The Blogging World is Shrinking!

I met another blogger in person today!  I think that makes at least TEN in the past two weeks!

Victoria of Bumble Beans and I met for some fabric shopping, visiting and food today.  

We had so much fun and got to know each other a little better before THE RETREAT in less than three weeks.

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I finished my Jelly Roll quilt along block:

And here are all of them so far:

A little dull looking since it is raining out.  The Simple Abundance colors have a little more zing.

I thought I would be showing my completed Hope Valley quilt today, but I fell asleep working on the binding last night.  I'm going to try again now.

Quilt Market

Quilt Market

I was there; I was totally overwhelmed; I had a blast; it was the chance of a lifetime for me!!

So much more than I could ever have imagined (just as you said Anne).  I have very few photos because I was walking around in astonishment and only thought of taking out my camera if someone else did.

I did get some photos of Anne's Bunny Hill booths.  Her new Lily and Will fabric line from Moda is absolutely amazing.  It has all the right colors textures and coordinates to make the perfect nursery for a baby girl and/or boy or/and lots of other creations!

I found the dresser, vanity, one of the bassinets, the little table and chairs and the wicker sided chair in the corner all at wonderful shops around where I live.  Doesn't it all look great the way Anne put it together and added all the finishing touches?

I met a LOT of People:

Amy of Katie Cupcake and this Crazy Old Lady!  Note we are both sporting Amy's "My Favorite Bag"!

I also met Happy Zombie Monica (her Holiday Happy fabric line with Lecien is so cute) , Pam of PamKittyMorning (you may have seen MY photo on her blog) and Bonnie of Cotton Way.  I saw Camille of Simplify and and her "Bliss" booth, but sorry, no photo.  Got some Bliss fabric though!!

I introduced myself to Laurie and Polly of Minick and Simpson and their new patterns and awesome new quilt sample.  

I did get this shot of Joanna's Fig Tree booth:

Even more beautiful in person!

Then I met Kellie of Don't Look Now fame.  She came all the way from Australia and is adorable both in looks and speech!

Anna of Thimbleanna helped Kellie with her booth and the Chandelier in this photo of me in the Don't Look Now booth belongs to Anna (as does that fabulous Lilly Pilly she WON in Kellie's giveaway)!

Remember it's Kellie's Joseph's Coat quilt along I'm still working on.

I also met Gina and Michelle of Cloud 9 fabric.  I own a fat quarter stack of their My Happy Garden and their new Beyond the Sea is adorable and coordinates with the first line.

Amy Butler's booth and Anna Marie's booth were both beautiful and always had too many people around to ask if I could take a photo. 

There were lots more too, but those are the ones I remember right now.

So much fun.  Thank you Anne!

Bloggers Quilt Festival

I made this quilt for my husband for his birthday and wanted something for a man, but not so much that it would look out of place in our home.

I chose this quilt to enter into the Blogger's Quilt festival because even though it is different from my normal style, I love how it turned out.

The fabric is Holly Taylor and the pattern is Starry Nights out of the book Imagination by Kathryn Squibb and Deborah Jacobs.  It is 70" X 84" and was quilted by my local LAQ.

Thanks to Amy for organizing this quilt festival again and thank YOU for stopping by!!

My Favorite Bag and other tales

I wish Quilt Market was in Minneapolis every year.  My life has gotten more exciting! 

Yesterday I had a meetup with Melissa of Yummy Good blog and got a sneak peak at her new book Small Stash Sewing which is being released at market!  It has lots of great projects in it!  I can't wait to get it.

And today, guess who stopped by my house?

None other than Anne of Bunny Hill Designs.

Anne has a new line of fabric debuting at Market with her new association with Moda!

 And along with her was Anne of Cottons 'n Wool blog.

And what were they doing at my house you ask?  Well, my project that was connected to Quilt Market was to buy props for the Bunny Hill booth.  So they came by to pick them up today - and drop off my pass to attend! Yipee!!

So I needed a new bag.

I had this pattern that I had won from Amy at Katie Cupcake:

And I had these eight fat quarters of South Hampton by Franchelle Contreras for Henry Glass:

But here were the fabric requirements:

And I didn't want to buy any more fabric NOW, before going to quilt market AND I didn't!!!  (Is this a Stash Manicure tip?) I made it fat quarter friendly.

I made it work (by using a plain white I had on hand for the lining only)!!

Here is my new bag:

And here is the back:

This is a large bag.  It's 18" tall - 15" wide and 5" deep!  Plenty of room for going to Quilt Market!  

And just because, here's Audrey:

Block Six of Jelly Roll Quilt Along and other stuff

Here is my 6th block in Pink (in honor of Audrey ):

Look at all the pretty pink fabrics there are in Simple Abundance!

I like it!  

And here is my Mom holding her 31st Great-Grandchild (which happens to be my Granddaughter Audrey)!

 

Audrey is wearing her "Itty Bitty" dress I made her!

And here is the four generation photo:

And while I'm here, a solo shot of Audrey:

And then one of Audrey and her beautiful Mom on our deck:

 Okay, now I'll switch back to sewing blog rather than grand baby blog!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mother's out there...

..but especially to two that I admire and adore.

 My Mother who turned 90 yesterday and my Mother-in-Law who is 93.

They are two people I love very much and look up to.

Bricks and Stones (and Blocks?)

Do you think I'm fickle or what?

Just a month ago or so I ranted about how much I loved my Authentic Merry-Go-Round quilt.

Is it okay to do that again so soon?

Well, I'm going to!!! I just love, love, love this quilt top:

 

The pattern is "Bricks and Stones" by Red Pepper Quilts but of course I didn't follow the pattern completely.  I made it symmetrical, unlike the pattern.  The fabric is all Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt and Moda Basics White.

It's been raining and dreary here all day, so these are the best photos I can get for now.

 

When I worked on this at the retreat, everyone advised me to follow the pattern.  But I wanted a quilt, not a wall hanging; I had plenty of fabric; and this was the plan in my head from the beginning. 

Now it needs backing and quilting.

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And if you made it this far, here is a more recent photo of Audrey:

 She's got cheeks!  I'll be seeing her Sunday!!

 

Towel Swap revealed

I've been informed at least three people have received their towels for the Towel Swap.  I was responsible for May and here is what I sent to my eleven swap partners:

The birds were starch method applique using templar for the template. I added a glass bead for the eye.  Then I added a band of birdie fabric from Feathered friends by Wendy Slotboom for In The Beginning fabrics.

 Hope everyone likes them. Now I can set back and wait for one to arrive each of the next ten months!!

April CG&GC Finishes

1. I made the back and brought the Authentic Merry-Go-Round to my long arm quilter (and I'm keeping my cell phone close by waiting for that call).
2. I worked on, but did not finish my Hope Valley Quilt.
3. I completed not three, but four more blocks for Joseph's Coat.
4. Block four (and five for Jelly Roll quilt along.
5. Edit:  Betsy just reminded me of the 12 towels I made for the Towel Swap!

And not on the list, but completed in April:

1. Itty Bitty Dress for Audrey
2. Terry Cloth hooded towel and wash cloth for Audrey
3. A Minki blanket for Audrey (see below in mint green)
4. Kimbery Bag for Friday Night Sew In
5. May Day Basket
6. Half of a fabric portrait challenge I may or may not show on this blog.

Did you want to see one more photo of Audrey?