French Polynesia

Tahiti and Bora Bora to be exact.....we spent the quickest 6 days of our lives there....oh what a place! It was a nice relaxing getaway for hubby and me. Our trip to Hawaii was business for him and the week after is all business. But in the meantime, he was forced to relax-his Crackberry, oops, I meant his Blackberry did not work! Internet was sketchy at best in the business office, so what else to do but enjoy the natural beauty around us. I took in so many images in my mind--the camera is a poor substitute sometimes when the sites you see are beyond comprehension. It was quite inspiring, from the shades of blue and blue green of the sea, the sand, the buildings, the mountains. And designs could be found in everything from flowers to the ceiling of bamboo to the carved molding around the ceiling. My mind was on overload thinking of all the possible quilts I could create.

This was a really neat plant--the leaves look like small iris leaves, BUT they were green on one side and the coolest purple on the other side. I don't know what the name of that plant, but it sure was pretty. This was called "franjepan" or something like that. I have it written down somewhere! It was a little hard to understand them, although owned by the French, the Polynesians had a unique language of their own. It smelled wonderful and I can see a quilt border full of these beautiful flowers. Not only was this the coolest place to take a nap, we discovered that they are from our own Pawley's Island! We knew the hammock shop in SC (where we have a home) were the original hammock makers, it was fun to see them so far away!

************Gratitudes**************

1. For a wonderful, beautiful world God has created

2. the scent of tropical flowers

3. thankful for travel opportunities that may happen once in a lifetime

I have more pictures to post, but blogger decided it had enough, so more later...

Hats off to Hector

Hector is a former Marine that we recently met while we were on vacation. We noticed him and his wife as she gently lowered him to the steps to the lagoon from his wheelchair. He looked like a strapping young man (late 20's) and we thought perhaps an accident has rendered him paralyzed. We later met them in the pool and it turns out he was a Marine that had been injured in Iraq in 2003. He was thrown from his tank and then a truck fell on his lower legs and feet, crushing them. He spent the next year in the hospital and since 2003, has endured 17 surgeries, with a few more coming. His attitude was upbeat and positive. His wife was only his girlfriend of a few months at the time. And now they were on their honeymoon. He still works for the Marines, as a social worker working with soldiers who have post tramatic stress disorder. A few days later I remembered to ask him if he had received a quilt during his hospital stay from the Quilts of Valor, and he did. Not just one, but two. And he SO appreciated them. So, hats off to all those that contribute to this worthy cause--they are very much appreciated. What a small thing we can do for those that have suffered for our country. I hope to be able to start contributing to that group in the near future. I had thought about it before and this was the push that I needed. I donate to other groups, but this one just got bumped up the list. There are quite a few of our ring members that make quilts for this organization--thanks to all of you!

I'm on the run to ??

Very good guesses to all of you--and sorry Ruth to throw you off track! That was great you recognized the So. Africa penguins! We hit the road again and went so far that the internet was a novelty (well, almost), so had no opportunity to get on. But I had a great time! I'm on the run again but first, where was I?

*loved the baguettes and croissants

*this is where tattoos originated

* it is known at "the Pearl of the Pacific"

* we were on a 'motu'

This is what we saw off our deck on a daily basis--it's a sting ray and we saw 3 adults and 1 baby one every day. The last night we were there I saw a HUGE one that was the color of sand. My arm span wasn't as large as it was. I tried to rush in to grab my hubby to see it, but I forgot I closed the door and ran into it really hard! I about knocked myself out! Therefore, he missed it. And he also missed my sighting of a Lemon Shark--it was early in the morning and he swore I must have been hallucinating when I told him that I saw a yellow/ yellow green shark, about 5 foot long. Turns out I did see a Lemon Shark--he's sorry he missed that one too!

I'm still plugging away on those little Scottish Dogs. I have to report though that one of them must have loved the place so well, he hid before we left, so he is now a permament resident of this beautiful place! (actually, a huge storm blew through the middle of the night and we had the doors and windows open--and away it went!)

