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#91
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I guess I'll add my story. My Mom was a very talented
needleworker. She made my clothes and my brothers, as well as all our sweaters. I think she really wanted me to learn. I'd organize sewing groups with my friends and my Mom would teach them. I never finished a project. After my friends became interested, I'd quit. My Mom would help all the girls finish their projects - mine went unfinished, but I had learned all the basics! Years later, after I had married and was living out of the country I found the need to start sewing and other crafts and haven't stopped. My Mom is still amazed at the work I do. I guess a thank you is long over due to her and I'll do that when I finish this post. I started quilting in the sixties. I don't have any idea how many quilts I've made. I love working on baby quilts - I think it's because of the little bundles which the quilts warm. My latest quilting has been for Veterans hospitals and nursing homes. I do lap quilts for people in wheelchairs (13 quilts since Nov.) Also, I'm working on a kingsize quilt (first and maybe last). That's my story. -- Bonnie NJ http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/ |
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#92
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I shall have to go find his works. They sound right up my alley!
Drawing outside the lines is more fun. Im going to guess your parents didnt buy you coloring books? Diana -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 "Pati Cook" wrote in message ... No, I am married to a different SciFi/Fantasy writer............ Rick Cook. He does have books out. A series dealing with magic and computers and full of puns. And my favorite of his is "Mall Purchase Night" , the heroine of which is the owner of a shop called "Bell, Book and....... Candle shop". A real giggle. I never have been able to keep inside the lines, always want to draw new ones G. Pati, in Phx Diana Curtis wrote: Ahhh the BOM. Im just hoping I can come up with something that appeals to a wide range of tastes and abilitys! Id like to hear more about your punster husband! You arent married to Piers Anthony are you? Thank you for sharing your quilting story too. I happen to like people who arent afraid of coloring outside of the lines. :-) Diana, healing well!!! -- |
#93
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So, all we need to do is find a couple of people to post in French and we
have you exclusively? Thank you for sharing. Im glad you came and stayed too! Diana -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 "Sandy Foster" wrote in message ... In article , ally wrote: In article , Diana Curtis writes Im recovering well... certain things coming in the mail keep my spirits up, thank you muchly! But the days linger long sometimes. I havent energy to do much yet, but you, yes YOU, have the power to entertain and amuse me if you feel like it, and I hope you do... Would you please tell me how you came to post at RCTQ, and why you stay, and how you came to be a quilter and what you hope to find in your quilting future. Maybe everyone else will get some pleasure in reading these .. then I wont feel so selfish! lol Thanks in advance, Diana the slightly bored -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 Hmm I joined when I first got my own computer and got online (until then I had been looking at a few ngs on a friends computer at his home once a week). That musta been in '97 but I have a real bad memory so it could have been a year either side. I joined this ng cos I liked quilting. I stay because its like home - warm and comfy and full of people who I love, even though we all get made at each other sometimes. I have made some of my best friends here and done things I would never have done otherwise. Hope you're feeling better real soon. :-) I also got online in 1997 and immediately started searching for quilters -- important since I was then living in an area far from any other quilters. g This group was so friendly and welcoming that I've stayed and stayed -- I'm still not tired of it! I've met several people from the group in person, some when they came to the Las Vegas area in the past four years and some at the Tucson and Houston quilt shows. I've quit reading other quilting groups (email groups), except for one French-speaking group so I can stay in practice; but this one is an addiction! -- Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas http://home.earthlink.net/~s_foster |
#94
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This is a great tale! It has mystery and suspence..when will Nell get to
quilt?! Will she find the BOMs when she has time in her life to give to quilting... I loved it! Thank you Nel! Diana -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 "Nell Reynolds" wrote in message . .. I came to post at RCTQ because my DH put it on my favorites list when he installed new equipment while I was out of town. It took me several weeks before I got down to it, because they were listed alphabetically. This is the only one I still follow because all the others, even though DH chose carefully only topics that interest me (after 38 years, he oughta know!), but the others are unpleasant either because of personal attacks on other posters or because of extremely foul language. I came to be a quilter slowly. We never had quilts when I was a kid, only blankets. When I got married, my DH's grandmother, a quilter, had quilted 3 quilts for my MIL to give to her DILs when her sons got married. Since we were the first to marry, I got first choice. I picked out the plainest one, being unimpressed by quilts. Boy, was that stupid! The other two were applique, and really quite pretty, but I picked out the one that was plain muslin with blue binding and quilting. We still have it, stained in places, but otherwise intact. The Bicentennial, I think, is what got me interested, with its emphasis on history and early American things like quilts. I bought a preprinted queen size cross stitch quilt top and started stitching...and stitching...and stitching...and stitching. I should have started out on something like tea towels. After a year or