Class at the AQS show in Lancaster....

My friend, Kathy, and I took a class by Gail Garber called Color and Contrast. This wasn't a class that talked about the color wheel....it was a class that encouraged us to use contrast in our projects and showed how important it is. We didn't sew...but we were given bits and pieces of fabrics rather randomly and had to work with what we were given. We were cutting them and pasting them down to look like different types of quilt blocks. In the beginning, we all did very traditional things and then we got more "artsy-fartsy" as I like to call it. We had a lot of fun AND there was no UFO to take home. Here are some photos from that class. (The completed quilts are ones done by the instructor.) If you click on them, they will be quite large but it will give you the chance to see her work up close. She does her quilts by paper-piecing but her design process takes a long time, as you might imagine from seeing these very involved art-quilts. She also does a lot of curved borders and bindings.

This quilt was done as a memorial to the tragic events of 9-11.She also uses mostly hand-dyed fabrics that she buys....but she does also use scraps...like the pyramid border above that used scraps of many different reds. These next two were very striking to see in person.

You might notice that she does a lot of flying geese and I like how the colors flow along the edge of this next quilt.This next photo shows Kathy and a few other gals working on their block designs. Gail would give us a sheet of paper with a box drawn on it and the box was drawn to look like something simple....a 9-patch or a 16-patch. (Some of the other ones were more advanced shapes and we didn't get to all of them.) We didn't have to make OUR design look like a 9-patch or a 16-patch...just had to make sure it stayed within the outer confines of the box on the page.Here are some of the results......mine is the 3rd one down on the right side...with the two circular shapes on it. Mind you....these were all glued in place but her books, apparently, teach you how to take your design and do it with paper-piecing. I had fun doing this....but it's not my "cup of tea"....though it was nice to think outside the box for this one morning! She taught a few other classes at the show and I believe she taught people how to go from the design on paper to making it with paper-piecing during at least one of those other classes.

Want to see inside my Amish shoppping bag?

Okay....several of you probably recall in November that I showed you the contents of my Amish shopping bag after I came back from the quilting retreat in the Lancaster, PA, area. Of course, you know I took that lucky bag along with me last week to the AQS Quilt Show up there. And.....here are some photos of what I bought. I really was a pretty good girl and didn't buy too much, as you will see. (But I know I am going back up there for 2 days in May and then for 5 days again in November, so the shopping bag will get more chances to fill itself up....LOL)

Here is that good old shopping bag and in front of it are two things....a 2 1/2 inch ruler (a size I didn't have yet) and a cute-as-button wool felt snowman mini quilt kit (with everything I need right inside that kit.......LOVE it!)Now look at this......a Jim Shore QUILTING angel....and she even has a needle in her hand. You know I couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy her and she was being sold at a special price at the show.........she makes a really nice addition to my Jim Shore collection. I think I will name her Eleanor ....since I saw Eleanor Burns at this show and loved her lecture.And then we have some fat quarters (got these at one of the Amish shops and not on the show floor). They were just 98 cents each and are just right for a few projects I have in mind. The two charm packs will be made into a Disappearing 9-Patch quilt for my living room. (Aren't you loving it so far? I tell you....this Amish shopping bag knows how to SHOP!)This panel of adorable "chicks" is going to find a new home with a special blogger friend as a thank-you gift.....who may see this, but will still be surprised when it arrives, I hope.I know this isn't exciting to look at, but I also know you like to see everything that comes home in that Amish shopping bag, so I can't leave out these sample pieces (50 cents each for an 18 inch square) of various types of Hobbs' batting....including fusible. For that price, I had to try some I've not used before....cheap way to find out if I like them or not.Assorted little "doo-dads".....magnets.....needles.....mini-quilt hangers.....a pad and a little baggie of Snickers candy that says on the top: "Don't snicker...at least you got something". Might give it to my daughter who is always asking me to bring stuff back to her when I go away!!! LOLMore fat quarters.....the one on the left has tiny irons on it and the one on the right has clothespins. Also, you can see two cell phone or scissor fobs....one says I love to quilt and the other has a sewing machine charm on it. Both are already earmarked as gifts for two different gals.Multi-yardage pieces of two fabrics I loved that will be used for valances in my house...one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom...and not sure yet which will go in which room. They were from one of the Amish fabric shops. The yellow one was just $4 a yard and the ivy print was $6 a yard and both are high-quality fabrics, so I was happy to get them for such good prices.As you can see from the title, this is Penny Haren's "Pieced Applique" book. She was there demonstrating her technique and I'd like to give it a try, so I bought the book. She suggested this was a good one when starting to learn her method of applique. Of course, like most of you, I really didn't NEED another book, but.........you know.........it just jumped into that Amish shopping bag before I could do anything to stop it!And the last item I purchased is this t-shirt that says "I Quilt". Please excuse its sad condition. After being stuffed into that Amish shopping bag with all the other items, it is a bit wrinkled. Maybe I'll win that iron on Kelly's 30-day giveaway.....(see my post from yesterday morning) and then I can have this shirt looking wonderful in no time at all. I hope you enjoyed seeing what I brought home from the trip to Lancaster. There was plenty more I could have bought, but I figured I'd leave some of it until next time. :-)

