A bit of Antiquing Fun!

I antiqued yesterday on my way home from dropping Dad at the airport in Greensboro!

The Antique Market Place is a large facility right off I-40 and most of the time I am in that area It is too early in the morning as I am on my way TO the airport to fly out….or too late, when I fly back in.

Not to mention sometimes wandering an antique mall is something one wants to do when they can take their own time, stop and take as many photos as they want --- hold, fondle, read labels, ponder and just enjoy themselves without the hindrance of anyone else around.

I love solo antique mall time – and so I was glad to get it yesterday in the middle of a Saturday afternoon.

Sometimes it isn’t easy to spot a treasure in a place crammed with booths and crowded with look-n-seers.

I was hit head on as I entered with the strains of Christmas music filling the air, Christmas trees set up and vintage ornaments decorating the entire place including many of the booths.

Down one aisle I spotted this quilt folded and tucked on the bottom shelf of a wicker table.

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Cyber Monday Blow Out!!

I know it’s not Monday yet, but we are getting a good early start on offering you some awesome deals!

Besides, we don’t want Cyber Monday posts interfering with our Monday Mystery LInk-Up that happens tomorrow – so let’s do this thing early and get it out of the way!

I have marked EVERY ITEM including all books, and my seam guide rulers at 20% off of retail!

This means that I spent a huge amount of time last night redoing my book store just for this sale!

You won’t want to miss the deals ---

For instance, MORE Adventures with Leaders & Enders lists for $27.95 and you will find it on my website for $22.36!

EVERYTHING has been dropped 20% off retail!

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Heartfelt Goodbyes, Antique Malls and 5 minute Power Purge!

It’s hard to say good bye to family and send them back clear across the country.

It should be easier in this day and age of air travel ((Even if air travel is a pain in the (*&@#$ and no fun for the traveler!)) but it just isn’t.

However did folks do it 150 years ago where moving coast to coast likely meant never seeing or hugging loved ones ever again?

Before the phone was invented ((not to mention text messages and internet!)) folks had to rely on letters and pony express to receive word of any kind.

How did they survive?

I think of this and realize how lucky we are to be able to communicate the way we do.

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Surviving Black Friday!

This is how I have survived Black Friday!

Feet up in my comfy binding chair, enjoying copious amounts of chick flick movies in the company of my dad.

Barbara Streisand in Guilt Trip?  SO FUNNY!

And so poignant as well….makes me think of not only being the mother of adult children ((And still wanting to care for them, because after all I AM their mother!))

And also what it’s like to be the adult middle aged daughter of a father who feels the same way and has ideas for how I should do this, or do that or think this way.

Once you are a child, you are always a child no matter how old you get, and once you are a parent –you will still think you can parent that child as if they are still 12 years old --

It’s a never ending cycle!

And I take it all in and I smile.

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Happy Thanksgiving 2014!

Family is slowly rising ---

Sadie and I have already been for a nice long walk --

Yesterday’s rain has passed on through and left us with sunshine and low hanging fog this morning – SO beautiful!

The fog view changes every few minutes – it’s a moving, living entity ---clinging to the ridges and crevaces  as the morning sun threatens to burn it off.

I love my mountains!

Jason arrived last evening, and Jeff will arrive this morning – he was too tired after getting off work last evening to make a night drive up the mountain, and that’s just fine.

He’s on his way and should be here soon.

You will most likely find me in the kitchen for most of today – I’m so excited!  10 for Thanksgiving!

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IKEA, Crockpots & Mountain Sunsets!

Absolutely EVERY LAST PIECE of IKEA furniture that we picked up 2 weeks ago has been aseembled ---there were no missing parts, or extra parts!

And nothing makes me quite so happy has a bed with a headboard and footboard!

With last year's Celtic Solstice mystery on top!

This is the upstairs guest room --

When we first bought the cabin there were 2 twin beds and a youth bed up here.  The rooms are large!

