, Tulips, Wool, Story Quilts, Retreat Samples,and the best Chocolate Cookie Recipe ever!

 I will be going to Asilomar soon and watching 20+ women create a wonderful story quilt about their lives. Here are the girls from Last years class,,,so fun!!! I get so inspired and fill with LOVE in these workshops and with these woman. Such a blessing for me.

I ran into this photo of a background ready for the story of Kathy Garcea going to Washington DC with her Granddaughter....isn't this flower wonderful? Love that bottom border, sashing and also the background purple for the sky. GREAT colors for creativity and a story worth keeping.

Mark and I are hoping he will be well enough to see the tulips bloom in LaConner or the Skagit Valley this Spring...would be wonderful sign of life! 

I had a woman phone me to ask about my quilts and she thought they were small...here is a photo of me with three of my quilts....Below is Fabulous Wool project by Janice
 Here is a wool quilt by Janice Schindler from Houston. She is the person who did that fabulous story quilt at Asilomar in my workshop about her darling friend from Copenhagen. Janice is into telling stories in quilts too and she does a fabulous job. Love her style and that she tell stories too.

I have a nice list of people coming for my retreat in June. I am going to take a photo when I get a chance of a wool project I am doing to bring and in the meantime I found a nice wreath from a workshop I taught on wreaths...hope you get the gist that the sky is the limit with these! VERY fun, can be a story and can be personal with lots of favorites in there!

I do not have the name of the person and hope she will see this and comment so I can give her credit!

Here is another lovely example of someone who did a wonderful, personal wreath, this is Peggy Clayton Baldwin's work from Galveston -see what fun you can have personlizing and story quilt making Christmas? Imagine if your Grandmother did one of these and you had it today to hang...how special would that be? These are pieces from the heart that are meant to be kept and treasured.

Below is the pattern I will be giving out. this was before the faces and all of the beautiful embellishments were added...we will be discussing this as a part of the retreat. Embellishments can add so much! And things you never thought of to add too! Cannot wait for you to see this in person!

Below is a Christmas tree pieced with ornaments that were machine pieced and not appliqued as the other samples are.This is Mary Kate's wonderful tree and it is totally pieced from blocks in our block swap exchange. This is the kind of thing we will do in our retreat fun in June -GREAT job Mary Kate!

The next tree with the same swapped blocks looks totally different thanks to Sandi's quilting skills. Pretty wonderful stuff! Imagine words like "joy", "Oh Christmas trree" pieced in these too....lots to do with piecing as well as the applique...hope you come and join the retreat fun!

Speaking of story quilts (I always am) this quilt below was done at my retreat by Kathy S from Modesto. Quite wonderful isn't it? I love her choices of fabric and her whimsy. This is at least her second quilt and she is going to do another one with me this Spring. If you love dogs you love this quilt...even if you don't love dogs.

The story quilt below was done in a workshop close to Eureka CA by Beth Stanton- . Can't pull up the workshop place. duh- too much on my mind. I think I need a nap and a candy bar. Haha Anyway, who doesn't love France? She got alot of nice things included and the color and french bread along with her self portrait is quite special. I do love Story Quilts!

This is quite a wonderful block out of my Flower Power book...I do not remember where I got this but isn't it great? LOVE the fabrics!

I ran into this photo of Mark and I which at one time I did not like because of what I am wearing...how stupid. Now I treasure it. Get those photos taken so you have them to treasure!

This needs to say "QUILTING" below...right?

Terry Waldron gave me this recipe. She brought me three of these cookies while I was in Calfornia...very delicious.

Double Chocolate Chews (You can add walnuts, too!)

Ingredients

• 
  
• 
  

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate mini-morsels, divided 
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons light-colored corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 egg whites 
• Vegetable cooking spray 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; stir well, and set aside.
3. Combine 3/4 cup chocolate morsels and oil in a small saucepan; cook over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring constantly. Pour the melted chocolate mixture into a large bowl, and let cool 5 minutes. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, water, vanilla extract, and egg whites to chocolate mixture; stir well. Stir in flour mixture and remaining chocolate morsels.
4. Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Let cool 2 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; let cool on wire racks.