I feel so doubly honored this morning.  Sandi A at A Legacy of Stitches sent me an e-mail this morning informing me that I am one of her five picks for a Kreativ Blogger award!  Thank you, Sandi!  As Sandi mentioned on her blog this morning, our paths have crossed several times before, so she is one of the few bloggers I “know” that I have met in person.   She is a delightfully creative lady, and she is as generous a person as you will find anywhere!  And be sure and check out her blog.  It’s fun to read about small-town living in the picturesque town of Henderson, MN, as Sandi has a way with words and includes lots of great photos.

And as if that isn’t enough, Sandi also named me as her Blog Pick of the Week!  Oh, my gosh, I’m waiting for Bert Parks to step out of the closet with my tiara!

Thanks again, Sandi, for the honors.  They mean even more, coming from such a special lady!

Sue

I really wanted to do some kind of retreat or quilt show outing this fall.  I nearly went to the ND quilt show in Fargo, but things just didn’t work out.  I finally decided to have a “sort of” retreat at my house, and invite all the women in our Wednesday DayStitchers group.  So we start tomorrow, all day; of course, on Wednesday we go back to our regular afternoon quilting group; then about a dozen or so of us back at my house Thursday, all day.  How fun will that be?  Well, I’ll know tomorrow.

The “price” of admission is one fat quarter per day, and they will go to one of the day’s participants (by a drawing at the end of the day).  I seeded the bowl with a few starter FQ’s:

I’ve been busy removing some furniture, moving the rest around, borrowing tables (thanks, Betty!) and an iron, and probably something else I haven’t even thought of yet.  I am expecting about 14 quilters tomorrow, and so I’m getting stations set up for the ones that are bringing their sewing machines — 14 of them!  Part of us will be upstairs, part downstairs, but we will be meeting up midday in the dining room (after we clear the sewing stuff off the table) for some lunch.  I’m going to make my mother-in-law’s Cheesy Potato Soup, a tossed salad, and some nice crusty bread.  I’ll also have my sister-in-law Jeanne’s Dump Cake (MUCH better than it sounds) for dessert.

My husband is out of town for a funeral, and he may be a little disoriented when he comes back to the new furniture configuration:

There are several sewing stations that don’t appear in the pictures.  I also need to get the pressing stations set up, and the exercise room place we store our exercise equipment will be set up with table and chairs for a little magazine and book viewing.  I still have lots to do.  You will notice I’m not posting a photo of my sewing room yet!  So back to work I go.  We will have a great two days sewing up a storm!  Wish you could all be here, but I definitely don’t have enough chairs!

Sue

Well, sort of anyway.  I had a fun 2 1/2 day mini-vacation with three best girlfriends.  We do this annually, and it’s always fun.  The four of us used to work together several years ago at a large company.  Now only one of us is still working there, but we’ve maintained our friendships with weekly Saturday breakfasts and annual girls’ getaways.  This year was our 10th year, I believe.  Well, I came back with a raging sinus condition, and that surely takes the wind out of your sails!  It makes it really nice to be back home.  I missed having access to a computer so, as sick as that sounds, it’s nice to be back with my computer as well.

Just a remember, if you haven’t already, check my give-away post of a few days ago.  I will be doing the drawing tomorrow (Monday) evening to somewhat allow for different time zones.  Last chance!  Even if you aren’t interested in entering the drawing, people are listing their favorite quilting/sewing “tool”, so it’s fun to read what comes to people’s minds.

Port Aransas was out of the hurricane’s path, but how very horrifying to have it zero in on a major metropolitan area.  SIL Grace and BIL Ronnie in Lake Jackson are okay, but of course have no power, and I’m sure streets and yards are a mess.  It’s so amazing to me that we can track a hurricane for days, approximate where it’s going to come ashore, and yet we’re helpless to do anything to stop it.  A reminder that we’re not as in control as we like to think we are.

Time to put on a pot of coffee.  I skipped dinner last night and went to bed early, so I was famished about 4:30 am.  (Not to mention, I could no longer breathe laying down.)  So I got up and had a delicious peanut butter & banana on toast, and can breathe a little better.  All I’m missing is a little caffeine.

