2009 February 17 — Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara

February 17, 2009 · by JudyL

We’re not there yet but today we took the first step. Oh, we have a great life now but forever I’ve been wanting a farm. I wanted a lamb when I was a little girl and my dad always promised that he’d get me one when I got my own place. Any time they come to visit, I hold my breath til they get here and I see that they don’t have a lamb. My dad would do that!

I want a big garden; I want to be able to put up an electric fence to keep the deer out; I want chickens . . I don’t want neighbors! I can have a garden here but how on earth I’d keep the deer out is a mystery. There are all kinds of methods that are supposed to work but nothing seems to work for these hungry pests. I can have chickens but I’d rather have them out in the country.

As of today, our house is for sale! We didn’t officially list it but talked to the realtor and they don’t have a problem showing houses on a “one time” showing. This isn’t a great time to sell a house and we’re not holding our breath waiting for it to sell but you never know til you ask . . so we asked her to sell it and find us some land.

Vince hasn’t always been too keen on farm living. He will probably be more of an enabler than an active participant. But, he made the call to the realtor, without any threats or unreasonable promises on my part. Now I’ll just sit here and wait for the realtor to call. Don’t worry . . I’ll be sewing or knitting while I’m waiting.

My hope is that we can find some land with a spring fed pond and a little farmhouse — something that is small, not fancy but something we could live in while we build. We’ll build our house, then renovate the little farmhouse for either my quilting studio or a guest house.

We know what we want in a house – definitely smaller than we have now, especially if the sewing area is not part of the house; a bigger kitchen with a nice stove . . I have it all planned out.

My luck, we’ll sell this house and not find a farm and then we’ll be up a creek! Oh, well . . we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Wish us luck!

First Quilts

February 17, 2009 · by JudyL

Do you remember the first quilt you made? Are you still working on it? Do you still have it? Here’s my first quilt.

There’s a long story about it and how I got started quilting here.

Can you imagine your life without quilting? I can’t! I think about the pleasure and relaxation I get from fondling fabric, and the quilting process. I think of the opportunities quilting has brought my way but most of all I think of the friendships I’ve made through quilting. Vicky grew up probably 5 or 10 miles from me but we never knew each other. Then we met through quilting. My friend, Becky, took classes I taught when I lived in Owensboro and we became buddies. My friend, Elaine, lives in Springfield, MO. We had been internet friends for years and then met at a retreat 5 or 6 years ago; now we live less than 2 hours apart and she’s my chauffeur to get me over the scary bridges in my travels. (It was Becky and Elaine that convinced me to buy the Baby Lock sewing machine too! They both have the same machine.) My friend, Jeanne in Kansas City . . she and I had chatted on the APQS message board for years and when I said I was moving to MO and needed info, she promptly provided me with lots of info and we’re good friends now.

Quilters are the best and the best way to be friends with quilters is to be a quilter so I think I’ll keep quilting for a long time. Not so much for the pleasure of quilting or to get rid of this stash but simply so I can continue to be friends with quilters!

Are most of your friends quilters? I think that’s one of the reasons quilt shows are so much fun . . most everyone there is a quilter.

If I had to guess, I’d say about 99.9% of my blog readers are quilters and I consider all of you my friends too. Steve, you’re not a quilter and you’re not my friend . . you’re my husband’s friend but I need that waffle recipe again . . please!!