Visiting over Coffee

 

Can you meet me for coffee today? A couple of my friends and I enjoy getting together for “coffee” on occasion. Except, none of us drink coffee. That’s okay though, our favorite coffee shop makes marvelous drink, Italian Soda. I have no idea what’s in it, it is topped with whipped cream, I just know it’s good, and full of calories. But that’s okay, it’s also a cold drink, which is fine for summer, but not for winter. In the winter, I have tea. They have a wonderful selection.

Of course, we generally have a biscotti while we’re there. Would you like one?

When you and I have coffee, the first thing I will do is breathe deep and inhale the intoxicating aroma of your coffee. I may not drink it but I love the smell. Go figure.

What can I tell you? I’m not planning any travels in the near future. Although I would love to hear about your trips, either those planned, or your recent experience. Laurel over at Alphabet Soup, who gave me the idea for this little coffee meet is planning a trip to Italy. It will be so fun to hear about it when she returns.

I take it back. I have traveled recently. The drive was only forty-five minutes, but we traveled back in time to see the dinosaurs.

We, are me and my cousins Jared and Teresa. Jared is my second cousin,(I think) and his mother Teresa, is my cousin by marriage and my friend by choice.

Jared has special needs and we had a wonderful time “visiting” with the dinosaurs. He got to pet a baby dinosaur and bought a dinosaur shirt.

 My favorite picture of the day is one I don’t have a copy of. It is a picture of Jared sitting on a dinosaur, yes it is photo shopped. The best part though, they also took out his wheelchair. Jared has often made comments about something he’d do, or would like to do if he could. However, it’s something well out of his reach. To have a picture of him “doing” something he enjoys with no wheelchair in sight is fantastic to me.

After visiting the dinosaurs we went to one of the three Italian restaurants in Krebs, a nearby town. Krebs is known, at least in Oklahoma, as Little Italy. Anyone who visits wants to eat at one of those three places. I think the food is more Italian/American than authentic Italian, but it’s still unique and tasty.

Thanks to Laurel Regan at Alphabet Soup, for having coffee with her readers this morning and giving me this idea. This post is part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

What would you tell me if we had coffee?

What is your favorite hot beverage?

Have you traveled recently?

Please let me know in the comments. I love visiting with you.

Norman Quilting – A to Z Challenge

We’ve been everywhere.

Ok, not exactly. However, in the last few days we have visited, Kentucky, Texas, Iowa, Colorado, and there are still more faraway places to visit before the month is out.

Today though we’re going to stay a little closer to home.

Norman Oklahoma is just down the road from my house, a short ninety-minute drive (more or less.) Norman is also the home of that college (Oklahoma University), and my uncle was named after the town.

Most important though, Norman is the home of the Norman Area Quilters, a wonderful group of ladies.

This year two quilt shows will be held in Norman. The first is the Cleveland County Homemakers show on May 9-10 at the fairgrounds.

Later in the summer, June 20-21 at the Holiday Inn off of I-35.

It will be fun to visit both of those show this year, and share pictures of some of their beautiful work.

Does your quilt guild or group sponsor a quilt show?

How far do you have to travel to visit the quilt show nearest you?

Have you visited every quilt show in your state?

Join me on Facebook.

Joining the A to Z challenge. Check out the list of bloggers, we are blogging on every subject imaginable.

M is for Museums of Quilts

Antique quilt

Quilts often give us a chance to travel back in time. Imagine wrapping a quilt made by your mother, grandmother, aunt, or even great-grandmother. My friend and fellow author, Deborah has a quilt made by her mother-in-law, just for Deborah.

The quilt is across the bottom of her bed, for looks. However, on bad days, or when Deborah is ill she wants that quilt to wrap around her. It gives her the feeling of having her mother-in-law’s arms wrap around her. A feeling she enjoys since her mother-in-law died several years ago.

We don’t have to wrap a quilt around us to visit the past and feel the emotions of those long ago quilters. We can visit quilt museums. No, we can’t wrap up in those quilts, but just seeing them touches our hearts.

On my list of quilty places to visit is the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden Colorado. As a bonus, until the end of April that museum has a special exhibit by male (another “m” word) quilters.  While I won’t make it to the Colorado museum this month, it is on my list of places to see.

Quilt museums are like a permanent quilt show, giving guests the opportunity to see a variety of quilts over a longer period of time. The museums also offer visitors a chance to see special displays, such as the  round-up of men’s quilts available at the Rocky Mountain Quilt museum.

