A My Blue Heaven Kind of Day!

Sisters that sew together stay together!

I was so happy to meet these lovely ladies yesterday.  It seems they have enough sisters, daughters, cousins, and other women in the family that quilt that they pull together a retreat as often as they can for all of the women to get together and quilt up a storm.

Doesn’t that just sound SO GREAT!? 

I have two younger sisters that are busy with small children and I would love to get them into quilting so that we could do something along the same lines.

When we gather together like this, our hands may be cutting and pinning and stitching and pressing, but what I see with the laughter and the conversations are relationships being formed, strengthened, nurtured and a whole lot of memories being made in the process.

Quilting is the WHOLE package!  Heart, mind, body and soul!

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Talkin’ Turkey in Dover, DE!

We had a marvelous day yesterday!

Fall is definitely in the air in Delaware.  [and I didn’t intend for that to rhyme, but whatever, go with it!]

We gathered together with machines and fabric, rulers and cutters, and all that goes with it for a day of sewing the blocks from Talkin’ Turkey, found in my book String Fling.

What a beautiful fellowship hall at the Wyoming Methodist Church in Wyoming, Delaware! Large, clean, bright and airy, and the lighting was fabulous, just made for quilters!

I was very excited to have so many in attendance.  Several guests joined joined us from neighboring states such as Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and from as far away as California, and even one special guest, Petra, who came all the way from Germany as a special birthday bucket list trip.

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And What Did Delaware?!

And What Did Delaware?

Idaho!

A New Jersey!

I love the childhood rhymes and plays on words from days gone by that fly through my memory when I cross state lines.

However, it is never fun to realize that there are red and blue lights flashing in your rear view mirror as you fly through Maryland.

OOPS!!  The speed limit went from 65 in DC down to 55 in Maryland and as I was in the far left lane, I never saw the change in speed limit signs on the far right.  I am totally guilty.

I was also heavily involved in listening to Charade by Sandra Brown on my audible.

Officer, I’m guilty!  And I’m so sorry.  And I’m not from here, and not familiar with this road, and I’m just going to Delaware and I’ve been driving for hours and hours…..

I sat patiently in my car while she took my license and registration.  My hands were shaking.  I texted home.  “I’m pulled over!”  “Serves you right!  You drive like you sew.  Pedal to the metal!”

And I got off with a warning.  My lucky day.

The cruise control from then on stayed at 55 even though traffic was now flying by me on either sides at a rapid pace.

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St Peter’s Basilica, Italy!

It was hot. You can tell.

This was Rome in August.

And those Swiss Guards with their funny traditional outfits looking as cool as cucumbers, how do they do it? 

That is if cucumbers came with gold and purple striped pantaloons and tights.

Hour after hour, protecting Vatican City.

The green ear bud? So we can hear our guide more clearly. Best invention ever.

We entered St Peter’s after leaving the Sistine Chapel, and we were brought in the back way, through corridors and passageways, and all of a sudden we were INSIDE.

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September Quilty Box Giveaway!

Oh, be still my French General Loving Heart!

I’ve got a fabulous French General filled Quilty Box to give away to one of my lucky faithful readers.

Who wants it?

This box is just full of the yummy fabrics that French General by Kaari Meng is known for.  Deep reds. Glorious golds. Totally Tempting Taupes.  Never-to-be-missed Neutrals, all from the Madame Rose collection and Moda.

What is a Quilty Box?

• Quilty Box is a monthly subscription box of fun quilting supplies. We offer plans from $44-48/mo.
• 5% of the profits of multi-month subscriptions are donated to Quilts for Kids - a non-profit which donates quilts for children in need
• Each month we have 4 or more products (Fabric, patterns, thread, or notions)
• Our retail value of the products in the box is always more than $50
• We will be using the hashtags #QuiltyBox and #GetQuilty

Your support is appreciated. If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to contact me.
Get Quilty!
Patrick Claytor, CEO
Quilty Box
Subscribe today at Quiltybox.com

I LOVE the fact that 5% of the profits go to Quilts for Kids!  It’s a win win all the way around!

Let’s look closer at this box:

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Digital Daydreaming! And a Sale!

I was going to wait and post this tomorrow morning.

But I’ve been working on it for what seems like forever and I just couldn’t wait.

Especially since so many of you have been asking for these patterns for the past several months and I kept having to put you off due to other irons in the fire.

H is for Happy, P is for Pinwheel aka H’s & Pinwheels is now up in the digital section of the Quiltville Store!

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Antiquing Therapy!

“When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!” said a funny greeting card I came across once.

I’m not a big shopper.  Not when it comes to shoes [hate it.] clothes [hate it more.] or girly things like handbags or cosmetics [hate it worse.]

But all bets are off if you get me with in 1/2 mile of a favorite antique mall haunt that I haven’t visited in the past 6 months.

There might be NEW goodies to discover!

And such was the case when my errands were finished yesterday.  I dropped off my deposit at the drive up ATM, and Moby took control of Auto-Pilot, taking me around the corner to the Lost in Time Antique Mall in Winston Salem.

I can make a quick do of an antique mall.  My eyes are on rapid search, looking over and under everything in every booth just waiting to land on that one thing that catches my interest.

Now cookie jars are NOT my thing, but this elephant made me smile.  SO CUTE!  And, just like everyone else who has likely walked past this very same cookie jar, I lifted up the lid to peek inside.

WHY do we do that?  It’s not likely that there is anything hidden inside, but I just have to lift lids and peek.  And replace the lid just so, making sure that little elephant doesn’t do some sort of “exorcist” thing with its head on backwards.  Move on, Bonnie….you are in search of sewing stuff.  You know.  Quilts.  Blocks.  Linens. Fabrics. Sewing notions.  Sewing machines. and…

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Quilt Through It.

I left the mountains yesterday with fingers crossed.

I had less than 1/4 tank of gas.

There was a gas shortage going on that I really hadn’t paid attention to because of other things going on within my family.

I mean, how bad could it be?  Surely there was gas SOMEWHERE?

And then I got worried.

The cabin is about 20 minutes from town, pretty much on the outskirts of nowhere.  There is not a mini-mart or ANYTHING for a 20 minute drive.

And the first station gave me THIS:

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Things in My Heart.

I write.  

I have always written, journaling my days from the age of about 12, upon receiving my very first diary. It was lovely, with a red faux leather cover complete with little heart shaped padlock.

“This is where you put your thoughts.”  I was told.  “This is where you can keep your secrets safe.”

“This is your life story.”

And mostly, I wrote about cute boys, and teachers I didn’t like, and teachers I did, and how awkward it was to be a 12 year old girl who had reached the height of 5’9”, wore glasses and braces on her teeth and wanted what every other gawky teenage girl wanted at that age. To have a best friend, to be included with groups of other kids, to not be singled out for being odd or weird or different.

And that pair of navy blue leather wedge shoes – I wanted those more than anything.

And I journaled it all.

And here I am 40+ years later, doing the same thing.  This blog is my journal, and to take time off from writing, it doesn’t happen often.  But over the past two days I’ve done a lot of heart searching.

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