More Williamsburg Wonder!

The gardens. Oh, I love the gardens! I think that is one of the most beautiful “slow down and take a breath” spots within the whole town.

And I think of those colonial women ---planning and plotting and working in their long skirts, their aprons, in the heat of a Virginia summer with its drenching humidity and oppressive stillness.

They had to grow food for their families, and even “in town” kitchen gardens were tucked in here and there, providing vegetables and berries, staples for colonial families.

Along with the vegetables, there were beautiful heirloom varieties of flowers and herbs ----and on our walk yesterday morning, Carolyn, Diane and I found ourselves bending over plants, looking close, examining!

You can walk through colonial veggie patches right in town. You can also purchase pots of heirloom varieties of plants – the same kinds of plants you would find if you had walked down these streets in 1750.

Come take a wander!

Pomegranate trees!

How often was the beautiful pomegranate fruit the inspiration for early applique designs? These will turn brilliant rosy red within the next couple of months.

At first glimpse I thought these long skinny fruits had to be some variety of cucumber…but check the shape of the leaves! Watermelons!

Stop along the herb beds and pinch a bit of rosemary between your fingers….rolling the leaves releases the wonderful fragrance that we still love today as much as colonial women did then. I love fresh rosemary!

What’s a kitchen garden without a row of peppers?

These are growing nicely ---they love Virginia’s hot-house heat and humidity!

Not all plants were cultivated to be eaten, some were planted just for their beauty. How delicate are these little purple and white pom pom flowers?

I bet you’d have to touch them too!

((Oh, and there is something about that purple color that is calling me!))

Tonight is my lecture and trunk show here in Williamsburg….I’m so excited to share my love of scrap quilts from those who have come far and wide…..our “furthest traveler” is here from FRANCE! How exciting to spend this time with everyone, making new friends!

iPhone-o-Gram! Just Us Turkeys!

We are having a ball sewing up a stringy mess with our Talkin' Turkey blocks!

We've done string piecing, made center 9 patches ((yes the measurements are crazy--the 9 patch is on point so we have to work with pesky diagonal measurements for a finished block size that comes out to 12"))

And we are starting to add our strings around the 9 patches.

We even got one of our Creative Crafts Group event coordinators to come sew a bit! She's been involved with scrap booking events, but we have plans to make a quilter out of her yet!!

Lunch is waiting---then we will continue our stitching adventures this afternoon.

It's a great day to be in Williamsburg!

Let the Fun Begin!

It’s Talkin’ Turkey Day in Williamsburg, VA!

Everything is raring to go – I took this photo after setting up my space yesterday ---the quilts will rotate their time on the hanging rack ---these are the three classes I am teaching this week.

Talkin’ Turkey is hanging in the center, with Winston Ways on the left, and Midnight Flight on the right.

The table in front is the folding table that traveled with me ---it’s elevated to cutting table height, and I’ll be doing my cutting and ruler demos there.

Here is our crowd as we gathered to find our seats for the opening ceremonies after our meet & greet! June gave a great presentation on just what it takes to pull a magazine issue together, and it starts about 6 months before the issue hits the news stands.

I know the next time I hold a new issue in my hands I’ll be looking at it differently – it was educational and eye opening, and really gives me an appreciation for all they do to give us so much. I’m proud to be a Quiltmaker contributor!

Hahahaha! Diane and Carolyn were taking pictures of me taking pictures of them!

Yes, we are SO grown up and PROFESSIONAL!

Diane came to my room to check out my new 301 and the card table she sets into! Whooowhooo! I got posted to the Quiltmaker facebook page! Still working on Wild & Gooseys ---these will be appearing in my Addicted to Scraps column this coming year, so be watching for the pattern – it’s the easiest way to get the right size of foundation pattern in your hands….print it in the magazine!

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing ---take"SOME" time out to be silly!

The Cheese Shoppe ---

I got several comments and emails telling me I HAD to go to The Cheese Shoppe in old town Williamsburg for the best sandwich ever.

The shop in itself is adorable and you will want to browse and taste test your way past the cheeses on display.

There is also a large selection of local wines and other culinary treats to entice you.

I was working up a powerful appetite so I made my way back to the rear of the shop where a long lunch-time line had already formed…..

Long lines are a bad thing good thing ----

Bad, because you have to wait ----

GOOD – because if there is a line, it must be worth waiting in one!

