Let’s Draw a Winner! Mar/Apr Quiltmaker!

Hello from Mineola, Texas!

I just got back from dinner out with my brother in law, sister in law, nephew, niece and great niece!

How wonderful it is to be able to have a Sunday night dinner with extended family so far away from home on a teaching trip!

It was so good to catch up wtih all of them since we hadn’t seen each other in about a year and a half.    Family is just that important, and I hope it won’t be this long until we are able to see each other again.

I’ve moved the drawing of the Quiltmaker magazine March/April 2016 issue up a day –I’ve had a chance in my own travel schedule, and this is really the best night to do it so hopefully everyone who WANTED to enter, has!

If not we’ll catch them again another time.  There is always a goodie waiting in the wings, right?

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Playing with Jacks, and Quilters, and Longhorns!

i want you to meet the newest up and coming future hall-of-fame quilter, Aubrey!

I so enjoy having young folks in class, and this  10 year old 4th grader came ready with fabric, her trusty featherweight that had been gifted to her by her great-grandmother, ready to take our Playing with Jacks workshop, which was also a Christmas gift!

Mentor and friend Anita was there by her side, and watching this young budding quilter learn so eagerly and try so hard, and finding herself just as capable as everyone else in the room just filled my heart with joy ALL DAY LONG!

How many of us find deep within ourselves, that inner young person that still lives inside of us, when we watch a younger person –sparking precious memories and bringing them to the surface?

I think inside of us all is this 10 year old 4th grade girl (or guy) so excited about EVERYTHING in life, and eager to learn.  Remember being 10?

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Fun from the Stitchin' Heaven Bunkhouse!

Way out in the country down tree lined winding roads and ranches dotted with cattle and country churches, you’ll find the entrance to the private road that takes you to the Stitchin’ Heaven Bunkhouse – the destination location for our four days of workshops while I am here in Texas this weekend!

Look at that sky!

Do you see that sky?

it was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday!  Oh what a change this is from being snowed in at the cabin eactly one week ago!

This is one of the best times of the year to be in Texas –it almost makes you feel like you are getting away with something shouldn’t be able to.

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Hello, Stitchin’ Heaven!

Do you see this?

Sunshine and blue blue Texas skies!

And most of all --

Temps above 60 and NO SNOW!

And yes, just my favorite traveling quilter’s uniform – a tshirt with a simple denim shirt thrown over the top.

Denim shirts, the all purpose cover up!

Perfect for women of a certain age dying of hot flashes.  Off the shirt goes, then on again, then off again, then on again, lather, rinse, repeat as needed!

No muss, no fuss, no fancy for me.

I told the family they can bury me in my denim shirt, it’s how I am most comfortable!

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March/April 2016 Quiltmaker Giveaway!

Guess what is just hitting news stands?!

My envelope was tucked into the mail bin with all of the other mail from 5 days away at the cabin for my birthday, and I opened it thinking it was another squishy envelope full of grey scrap strips, and OH BOY!

I read the sub header of “Addicted to Scraps? New Block from Bonnie Hunter Inside”  And I got all excited…

And then I had to turn to the index to find out which one they used for this issue because I really couldn’t remember..LOL

Is it old age?

Or is it so many ideas of blocks and quilts dancing in my head that they are ALL new to me?

If you turn to my page you will find out!

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Cats, Quilts & Mrs Bobbins!

This is miss Emmy Lou Lou.

She’s looking a bit stand offish, but in reality she is purring louder than loud and eager to snuggle up next to me at the end of a very long long day.

What is it with cats?

Emmy Lou has extra strength cat radar sense. She can be looking right at you until the moment you point a camera at her. In which case, she turns her head and pretends you are not there.
 
She is such a sweet girl, adopted as a tiny kitten when I was at a retreat while living in Texas years ago.  Retreat happened in 2000 or 2001, so she is up to 16 years old now.  She has moved with us from Texas to South Carolina where we stayed 5 years, and then on to North Carolina.  We’ve been here 8 years now, the longest I have ever lived anywhere my entire life –and same for her, too!
 
She doesn’t travel with us to the cabin, but there is always son Jeff here to pamper her in the mornings and evenings when he is not at work, and she is quite independent and doesn’t mind being home alone for a couple of days here and there.
 
