Aye, Aye–Quilters!

I’ve taught in some very interesting places! From historical churches, to lodges to backs of restaurants, to schools, and even a casino!

But this is the first time I’ve taught in a Naval Academy!

Our workshop yesterday was held in Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy in Leonardtown, MD.

How many high schools do YOU know that have big guns right out side of the main building?

Leonard Hall has been around since 1909 --- and proudly shows it:

From the moment you walk in, you know you are in a school with a different kind of focus than “regular” schools. There are posters on the walls about honor, dignity, and serving.

One poster read something like “I will not lie, cheat or steal, and vow to remove myself from those who do” or something of the sort, and I couldn’t help but think that our politicians ought to take the same oath. If I think of it today, I’ll get a picture of it. It was really good!

Of course, you even feel like you are in the navy when headed to the ladies rest room!

Okay! I’ll be sure not to do that! And yes, I had a hard time NOT humming the Village People’s “In The Navy” song out loud!

The room had great light and a wonderful bank of windows……it was a gorgeous day outside, but we enjoyed it from the inside looking out!

I admit I was derelict in my duties as far as chief photographer goes! I was so busy showing different lay outs of the Bricks In The Barnyard blocks that I forgot to take more pics than I did! But we had a great time.

		Bricks in the Barnyard, Leonardtown, MD 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Sometimes being too busy having fun sewing is a good thing!

Some of us had to skeedaddle a bit early, and while we were packing it up, it was suggested that we grab whoever was left and do a quick group photo. I think this one turned out rather nice! Just love these smiling faces!

Afterwards, several of us headed over to Michelle’s Quilts for some more fabric replenishment therapy:

Nothing like being stormed by a whole gaggle of quilters to make a shop owner happy! LOL!! That’s Michelle, second from the left! We sure kept her busy for a while!

Thanks for a great day ladies! I’m looking forward to our second workshop today! And I better get a move on or I’ll be late for my own class :c)

We Have A Winner!! ((Quilt Retro!!))

It's been a busy full day! We had a great time in Leonardtown, MD where our Bricks in the Barnyard workshop was held in the Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy!
After that it was a quick run over to the quilt shop, Michelle's Quilts ---and out to dinner at Adam's Rib!
We just got home a bit ago and I remembered that I needed to do the drawing for the winner of our give away for Quilt Retro by Jenifer Dick!
Drum Roll Please !!!!!!!!
And the winner is:
Sherry from New York!
Sherry wrote:

I've learned to love scrap quilting, so what could be better than entering a contest for a book with more scrap quilts. Bonnie you have taught me to love scrap quilting, learning about another quilter who does to can only make it better. I've started your putting together your Ocean Waves and have gotten a friend into making 1/2 square triangles with the Wonder Cut Ruler I was introduced to working on the Ocean Waves. Quilting is a pass it forward kind of thing.

Sherry from NY

Well Sherry, we are passing it forward on to you! I've sent you an email, be looking for it. I just need to you to send me your snail mail address so I can get it off to Jenifer and she can mail the book on to you!
Thanks for playing along everybody!

And I drove and drove…..

I left the house about 9:45 am yesterday morning, with Sadie pouting about being left behind.

And I drove.

How’s that for a short post?!

It was a beautiful day for a drive and I even enjoyed having the sunroof open for a bit ---

You know, if I had to pick the one thing about to day that I was the most grateful for, it would be google!

Thursday night as I was getting everything ready and packing the car to go I plugged in my magenta featherweight to give it a test run only to find that the light bulb was burned out.

In typical “make do now” fashion since it was after 9 pm, I ran down stairs to STEAL the bulb from the black featherweight. No bulb in it.

The white one didn’t have a working bulb either!

((Yes, I’m a featherweight hoarder, I have 3! A black one, a white one, and my midlife-crisis hot magenta metallic baby with the ghost flames on the machine bed:

I’ve had this baby a year, and I admit it. I get giddy when I take her out of her box! I start singing Stevie Wonder! “Isn’t she lovely, isn’t she wonderful……” :cD

But alas…NONE of them had working light bulbs and I was on my way out the door. I googled sew & vac on my phone from the car. Up came a little map thing with red tabls listing where they were. I picked the closest one on my route through Richmond, VA and called.

“I need 3 featherweight light bulbs”

“No problem ma’am, we’ll have them at the counter for you!”

Another bonus?? GPS took me right there no problem! The only hiccup was that the shop was closed for lunch when I got there, but I was hungry too, and there was a great Korean place just across the street that I never ever would have experienced if I hadn’t run out of functional featherweight light bulbs!

