Mid-Atlantic Quilt Day

My friends, Joan and Sue and I, spent all day Thursday in Hampton, VA at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. As we were driving up to the show Sue asked me if I was looking for anything special. I couldn't come up with an answer, so Joan piped in and said, "She will know it when she sees it"! Well that was certainly true. And for me, it didn't happen in the display of quilts in the show. Most of the quilts in the show are art quilts. And if you want to see art quilts, you will have to look for another blog. There were some fabulous quilts, but the ones that set my heart to singing were those in some of the vendor booths--like Bonnie Blue Quilts, for example!

This is the first year that Paula Barnes, of Bonnie Blue Quilts, has had a booth at this show. It was a beautiful booth, and I just wanted to swallow it whole.

Here I am gushing all over poor Paula. She was as nice as could be and even posed for a picture for my blog! I, in turn, bought a lovely FQ pack of her newest line of fabric. Yeah, it was a hard sell. Just look at her quilts! Aren't they wonderful!!!

I also met up with Mrs. Goodneedle again this year! I neglected to get a photo, but here she is from last year. She is such a neat lady and I just feel like we are old friends every time we meet.

This may well be the only traditional quilt in the show. (To tell you the truth, I didn't look that hard) Isn't it beautiful! It was made by Lynn Nycum and Judy Iamuzzi of Winston-Salem, NC. I am not sure, but Judy may have been the quilter. 

There were so many great vendors with booths to investigate! We loved every minute of our wonderful whirlwind of a day! We came home with aching feet, knees, hips, necks. We were all hurting somewhere, but we were blissfully happy! -THE END-

INCA GOLD

Here is the unveiling of Inca Gold. I have been showing teasers for a while, and here is the whole enchilada, so to speak. My quilter on this was Rosemary Skinner, a local Virginia Beach gal who did a fabulous job quilting this for me! The photos should open up when you click on them to give you a better view of her quilting. I LOVE what she did!  

  

 

I love designing and creating quilts, but darn it all, those long arm quilters really bring the whole thing to life, don't they? My hats off to all you quilting artists out there and special thanks to Rose on her beautiful work!

This quilt will be going to What's Your Stitch 'N Stuff, the LQS here, to be on display for the Shop Hop that starts next week. Also next week is The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, just across the bridge from here. If you are passing thru town be sure and stop at the shop and tell them that I sent you! They will treat you right over there, I promise! It is a GREAT shop! Plus, they carry a complete line of Patchalot Patterns! Whooo hoo!

A COKE AND A KISS

Happy Valentine's Day my friends! 

Wish I could share with you a Coke and a Kiss!

I know at least a few of you share my passion for this food group!

And then there is our other passion! Quilts-Quilts-Quilts! Seems like I have heard that somewhere before. Here is a long shot of my split 9-patch. I pulled the blocks from the drawer last week and began sewing. When I got all the blocks together it measured 60" x 60". I decided to do some ad-libbing, and this is what I came up with. I seem to have developed an interest in funky top and bottom borders. It makes it my own. This one finishes at 64" x 80". I totally enjoyed the mindless sewing of squares into 9-patches. I have lots more, as I couldn't seem to stop myself. So now a 9-patch design is definitely in order....some day, sooner or later.

 

Happy Valentine's Day and may all your UFOs 

start flying to the finish!

MY OWN ADVENTURE LAND

I know my posts seem to get further and further apart, and that is because, as you well know, it is difficult to get anything done in the sewing room or elsewhere when you are glued to the computer. I did that for quite a while, and began to feel frustrated that I was showing little progress in other areas. So I am trying to limit myself. But the truth is, I do enjoy writing and I do enjoy visiting blogs, so I am trying to do it in a sensible manner. I am not commenting as often either. But I am still around and want to let you all know that. And there are soooo many quilt blogs out there now that if you come to mine less often it will give you a chance to visit elsewhere. Capice?

