Quick Post

One of the first quilting blogs I followed was "A Legacy of Stitches".  Sandi is also a Minnesotan.  I love her antique quilts.

If you go here, you will find a picture of Heidi from Handmade by Heidi and I in the picture Sandi took of the booth for a shop called The Noble Quilter.  Ok, I have been avoiding the whole Losing part of my blog title. After seeing that pic of the worst side of me, it is time to stop the avoidance.

Off to work on the June Schnibbles.  Then do some menu planning.

Blessed Sewing, Karen

More Pictures...and Real Life

Here are some more pictures from the Minnesota Quilter's show in Rochester.  

The first few are from the 2012 challenge.  The theme was Black and White and Read all over.  Each person got a focus color, and had to incorporate words into the quilt somehow.  The variety and talent was amazing.

I had to take a picture of Garfield - my son loves him!

Just 2 of the "Sylvia's Bridal Sampler" quilts out of a group of 30.  Glad Creations in Minneapolis had a group going for more than 2 years to work on these.  

I hate how colors fade out in pictures.  This version with the yellow was exquisite and was among my top 5 of the whole show.  It also won the President's award.

This is a quilt made by Minnesota quilters in 1979.  I think that was the year of their first show.

I think I will stop there.  I have had a problem since I came back.  I feel kind of frozen and unable to sew.  It was so great to be away from everything for those days.  But now real life has reasserted itself.  I have so much yard work to do!  With my surgery a year ago, I didn't get to do much last year as I had planned.  Tonight I cut branches off of 2 huge Blue Spruce trees in my yard.  I could not get under the trees on the riding mower.  Speaking of real life, I used the rider Sunday to do a lot of mowing, and Monday morning discovered gas leaking out of it, and the engine won't turn over.  Another expense...sigh.  If I could sell this house and move to a townhouse, I would!  But like many, I am underwater.  I bought it right before prices started falling and certainly before the crash.  Put 20% down, and now it appraises for 2/3 of what I bought it for.

Ok, I will stop whining!  On a positive note, the weather has been gorgeous.

I will be back soon with a book review.  

Blessed Sewing,

Karen

A Joyful Soul Giveaway Winner!

Last time I used the random number generator, I was able to figure out how to copy and paste it.  No go this time.

So.................  the winner is:  comment #9 - Fenna!  

She blogs at Fabulous Home Sewn Products.   Congratulations Fenna.  I have sent you an email and provided your email address to A Joyful Soul so they can contact you about your prize!

I cut out fabric for the June Schnibbles when I was in Rochester, but I am not liking my choice.  I was putting  my Sherbet Pips strips away after selecting a few for the 9 patch quilt-along, and then realized they are perfect for the project.   So now I get to do more cutting, and then mad sewing this week.  Baseball is over, so that will help.

Blessed Sewing,

Karen

P.S.  Because I feel odd posting without a picture, here is one of my favorites from the quilt show.  

It won the Viewers Choice award.

9 Patch Quilt-A-Long

Like many, I fizzled out on the first quilt a long I joined.  I wasn't planning to do one any time soon.  But my friend Kristen from Meadowbrook just started a 9 patch quilt-a-long.  And we go at our own pace.  Please click on the button to the left for more details!  We would love it if you would join us!

Yesterday I found a 9-patch pattern I liked on Moda Bakeshop.  Sweet Menagerie Nine Patch.  The designer is Roslyn Mirrington from the blog Bloom.  Here is a picture:

I will be using a 2.5" strip roll of Daisy Cottage by Lori Holt with a few strips of Sherbet Pips thrown in.  My quilt will be 4 x 4 since the Riley Blake 'Jelly Rolls' are smaller than Moda's.

I have already done some cutting, but when I look at the tutorial, I think I see a couple of places where I could do some strip piecing before cutting the 2.5inch units.  Isn't this fabric sweet?

My goal will be to do at least 2 patches a week.  8 weeks will bring me to mid-August.

My son's baseball team lost their first 2 games in the tournament, so they are done for the season.  I was happy that my buddy had a hit in each game and made a great play in left field in each game.  We have a great team parent, and they have invited everyone over on Saturday for a party.  Apparently they have a pool, horseshoes, hot tub, etc.  All the boys on his team are so nice, and as of right now, all the family's will be there.  What are the chances 12 families would all have the same Saturday available?  :)

I hope to begin sewing the June Schnibbles tomorrow night.  

