Sunny And Good Days In The Neighborhood

 
Drove over (without a coat) to my Mailbox and checked to see what mail I had.
SURPRISE! Two wonderful packages that made my Month!
Maybe I was tired, I don't know but I have been kind of down for a couple days since I got home. Maybe I have wayyyyy to much to do before I leave. Thankfully, my neighbor helps me get caught up on things and is so good natured about it!
    Anyway, I got home and got my scissors out and opened up box number one from my Friend Sandy Fisher who comes to my retreats with her friend Wendy.
Look what she sent! I LOVE red with polka dots and isn't this tea pot the cutest???And two sizes of napkins...I see a tea party coming along soon!
This will go in my kitchen so well and everytime I see it, I will think of Sandy who was so very very thoughtful.
Thank you Sandy!
      I opened up package number two and it was from Jamie Morton who took my last Asilomar workshop. Jamie makes darling dolls and now she is making darling pins!
She sent two for samples and I am passing this along to you girls who have a friend you might want to give an adorable gift to! Look how you could personalize it with hair color!

This looks like my friend and it has a pin on it and isn't the tiara great?!
Jamie does faces really well also.

This looks like a girl I know in New Zealand...isn't she cute? Wish you could see these in person!
Here is Jamie's card below....you can contact her for more info...love her stuff!

I am working on a John C.Campbell story quilt right now and this is the bottom right quarter of the quilt....I do love vegie gardens....rick rack grass in on it's way too...so fun!

Below is one of my watering can blocks for a swap...they were really fun and I made each one totally different....even more fun!

Isn't the photo below cute? Who do you suppose had the time to make this sweater????

I think you have to be older to enjoy this post below...remember the words "We're gonna rock down to Electric Avenue!?

 

Please make sure you look at what the  Atlanta girls did below! All that sunshine must bring great talents!

Above is Sandy Appleby's story quilt that she made at my Idaho Retreat...see the ribbon? It is really so awesome and of coarse the colors are much better in person. Sandy is with the Bozeman guild where I just taught. She is a nurse and a wonderful person!

WOW that is some ribbon!

I have more photos from beautiful Bozeman, I need to get them off of my phone.

If you have not been to Montana, it is a must. Put it on your Bucket List....it is a fabulous place. Atlanta was 80 something and sunny and then I went to Bozeman and it was snowing. Both places have beauty and fun quilters!

I am so happy to be able to be with such great women. It is really an honor.

And I get to hear their stories which is the best part of all!

I leave you with these two thoughts....

Happiness Comes from Positive Action

and

REAL Love is the adbsence of judging others...

Have a great week!

 

Atlanta and Flower Power and funny Out of the Box Outfits!

This is a photo of my two hostess's in Atlanta...land of sunshine and Peachtree Drive (or is it street?)  Barb and Deb were both so very very nice and they co-chaired the vice-president spot...isn't that a great idea. These two were organized, polite and loved thier fellow members of the guild...isn't that great?
I had my first cheese grits and shrimp and was it ever good! LOVED how it tasted and I noticed that a trend in Atlanta was farm to restaurant foods. When I went to Bozeman they said this has always been the trend there...I think there are lots of farms in Montana.
Gwinnett guild really make me smile in that if a cell phone goes off, then that person pays one dollar to the guild. Wish all guilds did this and they make sure they pay!
The weather was in the 80's and humid but so nice to feel that sunshine! People are so friendly in the South and nice to each other and I was happy that some of the girls drank lattes and coffee. It makes my day go so much smoother.
Got to see Margaret Mitchell's house and learned she got hit by a car in front of it...what a way to go. Beautiful home!
The Chick and flower are out of Out of the Box with Easy Blocks...the patterns are inside. I am hoping these girls will do a cow....there are NO Southern type cows and there has to be a bunch! Any ideas?

Here was my nice class and they did lots in ONE day....really one day is not enough to get to the flowers and birds, and butterflies and flying geese and hearts and other fun things and when there is a two day class people come the second day and say "it really clicked and I can sew like the wind now! And they do.
The nice thing with this class is that the girl who was the beginner did as well as the others. Love this about this technique!

In the newsletter the ladies were invited to dress out of the box...the photo does not show it but the first lady had alligators on her feet...now that is out of the box!

It is amazing what just a tshirt can do to change you! Or fairy wings....

 

Ice Cream Cones anyone???

Alligator slippers!

Isn't she Out of the Box???

Love how you can take a pattern and it looks totally different with fabric choices!

The girls took me to IN-Town Quilt which is a good fabric store (quilt shop) that I always buy lots ofrom and then they took me to the Scarlet Thread (or something like that) and wow, the choices and color and full line of fabrics were quite something! I bought alot there too! Do I need fabric? No but I can't help myself!

