Dear Quilting Friends,

When you travel as much as I do it's easy to see your hometown as nothing special.

I've been to some pretty lovely places, the foot hills of Marin County, the foggy coast of Oregon, the hollows of Alabama, even the garden city of Toowoomba, Queensland in Australia.

In the big cities I've visited I'm entranced by the architecture. I love old buildings. Gosh, we don't build them like that anymore and more's the pity.

In the rolling Iowa countryside I see an ornate old house, standing alone surrounded by acres of green. Why are you there, I wonder. Someone's pride and joy, built one hundred years ago. Where are they now?

Just a plane ride away and I'm in someone else's hometown, invited to share what I know about quilting and life.

"Do you notice how beautiful it is here?", I ask. Funny how often we forget to see the wonders around us.

Compared to some of the places I've been Saginaw is just not that fancy. Too big to be a small town and not quite a big city, we still have all the usual shopping and entertainment. The highlight of the year is the local high school's homecoming parade, just as it is for everyone with school aged kids.

Even the countryside is rather plain, literally! Saginaw is almost as flat as the middle of Illinois where I watched a huge thunderstorm gather speed across the farm land as I drove to Decatur.

The truth is, no matter how lovely or friendly the places that I visit, home is always the place I want to be. As I sit at my desk, laboring over words and numbers, I look up to see colorful birds at the feeders, deer in the meadow, wild turkeys strutting through the yard.

My gardens are a riot of undisciplined color because I don't have the heart to weed out the volunteers. Each part of the growing season brings back old favorites, sometimes in brand new places. The flowers inspire me to search out fabrics in just that shade for the next design.

Here in my cozy old house is my family, my pets and my heart.

Piecefully,

Beth

© 1998 - 2009 by Beth Ferrier for Applewood
Farm Publications, Inc.
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