A Quilter's Haven

I was so excited to find one of my favorite quilt shows again.  A few years ago, they relocated and I could never find them.....until recently.  I walked through the door and just had to stand there a moment and let the colors, materials, and volume assault my senses .  I didn't even know where to start.

Stitchers Garden in Franklin, Tennessee, right off I-65 and Hwy 96.  I've linked up another website that talked about the shop.  I can't find a website for the store itself, but they do have a Facebook page.  I took a few candid shots with my cellphone, you can see they have definitely added more material since the pictures were taken in the link I provided!

I started at the front and browsed the first few shelves (finding way too many fabrics that I had to have!).  I've decided this store is best conquered much like eating an elephant....one isle at a time.  I wonder how long it will take to see it all?!!!  I'm looking forward to finding out.

New Quilts or "Quilt People"

Christmas is a time for giving and receiving and this year....a time for remembering.

My dad asked me to go through all the quilts that my mom had and separate out the ones that she made and the ones that my grandmothers had made.  There were enough for him to give the 6 grandchildren one each of Grannie Carathers' and then us three kids 2 each of Grannie Carathers' and one of Grannie Lewis'.  We drew numbers and took what was stacked up. (sorry for the quality of the pictures, I was taking them too fast to really have them focused and centered good and I noticed I had flour spots on my camera.)  I'm not sure why we hold our quilts up for display like we do, makes us look like "Quilt People".

Sally's quilt - The Scrappy Snowball

 Adam's quilt - The Dutch Doll

  Jonathan (above) & Michael's quilts (my nephews) - Flower Appliques

Branden's (above, held by his dad) and Crystal's quilts (my nephew & niece) - Trip Around the World and a Cross Stitched quilt (below)

Then my brothers and I chose from three stacks of 3 quilts.  We drew numbers and oddly enough, we choose in our birth order!  My dad chose which stack went to who.

James' quilts - The Victorian Lady, by Grannie Lewis, two by Grannie Carathers, Dresden Plate variations

Ray's quilts - Grannie Lewis' butterflies, two of Grannie Carathers' - Flower Garden and Dresden Plate

 

 

My quilts -  Grannie Lewis' butterflies, from Grannie Carathers, Double Wedding Ring and Churn Dash, made from the scraps of Mom's dresses when she was a little girl

 

Close-ups of my three.

It was difficult to gather and not have Mom or Grannie with us, but they did well being represented by their gifts.  And while Daddy hasn't given up any of Mom's quilts.....she was very much present for the holidays.  She taught us to love quilts and most of all, to love each other.  We are covered in more ways than one.

Sally Quitling...The Next Generation

Sally took to the quilting machine much faster than I did!  On black Friday, she and I headed to the quilt shop and she picked up some material to make a Monkey Wrench table runner for a Christmas gift for one of her friends.  She put it together Saturday and Sunday she started quilting it...her first attempt to quilt with the machine. 

She twisted the blocks until she came out with this design and the last I saw it (I had to leave before she finished), she was quilting start lines on the border and then going around the inner twists of red. 

She really didn't want to put white quilting in the red, but it needed something, so she was doing a simple X in the seams.  That goes right along with the pattern, since if you look closely...the material is skull and cross-bones!

Christmas 2011

I finally put out my decorations, maybe a little later than most folks, and I didn't go as big as previous years.  This will be the first Christmas without my mother and my grandmother.  They made Christmas traditions so special.  Christmas Eve was our family gathering at my grandmother's and then just the immediate family gathered on Christmas day.

My grandmother carried on the belief of Santa Clause, but my mother always keep the focus on Christ.  Her decorations were more winter themed.  This year I put out our traditional things, but honored each of them in some way.

First off I had to get a new tree.  When we built the log cabin I was finally able to have a huge tree, but this year was not the year for the 9 ft tree.  I have a white one...but I just wasn't feeling the white one either, so I went out this morning and bought this little pre-lite tree...on sale, always a good thing.

 I decorated for my dad earlier this week and pulled out my mom's Christmas quilts.  This is the log cabin tree that she made.  I love all the presents she had under the tree.

 Part of my decorations are on display in the china cabinet.  I love my plates and Adam's cars.  My grandmother made the Christmas bell cookie jar and the tree candy dishes.

 When the kids were little, my mom made this calendar for a count down.  This is the first year I've had in up in a while.

 Mom gave me the Santa pitcher last year.  She and Grannie made these.  The cups were added from Grannie's collection.  One is without the handle and the little ones include salt and pepper shakers.

 I love my church that lights ups.

 And of course the Nativity scene that my grandmother made for me.  Tradition would have her make everyone pieces each year.  It wold take several years to get the complete set, but she made me a smaller set and gave it to me all in one year.

 This angel has now topped our tree, or sit somewhere in a place of honor, for 25 years.  She was the first thing I bought after we married for our Christmas decorations.

 My mom painted ornaments.

 The one I added this year in honor of her.

 My aunt made this one over 24 years ago and it is my theme for this coming year.

 Mom loved snowmen and she was in the process of starting me a collection.

 This is one of my first quilted projects, made about 25 years ago for Grannie.  I made the pattern from a picture in a magazine.  It's all log cabins.  As you can see...it wasn't square!

 I always loved the detail of the flame, the glow around it and the "wax" dripping down the candle.

 This bowl of ornaments were my grandmother's and these lights were always on her tree.  They get too hot to leave on for long.

 Merry Christmas!!

Sunday's Project

One more item finished up...well except for the quilting.

Maple Leaf wall hanging.

Finished/Found/Unfinished Projects

I caved and went shopping on Black Friday.  But only the fabric store (and one stop at a clothing store for Sally).  I added the browns and yellows to my stash.  The greens and pinks were from my last stop at the store.  No idea what I want to do with yet, but just wanted something a little different in my line up.  Sally's going through my Framer's Wife book, so I pulled out my Dear Jane.  Maybe.....a Baby Jane or two!?

 I finally got all the quilts put away from the quilt show.  They make a nice little pile.

 While cleaning up the sewing room, I decided to move things around a bit.  I just can't find a set up that I'm completely happy with.  What I found were a couple of unfinished projects, so I finished them up.

I had started this scarf last year, but ran out of thread and would you believe I bought two skeins of the exact same thread a couple of weeks ago...I guess I really liked it.  So....this scarf is finished and listed on my Etsy shop now.

 I was trying to get a picture of how it can be stretched out to come up over the back of the neck....but look at that gray...no white hair.  That white streak keeps getting wider and wider.  I tell people I'm like that girl from the X-Men....every time I use my "power" the white streak gets wider.

 Another unfinished project was this baby blanket.  How funny that the pattern is for "November" from a monthly project crochet book.  So....I'm working on it now.

 I actually through a few unfinished projects away....half-made scarves that need more thread, the ugly quilted blue wall hanging.  I had enough of the blue to do another one and got it hand pieced this past week. I will not be quilting this with blue thread!

 Then I found these little stockings.  My aunt made mine about 30 years ago.  I've added to the collection with each member of my family.  I guess I need to do one for Matt and give Sally's her's.  I wonder if I can still cross-stitch...the eyes aren't as strong as they once were.

 I found these left over blocks from the purple quilt.  Not sure what I'll do with them yet.

So my sewing room is cleaned up and arranged....time for some Sunday sewing.  And I did pull out the Christmas decorations while I was putting the quilts away...just not sure when I'll put them out.