St. Theresa's Textile Trove and other inspiration

St. Theresa's Textile Trove , one of Cincinnati's landmarks, is closing its doors.
STTT holds a special place in my heart. My favorite quilt (made from STTT fabrics) holds many memories on top of, underneath and within. Here's its story....

The summer before freshman year of college, I finally received the roommate assignment I had so anxiously awaited. I hesitantly called Emily, from Kentucky. We talked for a long time. As I hung up the phone, I knew we would be great friends. Then the phone rang again - it was Emily. She needed a ride from the airport to school. Her Auntie and her mom had made her call back and ask. Since we only lived 20 minutes away from the airport, my family and I happily accepted the first chance to help her out.
Every college-aged girl to step off the plane, I asked myself, "Is it her?". Nope "Is she the one?" No. ? No.
And then, I knew it was her - she was a brilliant shining smile.
We have been friends ever since. I have never met anyone more caring, sincere, and wonderful than her.
The last day of school freshman year, we embarked on the 16 hour drive to her home in northern Kentucky. We hiked. I had the opportunity to meet her home friends. We also visited her Auntie Becky's quilt shop, St. Theresa's in downtown Cincinnati. (she got fabric too, but I still don't think her quilt is done, but that's just Em...) Em's Aunt Terrie another Aunt Terrie link
The quilt came back to school with me every year.

When I lived on Nantucket, I brought it out for the 4th of July celebration. We went out to 40th pole to see the fireworks. During all the festivities and drinking, I decided to put it in my friend's car for safe keeping. We all separated to go out. The next morning, I checked with my friend to retrieve the quilt - and he didn't have it. My heart broke a little bit, but stayed hopeful. I made a few more phone calls, but it still didn't turn up anywhere. My heart broke a little bit more everyday while the summer stretched on.
I decided to go to college late senior year because I was having way too much fun on Nantucket. At this point, I had given up on my quilt. I said goodbye.
The very next night, as friends and I found a quiet beach to hang out late night... One of them went back to the car to get a blanket. She pulled out my quilt. I couldn't believe it! They didn't realize that the quilt was mine, and I was just happy that it was taken care of! She came back.

Em and I have been together through a lot... I thank the universe every day for our connection. Her honesty, friendship, and love have given me a lot of strength - especially recently. I love how she and her family has embraced me as the quilt has been a comfort around my shoulders.
I am truly blessed.

Side note: Becky's Box of Bodacious stuff, is truly an inspiration. I've got a whole bunch of stuff planned for it...
- a bird door hanging with bells
- a touch and feel book - African Safari
- a Haiwaiian wall hanging
ooo! soo exciting!
...
In other crafting inspiration, Gail had her book launch
Can't wait till spring to do some more dyeing outside. BTW... According to our babysitter, Delaney thanks god for dyeing yarn with Mada and Mommy every night.

I feel all of my potential crafting welling up inside me ready to explode into some amazing art.........
Yay!

A few Delaneyisms

"Mens don't carry purses." It's so you can still be tough and carry your stuff. (thank you Madagascar 2)

"Why is there a guy on the potty?" As we walked by a handicapped parking sign.

Delaney's preschool teacher mentioned that she was referring to Ameran as "my Beast." I suggested that Daddy probably wouldn't like to be called a beast. "I'm going to make him a gentleman," was her reply.

I worked on D's kitty quilt today. All I want to do is sew, but we can't be inside in such beautiful weather. I have to make the quilt longer by about 15 inches. I'll post pics soon. We enjoyed our early morning hours outside today. D drove her imaginary guinea pig in her mini coupe around. I just nursed, held the baby, and sipped my coffee enjoying the sun's rays and bird songs.

Do you guys send your quilts out to get quilted? Part of me feels like this is cheating since I am not doing all the hand made part. On the other hand, I am sure it will look WAY more professional.

I am formulating Einin's birdie quilt in my head with much inspiration from Ashley's blog. I think that I will do a log cabinish design. Exploring birdie fabric has been fun. Many of the ones I am attracted to are out of print. I have found a few online stores that look pretty cool. Does anyone have a favorite bird fabric?

Today

Made a little quilt for Fifi.

Then we headed outdoors to start a bit more clean-up for our garden. Still have a long way to go, but little by little it will get done. We hung out with a neighbor and Baxter got to play with his friend too.

I am finishing up the last minute things for our hospital's Earth Day celebration. We will have a display for our employees about little things they can do to make a big impact on the environment, what our hospital currently does green. We also compiled "green bios" of members of our committee so our staff can see what its peers are doing. And…. The most exciting part is that we will be having a tree planting! Yay!

Come Together.

Does anyone else's brain function in song? I hear a constant soundtrack to my life.
Coming together 1.Am's sweater. After 4 years and one month. I just have to sew the sleeves on. (Pic coming soon) Ahhh. The relief.

Coming together 2.The Kitty Quilt

I can't wait for this. I have done a bit more since this picture. It is so bright and happy. And the back will be just as spunky.

