Stash Busting and Delft shoes

I know I'm a day late this week--but finally have time to start joining the countdown on our stashes! In January, I was able to bust almost 5 yards of background fabric for these adorable little embroideries. I meant to make them for my friend and me for Christmas and didn't get them to her until later. The collection was called Holiday Redwork by The Stitch Connection. I LOVE their CD's, I have several of them, including the Snowman Collector one. Yes--done on a machine--but they look darn good! This is just a sampling of what I did--there were 37 blocks total x 2 (I did a set for each of us).

5 yards for January, 0 yards bought

Next, last week I had two classes on how to use Zoe, my HQ16. I plan on renting her out--does that make me a quilting pimp? Eww--no--I am 'sharing' her with other quilters to get their quilts done! :) Which meant that I had to have quilt tops and backings ready for them to practice on! So--the first class quilted my Puzzle Pieces top for me--requiring about 4 yards for the backing. The second class quilted Gratitude for me and I pieced 6 yards of fabric for the backing! I also marked a small quilt and cut the backing which was 1 1/4 yards.

February to date: 11 1/4 yards busted, 0 yards added (**see note below)

I had to show you these shoes--aren't they perfect for a Dutch girl like me? They are rubber clogs, done in Delft style and are perfect for my LONG walk to my studio. LOL(picture taken from the side door of the garage of my house--looks kind of dreary this time of year) Crocs don't get it when there is snow on the ground! It goes in the holes!

**Okay--I forgot that my friend (same friend who I surprised with the embroideries) surprised me with a birthday gift of some fabric--a couple of yards and a jelly roll (plus a needle minder, a handmade card and the cutest sun catcher in my favorite--flip flops in MY colors to boot--perfect, I tell ya!)So....how do you count that for stash? If we don't buy it, it doesn't count? Or--ANY new additions, no matter how they join, is still stash?

Paris--lost hats,quilt shops & Eiffel Tower

Looking back at our trip to Paris---the last night we were in the Netherlands, we loaded up 3 double decker buses and a luggage trailer! My husband and I were the last ones to get our suitcases loaded, so they'd be the first ones off. So..we trek the 6 hours to Paris, arriving after 1:00 AM. Since the buses were so large and the Paris streets are SO narrow, we had to unload from rue de Rivoli--a major street! So, we told everyone to just grab as many bags as they could and trek the 2 1/2 blocks to the hotel and we'd sort them out there. Not an easy task with 165 people and over 400 bags! Everyone finally got checked in about 2 AM and I started searching for my bags. Found all of them except for the zippered Tyvec shopping bag filled with my precious hats, other souveneirs and my planner! I panicked a bit and tried very hard to fight back the tears as I searched the lobby over and over. I had a whole crew helping me to no avail. It was obviously not in the lobby. My only hope was the someone accidentally took it to their room. I didn't hold onto that hope much because it wasn't like it was a black backpack or suitcase. This was definitely a shopping bag. I realized that they were just 'things' and no one's life was at stake, but it was irreplaceable. Praying about it seemed a little childish and materialistic, but I was just sure that since the Lord had a hand in me finding these hats to start with, I was SURE that He would have wanted me to have them for more than a week! And IF I did find it--I wouldn't even LOOK at purses (my weakness!). I know--like bargaining with God works! LOL I was sure that it wasn't left on the bus, because it was the last thing loaded. I thought that maybe the group of young men watching all this activity going on probably could have very well casually walked by and picked it up, since it looked like a shopping bag and not a suitcase full of dirty clothes. To make a long story short--heehee--we called the bus company on the chance it was on the bus--and it WAS!! The bus driver couldn't fit my bag in the luggage compartment and put it in his private compartment and forgot!! Yeah! He returned it that day--and so, I'm a happy camper again. :) Okay--'nuff about that--I visited (okay--tried to visit--it wasn't open until after lunch) Le Rouvray, a very well known quilt shop in Paris. Only a block away from the Notre Dame. They do carry American fabric, as well as French fabrics and from the looks of the window, several gifty items as well. It was just as well that it was closed, as my budget and stash do not need any more added to it! (PS..never mind the hair--cold, drizzly days don't do a thing for me! or my hair!)
We were lucky to have our granddaughter with us--she loved the Eiffel Tower and we were lucky enough to go to our favorite viewing spot at night and the twinkling lights were one! I think it's only on once per hour.
A wonderful, busy time in France. My favorite is always the Basillica at Sacre Couer, seeing the Palais de Versailles for the first time, the crepes (bananas and sugar--although Nutella ranks right up there too), seeing the Louvre at night, and all the little patesseries and brasseries (sp?) filled with people sitting outside enjoying friends and great coffee.

