Beautiful clouds

Sometimes we will have an amazing sky. I have to learned to grab my camera immediately and take pictures. It can disappear in a matter of minutes.

Lessons From The Plain People

I had the privilege of attending an auction here in Southern Maryland put on by the local Amish population. We are not at all like Lancaster Pa----thank goodness---and work quite hard to keep the outside world away from these families. We support them in a way they respect by employing them as builders and buy their products from fresh produce to quilts. Many people do not even realize there is a considerable population that lives here. We all know they live without many of our modern conveniences.
I spent all day there yesterday feasting my eyes on their quilts and other products that were auctioned off. The prices were much lower this year due to our economy I am to assume. There were just as many buyers there as previous years.
But the very best part of this day is watching and talking to these families. I am a quilter myself so it is easy to strike up a conversation about a common love and passion. They use the proceeds of this day to pay their medical bills as they do not have insurance. They accept NO government assistance in any way and take care of their own. All children born to these families are a gift from God. If one is born less than perfect, she is accepted and raised by the family. They do not clamor for special education, buildings to be rebuilt to accommodate her or a one on one aide paid for by the overburdened State or Federal government to follow her around in school. If she cannot attend the local school, she is taught what she can learn at home. The elders in their population have a place of honor for their knowledge and experience. They work until the day they die if that is at all possible. Retirement is a foreign concept to them. They would never want to be idle.

When we talked about making less money on their quilts and what to do….she answered I guess we will need to make more to sell next year. The whole family worked here making the day successful. Teens were helping their families as were the very young. There was no whining and complaining as the goal was to make money for their community. There was a huge amount of food to sell and it sells very well. They price things fairly and do not desire to gouge people.

When there is problem to be worked out, they do not have to consult blogs or news people who are actually more celebrities than news reporters or surf the internet to try to find some obscure fact. They talk in person and figure out how to fix it. Gas prices are of no concern to them as they use a horse and buggy. The byproduct of the horses is the valuable manure used to help grown their food. I doubt they even know the stock market has fallen as their money is kept in a savings account at the local bank.

There is very little complaining about much of anything. These are people of a great faith and do not question why certain things happen. They adjust their life to accommodate the happening and then work in into their lives. They waste no time wondering “WHY”. If it happened, it was meant to be.
They are excellent business people and are masters at figuring out ways to earn extra money. Their workmanship is highly sought after and their work ethic one of honor.

So, the question I wonder is---------who is better off today?

Fall is Here

Fall is definitely here and has produced some lovely colors in the leaves. I also had a huge flock on geese is the corn field behind our house.

Cosmos

I planted some cosmos from seeds this year. They are one of the smallest seeds I have ever seen. But the plants that come from them are HUGE. It takes a long time for them to bloom but will give color until our first frost.

Potholder Fun

I am woefully behind on the wonderful blocks Carol Doak gives those of us on her email group. She has started another BOM and I thought the first one would make a perfect potholder. It went together easily.

I find striped fabric to be a challenge but putting it the other way makes it much easier.

Machine quilting FUN

I have finally reached the point in which free motion quilting is fun. This has been a long journey for me.

I decided to do an Irish Chain in fall colors. I wanted to put a cat motiff in the white part and wanted it to show up. So I used a varigated thread. I knew every single mistake would show up and went carefully.

Company at our House

Tuggy is visiting for a week while his Mom and Dad are vacationing in Las Vegas. He knows our dogs as they have stayed at his house. He is a good boy but BIG. I call him Hoss sometimes. I am teaching him to sit and stay while here. He is smart and learns fast. His Mom will be impressed with him. BTW--- Mom is my daughter.

He loves to watch the world go by outside out window.

Buckeye Beauty

Here is the quilt I just finished. I wanted something very light weight for the summer. I used no batting in this and just did stitch in the ditch quilting. I did pin very well as I hate puckers.

This pattern is by Eleanor Burns in her book Quilts through The Seasons. It was supposed to be made using 5 inch charms but I just cut up my own. If I were to make it again--I would cut them 5 1/2 and trim a little. They came up a little small.

Another great quilt pattern that was fun and easy. And just the perfect weight for summer.

Fusible Fun

I have decided to try making smaller projects. I have several bed sized quilts and struggle quilting them on my sewing machine.

While in Nashville I purchased a couple of patterns by Amy Bradley. Hers are quirky and lots of fun to look at. I have a good sized space on my wall at work and will make different ones to fit that space.

I changed the pattern a little bit to make the borders easier. The little quilts were a bit of a challenge but turned out well. I decided to try a quilting thread that would really stand out. My stitches are getting better.

The big white buttons were from a coat my Mothers used to have. She removed them to save them for something else.

Nashville

My husband and I went to the Nashville Quilt Show. We stayed at the beautiful Gaylord Hotel in total luxury. I was able to meet up with many internet quilting friends.

I went to a Show and Tell with Eleanore Burns and brought one of my Quilts of Valor. She is such a fun and gracious lady. I was able to read the letter from the soldier I received.