Decorating The Music Studio

My music studio is just a little cut out in the corner of the living room.  On my very first visit to Hancocks as a Paducan I bought a music-themed fabric panel to adorn said corner.  It's been hanging on the wall with push pins since February. 
It is finally quilted, bound and hanging properly.  It looks so much nicer!

Last night, while listening to my fellow ukulele players take turns playing songs about change*, I finished the binding.

 

It's a fun way to bind!  My new goal is to have something to bind every week....well, maybe not EVERY week.

Impulse buy:  The music panel backing required a trip to Hancocks.  While there I impulsively picked up a doo-dad that I thought might be helpful, ToolTron Attachable Thumb/Finger Magnifier.

My review of this product..... Save your money.  

The lens just cannot be positioned in any way to see the stitching you are doing...
the little thumb ring is not big enough and pinches your thumb.  And, the lens had a big scratch on it, right from the package.  Thankfully Hancocks gave me a store credit (nearly $7.00) so I guess I'm happy.....

 

One finish down and another wall-panel-finish to go.

 

 

 

 

*Ukulele Jam every Friday night via Zoom.  There is always a theme and we take turns entertaining each other.  My songs last night were "I'm in the Jail House Now" 
(If I went to Jail, that would most certainly be a change, in my life eh?) and Love Letters in the Sand....an old song about love and loss...most of us have experienced that life change.

Beyond OUR Control--But NOT Beyond God's Control

 

As you all know from previous posts, I’m preparing to move to Kentucky early in the new year.

Yes, this tornado landed very close to my new home in Paducah… it landed about 25 miles south.

 

The cute quilt shop, Backyard Fabrics, in Mayfield is fine.  They posted on Facebook. 
After all the devastating pictures of the destruction, it was nice to read a good report.

My Kentucky family are all OK.  Joy (my sister) went by my new house and aside from tree limbs in the yard, it is also OK.

As you may have seen from news reports, Mayfield itself is pretty much leveled.  For those of you who pray, please pray for Mayfield.   For those of you who want to give, here is a link to local shelters, etc.  HERE.

The pictures look so  terrible.  I don’t know how a community recovers after such an event, but by God's Grace.
And the working through His people.

 Backyard Fabrics is hosting a quilt gathering:

 

Hancocks of Paducah is also accepting quilts:

 

For those of you who make charity quilts, please consider these.  

Sometimes it is hard to comprehend why a loving God would allow such tragedy...and this is by no means the only terrible human event that has happened in our life times.  Our small minds simply cannot comprehend the Sovereignty of God.  It is so vast.  

I came across this post on the internet written by Melanie Campbell.  It is worth reading.  It did bring me comfort knowing that while the world may seem out of control, there is One who does control all things.  HERE.
Melanie Campbell's web site: https://melaniecampbellauthor.org/

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

 

I have missed the changing of the Seasons.

 

This post is coming to you from beautiful Paducah, KY.  I'm here doing what you do when you buy a house ....
touring the house ... signing things .... meeting people ... writing checks, etc. 

It's just the right size for me.

  As an added bonus, I get in a visit with my daddy, too.

This pic was taken during my September visit.

 

It's been nearly a week since I arrived, and there's been a so much to do, but today, FINALLY, I did venture out to
Handcocks of Paducah.  I told my family, "I'll be back in a half hour." (Hancocks is only 2 miles away)
.....one-and-a-half hours later....and honestly I could have browsed longer.

There is a lot to see at Hancocks.  I wandered around for a while, auditioning fabrics for the
"Dawn Quilt*."  It was really hard to buy only what I needed! There are so many beautiful fabrics, and at pretty good prices. 
And the Pre-cuts and Kits!!  Oh-My!!

I decided to give the Dawn Quilt to one of my sisters for her January birthday.  Now that the quilt is for an adult and not a baby,
I wanted to jazz-it-up a bit.

The Dawn Quilt for my sister.

And, because I'm using the "Dawn Quilt" for my sister, I need a baby quilt for my nephew's new, expected one. 
I bought a pack of fat quarters.  The pattern?  A Star is Born.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click  HERE  for the tutorial and a link to the free pattern. Melissa Corry at Happy Quilting.

Sunday it's back to So.Cal. All the Paducah real estate stuff  will sort itself out. In the meantime, I'm going to TRY to live a normal life through the end of the year, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'd like one more regular Christmas with my Babes, doing the Christmas things we've always done.  

Changes are in the wind.

*It is the "Dawn Quilt" because my friend, Dawn, gave me all the pieces.  Read about it HERE.

