It's A Quilt Contest!

Michele over at The Quilting Gallery is having another weekly quilt contest.  This time it is Scrappy Quilts!  I have entered my Pigs On the Farm quilt and hope you all will go over and take a peek at it! IF you like it better than all the others, then I would appreciate your votes!  There is some mighty hefty competition over there!!

Thanks in advance!!

PIGS ON THE FARM!

My quilting buddies know my hubby and I collect pig pottery so they are always sending me pig themed fabrics. I made this quilt using all of those fabrics for the circles. The green background fabric was given to me by one of the ladies when we met in NH at a quilting retreat. Friends are such fun.

Mail Call!! I Am About To Burst!!

I have been patiently waiting on this since Spring!!

Dave at Quilt Boxes was one of my sponsors for the quilting retreat that I hosted in April of this year as well as being a regular sponsor on my blog.  I loved his work so much that I ordered a Quilt Box for me and my hubby but told him not to rush on it.

Well, I received notification from Dave a few days ago that it was enroute!!  It actually came day before yesterday but I have been waiting to open it so I could show it to my hubby!  He has been really busy with the crop and comes in exhausted and basically collapses on the couch as soon as he eats dinner.  Tonight however, he will be in better spirits because he gets part of tomorrow off because he does not have an available barn to fill.  So, I opened the box just a little bit ago because I am expecting him in about half an hour! 

People, let me tell you... Our box is amazing!!  I chose the Churn Dash block design because it was one of my Granny Ida's favorite block patterns.  It is made from Figured Eucalyptus, Figured Makore and Walnut Burl!  ALL of which my hubby will LOVE!!  My hubby is a wood turner and burly and figured wood is a woodturners delight!! He is going to be smiling when I show him our newest treasure!!

What???  You want to see, you say!  Well... I might just be stingy and keep it all to myself... ha!

Naww.. I wouldn't do that!   Something this beautiful deserves to be shared with everyone!!

Just take a peek at this beautiful quilt box!!

Don't you just love this Figured Eucalyptus!

My Granny Ida would be so proud of Dave for those sharp points!!

Now doesn't that just make your mouth water??  

What are you waiting for?  You know you HAVE to order yourself one of these beauties!! OR..You may possibly have someone on your Christmas list who this would be perfect for!   Here is the link to help you on your way! QuiltBoxes!

Thanks so very much Dave!!  I love my box and I know my hubby will too!!

And while you are here keep scrolling down this page to find the online quilt show, Men Quilt Too!!  I have 21 male quilters linked up at this point of the show, with links direct to their websites and or blogs!  They have some wonderful quilts to show off!!  Get on over there and take a peek!  This is one quilt show you do NOT want to miss!

Nothing Says Fall Like A Pumpkin!!

I am hosting a block swap on the HGTV Quilting and Needlework Forum with several ladies participating.  I have started receiving some of the blocks and wanted to share them with my readers!  They are all just wonderful!  The only rules were that the pumpkins could not "read" Halloween nor be made with novelty type fabrics.

If all 9 blocks are different, you will see all 9.  If they are different in fabric but not pattern, you will still see all 9.  If they are identical in fabric and pattern, you will only see 1 of the 9.

So, What do you think?

Jennifer (QuilterJen)

Karen (califshrimp)

Colleen (alexemmarose)

Joyce (ladybuggsie)

Debbie (debbieWI)

Kathy (omma5)

Cheryl (AuntieReba)

Ellen (kwilt4u)

Linda (lindaj52)

Kathleen (Kay-Lin)

Chris (QuilterChris)

Chris (QuilterChris)

Ellen (ekbuckeye)

Thearica (Quiltaholic)

Nancy (Nancyc20)

 
Ellen (hotpinkpeonies)

Elizabeth (ELY/SSYS) 

 

My Amazing Weekend!

I have just had the most amazing weekend of a lifetime!  I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a Ricky Tims Super Seminar, with Ricky, Alex Anderson and Libby Lehman in Asheville, NC!!

Ricky demonstrated his Caveman style of piecing and showed us how he designs his Rhapsody and Kaleidoscope quilts!!  Can you say SUPER easy!! I have sat and looked at photos of his quilts and thought just how difficult it must be to put one of these together!  I have asked many times "What is in the water out west that produces such artistic quilters?"   And now thanks to Ricky and his amazing style of teaching, I can create one of these beautiful quilts myself!!

All through the seminar Ricky, Alex and Libby all interjected their quick wit and humor, only adding to the overall fun of the entire weekend!

If you ever get the chance to attend one of these seminars, you will not regret spending the money!  I PROMISE you that it will be given back to you one-hundred fold in a wealth of information!!!  You really HAVE to see it to believe just how uncomplicated Ricky's designs truly are to produce such magnificent looking quilts!!

Take a look at some of the beauties Ricky Tims had on display!

 

 

I have always wanted to meet Alex Anderson!

And her hand quilting is phenomenal!  I really miss hand quilting and this weekend has made me miss it even more!  Alex was a delight to be able to talk to about your quilting past and how you got where you were today. She was genuinely interested in what you had to say!  I loved that about her!

Libby Lehman was a bundle of energy this weekend! Here she is signing autographs with Ricky!  Her style of quilting is fun, fast and easy! 

My brain feels as though it has been fried!!  WOW!! Such a wealth of information to absorb in 3 days!  And LONG days too!  I cannot wait to get in my studio and try my hand at creating my own Rhapsody quilt!!

On Friday night Ricky treated us all to a piano concert!  He also played a Native American instrument as well!  We all sat mesmerized as he played his beautiful music! It was easy to get lost in it all... I actually teared up several times!

I am pulling this from Ricky's website.. I don't think he would mind the advertising plug-- 

He maintains an extensive international schedule of teaching and speaking engagements, is co-founder and co-host of The Quilt Show (www.thequiltshow.com) with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims - an online, subscription-based TV show for quilters. He presents three-day Ricky Tims Super Quilt Seminars in select cities throughout the United States and holds week-long La Veta Quilt Retreats at his art quilt studio in tiny mountain town of La Veta, CO. In 2010, he and Alex Anderson started a new quilting lifestyle magazine called The Quilt Life (published by AQS).

I encourage you all to check out Ricky's website to see where his seminar is coming to next!  If it is remotely close to you - GO!!!  You will NOT be sorry!! 

My Newest CQ Creation!

I thought I had blogged about this Crazy Quilt piece that I made for my good friend Elaine, but going back though my blog, I find that I never did! I cannot believe I didn't share this piece with all of you!

My good friend Nicki hosted yet another one of her CQ One Block Swaps over on the HGTV Quilting and Needlework Forum and I could not pass up the chance to participate!  Elaine's name was drawn for me and I was estatic!  I had been wanting to create a piece for her and now was my chance! No more excuses...no more putting it off!!

Elaine had joked around with me the entire time I was creating Allie's piece for her birthday in 2010.  She kept begging for it and I kept saying no.  So I decided to incorporate a few of the same design options as I put in Allie's.  They are still incredibly different and Elaine loves her piece as much as she would have loved getting the piece I made for Allie.

And in the end, that is all that matters right!