Friends from Festival, COWS, Rib recipe and being HAPPY

Here I am at a restaurant called "The Good Fish Company." I had never had oysters on the half shell before and this was my first chance. I am asking how to eat it and if you put anything on it first and if I chew it or just swallow it.

Here I am just as I was getting ready to down it. Not my favorite but not as bad as I thought. I had my chance to try it and now I can say I have done it. :0)

Here I am in the red with Mel and Leslie and Jamie Fingal. They are a riot and we kind of all speak the same language but I admire Jamie's feet...alot. Below....

Below is my friend Janis who is a doll and used to write for the food column for Houston's newspaper. She is one of those people who can do anything and here she is selling pimento cheese (the best!) and pasta salads and curry soups and all kind of cookies and delicious things at a Market in Houston. I got to meet her in a class I taught at Asilomar when she came with her Denmark friend Ann.

Below is Janis's story quilt about Ann who loves cats! It is gorgeous in person and one of the best story quilts ever!

I am so honored...look what she put on the back of the quilt...makes me teary

I got to stay at Janis's house for two days in a darling little studi apartment she has. Slept like a baby as it was quiet and comfy.
Janis lived all over the world with her husband and she had a darling house. She had great touches everywhere. LOVED it! Below was an old cookie jar just like the one my Grandma had when I used to go to Canada to see her. I love this.

I have always LOVED angels and think these are so sweet above her sink in her kitchen.

Got this photo of Roberta Horton and he twin sis Mary Mashuta. They both make me laugh....they can be very funny. I think most people (quilters) know that they are both fabulous artists and live in Berkeley.  We had all just bought new glasses and wanted a photo of the three of us together.

I am ending with a photo of COW TOWN...a quilt I did last year.

I puyt on different relatives names on the houses. It is fun to just be whimsical and do whatever strikes your fancy at the time. This quilt was especially fun for me to do.

I cannot remember who did this adorable quilt below...please let me know if it is yours...

 

Below is a cow dog by Lauren who works for Martingale. The flowers are from my book "Flower Power".

Below is Carol Drudy's cow

Below is Sue Cresse's cow...I love it!

Below is my cow Decalf...I added cups to it and words...very fun!

Below is Kathy Collins funny cow "Eat More veggies"

Below is Pat's quilt called ChCOWlatte. She started this in a class at Quilting Adventures with me. We had three days to get the cow done and work on the borders and details...it was heaven. :0)

 

This quilt by Mari Linfesty is called Bovine Intervention. I want you to see that COOL border she did. It looks like a print but it is really pieced and it is awesome!

Isn't this cool???

My good friend Mary from Michigan sent this recipe which I think must be from Pinterest. This looks good and so I am sharing it with you, my friend.

Crock-Pot BBQ Ribs Recipe The meat falls off the bone as you take them out of the crock pot! Ingredients: 4 pounds Ribs of your choice 2 teaspoons Worcester...shire sauce 1 teaspoons vinegar salt and pepper to taste 1 bottle of sweet baby rays BBQ 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 teaspoons oregano Directions: In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients except for the ribs themselves. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat. Cover, and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours

    I am trying this tomorrow night when my daughter and her kids come by.

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Thought I would share this with you. It is good advice and after all we want to be happy and to be happy is to share our happiness with others. That is the "secret" to life. We are put here to share and that means to serve others in happy ways...to share happiness makes us happy. Please be a glass half FULL person. The world needs us.

Thank you for stopping by , my quilting friends is what makes me the happiest of all.

Mary Lou Cow Quilts- Festival alot of Fun and A Huge Success! Get a book and make a COW!

 

Market and Festival are over and we sold cases of cow quilt books FAST. We only have a limited number of books left amd there are no more right now to order. If you would like to make a cow for the cow parade (we are showing cows for the next two years) then you can order "Out of the Box with Easy Blocks) at Marylouweidman.com. I will send you fabric, a cow pin (above and postcards. A Good deal. The cow takes about 2 1/2 hours to put together and it is easy for all quilters. Add your theme, the embellishments and send us a photo to possibly be added to the Cow Stampede! The attention that the cow show got in Houston was amazing...really! Lots of laughter and people wanting to make a cow themselves. Hope you make one too. They are so much fun. I am making number 7.

The really happy news is that both Switzerland and Holland will be showing these cows next spring!

 

This is me and Mel and Leslie and Jamie and we all love whimsy, color and fun! Leslie and Jamie had a fabulous show that was a challenge that were placemats with food on them set on a table. I will be showing photos soon of that. We were the fun exibits. We aren't afraid of laughter, invention and creativity!

Here are my buddies, Sandt, Sarah and Wendy at Market. Wnedy owns that tag company that had darling tags that say things like "Made with Love." They are awesome girls and good friends. Her product is called Tag it on and they are a great addition to put on quilts given away.

This is my wonderful friend Janice who was a food columist and can she cook! She sells food at Farmer's Markets and people come from far and near to buy her goods. She is multi talented. Look at the two story quilts below that she did!
Below is her wool story quilt about her and her husband and her children and all of the countries she has lived in! She is fabulous with color and design

This quilt is so beautiful and tactile in person....I was amazed at her creativity again and again.

Below is my friend Pat who did  cow in a class about chocolate. Then she went home and did a Dia de Los Mooertos quilt (COW. She stopped by and this is her vest back! She is multi talented....can you tell??? SO awesome.

