Would you believe I have a big Rock Pigeon who decided to nest above the ceiling in the office at the shop. She made her way in through a broken window in the back parking lot. I've been asking our landlord to fix it for months to no avail. Now he's really got his hands full. They put a live trap up there yesterday but she's still walking around this morning making the strangest noises. It kind of gives you the creeps. If we don't trap her today, she'll meet her demise tonight the old fashioned way. I hope she goes for the peanut butter and relocation plan.

You'll notice today's motif has some color on it. In lots of antique embroidery, the designs were sold with areas colored and you could simply embroider around them. I came across the design looking for something patriotic for one of the requested designs and wondered how many of you knew how to achieve that antique look or how it was originally done.

I've been writing and recording the oral history of my family and the part they played over the years in quilting. I'll bet you didn't know my father was one of the men who invented the machine that made the first slotted quilting stencils did you? He also, at age 13, washed the brushes used in tinting the fabrics for quilts and embroidery as his after school job? Did you know he introduced the first raised edge quilting thimble?

We have a lot to learn about each other. Watch for a new history section coming to the site soon. It'll be filled with stories, quilts, embroidery, catalogs and probably a whole lot more.