After lo these many months

 ... I'm actually hopping on a plane and traveling.  

Traveling Music HERE 

Where am I headed?  QUILT CITY U.S.A.!!!  Paducah, Kentucky

This is not my first trip to Paducah.  The Quilting-Auntie and I have made this pilgrimage more than once.

These are some of my favorite pictures -- Sisters -- now there are only two.

The AQS National Quilt Show is not the biggest draw for me in Paducah.  I have family.  My Sister (and her hubby) and dad live there so even if there is no "Q" show, I try to get there a couple times a year.  Because of COVID I have not been there since Spring 2019.  So, I'll bite the bullet, mask up and fly away.  Sissy needs a break (dad lives with her) and I need to see my daddy-o.

Because Baby Sis will be skipping town for a break and because my dad does not venture out much these days, I will have a fair amount of time on my hands.  I cannot take Miss Ellie (1953 Singer Featherweight) because it is a carry-on and I'm already carrying on my Ukulele so I need to work on a project I can pack in my suit case.

The Horse by Emily Taylor

This will be a birthday gift for my daughter, June 2021.

Other Paducah places of interest:
National Quilt Museum
Hancock of Paducah
Downtown Floodwall Murals
Mellow Mushroom Pizza

Don't Wear White Shoes After Labor Day

Labor Day is the official (unofficial?) end of summer.  School for my g-sons starts tomorrow; football season has started
(Boy has it ever....I'm the foober* driver for Wednesdays and Thursdays...) and I think we can squeeze in one more quick trip.....

Tomorrow Miss Ellie and I will board a Southwest flight for Nashville.  Off to see my baby sister and the B-I-L in their new home "in town." (My dad is now living with them instead of next door.)  She asked me to bring my sewing machine to make curtains for their new home.

"Really, sis?" 

Miss Ellie.  1953 Featherweight.

     But, this is what we do for those we love. 






      So last night I gave Miss Ellie a spa night and she is now all de-fuzed,
      oiled up and shined up... ready for her trip. (I will admit, I did have to watch a few 
      video's from The Featherweight Shop on how to un-assemble and 
      reassemble a Featherweight.)



     (I have flown with Miss Ellie in the past....no one blinks.  
     She may get swabbed for bomb dust.)







I will get my quilting fix, however.... their new house is only a few miles from Hancock's of Paducah! 

 And The National Quilt Museum.

My April 2019 Kentucky Trip.
The official sendoff...breakfast at Cracker Barrel

*foober = football Uber

Supporting Your Local Fabric Stores

I just read on Facebook that ALL of the Hancock Fabric Stores across the nation are closing. (Read all about it HERE.) Before you have heart failure, the Hancock's in Paducah, KY  is privately owned and is NOT closing.  (This is NOT an April Fool's Day joke like the Facebook post I read yesterday about Trader Joes closing.)

In general I hate to see businesses close.  I always feel bad when I read about a business closing or see a "going out of business" sign.  I chide myself a bit for not being a better supporter of that business.  The last time I was in a Hancock Fabric store ... well I can't remember the last time it was so long ago.  My home town of Portland doesn't have one and I've never seen one in my new hometown.  I did see one in Fresno, but I didn't go there.  My bad, right?  So, I apologize, Hancock Fabrics.  (insert sad face here)

I wrote a blog piece last year about fabric buying.  See January 31, 2015.  I do visit other "big box" fabric stores, but I don't tend to buy fabric there because unless it is a fabric company name I recognize I can't be sure of the quality of the fabric.  There is nothing worse than spending time, energy and money making something wonderful only to have it fade or lose its shape.

So, buyer beware.  Know your retailer and the fabric company names.  That goes for on-line buying, also. I bought a piece of fabric some time back from an internet retailer.  The fabric brand was a name I knew and yet when the piece arrived I did not like the FEEL of the fabric.  It felt stiff.  Had I visited a fabric store and had the opportunity to touch the fabric, I may have chosen something else.

I'm not saying ALL internet fabric buying is bad.  It's convenient and sometimes that is the only place to find a particular piece of fabric you need.  Also, not everyone has fabric shops close to them.  I know...I guess that is why the Fab Shop Hop was born.  This is an on-line shop hop that starts fresh every month.  BEWARE, it is addicting! 

The Row By Row Experience was organized to get us sewists out and about and visiting our local fabric stores.  Read about last years Row By Row Experience HERE, June 28, 2015.

The Row By Row Experience 2016 has been announced.  Read about it HERE.

Sew, ladies and gents, get out there, visit some fabric stores and tell them Charlotte sent you.