Quilts Ready to bind

I got the back ready for my Superbowl Stashbuster quilt  - the picture is the top of the  RIBBON WEAVE QUILT  (one of Augusta Cole’s Cutting Bee patterns) made from fabric from the last two Cutting Bees……now I need to make a label……

The Ribbon Weave

And the BIGGEST accomplishment is that I finished my Grandmother’s Flower Garden top.  I was planning to hand quilt it but now that I have the top made I really don’t love it and therefore I think I am going to have it machine quilted.  I can’t see spending 3 years quilting something that I really am not crazy about.  I think part of the problem is that I don’t know how to end it – maybe I would be happy with inner and outer borders but I am not sure I want to cut off the hexagon points.  I know I don’t want to hand sew them down onto a border…..so I am going to hide this in the closet and do a SCARLETT OHARA THING…I will think about it TOMORROW.  For now, it is a closet quilt!  ANY IDEAS ANYONE?  Right now I plan to cut off the points – square it up and have it machine quilted – but I am going to THINK FOR AWHILE before making any moves that I will regret later.

Grandmother's Flower Garden

AND I made my DH, Max, a pillowcase for Valentine’s Day.  He really likes it. 

The Valentine Pillowcase

I am having lots of fun making Curved Log Cabin blocks – stay tuned…… 11 made, need 120……I think that I will WAIT and THINK about that math tomorrow. 

Curved Log Cabin Blocks

Near the end of the pictures you will see some monogrammed clogs (worn by Karen) and the fun part is that Karen’s daughter sells them.  I think I am going to have to order a pair – they are so cute!  You can contact Bridget DuMont by e-mail (bridget.dumont@gmail.com) and see more of her designs at www.DuMontDesigns.net

We sure had some inspiring quilt creations!  I just wanted to make everything that I saw anyone else make!  You can see some of Augusta Cole’s patterns at www.augustacolequilting.com and Karen DuMont’s patterns can be found at www.Kariepatch.com

I want to take this opportunity to remind and ENCOURAGE all quilters to take TWO sewing machines to every quilting event.  I did – and both my Singer Featherweight and my Hello Kitty Sewing Machines STOPPED WORKING – can you BELIEVE IT?  I guess this means I am OUT of the KIT KAT CLUB!  sigh….:)  HM…I still have my Hello Kitty Lunch Box!  I wonder if this means that I can be an honorary member?

Thankfully, my new bff, Judy, loaned me her Singer Featherweight so that I could keep up my sewing production.  I managed to get my MILKY WAY top (designed by Augusta Cole) together - it is from our January Cutting Bee.  I SO LOVE THIS QUILT.

I had a bit of car “adventure” on the way home from the beach…….so if I were a superstitious person I might suspect that I was possessed on this trip.  Two sewing machines down the tubes, a roommate who had a major car mishap, and my own car that is not on my LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS anymore…..ie, it made my LIST OF NOT SO FAVORITE THINGS – and there are very few things on this list.  :) 

THANK YOU Judy, for loaning me your sewing machine.

THANK YOU Jackie for the two eggs because I left mine at home and needed them for brunch!

THANK YOU Augusta, for taking my Singer Featherweight home for your husband to look at and for your MILKY WAY PATTERN!

THANK YOU Barbara, for being my roommate and “cooking partner.”

THANK YOU Christy, for letting us enjoy your fantastic beach home and for the sewing/gardening carriers.

THANK YOU Baron (the Great Dane who now has my heart) for the photo ops.  He is such a precious puppy!

THANK YOU Karen and Augusta for the informative demos!

THANK YOU EVERYONE for the fun, good food, inspiration, and giggles!

And THANKS to Tommy (AAA – the best tow truck driver ever) and his buddies in Kitty Hawk (SETO’S SERVICE CENTER) who fixed my BMW – without  these folks, I might STILL be stranded by the side of the road. 