Au revoir!

Antwerpen, Belgium

First, let me share the toilet in Ted's house--I love it! And 'sew' fun for a quilter to have.

My final shot at Ted's before I joined up with my hubby and family and the softball group (only 165 people!). I didn't have a patch cord for my camera (I borrowed one from Ted's husband while there), so I wasn't able to post the rest of my trip. I mean, who wants to look at a blog with no pictures? :) So all of this is a bit dated.

I led a group of 18 to Antwerp for the day. What a nice 1 1/2 hour train ride from Schiedam (near Rotterdam) to Antwerp. I've done this 3 other times, so told people to sit back and relax and they don't need to worry about the stops in between and to get off the train when it completely stops in Centraal Antwerpen station. It's a big, beautiful building with a curved ceiling and awesome stained glass windows. I am SO glad Ted went with me on this trip, because I went to the bathroom and when I came out, she kept saying, Karen-this is it, we need to get off! I said-no, we need to be IN the building! Then I saw the sign that said, Centraal Antwerpen BUT we weren't in the building! I told our group to hurry and get off and thought I'll just have to figure out where we are when we are off the train--but this is NOT what we normally do! So, we all got off in the nick of time (it only stopped for 1 minute). Then we climbed all the stairs to the ground level and THERE I saw the OTHER train that we normally take, sitting at the top of the station, inside! We apparently were on a train that went on to Brussels!

Okay--my day didn't start off well--but it will get better! :) The very first thing you encounter when leaving the station is the Diamond District. How lucky for us, huh? Well, not this year as our dollar is worth so little this time! $1 = 57 cent Euro. Not a good thing--but it's fun to look at windows and windows of diamonds. I took the group to Diamond Land for a brief tour on how they get the diamonds. While they did that, Ted and I did a little other shopping and touring and of course, had to have a freshly baked Belgium Waffle--complete with powdered sugar. Messy, but worth it! I told the group that we were going to be on the hunt for a quilt shop we had heard about. The one I normally go to, Calico House, (no website) was closed because they were moving. We heard this other shop, Lana's Patchwork was only a 20 minute walk from the train station. So, after the group did the diamond tour, 6 joined us for our quilt shop hunt.

ARE WE THERE YET??? one half hour later, we are still walking in the damp, drizzly rain and wondering how much farther we had to go. Well, after 45 minutes, we found it! Lana's Patchwork.

It was a nice shop, and more than just a quilt shop. It had lots of nice yarns and various needlework supplies, as well as American fabrics, (lots of Kaffe Fassett). Bummer--we can get those at home for a MUCH cheaper price! It's a wonder people quilt over in Europe at all. About $25/yard is what they pay for OUR fabric. No wonder they do a lot of handwork and quilting and spend a few years on a quilt. There's no way they could make several a year like some here do.

We ended up taking the tram back to the center of town where we walked along Meir St. (a pedestrian shopping street), and to the old town center. We saw lots of chocolate shops (and bought some for family back home) and lace shops and all kinds of little cute shops. De Kathedral is a gorgeous Catholic church that should not be missed while in this part of town. We headed back to my most favorite restaurant in Antwerp, the Argentinian Beef place, where they have beef shish kabobs that absolutely melt in your mouth. And of course the yummy fries that they have all over Europe! Did you read that we HEADED there? I pointed it out across the street while we were first walking in the city to the group. However, when we got there to actually eat.........................................

it was boarded up!! LOL I may have to give up my tour guide job--I wasn't doing so well! We took a walk around the corner and found a similar place, so not all was lost. We all made it back to the train station in time to head back to the Netherlands--minus a few bucks/euros. :)

Dear Jane progress

On the quilty side...I did bring my Dear Jane, not sure if I'd be able to work on it, but when I was with Ted at her Open House, I finished one block and did another complete one. So...hey Pam--how are YOU doing? :)

I also have been doing some knitting--I'm NOT a knitter--so what I'm doing isn't hardly worth taking a picture of it! LOL I will show it when it's done--IF I get it done. Oh well, I can have high hopes!

