Sudden Nakedness ...

The trees are startlingly naked this morning. We came through last night having been spared the wrath of Sandy. Except for blowing all the remaining leaves and a few branches off the trees, and causing the power to flicker out a couple of times in the night, we were left unscathed. Thankfully. That storm has been devastating to many in other areas. Having lived many years along the NJ seashore, I know full well how terrifying a hurricane can be along the coast, and my heart goes out to people hit hard.

Sunday was a busy day for some quilters here. Holly is really cranking out the quilts ... and every time she brings one, she names another somebody who will be the recipient. This time, she FINALLY said, "This one is for me." It's a pattern that has become pretty popular around here -- they're making them like hotcakes, in all sizes and different kinds of fabrics and color choices. At retreat last winter, many were making them into heart-shaped wallhangings. Here's Holly's, made with a Christmas theme (many of the flannels incorporated here have holly prints, appropriately enough).

Melanie came with Holly and played with the Avante in the other room, but here she is, trying to scoot sideways to get out of the view of the camera when she realized I was about to snap the photo:

We were marveling about how smoothly the Minkie fabric Holly is using lays on the back. We've heard bad things about stretching possibilities, but as you can see, there was none of that going on and it made such a scoochie quilt for Holly's niece.

When I first met Melanie, she reminded me for all the world of Bonnie Hunter. (Being a new quilter, M didn't know who I was talking about, but quickly found out when I showed her BH's Shirttails ... book.