Important things first!
Ruby Beatrice arrived at 2.20 p.m. on Wednesday 14th September weighing 7lb 6oz, 19 inches long. Apparently her hand knitted hats were all safe at home so she made do with the hospital issue!
Now back to quiltie things…
While we were still waiting I went up to Quilt Expo in Madison and had a fine time looking at the quilts on display and just a few vendors! It was my dad’s first visit to a quilt show. He made the most of it, selecting his favorite quilt for viewer’s choice and advising me on my purchases. We visited the Alzheimer’s exhibit, From Heartbreak to Hope, where my small quilt Unravelling was on display…
and a close up just in case you had forgotten what it looks like!
The exhibit is very moving as it portrays the story of Alzheimer’s disease and the dreadful effects it has on real peoples’ lives. The purple strips in between the quilts carry the names of more than 10,000 individuals who have/had Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. The names of loved ones, written on fabric patches by family members and friends, honor the 5.4 million Americans in the United States struggling with Alzheimer’s disease.
Read more: http://www.alzquilts.org/
Wow!
So going from the sublime to the ridiculous, the next day we set off to Nashville to check in on the eldest child…
On the Saturday we visited the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. It happens to be a dry county.
Here are dad and Jonathan listening carefully to our tour guide,
while Steve posed for a shot of Jack Daniels…
We followed our distillery tour with a quick trip to Franklin for lunch and a quilt store before heading to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The 3000 room hotel has been completely restored after the floods last year. It is an amazing place. Dad has decided he needs an orchid quilt so I was able to take lots of pictures for inspiration.
We had an excellent trip. Apparently dad has never been to New Orleans… but that’s 1000 miles each way.
Meanwhile I have been working on my Sue Spargo block of the month. Here is August finished.
There were a lot of looped bullion knots in this one. I added some extra stitches and beads.
I just have one more flower to complete and then we will be onto the borders. I have signed up for the 2012 program so there will be lots more wool applique in my future.
Weeks Ringle, from Fun Quilts in Oak Park, was our guest at Riverwalk Quilters guild. She spoke on Quilts Made Modern. Here she is showing one of the quilts from her book.
I feel like I haven’t been making as many quilts as usual but one of the reasons might be the 16 or so curly scarves I knitted for dad to take back for Bridget’s store…
He brought so many gifts from England that his suitcase was nearly empty for going home. The scarves took up some of the space, along with a pillow and a towel from IKEA.
We got up early to put him on his day time flight home and then after a short nap I was off to Depot Days with Lisle Heritage Society. Here is Yvette working on some machine embroidery as part of our quilting demo. I worked on some embroidery and Nancy pieced blocks. We didn’t intend doing an authentic 19th century demonstration, rather an updated look at where quilting is at in 2011, machines and all! Lots of people stopped to talk and we were able to hand out quite a few invitations to our upcoming Guild auction.
I bought a bootee pattern at the shop in Franklin and couldn’t resist making this pair for Ruby. One evening got them done.
And then I had to take them to Rockford in case her feet were getting cold…
Having started with one grandchild I think I should finish with the other one! Benjamin is 18 months old and full of life. I wonder if he realizes his sister is here to stay?
