Two For One

This has been a busy, busy few days--and I'm still in Virginia.We were going to stay until Monday but are having second thoughts after watching the weather reports. We definitely don't want to be caught in the snow!

I left last Sunday for a few days at Camp St. Christopher to sew with the TTT Gang. In most ways, the sewing was just incidental. We laughed and laughed until we thought our sides would split and it made me think about Norman Cousins. When he was in the hospital years ago--desperately ill and without hope of recovery--he decided to take his health care into his own hands. He had a record player brought in and played recordings of comedians' routines. He laughed and laughed and literally laughed himself back to health. And that is how I felt about our time there. I came home tired--but spiritually refreshed. Here are a few pictures of our setting up and sewing areas. Both Corky and Karen have posted other pictures and you can view them on their blogs: http://fiber-thoughts.blogspot.com/2009/02/back-from-retreat http://quiltingwithkaren.wordpress.com/author
This picture is shortly after we arrived and have figured out how we were going to set up the space. We moved tables around and around so we could get the best use of the room. Karen needed to have the people who were doing "Cracked Pots" near her as she gave a running teaching session throughout our time there. And the quilts are looking wonderful--as will be seen on her blog soon. And here is another area of the room with Joanne and Corky hard at work. They both turned out some beautiful quilts this weekend and I can hardly wait to see them finished and quilted.

And here are the "Cracked Pots" people in action--with the food table in the background to give them enough energy to keep on sewing.

I left St. Christopher on Wednesday evening and left for the Mid Atlantic Quilt Show on Thursday morning. I only had one day at the show--yesterday--so I crammed as much shopping and viewing in as I could-- No rest for weary feet. As usual, there were lots of beautiful quilts--very inspiring. I especially enjoyed looking at the quilting used on some of them. And I was excited to learn that I had won a ribbon also--Best Use of Color--for my Swamp Hibiscus quilt.

And this was the Best of Show Quilt. I don't remember the quilter's name, but you can see it on the Quiltfest website, This is a wholecloth quilt with some amazing quilting. In addition, all of those little bars going from the body of the quilt to the outside border--as well as those in the center part-all I can say is, "Wow!"

A favorite of the judges in many shows is Rachael Wetzler (May be spelled wrong!) She seems to make a lot of quilts that focus on a nostalgic scene of times gone by or a moment in time. This kitchen scene reflects that aspect of her work. It is interesting how she uses different fabrics to express her design. The muffins coming out of oven are a good example.

And if you want to see some really amazing quilting, take a lot at the quilting on this quilt to the right. Again, I don't have the name ,but it will be on the Quiltfest website as a winner. This border began as a piece of black fabric. And look at it now! Through the use of colored thread and detailed quilting, she transformed it into a wonderful piece of art.

My final quilt picture is these tulips that seven people developed from one photo (see photo underneath the quilt) Each quilter interpreted her section of the quilt picture and then they put them all together for the finished quilt. It is really nice.
There were, of course, many, many other beautiful quilts--and LOTS of vendors and lots of happy customers. I didn't come away with my hands empty either. This is really a nice show every year and I'm already looking forward to 2010.

Foust and Mary Jo's

I left my house at 5:30 this morning to trek up to the annual sale at Foust Wholesale Fabrics in Gastonia, NC. One of my friends on the trip told me that she bet it was more fun getting up that early to shop for fabric than to be at the hospital that early for surgery (which was where I was several weeks ago). How right she was!
We made good time on the road--with the traditional stop at Dunkin'Donuts in Rock Hill. I would have to say that in comparison to previous sales at Foust, this one was somewhat of a disappointment--according to those who had been before. However, I WAS impressed by the long rows of bolts and bolts of fabric--many of them quite beautiful--LOTS of rows and lots of bolts. I was sort of overwhelmed and ended up buying only what was on the "by the pound" table--a couple of large pieces of tone-on-tone fabric that will be good for charity quilts.
We did enjoy looking in each other's shopping carts though--as you can see Karen checking out Rita's--and seeing what they were getting.