Enjoy the pictures and the fun through my pictures!  Remember to click twice to see enlarged versions of the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

I took my Grandmother’s Flower Garden project to Sit N Stitch at Quilter’s Corner on Friday – and I think I sewed on THREE WHOLE HEXAGONS.    Why did I do so little?  Well, I was having TOO MUCH FUN taking pictures, shopping and getting myself and others involved in multiple NEW PROJECTS.  Yes, it is all due to Sheddy’s New Year’s Resolution to open the flood gates and start a project a day – if one so desires….and I think some of us are desiring to do just that. 

Be sure to notice Marla’s Fairy Quilt.  She used a free pattern on the Michael Miller website.  I love it so much – I just got goosebumps when I saw it.  I also LOVE her BLOCK ONE of the Bunny Hull BOM….the little snowman is just SO CUTE.  I am going to have to make mine soon!

We had a couple of quilts (Sherry’s Quilt designs from the Quilter’s Corner retreat last week) to ooh and aah over – and speaking of oohing and aahing – Trudy made some doll clothes blocks that are just BEYOND CUTE!

I also got excited because the ski shop in Sycamore Square  was making artificial snow – and since I LOVE SNOW, I just naturally had to take a picture.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of our fun!

I finished the August center block for the LAKESIDE version of the Thimbleberries 2008 Quilt.  If you are making one you will notice that mine does not look like the one in the instructions?  WHY?  I am famous for my tendency to do my own thing and I just decided that I liked my way on this one…..so here it is…..

Grandmother’s Flower Garden

MODA PIECE AND PLENTY

Since I have been doing MORE traveling than sewing this summer, I decided to include a picture of what Susan (of Quilters’ Corner) made as a demo for this month’s Moda, Block of the Month Piece and Plenty Club.  This is what MY BLOCK will look like WHEN I make it.

PURSE TO DIE FOR

And this will be what my purse will look like when I make it.  Here we have a picture of Trudy’s purse (and cute little shoe bows to match.)  I have the same material…….so one of these days, I, too, may have a cute bag like this.  Don’t you just LOVE this bow?!  The pattern and fabric is from the Quilter’s Corner.

Quilter’s Corners BLOCK OF THE MONTH

I love the AUGUST QUILTERS CORNERS Block of the Month from the Quilter’s Corner.  I make two blocks each month – so I will either have two quilts at the end of the year – or a LARGE quilt at the end of the year.  Stay tuned for the end result!!!!

Today I spent the entire day with the VIRGINIA SCRAPPERS having a wonderful time sewing!  I met some new friends and missed some old friends (SHEDDY AND CARMEN.)

Look at this “antique” Birthing Quilt that Peggy brought.  Isn’t it wonderful!  It is so intricate and it looks like the original quilter made it PILLOWCASE STYLE.  (I had a lovely picture of Peggy too – but somehow my program has decided to cut her head off……….oh how I wish that I had a techie brain – I would fix it!) 

At least I only cut off the top of Nancy’s head – she made this very cute purse and matching billfold….the billfold has lots of very cool compartments……I loved it!  Nancy also made this wonderful wall hanging – all today!

Patsy was working on putting the finishing touches (ala binding) on her Circles and Melons quilt.  I LOVE THE FABRICS that she used.  I have never done any circular piecing and HOPEFULLY  I can get into her class July 12!

I actually took a picture of the entire REDWORK QUILT OF ANTIQUE SEWING MACHINES but it came out blurry – too bad!  But I did get a corner of it (THANKFULLY) with Linda’s smiling face…..aren’t quilters just some of the happiest folks around!  Linda embroidered these sewing machine blocks BY HAND!  Such an inspiration!

And last but not least – here is the HELLO KITTY QUEEN – look at that cute little green Hello Kitty sewing machine!  She added the Hello Kitty Stickers too!

It was a good day for Susan (at the Quilter’s Corners) today – two more people at our table signed up for the EGG MONEY QUILT CLASS starting July 20….it is going to be lots of fun! (There is nothing like word of mouth advertising!) 