Happy Anniversary to us...

What a way to spend our 32nd anniversary....thanks Kirt. And yes, we are in Hawaii, in Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. That's Diamond Head behind us and it was in the picture below the penguins. How lucky for us that he had to attend a trade show here during our Anniversary!

more clues

Looking up from my chair.....feel the warm breezes? Boy, I sure wish I were in Cape Town, South Africa like some of you thought. I've never been there and sure would be nice! But you were on the right track, as the penguins WERE from South Africa, although they were just on display in one of the hotel complexes here. I just thought it unusual, because you sure don't expect to see penguins in a warm climate like this!
My early AM projects, I hope to have all 24 done by the end of this trip.....
A week or so before I left, I ran into a quilting friend of mine and she mentioned going on vacation and I told her that that was one of our stops on our trip! We exchanged schedules and hoped we could connect. It's so funny how things turn out..her and her husband have been on a number of islands and happened to be on the same island as we were. We arrived first and found out that their hotel was only 4 blocks from ours! We hooked up yesterday, and went quilt shopping! Amy-of Calico Cat--we found a quilt shop in your honor! It was the Calico Cat also. A very small and crowded store with outdated fabric, but the owner was very nice. We did find a few things to add to our bags. Then she told us about another fabric store and they carried a few bolts of cottons! She must not have been in the store in a while as a good part of this large store was all cottons! That's a picture of me and Brenda in front of some of the quilts.
Here is the great store we found....or were led to....now, have a better idea of where I am? :)

Hide and seek....

I'm on a business trip with my husband...or I should clarify--he's on business and I tagged along to have fun! I really wished I had "Niles" (who was the one who had that? PCM? I know it was with Nancy for a while) to show my adventures. I thought and thought before I left about what I should take to photograph along the way and of course, I thought of something as soon as I arrived here! Oh well, next time. Anyway, I have internet connection this week, so better post things while I can. I'm not sure about the next couple of weeks what we'll have.

So, where am I? I thought I'd leave a couple of clues....Yes those are penguins! :)

Hint...it's warm! :) bet you couldn't tell...

I did bring some handsewing, will put pictures in the next post...along with more clues...

*********Gratitudes*********************

1. having a husband that likes me to travel with him, even though he has to work and I get to rest!

2. blue skies, warm sun on my face at this time of year

3. new grandbabies! (I forgot to do my gratitudes in my last post)

Where to begin?

Wow--another 10 days zipped by me...and so much has happened. I'll just have to spread my news out over time. BUT, the biggest and latest news is that we are expecting Grandbaby #5! We had dinner with all the kids and kidlets last night and my granddaughter got to announce the news. So, little Liam is going to be a big brother and he'll only be a year next month. What an exciting time!

My quilt group, Bias Buddies, had our annual winter retreat. The theme was, "Choc Full of Fun" and man, was it ever! Lots of chocolate! and Lots of fun! We had a couple of guests, a member who moved to SC came up, my cousin from CO flew out and my husband surprised me by flying my friend from Holland over! Of course, time went by way too fast. (It didn't help that I spent the first day on the couch with the flu! But I recovered quickly so I enjoyed the last two days of the retreat.) We played that new Quilt Trivia game and won chocolate along the way........received gifts of mugs filled with hot chocolate mixes, got a gifty bag of chocolate brownie mix, and a wonderful "chocolate kiss" that was actually chocolate fabric wrapped in foil. Our retreat committee did a great job!I worked on my Gratitude blocks (from Judy's blog). I'm way behind on the Hour a day thing, but I am plugging away. This one fulfills a few things...the Hour a Day project, my Quilt 24 challenge (I'm using the feed sack fabrics) and we are going to do this as part of my Stashbuster series with my students. I'm trying to get my students using up their fabrics as they go, so they won't end up with the huge stash that I have. I try to find projects that are easy and fun. I'll send them to Judy's website to get the pattern to complete their quilt.

Where does time go?

