iPhone-o-Gram! Lunch with my Boy!

I've made it to South Carolina and have had a great BBQ dinner with the guild girls and those who have traveled in from out of state for tomorrow's workshop!

One of the benefits of driving this way is that I get to stop and love on my eldest son. Jason will be 29 in November. How did that happen??

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Pawleys Front Porch in the Five Points area of Columbia.

I'm not sure what was on his burger but I think it had burger, egg, ham, cheese, tomato, lettuce and onion. But look at this thing!!

As for me, I had good ole SC style fish tacos. You see, I was trying to save room for tonight's BBQ. Lol.

I failed. Miserably!

But I did get a drive by pic ((sort of)) of the state Capitol!

We are headed back to Sally's house to go feed the horses. Horses! Someone pinch me. I think i've died and gone to Tara from Gone With The Wind!

Tomorrow? Smith Mountain Morning class!

Night, Everyone!

My Hexies–OH SO CLOSE!

We had long long drives on our bus in Bali – and bringing little kits for everyone to try their own hand at English paper piecing was SUCH a life saver.

Travelers with busy hands are happy travelers! I was amazed at how quickly my last hexagon section grew while watching the passing countryside outside of my window.

Memories of rice paddies, of swarms of motorcycles, of driving on the “LEFT” side of the road up narrow windy mountain roads --- ((Oh that took some getting used to, we kept trying to enter on the WRONG side of the bus, the doors were on the left..LOL)) Commenting on shrines and temples and architecture. Watching Balinese life continue on outside of the protective air conditioned bubble of our bus – we sewed away!

About half way through the week I took this picture on the floor of my hotel room. I’d sewn from Greensboro to Houston to Los Angeles to part way to Hong Kong before falling asleep. I sewed from Hong Kong to Bali….and I sewed on the bus.

Throughout the bus as we traveled could be heard the sounds of “Who has the thread?!” “I need the scissors!” And whoever had it last would pass it forward or backward depending on where the request was coming from.

On the way home….we stopped in Hong Kong ….and had to go through security two more times before we could board our flight to the US.

Do you remember me saying “The problem isn’t getting OUT of the country with scissors? It’s getting back IN!?”

I was indeed stopped and searched in Hong Kong – they saw something in my bag and went digging for it!

This little bag was the culprit!

I bought this at one of the little shops in Ubud, and stuffed it with just a few fabric hexies, papers, needles, and thread because I was sitting bulkhead exit row all the way home and didn’t have a seat in front of me with room underneath to store a carry on bag. This I could keep in my lap with everything else in the overhead bin.

In the small bottom zipper compartment were these:

The Hong Kong TSA agent pulled them out – showed them to her supervisor, who said they were “OKAY” and I was allowed to put them back into my bag and off I went.

These are the $4 manicure scissors with the rounded tips I bought at Walmart before leaving on the trip. If these are safe for TSA from Hong Kong – they are pretty much sure to be safe for EVERYWHERE – but I did worry there a bit! It’s always a bit unsettling to have law enforcement going through your bag!

And it’s a good thing I got these. One of our other gals had brought a pair of children’s fiscars – but they had pointier tips. They confiscated hers. It’s not the price of the item they keep that is the problem, it’s the inconvenience of not being able to sew. I’ve tried the medallion thread cutter. Hate it. You can’t thread a needle after using it without a needle threader. Same with the dental floss container idea --- I know – I’ve tried. You are toast at threading a needle on a plane without then having to use a needle threader. I like scissors! So these are my new travel pair --- we’ll see how far they go with me!

Back to the hexies --- how far did I get?

I’ve started on the short section!! WHhhaaaahooooo!

There are only 5 rows left to do!!

And these are short rows that decrease with each row…I am SO ALMOST THERE!

As this posts, I should be close to arriving in Aiken, SC for my workshop with the Carolina Pine quilters!