This post was originally written about 4 days ago while I was still with Ted. I forgot my camera patch cord to the computer, so now I can no longer post pictures until I return home. Her husband happened to have one that worked for me while I was staying with her. I have since met up with my husband and family and 165 of our best friends! Just kidding-but he does bring 165 people with him to Holland (50 athletes and the rest of them are parents and friends) to play in the Softball Indoor World Cup. I helped on Thursday getting people checked in, etc. Friday we took them to Amsterdam for the day. The athletes played on Saturday, so then I took a group of people that didn't want to watch games all day to Antwerp. I'll write about that day when I can show some pictures--what an adventure! Today is the end of the tournament and then we load the whole group up to head to Paris for 4 days. Since I'll have no pictures to share the next days or so, I'll wait until I get back to share our adventures. And ONE did include a LONG trek to find a quilt shop!

tot ziens!

more hats from Zuid Beveland

This 'overhat' --or one worn on special holidays or Sundays is from Zuid Beveland (in Zeeland) and was worn by the Protestants. It has a large brim that is rounded. I was able to get one made in the late 1800's and is all hand made lace. The shop owner purchased 3 hats from a family that had elderly parents that passed away and they didn't want the hats! Ted claims that these hats are museum quality.
This hat is also from Zuid Beveland, but was worn by the Katholiks (Catholics). Instead of being a large round brim, it has a very large square brim. It, too, is handmade lace and very old. In fact, the hats made from the hand made lace taking almost one year to make one, were not made after WWII--about 1945. I debated on getting two hats from the same area--especially since they were a little on the pricey side. But then I figured this may be my only chance to even get a hat, let alone an old one, so I splurged. I took these 2 pictures in the museum--they showed better than the pictures I took.
This 'kindermuts' (child's hat with a tail) is from Arnemuiden and was worn on special occasions like weddings, etc. It was starched to death and I wondered why it wouldn't scratch a baby--but he said that it was worn over other clothing, but yes, they really wore them that stiff. In fact, he tried to sell me the special starch to make it that way. He is only one of the few that carried that starch. I told thanks, but no thanks as I didn't intend to ever wash it!

I have a few other hats, but I need better conditions to photograph them. Spending 20 minutes to get a picture to look like the real thing, and I gave up! :)

But now I've shown you 6 out of 10 that I got. Again--I was tickled to death! I read an article online in the "Windmill" about how the 'shelf life' of local Dutch costumes is only twenty years from expiry. They will only be able to be seen in museums within one generation. So..I better hurry!

Quilt Shop in Brielle

't Quiltgebeuren

Friday was an Open House for the Quilt Shop in Brielle for quilter's to sign up for new classes. Ted was offering classes and 3 day "Quilt Study" courses (an intense 3 day course normally done in 6 sessions. So I went with her to the Quilt Shop, 't Quiltgebeuren, since I was able to meet the owner, Willy, in Houston this past November. I was curious to see her shop of almost 3 years. She's a lot of fun and found her shop one of those that say, 'come in and stay awhile!'. She had a fancy coffee/cappacino machine in the corner with a table with goodies on it, encouraging quilter's to sit and chat. We first had to take the ferry across the river (or drive all the way around to a tunnel)--so that was a first for me!After spending the morning in the shop, I was so glad that I went. I looked up at one point and thought, 'I know that lady!" And sure enough--it was someone from Belgium (she was about 2 hours away from the quilt shop) that I had taken a week long class with in France! what a surprise! And then 3 other ladies that I have met through Ted also came in. So, I felt so at home! I later took a walk around the little village of Brielle and I just reconfirmed how much I LOVE Holland and all it's quaint villages. Here's what I came to on my first corner..

A flower vendor (so typical!) and a building from the mid 1600's across the street. I walked on the bridge over the canal and took a picture of 't Quiltgebeuren from a distance. She is right on the canal street. Her building is the one with the awning. Willy and her husband (our caterer for the day) own the building and they live in the loft upstairs. I loved it. She runs the shop with her daughter and daughter in law. And it is a VERY nice shop! If you get anywhere close to this area, it's definitely worth the visit. I've been to a few quilt shops in Europe and hers was the best by far!

Hello from the Netherlands!

It's been a whirlwind since the end of the year. I got sick the day after my birthday, and spent some days on the couch. But I still had to do food last weekend for the big softball tournament my husband puts on each year at this time. Then last Tuesday I left for the Netherlands to stay with my friend in s.'Gravenzande (a small seaside village south of the Hague).