Man, it's been over a week already since I last posted! So, what have I been up to?
Sunday--our local quilt shop had their annual Super Bowl Sale (40% off!) and I volunteered to work (I also teach there) as there is never enough help. Heck, at those prices, she is busy!! I was a little worried that I might break my own rule of NO fabric buying period--I don't even include the 4 B's in my rule (backings, bindings, borders and ??-can't remember the 4th right now). It was hard, and I did end up buying fabric for my Quilt 24 Challenge (a coordinate ONLY--the ones shown are what my hubby gave me for my birthday) and fabric for a friend who is making a baby quilt. My challenge required solid fabric and I just do not have solids in my stash. And, I choose 4 yards total of something that I do not need, but absolutely wanted! It's a deep fuschia with orange dots on it. I thought it would make a great border. I got 3 yards of that and 1 yard of a wonderful batik orange to go with it. Now, I am not counting it as buying fabric--because the quilt shop owner pays us in yardage when we work--so I literally worked for that fabric. Okay--so it's kind of pushing the limit--but hey--it's my own rule AND that is the FIRST fabric I acquired (notice I didn't say "bought"! LOL) that is purely a "want" since last July! So, was I a bad girl? No, I don't feel bad. I did need the first fabric I bought and the other, well.... So, now the debate is, should I put that Fabric Diet button on my sidebar? LOLTaxes--ugh! It gets worse every year. Things get more complicated the older we get. I used to love doing taxes! Yeah, that was when my hubby just got a W-2, and I was a SAHM. :) So, now I spread out all my stuff and work 3-4 hours daily on it. I am going on a 3 week trip with Kirt and then on a 9 day trip with some girlfriends and I would like a lot of this tax stuff done before I go.

Making samples.........cleaning my sewing room. It lasted all of one day! My hubby came out right after I cleaned my work table off and was impressed--until he saw it 2 days later and wondered what happened! never mind, just never mind! LOL I also started to work on my Calendar quilt. I saw it posted last year on Pat Sloan's website, but the year was too far gone to start it. I unfortunately didn't remember until last week, so I'm playing catch up with Jan. But basically it's like a string quilt--you add a piece of fabric EVERY day to the row, usually a strip. And you make 4- 91 strips per row and put sashing inbetween the rows and you have a quilt. My original intentions were to add strips of whatever I was working on at the time. Well, I decided against that for a number of reasons. I might not have enough fabric to "give" to that project. What if I have a spell where I'm not piecing but catching up on quilting (which I DESPERATELY need to do!) and my fabrics would be all over the board. So, I decided to do a "theme" per month. January will have all blues/purples in it, Feb. will have pinks/reds. March will have greens, April will be florals, etc. Now, the question is: will I continue to do this all year? Time will tell!

Do you fuse?

Do you use fusible web? What is your favorite type? I used to be a loyal fan of Heat and Bond LITE and then I was forced to use Steam a Seam II for a project and with a change in how to use it a bit, found that I might like that a bit better. Quilter's Home magazine just had an article in the Jan. 2007 issue regarding fusibles and their differences. And it's funny how even those quilters differed in opinions. So, what's your favorite? Scroll down the side bar and vote for your favorite fusible web. I'm going to leave that up until late February, so come back and visit to view all the results.

