Sunday, September 30, 2012

Guys & Quilts!

I know you don't usually think of guys and quilts together but I happen to think most things are enjoyable in groups.  So I offered to my friend, Mary, that we take the husbands with us to the Mississippi Valley Quilt Show in Davenport, IA  and the stop at Le Claire, IA.  Mary liked my idea and the guys agreed.  The first thing Saturday morning the four of us met two other friends for breakfast at our usual hangout, the Coffee Cup, for breakfast.  The Johnson's and the Wallis' headed for Davenport and the Miller's headed for the Ryder Cup in Chicago.

Scott, Mary's husband, followed the Garmin to the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds and dropped us off.  The guys provided valet parking, bought us tickets for the raffle quilt and escorted us around the quilt show.  The husbands were so patient.

Congratulations to the Mississippi Valley Quilters Guild for a great show.

Mary & Scott Wallis
 
We headed back on Interstate 80 to Le Claire, IA. What a beautiful day spend strolling along the Mississippi River and Cody Street of Le Claire. We enjoyed lunch on the back deck of the Blue Iguana Mexican Restaurant. The leaves are just starting to change and with the warm weather a few boaters were passing by on the river.
 
Rod, my husband and myself at Blue Iguana
 
The four of us shopped the businesses to wear off all the good food we ate.  We ended our visit by dropping off one of the quilts I had finished at Expressions in Threads where my customer will pick it up.  Then walked up the hill to the American Pickers store(the picture above is at American Pickers' store).  Rod had never been there and enjoys watching the American Pickers Program on the History Channel.  Across the street is Danielle's store, 4 Miles to Memphis (named after her children, Miles and Memphis).   Walking back to the car, we picked up a cold soda and headed for home.
Great friends, food, travel and fun!  Terry



Friday, September 28, 2012

Laugh Out Loud

Last Saturday afternoon the northend business district had a French Soiree with food vendors, crafters, music and specials in the local businesses.  We were strolling through Beetz Me enjoying all their fall decorating ideas, wine selections, drooling over the chocolates and then happened upon Agi the artist.  Agi was drawing caricatures of two teenage girls who had a case of the giggles.  Rod and I started to leave and I turned to him and said I would really like to have a picture drawn.  Agi had just finished with the girls and I asked if I could be next.  Below is the result. 
I hope this made you chuckle today!  Have a great weekend and enjoy this wonderful weather.
Terry

Satisfaction!

Satisfaction.....there is nothing like the feeling of completion of a job well done.  I have quilted these quilts in the last 10 days and it feels good.  These are both customer quilts.  (No quilts were damaged in these pictures.  The quilts have sheets underneath them to protect their backings.)  My wonderful husband assisted in placing the quilts safely in the yard and snapped a few shots. 
The top quilt is a Block of the Month project completed by my customer at the Fulton Retreat and sent home with me for quilting.  Here is a closer picture of it still on the longarm.
 
 
This quilt is also a customer's quilt created from a fabric strip exchange.   With this quilt there was so many possibilities.  The layouts were too numerous.  I will post mine in the near future.  I used back for my background, here the background is the lavender.

 
Have a great weekend.  Hope you can be outside and enjoy the nice weather.  Terry 
 
 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Fall is here!

The Bureau County Fair and the Homestead Festival are the signals for me that Fall is upon us. So between the two events I brought the tubs of decorations upstairs and decorated for fall. I was trying to have the house in shipshape order before family and friends arrived for the Homestead Festival. Nearly killed me doing it all in one day, but the results were stunning. The hubbie walked in the door at the end of his work day with a big smile on his face. 
This corner display is on the landing as you turn the corner to go upstairs.
I have so many quilts laying around.  Rolling up small quilts and putting them in this antique basket with silk leaves and the scarecrow to stand guard, gave the big pile of quilts on my trunk a little relief.  Rolling quilts instead of folding helps prevent permanent creasing.
 
Hope you are having fun decorating for fall.  What have you done to your home for fall decorations?
Terry :)