"Good Eggs" prize winner......

The winner of my Good Eggs Bunny Hop prize is Joanna of the blog called Needle, Thread, Happiness. Congratulations, Joanna. Your prize will be in the mail within the next two days. Thanks to all of you who were kind enough to leave such pleasant comments! Now be nice bloggers and click on my winner's name (above) and go to her blog and become a follower. I believe she is fairly new to Blogland and it would be nice if some of you became blogging buddies with her!

Am AMAZING giveaway.....

See that giveaway "button" at the top of my sidebar? You really need to check it out.....because it is one of the most amazing giveaways I've seen. Kelly is celebrating her 1st anniversary of her I Have a Notion website and is giving away 30 prizes........all GREAT ones (including such things as a terrific iron, EQ design software, free-motion quilting DVD's and more). The event ends on April 15 and you can go back and enter on any or all of the days that you see prizes you'd like to win. I told her I'd help get some folks to go there....so tell her Pat from Delaware sent you..... so she knows my bloggers are the terrific people I told her they were, so don't make a liar out of me....LOL. Be sure to go look, because you will love some of the prizes that are being offered! Just click on the "button" on my sidebar to get there and then go back to all her posts since March 15 to find all her prizes....and then keep going back to see the rest of them before the celebration ends. She has a wonderful on-line store, too, and the service she gives to her customers is wonderful.I have had oodles of typing to catch up on for my part-time job, so I don't have my photos ready yet from the quilt show. As I told you, AQS prohibits the quilt photos from being put online without permission from them AND the quiltmakers, so I can't put those photos here. BUT...I will put photos of my purchases and one or two from my class....hopefully, tomorrow. Until then, above is a photo of one section of the main floor of the show (taken from the second floor) and it shows just a small number of the vendors. (Click on it to enlarge it.) I love seeing the action from above like that and you can't always get those photos at shows....so I was happy to snap this one when I had the chance. Just look at all those people shopping and shopping!!!

Back from the AQS show.......

I am back from the AQS show in Lancaster, PA, and had a super-wonderful time. I will tell bits and pieces about the trip over the next few posts.....and will post some photos, too. I will just put one photo here today. Many of you will recognize this is Eleanor Burns (the Quilt in a Day maven). I attended her lecture and she was beyond funny. As she, herself, said afterwards when we spoke to her in the lobby, she is "out of control"......but in a good way, in the opinion of all of us who attended her lecture. (I am sure some in the audience were wishing they were wearing Depends during her talk as we laughed so hard our sides ached and tears were practically running down our cheeks!) This photo shows her a half hour before the lecture began....spending her brief dinner break (between lectures) talking to us and taking audience questions. If you ever get the chance to hear her speak, DO IT. You will not be disappointed. As for other "business", I may never catch up on your blogs after not having internet access for 3 days........so I'm sorry about that.....LOL And....if you have not yet taken part in the "Good Eggs Bunny Hop", please go back and read my March 24 post. This fun event ends tomorrow.

