Let's Celebrate!

Nine years and 1800 posts. Yep, you read that right; this is a milestone post for me. It actually began a little over nine years ago, June of 2006 to be exact. My son talked me into starting a blog, I really wasn't interested at the time; I didn't know what I would blog about. Ahem; I guess I figured that out! Over the years this place has become a forum for miscellany from me: commentaries, quilty content, book reviews, product recommendations, grandchildren show and tell, opinion pieces, faith stories, sewing projects, prayers, photo gallery, travelogue, time management tips, quilt shop reviews, household hints, and a place to brag about Hannes the wonder dog. I have sought advice here and asked for your opinions. If you've been a reader from the beginning, are an occasional visitor or even if you're brand new to The Strawberry Patch, I thank you for taking the time to stop by. Through the years I have considered, at several times, giving this up; but I haven't, I've gone on hiatus and returned, something has always drawn me back. I have some friends and family members who keep up with me through this venue, that's been enough to keep me fueled and running even when it's been on barely more than fumes. If you read my previous post, you know that I attended a memorial service for a freind last week. When I was greeting her husband at the reception afterwards he mentioned to me how Marianna read my blog faithfully, I was deeply touched.  One of the greatest side benefits of blogging has been meeting up with some blogger friends in real life... that has been both exciting and affirming, almost like spending time with a pen pal, there has been that instant recognition of previously shared time together (even though it was cyber in nature), omitting all of the awkward small talk and ice-breakers that normally accompany an initial get-together. In sincere appreciation for you being here and in celebration of this milestone I would like to host a little giveaway, it's a small, yet sincere, token of my thanks for your readership and your encouragement over the years. Just leave me a comment; I'd love to know why you've stopped by and for how long you've been coming back to this spot. I'll draw a winning name, at random, sometime next week. Thanks again, now... let's celebrate; 1800 and more to come!

Life is Good!

Hop Around The World...

Last week Quiltdivajulie posted during the "Around The World Blog Hop Tour" and invited me to follow her lead. I was thrilled to be asked! I always enjoy learning more about the people behind the blogs, who they are and what creative process they use that makes them, and their quilts, distinctive and unique.  

I blog under the name Mrs. Goodneedle and have done so for the last eight years; I share quilts and other sewing projects as well as my life, family and faith stories on an almost-daily basis.

I have been a quiltmaker since 1983, my first project was a sampler quilt done by the lap-quilting method (made popular by Georgia Bonesteel) it was hand quilted and took two years to complete! I gave that quilt to my then 5 year old son who proclaimed that sleeping under it was "like being covered with love". That was all the encouragement I needed and have never looked back! Quiltmaking is my life; I love every aspect of the process.

I am married to my high school sweetheart, have been for 39+ years; we have two children, an awesome son-in-law and daughter-in-law, and four remarkable grandchildren. Life is good, as I state at the end of every blog post; it really, truly, is!

Now, on to the Q&A format:

"Adding Curves" ~ Setting and blocks-of-the-month currently on the design wall.

What am I currently working on?  I am not any different from most quilters that I know, I'm never only working on one thing at a time! But, the blocks above (and layout diagram) are currently what's on the design wall. I am also working on a few other projects simultaneously as well as quilting yet another small quilt on the longarm at the present time. I enjoy challenges, and the piecing on this one is no exception to that statement. Since the blocks from these recent workshops are totally composed from squares and rectangles I thought that adding curves (hence, the quilt's name) might prove interesting to the overall appearance of the quilt. While designing settings I am also thinking ahead the whole time to how this might be quilted, adding yet another dimension to the whole. I believe the secondary circles that are created by this setting will provide a nice canvas for some pretty quilting to set off those emerging shapes. 

Templates and tools for cutting the alternate Orange Peel blocks for setting "Adding Curves".

I'm not afraid of templates when it comes to piecing; since I've been a quilter for a very long time, this was the foundation that my quilting skills were built upon. I use every tool in the toolbox and sometimes going back to basics is exactly what it takes!

"Adding Angles"  ~ This is the sister quilt to "Adding Curves"; same blocks, different colors and setting.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?  I'm not really sure that it does. I am greatly inspired, and no doubt influenced, by the works of others.  I tend toward details; those little "extras" that add a pop of color or an unexpected touch, to make my work my own.  I will add piping to almost any binding at the drop of a hat! I always joke that I can turn any project into a career move. Since I've already admitted that my first quilt took two years to complete, it's safe to say that I am not a fast quilter by any stretch to the imagination. I work slowly, and listen to my heart; I make quilts to satisfy my own creative desires.