And Pam was eager to purchase some of this rick rack--until she learned that she would have to purchase the entire reel! You know, there's just so much rick rack any one person can use in a lifetime.
After we finished at Foust, we went to lunch and then moved on to Mary Jo's. Well, there are no pictures of us at Mary Jo's. I was obviously much too busy looking at fabric to WASTE my time taking pictures. I was able to get what I needed to finish out one project and also some fabric for my snowman classes--and looked at a lot of other fabric that will be waiting for me another time. I stopped there and just savored the end of one great day. What better combination could one want--a good time spent friends--laughing, eating and practically wallowing in fabric.

Quilt Top and Valentines

This is the quilt I've been working on when I go to TTT. It's nothing particularly special but has given me an opportunity to work on my precise piecing skills (which I may NEVER attain as I'm a little too casual). Anyway, I finished it this morning and am pleased with the design but not so the color. It was one of those deals where the red fabric was on sale, it looked good next to the blocks and seemed to be a good choice. Well, it looked really good in small amounts BUT when I got the quilt all together it was somewhat of a YUCK moment. And an "Oh Well" moment, too, I guess. The color side of my person wants to take out all of the solid colored squares and start over again, but I think the practical side of my person is going to win this time and hope that the quilting thread helps to make it look better. We'll see. The good part is that I thoroughly enjoyed making it while spending time with the TTT's.
And on a different topic, one of my friends has a valentine's luncheon every year and we exchange valentines. Since we're quilters, we really CAN"T just give each other a card with a couple of pieces of candy in it. We have to MAKE something. I came up with this idea of a redwork embroidery bag with the goodies inside. One little twist on this is the piping around the embroidery. We used our piping foot in Viking Club the other day and so I decided I might as well use it for these bags. I think it gives them a little extra punch. For those of you who might be curious about the font I used with the names, it's PartyTime by Monogram Wizard. It's kind of a fun font.
And a Happy Valentine's wish for all of you this week. I like to look on it as a time to consider the importance of friendships and relationships and how important the people in our lives really are. Thanks to each of you who blesses my life with your friendship.

A New Family Member!

We received a new family member Sunday evening--a sweet, sweet 7-year old Welsh Corgi named Maizie. We had begun to think about getting a new dog (our Tillie passed on 5 or 6 months ago) but felt that this time we would like to get a rescue dog. One of our neighbors told me about www.petfinder.com and I began looking there. The closest YOUNG corgi I found was in Alabama. So, I started looking at ADULT corgis. This led me to a woman on Edisto Island. And my whole perception of what is going on in the "puppy mill" community was dramatically altered.
This woman, Walton Salley, and several others like her in the Carolina/Atlanta area (and I'm sure in many, many other places) are true angels. They rescue dogs that have spent the best years of their lives confined to a small cage (their feet NEVER touch grass). In that cage, they eat, sleep and give birth to puppies. Their food is subnormal; they don't receive heartworm treatments and they receive no care or love.
We were supposed to get one of these dogs, Reba, on Sunday; however, shortly before the transport was to take place, it was learned that she had severe heart worms and her weight was too low to withstand the treatment--so she is staying in Atlanta and we are hoping and praying that she gets strong enough to get better. Oh, and by the way, she had lost most of one ear from severe bites from flies--in her LUXURY accomodations. We were heartbroken that we weren't going to get her.
The next day we had a surprise. Walton emailed us that she had found us another dog--Maizie, a 7-year old dog that had been turned over by her family. It was sad, also, because her family is one of those that had been hit hard by the financial chaos many of us are experiencing and had to leave their home. In doing that, they could no longer care for Maizie.
And, boy, are we the LUCKY ones! Maizie is a dream. And, dare I say, a Couch Potato. She is so sweet and it is obvious that she came from a home where she was loved. She has manners and she understands a lot of what we say. I know she must miss her previous family but she has decided that we are o.k. And I hope we have many years with her.
But, you know, I still think about Reba--and all the other dogs out there who are being mistreated beyond what most of us can think of. When we went to pick up Maizie in Goose Creek, we met Wilma, another rescue dog from a puppy mill. She was a sweet one, too, but SO downtrodden. You could tell that she was afraid and, yes, part of one of her ears was missing, too. Thankfully, her new owner sent out a photo this evening and Wilma is settling in.
I am so grateful to have learned about Petfinder.com.