Quilt Camp: Food, Fun, and Favors

Posted By drsao on March 15, 2010

Quilt Camp in North Carolina (Thursday through Monday) was NOT JUST FOR SEWING. We could have been filming the REAL QUILTERS OF COROLLA MEETS THE FOOD NETWORK. I took pictures of all of our food, table settings and favor offerings……unfortunately my camera (not the operator, of course) did not produce clear pictures of everything; BUT I did capture a FEW pictures.

We ate the best enchiladas that I have EVER had, fantastic baked spaghetti, corn beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, breakfast casseroles, pumpkin bread, fruit with sherbet, and perhaps there was a tiny bit of champagne in the orange juice one morning! One morning we had braided pastry housing ham and eggs, more pastry stuffed with scrumptious chicken, darling stuffed round pancakes, and I am probably forgetting so much more. Let’s just say that we ATE WELL and we had a WONDERFUL TIME!

YUM

This makes me hungry all over again!

Spring time place mats and straw hat pin cushions

This was an amazing breakfast!!!!

Spring Flowers - Pretty Cool!

: Looks like the Easter Bunny came!

We had so much JOY making and receiving meal favors. Some of the MOST TALENTED folks among us embroidered FLIP FLOP NAME TAGS AND VISORS………WOWEE…..and PERSONALIZED holders for our water bottles! We got beautiful credit card wallets, place mats, pin cushions, chocolate bunnies and jelly beans (thanks Dale and Jane), and spectacular button laden fat quarters. WHAT a lot of fun we had! THANKS EVERYONE!!!!!

AMAZING - thanks Jackie and Barbara!

Sue and Lynne - we love the wallets!

LOVE LOVE LOVE the water bottle holders - thanks Alma and Sandy

Love the coasters from Jackie!

Quilt Maps and Button Laden FQ from the Queens of Creativity - Susan and Meagan

I am so sad that these pictures are so blurry – but I kept them anyway because they triggered good memories for me! We presented Meagan – back from Afghanistan – the FLIP FLOP QUILT that we made for her – and UNFORTUNATELY this quilt was one of the pictures that did not come out! Judy presented the quilt with a very impressive speech (and Judy also did an OUTSTANDING job of telling the jokes at dinner in Christy’s absence – we missed both Christy and Karen but their memories lived on in the many stories that we recalled!!!!!)

Judy is presenting the FLIP FLOP QUILT to Meagan

Meagan's Flip Flop Quilt

Some of us walked on the beach – it was wonderful – and remembering that a couple of years ago Karen and I got LOST, I tied a bit of fabric on the steps that led to “HOME!” AND…..some of just enjoyed looking at the beach…..I wonder if I will have any friends left after posting these pictures……well, at least everyone will be nice to me because you do not BOTHER to harrass people that are not worthy of your efforts…..

The Beach Observers - love the spring array of colorful clothing

Sorry, I could not resist this one!

WE (I say WE because it was not my idea – I was just summoned to push the camera trigger) photographed folks sunbathing on the beach – hey, it was our first sighting of the season! Actually I admire these folks for their positive attitudes and passion about saying goodbye to winter and hello to springtime. LIFE LESSON HERE – never let the weather steal your joy!

OK – and another bit of interesting news is that we all got tattoos. Well 13 of us got identical quilt-related tattoos and Susan already had a frog so she didn’t get another!

13 of us got this tattoo - Susan has a frog (photo not included!)

Are you wondering WHOSE idea this was? Well – without mentioning any names – her first name starts with a J and she is a very close family member of Karen. Her name is NOT JANE!

Augusta, preparing her husband for her new and ONLY tattoo

I won’t be mentioning any names – but I heard a rumor that SOME QUILT CAMPERS had a little visit from the fire department because of a bit of egg casserole dripping onto the oven floor – this resulted in an automatic call to the local fire department. When I saw the CALL PLUMBER switch in the bathroom, I was really worried that I might hit that instead of the light switch and cause another emergency alert – but alas, the switch (Augusta TOLD ME TO SWITCH IT ON) only lit up the bathroom with a beautiful red light! And with a HOPEFUL HEART, Augusta tried to summon MAID SERVICE – but alas, no one appeared when Augusta flipped the switch!

