My Epic Blonde Moment

How do you miss a quilt show that your own quilts are being displayed in?  Well, that's exactly what I did this week end.  I was very excited to have entered three of my quilts in the Oakland Antique and Quilt Show in the little town of Oakland, a bit north of where we live.  Quilts are hung on the outside of the charming old buildings on the main drag through town, much the same as is done in Sisters, Oregon for their big quilt show each July.  There is no judging for the Oakland show, but there are Viewers Choice ribbons as well as Sponsors Choice ribbons.  I feel certain that my quilts will never hang at Sisters, but I was excited to see my quilts hung outdoors at the Oakland Show.

I am going to totally OUT myself here and tell you that I COMPLETELY MISSED THE SHOW!!! I was thinking that it was on Sunday when it was actually on Saturday.  Turns out that I looked up the date online and landed on a webpage advertising last years show, hence my mix up of the date.

I would not have even known of my error until the next day when I would have shown up in Oakland to see, well, nothing..., had it not been for the telephone call that I received Saturday afternoon from Penny B., one of the ladies who organized the show.  She called to inform me that I had won the 2nd Place Viewers Choice ribbon and a lovely gift basket for my Birdsong quilt.  If I was surprised at my win, I was even more surprised that I had missed the entire thing!  Can I get a "DUH"?

I pulled some photos of my quilts hanging from the show's Facebook page, the only "real" way that I was able to see the show.

My Birdsong quit was hung on the bank building now housing the Wine Vault, right on the corner.

My Bunny Quilt, still waiting for it's owner...

And my Hanging Basket quilt, on the frames in the alley.

The gift basket was chock full of fat quarters, various notions and four GREAT quilting books, among other things.

 I also received three Sponsors Choice Ribbons, one for my Birdsong quilt, one for my Bunny quilt and another for my Hanging Basket quilt. Four ribbons for three quilts at a quilt show that I did not even attend!

My husband declared this madcap mishap to be "An Epic Blonde Moment".  He's completely right, of course...

Falling in Love Again

You know how sometimes you sort of fall out of love?  Your heart no longer flutters and that certain "ZING" is missing?  But then,...  something wonderful happens.  You fall BACK in love, head-over-heels style, and you can think of nothing else but the object of your affection.

Well, that's how I am feeling about my hexagon quilt.  It had been sitting, untouched and unloved, for months and months, but I am so happy to say that I am now back in the hexagon saddle, so to speak.  I was recently asked by a friend, Dorothy C., to join a little hand quilting group that meets two afternoons a month.  The only hand work I had in the works at the moment was my Hexagon quilt.  So I dug it out and took it along to my first meeting with the group.

That handwork of mine seems to go so very quickly when my mouth is moving, just chatting the whole afternoon long! These lovely ladies are all working on various types of beautiful handwork from embroidery to piecing to hand quilting.  I think that I just might be the junior member.  The eldest is Patty, a firecracker who is well into her mid-nineties!  I think that she could probably run rings around me.

Of course, I had to order some new reproduction fat quarters to add to my quilt.  You can never have enough different fabrics when you are working on a Hexagon quilt.  I have been working on it in the evenings if Mr. T. and I sit down to watch a movie and some real progress is being made for the first time in a very LONG time.

It is beginning to actually look like a quilt instead of stacks and stacks of hexagon flower units.  I just might possibly finish this quilt in THIS LIFETIME!

It Followed Me Home!

I have been seriously drooling over the Bernina 550 QE since it came out and I just took the plunge and bought one for my very own.  My sewing machines earn their keep around here so thankfully, I did not have to think too hard about the expense involved in upgrading.  This little baby will pay for herself in short order.  And, by shopping between two different stores, mere miles apart, I saved a whopping $1400.00!

I ordered my new machine at the end of last month and believe me, it's been a very LONG two weeks, waiting to pick it up.  

I arrived at the store this morning and got to unpack it myself.  It felt like Christmas in August!

I had a lesson in it's operation and learned all about what a marvelous machine it is.  I love a sewing machine that does tricks!

I puttered a bit with the BSR.  Maybe I can actually perfect my machine quilting.  

I couldn't wait to get home and set her up.  What was my first project?  Why... it was a thread catcher, of course!  Hmmm, what to make next...?

Thread Catcher Revisited

Some time ago, I made a Thread Catcher using a different pincushion design.  I listed it on Etsy and someone "pinned" that thread catcher. It has since had about a gozillion re-pins!  ( That particular Thread Catcher is now living happily in Perth, Australia...)  Still, to this day, I have people visiting my Etsy shop looking for that same Thread Catcher.  I have also had numerous inquiries asking if I could make more.  I did not have the main fabric any longer, but was recently able to track down a small amount of that fabric, no small feat, I might add.  I have made up a couple of them and have one listed now at my Etsy Shop .  I used a different bag lining fabric and I think that I like the new lining even better.

