International Siggy Swap - 2 New Siggies

June has been "in the pink" for siggies. I got this lovely heart siggy from Yvonne Albrechtsen, in return for one I sent her several months ago. I sent out a bunch in April and am still waiting for several to make their way back to me. Yvonne has given me hope that I'm not waiting in vain!

And here is a beautiful "Sunbonnet Sue" all the way from Switzerland, where it is probably much cooler than it is here in Texas today, though I really shouldn't complain when it's only in the 90's. Leyla Ferrari sent me this "Sue" out of the blue, so I have to hurry up and send one of mine back to her. I haven't had to do that in a while! Fortunately I still have a few all made up. I don't think anyone else has sent me a Sunbonnet Sue siggy, which is really surprising when you consider her popularity. I don't think I've ever been to a quilt show that didn't have multiple "Sue's" on display. A funny thing happened while I was on my 5 week hiatus from blogging - I got another follower! That totally cracks me up. I had sat at 11 followers for practically EVER, then I bug out for a while, and I get another one. Can it be that some of you like me better in abstentia? lol

I'm back!

OK, I've actually been back for the past month, but I've been too busy to blog. I've got lots of pictures to post from the last Blanketeer Project Day, I've gotten 4! quilt tops completed since then, completed a cute gift for my secret pal, and have received two international siggies. Plus, on the very last afternoon of our vacation in NY, Larry and I fell in love with a humongous work of art, which had to be shipped to Texas, professionally installed, and, oh yeah, paid for, lol. The artist's website is blocked at work (because it's an uncharacterized website, not because it's smut or anything) so I'm planning to blog about that too. I'll try to get caught up this weekend.

Oh yeah, and I've apparently gotten my own secret pal fired, since I reported that I had not heard a peep from her since early March. I'm afraid she must be very ill. Sigh, I wonder what the new one will be like.

City Quilter Today, Empire State Building and the Guggenheim Yesterday

Since most museums and virtually every art gallery, and even the City Quilter, is closed on Monday in New York, we went to the Empire State building yesterday instead. The Empire State building is near the flower district, which we got to a little late, that is, past 6am 8-), but there was still lots of greenery around. (I think for the movies they probably add more flowers, but it was still pretty cool.)

We got to the Empire State building very early, so there weren't any lines and we went right on up. It was windy and cold up there, but you could see for miles. It was really neat to be in such a famous place! Having seen an Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle more times than I care to mention, (not to mention the Trixie Belden novel, "Mystery of the Blinking Eye" - blushes) I felt right at home. Funny, I don't remember any of them having to pay to go up... The view was really spectacular, Larry took lots of pictures that are still in the camera. We took the audio tour, so I now have a much better idea of how New York is laid out. I'm afraid of heights, though it doesn't keep me from gondolas, glass bridges and tall buildings (that which does not kill you makes you stronger!) so I was ready to leave when the audio tour was over and it started to get crowded.

Only two museums were open for business on Monday, the Guggenheim and MoMA. Unfortunately we picked the Guggenheim. What a disappointment! About 60% of the museum was closed (the top 4 spirals) because they were busy installing an exhibition. There was no art at all on the ramp, just architectural drawings/layouts of Frank Lloyd Wright (the exhibition being installed.) There were only two small galleries open, one with Impressionists and cubists and one devoted to Kandinksy. It's sad when the best part of the museum is the sandwich in the cafe. We've read too that Van Gogh's famous Starry Night is NOT currently viewable at the MoMA; no reason given. Sigh. I really wanted to see that one! Oh well, better luck next time.

We walked back from the Gugg through Central Park. We saw the reservoir, the great lawn and the obelisk. Central Park is fabulous; it feels like getting out of the city. I had envisioned something more like the Mall in DC, but this is hilly and secluded feeling; it would be very easy to get lost! We shopped our way back to the motel at Louis Vuitton and Tiffany's. Sparklies!!!! (And more security guards than customers!) The building still looks exactly like it did in Breakfast at Tiffany's; I recognized it without reading the sign. One more stop at the Lindt chocolate store (all that walking made us hungry!) then home to relax.

Susan in New York - Paula Nadelstern Quilt Exhibit

Larry and I got to New York on Saturday afternoon and have been having a blast! Yesterday, after Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, we went to the America Folk Art Museum to see the Paula Nadelstern Kaleidoscope Quilts exhibit. It was awesome! Many thanks to everybody who recommended it to me.

