Twilling!

Twilling has been all the rage for awhile now at the LQS (local quilt shop) where I work.  I've been eager to learn this hand embroidery stitch, but at first thought I'd finish all my regular embroidery UFO's first. (Ha!)  Yesterday was the day I finally gave in and got my twilling crash course from Christina, and this morning I finished up this practice piece.  I made this shorter, smaller version of the pattern (one of the Monthly Twillings patterns at the shop) and overall I'm happy with it.  The shop owners would like a sample of twilling on wool, and I have a leftover piece of yellow wool from a sample for the needle nest I made to teach ribbon bobbin work at the shop.

For the yellow wool one, which will be the full size version of the pattern, I think I'll twill the stem instead of doing the stem stitch on it.  The pattern says to do the stem stitch there, but I noticed later that the picture on the cover shows twilling on the stem, and I think that would look better.  I'll show a pic when that's done.  I think I'll just make little wallhangings out of each.

Well, I think I've got this blogging thing down!  Now, time to sew up some BOM (block of the month) samples that are due tomorrow.  Stay tuned...

Thanks for stopping by!
Nan

Chick-fil-A and Happiness

OK, so this blog will be mostly about quilting, as promised.  But something has been on my mind for the last couple weeks, and it happens to coincide with this book I've been reading, The Pursuit of Happyness.  I picked it up off the clearance table at Half-Price Bookstore, and am only about half-way through it.  So far, the author Chris has been describing a very sad childhood where he was shuttled from house to house while his mom was in prison.  His step-father was bad news.  It's another reminder to be so grateful that I was blessed with wonderful parents and a stable home life.

These thoughts come on the heels of the Chick-fil-A controversy.  Most people who know me know that I LOVE Chick-fil-A.  I'll drive miles out of my way to eat at one.  As a Georgia girl transplanted to the Midwest, and without one in my town now, it's a treat.  I have always appreciated the Christian values of the CFA owners and respected that they were closed on Sundays.  (Even when I sat at a drive-through speaker one Sunday years ago, wondering why no one took my order! lol  When I finally got a clue and drove away, the car behind me pulled up and also tried to order!)

Anyway, I've also been known to hold a corporate grudge.  No gas at BP after the oil spill.  No eating at Cracker Barrel after they refused to seat some people who they thought looked gay. So now one of my corporate loves has come face to face with my corporate activism.  And this book just reminds me that one of the most important things we can give kids is a stable home life.  Family. Love.  I know some gay couples who are providing a stable home life for kids who might not otherwise have it.  I think it's a shame they can't get married.  Even without the factor of kids, why should the rights of some people be different than the rights of others?  We all have the right to our own opinions.  I've decided that I'll sure miss Chick-fil-A, but I'll sleep better at night.

Thanks for stopping by,
Nan

Getting Started

Well, I'm taking the plunge! I spend too much time on the computer (or my phone's computer) already.  So why start a blog?  I've thought about it off & on for awhile, and I've decided to do it for a few reasons.

First, I love show & tell, and I like reading blogs of other quilters and seeing what they've done.  So why not return the favor and show what I'm doing?

Second, accountability.  If I tell "you" (whoever out there might hopefully be stopping by?) I'm going to do something, then hopefully I'll get it done, and have more show & tell! (See #1)

Third, sometimes I talk to myself too much.  So now I'll talk to the internets instead! lol

Thanks for stopping by!
Nan