I made it home to Winston Salem last evening,driving home from the cabin on dry roads! It was 40 degrees when I left the mountain, it was 52 in Winston Salem when I got there! Met my friend Lisa for our joint birthday dinners at PF Changs.

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A Cabin Kind of Monday!

It’s kind of difficult when cabin-bound and not out and about to come up with interesting things to share!

Turkey soup in the crock pot? Yep!

Washing all of the bedding and towels from guests that were here this weekend? Yep!

A delicious nap mid-afternoon for no reason other than I wanted one?  Yep! ((Those naps are the best indulgences of all, aren’t they?))

I spent much of yesterday standing at this cutting table doing just what you see in this photo.

As I take a shirt part and cut 8 1/2’’ squares for Mona’s and my joint quilts, ANYTHING left over is being trimmed into the sizes I use most.  I wrote about it in yesterday morning’s post, and I was at it most of the day yesterday as well.

SO MUCH fabric!  You can see here my piles of 1 1/2’’, 2’’ and 2 1/2’’ strips.

And by the time evening had come, and Sadie and The Hubster had headed back home to Wallburg, and I finding myself alone for the evening, threw off the “Must do” of scrap organization and I began to play!

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Scrappy Mountain Majesties Day!

Mona and I finally got our Snow day Sew Day yesterday!

And what a good time we had!

I took this photo mid-afternoon when we were in full production mode. The lighting was perfect and I could see not onlu the sun shining on the snow, sparkly white, but the mountains in the distance were also in full view against a beautiful Carolina blue backdrop sky.

I had started out in the morning preppeing and cutting shirt parts into 8 1/2’’ squares – matching a light to a dark and slicing them on the diagonal so that they were ready for Mona to sew.

In this tag team game of ours it’s a One for You, One for Me kind of situation…and it is really going to go fast this way.  I cut, she sews, we divide!

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Sadie, Snow and an All Day Sew!

This little one is NOT so sure she likes this white stuff.

Actually, I think it’s pretty safe to say she DOES NOT like the snow at all!

Getting her to go outside when the snow is up to her belly ---she’s just not having any of it!

I don’t blame her.

It’s pretty from inside, but I haven’t ventured out in it either.  Snow on the groud outside pretty much guarantees that I will stay in and be a slug.  Long gone are the 2 1/2 miles hikes we used to take every morning.

Not to fear, it doesn’t last long and in a few more days I’ll be back in Texas where temps are supposed to be in the 70s.  Stitchin’ Heaven Quilt Shop, here I come!  And even more fun – the workshops I’ll be teaching will be held at their bunk house retreat facility out in the country.  This is going to be fun!

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Happy Happy 54!!

I guess I can say that it’s no longer a pipe dream, a secret wish, a  fingers-crossed-and-hoped-for gift!

Yes!

i officially SNOWED IN for my birthday!

And what’s better, I’m here with son Jason and his 3 friends!

It was FOUR friends, but with the weather forcast, Sean headed back to Hilton Head, SC yesterday morning after breakfast.

Their plan:  A skiing and snow boarding weekend –complete with home cooked meals and lots of mom attention!

My blessing:  I got to hug on and love my son, make his friends feel welcome, and get busy feeding every one which is something that fills not only my kitchen and everyone’s bellies, but my heart to over flowing.

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Snow Day! Sew Day!

I got my wish this morning for a Snowed-In Birthday weekend at Quilt Villa!

This post is late in coming this morning as I have had a full house!

Son Jason and his friend Sean from Hilton Head SC came up on Wednesday, spent Wednesday night.

They had to leave their little car part way up the mouintain because it just wouldn’t make it all the way. They hiked the rest of the way to the cabin.

Things did clear yesterday and they were able to go back in the Rzr and get the car, and headed out snowboarding outside of Boone for the day.

I arrived last evening about 7pm, and they soon followed about 8:30pm after a long day – sore, but smiling and happy.

Last night after I went to bed (I just couldn’t stay up past 11pm!) 3 more friends arrived to spend the night and all head out back to Boone for more snow boarding fun today.