New baby smiles!


Honey, Can you please come home now?

Busy Bees

We've been quite busy. ..

Am celebrated his 36^th birthday. I thought he was turning 35 (again, I guess). We went to the local brewery and I even enjoyed (if you could say that) a gluten-free Red Bridge. They had brewed my favorite –SWAK, aka sealed with a kiss. They infuse it with vanilla bean and some other magical ingredients. It is like dessert. I was thinking of cheating on the gluten-free, but thought better of it.

On Friday, we took an impromptu journey up to Vermont to visit a dear college friend's mom. She wanted to meet Einin, so off we went. We shared a lovely Thai lunch and walked around in Brattleboro. A nice adventure.

Delaney and I have also been doing a lot of sewing. This quilt is for another college friend who is expecting in May. She isn't finding out what sex the baby is, so yellow and green with hints of brown and blue. I am in love with all of Amy Butler's fabrics, so it was an easy decision where to look in the store. I was going to make the pattern more complicated, but with the shower around the corner, why make my life crazy?

Delaney and I have also been working on her kitty quilt. It has been a work in progress for a while; we are getting closer to the final product. As I was in the basement doing laundry, I stumbled over the fleeces from the in-laws. We will be sending them away to a wool mill in Minnesota to have them magically turned into a queen size quilt batt. (it is almost time for the spring sheering) I can just imagine the sweet dreams D will have sleeping under a quilt that she has helped me with and the fleece from her grandparents.

Some dear friends visited yesterday. After they got their serious baby fix, we topped off the day with a walk around the block and a Mexican dinner down the street. Ahh. I think I may turn into a nacho chip.

More walking and bike riding today for Delaney. We let our man, Baxter, run in a muddy field. Delaney also enjoyed the mud. I literally had to pour the water out of her froggy boots when we got home. We reconnected with some neighbors we hadn't seen since winter set in. After a good nap, she is recharged and raring to go. I think that we will be making glitter butterflies. We will see what the evening brings.

Vacation and A Little Something

We went to Vermont to visit a very close friend for a few days. Em just graduated with her masters in enviornmental policy making in Seattle and will now be moving in with her fiance in Boulder, CO. It was great to just get away. We picked raspberries and made jam from scratch, went to a concert on the green in Burlington and also did a little dipping and kayaking in Lake Champlain. It was so nice to have family dinners with Em, her mom and her two brothers. Delaney just looooved her brothers! Joe was excited that he got to see the Red Sox win at Fenway. When he got home, she entertained him by pretending to be Scooter, the dog. But once Andrew got home, she ditched Joe and turned on the charm for him. Delaney didn't care that Andrew just won some kind of mountain biking race and his goal is to compete at nationals next year. She told him her favorite jokes from http://www.stevesongs.com/music.html

The vacation was not complete until we made a trip to a neighboring town to pick up steri-strips to repair Delaney's head.

Em picked out her wedding dress and wedding date for the middle of June next year. That is very exciting. I might make her the Swan Lake Stole http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/swan-lake---mystery-stole-3 for the wedding.

Check out Em's talented aunt http://www.terriestudio.com/home.htm

We have been going to the concerts on the green in Glastonbury. We got to meet Deb in person http://www.livnletlrn.blogspot.com/ and her daughter and son there. We are sending good wishes her way so her daughter won't have headaches anymore. Check out her site and see an awesome picture of Delaney dancing to the music.

Made a baby kimono for my friend Beth. I make the 6 month size and it might already be too small for a baby that was born 10 pounds 12 ounces this May. I might have to just save this one and make a new one. The pattern can be found at http://www.habitual.wordpress.com/. I finished it in under one hour. Quick, satisfying and VERY cute.

I have also been working on a quilt for Delaney. I am winging it, but I think that it will combine a flower garden theme and the kittys I have been sewing. You can see the petals under the kimono.

I also finished A Little Something http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-something today. I just need to get beads for the ties.

This Saturday morning, I got a call at work from our neighbor. "Um, your daughter is welcoming the neighborhood all by herself on your porch swing." OOOOOOOOh boy. Our neighbor was great and she put Delaney back inside and made sure Am was awake. That could have turned out to be a dangerous situation, so thank you, Diane.

Finally, Yeah Summer!

Healing Quilt for Bill

This quilt was made for Bill. (Thank you for your professional photography!) He had to have back surgery and I made this to help speed up his recovery. It is a lap blanket, so just enough for him to keep his legs warm while he is resting. He has made a great recovery and is now back to work. I just free-formed the whole thing with batik fabric from http://www.quiltersdream.com/. I even made my own bias tape. It is too small to see, but I stitched "heal" onto the back of the quilt.

This quilt has a twin for another recovering man named Bill. This Bill is still very sick and needs your prayers and healing thoughts sent his way.

As a side note, Quilter's Dream is a beautiful shop that I remember taking pilgrimages to with my mom when I was little. They have beautiful fabrics and are very nice.