Quilting

Back to the x and + blocks - I meant to post this a day or so ago! I really do love these sooo much, but really find them quite fiddly - maybe 7 different fabrics per block. I have decided to aim for one per day, or maybe at least cut fabrics for one.I have done a re-start after deciding the others looked a little dark for my liking and also some were quite inaccurate - I had lost my incentive to carry on.Our State Quilt Exhibition is on at the moment, some beautiful quilts in QuiltWest - however, I took some lousy photos, but will do a re-hash and come up with something decent to show.I bought some lovely fabrics - the Japanese on the left from an Australian market stall BeBe Bold and those onthe right arriving from the US yesterdayI am getting a nice little stash of Japanese fabrics. I have some great fabrics for Steam Punk with this addition.Blogger is being unkind, I have lost my signature again and text down the right hand side of the pic???Happy day everyone - hugs - Lurline!

Today a young man died of Osteosarcoma. I did not know him, I did not know of him either. I just found out about him today and his story touched me.When a young life is taken so early it brings things into perspective. It reminds us of our healthy children and how lucky we are to tuck them in knowing that they don't hurt and that when we wake them in the morning they'll spring to life (or slowly come alive) and you'll face nothing but the challenges of being a Mom and helping him navigate life. No matter how hard his life is, how challenging it is... he is alive, and for that I am grateful. Hugs your kids tight tonight and know, not every Mom is as lucky as we are ...This is Zach Sobiech, he was less than a year older than GP when he died ... Kind of puts things into perspective. He wrote a song and leaves a legacy of love. What a kid; I am sure his mom is hurting tonight, but she must be proud of the young man he became. RIP Zach. His You tube video is below. Just follow the link. It's worth it. Clouds by Zach Sobiech

Well it has been some time hasn't it? lost but not forgotten hopefully. I have travelled many miles, managed to drive on the wrong (right) side of the road, met so many new and wonderful friends and revisited with many dear old friends across the country. I have returned with daughter in tow (she would have happily stayed and taken up the many invites she had to travel to more states of the US) and with many exciting things to follow up on. I’ll shall cover my travels for you in a few posts over the next week or so but we’ll start at the main point of the trip – International Quilt Market Spring – Portland Oregon. For those new to quilt market it is HUGE and I mean HUGE compared to anything we have in Australia. It never ceases to amaze me the creativity gathered in one place for all to admire. When we first arrive we are greeted simply with this; a bare floor, an undressed table and some very flimsy pipe and drape walls.. the isles fill with crates, boxes and pallets.. they are unpacked and booths slowly begin to take shape over two days   after two days of prissing, primping, moving, adjusting,pinning and discussing we end up with this. my demo table and a couple of seats for weary bodies to sit and order and chat my outside corner wow wall! I placed the new ‘Cornelian’ quilt here and some other redwork projects on this cute dresser loaned to me by the wonderful Vicki.. can you see the wonderful bunting Jo made for me? This was the inside of my wall and featured more redwork –yes the Thought of the Months and Rasberry ripple quilt. thanks to Emma’s idea we setup a wall with several curtain rods to display all of the Block of the Month Quilts. Many of my best selling BOM’s were being return to me in Portland so I knew I would have too many to display on our few flat walls. This idea worked so well and allowed people to draw different quilts open to view both front and back.. I was happy with how it all turned out with goods from three suitcases…. Unfortunately I was so busy I didn't get out of my booth until Sunday afternoon and didn't get many shots of other booths at all. But I will show you more on our trip tomorrow.. and you can google ‘quilt market photos’ and see many many photos from other vendors and attendees to inspire you..   til next time Hugs and happy stitching Helen

Guess what I finished today!! One baby quilt quilted -- One more to go for tomorrow --- I have a feeling that Quilt-Cam is going to be a Binding-Fest! Be sure to like our Quiltville Friends Page on Facebook for more fun!

Roberta shared her "Traffic Jam"! And Karen made another! She told me the border fabric has been in her stash a long time and was PERFECT! CLICK HERE for my FREE "Traffic Jam" Pattern And look at Deb's Dragon fly from Brambleberry friends CLICK HERE for all the Sew A Long posts and CLICK HERE for my book! Sharing a bit of Behind the Scenes at Quilt Market ************************** CLICK HERE to read my latest newsletter! ************************** This is my show and tell today!! Now I'd love to see YOURS! Put a direct link to your latest blog post, your flickr folder (did you share something new?), your pinterest board, or how about your latest project loaded to craftsy? Click the blue box and follow the directions..let's have some fun! I can't wait to see your latest quilt, finish, start or pile of yummy fabric!

Today I can share with you the Postage Stamp Quilt I quilted for Darlene aka Quilting Nana. She wanted to be surprised and NO peeks. Please go on over and visit her blog and tell her I sent you. The backing was a dark red color and when I popped down underneath the machine to look up I thought this was just too cool not to share.This is called semi-custom quilting because of that inner flange border. I hope you can kind of see it popped up some in the photo. The center design is one of my favorites that mimic the fabric line. It's called, "Special Roses." You will see the whole quilt at Darlene's blog.Thanks again Darlene for choosing me as your quilter to "frost" your quilt. It's a beauty!

