I was thrifting. It hasn’t been quite as fun as I’m not looking for things for the antique booth anymore as I decided to close that chapter in my life. I loved doing it, and may do it again someday, but now I don’t have enough hours in the day. Something had to go and that was an easy thing to let go of. I’m sure you can imagine that now I see things all the time that I would love to buy for the booth.
I’ve told myself that I just need to change up the way I look for things now. I have time and can scour the book shelves or the craft magazines. Before I didn’t have time to really look. Well the first day I made the change, it paid off!
I found an old Country Threads publication, “…at the Lake”. It was one I never bought. At the time, I thought a lot of the projects were beyond my skill level. Well now, I think I’m brave enough to tackle them….and even if I don’t tackle them, it’s a fun “read” for 25 cents. Yep…soft covers are only 25 so I consider this a SCORE!!
There are LOTS of fun projects in the book. I remember when the store was open and this book was new on the shelves there. I so LOVED that star wall hanging in the picture below. Those string pieced units seems so hard. (Bahahahaha…I’ve made so many strings nowadays). I was also so intimidated by the inset seams. Those don’t scare me either. I don’t love them but scared…NO!
With the new found skills, the book took on a whole different dimension. I knew I could make any of the quilts I wanted to and that prompted me to look with fresh eyes…
Applique, yes I can do that…. I do love the red scrappy one on the lower right. I love anything goes quilts.
Nope..these star blocks don’t scare me anymore either.
Regardless of the new skills…it’s the still the same things that draw me in…
THIS….Scrappy and stars. Look at the wall hanging with the scrappy stars.
But look again. It’s in a bigger version on the table….
…and look again. It’s on a bigger version on the bed. Oh my. I love it. With so many sizes to choose from, seriously, which do I tackle first??
I’ve taken the book to bed with me several times already. I love paging through. I love the recognition of the quilter I was and the quilter I am now today. I’m so happy I stuck with quilting and challenged myself to do more. I hope you’re doing that too.
Stop, step back and look. What quilting skill were you afraid of that you can now do? What challenges lie ahead of you? It’s refreshing to look at patterns that once scared me..give it a try yourself. You might be happy with you discover about yourself too.
I can say this…this quilting book entitled “…at the Lake” is likely as close as I’ll be to the lake. I’m not much of a swimming/water girl. I sure am happy to add the book to my stash.
That looks like a great book, so many lovely projects. Happy Stitching!
What a neat find! What used to scare me? All those little pieces and matching colors. These days in a scrap quilt, any piece of any color will do – well, almost! :-D
Love that book also; stars and scrappy! What scared me years before was hand appliqué. I tried it then but couldn’t do a quality job; left it be for years but tried again after taking a class from a wonderful teacher and beautiful appliqué quilter. Her technique and skills changed that for me. I now love it and feel I do a my work much much better!
Those quilts are gorgeous…but scary to me. I love a star quilt but still have a terrible issue with scant quarter inch and half square triangles..triangles in general..Still working on it. I would still like to pick up that book though.. I grew up my summers “at the Lake”
I miss there store as it was always a great place to go when I was in Iowa. Great find and a good book to take to bed.
I equate buying and reading a quilting book the same as buying a lengthy and expensive novel. Benefit though is that you can re-read it over and over and never get bored! Great find!
I’m glad you found the book and are loving it! You mentioned challenging yourself…I recently started a twining rag rug. You were one of my inspirations to do it! I’ve seen Mary’s posts about doing and yours as well, and I finally decided to give it a try. I think I’m about halfway through with my first rug and I’m loving the look of it! So…thanks for the inspiration!
I also have this book and any other books that Mary and Connie have written. I like the warmth and the friendship that these two women share. Each book is a glimpse into their lives and the stories are just as interesting as the beautiful quilts that they make.
Enjoy and I’m glad that you are revisiting the book with new eyes and better skills.
I love the book too, I haven’t made any of the quilts yet, but the Bullhead one will be my first. After living in southwest Kansas and Eastern Colorado for the last 39 years, Crystal Lake and Hancock county is still home.
It is fun to look back and see how far we have come. I loved, but was intimidated by, Bonnie Hunter’s Orca Bay. For years, I thought, “One day, I’ll do that.” This summer, I swallowed the fear, and now I have a new lovely Christmas Orca Bay of my own. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, you just have to wait a bit for your skill level to catch up to what you want to do. Then, you can gather your courage and jump in.
Enjoy your book filled with beautiful things. :)
What a neat book! Love the star quilts! New skills? I was quite new to quilting when I made a drunkard’s path quilt… queen size. I was told by someone that I was too new to quilting to do it. Bwa-ha-ha!! It turned out beautifully! I learned my lesson… if I want something I’ll at least try it.
Great book Jo! I look forward to seeing your versions of these beautiful quilts.
I will be sewing at the lake later this week ……working on Bonnie Hunters Day Break pattern.
Thank you for introducing me to the scrappy joy of Bonnie’s patterns. I was a bit intimidated at first but it has become an addiction! Take care and God bless❤️
I have that book and forgot about it! The string star has always been my favorite. Yes, develop those skills but don’t wait too long for those special quilts. The eyes and the hands deteriorate and then you can’t do them either!
Great find Jo.
This is what getting older does to us, I think! I’ve become less about making a mistake and more about figuring out the process & making it!! I think our creativity blooms when we realize we don’t have to be perfect.
The string star would have scared me when I 1st started quilting. I looked at the pictures you posted and thought I can do that. got to get my work space caught up and UFOs done but that’s a pretty keeper. Thanks for sharing.