A few of my favorite quilts

I arrived at the show very early on Friday just to make sure everything was ready to go at the mini auction. It was.  So I wandered around and looked at all the quilts. It is so sew inspiring to see the quilts that everyone makes. Some simple, some stunning, all beautiful!!
Some of my friend's quilts:
Marcia and I did this Block of the month last year. Hers is done, mine is in pieces. (Jo Morton pattern)

She also entered Raining Cats and Dogs by Bunny Hill. I did the embroidery, she did the rest

Jeannie did this beauty as a Block of the Month (through the mail) But she took it up a few notches

Look at that beading.

She also designed, stitched, and quilted this one.

Carol had a favorite of mine in the show, pattern was in APQ I think.

She also did these cute dresses.

I did have mini quilts in the auction. Does that count? Hu?

Happy stitching

Can't get the last picture to post, so no dresses this time.

The Quilt Show Unfolds

Last weekend our guild held it's quilt show "Our Quilts in Bloom". It is really fun to watch the show come together, even more fun if you are not the one putting it together ;).   My committee of one, me, was the Mini quilt Silent Auction. Thursday was set up day and Friday was opening day. On Thursday I hung 95 minis, with some wonderful volunteers. Then I went home to nap because I knew Friday would be a long day.
Here are the minis for auction

The show closed at 8 pm Friday night. The bidding on the minis closed at 7pm. We start a count down about a half an hour before which usually results in a mob of bidders returning to the table to bid one more time. Once the bidding closes we circle the last bidder and the amount. Then the crown surges forward to find all the bids they won. They take them to the cashier and then the cashier hands them off to one of the volunteers to pull the mini(s) off the board. The rest are taken down, pinned to the bid sheet and set aside. Then we hung 100 more mini quilts for Saturday's auction.  Then  Saturday we do it all over again.

I am now following up on all the minis that were won by people who were not at the show when the bids closed. Not my favorite part. But I can contact people in my jammies, and I did.

Will show you some quilts next post!
Happy stitching

Book Review

Bethany House publishers sent me a book to read. My part of the deal is that I review it on my blog. I chose "Rules of Murder" by Julianna Deering.
Let me first say that I am a life long fan of mystery series, Cherry Ames, Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, to name a few. I grew older read more 'adult' mysteries. Can't get enough of them.

The back cover of this book says: "Introducing Drew Farthering.  From the tip of his black homburg to the crease in his Cheviot trousers, he's the epitome of a stylish 1930s English gentleman. His only problem? The body he just discovered."

I found Drew and his best friend, Nick likable, but maybe not really believable. That being said it didn't really bother me. I enjoyed the contrast of the English gentlemen and the American girls. The plot wasn't difficult to follow, but there were enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.Strange characters pop in and make you wonder hmmm?   A bit of romance, some danger, and of course murder to solve.  Enjoyable reading.

I plan to look for more by this author.

It doesn't seem possible that it has been so long since I posted anything. I am apparently getting old since I have been struggling with arthritis all summer. All year actually, but worse than usual this summer. Enough kvetching...;)

I promised that I would be doing a post about some great bags. I am a bit late for what I had planned to do, but the bags are still great.  While reading blogs I followed a link to  Sew Sweetness.com  and was just amazed. (I can't remember how to link) There are free bag patterns that are just so cool you want to make them right away. Then Sara started designing more bags that are available by PDF. Lots of great pictures and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. She has lots of bag testers and she shows all of their bags when she introduces a new pattern.

Not long after that I had the chance to meet Sara at Quilt Market in Houston. (And yes she is totally sweet). During that same time period we were expanding the shop to 3 times its original size. And by we I mean that I was there. Not actually doing any 'expanding'. The boss developed a plan to have a year of events to celebrate the expansion.

We had Karen Coombs do a trunk show and she taught a class the following day. She was great! Everyone loved the workshop. Our regional rep from Northcott came and brought a bunch of their quilt samples from market. Another great event ( I missed that one). We had a Moda rep talking about all that wonderful Moda fabric. Victoria Findley Wolf did a trunk show and a workshop the following day. She was a huge hit with everyone. So creative, and funny, and friendly.

In the middle of all this planning I asked Sara if she would do her interfacing lecture from Sewing Summit and then teach a bag class the next day. She said yes. I got to see her again when she came to discuss the details and bring some bags to pick a pattern from. We selected this bag..The Petrillo Bag. It has a cool separate pocket inside for your E-reader or Ipad. Still  lots of room for 'purse stuff'.
I missed her lecture, but got to be around for the workshop. (I was working so I did not get to take it).
Really great news from Sara is that she has started to print some of her patterns and they were picked up almost immediately by United Notion Distributors. And she has book coming out in November with all new patterns in it.