"Swiss Baskets" begun in 1999 and only recently completed. The design, quilting and piping make it one of a kind. The finished quilt can be viewed here.  

Why do I create what I do?  I believe that each and every quilt is a culmination of where I am, and what I've learned, at this point in time.  Could I have completed the quilt above sooner? Of course! Would it look like it does now? Absolutely not! Why not? Because I didn't have the skills in 1999 to see this one through in the manner it is finished today. Does that matter? Probably not; but who's to say?  I love to learn new things.  I have a huge queue of quilt tops waiting to be quilted... as I test my wings and learn techniques to improve my own quilting stitches I am happy to have those tops to practice upon. I create quilts to experiment and try out the latest tricks from the classes that I've taken, or from the books that I've read. If the quilts aren't used or displayed in our home they're given away as gifts, every quilt has a home. 

"Feathered Friends" this small quilt is benefitting from quilted feather techniques learned in a class that I took  this past summer.

Six inch blocks from "The Quilt Block Bible", writing up cutting directions for these is a current obsession.

Recently I was drawn to the 202 blocks, and this book, by Rosemary Youngs.  The book is a lovely composition of photographs and line drawings, there are no instructions for cutting and piecing the blocks. I have enlisted my best friend, and quilting buddy, to help me out. We have divided the book in half and are each writing directions, and piecing blocks, as we go along. I am drawing from a stash of accumulated scraps and going for a very traditional scrappy look; this is also a perfect opportunity to employ all of those specialty rulers that I have purchased over the years, precision piecing is my goal and I won't settle for less than perfect points and corners, this self-imposed challenge is both demanding and satisfying at the same time. 

How does my creative process work?  I jot down ideas as they come to me, sometimes it's a phrase or a quote; sometimes it's a color combination or even a happy memory that bubbles to the surface... I make a lot of notes when I am creating. My go-to design tool is EQ7. I can audition my ideas using that software program and, usually, come up with a neat and tidy design plan that reflects my concept, interpreting my ideas into stitchable units.

"It's The Journey"  a challenge incorporating randomly drawn color and design elements to create a unique quilt.

This 49" X 61" wallhanging was designed entirely in EQ7.  As the design elements were revealed in an organized group challenge, components were changed and tweaked, meeting the new criteria at every step along the way. The path was never a clear one; the quote became as much a definition of the process as the challenge itself. It wasn't until the final border was added that I realized it never had been about the destination after all, it was about the journey all along; the creative process didn't let me down, but rather, documented my routing.

That's it for me. Now I would like to go on to introduce you to Laura, she'll be posting at Tanderwen Quilts next Monday, she's an amazing quilter possessing a very creative spirit; you will be in awe of her talent!  I have not been able to procure more participants for next week, as directed; they've either already been tagged, have already posted via this format or would rather not post at all, I am sorry about that. Laura will more than make up for it though, she is clever enough to be three bloggers in one; you'll see what I mean.

Laura and her incredibly detailed whole cloth quilt, "Atlantis",  juried into the AQS show in Charlotte.

Life is Good!

Pieceful Playtime

Late this past summer I decided to take all of the leftover low volume fabric scraps from the two Chicken Soup quilts I was making for my children for Christmas and, following the Star Flower tutorial over at A Crafty Fox's blog, cut them into sixty degree diamonds. I needed three hundred diamonds to make fifty star flowers, as luck would have it, because I didn't know when to stop collecting fabrics, that wasn't a problem at all!  The stars themselves went together as easy as could be.
I was fearful of setting the stars into rows though, I worried about setting in the hexagon shapes and getting all those star points to line up. As it turned out the worry was for nothing.

The first two rows went together without a hitch this weekend. It took some time, careful attention was paid to pinning and to pressing, but as you can see it went together smoothly. This project isn't one for the "Quilt In A Day" crowd; not at all! This is one quilt that will grow and develop over the next few months. I will work on it when I have long, free afternoons and evenings...on those rare occasions when I can take my time and really enjoy the piecing process. I absolutley love what is unfolding here; all from those Chicken Soup leftovers. Can't you just imagine this one quilted? I can...

Life is Good!