I’ll get to hug on one of my Bali travelers! Sharron will be there --- oh, it’s amazing how much I miss this group of people. It felt so disjointed picking up our luggage at LAX --- and all going our separate ways. We were from everywhere – Oregon, Virginia Beach, Canada, Illinois, Nebraska – and everywhere in between. I’m really missing everyone! So it will be great to see Sharron and catch up a bit.

She sent me this pic this morning of me with an armful of fabric at the batik warehouse:

Oh yeah, that’s a happy girl!!

If you are just arriving, you are going to want to check THIS POST! We are in the midst of a give-away for my friend Mickey’s new book, Pieced Hexies! And – here’s an incentive – she said if we reach 500 comments she will give away THREE copies! So leave a comment on that post – be sure to include your email address if you don’t have it linked to your blogger account, or are signing in as anonymous. No address means we draw again – so don’t forget!

We’ll be drawing winners on Sunday evening when I return home!

Pieced Hexies Preview! ((& Give-Away!))

***NOTE!! The Drawing is now CLOSED!!***

I’ve been blessed to have many talented quilters cross my path ---and my life has been enhanced and enriched by all I have learned from them. I am re-charged by their energy, I am re-fueled by their sense of humor, or their wisdom and understanding. Some I have taught with on various occassions, but no one has crossed my path in more ways than my friend Mickey Depre!

If you’ve been lucky enough to take any of her workshops or hear her lecture, or own one of her other books, you know exactly what I mean!

We met at the Gulf States Quilting Association a couple years ago. A month later we found ourselves meeting up again and teaching for the Virginia Consortium of Quilters. From there we found we were next-door-roomies at the Road to California quilt show in 2011!

I was lucky enough to have her drop in on me this past spring when I came to Illinois – and I got to meet her other hilarious half, her hubby Paul!

And now I get to be honored to give you the heads up on Mickey’s fabulous new book!

You know how *I* Love hexies --- well Mickey’s spin on it leaves me in the dust in so many ways. As her Pieced Hexies facebook page header states: A blank hexie is just a wannabe pieced hexie!

She has taken English paper piecing and set it on it’s ear!

It’s modern,

It’s fresh,

It’s fun,

It’s addictive,

It’s fabulous!

The possibilities are endless!

In Pieced Hexies you will discover the 7 basics.

And from there discover ways to change those and watch them evolve into completely new designs.

Once the possibilities emerge, the ideas do not stop coming!

And in Mickey’s own words….

“A Hexie Quilt does not have to be entirely made of Hexies!

Use your Pieced Hexie motifs as Applique!”

I had a little fun making hexie collages of my favorite of Mickeys designs:

Whooowhooooo!

Don’t you love these?!

The techniques are unbelievably easy ---with fantastic results!

Pieced Hexies is due out any day now and Mickey is taking pre-orders on her website.

To celebrate Mickey’s release of Pieced Hexies with Kansas City Star, we are having a GIVE-AWAY!!

Drop me a comment below and I will draw a winner upon my return from South Carolina – I’m driving back home on Sunday and should be home in the evening ---if I’m too dead tired, maybe we’ll make it Monday Morning! LOL!

If your email address is not linked to your blogger account, or if you are signing in as ANONYMOUS you must leave your name and email address so we can contact you. If there is no email address on the person we draw, we will draw someone else!

I’ll be choosing one winner to win an autographed copy of Pieced Hexies direct from Mickey Depre!

I can’t wait to see the quilts you are going to make after seeing this book!

Good luck, Everyone!

***PS*** If you have already pre-ordered Pieced Hexies and WIN, Mickey will refund and cancel your first order so you won't end up with two copies unless you want them!

Quilt Cam Time -- Boring Bow-Ties!

I am ready for some machine time...just me, the machine, and a few of my closest virtual friends! You!! LOL

I really want to get these bow-tie blocks together, but this is the part that drags on and drags on for me. I'm just sewing them into 9 patches.

Do you have some handwork to bring? Come sit and stitch and chat a bit!