Only Snowmageddon 2016 arrived in the middle of the night, and I awoke to 6 inches with more coming down – it is absolutely beautiful out there, “and since I have no where to go, let it snow let it snow, let it snow!”

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Come Getaway With Quiltville!

You asked for it!

And we heard you!

We have completely sold out in the past on all of our Caribbean Cruises, with much clamoring for “If you do it again, I want to be the first to sign up!” so guess what?

We are doing it again!

And this time it’s going to be BIGGER and BETTER than ever!

We will be sailing out of Ft Lauderdale Florida on the OASIS OF THE SEAS for a week of Caribbean Fun & Sun ((With quilting days at sea!)) October 1-8, 2016!

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Quilt-Cam! 1/20/2016

Isn’t Klinger a hoot!?

When I recieved a photo of Klinger sewing at a treadle machine, I went searching online for one that could be usable for a photo, was less grainy and more funny and…LOL, this cracks me up every time I look at it!  Can’t you hear him singing in his very Klinger way?

Now look extra close to this photo and you will see that the fabric is right NEXT to the presser foot, but not UNDER it. 

I need to find this epiode and watch it much more closely!

Two spools? One white and one red.  Just whatever was he sewing here?

I want to share some Allietare Love sent in by Denise in Italy!

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Hello, Little Dragon!

It IS my birthday week after all!

And when this little baby popped up on Craigslist all lonely and forelorn, I just couldn’t let him sit there, could I?

Yes.  Him.

This machine is a HIM.

Can you see his badge? It says HOME-MARK.  As in,  “You just must come HOME, MARK!”

Hahahaha.  Oh, the ways that I can entertain myself when left to my own devices!

Mark is also irresistable as he is a DRAGON as witnessed by the decal on his machine bed.  DRAGON!  Who wouldn’t want a machine called DRAGON?  So I dragged the dragon right on home.

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Let’s Draw for that Quilty Box!

Someone’s getting a Quilty Box!

Someone’s getting a Quilty Box!

Is it you?

Let’s find out!

But first- A little bit about Quilty Box.

• Quilty Box is a monthly subscription box. They offer plans from $44-48/mo.
• 5% of the profits of multi-month subscriptions are donated to Quilts for Kids - a non-profit which donates quilts for children in need
• Each month we have 4 or more products (Fabric, patterns, thread, or notions)
• Our retail value of the products in the box is always more than $50

Your support is appreciated. If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to contact me.

Thank You,

Patrick Claytor

Owner - Quilty Box

Subscribe today at www.QuiltyBox.com!

I think the thing that makes me feel the best, besides the fact that these are items I WILL use –is the knowledge that 5% of the proceeds go to help kids in need.
Make more quilts, cover kids with love.  It’s all good!

Let’s ramp up the Random Number Generator:

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Announcing the 2016 APQ Quilt-Along!

 I am once again joining in the fun with American Patchwork & Quilting’s APQ Quilt-Along!

I had so much fun last year with the Go Four It project, and I’ve been wanting to do a quilt along this year’s theme, so I am jumping in with both feet.

What is the APQ Quilt-Along?

As we did last year with the Four-Patch quilts, we actually have multiple projects (two in APQ, one in Quilts and More, and one online), all with one theme—this year it's plus-sign quilts. We are calling the quilt-along “It All Adds Up.” We are using the same hashtag as the first two years, #APQQuiltalong.

Meaning that this year we will focus on “Plus” Quilts – blocks that look like they have a plus sign or a cross in them!  To get you started there are several great projects in the new-on-the-news-stands issue of APQ Magazine:

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Sew-Wonderful Sunday!

Yesterday’s snow event is already past!

I’m glad I got some pretty photos as by yesterday afternoon there was barely a skiff of the white stuff to be seen, mostly in places where the “sun don’t shine”.

This morning the sun is shining brightly, and though temps are hovering at 19 degrees (brrrrr!) there really is no snow to speak of.

I’m glad I stayed at the cabin an extra night though!

Mona and I sewed all afternoon – or more like SHE sewed, and I pressed, cut and kitted up.

She is doing GREAT at the treadle and was very impressed with herself and said. “I only sewed backwards TWICE the entire afternoon!”  HA!  That’s progress for you!

