A Busy Weekend

Life is like sailing.  You can use any wind to go in any direction.  

~Robert Brault

I'm glad it's Monday!  The weekend was quite busy and I'm ready to get back to my sewing room and a bit of quiet.  Friday evening we had a nice dinner out with family and friends - even if I was sitting directly under the A/C unit and froze - lol!  Saturday morning it was out the door early to attend a 6 hour quilting workshop (more below) followed by dinner out (again) to celebrate 3 birthdays - mine, DH's, and my Mom's (which is today).  Delicious food along with family and a good friend made for a wonderful time.  Sunday was spent doing wash and washing Weasley but I did manage to get in a bit of stitching.  Not a bad way to celebrate my birthday.  I now have 2 gift cards to spend at my favorite online stitchery store (thanks to my DD#2 and good blogging friend, Annie) and 2 gift cards to spend at a LQS (thanks to my mom and sister, and my sweet DH).  I love going shopping when it won't cost me a dime :)  Now onto a new week and to spending some time in my sewing room.  What are your plans for the week?

=======================

LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY

Lizard

When I was growing up, we used to have lots of lizards in the fields around us.  Now the only time I see a lizard is when we go visit my daughter in New Mexico.  Here are some facts I found on these speedy little guys:

* There are almost 5,000 lizard species

* Lizards smell with their tongue—like snakes.

* Lizards shed their skin.

* If caught by the tail, to escape, most lizards can break their tail off at a weak vertebra link and later grow another. The new grown tail is smaller and has no bones.

* The largest lizard is the Komodo dragon—it can reach 10 feet in length.

* Some lizards, in order to protect themselves, can squirt blood 2-4 feet out of their eyes.

* Some lizards can live over 30 years—the record, 33 years and 11 months, is held by a Mexican beaded lizard.

* How can you tell that a legless lizard is not a snake? He has eyelids and you can see an opening for his ears.

* The basilisk and the collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) are capable of bipedal locomotion (they can run on their hind legs). When young, they can even run on water.

============================

GUILD MEETING

Thursday evening was my guild meeting (Cotton Patch Quilters of Kern County).  We had a tutorial and a small trunk show presented by Cindy Seitz-Krug.  She gave some great hints for free motion quilting.  Here are a few of the quilts she brought to share....

This quilt is amazing and the colors remind me of Delft.  

Cindy is on the right talking about her first ever Wedding Ring Quilt.  This was one of the first quilts she ever made.

Cindy made this quilt when she was pregnant with her son.  She had always wanted to make a Baltimore Album style quilt and thought this would be the perfect hand project to take her through her pregnancy.  It ended up taking her three years to complete.  It is completely hand appliqued and hand quilted.

I'm hoping you can see some of the absolutely amazing machine quilting that she did.  Cindy does all of her quilting on a domestic machine.

"Simply Santa Fe" has won numerous awards.  But that is not the reason I'm showing this photo.....

This is the back of Simply Santa Fe.  Cindy said that after the quilt was all put together, she threw it in the wash as she does with all of her completed projects.  The darker fabrics ran everywhere!  After several washings and soakings with different remedies, all of the dyes that ran were successfully removed from the front but the back still had spots that showed up on the light backing fabric.  Almost at a loss of what to do, she contacted a friend and they came up with the solution of fabric stamping.  She used a waxy type of dye and stamped all of the floral designs you see disguising all of the dye spots.  And it still went on to win numerous awards.  Aren't quilter's clever people?

After several wins, people kept telling her she needed to design her own pattern.  This was her first one.  The beauty is really in the quilting.

This was a gorgeous wall hanging and even the backing was beautiful.....

Look at all of that thread painting.  The backing fabric is a plain light, mint green - all of the rest is thread.

==============================

SATURDAY WORKSHOP WITH CINDY

Saturday I spent the day at a workshop hosted by our guild and taught by Cindy Seitz-Krug.  She taught us some wonderful filler free motion quilting.  Here's is what we created....

A Christmas stocking.  I used a deep red (the photo makes it appear brighter than it really was) and gold colored silk thread.  This is the first time I've used silk thread and really liked the effect.  It was also the first time I have ever worked with wool batting and I'm still not sold on it.  There were 18 of us in class and it was a fun day spent with fellow quilters.  Cindy is a great teacher and so encouraging.

============================

NEW SWAP GROUP

There's a new swap group out there in blogland dedicated to 12" mini quilts.  It is called 12 Inch Mini Quilt. There is no set time for when you have to get a mini made.  You just make and swap whenever you want to.  Easy enough!  I'm holding off for now but am adding the button to my sidebar to remind me that it is open.  They already have several participants.  Check it out!

============================

TODAY'S GOAL

Today I hope to complete the little paper pieced quilt and maybe get it sandwiched.

