Also we finally figured out WHY THE CHICKEN CROSSED THE ROAD……but I will have to wait until Catherine reads this blog and leaves the story.  I don’t want to mess it up.

Enjoy the pictures and the beautiful projects!

Look what Patsy finished!  It is a Connecting Threads kit – and she did some revision to make it unique.  (Sorry it took so long to get the picture up, Carmen – I have been having sick kitty duties the past 2 days!)

Patsy's Connecting Threads kit - revised

Look what else Patsy is making!  I want to learn to do this.  I think I like it better than the traditional cloth bowls!

Patsy's woven bowl

Catherine's CHRISTMAS CAR

Catherine popped in for a minute and I just had to take a picture of her car – all decorated for Christmas…isn’t that cute!

She also surprised me with new additions to my MR CLICKER FAMILY…..I use these instead of “bells” at school…..and they work wonders!  THANK YOU CATHERINE…they are ever so cute!

New Mr. Clicker Friends!

Here are some other delightful projects …. and I worked on my hand quilting (maybe my new Vintage Halloween panel will be finished by NEXT YEAR!)

Isn't this a cute block!

Beautiful half-square triangles

We will meet Dec. 17th next month and I predict there might be some last minute Christmas projects going on then!  :)

Today was what I call a COZY day – cool outside, cozy inside.  Patsy was working on some beads that I was just absolutely enamored over.  She is making these beads by rolling and gluing old magazine covers and then covering them with a material to make them hard and shiny.  LOOK!

Are these beads amazing?

They are made from triangle slips of magazine pages.

Patsy has a special tool that she uses to keep the HOLE in the bead!

Here they are before the outer coating is on.

I really want to learn to do this for sure.  There is something especially nice about taking material that is going to be tossed out and making it into something ever so nice!

And look what Carmen got as a GIFT from the QUILTED B  when she ordered fabric.  It is a really nice pin cushion.

Carmen got this as a gift when she ordered fabric online

The Quilted Bee

I think I am going to order something – just so I can get one of these darling pin cushions – and the business card is really nice too!

I like Carmen's Sewing kit - it is a little make-up bag - isn't that clever?

Carmen's hand made quilt is growing!

We had so much fun looking at Linda’s daughter’s wedding pictures.

The Groomsmen wore Tennies!

Isn’t this clever – the groom and the groomsmen put on tennis shoes after the wedding!  HOW CUTE!  I think feet pictures are just precious anyway!

And look at this cake – I LOVE IT!

FANTASTIC CAKE

Isn’t this the most beautiful cake ever!!!  I enjoyed seeing the pictures!

I worked on my Scrappy Grandmother’s Flower Garden Hexagons today – I think I made quite a few.  It is a nice hand work project.  I didn’t take any pictures – but when I start sewing them together, I will share!

It was a good day – very relaxing and lots of fun.  

The only bad part about the day was that I WANTED TO GO TO HOBBY LOBBY – our new store here in Midlothian.  I left the group fun a bit early especially so I could stroll up and down EVERY AISLE at Hobby Lobby.  Well,  I drove ALL THE WAY to the end of Midlothian Turnpike and I just never did see it – so I turned around and drove all the way back…..and still didn’t see it.  BUMMER.

When I got home I GOOGLED HOBBY LOBBY and discovered it was on HULL STREET – no wonder I couldn’t find it on MIDLOTHIAN TURNIKE.  SIGH….guess I will save that for another day.

A VERY GOOD PART ABOUT TODAY THOUGH was that Grandangel Leanna got her learner’s permit!  YEAH!  And isn’t this the cutest little Metal Diet  Coke Bottle EVER!  I haven’t seen these before!!!  :)

Leanna got her Learner's Permit!

Doesn’t this sound like fun!?  We can all have a VIRTUAL QUILT RETREAT.

Here is the schedule!

September 6th    Sandy Gervais of Pieces from My Heart

September 7th   Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill

September 8th Barb and Mary from Me and My Sister Designs

September 9th Camille Roskelley of Thimbleblossoms

September 10th Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts

September 11th Basic Grey

September 12th Polly and Laurie from Minick and Simpson

September 13th Sandy Klop from American Jane (Post will be featured on Moda’s blog)

September 14th Liesl from Oliver + S

September 15th Joanna from Fig Tree and Co.

September 16th Lynne from Kansas Troubles

September 17th Barb and Alma from Blackbird Designs

September 18th Aneela Hoey from Comfortstitching.com

September 19th Barbara Brackman from Barbara Brackman

September 20th Bonnie from Cotton Way

September 21st Christina from Cabbages and Roses

September 22nd Deb Strain

September 23rd Jan Patek of Brannock and Patek

September 24th Lauren and Jessi Jung

September 25th Stephanie from Lily Ashbury

September 26th Julie from Cosmo Cricket

September 27th Kate Spain

September 28th Karla, Susan and Lisa from Sweetwater

September 29th Kaari from French General

September 30th Lisa from Primitive Gatherings

October 1st Kathy from Kathy Schmitz Studio

October 2nd Liz from Liz Scott Designs

I finished another mini-quilt which I named “ENJOY YOURSELF.”  The little stamp on the front says “enjoy yourself, it is later than you think.”  I made this top during a VCQ class on EMBELLISHMENT taught by Catherine.  It sure was fun and I am happy with my mini-quilt!

sao's MINI QUIT - ENJOY YOURSELF

Here is the back…….thanks to encouragement by Sara, I am now putting labels on most of my quilts!

