Bear Creek Quilt Guild Fun!

Today was the Cathedral Stars Workshop with the Bear Creek Quilt Guild in Keller, TX!

We met in an annex building to the church where the guild holds it’s guild meetings, a place called Hallelujah House. The house has several large rooms that have been used for meeting areas and class rooms and we filled 3 of the rooms and put them to good use!

My pictures left a LOT to be desired today…I couldn’t get a clear non-blurry shot to save my life, so you’ll have to put up with a lot of hand waving and woopsies! But I think you can see that we were all having a great time! This was the center room, and we hung the quilt in here for reference. See the big windows? The sun came and went all day like it couldn’t make up its mind! And you can bet there was lots of talk of the ice and snow that put Texas to a standstill just a couple weeks ago. Usually when it snows here, it is gone by noon the next day, but the storm that happened as I was returning home from Louisiana kept the kids out of school for 4 days straight. That’s a record for as far back as anyone can remember! Needless to say, we were happy for sun.

Back room with a bunch of quilters sewing away! More light from these windows…look out the back and see a corral with horses. Yep! It’s Texas! I hopped from room to room to room and back, catching bits of conversation and lots of laughter and sharing of ideas, projects and lives. I love being a part of groups of creative women! There is never a dull moment…

Front room with much sewing going on! And also much blurriness from activity! Hard to get quilters to sit still while snapping action photos!

Don’t you love it when someone brings some cool gadget or idea to share, and it opens up all kinds of possibilities?

One of the quilters brought a zippered CD case….look at this! you probably have something like this sitting at home:

It has a handle for easy carrying, a zipper that holds everything enclosed…unzip the zipper and:

The small pockets are perfect for small templates, small patterns and directions, photos, etc!

The larger, longer rulers fit well in the lower CD pockets….and can overlap the upper ones. The pockets will hold templates and rulers up to 4.5” wide, and up to 10” long! Rulers 6” or wider won’t fit IN the pockets, but they are easily stored between the pocket pages and zipped into place when the CD carrier is closed.

Don’t you see possibilities in this? I thought it was a great idea to keep everything in one place for quilting-on-the-go!

So here you go, the slide show of the blocks created and the fun we had!

		Bear Creak Quilt Guild, Keller TX 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

And see THESE little “Storm At Sea” parts?! Look how small they are!!

Rachel was using these from a pre-cut Ricky Timms kit as her Leaders & Enders while piecing her Cathedral Stars blocks! I can’t wait to see how both of her quilts turn out! Leaders & Enders DO work…whole quilts can be made in the simple process of starting and ending your chain piecing by simply sewing two quilt pieces right sides together……..which quilt are YOU going to build between the lines?

Thursday? I’m up early and headed to Denton for a Virginia Bound workshop with the Denton Quilt Guild!

Hello From Dallas!

It’s been a crazy couple of days! First off….POOR OSCAR! Yes, this cat just can’t keep himself out of harms way!

Remember a couple weeks ago when I said his tail was hanging funny and it looked like he had been in a scuffle with a cat from the wrong-side-of-the-tracks?!

It had seemed like it was doing better, but when I got back from Virginia, he seemed especially sensitive and guarding of certain areas..I caught him licking at it, and it looked HORRIBLE….one lift of the tail and I could see that the abscess had finally decided to open up…which his a good thing ((And a gross thing!!))

Monday morning I dropped him off at the vet ((wait, was that only yesterday? Yes it was!)) And by afternoon they called me back and said they had lanced it, cleaned it up, antibiotic-shot him and I could come and pick him up.

When I got there ----he was wearing……THE CONE. OF. SHAME.!!

This has to stay on for 7 to 10 days until the tail has healed enough that he won’t lick it. He also has to stay INSIDE…which is easier said than done.

Of course, this all happened as I was making my exit to Texas, leaving the men folk to deal with the application of antibiotics-down-the-throat which Oscar fights TOOTH AND NAIL…Literally!

Needless to say, the menfolk aren’t happy to have to be the care givers either, but what else can be done? They will do it….Oscar will survive, and I’ll clean up the aftermath when I return home. That’s all there is to it!

I went to bed early last night, setting my alarm for 3:45am to catch a 6am flight, only to have my phone go off at 2:45am with a call from United saying my flight to Dallas by way of Washington Dulles was delayed and schedule changed. I had to get up and make a phone call and try to be coherent at 3am…they rerouted me through Chicago on a bit later flight and I got to Dallas a bit after 2pm.

