Whadda Day!!

I got back to the room so late last night that I couldn’t even bother to turn the computer on! I’ve got 1/2 hour before being picked up for today’s Playing With Jacks workshop, so I need to get this down quickly!

Just let it be said that Quilters know how to fill a day to overflowing with fun, fabric, and fantastic company!

Yesterday’s Star Struck workshop was full, and we had a great time!

And in case you hear rumors that I was found to be dumpster diving….It’s TRUE! And I admit it…straight up! And yes, if you heard that I even told Mia to “BACK AWAY FROM THE TRASH BIN!!” as I was salvaging---that would be TRUE TOO!! I’m not ashamed to admit it…there was some GOOD STUFF being tossed away, and because I DO use scraps in all their shapes and forms and sizes, and get great enjoyment from the variety, and can’t twist my arm to sew from “just plain ole planned yardage” I’m happy to take the trash can approach to quilting!

Let’s just say that a very large grocery bag is stuffed fuill of the pieces, and has been added to by other quilters who just had strips they wanted to get rid of. I only wish I had brought my machine to sew with on this trip so I could dig in, but I brought those two Japanese quilts with me to finish the binding on……and….alas…I haven’t been able to sit at them yet anyway! Maybe tonight?

Here are the pics from the workshop!

		Wallingford CT, April 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Not only did we have blocks being sewn together left and right, but I've got a whole nuther bunch of gals using "triangle buddies" to save all their bonus triangles in readily useable sizes! Woot! As an addict, it's nice to find other addicts that share my obsession!

There was just a short time between the ending of the workshop, and the time we needed to arrive at our destination for the lecture. I was planning on…..oh about 65 people, about average, right? Well…they had sold tickets for something like 220 people!!! All of a sudden you could color me VERY NERVOUS!

But it was a wonderful face paced evening, and all had a good time!

Today we are back at it….and I need to dry my hair, put a face on and get this day going while this pics are uploading so I’m going to turn it over here, and wish you all a terrific weekend!

A Day in Richmond ---

I spent the first leg of my drive spending time in Richmond! Wednesday was such a beautiful day for a drive, and there were places that I’ve always wanted to explore.

When I travel by car, I try to add a bit of extra time in the itinerary to make room for beautiful “must wander” days like this!

I knew I was going to try to make it a bit past DC the first night, splitting my drive to CT in half---and I also knew that I didn’t want to get to DC between 3pm and 8pm because traffic is just a real unpleasant bugger! So I hung around Richmond and filled my afternoon full, heading for DC after dinner time.

Where did I go?

How about the Civil War Center!

If you ever have a chance to go----GO! It is found right along the James RIver, and there are walking trails, lots of information sights, overlooks over the river…Just such a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.

I walked out to the river to get some pics:

There are several rapid areas…and suspension bridges…and detailed information about just WHAT happened here during the civil war.

Here are some more buildings:

You can spend quite a bit of time here at the Civil War center….the musuem part is awesome as well.

Lots of area to walk and explore…even just seeing the “remains” of buildings that used to stand here is just an awe striking feeling.

Can you imagine the hustle and bustle that was here in those days? If these walls could talk!

There are wonderful paved walking paths that go down along the canal for MILES…and I mean MILES!…By my calculations, I hoofed it about 4 miles that day, seeing and exploring! The way is plainly marked with signs like this that point the direction. Which way do you want to go?

More cool old buildings down along the canal! Look at that lovely blue sky! It got up to about 70 degrees! I love old buildings like this, and ALMOST being able to read what the advertising sign on the side used to say….

Just keep walking…..I never knew Richmond had this canal system before, I’d always bypassed this area of town on my way north. There are really nice downtown areas built around the canal system, and from the hooks and things in the sidewalk, I can bet people have boated in, tied up, and enjoyed a meal at a nice restaurant, and then floated down some more. NICE!

My walk took me through tunnels with historical markers, like this one! It reads:

The canal trails took be out all the way down “Tobacco Row” Where all the tobacco factories were. Most of them hold loft apartments and condos now….but the buildings are still awesome.

The path goes along this old train trestle as you work your way down to Tobacco Row…I loved the pattern these crossed girders made ad-infinitum down the track….It just looked like they crossed on into forever!

At the end of my journey in Richmond, I treated myself to a yummy Pho dinner at a Vietnamese place…..upon using the rest room, look what was on the wall?!?? LOL Those Quilted Northern Quilters are still at it! Good thing they aren’t still being advertised as quilting with knitting needles anymore! LOL!

Yesterday completed the second leg of my drive up to Connecticut! I tell you what….Crossing the George Washington Bridge at night time in crazy traffic is not for the faint of heart either!! I white knuckled it through NYC, breathing a sigh of relief when I-95 thinned out as we made our way into Connecticut and away from the Big Apple.

A good night’s sleep, and here I am ready to meet with the Heritage Quilters of Wallingford CT! I’m being met in the lobby in a few, so I better get a move on! It’s going to be a busy busy full day!

Bonus Mail Day!!

*disclaimer* This post is written a couple days ahead to post while I am on the road to Connecticut! I just couldn’t let these lovelies go unmentioned until I got home in 2 weeks

Dear Postman--

Today I met you at the top of my driveway! I was going out, you were coming in….

There you were, two big boxes in hand……BOTH FOR ME!! How fortuitous! Of course, I couldn’t imagine what was in these big boxes. Had I ordered anything? Not that I could recall! Was it my birthday? Nope..that passed in January ((Besides, we are not counting them anymore! I’ll forever be 49.95 + shipping and handling! ))

Which to open first? Big Box? Little Box? Big Box? Little Box? EENIE MEENIE MINEY MOE----

A VERY big box!! Whatever could it be?!?

Oh My! oh MY! OH MY!!!! Look at this drunkard’s path variation! I think it’s called “Steeple Chase” or something close to that. But the colors! And the fabrics…what a hoot!

Isn’t this just a Wild Child?! It makes me SO happy!! It’s like laugh-in collided with the partridge family bus! :cD

And THIS beauty!

What is not there NOT to love about a bears paw? This one would be from around 1910-1920 by the print in the sashings…and I am still pinching myself that this box showed up on MY doorstep!

I swear, I’ve never met a gingham that I didn’t like….look at these sweet stripes and the print of the sashing too. I love how the stripes go every-which-direction in the half square triangles…FUN! I also love how the whole quilt is just simply quilted on the diagonal….

There is ONE indigo block amongst all the ginghams and solids….isn’t this one a sweetie?!

This would be my favorite block of all, in all it’s humble way! Run out of dark brown gingham? No problem! Let’s just throw in some lighter brown gingham! Triangles too big?? No problem! Let’s just whack them off to make them fit!

It’s a sweet sweet quilt, and Julie K, you are even sweeter to think of me and to gift me these treasures! Treasure them I WILL!

And as if ONE gift box wasn’t enough today:

Karen over at Quilted-Lizard experienced a moment of conscience and decided that she’d rather send me the box of scraps instead of letting them go to the land fill! WHOOT! I tell you, one person’s trash IS another person’s treasure---Just how much fabric CAN you cram into one box?!? Let’s see---

This pile is HUGE!! And there are lots of good things in here to discover! I’ll sort out all the big pieces and usable strips, and anything that I can’t use can go to Karen’s dog bed project! It WILL be put to good use! There are some lovely batiks in here too…and see that bit of cheddar orange peeking out toward the upper left…AWESOME! It’s a fairly large piece! I already snagged it

All in all I feel like a very blessed Quilter! Thanks girls, you are both treasures in my book!