Today I finished the binding on my ALL THE RAGE QUILT for my grandangel Harry.  Since binding is my least favorite part of quilting, it is more fun to do it with friends.

I also spent some time working on my Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt.  The hexagons look a bit off color – that is because the papers are still there – showing through.  I have been using old business cards and magazine subscriptions cards to cut the hexagons….it is now kind of fun to do the English paper piecing task – more fun than just sewing around plain old card stock.  It was a good day!

TRIP TO MISSOURI

If you are family – then you might like to see some highlights of my recent trip to MISSOURI.  I got a new camera and lived up to my name of CRAZY PICTURE LADY……enjoy.

My cousin died and I went back to the Midwest to be with my family.  While it was a sad occasion, it was also a time to make beautiful new memories and renew my connection with my familial roots.

MY BROTHER, FRED, AND FAMILY – AND AN UP AND COMING PRIEST

I stayed with my brother, Fred, and sister-in-law, Elaine, and my two nephews Eric and Joey.  Here they are outside The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in KC where mass was said for nephew, Adam Johnson.  It is a beautiful cathedral – with a gold dome – located in downtown K.C.  This is a picture of it from a distance – love that dome!  Inside the cathedral it is truly breathtakingly beautiful…….I have never seen such wonderful stain glass windows. I wanted to take a picture, but wasn’t sure if that was an acceptable behavior!

This is Adam, with his sister, Lisa, and mom, Diane.  Adam left for Italy where he will be studying in the Vatacan to become a priest (over the next five to six years.) 

You are seeing this correctly, the FUTURE PRIEST is taking his sister’s PINK SUITCASE with him on a trip to CA to visit the missions there!

FATHER’S DAY

I had the unexpected pleasure of spending Father’s Day with my parents!  We celebrated a late Mother’s Day too!

SONY FAMILY PICNIC

And I went to Lake Jacomo for a SONY FAMILY PICNIC….I hadn’t been to this lake since I was a senior in high school celebrating prom night!  Elaine and I are enjoying the festivities and good food  (Missouri style corn on the cob and fried chicken.)

I will never forget this day because my brother, Fred, accidentally went into the ladies room and when we ran into each other in there he thought that HIS SISTER HAD GONE INTO THE MEN’S ROOM! 

Well, as FRED EXPLAINED, at a certain angle and with sun in your eyes, a WOMEN’S sign looks a lot like a MEN’S sign!  After this, my brother wore a hat and sun glasses to hide his identity!  Why?  Because ANOTHER WOMAN ran into Fred in there too and SHE THOUGHT that SHE was in the men’s room and my brother PROMISED not to tell (in sign language.)  We laughed a lot about this.

GREEN CITY, MISSOURI

We drove to Green City, MO…..and enjoyed the lucious rolling green pastures along the way to my cousin, Janie’s house.  The third picture below of the yard with the DINNER BELL in the foreground is my cousin Janie’s backyard….and the next one is of my cousin Betty’s backyard!  These country YARDS go on forever and ever!  Quite impressive for a city slicker like me!

And this is my grandma’s old house – it used to be SO BIG!!! 

And this is the old family GREEN CITY METHODIST CHURCH right outside the TOWN SQUARE!  I imagine that not too many people have heard of Green City, MO, but it is a charming town that holds many wonderful childhood memories for me – population 668.

This is my cousin Janie standing in front of pictures of her grandangels.  We are five months apart in age and she and I used to ride horseback around Green City when we were little.  I thought that was so neat!  (Our fathers are brothers.)

She is a lot of fun to be with and I discovered that we have a lot in common – for one thing, we both LOVE ankle bracelets!

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Betty is Archie’s wife – and he died only two months after being diagnosed with cancer.  She is holding a cast of their clapsed hands that they had made at the county fair last summer – what a treasure that is. 

