Soon...

I must have been really tired last night. I fell asleep reading and only just woke up! Sooo, my plan is to work in the studio today on that little puppy purse for Elizabeth. 

I hope you're having a good day. It's perfect weather to be outside, so I'll have to concentrate to get this done. Let's see how that goes.

Summertime Progress and a Question...

This is what I've been working on for most of this past week. It's taken a little longer

to write than I thought, but when I finish it, there will actually be two options for 

creating the Summertime Quilt. You'll be able to use either a traditional pieced method 

(cutting your own templates) or you can use paper foundations. It's coming along 

nicely and I'll be ready to upload everything to Craftsy in the next day or so.

Now, my title said that I wanted to ask you a question, so first let me explain.

Recently, I've learned that a number of bloggers have disabled their "comment"

feature. They said that it "frees them up", "saves them time" and allows them to" post

 without pressure". They've also said "no one likes to comment anymore anyway".

Here's my thinking...I like, no LOVE, reading your comments to my posts.

I understand when you read and don't comment, just like I think you understand if

I don't always have the chance to reply to what you've written to me. I always try,

but sometimes the time just gets away from me. You may not hear from me for a

while, but if you're not a "no reply commenter", I really, really try to write back.

I do think your feedback helps motivate me to be a better blogger, finish what I

begin and then actually create more interesting and inspirational projects to share.

So, I'm wondering what you think. 

Do you like that some blogs have disabled their comment feature?

Would you rather be able to leave a comment for the author of a blog?

and

How do you feel about those "word verification" requirements?

(Personally, I dislike them like crazy. I can never figure out what they say

and I find myself not leaving comments rather than dealing with them.)

I know that I'm soliciting replies for this post. Let me say "thanks" in advance.

I'll also write back to each of you that have open reply capabilities.

I just really want to know what you think about the "comment" thing.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend.

I'll be back tomorrow to show you what I else I've been working on.

June Mini-Quilt QAL...

My design for June

Each month this year, a group of us from Sandy's Quilt Shop clientele have made mini quilts designed by other members of the group. I drew June as the month to create my design. (After we were all finished drawing, there was one month left over, so I volunteered to design the mini quilt for July, too. You'll see that one next month!)

Closeup of my design

You know how much I love barns, so it only seemed natural to incorporate a barn into my June design. I added a mini barn quilt on the gable end, and suggested that everyone making the design choose their own favorite block to put on their barn.You know how much I like pinwheel blocks! (Remember the quilts in the Flying Cloud or the Marie J? You can click on their names to see them.)

Fay's version

Fay has already finished her barn (which I really love!). She added bee buttons to hers, which I think is a great touch. She chose a four-patch block for her barn.

Nancy's version

Nancy finished hers, too. She placed yo yos on hers and she added beads that look like rocks on her landscape. (Too many farmers spend their pre-planting days picking rocks out of the soil. What a great idea to add them to her quilt.) She also reversed her barn and moved the silo away from the end of the barn.

I really enjoyed designing this little quilt, and it was fun to sew, too. I'll make June and July's design available for free to anyone might want to make their own. I'll put it up on my "Free Patterns" page after I show you the second design in July!

Have a great weekend!

My Cool Caravan...

I've grown quite interested in all things "camper" lately. I love our Airstream Flying Cloud, and have had fun fitting it out to make it personal and comfortable for Handsome and me - and occasional visitors.

I recently came across this book filled with wonderful vintage units. The best part is that in addition to exteriors, it also gives style notes about the interiors. Many of them now sit comfortably nestled in their owners' backyards.

The book is called "My Cool Caravan" by Jane Field-Lewis and Chris Haddon. (The title is a link to Amazon.) Hilary Walker's photography really makes the whole book. The text is filled with historical information about each camper, and then information about how it was restored and/or furnished.

This is the Eccles Aristocrat camper. The interior reflects the Art Deco period - and I think it's one of my favorites in the book. Most of the campers are located in the UK, but the book features a few in the US as well.

If you click on this picture, you can enlarge it to see the beautiful ceramic piece that radiates heat from the little furnace unit. (Actually, clicking on any of my photos will enlarge them to show better detail.) I also love the nautical blue of the exterior.

This little camper was hauled into the back yard of two lucky little girls and is used as their playhouse.  It's called a Diddy, and the owners practically stole it in an online auction when the owner forgot to list a reserve price for it. (They only paid 150 British pounds for it!)

"Constance", named after the middle name of the owner's granddaughter, was restored for multiple purposes. It's their granddaughter's playhouse, a place for grandma and grandpa to share coffee in the morning, or as a place for grandma to sit and read the afternoon away. (This is my other personal favorite.)

I think my friend, Brenda from Cozy Little House blog would adore this particular camper!

Look how the owners tucked it into their backyard landscape. There's a little deck in front and plants all around that really ground it to make it look like it's been there all along. I especially love the three pots standing guard at the front door.

I'm really having fun choosing (and making) things for the Flying Cloud, but after looking through the pages of this book, I might have to rethink some of my choices and go more in keeping with the history of the Airstreams.

If you get a chance to page through a copy of this book, make sure you have the time to really sit and enjoy it. Man, talk about eye candy! It would make a fun coffee table book, too. Then you could pick it up again and again for inspiration for your own camper - or even for your home!