On Display at the Denver Capitol Quilt Show

During my life I have found it easier

not to stick my neck out too far.

I really should have more courage to be willing

to risk criticism from those around me.

This may not sound like a risk, but entering a quilt show

can be risky business.

Quilters are very opinionated.

"I would have done it this way"

"What was she thinking to put that in"

"That is very interesting"

"That person has no sense of color"

"Would you really like that in your house"

This is the year of the Capitol Quilt Show 

in Denver put on by the Colorado Quilting Council.

And I stuck my neck out and entered a quilt in the show.

It's a beautiful venue for a quilt show.

The 265 quilts are hung from all the balconies and

displayed in  prominent positions.

All colors, styles and patterns working 

together in a beautiful setting.

My quilt is #312. so it's on the third floor.

We started on the ground floor and slowly looking
at each quilt worked our way up.
Looking up I couldn't see it anywhere.

Finally, while on the second floor I spied it.

 I'm closer.

I was glad to see it hung in a prominent place.

Antique Sunflowers with a Twist.

My friends were with me, so, of course, I only heard wonderful comments.
 That's what friends are for.
They give you just the encouragement you need
to know that it's OK to stick your neck out once in awhile.

The quilts are all hung high for security reasons so

you literally have to stick your neck out to view the show.

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Until Next Time-

Red and White

Red and white, a perfect combo.

White is subtle and red is intense.

Together they play very well together.

A combination that is clean and crisp.

 

Since March quilters have been influnenced by

the Red and White quilt show, Infinite Variety, Three

Centuries of Red and White Quilts, presented in NYC.

Me too.

This weekend I was able to spend a little time

on my red and white quilt project. 

Red and white is so classic.

I'm almost done with the 80 blocks.

I'm not adding any borders.

Just a little more pinning and sewing.

Then you'll be able to get the full effect.

Until Next Time-

Fabulous Friday

For Today:

Looking Out My Window:  Ed finished our little privacy fence.  I love how it turned out.

My Weekend Plans Include: Nothing specific for once.  I'll be searching for something fun to do.

I’m Reading: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is the story of the Japanese internment in Seattle through the eyes of a 12 year old Chinese boy.  It is also a story during the 1980's of both sadness and happiness.

Movie Marquee:  My friend, Becky, has gotten us hooked on the series, Burn Notice.  I'm in the middle of season 1 and really love the stories and humor.  

 

 

Something Quiltie: I know it sounds early but Halloween and Christmas fabric have been arriving at the store.  I know to many of you that sounds awful, way to early.  But if you want to make something for either holiday, you'd better get started now.

Here's one of the new Halloween fabrics

by Alexander Henry called Hocus Pocus.

One of My Favorite Things: Doing a Sudoku puzzle before bed.

What’s For Dinner: Whenever I have leftover Salmon, I always make Salmon Hash.  Add some grilled potatoes, salmon and a couple of fried eggs and you have a perfect meal.

A Favorite Photo:

If pies are the new cupcakes, count me in.

Have a great weekend,

Until Next Time-

Perfect Timing

It always amazes me when you happen

to be at the right place at the right time.

I'm not a person who generally believes in luck.
I tend to think that things happen for a reason.

But what about the person who happens to buy the 

one lottery ticket that is the jackpot?

Luck or purpose?

No, I didn't win the lottery or a new car.

No, I didn't win an all expenses paid vacation to Paris

And no, I didn't even get a free lunch.

Instead I happened to get this.

I happened to be at a place where a person

was wanting to sell this and I overheard the 

conversation.  

I casually introduced myself and

in a few minutes exited with this one of a kind quilt top.

The price was perfect.

The hand piecing is perfect.

The fabrics are delightful 30's prints.

I would love to hand quilt it someday. Yes, someday.

The seller was able to tell me about the maker, 

her great aunt who had a millinery shop in Creede, Co

in 1895 during the silver boom.
No wonder the stitching is wonderful.

 What about the edge?
It would definitely be a Challenge, with a capital C,
to bind!

So was I lucky today or was this quilt suppose to
come home with me?
Either way this is truly a beautiful and remarkable quilt.

Until Next Time-

Another Birthday

I just celebrated another birthday.

Hopefully, I'm a little bit wiser, still learning new things, and 

keeping my eyes on the ultimate goal.

I spent  "my day" working a couple of hours at the store, 

playing with girl friends,

receiving phone calls from my girls

and having

a wonderful meal out with friends and

my sweet running man.

I saw this quote the other day.

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are? "
Satchel Paige

Good question.

Sometimes it's good not to act your age.

Eating beignets with powdered sugar can be tricky
at any age.

Some birthday advice...

Seize every minute...
look at it and really see it...
and never give it back

Until Next Time-

Kyle's Cupcakes

Kyle's Cupcakes was

on the bake again this week.

Our Stashbuster's class was meeting at the store

so I needed to get my baking supplies out again.

I always search for cupcakes that are different and interesting.

I remember as a kid going "uptown" to the

Cloverdale Dairy that had a soda fountain

and having a "real cherry coke".   That meant

real coke syrup, real cherry syrup and whatever

it took to make it fuzzy.

That was the best.

