Monday, April 16, 2012

Returning With A Quilt Show (Photo Heavy)



Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.  
~Hans Christian Andersen


I'm back and ready to return to blogging.  There are times when I just need a break - especially when blogging seems more like a chore and hard work than something I enjoy.  The beginning of the week was spent down in Oceanside where we shared Easter with my BIL and his wife, our niece, and our DD#2 and her hubby.  Lots of good food and great times with family.  Tuesday night was not for sleeping.  Our other miniature dachshund, Snickerdoodle, had me up every 45 minutes to an hour either with vomiting or diarrhea.  Definitely not fun for her or for me.  DH took her to the vet first thing in the morning and she was diagnosed with Pancreatitus.  We have no idea what caused this as she gets absolutely no table scraps.  An overnight stay at the vets with IV's brought her around and we brought her home Thursday.  She is on bland food for now and is slowly returning to her energetic self.  Other than that, my week was fairly quiet and allowed me to get in a bit of stitching, sewing, and quilting.  I hope you all had a wonderful week!


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LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY



Goats

I have always been drawn to goats at the petting zoos.  If I had the land, I think I would own a pygmy goat or two.  Here are some fun facts about these curious creatures:
*  The proper name for a group of goats is a trip
Goats are great swimmers
Goats were domesticated around 7000 B.C.
Each breed of dairy goat gives a different tasting milk. Oberhasli goats give milk that tastes closest to cow's milk
Goat's discovered coffee beans
Goats have only bottom front and side teeth, the top jaw does have a large back molar for crushing things
Goats have rectangular eyes - this allows them to see very well in the dark
They can live anywhere from eight to twelve years
Contrary to popular belief, goats have sensitive stomachs and are therefore very picky eaters

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A QUILT SHOW IN LINDSAY


Saturday we traveled up the valley to the small town of Lindsay to visit a quilt show put on by a committee of quilt lovers from Tulare and Kings Counties called Best Of The Valley.  This was their 17th annual show.  It is a juried show and there were certainly some gorgeous quilts to see.  Here are just a few of them...

"Benediction" by Linda S. Schmidt.
This was a stunning quilt!  It was machine appliqued and home machine quilted.  It was the winner for the Best Use Of Color.

"Floral Fantasy" by Molly Hamilton McNally and Cindy Seitz-Krug
The reverse applique was just amazing.  This quilt is both machine pieced and hand appliqued.  

Here is a close up of the quilting.  Would  you believe this was done on a home machine?  This is the quilting of my dreams :)

"Wish Upon A Star" by Sharon Sholta
I have seen this pattern but it is the first time I've seen it in person.  Gorgeous colors and definitely one of my favorites.  Machine pieced and professionally long arm quilted

"Bok Choy" by Kay Pennington
The subtle colors in this made this quilt just sparkle.  And, for all of you who love to make string blocks, pay particular attention to the border.  This wall quilt was machine pieced and appliqued.  The stems are hand painted silk.

"Starry Rings" by Judie Fleming
Lots of beautiful batiks were used in this table runner.  Machine pieced and home machine quilted.

"Back On The Farm" by Marla Roach
I just love this pattern and this quilt was so well done that it was definitely on my favorites list.  This was machine pieced and hand appliqued with fusible web.  The long arm quilting was done professionally.

"Crazy Chicken Love" by DeAnn Farris
There was a story behind this quilt:  My husband, Kelvin, loves chickens.  I asked him to draw me a love story.  The story goes:  Love At First Sight, The Courtship, Sitting On The Nest, and voila!"  The chickens on this were what made the quilt - just adorable!  Machine pieced and hand painted.  The quilting was computer-assisted long arm.

"Piecing The Trail To Kansas" by Carletta Emitte
Sorry for the blurry picture but I thought you Primitive Quilters would be interested in this quilt.  Simple but great use of colors and arrangement of blocks.  Machine pieced, hand applique, hand embroidered.  The quilting was done both by hand and home machine.

"In A Pickle" by Cindy Seitz-Krug
This was my husbands absolute favorite.  He definitely has a thing for batiks - lol!  Machine pieced and home machine quilted.

"Mosaic Mariner" by CeCe Westerfield
I really like the color and movement in this quilt.  This was machine pieced and long arm quilted.

I hope you enjoyed this sampling of the quilt show.  It was such a nice trip up and down the valley because everything is so green.  We did have a mishap with the windshield wipers but at least the driver's side still worked in the brief downpours we encountered.  A day enjoyed with my husband!

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A FEW RECENT WINS


A couple of weeks ago I entered the Quilting Gallery's weekly contest and was the lucky winner with my little Spring Has Sprung quilt.  And this win was accomplished with all of your help by voting for my quilt.  THANK YOU!  Here is what I won.....

Love Bug Studios sent me two card games of Quiltspirationsemail me.  The first two emails I receive requesting one of the yarn packages will have the yarns bits and pieces sent to them.  Thank you Ebony for sponsoring the Spring Time Renewal and a big thank you to Michele for having the weekly contests over at Quilting Gallery.  

My other recent win was.....

a Lapel Stick from a giveaway over at Quilting With Debi.  I had the envelope sitting on my desk for over a week before I opened it and was I ever surprised to see the Debi had included a wonderful piece of fabric, too!  I haven't given the Lapel Stick a try yet but plan to soon.  Thank you so very much, Debi!