Here she is from the front! I love her colors and her style!

I love her style. Many people took photos of this quilt.

The quilt below drew many laughs...it is called "Frosty Amoosement" and is by my neighbor Connie. There are icycles on the udder. The cow has the snowman's nose in his mouth...this is wool and drew many lookers and laughers too.

The large cow quilt above grew many fans. It is by Peggy Baldwin. It has two cows and it is another Dia de Los Meurtos. I noticed many Japanese people stopped to take photos of this...I loved it because of the cheddar background and lots of bling.

Below is Paggy Baldwin and I and Mel in front of her great quilt! Such fun.

 

Below is MOOdern cow that I did with my friend Connie. Kind of wild but fun too. More cheddar....there can never be too much cheddar in a show!

Mari :Linfesty did Bovine Intervention and it was fun. The borders are pieced and they are awesome.

This quilt by Rebecca from Nebraska looked so nice under the lights.

Madmouselle ChoCOWlatte had so many details and people gotr close to check it out!

We had many many many people ask how this whole thing started.

I did the putple cow quilt for the Out of the Box with Easy Blocks book. After I made mine, Mel decided to make a Holy Cow. Then our Cupcake friend (4 of them) all made a cow and I put them here on my blog. The one by one more people realized how quick and easy the Cows were and they had some idea for a play on words and they went for it. Then we started getting one photo after another and now we have 56 quilts in our possesion and are looking for more. We have a number that we are waiting for and we are hoping for at least 40 to 50 more. We "borrow" the quilt and show it off and then eventually everyone will get their quilt back. The response on the COW Parade has been awesome and it is lovely to hear people say the name or phrase out lus and then laugh. It is a good show because essecntially we all look at quilts that took someone five years to do and we wouldn't begin to know how to do a work of art like that. Anyone can do a cow and get alot of attention from it. Our show was one of the most popular this week and also at AQS. We got lovely mail and people loved the invention and whimsy and play on words...plus seeing what people put on the udders as well.

Hope YOU do a cow and maybe do a challenge with YOUR guild!

Tina's quilt

and below Sandi from Canada's cow

 

 Molly's quilt below

Jane's quilt

and Susan's quilt

LOTS of people laughed at the Cash Cow by Charlotte. Charlotte is one of the Bunny Sisters who follow me around and have done more story quilts than anyone else I know. Her sister Laura and she keep telling stories about themselves and their families and someday their family is going to be most thankful for the history they have included in cottons and colors.  Hope you do a story quilt to tell about YOU someday too.

Festival was such a joy for me because I saw so many students from past years that have become my dear friends. It was lovely to get sincere hugs and smiles from them and to be see them again. Many people stopped to tell me they are still praying for my husband. That made me feel so good.

I got on the plane today and said a prayer for my many blessings and the quilt friends that have been so much a part of my life and my joy.

Here Jane Sassaman my friend took honors on her new quilt...love the bug in it because as you recall my Granddaughter LOVE bugs!

I hope you are getting ready to do something happy and creative. It makes us better and happier people and we get to make outstanding and loyal friends.

Jamie Fingal Fabrics are FUN! And a reason to count your blessings today....

Jamie Fingal sent me some fabric from her new line for Hoffman. I was asked to do a 16" quilt and I could do anything I wanted. My first inclination was to do a woman with a hat that was crazy and wild....but Jamie said "hey how about doing a cow?" Since I know well how to do cows and the fabric was so whimsical and I made a button bovine. When I get back I want to do a series of funny girls with hats on. This fabric would lend itself to that really well!

If you come to Festival we will be at the COW show called "MOOSTON"-stop and say "hello" in Houston

I have some bling crystals on it and they make it even more fun! Plus note the rick rack tail and other things. Invention and creativity are what these quilts are all about!

I don't know why this loaded upside down because it is right side up in my file...sigh...But isn't the line below pretty? This photo was taken on my sofa in case you are wondering.

And final bit of fun is the rick rack tail and the fruits on the udder. Creativity is the name of the game and these little quilts make good short stories...a two day workshop. Think of the stories you could tell and the creativity we could dream up for fun too!

This fun quilt will be hanging at Market and I hope people enjoy the whimsy!

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COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

Last night I learned that dear family friends have lost their darling and wonderful 23 year old daughter-she crossed the center line and crashed into on coming traffic and was killed on the way to work early in the morning. I remember the day this girl was born and how much her parents loved her and were so proud of her. She had just graduated from University and gotten her first job.
         What I want to say most about his other than we have been crying tonight is that "if your family is safe and whole, give thanks and acknowledge your blessings for there are many many others who are living with the pain... of losing someone they dearly love and that cannot be rectified or replaced". "Money, power and things, are really not much when it comes to people we love and people we see that are wonderful in so many ways. I am so thankful that for now, my family is safe and well. I am blessed and I pray for others who are not as lucky as I am. This is what it is to be rich."
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And now for a funny for the day! Keep smilin' we all need it for our health!

 

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Your Smile for the Day...Isn't this funny?

One wonders how they got this cow to laugh for the camera? This is pretty funny. I love cows!
People are asking how the horse will get out...good question and I guess that it makes sense the cow was photoshopped in but hey, isn't it wonderful? Makes me smile everytime I look at it. Haha