The CALL PLUMBER SWITCH lights up the bathroom!

Augusta is HOPING for maid service!

The MAID SERVICE BUTTON must have been disengaged!

Category: Quilt Camp 2010, Quilt Retreat | 1 Comment »
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QUILTY CRAFTY THINGS AND TTFN UNTIL AFTER QUILT CAMP

Posted By drsao on March 7, 2010

I am going to have to share what I did this week LATER because I just realized that ALMOST everything that I did is a secret. So, why am I even bothering to mention this? Because some people will be REMINDING me that I forgot my QUILTY REPORT……so, I will give a little hint.

I spent the first part of the week making favors for Saturday brunch at Quilt Camp! I will be having fun smelling the salt air in Corolla, North Carolina from Thursday through Sunday!!!! And not only will I be savoring the smell and sound of the ocean, but I will be soaking up the sunshine and quilting away with my beach retreat friends. I remember three years ago I went to the beach for the first time and it was my FIRST QUILT RETREAT ever….and it is that time again. I am so excited. I will post pictures of the favors when I get home next week.

OH NO, I can’t show pictures of my ATC (ARTIST TRADING CARDS) that I made this week either (I am really on a roll, aren’t I?) Actually I just finished them, it has taken quite awhile…….but I am not trading them until the last Sunday of the month, so they have to remain a secret……I promise I will share pictures later!

OK – finally a picture…..my binding chair….. I decided that if this chair stacked with quilts that needed binding were in my closet, where I could see it every day, that it would be my motivation to do the binding on my quilts that have been accumulating (I LOVE BINDING); but alas, the stack is not going down – it is moving in the wrong directions! 🙂 THE GOOD NEWS is that if my sewing machine breaks down at Quilt Camp this week, I will get a lot of binding finished. I am going to fill my car with quilts!! 🙂 You know, it is POSSIBLE – ast year both ” Bonnie” my Singer Featherweight AND ” Molly” my Hello Kitty Machine stopped working and I got LOTS done on my Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt!

The Binding Chair

I also finished the back for Baby Cook’s SHE Ribbon Quilt……yeah!

Back of Baby Girl Cook's Quilt

The good news is that I worked in the yard today – Max and I pruned and raked – and the sunshine was FABULOUS!!!!! If my camera were not broken I would have taken pictures! 🙂 HM…..what else did I do that I couldn’t take pictures of. Would you believe that I baked a beautiful four-layer chocolate cake? 🙂 And the apple pie was gorgeous!!!!!

Category: Baby Cook SHE Ribbon Quilt, Life Comments, Quilts in Progress | No Comments »
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It was a GLORIOUS DAY in Williamsburg Saturday

Posted By drsao on March 7, 2010

Wasn’t it a glorious day in Williamsburg this Saturday!? When I looked around at all of the Colonial Piecemaker’s Quilt Guild members on Saturday, I could see a special glow on everyone’s faces that reflected the joy we all felt by the WARM WEATHER, sunshine, and promise of spring time!!!!

OK – now that I have cheered myself up with this little pep talk about the glory of springtime – I have some bad news! MY CAMERA SHUTTER GOT STUCK ON CLOSED! I missed taking pictures of all of the BEAUTIFUL QUILTS on display this month – and there were some wonderful ones for sure!

The good news is that Catherine and I got FRONT ROW SEATS in big blue comfy chairs – PERFECT SEATS for taking pictures of the beautiful quilts…..and I got a picture of the chairs BEFORE MY CAMERA BROKE – that is how excited I was. Imagine that Catherine is sitting next to me right here!!!!

Front Row Seats

Since Catherine had a birthday in March, she got to bring a prize for the prize table…..the good thing is that I got the picture – BEFORE MY CAMERA BROKE.

Catherine bringing the ruler prize

I was so excited to see sock knitting going on – I took this picture for INSPIRATION. One reason that I am SO IMPRESSED is that these socks were only started the day before….. AND THE GOOD THING IS THAT I GOT THESE PICTURES BEFORE MY CAMERA BROKE!