so, we moved when my DH got a job elsewhere, and it got packed into a box -- and never has been unpacked since then. Not much later I saw a Tree of Life double bed size applique quilt kit and bought it. See, I was learning -- slowly, but learning. This was smaller and only required me to sew the colored areas on, not create them with cross stitches. Then I finally found a fulltime job with an hour's commute time each way, and my diminished sewing time became fully committed to making clothes for myself. I always bought the McCall's Sewing and Crafts Magazine when it was a big quarterly publication and read it cover to cover, mentally planning out how I would finish several projects, what colors I would choose, and where or how I would use the completed projects. There was one coverlet made of velvet that had a Moorish look to it. It was made entirely of wavy diamonds -- the sides curved instead of being straight. I was going to get a yard or two of polyester velvet in purple, blue, and turquoise, cut it into myriads of wavy-sided diamonds, and construct myself a gorgeous bedspread. My mother tried to talk me out of it, stressing the difficulty of sewing all those bias shapes together in a slippery fabric. I was undaunted. Then she pointed out how many yards I would have to buy, helping me measure the size of the bed and the side hangs. Armed with the yardage needed, I went to the fabric store and looked at the price of that velvet. That did daunt me. I walked out empty-handed. Then I started seeing this little magazine called Quilter's Newsletter. It came out monthly and was cheap, so I started reading it cover to cover. The projects looked interesting -- and they were all quilts. Pieced quilts caught my eye. I figured this was for me: I already knew how to sew -- quite well, thank you very much. On the machine, it would go quickly, so my lack of unoccupied hours and hours did not present a problem. And since I sewed a lot, I had plenty of scraps to make quiltse out of. Whoops! I hit a snag. This was in the days when polyester and double knits were riding high, with polyester double knits riding highest of all. I needed a different kind of cloth, different thread, different needles. Ah well, I reasoned, I was working fulltime, going to graduate school at night, so what business did I have adding more onto that? Stuff it back into a mental closet, but keep reading the magazines. Then in 1995 0r '96, Cloth World (now JoAnns) came out with precut BOMs. Just $3.99 a month, so I started buying, opening and reading them. Then, recognizing my lack of time, I put them carefully away in the translucent plastic box labeled with the quilt name -- until the next month's BOM appeared. Now they cost $6.95 a month, and I hoard my 50% coupons to buy them, with an extra on payday. Quilting is like any other addiction, starting out innocently. Then slowly, insidiously, it twines its tentacles down into your very being until it owns you. This newsgroup has no similarity to Alcoholics Anonymous, but a great similarity to the dealer on the corner. I started working at the Texas Education Agency in 1998, visiting school districts to check on their compliance with school law and the quality of their teaching programs. Boy, doesn't that make me sound like a high muckety-muck! In reality, we had a set format to follow, with specific things to check, and a set format for the report we had to write each week. If everything went smoothly, I might have some free time on Thursday afternoon of the visit, so I learned to haul out the local phone book on checking into the hotel and looking in the yellow pages for quilt shops -- fabric shops if nothing was listed under "Quilts." Then I started making sure I had time to visit quilt shops. I hit the jackpot one week when a Central Texas Quilt Hop was scheduled. I was staying in a town with one shop, and visiting a school district in another town that had a LQS. My traveling partner was coming from Houston, meeting me at the hotel Monday evening. I left Austin as early as possible, and managed to swing through two other towns -- and LQSes -- listed. The school district was all hunky-dory, so we had plenty of time. My partner had brought his golf clubs and was able to get in a round while I went LQSing on Thursday. We finished by 10:30 on Friday, and I had no deadline to arrive home. I looped around the map and caught four more LQSes by 6:00 when the last one closed and I had to go home. That was an expensive traveling week for me, because I couldn't just walk in and leave empty handed. No two quilt shops are alike, but all of them are fascinating. I kept rationalizing that "Now I have money, if not time. Soon, I will retire and have time, if not money. It just makes sense to stock up now." Well, here I am almost retired, thanks to the Texas Legislature cutting funding for education, and my annuity will be less than $2,000 a month -- not a living wage. I can go back to work for a school district after October 1. The problem there is that they can get English teachers for a lot less than they would have to pay me -- the pay scale is set by the state, depending on years of experience and education level. A school district can pay over the state rate, but must pay all equally-qualified teachers equal salaries. I love teaching, but it will seriously cut into my quilting time. Well, this ought to have given you some reading. You probably were not expecting me to go on and on so much. I hope it was pleasurable. Nell in Austin "Diana Curtis" wrote in message ... Im recovering well... certain things coming in the mail keep my spirits up, thank you muchly! But the days linger long sometimes. I havent energy to do much yet, but you, yes YOU, have the power to entertain and amuse me if you feel like it, and I hope you do... Would you please tell me how you came to post at RCTQ, and why you stay, and how you came to be a quilter and what you hope to find in your quilting future. Maybe everyone else will get some pleasure in reading these .. then I wont feel so selfish! lol Thanks in advance, Diana the slightly bored -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 |
#95
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I think Mel is planning to, and then shes going to blackmail everyone.