You don’t have to go to a quilt museum though. Other museums often offer a peek into the past with quilt displays. The quilt show above was made in 1850 and is on display in a museum in  Dodge City Kansas.

Do you have a quilt museum in your state?

Have you ever visited a quilt museum?

Do you own a quilt made by a relative, or loved one no longer with us?

The complete story of Deborah’s quilt is in Devoted to Quilting 2. Join us on Facebook at, A Patchwork Life.

Joining the fun bloggers at the A to Z challenge. Check them out for more great blogs.

Music, Food, and Quilts

Cajun cooking, jazz music, Mardi Gras parties, with all that going for it Louisiana must have quilts. They do, quilt guilds across the state, at least one show each year, and they have their own block.

The Louisiana quilt block is a patchwork block of flying geese set in a pin wheel design.

The Louisiana Quilt Block, image from ideas-for-quilting.com/images

According to Quilter’s Resource there are two major quilt shows in Louisiana, and I’ve missed both of them this year. That’s ok though, that just gives me more time to plan on visiting.

The first show, presented by the North Louisiana Quilters Guild is a biannual event. That gives me a whole year to plan that visit. Their next show will be in February 2015.

The second show, sponsored by The Gulf States Quilting Association, is an annual event. Held in Slidell Louisiana , one of the towns  affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, they have a wide array of teachers, vendors and I’m sure quilts. This one is definitely going on my quilt tour list.

Have you ever been to Louisiana? If so what was your favorite thing to do or see?

Are you from Louisiana? Do you know of other quilt shows?

Have you made a quilt using the Louisiana block? Share it in comments?

Please join me on Facebook at Devoted to Quilting  for more quilting fun.

Joining the The A to Z Blogging Challenge  which includes creative bloggers from all areas and across the globe. 

 

Kentucky Quiltin’

What do  you think of when you hear “Kentucky”, that little patch of red over toward the eastern border of the United States?

It looks like a small patch on the USA quilt, but it’s filled to the borders with quilters

For some it’s the Kentucky derby. Others think of the bluegrass of Kentucky, and bluegrass music. For the music lovers there is the song,  My Old Kentucky Home,

But for quilters, it is the home of the Paducah Quilt show. An event most of us have on our wish list. From all reports it is a fantastic time. Not only is there the event itself, but the town gets into the stitch of things.

Visiting Paducah Kentucky, will take a few dollars. The trip to and from won’t be too expensive but I can’t imagine going those miles, to such a great event and not spending money.

I’d probably have to save my “getting home” money in a special spot, or I’ll spend it too.

Have you ever been to the Paducah Kentucky show?

What quilt show is on your “have to visit” list?

What’s your favorite fabric?

 

April is the month for the A to Z challenge. Check them out, there are hundreds of bloggers, you’e sure to find some one new to follow or visit.

 

Quilting In Jackson – A to Z Challenge

                                 J – Jackson

The wonderful bloggers over at the A to Z challenge are responsible for today’s post about the letter J.

Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash weren’t talking about Jackson Wyoming when they sang the song, “Jackson.” At least I don’t thing so. If they were, they sure weren’t singing about the quilts available there.

However, for the J portion of my quilty travels, Jackson Hole Wyoming and the quilt festival is where I hope to be headed in October.

According to the website there will be classes, vendors and quilts, I’m hoping lots and lots of quilts. On the way too and from Jackson Hole I can stop off in Colorado, probably have to go through there anyway. And enjoy some of this scenery:

Lake in the hills of Colorado.

Once I get to Jackson Hole, I can soak  up the beauty of the quilts on display and learn from some of the talented instructors available:

Natalia Bonner, author and free-motion quilter. Oh yeah, I hope to learn something from her. My free motion quilting is questionable to say the least.

Barbara Olson, fiber artist. Check out her work on her website. While I’m not an artistic quilter, she may change my mind.

Charlotte Warr-Anderson, quiltist. Her word. She is known for her portraits in fabric in which she uses intricate applique.  She has also been featured on been The Quilt Show.

Carole Liebzeit is a local quilter and will be sharing her varied talents with those attending the festival. Susan Garrity designs floral, abstract, wildlife, and landscape art quilt often using fabric she dyed.

When I’m all filled up with gorgeous quilts and my brain is stuffed with new lessons another stop in Colorado to visit with a few of my grandsons will top off the trip.

 Have you ever taken a class at a quilt show?

What would be your dream location to attend a quilt show?

Have you ever combined a quilt show visit with another fun activity?

 

 

Quilt Gardens

G is for Garden.