Being of Dutch ancestry, it's always fun to come and discover more of my family's culture. One thing that really fascinated me was when I discovered that there is more than one type of Dutch 'hat'. The one that everyone is familiar with is the one from the province of Vollendam. But there are 12 provinces in the Netherlands with several of them having hats that are unique to them. So I decided that it was something that I would like to collect. My friend Ted (her nickname) and I have been touring the different provinces on each of my visits to secure an authentic hat from the area. We have visited several museums and I have, at home, hats from Vollendam, Marken, Staphorst, and Spakenburg. I'll show pictures of those later. In the meantime, we decided on this trip to visit the Zeeland area. Zeeland used to be a series of small islands and was flooded in 1952 in which thousands were killed. That started the 'Delta Works'project, in which dams were created to lower when storms were coming in from sea so it would seal off the area. They are very well known and the engineering so magnificent, that the Dutch engineers were called into the US after Hurricane Katrina to maybe help New Orleans solve their problems. Anyway, Zeeland is now connected more and is known for tourism (they have wonderful beaches and natural parks), fishing (especially the mussels) and farming (apples, onions and potatoes).

Off we go to Middleburg, the capital of Zeeland, to the newly opened 'Zeeuws Museum'. It was closed for 7 years to be totally re-done, structure wise and content. It's a contemporary look at what was in the past. It was very nicely done and nice exhibits, but we only saw a few costumes and just the hats in nice showcases. And no such luck with finding a hat from that area. We happened to ask a clerk if she knew of any place that sold hats and she couldn't think of any. Someone overheard us and told us of a small shop just 5 km away, in Arnemuiden.

Arnemuiden is a very small village and we had no trouble finding the shop, de Troye. What a little gem! The owner was 75 years old and a wealth of information! He said when he no longer runs the shop, there is no one to take over and more than likely the area hats will no longer be made. In fact, most of what I was able to purchase was second hand, purchased from families that had older parents or whatever pass away and the family no longer wanted these old things. I'll show them separately.

The first set that I purchased was from the actual village of Armemuiden. Because Zeeland was once comprised of several small islands, several of the areas had their own costume. They typically had an underhat (ondermuts) (so graciously modeled by my friend!)that was worn on a daily basis and then an overhat (bovenmuts) that was worn on Sundays and special occasions. The set even had a 3rd bonnet, a satin blue bonnet, (blauwe tussenmuts) that was worn in between the layers to show a bit of color. And then what I found to be a real hoot was the little extra 'jewelry' they had. They were gold (or gold plated) spirals (oorijzers-ear irons) that were pinned on the inside of the hats and had charms on the ends. To get an idea of what it all looked like together, I took a picture of a doll with full costume.

Such a fun time we had in this little shop. My next post will be on the hats from the Walcheren area. Armemuiden is actually a village in this province, but remember they used to be separate.

So, I'm off for the day...more coming!

Ah..the end of the year

I can't believe it's the end of the year..where does it all go? Reflecting over this past year brings lots of fun memories of travels and some sad times too. And has me again thinking is 'this' how I want my life to go? I'm sitting here in a bit of a fog due to the flu--that somehow hit me the DAY after my Open House and the culmination of most of my activities. How convenient for me to get sick now, huh? But as I take pause and think of the next year ahead, what do I want? Okay, besides world peace, LOL. I want time with my grandkids, geez the oldest one is 7 already! I love teaching quilting and for some reason, my classes continue to grow, so I guess that's a sign to keep on. I love traveling and visiting so many people and seeing such wonderful places. And a bit more time to donate to the church. So, what has to give? I need balance and right now, I don't feel balanced. I need help, anyone has suggestions? :) I saw that Bonnie over at Quiltville has decided to give herself the gift of time--GREAT idea! Now, how to do it?

I am closing out my 2007 tab on my Excel spreadsheet and saw that I finished 23 quilts this year, 8 of them were donated to charities or someone in need and 1 was sold. A good year I guess until I realize that most of my quilts are now for class samples, etc. I really need to get into doing some quilts JUST for me, a little more challenging. Although, I did do that Quilt 24 Challenge. Unfortunately, my UFO list grew a little bit longer than I wanted-LOL.

