Wow! Your whole yard is a testament to Earth Day. It's beautiful. I especially like your lettuce plates. They have such a dainty feeling to them. The napkin rings are a nice touch too. Syble, it's all so charming. Now, I shall speak to your imagined tardiness. The assignment was due today. So you are in the clear. Let me remind you, however, that waiting until the last minute is not always the wisest thing to do. As you know, I give a few extra credit points for anyone who turns their assignment in early (This helps me have a long span of time in which to correct all the assignments.) Your work has been exemplary up to this time, but you never know when those few extra points may come in handy. Back to your work - I want some stemware like yours. I have lots of dishes, but not much in the way of glasses. I'd like to start thinking about getting some with a little color. Do the goblets have the same diamond design as the snifters?

One of my duties when I worked in the Philadelphia Library was to maintain the clipping file. Every day I read a handful of local papers and clipped articles that might be useful to our patrons or staff. These papers only had a local circulation and were too small to be indexed in any of the major published indexes. This was back in the 70's before we had a computer on every desk and cubby. Retrieving a newspaper or periodical article meant locating the microfiche or microcard and using the appropriate readers. Newspapers in their original form were too fragile for long term storage unless in an archival setting - controlled temperature and humidity, light, dust and pollution free etc. In other words it was a royal P.I.A. - Any clipping that we deemed important was photocopied onto permanent paper - paper that was acid free, lignin free, and tear resistant. The link below has a lot of information of preserving newspapers and at the bottom of the article it has a link to creating archival scrapbooks too. Here is a link that might be useful: clippings

Pirate Girl - Our local quilt shop holds classes and one of the instructors there suggested that pattern based on my knowledge level, which was none. I had started what was supposed to be a simple strip quilt six months prior but apparently the jelly rolls I bought were cut awkward and it did nothing but manage to aggravate me heh. Anyway, I did a 45X60 kid's sized quilt. The other dimensions listed are as follows: Lap-60X75 Twin-74X90 Queen-90X105 King - 120X120 As it says though, you can make it any size. Each block requires one print fat quarter and one 3.5 X 40 strip of background fabric. The blocks end up being 15.5 squared. And here is a photo of the back: I picked out one of the patterns from the top of the quilt. Sidnee - The first thing I ever tried when I got interested in quilting was a simple block pattern for a scrapbook cover. And when I couldn't make those blocks line up just right I was left thinking... What? They are just blocks for Pete's sake, what gives? This is how I looked at it of course and I hope it doesn't put anyone off but when I finished I sort of stepped back and looked at it and didn't feel anymore accomplished for having done it. All of my boo boos stood out like sore thumbs as well just because it was such a simple pattern. I didn't pick up quilting again for three months which was when I tried to do a simple strip quilt. After the strip quilt, I didn't look at quilting again for another six months. In contrast, when I finished the quilt above, stood back to take a look, and I couldn't believe that I had made that with my own hands. There are mistakes in that one as well and my pieces are off in several places. The pattern is busy enough though that unless you are inspecting it you don't really see the boo boos. Granted, I know it isn't show stopper or anything but it left me feeling like I had accomplished something. As soon as I finished that one I went right on to make another one. In short, I don't think it is just the simplicity of the pattern for a beginning project that is important but also having a finished project that makes you feel like you have really done something and something that doesn't kill your interest. I just started working from templates and it took me three days to put together one nineteen inch block. I ripped seams repeatedly, tried different techniques repeatedly, swore like a sailor the whole time I was working on it, and never thought it was going to come together. And there was no way that I was going to make a quilt out of those blocks. It did finally come together though and it isn't perfect by no means but I emerged from that project a little more educated and ready to take on a full size project with the pattern. My advice to you would be either to get a pattern at your local craft/quilt shop or online that says it is specifically for beginners. A good beginner's pattern will offer tips on how to check and/or to adjust your needle to get that perfect seam, how to sew your blocks where the machine doesn't eat them in the beginning, which ways to press your seams, preparing your fabric, squaring it, binding the quilt, and more. Knowing all of those things will make your experience way more pleasant and inspire you to go on to bigger and better things. Anyway, that is my soapbox and I'll step down and give the floor to someone else now lol. -Tina

Try posting this question on the crafts board, also as some of them maybe able to help you. Good luck, if you find the directions please be sure to post them here for others who would like them. Thanks Penny