HOME AGAIN

Hi Everyone!! I had a great week in Paducah. I had a great time and didn't even win anything!

First off, I have been saving for a longarm. I really didn't want to spend the money for a big machine, didn't really want to stand to quilt. So I was in the right place, at the right time with the right amount of money and I bought this HQSixteen.. minus the table. My husband can either convert my 5x6 foot sewing table, or build me a much better one.

The stores in Paducah all decorate for the quilt show. I believe they may have a contest.

This is me and GRACE. Maybe someone noticed it hanging under the amazing first place winner made by Judy Spiers.
This is my friend Gail, who won the prize for the Western Baptist Hospital Heart Center. They will hang her quilt in their new heart wing.
This is me by my quilt in the new OH WOW! collection of miniatures at the Museum of the American Quilter's Society.

I could have died of embarrassment when I asked to have a photo, and someone from the museum came into the area said "I'd like to make an announcement, we have one of the quilter's here.. and I am going to take her picture by her quilt". There were probably 30 people there that all turned around and started clapping. All this just to tell them that just because she is taking a photo, doesn't mean that anyone else can!! The experience was weird and wonderful at the same time.

This is another picture of me by the sign at the entrance to the permanent exhibit. I tried to fix the pasty flash face, but I can't work miracles!

This is a leather numbered limited edition of the exhibit that was given to me by the museum.

These are my pages in the book. I am the first person ,as the book is in alphabetical order. There was a book signing on Monday evening and Friday afternoon. I was at the Friday afternoon signing. I am astonished that I was included in a book with so many of the quilter's whose work I have admired through the years. When I overheard the curator talking about having "influential quilters" in the first book of the collection, it really tickled me and I commented to Judy Spiers that they must have made a mistake.. because I couldn't figure out why I was sitting in the same area as they were and was being asked to autograph books. People actually gushed over me. Let me tell you.. it is weird being the gushee instead of the gusher like I usually am!

All in all, it was a wonderful few days. But I am glad to be home!!

PACKING FOR PADUCAH

My friends and I leave for Paducah on Tuesday am. I have got nothing together for the trip which proves how much I am not looking forward to the drive. I think I am going to cut back to going every other year. I have driven down every year for the past5 years. I always dread the trip.. anyone who knows me knows I am not really fond of travel. Once I get there, I will be fine. I am getting some things together to work on. Socks of course, and books..

American history is my thing. I love studying it. I figure I should finish the money book before I hit the vendors, and the other is a book I got at the library that is an interesting read.
I have loaded my Ipod with podcasts, it should hold me the 20 hours travel time to and from Paducah. I have lists of supplies from my friends, and lists of my own. Do you think that I stand a chance of sticking to my list? I am going to try really hard not to buy a bunch of stuff that I don't need.
We have reservations at Cohen's for dinner, then it is off to the awards ceremony to watch someone else win.. and then to the sneak preview. My three friends were nice enough to purchase tickets to these events so that I could go. The AQS sends tickets for me to get in. For a $5.00 entry fee, the AQS goes out of it's way to be good to the people who's quilts are in the show. Free admission to the awards ceremony, sneak preview, and a Multiday admission pass. They don't rob you blind to mail your quilt back, and they always put your quilt in a new box, and they include one of the photo catalogs of the quilts in the show. I have had my quilt entered in some shows and I still would have to pay to get in, and pay for the sneak preview/awards ceremony. With one of the major U.S. shows you have to pay for everything and they don't give money for prizes. I have had my quilts in this show 2 times. The first year I didn't win anything, and I learned the second year when I did win a ribbon, there wasn't any money involved. Don't get me wrong. It is fun to be in shows, and it is fun to get a ribbon but it can be an expensive venture and it is nice to know that you might have a chance to make some of your shipping money back. I entered an eastern show for the last time last year. Ultimately, it cost me close to $100.00 including shipping to the show (which is always lots less than the show wants to ship your quilt in the same box back to you), plus the entry fees. There were no cash prizes there either. When I first started doing competition quilts it didn't matter. I was more excited about getting my quilts in a big show. But I am getting to the point that I have to pick and choose what I enter and I have to try my best to make a great quilt that has a chance of winning. I have a long way to go.. But, I am quickly taking quilt shows off of my list.
Oh well... blogging isn't packing. Hopefully, I will be able to post from the show and let you know what happens. I don't own a laptop. I thought about getting one, but doubt I would have any use for it since I am a homebody. It's times like this that I wish I had one.
I hope you all have a good week!!

