On the Road Again

It's been another crazy travel week with little progress on any projects (other than work!).  I did have a chance to break away for a little fun here and there, though.  On Monday night I took a long walk to see the New York store window displays, Radio City Music Hall, and Rockefeller Center.  New York is really hopping at this time of year - the streets were full of people shopping and sight-seeing. 

On Tuesday I headed to the American Folk Art Museum to see their "The Year of the Quilt" exhibit.  The museum is fairly small - the exhibit consisted of about 25 quilts.  There were several absolutely gorgeous applique quilts in the collection.  I took a lot of pictures (it's one of the few museums that actually allows non-flash photography) and also bought the new book they have released that shows their quilt collection.  The book weighs a ton - I am probably going to regret purchasing it after hauling it through all the airports tomorrow!

Today I was in the Boston area and finished up a bit early, so I checked the GPS for quilt shops.  I don't know how I lived without a GPS!  Much to my delight, I found that I was only about 15 miles from the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA, so I jumped on the highway and headed that direction.  One of the exhibits currently on display is a collection of antique blue and white quilts.  I loved them all!!!  I need to add a blue and white quilt to my "someday" list. 

One of the things that really captured my interest in the shop was a collection of out-of-print books they are selling to benefit the museum.  They had several of Elly's books (including two copies of "Spoken Without a Word" for $300 each).  I picked up a really wonderful applique pattern book by Pat Andreatta and one of Pat Campbell's early books.  There were actually two books by Pat that really caught my attention, but I decided I needed to exhibit at least a little self-control and leave one behind.  I had never heard of Pat and am looking forward to trying to find out a little more about her.

I'm headed home tomorrow and am looking forward to Wool Club on Saturday.  Nola is issuing a challenge - I can't wait to hear what it is!

Wrapping up the Sydney Trip

I'm down to the last night...  It's been a fantastic week, but I am definitely ready to be back in my own bed!  I have just about gotten used to some of the things that are different here, but others would take a much longer visit!  For example - salads.  I've been to all types of restaurants this week, and very few serve any type of salad.  Those that do serve something called "rocket" (a type of lettuce) with essentially no dressing - lemon juice or something.  I am craving a big ol' Bread Company Fugi Apple Chicken Salad.  Actually, I am craving anything from Bread Company!

I have spent quite a bit of time touring Sydney over the past week.  I hopped on a tour bus and did the city tour at the beginning of the week.  I went inside the Opera House and toured the Royal Botanical Gardens. 

The bathroom in the Opera House had the most amazing sink!  I had to get a picture:

I saw some beautiful flowers at the gardens.  So many that I have never seen in the US!  And along the walkway I ran into this little guy - just sitting there eating his lunch! 

I have so much more to share - next time will be about my trip to the Blue Mountains.

Visiting Sydney

It was a very long trip and a close call with the connection in San Francisco, but I made it!  I left home around 4:30 PM Friday and reached Sydney at 7:30 AM on Sunday.  I did get some sleep on the plane, so I am still functioning fairly well, but I'm not all that motivated to roam the city tonight.  I did some wandering this afternoon and found some really interesting things. There's a market in an area adjacent to the hotel called "The Rocks".  They had everything - lots of jewelry, art, etc.  I already have a few ideas for souvenirs. 

My hotel is located on the water, right at the base of the Bay Bridge.  My room overlooks the bridge, and the other side of the hotel looks out on the Opera House.  It's a beautiful area, although it was cold and rainy today.  I'm hoping for better weather so I can wander a little farther tomorrow - and look for some quilt shops!

Stuck in Raleigh

I am supposed to be on a plane right now headed back to St. Louis, but it appears that the weather (or something) isn't cooperating and my plane has been delayed for hours.  I am still hopeful that I will be able to get out of here tonight. 