Tomorrow I've got to head out to South Carolina, I've got a workshop in Aiken on Saturday, so I won't be on very late tonight. I still have to pack the car!

I'm going to leave the QuiltCam up for about an hour or so----

*Note* If it says OFFLINE below -- you missed it! It's live streaming, not a recording, so you can't play it back like re-runs, you'll just have to join us next time!

Wanna join me?

Click Below!

Live Video app for Facebook by Ustream

At the Phyisical Therapist---

You know you live in a small town abs LIKE it when you arrive at a new office, are asked for your insurance card and realize that you left it at the computer from when you called to make the appointment in the first place.

Yes---I left home without my wallet!

They said, no problem, just bring it next time.

I said--but I have no credit card to pay my copay.

They said. That's okay, just bring it next time!

Other than the mortifying realization that I am sriving around without my drivers license--yes, it's in the wallet too---I think I will like this place!

But then, they haven't started working on me yet-----

Still, so far, so good!

My Friend Pat & Moda Candies Give-Away!

This morning….as I was sleepily trying to get my morning going after finally sleeping all night from 10pm to *ahem* nearly 9am… ((I sure hope this is the last push to get my body clock back to its normal time zone!)) I got a cute message on my phone from my friend Pat Sloan telling me how excited she is to be included in a special blog hop today! Have you seen her new “Eat your fruits & veggies” fabric line? It is so cute!

I want to help spread the news, because there are some really cute give-aways going on ---including Pat’s!

Join the moda designers for an adventure as we celebrate National Sewing Month.

Pat writes:

For 10 days, there will be 1 post from 3 different designers showcasing different styles, projects and what is going on in their life- hopping all over the globe to visit each hometown.

I think this is the BEST PART of the hop.. learning where the designers live and see what they want to share with us (just a hint... Barb and Mary of "Me and My Sister" was yesterday and they are goof balls.. really.. check them out!)

Many of the stops are going to include a chance to win something yummy from the designers... include something from me.. maybe TWO somethings.. just because I love you that much. Let's get ready to enjoy all things Moda!

You gotta check this out..she’s shown great pics of where she lives, the place she gets her hair cut, the train station, places she frequents and haunts. You know, we are all “normal” people with normal lives just like everyone else, and it’s fun to see what goes on in each other's worlds!

Click HERE to get to Pat’s Post.

What is she giving away??

Besides the free pattern linked in the post--- She's giving away

• 3 of the new "candies"
• 1 batik FQ Bundle
• and 1 Cotton Layer Cake!!!

PLUS you have an extra chance at a Batik Jelly roll HERE (go ahead... click and take a chance)

PLUS each winner will receive an Aurifil Thread Sampler similar to this one!

Head over to Pat’s Blog and leave her a comment answering this question:

"What is your town's MOST FAMOUS thing to eat? OR Best PLACE to eat? ... don't forget to name your town!"

And tell her Bonnie sent you!

Good luck everyone!

So what have *I* done today? I made an appointment for my yearly mammo. That’s late next week before I go to Indiana.

I made an appointment for physical therapy. And that starts TODAY! at 4pm Eastern time. Okay – I’m trying not to be scared, but this leg HURTS and I’m afraid what they are going to do to it. Still. I want it to get better, so I am going. Send good thoughts please!

Depending how I feel I’m hoping to have some Quilt Cam time tonight –usually around 8pm-ish Eastern time. Let’s hope it goes well!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Balinese School Days!

Yesterday afternoon I posted a pic of being stuck behind a school bus. Oh so many memories!

That lead me to wanting to share with you some adorable pics of children we encountered in Bali.

Isn’t this little tike cute?

This was at a market stall, the mama was making offerings to sell, and I loved the array of colors and all the fruit.

We had a lot of mangoes, pineapples, and melon for breakfast at the Melia Bali resort, but you know what I really missed? Biting into an apple! Apples do not grow in Bali, so they are rare to find there. I also missed being able to just peel and eat a banana. For some reason, bananas the way we eat them were just not there, although bananas do grow in Bali.