But when we’ve had folks visiting, it has been couples who don’t necessarily want to be put in two small twin beds ---and last summer we put those two twins together and they became a King for my neice and nephew.

The bed post you see in the lower right corner is another twin – Their daughter stays with them as the guest room with the Queen bed, downstairs is usually occupied by my brother in law and his wife.

3 bedrooms, and a house full of guests – how else can we handle this?

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Meanwhile on the Mountain…

TWO MORE DAYS! 

Less than 48 hours from now our Grand Illusion Mystery will be up and running!

I wanted to remind everyone of the Grand Illusion Mystery TAB at the top of the blog.

All of the links to all the parts, and the Mystery Monday Link-Ups will be found there and will stay there until retirement.

Please, before sending an email with a question, or asking questions on our Open Studio Group or on facebook, or even a personal message on facebook with a question about the mystery --- please read the files.  All the info is there.  Go through it – often.

There is a lot of this going on here at Quilt Villa this weekend:

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Galaxy-Gram! While Daddy Naps

I know I said I would only be doing hand work this week but while Das took a nap I moved some furniture around in the sewing nook area at the cabin.

The machine had previously faced a wall and that can get rather boring.

There is a nice big TV in the family room side of the basement and I realized that if I turned this around I could entertain myself visually while sewing.

I gave it a test run for just a bit, sewing on some string spider web units while I could get away with it!  Ha!

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Tales of Family Quilts --

The leaves are long gone now up on top of the mountain, and where I couldn’t see the mountains for the leaves on the trees in the summer time – I can now look all around me, and really recognize that the cabin does in fact exist on a ridge and there are mountains in every direction in the distance.

Silent, vast views – standing like sentinels, guarding this precious place I have learned to call home, just as much as my full time home.

Dad and I arrived last night close to 10pm and there was much unloading and putting away of groceries, warming up the cabin by kicking up the flames in the gas fire places, upping the temperature  of the water heater and doing all of those “coming back after a long time away” chores before we could settle in.

Open the blinds.

Plug in the Keurig.

Feed the deer.

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Galaxy-Gram! Stuck in a Line!

Walmart on the Monday before a major holiday?

I should have known better!

At the same time, this was the best I could do today with all else that was on the to do list.

As soon as this Loot is loaded into the car, I am on my way to the airport to pick up my dad. 

I hope he doesn't reach Greensboro before I do - he has already sent a text saying his plane had boarded in Dulles!

At least it isn't a repeat of last year's fiasco when I ended up with a flat tire on the way to the airport to pick him up.

We will grab a bite to dinner on our way to the mountains, and our Thanksgiving week at the cabin will be officially underway!

I will catch you from there!

Have a great Monday evening, everyone!

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5 Min Power Purge 11/24/2014

This picture happened yesterday.

And I am in a hurry right now to post this because I have a doc check up that I forgot about ---until my alarm on my calendar on the phone went off 5 minutes ago!

I called them – I was bad, I ate a tangerine…I was supposed to be fasting!  They said come anyway --- ((Dang, I hoped I could reschedule!))

SO –my 5 minutes of power purging happened yesterday on the top of my cutting table.

I quilted two quilts before leaving for Indiana, and I had remnants from backing fabric to slice down and put away.

Cutting the leftovers into strips makes them INSTANTLY usable.  Saving them in a box in odd sizes and piece and parts for another day --- does that other day ever come around?

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Three Winners & Three Recipes!!

It’s drawing time!

I’m very excited for my winners on my giveaway, especially because they gave something back in return!

I wanted to do something different, and so I asked each entrant to please leave a favorite family holiday recipe in the comments section.

I wasn’t sure how many folks would do it, because it does take time to write it all down, or even to copy/paste it in the comments box, but you know what?  678 of you came through and provided us with a wealth of yumminess! 

I thank you for participating in the fun and I hope there are recipes that YOU discover that you just have to try too!

To locate the recipes, click the recipes tab at the top of the blog.  The very first entry will link you to the original post.  You’ll find them all in the COMMENTS section until I find a better way to preserve them!

