#alaac19 report

It's been nine years since the ALA Annual Conference was held in Washington.  I looked back in my records:  of the 33 Annuals I've attended since 1984 four have been in Washington.  (I've also been to Washington for three ALA Midwinter Meetings, several legislative days, and WHCLIS -- and three AAUW national conventions.)

Pat and I arrived on Wednesday, June 19. We had time to see the Phillips Collection   that afternoon.  (Two Chicagoans raised on the Art Institute found the Renoir right away.)

The Freedom to Read Foundation met all day Thursday. I've been the liaison to FTRF  from United for Libraries for five years or so. It's a great assignment.

After the Legacy Society lunch on Friday Pat and I went to the National Portrait Gallery .   We enjoyed several of the galleries -- and then everything changed.

 We were hustling along the mezzanine level of one wing.  Pat tripped over an electrical cord (it was taped down; she just stepped wrong), twisted and fell. Hard.  The museum personnel and security guards were great. The DCFD paramedics were great.  The ambulance took us to George Washington University Hospital. We were in the ER for five hours -- x-ray determined broken hip, MRI determined no concussion -- finally a room was available for her.

I went to see her to take her suitcase and before I left. (Annoyingly, the flowers that I ordered on behalf of the Retired Members Round Table were never delivered.) Pat  was in the hospital until Tuesday when she was released to a rehab facility in DC.  It will be two or three weeks until they deem it safe for her to fly (or be driven) home to Chicago.  Her brother is her next of kin and he and his family will arrange for that stage.  DC-area library friends have visited and will provide on-site assistance.

Meanwhile, the conference continued!  In addition to committee meetings I went to five book-and-author sessions.  Here I am with Karine Jean-Pierre whose memoir will be published this fall.  (I told her that my husband is one of her biggest fans. She signed a copy of the book to him "with love and respect." He was thrilled. :))

 The Freedom to Read Foundation celebrated its 50th anniversary with a gala reception on Saturday evening.
I used the fREADom banner I made last month in my ad in the program book.




Americans and the Holocaust is the new exhibit at the National Holocaust Museum .  I got an invitation to an after-hours special showing. (They're offering grants to libraries for a touring version.) Americans were well aware of the Nazi persecution but the Federal executive and legislative branches severely limited the number of Jews allowed to emigrate. 















I saw two long-time friends.
I've known Lorene since 1972 -- library school at Mizzou. She's been director of the Beatrice, NE, public library for 42 years. Not retired yet!


In 1981 my husband hired Bob to be government documents librarian at Pittsburg State University.  Bob was appointed dean of the library in 1985. He retired about eight years ago and stayed in Pittsburg though he travels extensively.

Here's a shot of the exhibit floor. 












I shipped five boxes of book and swag.  
They were in the front hall when I got home.

Next post:  quilts and post-conference adventures!

Weekly update: RSC, Block Lotto, and daisies

The AAUW summer luncheon was Tuesday.  There's a silent auction and a 50/50 cash raffle, too.  I donated several canvas tote bags (library conference souvenirs), some miscellaneous treasures and book, and two quilts.  The proceeds raised $959 for our STEM scholarships given to graduating senior girls.  (Adding this week's revenue to the money on hand mean that we have three scholarships funded for 2020!) 

The first-ever multi-club Rotary presidential installation was on Saturday at the historic Genesee Theater in downtown Waukegan.   Six area clubs participated, including ours (Illinois Beach Sunrise). After the event there was a behind-the-scenes tour.



















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Here are six "vee" blocks for the June Block Lotto. They're paper-pieced.






I went ahead and made pinwheel blocks out of the remaining colors in the 2019 Rainbow Scrap Challenge.   Here are 92 in black, pink, and purple.  They are now in a box with the previous colors -- red, green, yellow, turquoise, orange, light blue, and dark blue -- 310 6" pinwheels.  I consider them seeds for any number of quilts. Stay tuned!







One of my P.E.O.chapter sisters is moving out of state later in the summer. I made this runner as a going-away gift on behalf of all the chapter.  (P.E.O.'s flower is the marguerite, or daisy.)  The pattern is by Ann Weber and was published in McCall's, June, 2009. (Started Friday, finished Sunday!)

I fussy-cut the centers of the small flowers.

Linking up with
Oh Scrap!
Love Laugh Quilt
Design Wall Monday
Moving It Forward




Happy Father's Day!
Back to college, 1971. 
This essay will tell you all about pocket protectors like those my dad always used.

Weekly update: round robin revealed, progress, uncertainty, and estate sale bargains

I was one of six guild members who participated in a monthly round robin. At this week's meeting we got our projects back.

