quiltersmuse.com Blog

Charlotte Croft is fond of taking photos to record nature, as well as the events of family and friends. We are blessed that she is always delighting us with the images that she sends. Every time I see her self-portrait photo, I have to smile in a gleeful sort of way because, for some unknown reason, it reminds me of a very cute, nineteenth century design, of an owl with a camera. That design is offered as a free pattern on our website’s free pattern page.

Photo of Charlotte Croft with her camera, at the ready!

During the summer months, Charlotte and her family like to spend time at Caspian Lake in Greensboro, Vermont, near Hardwick. The following photo is a very interesting shot of Silver Lake in Barnard, Vermont, in which a house is reflected in the water.

Do the ripples suggest that a bug or a frog has been creating waves?

The next view is that of a tall steeple of a church in Woodstock, Vermont. This building is situated across from the park that is bordered by the two main streets in downtown Woodstock. In my opinion, churches like this one, painted white, and with tall spires reaching toward the heavens, are quintessentially New England. One can often see churches like this rising up from little villages, as seen from a road, at a distance.

As the summer season begins to greet autumn, goldenrod plants appear by the roadside. This photo captures a patch of them near a rusty mailbox in E. Barnard, Vermont.

We hope that you have enjoyed seeing these glimpses of the area. Most of us who live here in northern New England couldn’t envision living anywhere else. Right now, chrysanthemums are the flowers of choice in formal gardens and planters, the pumpkins are ready for making into jack-o-lanterns, or for baking a pumpkin pie, and the apples are crisp off the trees. The nights are cooler, and as our thoughts turn to the harvest, as we begin to envision the comfort and delights of Thanksgiving.

We all have so many blessings! Jim and I are certainly thankful for friends, like Charlotte, who share their talents with us, here at Quilter’s Muse Publications.

Patricia and James Cummings

Mary Corbet is one busy lady. Even a passing glance at her website will reveal the amount of time, thought, and devotion she has spent in trying to make the stitches of needlework comprehensible to the general public. In this unprecedented attempt at free internet sharing of videotapes she has recorded, Mary brings her written descriptions alive in a manner that exudes her patience in teaching.

Do you know how to do the Palestrina Stitch or the Double Herringbone Stitch or the Bouillion Stitch? Oh, my, but there is such a long list of stitches to choose from, already. Yet, Mary tells me that this weekend, she will be filming how to do MORE stitches!

If you love embroidery, or would like to know more about how to do the surface embroidery stitches used to create wonderful embroidered pieces, please visit Mary’s site: Needle ‘N Thread: Tips, Tricks, and Great Resources for Hand Embroidery.

Or click here, to visit her video library of stitches for hand embroidery.

Enjoy!

Patricia Cummings

Horses are beautiful creatures. I have been in love with them since I was eight years old and first took horseback riding lessons at Havey’s Riding Academy in Bedford, New Hampshire (which is no longer there). Winning a blue ribbon in my first show there, instilled a lot of pride. At that age, a ribbon of any kind is most welcome.

As time went on, we moved to the country and I got my own horse, a retired camp horse who had been a Standardbred race trotter, in his heyday. By the time I owned “Montana Red,” he was plum tired out, which was probably a good thing because it meant he was easy to handle.

Of course, then I had to get radical and wanted a younger horse. My parents bought me another gelding, only this time, the half-Arabian horse was only three and 1/2 years old and was really more than I could handle. “Lucky” was headstrong, and would go tearing through any fence we could construct, including electric fence. He thought nothing about leaping over the tall pasture gate.

Well, the horses we saw this week, at the Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock, were quite peaceful and tame and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their pasture time in the afternoon, on that couldn’t-ask-for-a-nicer day.

Horses have been celebrated in quilts, too. There is a particular artist who portrays them well, using paper-piecing techniques: Shirley Kelly. We saw her award-winning quilt, that depicts race horses, at the Troy, NY quilt show.
Until later,

Patricia Cummings

Yesterday, I stood transfixed, looking at the most adorable miniature quilt, in the Billings Museum quilt exhibit. If ever I saw one, “Giddy-up Girl” is an example of Yankee ingenuity. The little quilt is machine pieced but hand quilted. Pieces of a child’s blouse, picked up at a yard sale, no less, are utilized for the quilt blocks. Sandra Russ of Bridgewater, Vermont is responsible for this lovely creation.

Sandra Russ’ mini quilt. photo by James Cummings

Until later,

Patricia Cummings

This sensible Jersey cow is taking a rest in the shade at the Billings Farm and Museum. The farm has maintained a herd of prize-winning Jerseys since the 19th century. photo 9/18/07

No, they do not abuse the animals by painting them. These are corralled sheep are art creations at the Billings Farm and Museum, in Woodstock, Vermont – a destination worth the trip.

Their annual quilt show will continue to be on exhibit until September 23, 2007. You will love the cow theme quilt in the show. It’s marvelous! Hurry, time is running out!

Patricia Cummings