Cindy answered my request for photos of doors from Italy. Thank you, Cindy! I'm posting them here and will pin them to my door page in Pinterest.

I've been thinking about what makes doors so universally interesting. There's the color and texture of course, but that's not all there is to it. You can find color and texture in large pieces of lumber and you don't find yourself taking pictures of that.

An old door that has obviously been used for generations has meaning. People just like us have used these doors. People just like us will use them after we are gone. I can sense that continuity when I look at doors like these.

There were, and are, craftsmen who cared enough to make these beautiful and functional doors. I can feel that care when I see these doors – just as I can see it in the quilts we make. There is a clear correlation, don't you think?

The other thing I've been thinking about is the space around doors. The photo above is a fine example. A door, even though it is the focal point, is really a small part of the facade of most buildings. In the quilts I am making I am working to make the negative space around the door (walls, stairs, etc.) interesting but not overpowering. It's a balancing act that I am enjoying.

Thanks, again, to Cindy!

Door Number One is finished! Yay! I'm looking forward to adding quilting lines to the 'building' to give it more texture.

I especially love the idea behind the name for the quilt/class. Behind every door is something you can't see. It is an adventure to open it to see what is behind it. As I read the comments from the previous post it sounds like many of you who have been to Italy were also captivated by the doors. If you have a few good Italian door pictures that you wouldn't mind me posting, please email them to me at becky@pieceocake.com. 

My Adventure in Italy class is shaping up. There will be plenty of time spent out and about in Orvieto!

Much of the class will be spent on design and color with pertinent stitching techniques. This block is 14" x 21". It can be scaled up or down to suit yourself. It's going to be lots of fun! While everyone will have my pattern as a place to start, each person in the class can alter the pattern to reflect their own experience.

I've begun pulling the background fabric for Door Number Two and thought I'd share…

It doesn't look like much at this stage, but I can see where it's going. I'll take photos to share with you.

Lorna is pregnant! Come January, Chris and Lorna are going to be outnumbered. Elanor and Jack are very excited, as are we all. I got permission from the proud parents to release the first official photos of Baby #3.

I never had a sonogram with either of our boys. I don't think they were as commonly given back in the day. Now you get pictures with text added ("Hi Mom and Dad") which is admittedly pretty cute. There's also an action shot! 

I doubt that they can tell at this stage if it's a boy or girl and none of us want to know anyway. It's a baby that looks to be normal and healthy – that's the important thing. 

I just realized that we got in the new and improved Sewline Sure Guide Needle Threader a week or so ago. Lorna unpacked the box and told me they were here but I promptly forgot. 

For those of you who were waiting for this updated version, this is what it looks like:

It has a new mechanism added to one side that keeps you from pushing the threader if the needle is not aligned. The old style didn't have this mechanism and some people broke their threaders. Now you won't! Click here to see it on the Piece O' Cake site.

That is the name of the project I've designed for my class for Adventures in Italy. While it's true that my adventure is not until May 18-24, 2014 now is the time to get the ball rolling. 

I've not yet been to Italy but I have been to France. As I walked around Paris I was captivated by doors. As I thought about what sort of quilt to design for Italy, my mind kept going to doors. I scoured the internet and found many photos of Italian doors. I've gathered some of them on this Pinterest board. I did some reading and found out that Italians love doors. The older the better. They don't throw out or replace old doors, they treasue and use them.

I have a drawing of three doors. Each can stand alone or be set together. I've been working on Door Number One. This is where it started…

I liked the blue door but I also liked these quieter blues. I had to see them both on the desing wall to make a decision.

Well, the light door fades away so it went away. The circles are meant to represent ceramic plates. In several photos I spotted decorative plates hung around exterior doors and I loved the splashes of color.

Even better with plants outside the door. I'm close to finishing this one. I'll post the photo tomorrow or the next day.

In a recent class one of my students had this stool:

She brought it to put her feet on. Great idea! And look at the way it folds up:

This stool is light, folds flat, and it's inexpensive. When we were shopping at Target today I found one for $14.99. Mine is all black with white dots. It holds up to 300 lbs. Love it! Mom got one too.

We found lots more than this when we were shopping. I've started my Christmas shopping which means I need to try to figure out where to stash stuff. I've started a list of what I've gotten for who in Evernote.

And speaking of Evernote, if you have a phone, iPad, or similar device that uses apps, you should check out Evernote. I use it daily. AND – if you have an iPad, check out Flipboard. It's hard to explain but it's a lovely aggregator of the things I like to keep up with.

There's probably more news but I'm kind of tired. Amazing how shopping can wear you out. That said I'll be perking up soon because the grandkids are coming back in a bit to swim with Judy, their other grandmother. Steve's making turkey burgers for us all. I'm so lucky I don't have to cook :-).