Let’s fire up the random number generator:

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Quilt-Cam 11/23/2014 Sunday AFTERNOON Edition!

Welcome to the Sunday Afternoon Edition of Quilt-Cam!

I can’t even remember the last time I was home on a Sunday and able to enjoy Quilt-Cam with those readers who are in our European time zones so they could join in LIVE.

Time zones are just a pain in the neck, aren’t they?  No matter WHEN I air Quilt-Cam we will be leaving out half of the globe because they are either sleeping or it is the wrong time of day/night for them to join in.

And this is when I refer everyone back to the Quilt-Cam tab at the top of the blog…they are ALL there, in reverse order, most recent at the top!

If you view Quilt-Cam through the tab instead of just on YouTube you actually get MORE – because the post where the feed is embedded will show and tell you more background and photos about what I’m working on, or whose studio space I’m featuring or other photos and comments by readers.

That’s what the Quilt-Cab tab is for..so use it and use it often!

This photo comes from Julianne who writes:

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Show & Share in Lafayette, Indiana!

The best of the best for me is getting an opportunity to see how YOU interpret my designs, making them your own!

Your fabrics, your colors, your own block sizes!

Here we have two Tumelo Trail quilts from Scraps & Shirttails II, each differently beautiful in their own way.

The one on the left, larger blocks with each block from one color family and white, solid white sashings, no cornerstones..a totally modern uptake on a traditional design!

The one on the right, such a great job using up scraps and playing with the blocks and pieces as she saw fit.  I love them both, each reflecting the personality and the scrap stash of the makers!

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Planes, Turkeys, Naps, IKEA & 5 Min. Power Purge!

How do you list your day in a one liner?

I just did in the title of this post!

If you ever wondered what Indianapolis was like from the inside of a 5am shuttle in November…this is it!

The miracle is, I MADE IT!  I almost didn’t!

And let me tell you, I sure got mumbles and grumbles and finger pointing and even a bit of twittering laughter when I pushed the heavily laden hotel baggage cart to the hotel door where the shuttle was waiting just beyond, loaded with passengers.

EVERYONE was only partially awake, and headed off to far away places, perhaps on vacation, or returning from a business work week away, or heading back to where their roots are to spend a week home with family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday.

As for me….all I could think about was getting to the airport, finding a skycap to help me get 100 lbs of quilts to the ticket counter and GETTING HOME!

If the airport in Indianapolis was crazed with travelers at 5:30am, you should have seen Atlanta at 8:30am!

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My Blue Heaven Day in Lafayette, IN!

It was a cool and crisp sunny 11 degrees outside as cars and vans, suvs and pickup trucks poured into the parking lot of Holy Trinity Lutheran church where our workshops with the Common Threads Quilt Guild of Lafayette, Indiana was being held.

It’s not easy to find a large space equipped with enough outlets and room for 48 quilters to spread out….this was PERFECT!

Of course, there are some rules….with 48 machines running, it is imperative to keep irons on different circuits and spread around the perimeter of the room so that we don’t trip anything and put the entire room into no-power distress!

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Hello from Indiana!!

What a whirlwind of activity has been going on here!

the quilters of the Common Threads Quilt Guild in Lafayette are sure showing me a good time!

We’ve had these dates on my calendar for at least 3 years and they have played it up and promoted and have taken care of every detail behind the scenes to make this the most fun event for everyone attending.

Even their facebook page has gotten into the spirit thanks to the silly giggliness of guild member Debra who has posted things in a count down fashion with images like this:

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100 Blocks, Vol 10 BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY!!

***NOTE!***  This drawing has ENDED!

However, this post keeps on giving!  There are nearly 700 favorite holiday recipes posted in the comments section below.  Please give it a browse through -- you just might find something you have to make!

Thank you to my readers for providing such yummy inspiration for the kitchen!


100 blocks.

10 VOLUMES of 100 blocks.

That’s 1,000 blocks!!!!!