MY WILD HORSEBACK RIDE WITH ARCHIE

I have included a picture of Archie in his younger years – I remember VIVIDLY his taking me on a horseback ride through the pastures to round up the cattle (they lived on a farm and the cows had to be milked.)  I – a city girl - was on the horse (bare back) behind Archie – clutching tightly and screaming as we galloped through the fields. 

 Archie had so much fun making me scream that he added a bit of excitement to the adventure and rather than go through the gates to proceed from one pasture to the next, he simply directed the horse to JUMP THE FENCES.  I will never forget this as long as I live – the wind blowing my long blonde hair, the screams never ending, and Archie’s laughter – what fun he was having!

MY AUNTS

I have two aunts in long term care facilities and while they didn’t know me anymore -  I knew them, and it was nice for me to get to see them again. 

Aunt Lillian….with Fred and me……

and Aunt Madeline…..our family elementary teacher who must have taught most of the cousins and everyone in Green City for their first three grades!  Even though she does not recognize us, she is very pleasant and social.  Here we are with cousin Ronnie – we celebrated his birthday while I was in town.

VANILLA HOME MADE ICE CREAM

Yes, I really took a picture of my dish of HOME MADE VANILLA ICE CREAM.  It is near the top of my list of FAVORITE THINGS.  We always ate homemade ice cream when the family got together – in the olden days – and I often DREAM about having it again.  It was such fun, as a child, to watch my uncles crank that handle while we waited with anxious anticipation for that ice cream to be ready!  It was YUMMY DELICIOUS – then and now!

What a sweet sight, cousin Randy with the ice cream freezer!

KIRKSVILLE, MISSOURI QUILT SHOW

This was a real unexpected treat.  I got to see some of my grandmother’s and my aunt’s quilts.  I never knew that my aunt made quilts – so this was a lot of fun.

THE HOUSE QUILT

Now this is really exciting.  Here are my cousins Shirley and Ricky holding the HOUSE QUILT that my grandmother made Ricky when he graduated from high school!  Shirley and Rick hosted the birthday party for Ronnie!

And my Aunt Gladys made several quilts – some of which my grandmother partially pieced.  This is Aunt Gladys and the quilts that she made.

“EMBRACING OUR HERITAGE” 26th Annual NORTHLND NEEDLERS QUILT SHOW at the GASHLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Elaine (sister-in-law) and I went to a  quilt show hosted by the Northland Quilters Guild and the Nitetime Needlers Quilt Guilds in Kansas City, MO.

Here are a few of my favorite quilts in the show!

Grandmother’s Flower Garden and Scrappy Bear Claws.

Cats and Dogs….

I am not remembering the names of these quilts – but I liked them!  The second one is a LOG CABIN set in an interesting configuration.  This very large quilt was edged with prairie points – very impressive!

I am participating in a BOW TIE online block exchange – so this BOW TIE QUILT made with 1930’s fabrics was intriguing.  I had never seen this setting before.

And this one I want to make – it is my FUTURE QUILT INSPIRATION!  I love stars, polka dots and plaid!  Goodness, I hope it isn’t in bad taste to post pictures of other people’s quilts without giving them credit – I am new at this and didn’t even think to write down the quilt creators names!

MORE OF MY GRANDMOTHER’S QUILTS

Before I left Kansas City, Fred and Elaine showed me quilts made by our two grandmothers.

Grandma Reiter of Pueblo, COLORADO made what looks to me like a variation on a TRIP AROUND THE WORLD….sort of. 

Fred’s Graduation Quilt from Grandma Alma Mary Bankus Albertson.

…..and the beautiful vintage blue and white quilt was made by Elaine’s Grandmother

Some Final Highlights of my Trip to the MIDWEST

I always enjoy seeing my sister-in-love, Chris……my brother, Fred, and I had lunch with Chris in the Crown Center area of KC.   Chris and I are looking forward to going to the largest outdoor theatre in the world (I think) next month to see MUSIC MAN.  I LOVE THE STARLIGHT THEATRE – definitely on my list of FAVORITE THINGS - and an annual traditional outing on my summer trips to Kansas City, Missouri.

