#alaac25 in Philadelphia (quilts included)

 

 I've been to five ALA Midwinter Meetings (January/February) in Philadelphia, most recently in January, 2020. This was the first Annual there since 1982.

My first ALA Annual Conference was in 1984. Since the I've missed two (1991 and 2016). 2020 was cancelled and 2021 was virtual. By my reckoning that means this year was #37.  I go to the conference to learn about issues and new books, hear interesting speakers, sightsee, and see friends.  My main involvement nowadays is the Retired Members Round Table.

 Issues:   ongoing threats to access information (from kids to researchers), 

federal budget cuts, 

and the firing of the Librarian of Congress.  

RMRT sponsored a panel about the ways that retirees can (and must!) be vocal advocates for libraries in their communities.  

I popped in for a few minutes at a session of ALA Council, the governing body.  I served on Council for 16 years.  

Books (new and nearly new):

The Carnegie Awards are the adult equivalent to the Newbery/Caldecotts.  (James is my book group's August selection and now I have a signed copy. I look forward to A Walk in the Park)

Left: two of the Literary Luminaries were audiobook narrators so instead of a book there were cards with QR codes for a free download.  

Upper right:  the HarperCollins book buzz is always fun.

Lower right: the Gala Author Tea on Monday afternoon is my last conference event. 

I read The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner on the flight home.  Like her first novel, The Lost Apothecary, it's magical realism set in two centuries. 

Interesting speakers:  there were many.  I couldn't coordinate my schedule to see all of them, but I did get to hear Dr. Brene Brown.

The RMRT President's Program was given by the librarian/archivist at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  She told us how their resources provide documentation and background for the museum's exhibits, using their current special shows about Surrealism and Marcel Duchamp as examples.  

Ann Marie, Nancy, and I thoroughly enjoyed a screening of Rebel With a Clause moderated by writer (and star) Ellen Jovin and filmmaker Brandt Johnson.   They traveled to all 50 states where she set up her grammar table and talked to people, answering their grammar questions and listening to their comments.   

You can watch the trailer here.Theatrical release will be in 2026. Don't miss it!!  Meanwhile, you can read Jovin's book of the same name.

Sightseeing: 

Ann Marie (my roommate), Nancy, Lisa, and I went to Independence Hall. Tickets are free but are timed-entry.  

Lower left: the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House, now called Independence Hall, where the delegates deliberated and then signed the Declaration. Lower right: Congress Hall where Congress met when Philadelphia was the capitol.  (It was originally the county courthouse.) 

Upper right: a bust of Franklin surveys the House chamber at Congress Hall.

We did not see the Liberty Bell. No tickets needed but the line is very, very long.  We contented ourselves with the replica in the visitors' center. 

RMRT sponsors a tour/field trip at each annual conference.  This year we went to the  Rosenbach Library

The tour is open to any conference attendee, hence the younger-than-retired in the group.  

Everyone enjoyed it.

Upper left:  a clock.  Center left: Jane Austen.  Center:  James Joyce (the Rosenbach celebrates every Bloomsday (June 16: Ulysses). Lower left:  the Rosenbachs facilitated the sale of several First Folios but never owned one. These are Second, Third, and Fourth Folios.  Lower center:  the royal charter for the Drury Lane Theatre specifying that women can play women's roles (in Shakespeare's time men played them). Lower right:  British and American first editions of Moby Dick.

Friends:

Just a few....Nancy, Ann Marie, Carrie, Katharine, Larayne....

and a special meet up!  

Late Friday afternoon I took the train from downtown to the suburbs.  Marsha met me at the station and took me to Nancy's house.   (I met Nancy through blogging and Marsha because she is a librarian and a quilter.  They have been good friends (same church, plus quilting) for many years.)  Nancy served supper.  I met her husband Joe.  We four had a wonderful evening.

Nancy wrote about the flag quilt in this post

One quilt leads to another -- in this case sixteen of them.

This year's auction raised $4180 for the scholarship fund. My records only go back to 2013.   2013-2025: $44,513 (plus the 12 years before that). 

From left: Antipodes (one of mine): $500.   Cats: $500. School Colors 1: $175. School Colors 2: $175. Art Class: $100. One Fish Two Fish (stack 'n' whack): $175. Mrs. Tomte: $150. Dragon Reader: $475. Winnie the Pooh: $400. Tall pumpkin (partially hidden): $100. Short Pumpkin: $175. Wreath: $80.

You can see Ann Marie, Lisa's back, and at the far right Nancy's back.  The easels are for artwork donated by illustrators/graphic artists, also to benefit the scholarship fund.

I made these four.  The Beacon: $150. Morning at the Marsh: $250. Churn Dash: $275. Indigo Stars: $500.  