Back of ENJOY YOURSELF

You can’t see it very well becaues it is black – but at the top are two 3 1/2″ squares folded into a triangle and sewn into the binding…..so this can be hung on a plastic photgraph display frame – or you can put a wooden dowel into the triangle tabs and hang it on the wall.

Catherine GLAMMED UP

Catherine was glammed up for the day!  I loved her necklace – such artistry (of course she made it!)  I took a close up picture…..love the back closure!

I finished my JB TAKES A WIFE #1 Binding……and that made me happy.  I thought about dancing on the table to celebrate – but decided a better idea would be just to stand on a chair for a picture!

JB Takes a Wife #1

If you are new to my blog I will tell you that this is a modification of Bonnie Hunter’s design “Jarad Takes A Wife.”  The pattern is free at www.quiltville.com.  Bonnie put sashing and cornerstones in hers but I decided that I liked the look for mine without it.  This quilt is MEANINGFUL because it includes plaids from both of my parents’ shirts.

Here is the back.

Back of JB TAKES A WIFE #1

Catherine got a lot done!

Catherine was very productive too and you can see how happy she is that she got a lot done!

I love our SEW SEW DAYS!  Quilting can help your health!  (Read my previous post!  LOL)

We all left with that good feeling that comes from being with good friends, eating good food *THANK YOU CARMEN*, laughing a lot, watching it rain, taking pictures of feet, sharing fabric and SHOW AND TELLS, burning fabric, and accomplishing our artistic goals!  ONE OF US GOT TWO QUILTS BOUND!

I thought everyone had on beautiful shirts today!!!  Look, Carmen even matches her fabric (let me rephrase that – CARMEN’S SHIRT matched her fabric)  - and her beautiful green shirt just glowed under her OTT LIGHT……and that OTT LIGHT came in handy when I lost my VERY TINY NEEDLE ON THE FLOOR!

Carmen matched her fabric

Catherine wearing her favorite color

Well, I don’t actually know for a fact that this is Catherine’s favorite color – but I’ll  bet that it is in her top five…..and she is actually wearing a necklace that she DID NOT MAKE…..her DH bought it for her when they were dating – many moons ago.

Vonnie's shirt matches her MICHE BAG!!!

No pressure, but Vonnie asked me when I was going to have the Miche party.  I just might do that when my DD and her family go on vacation this summer – provided that Catherine will stage it for me…..she is the ultimate party planner!

Love this shirt Patsy - OF COURSE WE HAVE FABRIC!!!!

Patsy brought a big bag of fabric for us to go through – and so did Carmen……WHAT FUN….we even had our own YARD SALE only it was not in the yard and it was not for sale…….HM…..we had our own FLOOR FABRIC GIVE AWAY!!!

OK….and then there was me!  I don’t think I had on a great shirt today……but here I am anyway!  Just as a matter of curiosity – do you all think that I look like a HIPPIE?

sao

I can’t explain it,  but I REALLY like to take pictures of feet…..it isn’t because of anything weird – I PROMISE – I just think feet look happy – especially when they INCLUDE COLORFUL NAIL POLISH and when they are photographed in circles!

Patsy's Nail ART

OK – so the INSPIRATION for the feet pictures came from Patsy – she had on wonderful sandals and she had some fancy nail art that she did herself!  I promise – you would have had fun if you would have been there today!!!!

My Favorite Weather - RAIN

I took time to run to the window and take a picture of the rain……LOVE IT…..as long as it doesn’t produce flooding or is not accompanied by monster winds!

HAPPY RAIN splashes

Carmen was REALLY AWESOME today – not only did she arrive at 8:30 AM, but she also brought a PARTY.  She made WONDERFUL CHICKEN SOUP (Alex Anderson’s recipe – and I hope she sends that recipe to me)  - and I really LOVED the jalapenos  and black corn chips too!  This was a REAL PARTY complete with a tablecloth and REAL SPOONS!  We were so HAPPY about the ice too *see, it doesn’t take a lot to make us happy!  THIS WAS SONIC ICE!

Thanks Carmen - LOVED the table cloth and the ICE TOO!

YUM

Alex Anderson's recipe

I wish I had MORE right now

I think I MIGHT have eaten 10 slices of JALAPENOS!

