Irish Lake Quilter

......snippets and quilts, family, pets and friends....

Monday, January 29, 2007

Introduction.......my first post!



I'm Judy and I live in a northern suburb of Chicago with Jim, my husband of 32 years and our younger son Michael and his dog, Leah. Leah is a delightful pup and we have a lot of laughs with her. My passion is quilting and lots of hand applique. Jim and I have lived in the Chicago area for 20 years having lived in Cleveland suburbs for 12 years prior to moving here. We have a summer cottage in Indiana where we love to go during warm weather.

My passion for quilting came from both sides of my family. My paternal grandmother lived with us and she sewed and quilted. My maternal grandmother sewed and made quilts with her sisters when their children were small. Mom made my clothes from feedsacks and I got the bug to make things for my dolls at a very early age. Only one quilt from all those quilters has been preserved and Grandma gave it to me several years ago. I still need to hand quilt it. It is a Grandmother's Flower Garden, made from the scraps from Great Grandma, Great Aunts, Mom's and Grandma's clothes. Grandma and Mom identified many of the fabric "owners" and I will eventually put their names in the center of those flowers. Grandma died last October at the age of 102. Her picture with her quilt was taken at age 101.

Much of what I quilt these days is "just because".....I do what I like with little reason for doing so. Many are also made for family members, but I'm ready to concentrate on my home and children for a while.

The second picture is what I see from my sewing machine. We border a forest preserve and the wildlife love to visit this area. From woodpeckers to deer to coyotes, we enjoy the nature and the woods where we live. Please feel free to jump in and comment on my posts and pictures!

4 comments:

Nancy said...

Your Grandmother's quilt is beautiful and quite a treasure. And I love the view from your sewing room. I often see deer, etc. thru my sewing room window also.

Jay said...

Good morning!
Your woodsy photo tugged at my heart -- I guess I do miss parts of the IL winter! We lived in Northern IL until 3 years ago when my husband's job brought us to CA. We lived in Mt Prospect for 28 years & before we were married, I lived in Long Grove, my husband in Arlington Heights. Small world! Love SoCal, though. Winter is very different & much easier to bear. Dogs love it, too!

Jay said...

I meant to ask: what does Irish lake mean? Just wondering. . . . .

Carol said...

Welcome to Blogland...love the view from your sewing room...I'd never want to come out. I was in Chicago last week visiting my son, DIL and new grandson...it was mighty cold for this girl from Florida...but I only left the house once when we went to dinner and then when we went to the airport so it wasn't too bad.