monkey hands

Dawn

 

A new day dawns. One advantage of my 5am mornings for an 8am class this winter and spring.

I've been gone from here for some time, not reading blogs, not posting, not making anything to post. 

It  feels as if that may change soon. I hope so. 

Mud

This sign on my road warns of the muddy, deeply rutted conditions ahead--a sure and welcome sign that spring has finally arrived, even in New Hampshire.

Sandy Relief Quilts: Finish Line in Sight!

Quilts one, two and three were delivered long ago. Quilts four and five are on their way! Quilt six is back from Quilter's Pantry and ready for binding, and quilt seven is assembled and on its way to talented, generous Phyllis for longarm quilting (contact info link at end of post and in side bar under Quilter's Pantry).

Anne Marie from Lisbon, Portugal made all 42 beautiful blocks for this quilt! It's number five of the seven I'm assembling and binding for the relief effort.

This is  the quilted (ready-for-binding) Sixth Sandy Relief quilt, with blocks from the North Hills Quilt Guild.  This picture only shows half of the quilt drapped over a stair railing.

This is the back of Sandy number six. The color doesn't show well here--it's a warm brown with a cheeky green dot.  I love the pattern Phyllis (Quilter's Pantry) chose for this!

And another from members of the North Hills group:

 

This is one of three quilts made from blocks the North Hills Guild sent from Pittsburgh, PA.

This quilt top (only half shown--it's Sandy #7!) is also made mostly from blocks from the North Hills Guild. It's almost ready to be sent off to Phyllis (Quilter's Pantry). 

I've included a couple links below if you want to read more about this incredible effort to bring 5,000 quilts to families affected by Hurricane Sandy. 

 

Related articles

Relief Quilt Deliveries to Hurricane Sandy Victims - Last Weekend

Report: Weekend Distribution of Hurricane Sandy Relief Quilts

Seeing Hearts

Recycled from here

wings from a broken heart

I just noticed, while playing with scraps and shapes, that a broken heart can become wings to fly

some kantha stitching for ground under their feet, and to help hold the cloth together

both with a nod to Jude Hill at Spirit Cloth 

Friends

 

big beast meets little winged turtle

 

 

three year old Nellie (lab) and 14 year old Peanut are good buddies

 

 

Sandy Relief Quilts #4 and 5, back from Phyllis at Quilter's Pantry and ready for me to bind them

 

 

Longarm quilting (and this photo) by Phyllis Dewey at Quilter's Pantry

 

Morphing Beast; Teaching: Third H.S. Quilt Finished

This little beastie started out with an odd kind of menacing face that never seemed right (see the before face here). A small scrap of fabric and a new face later, this little beast now seems more friendly, even a bit curious. With an ode to Jude Hill's "Beasts" class, and now the Spirit Diaries Course, online, more info here at Spirit Cloth. Check out "Classes".

Tomorrow, after living and working in Beijing for two years, I return to teaching--part time, not full time anymore-- at Keene State College. With temperatures in the teens during the day and the single or negative numbers at night, it's going to be a rude start for an 8am course. Nevertheless, it will be good to be back on campus with colleagues and students, and I'll still have time for fiber and textile work/play.

These generous folks:  

made most the blocks or longarm quilted this great quilt, now on its way to a happy recipient!

Here's to the generous world-wide community of quilters, including longarmer Phyllis Dewey of Quilter's Pantry! Three quilts are totally finished, two more are quilted and waiting to be bound, one more is pieced to send off for quilting, and the blocks pressed for the seventh and final quilt, soon to be squared, cut, and stitched together.  

our favorite room on a cold winter night

Two Sandy Relief quilts are on their way to warm new owners, a third is on its way back to me from the longarm quilter (hurray Phyllis! see contact info below) for binding/finishing, and quilt tops four and five have been assembled and sent off for quilting. Now I'm working on quilts six and seven--a bit dizzy from all these wonderful, wonky blocks! The global quilting community continues to amaze me!

Sandy Relief Quilt One

Sandy Relief Quilt Two

Entire Sandy Quilt top sent from Portugal

and the Rainbow Quilt for, and designed by, my niece:

top half (held on side)

bottom half (held sideways)

All quilts were longarm quilted by generous, talented Phyllis Dewey of Quilter's Pantry! She's really helping with the Sandy Quilt effort. You can find her website at Quilter's Pantry and her blog at Quilter's Pantry Blogspot. Phyllis, you rock!

                      Greetings from New Hampshire 

photo (c) JTL

Returning

Saguaro National Park,Tucson

Most of my extended family now lives  in Tucson, where I have been for the past week. The southwest feels as different from the northeast as the U.S. is from China--stark contrasts, including, of course, the weather. From warm dry sunny days to to frigid gray snowy days, I am back in New Hampshire to welcome a new year.