"Good Eggs" giveaway begins today.....

You might notice the bunny on my sidebar who is hopping to the "Good Eggs" giveaway. Well.......if you want to participate in about 30 fun giveaways quite easily over the next few days, click HERE. That will take you to the blog of Sandi....our Mama Bunny for this fun event! She will have the list there of several blogs you can visit and each of those blogs will have a giveaway. The ending date for this fun event is March 28. (My drawing will be held that afternoon so my deadline for entry is noon Eastern Time on March 28.) To enter my giveaway, all you need to do is comment on THIS post. Be sure you have a way I can reach you (either by clicking on your name to be taken to your email information or your blog...or you need to leave your email address in your comment here on this post). That's all there is to it....I am not asking you to blog about it....just post here (and then I hope you will visit my blog occasionally even after the giveaway ends). Here is a picture of my prize......4 fat quarters that I think say SPRING....the print shows seed packets and the other colors look nice with that print. (The blue fabric has dragonflies in it.) I really like them and hope you like them, too. I may tuck in another surprise if I find something that is "spring-like". So click on the link I gave you above for Sandi's blog and HOP around to visit all the GOOD EGGS who are giving away some nice spring goodies! Good luck to all of you!!! NOTE: I won't have internet access for the next couple of days while I'm at the quilt show, so I won't be replying to any comments or visiting any blogs until the weekend (by which time I will be hopelessly behind on blog reading, I'm sure!)

Stay tuned......for GOOD EGGS....

Tomorrow I will post a photo of my "Good Eggs" giveaway prize as part of a group giveaway. You will also find out how to find the many other blogs that will offer giveaways in this fun "bunny hop". Lots of chances to win nice prizes and probably several blogs you will discover that are new to you.....so be sure to check it out. Sandi (our MAMA BUNNY) has put a lot of time and effort into it so that everyone can have a fun time!

Also....tomorrow, I will be leaving for 3 days to attend the AQS Quilt Show in Lancaster, PA. Woo-Hoo!!! I cannot wait. I see the show prohibits posting photos of the quilts on blogs, but I will get some other show-related photos and post them on the weekend....after I am home and have had a chance to organize my photos and my thoughts.

TWO reasons to "celebrate".....

Yesterday was the first day of spring and that was certainly reason to celebrate.....especially since we had weather in the mid-70's, sunshine, blue skies and got a good bit of yardwork (cleanup from winter) done yesterday AND had chicken barbecued on the grill for dinner!

The second reason was that yesterday was National Quilting Day. I was so busy with yardwork that I didn't get to the sewing machine until about 7:30 last night. I'll put a couple of photos below of what I did......as it's a work in progress and I'm not yet decided on the final setting for it.

AND....as a special treat on National Quilting Day, I got MORE Royal Mail from Jan in England. You can see in the photo what she sent me......an adorable quilted bag she made and the handles are so darned cute....braided fabric. Don't you love it? It is the perfect size to pop a hand-sewing project inside to carry along somewhere. She also included another one of her wonderful fabric postcards. What a terrific surprise to get this and for it to arrive on National Quilting Day!!! Thanks, Jan!

Now for the photos of the "Welcome Spring" project I started yesterday....first is one of the blocks. It's a tulip (and I actually made this first block a week or so back). Last night, I made 3 more tulip blocks and a block that will be the center if I make a long runner or if I make a table topper. There are a few ideas I have in my head and all will require either setting triangles or some additional pieces of fabric, but I got too tired to continue last night, so I'll ponder this for a bit now before I proceed with it. Here's that single tulip block...Maybe this way (but with one more tulip block on each side and maybe turning the tulips in various directions)?Or maybe this way (with one more tulip block on each side) AND setting triangles....which is what the pattern suggests)?Or maybe instead of a runner, it will become a table topper or even a wall-hanging! (I have a few more ideas but was too lazy to take any further photos.)

Too nice to be indoors......