What do you think?  Before... ????

... or AFTER!!!  I'm loving the simple and understated lining on this one!

New Fabrics Alert !

Have I mentioned that I offer ready-made Thread Catchers at my Etsy Shop, Curry Bungalow, just so that I have a really great excuse to buy any and all of the fabrics that I love?  Well, this is a prime example of that.

I just picked up these BRAND NEW fabrics from Riley Blake called "A Beautiful Thing" and I am in love! I have already made up two thread catchers in two different colorways and they are both so incredibly cute.

 I would keep one for myself..., but I need another thread catcher like I need a hole in the head.

New Fabric Happiness

It doesn't take much to make me happy.  A new line of fabrics or two is a sure guarantee!  I recently visited The Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop  and found two new lines that both called loudly to me and I could not ignore them, could I? I knew that they wanted to go home with me.

"Snowbird", by Edyta Sitar was a new addition at the shop. These understated and elegant fabrics made up beautifully, or at least I think so.  I added a vintage ecru crocheted medallion and a vintage button to my Dreamy Dresden pincushion.  Perfect!

"Folklore" by Lily Asbury also caught my eye, and no wonder, because I love anything designed by Stephanie Carter.  I picked up yard goods as well as a layer cake for lots of variety in my pincushions. These are already great sellers at my Etsy Shop, Curry Bungalow.

I love it when fabric speaks to me.  And I like to think that I am a great listener.  WINK-WINK!

Sewing and Singing

My daughter, Butterfly, announced that she wanted to make a quilt for her dear friend Lesley, who will be having her first baby in August.  Remember, she and I made a quilt together previously, another quilt for a baby, that can be seen here . Lesley loves all things nautical so Butterfly chose an assortment of fabrics that were perfect for the project.  She also chose the pattern from a number of ideas that we had both been putting together on Pinterest. Interestingly enough, she chose a pattern that I had pinned myself.  Great minds think alike!

She and Trooper drove down for the weekend.  Butterfly and I immediately 

set about cutting out the quilt pieces.

All stacked up and ready to sew!

Lucy got in on the act! She loved the colors!

We were SING-GING!  Everything from her music from the 90's 

to my music from the 60's with some Country thrown in.  I keep telling Butterfly that if you love to sing, you HAVE to like Country.  She has resisted all of these years, but guess what?  She's now listening to her very own County playlist!

We set up a make-shift design wall for perfect block placement...

and then sewed the blocks together.  

Looking good!  

After Butterfly and Trooper returned home

I did some simple straight line quilting...

and added my favorite piped binding.  

Mr. T. held the quilt up for me so that I could get a picture.

LOOK! The quilt has shoes!  I boxed it up and sent it off, just in time 

for Lesley's Baby Shower.

Butterfly reports that Lesley was mightily surprised!

And Auntie Butterfly is some kind of a baby gift SUPER STAR!

I am imagining this new baby all cuddled up in the quilt that Butterfly and I made together.  And that's the best part.  We made it together, which just makes this Mom's heart happy! 

Our New Nosy Neighbors

We have new neighbors.  They live next door in the pasture over our fence to the west.  They don't have loud parties or drive their cars too fast on our country road.  They're the very best kind of neighbors, except that they're just a bit nosy.  OK, that might have something to do with carrots and apples...

Early Mornings at My House

Don't hate me because I get up early.  If I happen to mention that I am an early riser, people act like they want to SHOOT me or something...  It seems that most of the world is wanting to sleep late, but I love to get up early.  It's my favorite time of the day. I try to sleep in, really, I do!  But lying there in bed, trying to go back to sleep just makes me kind of crazy.

So this is what I do when I get up early.  I sew.  And sew, and sew.  This morning it was just me, a hot cup of coffee, the chatty old cat and Breaking Bad-Season 5 on Netflix.

I have just listed these over at my Etsy Shop, Curry Bungalow .  Take a look. Maybe one will speak to you.

In Bloom

What's blooming in your yard?  My miniature rose bushes are going crazy! These blooms are tiny, about two inches across and are incredibly fragrant.  This photo was too pretty not to share.  My dear friend, Priscilla, remarked, "Awwww, she's going to be a PEONY when she grows up!"

Just Spreading the Love!

