Me Time ~ May 31, 2011

My last Me Time until mid July

I stopped in to visit my

friends at Me Time today.

Here is a pretty

black & white quilt.

We worked on fabric placement

for a batik project.

We got to see this

beautiful scrappy quilt.

Here is a close-up. 

The small squares

are 1/2".  Yikes!

A selection of Kaffe Fassett

fabrics.  I love the blue one

on the right that looks like

folded paper fans.

Someone's future project.

Someone's scraps turned

to beauty.

A completed Sue Spargo project.

Another good use of scraps.

A lovely collection of

Tula Pink fabrics.



Memorial Day

A Day of Remembrance

Here in the United States, on the

last Monday in May we celebrate

Memorial Day.  It used to be called

Decoration Day and graves of soldiers

were decorated but now it is a day

to reflect and think about all of our

soldiers, past and present.

This photo is of my Dad,

Mike Smanko who served in

the Army Air Corps in World War II.

Here he is driving a jeep

in Naples, Italy in 1945.

On the back of this one is written,

The best of luck Pal.

My Dad sure looks happy, the

other guys not so much...

This one says  Naples, Italy 1945.

There is the old saying, that war is hell.

But I don't think that was the case for

my Dad.  As a young guy who had spent

much of his life suffering through the

effects of the Great Depression, I think

this experience was a grand adventure.

Later in life he would tell us endless

stories of the war.  He got to travel around

the USA, then went overseas to North Africa

and Europe.  He loved Italy and took my

Mom back years later to Italy and

Germany to show her where he had been.

I love this picture where we can see the

tin cups and plates they used ~ he had

lots of stories and bad names for the food.

This is my Dad's dog on the hood

of an Army jeep, his name was

C-ration.

Here are all the guys, my Dad is on

the ledge in the back row.  I assume

this is in Italy somewhere,  I know I

have readers in Italy, if anyone recognizes

the dome of that church, please tell me

where it is, I'd love to visit there.

I have never been able to think of the day

as one of mourning.  I have never quite been

able to feel that the half-masted flags were

appropriate on Decoration Day.  I have

rather felt that the flag should be at the peak,

because those whose dying we commemorate

rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed

it.  We honor them in a joyous, thankful,

triumphant commemoration of what they did.

Benjamin Harrison

So, wherever you may live, think about

a soldier today and the sacrifices they

have made to keep us all safe.

Happy Memorial Day from this

American Homestead.



Civil War Remembered ~ Block 22

Blockade

We are quilting along with Barbara

Brackman's 2011 Civil War quilt.

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

In the United States we are celebrating

Memorial Day this weekend so I

used patriotic colors in my block.

Happy Memorial Day!

Here in Indiana we are having the

100th running of the Indy 500 race.

Fabric Requirements:

Fabric A: Blue

 5 - 3 1/4" squares - Mark

a diagonal line on back.

Fabric B: Red

5 - 3 1/4" squares - Mark

a diagonal line on back.

Fabric C:  Blue & Cream

2 - 3 1/4" squares

Fabric D:  White with Red & Blue

2 - 3 1/4" squares

Fabric E:  White with Blue

2 - 3 1/4" squares

Pair 3 1/4" squares in

the following combinations:

1 - C/B - press to the C fabric

   1 - A/C - press to the C fabric

  2 - A/E - press to the E fabric

  2 - A/B - press to the A fabric

  2 - B/D - press to the B fabric

Sew 1/4" away from each side

of drawn line.  Cut on drawn line

and press seam following the

guide above, this will help you

achieve more precise points.

Square to 2 1/2".

Make 4 Patch Units:

Layout 2 4-patches as shown

and sew together in 2 rows.

Press seam in row 1 to the left

and seam in row 2 to the right.

Then sew rows together and

press this seam open to reduce

bulk.  Make 2 of each 4 patch.

Square to 4 1/2".

Layout 4-patches as shown and

sew together in 2 rows.  Press row

1 to the left and row 2 to the right.

Sew rows together and press this

seam open to reduce bulk.

Square to 8 1/2".

Check out everyone's work on

Dustin's Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/civilwarquilts2011/

Here's another one.

Here is a Blockade quilt.

By changing fabric placement you

can get an entirely different look.



The Load Out

That Year Went By So Fast!

We are lucky to live in a state

that is doing something right

as far as education is concerned.

Each year, Indiana takes 150

of its top Junior and Senior High

School students and puts them

on a college campus for their

final 2 years of High School.

And our son Brennan was one

of the Juniors this year at

the Indiana Academy of Science,

Mathematics and Humanities.