I've been in the Raleigh area since Sunday evening.  I managed to get several of my BOW blocks done while down here - I will post pictures later.  I also managed to make it to a few shops.  There were a couple of shops in Cary, one of which was mostly dedicated to machine sales and didn't have much fabric at all.  I didn't bother to go into that one.  The other, Elegant Stitches, ended up being right across the street from my hotel.  I didn't get any pictures, but it was a nice little shop with lots of really fun, bright fabrics.  I have fallen in love with Kim McClean's patterns and love the fabrics she uses - Kaffe Fasset's and other brights.  I can't wait for her "Stars and Sprigs" pattern to be released - I think it's due out in September.  I picked up several 1/8 yd pieces of bright, happy fabrics to save for that project.

The other shop I found just happened to be one of this year's "Quilt Sampler" featured shops.  Plain & Simple Quilt Shop is located in Apex, NC, and is absolutely wonderful!  The shop is located in an old house and each room has a theme.  The "cottage" room was full of Bunny Hill and Blackbird Designs-type patterns and fabrics:

Isn't it cute?  There were three other rooms and more displayed in the hallway.  One room was Civil War repros, another primitive, and the fourth was sale fabrics.  The hallway contained a couple of Moda lines and a really adorable new BOM the shop is offering:

Of course there were plenty of copies of "Quilt Sampler" available, too!  They had quite a few Primitive Gatherings patterns and a small selection of wool.  There were tons of Jo Morton fabrics.  I could have gone completely nuts in that place if I wasn't limited to what I could cram in my suitcase.  I picked up a cute pattern by a local designers and a really nice striped fabric that I think would make an awesome backgound for it.  I also grabbed a few neutral fat quarters - a quilter can never have too many! 

Back in New York

I didn't have a chance to post after my second day of class with Elly.  After the class (which was wonderful!) we went back to the park for one last hike and then went to dinner in town, picking up a couple of last-minute souvenirs along the way.  I did pick up a few patterns from Hummingbird Quilt Studio, a Colorado designer, during my lunch hour on Friday.  Her patterns were wonderful and a bit unique - she has big quilt patterns that are pieced and appliqued, and then smaller (large wall size) patterns that are subsets of the original designs.  She also has block patterns that are usually two elements (one pieced and one applique design) from the larger quilts.  Her website is http://www.hummingbirdquiltstudio.com/.  It looks like only the big patterns are posted - supposedly she'll be updating the site soon.  I almost fell for the king-sized "Autumn Memories" pattern but talked myself into going with a smaller version instead.  I love the colors!

Our trip home took 14 hours with only minimal stops for gas and fast food.  We were home around 10:30 PM.  After unpacking and getting a few hours sleep, I made cookies and mowed the lawn (both for Father's Day), did laundry and repacked.  I was headed to the airport by 1 PM on Sunday.  My hotel has the tiniest rooms I have ever seen!  Check this out:

I had to stand in the bathroom doorway to take the photo.  Look at the chair at the desk - it's such a small space that even my skinny little daughter would have trouble sitting in it!  And the corner of the room that isn't in the photo is filled with a small table that contains the coffee maker and ice bucket sitting behind an upholstered chair and in front of the closet.  I have to climb over or move the chair to access the closet.  It's hysterical! 

I had a wonderful dinner - delicious Chinese food from "Six Happiness".  Excellent recommendation from the front desk...

I'm planning to start week one of the Primitive Gatherings BOW tonight.  Weeks one and two came while I was in Colorado.  I have decided that using fusible is a must.  I prepped one of the blocks from last year's project to work on in the car on the way home.  I did it without fusible and am not really happy with the final results.  As much as I hate sewing through the sticky junk, I do like the look.  I'll  be looking for wool to redo the block when I get home.  So much for trying to get something accomplished during the drive!  Oh well - live & learn!