I have had a lovely Tex Mex dinner and we had a very fun Lecture/Trunkshow with the Bear Creek Quilter’s Guild! I’m off to bed…tomorrow is a Cathedral Stars workshop, and then I’m off to my next destination! It’s good to be back in Texas, Y’all!

Off To Texas!

Last night while I was packing and getting ready, I downloaded another freebie book to my Kindle!  It’s called Bridge To Happiness, by Jill Barnett and it sounds like a good one!

Here is the description:

From the luxury of San Francisco's famous hills to the wild freedom of the majestic snow-covered Sierra Mountains, BRIDGE TO HAPPINESS is the intensely dramatic story of one woman's life, the idyllic moments, her humanity, her love, and finally, the difficult road she must walk alone...to discover the strong woman she is destined to become. When March Randolph meets Mike Cantrell, she has no idea how her life will change, and how time will change her. For over three decades she and Mike forge a marriage, a family and a business together, helping to make snowboarding into a popular, worldwide winter sport, and raising four strong-willed and independent children into a adulthood, never once fearing the future won't be as golden as their past. In a heartbeat everything changes, and March and her family suffer a tragic change, one that drives a schism into her once perfect life, and will test the bonds of love and family far beyond any definition of recovery. Suddenly March is stuck in the past, unable to move forward, and only if she, alone, finds the strength and will to move on, can any of the Cantrells have a single, glimmer of hope at a new life of happiness.

It doesn’t have a single quilt in it that I can see, but that doesn’t mean I won’t like it. I love stories of strong independent women, raising children through challenges, and stories that encourage me to persevere! 

Look out Texas, here I come! Yeeehhhawww!

Valentine’s Day Give-Away Winner!

Oh my! So many wonderful stories, some funny, some heart wrenching, some showing such strong women of selfless courage who deserve a lot of appreciation in return.

If I had my way I’d send a free copy to everyone! But we did this the old fashioned way and drew a random name instead!

And The Winner Is ----

Christy! ((No last name but she did include an email address))

She wrote:

My mother, of course. After all, she is the one who dragged me to quilt shops as a kid and when, after five or six years of being toted along, I saw a fabric I couldn't live without...well naturally, she bought it for me.

She also helped me draft out a log cabin pattern and figure how much fabric I would need to make it. She is the one responsible and accountable for sharing with me what is now a passion for both of us.

We now do annual shop hops together. The one year I couldn't be with her (I was teaching in Alaska and she was in New York), I called all the shops on the hop she would be visiting with another of our friends. I arranged to have a gift certificate waiting for her at each of the nine shops.

At the last one (our favorite shop too), I called as she was there and told her I love her and couldn't wait to do the next one together.

My mom's name is Charlene and she is also my best friend.
Thanks for such a great give-away idea!
~Christy

Christy, this story has me all teary-eyed! Sheesh, can I be your mom too? LOL! Please email me at Quiltville@gmail.com and include a special note to your mom that I can send with the book, along with your mom’s address and I’ll get it on it’s way to her! I'm hoping you can do this right away as I need to have it packaged up before I leave for Texas in the morning.

I spent some time today, in between the packing and repacking in getting ready for Texas tomorrow, editing the photos from my Antique Mall Hop!

Well, I lost my marbles LONG AGO --- but I found them in Lexington! LOL! However, I still have not found my bluetooth ear thing for my phone.

And Look!!! I did find my favorite Partridge Family Lunch Box!! OH, I loved this lunch box when I was a kid. I really thought they should ditch Tracy, and let ME play the part on the TV show. I was cuter, and had much more personality and could play that tambourine much better…LOL! ((These are the fantasies of a typical 3rd grade girl back then!)) Even that bus looks patchworky! Do you think this has had any influence on me as a quilter? Who knows!

One of the booths had bags and purses and other travel type items, and I saw these, instantly thinking how nice they would be as a “busy bag” carry along for sewing supplies on travels. I liked the pink one. I didn’t get it…but I am always on the look out for fun stuff to travel with.

So on to the photos! I saw a LOT of humble lumpy quilts. And I know I am drawn to RED…always red. What can I say! My fave is the one with the equalateral triangles set in a “Jack’s Chain” kind of setting. You’ll know it when you see it!