That’s also 1,000 blocks that will work with each other in many combinations because they all finish at 12”.

Is this something to be excited about?

Oh yes!!

Welcome to my blog for this stop on Quiltmaker’s Blog Hop for 100 Blocks, vol 10.  This is my 9th consecutive volume, and I'm always so jazzed to be included.

Hopefully you have been visiting all of the sites featured, and discovering new people, new places, new blogs from designers you weren't familiar with before, as well as visiting some of your favorites.

What?  You haven’t been?  Check out Quiltmaker’s blog Quilty Pleasures and see just what is up!

I’m really excited to present to you my block, Something Blue!

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Hello from Lafayette, Indiana!

This is my evening!

About to go on!

So excited to be here with the Common Threads Quilters!

Baby, it's cold outside but hearts are warm in Lafayette, home if Purdue University!

Go Boilermakers!

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Some Travel Day Show & Share!

I am Indiana Bound!
 
I am bundled up like no-bodies business, baby it’s COLD OUTSIDE in Indiana!
 
I’ll be meeting with the Common Threads Quilters of Lafayette, doing a lecture presentation tonight, and two days of workshops!
 
Smith Mountain Morning workshop is on Thursday, followed by My Blue Heaven on Friday!  Saturday morning early I return home so it will be a whirlwind of quilty activity while I am there.
 
I love it when you send me photos of quilts you’ve made, and I thought this morning while I travel would be a good time for me to share what Stephen from London sent in. 
 
Remember when I showed his patchwork curtains HERE?
 
I don’t know about you, but I think they are awesome enough to stop calling them CURTAINS and START calling them WINDOW TREATMENTS!

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Purging, Organizing, Rehoming. and Where Did THAT Come From??

Kitchen Tool Bouquet.

Oh how I love thee!

I love thee for thy boundless convenience.

Thou decoratest my kitchen with thy vintage charm!

Thou dost masterfully keep my drawer free from utensil clutter!

Thou keepest my necessary tools so close at hand, a helpmate to keeping my family fed.

Thou art a boon to my homemakerness!

But alas, woe unto thee, oh treasured kitchen companion.

Thou also art a great collector of dust and grease and grime due to thy close proximity to the burners of electric fire on my modern cook top.

Forsooth!  Thou art tall and portly and there within hidest many treasures of shorter stature!

Namely….what petite tools of great worth art hiding down in thy deepest depths?

We shall PURGE thee forthwith and findeth out!

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Keep the Kids Quilting!

This photo is from last Saturday’s class in Wilkesboro, North Carolina!

Here I am with Candy and her 13 year old daughter Rickylee.

I really enjoy having young quilters in my classes.

Let me tell you, it is often easier to get a new quilter sewing right and sewing better and experiencing great results than trying to get a long time stuck-in-bad-habits quilter to change his or her ways!

“I’ve always done it that way!”

“It’s close enough”

“So and so other instructor taught us THIS way…”

I’m not saying my way is the only way, and I know that unlearning ways of doing things and relearning another way is just hard for some of us.

But give me a NEW quilter and things happen!  They are eager to learn, ready to listen, anxious to try, and they aren’t second guessing what the teacher is saying, believing they have a better way around things.

To put it simply….young or old, new quilters TRUST ME!

During quilt cam last night Candy sent a photo of how far Rickylee has come on her Pineapple Blossom quilt since Saturday’s class:

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Quilt-Cam 11/17/14

It’s Quilt-Cam Time!

Yay!  I know it was short notice but we’ve got to get it in here when we can fit it in here…So here we are!

If you are catching this in the archives --- we welcome you too!  That’s what archives are for, right?

This photo is of Ria’s set up – she sent this photo showing her progress on HER Carolina Chain quilt….vintage Singer, and gorgeous quilts in the background.  The blue one has lovely hand quilting on it!