Serendipity at it's best

Don't you just love how some things just fall right in place? Not that it happens very often, but I love it. And my little adventure included NO NEW fabric buying, 1/2 my work done and about a 9 year old project being revitalized! It all started when our quilt group (who is ready to do another retreat) was discussing something we could do together. We normally do our own thing as of late, but thought it would be nice to learn something new together. All the rage around here is the One Block Wonder quilts by Maxine Rosenthal. We all agreed and I got the book. 1st panic attack--geez, I might have to actually break my no fabric buying (NONE for me since LAST July!). But as I was poking around some of my fabrics, I came across a beautiful Kaffe Fassett fabric and lo and behold, there was EXACTLY what I needed--4 yards. And that is unusual for me to buy that much fabric at full price with not a thing to do with it. I was set.
Then last week after perusing the book some more, I realized it is just like a Stack and Whack, only it's set together differently. She also uses fabrics that has fewer colors. My wheels started spinning again. Gee, I did 2 or 3 S & W quilts quite a few years ago (probably 8 or 9) and don't quite remember finishing all of them. So I went bin hunting and sure enough, there was a Stack and Whack and all the blocks were done! Perfect! Of course, I immediately took down what was on my design wall and had to start playing! I love it. I might not buy the same thing today to do it, but it certainly fulfills my love for brights! (fewer colors means more of the blocks will have the same colors, making it easier to make a "colorwash" look). The only thing is by interlocking the blocks, you need more of them to make a nice size quilt. BUT I had MORE of the same fabric. I vaguely remember thinking I was going to make a bunch of these baby quilts until I realized they take more work than usual, which is probably why I quit.
So there you have it: no new fabric purchased, 1/2 my work done (I'll make more to make the quilt bigger) AND an old UFO taken off the books.

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Gratitudes:
1. the unexpected treasures that can brighten a day
2. meeting deadlines and having time to spare
3. no-bake cookies

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Quilt me Pink

Yeah! the Quilt Pink quilt is done and sent off to the Quilt Pink foundation to be auctioned off as a fundraiser for the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The flowers in the center of the quilt represented those who have had breast cancer. I had a number of kind ladies help me make blocks ala "Tonya" style. It was a new method for most, let me tell you! And actually, most of the ladies that helped didn't even quilt. I was glad so many gave the effort for this great cause.
I don't know if you can see the quilting or not, but I quilted in words of encouragement, such as: hope, hugs, kisses, strength, faith, etc.
this is the back of the quilt. I used up ALL the extra squares and all the extra fabric. I had 3 full strips (2") left and that's it besides some odd and end scraps.

101st post

"L" is SOOOO big!!

Wow! I didn't realize that my last post was my 100th one. Hmm, should have made it special. Oh well. I have been SO busy. This is one of my husband's busiest times of the year, making it mine! He runs a big softball tournament indoors and I do the all the food for the staff of 60 and college coaches (300). And have no method of cooking since it's held indoors at an athletic fieldhouse. Which means I have to cook and prepare everything ahead of time and then figure out how to get it all warmed up and served with limited electric. I always make my fudgy brownies. It's funny, one of the umpires asked me when he first saw me if I brought my brownies. They are worth breaking your diet over! I can't brag too much, because they are from a mix, but a very special one. :) And then he takes a huge crew over to Europe for a big tournament there and my daughters and their husbands have to go and help and I stay home with the grandkids. My Mom flew up to help me this year. Last year, I did it by myself and got the flu. Not a good thing with (2) 2 year olds and a 5 year old! And this year there was a 9 month old baby. But we got along great and it was a huge help to have another adult to help. The picture is of the 9 month old--we taught him to do "SOOO BIG" and patty cake. What a cutie!

When everyone went home I received a package in the mail of a pattern and fabric. I'm sewing some blocks for a well known quilter for a new pattern. TINY---DOUBLE blanket stitch on lots of curves and circles. It's going to be a gorgeous quilt when it's done! I don't have permission to reveal it yet, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to show a teaser! So, my last 4 days have been hunched over a sewing machine! I'll share the full picture when I'm allowed. :) And now on to finish the Quilt Pink quilt. But first a little side trip to the quilt store. She is having a special where all machines brought in for cleaning, etc. are only $9.95! What a deal! I hope there's not a limit! heeheehee I have all those classroom machines that need done and $10 is a LOT cheaper than $60 each!

Quilt 24 Challenge

I am starting a new challenge for a new year! Like we don't have enough to do already, right? :) Remember my posts from April/May of last year where I had a challenge with a friend using 24 FQ's? I'm doing it again and opening the challenge up to anyone who would like to join in. I am not posting the official rules until Jan. 21 (you can come to the meeting, y'all are invited!--or check out the website the evening of the 21st). Details will be on my website under Quilt 24 Challenge.

