Opryland

I am sorry that AQS is moving the Summer show from Nashville to Knoxville next year. It will be closer to drive but may interfere with the Las Vegas trip that my sister and I take.

Also, there is just no place like Opryland. The grounds are so beautiful and it is such a lovely place. We stay at the hotel, even though it is somewhat expensive, it is worthwhile not to have to leave. Some Augusts have been very, very hot and outside is miserable. This was not the case this time.



I took a few photos of the plantings in the courtyard. Not sure I will ever have a reason to go there again.

Dear Jane in Nashville

Last night we went to a lecture by the Author of Dear Jane, Brenda Papadakis. I am really glad we decided to go. She is a very interesting speaker and we got the chance to see quite a few Dear Jane quilts.


The above picture are of Brenda during the talk. Behind her is a quilt called Technicolor Jane made of batiks and a copy of the original quilt by Jane Stickle.

The one above is made from exchange blocks from a swap on the Dear Jane email list.

Here is a Dear Jane set in a unusual setting. I like this one a lot.

Apparently there was a Beatles challenge and this quilt and the one below are samples of that challenge.

Love the border on this one.

Here is one made with just a few of the blocks.

Another with an unusual setting.

This was from an Amish challenge.

Isn't it fun to see how different these little 4 1/2 inch blocks look when made from different fabrics?

Shopping at the Quilt Show

I did a little shopping today. I really don't need much of anything but did find a few things that were calling "Buy me, buy me" when I tried to walk past.

This first one is unusual for me to be attracted to. It is reproduction fabrics but I really loved the look of the quilt and the fabrics.

Here is the kit laying on it's side. Look at the wonderful blue fabrics. This will be great!

Since I teach purses every month, I am always on the lookout for new patterns. I found these two that I really like. Now to get them made.

This is a simple black and white fabric that I saw when I tried to walk past a booth. It is hard for me to pass up any black and white fabrics, especially with a sewing or fashion theme.

I picked up a couple of more things but packed them away. I will confess more shopping tomorrow.

We are going to the show for a couple more hours tomorrow morning before we take off for Georgia. Bill is cooking a turkey breast on the grill so we have that to look forward to when we get home.

East Cobb Quilt Guild Challenge Quilts in Nashville

I spent the morning looking at all the quilts on display. I took about 100 photos but don't like to post quilts from people I don't know. I love to take pictures of quilting to give me inspiration.

The quilts from my guild are in the Ultimate Guild Challenge. I have posted photos of all the quilts back in March/April so just took a picture of the sign today.

The quilts looked great hung here. This is the second year in a row that we were fortunate enough to get quilts in the exhibit. Last year our raffle quilt that I quilted was also here.

Made it to Nashville

We got to Nashville a little later than we had planned but got here safely which is all that really matters. We made a couple of stops between Marietta and Nashville. We went to the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet outlet store and each bought a couple of new pans. Bill has been wanting a very large frying pan so I got that for him and also picked up one of the grill pans like the cooks on Food Network use. I got one that fits over just one burner since we only cook for two people. They are really heavy!

Of course we stopped at Cracker Barrel. I think there is probably a law in Tennessee that says if you go on a road trip that you have to stop at least once at a Cracker Barrel.

We did get here in time to renew our AOS memberships and buy multi-day admission to the show. We made one run through the vendors - just looking. At first glance I didn't see anything that said I have to buy it. Of course we will be here all day tomorrow so I will report in again.

Tomorrow I plan on looking at all the quilts. Eight of the challenge quilts from East Cobb Quilt Guild are here and I can't wait to see how they look displayed.

More Shopping

We had a great time today. I picked up Linda at the area yesterday and we stopped at IKEA. We looked at everything there and I found a few things I would really like to have but I managed to get out of there with just a few small things.

Today we went out and did a little shopping again. We went to Fiber on a Whim and then to downtown Marietta. We spent a little time looking at Antique Stores and then went to the Rubber Stamp Fantasy store. Had fun there and just bought a couple of things.

After leaving downtown, we stopped at the Marietta Diner for lunch. We then went to Little Quilts where I picked up a couple of patterns and a book.


These are the patterns - an apron and a VOTE quilt. I probably won't make the VOTE quilt, but I really like it. I wouldn't put a date on it but it would be great fun to bring it out every election time. Of course, recently the election time is almost non-stop now, isn't it.

Also I love pincushions and couldn't resist this book. The pincushions in it are really cute and don't look too hard to make.

At Fiber on a Whim, I got two books. The one above is a Fabric Art book that has detailed directions for all sorts of good sounding things - Paint Sticks, foiling, dyeing, and lots of other ways to alter fabric.

The last book I have to show was also from Fiber on a Whim. I bought a Janome embellisher last year but really haven't done much with it. This book has ideas for using the machine embellisher and also ideas for hand needle felting.

Shopping today

Look what I found in downtown Marietta today. Not sure what it is supposed to be but I bought it as a birthday gift for someone. I thought it could be used as a sewing or knitting basket.


It is about 10 inches high and 7-8 inches across. The fabric is stitched on the front and it is lined. I like it and hope the person it is for will like it also.

Cleaning up the Craft Room

Before I retired, I worked from home for several years. Since there are just the two of us and we have both a living room and a family room, we turned the living room into my office.