The past few days have been too nice ....blue skies...sunshine...pleasant temperatures....to be indoors sewing, so we have spent some time by the beach in Lewes and also taking walks by the pond near our house. We also made a trip to Dairy Queen by the bay AND it was nice enough to eat our ice cream outside......got sand in our shoes at the beach, too....AH....all sure signs of summer getting closer!!! It's wonderful to live near the beach at these times of the year when the weather is nice but the area isn't yet crowded with tourists. I mean...we do love the tourists and appreciate what they contribute to the local economy, but..sometimes we like to enjoy the area when it is crowd-free...and that is on fall and spring days like the ones we've had this week.

A mom digging in the sand with her little guy yesterday by the bay......Horseshoe crab shell amongst the dune grass.....I love the shadows cast by storm fencing on a bright, sunny day.....One of the ponds behind our house just before sunset last evening......I hope you enjoyed the "nature" photos. I'll try to have some quilting photos to show you the next time I post!

Happy St. Patrick's Day.....

With the first name of Pat and family roots in Ireland many years back (with the Donnelly family), I would be remiss if I didn't post and say Happy St. Patrick's Day! This is one of many photos taken when I was lucky enough to go to Ireland for a few weeks with my husband and daughter in the summer of 1994. This group of siblings was very talented and we enjoyed their music a lot. I wish I could recall their name...I'll try to look it up and report back on it sometime in the not-too-distant-future. (I wonder if they still play music together? They did have CD's when we were there.) I think I need to scan more of my Ireland photos and post them on my blog occasionally...I have some really nice ones.

Jelly Roll Block # 2 .....

Yesterday the pattern for the second block in the Jelly Roll quilt-along was posted. This is a picture of the one I made once the pattern was posted. You might recall in my first block, I was wondering about the burgundy fabric, so I incorporated some of it in this block, too.The designer for this block was April Mazzoleni. (If you want further info, click on the jelly roll on my sidebar.) I posted my first block two weeks ago here....but will post it again (below) in case some of you didn't see it the first time. These are easy blocks and fun....and I love getting to use my jelly roll. This jelly roll is the Fig & Plum fabric line by Moda. Now to find a fabric that will be good for the sashing and borders...got one but don't like it with these fabrics now that I see two blocks completed. Oh, well...another excuse to get fabric. Sad, huh?? LOL

The first block in the jelly-roll quilt-along.....I think they will blend together better once we get more blocks done since I am using fabrics all from the same jelly roll except for the grayish fabric for my "background" fabric.

My green "no-sew" swap block top.....

Whew...that's a mouthful to say......"no-sew-swap-block-top"!!! LOL For those who might not have heard about this before, we had a swap amongst 12 of us. We each chose a block pattern from Quilter's Cache, got the fabric for it, cut the fabric for 12 of those blocks and put the fabric for one block in each of 12 baggies and then swapped them. So...we each got 12 baggies with already-cut fabric and did our own sewing. Here is a photo of my top....sewn together and awaiting batting and backing and quilting and binding. I am happy with it so far. I think I will try to quilt it myself with a combination of hand and machine quilting. I hope to one day show all 12 of the tops on my blog, so as you get yours done, gals, please send me a photo, okay?If you click to enlarge this, you can see that the first block in the third row photographed a bit lighter than the fabric actually is. Here is another photo of that block and you can see there IS green in it.....a light green, but green nevertheless. When you see the quilt in person, the green shows up better than it did in the photos.
The next photo shows (if you look very closely) the cute, teeny tiny shamrocks/clover on the tan sashing. I love this fabric for the sashing on my green/white quilt top. If any of you are interested in doing a "no-sew-block-swap", Cecelia is starting one in a red/white/blue color scheme (an excellent idea for someone to show their patriotism OR to donate to the Quilts of Valor to be given to an injured military person) and you can click HERE to get the information and see if you want to join it.

Puppies on Parade......