Last week I mentioned that I delivered Inca Gold to my quilter. Always such a relief to know it is done and on its way! Now at a loss for what to do next, because as you well know, there are so many things to do next, I started digging thru some storage looking for something small to finish for my grandson who has new bedroom furniture and needs a little quilty something for his nightstand to protect it from all the things that teenage boys toss on their nightstands. I pulled this little quilt top out of a box and decided to quilt it up at long last. I made it several years ago for a class demo. Now it is quilted and washed and crinkly and adorable. It measures 17.5 inches square, so it was just a little big for Kyle's nightstand. Instead I mailed it to his other grandmother in PA who is so wonderful and sends us chestnuts every fall for our turkey stuffing. I hope she likes it.

Back to the sewing room and more digging. I found all these split 9-patch blocks that I made several years ago. The pattern was in a magazine and it was supposed to be queen size. Well at this point I decided to just start sewing blocks together to see how big it would get. It is now 60" x 60" and I really like it. So I am re-designing to make it larger. Always an adventure when you find an old project to finish up. Hopefully next time you stop by I will have this top completed and I will have more pictures. 

The best thing about these projects is that there was no pressure to finish them for any particular reason. I sat and sewed up my stash of 2-1/2" squares into 9-patch blocks just for the satisfaction and pleasure of it. Ahhh. My kind of adventure. Enter the sewing room and see what happens!

Kyle's quiltlet is still waiting to happen. Another adventure awaits!

IT'S TRUE, WE GOT SNOW!

 

Let me introduce INCA GOLD! You have seen pieces of this as I have been constructing it, and now it is completed and off to the quilter this week. This picture shows just a portion of it hanging on the deck. It is actually 69" x 89". This is my first full sized quilt this year, and my quilter actually has another one that I finished piecing last year but have not yet revealed. Hopefully I can show you both before too long!

And look! Snow right here in Virginia Beach, VA! We have lived here for ten years and never had more than a dusting of snow. This is our side yard, and below the snow laden branches on the live oak tree in the front yard. I think we got at least five inches at our house.

 

And in case you were expecting me to run down to the beach for a photo, forget it! I have not left the house! In fact, if you look real close you can see the screen on the windows from shooting the camera out the windows! I am a native of the northern clime and I know snow, and I don't need to shake hands with it. Been there, done that!

CHEERFUL CHEDDAR DOLL QUILT

Again it has been a busy week. I thought I would post this darling little quilt sooner, but life keeps heading me off at the pass.

Many of you will recognize this quilt from Lori's blog, Humble Quilts. I fell in love with it when I saw it on her blog months ago. Apparently I wasn't the only one who loved it. Lori decided to work out the directions for us, and they are on her blog. Of course I had other things in the works, but decided to drop everything and make this sweet little quilt while it was still fresh on my mind. Otherwise it would run the risk of landing on the wish list that may never come true. My quilt ended up being a bit brighter than Lori's. I just couldn't help myself. This was so much fun to make. It is such a clever pattern and goes together like a pretty little calico puzzle! Thanks Lori!

Meanwhile, there may be snow on the beach tomorrow. That just doesn't seem right does it?

 

JUST FLYING BY

The weekend is once again slapping us in the face. "Wake up", it says, "your life is flying by"! At least that is how I feel. At least I can say I got some things done this past week. For those that are interested in my newest little pattern, Feathered Friends, it is available on my website and you can click on the little picture of it on my side bar to take you there. Thank you for giving me such positive feedback on this little cutie!

 

I am frantically working on another larger quilt that I want to have ready for the LQS, What's Your Stitch 'N Stuff, by Mid-Atlantic Quilt Fest in February. It is going to be awesome! The little blocks I showed in my last post have grown into bigger blocks, as shown above.

 

And I have border strips completed and ready to be added very soon. I love designing quilts and creating them, then writing the directions isn't even that bad any more, but the whole thing is such a long process! I keep wondering how the "big girls" do it all so seamlessly?

Have a great weekend everyone!

THE LIST

I am checking off things on my TO DO list. Yesterday I got this quilt mailed off to my son with the bare wall. I made this quilt in 1999 when I was just beginning to try my hand at designing. I love this quilt. It was so fun to make, and not so big that I couldn't finish it. I even hand quilted it, which is something I rarely do these days. I have often thought I would like to re-make it using the beautiful fabrics that are available today. You may recognize some of these old fabrics from the 90's and earlier.

