Galaxy-Gram! Cathedral Stars and the Cypress Creek quilters!

It rained all day!

Not just a little bit of rain, but more like steady sheets and showers of rain.

But we didn't mind! 

We were inside with our machines and our fabric and our tools and our gadgets and all of our new friends, and we were having a ball making Cathedral Stars units.

It's what we do!

We don't have to explain it to anyone, it's who we are!

And we all get it, don't we?

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Oh, Sweet Darling Quilts!

After our fabulous lunch on the water at Chart House yesterday in Tampa –I was escorted to the haven of Lutz, Florida --

Home of Sweet Darling Quilts!

And a darling of a shop it is!

Great classroom space, groups that meet for workshops for quilting, or doing wool applique work, always friendly happy faces going in and out.

While some shops are huge and overwhelming, I felt right at home the moment I walked through Sweet Darling’s door.

You will find fabrics from a variety of genres from civil war to 1930s to Downton Abbey to brights and basics.

There is something for everyone!

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An Afternoon in Tampa! Let the Fun Begin!

If you saw this scene up on some silver screen, looking all other-worldly and other-timely ---what would you imagine would come riding out of the mist?

It was eerily foggy this morning – with temps below freezing.  The fog hung low to the ground, but a blue sky was doing its best to shine above, thanks to the help and efforts of a determined sun beginning to rise.

This was my view out of the window at one of the vacant gates at the airport in Greensboro as I waited to board my fight to Atlanta – the first stop on my trip to Tampa, Florida.

Camels could come riding out of that mist?  Or maybe ORKS from Lord of the Rings.  Or maybe knights on white horses?

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Quilts from 100 Blocks, Spring 2015! ((Give-Away!))

***Note!***  This Give-Away has Ended!  Congrats to our two lucky winners!

I love Give-Aways!

Don’t You?

Oh, the anticipation!

The dreaming!

The waiting!

The plotting!

The planning!

And this one is a good one, let me tell you!

I arrived home from the cabin after our Tuesday Snow-Day to find a package containing not one of these issues, but TWO!!

This is Quilts from Quiltmaker’s 100 blocks, the Spring 2015 edition, and let me tell you – it is cram packed with such goodies, you are going to want need a copy for yourself!

We all love the 100 blocks issues, but actually seeing what quilters do with the patterns from these issues takes them from BLOCK perspective to QUILT POSSIBILITIES!

Just look at this:

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Snow Day=Spider Web Sew Day!

**Notice** Before I go any further I want to let you know that there are 3 openings left on our October Cruise! 

If you were interested in coming and afraid it was sold out, please click the Cruise tab at the top of the blog for more info! I’d love to have you join us!

If you were hoping you’d get in to our Vegas retreat and found it full too quickly, this might be a better choice to fit your schedule!  Give it a look.  Come sail with me!

I was feeling a bit BLUE with all of the winter weather and snow dumping we've had lately here in North Central, North Carolina.

What is a girl to do when she is feeling blue?

Pull out a blue sewing machine and sew something sunshiny and bright!

This is Petula, my 1967 Wizard Citation.  Such sleek, fun lines!

Before leaving for Texas I had assembled the rows for my String Spider Web re-make, and the rows simply needed to be pinned together and stitched to assemble the quilt top.

But OH the pinning!

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Oh the Weather Outside…

This was my view first thing this morning from my bedroom window at the side yard.

EGAD!

While they really messed up the weather forecast for last Monday up at the cabin – they NAILED this one right on.

Yesterday afternoon temps were not that bad and I had no trouble getting the van up the driveway and the mail to the post office and back.

I had been reminded to please move the van back to the top of the drive by 6pm because bad weather was coming.

What bad weather?

In other words, I got busy, I fell asleep for a nap so I would be wide awake for Quilt-Cam, and then I got busy in the basement….

During Quilt-Cam I received a phone call – and I answered it because it was The Hubster.

