reconnecting

Bonnie and I grew up attending the same church. There was a slight age difference, she is 3 years ahead of me, that when you are younger seems greater.
Our parents have remained connected, but life happened and we each grew up going our own ways.
Last year, at a local quilt show, we ran into each other. "I didn't know you quilted!" we both said. And we were delighted to start talking quilting. We exchanged email addresses with a promise to get together.

Life happened again, her mother fell into ill-health, her father passed away.
We ran into each other (yes, at another quilt show!) and again, promised to get together. Well, this time, we kept the promise to each other.

Last Sunday, I paid her a visit (we only live 15-20 minutes apart!). I arrived, and when I next looked at a clock, I had been there 4 and a half hours!

I feel like I have been given a huge gift! It is so great to reconnect and feel the love and the commonalities of deep friendship.

We talked quilting, of course! Bonnie has been sewing and quilting like me, but she had taken the plunge and purchased a sit-down long-arm, an HQ Sweet 16.

She invited me to play on it.

Ya'll (as we say in here in the South), that machine ROCKS!

Bonnie also shared with me, her summer hobby, marquetry. Look at this beauty:

She quilts with wood!!!

What a great Sunday!

 Neat coincident: she and her husband attended an event this week, and met my husband.

The (Tula) Pink Effect pt 1

I am still enjoying the delightful after-effects of our visit from Miss Tula Pink. Gina at The Little General Designs posted this week about "Things that Tula Said" and that got me thinking about what I like to call the Tula Pink effect.

First, the Tula Pink Effect on the audience at Gralyn.

Check out the paneling and the marble fireplace!

The surroundings were so magnificent, I felt like I was in a movie, or in a fairy tale! And I believe the atmosphere of a room really has an effect on the people in that room, so needless to say, in such a wonderful place, all there were wonderful as well. I looked around at 50-60 different women, ranging in age from 24 to 70.

 That is a custom-made Flea Market Fancy skirt!

Everyone was dressed in bright, colorful, expressive garments and jewelry (Tula effect #1, rocking your beautiful self).

 (Gina and Sam, picture stolen from Colleen at our "after-party")

Smiling, laughing conversations started as we got to know each other and shared our quilting lore. We sat casually about, engaged in the conversations Tula led as she shared her work. We oohed and aahhed as a collective (Tula effect #2 expressing joy and delight).

This evening's effects were further evidenced at this past week's TMQG meeting. We had 5 visitors to our packed meeting, most of whom learned of the TMQG at the Tula Pink visit! These delightful ladies may have been new to the group, but their adventurous spirits and mad sewing skills made it feel (to me at least) like these were long-lost friends who had found their way home (Tula effect #3 - finding your tribe).

More (personal) Pink effects to come!

Still here...

Just a lot going on!

I have participated in 2 more swaps and received awesome gorgeous items:

A (much needed) sewing machine cover from the Modern She Made Swap:

why yes, it is a bit blurry/grainy.

Thank you roserblu! I love it! It made it to me from Australia!

A mini-quilt from our Triad Modern Quilt Guild Swap:

from my dear quilty-friend and super-mom rainbow robot

I adore this Swoon! I love the dark gray, and I LOVE orange (along with blue).

My friend Colleen coached me on joining Flickr swaps, so a thank you shout out to her for this new fun activity I am loving! She is our "swap-mama" in the Triad Modern Quilt Guild and does a phenomenal job.

I have been quilting (when I can) and have 3 in process. I am just a bit weird about showing them unfinished, so dear readers will just have to wait til they are complete.

I am also helping my husband and his siblings with the cleaning and sorting at my dear late MIL's house. This is a difficult, laborious, emotion-charged job. She had more clothes and shoes than you can imagine. We need to sell as much as possible to settle the estate, so if you know of an outlet for gently used ladies clothing (sizes run in the XL, 1X, 16-18 for clothing, shoes are size 8) shoot me an email. We would love to sell the lot of it, 'cause I do not look forward to the work involved in a yard sale.

And if you have read read this far, thank you! This is my 700th post.

New Project

I am making this quilt:

With these fabrics:

It is going to be gorgeous on my king-sized bed!

So, While I am finishing up the FMQ on a contemporary piece, I am feeling a little traditional. And the class is being taught at my LQS by a fabulous quilter, dear friend and all-around nice lady! Last night was our first class where we planned our fabric arrangement and cut the star fabrics out. We have homework to finish before the class next week. This is a challenge for me, taking my time! Normally I would plow through and whip the quilt out! But, no, I want to slow down, take my time, soak up Ellen's (that my teacher!) knowledge and really get into the process. It is a gift to myself. It is also recharging to spend a few hours with fellow quilters and friends. That is also a gift to myself!

I will post my progress on this one.

gotta brag, again!

My dear friend, co-worker and quilting student, Tammy, has been at it again! She is making a quilt for all her family members and since she has made one for her son, mother and sister, now she is up to her brothers. One of them is a Duke fan! She did some research on their mascot and made her own pattern:

I am so proud of her!

My favorite part? Her fearlessness. And her first free-motion quilting! She inspires me. And she is one of the sweetest people I know!

Gotta Brag...

On my dear friend, co-worker and new quilter, Tammy and her 3rd (yes, her third) completed quilt!

She made the pattern up herself! She did stitch-in-ditch quilting. I am so very proud of her!

Oh, and this quilt is a birthday gift for her sister, a breast cancer survivor!

Saturday at a Quilt Show!

(squeal of delight) I spent this gorgeous Saturday afternoon in Statesville, NC at the Quilting and Needle Art Extravaganza. And did I have fun! I went with my Mom, our friend Kim and her lovely daughter, Casey. Four chicks out for a day filled with laughter, beautiful colors, inspiring patterns and delightful vendors. 

This is the 3rd year of the show and it seems to have settled into the Civic Center nicely. It started as a way to get a lot of the local brick-and-mortar quilt shops together under one roof to stimulate business in this rural area.

Judging by the crowd as well as the the lines at the registers, we quilters were doing our part to stimulate this little bit of the economy!

For me, it was a great way to add to my stash as well as fill in some specific projects. I bought this group for a specific baby quilt:

And these lovely batiks just had to come home with me.

It was a perfect day!