There was also an AMAZING redwork with such detail….and I loved this flying geese style strippy…the hand quilting on it was phenomenal but like many of those old red prints with the black detail on them…the blacks have disintegrated the fabric leaving holes in the red. Still, it was a treat to see all of these. There are some pics of machines I was amazed with too…fun details, and also some coverlets, which I love! Enjoy!

lexingtonvaantiques_2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

There were too many photos to show ALL the thumbnails on the page, so you’ve gotta click the side show to view them all! I was a bit photo happy, but isn’t that honey-comb/jack’s chain variation above AWESOME?!

Happy Valentine’s Day to each and every one!

It’s a Valentine’s Give-Away!

This Give-Away is Now Closed!

Happy Valentine’s Day to my favorite people---You!

I hope your day is filled with friends and family and loved ones. If I could, I’d stuff little valentines in envelopes full of candy conversation hearts and goodies and drop one in each of your mail boxes!

I loved Valentine’s Day as a kid. I remember taking shoe boxes or lunch sacks and spending time decorating them with doilies, hearts cut out of construction paper, glue and glitter. These special boxes and bags were just waiting to be filled with valentines from friends, family and classmates. Ahhhh, Memories!

I want to help you spread the love as well! So we are doing a “different” kind of Give-Away ----

Remember those poor books that had the imperfect covers? I’ve got one left!

And what I want to do with this special Give-Away is have YOU leave me a comment below with the name of someone you want me to send it to, and why! Tell me about your friendship! It can go to anyone you choose: A mother, sister, friend, even a secret pal! (Though you will have to explain to them why the cover is imperfect! LOL!)

This book will be signed by me and mailed to your friend with a note from you I will print out via email on why you have chosen them to receive this gift. Instead of winning it for yourself, you are winning it for your special friend. Isn’t this a fun idea?!

Of course, if your friend lives near by, you get visitation rights, right?

I will be drawing the winner on Valentine’s Evening! I want to be able to mail this out to them before I leave for Texas on Tuesday!

And here is a fun site I’ve been playing with to make your OWN Candy Hearts with your own sayings! Click here to get to the Candy Heart Generator and spread more love to your friends!

I had a great time driving home from Lexington VA today --- and including some visits to antique malls! I’ve gotta upload some pics, do some editing, and will give you a preview of some of the neat things I saw probably tomorrow…or I might set it to go live on Tuesday when I am flying to Texas!

I’ll be visiting with the Bear Creek Quilt Guild in Keller, the Denton Quilt Guild in Denton, and the Trinity Valley Quilt Guild in Ft Worth! Bring on the Tex-Mex & the BBQ!

Scrappy Mountains in the Blue Ridge!

It was a terrific day for a workshop! We set up our machines and power sewed the day away making Scrappy Mountain Majesties blocks!

I told you last post that this conference room is huge, and it is above the horse arena at the Virginia Horse Center, right?

This is the view of the well groomed arena from the bank of windows in the conference room! I was told stories that usually on any given weekend you can see riders and horses going through their paces down there while you sew….we must have been sewing on an “off” weekend as the arena stayed quiet the whole time we were there.

We sewed and cut and sewed some more!

		Lexington Virginia 2-12-11 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After the workshop, I came back to my room and crashed for a while, and then headed down into Lexington for some dinner! I just LOVE colonial buildings, and downtown Lexington does not disappoint!

Walking uphill I found this one, and the light of the evening was just PERFECT Wouldn’t you like to know what this building was like in it’s original state in the “early” days? I would! I like to imagine what the fashions were, who came and went, and the lives lived. I always wanted to live above a business….I can bet the proprietor had his shop or office on the street level, while the family lived up stairs.

Love the brick pattern on this one! Isn’t this a cool building? I’m sure it has had quite the life too….

After dinner I sewed the night away while watching tearjerker movies on either hallmark or lifetime, I don’t remember which…..but that Nights in Rodanthe just gets me every time! ***SOBBING*** And I am glad I was here to enjoy it because I “KNOW* that the men-folk at home would not tolerate such chick flicks! LOL!

So this morning, I’m packing it up --- Heading home --- but planning on some jaunts through some antique malls for inspiration along the way!

The sun is shining, the sky is blue…it’s chilly, but hey, at least it is not snowing, right?!

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day….and in honor of Valentine’s Day, we are going to have a very special “Share Your Heart” Give-Away! Come back tomorrow for more details!