“Did you move the van?”

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Quilt-Cam 2/25/2015

Bins of Scraps, Baskets of Scraps…too many scraps!

NEVER TOO MANY SCRAPS!

This is the bin I’m working out of tonight in an effort to increase my stash of tiny string blocks.

How tiny?  3” finished!

How many? I don’t know!

I’m just sewing up with plans on using them in a quilt somewhere down the road.

I even thought I could use them with a crumb-centered star like this:

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Sometimes Life Requires Fudging!

I had visitors yesterday!

Around 1pm, I heard an ATV side-by-side vehicle making its way up our road.

So did SADIE! 

It had been incredibly quiet all day because of the snow ---and when you hear the rumble of an ATV you just know someone is headed your way.

Sadie was perching her paws up on the window sill and whining with excitement as Rick, Mona and Beanie pulled up into our deep snow covered drive.

Now 6 inches of snow might not be deep for you, but for us – who usually just get “a dusting” and call it winter—this was the most snow fall I had seen up there, and it all happened over night on the sly, so it was a sight to behold and a force to be reckoned with.

The plan?  While Rick and the roads committee took care of treacherous spots on our mountain roads, Mona and Beanie were coming to visit with me for a few hours.

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SNOW is a Beautiful Four Letter Word!

I slept through a silent, soundless night and awoke to this!

This is the view from my bedroom window…HOLY Snow Globe, Quilt Girl!  This was not in the forecast!

I was supposed to leave the mountain today ---I have appointments and plans for the rest of the week before flying out on Friday.

Uhhhhh---I can’t get off the mountain!  Not in Shamu, and not in weather like this! 

The mountain roads are winding, untreated, and a bit treacherous.  There are drop offs with no guard rails.

And even if I could make it off our mountain, there is no way to make it up the hill at Pumpkin Run, the road that leads to the highway back home.

I have heard reports of traffic accidents and stalls on the interstates as it is.

Some friends are leaving on a cruise today – and they are stuck in a bad mess somewhere down I-77 between here and Charlotte.

Old Man Winter – you are really getting on my nerves!

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Just Four-Patchin’!

I have been deep in sewing mode with nothing much to share but MORE of the same blocks added to the design wall – it doesn’t look that much different, and I’m sure you can imagine it so instead – I want to share an email that I received with permission!

See this sweet thing sewing on a big girl Bernina??

Oh I love stories of Quilty Grandmas encouraging Quilty Granddaughters to get stitchin!!

If you have a young person, boy or girl, that shows any interest in what you are doing with fabric – please encourage them!  This is how seeds are planted.  This is how creativity is explored!

This is how we get kids off of the video games and ipads and ipods and away from the television.

This is how we get kids to know the joy and fulfillment of creating something useful and beautiful with their own hands.

This is how we teach them that it is fun to PLAY!

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Thaw, Baby–Thaw!

This is the view from the side of my porch through the trees.

I love seeing this ridge off to the west of me.  In the summer?  You wouldn’t even know that we are on a ridge with mountains all around – this will be completely obscured by the lush green of hardwoods in the summer.

Every season is so different up here – I love them all.

Well, okay – except for the past week of Ice and snow and continual temps below freezing that caused my fall, the pump house to freeze and pipes to break and all of that intermittent madness.

Now, I’ve heard that bad things come in threes –so guess what happened last night?

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From Frozen to Hot Water!

This is what I woke up to this morning.

I know it looks awful, but temps were on the rise and that is what was causing the fog – Where are my mountains??

38 degrees is a WHOLE lot warmer than 21 degrees and things were beginning to thaw.  Add to that a bunch of rain that fell over night and we were well on the way to saying good bye to the snow – at least that snow that was still on the roads.

And now we are dealing with mud.

But I don’t care as long as I have running water!

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Debbie, Charlotte & Bonnie QUILT VEGAS!!

Feb 26, 2015 Update!

