Lady Slippers

Today while walking in the woods, we were fortunate to come across the biggest patch of lady slippers I have ever seen. They bloom in late spring/early summer along the water here. They have always grown in the same place along our lake, and I was told since I was a little girl never to pick them, that they were on the endangered list. This year, we were here at the right time to see them. Usually we come later in the season and they have already gone by. DH was excited to see them, he grows orchids at home in Fl and these are in the orchid family (cypripedium acaule).

Fabric Shopping in Maine

Like most quilters, I am always on the lookout for wonderful fabric. And, wonderful fabric at bargain prices is even better! Hands down, my favorite place to shop for fabric is at a chain of surplus and salvage stores, Marden's. Or as we like to call it, Maaaaaaarden's. They have several locations. I have only been to the Waterville and Lewiston locations. Where else could you find row after row of fabric from RJR, Henry Glass, Nancy Crow, Thimbleberries, etc. at 2.99 per yard?? It is not the latest "season", but who cares? To avoid random feeding frenzy type buying, I go with a pattern and/or a plan of what I am looking for. On my latest foray, I went looking for blue/white batik or oriental print fabric for the Peace Quilt. I found a mosaica pattern in blues and whites which I may use for the backing. But, what took my breath away was 2 large scale prints by Jane Sassaman. I bought them both, I think they would be perfect for Stack and Whack.

On a recent visit to my Dad, he took me to lunch at Hattie's Chowder House in Hallowell. I was trying to explain to him what a longarm machine was. After lunch, we walked up the hill to Whippersnappers quilt shop. We met Lynn, the owner, and she was in the back, working on her longarm! She generously let me show my Dad what all the excitement was all about. Whippersnappers is a very well equipped shop, and Lynn is very engaging and helpful. I bought some supplies for fabric painting and found some books I had been looking for, but had never gotten a chance to look through. While we were there, we picked up a pamphlet of Quilt Shops in Maine. I have since visited a couple of the 30 stores listed there.

Yesterday, we visited the Yardgoods Center in Waterville. After a little trouble finding it (my GPS would not accept the address) it was worth the trip! They advertise themselves as 10 stores in one, and they are not kidding. I stayed in the quilting section, but there was more yarn in one place than I have ever seen, rubber stamps, needlework, upholstery fabric, sewing machines, and a bridal section. They had an excellent selection of books, tools and fabric at usual quilt shop prices. I found some great orientals for my Peace Quilt, some interesting marbled fabric for a quilt I am planning based on the tile floors I saw on a trip to Italy, and a book for my friend Dana who collects ethnic fabrics. They also had one of the cutest dogs I have ever seen, a Tibetan Terrier. He looked like a miniature Wheaton. He entertained visitors by running amok in the store, untied my shoe laces, grabbed a ribbon roll from the window display and ran through the store as it unspooled. After all this excitement, his Dad put him in timeout in his crate.

The other stores that I never miss while I am here are the Fabric Warehouse in Lewiston/Auburn (formerly Charlaine's) and OnBoard Fabrics in Edgcomb. They are both owned by the same entity. Fabric Warehouse is a bit more industrial, lots of upholstery fabric, wool, leather, foam, fleece, zippers, thread, quilting fabrics too, all at discount (but not 2.99) prices. They are both located in big warehouses and filled with wonderful treasures. OnBoard also hangs winners of the Hoffman Challenge quilts when they are on tour. Last time I was at OnBoard, I found a pack of about 50 8 inch squares of silks tied together for $5.00. I sewed them together and made a gorgeous throw quilt.

The Peace Quilt

We travel here by car with our cat, Carmine. I have what could be described as a well-stocked sewing room in Florida (insert eye roll here). It was a challenge to decide what to bring with me for quilting in Maine. Fortunately, I did not have a lot of time to think about it. DH decided to leave about a week ahead of schedule because of a good weather window. I looked around and grabbed one pattern (The Peace Quilt by Margaret Rolfe), one book (French Braid Quilts) and one magazine (the latest Quiltmaker). And four collections of blue and white fat quarters that I have been saving for a few years for a Special Project. I hoped that would be enough to keep me busy. I think it will be!

I started the Peace Quilt yesterday. It has 98 paper pieced origami style cranes set on a diagonal. I am going to make it with a white background, and the cranes will be light blues and dark blues, mostly batiks. Haven't decided about the sashing that holds them together, yet. I have always been captivated by the legend of the crane. According to Japanese legend, if you fold 1000 cranes, a wish will come true. A young schoolgirl who had been exposed to radiation after Hiroshima started folding cranes, with the wish that she would become well. She did not finish folding the cranes by the time she died of radiation poisoning. Her classmates finished folding the cranes, and a statue was erected in her memory at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. The statue shows a girl holding up a large crane. At the foot of the statue are the words: This is our cry, this is our prayer, Peace in the world.

My Addiction

I first got interested in quilting back in the late 70's while I was in college. I got away from it in the 80's and 90's, when I lived in California and Florida, went to grad school, and started my career in Sleep Medicine. About 5 years ago, I had a patient who was working on a lap quilt in my office. I couldn't get over how beautiful it was, and asked her a million questions about it. She looked at me, puzzled, and said "Did you know there are 3 excellent quilt shops within 10 miles of here?" I found out where they were, signed up for a class, and was hooked again, for life! When I opened my business, a Sleep Disorders Center, it seemed a natural place for me to hang my quilts on the walls. I got great feedback about the quilts. They seemed to make people feel comfortable, at home, nurtured. And, they allowed me to explore my creativity and re-found passion. I just kept making more quilts! Who knew there was so much to explore beyond piecing? Strings, applique, crazy quilting, wool, fusibles, paper piecing! Earlier this year, I even went a little crazy and bought a longarm.

DH made me a dedicated sewing area in our little cabin this year, which is working out brilliantly! It is an L shaped counter with just room for my sewing machine, small cutting mat and mini ironing board. In past years, I have always sewn on the table, and had to put everything away at mealtime. This is a definite improvement!

In Our Cabin in the Woods

We have just arrived at our cabin in Maine. This is the time of year when DH and I come to our little cabin in the deep woods and drop off the radar of our daily lives in Florida. It is what puts the occasional craziness of the rest of the year in perspective for us. Here, we listen to the loons calling on the lake, kayak, fish, work in our garden, hang with family, and I work on my quilts!