Yes, THIS is the line…Mmmmm…it MUST be worth it!

I was told that I needed to experience the special “house dressing” on my sandwich –so I went for it! I ordered corned beef and pepper jack on pumpernickel with house dressing. MMMMMMMM! There is NO picture of the sandwich – I was too busy eating it!

I’m always one to try a “not so known to me” brand of chips ----These knocked my socks off!

BUT THISSSSSS!!

I love nutty crunchy carmel-y things….and I didn’t quite know WHAT this conglomeration was, but oh boy --- I could have forgotten the sandwich and just went for this. It had a cookie bar bottom, then stuck to the carmel topping was crunched pretzels ((Oh yeah, that beloved salty-sweet sensation!)) chocolate chips, peanuts…….messy, gooey and oh so good! Does anyone have a recipe for this kind of cookie bar? Maybe I better not have one!

And just so you don’t think that all I do is post about junk food ----oh, the gardens are WONDERFUL to behold….

Tomorrow classes begin! Talkin’ Turkey is first up! I better go get some shut eye ----morning comes early and quilters will be raring to go!

iPhone-o-Gram! Behind the Scenes!

Set up has begun with anticipation over this week's workshops and events with Quiltmaker Magazine's Block Party here in Williamsburg, VA!

Did you ever stop to think just how much time and effort goes into pulling an event together??

This should give you a good clue!!

I'm ready to start setting up my classroom!

Welcome to Williamsburg!

I arrived in Williamsburg yesterday afternoon----the Quiltmaker event is at the Hospitality House hotel & convention center – and WOW---what a place!

Of course the whole place has a very colonial feel to it ---everyone was so nice helping me check in, telling me where in the underground garage I can park ---and the valet took my bags right up to my room!

He was gone by the time I parked the car, found the elevator and navigated my way up to the 4th floor where I am staying…

I opened the door and was blown away!

WOW!!

This is the view from the door….

The view from the desk area……do you know what I’m thinking???

There is OODLES of space for my 301 and table!

I unpacked some, leaving the rest for later – and throwing on my socks and running shoes – off I took to explore the sidewalk. I found myself just a couple blocks up the road where the main area of historical Williamsburg is found.

Me and my buddy, Thomas Jefferson getting it cozy on the bench! LOL!

Dang, it was hot hot hot and humid….by the time I was done walking, my hair was soaked as if I had just stepped out of a shower. The gals from Quiltmaker arriving from Utah and Colorado are in for a quick education in just what South Eastern Humidity is all about!

It was later in the afternoon, and too late to buy a pass for the day to see all of the historic sites, so I just walked the area past old houses and businesses and churches and saw what I could as a “preview”. Tomorrow morning I can go do MORE!

young docents dress in period costume and talk to children about colonial life.

It’s fun to carry on a conversation with those dressed in costume--- they talk in the “English” of the 1700s!

“Good day to you, madam, and you as well, kind sir!”

Carriage rides were sold out for the day, but I sure loved watching them clip clop by!

And my favorite sight of the day? A penny whistler!

It’s going to be an exciting time in Williamsburg – quilters should start arriving today for the meet & greet, classes begin on Thursday and go through Saturday – SUNDAY? This girl is on her way HOME!

Evening Edition! Free Kindle Book!

I’m in Williamsburg!! I spent some time this afternoon wandering around the colonial area, but it was kind of late when I got in and I want to go back in the morning and see what I missed --- and of course, going while it is COOLER out is a good idea!

In the mean time, I’m settling into my new digs – I’m here for 5 nights, so yes it is worth it to completely unpack the suitcases and set up the machine and make this place mine for a few nights.

It rained for a bit, but it’s stopped now – the sun is back out and is heading close to setting. Warm summer evenings in the south are just lovely – and I thought I might take my kindle out by the pool to relax the day away.

Here’s a freebie I found that sounds good to me:

The Temporary Detective by Joanne Sydney Lessner is free tonight in the Amazon Kindle store.

Genre: Mystery/humor

Phones, light typing… and murder.

Think breaking into show business is hard? Try landing a temp job without office skills.

That’s the challenge facing aspiring actress Isobel Spice when she arrives in New York City, fresh out of college and deficient in PowerPoint. After being rejected by seven temp agencies for her lack of experience, Isobel sweet-talks recruiter James Cooke into letting her cover a last-minute vacancy at a bank.

