Will Work for Fabric

More Quilts, less milk

The thing that I really loved about the new part of the show is that I had not seen these quilts before.  After going to the last few shows, I felt like I was seeing the same quilts over and over again.  Granted, they are beautiful and deserve the awards, but for whatever reason, the VQF does not seem to draw the same crowd of entrants.

I certainly don't mean to offend anyone, but I don't want to see the same quilts over and over.  I want to see quilts by people who set out to make beautiful quilts and happen to put them in a show as well as those who set out to make show quilts, and ribbons all around, not just for the "professionals"

off the soapbox, onto the quilts....

Best of Show:
close up please:

And many other beauties

This is not the best shot of the quilt, but take a look a the close-up, I love the machine work...

and finally a Super Hero you can believe in....

Hope you enjoyed the show...

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

Going to Vermont for Milk....

Ok, so maybe I didn't need to drive 2 hours to Vermont for milk, but it was a good excuse, dontja think?
I was so glad I made the trip, it was nice to have some quiet time to gather some thoughts in the car, reorganize my life, my house, my stash....at least in my mind.

So everyone approaches the quilt show differently.  I like to get there when the doors open and head right for the antique quilts, this seems to have been the opposite of most of the crowd on Saturday, so it was nice to be able to see these without the crowds that came an hour or so later. 

The exhibit was Red, Green and White quilts.  Some of them I had seen before (guess that's what happens when you go to this show year after year...) but here's a few of my favs that you can see without the crowds!

Gee, ya think I have a thing for applique????

More quilts and goodies tomorrow....

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

Cape Codding

We've just spent some absolutely wonderful days in Cape Cod, perfect weather, great new place to stay, and some fun new places to explore.

There's not alot of rest and relaxation when vacationing with 2 eleven year olds and a DH who's part salty-dog.  So alot of time is spent on, in or near water or fish, which is fine with me as long as I don't have to touch anything slimy and I have a book to read.

The kids spent hours with their new throw-net.  From what I can gather ,from an hour or two of watching this, there's alot of throwing and netting but not alot of catching...I guess I don't really get the point, maybe it's a boy thing.....

But we did manage to sneak in a 18 mile bike ride on the Cape Rail Trail----a 22 mile paved bike trail that thankfully is not very hilly and has little stops along the way for snacks or just getting off the bikes.  I'm not embarrassed to say that I rented the "wicked witch of the west" bike with the large seat and really enjoyed the trip.  Next year, we're doing the whole trail, round trip!

And since I was driving one day, the car was diverted in the direction of Heartbeat Quilts in Hyannis.  It's a beautiful shop (which does not allow any pictures to be taken in the store) with nice displays and a large selection of sale fabrics.  Since I REALLY don't need fabric, I did manage to find a few things I needed:

I'm not a big fan of marking quilts and this book has some great ideas for quilting templates without marking the quilt.....and besides, what's not to love about Mary Mashuta??

and apparently I needed this, but I'm not sure what for yet....

We left the Cape happy and exhausted, and ready for a few days of rest in the woods before the madness of school starts.

Hope you have a moment of peace during these last days of summer....

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

More VQF - Nothing but Quilts

No words are needed here.....

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

PA and Back

Here's the report from PA.....the credit card is still intact, the bags made it in the house before any husband or child could ask "what's in those bags????" and made it home in time to go do set-up for the Blue and Gold dinner.

but the best part of the trip was getting to see my Quilt Branch friend Susan.  We shopped, helped each other with fabric selections and I watched a master salesperson peddle her book (successfully!), followed by good food at the Franklin House.  Go take a look at Susan and MaryJane's book, they've got a great concept----6 halves make a whole (six half yards make a whole quilt)----but don't even try to explain this concept to an engineer, they just will not get it!

Ok....so here's the fabric acquisition report.....

I've been wanting to reproduce a quilt from the great big The Ultimate Quilting Book but first wanted to find something suitable for the background, so I scored me some background yesterday...

and then I've heard from some learned people that you can never have enough repros....

and I have a really fun red and white project coming up, so I bought everything in sight of really red and white (very PamKittyish don't you think?)

so considering how many fabrics I touched in the 2 stores, I really behaved myself.....but in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Lorre's coming soon and that will require another trip to Lancaster!  behave, behave, behave!"

wasn't I a good girl?

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

All I can say is WOW!

What an amazing week we had in Colorado! Going on vacation is always a balancing act, mixing the things they want to do and the thing we want to do....

(I know it's corny but....that's the Balancing Rock at Garden of the Gods)

Believe me, I really enjoy my family, but I got to take a break from them on Friday and join a group of fun ladies at Homespun Hearth's Quilting in the Rockies Retreat.

A while back, Teresa (who owns Homespun Hearth with her sister Julie) and I were chatting and she invited me to come and teach at this gathering.  As soon as my husband heard about this, there was no doubt that we would all need to make the trek west.

So, on Friday, I got to spend time with the retreaters and all the ladies from Homespun Hearth.  We made Penny's Little Charmer bag using charm squares from the La Belle Rose collection.

I was thrilled because in 4 hours they all finished their bags, even with a fair amount of chatting and giggling.