Here are a few samples I got done for my Open House. This one is called Ripple Effect and it uses 2 1/2" strips--it's a commercial pattern, but I can't remember the name of the company right off the top of my head. This is just partially done--I was getting down to the wire with my samples! LOL

This one is a Tulip Purse --the pattern can be found here. I just love the shape! And was so easy to make.This one is Allegro by Terry Atkinson of Atkinson Designs. One of the best stash busters! This one used 28 FQ's! And yes, all from my stash!

This one I called Grandma's Irish Chain, since I used Grandmother Flower Garden blocks in the open blocks. I intend to add a 8" border with more GFG pieces on a vine. The quilt is just really to teach the Irish Chain and my other one is a Triple Irish chain with 1" blocks and seemed a bit much for beginning students. :) Well, this one uses 1" blocks also, but just one row of them. I plan to design each student's pattern for them, according to how big they want the blocks and how big they want the quilt. It's such a cinch in EQ6!

okay, enough of my rambling. I hope this finds everyone safe and healthy for a Happy New Year in 2008! And if anyone has any ideas on how to get more balanced...let me know! :)

Missing in Action

Actually, I've been missing, but wasn't in action! LOL I've been a totally lazy bum, lounging on a beach chair in WARM SUN, something that we are totally lacking right now! I tried to post from our hotel, but the internet was sketchy at best. Totally frustrating for my hubby, but I was kind of glad. heehee I took NOT ONE bit of sewing to do and only read a few books in 11 days. Unusual for me, but just enjoyed some down time. I'm paying for it now, but that's okay.

This picture was taken from our back door the day before we left--we ended up getting about 5-6" of snow and was 1 degree!!! Glad to be headed out of town!

We took a catamaran ride over to a little island to have freshly caught lobster cooked over a wood fire for us. He was trying to convince me to hold the lobster for a photo. The whole time the thing is flipping his tail and has little thorny things on his antenna....eewww! I'm a real wimp when it comes to that.

They split them open, cleaned them a bit, grilled over a wood fire and added butter with garlic and sauteed shallots. Yumm!

Yah mon...it was good to get away....walking the beach, eating awesome food, meeting new friends....watching an amazing sunset while watching cliff divers....sailing on azul waters....swinging in a hammock.....totally kickin' back. Ah..but the fantasy life had to come to an end. So, now I'm home, rushing around again but looking back with fond memories! (pssst..and a few quilt ideas!)

Help! I'm buried!

Well, not really, but I feel like it. Does anyone else need more than 24 hours in a day? And require no sleep? Boy--I guess I just have way too many ideas to get everything done that I would like! Besides teaching classes, I've been getting new class samples and a schedule for next year done. I love teaching, but this part makes gives me anxiety attacks at getting everything done for an Open House at the end of the year. AND doing other things to boot. After I got back from Houston, I was on a quilting high and decided on what classes I was going to teach at my Studio from Jan. to May and I cut and cut and cut out LOTS of kits. Talk about a Stashbuster! I will have to add them up and add it to my Stashbusting list and get on Judy's list.

Then we went to SC for Thanksgiving with my parents. We got some baking done--some Dutch pastries that I was having a hard time making. I'm so excited--it's my favorite Christmas treat! I even talked hubby into doing the crazy Black Friday shopping! And we got most of it done. I have it all wrapped, and what I didn't get, I ordered on Cyber Monday and finished it up. I love Amazon--they had everything I wanted and couldn't find in the stores--at the same prices AND FREE shipping! And I got it all yesterday and today! So, I'm done! Which is a good thing, because two days after we got home, my friend from the Netherlands arrived. She's still here and leaves on Monday. I put all my Christmas decorations up and the tree up so she could see how the Americans decorate for the Holidays. Since she's a quilter, we've spent some time sewing as well. So, I've been working on class samples. Here's the Bargello--8+ yards, busted from the Stash (minimum length in stash, 2 years up to 11 years!)

This is the BQ quilt by Debbie Bowles--it looks great with lots of different novelty fabrics, etc. A great beginners quilt--and a FAST fun one for quilter's with experience. About 6 yards total busted from my stash!

The next one is inspired by Leanne's 360 calendar quilt. I don't think I could do a little journal everyday..so I'm going to do one per week and then frame each week's with 2" squares. I will write in some and maybe embroider in others and maybe applique in some too. The original layout I came up with had all the blocks being vertical and I would need 54 total. So I was going to have an 'introductory' block and then a 'finishing' one. But now that I've been playing around with it, I think it might look good with some going horizontal and others vertical. We'll see, it will be a work in progress. And I used 22 Fat 1/8's for the blocks--and ?? for the background.

