Nine Naked Quilters

While I was recovering from my knee surgery and was confined to the upstairs of the house, my husband painted my sewing room in a lovely pastel rose color.  Yesterday we hung my 9 Naked Quilters pictures that have been in storage for several years.  I decided to group them above my cutting table so I can look at one of them every time I cut or trim.

There's a story behind these pictures which I will relate as I go through the individual pictures.

Bathing in the outback--decadent!

As you are aware, if you've noticed the pictures I post from time to time on this blog, the lighting in my sewing room is horrible and the pix reflect that here.  

These are simply calendar pictures that I ripped out and stuck into frames. Originally there were 12 but for some forgotten reason, I only framed 9 and threw out the other 3.  I have no idea now why I'd do that!

I always think of my Grandma when I see these well-used hands doing their stitching.  For all of that, this could be a picture of my hands these days!  

Love, love, love these ladies singing and playing Christmas songs naked around the piano--with a plate of yummy looking goodies stacked on top!

Because the lighting is so bad in the sewing room, I resort to using a nighttime setting on my very basic camera. That means that I have to hold the camera still for a second or so longer than usual and as my arms were getting a bit shaky from holding up the camera to take all these pix, the one above came out terribly blurry.  It's actually 3 gals, out among the trees, posing behind a cluster of stuffed animals--Beanie Babies, maybe?

So, I'll begin the story.  Back in 2003 or 2004, my daughter began a conversation online with a fella in Australia. They seemed to hit it off and one thing led to another and she decided she'd like to fly over there and meet him in person.  They had a wonderful 10 days or so, touring around the country, meeting his friends and family, and when she returned she had decided that she wanted to marry him.

He was able to travel to the US in 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the Gulf Coast and right before I began working at the local county agency.  The two of them were married in October, 2005 but sadly, they separated in February, 2008 and are now divorced.   

Sorry about the diversion.  Back to the story of these pictures.  When Tessa returned from her trip to the Land Down Under--which she loves so much--she brought me a calendar of Naked Quilters! This was a fundraiser for the Silverton Quilters of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.  These ladies shed their clothes and wrapped up in their quilts to pose for the calendar and I absolutely loved it! She couldn't have found a better gift for me!  When the year was over, I couldn't just put it away, so into the frames these 9 pages went.

This is my favorite of the nine.  Two plump ladies, naked on a motorcycle, laughing their heads off and having the time of their lives!  I just love it!

So I have these naked quilters in my sewing room and they bring me so much company and joy as I work by myself making the quilts I love so much.  I only wish I could meet them in person and have a giggle with them!