The Good Old Summertime!

What a great summer this has been! We have had fun and it has gone fast. Doesn't it always? Below is this really cool horse I found at an antique shop in Minnesota. It is heavy rusted iron. I love it!

I flew from Arizona to Virginia the end of June with a layover in Minneapolis. I was home for a week and my husband and I packed up and drove to Minneapolis! Well, I didn't want him to drive alone. And... we drove through Wisconsin and stopped in Menasha to visit Primitive Gatherings! I was delighted to get to see Lisa Bongeon's shop, tho Lisa was not there. She was off teaching somewhere, of course. Sorry to have missed her, but I did get a couple photos. And you can visit her at her blog by clicking her name. Lisa always has the best stuff!

This is my quilt pattern, Prairie Fire, that was hanging in the shop. It was quilted by Linda Hrcka at The Quilted Pineapple. Check out her blog, she is amazing!

I have to share this cute display. It is an old ladder with little nails on the rungs and primitive designer Cheri Payne's patterns are hanging there. How appropriate! 

We left Menasha and drove a short distance to Appleton, Wisconsin. I went to high school there and haven't been back since. 

We drove by the old house, which I still love. It looked happy and well cared for! I could move right back in! We loved Appleton so much!

From there we drove on to Minnesota and up to the Brainerd Lakes area. We spent about two weeks with family there and loved it.

Here is our darling Katie with the twins.

Here is the darling August James with me! 

My great-grandson!

I will end with a cute little wool pumpkin that I worked on while traveling. I was a fun design to work on and is free from American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. You can find it on their website, All People Quilt.

Change, or not so much?

After my last post and the funny photo of my grandchildren, their mother produced some recent photos that I really need to share. 

 These kids are so funny! Well, to me at least. They are my blood, make no mistake! Some people develop humor as they grow, and some are just naturals! These kids are just goofy!

The first photo is reminiscent of this one from two years ago. Seriously, they make me laugh. (My life is an oxymoron)

Next we have our darling Kathryn, who just turned nine years old. Her mom just got a used freezer and painted it. Kathryn, or Katie as she now prefers, is modeling beside it. Love the color coordination!

Saturday I visited Olde World Quilt Shoppe. It is located in Cave Creek, AZ. I first visited the shop in February when Lisa Bonjean was there teaching. This is a wonderful shop! Perhaps one of the loveliest I have been in, and that is saying something! A bed laden with beautiful quilts is in one corner and in another is a big comfy couch, with old looking chandeliers adding a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The owner, Dee Grantham, above, is responsible for the beauty and style of this shop. I am very impressed with Dee. Not only is she talented, she is really a sweetheart!  

Now my friends, do you see anything familiar in the photo? Yes! my Button Bandits quilt with the crows is hanging in the back. The shop has been making kits for this and also Medallion Doll Quilt, on left, and they must keep selling out because they keep ordering patterns! If you want a kit for either of these call the shop (480-473-2171), I bet they will ship!

As you can see I am still in Arizona, where the temp is around 108 degrees and the grass is crunchy; the A/C struggles to keep the house cool and I struggle to not adjust the thermostat lower. Things change. Kids change, temperatures change and we try and keep up!

Needful Things

Let me begin by thanking you, my dear blogging friends, for your warm and touching comments on my last post regarding my Dad. I know we all suffer these losses in our lives, and having friends offer kind words of sympathy and encouragement means so much. 

Today I had the pleasure of attending a class taught by Lisa Bongean from Primitive Gatherings. I was at her website a month ago and noticed that she would be in the Phoenix area this month, so I quick called the shop where she was teaching and got the last spot! I didn't even care what project she was teaching, I just wanted to be in her class. This sweet little table mat is called Needful Things. Lisa gave us all kinds of tips and techniques for wool stitchery. Including "keep the steam iron moving" when you are fusing the wool in place. This was one I needed to keep in mind as I have a tendency to press down and scorch the wool. Ouch. Not a good look. So my project is all pressed in place and I will have hours of enjoyment as I perfect my embroidery stitches. Lisa is a great teacher. I am so glad I was able to take this class from her. Sadly, I was so busy stitching away that I forgot to take any photos!

Now a word about the shop I was at. It is called Olde World Quilt Shoppe and is about a 50 minute drive from my house. I had not been out to the shop before, but will definitely be going back again. The shops close to where I live focus on bright and modern prints. While I appreciate that look, it is not me. (My granddaughters? Yes!) Olde World Quilt Shoppe is filled with awesome plaids and beautiful flannels and wools, along with wonderful Civil War repros. Lots of kits and beautiful quilts on display. Plus the staff was so friendly! I immediately relaxed into a state of total bliss. They were named a Top Shop in 2009 (AP&Q Quilt Shop Sampler magazine). Great shop!

So that was my fun day. I came home to find that my granddaughter Mary had made dinner and Super Bowl treats. A good day made even better--I didn't have to cook!

 

Needful Things: Good friends, a little sewing, and someone else cooking!

I hope your needs are being met as well as my own were today!