I got 'er done!!! This was a week I didn't have medical typing as the doctor was on vacation so I put my UFO's aside and finished the Quilt for Kids' kit I got in the mail. Above is a photo of me holding it up after it had been washed and dried and was nice and soft and crinkly. (You should be able to enlarge it, if you wish, by clicking on it.) I think some little one will be cheered by this colorful quilt, don't you? For those who have asked me about this program (sponsored by Downy), I will include the link below after the second photo. I encourage you to click on the link and read the info and give it a try....it's a very worthwhile cause and the kits are very easy to put together....the cutting is really done for you (except for a little bit you need to do after certain sewing steps). You can make a real difference in the life of a very sick child AND for that child's family, too, as they see their child have a happy few moments and their day brightened when receiving such fun quilts to use.

This next photo shows the backing (which is the same fabric as the large squares on the front of the quilt). I did straight stitching diagonally through the 4-patch blocks using thread colors to match the fabrics........and diagonally through the larger blocks using a blue thread. I did a zig zag stitch using blue thread on the binding.....which was the backing fabric folded nicely to the front and stitched down. This turned out way better than my machine quilting usually does........I think my blogging friend, Lynda, who GAVE me the walking foot (and who passed away suddenly a few weeks back) was looking down and guiding my stitches...I really do! Thanks, Lynda...for the walking foot and for your guiding hand on this quilt!!! I miss your friendly emails and happy blogging posts.As promised, here is how you can get info for the Downy Quilts for Kids' program. Click HERE and then click on "How to Help" and you can discover how to get a kit sent to your house for you to assemble. I know some of you have done this already, but others have asked me how to get the information. Do this and you can make a difference for a really sick child....to give that child a smile and a day brightener when he or she gets to use the quilt you made (and make that child's family happy, too, for the smile you put on their child's face). So....if you've not yet done one of these kits, click on the link and get one.

A nice pre-spring day........

Crazy...what can I say? We had a wicked winter and now....days before the official start of spring, we had a lovely day yesterday....temps went up about 65 and it was sunny. I put two loads of towels and some bed linens out on the clothesline....love the smell of things after drying outside like that. While they were drying, hubby and I went into Rehoboth Beach for lunch at an Italian place we like and then went up on the boardwalk for a short stroll. This is me...windblown hair and all.....enjoying the nice day!

Next we went to the candy shop......see some photos below. We got the smallest amount you can buy of sugar-free peanut butter fudge...it was yucky and actually made me feel ill when I tried a piece of it last night. It went into the trash!!! Hubby did get his usual bridge mix and you can see in the last candy picture what I got......kind of silly but fun!

Lots of gummy candies (on the left)....lots of chocolates (on the right).....and a huge display of Easter items, too.

But.....I got..........peach flavored gummy penguins! Aren't they cute? Those of you who don't know me are saying, "How stupid!!!" BUT...those of you who know me and know I like penguins are getting a bit of a chuckle right now.

I did go to the local quilt shop, too...and got my giveaway prize for the soon-to-be-held bunny hop mentioned on my sidebar. AND....we came home to find a couple of purple crocuses (courtesy of birds, I suspect, since we only planted yellow ones). Overall, what a day......quilt shop, lunch out, a nice walk by the ocean, candy, and more flowers by the back door!!!

ROYAL mail for me!!!

From time to time some of you have gotten "royal mail" and the other day I got some at my house.......SEE!!!!! I got the adorable paper-pieced geisha you see below sent to me by JAN. I love it! She also included some pieces of the fabrics she'd used in it and some of them have the Japanese symbols on the back that makes those fabrics be so prized by some fabric collectors. Me??? I will cut them up and make borders of them and probably turn this little cutie into a pillow of some sort!!! And Jan also included one of her homemade postcards......SO pretty.......which I always love to see on her blog, and now I have one of my very own. THANKS, Jan!Did you notice the yellow crocuses above in my blog header? There is the tiniest patch of them at the foot of the steps near our back door and they really lifted my spirits when I saw them on the weekend. Temperatures have been a bit milder and I hope we will not go back to anymore bitter cold AND that we have a nice spring. A few years now, we have gone from winter right into HOT weather with no nice, spring weather in between.

Lavender Ridge blog giveaway....and.......my quilt kit arrived...