New to his own job, and recently sober, James takes a chance on Isobel, despite his suspicion that she’s a trouble-magnet. His misgivings are borne out by lunchtime, when she stumbles across a dead secretary in a bathroom stall. With her fingerprints on the murder weapon, Isobel sets out to prove her innocence by investigating the crime herself.

While learning to juggle phone lines and auditions, she discovers an untapped talent for detective work—a qualification few other office temps, let alone actresses, can claim.

Double check it’s still free for you, it was for me a bit ago!

iPhone-o-Gram! On the road!

Even on the road there are things that have to be done just as if I were home in my own town.

Yesterday afternoon I found a FedEx and mailed a package---

I found Office Max and made copies of the hand outs for the classes in Williamsburg this week.

I was totally OUT of toothpaste--and that was on the list---

And the guest laundry at the hotel was "out of order" and I was out of clean under-things so that meant buying new was better than finding another laundry facility. I'd rather pay for new than pay money and take time to sit at a laundromat! Shopping occurred!

This morning I packed it all up again and loaded the car ready to move on---but I'm in no hurry---just have to arrive in Williamsburg this afternoon.

Time Out!

Time out for a morning pedicure.

Time out for a bank run to deposit checks.

Time out for picking up lunch at subway and finding a local park to enjoy it!

Next stop? Williamsburg. But I'll take my time to get there.

Browsing, Browsing!

“Get out and stretch your legs every so often” is the medical advice given by my doctor regarding the bulging disk in my back.

A devious smile crosses my face as I realize this coincides with one of my favorite pastimes ---Antiquing!

This also has its down side ---I can’t afford to bring EVERYHTHING home. Quilts and quilt tops take up a lot of space. Kitchen stuff – oh I love vintage kitchen stuff: Granite ware old egg beaters and salt shakers and fun tea pots ---but I can’t bring it all home! Where can I put it?

Taking photos but leaving things where I found them is the answer.

I love finding quilts that inspire me in future projects and sharing them here, and then being sure I can FIND THEM myself later when I have time to make them --- aka PINTEREST ---means that I don’t have to bring each and every little thing home.

And the upside --- I’m getting out of the car! I’m stretching my legs! I’m giving that gas pedal foot and leg a break.

So what did I find? Let’s take a look!

Simple 9 patches always catch my heart. How many of us learned to quilt by sewing squares into 9 patches? The sweet top above has solid blue center squares in each little block, plenty of fun vintage 30’s and 40’s prints ---love that yellow! The background is a simple muslin. Instant love!

Red polka dot bow ties!

This one was SO great – just a top, very old, all flannel! This top had blues, greys, browns, blacks, and peach. I don’t know if you can tell by the photos how soft and fuzzy this is, it has definitely never been washed. I turned it over to check the stitching on the back side…all by hand!

Stitches are small and even, the seams a bit less than 1/4”.

I really love this block! Just might have to play with this one!

Simple and classic, white shoo-flies with red backgrounds and white sashing. YUMMY!!

9-patch hourglasses! I think this is an “exquisite” block off the top of my head, but not sure. What I really love is the row of 2/3 blocks ((not half blocks!!)) at the bottom row:

Not sure what happened to that corner block – it’s got an extra hourglass unit!

I guess it was 5 o’clock SOMEWHERE! ;c)

I saw this one and fell in love!

Until I lifted it and smelled it…..it smelled REALLY BAD! LOL!

It was also very heavy ---and it sounded like the newspaper foundations were still attached – which made the thought of washing this to get the smell out impossible…it was also fragile in some areas, but how graphic is this?! Loved it --- from a distance! Another example of why not everything can come home!

What else did NOT come home?

A PAIR of Chinese dogs!

If you would like a pair of these dogs to guard your stash, contact me, I know where you can find them…LOL

They don't come cheap! AND -- they take up far more room than any number of machines or quilts that I could bring home. ((Do you see me rationalizing here?!))

There are more quilts, but I’m going to get my morning moving --- I need a shower, I have to pack up all the quilt stuff that is all over my hotel room and fit it back in my car. There will be more sight seeing today as I make my way toward colonial Williamsburg, Virginia!

I'm doing the happy dance of joy ---November's mystery quilt top is a TOP -- it's together! Whoowhooo!

Happy Tuesday, everyone….it’s the last day of July, 2012 – make it memorable!