The Fair is in Town..

A couple weeks ago, I went to the Indiana State Fair with my friend Deanne. 

We went to see this guy.

 

Deanne is a BIG Dr. Oz fan.  And it was fun to see him in person. 

We took in the sights.

FAIR FOOD!

We shared a tenderloin for lunch.

We checked out some of the quilts.  I took {bad} pictures and no notes.

I liked this quilt with the prairie points. 

I shot a close photo of this thinking I might make one for myself.

This was the big winner.

A lovely antique quilt.  I am curious as to how these quilts are judged.

This quilt had wool applique and FABULOUS quilting.

These funny statues were everywhere.

The Indiana State Fair was celebrating the year of...

the SOYBEAN!

That's right...the soybean.  What??? Were you thinking, maybe, something else?

Mt. Yo-Yo...

605 yo-yos...403 to go

What have you been sewing?

ps i quilt giveaway...

Rachel at ps i quilt is having a sponsor giveaway.  One lucky reader will win this Promenade fat quarter bundle from Green Fairy Quilts.  Go check it out!

Audiobooks...

Yesterday I finished listening to The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain. 

Written as a novel, in first person, this is the story of the first wife of Ernest Hemmingway.  Hadely Richardson and Hem fell in love before he was  a famous author.  I found the book slow at first, but it picked up and as the marriage began to crumble I could not stop listening.  By the end I was clearly emotionally invested!

Some time ago I read Loving Frank.  I found these stories comparable in demonstrating the sacrifices the women made to support the artisits enormous but tender egos.  And like Loving Frank, The Paris Wife left me compelled to learn more about the complex characters.  I spent a couple hours searching the internet for news clips and pictures.

   

I chose this book because my father was a Senior English teacher and loved all things Hemmingway.  He also loved F. Scot Fitzgerald, a name dropped with many others in this book.   

Next up is Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford.  This is a bookclub selection and although I have not been attending regularly, I like to read {listen} from their list.

I'd better put on my walking shoes, and my ipod and get out for my 10,000 steps. 

Have you read anything good lately?

In Need of a Makeover...

My poor little blog needed some attention.  A makeover is always nice.  Instead of creating my own template I found this cute template at Designer Blogs.   

Ahhhh...now that feels much better!  

Yo-Yoing along

I have been so busy lately. 

No time to blog, no time to sew my summer bow ties. 

But I have managed to keep up with these little beauties...

525 Yo-Yos!

I am more than half way to my goal of 1008!

Today I am off to see Dr. OZ at the Indiana State Fair.

RAGBRAI T-Shirt Quilt...

This t-shirt quilt hangs in City Hall in Coralville, Iowa.  It is a collection of t-shirts from RAGBRAI XXXI sewn together in the shape of the state of Iowa.  Pretty clever.