I told her that while it feels like you are patting your head and rubbing your tummy and watching your feet do a little dance all at the same time, eventually you stop thinking about your feet and the motion just becomes natural.

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Modern Machine Quilting - Drawing Time!

Who’s ready to win a DVD?

A DVD that is going to show you all of the ins and outs of Free-motion stipples. swirls, feathers and more?

I’m taking a quick break from sewing with my friend Mona to post this --

We’ve been in the basement sewing area all afternoon just cutting up fabric, sewing it back together and having a ball.

Did you know we had 1073 entries for this giveaway?

More than A THOUSAND of you are ready to turn your machine quilting skills on fire!

On her own blog, Catherine is picking 2 more DVD winners and 1 grand prize winner who will receive a DVD AND a Stella task lamp (winner’s choice of color!) and Julia’s Hexie Love ruler.

It’s been a great blog hop week for Modern Machine Quilting!

Let’s draw:

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Treadles for Two!

I woke to this beautiful sight this morning!

YES!  Snow for my birthday!  And it’s coming down.

If I have to be anywhere when it is snowing, this is the place that I want to be.

And I was thinking to myself this morning, that tomorrow is even a postal holiday – so there is no reason to rush back home to get all of the book orders that came in over the weekend out the door.

I can call it a “Snow Day!” A “Stay in and Sew Day!”  ((Not like that is much different than any other day, but I’ll claim it when I can – officially!))

I took this photo an hour ago, and it is coming down steadily, and shows no sign of stopping at this point.  Let it snow!

And because it IS North Carolina, it won’t be around for long, I can enjoy it and then get back to my business.

Mona came over for Treadling Lesson Number One yesterday!

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A bit of Cabin Sewing Time!

Guess who is coming over today to play??

MONA!!

She is home from Ohio, all is well there.  Oh, that grandbaby of hers is SO stinking cute!

i can’t wait to see all of the photos that have taken up residency in Mona’s phone.

Remmeber the baby albums of yesterday, how they would unfold all the way to the floor with photos of kids and grandkids?

Now, it’s our phones!  My, how technology changes things.

I arrived in the pounding rain yesterday afternoon.  I set in right away to getting the binding on the “Oh, My Stars!”  quilt, with the plan to sit in the evening and hand stitch the binding down.

I was so tired I didn’t get that far, but I do like the way it is turning out:

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January Quilty Box Give-Away!

Have I ever got a fabulous box up for grabs tonight!

This collection is being curated by none other than Paper Pieces, the folks that bring you English Paper Piecing papers at their finest along with all sorts of other goodes such as templates and books and even polar notions!

If you’ve been wanting to try your hand at English Paper piecing, or you are already an EPP ADDICT, this is the box for you!

Never heard of a Quilty Box?

• Quilty Box is a monthly subscription box. They offer plans from $44-48/mo.
• 5% of the profits of multi-month subscriptions are donated to Quilts for Kids - a non-profit which donates quilts for children in need
• Each month we have 4 or more products (Fabric, patterns, thread, or notions)
• Our retail value of the products in the box is always more than $50

Your support is appreciated. If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to contact me.

Thank You,

Patrick Claytor

Owner - Quilty Box

Subscribe today at www.QuiltyBox.com!

I think the thing that makes me feel the best, besides the fact that these are items I WILL use –is the knowledge that 5% of the proceeds go to help kids in need.

Make more quilts, cover kids with love.  It’s all good!
 
In this box you will find:

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A Plethora of Vintage Quilts, Part 2!

Yes.  There were that many quilts.

There were SO many quilts, that rather than lump them into one big long slide show without commentary, I decided to opt for two posts rather than one.

Less IS more, as they say – and how can we fully appreciate anything with wide open eyes if said eyes are glazed over on over-load?

If you missed yesterday’s batch, you will find them HERE.

And perhaps, like watching LAST YEAR’S Season of Downton Abbey before this one let loose so that you didn’t forget anything and were ready for the new, you’ll want to flip back and re-familiarize yourself with those quilts because they ARE wonderful!