A baby with no quilt!

Right before Christmas, like on the 21st, my 6 year old granddaughter was with me when I made a run to the quilt store to pick up a quilt. While I was talking with the owner, she perused all the fabrics. Of course, she found some that she just HAD to have--at home, no less! And then, she got really excited--"Nana--come here quick!" I ran over there and she stood in front of a baby quilt and had a bolt of fabric in her hand that was the backing fabric. She went on to tell me about her new little baby cousin (on the other side of the family) and she DIDN'T have a quilt! Can you imagine? She reminded me that she helped me make a quilt for her cousin earlier this year (my grandson) and that we really, really needed to make baby Meghan a quilt. What's a Nana to say? Of course we bought enough for a backing. I was sure that I had fabric somewhere to come up with a top! ;) Of course that meant she had to come home with me and help me put this quilt together. She was going to visit the baby on the 23rd and we had no time to spare!
She helped me choose a few embroidery designs and the colors she wanted to use. She laid out the quilt all by herself, as usual. I suggested that maybe she spread out her yellows a bit more and she looked at me and said, "Don't you see the pattern I made with the yellows?" Oh, okay! :) I love that independence in her! I hope she keeps it. Staying true to what you believe in.

We sewed much later than she should have been up, but we were pushing the clock! I got up at 3:30 AM because I couldn't sleep, and ended up getting it quilted. So when she woke up, all she had to do was make the label and snip the extra threads for me. It was cute, she made her name really big on her homemade label and wanted to put it right on front, because she wanted everyone to know who made it! Not a modest bone in her! And she made it home on time by 10 AM! Whew--and I thought I cut things close!

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Gratitudes:
1. a fun granddaughter that loves to quilt!
2. a new project in the making (shh, it's a secret still)
3. dinner from the freezer (yeah, no cooking tonight!)
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Miniature Quilt Store--in polymer clay!

Check out this miniature quilt store, all done in polymer clay..

For more pictures and information, check out this site: Creating a Miniature Quilt Storefront

What a neat thing to do--but my oh my, what patience they had!

I finally broke down and upgraded to the new blogger. I figured my days were numbered and I better do it before I was forced to and ran into problems. I like the new format, although in doing my template, I lost all my stuff in my sidebar, so I'm still working on those.

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Gratitudes:

1. beautiful sunny blue skies--in Ohio!!

2. email friends who share inspiring and uplifting stories

3. Market Spice Tea from Seattle

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I wish to each and every one of you a SAFE, healthy and joyful new year.

2006 is behind us, and I am so glad! There were a few bright spots, one was having another grandson. He is such a joy and delight and we are SO blessed with the most beautiful and wonderful grandkids! A couple of great trips thrown in and new blogger friends, which is such a delight to me. There were many other trials and rough spots last year, and I thank God for the opportunities to grow in my walk with Him.

I'm looking forward to a brand new year with some exciting possiblities in store for me. I just hope that I can keep my head on straight, my lists organized and my health and energy high enough to do all I want to do! I'm not setting any goals, per se, although my "Fabric Depression" has almost become a game. I STILL haven't purchased any fabric for me (I have purchased some for gifts), and I'm not counting the fabric Kirt bought me for my birthday. After all, I didn't ask for it! :)

I have taken down all the Christmas stuff and now is the time that I get out all the Snowman stuff. I think that my snowmen outnumber my Christmas things. At least it keeps it in a festive mood for a few more months. And it doesn't look like we are going to get any snow anytime soon-so I'll create my own. It's a lot warmer that way, and safer to drive!

Here is a new project I'm working on. A student showed me an embroidery CD that does the applique and stitching while in the hoop the entire time! Of course I had to have it myself. This is one of 12 snowmen--they are all so adorable. I also did purchase a redwork snowman CD to do too. I'm thinking since my living room is now kind of reddish--I should make that quilt soon! All my other snowman stuff was blue.