I loved this place! ((Korean Garden)) I was the only Anglo in there, which to me is a very good sign. I ordered a hot and spicy soup with meat, veggies and soft tofu, toped with an egg. The soup comes boiling to the table and the egg cooks as you stir it around, kind of like in egg drop soup. The servers wear traditional Korean garb. I was the only one in the place speaking English. Such a fun little side trip that might never have happened!

After lunch I went back to the sew & vac shop, the owner was back from his own lunch, and he quickly replaced the burned bulb in the magenta machine, and sent me on my way with two spares for the other machines. ((And yes, he LOVED the paint job!!))

Always be willing to leave the interstate for the road less travelled. It just might be the best part of an other wise long predictable drive!

I arrived in the Lexington Park area around 5:30 pm. Gosh I love driving and seeing the Chesapeake Bay!! It was unbelievably blue ---there were boats on the water. It's so picturesque when you take the bridge over...

I’ve been welcomed into Julia’s home --- fed a wonderful dinner of grilled chicken salad served on her back deck. And we set to puttering!

Instead of sewing this trip, I’m kitting UP for next week’s trip! See that big tub of neutrals? I’m behind in my cutting down. Not of my OWN scraps, I do that automatically as I make them…..but when people give me boxes or bags of scraps, they tend to stack up until I get get around to sorting through and cutting them into their sizes. This is neutral hunks and chunks of various sizes that could easily be cut into usable quilt-parts. And that’s what I’m doing. I’ve spent the night cutting something like 200 quarter square triangles, 100 bricks, 100 squares….and it hasn’t even made a dent! I’ve cut the left overs from THESE units into 1.5”, 2”, 2.5” squares and 1.5” strips. Stuff that is less than 1.5” are going in the neutral strings. It’s still not making a dent.

All I can say is the scraps look far better when cut down to size so they are ready to use, than when they are just in a tub all scrambled!

Today is a Bricks in the Barnyard workshop!! It’s been a couple of years since I’ve taught for this guild, so I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone again!

What NOT to Wash!!

Busy quilters with distracted minds!

Doesn’t this describe the majority of us to a T? Or to a Q?

I came home from Oak Ridge, Tennessee and emptied my suitcase into the laundry. I didn’t think anything about it, I just sorted it as I usually do --- pants in one load, colors in another, whites in a third ----

This morning I went to get the laundry out of the dryer to pack my suitcase for my trip to Lexington Park, MD this morning and….

OH Geeze. I forgot to check my pockets!

My jeans had a whole bobbin of red thread that I was using to sew on a binding. Didn’t want to leave the red thread behind, so I stuck it in my pocket! What a MESS!

AUUGHH! A perfectly tangled waste of a perfectly good bobbin full of thread! This mess looks like it’s ready for the tie dye bath!

And yeah, my mind was wondering if I should save this thread tangle for Karen who does art quilts..could she use it for the hair on one of her portrait quilts? OH get real! I had to get packed and get on the road, no time for distraction here! I made quick work of the big kitchen shears. Okay, not so quick. Some of that thread was wrapped rather tight!

The car is packed, I’m ready to roll! I love driving up through Virginia, it should be such a pretty day! Temps in Lexington Park, MD should be mid 70’s through the weekend-- NICE!!

I’ve packed a machine just in case I have time to sew…but my main project is to cut and kit up pieces and parts to take with me next Wednesday for the trip I’m taking to Rangeley, Maine! Maine in October! I’m teaching at a retreat and you know my big request when I teach at retreats ---- as soon as class is over for the day I GET TO SEW TOO!! So…there will be loads of pieces cut this weekend in Maryland, so I can pack them back into my suitcase Tuesday night so I can fly off on Wednesday.

Just made the last run to the car with the bin of fabric scraps I’m taking…..Uhoh…look who wants to go too!

Awwww, Sadie, honey…you can’t come this time! ((It cracks me up how she loves to sit ON the seat just like a people person!!)) I’ll see you soon, sweet girl….hold down the fort while I’m gone, wontcha?

Anna’s Buffalo Chicken Dip!

Just typing up the ingredients list of this dip is making my mouth water!

This makes a “BIG” batch and is great for a large crowd of people. Think guild meetings, Superbowl parties, New Years Eve party, etc.

It would be really easy to split the recipe and make a half batch for smaller gatherings.

(Note, pic shows a smaller batch!)

Buffalo Chicken Dip

4 boneless chicken breasts

2 - 8 oz packages of cream cheese

1- 16 oz bottle of ranch dressing

1 cup of celery, chopped

1 - 12 oz. bottle of hot sauce (yes, 12 oz. it is a big bottle!)