She writes:

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5 Minute Power Purge! 11/17/2014

Before I share with you today’s Power Purge, I want everyone to see that THERE IS Quilt-Cam tonight at 9pm EST!

I made this decision this morning after realizing that my flight Wednesday morning has me leaving the house at 4:30 am to run to the airport….that means an EARLY bed time ((Isn’t it so much easier to do when it gets dark earlier at night?))

And when I get back on Saturday we’ll be smack in the middle of a weekend…Monday my dad comes from Arizona and Thanksgiving week will be upon us.

So tonight it is!

Grab a project, come back to the blog at 9pm EST tonight and watch for the Quilt-Cam post to publish.  The feed will be embedded in that post, NOT on the Quilt-Cam tab.  I can’t archive it until the video is published on Youtube…so it’s live on the page first, then I archive it after under the Quilt-Cam tab….get it? Got it!

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Ship Shape Bingo!

We played BINGO for high stakes on the high seas!

Our quilt related activities were not limited just to the 3 class days we were at sea.

In the evening we had MORE mini classes, and open sew!

After returning to the ship from our ports of call we had games, presentations, a lovely lecture and slide show by Pam Holland, and of course…BINGO!

ON our travel day back from Cozumel to Galveston the Bingo ladies were deep in concentration, eager to win one of 3 prizes.

You may notice that the cards say International Quilt Festival of Ireland on them.  These are left from the 2 years of the Festival, and using them on our cruise makes perfect sense!

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100 Miles to IKEA….

This afternoon was rescheduled.

Where I had planned to make up for lost sewing time by chaining myself to the sewing nook at the cabin all day – I ended up cutting my day short and headed down from the mountain around 3pm---

One of the doors we bought on Friday was damaged by a forklift, and needed to be exchanged.

This is the BAD thing about IKEA.  It’s 70 miles from my house …and 100 miles from the cabin, making returning anything or making exchanges a daunting prospect.

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Hands of the Quilter–Wilkes County, NC!

I am totally head over heels with photos that contain hard working hands.

Hands that have spent so much time living.

Hands that are intent on what they are doing.

Hands that give, love, comfort, fix, cook, clean, all those things that hands do…..and of course…

Hands that QUILT.

Hands that PLAY!

Our workshop yesterday in Wilkesboro, NC with the Wilkes County Quilters was such a great day.  These are my home town girls!

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Galaxy-Gram! Stitching Away in Wilkesboro!

Pineapple blossom class is well underway in Wilkesboro, North Carolina!

I'm having a great time meeting local quilters who reside very close to where my cabin is!

I have already inquired as to whether the guild has retreats trees and where..... Sneaky grin!

It's a cold, crisp day here near the Blue Ridge Mountains, it was 25 degrees when I arrived but the sun is shining, the sky is blue and we are inside sewing all of the scraps.

Our youngest quilter is the sweet 13 years old and she is sewing circles around us all!

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Cruisin to Cozamel!

Our ship, Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas was completely DWARFED by the Oasis of the Seas, parked right next door!

In fact, it was kind of a weird thing, when awakening – toddling out of bed and to the balcony blinds…throwing them open – only to see a guy on a balcony right across from us sitting there drinking his morning coffee and reading the newspaper!

The last time I was this close to the Oasis was three years ago, on my first cruise teaching for Sew Many Places.  We were in Nassau, Bahamas and we were dwarfed by them THEN too!

How fun to read back to that post from September, 2011 and relive it!  Click HERE to view!

This morning we needed to be off the ship early ---

This day was going to be filled full of Adventure….

Jungle Buggy Style!

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….And She Drove All the Way Home!

I should be back up at Quilt Villa with this sweet girl!

This was so funny, I  had my back to Sadie, trying to connect the ipod to Pandora on bluetooth so that I could have music while I sewed in the basement….and I turned around..and she had claimed my comfy chair!

She has NEVER done that…..but I guess she had enough of being on her bed on the cold floor and moved up to warmer more comfy places.

Oh Sadie, you steal my heart…..and now my CHAIR!

