Day One

I am on a three-state teaching trip. Yesterday was just a travel day, but travel days can be fun.

I learned a few things about PB&J.

I ate a super yummy cookie: caramel chocolate cookie with sea salt.

I didn't get an upgrade to first class, but I got an armrest. I an shockingly excited about that.

I got lost trying to find my rental car. Apparently I wasn't the only one. The friendly folks at MSP made extra signs to help out the weary travelers.

Minnesota welcomed me in style-- Culver's butter burger, cheese curds, and custard. My arteries are clogging but my tummy is happy!

I can't wait for Day Two at St. Cloud Sewing Center.

For Your Eyes Only

I needed to keep an eye on a colleague of mine, so I made him a small quilt. It is only about 7x8 inches but it was a huge amount of fun to make.

As I was recovering from a long week, I put a bit of fabric under Hazel's needle and stitched for the fun of it.

The quilt is in the mail and I hope that my friend knows that "I'm watching!"

In Need Of Adult Supervision

I have been traveling for a while and it is time to restock my toiletry kit. I stopped at the store last night for eye drops, toothpaste, and other necessities. This is not very exciting so I decided to add some fun to one mundane item: I bought Hello Kitty lip gloss.

My new lip gloss is purple and sparkly and smells like grapes. It makes me smile. It is also possible that it could kill me.

If you cannot read the disclaimer in the photo, it says:

WARNING: AVOID EYE CONTACT. IF IRRITATION OCCURS DISCONTINUE USE AND CONSULT A DOCTOR. DO NOT INGEST. USE UNDER ADULT SUPERVISION.

Apparently I am willing to risk my life for Hello Kitty.

Nice View

I have been filming a series of quilt DVDs this week at Handi Quilter. I'll write a full post later but wanted to show you who I have been talking to all day for the last few days.

Mail call

I received a package of Hello Kitty live in the mail today. My quilty friend knows me so well.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Finally, a Quilt!

I was at a baby shower yesterday for my daughter-in-law's sister. I finished this quilt, bound it, wrapped it, and put it in the trunk of my car 5 days before the shower. I think that I should get some sort of a medal for this. I was early because I was out of town and the shower started less than an hour after my flight landed at home, but still ... I was done early.

The pattern was called Boho Patchwork Vintage Star Quilt by Sweet Dreams by Sarah for Moda Bakeshop. I used fabric from my collection (sounds better than stash).

Reward

Days that start with a 4 am wake up call and include two flights plus the joy of a hijacked credit card deserve to end like this:

Before and After Hours at a Quilt Show

Before the AQS Quilt Show in Grand Rapids this morning, I set up the Handi Quilter classroom. Judy Woodworth was teaching and the students just loved her!

After the AQS Quilt Show in Grand Rapids tonight I went to the auction to benefit Libby Lehman. I bought a hippo. There are funky lights outside of my hotel and I discovered that my hippo is possessed. I think I like him even better now. Any suggestions for names for my possessed hippo? Stanley is my first thought.

Quilt Show: AQS Grand Rapids

Pictures of how my day started and ended. A good day indeed.

The best parts of the day

I got to spend some time tonight with Hazel, my sweet Sweet Sixteen. I worked for a few hours on my very special quilt.

To keep the party going, I enjoyed a few spoons full of Talenti Sea Salt Caramel Gelati. It's my new best friend.

Sometimes I'm slow

After several days without wifi, 3G or cell coverage, I'm hard at work in my hotel room. I'm plowing through emails and getting things done.

An hour or so later I noticed that my laptop battery was running low. I know that I plugged my laptop into the desktop plug, so I was confused. I started at the outlet and checked all of my connections. Everything looked fine but still no power. I checked everything again. And again.

I got up from my desk, hoping to find another outlet that might work. I looked down and wanted to slap my forehead.

Note to self: next time check that the desktop outlet is actually plugged in.

Bonus points if you can guess what hotel chain I'm in. I think you can't guess.

Quilty Pics

I brought along some English Paper Piecing to keep my hands busy. It conveniently fits in an empty Talenti Gelati container.

The little kit is from Pinwheels and is made of different Daiwabo taupes. Almost as yummy as the Gelati!

Pics -- quilt and otherwise

Only a little quilting today. I am still working on hand-binding a baby shower quilt.

When I wasn't quilting today, I was hiking to see waterfalls. Quilting is the best thing in life but waterfalls are definitely in the top ten.

Quilty pics

I finished my niece's baby quilt. Only one year late. My niece crawled right up on it and tried to pick the carrots off the fabric. Success!