shrug Me, Im just going to savor the literary quality. :-) I hadnt thought to print them, simply because Im running low on paper but they will all stay in Google until I have more. They have been a facinating look into the lives of my internet family. Im grateful so many people took the time to try to alleviate my boredom, it worked! Diana -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 "Nell Reynolds" wrote in message ... Diana, these are all so interesting! I hope you plan to print them out and keep them all. Nell in Austin "Diana Curtis" wrote in message ... Im recovering well... certain things coming in the mail keep my spirits up, thank you muchly! But the days linger long sometimes. I havent energy to do much yet, but you, yes YOU, have the power to entertain and amuse me if you feel like it, and I hope you do... Would you please tell me how you came to post at RCTQ, and why you stay, and how you came to be a quilter and what you hope to find in your quilting future. Maybe everyone else will get some pleasure in reading these .. then I wont feel so selfish! lol Thanks in advance, Diana the slightly bored -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 |
#96
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Thank you!!
When it's your time in life to do something like Project Linus, do it! I couldn't have when I was working full time and had kids at home. -- Donna in Idaho! Project Linus Boise/SW Idaho Coordinator Website: http://donnakwilts.tripod.com/ The ultimate inspiration is the deadline! "Diana Curtis" wrote in message news Sometimes it does seem like good ideas just keep wacking us over the head till we get the message. You got the message fast.. two articles in that short time... cool... Its something I would like to do when Meg is less time intensive.. To give back what she was given that day. Im so glad there are people like you who are more give than take. Hugs and salute! Diana -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 "Donna in Idaho" wrote in message ... Reason for Project Linus: I bought a Viking sewing machine. Our dealer has wonderful free classes when you buy a machine from her. When the free classes were over, we all wanted to keep going - so Viking clubs were started. After a year or two of that, Doris, our dealer, mentioned that she would love to do something with our sewing abilities to help our community. Sometime after that I read two different articles about Project Linus in a two week period. Talked to Doris, we both thought that PL was just what we were looking for. Because Doris owns two sewing machine stores, she just doesn't have time to be a coordinator. However, she told me that if I would be the coordinator, she would do everything she could to help and she does! We hold our Blanket Days at one of her stores, and store all the fabric and blankets in inventory at her store, also. The rest is history . . . . . . we probably have close to 300 volunteers (some, of course, much more active than others). I have made many wonderful friends through Project Linus that I would never have met otherwise (just like here on rctq). We (my most loyal volunteers) all feel that we gain as much or more from our efforts than the kids that we give blankets too. Forgot to mention in my 'story' last night. I've had breakfast with Ragmop (and got to meet the 'frist' PT Cruiser), met Also Kim and Tiggr at the Vancouver (Washington) quilt show. Met with Also Kim another time for a fabric shopping orgy! -- Donna in Idaho! Project Linus Boise/SW Idaho Coordinator Website: http://donnakwilts.tripod.com/ The ultimate inspiration is the deadline! "Diana Curtis" wrote in message ... Thank you Donna, this has been a great tale. What made you decide to do the good work of Project Linus? Ive always thought it was a wonderful giving act but had no idea how important this kind of gift was to a child until Meg recieved a small stuffed bunny to keep while mommy was in the emergency room. I thought.. now, someone donated that to the hospital just to comfort someone like my scared little girl... I love that person, tho I will never know who it is. Got me thinking, you know? I appreciate you taking the time to add your story to all the great stories so far! Diana -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 "Donna in Idaho" wrote in message ... I have really enjoyed reading everyone's stories!! I learned to sew at the age of 9 (that would have been in 1944) when I begged my Mother to let me join 4-H - we weren't supposed to join 4-H until we were 10. So, the powers-that-be let me join, but I wasn't allowed to exhibit my sewing projects at the County Fair until I was 10. Didn't know anyone that quilted until 1970 after I moved to Arizona. Up until then I sewed lots of clothes, curtains, etc. One of my friends (and her daughters) in Arizona made what she called 'tear quilts.' They would tear fabric into four inch strips, sew the strips into big long strips and roll them up into balls. Then they would start cutting the strips to the width that they wanted their quilts to be. I loved her quilts & really wanted to make one, but at that time we barely had the money for clothes and food - nothing extra for quilts. Fast forward to late 1982 - first granddaughter was born. A friend of mine gave me copies of instructions for making a log cabin quilt that she had gotten in a class she