Gardens are beautiful (especially if I don’t have to do the work). Flower gardens, those with beautiful blooms are preferrable to the all green of some gardens.

 

Maybe it’s the quilter in me that loves all the color, I don’t know. I do know that on my list of places to visit is Indiana to take a quilt garden tour.

Just imagine. Wondering around a flower garden inhaling the intoxicating scents of the different plants. Enjoying the riot of color as the patch of one color and flower met with the patch of another.

Why, it might even spark a different color combination idea, or plant the seed for a quilt design.

Enjoying time in the garden is always a pleasure and I’m looking forward to the day I can enjoy both quilts and gardens at the same time in a quilt garden.

 

Have you ever visited a quilt garden?

Have you ever considered trying to plant a quilt garden?

If you were doing a mini-quilt garden which quilt blocks would you try to replicate?

 

Today is for the seventh letter of the alphabet (G) in the A to Z challenge. Due to some family challenges I am a few letters behind. Stay tuned, I will catch up.

 

A to Z Blog Challenge

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Thanks to Nancy Doyle, I realized the other day that the A to Z challenge was almost here. For some silly reason I thought it came later in the year, don’t know why.

Sew, I got busy and started thinking what I could do for a theme. Had one too, almost had enough ideas for the month even. For a pantzer like me (a pantzer is someone who does things by the seat of her pants rather than planning) that was amazing. True, the posts weren’t written, but the ideas were there for most of the letters.

Then, the idea changed. No problem, still plenty of time. Next I realized it was time to reveal the theme. Goodness, I hadn’t even signed up yet, and here it is time to post the theme. Good thing the ladies on the quilting page over on Facebook are such troopers.

Thanks to them I now have a theme, Quilty Destinations, and a quilty place for almost every letter. Goodness, I may become a planner yet. Naw, not going to happen.

Stay tuned though. Coming April 1,  there will be a blog post here. Every.Single.Day. Well, except Sundays, we take Sundays off. Which is fair, I don’t sew on Sunday, so I guess no traveling on Sunday either. At least  on the blog.

Come along in April and Travel with me to different Quilty destinations.

Amish and Quilting

 

The A to Z challenge begins.

A is for Amish. While Ohio and Pennsylvania are known for their Amish communities. Oklahoma also has a couple of nice size Amish areas and they have auctions each year featuring their quilts. Clarita is the home of Since this blog is about quilts and quilting,

Visiting the Clarita Amish Auction means lots of walking, eating good food, and admiring beautiful quilts. The ladies make quilts using traditional patterns as well as new ones.

A couple of years ago, Paula Nelson, my friend, and partner in my local quilt store, Prairie Notions, designed this quilt for one of the Amish ladies to make.

While the price of the quilts put them well past my spending range, looking at them is free.  The food however, I can afford and enjoy sampling their wonderful cooking at the auction as well as purchasing breads, cakes, and candies to take home and savor.

Is there an Amish community near your?

Have you ever had the opportunity to purchase an Amish quilt?

Have you ever sewn a quilt by hand?

Joining other bloggers with  the A to Z challenge.  Stop by and see what some of the other bloggers are up to.

 

31 Days of Sewing Tools From Around The House

Quilters,and sewists,  love gadgets. Even if we missed the shoe buying gene, the shopping gene, and the “must have chocolate” gene, we seemed to have managed to acquire the, “anything for the sewing room” gene.

We have multiple sewing machines, templates, scissors, and untold number of items designed to make our sewing life easier, or just because we like them.

Sometimes all of those nifty gadgets and tools cost money the electric company insists on having. If not, they will make sure our sewing machines and lights don’t work. Bother!

Other times, it’s not money that stops us from adding to our ever-growing collection of helpful items, it’s time. We are working on a project and need something RIGHT NOW. Not tomorrow, or next week, not even in an hour. We want/need it NOW. We don’t have time, or want to take the time, to run to the store and purchase the item.

We begin to scour our house, we look in the kitchen, the office, even the garage, for something that will suffice. So, for the next time you’re in dire need of a tool you don’t have, look around your house.

To help you locate these multi-use items, for the next 31 days, I’ll be highlighting one for you. I’ll also be linking up with The Nester, where over 1000 others bloggers are gathering and sharing their 31 day blogs. The blogs cover a variety of subjects divided up into specific categories. You’re sure to find something you enjoy.

I’ll be posting a list here of the items I cover, so you can find them easier.

Do you have any sewing room tools you enjoy using that were designed for another purpose? Share them in the contacts.