Beware though, when I return to the cabin tomorrow afternoon after my Wilkesboro workshop – that chair WILL be mine for adding that next hexie section on to the on-going and eternal hexie project!

I did get some sewing in this morning up to this afternoon when I headed out a bit after 3pm:

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Turkeys on the Mountain!

It’s a gorgeous but very crisp November Friday up on Buck Mountain!

It was 25 degrees when I took Sadie for her morning walk.  Brrrrr!

We arrived late last night after making a pilgrimage to IKEA for things we need for the cabin, both for Thanksgiving coming up – and for the sewing area here and at home.

It was a frenzy of packing yesterday.  The plan was to Go the 70+ miles to IKEA in Charlotte, which is the wrong direction from the cabin…..and then triangulate ourselves back and drive the 100 miles to the cabin with our haul.  And haul we did!

IKEA is one of those things you just have to experience at least once in your life time.  A lot of it I can leave behind, but some things are just way too good to pass up…

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5 Minute Power Purge, 11/13/2014

This is the cute 1920s vanity that I picked up at a yard sale along with a matching dresser in Boise Idaho in 1980-something.  It was $50.00 for the set and it about broke the bank when I paid that much for them..but I love them!

The matching stool was long gone, and this little spindle back chair was found at the farm that the Hubster grew up on --- tucked away in a shed or a barn somewhere and I snagged it then.

My house doesn’t look cluttered from the outside of things.  Everything stays pretty nice….

Until you open up the drawers!

Is it that way in your life too?  Don’t judge that closet by the closed door!  You might have an avalanche on your head if you open it too quickly.

((Contents have surely shifted during take off and landing!!))

On my days home I am STRIVING  ((I won’t say promising, we know that life gets in the way sometimes ---)) to spend a mere 5 minutes lightening my load. 

Today it was the drawers in this sweet little vanity.  Take a look:

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One Week Ago Today–Belize!

It was a rainy drizzly tropical day in Belize.

A day that those who live in rain-prone areas like Ireland or England would call “Soft.”  The rain didn’t pound, but it was there.

But our tour was going anyway, and we were not about to let a little liquid sunshine stop our day to explore!

This was the day we had chosen to take a river excursion by boat ---finally ending up at the Mayan ruins of Altun Ha.

I have to admit, there were several things about Belize that I didn’t know.  I didn’t even know where to locate it on a map before this trip.  I thought it was out there….in the ocean somewhere.  I knew that it was a hot spot for scuba diving because I remember my uncle Fred telling me about it years and years ago.

I thought it was an island!

It is not! 

Belize is the only country in Central America whose official language is English, though Belizean Creole (Kriol) and Spanish are also commonly spoken. Belize is bordered on the north by Mexico, to the south and west by Guatemala, and to the east by the Caribbean Sea.

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Quilt-Cam 11/12/2014

This is Joy Miller’s Baby ---Poor guy!  Doesn’t he look neglected??

He reminds me so much of my Buddy, the golden we lost a few years back.  He lived a good long life, and oh how we loved him so!

He was always in the midst of my fabric chaos, just as this guy is!

Joy writes:

Thinking of you today! Sitting and deboning a stack of shirts. My son lost 100 pounds and pulled out shirts to donate. I grabbed the cotton and flannel ones! Too fun! My dog is enjoying the process.

I’ve got a hankering to pull out the scrap strips from recycled clothing as well and put it to good use…

Remember me mentioning that Auntie Bonnie has a baby quilt to make?  I have a nephew on the way, making his debut in January!

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5 Min Power Purge–11/12/14

I showed you the before.

I’m about to show you the after!

But first I need to admit something….it’s almost impossible to stop at only 5 minutes!

It took me 5 minutes to read the labels and check expiration dates on old prescription medications, some dating back to 2002!

I took the safe route and flushed those ---I didn’t want to risk just tossing them and having them get into the wrong hands.

