Road Less Traveled

I took a different route home the other day and stopped to take a picture of some of the limestone bluffs common to our area.  I thought I was capturing a herd of cows in the foreground. I had to do a double take.  There were about 30 ponies mixed into the herd.  I'll have to make it back this way some day when it is warmer so I can captures a better photo.

Jeanne's fabric sale ended last weekend.  Much thanks goes all who shopped and helped reduce the incredible volume of her stash.  A very special thank you goes out to Linda (who put in 100's of hours) and all the volunteers that came to organize and help out on sale dates.  Linda plans to post a slide show this fall containing items made from Jeanne's fabric.  If you have pictures you would like to contribute you can find Linda at her website here.

Tucked in for the Week

I heard the weather report last Sunday and decided it was time for Christmas to be over. I came home from the retreat and took down our Christmas tree (sigh, it was so lovely with all it's twinkles and bright lights). You see, we store many of our decorations in an out building and the temperature was due to drop drastically. By Monday morning my husband had them stowed away before he left for town. Jack and I waited and watched for the high winds and blowing snow expected later that day.

The removal of the tree made room for the return of my sewing machine. We live in an old farm house with very low ceilings. The Christmas tree either fits in my studio or our bedroom. I had my sewing area set up again by Sunday night. I have been continuing work on my "Mod" quilt in the evenings after work. I hope to have it all pieced by the end of the weekend. I am using my Grandmother's sewing machine. It was purchased the year my mother was born. I love the quiet whirring sound the old motor makes as it sews.

At 9:00 am today the thermometer read -35 degrees Fahrenheit. The house is creaking and groaning with noises I have never heard before. The radio announcer said the pub down the road had a reading of minus 40 degrees which was as low as their thermometer will measure. This is certainly the coldest daytime weather I have experienced in years. Tomorrow I venture out. The weather is due to increase by 50 degrees to 20 above. I am working at Jeanne's fabric sale from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. I'm hoping the heatwave will bring lots of people out for the sale. I have a newer sewing machine table I am donating to cause which still needs to be loaded in the van today. I sure hope it warms up soon! Warm wishes from the Sunny Grove.

Serious Stash Enhancement and the Winners Are...

Thank you so much for all of your comments on my 100th post. It was really helpful to hear your favorites. I won't keep you in suspense. The winners are....

Quilt Crazy Gal Jenna who has a wonderful blog showcasing all sorts of quilting techniques and

Jackie's Stitches, a knitter and a new quilter. She has some lovely pictures of a recent trip along the Appalachian Trail. I've always wanted to make that trip.

A big thank you to everyone that turned out for the Fabric Sale yesterday.

Here are my purchases, made in the afternoon after most people had come and gone. There are 4 sets of purchases in the photo above. The assortment of oriental prints fanned out in the front is the most expensive group on the table. The other 3 groups were bags of 2-3 lbs each (or 8-12 yards each) purchased for $5.00 a piece. On the left is a group of silks that include a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired fabric. The bag in the center holds strips sets of light and dark hues of brown. (I always need more of these in my stash.) The last on the right are generous scraps of different African prints. I've always wanted to add these to my collection.

This sale is on two levels of the home. I worked in Jeanne's quilting studio where all the fancy fabric are located. Oh... there is still so much left to choose from. I don't think it will matter what day you come to shop. You will not go away unhappy.

There still many large pieces of African print. Some are mud cloth, some with shells and still others are appliqued. There are a couple of bins full of hand dyed cotton sateens, print cloth and hand painted fabrics. Other items on this level include fancy garment fabrics, wool, overdyed wool, fleece, oriental fabrics (both silk and cotton prints), velvets and upscale batiks.

I came home with yards of Laura Wasilowski's cotton sateens, lovely hand dyed flannels and some of Wendy Richardson's overdyed velvets. Scrumptious!!!

The upper level of the home houses the traditional fabrics. There are cottons, flannels and even courduroy fabrics to choose from.