Marcie

Home in Virginia

At last I am back in Virginia. I returned home a week ago after a plane trip that was not ideal. My connecting flight in Newark, NJ was cancelled and I was lucky to get a hotel room, thanks to my husband who procured it for me. The airlines said they ran out of hotel vouchers and lots of people spent the night at the airport. I won't use this format to complain, just use your imagination. 

We have had lots of rain, but fortunately it dried up for the 4th of July and people were able to enjoy the beach and the fireworks without getting rained on. I did not go. Without having our kids here I don't feel much incentive to brave the crowds. I was just happy to be home. 

 I finally got going on this darling sampler project from Primitive Gatherings. I have had the kit for a while and recently Anne at Cottons and Wool blog showed her finished sampler. It got me moving to finish mine. It is wool on cotton applique. The hardest part is the prep work, which is what slows me down every time. But seriously, it wasn't that bad.

I had a blogging friend come to visit on Wednesday! What fun to meet another blogger face to face. This is Joan Parker from Keeping You in Stitches. Joan is a mover and a shaker. She has raised eight children and she is still going strong! She is a prolific quiltmaker! These are two quilt tops that she brought to show me. They are great! The top is made from plaid shirts ala Bonnie Hunter. The flying geese quilt has very small geese that were the ends of binding strips, etc. All paper pieced into this beauty. It was great fun to talk and share our quilts, etc. Quilters just connect with no problem, don't you think?

I'll be back again with more. Enjoy summer! We waited so long for it this year!

A little time for a little quilt

 We all lament the passage of time and I am no exception. Where does it go? It evaporates into space and leaves us wondering. I truly feel that the older you get the faster time flies. I can't prove it, but ask anyone of a certain age and they will testify as I have--it's next week already! The past few weeks have been filled with doctor appointments as my husband and I prepare to use our insurance while we still have it. He is trying to retire, but doesn't feel comfortable about it until he knows that my voice problem has been resolved. So tomorrow I go in for that surgery that I mentioned a few months back. I can't wait to get this over and out of the way. My grandchildren are beginning to make fun of me! We were doing 'facetime' on our phones the other day--the kids love that. All of a sudden Isaac (age 3) began talking funny. My husband picked up on it right away and had a good laugh.

After thumbing through my Primitive Quilts and Projects magazines I decided to make this little quilt by Lisa Bongean from Primitive Gatherings. This is from the Summer 2011 Issue. I love a little wool with scraps! I feel very happy picking up small projects right now. And I love playing with scraps. I pretend that I am cleaning up in my sewing room if I sew any small scraps together! I have so many little pieces laying around that it is like a scrappy blizzard in there.

This little quilt is the remains of a class I taught for my Old Elegance quilt. I made several blocks to demonstrate color options and to show how to use the Tri-Recs Tool for the star points. Since I just had nine blocks I added a sawtooth border to finish it. I think I would have gone on to make another whole quilt if I had more of that plaid that I used in the 9-patch block. But now it will be a table topper or wall quilt. You can see another color option of this design on Patchalot Patterns Facebook page. JoAnne at the Patriotic Quilter was in my class and her quilt turned out great! By the way, if you go to that Facebook page be sure and hit LIKE will you?

So many great things going on with quilters these days. I really love what Rose Mary has done with her favorite star. Take a look at Applique 'n Patch for an eyeful of her talent and skill in design! What a delight it is to meet so many wonderful quilters and peek in on them as they share their projects! 

Hopefully more next week from me after a bit of down time.

 

Snowy Stitches

I hope my American readers had a lovely Thanksgiving! The weather is cooling down around the country and snow is once again falling in the northern climes. Quilters are nestled down in fabric and batting stitching up favorite designs. Some quilters, like Lisa Bongean, shown below, have the most adorable snowman quilts, along with other winter confectioneries.

 I had the pleasure of meeting up with Lisa at Quilt Market recently. Her booth, Primitive Gatherings, is always a hot spot at market. Does this not look like a winter wonderland? Follow the link to Lisa's shop and find all kinds of wonderful treasures and kits that you can order on line. I was excited to find my own newest patterns (page 8 and 9) on her link to NEW items. Yes, Lisa buys from me on the condition that I quit stalking her. It's not easy, but I try.

You may know Pat Wys from her darling Silver Thimble Quilt Co. Her designs are cheerful and colorful, often with lots of applique. Pat is lots of fun and shows everyone a good time! Visit her blog at Silver Thimble Talk.

Since we began with snowmen, this is such a darling snowman quilt designed by Pat! It's called Snowbound, and gives you a taste of what Pat does. I love it!

 Paula Barnes and Mary Ellen Robinson, co-owners of Red Crinoline Quilts (formerly Bonnie Blue Quilts) had a booth right close to mine. Paula's designs are fabulous! And Mary Ellen stitches them to perfection. What a team! I loved visiting with them and their booth was beautiful!

This is a pretty little corner of my booth where I framed one of Karen Mowery's Primitive Children. Doesn't it look sweet? You can see a better picture of it on her website Primitive Children. Karen is a dear friend of mine and her talent is amazing! You probably know Karen from her blog, Sew Primitive. And of course she is the now famous author of A Bountiful Life!
Hey, it has five stars at Amazon!!! But ask for it at your LQS first. We like to support shops!