Chatbug Karen

It is a good idea to sort through one’s “stuff” once in a while to see what “stuff” one has! I saw a cute flag wall hanging and thought about buying the kit. I held off and it was a good thing I did. I had the kit in my stash of things to do. I put it together yesterday.

I have been watching videos online to learn new techniques for long arm quilting. I am learning how to avoid problems with tension and when my stitches try to grow eyelashes. Thank goodness for quilting buddies who guide me to great message boards where there is a wealth of information. I am always learning about new things.

While visiting a new quilt shop, my friend introduced me to penny rugs. I had never heard of a penny rug and was interested in the history of this fun craft.

Penny rugs, made in the 19th century, were made by using cast off and used woolen clothing that wasn’t large enough to cut into strips for hooking rugs to make rugs for beds and table coverings. Rarely were the rugs used on the floor. The term “penny rug” came from the use of coins as templates for varying sizes of circles that were cut from the fulled or felted wool of hats, and clothing. The concentric circles were stitched onto burlap or feed sacks. Wool was was an expensive and treasured fabric and was rarely used to back a project, hence the burlap backing.

Before I tire of hearing all the Christmas songs, here are the last decades top 25 most popular, according to our local newspaper.
1. Winter Wonderland
2. The Christmas Song
3. Sleigh Ride
4. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
5. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
6. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
8. Jingle Bell Rock
9. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
10. Little Drummer Boy
11. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
12. I’ll be Home for Christmas
13. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
14. Silver Bells
15. Feliz Navidad
16. Frosty the Snowman
17. A Holly Jolly Christmas
18. Blue Christmas
19. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
20. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
21. Here Comes Santa Claus
22. (There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays
23. Carol of the Bells
24. Wonderful Christmastime
25. Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Our local hardware has 3 in house dogs. They recently acquired an English bulldog named, Chloe. My husband decided she needed a Butler bulldog sweatshirt and volunteered me to make one for her. I made this Colts jacket first to make sure I could make one that fit.

Isn’t Chloe the most adorable dog?
Here she is in her Butler sweatshirt.

it is reversible! Christmas Chloe!

I cannot imagine how it would feel to have a quilt, that I poured my time and energy into making, stolen.

This award winning quilt, “Really ‘Wild’ Flowers! Second Season” went missing after the IQA Houston show. If you know anything about it use the “contact” link on
www.SharonLSchlotzhauer.com

I hope that this quilt was inadvertently wrapped up with another quilt and when that quilter opens up their package, they will find that this quilt was accidentally added to the package. I, along with other quilters, know how much effort goes into making a quilt. I have not made quilts for long but the few I have made, have my heart and soul in them. For those of you not familiar with quilts and their value, I give you this scenario. Imagine, taking your grandmother’s wedding ring, choosing to buy gold online and working with a jewelery designer to make specially designed pieces to give to your daughters. You know how this piece of jewelry could never be replaced. You put time and effort into having this piece designed with specific recipients in mind. The jewelry is stolen. I cannot imagine how distraught I would be.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my fish wall hanging was included in an Etsy treasury.

A commenter posted this song, which shall be, forever embedded in my thoughts.

Home for Me! In Indiana
Back Home Again In Indiana, by Ballard MacDonald

Back home again in Indiana
And it seems that I can see
A gleaming candlelight
Still shining bright
Through the sycamores, for me

The new-mown hay
Sends all its fragrance
From the fields I used to roam
When I dream about the moonlight
On the Wabash
Then I long for my Indiana home.

This song gives me goosebumps, especially when sung by Jim Nabors. He sings this song each year before the start of the Indy 500. This arrangement would be awesome if it could be reworked with an audio mixer to tweak the missed audible dynamics. Oh well, it is what it is and with the combined excitement of the race, it is enjoyable.