Heidi, I need a Friday Night Sew In to motivate me.

Blessed Sewing,

Karen

More Pictures and Another New Friend!

Much of today was spent looking at quilts and the remaining vendors.  I briefly saw Kristen again, but I arrived late at the show and her lunch was shorter than we thought it would be.  Hopefully I will get to spend time with her again!  And I was bummed that I forgot to get a picture of us together.

Last week or so I did a search in my Reader to see if I could find any other bloggers that I follow that were going to the show.
I found one other - Heidi from Handmade by Heidi.
Yes, the Heidi of Friday Night Sew-In Fame!!!  The funny thing is, I didn't make the connection that she was "That" Heidi at all until sometime later in the afternoon.  It was wonderful to have somebody to look at the quilts with, and go to the Vendors.  I have enjoyed my time, but doing most things alone was starting to wear on me.
It was Heidi's first quilt show - I hope she enjoyed it!

P.S. Is my hair really that gray?  I was trying to go natural, but now I don't know if I will keep it that way!

Here are some of the quilts we enjoyed together from the Judged Quilt Area:

"Salvaging Selvedges: Card Trick"

Alice Weickelt

Fall Creek, WI

Quilted by Pat Bluemel

"Yoyoville"

Mary Jane Heng - Woodbury, MN

Quilted by Mary Rossi 

157 Yo Yo's on this quilt!

"Tibetan Mandala - For Wisdom and Compassion"

Barbara E. Lies - Madison, WI

I am excited to show this one to my co-worker who is from Tibet.

The Map as Art: Minnesota Geology 2011

Aileen Lively - Mounds View, MN

"Shadow E."

Kim Frisk - Green Bay, WI

This was one of my favorites.  It looks just like our cat Smoky.

"On The Banks of Whimsy Creek"

Karla Dahms - Mora, MN

:Wedding Quilt"

Linda Temp - Coon Rapids MN

"Country Fried"

Susan Harriman MacLennan - Minneapolis, MN

Quilted by Page Johnson

 "Me and My Shadow"

Gail Stepanek & Ronda K. Beyer - Minong, WI

 "Pride of Iowa Revisited"

Miki Peine - St. Paul, MN

Quilted (by hand) by Lizzie Borntrager

I have many more pictures, but not sure everyone wants to see them!?!  What do you think?

Blessed Sewing!

P.S., make sure you enter the giveaway here.

A Joyful Soul Fabric Giveaway!

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED**

A few months ago, I was reading blogs and came across A Joyful Soul, an online fabric shop.  They were starting a marketing campaign, and were looking for bloggers to feature them.  

And with that feature, we have a giveaway!  Thank you A Joyful Soul!

Here is what they had to say about their store:

We specialize in the more contemporary fabrics and patterns.   With us, you'll receive stellar customer service!  We provide unique quilt, handbag and project kits and patterns. We feature designer fabric from Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, Art Gallery, Kaffe Fassett, Jay McCarroll, Sis Boom, Tula Pink and more is added all the time! We have a monthly club that started up in March. You can choose from Fat Quarters or strips (or both!) and for an automatic charge of $35 per month (plus shipping) you'll receive 12 fat quarters or 40 2.5" strips AND we include a free pattern card every month! If you sign up now, you’ll have the option to purchase the past collections.  The June collection is Rhapsodia.

For more information about our clubs including pricing, the upcoming monthly club selections, and how to sign up, readers can visit our Monthly Club Info Page at:  http://www.ajoyfulsoulfabrics.com/monthlyclubs/ or email us at shop@ajoyfulsoulfabrics.com. 

We are a military family owned business! Having an online and traveling shop allows us to stay portable and set-up wherever the Navy sends us!  In addition to our web store, we set-up as vendors at various quilt shows in the OK and TX area.  If you are in or around Texas, we'll be in Austin, TX September 14-16 and we're adding more dates! 