51

We had a wonderful Italian dinner at BRAVO’s in ZONA ROSA in celebration of Fred’s 51st birthday.  It was wonderful and I highly recommend the eggplant parmigiano!

Nephew Eric’s girlfirend, McKenna, works at BRAVO…..THANKS MCKENNA……you are the best!

Nephew, Joey, enjoyed the ice cream…..we all did! 

In fact, I think we are an ICE CREAM FAMILY….look at Fred and Elaine…..at the DAIRY QUEEN (I don’t think we have any of these in Virginia!)

MY GRANDANGELS

My 13 year old grandangel, Harry, and my 10 year old grandangel, William, flew in from CA. It was WONDERFUL to see them!  Here they are with their great grandparents – my parents.  We caught my mother in rollers – I hope she doesn’t mind my sharing this picture…..if she does, OOOPS…too late!

Brother Jim and Family

Finally I had fun seeing my very dignified CEO brother, Jim (the one with the bag over his head) playing with his grandangel Tara Lynn.  It is a good thing we have grandangels as an excuse for our “FUN” behavior!

Tara Lynn (one year old) is cute without the bag on her head too – here she is with her mom and my neice, Amanda! 

And finally Tara Lynn’s brother, Preston (age 3), and his dad, Tyler!

I love my family – they are so much fun to be with….and I have to close with one of my favorite pictures from my trip…….Fred holding a baby mouse in a pet store.  A little girl (not a family member) invited him to hold her pet mouse….too funny!

And FINALLY – my two brothers, Jim and Fred, always have to clown around for a picture – it is a tradition.  PEACE BE WITH YOU!

….a lot of fun….

and it was a great learning experience! 

I REALLY learned SO MUCH.

The first thing that I learned is that these women are A LOT OF FUN TO BE WITH!

We laughed a lot – and we even found an additional NANCY (#3 – with the name tag on) who came over to laugh with NANCY (#1 – the jewelry designer – in red) and NANCY (#2 – the resident RIPPER – not in red)  at dinner.  (We didn’t know Nancy #3 - but her group must not have been as much fun as ours because, as you can see, she is NOT sitting at her table with HER group !)

Karen, Gloria (holding the quilter’s sign) and Carolyn are waiting for those wonderful homemade rolls!

The second thing that I learned is that these women DO NOT PICK BORING PLACES FOR THEIR RETREATS!

We had a GLORIOUS VIEW of the outdoors! And we were serenaded by singing ducks every morning! it was beautiful, peaceful, and refreshing! Our parking area even had a lovely view!  It rained (my favorite weather) – well, it was just perfect!

 I LOVED the 4-H Airfield Retreat Center!

We also had plenty of wildlife to enjoy (this had to be a FIRST for me – a bear in the dining area!)

Here are some of us with the bear – and of course I had to have a personal close up photo with this HUMONGOUS BEAR…….I have named her Jane – but I heard rumors that she might have originally been John but I have decided that SHE should be an honorary member of the DEAR JANE QUILTERS group!) 

And….I HAVE to make a Dear Jane Quilt – it is now on my TO DO LIST!

And isn’t this little Rosie bobcat cute?  The other critters in the dining area were quite interesting as well! 

The third thing that I learned is that Wakefield, VA has a UNIQUE QUILT STORE…….

Ning’s House of Crochets – it was a one-of-a-kind quilt store for sure.  In fact, many of us went to NING’S MORE THAN ONCE – and some folks may have even made the journey three times.  Our sides ached with joy – it was so much fun! That store was unbelievable. Where else can you get china thimbles from the BLANK display in Houston, 2005 – FREE?!

I had to take a picture of the sign for the quilt store.

And that is NOT ALL – under the big sign was a smaller sign – and it made us SMILE for four whole days!

