Doctors, company and road trips

 Hi All! Wow, have I been busy doing everything but quilting. We had a wonderful program at guild with Muriel Pfaff, the Quilt Teacher. She did a historical talk about the life of Martha Washington, dressed as Martha Washington! It was really interesting to see and learn about the costumes of the era as Muriel showed her authentically made garments. Then we enjoyed a trunk show of her period reproduction quilts.

Muriel grabbed a snack before her talk. I couldn't take more photos because I had to help with holding her quilts up for viewing.

My brother and sister-in-law came for a visit last week and I had the pleasure of introducing my SIL to a quilt retreat. We went to my guild's Sleep in your own bed  retreat where we sewed all day and were home for dinner. There were games and prizes for accomplishing sewing tasks for the outreach groups. We got tickets for participation, so I put the pedal to the metal and earned 35 tickets! I made three quilt tops and five blocks for Quilts of Valor. My SIL made blocks for comfort quilts as well as the Heart to Heart group. I didn't score a prize, but SIL won a collapsible wagon to haul her sewing stuff in. She also won one of the games for another prize. We had a fun three days together.

We all went to Mountain Crossing at the top of Blood Mountain, along the Appalachian Trail, close to Blairsville where we live. Even Mr Wazoo put down his leaf blower to go along!

My brother made fast friends with Penny, who kept him company while us girls were at the retreat.

My sister-in-law, hard at work with the 48 other quilters!

The yard is coming along well, greening up for Spring. Things will be in full bloom any day now.

This is the first time we had enough lilacs to be able to cut some for the house. They smelled wonderful!

The rose bushes are loaded with buds, so I think they will be a bright spot in the gardens.

A few of the iris have made their debut

Lovely...and huge!

The front yard is green and beautiful. Our trees are almost all leafed out.

Isn't Spring exciting?!

Petunias in the porch pots.

My friend Judy had a quilt in Paducah this year and asked me if I could go along for a few days to see the show. Her roomie had something come up and she knows I'm always up for a road trip. It was a great surprise to get to go to the show! We stopped on the way at a shop called Stitcher's Garden in Brentwood, TN. Oh my stars!! What a find! Not only was the shop gigantic with every fabric line you can think of; they have a back room (also HUGE) with the sale fabrics. $6 a yard or buy the bolt (all lengths of fabric left on them) for $15. Unless you want less than 3 yards, why not go for the bolt? Here are some pics of the back room and the shop. Needless to say, we spent 3 hours there and spent some serious money.

In the back room. The different fabric lines and designers are noted on the shelves or boxes so it is easier to find what you're looking for. A shopping cart is a must-have.

More of the sale room. Be still my heart.

Out in the shop, I found two rows of the Kaffe Fassett collective.

There were rows of Liberty, Tula, Tilda, Ghastlies, French General and the biggest collection of Civil War reproduction fabrics I have seen. Solids, dots, stripes, kid stuff, flannel, wool...everything!!

The shop. Numerous quilts and patterns for you, too.

We arrived at our hotel late in the day and went to the show on Friday after a good night's sleep. I made a little slide show of the quilts I liked (sorry...there were too many for me to photograph and get through the show, too) and as soon as I can figure out how to put it here, I will. Until then, here is Judy with her quilt, Trust, and a few other picture from the show.

Best of Show

My favorite quilt. Japanese, of course.

Hundreds of tiny girls in Kimono, each one different. Just, WOW!

Judy and I at the tourist photo backdrop.

Another guild member had a quilt in the Cherrywood challenge.

Judy's quilt was in a really good spot. Easy to get a photo without the barrier chains in it.

Trust. This guy is a fixture at Meeks Park, feeding birds and squirrels daily. Everyone who walks the trail there has met him.

Back home, I put out my loot from the show. I bought all this at Stitcher's Garden.

The rest of my buys.

Back home, I quilted three tops for a customer whose wife passed before finishing the quilts. They are for his family to have.

I started with the 'best' one. These were pieced with a serger...threads all over the front to clip, and not too flat. Someone will love them.

Panto: Splat

All three have old cotton sheets for backing. Very soft.

Number two. That'll wake you up!

Panto: Stipple

Number three. This one will keep you awake!

Panto: Chevrons

Whew!! That's enough for now. I hope you're still with me here. I will try not to have such a big gap between posts. I have been very busy...  See you on the flip-side.