There are three more days left to this sale. Look for details in the upper right hand corner of my blog. I borrowed some of these pictures from Patsy's blog. You can see more photos here.

Leonids meteor showers peak tomorrow night November 17th in the late evening. I hope your skies are clear.

Fabric Sale January 24th - Updated

The following notes are from Linda Halpin:

ONE SALE DAY REMAINING

 

Saturday, January 24

9 am - 4 pm

 

This is the final sale day for the liquidation of Jeanne Freymiller Neff's fabric collection. For those of you who came into this journey late, Jeanne was a wonderful quilter and crafter who collected

 fabric and other crafting supplies for years, with her collection overflowing out of her house into a large storage building. Sadly, Jeanne lost her battle to cancer in October, and I have been liquidating her collection for her husband.

 I can't believe I am saying this, but we found MORE things while working at yesterday's sale. There was a huge trunk of yarn that came to light late in the afternoon. There was also a closet containing several quilts that will be added to the sale on Saturday.

 We will be selling some of the storage units:

wicker trunks (three sizes available) $25, $35, $45 (you can see some in the pictures below)

4 drawer file cabinets (2 dark brown ones available), $15 each

a day bed, single bed size $75

lots of decorative pillows, $3 each

a sewing machine table, $30

a 4 shelf bookcase, 2 available, $15 each (can be seen in picture below)

several mirrors, various sizes

several baskets

lots of picture frames

a 'hang on the door' space-saving ironing board

a three drawer plastic storage unit 

There is still lots and lots of cotton fabric for quiltmaking.

 

We are down to our final trunk full of bags of men's neckties. Here is a picture of some 'rose pins' I made out of ties. What could you do with ties? At $2 a bag, how can you go wrong!!

Cotton fabric, 1/8 yd. to up to 10 yard in length; also, quilt tops

Cotton quilting fabric is priced $3.00 per yard or $12.00 per lb (approx 4 yards per lb)

Large bins of cotton fabric, 1 yd. to 10 yard length pieces, great for backings, borders, and sashing And more quilt tops

Even though we sold hundreds of magazines, we only sold about half of what what there. These are 3" thick notebooks, each full of 18 - 36 magazines, in addition to several boxes of loose magazines. The magazines are 25 cents each. 

6 large bins of wool scraps, ideal for wool piecing or applique.

Bags of scraps in bookshelf: $3 bags and $5 bags. Rolls of wool strips for rug braiding in the trunk.

On a final note, I will be posting a 'cyber quilt show' in the Fall of things people made out of the fabrics and patterns they bought at Jeanne's. Be sure to send me photos of what you make! Quilt tops are fine, they don't have to be quilted. I have gotten such wonderful feedback about the things people are doing with their treasures, from clothing to quilts to pillows, to working with kids with fiberarts.... it has been a real treat to see these things come to be. So keep the cyber-show in mind! I would love to include what you have made.

Hope to see you Saturday, January 24th.

 Location: The house number is 14049 Hwy 60, Blue River, WI (I believe if you are looking it up for GPS mapping, you need to describe it as State Route 60)

 

Once you get on HWY 60, if you are coming from Richland Center or Rt. 14, it is .7 (7/10) mile past the BP gas station that is at the corner of Hwy 60 and County Route T in Port Andrew. Continue past the gas station on Hwy 60. The driveway is on the left, just past a large patch of trees,The house is set back in behind the trees and is not visible from the road. It is across from a gravel pit, and across from Combe Cemetery Road (very small dirt road).

 

If you are coming from the Boscobel/Gays Mills direction, it is on HWY 60, 1 mile past Clark Realty. The driveway will be on your right, just before a large patch of trees. It is across from a gravel pit, and across from Combe Cemetery Road (very small dirt road).

 

We will have a sign by the driveway on the day of the sale.

 

Happy Quilting

Linda Halpin

www.lindahalpin.com