The CRAPBOOK WING of the fabric store was evidently a new feature….there was one stand with a few stickers and some papers.  Oh my – even if there was only a scant array of supplies for memory making – there was EVERYTHING ELSE in that store.  Crochet thread, knitting yarn, buttons, quilt fabric, pillow forms, dolls, antique pottery, towels, potholders, scarves, shawls, tapestry fabric, netting, thread, glue sticks, patterns……..and this is only a SMALL LIST of the treasures available at NING’S…..so it is easy to understand why it took multiple trips to Ning’s to get the full experience!

Now to a comment about the “OP EN” part of the sign at Ning’s.  OPEN takes on new meaning for Ning’s House of Crochets because the TRUTH is that Ning’s is NEVER OPEN.  The door is kept LOCKED.  If one wants to shop there, one has to e-mail the owner….which could be a problem because Claudette DID e-mail the owner to announce our shopping intentions but the owner did NOT read her e-mail – because “no one sends her e-mail” so she doesn’t check it!    Her e-mail address continues to be posted on her sign and on her business cards….but in case you REALLY WANT to shop there, call or KNOCK LOUDLY!

See how HAPPY going to Ning’s made Claudette!!

The fourth thing that I learned is that these wonderful women are talented and creative!

Look at SOME of the beautiful things that were created during these past few days!

Unfortunately many of my pictures were fuzzy so not everyone is pictured below with their masterpieces – but here are a few (the fuzzy pictures might have had something to do with the fact that I dropped my camera and it fell apart prior to my downloading these pictures)

Carolyn and her beautiful – absolutely amazing – 5-year work of art! I am so impressed.  I would have never been able to get that quilt together, much less quilt it myself! 

CAROLYN GETS THE AWARD FOR MAKING THE MOST COMPLEX DESIGN STATEMENT!

She also gets the title of GUIDE FOR THE DIRECTIONALLY IMPAIRED – she was so nice to meet me so that I could follow her to the retreat….yes I am a directionallly impaired person and I am so thankful that I had a GUIDE PERSON!  :):) 

Gloria color coordinated her jewelry and clothing to complement her happy quilt creation (this woman – who I named GRACE for no rational reason whatsoever - has a sense of humor to die for!)  I don’t know the name of her quilt – but it is very pretty!  She also did some fancy stitching on her HAPPY wall hanging!

GLORIA GETS THE AWARD FOR BEING THE MOST COLOR COORDINATED WITH HER HAPPY QUILTS!

Look at Mary’s Miniature Masterpieces…..they are so fabulous.  I was inspired and just might HAVE to try making one of these mini wall hangings!  

MARY GETS THE AWARD FOR MAKING THE TINIEST PERFECT WORKS OF ART AT THE RETREAT!

Sue made this kitty quilt – and it made me OOH and AAH – since I am a super lover of all things CATS, I developed an instant attachment to this one!  Isn’t it just TOO CUTE!!!  She also made the red and white table runner in the DISPLAY AREA…..unfortunatlely I didn’t get a good picture of Lynn, the creator of the beautiful  bargello type quilt – blues and greens – but her quilt is great!

SUE GETS THE AWARD FOR MAKING THE CUTEST CAT QUILT AT THE RETREAT!

And now for Claudette…….amazing productivity.  I lost count of all of her charity quilts that she quilted – but there is at least ONE of her stacks of completed work pictured above.  I think she also had a suitcase somewhere full of projects.  Her 12 appliqued blocks on the right were a gift to Gloria and I made a “mental note” to be really nice to Claudette from now on! 

Claudette’s CHRISTMAS TREE SKIRT just makes my heart happy – for real.  I love it. Unfortunately I got away without a picture of the most beautiful appliqued quilt ever!  I have named it CLAUDETTE’S LOST AND FOUND GARDEN QUILT.  The next time that you see her you can ask her why I named it that!  (OK OK – I will tell you – because she lost two corner blocks and had searched everywhere, only to find out that they were sewn onto the quilt already……how many of us have BEEN THERE DONE THAT!)