Here's mine.  Wow!  I'm delighted.

I was only able to get photos of three of the other five. (And the collage cut off the edges of the quilt on the left.)

Linking up to OMG June Finish here . 


My Rainbow Scrap Challenge project this year is to make pinwheels using the monthly color plus gray/taupe/white, one block per day.  I overcut and made 32 dark blue blocks for June.  I also made light blue blocks.   Making both sets was my declared OMG for the month.

(Some of the pinwheels appear to be going in the opposite direction but that's because many of the light blues are lighter than the grays.)




Here's this month's wonky house for the guild BOM.  This is the layout. The design will include sashing.  There will be one more tall block and one more square block.














I finished all the red star blocks for the Christmas quilt. I tried red background. Too much red.  I tried green background. Too much green. I tried white with reds/greens. Pretty busy. I'm not sure if I like the arrangement -- but I've already sewn all the nine-patch blocks. I took everything off the design wall, put it all in a box, and will let it simmer for a while.







Balderdash conducts many of the estate sales in this area.  They have a new gimmick--pay $5 for one of their bags and bring it each time for a discount.  A three-day sale started Thursday: the home of a former music teacher (there were a dozen mountain dulcimers as well as several violins and guitars, and a lot of sheet music) who also did some crafting. I didn't buy anything the first day. I went back on Saturday: 75% off and another 15% with the Balderdash bag.   All of this was $12.50!  The fabric is 15 yards by weight (on the first day it was priced at $3.00 per piece).




 I couldn't pass up this Colonial-revival stitchery.  I'm sure it was a commercially-made piece (clue: the gift shop sticker).  The inscription reads:

To Audrey
Love Nana Ham
June 1984
Nana has had this for many years





Linking up this week with
Monday Making
Design Wall Monday
Oh Scrap!
Rainbow Scrap Challenge

Weekend wildflowers

 I went to  the north unit of  Illinois Beach State Park on Saturday afternoon. My quest:  flags (wild iris).  They differ from hybrid iris in that they grow at water's edge. They come in purple/blue and yellow.   I got a distance photo (see the upper right in the collage).  I also found other wildflowers -- a hybrid iris at the shoreline (how'd that get there?!), phlox, lupine, coreopsis, fringed puccoon, shooting star -- and a mushroom.

When I was driving out of the park I saw a superb stand of yellow flags on the edge of Sand Pond.

It turns out that the yellow variety is an invasive species   The blue ones are native.

Weekly update: it's June! Stash report, a flimsy, and OMG

I included quilt shops on my trip to Peoria (see previous post). Quilt Corner is in Morton, just east of Peoria. It is not open on Sunday so I planned my trip to stop there prior to the convention.
Peddlers Way  in Washington is open on Sunday and I thought I'd go there on my way home. However, I had a window of free time between events on Friday so I zipped over.

I sought two particular fabrics: gold tone-on-tone batik [see it on the right?] and red-on-red for the Christmas stars. (Yes, I have lots and lots of red fabric but not enough of any one red-on-red for this project.)   I found what I needed and bought more that I wanted!

 P.E.O.'s flower is the marguerite, or daisy. It was fitting that I buy daisy prints during P.E.O. convention weekend.

Usually when I drive to and from a meeting in central Illinois I am in a hurry and I don't stop.  On Sunday afternoon I pulled off at Dwight ("the first stoplight from Chicago" on old U.S. 66) to see the Oughton Windmill.

The Prairie Creek District Library is in the carriage house adjacent to the windmill.


A few miles north of Dwight I pulled off again.   I've seen the sign -- and the building -- for  Countryside Village for years.  It's 2/3 gifts (made-in-China, mostly) and candles, jams/jellies, etc., and 1/3 quilting with a great selection.  Two one-yard pieces from the 50%-off section and more daisies.

Mind you, the Countryside Village purchases were in June so they don't count for the stash report. 

I ended the month with a burst of stash enhancement.  In addition to the Peoria-area purchaes, last week I stopped at Salvation Army and bought cotton sheets (twin flat and fitted), white with black stylized flowers -- 8 yards for $3.20.  I was surprised to find out that I'm still ahead in use-vs.-acquisition.

Fabric OUT, May:  62-1/8  (that included 26 yards for the lap quilt project I mentioned last week)

Fabric IN, May: 81 yards, $423  (average $5.18/yard)

Fabric OUT, year-to-date:  238-1/8

Fabric IN, year-to-date: 220-1/8, $893 (average $4.05/yard)

Net reduction: 18 yards

I put the gold batik from Peddler's Way to use last evening.  The batik slab blocks are 9-1/2" unfinished. The flimsy is 59 x 62.  (3-1/8 yards used).