This was a really great group of ladies from all over the country.  And now that I've met and spent some time with Teresa and Julie, I understand why quilters would travel far and wide to hang out with them.  They throw quite a party! 

Most quilters went home with 3 finished small projects and a lap sized quilt top, and quite a few new friends, as did I. 

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Oh, so excited!!  I got really great input on my house quilt, I will audition some of your suggestions and post them soon.  I would rather rip a few stitches than fret over a finished quilt that I'm not happy with. 

In the meantime, if you find some time trying for that last ditch effort to have a relaxing summer weekend....find a good book, I just finished this one....

short stories and pictures about different crafters and their inspirations, workspaces, and more.

And if you are looking for me.....

Traveling west, stopping at every quilt/museum/antique shop I can find----don't tell my family, they think we're hiking and fishing!

Have fun this last weekend of summer.....

Hugs and stitches!

Megan

Climbing to new heights

I've been reading about wedding anniversaries and it got me thinking....after 25 years I thought I knew most everything there was to know about my Mr Fix-it.  But he continues to surprise me...

The all-knowing technician from DirectTV came by our house and alerted us that they had stocked the lake at Crane Mountain, near our house in the Adirondacks. (of course, he couldn't fix the DTV service) So we must go for a hike to the lake, right?  Of course, I'm thinking this is taking me away from some quiet applique time.  But in a moment of weakness, I said sure and off we went with our twins and an extra 10 year old.

I will just tell you this....I am the ugly American of hiking.  I whined, I complained, I crabbed, all the time missing the beauty of the journey.  And he stayed with me the whole time, encouraging me to move at my own pace and lying to me "we're more than half way there".   He could not have been a better hand to hold on to.

And finally (3000 feet up in 1.5 miles) we reached the glacier lake on the top.

It was TOTALLY worth the trip.  We ate our lunch, the kids swam and fished and I just took in the sites....ok maybe a short nap too.

Later I thanked Mr Fix-it for sticking with me through the whining and complaining and he replied...."I just really wanted you to see how beautiful is was up there"----I thank my lucky stars each day for this man---see why?

The DirectTV guy, however, is not on my list of most favorite people.

 

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

 

Some Gave All....

I am so glad to be home from a week of travel....first to Vermont then down to Washington DC for the 4th/Family Reunion.

Please forgive this non-quilting related post.....but it was travel,not quilting, that occupied my time.

We braved the MOBS of people on the lawn of the Washington Monument to watch the fireworks and were not disappointed.

(those are my twins in fuzzy profile...)

We spent days at the museums and have this to report...if you are going to Washington, DON"T MISS:

   - The National Air and Space Udvar Hazy Museum at Dulles Airport.  It is a huge hangar with all sorts of airplanes and historic memorabilia related to flight.  For some reason, I am really fascinated by space flight (too many Star Trek marathons??) so I was particularly interested in the display of the Shuttle Enterprise, and all the related space stuff.  And we saw the IMAX show about Katrina and it's affects on the wetlands in the Gulf, it was an eye-opening show.  It's a ride to get out to the museum, but worth the trip!

    - The National Museum of the American Indian. It is a beautiful building and has state-of-the-art displays and really teaches about Indian culture and history.  You could spend a whole day here.  However, avoid this when Al Gore decides to run a music event there (7-7-07).

You can't help but feel patriotism in a place like Washington, where you can see our founding documents, our national treasures and artifacts, and at every turn, a memorial to those who have paid the ultimate price for our liberty. 

I stood there at the Lincoln Memorial, in the shadow of Lincoln tearfully reading the Gettysburg address (as I do every time I go), and thought of my friends who are in the midst of sending their sons off to war.  The words on the wall were more poignant than ever.

I think it's sometime easy to forget in the safety of our lives, that, for generations, there have been those who have given all for us...

All I can say is "thank you".

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

Flowers, Flowers everywhere

One of the most wonderful things about Cape May (New Jersey) is walking along the streets and seeing and smelling all the beautiful flowers and greenery.  For anyone who's never been, it's historic district is made up of large and small Victorians dating back to the early 1800's and most homeowners take real pride in their homes, their gardens---mostly in the front of the houses---and their fences.  I was inspired by all the beauty and hope to put some of the ideas to good use at my house.  The other thing I got to see in Cape May was my parents, so it was an all around wonderful visit.

And of course, there are quite a few of antique stores all around town, so it would be rude to not stop by a fair number of them while the boys are out fishing.  I showed you the lovely nun statue in my last post, but I also found myself under the "Holly Affect"   (Paris, roses, need I say more?)  I found this little trade card from 1879...

and look what was on the back....dry goods??

So I may not make it to Paris any time soon, but at least I have something more french than fries.

It seems like a very La Belle Rose  kind of day....so I set off on my newest project that looks to the past for inspiration.

I bought an antique quilt a while back so I am now reproducing it, thanks to a nearly perfect match with one of the greens in the new collection.

 

This is Block One:

I'm doing the mylar/spray starch method of applique prep, so it's a great take along project for the car rides we have coming up.

I'll show the antique quilt when I get more of the blocks done....

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan