New news...

For more than a year our blog has resided on Blogspot. We have been happy with Blogspot - they are reliable and the service is free. It's easy to love that combination. On the downside, I've had a bit more trouble customizing the way the blog looks than I would like to have had. It's probably been user-error on my part but there you go. I decided a week ago to look at other options.

I found a new blog host that is easier for me to work in. I'm going to leave this blog, hosted by Blogspot, as it is right now. Our previous posts are here and will still be accessible.

So, without further ado, click here to go to our new blog!

It's hot in Texas...

... which means it's time to pull out the baby pool and the hose. It was 100 outside yesterday and we still had a great time. Jack surprised us when he started pouring water over his head - and it looks like he surprised himself too!

Enjoy the weekend!

Applique Outside the Lines...

The new book is here and Linda is shipping it out now. It's already getting good reviews! In their new issue, American Quilt Retailer wrote:

"Applique Outside the Lines by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins (C&T Publishing) is brilliantly thought out! In fact, it is so well thought out and explained, that when you use this book, Becky and Linda encourage you not to follow the directions! Can you imagine that? How wonderful!"

We love a good review! Click here for more info.

We've also added a new ePattern to our site. Jacob's Ladder didn't quite fit in the Piecing book but it's too pretty not to share. Click here for more info.

Our Jacob's Ladder is made from Japanese taupe fabric but you can use any fabric you like to make yours. Value placement is important in this quilt. The instructions in our ePattern clearly state where to put the light and dark fabrics so that you don't have to guess.

Playing catch-up...

I'm home and desperately trying to dig my way through the pile of stuff that didn't get done while we were on the road. There is hope. The pile is smaller!

I shot this while standing in Times Square last week (hard to believe that it was only a week ago). What an amazing place. Noisy, crowded, busy people going everywhere at once, taxis doing their best not to kill you, eye-candy everywhere you look - NYC is well worth a visit. Enjoy this (short) show:

Visit the Artgirlz blog...

I had a few moments in the hotel room to blog surf. I checked the Artgirlz blog to catch up on posts I missed. I found their post on the color turquoise and it made me oh-s0-happy! I especially love this photo with the stripes in reflected in the pool water.

There are so many good blogs out there and you are reading this so you know that. I'd like to encourage you to talk to your friends and see if they, too, are blog surfing. If not, tell them what you like about it and encourage them to join the fun. They will thank you for it later.

The trip is winding down...

We're nearly home and I'm looking through a few of the photos I took thinking that you all might be interested. These matted photos below were part of a much bigger piece of art. I liked the way the photos float inside the openings in the matt, sometimes on torn black paper. Nice look.

I have no idea what this is. Looks like a huge upside-down water glass. It was on top of the MOMA.
A big part of our trip included a stop in Baltimore where Jeff (our youngest son) and Celia (his fiance) live. We had a nice visit with them and left the next morning with "The Dress".

This is Celia's wedding dress that she'll be wearing on August 15 in Sherman, TX, when she and Jeff get married. The Dress spent the night in 2 different hotels and traveled, laying down, in the back seat of the car. I have to say that I'll be glad when is it safely hung up at our house.

A big day in NYC...

There are lions guarding the entrance to the NYC Public Library. These guys are resting where the ones in front of the Art Institute of Chicago are in mid-step... but they are about the same size. Notice the pigeon on this fellow's head.


We did more people watching in Times Square. It is my sincere hope that I am not nearly as interesting to look at as many of the folks we saw are.



If the trash is from a store with pretty boxes, it can be a little bit festive... This pile made me think of Christmas.


There is an installation piece at the MOMA by Song Dong called "Waste Not". Turns out that these items all came from his now-deceased mother's house. That is the skeleton of her house with the items. Seriously, if this doesn't get you get rid of the junk in your house, what will?


I enjoyed the look of the empty toothpaste tubes but I am not going to make my own set at home.


And I shopped for fabric in the garment district! I am very lucky that Steve was with me and carried my purchases all day long. I found out where to go from a page on Paula Nadelstern's web site. The shop in the photo below is N. Y. Elegant Fabrics (not on Paula's site but it's near the shops that were). Oh my, it was huge and full of luscious stuff. I did buy some cotton (great big red dots on white), and some etched fuschia velvet. It made me wish I had time to make more garments.

New York City - Day One...

We got to NYC in time to see a bit of the Gay Pride parade. It was colorful and festive and no one minded having their pictures taken.

We went to see the very fine exhibit of Paula Nadelstern's quilts at the American Folk Art Museum. The quilts were marvelous and the setting was perfect for them. Go see this exhibit if you get a chance. Next we went to the MOMA. The art was good, but I had almost as much fun people-watching. These three ladies looked nice together...

I love this photo...