How about we start off with this simple 1950s churn dash?  I love red and pink together, especially as we move toward February and valentine’s day.  This is just sweet in simplicity.  While MOST of the blocks hae red either as the main design or as background, there are a few blocks that deviate from the theme, and I think that is what makes this one interesting.

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Quilt-Cam! 1/14/2016

Welcome to Quilt-Cam, everyone!

We’ve got the night to play away and I think I’ve got it all together this time.

Bonus triangles? Check!
Neutral squares?  Check!
Large triangles? Check!
Neutral rectangles? Check!

And I even un-stitched and FIXED the one basket block that I got all wrong last time.  Let’s hope that this time I actually come across like I KNOW what I’m doing. LOL!

Oh, it’s all in fun, and we have a good time no matter how it goes, right?

Tonight I wanted to share with you a lovely little hint!

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And Oh, the Quilts!

I think some of these blocks got one extra row than the others.

Or something..don’t they look more rectangle than squre? The bottom two in the center?

Yipes! I’ve had days like that!

So we just piece it together the best that we can, and when we reach the bottom of the quilt, we just trim off the excess and call it good!

I wish I could have gotten a full photo of this one, but some antique places have limited floor space and the only thing you can do is fold the quilt in fourths, do the best you can and hope to catch the essence, of not only the quilt, but the maker behind it in a simple cell phone photo.

I wonder what this quilter thought as she saw that her chains were NEVER going to line up across the quilt due to this placement. 

It makes my heart smile!

Oh, there are so many lessons to be learned and voices to be heard in looking at and studying vintage quilts.

The block pattern, the fabric, the quilting stitches, even the piecing itself, not to mention the binding method of choice are all a clue into the person who made this quilt.

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Antiquing My Way Home!

It was this kind of day yesterday --

Bright with blue skies, a bit of a breeze and temps that were TRYING hard to reach 50 degrees.

It was a perfect day for a long leisurely drive up I-85, made longer by many pit stops and poke-abouts along the way!

I haven’t had a solo day to wander for a while, and though the drive in itself would have taken me about 3 1/2 hours door to door, it took a good 9 hours for me to make it home by dinner time.

“Stop off at Cowpens, South Carolina and check out Main Street, the whole street is lined with antique shops!” said one commenter on Facebook.

And off the beaten path I went!

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Some Very Betty Show & Share!

I want you to meet BETTY!

Betty is shown on the right, next to her daughter Shelia, and between the two of them they are quilting up a storm in South Carolina.

From what I’ve been told, Betty WEARS OUT sewing machines with all of the beautiful work she does, including featherweight motors!

She is a power house of productivity, and everyone knows that Betty will take any and all fabric strips and strings and sew string blocks to her hearts content –with all of the blocks being made into quilts for local charities such as habitat for humanity.

The world definitely needs MORE Bettys!

Last night after my presentation with the Nimble Thimble quilters in Mauldin, Betty brought up FIVE beautiful quilts for show & share that she has made from my designs.

And let me tell you also – Betty does not do ANYTHING on a small scale!

Take a look:

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A Scrappy Trip-Along Day!

I spent yesterday with the Nimble Thimble Quilters in Mauldin, South Carolina – stitching up Scrappy Trips blocks in a flurry of happy scrappiness!

Our workshop was held at Marietta’s Quilt & Sew, and we enjoyed the wonderful class room space, not to mention the close proximity to more fabric and goodes!

And the sale table.

Oh, the sale table!

Scrappy Trips is a quilt that means a lot to me.  I first presented this quilt back in 2003 when I moved to Columbia, SC due to the hubster’s job transfer.  The pattern, first housed on my website, and later moved to the blog was written for a comfort quilt workshop I was teaching for the guild as I then held the position of comfort quilt chair-person.  We were doing sew-ins about 3 times a year, getting everyone involved making quilts together to gift to those in need.

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A Day of Cathedral Stars!

Or as they say, there is ONE in every crowd!

Way to ham it up, Mike! Hahahah!

What a fun day we had in Mauldin, South Carolina with the Nimble Thimble Quilters and friends.  26 machines humming, rotary cutters whirring along, making blocks from scraps.

Spending the day with friends, long standing and true, as well as new-found and joyful.