First Class With Elly

Today was my first day of workshops with Elly Sienkiewicz.  Today's workshop was the ruched rose she demonstrates in her first video.  Despite a rocky start (we were supposed to have been given a pattern and have done our prep work prior to class, but that didn't happen), the class was wonderful!  Elly did a fantastic job of improvising and we were back on track in no time.  I ended up doing an 8" block instead of 12" as planned, but I can always start over if I really want to include it with my barely-started Baltimore.  Here's a shot of Elly demonstrating how to handle the cut-away stem:

At the end of the day, Ricky Tims stopped by with his video crew and filmed a quick talk with Elly and our group.  He's apparently working on a piece about Quilt Colorado for an upcoming episode of The Quilt Show. 

I am looking forward to my second workshop with Elly, although I hate for the week to come to an end.  I still have several things that I want to do - I'm not sure that I can accomplish them all before we wrap things up tomorrow night.  I am not looking forward to the long day of driving on Saturday, but I sure can't wait to se my puppy!

Colorado Day Five

We hit the road yesterday, heading down to Idaho Springs by way of Golden.  Our final destination was the Argo Mine, where we learned about the Colorado Gold Rush and tried our hand at panning for gold.  I realized very quickly that I would need more incentive than a few tiny gold flakes to do that for any length of time - it's hard on the wrist!

I visited the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum and Golden Quilt Company while in Golden.  The museum was really a disappointment.  It is very small, with only a dozen or so quilts and a tiny little gift shop.  I did get a great deal on a book about the Marie Webster museum and saw a couple of antique applique quilts that were really interesting, but the entire visit took about ten minutes - and that included lingering in the gift shop.  I am surprised they can keep it going.  By contrast, the Golden Quilt Company was outstanding!  They had a wonderful selection of batiks, including some that have graduated color across the width of the fabric.  The person working at the shop said that the graduated fabric was fantastic for ruched roses - I can't wait to give it a try!

My next stop was the Hen House in Idaho Springs.  It's also a very nice little shop, with a fantastic selection of neutrals.  I picked up quite a few fat quarters to add to my stash.

Last, but not least, Quilt Colorado opened last night.  It's a nice show although smaller than I expected - I think our guild show is larger.  They have a nice selection of vendors.  I found some very interesting Japanese cotton fabric (from a shop in Wyoming, believe it or not!) and a Colorado designer that has created beautiful applique patterns of local birds and wildflowers.  I didn't do a lot of shopping last night but may head back to the show after class this evening.

I'm off to my first class with Elly this morning.  I'm anxious to see how it goes!

Another Block and More Quilt Shops

Although lighting has been an issue - I've spent the better part of the last couple of evenings huddled next to a lamp - I did manage to finish block 11 of My Garden Album:

I also managed to make it to the other two quilt shops in town in between visits to the park.  We made it almost to the top of Trail Ridge Road this morning - we decided to turn around at 12,000 ft (just short of the highest point) because my daughter's fear of heights was starting to get to her.  We returned to the park for an awesome hike to a waterfall this afternoon.  Once again, all the photos are on the camera I can't download until we're home. 

The first shop I made it to was Cottage Bliss.  What an adorable shop!  She had all kinds of cute gift items and wonderful displays for everything!  Here are a couple of pics:

The other shop, Maggie Mae's Quilts 'N (that's really the name - it looks like something is missing, doesn't it?) was small and didn't have a lot of fabric, but they did have a really nice selection of 30s fabrics.  They also had several small and very beautiful designs by Columbine Quilts (or something along that line - I can't find the patterns on the internet) but did not have the patterns available.  There is a chance they will have them back in stock before the end of the week - I really hope so, although I am not sure when I will have time to get back there.  Quilt Colorado check-in is tomorrow, and the quilt show preview is tomorrow night.  My classes with Elly begin on Thursday.  I'm very excited, but a little bummed that I will have to miss out on the gorgeous weather to sit in a classroom.  I'll have to try and get my fill tomorrow!

Sunshine!

Today was a huge improvement over yesterday!  It was very chilly this morning - 36 F - but we had sun most of the day and it warmed to a balmy 60 F by afternoon.  It was actually quite nice for exploring the Rocky Mountain National Park.  We did a couple of short trails around Bear Lake today and at one point it was actually snowing!  There was quite a bit of snow on the ground around the lake, too.  The view up there was unbelievable!  Of course, I didn't take any pictures with the cell phone so I don't have any to post until I get home.