Next I started hand binding a baby shower gift.

Today was a good quilty day.

Today's Quilt Pics

I spent all of today in my studio. Yay for me!

I finished a cone of thread. Am I the only person who feels a great sense of accomplishment when that happens?

I received the thread order for my VSQ (very special quilt). I think this just might be enough

I started to bind my niece's quilt

I quilted a get well quilt for a special young lady and began to bind it.

I added some more teeny tiny bubbles to my VSQ.

I did a little hand appliqué on an old UFO.

In other words, I had a short attention span today but made the best of it.

I hope your day was a quilty one.

Quilt pics of the day

I worked on a few quilts today. I finished one for a friend. I started to finish one for another friend. I worked on one for my niece. I quilted some exceedingly small pebbles on a VSP (very special quilt).

It's a great day when I get to touch so many quilts!

Currently

I saw this list on Pat Sloan's blog and thought I'd post my own answers:

I am currently:

• Watching:  Nothing.  Where I live, there is no through-the-air television reception and we do not pay for cable.  
• Reading:  Tonight I am reading Immanuel Kant.  I am taking a course on Modernism through Coursera.com.  I have already finished a writing course and an art course and have signed up for many more.
• Listening:  The Power of Habit by Charles Duhugg.  I listen to audiobooks while I quilt. 
• Making:  A very special quilt that is near and dear to me.  It  has been in my head for years, on paper for about 18 months and finally is coming together in fabric.  Stay tuned!
• Feeling:  Excellent and grateful for it.  Last winter was a tough one for me but now my future is so bright, I've got to wear shades!
• Planning:  I am doing some quilt-related filming at the end of the summer and diligently making plans for that.  More on this later.
• Loving:  Dresses!  Since I am filming, I had to go clothes shopping.  I bought dresses -- a bunch of them -- from eShakti.com.  Why did I not know about this site earlier?  I am now channeling my inner 50s hausfrau.  I may break out my pearls and wear them when I vacuum.  Hmmm... do I even own a vacuum?   All of my floors are tile or hardwood and are cleaned regularly, but they are never vacuumed.

Care to play along?  Comment with your own list of what you are "currently" doing.

Going Mainstream?

This makes me very happy:

Louisiana

I just returned home from a teaching trip to Shreveport, Louisiana.  This is the 38th state I've been to and am hoping to add the remaining 12 states in the next year or two:  Alabama, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii.  If you live there and need a quilt teacher, look me up!

I bought a new suitcase this month.  I really liked that suitcase.  It is gone now:

The photo doesn't show just how twisted and damaged this poor bag truly is.  After waiting an hour to find someone employed by Delta, he, to his credit, took one look at my bag and handed me a brand new suitcase out of the box.  No paperwork.  No claims forms.  No asking for proof of the age of the bag.  Accidents happen, so -- Nicely Done, Delta!

I saw that the R. W. Norton Art Gallery was number one on most lists of Things To Do In Shreveport, so I went there for a visit.

This is the first video I have taken and then uploaded with my phone, so please be understanding.  I think it is playing at triple speed.

The building was beautiful.  There was a very interesting collection of art inside, but there were also fascinating floors.

Yes, floors.  Floors like this one:

And this one:

And this one:

My hotel was, um, interesting.  It had some fun touches like "ceiling mounted hair dryers":

I am 5 foot 6 in my stocking feet and had trouble reaching this.  I have many friends who are less than 5 feet tall.  How on earth were they supposed to reach this?  The other "touches" were less fun and I will probably not stay at that hotel again. 

Another interesting aspect of this trip was that it was in Louisiana.  In July.  It did a pretty good impersonation of the surface of the sun:

Gasp!

I was in Louisiana to teach quilting, and I met the most amazing students.  They each brought in their own Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen for a few days of hands-on classes:

We had a great time together and left with promises of "See you in Houston!"

Louisiana had its ups and downs for me, but the ruined luggage, weird hotel, and blistering heat were more than offset by this:

Chocolate cake as a base for S'mores.  I can now die happy.

Sewing Buddy

I had a visit this morning from a sewing buddy. She did a little cutting; I did a little sewing. We accomplished little things yet it was a great time together.

Today was my lady day in the studio for a while. I was happy to get caught up on my Quilt Basket block of the month.

Happy July 4th!

GiveAway

I haven't heard back from Celia Ambrose so I re-picked a winner.  (Sorry, Celia!)

It's Katie M from Katie and Kwilts.

Look for this in the mail.