I can’t tell you what it does for my heart when I see people interacting with each other, caring about each other, hugs going around, stories being shared of the wondrous and sometimes heartfelt things that happened over the holidays.

We are bringing 2016 in with Happiness, and that was evident yesterday!

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Let’s Machine Quilt! ((Double Give-Away!))

Good Morning, everyone!  Guess what I’ve got up for you on the blog today?
 
My friend Catherine Redford has a brand new DVD out all about quilting on your home machine, giving you all the ins and outs of free motion stipples, swirls, feathers and more!
 
The video is nearly 80 minutes of awesome instruction showing you how to achieve results you never dreamed of coming from your own machine.
 
You NEED this video!
 
Now I could talk about it until I’m blue in the face, but I wanted some of this post to come from Catherine herself.
 
Take it away, Catherine!

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Who Wins the Quilt Sampler?!

Here I am in Simpsonville, South Carolina!

A mere 3 1/2 hour drive from home through drizzly rain –who would think a south westerly drive would have the temps climb about 5 degrees higher than it is at home in Wallburg, NC?

Let me tell you – for this cold blooded girl who hates ice and cold and snow with great disdain, 5 degrees warmer is HUGE! Especially if it pushes the temps from 45 to 50!  50 is nearly BALMY!  So bring it on, South Carolina!

I am excited to be drawing for the winner of this fabulous issue of Quilt Sampler.

I had a great time visiting with the gals at Happiness is Quilting, and I know you will enjoy reading about their shop in the pages of this issue, and the quilt that they have designed for this issue is also going to knock your socks off!

I’m also SO happy with how the Linky for giveaways is going.  The spammers aren’t participating!  Your email address is safe, and it doesn’t clutter up the comments section and you don’t have to scroll through everything to get to the bottom before adding your entry.  It’s a win win win all the way around.

So let’s do this thing, shall we?

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Quilting, and a Craftours Cocoon!

I finished the quilting on this quilt yesterday, that still remains NAMELESS!

Isn’t that terrible?

Usually the name for a quilt comes along during the making of it, but with this one? NADA!

I’m sure it will come to me – I’ve just had so many other things on my mind that maybe I haven’t listened to the quiet voice radiating from this wonderful mess of scraps to listen to what it wants to be called.

If this were YOUR quilt – what would YOU name it?

I look at the texture of the quilting on top of all of those little bits of memories and I just feel HAPPY!

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Quilt-Cam! 1/7/2016

Welcome to Quilt-Cam, everyone!

I’m excited for our first Quilt-Cam of 2016, and so eager to get going! I just know we are going to have a good time.

I want to thank those of you who have sent photos of your groups, have told me that you are watching while at retreat, or while out to dinner with a girlfriend, or even watching and listening while you are in the kitchen cooking dinner.

We come from all different places in all different time zones, and I know there is much living going on behind the scenes while I am sleeping. I just love a glimpse into YOUR quilty world!

This is a shout out from Carole in Hawaii!

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Some Antique Quilt Goodness–McKinney Style!

There were just a few vintage beauties worthy of photo taking while Irene and I rummaged around the antique mall in McKinney Texas before my flight home on Monday.

THIS one took my breath away.  ALL of that feather quilting done by hand somewhere around the mid 1800s.

Can you see it?

It’s a rose variation, and the secondary pattern comes when you put the blocks together without sashing…it’s FABULOUS!

It’s also fabulously shredded.

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Happiness is Quilting! ((Giveaway!))

If Happiness is Quilting, then I am VERY HAPPY!

Irene was in charge of getting me to the airport on Monday.  I had two choices of flight times when booking this flight – either crack of dawn early which meant we’d be leaving Plano by 4:30am (ACCK!!!) Or, I could give myself a morning to play, get to the airport early afternoon and make it home by bed time. 

Of course the second option won out, hands down!

We wanted to do some shop hopping, and antique mall browsing, and headed north out of Plano to Mc Kinney.  While I’ve taught in McKinney, my time was usually between the workshop space at a local church, and the hotel – so I never got to wander the beautiful downtown courthouse square area.

And right there downtown is an adorable shop that you just do not want to miss:  Happiness is Quilting.