I made it to one of the local quilt shops this afternoon - Mountain Lady Quilts.  It was such a cute little shop!  She's done a very nice job of assembling all types of forest-themed patterns.  Lots of bears, elk, moose, etc. and some Colorado-themed fabric to go along with it all.  Here's a glimpse at some of the shop samples:

I did take a couple of pictures from the cabin today - here's the view from my Colorado sewing corner:

I'm hoping to be able to finish the My Garden Album block this evening and then it will be back to wool applique for a while.  Off to stitch some berries - ugh!

Cold & Rainy Colorado

Vacation is off to a rather damp and chilly start.  According to the local media, it should be dry and around 80 F today.  Instead it is pouring, the local rivers are dangerously high, and it was 41 F when I woke up.  The rain is supposed to end today and we're supposed to see a high in the upper 50s, but there's no hope of warmth today.  I'm happy to say that they are predicting much nicer weather for the remainder of the week...

Most of Friday and Saturday were spent in the car, so I didn't get much done in the way of sewing.  I did manage to finish one of my BOW blocks from last summer - I started it last year and had picked it up recently as a quick take-along project, and have been chipping away at it ever since.  I brought the next block along to prep - I love wool applique!  I had really hoped to have the new BOW in hand before we left, but it must have been sent on the slow horse - I received the thread, but not the project.  Looks like I will be at least two weeks behind on that one! 

I'm back to working on My Garden Album block 11 now.  The lighting in our cabin isn't the greatest, particularly with the lack of sunshine, so applique is a bit of a struggle.  We're planning to brave the rain today and visit the shops in town.  The area is beautiful, and the cabin is really wonderful.  We've got a nice fire burning in the fireplace as I write.  I'll have to post a few pics later.  Back to sewing!

Last Night in Paducah

I've had a wonderful week at the AQS Show in Paducah!  I arrived Tuesday and have shopped until I nearly dropped every day.  As usual, I have acquired more projects than I could possibly complete before next year's show even if I was able to sew all day for the next 9 months.  What's really interesting is the diversity in my purchases.  My bags are full of reproduction fabrics and batiks...quite a strange assortment.

The new pavillion (fondly referred to as "the marshmallow" by Libby Lehman and the AQS folks) was a wonderful addition to the show.  It was a little warm by mid-day, but nothing like the pool area used to be.  It was well-lit and set up quite nicely - very impressive!

Amidon Quiltworks was here for the first time this year.  I've only seen them in Chicago in the past.  Another wonderful first-timer is Sew Unique Creations (Tara Darr).  She has such wonderful patterns!  I really enjoyed visiting her booth.  I picked up a couple of patterns and quite a bit of fabric there.  Other notable purchases include two complete queen-sized kits - one from Quilts by the Bay (the Judy Niemeyer wedding ring quilt) and another called "Dove in the Window" from Sew Batik).  I ended up with lots of odds and ends from other vendors including lots of patterns (mostly applique, of course).

I have one more class before I leave tomorrow - a color-planning class with Judy Niemeyer.  I have to keep my fingers crossed that I will win one of the patterns and planned quilts.  Afterwords I will meet up with friends for one last meal at Flamingo Row (the third time this week) and then head out of town.  It's always so sad to see the week come to an end!

Farewell, Chicago!

I spent yesterday at the IQA Spring Festival in Chicago.  We made a marathon day of it, leaving here at 6 AM and returning around 11 PM.  It is a great show, particularly in the way of vendors.  Here's one of my absolute favorites - Primitive Gatherings.  I started the show and made my first purchase at their booth.

I was incredibly disappointed to hear that this was the last year for Chicago.  They are moving the show to Cincinnati.  It will be a week earlier next year, but it still doesn't really make sense to try to head all the way to Ohio right before the Paducah show. I also think that AQS is short-changing the Paducah show and that is has lost a bit of its former glory.  I think it's a shame that they are spreading themselves so thin and that they have had so much trouble at Paducah.  I hope we don't end up losing all of the really good shows in the midwest. 