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And then it was Tuesday morning. Time to check out, get to the airport, and fly home.  The return trip went without a hitch. I walked in the door at 2:45.

I shipped just one box of books and swag. It arrived on Thursday. 

I miss having that first reader to greet me . . .

Midweek: stash report and OMG

 I had a wonderful time at the ALA conference in Philadelphia, quilts included. That report will come in a day or two.  

Rabbit, rabbit -- this pair is dressed for the occasion and posed on a quilt.  (I grabbed the photo from a Google images search. I suspect it's a Chinese-made DWR.)  

I made the July block for the guild BOM to take to tonight's meeting.  It's the heart in the center surrounded by the prevous blocks in the series.  

Stash report, June: 

Fabric IN:  126-1/2 yards, $36.  That's .28 per yard.  Lots of rummage sale bargains this month.    Fabric OUT:  63 yards. 

Fabric IN, YTD:  759 yards, $285.00, average .38 per yard.  If I can't keep myself from acquiring fabric then I'd better get good deals, and I certainly have.   Fabric OUT, YTD: 608 yards.  Net gain: 151 yards.  I'd better get sewing! 

My One Monthly Goal for July is to keep up with the BOM, the guild Round Robin, Running Doe Topalong, and RSC purple.  

Linking up with Wednesday Wait Loss and OMG at Stories from the Sewing Room  

Midweek: wildflowers, placemats, OMG

You can't hide from birthdays in the age of social media.  I'm grateful for all the greetings and good wishes.  

Erika treated me to brunch (crepes benedict, which provided supper as well), with a cinnamon roll from the restaurant and some P.E.O. daisies.  

I spent much of the afternoon in air conditioned comfort with a Zoom call and paperwork for Stevens' estate.  It is not at all like the BBC dramas where the lawyer brings everyone together and reveals the contents of the will.  In this case, there are IRS forms, new accounts to open, and at least another Zoom conference to come.

Last week I took all the books off the bookcases in the living room so that the housekeeper could dust and vacuum behind them.  I did some consolidating (his Maine books and my Maine books now share a shelf) and some weeding.  

Yesterday I took the weeded books to Half Price Books.  Yes, I could have dropped them off at my library or any area library, or boxed them up for an AAUW sale, but I wanted to do some shopping at the mall across the road from HPB.   The "half price" is what they resell books for, not what they buy them for so I didn't get much -- and I turned around and applied that to three quilt books. 

And while I was in the neighborhood, relatively speaking, I had a good walk in the shade at Old School Forest Preserve.  83 degrees meant there wasn't much competition on the trail.  

Dogwood, meadow-rue, beardtongue, pagoda plant.

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In the studio:   I made three placemats from the leftovers from  Gator Party

I came across a bag of  4" stars that I made from scraps from a 2023 project, according to the label.  Last evening I sewed a bunch of yellow four-patches for alternate blocks.  I'll add borders to make it baby or wheelchair size.

It's time to report on my June One Monthly Goal:   (a) sort and file recent fabric acquisition -- yes, some but not all!   (b) give fabric away  -- yes, but not a lot!  

This is my last post until next week. I'll be at the ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia--depart tomorrow, return Tuesday. I look forward to seeing friends and getting new books.

Linking up with OMG Finish and Wednesday Wait Loss

Weekly update: celebrating, a field trip, rummage sale, a finish + reading

 

Happy birthday to me!  I look forward to a *prime* year.  

I caught the sunrise (5:17) at the marina this morning. I stuck my toes in the water at the north beach. 

On Friday I took advantage of an unscheduled day and went downtown. "Dressed in History" is on exhibit at the Chicago History Museum featuring items from their costume collection. The garments were donated by Chicagoans, some of whom wore them.   Quite a variety!

The white Dior gown in the center is so elegant! (Worn by a debutante in 1949.)  The donor of the 18th century court dress (lower left) purchased it in the 1920's for $150 ($2700 today). 

The Yves St. Laurent Poliakoff dress, lower center, is timeless.   

Remember how scandalous the topless bathing suit was in 1964?  

CHM used have an endless-loop video of Sally Rand dancing with her fans.  Stevens remembered when we saw it, not so much because of Sally but because we watched two boys (maybe 8 years old) watch, agog when Sally's fan slipped and revealed a glimpse of Sally! 

Lincoln Park Zoo is just north of the Chicago History Museum. I hadn't been to the zoo in many years.  LPZ is a unit of the Chicago Park District and admission is free.  

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I went to the last day of a church rummage sale on Saturday.  $5 for a big white trash bag.  I filled it with two dozen packages of vintage cotton trim (bias tape, mostly), some quilt fabric, and a lot of men's shirts.   

The shirts have been deboned and put in the bin.

