Golden Triangle Quilters of Beaumont, TX!

It was a whirlwind tour to Southeast Texas, but we crammed it full of everything any quilter could want! Mona picked me up at the airport, meeting me down at baggage claim, waving a "bricks and stepping stones" quilt top she had made out of recycled clothing as her FLAG to get my attention. The woman is a trooper! She even brought a collapsible cart thing so we could load up the big duffels of quilts and get everything to her car. I tell you what, the first time we stepped OUT of the airport and into the parking garage, I knew what HOT really meant!

The heat from the previous week in Kansas City did little to "acclimate" me!

With the A/C in the car on full blast, she said "There is a quilt shop 3 miles from here, do you want to go?!" Well.....YES! of course!

I was looking for more english paper piecing hexagons. I was also looking for more roxanne quilting needles, size 9, and the shop had neither :c( But I did find some more YLI quilting thread, this time in PINK! And I snatched that up for my quilting thread collection. What can I say...I might never use that color, but it's good to have on hand?

I did end up a couple nights later just getting online and ordering both the needles and the paper hexagons and I'm set. They should be here in a couple days.


We tipped the scales at the noon guild meeting, pulling people in from Louisiana and Houston....I think the count was something like 141+ but I might be off a bit. All I know is that we had standing room only until more chairs were brought out. This made me one nervous nelly!! But there is one thing I've learned...when you feel like you are going to have a nervous breakdown...talk about the quilts...show them the quilts..get them to ask questions, and it all goes okay :c)

Thursday was the busy day as we also had an evening meeting. Even the evening meeting was busier than usual, and that made me feel really great that so many people came out to support the guild!

One of the fun things I did.....I had gone through my collection of old magazines recently as DH had put me up some new shelves. Not sure what I was looking for, but I came upon THIS:



This was a June 1983 issue of QUILT magazine! I brought this issue with me, and showed it to the ladies, saying "You've come a long way, baby!" And asked if there was anyone in the room who was in this picture? One of the gals in the front row where I was standing said "WE ARE THOSE LADIES!!" This was 27 years later. And they are still active in the guild, still beautiful as ever. WHAT FUN to pass that issue around and have them remember some who have passed on, some who've moved away, and those who are still here.

This is what I mean about quilting being a lifestyle choice. Not just a hobby. Our lives are woven through our quilts and our relationships with each other are so important. I can't imagine any place I'd rather be than surrounded by quilters who "Get me".

Of course, the highlight of my trip was to get to spend time with Bonnie Minor of Naptime News. She has always been such a great email friend, I knew she would just be fabulous in person, and she did not disappoint! I feel like we've been friends forever, and her positive upbeat spirit is just infectious!



Friday, we packed the classroom for a Crumbs workshop! It is so hilarious, to see people come with their scraps all organized into nice little containers, and by the time we've sewn for an hour, they have scrap salad EVERYWHERE! Lots of stretching and growing and out of the box! Look at Denise Green's adorable little project! She had this all together by the end of the day!



And I might be wrong on the name, but I think this is Chris...oh please correct me if I am wrong! I get good with faces, but names don't stick so well when you go from town to town to town like a vagrant the way I do!



These were Winnie's blocks. I just love how she mixed the brights with that very traditional brown floral! FUN!!

Saturday we filled up the day with a My Blue Heaven workshop! of course, we had some batik heavens, and red heavens, and green heavens, and plaid heavens. It was just heaven all the way around! I really like this class because I get to teach how I use the easy angle ruler and the companion angle ruler in all my scrap quilting.

It's really hard to get a good pic when you are talking...and the faces I'm making are less than attractive! LOL!!! and you can see I had my sweater over my sleeveless blouse...the A/C was running overtime!



Now you see them now you don't...fastest hands in Texas! *LOL*!!



My thanks to Bonnie Minor who said I could steal any of the pics she uploaded to her facebook :c) I couldn't have posted these without her! And my thanks to the Golden Triangle Quilt Guild for inviting me to come play! I hope it isn't too long until we cross paths again!