On one of our jaunts ---we parked the bus and walked through neighborhoods, and out into the country to see the rice paddies – to get a feel for what life is like OUTSIDE the limits of the city.

The sky was full of the most beautiful puffy clouds and I loved seeing their reflection in the water of the rice paddies.

Here a farmer works in his field….

The fields are adorned with flags tied to sticks in an effort to scare the birds, much as we would use a scare crow. You can see we had a nice breeze, this one is blowing in the wind! ((See what I mean about magnificent clouds?!))

Along our way we pass homes, large and small. This one is a large home, with likely many generations living together, as noted by the many shrines in the northeast corner of the compound. Look at the "wind chime" It's not a chime! It's another "scare crow" to scare the birds..it's made of computer CDs which reflect light and scare them away!

We pass coconut palms with fruit ready to pick.

Yep! More chickens!

I don’t remember what this fruit was, but it was interesting! Mawa told us about a fruit they call “heaven and hell” fruit because it smells AWFUL but tastes wonderful. NO THANK YOU!!

We walk on to see women carrying huge baskets on their heads. Notice the traditional sarong.

This is Jack Fruit…they grow huge!

We reached the school just as school was letting out for the holiday!

The children are SO CUTE! And I guess they thought we were interesting too….all these big white people! Can you see Mawa in the yellow shirt and cap at the left? This was the ONE DAY that he didn’t wear Sarong. Since it was a long walk day for us, he needed his running shoes too!

The children thought WE were so interesting, they all started to swarm us!

Such sweet faces! They all wanted to practice their English on us!

The girls are adorable! Look at those smiles!

I’ll keep these faces in my heart and memory ---

Since school was out, several of the children walked with us on their way home.

I love dropping back and getting groups from behind. I have learned so much from visiting this magical place, Bali.

The most valuable to me of all was actually getting out of the restorty touristy areas and seeing how real people live. Children are the hope of the future. My wish and hope for these children is that they will see productive, happy lives, whatever they choose to do. I wish the same for my own children.

Someone commented on yesterday’s UC Silver post that it was a shame that there were no Osha regulations. We have to stop forcing our Western culture on others.

I am self employed. There are NO OSHA regulations in my studio!

I also have no health insurance except for what I get from my DH’s job. I don’t have a work related 401k plan, or rules and unions telling me that I have to wear goggles or gloves when I rotary cut or sew. Things are improving world wide…but we have to stop trying to force how things are done “here” on how things are done “there.” The workers are free to wear goggles or gloves if they want. Not all things have to be mandated to the point it takes away our freedom to choose. Things are evolving ---but the biggest thing I have learned is not to judge another culture through our “western” eyes.

This post is late this morning. The Meloxicam the doc prescribed makes me dozy and sleepy – good news? I was in bed before 10pm. Bad news? I woke up at 9am! LOL

Oh well..better late than never!

iPhone-o-gram! Things that go SLOW!!

I was leaving the post office and heading toward my dentist's office the next town over.

Thinking I could save time by taking backroads--off I went.

What's that up ahead? Oh! No! School is out! I'm stuck behind this bus which is stopping at the end of every other driveway.

I was in plenty of time for my appointment, but none the less I was happy to see that school bus take a right where I was turning left.

Over the hill I go and--oh! No! Another bus!

If you can't beat them--or pass them---slow down and remember what it was like to ride the bus to and from school in my own school years. Other memorable moments sending my own kids off on the bus when they started school.

This is the stuff memories are made of. This is how we gauge the passing of time and easing out of summer and into another school year.

I've enjoyed seeing every one's "first day of school" pics on Facebook. Precious!

The upside of a 4pm dentist appointment? All the busses will be done and gone by the time I am on my way back home!

This is a pic I took while at a stop on my way. The apple effect is thanks to a photoshop iPhone app!