I also ordered and quickly received Triangles on a Roll. This is my HST maker of choice. I have tried other brands, but I keep coming back to Triangles on a Roll. And I found that they had free shipping if you order $25 or more. So I stocked up. A very lucky to find free shipping, but then this is my lucky year!

Also, I have a new quilt in the works! I am very excited about this design. I hope you will like it too. And I want to thank Jo Morton for the luscious array of golds that she brings us time after time. I seem to have collected a few. Are they cheddar? Gold, brass, cheddar, whatever they are I must like them! I keep buying them! 

And now for a grand finish! Yes, I completed this wall hanging, Perfectly Perched, by Lynda Hall from the American Patchwork and Quilting magazine, Dec. 2009 issue. I loved it when I saw it, and then Lori made it, and then Libby made it. I was hooked. I did my applique in wool.

This one is Libby's. She made hers into a big pillow and shows it here alongside her Church Cat pillow, a Cheri Saffiote Payne design. Libby and Lori are two very prolific and fabulous bloggers. You probably already read their blogs. They are two of my favorites among so many favorites!

MY SUNDAY EVENING

Here I am at the computer while my husband watches football and reads a book. He is not really immersed in football, but he doesn't want to miss the good parts, so he reads until he hears the crowd cheer, then he looks up to see what happened. Meanwhile, the TV with the DVR and all my programs are held hostage. Last night I woke up at 3:00AM and came down and watched Castle. Am I really that desperate? No, I just couldn't go back to sleep for a while. 

Castle, by the way, has a great cast, and my favorite is Susan Sullivan. I couldn't place her at first with the red hair, but she is sensational in this role. You may remember her from Dharma and Greg a few years ago, plus a million other things.This role is great for her, as was the Dharma and Greg roll. Plus she looks fabulous!

 

So back to quilts, here  is what I am teaching at the shop this session. Feathered Friends is a 21" table topper. The center is fairly plain, waiting for a centerpiece. As you can see, it is surrounded by pretty birds. I have to say it was inspired by Corry at Dutch Blue who seems to always have pretty birds mingling with the darling things she creates. Please check out her blog. You will love it!

This is a quilt that I made a few years ago and it was a great success as a class, so I thought I would try it again. The classic four-patch on point! I took this quilt off the wall at my son's house when we were there at Christmas with a promise of sending him a replacement while I borrow this back. Yesterday he sent me a photo of a bare wall. He is so impatient!

This final quilt I did not make. Mary Brandt of St. Michael, MN made it for Becky and Travis, pictured above. Becky is our granddaughter--both of us! And we are both quilters. Isn't that great! So the kids got two beautiful quilts from their grandmothers when they got married in October 2009. Aren't they adorable!

That's all for now. I gotta go see if the football game is over and I can catch up on my programs and do some hand stitching.

Later friends...

THE CORN WAGON

The Corn Wagon, a quilt shop in Springville, Utah, was featured as a Top Shop in American Patchwork and Quilting a while back. I have been wanting to visit this shop for quite a while! In fact a couple of bloggers have offered to take me. But since it was during the rush of the Christmas holidays, I didn't contact anyone other than family while in Utah. I really hope to meet a few of you Utah bloggers at another time!

My darling daughter-in-law drove me to this shop on a cold and snowy day in December. The exterior is old looking and beautiful. I love this big porch on the front!

 Can you see the flurries of snow coming down? It was really quite pretty. Also take note of the Beehive. I love this symbol. Aside from the fact that it is just plain cute, it is also meaningful. The paragraph below, taken from a website about Utah, tells you why.

The Beehive State

Most of the nicknames associated with Utah are related to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, that first settled in the territory. Deseret, in The Book of Mormon is actually a honeybee. Early Mormon settlers have been described as having carried "swarms of bees" with them. This nickname commemorates the industry of the people of Utah. The beehive was adopted, in 1847, as an official emblem and represents the qualities of industry, perseverance, thrift, stability, and self-reliance, all virtues respected by the region's settlers. The beehive is the centerpiece of the Utah State Flag and the Utah State Seal.

Naturally, I found things I needed at this shop. I bought a few Japanese FQs that have a really neat texture to them. Someone out there probably can share the name of the type of fabric that this is. I don't know what to call it, except that it has raised threads in the weave and it looks so old-fashioned that I couldn't resist it, even tho it was twice the cost of American FQs. Not something I want to get into the habit of doing, but it will add some nice old-fashioned texture to this new pattern I got while there.

