Last night was "Mountmellick" night at the shop. A group of us have been working on Di Ford's Mountmellick pattern for quite a while. I'd say just how long, but none of us can remember that far back. I think it was two years in November. I'm still working on the center medallion. Of course, needleturn applique does take more time . . .

Each of us has made the pattern our own. Patricia and Debbie have stayed a more traditional course, using mostly reproduction prints. JoEllen is using bright modern flowers on a black background, and I keep changing my mind. Charlene has not only gone with a Christmas theme, but actually re-drafted the pattern to a larger size - what an amazing quilter she is! Laura hasn't been for a while, and I can't remember what hers looks like. I'm sure it's stunning.

At any rate, we enjoy our monthly meetings. Patricia might actually be done with her quilt top, but there are more of us still working on the medallion or inner borders. It's a challenging pattern, and makes us slow down and enjoy the process.

Which brings me to what's been on my mind lately. Time. 

My birthday is just around the corner, which makes me doubly (at least) aware of time. It seems just a wee bit paradoxical that the less time I have left, the more I want to slow down and enjoy it. With a pile of nearly 50 UFOs (Un-Finished Objects), you would think I'd want to hurry up. I suspect there is a subconscious motive in there somewhere - maybe you hope you can't leave this world until you finish all your projects?

I no longer make New Year's resolutions, but this year I hope to develop some strategies to help me not only get more done, but to enjoy the doing. 

Today, I'm going to use my longarm to baste this quilt top. My paternal grandmother embroidered it many years ago, but never finished it. It has some foxing from being stored, and a couple of spots of wear. You can still see the blue dots showing the lines for hand-quilting, so that's what I'm going to do. My great-aunt gave it to me to finish several years ago. I'm going to quilt it and send it to her for her next birthday. If my arithmetic is right, she'll be 93.

Happy stitching, everyone!

New year, new strategy

Good grief! Here it is, January 11, 2018, and we haven't blogged anything since 2016. It's a quiet, rainy day here in Odessa - the forecast snow did not appear, thank goodness! Mind you, I love snow; I just don't like to shovel sidewalks. We are still working on putting things back into place after the disruption of inventory, and working on our strategy for the year.

We will celebrate our fifth anniversary as a brick and mortar quilt shop this February, and have learned a lot along the way. One of the things we haven't managed to learn is how to control our impulses when the fabric reps come to call. The shop that we started in two rooms has expanded to several rooms and a hallway. We haven't had to start displaying our goods in the bathroom yet, but it might just be a matter of time . . .

In the meantime, we've been having fun.

The Main Room of Experience Quilts!

Welcome to Experience Quilts! in Odessa, Washington.  I wanted to introduce you to the main room of our shop.  When you first walk into Experience Quilts! you will find all of our newest fabric lines.  You will also find a large selection of blenders, as well as 108" backing fabric.  In the main room are solids, florals, and modern prints.  Most of our notions, books and panels are here, also.  And you should find a friendly and helpful employee or shop owner, too!  We hope you visit one day soon.  If that's not a possibility, visit our on-line store at experience quilts.com.  ~JoEllen

I wish I had had my camera with me the other day. I arrived at Experience Quilts! just as a carload of quilters from Hermiston, Oregon were coming in the door. Then a while later, just as the last of the Oregon ladies were exiting, another group (from Ellensburg this time) arrived. I had the best time visiting with them all and assisting the staff (more like getting in the way) with cutting and check-out.
I wish I had had my camera because, as the one group was leaving and the other arriving, it occurred to me that there MUST be a name for a group of quilters. If there can be parliaments of owls and pods of whales, murders of crows and flocks of starlings, there MUST be a good name for a bunch? a cluster? a patch? of quilters.
If you haven't checked out our facebook page, be sure to do so on Wednesdays. We will be posting a series of questions, and choosing a winner from everyone who answers it each week. The prize will be one yard of fabric - absolutely free. We choose it, we cut it, and we ship it - free of charge. What could be better to a quilter than free fabric?
Keep your eyes on the prize, quilters!