Hendersonville and Hampton, VA

Well, I had MEANT to take some pictures last week to post; however, the events were over before I remembered. So, I'll just tell you about them instead.

This week, a neighbor came over with an antique quilt--sans a border--and I helped her with the machine work so she could do the handwork at her leisure. This was a family quilt that had never been finished and now her daughter will enjoy taking that piece of history home with her. I felt a little nervous trimming something that couldn't be replaced but went forward anyway. It all turned out fine and I was glad to have been able to help her.

Also last week some friends came over and I taught them my A Taste of the Lowcountry quilt hanging . My studio is spacious enough to handle 3 or 4 people and we had a good time. I will also be teaching this quilt at our State Retreat, so this was a good warmup for me.

And now, we're heading back up to the mountains for a couple of days and then on to the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival. I will be staying by myself at a different hotel this year and I'll be using the shuttle service and lugging all my paraphenelia around--so I hope it works out o.k. It will be a learning experience. I look forward to going there each year and enjoy seeing all the wonderful quilts--and, of course, the vendors. This time, I'm looking for thread. I use so much of it and it is a good opportunity to see the different colors and types in person and get big spools. I guess I might have to look at everything else while I'm there though . . .Tough assignment but I think I'm up too the challenge!

And when we get back from the Mid Atlantic Show, it's time for our own Cobblestone Quilt Show. I hope that if you are close enough for a day trip to Charleston that you'll come to the Gaillard Auditorium on March 1st or 2nd and see our beautiful quilts. Hope to see you there.

Columbia and Raleigh

Well, I had a pretty busy--and nice--weekend. We got up early on Saturday and drove to Columbia for me to do a trunk show for the District 4 State Group there. What a great group! About 4 years ago, one of the members, Sandra Baker, decided that it would be nice if they had an annual gathering so everyone in their district could get to know each other better. They also invite everyone from all the guilds in their area to come so they can be introduced to the state-wide organization. It has gotten better each year. Being part of the larger state group is a benefit to everyone as the members meet and exchange ideas with folks from all over.

I took three suitcases full of quilts--along with my husband, the heavy lifter, and showed and talked about them before lunch. Everyone was so receptive and had wonderful questions and comments. I was going to have my husband take pictures; however, when he found out that he would be the only guy and there were volunteers to hold the quilts, well . . .he scadoodled. In all, it was a four hour meeting and everyone had such a good time, that it didn't seem nearly that long.

After the meeting, we drove on up to Raleigh so I could get two quilts appraised the next morning by Jane Hall. She is such a gracious person and has been so encouraging and helpful to me. She is an expert in foundation piecing and had just finished the first draft of a book the day before I got there. On top of that, she had just gotten back from teaching at the Road to California Quilt Show, amongst other things. In this picture, she is looking at my quilt and deciding how to write up the description on the appraisal form.

So, now I'm back at work on my tumbling blocks. You know, I haven't even made a DENT in my scrap bins!