It's time to declare my One Monthly Goal for June.   Absent any particular deadlines, I've decided I will do two RSC months in one.  June is dark blue.  Angela said that light blue will come later.  I'm going to make both dark and light blue pinwheel blocks this month.  I already have the fabric cut (not just the blues but also pink, purple, and black which are the remaining colors). 

Linking up with One Monthly Goal
Design Wall Monday
Monday Making
Oh Scrap!
Moving It Forward

Weekly update: P.E.O. convention 2019

 The 117th convention of the Illinois State Chapter of P.E.O. was held at the Pere Marquette  Hotel in Peoria.

There were 353 "members of convention" -- local chapter delegates (like me), state officers, past state presidents, and committee chairs.  There were 633 visitors (mostly P.E.Os. but also family members).






Friday afternoon: The weather was sunny and not too hot for a brisk walk down to the riverfront. It was a great way to meet other sisters.

I didn't arrange for a roommate so one was assigned. I'd never met Vicki. She's president of a chapter in Moline. It was her first convention.  We got along splendidly....the fact that she's a quilter had something to do with it!






Friday evening's Time of Remembrance included a harpist who plucked a note for each name read during the necrology service.

Saturday morning's business meeting went expeditously.

The Honors Luncheon celebrated 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75 year members -- and there is one 80-year member in Illinois. (That means she is at least 98. She did not attend. :))  But my chapter sister Lenee's mom Katie was there to be honored as a "golden girl."

The afternoon workshops were serious (chapter leadership and officer training) and fun.
Lynn Rymarz and Christine Price portrayed Franc Roads Elliott  and Lulu Corkhill Williams in 1919, meeting at Marshall Field's and recalling the early days of P.E.O. (I saw Lynn in the role of Mary Cassatt just a week ago.)

The Projects Dinner celebrates our philanthropies.

Illinois P.E.O.s gave nearly $700,000 to the International and state projects in 2018-19.  200+ candidates proposed by Illinois chapters received grants, scholarships, or loans. Clare Happel Ashe is a P.E.O. Scholar recipient getting a PhD. in harp performance. She played for us.  (And I had a good sight line from our table in the front corner, where I happened to sit next to another quilter!)

Because we took care of the proposed amendments at Saturday's session, the Sunday morning business meeting was ceremonial:  installation of officers, recognition of the outgoing president, and the announcement of the 2019-20 theme.  The final gavel was at 11:30 and it was time to head home.


I've gotten to know many Illinois P.E.O.s because of my involvement with the Lake County Round Table and my participation on state committees.  My new appointment is  the P.E.O. Home Fund committee.

Virginia (left) is in the Springfield AAUW branch and Sue (center) is an Alpha Gamma Delta sister.

Jane was in the Waukegan AAUW branch for many years.  She retired to Galena and is now a P.E.O. I hadn't seen her since she moved.










Stacy and I are from the same home town.  When she lived close by she and I carpooled to P.E.O. meetings.  Now she lives in another suburb and belongs to another chapter.

From the state archives.  The names on the plate are that chapter's members. The other plate came in three sizes (so read the sign) and was sold as a fundraiser. (Both are hand-painted.)


 . . . . and of course I found fabric.  Read the next post to find out!

Midweek: not finished yet -- but another start!

I'm about 3/4 through with quilting the bullseye stars   It is not going as well as I'd like. I didn't press the top flat enough.  I will wash and dry it on hot in hopes that it will  shrink up enough to make the bubbly quilting less obvious.

Rather than continue to frustrate myself I looked at my quilting to-do list. At the top:  AAUW Christmas Quilt.  (I made the list at random, not in alphabetical order, but AAUW came first.)  I make two raffle quilts to benefit my AAUW branch fundraising. One is at the spring convention (Good Fortune this year) and the other is at the holiday/Christmas party.  Usually I begin thinking about the Christmas quilt in July. Or August. Sometimes inspiration comes slowly.  But this year it came very early.

I saved a photo of a Christmas quilt -- Pinterest, probably -- I don't remember the source. I figured out that the star blocks were 12", 8", and 4".  I may use the layout in the photo, or I may use the layout for the Churn Dash quilt I coordinated for the ALA Biblioquilters*  or I may come up with something else.

Meanwhile, I'm having fun pulling fabrics from the Christmas stash as well as the red and the green shelves.

*  This is the Churn Dash quilt.  Units are 9", 6", 3".
The 4" star blocks for the Christmas quilt are a lot easier to make than the 3" churn dashes.

I'm linking up with Susan's Midweek Makers