Stringing Up A Storm!

First off....the "What's On YOUR Bed?!" Linky Party now has over 75 fantabulous quilters showing just what is on their bed quilt-wise --- you have to go check it out!

Man, this turned out more fun than I expected!

Wanna share what's on your bed?

Write your post, upload those pics to your blog, and come link up ---What a great way to spring clean and change the quilt on the bed and share and show it of with all of us! Thank you to all those who have played along with me...they are ALL so gorgeous!

Yesterday started off with an explosion of strings for the Ninigret Quilters in Westerly, Rhode Island! And they were anxiously awaiting our arrival when we showed up about 8:20am –the doors of the church building were still locked, but that didn’t stop anyone from piling all their stuff ((And you know we quilters are ALL ABOUT OUR STUFF!!)) in the courtyard just waiting to get in and set up and get sewing! We were ready for a Basket-weave Strings workshop!

It is so NICE to have an extended spring ---because what is just blooming here with wild abandon has already FINISHED in North Carolina --- so here I am in Rhode Island enjoying HUGE hedges of forsythia just bursting to overflowing with radiant masses of yellow everywhere you turn. The daffodils and jonquils and even hyacinths are so happy with the spring weather and are blooming brightly showing off their colors --- oh I love the smell of hyacinths! And blooming trees are everywhere, much to the dismay of my allergy afflicted sticky itchy eyeballs.

See these buckets and bins of fabric? How fun is this? Oh, the possibilities ----the sheer variety of fabrics that were brought --- dug up from DEEP STASH ((The term I love for the “golden oldies” who have not seen the light of day since 1970-1980-1990-something!))

Along with DEEP STASH STRINGS, came boxes full of the ends of left over “strata-panels” from previous quilting projects --- what to DO with this stuff? USE IT of course!

Laundry baskets are great for an assortment of strippy strings –room to dig and shuffle, and walls to contain! This basket holds a variety of purples, neutrals, greys and a bit of yellowy green --- it’s going to be yummy!

How about a container full of the tail ends of a long-ago Thimbleberries Phase? Absolutely!

We had quilts of many flavors going on and we all had a great time --- you should hear the stories these ladies tell!

This is Barbara ---her wit and sense of humor had me rolling all day! She is working with blacks and a variety of novelties to make a donation snuggle quilt ----

Her side-kick Rose ((Or would that be partner in quilt-crime?!)) also kept us entertained – what talented ladies! I love the fashion statement with the wearing-of-the-strings! Lord knows they didn’t need to take this class, they could quilt circles around me ---but you know what? Sometimes taking the class is more about spending the time with each other and the other ladies in the group, and what we learn one from another in the course of just BEING THERE --- than what the class is actually about!

But let me tell you, it’s a good thing these ladies were off at a table by themselves or no one else would have gotten ANYTHING done – LOL! ((Just teasing, ladies! What a fun day!))

I hope you get the feel for how our day went by the photos below! I took MORE photos than this, but when I went to upload, I got error on several of them? What’s that about?

As always, I love the variety, and the stories that come with each remembered piece of fabric ---but get this---there was NO Millennium fabric to be found today! Maybe that’s a GOOD thing??

		Basket-Weave Strings, Westerly, RI 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Did you catch the leader/ender bowties that are being worked in in between string blocks? Those belong to Elvia --- aren’t they great?!

Thank you so much Ninigret Quilters! It’s been a very memorable trip and I hope to visit with you again some day!

Today is our big day to head to MQX in Providence and see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into ---then this evening I’m giving a lecture for the Quilters by the Sea in Portsmouth – another new place for me to discover – I can hardly wait to soak it all in!

Have a great Thursday, everyone!