Paula Nadelstern's quilts are spectacular. Nearly all contain kaleidoscope images, made from beautiful combinations of cotton and silk. She sews them together so that the seams are mostly obscured. This quilt, in memory of 9/11 was spectacular. So was this one. There was one non-kaleidoscope quilt that really took our fancy. This quilt of the Brooklyn Bridge was fabulous. I bought her book, which is amazing, as well as some of her fabric and notecards. Larry and I went so early that we had the entire exhibit to ourselves. It was great for standing back and viewing from a distance. Some of her spirals seemed to just float on air. Highly recommended!

Two More International Siggies

I'm still waiting for a number of siggies from the international siggy swap, but I did get these two in the past few days, (ok weeks, I haven't blogged in ages. We went to Shreveport for Easter last weekend and it took a big chunk out of my bloggin' time! Pure laziness did in the rest.) Anyway, here is a gorgeous siggy from Kieny Poppen in Taiwan. Her postcard reminded me that 2009 is the year of the bull. Love that fabric! I think Kieny might be the only one from the international swap list in Taiwan; if so, I applaud her speedy turn-around time.


This sweet little teddy bear came all the way from Belgium. Isn't it darling? (Don't you think I need a better camera? My whites keep coming out dirty looking - so sad.) This one is from Arlette Cauwelier. I really like the simple ones like this. Arlette even pinked the edge of her siggy; I've never seen that done before. It might make eventually getting a 1/4" seam allowance a little tricky, but on the other hand, it shouldn't ravel before I get to sewing it. lol.

It turned out just fine!

We had our monthly Blanketeers meeting today and Rachel and Sheila were very surprised at how well Mary's quilt turned out. Everyone was very complimentary. It was too bad Mary couldn't be there, but I still have the quilt, so hopefully she'll get to see it before it goes to the USO. It got very wrinkled in the dryer, but it actually lies very flat now. It could probably stand to be ironed a bit.

Stippling quilts this size is just pure fun! They scoot around on the sewing table without any effort. I used blue thread on the top and green thread to match the back and binding in the bobbin. The blue thread really pops against the orange border.

I usually manage to do my worst stippling where it shows up the best like on the yellow here, but I got pretty lucky with this one.


I just love these colors. It's all the colors in the smallest box of Crayola crayons. And, as I pointed out to my DH (and number one quilt holder), when you cut that much off of a star, people will think for sure that you meant for it to be that way! 8-)

The moral of this story is that any quilt top can be saved as long as the fabric isn't damaged and you don't worry too much about the original design. I think some little kid is going to love this sweet little blankie to death!

More White Fabric!

It was amazing. We ran out of the beautiful white fabric for the Quilt of Valor and we needed some more and what do you know? The first fabric I saw as I walked into the Berry Patch was the white fabric. Yes! What a relief. I was afraid we would have to find another selection for a scrapier look, but we lucked out this time. I was able to buy another yard, which is at least twice what we actually need to complete the quilt.


Of course, I haven't actually *worked* on the Quilt of Valor this week. lol Instead I've spent the week trying to turn a sad little quilt top into a plucky little quilt survivor. I'm happy to say that I believe the patient will live. In fact, while it will never win any construction awards, I think it's going to turn out quite cute. This is a very washed-out picture; it's much more vibrant than this. I got it all stippled in blue thread. Tomorrow I'm going to bind it, not sure what color yet, then I'll take a picture of it outside on Friday morning. Look how flat it is! That was a *major* accomplishment. lol

Quilting Bee

We had another fun, productive quilting bee at my house on Sunday. Here is Rachel at the sewing machine, patiently learning how to paper piece with Mary looking on. (See if you can spy the yummy chocolate cake on the kitchen counter just begging to be eaten.) By the end of the bee, Rachel had completed the paper piecing part of her first star, now she just has to trim it and sew the parts together.

Sheila, spent almost the entire bee cutting up fabric for the remaining star kits, 6 large and 25 small. She's an expert cutter. I'm so grateful that I didn't have to do this part. I had all the kit bags made up and she cut and stuffed and cut until they were done. Thank you, Sheila! Unfortunately we ran out of the white fabric with 6 kits to go. I'm going to go back to the Berry Patch at lunch today to see if I can get some more. If not, we'll just have two whites in the quilt, instead of just one.

I should have taken more pictures, because this one certainly doesn't do Sheila justice at all, but we got busy with other things and the camera just sat there for the rest of the bee. I really need to improve if we're going to be making a QOV journal to go with this quilt!