Majesty was Ben Franklin brand. Trueworth is labeled McCoy Jones & Co., Chicago. 

In the studio:   the scrappy squares quilt is finished!  

Serpentine stitch quilting following the zig zags. 

I used three different prints on the back. 

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  Our AAUW book group will discuss Real Food Fake Food in July.   From Parmesan vs. Parmiggiano (quite a difference), all the varieties of olive oil, kobe/wagyu/Angus beef, and of course wine -- there are a lot of false claims for the food that we eat. 

I've listened to all the Cork O'Connor series (in order!). This is #20, the 2024 installment.  "Dependable," as Stevens would say, and very good.

Linking up with Design Wall Monday Monday Musings (thanks for the shout out, Brenda), Sew and Tell  Oh Scrap!

STAY  COOL!

Friday check in: it's a flimsy

 

On Wednesday the Zion Woman's Club (Kathy, Jeanne, and I) staffed the t-shirt sales table at Camp I Am Me.  The Illinois Fire Safety Alliance sponsors the week-long overnight camp for children and teens who have suffered burn injuries.  This is the 34th year and there are 52 campers from all over Illinois.  There's no charge to the campers (even transportation is provided).   YMCA Camp Duncan is a century-old campground that used to be way out in the country. 

There was a parade with fire trucks from departments all over the area, sirens wailing.  Brats and burgers for lunch.  

The Zion Park District summer concert series began yesterday with Hollywood Swinging, a tribute band for Kool and the Gang.  Not my usual kind of music but fun (and free!) on a beautiful evening.   Though pushing S across the grass in the wheelchair had become a challenge, I missed his company.  Yes, I could have called around to find a friend to join me but I made the decision to go at the last minute.  Glad I did. 

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In the studio:  it's a flimsy!   

I had to do some ripping and resewing to get the blocks oriented correctly.   I don't think there will be a border.  66 . 72. 6" blocks.

Linking up with Finished or Not Friday

 

Midweek: a day trip, turning up the heat, and WIP

 

On Monday I drove 75 miles west to Rockford for an overdue (get the library joke?) visit to my long-time friend Lynn. She's the executive director of the Rockford Public Library   Her creativity, vision, and hard work for more than a decade resulted in the award-winning Main Library that opened last year.

Lots of natural light. Flexible furnishings. 

  

When Lynn retires later this summer she'll move to this area to be closer to her grandchildren and their parents.  That will be closer to me, too, and we hope to get together more often.

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The heat and sunshine continued into Tuesday.  I combined my walk with some errands so I was out in midday.  

Next time I'll be prepared to wade!

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In the studio:   blocks finished, almost finished with the rows.

My evening sewing is accompanied by binge-watching Outlander.  Seasons 1-6 are on Netflix. I signed up for Starz to get Season 7.  I loved the books and though I read/listened to them long ago I recalled the story right away.   I am forgiving historical inaccuracies because, ohhhh, Jamie!    (I have four episodes left of Season 7.  Season 8 will come out next year.)

We're getting badly-needed rain today. I'm helping at an outdoor event today--I'll take my raincoat!  

Linking up with   Wednesday Wait Loss

Weekly update: wildflowers, blocks and scraps + reading

 I joined the nationwide protest marches in spirit only.  I fulfilled a prior commitment to staff the Rotary booth at the Zion Juneteenth celebration at Illinois Beach State Park.   

After my shift was over I walked along the trail at the south end of the park. 

 

Lupine, Ohio Spiderwort, puccoon, sulfur cinquefoil, prickly pear, a hillside (actually a duneside) of lupine.

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In the studio:   I made 24 blocks for Cynthia's current block drive.   3 yards used.   And now I have an idea for next year's RSC.

I saw a photo of a quilt with this design on a FB group.  I'm using 2.5" squares and 2.5" x 6.5" rectangles.   If I make 121 blocks it will be 66 x 72.

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In 2023 I thoroughly enjoyed Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.  Last week I listened to Vera's second case in which she gives advice for "snooping on a dead man."  The narration by Eunice Wong is perfect.   Vera is in turn infuriating, inspiring, and very determined -- and she's right (most of the time).  

I highly recommend both books (and the audio if you can get them).

Food writer Anya von Bremzen traveled in search of the dishes that define cultures.  Despite shifting national boundaries and melting-pot cities there are deep local roots.  Pot-au-feu in Paris; pizza and pasta in Naples; ramen and rice in Tokyo; tapas in Seville; mole and maize in Oaxaca; meze (dishes with many roots) in Istanbul; borsch in Ukraine and Russia.   I learned a lot, and now I want to read von Bremzen's other books.

Linking up with Design Wall Monday Sew and Tell Monday Musings (thanks for the shout out, Kathleen), Oh Scrap!