THEFT FROM VEHICLES

It's happened again......another quilt instructor has had her car broken into....quilts, teaching materials and in one case even sewing machines were stolen.  Both instances happened while they were on the road.


Please visit Karen Combs to see the details....the more eyes we have looking the better.  She was visiting a guild in New Braunfels, Tx when her rental car was broken into.


Patsy Thompson is a master at machine quilting and embroidery....she lost an embroidery machine and lots and lots of samples.  Though her website doesn't show exactly which ones were stolen.....you can see her style here.

So for anyone who has ever hosted me at their guild......this is why I'm so fussing about leaving my suitcases in your cars when we go to dinner etc.  It only takes a few seconds to have one's teaching career severely impacted by criminals.....  

BACK HOME WITH 'THE DOG'

Miss me???  At $12.95 per day for Internet service.....I wasn't able to post during my teaching trip to the AQS show in Lancaster.  They kept me too busy with judging/teaching/lecturing at different locations....none of which had free Internet either..... 

I'm home now with the new dog....who is still nameless (though apparently her name was Bailey when she was surrendered.....our neighbor has a dog named Bailey so we want to rename ours)  She will get chipped on Tuesday so a decision must be made before then.  

She got some PR in our local paper.....which is great for the animal rescue program 'the husband' volunteers at.  See here and here.

 To be perfectly honest, I'm not that much of a pet lover and would have preferred not to have a dog again......but I guess it's only a matter of time before one comes home with you when you volunteer at a rescue organization!


'The husband' a big dog lover & has longed for one of our own for years and years.  Knowing my negatives feelings about the dog hair, slobbers on floors, the responsibility, the expense, etc., 'the husband' started doling out tid bits about how 'the dog' was adapting to our household to me during my week away.  He'd say......."Oh, by the way.......she (our nameless girl) got a hold of _______ (fill in the blank).


Yup.....this stuffed heart made from an antique quilt that had seen better days was displayed at nose level....and too tempting for a 18 month old lab.

 This is a totally different story.....'the husband' mentioned....and I mean casually mentioned.....she 'nibbled' on a quilt.....but it was NOT A GOOD ONE!*!*!!  Are there ever any NOT GOOD ones....especially if they are hand quilted??

 I don't think two big bites out of a quilt is no big deal......  SEE....this is why I didn't want a dog.....

She also decided she liked the taste of my antique dovetailed pine blanket chest.....hummm...am I even speaking to 'the nameless girl'? Well yes, we've had a heart to heart conversation and she told me she will do better.


And....I'll be talking to you again tomorrow morning...

TRIALS OF A TRAVELING TEACHER

Our life has been in an upheaval since Saturday.....an unexpected guest will now be a member of our family.....   This event has been more time consuming than one can imagine and added to my preparations to fly to Lancaster today....I've been running in place....

  .....so yesterday around 4:00 PM I was ready to put the final touches to my packing and DRAT.....I discovered the latch was broken!*!*  

Yikes....I live in the middle of nowhere.  So where does one shop for a suitcase on Sunday afternoon?  Well.....25 mins. away to WalMart of course.  Even good quality suitcases can't hold up to the rigors of airline abuse.....so I purchased the best one there.  Hummmm this is cutting into my profits for this trip!!

 Everything had to be transferred from my already packed suitcase and then.....

 .....each suitcase is weighed.  One dare not exceed the 50 pound checked bag limit....especially if one is checking TWO bags, plus 2 carry ons!

 The drama wasn't over.......WHAT IS THIS??  A flat tire......  No time to change it.....so everything was moved to our other car (which is not designed for toting this much luggage)..... 

And here's the reason for all the last minute rushing around.  We adopted a black lab from our local rescue shelter on Saturday morning.  'the husband' volunteers weekly for this organization, photographing pets and posting to the internet for adoption.

This sweetie is 18 months old.  She was owner surrendered....amazing!  She's housebroken, crate trained, spayed, totally obedient....though she has a cold/virus which required a vet visit on Saturday afternoon.  Frankly, I'm not a pet lover and didn't want this responsibility but I was out voted....and of course she's already breaking my barrier!

Gotta go.....they are calling my flight to Charlotte......then I'll fly to Harrisburg and finally take a shuttle to Lancaster.....a long day but I'll be well rested for my judging duties Tuesday morning.

Will keep in touch as I can....

AQS LANCASTER SHOW

I'll be heading off for a week in Lancaster, PA tomorrow to judge/lecture/teach, while 'the husband' holds down the fort at home.  My posting may be paused again due to the $12.95 daily for the hotel internet service.  I'll be looking for hotspots so we can stay in touch!

All of my technique beading classes are nearly full, however there is room in my all-day Thursday workshop....."What Goes Around" a scissors sheath project class. Supplies are easy as a kit is provided....so if you are going to the show and looking for an activity on Thurs., check this class out.  The main technique we will be studying is the even count peyote stitch which is used to surround and hold the mirrors to the fabric.

 I'll also be presenting an evening lecture that night at 7:00 PM.

 That same technique, with some variation, is highlighted on this quilt "Amethyst" 8.5" x8.5".

 Detail

I also used it on "Elements" 5.5" x 10", to attach the cabochon to fabric I'd rusted.

If you are coming to the show....be sure to look me up, I'd love to visit with you.

PTA RETREAT CONCLUSION

Here are some final tidbits about our quilting retreat to share......

 Kate showed us surprising results about dye catchers.  She used two Shout Color Catcher clothes and two Carbona Grabbers in the same washer load. Notice how much better the Carbona cloth picked up the excess dye!

 Lynne Harrill was working on this lovely piece......we were transfixed watching her add all the highlights and shadows with oil sticks.

 Leigh Anne was making this colorful fun quilt for a gift.

