Retreat Time!

 Yesterday started off bright and early and I was out the door!

But it wasn’t until I reached Karen’s house --- more than 30 minutes drive from my house, and we were in the process of loading all HER stuff into the back of Shamu --- that I had a big UHOH!

UHOH!!!!!  As in…I packed all the “IMPORTANT” quilt stuff, but I left my suitcase with my clothes and toiletries AT HOME on top of the bed!

I probably could have made it without everything for a simple overnight. I could stop at target and buy a new toothbrush --- but this is two nights! And there was no going around it, we were going to have to drive the other way, back toward Wallburg to get my suitcase!

Pulling over to the side of the road, I quickly called Jeff and bribed him with  a $10 gas gift card that was thankfully in my purse --- if he would take the suitcase and drive and meet us half way ----

We met in front of our favorite Chinese buffet --- the parking lot completely empty of course, it was just after 9am, and Shamu was easy for him to spot as he turned into the plaza. I got the suitcase, he got the gift card and we were off!

We did start at Target on our way into Camp Dogwood…and there is NOTHING like shopping with silly girlfriends!  What was supposed to be a quick stop for some slippers for Karen and some lip balm for me turned into a hilarious bout of “FIND THE SOCK MONKEY!”  There was sock monkey everything everywhere ---and she even found sock monkey slippers.

As for me, I busted a gut when I found THIS on the shelf:

Anti Gravity LIft – Does this come in GALLON size, and will it work on “OTHER” selective body parts?! LOL!

We got ourselves over to our retreat location and quickly set up.  My goal this weekend is to get this “Winston Ways” top together.  Winston Ways was the 2nd block that I submitted to the 100 blocks by 100 designers by Quiltmaker Magazine….it was featured in Vol 3.  I’ve wanted to turn this into a quilt for a long time, but time has ben used to whittle down other deadlines.  I’m now free to work on this and I was raring to go!

Tons of checkerboard 4 patches!  Isn’t this fun? Each 12” block has 104 pieces!  Weeeeehaaa! this is the kind of piecing I love!

The first four blocks!  Do you see how they come together? Wow…this really has more yellow/gold than I thought it did…
.

This is one of my faves so far!  That’s a 1970s yellow calico…and you can’t stare to long at those stripes around the star!

By the time it was time for bed I had 25 blocks out of 30 sewn.  Today?  I’m amping up to finish the last 5 blocks, lay them out and get this top sewn together!

Time for breakfast --- catch ya’ll later!

Afternoon Edition, Free Kindle Book!

Hey Cupcake!

Who do you think of when you hear that phrase?  As for me it’s Mark Lipinski…

But in this case, it’s a free Kindle Cookbook, all about Cupcakes!

Complete Cupcake Recipes – Plus Frosting Recipes by Michelle McGargant is free today in the Amazon Kindle store, and has received an average user rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 6 customer reviews.

Category: Cooking

Here is the book’s description from the Amazon website:

Complete cupcake recipes both fun and gourmet, easy to make, also includes detailed frosting recipes.

Recipes included:

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Cookies & Cream Cupcakes
Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Birthday Vanilla Cupcakes
Crumb Cake Cupcakes
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Pina Colada Cupcakes
Chocolate Walnut Cupcakes
Cola Cupcakes
Margarita Cupcakes
French Toast Cupcakes
Stuffed Banana Cupcakes
Triple Chocolate Cupcakes
PB & J Cupcakes
and many more…

Frosting Recipes:

Peanut Butter Frosting
Vanilla Cream Frosting
Whipped Vanilla Frosting
Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting
Coca Cola Icing
Lime Butter Cream Icing
Maple Syrup Frosting
and more…
 
These sound fun, and just the thing to chase the winter blahhs away.  Wish I had time enough to make these before going to the bee retreat --- but I’ve been a failure in the kitchen!