CLAUDETTE GETS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS TREE SKIRT AWARD AND THE MOST PROJECTS  COMPLETED AWARD!  She is definitely the Charity Quilt Queen of this retreat!

THE BEST JEWELRY MAKER AWARD GOES TO NANCY – AND THE BEST FIRST QUILT (GRANDMOTHER’S FLOWER GARDEN) GOES TO NANCY’S MOM, MAGGIE, aka the knitter! 

Nancy made us beautiful jewels to match our outfits!  I am pictured below with Nancy – and I am wearing the earrings and necklace that she designed!  I wish I had pictures of all of the jewelry that Claudette and Gloria had – every outfit had matching jewelry designs by Nancy!

And the uncontested title of the QUILTER WHO DID THE MOST UNSEWING goes to NANCY THE RIPPER!

Here she is hiding behind a beautiful quilt that she made WITHOUT ripping!  I heard a rumor that she actually wore out her ripper at one point….that might just be a rumor though.

She is Nancy #2 in the first picture!

The fifth thing that I learned – well there were several things……

First…..it is a good idea to clean the lint out of your sewing machine…….HM…..who KNEW!

Look at ALL OF THAT LINT that came out of someone’s sewing machine!  HM…..but in HER defense, I must say that no one ever TOLD her that taking the sewing machine APART to clean it was routine behavior!

Second – ants are not nice people.

This same poor linty soul (a relatively NEW QUILTER) had believed ALL OF HER LIFE that ants (and therefore other bugs) should be put outside when possible (rather than killed) because they had families who would mourn their demise……

As a child she had observed ants carrying a DECEASED FAMILY MEMBER away (presumably for the purpose of shared grieving rituals prior to burial.)  SOMEONE, who shall remain nameless but whose initials are C. A. and who is a descendant WANNABEE of John Adams) GOOGLED ant behavior and disclosed to this poor LINTY SOUL that ants not only do NOT mourn and bury their family members – but in fact they EAT THEM……..sigh

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A BELIEF THAT YOU HAVE CARRIED YOUR WHOLE LIFE JUST TO HAVE IT GET BLOWN AWAY – GONE WITH THE WIND……..sigh?  Life is a series of learning experiences!

Third – I learned how to do the cute little twisty thing on the back of a four patch – THANK YOU Elaine – who preferred not to become famous by appearing on Shirley Anne’s Heart.  Aren’t these TINY FOUR PATCHES in the center of the large four patch cute!

I not only learned lots, but I came away INSPIRED and HAPPY.

And now the part that I know my mother has been waiting for…here are the things that I did on the retreat.

I worked on the quilt that I thought that I had created, only to learn that it already exists and it has a name….HUGS AND KISSES…..

I made twelve green scrappy log cabin blocks for my decentralized log cabin block swappers group…I took a picture of four of them.

I made 150 scrappy four patches for CLUE 1 of Bonnie K. Hunter’s ORANGE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT (http://www.quiltville.com/) only I miscounted and made 200! 

I made a few blocks for my PEACEFUL HOURS QUILT – I LOVE these blocks!

I made NOT ONE BUT TWO of the April 2008 BLOCK of the QUILTERS CORNERS Block of the Month Mystery Quilt (from Quilter’s Corners in Midlothian, VA.)  I had to make 2 because I REALLY REALLY REALLY LOVE it!

And I worked on my GRANDMOTHER’S FLOWER GARDEN – I am so excited about this quilt…..THANK YOU CLAUDETTE (whose initials are C. A.) for getting me started on this.  I love working on it!  I just hope it doesn’t take me 20 years to complete it!   

This partial block took SEVERAL HOURS…..I was told that I would get faster!

Thank you, Gloria for my new title……OUR LADY OF LINT……that Gloria is a hoot!

I am so glad that I got to visit the PEANUT CAPITOL OF THE WORLD (Wakefield, VA) – and the VIRGINIA DINER.  I am already looking forward to the next retreat!  I am putting Quilting Retreats on my LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS……no wonder our fore-mothers had so many quilting bees!