Standing The Test Of Time

"All Are Precious In His Sight" 55" X 65"

This picture is from a previous post, six and a half years ago! The pattern is called "American Melting Pot" as published in McCall's Quilting magazine somtime back in the mid 1990's.  I added the applique border after taking a Sue Nickels workshop on machine applique, creating my own version.  In this photo the quilt is pin basted for quilting on my domestic machine, this one pre-dates Sundance. Imagine my surprise, this week, when I traveled to the Capital City to meet up with a fellow blogger in real life and she gave me this wonderful gift:

Don't you just love this precious little dolly/ friendship block? The quiltmaker/blogger is Pam Lincoln from over at Mama Spark's World. I have followed her for what seems like forever and literally jumped at the chance to meet her when she contacted me to let me know she'd be in North Carolina for a visit! We had the very best of times, albeit short; too short! In the friendship block that she made for me I have decided that  Pam is on the right and I am on the left (she's recently been to the beach and has a bit more color than me!). I am thankful for this friend and am already planning our next get-together, perhaps a year from now. Some things: friends and patterns, just stand the test of time!

Life is Good!

Billy Bag, The Good Birds Club, and Why I Blog

This bag hangs in my sewing room, its name is Billy. It was a gift from a friend, a blogging friend; one who was unknown to me, in real life before I blogged. Through the years we've shared stories and small gifts, we've prayed for each other through difficult situations and celebrated together the births of grandchildren, weddings, and good news of every variety. We've sewed for each other, and together for people unknown to us except through the wonderful world of Blogger. We became friends, blogging friends, and life was good.

Yesterday Gregory came to play for the day. We watched Sesame Street together. I became interested in the show when Big Bird received an invitation to join a particular club: "The Good Birds Club". Big Bird was excited to be invited and wanted, so very desperately, to become a member; but, he soon found out, that the invitation came with conditions. To be a "Good Bird" he needed to change his appearance and his voice, he was required to become someone other than who he was. This lesson for the viewer was about the power and the effects of bullying; one that can't be learned too early or communicated too often. In the end, Big Bird understood, through his real friends, the value of being exactly who he is, and how being genuine and loving himself was his TRUE gift to others.

There's been a buzz among bloggers lately concerning the "why" of blogging. I know why I blog and I make no apologies for my posts not appealing to all of the people all of the time. My blog contains posts about me and my life, a LOT of that life is consumed with quilting and, hence, there is much quilt and sewing related content, but that's not ALL that this blog is about anymore than that is ALL that I am about. I love my family, home, my dog, nature, hiking, the outdoors, technology, opinions, humor, music, travel, food and entertainment; I post about those things here too. My faith is fundamental to who I am; yes, I will post about my church and share my faith through this blog. I cherish my friends, both real (face-to-face) and the blogger variety, their friendships are all genuine. My blog is a true reflection of who I am, I don't try to present myself as someone else or post about what's new and trendy simply to draw more readers; to be honest, I wouldn't know how. I don't choose to advertise for compensation on my blog but, then, I don't make my living here, either. I respect the choice of those who carry ads on their sidebars and I understand that if they're selling books, services and products why this would be a sound choice and a perfect venue for them. I purchase those books and products and am happy to know where I can find what I need when I need it. There's a great big blogosphere here and there's room for all of us to exist in our own comfy little niches. I don't blog to live, nor do I live to blog; but I do LOVE to blog and I will continue to do so when I have something of interest to share through a post. I have lots more to say than I ever thought possible when my blogging journey began back in July of 2006. (Those of you who know me, in real life, won't find that hard to believe.) I love to talk, I adore story telling and I can't help but share my life... it's all good, you know! What started off as a few essays and a little quilty 'show and tell' became so much more. Once I discovered that more than just me sharing with you, there was real life give and take. There were opportunities through blogging that enabled us to join forces and truly share. The ripple effect of lives touched through friendships made here, was, and continues to be, truly amazing! Blogging is not a burden for me, but rather, a blessing. I'm happy when you stop by and I appreciate your comments, but I certainly don't expect them and I understand why many of you are questioning how to best use your time right now and may be considering abandoning your blogs altogether. I have taken one extended blogger break and many shorter "time outs" over the course of the last five years, maybe that's an alternative to consider. In any case, if you can't come up with a reason to continue blogging, or if you find yourself blogging out of a sense of obligation, remember Big Bird and what he learned, you need to be true to YOU. What it all comes down to is this: if your blog is good enough for you, then it's good enough.

Back to the Billy bag (above), and what it represents. It was given to me by Nancy, who blogs from Near Philadelphia. We met, for real, this past summer. She made this bag especially for me from her beloved William Morris fabrics (hence the name, Billy), whenever I use this bag I think of Nancy and how very special she is. She knows me for who I am, we became old friends before we'd even met! We started out as blogging friends, then became real life friends; we have hugged, and the circle expands. That, my friends, is why I blog.

Life is Good...

and through blogging

it is even better!

