A busy week! Birthdays and Barn Projects

Happy 8th Birthday Buddy, we all met at Bounce U then followed up with some cake. They have a birthday "throne" I particularly liked the Star Wars plates. He is becoming a strong reader and is starting coach pitch baseball soon. Its hard to believe its been 8 years since I witnessed his birth.

I decided to try my hand at vegetable gardening this year. I got just as excited watching my seeds pop up this week as I used to in school when we all got to plant a lima bean in a styrofoam cup and watch it grow. I decided to buy some tomato plants, but here is the start of yellow squash, zuchini, beets, okra, basil and cilantro. Now if I can keep the Yadkin county deer and rabbits out of my patch we should have some fresh veggies come summer.

And finally....here is what 750 square feet of flooring looks like. This is suppose to be "easy to install".....you know one of those do it in a weekend things. If its like some of the "Quilt in a Day" patterns I expect it will take us a little longer. So this week I hope to finish up the painting and be ready to tackle the floor soon.

2010 Relay for Life Raffle Quilt

Once again I am participating on Boonville Baptist's Relay for Life Team. This is the fourth year we have raffled a quilt, and I am delighted to show you this year's quilt made by Salem Stitcher. Go Postal and I picked this one out at her last sale down at Chealseas and its going to help us raise a lot of money for Cancer research I know! It measures 66"x82" The colors are deep red/black/sage. If you are interested in buying tickets they are $2 each or 3/$5. Checks can be made directly to the American Cancer Society. I can also receive PayPal payments. Good Luck to all the Relay teams as they kick off the season.

Suggestions Please!

Its time to learn the secrets of cleaning an iron. Mine has travelled a lot lately and I am not sure if this is a build up of starch or what, but its starting to leave some yuck on light fabrics.

How do you clean an iron?

Yellows are tricky

You probably can't tell too much from this photo but Go Postal and I auditioned colors for the new sewing room in the barn today. With the beadboard on the side walls we thought a yellow would be nice. Brighten things up, and yet it goes with a lot. I think we (including his brother in law who helped us get another coat on the ceiling....can I thank him enough?) agreed on the one at the left. It is a little more gold, and gave the room a warm feeling. Best of all....it's named Beehive!

Quick Trip to Atlanta

I took off Tuesday for Atlanta to visit Lila, but wanted to get there after the girls were in bed so we could have a good visit first. I wait until lunch to leave and that still gave me time to stop at Mary Jo's for some flannel I have been hunting for. Of course they had just what I needed...navy flannel for the back of my $5 blue star quilt and some yellow flannel for the back of a baby quilt made with Appalachian State fabric. Many of you know that the shopping center where she is has been undergoing major renovations. She has stayed in place and they are remodeling around her. This is the side view, and I guess they will come across the back next. It is still the same Mary Jo's (aka quilt fabric heaven) inside.

Here is the crew in Atlanta. Sofia and Jaquelyn hung out with us Wednesday afternoon. They had a big time in Kinley's room playing with all the dolls. Its hard to believe baby J will be a year old in about 6 weeks.

On the way home I came back through Hendersonville and toured the Warm and Natural (quilt batting) plant in preparation for a guild program I am putting together. I hate it rained the entrie way because I have not spent much time in that part of SC/NC and missed some great views.

Sunday at Stone Mt

RR, Salem Stitcher, Me, and Go Postal decided to take advantage of the warm weather Sunday afternoon for a hike. We did a portion of the Wolf Rock trail and went up to the base of the falls at Stone Mt. They have added mileage to the mail Stone Mt trail, its now about 4.5 miles and a little more than I wanted for my first hike of the season.....but we will be back soon, its a great workout.

When we got back to his dad's house we had a big suprise. His oldest nephew was home on a two week break from Iraq. He looks good and I know will enjoy the next few weeks with his family.

Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival

Mid Atlantic quilt festival is held each year in Hampton Va but usually right after my ski trip so I don't usually take vacation so close together. But this year....since I still have a month left of part time work, I decided to join my quilting buddies and head up. It is has incredible quilts from amateurs and professionals and a great big vendor mall. It took a whole day just looking at all the booths (and trying to figure out how to spend my limited budget) I bought a great big ironing board that I hope to fasten to the wall in the new sewing room, some fat quarters and yardage for a scrappy quilt I want to make by Augusta Cole....and my July quilt.

I want a bed quilt for every season since there isn't a lot of wall space in Go Postal's cabin. This pattern was kitted up at the Bonnie Blue booth. It is called Old Abe and is made with Civil War reproduction fabrics. Won't it look great someday in a cabin? I especially like it because the eagles are already printed and even though these look like lemoynd (sp?) stars, they are actually constructed using half square triangles.

This is a close up of one of my favorite quilts in the show. Anyone that has every owned a siamese recognizes that slightly cross eyed look that they give you when looking up. The thread work in this quilt was great and gave it such a realistic look.







On the way home Sunday I realized I was only about 10 miles from Jamestown, so I decided to stop and visit the site of the first colony in America. In 2007 it celebrated its 400th anniversary. The bricks on the tower end of the church are still in place from 1696. I realize in Europe there are historical places/buildings that span back a lot further but its still cool to see her in America. This area had a lot of neat historcal sites and things to do so it would be a great place to return for an extended visit.

Now I have to get busy for our John Flynn lecture and workshop. He is teaching Storm at Sea and it should be a lot of fun. The guys are all invited tonight to hear how this 6' Montana Civil Engineer quilt his career to become a full time quilt teacher and pattern maker.