The Retreat is now FULL to the gills with a LONG waiting list! 

Thank you to those who registered early to get their spot! I'll be seeing you in AUGUST!

Most of you know that my calendar has been closed as FULL for quite a while.

There are times that I reserve for family, but my teaching dates are booked solid and very rarely am I able to wiggle things to make MORE fit.

But I couldn’t resist this one!  Seriously, I couldn’t!  In August I plan on visiting family in Idaho.  And this falls hand in hand with heading west ---

I’m going to be teaching with Debbie and Charlotte at a retreat at the SLS Hotel in Las Vegas August 13-16, 2015!

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Lots of Scraps, Loads of Strips, and NO WATER!

We do have a date with a plumber willing to come on a Sunday ---TOMORROW!

What a winter cold snap this has been for the Carolinas –and how long it has lasted is the thing to be marveled.  We have always had “wintery mix” come through about this time of year, but wait 24 hours and we are back to normal temps.  I would describe winters in North Carolina to be mild at the worst --

Yes, we get four seasons, but winter is SUPPOSED to be really mild here --

Until this year.

Come to think of it, there was a really bad ice storm last year that took out trees and power.  But the water stayed ON!

I guess this year is the opposite.

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Just a Bit of Water Trouble!

Isn’t this lovely?

Isn’t this peaceful?

Snow is coming down at a steady clip on Buck Mountain ---and I love the gentle silence.

My world is a snow globe right now, a wonder to behold.

But baby, it’s cold.  It’s been cold for more than a week with temps never going above freezing.

After yesterday’s fall—I was really ready to call Winter 2015 OVER.

But it’s not over.

Not yet.

Not by a long shot ---

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The Bigger They Are ---

The bigger they are – the harder they fall!

The harder they fall – the bigger the bruise on their hip as they come crashing down, legs sprawled out from under them…

It might not look steep to the average on-looker, but it is definitely a scary ice-covered descent down our concrete driveway to the bottom where the garage is.  And on top of that, the driveway winds around….it’s not a straight shot.

Last night after trying icy melt and finding it was doing NOTHING to the ice –we had to use two containers of kitty litter and repeated attempts to get my van to the top of the drive or I would not be making a pilgrimage to Quilt Villa this weekend until we have a thaw.

The temps have stayed with highs in the 20s for several days now, and the shady bits on this drive never see the sun –that ice wasn’t going anywhere.

So here I am – van finally at the top close to 11pm last night.  This morning I tackled all of the book orders that have come in while I’ve been gone, only to realize that I have to hike those books in a USPS mail tub to the top of the drive over the ice to get to the post office.

I made it UP just fine….it was tricky, but I stayed mostly to the edges walking on frozen plants and fallen leaves and avoiding the ice covered concrete.

However,  on my way back to the house after once again parking the van at the top of the drive, I hit a slick spot on my way down – and I do mean down – because down I went. 

I didn’t break anything.  But I am sore.  All.  Over.  My right hip will be purple for a while, my right wrist feels a bit stiff and jammed, and my pride…let’s not even go there!

Ridiculous.

Ridiculous that after all of that I STILL had to pack what I needed for the cabin, and also trek THAT back up the drive to the van.  Jeff was at work and wouldn’t be home until way after I left.  The Hubster has been working in Hickory this week – so unable to help me.  His plans were to meet me in Wilkesboro after he got off work and we would end up at the cabin at the same time in two different vehicles coming from different directions.

Someone please send some above 32 degree temps? I need this ice GONE!

But we made it.

I love that first view of mountains up Highway 421!

Sadie’s nose in high gear!

Yeah..those are MY sliding tracks trying to get the van up the ice covered gravel drive!  Notice her feet are NOT leaving prints in the snow.  There is a hard layer of ice on top of everything.  It is not the lovely fluffy white stuff that we find pretty.  It's solid.