The bag
:

 

 

 

The Book:

 

 

In August I resigned from the shop. Since the expansion it is really busy and the pace is too much for me. My last day was August 31st. I will still be doing the Beginning Block of the Month that is in progress. I will also be finishing the McKenna Ryan pattern 'Heaven and Nature Sings' that is also being done as a block of the month.  I will catch you up on those next post.

There is still going to be an event at the shop in October that I will attend. I got the idea from a schoolhouse presentation and my friends at the shop made projects for the event. Now we wait until after some big vending the shop is doing in September and then we have a little fun.

More to come. ;)
Happy stitching

The week in review

Last week was a really busy one. It flew by in a nanosecond. OK maybe not that fast. No sewing happened at all either. My younger DD flew in from LA on Tuesday night. She came in to be a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding on Friday night.
We spent hours at a salon on Wed. getting DD's hair done. She has dark hair, but keeps it a very white blond color currently. When she called to schedule the appointment they said, oh no problem. We went there because our cousin works there and is a great colorist, but she was off that day and nothing else worked with the events surrounding the wedding. As we left it was sort of getting overcast. We went dress shopping for a dress for the rehearsal dinner. Later my other DD came over to practice doing wedding make-up.
Thursday we  woke up late and hung out and chatted until it was time for her to get ready for the rehearsal. After washing her hair she had what she described as a level 3 melt down. We had noticed that in places her roots looked a bit gold. Well.... it wasn't just in places. And gold roots and white hair is not a pretty look. She wore her adorable new dress and shoes. She wore a scarf around her head that covered the offending roots up front. While she was out I called my cousin and told her about the hair drama. She told me what kind of toner to get and what to do. Gulp. (Considering I have lots of pictures of me sporting very brassy blond hair I was scared).
Friday morning I shook DD out of bed early and we went to the beauty supply store for supplies. The nicest guy was working and he made sure we had everything we needed. (Except experience).
Back home I mixed the stuff and snapped on some gloves and got to work. I made her go shampoo a bit too soon so the roots were toned down but still a bit goldish. I reapplied and left the room. We waited the longest possible time and she showered and washed her hair again. It came out blond. The roots a bit darker than the rest of her hair but at least the same color. Crisis averted.
DD after the ceremony writing well wishes to the happy couple. Then taping her congratulations.

 

At the crack o'morn Sunday we were on the way to the airport so she could head back to LA :(

Later we went too DH cousin's home for a Father's Day celebration. Our Older daughter joined us there. This is the view coming out of the kitchen door.

A close up of the pool.

DD sitting on the diving board.

DD (on her phone) with the tennis court/basketball court behind her.

This week I need to rest up from last week.
;)
Happy stitching.

A few odds and ends

The first Block of the Month, McKenna Ryan's Heaven and Earth kicked off last week. You saw the snow bear and his bear buddies and that is the first block we are doing. I did get the second block ready for a sneak peek at the kick off.

 

Due to low enrollment, the start of the Beginner Block of the Month has been delayed by one month. I don't think I posted the pattern yet. It is called Cobblestones and is very traditional, but using the shop's bright pallet.

Here is the first row ready and hoping more quilters want to join in. Bad picture, will try for a better one later.

I have block 2 of Pat Sloan's Block of the Month fused. I still need to stitch it down. I also need to get going on block three.

I also have two more Bunny Hill blocks done. There blocks are so cute. And pretty fast. Just love them.

I have not forgotten about the tease on the awesome bags. Coming soon I promise. I need to get some pictures for you.
Happy Stitching!

Quilts and more

I mentioned in my last post that We went to a really cute town filled with adorable shops and antique stores. I think it was Glendale, but the name just flew out of my brain. I though you might like to see some of the quilts I came across.

 

 

 

Just a little bit about the town we stayed in, Elizabethtown, KY. The biggest name to hail from there is Abraham Lincoln. Thomas Lincoln, Abraham's father was a skilled carpenter and furniture maker. In 1809 the Thomas Lincoln family was living on the Sinking Spring farm. There they welcomed Abraham, named after his grandfather, on Feb. 12. Eventually the Lincoln family settled in Cole's County, Illinois. The home that Thomas built:

 

Across the road from the home.

I feel like I came home knowing a bit more history than when I left. A great trip even though I didn't quilt. LOL
Happy stitching