I did buy a like-new Talbots linen shirt-jacket.) 

# # # # #  I still have the brown batik fabric that I used in Maggie's tote bag.  And batiks are all over my cutting table right now. 

I thought that the brown necktie bowtie wall hanging would be my half of the MQG  mini swap.  But something kept nagging me--silk is elegant but not really "modern."  A new idea occurred, the batiks were out, and in an afternoon and two evenings I made another mini.  I will only show a part of it because it's a surprise.  (I won't mail it until next month.) 

The neckties 

It can be argued that batiks aren't really "modern," either, but the wonky crumbs and wavy, close quilting tip that way.  

Did I say batiks?  There are now 23 TATW blocks on the design wall.   I need to make 37.   I've gotten the hang of the construction.  

Linking up with Design Wall Monday Oh Scrap! Monday Musings Sew and Tell

P.S.   This was taken January 18, 2025.  We never forget the birthdays of the people we love the most.