Back From Tonya's!

Hi Hi Hi!

I'm home! Oh man, what a wonderful whirlwind quilting week I had at Chez Ricucci!

I ended up leaving later than expected....leaving here about 4:30 pm on Easter Sunday. I made it as far as Daytona, and had to stop and spend the night, just too tired to go any farther. Tonya's was about 3 hours more outside of Daytona, and I couldn't keep driving any longer.

I checked into a nice clean Day's Inn, and it was lights OUT! The next morning I got up, trundled off down I-95 and made it with no problems to Tonya's, arriving just before lunch.

I didn't mention that the day BEFORE easter....I got a new car :c) So this was the virgin voyage in my new Saturn Vue! It's raining today, so not a good day to get a pic, but I'll get one. It's silver, and I love it! It is the end of an era, Bonnie not being seen toodling around in her PT Cruiser, but life goes on.

I showed some pics for inspiration the week before I left...and the one that kept coming back to me was the string pieced lone star from many diamonds.....I have this quilt in a big book on antique quilts, and every time I'd flip through that book it would call to me "some day...some day..." Well, some day arrived! Before leaving for Tonya's I thought I'd do a few test diamonds to see how they'd look...and then, well, before long..I had enough for one BIG diamond (25 little diamonds!) and I knew it would work. So that was the main project I packed.

I brought a bin of crumbs/strings and we set out sewing! After completing the big diamonds, we had to go shopping for setting fabric (Oh horrors!) I had ORANGE on the brain because Susan was sending me some orange, and it hadn't arrived in the mail before I left (nor did I think I'd get so far as to need it yet) so orange it was..turns out the orange I found was BRIGHTER (does ATOMIC describe it well!?)than what Susan sent! I couldn't tell from her pics how bright what she was sending was...Borders are needed, not sure what I'm going to do yet. Flying geese come to mind...hmmmm. Just for fun....can you find the FLAMINGO fabric in the close up pic? :cD Have to have a flamingo in there to remind me of my trip to Florida!

After the star was set, we started playing around with a "bonnie" version of Tonya's LOVE quilt. I had wanted to do one, and made it fit my style by inserting string X blocks between the Loves. It needs one more border. It is SO cute! I'm thinking of calling it "Love on a shoestring budget" :cD Tonya and I both pieced the letters. Hers are better than mine. Let's just say I am very V challenged!!

Everyone here at home is fine and glad to see me. I'm also getting a lot of teasing about being a 'loafer' because Lucy comes this next weekend and I have the week off with her too and we are going to Paducah! Weeee! (Can't wait to meet up with Dawn and her friends too...)

Tired and happy in SC,
Bonnie