===========================

FINAL THOUGHT

Learning Something New

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning.  
~Ivy Baker Priest

Whew!  Such a busy weekend - well, really only Saturday.  Saturday we were out the door at 9:00 headed to the farmer's market before I was to attend a quilting workshop.  While I was at the workshop, DH worked in the yard, made a run to Lowe's, and attended a garden fair up at the local college.  After he picked me up we made a stop at Petsmart for dog food.  Next we headed to the library to return and pickup a couple books on CD, and a final stop at Joann's where I purchased some flannel at more than 50% off (for Loving Hands quilts) and some spray adhesive that was half off.  We finally returned home just after 5:00.  It was a long day and a hot one, too!  Sunday was more subdued with only wash and general pick-up around the house.  I'm ready for today - a new week!  I have several quilting projects planned for the week.  What's your week look like?

===========================

LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY

Eggs

Eggs!  They come in a variety of colors and sizes.  You can use them to cook with or throw at someone you don't like (I hope you don't do that, though).  They protect the unborn and are available worldwide.  Here are some fun facts about eggs:

* The color of the egg shell is not related to quality, nutrients, flavor, or cooking characteristics. White shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and white ear lobes. Brown shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes. Araucana chickens lay blue eggs.

* China produces the most eggs, at about 160 billion per year. In the US, about 65 billion eggs per year.

* There are 150 species of chicken. A rooster is a male, a hen is a female, and they are both chickens.
* A hen can lay about 250 eggs per year.
* Eggs usually can last six to 8 weeks if refrigerated. To find out if eggs are bad, you can always use the "float" test. If they float in salt water, they are bad, or crack one open and the smell will tell.
* The ostrich lays the largest egg
* Eggs contain the highest quality protein with just the right mix of essential amino acids needed by humans to build tissues,  second only to mother’s milk for human nutrition. There are about 70 calories in an uncooked egg and 77 calories in a cooked egg.
* In France, the bride breaks an egg on the threshold of their new home before stepping in,  for luck and healthy babies.
* Chicken are descendants of the red jungle fowl (gallus gallus spadiceus) that lives in Asia. The chicken is one of the first domestic animals, appearing in China around 1400 BC.


===========================

GUILD MEETING AND A WORKSHOP 

Last Thursday evening I attended my guild meeting (Cotton Patch Quilters of Kern County).  We were honored with a trunk show from Molly Hamilton McNally, one of our very talented members.  Molly is well known for her reverse applique and has won numerous awards both locally and nationally. Here are a few of the quilts Molly shared with us...

Sorry for the bad angle but I was sitting off to the side.  Molly's work is so detailed and amazingly beautiful. I don't remember what she called this one.

This one is called "China".  Molly was raised in China but that is not why this one has that name.  She told us a story of how the Red Soldiers came into her house and burned her mother's beautiful china.  So she made this quilt with herself as the bird guarding her mother's china.

Blurry picture - sorry.  Molly created this one after a deer came visiting in her yard.  This is called "My Deer".

Can I remember the name of this one?  No.  Maybe I should start writing down things when the speakers are giving us information.  I do remember Molly saying that the birds depicted the changing seasons.

I just loved these two small wall hangings.  Simple but so exquisite.  Molly practiced her fmq on these and you should see the pebbling she did in the borders.

Yet to be quilted, but Molly wanted to show us that you can mix piecing and reverse quilting.  Gorgeous!

This quilt is simply stunning.  Molly did all of the reverse quilting and the machine quilting was done by Cindy Seitz-Krug.  

Here is Molly in front of  her quilt, "Peony Dream Melody".  She told us about the process she went through to pick the hair color.  She has quite a sense of humor and it was so much fun to have her share her beauties with us.

Saturday, Molly gave a workshop on reverse applique that I attended.  Through her excellent teaching abilities we all started to attempt some reverse applique.....

This is the piece we worked on.  The top red petal was the my first attempt.  It was also my first time trying needle turn.  My stitches were a little too tight so there is a slight ridge at the edge.  The lower petal, only partially finished was much smoother.  Molly even complimented my point :) 

This is what our pattern is.  I don't know that I will ever complete the project but it was fun to learn something new.  I even picked up some good hints that will work for regular hand applique.  It was a nice day spent with fellow guild members.

===========================

TODAY'S GOAL

Today I will continue to work on the doll quilt


===========================

GIVEAWAYS

Quilting Gallery is having a giveaway.  You could win a Sashiko Collection of threads.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, April 25.


Hawthorne Threads is having a giveaway.  You could win a Carolyn Gavin Soul Garden fat quarter bundle.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, April 25.


The Jolly Jabber is having a giveaway.  You could win one of  Amy Webb's Blogger Choice Fat Quarter Bundles.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, April 25.


Sew Bitter Sweet Designs is having a giveaway.  You could win a prize pack of assorted Colonial Needle products.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, April 25, at 9:00 pm PDT.


Stitch This! is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of  Scrap-Appliqué Playground eBook.  This giveaway ends Thursday, April 26.


It's Sew Kiki is having a giveaway.  You could win an assortment of Colonial Needle products, 4 books, a set of Tri Tec rulers, and some Aurifil.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, April 25.


Little Miss Shabby is having a giveaway.  You could win a fat quarter bundle of Brrr!  This giveaway ends Friday, April 27.


Cat Patches is having her Fun Fact Friday Freebie.  You could win a fat quarter for answering her question of the week.  The winner will be announced next week.

============================

FINAL THOUGHT