HEY

I don't have a green eye removal tool.. but look!! you can see his eyes now!!

HEY KID, GET A HAIRCUT!!

Today, when I held 2 fingers up in front of Sam's face and asked him to tell me how many fingers I was holding up, he couldn't tell me.. I guess it's time for him to get a haircut!

This is a picture of my unfinished challenge quilt. It is finished now and I won FIRST PLACE in my guild challenge. I just don't have a picture of it finished. I drew up this little cartoon girl because I couldn't choose just ONE book that is my favorite.. I decided to make "me" carrying a stack of books and then I could quilt in the titles of my favorite books. I did that.. didn't get far though . I got it Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, "my precious", the Weasleys, a broom, "I love to read" . Anyway, at some point, I had to stop and take my machine out of the table for the Harriet Hargrave workshop. Then I was back to work, and tired. I knew I had a lot to learn and I felt I had messed it up. I just figured that I would finish it later. Then one night I remembered the most important thing about the workshop. The thing about PRACTICE, and quilting all of my finished tops.. So I sat down at my machine, turned on an evenings worth of shows and finished it. I will get some pictures of the quilting tomorrow. I just wanted you to see that I did finish it!
Here is my friend Kaye's. We had a tie for second place and she was one half of the tie. She made a piece with an image of our Twisted Stitcher group. I LOVE IT. And I voted for it.
The people in my group are just so creative. I would have never thought of this!
Well it's late. I'm going to be helping to put the guild raffle quilt together tomorrow. I'm so glad that I don't have to work!!

THE APPROPRIATE EASTER BONNET

This is our third day of snow. I think it is going to continue for a few more. We went from one day of over 80 degree temperatures and a blizzard the next. I know when I was a little girl Easter meant getting a whole new frilly outfit for Church. I even have videos of my kids on a sunny easter afternoon looking for eggs filled with candy and trinkets.. I'm glad that everyone is grown so no one can be disappointed in the change of plans..AND outfits!!
Thank you to Brenda for her help in fixing my EQ6 button. I'm going to work on some other improvements. I bet my son would be surprised that I can do some of this stuff even if it is with help at times. At least I am the computer guru in some circles.. Yes Matt.. you may laugh, but I can do a few computer things without any help. :P
I hope that all of you have a wonderful Easter day!

HARRIET AND ME

I have spent the past 2 days in a workshop with Harriet Hargrave. I have always said that you can only know so many things about machine quilting and the rest is practice. Taking the class with Harriet confirmed this. She is the best machine quilting teacher that I ever had. She is no nonsense, she doesn't coddle her students. Like she says "no whining, you can do this". She has strong opinions about threads, battings, and fabrics and she has extensive knowledge on the subjects, and you can tell because she remembers everything about them and can answer any question that came up concerning quality etc. She has given me a whole new respect for nylon thread. I had bought into all of the uninformed horror stories about it and I gave mine away. But she had quilts that had been quilted with nylon and had been washed almost a hundred times and they were still beautiful. Stories about nylon thread are taken out of context, she said. Stories about nylon fishing line that is brittle.. but has been exposed to the sun. If you left your quilt out in the sun it would lose color and the fabric would probably go before the thread. She says that todays fabrics can lose color within a couple of days if left out in the sun. Something to think about before I put another quilt in our local outdoor quilt show. she had a specific time frame of course, but I don't remember..
I learned so much. the biggest things are.. I DON"T need a long arm machine to machine quilt. I need to practice, practice, practice. Practice on all of the tops that I have put away, practice on quilts for charity or gifts. "A lot of mediocre quilting is better than a little bit of mediocre quilting" She was right about that!