From TN to AL!

Hey everybody!

I'm so excited...when I logged in I see that I have gone from 290 something on "follow this blog" to over 312!!! I am so tickled. Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow along in my crazy life.

I have been in TN since Monday, and had a wonderful time staying with Chris in her beautiful home, and was in complete awe of her management skills as a mother of 9 children! 2 may be grown and gone, but there are still 7 at home. Add two parents, me, and Quilt Diva Julie who came for some visiting fun, and Chris had a very full house for a few days. Not to mention all the neighbors and other visitors that are constantly coming in and out and across her threshold, I'm thinking she should have simply installed a revolving door in her front hall, or maybe one of those "auto open" "auto close" doors like you find in front of Target!! *LOL*

An extra bit of side-fun yesterday....During lunch time for the workshop, Chris and I ran to subway..to split a footlong (turkey on whole wheat with the works! YUMMY!) and there in the parkinglot was GOODWILL!! Oh yes...yellow tags were all 99 cents! We did quite a bit of damage on shirts and pajama pants to be recycled into quilts. Wahooo!

Chris, I am amazed at all you get done almost so effortlessly, and am so blessed to consider you as a friend! Thank you for your hospitality!

And Quilt Diva Julie, it was a real treat to spend two evenings and all the time in between that we could talking quilts (what else?!) and getting to know you in person after having known you for so many years through our online quilting ties :c)

I have a fun fun fun video to share with you of Diane at her treadle at Tuesday's Sister's Choice workshop!



DianeTNtreadle.MOV

Diane, it was so great to meet YOU after these many years too!

Diane was wearing a "Quilt Green" t-shirt..with a treadle machine on it. She sews by people-power exclusively. She also spent time going over my hand crank machine and tuning him up for me so I can be people-powered too. I really REALLY want to do this, and watching her treadling away has me all fired up to get my treadles in working order too. Thanks Diane!

And if you are treadle-intrigued, Here is a link Diane sent me of her friend ANNIE doing free motion quilting on a treadle machine....WOW!!!

I love to consider that there has been machine quilting as long as there have been machines, but I don't think anyone has made treadle quilting into as much of an art form as Annie has.

I got an email from Lucy saying that our articles are out in the latest Quiltmania Magazine!! Congrats Lucy!! I need to find where I can get my hands on a copy of the issue.

And a little fore-warning for those who have subscribed to Irish Quilting Magazine, there is an article amd more coming up in a future issue!

I'm in Pelham AL now, drove down here last night and was met by Terry, who showed up with the most GORGEOUS gift basket!! I tell you, I am overwhelmed with the open arms and the gifts and comforts that are shown me everywhere I turn. You give me far more than I can ever hope to return and I am so blessed to be on this road with you all!

I don't have to speak until tonight, so today has an errands list for me, which is always fun in a city I've never been in before. I'm off to the gym that the hotel gives access to (gotta work off all the quilter's goodies!) and then find a place for an oil change, and tire rotation. Then off to find ANOTHER place to find out and fix why I don't have a passenger front side door speaker working. I've got one sided music in my car, and that doesn't make for a happy traveling quilter.

I've got a ton of bookwork to do which I can do with my laptop in the hotel, and just use today as a "down day" to get ready for the rest of the week.