But OH, it is SO quiet and so beautiful!

And yes, those mountains ARE blue!

Sun going down behind the ridge through my side yard trees.

I’m planning a lazy weekend ahead.  I brought two quilts to bind. 

I plan to sit in my comfy chair, icing my sore hip, stitching down my bindings and watching copious amounts of Netflix.

I plan to drink loads of hot cocoa.

I plan to make a big pot of potato soup that will last us for 3 days.

I plan to sleep in, take naps ---

And count down the days until SPRING!

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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A Visit to One Quilt Place, Fredericksburg, TX!

On a little country road, outside the touristy hustle and bustle of old town Fredericksburg, Texas is a darling of a quilt shop that must not be missed.

And I almost missed it!

I was in Fredericksburg last Sunday teaching for the Vereins Quilt guild.  Because it was a Sunday afternoon workshop from 12:30-6:30 ---and the shop is closed on Sunday anyway ---and even if they were open, we were finishing after normal closing hours, I was afraid I had missed out on something really special.

Then comes a text message on Tuesday afteroon from Irene with a super idea – if she and her hubby David come to Kerrville and pick me up after my last workshop there is over….it will be still early enough to hightail it BACK to Fredericksburg!  DESTINATION:  ONE QUILT PLACE!

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Feather-Mate Table Giveaway WINNER!!!

Hi everyone!

I made it home from San Antonio, Texas just a bit ago but boy  --- is it COLD outside!

I am hereby declaring it a 2 quilts plus electric blanket kind of night.

What a SHOCK this weather is.

It is currently about 15 degrees here in North Central North Carolina, and with the wind it feels like 3 degrees.

And as soon as I say this I know that those in the northern climes are going to tell me to suck it up because it is minus-bazillion-degrees there…

But you know what?  We aren’t equipped for this.  We are not used to this.  People don’t have the clothing or outerwear for this kind of ridiculousness ---and baby, it is just DANG cold outside!

So I’m happy to be in, happy to be at my desk, happy to be drawing our winner with a hot cup of cocoa at the ready – even if I don’t drink it hot, it’s great to wrap cold hands around!

1,755 ENTRIES!!

We have ONE-THOUSAND-SEVEN-HUNDRED-FIFTY-FIVE Entries!

How exciting!  I know you want this table REALLY Bad.

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Time in the Love Shack, Kerrville Group 2!

Group Two for our Love Shack Workshops in Kerville, Texas showed up eager and raring to dig in and get sewing!

Missed my post from Group One?  You can catch that post HERE.

Group Two brought with them their smiles, their sweet personalities and their eagerness to learn the basics of some improv piecing –along with their machines, their tools, their notions, and most of all – THEIR SCRAPS!

And oh – there were scraps!

Big, small, odd sized and neatly cut – it didn’t matter – they brought them all.

This bag was recently purchased at a guild auction night, and it came back to play a big part in our day:

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Galaxy-gram! Dinner in Fredericksburg, Texas!

Just a short and sweet post with a few quick photos!

Our workshop day in Kerrville was over at 3:30pm and I was promptly picked up by Irene and her hubby and we were on our way back to Fredericksburg for a but if browsing, shopping and dinner out!

The afternoon was beautifully sunny with blue skies and we enjoyed walking the shop laden tourist haven streets.

Dinner was had at Der Lindenbaum, and we filled ourselves with schnitzel and all the fixins, German-Texas-Style!

We have a drive back home to San Antonio ahead of us--a relaxing evening to unwind.

Tomorrow --home!

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Sewing Up a Kerrville Love Shack! Group One!

Pieces and Parts and Scraps, Oh My!

How I love to teach this workshop!

It is always a treat to see what other quilters bring to the table --- some had left over half square triangles they were going to work in, some had other blocks besides the houses to give purpose to orphan blocks that had been laying around or just waiting for the right project.

We had first time string piecers, which is always fun.