About half way through the bee we heard a little knock on the back door. Virginia came! We were so pleased to see her. Exactly 2 weeks ago today she had a QUADRUPLE bypass. I still can't believe she's getting out and around so well already; it's absolutely amazing! I have been SO worried about her. The surgery came out of the blue. Horrible angina pain (but no heart attack, thank God) in the hospital for a few days, then surgery. What a blessing to have her safely out the other side of THAT! She called last Thursday saying that she wanted to come to the bee. I told her not to wear herself out, and to come in her jammies if she wanted, so she did. She stayed for a piece of cake and a nice chat. We got to see her scars, which were something to see, but I know she would have KILLED me if I had taken any pictures. She can't drive for another month (airbags are very bad for healing chests) so her husband, Jim, sat in the car for a half hour, eating cake (we delivered) and listening to the NASCAR races on the radio while she visited with us. What a great guy!

Three more International Siggies

Another banner week for siggies! Anneke Boon sent me this lovely sewing basket from the Netherlands. It's an iron-on cut-out, I think, perhaps she bought fabric with this motif? It's very much like the anonymous rooster in the post. (I still haven't heard back from her; I'm not sure what to do about an unsigned siggy. Should I just sign it myself?) Anneke lives in Heerhugowaard, which is about 20 miles north of Amsterdam, in the middle of the peninsula that sticks straight out into the sea. In scanning the google satellite photos of the area, it looks like Anneke lives about 6 inches above sea level, very close to the reclaimed lands.

Lucien Callens sent me this pretty kitty from Edegem, Belgium. Edegem looks to be practically a suburb of Antwerp on way to Brussels, which is about 20+ miles away to the south.

Jacqueline Van Ufflelen, also from Belgium, sent me this delicate beaded flower. I love her fabric choice; it's very dramatic! Jacqueline is on the list, but I hadn't sent a siggy to her yet. This siggy came bundled with Lucienne's, so I have to hurry and send one back to her. At least I have a few made up. I just googled Jacqueline. She and Lucienne live only a mile apart. I wonder how long they have been friends. How nice to have a hobby in common!

Lots of International Siggies

It's been a banner week; I received 5 international siggies already!

This very french looking siggy is from Josette Bail in Marquise, France. I just love it! Josette's writing is gorgeous and the stampings appear to be hand-colored in at least four different colors. Exquisite! Josette told me in her letter that she lives near the "tunnel sous la Manche to go in England". It took me a moment to realize she was referring to the "Chunnel", a word which has probably been banned by the French word police - lol. I've read that all signage in France must conform to standard French, no french version of "Krispy Kreme" or "Qwik Wash" for them.

Here is a lovely siggy with a darling little embroidered purse on it from Elfriede Greslehner in Linz, Austria. I love the little flower with the yellow bead; it's so delicate. I wonder if Elfriede collects purses? Her letter had the prettiest over-sized stamp on it celebrating Pez candies. Can anyone tell me if that stamp is one of a series? I wish US stamps celebrated candy! lol


Here is Micki Butler's Irish harp siggy from Ireland. I've gotten to know Micki because she's been following my blog since she got my email a few weeks ago. She used to live in Texas but has since married an Irishman and moved to Dunfanaghy in County Donegal, Ireland. I love her siggy, which is a very unusual one. I had never seen one made like this before. Did you use a personalized iron-on transfer, Micki or is this a stamp? It's rather shiny, and this picture does not do it justice. The orange fabric is very pretty too; it actually DOES have the little waves in it, (those are usually scanner artifacts - lol). And I'll have to check, but I don't think I have another orange siggy, and I love orange!

This lovely little duck siggy is from Tonnie van der Borst in Rijsbergen, Netherlands. I would love to know if the duck was stamped or stenciled onto the fabric. It looks like it was stenciled, and I have never seen that done before!

I'm pretty sure that Tonnie's letter is telling me that she is sorry she doesn't speak English, but the rest of it is in Dutch (I think) so I can't be sure. Maybe someone can translate for me?

Dear Susan, Thank you for the siggy. Sorry maar ik schnjf geen Engels Sinds 20 jaar patch en quilt ik, meestat met de hand Nomaf oht 03 ben ik berig met de siggy niil en heb er +- 250 ontvemgen. Nog veel plezier met verzameler. Gnochen Tonnie


This very pretty rooster comes from Edda Bjork Hauksdottir in Iceland. It's lovely; the rooster looks to be very carefully cut from another fabric and ironed on. The embroidered flower is a very nice touch! The only unusual thing I see is that the siggy is completely anonymous. I don't know if Edda meant to leave it blank, or forgot to sign it (I've almost done that once or twice - caught myself stuffing an envelope with an unsigned siggy, oops!) I'm planning to ask her in an email soon, though if you would like to leave a comment for me, Edda, that would be wonderful! 8-)