Repeat after me – do NOT let chili cook itself dry in the crockpot over night because you forgot all about the OFF button!! :c|
 
Remember to check that the book is still FREE when you click it. Prices change without notice.  I have no control over that.  All I know is that it was free when I clicked it…and prices can change at any time.  I get no advance warning --- so get it while you can!

On My Way!

Shamu is packed to the gills with quilt stuff galore!  And food too….and SOME clothes --- oh, and a quilt for the bed ---

We retreat at a place called Camp Dogwood, which is actually owned by the Lions club, and it is a facility for blind and visually impaired folks in North Carolina.

You can see from the google map, that it is surrounded by water…and on a nice day, it’s great to get out and go walking --- but being as our retreats are always in January, weather can be iffy at best!

The rooms are comfy and clean, kind of dorm style, two beds per room, and each has its own bathroom --- quite cozy!

We have a large sewing room we set up in, and we were told that we could get into the sewing room by 10am --- so we’ll be there with bells on!

I’m swinging by to pick up Karen ---We’ll throw her stuff in the car and head out.  It’s a bit over an hour from Karen’s house…as for me…I’m about 30 minutes or more drive farther than that….but it makes it easy for me to just swing by and get her!

I  had a Mystery Package arrive in yesterday’s mail!  Do you see that envelope up there?  Boy, it was taped up good too!

It simply says HAPPY BIRTHDAY in the corner…ahem --- it’s another one of those “NO RETURN ADDRESS” surprises!  These can either be good ---- or……ummmm…..entertaining! LOL!  But I tore into it to see what was inside.

Nope…no note or card inside either, so I guess this person wants to remain anonymous!  But look!

It’s a beautiful hand crafted wallet!

I flipped it open and there were tea things inside!  Oh, I love my tea – this is SO going to retreat with me! 

And there was something I had never seen before…these liquid filled sticks…are they flavored things?  Do they dissolve in hot water --- are they tea too?  Someone please help me because I can’t even deal with loose leaf tea – mine all comes in tea bags! LOL!

I’ll be checking my email on my phone to see if someone can tell me what they are--- are they sweetener for the tea? Honestly, I’ve never seen these before….

But whoever you are, you made my day!  Thank you so much for your thoughfulness and the beautiful wallet you sent!

I’ll try to post from retreat, you know I will…..but the hours might be odd because we fully intend to sew our brains out!

Vroom!!

Class Room Space!!

I just heard from the Beach Cities Quilt Guild in Mission Viejo California that there is still room in the two workshops I have with them next week!

If you are wanting to take a workshop you can contact Candace Crain HERE!!

Friday, January 13th, is a Texas Braid workshop!  Now I "*KNOW** that is a FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH!  But don’t let that spook you!  These workshops are so fun, and you can make the whole thing from your scraps --- so come join me!

Saturday, January 14th we are doing Scrappy Bargello!  Again, you don’t need anything but 2-1/2” strips for this!  and EVERYTHING goes!  Come on and join us, you won’t want to miss it!
Email  Candace Crain HERE!! Tell her you want to come play! I’d love to see you!

Wow! it *WAS* a Hot Topic!

Remember all the comments that were generated last week by THIS POST about my upgraded seat?

It turns out that CNN thought enough about this kind of dilemma to write a whole article about it!

I love the first line:

(CNN) -- When it comes to relationship minefields, watch out for frequent flier miles.

When Regina sent me the link to the article, saying “I expected to see your name in this article!  Hope it was resolved peacefully?  (I am behind on blog reading - so you may have posted about it already)”  I had to go click the link and read the article myself.  What would it say?  I knew I couldn't be the only one facing this dilemma!

So here’s what happened with MY situation ----turns out the plane from Dulles to Dallas was a small commuter jet -- there were only two rows of 1st class seats.  The first class seat I was upgraded to was in the second row and was a window seat, and didn’t have as much leg room as you would think….

Remember this pic of me with my hexies?  See my knees that close to the seat pocket?  Yep! This is the first class seat! 

