Spools and Bobbins

Wow, it's been a busy few weeks, but I finally got a new pattern written. It is called Spools and Bobbins and is an original pattern. Page three of the pattern shows my influences and explains how this pattern came to be. As always it is a free quilt pattern. Just click on the name Spools and Bobbins and you will be sent to a free PDF that you can either print or save to your own computer.

Last week when Hurricane Ike hit Houston, it also hit Lansing, Michigan. We had a roof leaf in our bathroom right before the storm. Three days of hard, heavy rain soaked our insulation and our bathroom ceiling caved in! My daughter was home and called to say the dog heard the crash and ran to her room for protection! So much for a brave guard dog.

I watch a lot of old movies. My favorite TV station is Turner Classic Movies. Last week I saw two movies with quilts in them. When Harry Met Sally is a great movie starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. In one scene Harry and Sally are watching Casablanca on TV, each in their own apartments, in bed, while talking on the phone (a send up of Pillow Talk with Rock Hudson and Doris Day). Sally is tucked under a Windblown Tulips quilt with yellow tulips. The other movie was My Bill starring Kay Francis from 1938. It's the story of a mother of four with money troubles and how her son Bill saves the family. Bill befriends a crabby old neighbor lady. In one scene the lady is lying under a log cabin quilt. It appears to be a silk one, where one half of each block is black. The strips are very narrow. In another scene the old woman is lying under a Dresden Plate quilt. I can't tell the colors since the movie was in black and white.

Last Thursday the guest speaker at our quilt guild was Patsy Thompson. She specializes in machine quilting and does excellent work. I admired her skill, but wasn't inspired to make quilts like hers. The more I quilt the more I realize how traditional I am. However, the more I watched, the more I realized how many good techniques she was describing and how much of it I could incorporate into my work. I especially want to learn to machine quilt feathers without marking them. I am now inspired to get out the muslin and scraps of batting and practice, practice, practice. Thanks Patsy!

The next pattern will by Friendship Stars.