Brennan & Sarah

Today was graduation for

Seniors but also the day

everyone had to be out of

the dorm.  It was a bit chaotic.

There were tons of loft beds

and computers and microwaves

and mini fridges.  I remember

going off to college with a trunk and a

bunch of art supplies.  I had one of

those little metal containers with a

heating element in it so I could heat

up water ~  what were they called?

Rob taking apart the loft bed

 so we could fit it in the car.

Sarah, Ranshitha & Brennan. 

All the kids are so sad to be apart

for the summer, but in the blink

of an eye, they will be moving in

again in August.

Farewell Academy!

We will see you in a few months.

By the time these kids actually

go to college we will be pros at

dorm moves...

The Rose

What's in a name?  That which we call

a rose  By any other name would

smell as sweet. ~ Juliet

In the summer of 1995

I planted some roses

in our yard.  It was our

first summer here at Avalon.

The rose that grew in this

spot was pretty, it was a

coral color but had no scent.

Last year, a completely different

rose grew in this spot.  I guess

this plant reverted to its root stock.

But the great thing is this rose

is so much better than the other

one!  It is a deep pink color with

an intoxicating old fashioned

rosey scent.  I love it!  It reminds

me of the scent of roses when I

was a little girl.  I loved to visit

people who lived in old houses

with old gardens.  There would

always be beautiful old roses

bushes that smelled delicious.

I plan to take these roses

with me today as I move from

room to room.  And tonight

I'll put them next to my bed

and hopefully dream of a

rose covered cottage.

If I had a rose for every time I thought

of you, I'd be picking roses for a lifetime.

Swedish Proverb

Words of Wisdom: The Moscow Rules

Or How To Be A Good Spy

The Moscow Rules are a set

of rules said to have been

developed by the CIA to be used

by spies and others working

in Moscow during the Cold War.

The Moscow Rules

1. Assume nothing.

2.  Never go against your gut.

3.  Everyone is potentially

under opposition control.

4.  Don't look back; you are

never completely alone.

5.  Go with the flow, blend in.

6.  Vary your pattern and stay

within your cover.

7.  Lull them into a sense

of complacency.

8.  Don't harass the opposition.

9.  Pick a time and place

for action.

10. Keep your options open.

I have always tried to teach

my kids how to be good spies.

I have a copy of the Moscow

Rules hanging next to the sink

in our kitchen.  The Cold War

may be over but I have found

these rules can apply for any

number of situations; work,

social and family situations

or if your just trying to make

it through Junior High School.

Present Perfect: An Antique Key

The Key to Adventure?

Yesterday a friend of mine

gave me this beautiful antique

key.  A perfect present for

me.  They found it and thought

of me ~ how sweet.  I plan to

take it around the world with

me as a good luck charm.

Merci beaucoup...

Me Time ~ May 24

A Little R & R in a Busy Week

I spent part of the day

at Me Time today.

Someone spent the day

squaring up, we all deal

with our frustratons in

our own way.

She has a lot of

work ahead of her.

But ends up with

beautiful quilts from

her scraps.

Some new treats in

the shop.

I pulled out the woolens...

...to work on a little

travel kit for the trip.

On a sad note, today we

read about the passing of

 Jerry Kreinik of Kreinik Threads.

He worked in the industry

for most of his life, working

on the advancement of zippers,

fasteners and buttons and helped

develop the "D" ring and

established sizing for woman's

clothing.  Then he and his wife

started a company developing

lines of craft yarn and threads.



Travel Tales: Le Rouvray ~ Paris

Fabric + Paris = Heaven

On a lovely little street

in a lovely little section

of Paris...

...is the lovely little quilt

shop called Le Rouvray.

Of course, in Europe quilting is

generally referred to as patchwork.

When I visited I was lucky

to meet the owner of the shop.

She greeted me in French but

when she found out I was an

American, she began speaking

perfect English.  It turns out

the beautiful, stylish and oh, so

Parisian Madame is from just

north of us in Michigan.

Some say, Madame is to be credited

with bringing the love for patchwork

to Europe.  This shop has been around

for a long time.

Madame allowed me to go

downstairs into the caves to

search for these beautiful

Provencal fabrics.  I would

pull out rolls of fabric and

the girls working in the shop

would spin and rip off meters

of fabric for me. 

Madame sent me home with

fabric swatches of French fabrics,

and information about the

shop so I could report

about my visit for my guilds.

As I was leaving, Madame & I

chased a cat, who had decided

to visit the shop, out the door.

On my flight home, the only things

in my carry on were my new

French copper kettle and my

French fabrics.  If the airline

lost my clothes, I'd buy more,

but I would not let them

lose the important things

in life...