Life changes; Nora's quilt

I've been ignoring this blog for a year and a half, but...life changes. It's time to start up again.

After a lifetime in the Northeast USA, Phil and I are going to move to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in September. He's going to direct a new Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology at the U of Queensland. And I -- after years of resisting -- am going back to school for a PhD.

Naturally, since it's been over 20 years since the last time I went to school, I am terrified. At the same time, the prospect of immersing myself in something academic, and leaving the cares and hassles of clinical practice behind, is awfully appealing. I have 3 1/2 years to finish the degree.

We will leave behind: Sam; Jo, Wes and Zara (and possibly a new sibling); my dad, sister, brother-in-law, nieces/their families; Phil's brother and sister-in-law; a few very, very special friends; many colleagues and friends; brewed iced tea; good ice cream; maple scones; snow; driving on the right side of the road.

We will look forward to: visits from any and all friends/colleagues; being in the same general part of the world as Brian; US visits a few times a year; coffee shops on every corner (Phil, not me); no snow; exploring a new and very unusual country; finding new friends; and finding new quilt and fabric shops.

This is the quilt I made for Nora McGowan, who was born in November 2007. Hey, that means she's 6 months old now! She was a long time coming.

Karen's quilt top, almost done!

Since I took this photo I've finished the top. I'll be sending it out for quilting very soon! This is another Trip Around the World, the 2nd one I've done this year. More about the 1st one later.

Wedding quilts

So far, 2. The red/blue/yellow quilt belongs to Jo and Wes, my daughter and son-in-law. The block is a traditional one called Swamp Angel. I made the blue/green/cream quilt for my niece Jill and her husband David. The pattern is "Yellow Brick Road" from Atkinson Designs.

My first quilt

I took a class at Cambridge Quilt Shop in the fall of 2000, and this was the result. This pattern is called Single Irish Chain; it's a good one for beginners, "very forgiving," as the teacher said. Blue is my favorite color!

Trip Around the World

This is what a Trip Around the World looks like. This is a wall hanging I made for our friends Ruki and Vijay. They did a gut renovation of their house in Lexington, and this was their house re-warming gift.

The raffle quilt

I helped put this one together for our local chapter of the ACNM. We're raffling it off as a fund raiser. The drawing is at the end of September, if you want tickets!

The 1st 2 rows of Karen's quilt

It doesn't look like much yet, but here are the 1st 2 rows of Karen's quilt. The pattern is called Trip Around the World.

Another view

Here's another look at my atelier. On the ironing board is a set of strips for my current project, a bed quilt for my niece, Karen.

My atelier

Workshop, studio, and hey, it's a guest bedroom when it needs to be.

My sidekick

This is Sam, my dog, who is usually underfoot while I'm stitching. That's my sewing machine in the background.

Me

This is me, getting friendly with a medieval lion in Bruges, Belgium, last year.

I never thought I would be doing this, this being creating a blog. It's not like I have too much time on my hands. But as making quilts has become more and more important in my life, it seems like a good way to be able to show off what I do. So take a look every now and then to see the quilts I've finished, and what I'm working on.