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Gratitudes:

1. A fresh start of a new year

2. 4 healthy and wonderful grandchildren

3. Homemade chicken noodle soup

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Thanks to Jeanne of Spiral for her inspiring gratitudes list. I decided that I needed to do the same.

more living room pictures

This is for those who wanted more living room pictures! I don't think people believe we painted a wall red! But it looks great--and have the best quilt in mind to do. Actually, the fabric is where I pulled my paint color! and it's not a bright red--but not a barn red either. But it looks great with my new black furniture. Now to start working on my quilt.....

Jamaica-mon!

Wow--this is the calmest I've ever been for Christmas--I ought to go to Jamaica more often! :) We had a very relaxing time. We renewed our wedding vows in a gorgeous gazebo on the cliff overlooking the ocean. We even had a cake, champagne and bouquet of flowers. It was a very special and touching ceremony as we reaffirmed our commitment to one another for at least another 32 years!We had a great time--even after I got stung by a bee. I ended up having to have an ER dr. come to the resort to give me a shot and medicine. I was "forced" to stay off my feet with my leg up and out of the sun. So I laid on a chair with my feet at the head of the chair, elevated with a towel over my leg! We couldn't do any tours after that, but that's okay. Even that pressure was taken off of us. Not the best hair do in the top picture--it looked fine in the room! :) The wind and humidity played havoc with it the moment I stepped out the door. Oh well--but isn't that a beautiful site? We watched many weddings over the course of time while we were there. And the bottom picture is a self-portrait! As you can tell, most of our other pictures were too far away to even see us, so we did our own!
Sorry--nothing quilty about this post, but just wanted to share. I did take some pictures there for possible inspiration for a quilt. But opted out of taking anything to work on.

getting a new look

Not me--heehee--my great room. After doing the blue/yellow color scheme for quite a few years, I decided to move on to something else. My hubby had our carpet replaced one time while I was gone to a little darker tan (to cover all the dirt!) and the yellow couch had to go. So I decided I wanted a black leather couch, loveseat and chairs, and a poppy red wall. Actually, there is a quilt I want to make with those colors in it--and why not change the WHOLE great room to match? That's what I thought! :) So, hubby painted the large window wall a beautiful shade of red (it's not bright--but not a barn red either)...we ordered the furniture and it's in place, I changed my Christmas tree colors from white/creams to all reds, including some oversized ornaments. The only thing left was all my end tables and sofa table and my pie safe (which had punched tin doors that my hubby hated-and wanted to burn!) that didn't quite go in my new room. The tables were all antiqued white and the pie safe was natural oak. I talked him into painting it all black. He took the doors off the pie safe and left them off and painted it all black. They all look fantastic! Just how I imagined. I then loaded as many quilts as I could in it and changed the location so it would be a featured part of the room. It looks so nice, all filled with quilts. Ahhhh, now the kitchen doesn't look so good anymore.......um....Kirt? what do you think about the kitchen now? Boy, doesn't one thing lead to another?

Well, I'm off for a little R&R with hubby in Jamaica. I wonder why I ever agree to go away in December, but actually it's a much needed break. And since I didn't get my shopping done, I think I'll just shop online this year, from a chaise lounge. :) I'll be back....probably :)

peeking around the corner....

Hi--I'm Karen.....I feel like I have to re-introduce myself! I've been out of touch for such a long time. Long story........cruising along life's highway and hit a major bump in the road. But I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. The world sure doesn't stop when your own life does! Unfortunately, I haven't been doing a whole lot of sewing...but I will soon be back at it. I did do a few things during this barren period, thank goodness for classes that require samples! A little motivation sometimes is needed.

Here is the one thing that I have worked on in the past weeks....I took the book, "Monterrey Medallions" by Terry Atkinson and made a mystery class out of it. I gave the students weekly updates on what they were to buy, helping them choose colors, what to cut and a little bit of sewing. Then we met on a Saturday for an all day class. We had a potluck salad lunch with lots of yummy food and then I prepared dinner for them while they sewed. Here are the 4 blocks that were in the quilt and then the final layout that I chose.