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Friday, April 07, 2017

Scrap Busting in Birmingham!

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We had an amazing day in Birmingham!

Our Roll Roll Cotton Boll workshop from my book String Fling was in full swing with string blocks in the morning, and patchwork made easy with the Essential Triangle Tool in the afternoon.

It was a wonderful group of 30 quilters, who had come from as far away as Florida, and all over the sate of Alabama as well as neighbors from Georgia.

It felt good to be “Back in the saddle again!”

I love exploring the possibilities of neutrals with students.  Especially when some are NEW at quilting and just have no idea that backgrounds can be so varied – and so much fun.

There was a whole bunch of trading and swapping going on when it came to the string blocks and the energy levels were great as everyone got the hang of it.


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Even Hello Kitty got into the action!

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Looking great!

I also did a little bit of machine re-homing myself.  This was a driving trip.  I could bring machines and put them up for adoption.  I only managed to bring a couple, A sweet little Singer Spartan, and a green 185-J.  And they found happy owners right away!

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Happy ladies!

The 185J is headed home with Rebecca and the little Singer Spartan has been adopted by Kay! I know they will be well taken care of and enjoy continued use in the homes of others who will love them!

Why only 2 machines?  They were all I had ready to bring.  Some other machines need cleaning, or need foot pedals or bobbin cases.  Over the past 3 weeks I had been busy with moving, a 2 week lingering bout of bronchitis, and skin cancer surgery.  This was all I could manage this time.  But I have another driving trip in May up through Virginia into Maryland, and there may be a couple more machines that can find new homes.

As I thin the heard, t allows me to keep looking, keep fixing, and keep rehoming.  Happy all around!

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Blocks soon coming together!

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Everyone was working so hard, but having fun with it!

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String those triangles, Terri!

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Check out Terri’s Straits of Mackinac in red & black!  AWESOME!

She is also doing her Roll Roll Cotton Boll with black strings, and it’s going to be so cool when she is done.

You can catch the rest of our workshop day in the slide show below.



It was a double duty day, with a guild presentation on the other edge of town last evening, so it was a quick pack-up job when class was over, and a fight through traffic to get to the library to set up in time, but we made it.

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Ooooh!  Full house!

This is a very full 10 days in Alabama, and I am saving the Show & Share photos for another post down the road.  Stay tuned for those.

Up on deck today?  Garden Party!  And it’s a beautiful sunny day with bright blue skies and not a cloud to be seen.

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Quiltville Quote of the day!

Even givers need to learn when to say no and mean it.  And we also need to know when to say YES and give it everything we’ve got!

Antique crazy quilt shared by Penny while on retreat in Shipshewana.

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She writes:
Hi Bonnie - I am at a quilt retreat in Shipshewana, Indiana with Debi Whitman, my bff.  We both attended your Scrappy Mountains Majesties workshop in Grand Haven last month.  Tonight, Debi shared her grandmothers antique crazy quilt and I thought I'd share a couple of pics that I took of it.   Hope you enjoy.
Thanks for sharing, Penny!  Enjoy your retreat, ladies!

Happy Friday, everyone!


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8 comments:

Claudia said...

I have a friend that taught me to say, "That's not going to work for me" when asked to do something you don't want to do or have no interest in or time for. She also said you offer no excuses when you say this. It was hard at first but oh so freeing!

Robby said...

How interesting to see Straits of Mackinac in a different colorway, that always catches my eye.

My mother taught us we could decline almost anything short of a wedding or a funeral by saying something along the lines of, "I can't, I have other plans." Our 'plans' are our own business, are not required to be divulged and could be stay home and floss the cat's teeth or do anything but THAT thing, but they are our plans and we may stick to them without worrying about disappointing others. It has worked for me over the years.

shelleyjwilliams said...

I always say, " I would love to, but I can not! I sure wish I could but I can not." Seems to work, no one ever asks why. It is something about saying "can not", instead of can't, or not at this time. Anyway, it frees up my time for the things I want to volunteer for or spend my time doing. Also, I found this out from church. If you volunteer for everything all the time, it takes away other people's chances of volunteering for that particular task. Think about that! Thanks Bonnie for all you do for us!

nankc said...

You can also say, in certain instances, when you turn someone down for something that you really don't want to do, "I'll let you know when it would be a good time for me." A social worker gave me that piece of advice. It works!

Unknown said...

Oh, I so wish that I was there with you. I am in Tuscaloosa which is only a hour away. My dream is to sometime be in a class with you. Nancy A: rangerer@sbcglobal.net

Ann said...

Good morning Bonnie. I'm having morning coffee with you as I do every morning. 'Hey, if you have a treddle machine you would like to bring to MD I would meet you there and take it home and give it loving care. Where are you going in MD? Have a super day.

annieb said...

Wish I was retreating with you when you come back to Texas. The pictures are so much fun to peruse. You can almost hear the laughter. TFS. As the other Ann said I'm having my usual "wake up" time with you & a diet coke & a nutty buddy. Have a good trip & safe travels.

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