Wheel Of Fortune

Back in early August our Guild was treated to a program featuring the antique quilt collection of a fellow member, Susan McGirr. Her trunk show was vast and all-encompassing, everything from pieced and appliqued tops to glorious finished quilts. Pictured here is a "Wheel of Fortune" top, a Carpenter's Wheel variation. I love this one.

There was another pieced quilt, an older one; I can't identify this block name.

heard it referred to as "Texas Tears" but I can't confirm that. Most of Susan's collection was acquired while she lived in Texas, so that might be right, but I'm not sure. Does anyone know? I adore the simplicity of this block and the way it is set alternating dark and light backgrounds.

Susan's latest obsession is purchasing quilts and tops for her collection from E-bay; as well as from on-line auctions for a cause, like Ami Simm's AAQI quilts.

She passed around a few of those for us to see up close and imagine my surprise when I was suddenly holding this quilt, made by none other than our very own blogging buddy, Quiltdivajulie! I felt momentarily overwhelmed by the connection. Blogging has certainly made our world a smaller one. The Wheel of Fortune was certainly spinning for me that evening, I drove home humming and happy; feeling like the luckiest woman out there for all the inspiration and connections to other quiltmakers through time and space, both near and far!

Life is Good!

Standing In The Need of Prayer

The blog is a powerful tool! I can safely say that it's much more powerful and far-reaching than we realize. We set out to jot our thoughts in this public forum, add a photo, hit "publish", and off we go. But, it goes farther than that, and deeper. People we've never met read what we write, some leave comments and some don't; some send an e-mail. Paula sent me an e-mail, she is a quilter and a long-time reader, she asked if I would pray on her behalf; with significant health issues she is facing hospitalization and surgery next Tuesday. I knew right away that I could do better than that, I could ask all of you to join me in prayer for this courageous lady. She is standing in need of serious prayer; we can lift her up and support her through this difficult time. Yes, the blog is a powerful tool, but not nearly as as powerful as our collective prayers.

Life is Good!

Stars Over Leehaven

Stars fell on North Carolina (apology to Alabama!) a few weeks ago, "Stars Over Leehaven", that is! This quilt arrived here as a flimsie from Quiltdiva Julie in TN who had set the friendship blocks together in this dynamic setting (front and back!) for our dear friend Karen Dianne, from FL. Sundance worked her magic, stitching pretty swirls all over the surface with a bright turquoise thread, adding movement and texture. KD had requested a wool batt, this was a first for me as far as quilting goes, it behaved quite well and the quilting took on a whole new (deeper) dimension; I absolutely love it! It is soft, warm and oh-so lightweight. Another first for Sundance and me... quilting a reversible quilt! The back contains signature blocks and more stars! Now it's off again; this time to Nancy, who blogs near Philadelphia, she will add the binding before it's final, homeward journey back to FL. It's fitting that Nancy should finish it, she initiated this block swap idea a while back and just take a look now at what she started! Blogging is what drew us together... Karen Dianne and Nancy and Julie and me, and now we're bound by so much more; meaningful, mutual friendship... and a quilt!

Life is Good!

I'm Sorry, Snapfish!

I uploaded some photos from my Snapfish account and ordered prints to be made, and picked up, at my local Walgreens. I was having dinner with friends and wanted to carry along the latest, cutest, shots of Mason! (Of course!) I received an e-mail saying that the prints were ready. I ran into Walgreens on my way to dinner, gave the gal at the photo desk my name and she checked. Nope, they weren't there. "Did I have the right Walgreens", she asked. Yes. I told her I'd received the e-mail. She told me to resubmit them, "sometimes this kind of thing happens", she explained. I did. Same scenario the next day... e-mail received, this time I called Walgreens and was assured they were there. I stopped in, "no" this time the gal suggested I wait another day. I was sure I was at the right store and explained that I had phoned. No photos. On Friday they called the house, the prints were ready, finally! When I went into the store they were NOT there. This was just plain ridiculous at this point. When I told her about the phone call from THEM she typed my phone number into the computer. "Excuse me" she murmured, went back to the file area and produced an envelope of prints. She held it out to me and asked: "is this you"? I smiled, "yes" that's me". I forgot that I had set up my Snapfish account with my blogger name! No wonder they couldn't find them at Walgreens when I was using my real-life, everyday, name! The photos had been there all along! I'm sorry Snapfish, for all the bad things I thought about you. This is what happens when real world and blogger worlds collide! Oh, and that latest, cutest, picture of Mason? It was definitely worth waiting for; three months old and full of happy smiles!

Life is Good!