Since I retired, I still have the office but use it for more fun things. I have been reorganizing in there and think I have a plan of how I want it to look. So far, I do like this one area. The desk top is stand-up height and is in addition to a regular desktop. I still have a lot of work to do but at least I have some chance of finding things I am looking for which is much better than it was last week.

The boxes hold my paint brushes, colored pencil, punches, scissors, etc. The book in the middle of the table is one I have been gluing inspiration pictures in that I just don't want to throw away. Under it is my September calender. I used to do a monthly calendar/diary each month but it has been a couple of years since the last one. I am ready to go as soon as September gets here.

Linda comes tomorrow. We have a quilt show meeting tomorrow at the same time she is scheduled to arrive. Hopefully her plane will be on time and we can get to the meeting before it is over. I am in charge of the judging process and feel that I need to be at each meeting. In the afternoon we plan on going to Fiber on a Whim and then to the cigar store to buy empty boxes. IKEA on Wednesday and then off to Nashville Thursday morning.

Sunday

Well, I worked at the quilt shop today. We are open from 1-5 on Sundays and have been for about 2 1/2 years. Sunday is one of my regular days and since it is only about 5 hours, it is usually a pretty easy day. We have been getting busier and busier on Sundays and today was no exception. I think a lot of quilters have jobs that keep them busy during the week so seem to enjoy having time to shop on the weekends. It is usually very busy on Saturday so the ones that need extra assistance seem to come in on Sunday. It is always fun to work with them.

No new pictures today but I still have a couple to share from last weeks guild meeting. This first one is Chris with another of her wonderful quilts. This one is red, white and blue for a different look. It uses very large 1/2 square triangles and squares - very nice.

Next is Rose with a bright quilt that I really like. This is a good sample of how colors and simple blocks make a very effective quilt.

Tomorrow I have to continue working on a custom quilting job for a customer and get my house under control in time for me to pick up Linda on Tuesday morning. Another busy day ahead of me.

Saturday

Busy, busy day at the quilt shop. Lots of folks buying fabric. It was too busy to take any photos so I thought I would share a couple of photos that I took at the guild meeting on Tuesday.

This is Chris and her Laurel Burch quilt. I love these bright colors that she used for her quilt. There is a panel in the center and she built it out to a large quilt. She loves large quilts.

This is Barb with her batik lucky stars that she made for a wedding present. Seeing this reminds me that I have a lucky stars top put together, also using batiks. I need to dig it out and add it to my tops to be quilted. I know I need a backing but I don't remember what size it is - queen I think.

Working on Swap Blocks

I worked on blocks for two different swaps. First did 6-inch signature blocks for a small group I belong to. I am very late with these. I got them signed and will address the envelopes when I finish here. I feel bad for being so late so will stick a little something extra in the envelopes as a thank you for being so patient.

Next is the 10th anniversary swap for Quiltbuddies, a yahoo group that I have belonged to since the beginning. The swap this year is for 9-inch 9 patch blocks. We are making two for each participant and right now there are 30 people signed up - so we are making 60 blocks.

The blocks are supposed to be scrappy with 5 dark and 4 light squares. I made 15 today and plan to work on them every day until I get the 60 done. They are due at the end of the month so hopefully I won't have a problem getting them done and on the way.

Next week I am going to Nashville to the AQS show with my friend Linda. She is flying up from Florida on Tuesday and we are driving up to Nashville on Thursday, staying until Saturday. She wants to go to IKEA and to the cigar store (to buy empty wooden cigar boxes). I am sure I will find other places to take her to.

Fiber Art Fusion

Fiber Art Fusion met on Tuesday at Tiny Stitches. As usual there was wonderful show and tell. We talked about working on panels for the AIDS project that is now headquartered here in Atlanta.

We then had the chance to play. We made fiber beads. We started with a straw as the base and then wrapped it with yarns and other fibers. We then dipped it in UTEE. That was really fun but dangerous in learning about another thing to spend money isn't.

This is my bead. It is quite possibly the ugliest bead in bead history but it was fun to make and actually looks better in this photo than it does with the eye.

We also passed on the next round for the round robin. I have Margaret's now to work on. It is beautiful.

Beginning Machine Piecing - Log Cabin Blocks

I taught two sessions of beginning machine piecing today. The morning group did not have all their homework done so we spent time catching up on the nine patch variation. We then moved on to log cabin blocks.

I forgot my camera this morning but did have it in the evening class. Here is one set of blocks. The evening group had their homework done so we went straight to log cabin blocks.

The next set of rail fence blocks is all batiks. Her colors are so rich and wonderful.


I thought I had taken a photo of their log cabin blocks but can't locate them. We will be skipping next week and meeting again in two weeks. Next week there is a previously scheduled class using the classroom and I am planning on going to Nashville with my Florida friend Linda.

BOM - Row Quilt

Here is the next row for our garden row quilt. Lisa designed this one. I really love the caterpillar in the center but the snail is pretty cool also. This row is a little different since Lisa made the blocks rectangular rather than square.

She will be teaching it next week but I have a quilt show committee meeting so will miss the sew-in. I will get the pattern later and will have fun making this row.

The guild has an all day sew-in scheduled for Friday. I hope I can get enough done here tomorrow to be able to go. I can get so much accomplished during one of these sewing days.