Hi everyone,
Sorry for not answering you earlier. We are in the middle of ordering our school library books for next year and all my time lately has been online looking for and ordering library books for the 6 libraries of the school. I am the acting head librarian for all six, so the task has fallen to me to make sure the orders are completed and out on time. It has been a gargantuan task.
Thank all of you for the compliments to my quilting efforts. I really do try hard to do a good job and are very pleased when others appreciate it.
Quiltmaker,
Yes it is difficult getting materials in Beirut, even though I live in the capital city of the country. There is no fabric industry here, so everything is imported from outside and they do not go for 100% cotton much. I get my fabrics the same way as our ancestors - pick it up where you can and reuse worn-out clothes. When I go home to the States, I return with one suitcase full of fabrics, books and notions which I share with my quilting buddies here. They do the same when they travel as well. We are also cultivating some fabric shops and trying to convince them to bring in more cotton fabrics, but so far with little success. It is really a shame that Walmart is cutting back on their fabric departments. I was hoping to pick up material there when I got home.
Now the weather is simply too hot to do any quilting comfortably. We simply melt without airconditioning over here. Hope it is cooler for all of you wherever you are.
Virginia,
The pattern that we used came from the book Needles and Notions: Paper Pieced patterns with a Sewing Room Theme by Jeanette Huff. One of our quilting ladies found it when she was traveling to the US and brought it back for us to try. I do not have the book myself, but you may be able to find it through Amazon.com
Connie