Home, But Not for Long!

I arrived back in Michigan late Tuesday night. When I got on the plane in Oklahoma City, it was 85 degrees and partly sunny. When I got off the plane in Detroit, it was 34 degrees and sleeting. Quite a change in a little over 2 hours! After being in balmy weather for 3 weeks, I'm having a hard time adjusting!
Since arriving home, I've been hard at work, preparing for this weekend. (My husband kept the house looking pretty good while I was gone, so I'm not concerning myself with that right now.) Tomorrow I head for Marshall, MI. It is time for their Spring quilt show, and I am the featured speaker. I'll be talking about Scrap Quilts on Saturday afternoon and Historical Trends in Quilting on Sunday afternoon. I'll also have a booth in the vendor mall, selling my patterns and book.
I've gathered together all the things I need to take along, and I really think I'm in trouble. I have so many quilts that I want to show for each lecture--I've filled 12 BIG tote bags (the large plastic zip ones that one can find at the dollar store). Add that to the things I need to set up my booth. I'm going to have to get creative to fit it all in our Focus wagon! Wish me luck!
Just a reminder: The quilt show is at the Marshall Middle School (100 E. Green St) Hours: Saturday from 9-4 and Sunday from 10-4 $5 entry fee.
Hope to see you there!

Signs of Spring

I am enjoying my time in Oklahoma. I took my granddaughter for a walk the other day. All around us were signs of spring: the birds were singing, the sun was shining, the pear trees were in bloom, other trees were leafing out and the temperature was about 70 degrees. Just perfect! I know that I will have Spring Fever in a big way when I return to Michigan next week. But just looking at all of the Easter things for sale in the stores, I'll be reminded that spring is not far away.
Quilt shops, too, are pulling out the brighter, "springier" fabrics. And the latest issues of quilt magazines feature pastel or floral projects. Have you seen the new "Quilter's World" magazine? It is hard to miss with the beautiful pink, green and white quilt on the cover. And if you open it to page 56, you'll find a table runner designed by ME. :) The Goin' Green runner is a fun project, that could be made in any color you like...doesn't have to be green! It is easy to piece, and makes good use of the cut-away scraps. Give it a try!

Local Quilt Shop Celebration

The owner of the local quilt shop celebrated her 5th anniversary of ownership last Saturday. She had several "5" specials going on: buy 5 fat quarters, get one free; buy 5 yards of sale fabric, get 1 yard free; etc. Plus one received an additional discount at check-out by selecting a fat eighth of fabric from a basket and looking at the slip of paper rolled up inside. The shop was very busy with quilters taking advantage of these specials.
I was there for several hours talking to quilters about my patterns and signing books. I always enjoy people watching and listening in on what they are saying. It is a rare person who doesn't say "I have tons of scraps." I met one last Saturday, though. She told me she doesn't save any scraps--she gives them all away to groups that make charity quilts. Why? Because she doesn't understand how to make scrap quilts; she finds them confusing. Too bad I can't spend a day or two working with her to show her what fun they are!

Tired

Grammy duty started earlier than expected. Our new grandson made his entry yesterday. He's just precious! His big sister, at 23 months, isn't quite sure what this is all about. When she first saw him yesterday, she almost burst into tears. Her world will definitely be different!
Before Grammy duty began, though, I taught a workshop at the local quilt shop. I had fun on Wednesday showing some Oklahoma quilters what they could do with a stack of charm squares. I taught my pattern "In Three Quarter Time". All who participated were delighted with the results of the day.
I was able to spend a little time designing and stitching yesterday morning while waiting for the announcement that grandson was born. Not sure how much free time I'll have once everyone comes home tomorrow. It will be noisier and there will be lots to do. And I'm tired already, after less than a week away!

Time to Blog

No time to blog lately...My head has really been into the two talks I'll be giving in less than a month and I have been preparing for the trip I'm taking later today. I'll be spending 3 weeks in Oklahoma, being Grammy. Our new grandson is due any day, so I'll be helping our daughter with him, plus keeping our 2-year-old granddaughter occupied and (hopefully) happy. It will be interesting to see her reaction to the new family member!
I have several quilting projects packed and I have sent out a few e-mails to quilters in the Norman, OK area. I hope to have time to do some quilt-related things while I am there. And I hope to have the time to blog about them. We will see...

Sneezing!

In preparing for 2 trunk shows that I'm giving the end of March**, I've been pulling out all my old quilts and quilt tops. I have them spread all over the living room so that I can study them and allow them to "talk" to me. It is so much fun to look at them and study them. Fun to imagine the ladies who worked on them, too.
But, I'm finding that I'm sneezing a lot and my nose won't stop dripping! Guess there's lots of dust (and who knows what other allergens?) in these wonderful pieces. Doesn't stop me from smiling as I work with them, though. I just keep the box of tissues handy!
**Come see and hear me at "Stitches In Time"--the community quilt show in Marshall, MI on March 26 and 27. For complete info, visit www.marshallmi.org.

Workshop Fun

Yesterday was spent teaching one of my patterns at a workshop for the Oakland County Quilt Guild. It was a delightful day!
Our project was "Now Starring: Leftovers". The morning was spent scrappy-piecing and in the afternoon the ladies learned a quick way to make flying geese units. Then they were ready to put some star blocks together.
I don't know who had more fun all day, the students or me. :) I enjoyed seeing them start to loosen up and really have fun with the scrappy piecing technique. And I loved hearing their comments as they dug deep into their scrap collections. Some pieces of fabric were seeing the light of day for the first time in years, and ladies were telling stories about when, where and why they bought certain pieces. Oh, the joy of scrap quilting!