Patsy's SHOW AND TELL

Carmen's SHOW AND TELL

sao did some binding

I finished two quilts out of three designed by Eleanor Burns – all three quilts were made out of one jelly roll with added fabric for borders, binding and backs.

Here is the second one….Karen Murphy quilted both of them……notice the wonderful bird houses that she QUILTED into the white blocks!

sao - Eleanor Burn's Quilt2

Karen Murphy quilted the bird houses into the white blocks

I am SO HAPPY that I got two quilts bound…..that is a great accomplishment for me!

What did Catherine do?  Well, she made a wonderful flower out of several layers of fabric – and we ALL LIKED IT….especially the part when she MELTED the edge of the fabric with a lighted match.  WE WERE ALL HOLDING OUR BREATH – HOPING THAT THE FIRE ALARMS WERE NOT SET OFF.  Had we burned down the church, I doubt that they would have allowed us to come back.

Some of the fabric in the flower

THE FLOWER

AND NOW….ta da…..CATHERINE burns the flower’s edges!

Vonnie gave her the matches

HOLD YOUR BREATH.....

SHE DID IT!

I know that I BREATHED a thankful sigh of relief.  I could just see that fabric going up in flames….but Catherine KNEW what she was doing!  THANKFULLY!

As you can see, we had a great time today!

AND…..HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL……..and THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SERVING IN THE MILITARY NOW AND WHO HAVE SERVED  IN THE PAST.  What a wonderful sacrifice……..we appreciate you!

Here is my Daddy during WWII.

JBA - Navy - WWII

Catherine and I spent parts of three days sewing up a storm……with a little help from a few cats and Ruby!

Catherine and Hannah

Ruby is watching EVERYTHING

Look at this beading....wowee

Scrappy Log Cabin is FINISHED!

SS Kaleidoscope is finished!

We took out a little time to browse in some antique shops – and look at this EVER SO CUTE house lamp (sitting on a VERY OLD PICNIC BASKET!)  LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

House Lamp and Picnic Basket

AND THE CRUTCH that we found at an antique shop in Lancaster, PA is now ON THE WALL – thanks to Catherine’s expertise at handling a drill….no kidding!

The Crutch is UP and is proud to hold my challenge quilt

OK – so on to PLEASANT AND SWEET THINGS!

Today we had a PREVIEW of the SWEET RETREAT (to be held Saturday and Sunday) at Quilter’s Corner.  Today was actually a SIT AND STITCH day and this weekend is the SWEET RETREAT – SO IN REALITY it is like a 3 day quilting retreat – and that is SWEET!  Whew…..that was a mouthful!

We had a lot of fun – lots of inspiration – lots of giggles – lots of hugging – lots of chocolate – some wonderful coffee…..and we even did some sewing!

Here are some of the highlights..

Karen modeled a SWEET t-shirt from her wonderful friend in Indonesia……….

I finished binding a quilt (Connect the Dots)……AND JUST FOR THE RECORD I HAVE DECIDED THAT THERE WILL NOT BE A FULL BINDING CHAIR THIS YEAR!

Catherine created some ASTOUNDING THINGS (but they are not pictured because they will be a SURPRISE LATER…..but believe me – WE WERE ALL AMAZED!!)

Pat shared her blue and white and red and white quilts – beautiful…….

I have included pictures of some of our SHOW AND TELLS – and there will “probably” be more in the next couple of days…:)

Carmen made lots of progress on her quilt (we are all amazed at her beautiful handwork.)

And Vonnie came sporting a new hairdo – and a BEAUTIFUL Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt!  We enjoyed hearing about her new Bernina …and her new relationship too!  :)

Catherine and I struggled making the covered rope for our BALI BOWLS (and I mean struggled – I even managed to get the rope tangled and Catherine managed to get it untangled!)  We will hopefully get these finished at our Powhatan Quilters meeting on Monday – April 4th (and I am stressing that HOPEFULLY part?)  I am pretty sure that this will be my first AND LAST Bali Bowl!  :)

My great victory for Saturday was that I almost finished binding my CONNECT THE DOTS QUILT (a Judy Laquidara Mystery) ……love it when that happens!  Sara Parrish did a beautiful job quilting it!

Enjoy the pictures!

The table settings and the special “treats” were lots of fun too – and I learned how to make a KEY LIME PIE!  Thanks Karen!  Among other things we had a  barbecue dinner in a jar (so creative with little huggies wrapped around each jar and our names were embroidered on them)

…..and we all got the cutest little blue crabs and PAPER PIECED table pads!

We had yummy real desserts – (and a pretend SUNDAE made out of a dish cloth and little strippies of cloth!! :))  Notice the darling little aprons for wine bottles and the festive cherry napkins with napkin rings (a Karen Dumont Pattern.)   Some of us are already thinking about what creations will be revealed next year!

Some of my favorite menu items  were delicious to-die-for dips and I even spotted a container of “dried plums” for those quilters with special needs!

I am making myself hungry right now just thinking about it all.  How many more days until Quilt Camp 2012?