Really?

I woke up very early this morning and glanced at the clock. 4:00am. It must be kismet, the Royal Wedding is on TV right now! Let's be clear, I am not an early riser. 9:00am is a closer target time for me. I am not proud of that, but that is the way it is. But since I woke up, I decided to make a cup of tea (very British) and turn on the telly and see what was happening in London. I loved watching the arrival of the Royal Family and about two celebrities that I recognized. Victoria Beckham looked stunning and of course there was Sir Elton John. Then there were the hats! There were many beautiful and tasteful hats in attendance.

 And then there was Princess Beatrice, daughter of Prince Andrew and "Fergie", and her hat. This is where I must ask, what was she thinking? I saw nothing else that even came close to this. But really, I would love to know what she was thinking? If she was out to grab attention, well, she succeeded! Maybe she is just a sweet girl having a little fun, I have no idea. But this was the hat seen round the world. I do love her dress, but who would take the time to look at it?

Apparently there was quite a bit of loud cheering going on when the bride and groom kissed. One little flower girl was not pleased.
Prince William and Kate Middleton, now his wife, were very well behaved and professional. I kept getting the feeling they were straining to keep themselves under control as the eyes of the world watched their every move. Well done! They are a darling couple and I have every hope that they will have a wonderful life together, and in the service of their country. 


Of course there are lots of photos on line, so if you didn't wake up early, like me, you can probably catch most of it on line and in re-runs. I really didn't plan to get up and watch it, but I am glad I did! 


And yes, I did go back to bed when the wedding was over. Yawn!

Horsing Around

The most difficult step for me in the pattern producing business is getting a good, usable photo of the quilt for a cover. Yesterday my friend Joan and I went to a horse ranch owned by a friend and fellow quilter, Peggy Nelson. It is in Pungo, Virginia. Yes, Pungo. It is close to Virginia Beach, and more rural. Remember my Saddle Tramp quilt that was published in McCall's Quick Quilts? I needed to get a good photo of it for a pattern cover, and a ranch seemed like the perfect place. Plus, I could borrow a saddle! Joan and I took a few photos and then her rechargeable battery went dead. So it was down to me with my little Kodak Easy Share C330. About half way through the photo shoot the batteries fell out of mine in the grass somewhere while we were moving the saddle and quilt around. Joan hits her palm to her forehead and exclaims, "I can't believe this! We are jinxed!"  Well, fortunately I had more batteries, so we were able to continue. Face it, nothing goes as planned! 

 There was this beautiful horse who very much wanted 

to be in our pictures!

 He was sure we brought him a treat. 

He kept searching for carrots!

 Joan tried to comfort him in his disappointment.

 Finally he tried to taste the quilt! That is when we moved on!

 

 We never got the perfect photo with the horse, but hopefully this one will do. 


Now I need to sit at the desk and write directions! Hopefully this pattern will be back from the printer in two weeks and the directions will be ready to go! Watch for it here, I will keep you posted!


I got an email from a reader recently who made this quilt as an auction quilt. Check out Nann's blog, With Stings Attached, to see her version! Very clever use of a novelty print! Thanks for sharing that with us Nann!

 

Shop Talk

Last Saturday, April 9th, was open house at What's Your Stitch 'n Stuff, a quilt shop here in Virginia Beach. It was lots of fun to visit with the other teachers as well as customers that came into the shop. Just to give you a peek into this great local shop, I took a few photos.

 

 Ellen Goodloe shared the beautiful Princess Feathers block she is working on. We all swooned over it!

Chris Herbkersman made this wonderful William Morris Tapestry applique quilt. It is so striking. She took a four block class at the shop and decided it was too good to stop at four! We all agreed!

Sue Cruthers teaches two consecutive beginner classes at the shop. Her classes are a priority for anyone starting out in quilting! Sue and her husband also go on mission trips with her church and she teaches quilting classes in Africa! They love her over there and are developing skills to help provide for their families. This week she is off to teach quilt classes in Columbia! We are so proud of her!

Abby Geddes is teaching Brentwood Bags! Her fabric choices are fabulous! She is also teaching wool applique with this darling Lori Smith design.

 Sue Troyan is in the spotlight at the shop this month, and they have a lovely display set up with a few of the many quilts she has made. Sue teaches hand applique as well as the always popular Miss Pitty Pat class, which is a year long class of Civil War blocks and lectures. She is very knowledgeable and teaches wonderful classes with great enthusiasm.

This quilt sampler gives us an idea of her design talent. She provides various layouts for her students to choose from after their blocks are made.

So that is a taste of what is happening at my favorite shop here in Virginia Beach! They have some brights and some batiks, but they primarily focus on my personal favorite--17th century reproduction fabrics! And also wool! They are in their 21st year in business and may they continue to have great success for the sake of all of us who count on a touchable relationship with fabric, up close and personal!

 Did I mention they sell ALL my patterns! I love them for that too!

Twice Blessed

Time for some twin talk! To update new readers, my grand-daughter delivered twin boys on March 4, 2011. 

She has been keeping us posted daily on her own blog with photos and info. Her mother, my daughter Polly, has been staying with them for the past couple of weeks, along with her sister, Kathryn, shown below.  

(Becky's sister, Polly's daughter, my granddaughter and now aunt to twins!) 

As you can see, Aunt Kathryn gets her turn taking care of her very own Bitty Baby! 

 Isn't this the cutest little bundle? But wait, there's more!

 Hey buddy, you awake?

Here are the boys, each with their own quilt. The boys are identical, the quilts are similar but different enough that they will someday be able to tell them apart. It remains to be seen whether we will be able to tell the boys apart.

Here is Aunt Kathryn keeping a diaper tally. Wow! 24 per day!!

 This lovely lady is Travis's grandmother. She has four grandchildren who have identical twins! Can you believe that? And they say the splitting of the egg is just a fluke. 

Makes one wonder.

 There are more photos of these beautiful babes 

than I could possibly share, but I have to leave you with one last image that was created last weekend after it snowed in Utah.

 SNOW BABIES!!

Kathryn and Travis had some fun!

Come back and see us again. 

Say Cheese!

I just wanted to share this quilt one more time! Mary Flynn of Quilt Hollow did the fabulous quilting on it and my friend Joan sewed down the binding for me. I have the best friends! 

 I have been trying to come up with a pleasing name for this quilt. In light of the flaming cheddar fabric I have come up with "High Noon" as in the 1952 cowboy movie, "Burnin' Daylight", as in the 1972 movie, "The Cowboys", with John Wayne. Remember that quote, "We're burnin' daylight"? My current idea is "Prairie Fire", which I think makes the most sense, as it is easy to say and hopefully, to remember. Any thoughts on this? (My husband suggested Blazing Saddles! What can I say, we are cowboy freaks!)

This week I got an email from a customer of mine who sent me a photo of a quilt she made from the Indian Paintbrush pattern. I am always pleased to see how people put themselves into my designs. 

Edwina Wagner calls her version Cara's Sunshine Quilt. She made it for her granddaughter who moved from California to Seattle. Having lived in Seattle, I totally understand the need for a sunshine quilt!  Well done Edwina! I can see why Cara loves it!