Okay, so Friday was my day to go to Market. After our flight from Vegas, Clint and I drove from Seaside, Oregon to Portland. It took about an hour and a half to get there and the whole time I was so nervous. I don't know why I do this to myself, but I get so worked up about thinking that I shouldn't go, or that I don't belong at Market. I guess I just feel more comfortable at home, blogging is so safe to me because I don't have to put myself out there. I feel like a wallflower at a school dance. Anyway - nerves aside we made it to the convention center, got our name tags and a Market catalog. I sat on the floor as Clint made a business call and I opened the catalog to see the following page. My heart skipped a beat and I got so excited. My book is being advertised in the Market catalog. Wow - it was just the motivation I needed to get inside and feel like maybe, just maybe I should be there. First person I got to see was Jenny - love her! We definitely did not have enough time to chat. She was so great to teach me how to pose - it was so funny. Her baby is adorable and she looks so great for just having a baby. She is my idol! Then I ran into Melissa, we have emailed a lot - but this is the first time we have met. Crazy because we only live 45 minutes away from each other. She is so nice and we had a fun chat. Angela's booth was awesome, (loved her quilt) she is a doll of course and she really is the nicest person you will ever talk to. First time I met her she said "us longarmers need to stick together." I will never forget that and I am so impressed with the success she has had as an amazing longarm quilter. Next stop AQS - the best stop. I was happy to meet Elaine, the new Executive Book Editor, for the first time. Oh my goodness, she is amazing! We had the best conversation. I feel so lucky to be working with AQS and the amazing people there. I am sad that I didn't get a picture with her, I guess I could blame that on Clint because he could have moved the camera over just a bit. ;-) But, as you can see in the background that my book had it's turn on the TV monitor. It's getting so close, the reality that my book is actually coming out is so fun for me. Oh Vanessa! She is adorable! We met at Spring Market in Salt Lake a couple years ago, but I wasn't able to get a picture with her then. I made sure to this time. Her fabric and patterns are so adorable. She is so talented and so humble too - I appreciate that about her so much! I ran into Sherri and Amy - it is always fun to see these girls. Sherri has a book out, A Quilting Life,I have it and I will post about it soon. I was lucky enough to have quilted one of her projects in the book. More on that later. Me and Camille in her booth. I feel really lucky to be able to talk to so many talented people, and I guess that is why I want to go to Market. Truth be known, there was so much to see and I felt completely overwhelmed. Clint would ask me questions that I couldn't respond to, I think my brain was just trying to take everything in and I forgot how to function. We were there for about 4 hours and we didn't see everything. I do have some regrets about not staying just a little bit longer, but I think we all know what it is like to bring your husband to a quilt store - it's the same as bringing them to Market. He was a good sport though, and I am glad he came with me.

Oh, Auntie Bonnie…you have GOT to get these baby quilts done! I tackled some book work this morning….but once a friend convinced me that this is a three day weekend coming up ((THANK YOU MICKEY!)) and that I really SHOULD take a long holiday weekend off and tackle work stuff come Tuesday after a rejuvenation period, I switched gears and I’m in the studio getting these Dancing Nine Patch quilts

Not me...the project I'm working on. These are the blocks John's aunt embroidered that I'm making into a quilt. The sashing is light blue, and the cornerstones are a darker blue. I've got all the rows made...tomorrow I'll get them pressed and start sewing them together.

During our vacation Mr. P. and I celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary. We stopped at a restaurant along the beach and ordered some boiled shrimp. One of my favorite foods.We sat outside on the deck. This was our view of the beach across the street.More views.The weather was perfect. No humidity which was great.We drove further down the beach and stopped again just to sit out on the beach.This was the most people we saw at one time on the beach. And only because it was a Christina retreat center. There were hundreds of teenagers there playing volley ball, swimming, and just having fun on the beach.As we were leaving that area I spotted a cactus that was blooming. Funny to see a cactus at the beach.Here is the house I want to live in right across from the beach. LOL No, I could never afford it. But is nice to dream.Here is the strip as we are driving back. Front beach (that is what the locals call that road) has changed so much since we left. It is really amazing. It is definitely a tourist town and that strip will be bumper to bumper after school lets out.And because it is a tourist town you see tacky stuff like this. Mr. P. and I actually dined at this restaurant after our senior prom.These next three photos are of new tourist attractions. So tacky.That evening we had dinner with Mr. P's brother and our sister-in-law who still live in that same neighborhood where I met Mr. P. We had a good visit with them and we will see them again when their son gets married on September 1.I also got to spend some time with my sister and her husband. They also celebrated an anniversary this month. My mom took us all out for dinner. Then I had fried shrimp. Yum!Tomorrow I will share some quilty stuff. My mom is a quilter too. Come back tomorrow and see what she shared with me.With Passion,Carrie P.