Two of the hardest working guys I've ever seen put finishing touches on a dormer. I could not be three stories in the air!

With 150 window panes in the sunroom, we're going to need lots of caulking. I'm so glad we've hired a crew to wash the windows - these plus 25 on the main house - once the painting is completed.

We've finally settled on a paint color - the darkest taupe. Our front door will be a beautiful blue called delphinium.

Country Store Kitchen

Old things speak to my heart. I've never lived in a new house and am not into anything shiny and glitzy. I love knowing the things I've collected have a past, that they were once important to someone else. Initials carved in a desk are not a defect; they impart a certain charm.

'Tis said "the kitchen is the heart of the home." Even in our house - with its mostly unchanged 1926 kitchen - it's the place where people gather. And it's the room into which I've injected my personality most strongly.

We have just two upper cabinets, but they're both original with wavy glass fronts. I installed shelves above them, as well as on the opposite wall, on which we display the little tins and kitchen containers collected over the past 20+ years. Next year we MAY give in and update the room. But for now we're enjoying its vintage charm.



A portion of our treasured kitchen collectibles.

More of my kitchen advertising collectibles and containers.

My newest kitchen collectibles. Don't they just bowl you ova???

A Wonderful Life in the Circus

I have a colleague in The Art Quilt Network I've known for at least eight years, during which time we'd had many conversations. Yesterday I learned her husband had died suddenly. In reading his obituary, I was surprised to learn he had always wanted to be in the circus and had produced circuses for over 40 years. He lived his dream.

There is a real lesson there. Many people spend their entire lives at jobs they hate. How wonderful to read of a man who was able to make his dream come true by joining the circus.

A Treat from Bonnie

Photo credit: Bonnie Fuchs

Bonnie was taking photos throughout the DOQ meeting last night. Imagine my surprise when I opened my email this afternoon and found she'd sent me a fabulous photo collage as a remembrance of the evening. Isn't it cool? Maybe one day I'll learn to do things like that.

Bonnie had sent me a photo following a previous trip to DOQ which was used on my website for quite a while. Thank you so much, Bonnie.

Check Bonnie's blog: http://bonnieblogtoday.blogspot.com

Durham Orange Quilters - The Best!

Quilters love talking to other quilters about quilts. And when a guild invites me back a second and third time, it's a special treat. To walk into a room and be greeted warmly by old friends is the greatest. It was so good to see Hope, Bev, Margaret, famous quilt historian Erma K. and others. To reconnect with so many talented women and to laugh about old times was good for my soul.

Prior to the meeting, Cathy took me to dinner at Squids - a divine seafood restaurant. Yum. Everything was good, and the hush puppies were to die for. Monday is lobster night, so the place was packed by the time we left. We both laughed (discreetly of course) when a diner next to us expressed great dismay when her lobster arrived. She did not want to see its eyes and sent it back to the kitchen! It reminded me of the Chinese restaurant dinner scene in the film The Christmas Story, when the duck is served with its head intact.

Following my talk, many of the quilters shared their work through Show and Tell - always the best part of any guild meeting. I was impressed by the talent displayed.

My visit with the Durham Orange Quilt Guild Monday night was fabulous. We were all speaking the same language. Everybody "got it." Thanks, everyone. You're the best. Love and kisses - Ellen.

Chapel Hill

Above, my hostess Cissa brews espresso for breakfast.

I arrived home safely from Chapel Hill, in spite of all the extreme speed demons on the interstate. Following my lecture on my favorite quilt pattern, the Log Cabin, I was given a place to lay my head for the night. What wonderful, welcoming hosts Cissa and Wagner were! I felt as if I was in a sumptious hotel with my private bed and bath. Thank you both!

This morning I was treated to a delicious breakfast of bagels from Panera Bread, complete with cream cheese, fresh fruit, orange juice and espresso! Cissa brewed it on the spot in a good-looking Braun Tassimo machine. As we chatted and ate, we enjoyed watching a hummingbird at the feeder just outside on the deck.

I had a tour of Cissa's studio, which is lovely, bright and efficient. Book cases along the walls hold many of her beautiful quilts - which I got to see - as well as momentos from the six states in which she and her husband have lived. The little pink pig buttons from Iowa caught my eye, as did her collection of Longabarger baskets.

Cissa loves kaleidoscopes. Her current project uses fabric purchased in Brazil.