A Bit of Local Lore

Living near Washington Irving’s home in Tarrytown and the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, is an exciting place to be around Halloween. The area is packed with Halloween themed events and activities. This Year with the new television show, “Sleep Hollow” the hysteria has reached an all time high.

 The famous American author, Washington Irving was born in 1783 and lived in Tarrytown at his home, Sunnyside, an attraction that you can still visit today. Among Irving’s works is “The legend of Sleepy Hollow”.  The short story is about schoolmaster Ichabod Crane, who competes with the town bully for the hand of the daughter of a wealthy farmer. After leaving a party, Ichabod is pursued through Sleepy Hollow by a headless horseman. As Ichabod is about to reach safety, the horseman throws what appears to be his head at the schoolmaster. The following day, Ichabod is missing. Only his horse and the remains of a pumpkin are found. It is up to the reader to decide if he truly encountered the headless horseman or if he was the victim of a cruel prank.

Consequently, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow have adopted the image of the headless horseman as icons for their towns. The horseman is always headless and holding a pumpkin, unlike the assault rifle which he carries on the new TV show!

So that is a little history about my town. Have a Happy Halloween!

On a separate note, I have started a Facebook page so be sure to check it out and Like Me On Facebook!

Grace, Sneak Preview

Here is a sneak peek at my upcoming line, Grace. Like many of us, I love to travel, not only for the places that I see and the people that I meet, but also for the colors I bring back in my mind and my camera. Pink sandy beaches, pastel colored cottages and clear turquoise waters inspired the Bermuda color palette for my Grace collection. In the islands farther south, the overwhelming blue and teal hues of the sea moved me to design Grace's Caribbean palette as shown below. I hope these colors can take you there as well. 

Grace is scheduled to debut in quilt stores everywhere in December!

I used the Grace, Caribbean colors to make  Clover and Violet's, Jane bag. One of the reasons I love Jennie and Clara's patterns is that their bags lend themselves to a playful use of fabrics!