 You all know that I design patterns, but this doesn't stop me from being inspired by the designs of others. I fell in love with a quilt that was on display at The Corn Wagon. It is an old-fashioned album quilt with names embroidered in the center of each block. The fabric choices were wonderful and took me right back in time. I decided I want to make it to take to a family reunion next summer and embroider our ancestors names on the blocks. Here  is the darling thing about this quilt that won my heart. All around the inner border were hand embroidered "Blessings". Things like, "Faith - Hope - Quilting", and "Song of Birds, Pioneers, Prayers and Flowers".This was irresistible to me! The designers are Leslie Ison and Norma Whaley from Salt Lake City. I couldn't find a website for them, but The Corn Wagon has their patterns (801-491-3551). Be sure and tell them that I sent you! I am hoping they will buy my patterns as well! :0)

MY LUCKY YEAR!

I actually meant to post this yesterday when it was my actual birthday, but here it is, a day late and a dollar short, as my Grandmother always said. Call me crazy, but isn't this an unusual date? My birthday date, 01-02-2010.  The numbers reverse half way thru. Are these my lucky numbers this year? Is this my lucky year? YES! Yes, I say! Bring it on!

My granddaughter, Becky took this picture of me on Christmas as we were preparing dinner. I know it is silly, and that is why I say "Call me crazy". So here it is, more lucky numbers: I am now 64, and oddly enough, that is the year I graduated from high school, '64! It gives one pause to reflect. Who was I then and who am I now? Well, I am not going to write that book of life between '64 and 64, but let's just say I am still happy, I still make stupid jokes, and I am still glad I am me. Could I be better? Sure! Could I be thinner? Sure! Am I going to change? Not likely! But if I am, then it will happen this year because this is my lucky year!

 

A WEEK IN PROVO

Yes, a week in Provo, not Provence, but we loved it!  We got home from Utah late last night and we are still recovering. After sleeping most of the day, I just showered and am now pouring myself a Diet Coke. Ahhh.

We spent a delightful week with my son Renn, wife Keira, and baby Isaac Michael! Isaac is three weeks old and we loved every minute of time we had with him. He coos and gurgles and squeaks and even smiles sweet little baby smiles as tho he is having the best dreams. Sometimes when his daddy starts laughing at something he appears to laugh as well. A good omen, as we laugh a lot in our family. This was their first Christmas together as a family and it was wonderful to be able to share it with them.

I will try not to overwhelm you readers who are looking for quilt-action here, but having just returned from what is facetiously called Happy Valley you must forgive my exuberance in baby sharing!

More later on my visit to The Corn Wagon Quilt Shop in Springville, Utah.

It was snowing in Utah yesterday and we were afraid our flight would be cancelled. Son Renn drove us to the airport, and it got icier as we progressed. We got there by 10:15am and found our flight had been changed to leave at 1:00, an hour later. We watched out those big airport windows and saw the snow stop and the ground visibility clear. What a relief! We caught our connection in Dallas with no problem and got home late, but happy to be home again. Sigh. Yes, Dorothy is right, there is no place like home!

And I really should add Happy New Year to all!

SWEET LITTLE GIFTS

 

Thursday was a sweet and peaceful day as I gathered with two friends for lunch, visiting, and a gift exchange. These are the sweetest gifts because we all love the same things and that makes it fun to give and fun to receive! Joan made us each the darling little framed log cabin block. Isn't it adorable?!

Sue and Joan with Ladybug in the middle. I am so blessed to have these ladies as my friends! They are the best!

Sue made each of us this really great sewing kit. Opened you can see all the pockets for various items. The flaps fold down to cover things while it is folded. A small cutting mat fits in the back pocket and a 4" square ruler will fit in the right square pocket. Sue has been teaching this as a class at the LQS and everyone loves it! Joan and I have been wanting to make this but now we have one made by the expert! Isn't it great!

  

This is the little quiltlet that I made for each of them. I made the hourglass blocks with 5" squares, and the simple applique is wool, ala Cheri Saffiote Payne. What a fun day we had!