We had swapping of fabrics going on, loads of laughter – and as I tell everyone – if you don’t like your first star, your first heart, your first pieced letter, you are learning and you WILL like the second one.  The first one teaches you what you need to do better, and there is no way around that, just get in and do it. 

Make a mess and have fun!

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Galaxy-Gram! Love Shack in Kerrville, Day One!

What a fast paced day with scraps just a flyin!

I love it when students are so excited and bring bags of scraps, boxes and pieces and parts, containers of triangles and precious pieces but have just been waiting to be sewn together into something so fun!

Each step is worked within a given amount of time, and we are changing up our activities through the entire day keeping everyone on their toes!

Basic string piecing, maverick stars, wonky hearts, an introduction to pieced letters, scrappy 4 patches and happy scrappy houses blocks all combine in this workshop exclusive wall hanging known as Love Shack!

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Some Texas Showing & Sharing!

There has been some really great showing and sharing during my time in Texas!

Quilting is Big Big Big in this Big Big state ---and we are passionate about all things quilting, fabric & thread!

The photos I am sharing are from the past several days, starting with my time spent with the Greater San Antonio quilt guild and visitors!

Of course, Grand Illusion is making its presence known as quilters finish tops, and get them ready for quilting and binding.

I LOVE seeing each and every one of them!

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Fredericksburg, Texas! Willkommen!

Yesterday Irene and I took a little road trip to the Texas Hill Country!

I have heard many wonderful things about  Fredericksburg, Texas – but I’d never been there.  In all of the many trips I’d made to Texas – I was going somewhere new!

Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. Old-time German residents often referred to Fredericksburg as Fritztown, a nickname that is still used in some businesses.

The only sad thing for me?  I was only here for a mere 6 hour workshop before moving on to Kerrville ---and it was SUNDAY, so even the little kitchen shop that Irene wanted to stop at to pick up her favroite cherry balsamic vinegar was closed.  BUMMER!

Such a cute place – I will just have to come back, won’t I??

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Galaxy-Gram! A day in Fredericksburg, TX!

Irene and I headed out of San Antonio for the wild of the Texas Hill Country around 10 a.m. This morning.

Our destination - Fredericksburg, Texas and the Vereins Quilt Guild for a My Blue Heaven workshop! 

Our class time went from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 pm. So we were able to fit in a full days work shop within that span of time.

I wish I had more time to spend with this group! As they presented a warm and friendly welcome, we set up machines and everything else we needed and started the day off sewing!

After our workshop, I was driven to Kerrville, Texas where I have just now checked into my hotel, unloaded my bags a, and AM sitting here with feet up waiting for Downton Abbey to begin.

Oh, the life of a traveling itinerant quilter! My feet may be throbbing, I'm living out of a suitcase, but I have a borrowed featherweight from Irene and more 4 patches to sew and a new group to meet with tomorrow morning for my guild meeting and presentation!

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Scrap Crystals in the Afternoon!

Half day workshops make me panicky!

There, I said it!

Half day workshops where you want to give as much info as you can to students – everything you would  throw into a full day workshop, condensed into a mere 3 hours that goes so quickly!

Can we pace this in a way that everyone will also be able to relax and enjoy the time we have without feeling rushed?

I think we made a very good job of it.  Our goal was to learn the ins and outs of the Easy Angle ruler when working with small triangles.  We had a great time!

Scrap Crystals was a block that I first submitted to 100 blocks by 100 designers for Quiltmaker Magazine ---and also taught it as our workshop on an Alaskan cruise.  But it really is very simple.  It’s ONE unit – a Broken Dishes, just like in our Grand Illusion Mystery!

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Some Valentine’s Day Quilt Love All Around!

I hope you have had a wonderful Valentine’s day, however you have spent it!

It’s been a very busy action packed double duty day here in the San Antonio area ---

Setting up for a morning presentation on the other side of town ---

A very busy guild meeting followed by a half day Scrap Crystals workshop filled up the day and by the time we were back to Irene’s house a nap was number one on my horizon!

