Which came first........

the chicken or.........


NO, wait !   That wasn't my question !


Which came first................the pillowcase dress or the mad search for vintage bed linens ?   Cuz' they certainly don't seem compatible.   You find this GORGEOUS pillowcase in primo condition, and know that it would make the most precious little dress for granddaughter, sweet niece, orphaned darling in Haiti, ........but , then.......this picture of the most luscious, girly, English-garden-type quilt starts tickling you 'round the edges of your psyche !  What to do !

Well, thankfully for me, the local second-hand store is closed on Tuesdays, so it was no difficult decision for me to just look through what fabric I had in big enough pieces to make this little dress !  Wanda Gayle had sent me this pretty, big floral fabric when I moved here last year, and as much as I like it for a quilt, I thought it would serve in a more timely manner if I used it RIGHT NOW, to make a dress. 


What this is leading up to is the fact that .......


I DID IT !


I went to the local meeting, after calling first, and finding out that
#1.  They schedule a 4-hour meeting because they actually WORK together......just like me and my girls in Shawnee !    No  ---""""""MEETING""""---, no Robert's Rules of ORDER !  Just quilters enjoying each other's company, and occasionally working on a joint project.--------which brings me to
#2.  today, they had decided to all bring pillowcases or fabric and make the pillowcase dresses for the little girls of Haiti who have been affected by the earthquake.
And,
#3.  They tell me that I can arrange to get the room where they meet anytime that I need to use it to baste a quilt or whatever !   WOO-HOO !  They said that because I am 52, I can pay $5.00 and become a senior citizen, and then I have access to use the room ! 


Hey, Jodie, remember when we visited the senior citizens when I was about 32 and they said that I could join them as soon as my hair turned grey?   Glad I don't have to wait on that, unless they'd count the little bit in my sideburns !  Goodness, that was 20 years ago !  


Anyway, it was a fun time..........there were either 5 or 6 women there, I can't remember all the names, but there was a "DOT", and each time someone called her name, my head would pop us in response !
I brought the fabric to make a little dress, but didn't bring a machine or iron, and since I was slowing down those who came prepared, I decided to save the dressmaking for home, and just sit down and hand-quilt.  When I told a woman named Edith that the quilt's name was "Flowers for Edith", she said "thank you, I never expected you to give me a quilt, .....why we've just met !"   Yes, they're a fun bunch and I will definitely try to make it a regular visiting place now.  Some of the same ladies belong to the needlework group which covers knitting, crocheting, embroidery, etc.  , so I may check it out too.

Here are a few photos of the only big quilt that was shared......it's nearly a finished top, waiting on a decision to be made of what to put around for a final border.

The buttonhole stitch was all done by hand, and the patten just looked right up your alley, JodieAnn !

Status update on Edith quilt.........

quilting finished,

top and bottom fully bound !