A Trip to Paducah, Kentucky

 Do you recognize this building? It's The National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky! 
My husband was coming to this area on business and when I mentioned that Paducah is a "mecca" for quilters, he bought me a ticket!  So here I am, happy as a "tick on a hound dog". We are going to the museum tomorrow, when we have more time to browse and take it all in.

 In the meantime, since I don't have access to a car during the day, I spent quite a bit of time and money in this place! (It is almost across the street from my hotel! I was able to walk there without even breaking a sweat!) It was instant "overwhelm" when I walked in. There are rows and rows of bolts, all organized by fabric company, designer, and collection. I lugged back a bag of fabric that will replace all my husband's clothing in his carry-on suitcase! (Sorry, hon!) OH, he saw that! He suggested that I just leave my own things here and buy new! Okay!! (What a sweetheart!) I do feel rather constrained when I fly - especially now that baggage is so costly!

 Here are my fabrics.

We also stopped at Eleanor Burn's 2nd store, Quilt in a Day.  Her fabrics are only $5 a yard! Not as many fabrics, but still a lot and such a great price! I found this fun Christmas fabric. (the photo doesn't do it justice!)

We ended the day at Max's, a restaurant in the historic district near the river. I wanted to eat out on the patio to enjoy the cooler temperatures. (It's still in the 100's back in South Texas and in the 80's here!)
There is more site seeing to do before we leave, so I'll post some more soon. Until then.......

The Right Border Fabric

When you're choosing a fabric for your border, sometimes the right fabric is one you've pieced together yourself! This quilt was one I made about 6 years ago. You can't see in this picture, but the words to a poem are embroidered in the light, teapot squares, which are appliqued. I had really struggled to find "just the right fabric" for the outer border. Nothing worked until I just pieced all the fabrics from the patchwork squares in random widths. In this photo, I have not yet trimmed it all to the same width.
So remember this little trick the next time you have a hard time finding the right border fabric. Maybe it's in your scrap box!