But welcomes go hugely big in Texas.

Check this out:

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Pink Blooms for Valentine’s Day!

Spring is in bloom in San Antonio Texas!

Irene had to stop the car for me on the way to yesterday’s workshop with the Greater San Antonio Quilters –pink blooming things are my absolute favorite!

HOORAY!!  There really IS an end in sight to this winter!

I’m sure those folks in the frozen North East are thinking it can’t be true at this point – but eventually – things WILL bloom again!

As for you folks up in Maine – I’m headed your way in late March – please tell me that blizzard conditions will be over by late March?? Ha!

We left Irene’s yesterday morning planning ahead for much of this kind of thing on a Friday commuter morning:

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Galaxy-Gram! Texas Tumbleweed Kind of Day!

Here we are in all of our Scrappy Texas Tumbleweed glory! 

The  Greater San Antonio Quilt Guild is hosting my workshops today and tomorrow, and I'm having a great time spending some cutting piecing and sewing time in their midst.

We started with the ladder blocks first, the four patch centers and sew and flip rectangles come together quickly and we are building skills as we go.

Star blocks are now coming together, more deposits made into our technique banks giving us more ways to do things with ease!

It's a beautiful day to be in San Antonio, and what better way to spend it than amongst a room full of quilters with machines humming and laughter to the rafters!

I understand there is Tex Mex on the agenda for dinner tonight - yummy!

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Vintage Quilts, New Braunfels Style!

An afternoon out antiquing?

Irene sure knows how to get a yes out of me!

We’d been sewing for hours – I am making great strides of progress on my litle on point 4 patch units.  ((Still, a gazillion and fifty more are needed, so just keep sewing, just keep sewing!)) She thought we needed a break, and along with some errands, we found ourselves a couple of hours to wander the antique malls in nearby New Braunfels.

How quickly can two quilters scrounge antique malls?  We had two hours to get in as much browsing and poking around as we could --

I have NEVER seen so many great vintage quilts in one small town!

The majority of what we saw  hailed from the 1930s-1950s.  Some a bit older.  Some a bit newer.

But it just goes to show you that quilting was alive and well in Texas during the lean years.

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Galaxy-Gram! Sew, Sew, Sew &Go, Go, Go!

We have had a busy day in San Antonio today!

Breakfast out--a visit to Las Colchas quilt shop!

Blissful hours of tandem stitching in Irene's studio--I'm making great progress on my on point 4 patches!

And to top it off we made an impromptu run to New Braunfels for a bit of antiquing and a BBQ dinner out.

My tummy is stuffed with fork tender smoked brisket and all the fixings.

On our way back now to head back to our projects and quilting the evening away. So happy I came a day early so we had this day to play!

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Sew! I Have a PROBLEM!

I wrote last night about using these vintage bow tie pieces to cut the corner triangles for my APQ Quilt Along blocks.

WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

These fabrics are approximately 100 years old.

And I wasn’t thinking clearly.

I wasn’t thinking what would happen with very old starched fabrics that have been sitting for a century untouched.

Cutting them and sewing them and pressing them seemed okay until:

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San Antonio and Sewing Time!

Hello from Irene’s in San Antonio!

I had a quick uneventful travel day, and arrived here at lunch time and we have been settling in since.

It is so nice to have a friend where I am teaching ---I’ve been back and forth to Irene’s house several times over the past year, and it does feel like going home!

We unpacked the projects – we are sewing away and chatting as much as we are sewing and watching whatever we want on Netflix.  Or more like not watching, really!

I love the openness of Irene’s sewing space….we are set side by side and the light from the windows is awesome…

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When Mona Finds Winnie! ((And a Special Giveaway!))

This Give-Away is CLOSED!  Congrats to our Lucky Winner, Robyn in Texas!