Take a look at some lovely items I found on their site:

For more information, here are some links to learn about A Joyful Soul:

BLOG - http://www.ajoyfulsoulfabrics.blogspot.com/

TWITTER - https://twitter.com/#!/AJoyfulSoul

FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Joyful-Soul-Fabrics/138096903360

INTERNET STORE: www.ajoyfulsoulfabrics.com

Wouldn't you love to win this 8 FQ set of Art Gallery Fabrics?

If you do, please go to A Joyful Soul and take a look around.  

Come back and tell me what your favorite item is in their store.

That's it!

(But of course I would love it if you would look around my blog, and if you like what you see, become a follower).  :)

The giveaway will end Saturday June 23 at 7:00 p.m.

But Wait!  There is more!

A Joyful Soul is offering free shipping for orders over $25.  The Free shipping code is QUILT.  It’s only good for the United States.  International readers can email shop@ajoyfulsoulfabrics.com and they will give them a coupon code for the equal amount of domestic shipping.

We all say this, but it is important - please make sure you have your settings correct so your email address is available when you leave a comment, or leave an email in your comment.
Without it, we have no way to contact you.
***Updated - I have had at least 5 comments left without an email address in them, and I am not able to reply to the comment.  So each of those will not be in the running for the giveaway.  :(

Blessed Sewing!

Karen

MN Quilt Show - Day 2 & 3 - Picture Heavy

Yesterday I went to 2 lectures.  The first was by Debby Kravotil on shortcuts.  It was very interesting and informative.  It is so great to see all of the quilts.  I wasn't able to get any pictures - I was too far from the stage.

Next I went to a lecture by Darlene Zimmerman.  I think she might have shown almost 40 quilts.  Some of them were blocks from vintage quilts that she had redone.  I think you will be able to tell which was my favorite!  Sorry the pictures are so blurry in some cases.  I had to take them from a long distance with my little camera.  Also, the colors are kind of washed out.

Vintage blocks - Darlene has a pattern for the way she turned them when she joined them.

This is an antique summer quilt.  It was tied with string from packages or something.

This pattern is called Amalie's Cabin - in 2 colorways.  

This is vintage.

I love this one.  The blocks are so easy, and look at that border!

Another of Darlene's patterns.

 Pretty combo of what is now commonly called Granny Squares and embroidery.

The combo of these blocks is very effective!

Last one - this is a combo of vintage blocks that Darlene removed from a quilt top with chains of Darlene's own fabric line to set off the Parasol Girls.  Incredible!

I also did some volunteering in the "White Glove" function - 

being available to show people the back of quilts if needed.  

My trip back to the hotel was interesting.  I went to some local shops to pick out FQ's for a Fat Quarter stroll.  It was fun to see some local shops.  There was a big storm brewing so it was VERY windy.  They also had outdoor booths, music and food for Thursday on 2nd.  

I was very tired after this day, so fell asleep easily and slept very well.

Today ended up being a very packed day.  First I volunteered at the volunteer table, then helped with getting everyone checked in for the Annual Meeting of Minnesota Quilters.   After the meeting I had 20 minutes to meet Judy from One Minnesota Quilter.  We ate lunch, and talked and talked.  

Next I went to my last lecture.  The lecture was by Pat Speth - the Nickel Quilt lady.  

All of her patterns use 5" squares.  Hmmmm, I think I recently mentioned how much I love these charms.  :)  Here are a few of her quilts.  

After the lecture, I went to the Small Quilt Auction to meet Kristen from Meadowbrook.  It was great to meet her in person.  I wandered while she finished her shift and ran into Judy again - Yeah!   So we had a little more time to get to know each other, and discover our common interests and shared faith in Christ.  

When Kristen was done with her volunteer time, we wandered around for the last hour everything was open.  We did a lot of talking, compared notes on what style of quilting we like, and also talked about our faith a little bit.

Whew, great day, and my legs, knees and feet were not in major pain like they have been the past 2 days.  

Tomorrow I will share about the banquet tonight and my last day of the show.  My camera had 'died' early afternoon, so I am charging it up to take pictures of some quilts from the show!

Heads up - I will be having a giveaway on Monday sponsored by A Joyful Soul Fabrics!  So please come back and take a look.

Blessed Sewing, Karen