I've been spreading the love, THREAD CATCHER LOVE, that is!  I was asked back for a second Thread Catcher Workshop Day at the Rustic Rooster Quilt Shop, and what a fun day we had!  I led two workshop sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Everyone arrived with their fabrics cut and ready to sew.  I provided the pattern, a supply kit and lots of personal instruction.

These lovely ladies, they're sisters, are seen here, with their bags just completed.  They then moved on to finish the tile cover.

Check out that cute ladybug fabric and gingham print lining.  So cute!  It is such fun to see the fabric choices that everyone makes.

Almost finished.  It just needs the ladybug button in the center of the posy.

I was captivated by this little giraffe pincushion owned by one of the ladies.  She said that it was a thrift shop find.  Who could even think of letting this little gem go?!?

I had spent a good part of the day scoping out the inventory and picking out the fabrics that I wanted to purchase. 

I simply could not resist these yummy fabrics.  Who remembers when everyone had one of these funky alarm clocks on the bedside table?

I picked up some trims and zippers for future projects.

But I think that I am most excited about my new Karen Kay Buckley Curved Scissors!  I had a hard time resisting taking them out of the package before photographing.   Karen's scissors are the best that I have ever found in all my years of sewing, and that's a lot of years!  They are super sharp and even better, they STAY sharp.  I have had my large ones for about four years and after tons of use, they are still as sharp as the day I got them.  

Here is my KKB scissors family, all lined up and looking good.  I love them all!

We had so much fun at our Thread Catcher Workshop that the shop owner, Trina, has scheduled me for another Workshop Day in July, this time on a Saturday so that ladies who work can attend.  

I'm just spreading the love!

2014 Quilt Show - In the Can!

Our 2014 Quilt Show is in the can!  And look!  There is a BIG BLUE RIBBON on my quilt, which feels like kind of a big deal since I moved up from the Intermediate skill level to Advanced this year. And that put me in a whole new class with quilters who are much more experieced than I. In fact, my quilt was judged against a quilt done by a woman who recently took Best of Show.  I tell myself that ribbons don't matter to me. I loved making this quilt and learned lots along the way, but seriously, who doesn't love to have their work decorated with a big ol' BLUE RIBBON?

It was a fabulous show, as always, but I think that my poor feet are still in recovery mode.  Five whole days and lots of walking on concrete floor equals aching feet.  But it was all worth it.

We are always amazed that we start with an empty hall on set-up day...

and over the course of a few hours...

and with many hands....

we build a stellar quilt show!

Our "Design-A-Block booth is always a big hit.  Our guests lay out a quilt block on a small design board, then Guild members sew the block together and we pin them up.  These blocks are later made into quilts that go to Douglas County kids and local veterans who have been on active duty in Iraq and/or Afghanistan.  

Abbie and Faith had tons of fun designing quilt blocks.  They're BFF's.  They told me so...

One of our members, Ann G., always brings along her lovely old treadle sewing machine and stitches quilt blocks together while chatting with our guests.  Just about everyone has a memory of a loved one sewing on a treadle machine.

Our Quilts of Valor Chairperson, Pat G., set up the lovely display of our Patriotic Quilts.  We will be making many more in the near future.  We have recently learned that our local National Guard unit well be deployed to Afghanistan in June.  We will have a patriotic quilt ready and waiting for each and every one of them, that's over 80 soldiers, when they return home in 2015.  

Our member, Cheryl M., cleaned up with her stunning quilt.  She took a first place ribbon, the Mayor's Choice ribbon and BEST OF SHOW!  My photo does not do this quilt justice.  Entries are open to anyone, not just our guild members, so we are always pleased to see one of our own take Best of Show.

Our youngest entrant in the show, six year old Kyla B., was the winner of her very own Janome Hello Kitty Sewing Machine!, donated by a local vendor.  

                                      

Betty C. took a first place ribbon as well as the President's Choice award.  Betty is the resident expert in Hand Applique and is a published author on the subject. Her beautiful quilt is all hand applique AND is hand quilted!

Another guild member, Vi A., took the Viewer's Choice Award.  And it's no wonder!  Another stunner!

At 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon we closed the doors and took the show down. If we are amazed at how quickly we hang our show, we are even more amazed at how quickly the show is broken down.  The quilts are removed from the poles, neatly folded and lined up on tables according to exhibitor number.

The quilts are then claimed by their owners with their receipt.

And we are back to the empty hall.  The poles are disassembled, the floor is swept and we close the doors until next year.  But planning for our 2015 QUILT SHOW begins right away.  We will be choosing our show theme and naming our next raffle quilt within the next few weeks.  

Whew!!!!!  Note to self - Get those squishy gel shoe inserts before the show next year.