took. Bought the fabric, knowing nothing about contrasting sides of log cabins and made my first quilt. I actually have a picture of that quilt on my website - just took the picture a couple years ago (Talena still has that quilt). Since that time I've made more quilts and wall hangings and lap quilts than I can count. In March 1997 we finally were able to get internet access (without having to pay long distance) out here in the boonies and I found rctq in June 1997. Since that time I've met several rctq'ers in person. It's wonderful how you feel like they are old friends the minute you meet. Went to the 1999 Houston quilt show and met several rctq'ers. From Houston, Wayne (my DH) and I went to visit Sarah in Las Cruces - what fun that was! Paul and Suzie got there about 4 days after we did. We offered to chauffeur Paul and Suzie for a few days and were certainly glad we did. We had a wonderful time with them. One of the things they wanted to see while they were in New Mexico was the Very Large Array (radio telescopes - here's a link to a really neat picture http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000530.html) so off we went for a two day jaunt through central New Mexico. We also made a big dent in the inventory of the two quilt shops in Las Cruces. Paul actually picked out the frog fabric that I used for my granddaughter's (Talena again!) graduation quilt. In 1998 I became SW Idaho Coordinator for Project Linus so my quilting has taken on a completely new dimension - making quilts for at-risk kids that need a hug. Not that I've made even a fraction of the blankets (quilts or afghans) that our chapter has donated - 3,511 blankets as of today!!!!!! We have lots of wonderful 'blanketeers' in our chapter. So, that's my story! I really do believe that this ng is the best! I treasure the friends I've made - both in cyberspace and face-to-face! -- Donna in Idaho! Project Linus Boise/SW Idaho Coordinator Website: http://donnakwilts.tripod.com/ The ultimate inspiration is the deadline! "Diana Curtis" wrote in message ... Im recovering well... certain things coming in the mail keep my spirits up, thank you muchly! But the days linger long sometimes. I havent energy to do much yet, but you, yes YOU, have the power to entertain and amuse me if you feel like it, and I hope you do... Would you please tell me how you came to post at RCTQ, and why you stay, and how you came to be a quilter and what you hope to find in your quilting future. Maybe everyone else will get some pleasure in reading these .. then I wont feel so selfish! lol Thanks in advance, Diana the slightly bored -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 |
#97
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Sometimes it does seem like good ideas just keep wacking us over the head
till we get the message. You got the message fast.. two articles in that short time... cool... Its something I would like to do when Meg is less time intensive.. To give back what she was given that day. Im so glad there are people like you who are more give than take. Hugs and salute! Diana -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 "Donna in Idaho" wrote in message ... Reason for Project Linus: I bought a Viking sewing machine. Our dealer has wonderful free classes when you buy a machine from her. When the free classes were over, we all wanted to keep going - so Viking clubs were started. After a year or two of that, Doris, our dealer, mentioned that she would love to do something with our sewing abilities to help our community. Sometime after that I read two different articles about Project Linus in a two week period. Talked to Doris, we both thought that PL was just what we were looking for. Because Doris owns two sewing machine stores, she just doesn't have time to be a coordinator. However, she told me that if I would be the coordinator, she would do everything she could to help and she does! We hold our Blanket Days at one of her stores, and store all the fabric and blankets in inventory at her store, also. The rest is history . . . . . . we probably have close to 300 volunteers (some, of course, much more active than others). I have made many wonderful friends through Project Linus that I would never have met otherwise (just like here on rctq). We (my most loyal volunteers) all feel that we gain as much or more from our efforts than the kids that we give blankets too. Forgot to mention in my 'story' last night. I've had breakfast with Ragmop (and got to meet the 'frist' PT Cruiser), met Also Kim and Tiggr at the Vancouver (Washington) quilt show. Met with Also Kim another time for a fabric shopping orgy! -- Donna in Idaho! Project Linus Boise/SW Idaho Coordinator Website: http://donnakwilts.tripod.com/ The ultimate inspiration is the deadline! "Diana Curtis" wrote in message ... Thank you Donna, this has been a great tale. What made you decide to do the good work of Project Linus? Ive always thought it was a wonderful giving act but had no idea how important this kind of gift was to a child until Meg recieved a small stuffed bunny to keep while mommy was in the emergency room. I thought.. now, someone donated that to the hospital just to comfort someone like my scared little girl... I love that person, tho I will never know who it is. Got me thinking, you know? I appreciate you taking the time to add your story to all the great stories so