Wisconsin Quilt Expo,Chapter Two

The Wisconsin Quilt Expo is a unique event in our industry. I don't think most people realize that  Nancy Zieman founded this show with the intention that it would be a fund-raiser for Wisconsin Public Television.

Nancy died last November. I still cry when I remember she is gone...and I was afraid it would be sad to walk into her show, knowing she wouldn't be there..... But from the first moment -- I felt nothing but joy. All around me. In every aisle...at every class...

And that doesn't just happen, people. Putting together a show this big and wonderful is a 365 days a year job.  So, without Nancy at the helm -- who's doing all the work??

You guessed it -- Deanna Springer!!

Deanna was with Nancy from the very beginning of Quilt Expo -- when it was nothing more than a dream in Nancy's head.  But Deanna understood EXACTLY what the dream was -- and she is still bringing it together -- on the first weekend in September -- in beautiful, scenic Madison Wisconsin...

There was so much energy and excitement at this show. The pictures really don't tell the story.

The first thing you notice is that the aisles were packed!!

The hundreds of vendor booths were doing a boom business.

At the free stage -- it was standing room only.

The Wisconsin Quilt Expo has a roster of impressive teachers -- including the wonderful Diane Gloystein.

Her embroidered silk coat is legendary...

This was the first time I got to see it UP CLOSE and personal...

Hey -- WHO'S THAT, WAVING AT ME??

OH, YEAH -- it's Linda McGehee!! All the way from Louisiana!!

One of the many, many lessons I learned from my friend Nancy Zieman is to live each and every day to the hilt. Enjoy what you have....don't take a moment for granted...because nobody is guaranteed tomorrow.

Well done, Nancy and Deanna...

Wisconsin Quilt Expo

There has been so much going on lately, I hardly have time to DO IT ALL, much less BLOG ABOUT IT...

One of the most exciting events in the USA quilting scene is the Wisconsin Quilt Expo -- September 6-8, in Madison, Wisconsin.

I was QUITE DELIGHTED to learn that my wonderful Scott County Library was putting together a BUS TRIP!!

Madison is a 3 hour drive north of here -- and the best thing about taking the bus is that I CAN TAKE A NAP while we motor our way upl

It was a lovely, comfortable, air-conditioned motor coach!!

My cousin Linda went with me.

There were SO MANY wonderful quilts on exhibit.

Linda signed up for a scrap quilt class. (and was the first one in the room!)

One of the unique exhibits was a Van Gogh challenge

Everybody used the same fabrics...

And every quilt is SO UNIQUE...

Of all the quilts I saw that day -- Kandinsky Revisited was my personal favorite!!

There were so many exhibits at the show -- it was hard to know where to look first...

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL quilt show!!

And it gets bigger and better every year!!

They have 30,000 attendees

And it felt like 30,000 different quilts!!

Tomorrow -- a behind the scene glimpse of the Wisconsin Quilt Expo...

Blast from the Past

I'm traveling for a few days...but instead of letting the blog go BLANK....I looked back in the archives....

Life is moving at WARP speed, isn't it??

**********
(from 2012)

During the Christmas holidays -- there was A LOT OF COOKING...Lillian, in one of her dozen little velvet dresses -- making cookies. She is really concentrating -- but the dress is mostly safe because, of course, she has her own little apron!!

Grandma has her own apron, too...(and my favorite necklace -- a gift from Lilly & Emily)...

The cookies are of the refrigerator-tube-variety. But that's not really the point of this activity...

It's more about having a conversation while you are doing something together...making cookies, putting stickers on the windows, watching a snow storm...making sure you are wearing just the right accessories...

When Lilly comes here, she knows exactly where her apron is hanging...
And her first choice of activity is always -- CUPCAKES!!

This isn't such a great picture -- but Lilly is sooo excited -- her little fists are moving at hyper-speed...as she presents the finished cupcakes to Grandpa...

At her own house in Wisconsin, she has a different little apron -- which also hangs on it's own hook...

Because I'm a big believer in hanging aprons on hooks in kitchens...I have several full-size aprons on this hook at all times...One of them was a gift from Mary Mulari for my 50th birthday...one is a wrap apron from the 1930's that I bought at an antique store (while shopping with Mary)...