And DH would have had to climb over the big guy who had the seat next to me to get out to the aisle to go to the restroom ---- He PREFERS an aisle seat --so he told ME to take the first class seat, and he was much happier with his aisle exit row seat.  He actually had more leg room than I did!  My computer bag was parked under the seat in front of me, and I really had no room to stretch out.

But to make it up even more to him --- when checking him in for his flight home on New Years Day, I bumped him up to Economy Plus all the way  home.  He was happy with that, and it worked out fine for both of us.

The big realization is that every EVERY relationship is different, and it is okay to get other people’s opinions, but their opinions are just that ---opinions --- and you have to take it with a grain of salt, and do what works for you and your family!

I just realized something.  If I am going to retreat tomorrow – I won’t be around on Saturday for Yard Sale Saturday this month.  I hope you don’t mind, but I want to do it the first Saturday in February to give us more time to pull it together, okay?

The first MONDAY in February will be the next Mystery Monday Link-Up.  You still have until Friday at 11:59pm Eastern time ((That’s tomorrow at almost midnight, folks)) to link up to THIS MONDAYS Link-up.  There are currently 99 links there!  So if you don’t link by Friday Night, it can wait until the first Monday in Feb, and maybe by then we’ll see full quilts with binding!

So --- all this under control for the first Saturday and Monday in Feb --- how about THIS COMING MONDAY, Jan 9th, we do our CHEDDAR BOW TIE LEADER/ENDER LINK-UP!?  I’ll be flying out early Monday morning for San Diego, and that is the perfect thing to have running on a day when I’ll be away from the computer.

Note on that --- you don’t have to use cheddar in your bowties.  You can do them ANY WAY YOU WANT --- just link your blog to mine so we can all visit!

Ready, Get Set – SEW!

Yessir, Yessir, Three Bags Full!

By the time we arrived home last night, it was too late,and I was too tired to unpack my suitcases, get laundry going, and put things in some semblance of order. 

This often happens when I arrive home in the evening, but I do better with it in the summer when it is still LIGHT outside ----as it was, it was 2 hours past dark when I stumbled through the front door, and that meant that suitcase unpacking could wait ---

It was time for jammies, some visiting, a huge mug of hot tea ---simply to wrap my cold hands around and feel the warmth, more than to drink!

Sleep came early, and I woke up this morning NOT knowing what day it is!  Why is it that travel days just create this big void --- making a short week even shorter?

Upon talking to DH & son ----it turns out that THEY have plans to go motorcycle riding with buddies this weekend, which in all essence, would leave me home ALONE the entirety of Saturday.  Do I want to stay here ALONE while my bee-friends are RETREATING just a ways down the road?  Oh no, this simply won’t do! 

As if my mind weren’t made up already! ((Yes, it already was, but this cinches it!))  I am now headed to retreat --- but wait…which day??  TODAY is THURSDAY!  I thought it was only WEDNESDAY..that means that I have to do all this stuff today and be ready basically to pack up and leave for San Diego on Monday, before I leave for retreat tomorrow morning!  AAACKKKKI!

I jumped out of bed and started unpacking to repack!

These are the three bags full of scraps at the top of the blog…the three that I packed from the scrap bins at Fabric Fanatics!  Poor things, they were falling apart from being wedged in the bottom of my suit case!  But LOOK at what I got into them!

This might not look like a whole lot, but do you see how they are rolled up in tight little wads?  Watch!

Holy. Cannoli! THIS is a scrap?!  Yep!  If it was less than 1/4 yard, or less than a Fat Quarter…in the bin it went.  And from there, right into my bags!

Would YOU consider this a scrap?  Well, THEY did --- so I guess I did too!  Even if I did feel a bit guilty filling these bags to the gills.  It was like robbing a candy store!

Love the richness of the colors and the fun textures on these fabrics!  I never really collected batiks much, because I was always dealing with the other “prints” and stuff in my stash, and I knew if I started on a collection of these……it would be the equivalent of having a whole “nuther” stash that would get out of control. 