far! Diana -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 "Donna in Idaho" wrote in message ... I have really enjoyed reading everyone's stories!! I learned to sew at the age of 9 (that would have been in 1944) when I begged my Mother to let me join 4-H - we weren't supposed to join 4-H until we were 10. So, the powers-that-be let me join, but I wasn't allowed to exhibit my sewing projects at the County Fair until I was 10. Didn't know anyone that quilted until 1970 after I moved to Arizona. Up until then I sewed lots of clothes, curtains, etc. One of my friends (and her daughters) in Arizona made what she called 'tear quilts.' They would tear fabric into four inch strips, sew the strips into big long strips and roll them up into balls. Then they would start cutting the strips to the width that they wanted their quilts to be. I loved her quilts & really wanted to make one, but at that time we barely had the money for clothes and food - nothing extra for quilts. Fast forward to late 1982 - first granddaughter was born. A friend of mine gave me copies of instructions for making a log cabin quilt that she had gotten in a class she took. Bought the fabric, knowing nothing about contrasting sides of log cabins and made my first quilt. I actually have a picture of that quilt on my website - just took the picture a couple years ago (Talena still has that quilt). Since that time I've made more quilts and wall hangings and lap quilts than I can count. In March 1997 we finally were able to get internet access (without having to pay long distance) out here in the boonies and I found rctq in June 1997. Since that time I've met several rctq'ers in person. It's wonderful how you feel like they are old friends the minute you meet. Went to the 1999 Houston quilt show and met several rctq'ers. From Houston, Wayne (my DH) and I went to visit Sarah in Las Cruces - what fun that was! Paul and Suzie got there about 4 days after we did. We offered to chauffeur Paul and Suzie for a few days and were certainly glad we did. We had a wonderful time with them. One of the things they wanted to see while they were in New Mexico was the Very Large Array (radio telescopes - here's a link to a really neat picture http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000530.html) so off we went for a two day jaunt through central New Mexico. We also made a big dent in the inventory of the two quilt shops in Las Cruces. Paul actually picked out the frog fabric that I used for my granddaughter's (Talena again!) graduation quilt. In 1998 I became SW Idaho Coordinator for Project Linus so my quilting has taken on a completely new dimension - making quilts for at-risk kids that need a hug. Not that I've made even a fraction of the blankets (quilts or afghans) that our chapter has donated - 3,511 blankets as of today!!!!!! We have lots of wonderful 'blanketeers' in our chapter. So, that's my story! I really do believe that this ng is the best! I treasure the friends I've made - both in cyberspace and face-to-face! -- Donna in Idaho! Project Linus Boise/SW Idaho Coordinator Website: http://donnakwilts.tripod.com/ The ultimate inspiration is the deadline! "Diana Curtis" wrote in message ... Im recovering well... certain things coming in the mail keep my spirits up, thank you muchly! But the days linger long sometimes. I havent energy to do much yet, but you, yes YOU, have the power to entertain and amuse me if you feel like it, and I hope you do... Would you please tell me how you came to post at RCTQ, and why you stay, and how you came to be a quilter and what you hope to find in your quilting future. Maybe everyone else will get some pleasure in reading these ... then I wont feel so selfish! lol Thanks in advance, Diana the slightly bored -- http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44 |
#98
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Well thank-ee kindly ma'am for posting that - t'was only fair!
Suzie B -- "From the internet connection under the pier" Southend, UK http://community.webshots.com/user/suziekga |
#99
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Welcome Sherri - how nice to meet you!
Now you've officially de-lurked, you have to stay out y'know... Suzie B -- "From the internet connection under the pier" Southend, UK http://community.webshots.com/user/suziekga |
#100
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In article , Paul & Suzie
Beckwith writes Aha - if you like mead, you need to get Anty Krysia to send you a bottle of honey vodka - Krupnik - from Poland - its like mead, but on steroids... And - picture the scene if you will - O'Hare Airport Immigration desk, "what is the purpose of your visit" "to visit friends off the internet" and me promptly digging in my purse for a well-thumbed piece of paper with Sarah's address written on it.. you should have seen the look on the immigration officers face... Suzie B p.s. - when you gonna tell us why you started and etc? -- "From the internet connection under the pier" Southend, UK http://community.webshots.com/user/suziekga Oh you didnt do that too did you? I made that mistake one year and as soon as it came out of my mouth I knew I shouldnt have said that. Fortunately he was happy just to see my return ticket, and hotel booking all of which were at the bottom of my bag of course. :-) -- ally |
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