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!

Time to Kick It Into High Gear

Well, today is the day that I am kicking things into high gear.  Already this morning, I emailed the Kansas City Star marketing person, the person in charge of organizing Quilt Market, and the person in charge of books.

So, I now have ordered copies of my book to resell!  Wahoo!  They'll be arriving soon.

I wrote all the things that I'm working on to promote my book or am planning to the marketing person.

The Quilt Market person already got back to me to let me know that she will be sending out an invitation to do a Schoolhouse lecture and a booth book signing.

Okay, so it begins...

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Yesterday, I went to an interesting antique shop in Harrisville, PA which used to be a hardware store.  It was huge and had so much stuff -- items were stacked and piled everywhere from floor to ceiling.  I did find this quilt, though.

 

So far this quilt is a puzzle to me.  The black sqaures and pieced triangle squares (which looks like the Little Cedar Tree block) are BLACK SILK.  The lighter fabric squares and rectangles at top and bottom (which is a brownish green)  are also SILK or maybe TAFETTA (I'm guessing they were once a darker green, perhpas poison green?).  The block arrangement is unusual as are the colors used.  The border is a dark blue green (maybe also poison green?) and it is somewhat coarse, maybe LINEN?  It is about 74x81.  It has a pale green silk ribbon or tape binding on two sides and a black silk ribbon or tape on the other two sides.  The quilt is hand pieced and quilted.  Hand quilting at 8 full stitches to the inch and includes both crosshatching and double diagonal lines in BLACK THREAD.

 

As you see, it definitely has some condition issues, shattered silk, tattered binding/edge, a few holes, etc.

 

But what really makes my heart go thumpity thump is the backing fabric!  It is glorious and near perfect, see below.  Although it's hard to see -- the colors are that distinctive greyish-blue, gold/brown, and tan.

 

 

 

My gut tells me this a very special quilt.  Sadly, I have no information about it.  I feel that this is an early quilt, perhaps pre-Civil War.  I am going to consult with some quilt expert friends and I'll post an update when I know more.