But I have an IMMEDIATE plan for these ---they have to make an appearance in next New Year’s Eve/Day Mystery for my return to Plano!  My brain is working on just what I want to do with this…

Folded, Sorted, Stacked.  Three bags of scraps.  $6.00 a bag.  $18.00 worth of scraps --- could you resist?  Of course I couldn’t!  What I love bout this is the variety I found.  It’s hard for me to buy off a bolt --- not enough variety can be gathered in a short amount of time, but this way?  It worked just the way that *I* work…a bit of everything and then some!

These stacks are TALL!  I love these black and whites…FUN!

From every angle it looks better and better!  Do you see that tall neutral stack in the back?  Neutral batiks are one thing that is hard for me to find ---so I dug through and found as much as I could to go with all the other colors.  Neutrals are boring, but we NEED THEM!

Along with the batiks, some gifted goodies came home with me!  One of my sweet students gave me this whole big piece of black pindot yardage!  I love pindots and polka dots…this is going to be a fun background for something down the road!

Sock Monkey Scraps!  Yes, there are sock monkeys in my Orca Bay, and in some of the other scrap quilts I’ve done….and they are fun to see peeking out amongst the other fabrics now and again.  This one is going right into the string bin.

A beautiful piece of pink with brown from Janet who said “TAKE IT!!” when I admired it….and I did!  ((I don’t have to be told twice! LOL!!))

A beautiful FQ that came in a tote bag gift at my lecture in Garland --- along with a magazine to keep myself occupied on the flight home, as a thank you for coming.  That came from “Happiness is Quilting” in Mc Kinney.

Gifted bonus triangles that will find themselves into a new project ((At some point --- the crumb bins ARE threatening to mutiny if I don’t do something with them soon!))

And a darling pin dot vintage apron from Janet!  I love vintage aprons!!  Just look how cute this one is:

Polka dots & Tulips!  It’s SO CUTE!!  Thanks Janet!!  ((Delta Dawn, what’s that flower you have on…..hehehhehe))

And with that…it’s time to get a move on.  I’ve got a ton load of stuff to do today if I’m heading to retreat in the morning!

Toodles!

Hello from Houston!

I’m in between planes --- and have a couple hours of layover time to find a quiet place and plug in to charge my phone and to check email, check facebook, check blogs, check favorite quilt-sites ---in other words, waste  find productive time!

I already power walked the terminal in Dallas for an hour….keeping up with my New Years re-committal to move this ole body as much as possible.  Use it or lose it.  Its important.  The movement you do doesn’t have to be of marathon runner quality or intensity, you just need to MOVE.  I stood while teaching class for 3 days.  I stood to give a presentation last night. Today it felt good to MOVE!

Oh, and special thanks need to go to Regan who suggested that I sing “I am woman, hear me roar!” to get “Delta Dawn” out of my head!  THIS IS NOT HELPING!!! LOL!

Janet said in the car…..that earworms are caused by your brain not being able find the END of the song, so it continually goes ‘round until you reach the end, and then the earworm will go away.  I beg to differ!  Maybe I should be like that “dancing with an ipod guy” and go around through the Houston airport singing “I am woman hear me roar!”  Isn’t that just something you would love to see?

Ain’t happenin’ folks, just ain’t!

Behind the scenes….I’m getting nudgy comments from my bee friends who are having their retreat at Camp Dogwood this coming weekend – Friday, Saturday & Sunday.  I’ve been saying all along how I don’t think I dare go….I’m just returning home from Dallas, I leave for San Diego on Monday----how can I POSSIBLY fit this in?

But how fun would this be to spend a couple days sewing with Lisa, Karen, Mrs Goodneedle, Nane, and everyone?

