Monday Design Wall

Baby, its cold outside!  The wind is blowing about 25 miles an hour with light fluffy snow and about 25 degrees outside.  We are tucked inside for the day.  First, I had some very ripe bananas that I needed to make into banana  bread. Done!

 

Second, my husband starts his two weeks of night shift tonight.  (He got called off for last night and we watched the Super Bowl.)  The guys on his shift like treats so before Christmas I sent my husband's favorite bar cookie, butter chewies.  The guys loved them.  So I wanted to send a treat with him tonight and had all the ingredients for butter chewies on hand.  They make the house smell so good.

 

This weekend I was able to spend a day and a half at a small quilt retreat at our church.

This is a picture of part of the group of ladies who attended.

 

We had a little show and tell by Cathy, see her peeking out from behind the top.  She will be quilting this quilt for a friend.

 

Sylvia made this on Saturday and I brought it home to quilt for her mother-in-law. 

 

Corry has been on a mission to finish UFOs.  This windmill quilt is full of signatures and she figures she started it around 2009.  It is king size and now ready to be quilted! 

 

She also brought this Thimbleberries quilt and found out the top was finished.  So she pieced the backing out of the leftover fabrics.

 

Last, but not least is my project.  This is a panel from our trip to Shipshewana, IN this past summer. My friend, Kathy O and I are planning this quilt and working on the design and blocks together.

I apologize for the quality of the picture (its a picture of a picture) as didn't take a picture before packing up to go home.  I received the picture from Cathy K.

This quilt will be lap size when we are finished.

 

Thank you to Corry for all the planning and thank you for all the fun "quilty sisters".

 

Now that I am finished with writing the blog, the sun is shining!  What's on your design wall?

 

Today I am linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times,  Monday Making at Love, Laugh, Quilt, and Cynthia at Oh Scrap! 

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

 

 

 

Happy New Year to All!

Each year I get to this day, the last day of the year, and I wonder where did the year go?  I thought as I aged I would have more time each day.  Instead, time just seems to fly by faster each year.  Have you heard people who retired say, "I don't know how I had time to work".  That is now what I am saying.  I have been retired from the State of Illinois for 3.5 years. 

So I looked back through my pictures and here is my year in review, not in chronological order.

 

In March, one of my bucket list wishes came true.  My Easy Street Quilt, pattern by Bonnie Hunter, was juried into the Rosemont Show in Chicago.  I also had the honor of working for Sew Batiks in their vendor booth at the show.  My friends and I took a bus trip up to the show on the last day

Pointing out some of the secret message blocks hidden in the quilt. 

 

After loosing my Yorkie, Rascal in October 2014, I was heartbroken.  My son and I picked out a new Yorkie puppy in May, 2015.  Meet Tucker, who is now 9 months old and weighs only 3 lbs.  Your literally can tuck him under your arm and carry him around. 

 

 In June, my husband and I celebrated 28 years of marriage and spent a week in LasVegas!

We had a blast trying out some of the many restaurants. 

 

Harry Potter, my Australian Shepherd,  were invited to participate in a reading program at the Tiskilwa Library.  

 

My friends and I made a trip to Shipshewana, Indiana for their annual quilt show.  We participated in a shop hop before the show started.  I got buried in fabric at Lollies' in the basement at their "fabric" happy hour! 

A quick pose with the girls after a long day of shopping and the quilt show.

 

My husband and his horse, Hoot.  We placed Hoot with another family this year.  He is so loved by his new family and we follow him on facebook.  I miss having a horse, but I haven't missed the chores this winter. 

 

Now for the best thing I ever made!!!

This is my son, Aaron.  Four years ago he joined in partnership, creating 815 Productions.  They are a DJ and lighting company.  I love this picture of him inside our local Red Covered Bridge during a wedding photo session.

 

This fall my husband left his career with Coca Cola after 24.5 years.  It was a difficult decision but he is very happy with his new career at Marquis Energy.  My retirement has paid off, as I have taken on more at home so Rod can work a swing-shift and get enough sleep.  If I still worked, we would see very little of each other.  My quilting business in our home is the right fit for our schedules.