This is a Salt Water Taffy block--it looks so fun in bright pastels, like Salt Water Taffy--but I've seen this one done in Christmas colors and Halloween colors too. About 6 yards released from Stash!

Dear Jane and others progress

It seems like I can either sew or blog, but have a hard time doing both! I've been super inspired by being surrounded by quilts in Houston to come home and sew! Well, that plus a few deadlines! LOL I did get my DJ block done while in Houston, but didn't get it posted. And then I got last week's done on Sat. night about 11 PM--just under our self-imposed deadline! The first one is H4 ane the second one is H5. It takes my total pieces to 1902. I thought that sounded like a lot, but there are over 5300 pieces total, I believe, or close to it. Which means I'm not even halfway! :(

These blocks are for my Friday night quilt group exchange. We swap blocks every year and this year decided to do the Monkey Wrench (or Churn Dash), but about half the group is very traditional and the other half tend to lean towards the more bright, contemporary quilts. So the solution was this....We got to choose what colors we liked and whether we wanted it pieced Traditional style or "Liberated", like above. Here are 3 out of 4 sets of the 'liberated' blocks I've made so far. We had to make 4 blocks per person (that's how many you could get out of 2 FQ's). I've also been working on a quilt to hang in my Living room....one day it will get done. I just hope it gets to hang a while before I decide to change the colors again! LOL I'm going to use a Poppy fabric on the borders and pulled all my basket colors from that print.

And this is on my daily sewing list (I also am doing the Calendar quilt...from Pat Sloan's website where you add one new piece of fabric per day, a Scrappy Diamond Star, one Heartstring block, and one of the blocks for a class sample I'm making). This is a scrappy Flying Geese, all cut out of my scraps!I've been also very busy at cutting out 'kits' for myself for making class samples. I have tested one block per quilt to make sure it all works right. I cut out 7 quilts last week, ALL out of stash! Yee haw! Two of the quilts required at least 8 yards of fabric total. I shocked myself in that I was able to pull out enough fabric for a Bargello quilt (that required 12 different fabrics). My stash STILL does not look like it's been even touched. Okay, it's been touched, because it's a mess, but no dent in the fabric!

I'm also did a customer quilt last week (I really don't do that much--only if someone wants it meandered). The longarmers around here get so backed up at this time of year, that once in a while I'll pitch in and help out a student. But I'll gladly leave that business to the longarmers! I don't know how they do it! I'm also doing a commissioned quilt for a lady who has a total of 12 siblings in her family and they wanted a memory quilt to give to their mother. I had to put 30 pictures on fabric and somehow standardize the block. I got it cut out last night. My goal it to have it pieced by the day's end, quilted by tomorrow night, binding on by Wednesday night and deliver it by Thursday. I know, I dream a lot! I act as if I don't have anything else to do. So..with that, I better get off and go start sewing! LOL Have a great day!

Houston Quilt Festival

Wow--what a whirlwind trip! I just got back from attending the Houston International Quilt Festival and I am beat! It was extra special this year as my good friend, Ted Storm (yes, she is a woman with an unusual nickname) won the Master Award for Traditional Artistry. "Spring of Desire"Her quilt was completely done by hand, all the lined applique, mirrors and 3/8" cross-hatch grid quilting! Congratulations Ted! And congratulations to all the other winners as well. Such wonderful, talented people out there. Hollis Chatelain won Best of Show with her painted and quilted rendition of Archbishop Tutu surrounded by children all with a purple hue as seen to her in a dream. I'd show a picture, but there are going to plenty around shortly of her beautiful quilt. Ted brought an entourage from the Netherlands (7, including her) and I brought 6 of my friends--so it was a lot of fun sharing our love of quilting, American style, with the Dutch crew.

We also showed them how to 'let loose' and have a little fun too! We wore kitty ear headbands (and I even added whiskers, a nose and LOOONG eyelashes) for Halloween, how to have a pajama party and have Show and Tell! How else are you going to know what you NEED to go back and buy the next day? LOL It was too much fun and went by way too quick. I'll show more quilt show pictures when I get the names lined up with the correct photos! :)