Sue

 (Click on photo for a larger image)

Is this the cutest bag or what?  I think we all love bags.  Yesterday fellow DayStitchers (and they’re also friends) June, Betty, Margarget and I met at Pam’s house for a day of quilting.  We each made one of these bags.  I hope to get a picture of the five of us with our finished products.  It was a super fun day, chatting, laughing, sewing, laughing, lunching, laughing – and actually getting something done.  This bag (I did the “tote” size in the whole-cloth variation) is by Indygo Junction.  Not a beginner pattern, for sure, but the end result is just smashing.  This pattern utilizes drapery grommets to thread the handle through.  Very clever, and a very nice bag.  And isn’t quilting with friends just the best!

Sue

You can tell when I’m busy working on customers’ quilts — there’s not much activity in the blogging area!  I am treating myself to some quilting “work” on my own quilts this weekend, in conjunction with Judy Laquidara’s Quiltathon.  I am working on a very special quilt.  My best friend from high school and beyond, 40+ years ago, was Arlene Newman (Arlene Linton now).  Arlene is a wonderful decorative painter, and her specialty is painting lace.  She has three books out, and she also teaches internationally.  She has a heart as big as all outdoors, and has always been a fun, caring person.  Okay, back to the quilt. 

Last year, Robert Kaufman licensed some of Arlene’s designs and made some wonderful quilt fabric.  The line is called Linens & Lace, and it’s pretty much gone from the stores, although I think Arlene still has some available.  Of course, I had to get some in all the colorways.  Then what to do with it?  Choosing from the wonderful blue fabrics (my favorite), I decided to make a Four-Patch Posies Supreme quilt by HD Designs, which is a variation of a kaleidoscope quilt.  (I modified some of the measurements to suit my fabrics, so it isn’t exactly the same as the pattern.)  I’m very pleased with the way it turned out, and I have been waiting for a chance to quilt it.  Friday night I got it pinned up on my machine.  Doesn’t it remind you of blue-and-white china?

Then what to quilt?  I started with an overall design, and didn’t like it at all.  It really detracted from the fabric.  Rip-it, rip-it, rip-it.  In case you didn’t know what “frogging” meant!  Then I tried doing a custom design in the center.  Didn’t like that either.  More frogging.  I finally decided I needed to stitch-in-the-ditch (SID) the blocks, and I quilted a double-swag design in the borders.  SID is not my favorite, but it really allows the fabric to come through, and this quilt is all about the fabric.  So I’ll be quilting today until I get it done.  Then I’ll have tomorrow for binding. 

It won’t be a ribbon winner, but I am scrambling to get it done and ready in time for the Minnesota State Fair.  It’s so exciting to me that Arlene’s and my paths have crossed again, and this quilt will always be very near and dear to my heart.  Here we are in 1969.  Oh, my gosh, we were just babies!!!  I’m on the left, Arlene on the right:

Sue

Here are a couple of give-aways you might be interested in:

#1:  Sandi A. is having a semi-mystery give-away on her site, accepting entries until August 25th.  Click here to read all about it.  Sandy’s blog is also a good visit for a walk down memory lane, a look into small-town life, and to see what Sandy’s working on.

#2:  Have you ever made something from a Perkins Drygoods pattern?  Celine has a limited-time offer on her site.  If you send her a photo of something you’ve made from one of her patterns, she will send you a different pattern free.  She has started a Gallery of customers’ quilts.  Check out the offer here!  And if you haven’t tried one of her patterns (check them out on her site or in your LQS), I would suggest you pick one up.  She is known for her clear directions.  Her patterns never disappoint.

I finished Day 8 on the Quilt for an Hour quilt last night, and it’s done!!!  I love it.  I will post another photo when it’s quilted, as the only difference from the photo below is the borders.  What a nice pattern.  Thank you, Judy!

A note to local quilters:  Sandi Andersen, formerly of our area, now in Henderson, has a blog!  I have placed a link to her blog on the right-hand side of this page.  So a big “HI” to Sandi.  We’ve missed her, and it will be fun to check in with her and see what she’s up to.