Later on in the day, after I had gotten back from a post-office-run–of-no-avail since I had FORGOT that it was not only a national mostly global holiday but that the post office and banks were closed…I took another 5 minute break.

After dinner I took ANOTHER break…and a longer one.  Mostly because the TV was blaring in the living room and I didn’t want anything to do with it.

I purged and purged and purged!

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Wednesday in Roatan, Honduras!

Wednesday morning ---up early as the sun began to rise over the horizon….

LAND!  After being at sea since Sunday afternoon, it was so nice to see LAND on Wednesday!

Here we are sailing into Roatan, Honduras – hitting somewhere I’d never been before.  Central America!

Located near the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea (second largest worldwide after Australia's Great Barrier Reef), Roatan has become an important cruise ship and scuba diving destination in Honduras.

I had no idea what adventures would befall us this day…all I knew is that after two very bumpy churning days at sea, I was ready to disembark and go exploring!

**We interrupt this program here to remind EVERYONE that there IS Quilt-Cam tonight at 9pm EST!!  Bring that project, set that alarm, schedule the DVR to record everything else and come join me here on the blog for some fun sewing!**

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Quilting At Sea!

Before I go into our class fun and photos, I want to take a moment to recognize November 11th as Veteran’s Day.

To those who have had Fathers, Grandfathers, Great-Grandfathers, Nephews, Sons, Daughters, Grandmothers, Mothers,Nieces, Sisters & Brothers, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and friends in service of Freedom, wherever you are from – These blocks are for you!

Actually, they were made by one of our cruisers who is taking her brother’s BDU’s and making him a Veterans quilt! Awesome with ALL the sauce!

It was not going to be done by today, but hopefully she got some time to work on it today, and I think it is such a wonderful way to capture the memory of time given in the service of our country and the hope and longing for freedom for generations to come.

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Time Out to De-Clutter! 5 Min Power Purge!

I know you are expecting more cruise stuff this morning.

I’ve decided to post that this evening….but since I am home…there is something I really need to do.

I’ve been on the road for nearly 3 weeks….living out of two suitcases.

I had limited amount of space in my cabin on the ship, with a limited amount of THINGS. 

And you know what?  I got on just fine!

It seems that I go through the year obtaining ---mostly fabric and quilting stuff, but also things like souvenir Tshirts, tote bags! Oh the tote bags!

((They might be good for SOMETHING at some point so I keep them…..I’m buried in them!))

It seems when I get home that work stuff still takes precedence.  I even have house cleaners come twice a month to help me with keeping bathrooms clean, floors washed, etc ---heaven knows that there is enough work to catch up on when I get home before flying out again that I don’t have time to do more than the basics.

But there is STUFF.  LURKING.

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All the Smiling Faces!

This was the view as we left the Galveston pier last Sunday, Nov 2nd for a week long quilting and cruising extravaganda aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas!

There was no way to know ahead of time just what would happen during our time at sea – 96 quilters and 6 instructors plus the wonderful bobbin boys and crew from Citrus Sew & Vac who provided us with brand spanking new Janome Horizon machines ----

We were excited!

Excited to meet NEW friends, to try new things, to see new places!

Many were excited to be on holiday with quilting friends they had met on other excursions and hadn’t seen for a year or more because they live far far away from each other.

Some brought friends, some brought sisters, some brought mothers, and some even brought husbands along to carry all the luggage!

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Studio Day 8! Meet Diane!

Basements are the bomb!
 
I’ve lived places where there were no basements.  Our house in Texas, and our house in South Carolina could not have basements because of the water tables and the land.
 
But when we moved to North Carolina, and found there ARE basements, that became my #1 requirement for the right house to buy.  I wanted my studio DOWN.  I wanted to be able to close it off from the rest of the house.
 
I wanted to hermit myself in a place that felt separate from the house – and I think that Diane understands just what I mean!

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Studio Day 7! Meet Terri!

Meet Terri, a military wife in Florida who has moved with her studio and stash so many times she can barely count them!
 