1 pkg. monterey jack cheese, shredded (About 2 cups --Or can use a jack/cheddar blend)

Boil chicken breast. Drain, cool and shred meat. Place shredded chicken in the bottom of a 9" X 13" casserole dish.

For ease of clean up, use a foil pan and toss when done! There won't be any left overs to worry about either---the pan will be EMPTY!

Heat both packages of cream cheese and the bottle of ranch dressing on the stove together until smooth. Pour over the chicken. Next, spread the hot sauce over the cream cheese/dressing mixture. Chop celery and place on top of the hot sauce. Finally sprinkle monterey jack cheese on top. Bake in oven preheated to 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

YUM!!

Check this out!!

My friend Jenifer of 42 Quilts and Quilt Retro has a really cute stitchery pattern on her blog today as a freebie!

She has such a wicked sense of humor, I just love her!

((Jen,I still love the one with the dog too…LOL))

She doesn’t know I’m even writing this little post to get you to go over there, so when you do, just leave her a comment that says “Bonnie Sent Me” ;c)

Let’s make her day!

And while we are at it, there is still time to comment and enter for the book drawing of Quilt Retro I’m doing on Saturday! That’s a workshop day for me in Lexington Park, Maryland, so it might be evening time before I draw.

Click HERE to COMMENT!

If you are having trouble commenting….choose ANONYMOUS and just leave your name and email at the bottom of your comment.

Leave the “keep me signed in” box unchecked if you get sent through the google sign in.

I also have a sneaky suspicion that if you click PREVIEW that might be the problem according to another commenter who finally got through after many tries. DON’T CLICK PREVIEW! Just send it!

Good Luck, Everyone!

Pineapple Blossoms in Oak Ridge!

I know my posts are kind of scrambled and not in order --- this is what happens when you don’t have enough days in a row to post all the things you want to post in a row because OTHER things…like posts on tobacco farming ((Such a quilty subject, right?!?)) Get thrown into the mix!

Our workshops in Oak Ridge, TN were held at the Oak Ridge Civic Center, and what a neat place that is! It’s next to the library, it has a gym for basketball, a pool for aquatics, a room with pool tables ((okay, sounds better if I say billiards??)) and ping pong…..and rooms where people can meet for different purposes, just like we did!

There is also a lovely paved walking track that goes around the outside, but it had turned cold and windy and I was wimping out because I didn’t have a warmer jacket with me --- or I would have used it!

Our room was large and well lit --- and because we had the room for Friday AND Saturday, we didn’t have a “Have to be out by” time on Friday night! Some stayed and sewed quite late! We just had to tell the people at the desk that we were done so they could lock up. It was also nice that those who came on Friday AND Saturday could just leave their stuff in the room locked up safe, and not have to repack and unpack machines and “stuff” the next morning.

This design was on the floor right outside our room! Yep…it’s a good sign, isn’t it?

We had a great time playing in our strips, making pineapple blossom blocks. What I love about this class is that it goes SO FAST…you get a lot done in one day…just look at what these ladies accomplished:

		Pineapple Blossom, Oak Ridge TN 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

And of course….LUNCH BUFFET!!

Do you see what I mean about it being IMPOSSIBLE to be “good” on these trips? The food was phenomenal. I did stick to the lovely salads. Oh, and some home made chili, and yes….Anna’s decadent hot buffalo chicken dip. OH MY!! If I can find where I put the recipe she gave me, I’ll post it. It was SCRUMPTIOUS! But then anything with melted cream cheese in it gets my vote.

I think I could just eat melted cream cheese with a spoon.

THIS STUFF!! This is the stuff that I can’t turn away from. It’s a simple bowl of salted peanuts with candy corn thrown in, but what a mix of salty sweet! It’s dangerous. If you see this at a guild meeting, do NOT START on it. You won’t be able to stop! This has followed me EVERYWHERE since I first had it in Kansas. And did you know that brach's also makes a "caramel apple" candy corn!? Do NOT start on that either. Seriously dangerous.

Things are flying by so fast time-wise that I just realized we have less than a month until it’s time to CRUISE!! Our November cruise is going to be loads of fun. We’ve got 56 cruisers this time! ((!!!)) We have four days at sea where we are just floating about, not going into port, and those are the days we have class. The first 2 days I’ll have half the cruisers and Pat Sloan will have the other half --- and on the way back we flip flop! Isn’t that going to be fun?

So I’m kind of in a tizzy getting all the kit stuff together. It’s twice as much STUFF as the last cruise! Talk about BURIED under kit stuff. But what a way to go, right?