For lunch the girls went and got me chicken strips from Chick Fillet and a nice green salad. Boy the chicken there was good! Salad too....I am trying to cut out most meat and eat lots of greens...I ate bread this past week but alot of really good things too...and friend pickles that were delish...not saying if they were healthy.
     

This cow is from an artist named Terry Powell and he really has a handle on out of the box! Hope you are thinking of doing a cow to have travel....we have some good ones no one has seen!

I am going off soon to West Virgina and then other places and hope to meet you there.

Tomorrow is the sign up for Asilomar classes next year...emptyspoolsseminars.com

If you want to take a class from me, put down ONE choice (only) and you will get in...it is kind of a trade secret. :0)

I still have those two openings for my retreat and I got an order from Ohio for a present for everyone and I ordered a couple of cool things from California this week. Got some fabric from a fab quilt company and have some other nice surprises too.

Great fun and Tina is making her menus for great food.

Farm Chicks sent me a note about all that is going on this year for their anqitue and collectible show and Artfest downtown is supposed to be the best it has ever been!

I hope to take LOTS of photos.

Hope you can join our great girls!

I saw this painting and it reminded me of Flower Power quilts!

Have a great week ladies!

The Many Hats of Mary Lou's Son, My Magican Cousin Handsome Jack and Things that Make me ME!

Last week my dearest son turned 40...I cannot figure out how I can be so young and have a 40 year old son! My daughter in law who is creative made these birthday centerpieces for him....Very fun!

Luckily for her, he likes to try on hats to be funny....he is such a NICE guy and so commited to her and his kids...

Here is a normal photo of he and his daughter...so cute

When I was growing up, my Dad owned mobile home sales and he took on lots of little trailers too and sold them...we always had a trailer at the lake...I love any kind of image of these and never got any of the great fabric out there with trailers because they have never been in a shop that I was at...

 

I love this photo because my cousin "Handsome Jack (in the middle) works at the Magic Factory and is a professional Magician and friends with Penn and Teller....I think he is wonderful and I think they are great too! His girlfriend is a quilter...so she must be wonderful!

I saw this recipe and tried it though I only ate a little as I am trying to lose a little weight....this is Bree cheese and raspberry preserves grilled....with a little aioli, it is nervana.....

I saw this flashlight and remembered when I was a kid I had a light that made different designs and that I would hide under my covers so I could play at night when everyone else was sleeping....very fun!

I do not know whose this is, but I want it!

I have always always love two things...red and white polka dots and red and white gingham...my husbands friend used to tell me I always looked like an Italian restaurant table...These combinations make suce pretty decor and quilts too! Don't you think???

I ran into this photo and it is simply a little night stand that someone changed and made into a little kitchen...I would like this in my studio just for fun! LOVE it!

This is an image that is not mine but I saw it online and it is such a good example of what one might do with gingham that I wanted to share. I believe this must be in a book that C&T published. Darling!

I thought this was funny because it is something everyone can smile at.....

Had to share this quilt again and though I know who did this, I am having a senior moment and can't bring it out of my head....if you know, please write me though it will probaby dawn on me as soon as I go to do dishes or buy groceries...You know how I feel? Drives me crazy. :0)
Hope your day is a happy one and that you love learning what you have always loved and keep up with it.

My Grandchildren call me "MIMI" and when they were in Calgary Alberta a couple of weeks ago they ran into this restaurant and were thrilled to see it is called MIMI's. :0)

Mary Lou's Swap Group and Other NICE Things

I had to show the watering cans from my block swap group which is now full. I am giving out patterns in my longer five day workshops for those people who love to do free and easy piecing. Some of my shorter classes are based on these fun things too.  The neat thing about trading is that once we swap, alot of great quilts happen!
Diane from Nebraska did these wonderful watering cans and 14 other gals are doing them including me. Such fun! I am almost done with mine too and can't wait to do a garden or something fun with flowers and these!

My cousin sent this to me with the caption "IT's a miracle!"
It not meant to poke fun at anyone it is just silly.
    My friend Pam said that her husband says this is how he feels at quilt shows and that women in wheelchairs will suddenly arise and buy fabric while walking and standing... Like I said, it is not meant to put down anyone with serious health issues _I have had these myself with my back....this was just sort of funny and I knew you would get it too....

Many people have talked about making smaller cows and these are cows that Mari Linfesty made long ago...aren't they fun?

This quilt is a good example of what we do with our swapped blocks...isn't this quilt by Pam Toombs great? She took her fish blocks and made good use of them....

We swapped Christmas ornaments and many people made trees with them...I loved this idea....

I have had this lovely photo on my blog before but it is spring (it's coming I "think") and it is so beautiful....I feel like this with my little kiddies....

How is this for a darling watering can? We are doing flowers next....will be so nice to pair them with the cans....

Cattle Herd Call...HOPING You Are Working on a COW WE CAN SHOW!