She has learned the meaning of the words “If it fits, it ships!” because she has moved at least every couple of years during the time she has been married.
 
And she has kept the guy!
 
She writes:

 
Hi Bonnie
Well, I'm not a great photographer, but here are pics of my studio.  I can resend them if I've shrunk them too much.
 
We've moved my "sewing stuff" to 10 homes across 7 states and one foreign country during the past 25 years. 

I've had my sewing studio be the kitchen table, a closet under the stairs, the guest room, and in our last three homes I've been blessed to have a space fully my own!

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Sailing Home ---

Our cruise is ending!

I’m sure there will be sad goodbyes and lots of email addresses being exchanged and facebook friending going on.

Promises of staying in touch, and plans for retreating and meeting up when we can wherever we can!

And hopefully lots of “Let’s do the Grand Illuision Mystery together” chatter going on!

It feels weird writing these posts ahead, it’s like the cruise is already over and I haven’t even gotten on board yet!

But we all know that time flies too quickly.

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Studio Tour Day 6, Meet Debbie!

Today on our Quilter’s Studio Tour is Debbie from Mason, Michigan!

And I’m not sure who the cute little charcoal kitty is, but what a beautiful cat!

It’s been a lot of fun sharing photos from readers with you, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have!

Debbie writes:

Here are pictures of my fabric storage.  The antique barrister bookcases hold my smaller pieces all separated by color. 

The pink bucket holds strings -- time to make a quilt!

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Hello, Cozumel, Mexico!

Today we hit our last port of call, Colzumel!

The last time I was in Cozumel I had only been blogging about a year and a half.  You can catch that post from Dec 24, 2006 HERE. 

Who is that young slim woman with the long blonde hair and where has she gone?

And did you notice she was HAND QUILTING on that cruise?

It wasn’t a quilting cruise, but I made it one.  My small quilt traveled with me, a small wooden hoop and all the necessities and since I wasn’t teaching at this time..I enjoyed quiet afternoons in a corner of the ship just stitching away, listening to my music and watching the sea pass by the window.

I love cruising!

Only this time we have 96 other quilters, and 5 other instructors and I bet I haven’t slowed down to enjoy a bit of quiet stitching at all ---but yes, my hexies are with me!

Mayan Ruins at Tulum.

Beautiful sandy beaches!

Oh my!

You’ll have to wait to see what WE got up to, but how about checking in with our virtual family, The Williams’s and what THEY did on their visit to Cozumel!

Looks like they went Kayaking!

How funny----I really WOULD like to meet them in person, I bet we’d get along famously!

Tomorrow is our last day at Sea…all the way from Cozumel to Galveston.  During this time we will enjoy our last day as an Open Sew Day which I think is a great idea!  More time to visit, more time to make new friends, more time to stitch a bit, or wander around the ship a bit, or nap a bit, or pamper ourselves with massages ---or find the ice cream machine!

Catch you from Galveston!

Click Here to like our Quiltville Friends Page on Facebook for more fun!

Click Here to join our sister group, Quiltville's Open Studio on Facebook, a place to Sew, Share & Grow!!

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Studio Day 5, Meet Marlene!

Today up on deck we have MARLENE who hails from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada!

She has eagerly agreed to send me photos and share her sewing space with us.

Don’t you find it inspirational to see where others sew?  I know I do!

She writes:
 

Hi Bonnie.....love the idea of sewing room tours !!.....so here is mine.....it is the second bedroom in my little house and i have filled it to the brim !!.....my name is Marlene and i live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

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Hello, Belize City!

Today we spent the day exploring Belize!

Being a lover of history, I have it in my mind that we will spend this day touring something along the line of Mayan ruins.  I did the same thing in Cozumel the last time I was there, don’t want to repeat that tour but would like to do more exploring here.

From Wiki:

The history of Belize dates back thousands of years. The Maya civilization spread into the area of Belize between 1500 BCE to CE 1200 and flourished until about CE 1200.

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