An Ordinary Spring Day

Just wanted to touch base with you all to chat for a quick minute on what's been happening in my studio this week, but first I must mention that today marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War.  For all of us Civil War buffs, it is a very special anniversary indeed!

Sad, too, that in just a short time, we will also mark the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's assassination.  I'm just grateful he lived to see the end of that dreadful war, and pass the Emancipation Proclamation.  I just had to take a moment today to reflect on the anniversary of these important events.  

My friend, Deb and I have been working like crazy people in the getting-ready-for-quilt-market-crush.  We've been cutting, and sewing, and stuffing patterns to beat the band.  Normal activity in April and May getting ready for the 'big show'.    We have three quilts to make for my new pattern, Tokens of the Past: Nine Patch Reverie, and this block is one block in one of the quilts.  Oh, I'm madly in love with these teeny, tiny pieces, and totally get that many of you are not!!  No worries...the three quilts in Tokens: Nine Patch Reverie all have alternate sizes, so while I'm making mine as small as I can make them, there will be larger versions included in the pattern for your piecing pleasure!!  Watch for more news coming soon, and you can see sneak peeks on my Instagram and Facebook pages.

On a totally unrelated subject, I wanted to share something I have come to really enjoy.  A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with my dear BFF, Lynn M, who is a wonderful photography enthusiast.  A few years ago, Lynn began taking a picture of her family members, or dog, or flowers, or quilts, each and every day of the year to make what is basically "A Year In Pictures" of her families life.  The photos are wonderful, casual remembrances of their daily life.  Of course birthdays and anniversaries are well represented, as well as the simple stuff, like going to the movies, or the first day on a new job.  Whatever is happening in her life, large or small, a simple snapshot is taken for her photo diary.  Well, I loved the idea, but never followed thru.

At dinner that evening, I asked Lynn if she was still keeping her photo diary, and she said yes, and she also shared this APP that she loves with me, and I immediately downloaded it, and began using it.....Love, Love, Love.  So, I thought I would share it with you.  

The APP is called Collect, and it's FREE!!  It is exactly the same concept as Lynn's photo diary only it 'collects' photos that you take with your phone.  I could not be easier!  Each day, the Collect App sends you a reminder to take a photo that day.  You can give a title to the photo, and write a few notes on what was happening.  I've been 'collecting' for about a month now, and already can't believe how much I have recorded of our family in just 5 minutes or less a day.  Some days are more remarkable than others, like my daughter and husband's first day on a new job, but others are just candid pictures of me cooking our favorite Italian specialty, or my son on the floor playing with the dog.  I've also taken pictures of my quilts in progress, and had to take a photo one morning when I opened the kitchen blinds and saw a rainbow.  I was thinking about how cool this would be for new parents, or grandparents, to record every day of a new babies life!  So easy, and what a keepsake!!

Here's what the APP looks like, if you're interested.  I know this isn't quilting related, but I hope you don't mind that I'm just passing along something that I really enjoy.  I thought some of you might really like it, too.

Thanks, Lynn, for passing this along to me.  Next time we're together, I'll be adding your photo to my Collect journal that day!!  

Take some time to sew a few stitches today...you'll be sew much happier for it!