Vicksburg Comes Home

At last - Vicksburg is home! WMBM is pleased. It is hard to believe that nearly a year ago Lorraine and I were lunching at the La Veta diner in Colorado and talking to two locals about the "must dos" in Kentucky.  The "must dos" included the National Quilt Museum at Paducah which followed our visit to Bardstown and several of the best Civil War museums on offer in the US. History and inspiration collided at Hancocks of Paducah where the WMBM's 60th birthday quilt was to have its genesis. Vicksburg was the historically inspired pattern from Bonnie Blue Quilts. Armed with WMBM's wish list of colours and several helpful aides the task of fabric selection was completed in only a few short hours. Mr Hancock posted everything back to Tarome which also inspired a note to self - always give advance warning of large parcels so that Kevin, our very obliging mail contractor can organise a suitable delivery vehicle. Many of you know it took some months to adjust the pattern and then piece the quilt blocks under the supervision of WMBM. I learned a lot listening to the "live" feedback throughout the project.  Eventually Vicksburg was delivered to Barb Cowan from The Quilt Connection for the magic treatment. The transformation has been nothing short of miraculous. Vicksburg has come home just a few weeks shy of WMBM's next birthday. WMBM is pleased.  A very big thank you to: Ricky and Justin for their quiet insistence and "must do" manifesto, HoP staff for their unfailing patience, Lorraine for making history come alive for me in Bardstown, and Barb Cowan from The Quilt Connection for stitching life and love into Vicksburg. Mostly it is a big thank you to the WMBM who, when asked what he wanted for his 60th birthday, simply smiled at me and said "A quilt. I want my very own quilt." WMBM is very, very pleased.

Vicksburg Victory

It has been a thoroughly wonderful wet day - incessant patter on the roof - sometimes screaming tears of rain - but for the most part moderate and constant and in harmony with the Bernina. The Vicksburg Civil War quilt top for WMBM is officially pieced and the WMBM has stood back and he is pleased.  Last night we debated the smaller first border - compared so many different options and finally WMBM exclaimed "it needs something gold" - so we found  a mustard kind of gold from the pile of Paducahs - it also features in the blocks - and voila! - inner piece. The second border has been mitred - because I absolutely cannot do a good mitre and decided that after almost 25 years of quilting it was time. To think of all those years worrying about something that was easier than a packet mix ... perhaps not a good comparison as I cannot yet make a packet mix cake.

And there was a moment of enlightenment today ....  for the first time since Graham and WMBM put Graham's beautiful table in the studio - it occurred to me that if I only shifted the sewing machine along to one end and butted 2 cutting boards together (imagine light going on at this very point) I could cut really long bits with the rotary cutter ... in one not-so-foul swoop.  Where has my brain been?

Vicksburg blocks

Some of the blocks in the Vicksburg Quilt  - and the different iterations of dark, medium and light fabrics.

Civil War Quilt progress

Twenty blocks have now been completed with plenty more required to finish the quilt top. Although the pattern suggests 16 blocks, our version requires some overhang on the bed and around 30 blocks should do it. The construction is fiddly and simply takes time to ensure accurate piecing of each component of the 9-patch. The corner pieces each comprise 4 small triangles and 2 squares. I am really enjoying working through the various fabric combinations and as usual, cannot get a picture in my head of what the finished quilt top will look like. This is the first quilt pattern I've ever purchased - and when completed will be a lasting memory of and tribute to our trip to Paducah and Bardstown, KY.

Quilting and Tarome



The girls leaving the secret garden

It's awkwardly humid and threatening to spill itself from the sky. I have pruned the secret garden - and made sure I didn't disturb the nests of web and soft things as I went. I then took a beer and some nuts to Chris who is out there on the ride-on - and as I handed them over made a rather hasty retreat  from our first big brown slithery of the warmer weather. He/She/It retreated to the shade of the garden bed and was last seen smoothing itself most casually away from the noisy humans.
For the past few days the birds have been going intermittently hysterical for no apparent reason with everyone and everything heading tree-ward - so we suspect it is  the beginning of snake season as they seek out  nestlings and other yummy bits in the bushes. Or ... there's a parrot out there who's having a lot of fun at the expense of everyone else.

I told everyone that my ultimate birthday fantasy was to lock the front gate and unplug the phone - and it's absolutely true.  Quiet. Silence. Only the sound of the chickens scratching in the gardens and the cacophony of birds being gluttons in the spring flowers. And the secret garden that Chris made ... for me.  Weeding and pruning in the secret garden - which I've come to understand as honouring the garden and house and the space we inhabit - is a most pleasurable way to spend a birthday morning - and there's  much self-satisfaction at having really earned a refreshment afterwards.

Blue wren in the sweet potato

Our "secret garden" is an extension of the original house yard by 12 metres or so. The two guava bushes that we simply could not kill (in spite of mowing them into the dust-  week in, week out, for forever) have now formed a cooling arch that invites the interested visitor to a path that once led to a garden bench and somewhere quiet to reflect on navel lint and partake of ... refreshments. It's now a totally plant-enclosed area - sans bench - and provides protection from the wind for our lime tree and the roses and several other gorgeous things, and the little people that allow us to share their space. This morning the wrens brought out three more little people - showing them how to flip this and poke that, in search of independence and food. Every now and then we get  (that really means Chris gets) the chipper out and prune hard - which results in mulch for next season's benefit. And so it goes ....
As for a quilty update, I've nearly completed 11 blocks on the Civil War inspired quilt - depending on a few things, I only have a total of 25 or 36 to complete  ... those things include the size of the bed, time pressures and how much overhang there's going to be ... oh, and my good humour remaining intact.  I spent yesterday with Meredith and Robyn - yakking and sewing and more talking ... special days.  Upcoming important projects (as opposed to those that aren't quite so significant) are: the members' exhibition piece that I haven't even thought about for the Boonah Art Gallery members, a vessel for the Vessel Challenge for 2QAQ Art-rageous Christmas Party  ... and the State of the Art Quilt 2011 entries .. I'm hoping for 2  ... and the Queensland Quilters Quilt Show in October ....  So, it must be time to get back to the studio  ...