I am heading to Paducah on Tuesday.  I did manage to get a little bit of sewing done last week and plan on doing at least a little more while in Paducah, but I think it's safe to say that I will be coming up short on accomplishments again this month.  To make matters worse, I picked up at least a half dozen new projects yesterday.  And one is another BOM.  Oh no!!!

Visiting La Jolla

I am spending the week in La Jolla (near San Diego) on business.  I flew in yesterday.  It took nearly the entire day to get here, but thanks to the time difference, I had time to do a little exploring once I arrived.  The flight out here was quite interesting, too.  I'm not sure if we were flying lower than I am used to or the sky was just really clear, but I could really see the mountains as we flew into Salt Lake City.  I've never been to SLC (or Utah, for that matter).  According to one of my co-workers, though, I still can't say that I have been there.  He says you have to leave the airport in order for it to count. 

I visited Rosie's Calico Cupboard yesterday.  What a wonderful shop!  They had an absolutely unbelievable amount of fabric.  There were walls of each color, and rooms of things like Civil War/Jo Morton.  Here's a pic of just one of the many fabric areas:

I did a little bit of applique on the flight out yesterday, and a little more last night.  I plan to do a bit more tonight.  I'm not making tons of progress, but every little bit counts!  I am working on My Garden Album block nine and Sue Spargo block one.  I find that the wool applique is a little more forgiving when dealing with turbulence. 

I did get my April flowers hooked before leaving home but didn't get a chance to take a picture.  I also thought I had the perfect background, but after hooking some of it in, I think it kills the flowers.  I am disappointed that it won't work (I bought a yard of it!) and also bummed that I don't have a solution yet.

I saw a pattern that I loved at Wool Club this weekend - Bea Brock's "Birds and Berries".  Nola also demonstrated a couple of techniques that gave me a fun idea for the May project - the theme is "flowers".  Jennifer stopped by to show us the tiles that she is making for the June project - the owl that I had been resisting very successfully...that is, resisting until I saw the tiles.  They are so cool!  I purchased the pattern and need to figure out what colors I want to use.  So sadly I am back to rapidly acquiring new projects, and I haven't even been to Chicago or Paducah yet!

I have so much to talk about - I didn't even mention the Ricky Tims' Homecoming Concert we attended last Friday.  It was very fun.  He is extremely talented and very entertaining. 

Well, it's after midnight at home, and probably time to get moving here in California if I plan to get any sewing done before bedtime.  I'll close with a couple of pictures I took after work this evening.

Visiting Memphis

I am visiting Memphis for the next few days.  Although it's a business trip, I managed to fit in a little bit of fun stuff on the drive down.  I still don't have much to show in the way of progress for this month, but I did bring some applique with me in hopes of getting a little bit done over the next couple of evenings.  I can take credit for progress on my rug, however.  Jeannette hosted a hook-in on Saturday and I was able to devote the entire day to working on Bird Party.  I am by no means anywhere close to getting it finished, but I am definitely making progress!

I stopped at the Golden Needle in Cape Girardeau, MO on the way down today. It was a very nice shop.  I picked up a few tan fat quarters to add to the Runaway Mystery Quilt collection.  Hmmm...think I will ever get around to that project?  Here's a picture of the shop:

My next stop was QuiltSmith's in the Memphis area.  It was a very small shop with a lot of novelty fabrics.  I didn't find anything to purchase there, but enjoyed the visit.

After stopping by the site and working for a few hours, I headed over to Neely's Barbecue for dinner.  I am a big fan of their Food Network show.  Their food always looks so good!

The Neely's weren't there (other than on a television screen and large banner inside), but the food was very tasty.  I had the smoked turkey. 

I think we are heading to Beale Street for dinner tomorrow.  Perhaps it will inspire another food report!