It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is right around Pumpkin Piethe corner. It’s one of my favorite holidays. A cartful of groceries, a little cooking and I’m ready to go. It’s also a time to reflect on our blessings. I’m thankful for all of my family and friends, my home and my work. But I’m a quilter and there is a particular list of things to be thankful for when one lives in the world of quilting.

I think back to the quilters that came before, Marie Webster, Ruby Short McKim, Carrie Hall and Rose Kretsinger, and wonder what they would have done with the tools we now have available. I would be willing to bet that the quilt shop as we know it would have taken their breath away. No more cardboard or sandpaper templates, no treadle sewing machine and no more poor lighting.

Here is my list of things I’m thankful for regarding my favorite pastime of quilting.

1. My rotary cutter. This has to be the one most valuable tool invented for today’s quilter. I don’t think I would care much for quilting if I had to cut out every piece with scissors, and I probably wouldn’t be very accurate.

Don’t spit into the well. You might have to drink from it later.
- Yiddish proverb

So we got Julia’s new Mrs. Bobbins cartoon on Monday. We always do at the start of the week, and, like you, we look forward to being surprised by what she comes up with next.

Wombat love: Imagine a cute thimble on this cutie.This one, though, had me scratching my head. Diane, too. If you’ve seen it, posted yesterday, it shows Mrs. Bobbins licking her quilt block, commenting to Mr. Bobbins that a bit of spit is as important to a quilt as blood, sweat and tears.

Spit on a quilt? I had no idea. We asked Edie to confirm. She explained that, yes, spit is good for getting out blood if you prick your finger while sewing.

Ahh … made sense! Though later, as I pondered writing this post, I found the Yiddish proverb, above. So, do all quilters wash their quilts once they’re done, knowing they – or someone else – might be sleeping under it later?! Or not? I wonder ….

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Last weekend I took a day off from my sewing and went to the quilt show put on by the Lee’s Summit Quilt Guild of Lee’s Summit, Mo. Let me tell you, they have some very talented quilters there.

Shirley Duncan, who now lives in Independence, was theShirley Duncan, featured quilter featured quilter. Shirley is a fantastic quilter and teacher. She is known around the area as an expert at hand quilting and has the blue ribbons to prove it. Shirley shares her knowledge in the art of quilting at Quilter’s Station in Lee’s Summit where she teaches classes on hand and machine piecing as well as quilting. Everyone who knows Shirley was thrilled to see her honored.

One of the features of the quilt show was an old-fashioned bed turning. A what? That’s right, a bed turning. A bed was set up and had layer upon layer of quilts on the mattress. A speaker told the history of the quilt that was showing on top of the bed. When she was done, the quilt was folded over the pillows so the audience could see the next quilt and hear its story.

Okay, now this could be strange. I’m a firm believer that sometimes coincidence isn’t always random … that Jo Ann's quilt: Did Aunt Rose make it? odd, unexpected things can coincide for a reason. Blame my Presbyterian upbringing, I suppose. Plus it’s fun to think about the possibility.

So it was weird that I received an email from Jo Ann Groves, who is our production guru here at The Kansas City Star and responsible for fine-tuning those beautiful photographs and artwork that you see in our books.

She had read my blog item about my great aunt and her quilts.

“Just read your Aunt Rose post,” she wrote. “I was born in Windsor and given a little baby quilt from one of my parents’ neighbor ladies (don’t remember the name.)

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Sometimes I get ahead of myself when I am making a scrappy quilt. It’s the weirdest thing. I make a few blocks, pin them up on my design wall and start seeing problems. Not only do I start seeing problems, I begin to try to resolve them.

Hmmmm, what could be wrong with this picture? (Speaking of pictures, I’d love to show you one, but this is going in a book so you’ll have to wait a bit.)

I am working with the precut Honey Buns. Those are 1 1/2” strips. Each bundle or roll contains 40 strips of fabric and one gets every piece from a line. I love the pattern. The blocks are fun and quick to make.

So what’s the issue? I’m sure inquiring minds want to know.

The fabric line I’m using has wonderful colors. Reds, blues, browns, pinks, tans and beiges make up the color palette. I put together one of my blocks using the reds that were in the roll and the beiges. It’s a very pretty block . . . until I put it up on the wall with the others that are much darker. Now the block is screaming, “Look at me! Look at me!” I can almost see it jumping to the forefront instead of melting in with the others.

I make more blocks. In one of them I use the beige with dark blue. Now I have two blocks that want to be the main focus. My eyes go directly to those two blocks. Yikes!

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The big area event this week is the AQS Show in Des Moines, Iowa. Okay, maybe "area" is a bit of a stretch, but I call anything within a 200 mile radius doable. Especially when it involves quilts and when a show is on this grand a scale.

I drove up to Des Moines yesterday for the show. When I walked in the door to the main arena, I was greeted with the sight of row after row of vendors. Toward the front of the hall was the AQS exhibit of Burgoyne Surrounded quilts. Quilters used that pattern as a jumping off place to create a new look.

At the back of the hall was an exhibit of quilts and the Artful Bra Project. I’m sure you know of the Artful BraArtful Bras Project but just in case you don’t, quilters from South Carolina decorated bras to bring awareness to the issue of breast cancer. Some deal with the aftermath, some with the loss of a friend or relative, some with enduring the disease. And like everything else in life, it helps to have a sense of humor. I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to go see this exhibit. We also published Artful Bras: Hooters, Melons and Boobs, Oh My! A Quilt Guild’s Fight Against Breast Cancer to celebrate this exhibit.