My Sock Knitting Inspiration

LOVE KNITTED SOCKS

There was a heaping TUB of donation quilts – all beautiful and the BAD NEWS is that I didn’t get pictures! LIKEWISE, the SHOW AND TELL was SO IMPRESSIVE – maybe one of the best SHOW AND TELLS EVER…..and the BAD NEWS IS….

But wait – IMAGINE my sister Bonnie proudly showing Bonnie Hunter’s Carolina Christmas Star Quilt and sharing with us that each block had 8o pieces……and IMAGINE Lorraine with her wonderful shirt and bag that she made to match to wear to the Hampton show…….I could go on and on….but WAIT…..maybe you won’t have to imagine. Try going to Catherine’s Blog (it is on the side of my blog where it says BLOGROLL and you click on Catherine’s Blog) and perhaps you can see real pictures!!!

Catherine and I had so much fun shopping at a local flea market and antique mall…….and we had a wonderful lunch at Red Lobster…..and we shopped for treasures at the Ben Franklin in Mechanicsville. It was a lovely day, but at the risk of being negative, I must mention that I missed capturing these special pictures! Thank goodness for our imaginations! 🙂

Category: Colonial Piecemakers | No Comments »
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Oscar’s Wall Hanging

Posted By drsao on March 3, 2010

My SIL Kerry will be happy to see this!

Oscar’s birthday wall hanging is finished and will be in the mail tomorrow! YEAH! I hope God Momma Kerry likes it! And Happy 2nd birthday to Oscar April 30!!

Click twice on the picture to see the entire photo!

: Front of Oscar’s Wall Hanging

: Back of Oscar’s Wall Hanging

: Close up of Quilt Label

Close Up of Quilting

Category: Oscar's Wallhanging, Quilts Finished in 2010 | 1 Comment »
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Quilty Stuff

Posted By drsao on February 28, 2010

Adventures with Leaders and Enders

I did TONS of cutting this week – I am using Bonnie’s STASH PRE-CUTTING system so I cut lots of STASH into 4 1/2, 3 1/2, 2 1/2, 2, 1 1/2 and 1 inch pieces!!! It is a good feeling to get organized and now I will be READY TO ROLL when I want to make something from Bonnie’s new LEADER AND ENDERS book! I believe that I have enough pieces cut out for 3 of the quilts in the book……Irish Chain, Hopscotch – Butterscotch, and Mad City Grandmama.

I started a quilt with some fabric that I bought at Debbie’s Yard Sale. I bought a bag of Yo Yo’s that her mom had made – and I just felt COMPELLED to make something with those Yo Yo’s that she had worked so hard on. I never knew her mom – but I wanted her Yo Yo’s to live on…..so this is what I made up…. I also used fabric from Debbie’s mom’s stash. I am going to LIVE WITH THIS FOR AWHILE and then decide, but I think I am going to make this into a quilt. Right now it tickles my Scrappy Quilt Fancy! And for all of my Country Piecemaker’s Quilt Guild friends – Debbie is bringing her MOTHER’S STASH to our March Guild Meeting – so bring cash and get ready to SHOP!!

Yo Yo Memories

AND….ta da…..the BEST PART of my quilting accomplishments this week is that I got my TYME TO WATER QUILT OFF MY UFO LIST…..

Yes, I really did.

No, I didn’t finish the quilt, but it is OFF MY LIST.

I have struggled with the GUILT for not finishing that quilt since 2007 when I started it. I really couldn’t understand why I didn’t finish it either until I finally realized that I didn’t really like it well enough to finish it (I have decided that I am the FOLK ART SCAPPY BONNIE HUNTER TYPE quilter – that is what makes my heart sing. ) Then recently Sheddy told me that she wasn’t inclined to finish hers either and had actually sold her TYME TO WATER QUILT.

HM……I found out that Catherine LOVED the Tyme to Water Quilt and her birthday is tomorrow – – ding ding ding……a little bell rang in my head. I AM FREE – I FEEL SO HAPPY – THE QUILT IS OFF MY UFO LIST. So, it is now on Catherine’s TO DO LIST! Hey, what are friends for? This is what the quilt would have looked like had I finished it! I am sure Catherine will do something creative with the parts of the quilt!

Tyme to Water Quilt

Here are the blocks that I had made – well one of them was not quite, but ALMOST FINISHED……and I have no idea why some of my pictures are large and some small!