This is going to be a long post.  So just grab a cuppa, settle in, put your feet up and hang out for a while..because it’s worth it!

When Mona and I ran around Winston Salem, antique mall hopping while her hubby was sitting in some VA office somewhere filling out piles of paperwork, I told her to be on the look out for a featherweight box.  They show up in the most unusual places and you will almost miss them if you don’t know what you are looking for.

She had my featherweight and the case she knew what a black box featherweight case looks like…we just never thought we’d find TWO!

Yes.  TWO!

We rounded a corner, I pointed my finger excitedly and exclaimed “Black Box!  Black Box!”  It was all I could get out of my mouth.

We checked it, a featherweight indeed ---only when we plugged it in, it proved to be a dud.  The light turned on, the foot pedal didn’t work.  She ran out to the car to get the foot pedal from mine so we could try it to eliminate whether it was a foot pedal issue or worse.

It ran –intermittently.  And it struggled.  A lot.  It’s not a foot pedal issue, it could be electrical – it could be the motor.  At any rate THAT one was not worth the taking because on top of the asking price, we’d have to pay to have it fixed, and it had issues of unkown origin.

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Galaxy-Gram! Webs into Rows!

I have hoped that I would get the entire spider web quilt stop center assembled today, but some other things got in the way and I am headed out for dinner.

By the time I get back I will need to finish packing the quilts and my suitcase for my trip to Texas tomorrow.

So it looks like the best I can claim towards getting this completed is at least having the blocks sewn into rows so I can get them off of the living room floor!

I will label my rows so that I can sew them together upon my return.

This day just turned out to be busier than I thought it would, but I am happy to have accomplished all that I have up to this point!

Early to bed after my return from dinner tonight, I'm headed to the airport at 6 a.m.!

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In Pursuit of the Completed Spider Web Top!

My spider web is still on the floor in the way of anyone who tries to walk through that room.

Design floor.  It’s how I work!

I have JUST today to get this top together before I leave for San Antonio tomorrow morning.

I had planned on getting it assembled yesterday, but a fun lunch with Rick & Mona turned into a fun afternoon of antique mall hopping with Mona while her hubby Rick had an appointment near by. 

I mean, really – why should Mona have to sit for hours in a waiting room helping him fill out paperwork?

We were girls on a mission!

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Quilt-Cam 2/9/2015!

Did you know that if you are NOT in my time zone you don’t have to get up at 4am to watch Quilt-Cam?  We have ARCHIVES!

Click the Quilt-Cam tab at the top of the blog – they are all linked there!

It is actually better to access and watch Quilt-Cam from the blog tab because the feed is embedded into the post telling you more about what I am working on, showing you photos of which machine I’m sewing with, and also gives you background story – like this photo I clipped from Facebook where Sigrid is showing how SHE loves the archives so she can sleep in past 3am!

She is also working on our Wild & Goosey block – a paper pieced block from my Addicted to Scraps column with Quiltmaker!  Click the Addicted to Scraps tab at the top of the blog and you can find the issue that this is in.

This little baby has taken our Quiltville’s Open Studio group on Facebook by storm..EVERYONE is doing them!  You too can join in because they use the ittiest of pieces!

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A Bit of Greensboro Show & Share!

The three days I spent with the Gate City Quilters in Greensboro, NC was full of much Showing & Sharing!

I love it! 

I love to see what you do with your own fabrics, your own color ways, your own ideas for taking one of my patterns and going off on your own tangent with it.

I love seeing how quilters will dig through their own stashes making design choices that are uniquely their own.

And of course it was extra fun that these are quilts and quitlers who live near to my home base, and we were meeting for the first – or second time!

This is Cathy’s Happily Scrappily Irish from Adventures with Leaders & Enders!

Made from 4-patches, it is a perfect Leader & Ender project and you can see hers is still growing as a top.  Yes, it could be strip pieced, but you get a more random placement of fabrics when you work with 4-patches and connector units!

