November QBee Day

 “Rule #1 of life. Do what makes YOU happy.” - Unknown

It makes me happy to spend a Saturday with my QBee friends, my daughter Earlene and a new QBee friend, Julie.  If you think it is a bit crazy to drive a hundred miles to Miss Carol's Studio to quilt with this zany, happy group of quilters, you are wrong.  It is well worth the trip!  I'll let the pictures tell you more about the day:

Miss Carol remodeled her studio, added a wall and now we can sit in a circle and gab more, I mean work more!  I like the new set up!

Miss Carol is preparing a block for a new class.

Julie, our new QBee, is working on a blue jean, memory quilt.  

Earlene is concentrating on cutting material.  

With some expert help from Carol, Earlene completes her first block for a new quilt.  So pretty!  Nice work, Earlene!

Barbie is busy with Christmas projects!  

Barbie sewed me up a pair of snuggy slippers because my feet are always cold.  I love them!
As you can tell, Gus is not interested.

We all agreed that the day went way too quickly, as creative days tend to do.  As Thanksgiving fast approaches, I cannot help but be thankful for these special moments of creativity, fun and laughter.   I am doing what makes me happy!

Black and White Jelly Roll Quilt - DONE

It's such a satisfying feeling to finally get a UFO Quilt finished, especially when it is designed with someone special in mind.  Last year in November at Mrs. Miller's Cabin, I started a Jelly Roll Quilt for my dear, old friend Jan.  Well she is not really old since she is my age, so let's rephrase that to "life-long friend" since high school.

Here is the beginning of the jelly roll quilt - That's it on the floor!  It doesn't look like much yet.

Speaking of beginnings, here is a picture of Jan and me when we graduated from good old Bedford High School.  Yes, that is the same high school that Halle Berry graduated from.  I had to dig into the archives for this picture - by the way, it's amazing, but we look exactly the same!

A year flies by, and I finally finish the quilt.  My tall son Adam held it up for a picture and I  packed it up and shipped it off to Florida where Jan is now living - lucky girl!

Here it is in Florida.  Jan said that she and Gypsy both love the quilt.  I think the quilt is perfect for Gypsy and Jan!

"You can always tell when two people are best friends because they are having more fun than it makes sense for them to be having." ~Author Unknown

2014 Ohio Amish Shop Hop

This is my second year of participating in an "official" Amish Shop Hop where you can enter to win prizes after you get your card stamped at all 10 shops.  A big thanks to by two ambitious friends, Kathy and Lynn, who planned the trip and did the driving.  They made it easy for me to tag along and enjoy the ride.  It was an awesome day!

We managed to visit 10 shops in one day by starting out at 7:00 a.m. and driving to the farthest shop first; Mercantile on Main in Coshocton.  We were there when they opened.  Then we worked our way back up toward Akron visiting all the other shops with a stop off for lunch at Floyd and Wurthmanns in Berlin.   

List of Shops and Phone Numbers on the Shop Hop

If you don't understand how a shop hop works, which I did not until last year, each shop has a block pattern that is free or a block pattern and material which is usually $5.00.

This year the blocks were more, $6.50 because there was enough material with each block pattern to make "two blocks."  So that was a deal!  Then each shop designs a quilt using these blocks and sells the setting kit pattern and material if you are interested.  Prices usually range from $100 to $150 for the setting kit.

I bought a setting kit last year, but still have not started it.  Needless to say, I thought it best not to buy another one this year.  However, I still bought the ten blocks and patterns.  Here is the card with the different quilts designed by each shop:

Looking at the printed material, at first Kathy, Lynn and I thought it was a thirties material.  But after talking to shop owners, we were told that it is considered more of a modern print.  The material line is April Showers by Moda - very bright and pretty.  The shops did a wonderful job designing their quilts using this fabric.

Now I have enough shop hop blocks to challenge my brain and keep me busy all winter.  The bright colors will certainly cheer me up as the days will get shorter and colder here in northeastern Ohio!  Brrrr . . .

After a shop hop, it will be time for a "Blog Hop."  It's in the planning stage!