Blogging 07-21-18

I have been blogging since 08-18-07.  Seems like a long time.  Occasionally I look at the statistics that blogger keeps on my blog, but I have never understood them.  Every now and then there will be a spike of astonishing proportions.  Such as 831 page views in one hour!  Not likely.  And currently the greatest audience is in Germany!  Not likely.   The most visited page is the one about Ruth B. McDowell's quilt "A Rash of Flamingoes" on 12-23-13.  That is possible, it is a fabulous piece of art.   My blog doesn't have a wide audience or a frequent one, usually only about 100 people check in each day, and I appreciate every one of them.  Comments are rare, but very appreciated, sometimes one wonders if there is anyone out there listening. 

I read several blogs regularly and others that I catch up on when I have some extra time.

 Kay Sorenson  quiltspluscolor.blogspot.com is a super blogger who keeps up with the statistics and enjoys hundreds of visits each day.  She leads a very interesting and varied life in Wisconsin and Florida. Kay makes spectacular quilts and is a very nice lady.  When I was driving cross country once I took a detour up to Wisconsin, because it was one of only two states I had not visited (Alaska is still missing).  I called her and she took me out to dinner and showed me her studio and some of her great quilts.  It is a precious memory. 

Terry Grant  http://andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/   She has been busy with life and hasn't blogged for a few months, but I know she is okay, just busy.  I had the chance to see her when I drove through Portland, OR, in May on my trip to Washington.  

Melody Johnson  fibermania.blogspot.com  leads an amazing life with more projects than I could handle in a decade.  She is always interesting.  

Martha Ginn  http://marthaginn.blogspot.com/   Is a very productive quiltmaker and shares her talent and ideas on her blog.  She started blogging the same month/year that I did.  

The interest in blogging has diminished, but there are still millions out there that cover, I'm sure, every topic under the sun.  So many blogs, so little time!  

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Road Trip - Indiana Up to Wisconsin 07-21-14

It was a long day with lots of problems.  When I left Logansport, IN, I immediately hit a detour onto narrow country roads with no shoulder to speak of.  No where to go if a problem developed

 

I followed this truck for what seemed like days.  And then the truck stopped; I couldn't see around it, so I just had to wait until it moved on.  

It was stopped for a road repair that must surely have been an emergency.  Nobody would schedule it on a detour from a road with such high truck traffic.  The guy in the yellow shirt is the "flagman" sans flag.

These big trucks were in a hurry - both directions.

You can see how far ahead of me the truck is in less than a mile.  There are also lots of motor homes on the road, glad I'm not driving one of them on this country byway.

 

I stopped in Crown Point, IN, to visit one of the Row by Row shops, a tiny store with mostly a selection of traditional fabrics.  They did have fat quarters on sale for $1/each, so I added a few to my fat quarter box.  This cute quilt was hanging in the restroom.

 

I only took eight pictures all day because as soon as I got back on the Interstate there was heavy traffic, construction, and, on I-294 that bypasses downtown Chicago, many toll booths.  The first toll was $1.50, but about 25 miles further on there was another toll booth.  I told the lady I had just paid a toll and she replied that if I was going to Wisconsin I would pay a toll about every 20 - 25 miles.  She was right:  another $1.50, $1.80, $2.25, $2.80!!!  Such a nuisance.  I got off at the Kenosha, WI, exit, checked into a hotel, and went to meet Kay Sorenson, who lives about ten miles from the exit ramp.  We had never met before, but we read each other's blogs.  We had dinner at a nearby ancient pub and then she showed me her studio, which is the top floor of her house.  Such a treasure box, with lovely antique oak thread cabinets and tables.  It is awash it her colorful finished and 

in-progress quilts.  But by this time I was on my last leg and had to get back to my motel.  I actually drove on the unfamiliar highway in the dark, something I told you I would never do.  But I had been over it once before and there was much less traffic at 9pm and the construction workers had gone home.  Thank heaven! 

 

So, now I am ready for the road again.  Back down I-94 and I-294.  I wish I could avoid it, but it is the most logical way to go south to I-80 westbound.  Hope to stop at the Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, NE.

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