.....and finally....Barbara was working on this scrap quilt.....dissatisfied...near the end of our sewing time she added some black strips to isolate some of the blocks.  To everyone's amazement...it was the perfect answer.  I hope to share a photo when it's completed.

PTA RETREAT PLAY

Each year we have a 'bonding' activity.  We've brought our baby pictures and guessed who was who, we brought photos of our first quilts, and last year we each brought notes listing 3 things our friends may not know about us. 

 This year we each brought 3 notes that listed items on our 'bucket list'.  Here's our bucket.....

 ....and here's some of the 'wishes'.  The idea again was to guess who wrote them. (click on photo to enlarge)

 We all wished we'd have been as eloquent as Linda Cantrell who wrote the above.

 My family isn't in the habit of playing games......but I'm so glad my friends do and that each year we get silly playing them.  Here Georgia Bonesteel (yes THE famous Georgia Bonesteel who is as nice as she appears on TV!) and Leigh Anne were brought to tears due to our antics.

 One fun game was called Apples to Apples.....which went late into the night....

 Another was Rummikub.....which worried me greatly as Georgia kept assuring us that she had calculators.  I don't do math....not even with a calculator....but as it turned out....math was a very, very minor part of this complex game.

There were so many variations to consider for each player's move that the game required concentration and lots of high fives when a clever solution was played.  Georgia made a wonderful observation.....playing games, especially with children, is a way to uncover personality traits that may not always be apparent.  


Happily, though we are a competive group.....we don't cheat and don't pout! 

PTA RETREAT QUILTS

Our 4th annual PTA retreat is now a happy memory and the count down for our 2013 - 5th anniversary event is on....

 We are so lucky to have such a great facility close by! Three of us have gotten in the habit of working in a pod....often doing the similiar projects and sharing fabric.  Here Kate is hard at work.

 I had cut piles and piles of black and white rectangles (2 1/2" x 4 1'2")....a gift from my good friend Helen who was reducing her stash.  Kate brought the colored fabrics which we cut into 2 1/2" squares.  Our goal this retreat was to make several donation quilts.


Here are the rows I stitched for my first quilt. 

 .......and chain stitching the patches for my 2nd. quilt.

 Judy was doing the same......and yikes......she'd been sewing and sewing..... pressing along the way.  Then....... incredibly she noticed some odd looking seam lines.  


It sort of looked like the thread's black dye had run.  Strangely, the thread seemed brittle......and when testing the seam.....she found it had come completely apart.....  

 ....yet in other places the stitching was normal......

 We finally determined the thread was melting during the pressing process. This is totally weird since it only happened in some sections on Judy's quilt.  At first we thought the iron was too hot, yet it didn't melt my Aurfil thread.  The only thing we can conclude is that perhaps this thread was defective.  Grrrr....Judy spent a LOT of time removing hard bits of thread and resewing many, many seams.

 Here is Kate's quilt....and her creative backing....

 Our three quilts finished before lunch on day 2.....

.....and my 2nd quilt (left) completed just after lunch, day 3.  Kate had begun the scrappy quilt on the right previously, but with Judy's help....that too was completed before we departed today.


Okay......so now that I shared the 'work'.......stay tuned for the 'play'.

PAUSING FOR PTA RETREAT

The 4th annual PTA (Professional Textile Artists group) is upon me......

We head to Lake Logan for 3 days of sewing and fun in the mountains near Canton, NC first thing Tuesday morning.

In this day and age it's surprising to find oneself in a place without cell phone or internet service....but perhaps that's part of the lure.  If one stands in just the right spot....sometimes we can grab a cell tower....if I can, I'll be blogging....if not, reports and photos will come at the end of the week.....

Hoping wherever you are....you will be having half as much fun as we will.

BLUEGRASS POSTAGE STAMP QUILT - FINISHED

.....The saga between creating the center of the quilt and adding the borders was posted here and here. There would have been easier ways to make this design had I not started with the center and/or if I wouldn't have been so stubborn about the desire to have a seamless border!

 .....eventually I did get the border on and the layers basted.  Normally I like to hand quilt....ya, some of us still enjoy that satisfying task!  Truth be told though....I'm not an accomplished machine quilter and don't enjoy that process.
Due to time constraints....machine quilting was my only option.

 ....however free-motion quilting was avoided at all costs.  Which meant I was cramming, shoving, and grumbling all the time as I twisted and turned the quilt, stitching with the feed dogs up and the even feed foot engaged.


The results were predictable.....the quilt got stretched out of shape.  After much moaning.....I got busy....  

 The quilt was squared up by pulling and tugging into shape. It was pinned to my carpet and steamed into shape.  I was dubious that the piece could be saved, but it worked!

BLUEGRASS FOREVER

42' x 32"

BLUEGRASS POSTAGE STAMP QUILT - PART 2

.......continuing the design process....

 Next I began to turn my attention to the foreground design elements. I envisioned elongated (folk art style) musical instruments swirling around the (now yellow) moon.  


Seriously, I spent days using Photoshop to stretch and bend their shapes and trying to draw them myself.  Nothing worked.....the fiddle ended up looking like a bass and the bass looked like a cruise ship!


I started over by making simple paper templates shapes, thinking I could line them up as if they were 'the' band members.  BUT....I didn't feel as though I achieved any real movement with the design.

 .....so the arrangement was changed....and NOTE....I got the 'blue' moon back into the picture!

....still.....it lacked movement and my plan to scatter beaded musical notes for additional interest paled as simply too unimaginative.


So, I experimented with adding a 'line' of notes to provide direction and movement.

......using heavy weight thread, lines were added with machine stitching.

....black beads were stitched depicting 'notes'.  (The untidy white threads are my basting stitches which hold the larger applique pieces securely to the muslin foundation.....)

Check back tomorrow for the reveal.