Below, we were able to attend our friend's son's wedding on October 31st.  I love this picture of us. 

 

From my family to yours, have a happy and safe New Year's Eve!

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

Monday Design Wall with So Many Possibilities

I left with three friends last week for the Shipshewana Quilt Show, a shop hop and antiquing.  I was so tired from preparing to leave on the trip, that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself.  Boy, was I wrong about that.  We had a great trip and we are singing "I left my money in Shipshewana".

For Design Wall Monday,  this is still on my design wall from last week.  Look at the quilt "possibilities" to follow.  Lots of fabrics came home with me for future quilts.

 

Now to show you my purchases in Shipshewana.  The first quilt shop we stopped at was "A Little Bit of Lolly's" in the basement of Davis Mercantile in Shipshewana. 

They had Happy Hour from 5-6pm and all fat quarters were a $1.50.  So we sat down around this row boat that was filled with rolled up fat quarters and there were several quilters already enjoying happy hour.  We started chatting and asking each other "if you find another fat quarter like this can I have it".  It really turned into a group effort quickly.  The shop clerk was chatting with us and encouraging us to dig.  I asked if I could sit in the middle of the boat for a picture for the blog.

The first picture was safe.  See my foot is still hanging out and I am anchored to the floor.  But remember the store clerk was encouraging all of us.  Things quickly spiraled out of control.

First, they said just lay back and look like you're having fun.  No problem, I was having fun!

The clerk chirped, "they buried a quilter in fat quarters last year".  That's all anyone needed to hear and suddenly everyone was digging up armloads of fat quarters and burying me. 

I don't even know everyone that helped, but we were giggling and laughing. 

It truly was a "Happy Hour" of fabric fondling.  More quilters wandered in the door wondering what the heck was going on inside.  Notice that I never let go of my stash of fat quarters!  We visited Yoder's and the Cotton Corner the first day, also. 

 

Wednesday, we back and did the shop hop first thing in the morning before the Quilt Show opened at noon.  The shop hop included Yoder's Department Store, Caroline's Cottage Cottons, Lavender Patch, The Cotton Corner, Sara's Attic, The Quilt Shop at Essenhaus, and Pumpkinvine Quilting.  All the shops were nice, friendly and ready for all the shoppers.  If I had to pick one shop, Caroline's Cottage Cottons was my favorite.  It was located in a cute, brick cottage with all the fabrics I love:  civil war repros, 1930's repros, and many other fabrics, kits and samples.  On our way back to Shipshewana my phone refused to let the GPS show us the way back.  We resorted to using the old fashioned map and found the Topeka Quilt Show and Sale. 

At Topeka, you could buy quilts already to put on your bed or quilt tops that needed quilting.  Kathy O bought an antique Double Wedding Ring top.  When she showed it to us back at the hotel, we discovered it was just two rows of the quilt.  It is enough to make two table runners, or a bed runner and table runner.  It was made with double pink and some fun vintage fabrics.

When leaving Pumpkinvine Quilting we saw this fun car appliqued with the flamingo!

At The Quilt Shop at Essenhaus, we saw this cute Bobbin the Robin pin cushion.  We did collect the Row by Row Experience patterns at each shop.  This little robin had on her shower cap and a towel draped over her wing.  Check out her crocs on her feet.  There was a whole assortment of shoes to choose from, i.e. saddle shoes, crocs in many colors, ruby slippers, bunny slippers, high top tennis shoes, sequined tennis shoes, etc.

Above are my Row by Row patterns.

Below are my collection of recipes from each shop on the shop hop.

 

Last but not least, below is my stash purchased in Shipshewana.

 

Below is the newest panel released by Yoder's, 2015 barns. 

 

Below is last year's 2014 panel from Yoder's. 

 

Its always good to travel with great friends...

but its good to get home and sleep in your own bed.

 

 

Today I am linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry