Goodbye 2008!

Where has the time gone? Where have I been ? Inquiring minds, like RED , Libby , and Mrs. Quilt Hollow , want to know!

Well for the past 3 months, I have been on many trips! So many, that it is nice to finally be home for a little while!

My last trip was to the Grand Canyon. We took "the little person" to the Polar Express. If you live in the area or have the ability to travel there, this is an amazing experience for kids! I think that we might have to make this an annual trip.

We started here:

and then we rode the Polar Express up to the rim of the Grand Canyon. We stopped at the "North Pole" where we picked up Santa. He rode back with us and handed out presents to all of the children.The next day we drove in our car along the famous Route 66


and we went here.

Unfortunately we didn't pass any quilt stores along the way. Mrs. Nook consulted the Quilter's Travel Companion for me, but I guess that quilt stores aren't in demand around the Grand Canyon.

Oh well. I did manage to make more yo-yos and

one lonely hexagon flower!

(I told you that I am going to be a grandmother by the time that I finish this quilt!)

The New Year is upon us and it is out with the old and in with the new! I want to wish all of my "quilt buddies" a prosperous New Year! I will certainly need one!

(Red , we will paint the New Year RED!! )

Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

No Peeking!

Just a reminder to everyone ,(especially RED), NO PEEKING! Santa is watching you!

Merry Christmas to all of my blog friends (both near and far)! May you be surrounded by the love of your family and friends!

Until Next Time....Happy Quilting!

A Little Holiday Cheer

Since I am on the road, I thought that I would post a few photos from home. Most of my decorations are RED of course. I have been collecting Pottery Barn ornaments for some time now and I finally have enough to cover my entire tree.

So here is a little "BLING" from my house to all of the other fans of red( like Carla , Libby, and RED) !

Well, I'm off to make more yo-yos while I am sitting in the hotel room!

Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

While I Was Away

While I was away, I made these:

While I was at her house, Mrs. Nook let me borrow her yo-yo maker. Yo-yos are so much fun to make once you get the hang of it! This time I took the yo-yo maker with me on my trip and I made all of these. The bag is full of red and white yo-yos, which I thought would be a cute Christmas accent. I know that RED would approve!

I am now off on my last trip of the year and I will probably make more yo-yos! What else is there to do while you are sitting in the hotel room after the "little person" has gone to sleep? I could read blogs or I could catch up on my hexagons but Iwould rather make yo-yos!

Until Next Time...Happy Quilting!

PS- I promise to give you back your yo-yo maker Mrs. Nook, but they are so addictive!

Congratulations!

Sorry that it has taken me so long to post a winner! I guess that is what happens when you are on the road for over a week, especially when you have a "little person" with you! Things just started to get crazy!

Well my "trusty" number generator (my DH) has chosen the lucky winner. He chose:#2! So Mrs. Sweet Liberty you are the winner! Yeah, he chose well! (Just email me your address again and you will be getting a lovely parcel from me.)

As you guessed, I was in Disneyland, CA for a few days and then it was off to Mammoth Lakes for a ski vacation. This was the first time that I have every seen "real" snow! What a wonderful time I had with my family. I have lots to be thankful for this year and I am realy looking forward to what next year will bring!

What did I do while I was gone? I guess that you will have to wait and see!

Until Next Time...Happy Quilting!

Where Am I Now?

Where am I now? Yes RED , I am on the road again! What a better way to celebrate than with a little giveaway!

Anyway, if you can guess where I am at now, I will send you a souvenir from my destination spot! All you have to do is leave me a comment with your guess before midnight on Novemember 26 and I will randomly choose a winner.

Here are some clues:

Another clue: I drove to my destination!

BTW I won't be here for very long because I will be off to another destination!

Good Luck!

Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Even though I am on the road, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for my family, my health, my creative outlet (quilting), and all of my friends (those near and far)!

In the spirit of giving, I will be drawing a winner later on tonight! Thank you to everyone that stops by my blog to read what I have written!

Here are a few Thanksgiving images from around my home:

May your home and your heart be surrounded by the love of your family and friends!

Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

The Next Stop

All aboard for my next trip!

After leaving Houston, I spent one short week of rest with my family, and then it was off to the 3rd annual Quilt Retreat hosted by Lil' Country Shoppe. Who else would I go with, but Mrs. Nook! She went last year and when she returned, I knew that I had to attend the next retreat!

So, away we went to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
We packed our bags, sewing machines, and tons of fabric! Here is a small glimpse of what we brought. You can never too many projects to work on while you are there (right RED )!

In between working on projects, we did take time to enjoy the sights.

When we saw this house, we immediately fell in love with it! You know how much I love yellow and blue! Can't you just imaging setting up a quilt studio in front of the bay window? One could only dream right!

What did I complete at the retreat? The answer is not much! I started 3 separated projects but didn't complete any of them! I guess that they will get added to my WIP pile and someday I'll revisit them! LOL!

What will be my next stop? Stay tuned and you will see!

Until Next Time.......Happy Quilting!

Celebrity Sighting

What would the International Quilt Market be without a few celebrities?

The first celebrities that we met were Melly and Me ! We were sitting on board the hotel shuttle bus waiting to go to Sample Spree, when Rosalie climbed aboard the bus. I was so excited and I screamed "It's Rosie!" Poor Rosalie was so startled that I think that I might have given her a heartattack! We started chatting with them and that was the beginning of our friendship with our new Australian friends!