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A Texas Sized Show & Share!

What do you get with 5 days straight of workshops, two of which are a Mystery that won’t be revealed until April when it appears in Quiltmaker Magazine?

A WHOLE LOT of saved up show and share ready and able to inspire you to get those projects out and get working on them!

I love taking photos where quilters gather.  You should HEAR the laughter and the chatter happening.

What is said around the ironing board STAYS at the ironing board…but I’ll be chuckling for a good long time!

What has been really fun is that many of these ladies only see each other once a year.  So there is MUCH catching up going on.  Who has new grand babies?  Who’s son just graduated from college?  Who has moved from one area of the country to another, but still comes back for these quilt holidays. 

There is a whole lot of living happening in between, and stories are being shared while machines whir and hum in the background.  It’s a place of gladness. And I was really glad to be there!

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Mystery Monday Link-Up, The Reveal!

 This is Robin’s top!  Isn’t it fabulous?

How is it that she is in CLASS yesterday with a completed top?

The woman sews exactly like I do – there is no stopping her when a goal is in front of her and she has time to asccomplish it.  We posted the reveal of Allietare on New Year’s Eve EVENING here in the USA –at the exact time that 2016 was being rung in joyfully over Italy.

And she got busy!

I am so absolutely thrilled that she was able to work on it between the release and yesterday’s class – and drive all the way from Shreveport, Louisiana to share it with our class in person.  She did a beautiful job!

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Crabapple Party in Plano!

 Another day to play in the great state of Texas!

We had a great time playing with 1 1/2’’ strips in the morning, and moving on to our paper-pieced tree bases in the afternoon so that we could get these trees together.

There are always some newer quilters who haven’t had any paper piecing experience, or maybe they have and never really learned to enjoy it.  There are only 3 seams that bring this tree base together, and it is a great way to learn some hints and tricks, and fine tune some common issues that quilters have when just getting going in paper piecing.

Let’s face it, you’ve got to make some doozies before we finally get this dance down!

I went along explaining how one earlier time while giving this class, a student had managed to sew her checkerboard tree tops to the wrong end of the tree --

Being quick witted, she qiuckly added “It’s an Authmn tree!  All the leaves are down!”  I used this example as a warning so that those in this class might miss that un-stitching pitfall.

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My 2016 Word of the Year is…

This is the time of year when everyone gets all gung ho about their “Word of the Year” and what they are going to do with it.

There is great anticipation of good things to come, and how lives and life styles are going to change if we just put this magic word into practice for 12 months of concentrated effort.

It’s as if one word can create miracles, and all of the puzzle pieces in the chaos of our day to day activity will fall into place if we just heed that one word of the year.

I have spent a lot of time over the past month in deep study of myself, including friends, family and online relationships with others through this thing we call social media.

My past year was all Hurry Hurry Hurry, get it done, deadlines loom, there is no time to slow down, there is no time for more than a short concise answer.

2015 was a year of many changes and challenges, many of which have taken me to my knees.

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A Mad City Mama kind of Day!

How fun is it for mothers and daughters, sisters and friends to come together to sew on New Year’s Day?

We pulled out our bins of 1 1/2’’ strips to quickly sew strip sets, destined for rail blocks and 25 patches without rhyme or reason – we were playing on the random side of the fence this day!

The main focus of our class was to sew in the new year by clearing out some space in our stashes….including the ugliest of the ugly strips, proving that really, truly, in this quilt EVERYTHING GOES!

Before class started, I did get a big surprise:

Allion came in with one corner of her Allietare put together:

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Talkin’ Turkey All Day Long!

It was a fabolous day in Plano, Texas for meeting and greeting and reconnecting with the best quilters that Texas can offer!

Even folks you meet for the first time feel like “Mi Familia” when we start chatting and discover that we lived in nearly the same place growing up, and remember certain things about that area that we hadn’t thought about in many many years!

Those of you in the California Bay Area, please think of me next time you pop by a Togos eatery and enjoy a #9 with the works for me, will ya?

It was a wonderful day for sewing up a bunch of scrappy string blocks, and adding some easily pieced flying geese units to make Talkin’ Turkey blocks, with not a turkey in the bunch!

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