So in remembrance of days gone by

I found a Chocolate Cherry Cola Cupcake recipe.

I decided to do a taste test to see what "Coke" I should use

in order to get the most taste.

I tried cokes in the bottles.

#1 was Coke with the fructose corn syrup

#2 Mexican Coke with real sugar

#3 Virgil's Real Cola with unbleached cane sugar and spices

Which did I use?

Well, as a diet soda drinker, anything with sugar in it was a "high".

I really liked the Mexican Coke and 

Virgil's Real Cola.

So I used both! 

After all the Coke testing, the cupcakes

were wonderful, and moist but there really

wasn't a cola taste. 

The maraschino cherry in the middle of the cake might

have masked the cola flavor.

But who is going to not eat a cupcake for that reason.

So add the whip cream and a put a cherry on the top

and ENJOY!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Until Next Time-

Freckled Lemonade

I have found the perfect "treat" for summer.

It's Hungry Girls take on Freckled Lemonade.

Oh, my gosh.   This is so good.

And zero points if you do WW and less

than 30 calories.

Here's what you need:

1 cup diet lemon-lime soda (like Sprite Zero) chilled

Half a 2 serving packet (about 1.2 tsp) sugar-free lemonade powdered drink mix 

(like the kind by Crystal Light)

1 no calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda or Truvia)

4 frozen unsweetened strawberries, 

2/3 cup crushed ice

I put everything into the blender and buzz it up.

I've been buying a bag of frozen strawberries at Sam's.  

It makes it easy to have the berries ready.

I double the recipe to have a glass to share with a friend.

Who has been busy hammering and sawing and

building a small section of privacy fence along

the edge of the patio.

Warning:

This drink has been known to create a "brain freeze."

Enjoy!

Until Next Time-

Roseville Applique Quilt #2

Last week I gave a giant push to 

finish my second block of the 

Roseville Album Quilt.

I did some reverse applique.

Added the next layer of pieces.

Lining everything up with the plastic 

overlay of the block.

And started stitching again.

But realized I had forgotten a section

of stem on part of the block.

Bummer!

This detail brought me a screeching halt!

I was annoyed and frustrated because it

meant I would have to unsew a few places and

fiddle with the stem again.

All I wanted to do was to continue to sew.

My only solution was to put it away for 24 hours.

It's funny how the next day can make problems

look solvable and less of an obstacle.

No big deal today, really.  

Redo a few stitches, insert stem,  and

keep on sewing. 

Done.

The positive part about stopping to add my missing stem section

was as long as I had my basting glue handy I'd go

ahead and attach the stems for block #3.

The stems are glued in place and 

are under the underlay for perfect positioning.

So I'm ready to start.

My missing stems grew into a opportunity.

Until Next Time-

Happy Anniversay

I met Ed my senior year

at Western Michigan University.

We became an instant couple.

1972

This could have become Ed's theme song,

but things where different in the 70's.

And yes, we met in Kalamazoo and

I probably tried to cover up my freckles with

Cover Girl.

Love to you, Running Man.
Happy Anniversary!

Until Next Time-

Color Flow

As a quilter/artist many of us have looked at 

the color wheel and have used it to help

make some decisions about the use of color.

There are primary colors.

Red, yellow and blue are the primary colors that are mixed

to create all the other hues.

Orange, purple and green are the secondary colors that

are created when you mix together the primary colors.

Coming up with an appealing color combination can be

difficult because there are endless color combos.

Understanding a little about the color wheel can help

make decisions.

Having trouble?

Just ask "the running man".

He seems to know about "running" colors together.

The perfect model of secondary colors with a bit

of blue and black thrown into the mix.

Easy to spot him on the trail.

He's one "colorful" guy.

Until Next Time-

Quilts for June

When I turned the page of the calendar,

June looks like it will be a busy month.

Even though there is always something to 

vie for my time, I try to still find

time here and there to work on a quilting project.

We all make time for the things we like to do.

A few minutes each day can accomplish a lot by 

the end of the week.

Here are a couple of quilts I wanted to share.

"Blue Tick"

2006

This pattern is a Blackbird pattern.  The applique

is by hand and it was machine quilted.

I have always loved this quilt.  

In fact, it's on my bed now.

There were several of us who wanted to make this pattern. 

So we all bought this great blue ticking  fabric for the background.  

 Hence, the name.

I used the reverse side of the fabric

so the color was softer.

You can see by the label it took me a couple of years

to complete the top.  

It's one of those projects that finally gets completed, but only if

you keep working on it.

This second quilt is the first quilt I made for 

the "Stashbuster's Class" we have at the store

"Stashbusters 1"

2007

It's a pattern from Kim Diehl's book Simple Traditions.

Lots of nine patches and hourglass blocks.

I used a lot of stash, but didn't use anything up.

Basically, made a mess in my sewing room by pulling out

so many different fabrics and cutting off just a little strip off of each.

I love the way all the fabrics play nice together.

On this quilt, I machine appliqued the vine, flowers and leaves.

And machine quilted it myself.

The colors are the brighter colors of summer.

Even though your calendar says there is  a lot to do this month

keep working on the projects you love.

They'll get done eventually.

Until Next Time-