First let me say that this is just a jumble of thoughts...no specific theme. I have no excuses for not posting anything other than I feel like I have nothing interesting to post. I am still feeling lost without my camera...but that will be over soon. We pick my daughter and husband up at the airport Friday night.

I had company from Tennessee Monday...my brother and his wife. And she was my best friend before they were married. Such a nice visit. I wished it could have been longer. Sometimes I still long to live in Tennessee, yet I just don't want to live that far away from our children. So here we sit.

I have been slowly but surely making a few 9-patches every day. I am still undecided about what I am going to do with them. I will have to play around on Quilt Pro and see what I like. I have always thought I would do just a simple 9-patch quilt sometime, set on point, alternated with a plain square of fabric but maybe start out with one kind of fabric in the center and vary it as I work out.
I just wanted to share something--this is my collection of batiks in 2005! When I get my camera back I will try to spread out the collection I have now...I keep adding a half yard here and a half yard there. it still isn't a huge collection compared to some but I think I have a good start. I just have trouble using them for anything. They are just too beautiful.

Someone on one of the quilt forums reminded me I needed to make one (thanks Kim:-)...and with the story behind this it does need one. This is not the greatest picture....I really need to make a place to hang quilts to take their picture. Just cannot come up with where that is going to be.

How do people decide what to make next in quilting...every time I finish something I have the most horrible time deciding what I want to start on next. I always think I am just going to go start cutting but the choices are so great that it is hard to do.

However, I did start cutting 2 1/2 inch squares tonight...out of some of my not so loved anymore stash. A lot of those are Joann Fabric materials, though some are not. Right now I am cutting a lot of blues and browns...more browns than anything.

My DH came up with the idea that I wanted to go to Arthur, IL today...and I never refuse that trip. (Arthur is an Amish community.) I go to two places over there: Miller's Dry Goods and Stitch and Sew. Miller's Dry Goods is out in the country which makes for a pleasant drive. They have all kinds of fabric including polyester from ages ago. They do not have electricity so I tend to get kind of frustrated looking at the material...you just cannot see with the gas lighting. They also have a lot of stuff the dime stores used to carry.

Stitch and Sew is my favorite shop over there...it is not huge, but has a pretty good selection. I did come home with some fabrics that could be classified as lights--I have the hardest time picking out lights. My stash is 90% medium to dark. I added yellow to the last two quilt tops I have worked on, no make that three--it is the only thing that kept them from being one big boring mess. If I ever get my desk fixed for my Juki, I will probably machine quilt them next.

I'm doing a happy dance here tonight--for more reasons than one. I went to the library today and joy of joys, there were unabridged audio versions of James Herriot's books! I am assuming they have them all, but all that was currently there was All Things Bright and Beautiful and All Things Wise and Wonderful. I have wished for unabridged versions of them for so long. I have probably read all these books at least 5 times, and I know I will read again. Why do I continue to re-read when there are so many others that I have never read? Does anyone else do this?

And tonight I finished my as yet unnamed quilt...too late to take pictures. I will try to take some tomorrow with my husband's point and shoot. Mistakes abound in this quilt...but I am still happy to have it done.