Evening Edition! Free Kindle Book!

I just arrived home a while ago. Sadie was ecstatic…and so was I!

It was also raining, so I opened the garage door to pull Shamu the Van into the garage, and…ooops. There is STUFF in the way on the floor, so I had to unload the car from the driveway in the sprinkles. That’s okay. It wasn’t a cold windy downpour, just a gentle October rain, and it smelled so good!

I drove up to Maryland on Friday….and I was a bit disappointed in the fact that there really wasn’t any color yet! But OH…in a matter of 4 days MY have things changed! The only thing missing was a bit of sunshine and a blue sky to contrast all the golds and yellows and reds, but you can’t have it all, can you?

The FALL COLORS are HERE!

While my laundry is running ----so that I can pack it all back up in my suitcase again and head off for Maine in the morning…I’m going through emails and google reader and catching up on things and I found THIS!

Penumbra, by Carolyn Haines, is free on Kindle. This standalone novel was named one of the best Mysteries of 2006 by Library Journal.

Book Description
Jade Dupree is a beautician and an undertaker’s assistant with a gift for smoothing the ravages of death from the faces of her clientele. But her strange talent isn’t the only thing that sets her apart from the townspeople of tiny Drexel, Mississippi. Jade is half-black and the unacknowledged bastard daughter of Drexel’s “first lady,” the imperious Lucille Longier. J

Jade’s half sister, the pale, fragile, and legitimate Marlena, is married to Lucas Bramlett, the wealthiest man in the region. While the entire town knows of the blood bond between the two women, no one dares speak the truth out loud. Though her talents as a hairdresser are highly sought after by Drexel’s elite, Jade accepts that she’ll never truly be part of the town and lives her life the best she can.

But on one hot summer day in 1952, Jade’s world is turned inside out when Marlena, on a tryst with her lover, is savagely beaten and her young daughter kidnapped. Determined to find her niece before it’s too late, Jade accepts help from a white sheriff’s deputy, Frank Kimble. The forbidden attraction that ignites between them threatens to add to the violence already brewing in town.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

It was STILL free on Amazon, I just checked. The other links for Nook and Sony may show that it isn’t free anymore, but since I don’t use those products, this is the best I can do!

Besides…I’ve got more packing to do!

Maryland Crab Feed!

Yes, I know, it’s another foodie post!

What can I say --- I love food, and if you haven’t experienced a Maryland Crab Pickin’ there is nothing like it!

It’s MESSY!

And as Carol told us, when she treated us to this delectable feast, “The dirtier your hands get, the better the crab tastes!”

The reason being is that the crabs are steamed, and then sprinkled heavily on the outside with Old Bay seasoning, so all the flavoring bits are on the shell. If you don’t dig in there and get the seasoning on your fingers, you won’t get any on the crab meat itself!

One dozen crabs ready to be shared by the 6 of us! Tables covered with brown paper, and plenty of napkins near by!

Other required equipment? A Bucket-O’-Mallets, and some little sharp knives!

Carol showed us how to hold the crab so we could pop off the “top” of the shell and clean out the parts we didn’t want…..she made such quick work of it! And boy are those little morsels of meat tasty!

Here I am, ready to give it a go! And crab picking is such a social thing….since to get enough meat to fill you, you could sit there for hours picking at little bits of meat from the legs and the claws. It’s a perfect time for great conversation and lots of laughter! And as we learned, not ONLY are you sure to get some flying bits on yourself….but on your neighbor as well!

I had to laugh at the sounds of hammering mallets coming from every corner of the restaurant….tap tap tap…POUND POUND POUND!! :cD Don’t expect a quiet meal if you are going crab picking!

By the time we were done, this was all that was left! What a feast! We also shared orders of oysters, clams and shrimp. But never fear, we DID have some green vegetables too..

However, I must confess that since the green beans were breaded and fried, I'm really not sure that they count as a "good for you" green thing anymore!

I think I’m going to have to do lots of hiking this next weekend in Maine ((Weather and time permitting)) to work some of this crab fest OFF!

I'm on my way home this morning....it's a 7 hour drive! My plans are to throw everything in the laundry, pack it all up again, have dinner, get a good night's sleep and off I go to Maine early Wednesday morning!

More Quilting in Maryland!

Back to Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy for another day of quilting with the Pax River Quilt Guild Gals!

I remembered to take pictures of the “Honor Code” that was found on walls in the hallways, on chalk boards ((Yes, it was an old black chalk board, not a white marker board!! Chalk boards bring back so many memories, I like them best!

And even in the cafeteria area.

What an important thing for kids to learn and learn young!

We had a smaller class, Sundays are sometimes like that, and because we were smaller we could have group discussions on things like

“If you could tell a new quilter what the most important tool is, what would it be?”

“If you could learn one thing early on, what would it be?”

“How often do you change your rotary blade?”

“How often do you oil your machine?”

“If you were new to quilting and just starting to accumulate fabrics, what would you look for?”

“If you are shopping just for stashing, what sizes of cuts of fabric would you buy?”

The answers were varied and helpful! And on the last question it was “Anything from fat quarters to 1/2 yards, to full yards, to 3 to 6 yard cuts to..just buy the whole bolt!” LOL!!

Of course, all these discussion topics were directed to benefit our brand new quilter, Jennifer --- this was HER first class EVER!

And it was so funny…..Jennifer hates to iron, and every time I’d say “Okay, now go press these units like this….” She’d roll her eyes and say “But I don’t like ironing!!”

So we re-instituted my number one rule of NO WHINING!! We just about put THAT on the chalk board too! LOL! It was all in good fun.

Here’s a glance at the chalkboard in our room:

Another important message that kids need to learn early, and that we need to be reminded of every day. I remember being told also that our lives are also shaped by the choices we DON’T MAKE. If you don’t choose, the choice is often made by your not chosing –and you might miss an opportunity.

I wish all of our schools could focus on things like this! That goes for work places and other places too.

Another thing you can do when a class is small is take off on other hot topics like…

“Can you believe that Bank of America is going to charge $5 a month for you to use your debit card??” (((OH, this has us ALL up in arms and I’m thinking of changing my bank after 20 years…*SIGH*))

And when topics get TOO HOT TO HANDLE we get back to QUILTING! ((I’m still mad as a hatter over this bank thing and need to look more into it. Sheesh.))

		HIdden Spools, Leonardtown, MD 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We had a great time! And I really love teaching the beginners. I had an opportunity to take it all the way back to demos on how to cut fabric. We talked about grain line, and the importance of seam allowance.

I remember being a new quilter, and feeling overwhelmed and intimidated by those who knew more and had been quilting forever.

Back in my early years --- as a new guild member ((I joined my first guild when I was 26)) I so vividly remember working SO HARD on a block for the president’s quilt…only to bring it to guild, turn it in, and have it rejected because it measured 1/2” too small. I was crushed! I had worked so hard on this thing, but no one had told me that the side of the presser foot on that machine was NOT 1/4'”. I honestly didn’t know.

I hope Jennifer will keep at it! We need to love those newbies and encourage them all we can. We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

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!