This is a photo of Melly & Me's booth at Quilt Market. I think that they did a great job considering the fact that they had to carry their stuff all the way from Australia! Plus they put everything together with string and safety pins! Way to go girls!

If you want to see some really cute stuff, check out their blogs! They have patterns for bags, quilts, and some of the cutest animals that you have ever seen!

The next celebrity sighting was another Aussie! We have both been a big fan of Lynnette Anderson and we were so thrilled when we got to meet her in person!

Lynette is such an inspring person! She took the time to really talk to us, show is her new patterns, and we even got a sneak peek at her upcoming fabric line! It is so cute and when you see it you will immediately recognize that it is her work. I know what I will be adding to my fabric stash in the future!

BTW, Lynette has a wonderful free stitchery BOM on her blog. There is still plenty of time to join in on the fun! While you are looking at the Noah's Ark stitchery, check out her great patterns and awesome handmade wooden buttons!

This is a final shot of us with downtown Houston in the background. Sorry for the darkness but its another one of our self portraits!

So long Houston and the International Quilt Market!


Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

Where have I been?

Where have I been lately?....Inquiring minds want to know (right RED?). Well once October rolled around, time just started to slip away, in a good way!

If you haven't guessed by now, I was able to getaway with my favorite gal pal, Mrs. Nook , twice! Our first trip was to....

.......Houston for the International Quilt Market! This was our first quilt market experience, one that we won't forget! We had been talking about it for weeks and the anticipation was so exciting. Who will we see? What will we buy? Where is the nearest Starbucks? What projects will we work on together? How many suitcase can we bring?

As usual, everything that we do is an adventure! Once we got settled into our hotel, we headed over the the infamous SAMPLE SPREE! We got in line a little bit early (like 3 hours early).

Three hours may seem a little bit early, but there were other people already waiting in line! Watch out because some of those ladies can be FIERCE about their spot in line!

And look....Who do I see near the front of the line?..Could that possibly be RED and Mrs. No Blog? I wonder what time they got in line!

(And look Mrs No Blog and I are both wearing RED).

Here is a photo of the line of women just waiting to get inside the Sample Spree! This is just a photo of half of the line! In order to pass the time, everyone is sitting on the floor working on projects. We were no exception!

While we waiting in line, we met lots of nice women! Holly and Sandra from Pine Needles were in line in front of us. They were so nice to share their experiences with us and we got to see the lovely projects that they were working on for their shop. Holly was nice enough to take this photo of Mrs. Nook and I.

Here is Mrs. Nook working on her Stitchers' Angel project.

Finally.....the doors open and everyone rushes into the room! We run quickly to the Moda both, which is in the far right corner, in the very back. Never get in the way of a woman on a mission, especially when her mission is MODA!

While we were at the Moda both, I met Tula Pink and her mom. I also met half of the duo known as Urban Chiks ! I was even catapulted into the spotlight when a magazine photographer asked to take my picture!

What did we buy?....Well, jelly rolls, layer cakes, and fat quarters in the newest lines of fabric! They are all so YUMMY!

Stay tuned because there is more to our adventure!

Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

At Last!...She is REVEALED!

Well Blogland, here she is, my Stichers' Angel! Please meet Jennifer from Sweet Liberty Grace ! She is also a stay-at home mom and we have many things in common! When I finally "met" her I realized that Helen did GREAT job of giving her to me!

Jennifer enlisted the help of Mrs. Nook! Cara became her "eye & ears" and gave her glimpses of me, which is why she knew exactly what I would like! All of this makes me feel so special!

Now, here is my special package! When I got it in the mail, I called Cara, so that she could "be with me" while I opened it up. (She had to listen to all of my "Oooohs and Aaaah" over the phone!) Jennifer's theme for the package was "my favorite things".

Everything is so nicely packaged, which is so like Jennifer!

The little blue box was filled with a cute needle case and tea (because Cara has me addicted to it). She also knows that quilters' need chocolate in order to make their creations.

Jennifer sent me an ssortment of paisley fabric because she knows that I want to make a quilt out of all paisley print fabric.They go nicely with the stash that I have already collected!

The sweet little blue bird is another addition to my bird collection. He is now perched on the top of my bookcase and everytime that I see it I just smile!

She also gave me a personalized note pad, but I forgot to take a photo of it.Sorry!

The little apron is my favorite! It is definately something that I would make for myself, but now I don't have to because someone special made it for me!

When I read Jennifer's blog, I made a list of things that I have in common with her. It took up the front and back of my piece of paper! Here are some of the things that we have in common:

• Our husbands have the same job, only different branches of the military!
• We both love Moda fabric!
• We have both been to Paducah, KY! My husband took me there 2 years ago for Mother's Day.
• We both have family living in Puyallup, WA. My best friend lives there!
• We both love antiques and things with a history!
• We are both working on Piece-N-Plenty
• We both love applique
• We both love to scrapbook and rubber stamp

My list goes on and on! So please check out her really, really, cute blog and tell her that you also love her work!

THANK YOU JENNIFER FOR GIVING ME YOUR FAVORITE THINGS!

Until Next Time...Happy Quilting!