Virginia Bound in Brandon!

I have had a wonderful time here in Brandon with the Piecemakers Quilt Guild! It was just the most fun day! Everyone had MORE fabric than they knew what to do with – not that this is a problem, but it always cracks me up because I’m the same way….6 hour class? No problem, let’s pack enough stuff to keep me busy for 6 days at least.

It’s TRUE!

We pack as much stuff in our cars for a one day workshop as we would for a summer week away. And with good reason, right? We NEED our stuff! Better to have too much than not enough, and I loved seeing the creative mess in progress around each work station!

Do you like the picture of this Tree? This was taken on our walk to lunch. I *KNOW* technically that the moss is a parasite. It’s dirty, it has bugs in it….but I LOVE IT! I just feel so “in another world” when I am down south where the moss DOES grow on the trees. Combine mossy trees with some of these and I’m a happy girl!

Palm trees = Paradise. That’s just the way it is!

So with no further ado –How bout some slide show?

		Virginia Bound, Brandon FL 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After a lovely dinner at the home of one of the board members…along with the whole board…((This was so nice! Thanks for arranging this for me!)) I came back to the hotel room, got into jammies, sewed my brains out while watching more NCIS on USA until about….oh….midnight. Such a decadent life, isn’t it?!

I predict there will be MORE of this tonight…and tomorrow? It’s the busiest day of this trip. We are doing a “Love Shack” workshop in the daytime, and topping it off with an evening lecture/trunkshow……whoopie!

And The Winners Are!!

I know you’ve been waiting for this post….and so have I! I promised that I would draw the winners today, so let’s get it done shall we! It’s been fun to read all the comments, and I can’t believe that there are 343 entries! WOW!!

The first winner I drew was Katie from over at My Sand Box! Katie, I am so thrilled this is going to you!

She wrote:

Ooooo. Love it! I have a bucket load of blue and neutral triangles left over from another project just waiting to be used! :-)

Well, Katie, you’ve got a way to use them now! I sent you an email, I just need your snail mail address to get this off to you!

Our Second Winner! Faye Bushey!! Faye left her comment as anonymous, but smartly also included her name and email address at the bottom of her post!

Faye wrote:

Let's see, in my "Favorites" are:
Quiltville.com? check
Quiltville blog? check
Quiltville on FB? check
Quiltville Yahoo group?
Made a Bonnie K Hunter designed quilt? check (2)
Use the Bonnie Hunter Leaders and Enders method? check
Use the Bonnie Hunter "scraps to stash" system? check
Attending Quilt Camp in Maine with Bonnie Hunter? check (Can't wait for October!)
Love the blog entries, Bonnie, have learned a lot from you and you entertain us with your many journeys. Love the new quilt in the Aussie mag. Keep up the good work. Have a great time in FL
Faye B. abusyquilter@[redacted]

I have to giggle Faye, at first look I thought your email address read “abustyquilter” hehehehe! I’ve sent you an email also. Please get back to me with your snail mail address and your copy will be winging it’s way off to you!

And….tada! Last is NEVER least! Our third winner is:

Happy Cottage Quilter!!

This is so funny, because when I drew this entry I jumped for joy!!

What a great quilt! And I could save you the postage :-) I live just west of Lakeland! I don't do facebook, but I like you anyway ;-D Thanks for sharing.

So WILL she come pick it up from me at Friday Night’s lecture? Time will tell! If not, I’m happy to mail it off to you…..just let me know! I just need a name, and address!

I hope all three of you will enjoy your new magazine!

As for me…on this lovely day off…I’ve already been out and walk-jogged myself 5.6 miles! And hit the pool without passing go for some of THIS:

Yep! Mightly glad for that pedicure! LOL! It’s hot out there…so I decided today will be great for some INSIDE relaxation, and I’ve made myself an appointment for a massage! Then I’m heading over late afternoon to go visit Fort Desoto Park in Tierra Verda for a bit of history and some beachin’! I was just told that the fort itself is closed for rennovation, but that won't stop me from enjoying the area.

I’ll be back to the hotel before 7:30 though….I’ve got a dinner date with a guild friend and her hubby. It’s GREEK night! Whoowhooo!

Catch ya later!

A Day On The Road!

Hello from your road weary traveling quilter!

I left Columbia SC around 6:30 am and spent the day on the road, working my way south on I-26, cutting down onto I-95 and going all the way down --- Past the turn off to Hilton Head ((Oh, I have such fond memories of times spent there when I lived in SC!)) and on through Savannah…..down through the marshy terrain of South Georgia, and finally crossing into Florida.

But just because you crossed the state line, don’t think you are any closer…it was HOURS to go yet before I would reach Brandon!

And from south Georgia…a bit past Savannah….all the way past the other side of St Augustine on my way toward Orlando…I saw and smelled smoke. Lingering leftover forest fire type smoke. You know the kind? It gets in your car and doesn’t leave. And as you breathe it, it gets stuck in your nostrils and makes you sick to your stomach. If you’ve ever been around a forest fire or its aftermath, you know of what smell I’m talking about!

I took this picture as I passed Jacksonville….EVERYTHING was hazy!

This is out my side window while I was not watching…I was blindly aiming and shooting, and yes my eyes were on the road in front of me! Can you see the haze? It was an otherwise bright blue non-cloudy day!

See the hazy smoke ahead of me? This is south of Jacksonville going toward St Augustine….I left I-95 at I-4 going west toward Orlando/Tampa and left the smoke behind.

I got to my hotel around 4pm, dropped off my stuff, asked to be pointed in the direction of the nearest beach, and off I went!

I was on the beach by 5pm! Kindle in hand, sunscreen on…..water bottle by my side! THIS was worth that 9 hour drive!

Dipping my feet in to the Gulf? OH YES!!  The water was perfect….I swam a bit, read a bit, closed my eyes and basked in the evening sun….a lot!

I watched children build sand castles, watched swimmers and walkers, watched birds swooping and diving, and just slowed down for the evening.

Behind us….thunder rolled in this cloud formation. I wondered how long it would be before it gathered over us and would start dumping rain….but it never did.

I found a great little Island grill for dinner…they even had live music out on the patio.

Back to the room, a shower, some unpacking, some getting ready for tomorrow’s workshop and I’m done in!

Tomorrow is another day…….this girl is headed off to bed!