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Quiltmaker March/April 2015 Winners!

It’s time to draw our winners for the 3 issue of Quiltmaker March/April 2015!

I have been deep in the studio today, sewing like crazy ---loving every minute.

I just looked up at the clock and it was after 7pm my time and I had forgotten!!

So I am firing up the Random Number Generator and will be drawing our 3 lucky winners out of the 873 that have left comments to the Giveaway post from Tuesday.

Ready?

Drum roll please!

And our first Random Number pick is:

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Easy Street to Greensboro, Day 2!

Yesterday turned out to be a lovely, bright and sunny February Saturday, with temperatures hovering at a very tolerable 59 f degrees.

I am not wanting to jinx what is left of this winter, but here in North Carolina – though we have seen some really cold temperatures, there has been no ice, rain, sleet, snow to really make a mess of things.

Could spring really be an early guest here in the south?  I certainly hope so!

I arrived at our location yesterday a bit early.  There was some exploring I needed to do before class.

Our workshop space was a community room at the New Garden Quaker Meeting house.  I am fascinated by the history of the Quakers in North Carolina, and their selfless  involvement, often to the peril of their own lives, and the lives of their families and loved ones in the Underground Railroad movement that saved so many.

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Leaders, Enders & The APQ Quilt Along!

Brag Mail night!

And every right to brag because these quilts are awesome!

I often get behind in maintaining my inbox.  And though I do what I can with my phone through the day to put things in different folders, and respond to questions and keep things in a somewhat workable order--((Often, it feels like I am stamping out fires before they take over!)) sometimes it is just hard to get through it all –

Like when on retreat for a week at the cabin with the girls –and then I have to wait until I have time to sit in one place and go through the mail one by one making sure that things got viewed, appreciated and replied to!

This is an email I received from Debbie, sharing her wonderful quilts that she made as Leaders & Enders. 

This is Happily Scrappily Irish from Adventures with Leaders & Enders.

I thought you might get something out of what she sent, so I am sharing it!

She writes:

Bonnie,

I wanted to send you pictures of three of my leader &  ender quilts.

I also wanted to thank you for featuring my sewing space back in November. 

At that time I was working on the Happily Scrappily Irish and yea it's finally done.

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Easy Street to Greensboro, Day 1!

I’m playing with the local gals this weekend!

It all started with a presentation for the Gate City Quilters in Greensboro, NC on Thursday evening.

Yesterday we met for day 1 of an Easy Street workshop….today is day 2!

This quilt has so many units that there is no way to do it in a one day workshop, so I am so glad they invited me for two consecutive days.

Yesterday we started out by adjusting seam allowances with strips for the 4 patches – because these units all need to come out the same size to be able to fit together neatly.  Proper cutting and proper seaming start us off right and set us up for much success!

From there we moved on to the Split triangle units, giving everyone the opportunity to try some new-to-them techniques with the Easy Angle ruler – and the units were turning out so great!

From there we spent the third section of our class time working on flying geese, with three different methods presented.  There is a method that will work for everyone, they just need to try a few different ways to see which way gives each student the best results.

Of course….My heart skipped a beat when I saw this beauty set up on her table:

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Galaxy-Gram! Scenes from Easy Street!

We had an absolute ball today in our Easy Street workshop with the Gate City quilters of Greensboro, North Carolina!

We also had students from as far away as Virginia Beach, and even from Charlotte!

I am so glad they chose two days for this workshop, because there really is no way to cram it all into one day. Those of you who remember doing easy street as a mystery can 

remember how many different units go into this quilt, and the wide variety of techniques presented to accomplish them.

But we sure had fun! We handled four patches, split triangle units, and flying geese today.

Tomorrow we have sew & flip star points, double bricks, more geese, and block assembly!

I hope everybody gets a good sleep tonight because the fun starts all over again at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning!

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