I hope you don't take my sharing winnings with you as bragging.  I like to give the giveaway/contest holders their proper thank you's in public.

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TODAY'S GOAL


Today I hope to finish up the little wall hanging I've been making from a Craftsy class I took recently.

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GIVEAWAYS


McQ News is having a giveaway.  You could win 9 pink fat quarters.  This giveaway ends today, April 16.

Koala is having a Spring Klean-Up giveaway.  You could win a Creative Armoire, or Small Storage Center, or Storage Tower.  This giveaway ends Thursday, May 31.

Quilt Doodle Doodles is having a giveaway.  You could win a set of five Bali Handpaint fat quarters from Hoffman Fabrics.  This giveaway ends Tuesday, May 1.


Hawthorne Threads is having their weekly giveaway.  You could win a Riley Blake Woodland Tails fat quarter bundle.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, April 18.


Fort Worth Fabric Studio is having a giveaway.  You could win a sample card of Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner, or 3 issues of Australian Patchwork & Quilting, or Sew to Swap book by Chrissie Grace.  This giveaway ends Tuesday, April 17, at midnight CST.


A Quilting Reader's Garden is having a giveaway.  You could win a couple of books, some fabric, a notion and maybe a finished project (this is going to be a mystery box).  This giveaway ends Wednesday, April 18, at 6:00 pm.


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FINAL THOUGHT





20 comments:

Mhairi said...

Loved seeing your prizes. I think that sharing them is important. It acknowledges the host and shows that you appreciate the prize.

Sarah Craig said...

Such beautiful quilts, Linda! Thanks for sharing all the inspiration! And I'm so glad you're back - I've missed your blog posts!

Rosa said...

There are awesome quilts,thanks for sharing your photos.

congrats on your winnings and more to come.

Have a great week!

Impera Magna said...

Thanks for sharing all those photos of the lovely quilts! I would love to visit more quilt shows but somehow... work seems to get in the way...

:)

Little Penpen said...

My dad is a fan of goats and has his own little 'goat farm' on his property. Interesting facts! If you look at my current post, you can see a pic. of a quilt barn with goats in pasture. The quilts from the show were incredible, weren't they? Looks like a good time!

Angie in SoCal said...

Thanks for the eye candy - you showed us some beautiful quilts. Glad you had such a nice time off. And thanks for including my giveaway.

Barbara said...

Beautiful quilts! I lived in Oceanside from age 11 until I got married at age 21. My dad was stationed at Camp Pendleton and was deployed to Vietnam three times while we lived there. He still lives there.

Maria said...

Sew many beautiful quilts. thanks for sharing Linda!!!!

Oh you cutie DID make me smile. thanks...

Vroomans' Quilts said...

So glad you vacation away was a re-freshing one. Thank you for sharing the quilt show - how exquisite! Yes, your DH has great taste - I loved the same quilt. Hope you are well and enjoy your week.

Apple Avenue Quilts said...

Thank you so much for the fabulous quilt show. What incredibly awesome quilts. glad you're back, I always miss your posts when you take a break! I hope you are feeling refreshed!!!

rubyslipperz1052 said...

What a wonderful quilt "show" we got to share with you! I see these quilts and after 35 years of quilting...I am tremendously humbled!! Some people's quilts are beyond..works of art!!

Its good to see you back! I'm glad that you had a nice time while away.

I hope I get to see you at a So. Cal quilt show one of these days... =)

hugZ,
annie
anniesrubyslipperz.com

Raewyn said...

Lovely to see your post and that you shared the photos from the show - beautiful work!! Pleased you enjoyed your break - sometimes we just cant fit it all in, no matter how much we want. Good on you for acknowledging your wins too - there are some very generous people out there in blogland.

Staci said...

Beautiful quilts! You must have had a wonderful time.
Hope Snickerdoodle feels better and stays well.
Goat info was interesting, but I try to avoid them, they literally give me hives! Discovered that when we took the children to a petting zoo when they were small many long years ago. I won a lapel stick last year, and have enjoyed it, so much so I bought a couple more when I finished the first one. Great for sticking down applique shapes. I also use a teeeny dab to keep my paper templates in place on my Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks.

sunny said...

Except for the sick pooch, it sounds like a perfectly lovely week. You're allowed to take a bloggy break whenever you like. We'll always be waiting with open arms when you return!

Gene Black said...

It was great seeing the quilts. The Mosaic Mariner's (?) is just amazing. Someday, maybe, I will get the home machine quilting to look half a s lovely as that one you called "of my dreams"

Anonymous said...

congrats on your win,i thought it was just stunning,well done.xx

Needled Mom said...

Those quilts are amazing. I loved the bok choy and the chickens best.

Glad to read that Snickerdoodles is continuing to improve. :)

Linda said...

Poor little Snickerdoodle! I'm so glad she's doing better.
Your posts are always so much fun! I understand about posting becoming work, though. Thank you for continuing!

Anne said...

Gosh, Linda, I'm glad to hear that Snickerdoodle is on the mend. Poor baby. Glad you enjoyed your break from blogging. Take care!

Kris said...

Linda - I am so glad you spent a lovely day with your Hubby!! And glad Snickerdoodle is going to be okay!! The quilts you showed are gorgeous!! Hard to pick a fav but I think "Back on the Farm" and "Mosaic Mariner" are two of mine!! I love goats too - thanks for the fun info!!! And that smile on the baby is precious!! Fun post, thanks!! What does one do with a lapel stick?? Kris

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