Because it would be sewing time for ME.  That’s how.  And the book is now DONE DONE DONE! ((All but the resources page, and I can handle that easily)) and I stood there in Plano watching 3 full classes of ladies sew their brains out and I didn’t get to sit at a machine.  Because.  Do I need any more reason than that?  Just because?

Maybe if I go down Friday early ---and come home Saturday after dinner, I can get two full days of sewing in, reconnect time with my own bee gals ((Remember what I was talking about in This Morning’s Post about CONNECTIONS?!)) and still have Sunday with my family and be ready to leave for San Diego on Monday morning.

You know what is going to happen, don’t you?  I’m talking myself into this right now as I type this….Thanks for helping me make up my mind!

I also just came across this recipe, and I think it would be perfect to bring and share for a couple of lunches ---

White Turkey Chili:

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 2 (4 ounce) cans canned green chile peppers, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ground cayenne pepper to taste
• ground white pepper to taste
• 3 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic and ground turkey and saute for 10 minutes, or until turkey is well browned. Add the chile peppers, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cayenne pepper to taste and white pepper to taste and saute for 5 more minutes.
2. Add two cans of the beans and the chicken broth to the pot. Take the third can of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor. Add this to the pot along with the cheese. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.

Instead of the canned cannellini beans, I’m thinking of doing this in the crock pot with small dried navy beans.  I prefer dried to canned any day.

I’ll let you know how it turns out!

One more hour til flight time, gonna have to pull out the hexies!

String Spider Webs in Plano!

I’m on my way home today!

Janet is picking me up at the hotel at 9am and heading me and my 100lbs of quilts and my suitcase full of batik scraps ((oh please, let it not be over 50 lbs!! LOL!!)) off to the airport and I’ll be on my way.

It’s been a wonderful trip and I’m excited about the possibility of it being an annual New Years Day thing here in Plano.  At this point we’ll be doing two mystery classes ((the same one, repeated twice since the first one filled already!)) And one other class that we pick from my new book that will be out in July.  It will be fun to see everyone again!

This group was SO SILLY!, I can’t begin to explain it.  I mean who else would break into refrains of “Delta Dawn” at the top of their lungs?! ((I live by silly myself, so I fit right in ---))

You see this sign? we had to use an “annex” room to hold all the students, because the main room wasn’t big enough. At first I called it the “TIME OUT” room ---and then they said “No, they were the Gifted and Talented room---“  After a while we just called them “Special Ed…” ((LOL!!)) And by the end of the 3rd day, it was simply “Adult Day Care” HEHEHEHEHhhhheee!  You had to be there, but it was hilarious.  I loved these ladies!

This lovely lady is Lee Ann!  And you know how they tell us that there are 6 degrees or points of separation and that someone will know someone who knows someone who knows you?

It turns out that Lee Ann lived up in Delta Junction Alaska, and is best buds with the gals that I became friends with through my visit up there!  And here she was in my workshop – so we did something fun --- took our picture together, plastered it on the facebook walls of these friends as a special shout out to let them know that we were together and missing them!  Friendships.  New ones and old ones.  Connections.  Time and time again it is proven to me that is the MOST valuable thing about this traveling life I’ve adopted ---I love seeing the connections!  This was fun to be part of this digtal photographical picture surprise between these distant friends who miss each other so much!

I took a lot of pictures of the spider web workshop, I hope you enjoy seeing them.  I’m sure you can also feel the fun and the laughter and the memory making going on in this room ((And that includes the annex ---the Time out Room, The Gifted and Talented room, the Special Ed room --- AND Adult Day Care!! LOL!!))

		String Spider Web, Plano TX 1-2-12 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Time to pack up the suitcases and double check the quilt bags. Time to make sure the hexie project is close at hand….don’t leave a spare sock behind in the hotel room --- be sure you have the extra soaps and shampoos, and stick the commemorative “Holiday Inn Express” pens in my purse….may I never run out of pens! :c/

Can someone please PLEASE tell me how to get Delta Dawn out of my head?!?!

I’m headed home!  Who’s cooking dinner?