BOOKS ARE HERE!

I am so excited to write today because MY NEW QUILT BOOK HAS ACTUALLY ARRIVED!  It actually came on Friday, but I haven't had a chance to spend time with my computer yet due to the holiday.

Anyway, now the really hard work begins:  MARKETING!

I will be doing a blog giveaway for a copy of my book soon, so if you aren't an officIal follower yet, please become one so you won't miss out the chance to win a copy of my new book.  I don't have a date in mind yet for my giveaway, but I'm thinking the end of July or beginning of August.  You can find me on Facebook and I will be updating my website too.

The title of my book is:  A RUSSIAN JOURNEY IN QUILTS:  THE STORY OF NICHOLAS AND NINA FILTAOFF.

Let me tell you a little bit about my book:

This book was inspired by a story shared by my maternal grandmother about two of dearest friends, Nicholas and Nina Filatoff.  Nicholas and Nina were Russian emigres who fled the Bolshevik Revolution and eventually found their way to Meadville, PA.  They met my teen-aged grandmother when they purchased a small farm outside of Meadville as their retirement home.  And that was the beginning of a long friendship.  Sadly, the Filatoffs had had not children, but it was my grandmother who preserved their story by passing it down to her children and grandchildren, by recording it in her autobiography, and in the pages of her journal.  It is thanks to my grandmother that the Filatoff's story didn't die with them.

Now you can relive their adventures from Russia to the refugee camps in Constantinople and across the ocean to the United States by creating the 15 quilt projects in the book.  The projects range from table runners to wall quilts, and throws, all the way to a large bed sized Sampler Quilt. 

The Russian Journey Sampler is a wonderful BLOCK OF THE MONTH PROJECT, which would be especially meaningful with the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  There is even a FREE Block of the Month Program guide available at www.pickledish.com. 
The actual link for the FREE DOWNLOAD is: Russian Journey Sampler Quilt Block of the Month Program Guide.

Oh, I also wanted to tell everyone that the photography is simply gorgeous and was done on location at the Baldwin Reynolds House Museum. This Museum was once home to Supreme Counrt Justine Henry Baldwin and later home to Baldwin's nephew's family by marriage, the Reynoldses. Here's the museum's website: Baldwin Reynolds House Museum.

I don't have copies available on my website yet, but will do so very soon. At this time, you can copies from the following websites:

www.pickledish.com

www.homesteadhearth.com

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?????? GET YOUR COPY TODAY!!!!!

I HOPE THAT YOU'RE AS EXCITED ABOUT MY NEW BOOK AS I AM!

Support YOUR Local Museums

Have you taken the time to visit a museum in your area yet this summer? Today my mother and I went to the Baldwin Reynolds House Museum in Meadville, PA. It's a wonderful place to see. The house itself is magnificent and such a "fish out of water" in northwestern Pennsylvania, so to speak.

The house is a circa 1840's Southern style plantation home with a Victorian mansard roof (added later) and an amazing solarium on the side of the house. A second floor wrap around veranda adds to the Southern feel. The house was built by Supreme Court Justice Henry Baldwin, later purchased by his wife's nephew, William Reynolds. William Reynolds' son, John E., inherited the house. John E.'s widow, Katherine lived in the house until the 1960's. It was later purchased by the Crawford County Historical Society and turned into a House Museum.

I have always had a special place in my heart for this museum. I worked there through college as a curatorial assistant. Later I ran the house for a little while until they hired a new curator (which wasn't me, sadly). Currently the museum has a fantastic director, Josh Sherretts. Josh has done wonders with the displays and the tour information. I was very impressed. And oh so pleased to see the house so alive.

Our main purpose for visiting the house today was to see the museum quilt display (which is over this weekend, unfortunately). It included several gorgeous Victorian crazy quilts in the downstairs parlors as well as some Civil War era quilts in the bedrooms upstairs. Oh, did I mention the log cabin quilts?

It was lovely to get lost in history this afternoon. Josh has set up the exhibits so cleverly -- a bottle of wine and two glasses on an occasional table.....a pair of spectacles on an open book next to a comfy uphostered chair. These little touches made it seem like someone had just left the room right before we walked into it!

If you haven't visited the local museums in your area, you really should. Most of them have quilt and textile collections which are truly a treat for quilters to see. Not to mention the art, the furniture, the architecture....

It's important now more than ever to support your local museums due to so many funding cuts at the local, state, and federal levels. The Baldwin Reynolds house received about 25% of the funding it used to. Your support could mean the difference between staying open or closing the museum. So get out there and keep history alive in your community! You know, local museums are oftem desperately in need of dedicated volunteers as well, so get involved!

Below,enjoy some photos from our trip to the museum. Please note that I did not use flash when photographing because flash photography is damaging to textiles, etc.