Mary Mulari is a big part of the Farro Family apron story. Here, with John -- who is wearing his favorite "butchering apron" -- also a gift from Mary.

It's reversible -- one side is a golf fabric...

So -- my best winter-activity-advice is to GO THROUGH YOUR STASH...and make a bunch of aprons while you're snowed in. (remember -- if you can't get to the fabric store -- you could use old t-shirts for one side). Giving anybody an apron is such a practical, appreciated gift -- and what I love about it is that every time they wear the apron, they'll think about you.

If you don't have a pattern you like -- be sure to check out Mary Mulari's website --

Demorest's Family Magazine

One of the things I LOVE TO BUY at flea markets or in antique malls is old magazines...

So you can imagine my surprise when I saw this issue of "Demorest's Family Magazine" -- in excellent condition...it was a large size...I picked it up and realized

It was from OCTOBER 1898!!
I happily paid the $5 the vendor was asking for the magazine...and I could hardly wait to to buy a cup of coffee so I could sit down and read it.

I love the way they wrote stories back in those days....this profile of a successful woman writer was fascinating...

Products that no longer exist -- like "skirt protectors"?? The illustrations are so detailed -- I wonder if we could even do it nowadays. Another lost art, I suppose...

Here's a product I think we should bring back....

I'd be a big fan of anything that could make children "enjoy cleaning"...

And I wonder if this product is still around..??

Puzzle-ing

I have a puzzle table set up in the living room ALL THE TIME. Except for a few weeks during the holidays (when I put the Christmas tree up).

I do puzzles at night (to keep me out of the kitchen), and when the kids come, Lilly and Warren will both take a crack at whatever puzzle I'm working on.

Lilly has been puzzling since she was about 4 years old...and she is REALLY GOOD at it...

My puzzles of choice are 500 pieces. And, of course, I have my favorite puzzle companies.

Springbok, Sunsout, White Mountain, Cobble Hill, Bits and Pieces...

Obviously -- ALL MY PUZZLES come from thrift stores. I have a big stash of board games as well as puzzles-pending

If you buy your puzzles at Hallmark stores, you know they can cost $15 or so. But I OFTEN buy my puzzles for 25 cents...and I never pay more than $1.

So, the savings is HUGE...but the risk is always that there may be some missing pieces.

I tell the kids that a few missing pieces don't matter.  Puzzles are like people -- some are better than others.  IT'S ABOUT THE ENTERTAINMENT the puzzle provides, right?  And, the truth is, about 90% of the time, the pieces actually are ALL THERE.

Take this puzzle, for example.  It was a picture the kids both loved....We sorted out all the bright yellow pieces for Warren.  We started this puzzle on a Friday night...It went together pretty quickly...

But, at the end, we had TWO EXTRA PIECES....

I've gotta say -- THAT WAS A NEW PROBLEM!!

Sue's Birthday Gift

Sue has been one of my best friends since we first met -- maybe we were 13 years old? So -- yes, people, we've been FRIENDS FOR OVER 50 years. Ugh. How is that even possible??

In her She-Shed. Remember the great work I did on her below-the-counter curtain?

Once or twice a year -- we get together for a birthday DAY. 

And we shop.

Sometimes, Sue joins the TMBC -- this was her giving a tour of her remodeled farmhouse.

She is, to be sure, the finest homemaker I know...she uses doilies -- and STARCHES her curtains.

So, this year, for Sue's birthday -- OF COURSE I'm gonna give her a Spooner. As a special treat, I'm also giving her a set of antique silver-plated soup spoons.

But the REAL gift is that I'm gonna show her how to easily remove the tarnish.  Remember this method?

You line the pan with aluminum foil, then pour boiling water on top...and sprinkle with baking soda...

The baking soda gets all fizzy -- and there's a distinct smell from the chemical reaction of the old tarnish, and the aluminum foil...

I thought Sue would be delighted to learn this new-"simplified-Pinterest-method of get-the-tarnish-off-silver-cleaning...but, as we were waiting for the water to boil, Sue said, "if I was using my old fashioned silver polish, I'd have been half done by now..."

She will get a lot of use out of her new soup spoons this winter...