Lavender Ridge is having a first anniversary giveaway. She has a nice blog.....check it out and enter her giveaway, too.

Also, my quilt kit (from the Downy Quilts for Kids program) arrived in the mail. Here is a picture of the fabric included in the kit. I hope to have a photo of a completed top here in a couple of days. The pattern is very easy and the fabric is cut.....so the hardest part will be the quilting and deciding if I will do a traditional binding or pillow-slip it. I think the print of the fabric is really little-kid-friendly!!! I think I might call it "Puppies on Parade".

This is cute.......

For a long time, I've wanted to make a teapot cozy. I did look for some patterns and found some, but I never got around to doing it. (You know...it was put on my "someday" list......that grows longer and longer all the time! I think many of you might also have a "someday" list...right?) Anyway......I was lucky enough recently to WIN a teapot cozy. Isn't it cute? It was made by Brenda of Scraps and Strings.

She also sent this really cute card. Sorry that my flash made the center of it look faded...it's not. Can you see the fabric piled up on the back of the bicycle and the pincushion on top of the pile of fabric? I think the card is really cute. I asked Brenda if she made it and she didn't...but somebody was clever.

First block in the Jelly Roll quilt-along....

This is a photo of the first block I have made in the Jelly Roll quilt-along. (Information is on my sidebar, if you want to join or look at the blocks made by everyone else.) I am using a jelly roll from Moda's Fig & Plum fabric line. I won this awhile back from Debi (thanks, Debi) and I never knew what I wanted to do with it. This quilt-along seems like it will be fun. I am not really happy with the dark burgundy pieces I put in the center of this one, BUT....there will be other dark burgundies in upcoming blocks, so I'm sure it will all balance out in the end.

GOOD news.....the book I spoke about last week.....Leaving Gee's Bend......arrived in the mail yesterday. I am hoping to get it read within the next day or two. (My darned part-time typing job keeps getting in the way of "stuff", though.....ya know??? LOL) I will be sure to report on the book here when I finish with it. Oh, yes....be sure to check out the Tree Time BOM that is listed on my sidebar. It is being done by Molly, a blogging friend in Texas, and if you click on the little picture there, you can go and get the patterns, too. It is cute......and others have told me it is quite easy to make. Cute and easy......two words that work for me!!!

2nd post for today......sad one....

Some of you may recall when I got my replacement Janome machine (when my original one was defective), I had to surrender the walking foot that came with my original machine and was told I'd have to buy it BACK for the replacement machine. I didn't want to give the dealer any money for that and I blogged about it. Out of the blue, stepped a really nice quilter from Maine....Lynda....and she contacted me to tell me she had an extra one and would be happy to send it to me. She did and I sent her fabric as a thank-you. We emailed back and forth a bit......had a lot in common as she was a retired educator, too. I was one of the first to sign on as a follower of her blog "From My Farmhouse Window" and I enjoyed the contact I had with her. She sometimes got down to Lancaster as she had family there and we hoped to meet there sometime in the not-too-distant future. (She got a big kick out of my bottomless Amish shopping bag and how I blogged about that in November.) Now we will never meet in Lancaster as she has passed away suddenly. Her daughter posted on Lynda's blog to let us know. If you knew Lynda in Blogland, too, and weren't yet aware of this sad news, you might want to go there and leave a message for her daughter. Rest in peace, Lynda.

Busy weekend.......

Not much sewing going on......busy weekend (with two more even busier weekends to follow) since hubby and I are part of two current groups of volunteers at our church whose jobs are looming very large right now. At any rate, I did get these two blocks done to send to Karen for a comfort quilt she is putting together for her friend.



Then...I did scoot into a store on the way home from church today and got myself the only Jim Shore St. Patrick's themed figurine they had. It's really an ornament and if I get a good table-top ornament hanger, I will use it that way, BUT.....for now I used a couple of pieces of St. Patrick's fabric kindly sent to me by Lola with her package of baggies during our recent no-sew block swap and made a tiny mat for my Irish Angel to stand upon. I think she is sweet!