Take a pause

I had a lot of fun at the Quilt Symposium of Alabama! 

The first day I took a class, after checking in, with Cindy Blackberg. We quietly hand-stitched.  It was a good way to relax after unloading my car.  On Friday I had a full day with Sally Collins and I fell completely in love with her miniatures!

These little tiny pieces

go at the corners of little tiny wedding ring intersections.

Like so:

She is serious fun to learn from; I think you can tell:

I can't wait to get one of her books!  

Saturday I sat with Pat from Spirited Quilters, and we worked on Mariner's Compass with Brenda Henning of Bear Paw Productions.  We aspire to learn this:

 One of the other students found a good use for her partially completed Compass:

And here is another student's nearly completed Compass:

Lovely! 

The grounds of the Abbey in Cullman are lush and peaceful. The food is wonderful.  I swear my pants shrank two sizes while I was there.  Think of blueberry white chocolate scones for breakfast and prime rib and tiramisu for dinner. Yeah, really, that good!

Next year's teachers were announced:  Peggy Barkle (see previous post here ), Lisa Bongean (see previous posts here and here), Karen Kay Buckley, Pepper Cory, Beth Ferrier, Anne Lullie and Helen Squire. I hope the vacation fairies smile on me again next summer.

I went walk-about with my camera yesterday. At the Ave Maria Grotto I found this whimsical composition:

On a pedestal of sea shells and marbles

and a pretty kitty-kitty.

I leave for Kansas City Tuesday morning early, so I'll have to visit with you again next weekend.

So I am working on "Vintage Nine Patch" by Lisa Bongean

I took the "Vintage Nine Patch" class from Lisa Bongean at Primitives of the Midwest last summer, but didn't get very far. Now that I am done with "Flower Shop," I am going to go back to work on the nine patches. Man, I didn't realize how many I need: 123 in all, so to work I go.

Cut all the solid/vintage pairs down to 4 1/2 inch squares. Before and after the rotary cutter carnage.

And start stitching: Lisa's pattern is pretty easy to follow so far.

And more stitching....

And after who knows how many hours, I have about half of the nine patches I need.

What I LOVE about kits is the wonderful variety of fabrics you get to discover. This kit was especially delightful in the array of reproduction prints it contained.

Primitives of the Midwest is held every year (at least for 5, so far) at Quilter's Station in Lee's Summit, Missouri. Here is the link to my mother's patterns at Quilter's Station. I love buying fabric there. They have EVERYTHING!

What's up on my vacation?

I came into Kansas City on Sunday. I can't tell the story of why Mom and Dad left me standing at the airport for nearly 5 hours; suffice it to say I was the only one truly traumatized by the experience. Everyone was okay; it was a case of miscommunication which can be easily remedied by cell phone. If all parties have cell phones, that is.

I am in Kansas City for the Primitives of the Midwest gathering. On Monday night we enjoyed listening to Jennifer Keltner, editor of American Patchwork & Quilting at a reception held at Quilter's Station in Lee's Summit. On Tuesday morning I took a class with Renee Plains. We (students Kim from up north and I) worked on a rag doll. I have mine almost completed (it is pictured above). On Tuesday I had an all day class with Lisa Bongean (sharing a table with Linda the Joplin mail carrier). We worked on a beautiful nine-patch quilt with wool embellishment. I will have pictures of that when I get further along with it. Today (Thursday) Mom, Dad and I went out to Harper's where I was able to purchase the quilt I have had in my dreams for a year. I am so glad Robin decided to part with it. I will love it forever! The fabrics and free motion quilting patterns will provide me with inspiration for many years.