This is my cow called COW TOWN....we are making lists for the cow show at AQS in IOWA this Fall and we are hoping you have a cow you are working on that we don't know about. If you do, would you please write me and tell me about it and if possible, send a photo? The Cow Show has been at Back Porch Quilt Shop and we are discussing showing them off at other quilt shops as Back Porch has sold many books with the pattern for their local girls to do their own cow herd. I am making number six now for the fun of it and I think Mel is on number seven...they are easy and you can put one together in 2 1/2 hours easily. Then you add the fun stuff.

The pattern for the cow is in the book "Out of the Box with Easy Blocks" and I hope you and your quilting friends do this together because they are so much fun!

This is the cow that started it all and below is the Cowafornia quilt that everyone loves so much by Sue Cresse

And Below is a quilt by Pam Toombs who does great work too!

Cows some with all kinds of themes and sizes...they are so much fun!
    HEY! What about
 "BULLTIMORE ALBUM"?
PiCOWso
MOOtisse
MOOshu Beef
COWch
MOOntana
ChiCOWgo
Any more suggestions or ideas for cows?

FEELIN' SNAPPY! Artist Janice Schindler and Tiaras for My Girls + GOOD Recipe!

 

 I was lucky enough to have a student from Houston who we all loved-she was a hoot and her style and talent was really wonderful! She is fast and fabulous and has a great sense of color and whimsy.  I found this cupcake on her facebook site and hoped she wouldn't mind if I share it. She makes Pimento cheese (The Best!) and sells it at a Food Market in Houston and she is just all around fun as she knows alot about alot of things. My whole class was this way at Asilomar this year! SO fun! The quilt below is what she did in my workshop and this is less than a month's work after she took it. It still had a little more work to go but not much and it looks just like Ann from Denmark who took the class also. Very fun!

Below is one of Janice's birds...I have a thing for birds and cats in my quilts and I love this one...imagine appliquing this!

I am a huge fan of Ruth McDowell's and I found this rooster and hoped it would show up on one of her wallhangings...not copied but her version of it....(I don't like to ever copy any artist's work and I know she feels the same way. We are all our own artists and can come up with an idea where we get inspiration from something. And I believe in changing it so that NO one would ever know you got the idea from that artist or source. If you are one of the people who believe you only need to change it 10% or 20% you are WRONG. It needs to be totally YOUR own. And by bringing out your inner artist, it is easy to do this. :0)

I saw this little girl in this fun crown and it reminded me of my own family and what we have done for tiaras and eyeglasses...so fun!

This is my middle Granddaughter and she is the actress of the family and she loves laughing and dolls and  sports!

I can't remember her name but the daughter of "Just Another Button Company" made this darling hat and I wore it on Christmas Eve one year.

Below is my youngest Granddaughter who learned to wear tiaras when she was a baby-this year when her Dad took her to the daddy Daughter Dance, she wore the biggest tiara I have in my collection. :0)

I could not get this photo to be straight up (grrrr). But my oldest Granddaughter was a good model for a series of tiaras I made for fun and to show in a class I taught...such fun to make things like this for the kids (and adults) you love!

Below is another tiara that one of my dearest girls (like you here) made and sent to me out of my own fabric (The Grandmother collection)

Below is a tiara that looks vintage...I have it to a friend-so cute!

And since I love cherries I started this tiara and I never finished it...but it could have been loaded with cherries and fun things....hope this inspires you do make something for someone you love -family or friend.

I am hoping the sunshine will soon be here to join us. It was a good week this week and though I am not Catholic I was touched at the Pope and how he lifted an 11 year old boy up and gently kissed and hugged him and the look on this little boys face was so wonderful...a beautiful smile and love all around. This really blessed me this week. I am staying away from NEWS and the negative messages it brings. I want happy things to enter my life for this makes us better artists and happier people. Have a great week won't you?
 I am adding a recipe that my friend Bonnie used to make as you don't cake them and they are easy and good. Bonnie has passed away and everytime I make these I think of her and what a lovely friend she was and how we used to push our kids in strollers trying to lose weight and then went home and ate these with diet 7-up. :0/
     Bonnie's Pay Day BARS

3 cups skinless salted peanuts  (You will be diving these in two parts)

3 T. butter

2 cups peanut butter chips

Sweetened condensed milk 14 ounces

2 cups miniature marshmallows

A couple good dashes of salt

Put 1 & 1/2 cups peanuts in the bottom of an ungreased 9″ x 9"pan.

Melt butter and peanut butter chips in a large saucepan over LOW heat. Stir with whisk until smooth.

Take off burner. Stir in condensed milk and marshmallows. Stir until mixed in well.

Pour peanut butter mixture over peanuts in pan. Top with 

 1 & 1/2 cups peanuts over peanut butter mixture.

Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Then, cut into bars.

These will not last. I don't like peanut butter anything but I do like these!