Quiltmaker’s Quilts from 100 Blocks Issue Give-Away!

This came across my radar a bit late – yesterday was a run around doc appt day --- and it slipped between the cracks!

Never fear, there is still TIME to enter to win!

There's still time to leave a comment on Quilty Pleasures for your chance to win the new Quilts from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks.

Don't miss this opportunity for 19 amazing quilt projects! Twenty copies given away!

I love what they have done with the blocks from the magazine, turning them into gorgeous quilts that you too can make!

At just $6.99, a magazine is by far the best value for quilting patterns. That comes out to about 37 cents per pattern. You can’t beat it.

And since they are giving away 20 copies, you might get your copy free!

Don’t leave your comment here on my blog – you need to leave it on the Quilty Pleasures blog.

Here are the details:

Please leave a comment on Quilty Pleasures by midnight Wednesday, Sept. 5 for a chance to win this issue.

Answer this question: From what you’ve seen, what project in this issue has piqued your interest? We’ll choose 20 (that’s right, twenty!) winners and announce them here.

((When you go to the blog you can preview the quilts in the issue. They are GREAT!))

Good luck everyone! Tell them that Bonnie sent you! :c)

A Visit to UC Silver Artisans!

Bali has some of the most skilled art workers that I have ever seen.

We stopped at a place called UC Silver and took a tour of the work room – here you can see silver workers painstakingly working at their craft. The supplies are simple. Silver, blow torch, tools for bending, molding, shaping ---and the designs are phenominal!

I loved the photo of this guy working there with his feet propped up on the stool. I don’t remember exactly what he was doing – shaping or sizing rings or something…but his pose is quintessential Bali!

Rows of silver artists working in their cubicles. These folks had it lucky – the place had A/C! It was also fun to see girls and guys working side by side. The woman in the front is holding a piece of silver jewelry in her tongs while using the blow torch on it.

Silver wire, a board to work on, some pliers and tweezers…..

A young man works with silver loops.

While the work room is basic…the showroom is exquisite! I loved these dancing ladies that formed the bannister going up the stairs. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the items IN the show room, but could take an overall view:

See how the ladies continue at the top? It was so cool!

There were earrings and necklaces, rings and bracelets from simple to Oh. My. Word! There were gem stones, precious and semi precious and I think we all found something to come home with us. I’m very simple in my jewelry tastes. I have my basic every day jewelry, and I don’t often switch things out with every outfit. I like easy and simple and casual. But I did find one thing that just had to come home with me. Very much one of a kind….

I just loved this pendant and chain! The filigree on the top is so delicate and I love that it was worked by hand by one of the artisans I watched. The stone is actually a purple amethyst . I bought the chain to go with it – I liked the texture of the ball chain. The ring that is on the chain is something I added, something I always wear. It’s a simple eternal loop that says “Love Life, Be Brave”. It reminds me that it’s not always easy to get out there and put yourself forward in scary situations, but it is worth it!

The outside of the building was just as fun as the inside…huge golden dragonflies flit on the walls, and more dancing ladies are on the top of the roof along with golden roses and other adornments. It turns out we passed this place several times on our daily jaunts – it was on a major route. We all said “Okay, I know where we are now, that’s the silver place with the dragonflies!”

Yes, this was “voluminous blouse” day ---but I had to pose with some of the dancers while I had a chance!

Today’s routine will include mail order, ordering books from the warehouse for some upcoming teaching and lecturing engagements in Indiana toward the end of the month, a massage, and a dentist appointment. I should have planned better – I should do the massage AFTER the dentist – but my therapist was only going to be available early afternoon, and my dentist appt is after 4pm ---so..we go with the flow and do it!

So far on my One Hour of Needle & Thread challenge – I’ve racked up 4.5 hours! I’m making progress! There are numbers on my calendar sheet. How are you doing with it?

We have several who have joined in and linked up --- see what they are working on HERE at the bottom of the post!