Tea & Tell At Helga’s House!

I’m packing up my room in Jackson TN….and had just a moment to unload some more pics off of my camera, and came across more pics! I found the ones the evening at Helga’s house! I looked through ALL the pictures and smiled as I once again saw the faces, and remembered the names of the ladies I spent the past week with!

I also found these pics of me in front of Birgit’s Shop! Do you see the snow on the ground? I think my feet have finally thawed out a bit…but at that time I think they have never been so cold!

I love the display of quilts she had around her entrance door. the colors of the display quilts just stand out so nice against the clean whiteness of the snow. Doesn’t this look like a place you would want to come spend some time? It was so inviting, inside and out!

I’ve got pics of Jackson too…and I think I’ll upload those next, but these gals are SO on my mind that I wanted to write a bit here before my train of thought goes kaput!

First off, I’ve spent the weekend in “stinky green jealous” mode….These wonderful women are away at RETREAT this weekend! When I heard they were retreating in a cloister in the middle of no-where in Germany, and heard tales about the buildings and the history of the place and where it is located and how scenic…I wished I could STAY an extra week and come too! But I’m there in spirit with them! ((Wouldn’t you like to go retreat at a cloister in Germany for the weekend!?? WOW!!))

The day after I arrived in Stuttgart, we were invited for tea at Helga’s house. I’m thinking…tea. Tea is nice. Tea is ladies sitting on sofas and talking a bit….but this was so much MORE than tea!

We got there and the beautiful house was full of quilters. Not only that, but quilters and great things to eat…pies, rolls, cookies….And I had a quick lesson in the wonders of QUARK. If you don’t know what quark is…you can read about it here! The best way I can describe it is between a cream cheese, a yogurt, and a cottage cheese. Maybe sour cream…but it is a wonderful ingredient for fillings in cakes, etc! Fun stuff!

The ladies were fabulous, and for once in my life I can say that I actually DID “Eat Dessert First!” Tea went into a fabulous show and tell, and lots of talking and visiting, and before I knew it we were being served dinner!

As I was going through all my pics, I had a hard time remembering already who’s quilts belonged to whom….But I absolutely fell in love with this one of Helga made!

It is the absolute CUTEST sewing house quilt I’ve ever seen! I have no idea who the designer was…and that goes with anything I’m showing in this post..they are just made by the ladies of this wonderful group, and I had so much fun seeing them! I love especially the house with the scissors as the roof….but each house has to do with some sewing related item.

Here are the close-ups!

Helga's Sewing House Quilt! 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

There was so much show and tell I was so blown away! As you are looking at these photos, be sure to glimpse beyond the windows as well. Helga’s house is up on the side of a hill, and it overlooks the open space of the Stuttgart airport. I tell you, I could sit there and watch planes take off and land all day…it was so picturesque!

Helga’s daughter Julia does the most amazing mini quilts! Mini quilts were harder to photograph with the light coming through the windows behind, but I think you can tell by the hands holding them how precious these are!

		Julia's Mini Quilts! 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The last one is not so so mini…it looks large compared to the scale of the really tiny ones..So great to see how she uses each and every tiny scrap!

And there was much more inspiration. Click through these photos to view them. Fix yourself a good cuppa tea…you will need it! There is a chimney and cornerstones that Helga made where the squares finish at something like 1/2”..and it’s a BIG QUILT! I may need to do one of these..it’s fabulous---they ALL are!

		Tea at Helga's House! 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

It takes a LONG time to edit this many photos for a post! Take it from me..if there are 3 pics, it’s easy to edit them down and write a blog post to go with them…but I can’t choose just 3! I want to share them ALL! I hope you enjoyed it.

While these upload I’m packing my car and heading back eastward toward Knoxville! My dad arrives this afternoon at 4:30…..and I’m looking forward to spending the next few days together! It’s about a 5 hour drive for me today to get him, and then on to Pigeon Forge! This will be my dad’s first quilt show experience. Is he in for an EYE OPENER or what?! I’m curious to find out what he thinks about it all!

Have a super weekend wherever you are and whatever you are up to….I hope you get some stitches in somewhere!

Friendly Faces in Far Away Places!

I’m tucked into my hotel room in Jackson, TN! It was a 9 hour drive to get here today…believe me, getting up at 5:30am was NOT easy! But leaving the house before 7am allowed me to get here by 3:30pm…and have a bit of time to unpack and relax before heading out tonight with a couple of gals from the Piece by Piece Quilter’s guild for dinner!

It was a great day for a drive. A friend of mine said “How do you DO IT?!?” But driving days feel totally relaxing for me. I love seeing the scenery, and it couldn’t be prettier than driving across Western NC and across TN! I love driving through the smokies….and I love it when I head down I-40….((Yes, it was I-40 ALL THE WAY for 9 hours!)) and Boom…there is NASHVILLE and I see the big skyline!

Driving through Tennessee meant playing Trisha Yearwood CDs and singing a the top of my lungs!

Hard to imagine that one week ago today I was in Germany teaching 2 Cathedral Star Classes to the Schönaich Quilters Guild! Before going, I never knew what or where Schönaich was! Now I know that it is close to cities like Böblingen, Sindelfingen, Tübingen, and Stuttgart!

Birgit was one of the first people Aby introduced me to on my trip! She has a little adorable shop called Patch Com, and it is full of yummy fabrics and notions and welcome smiles!

Here is a picture of Birgit and me in front of shelves of gorgeous fabrics!

No, your eyes aren’t doing crazy things, this is me and Aby and Deb…just a bit blurry! But you still gotta capture the memory right? I think a bit of blur does wonderful things to hide my laugh lines and crows feet!

Birgit is also the one who had the brilliant idea to offer ONE CLASS TWICE to give more people the opportunity to take it, than to offer two separate classes! Classroom space is limited to about 16 students where they meet, and this way we got to have 32 students take the same class, other than just a handful for each! I think she is a brilliant woman, don’t you?

At the end of the first day, we all laid out our blocks to take a group pic! This turned out to be such a fun thing..((I think there were 20 cameras going around and we had to be snapped on EACH of them!!))

And here we are for day two!

		Cathedral Stars Workshop I & II, Stuttgart 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I hope you enjoy the slide show. If you are still one of those mac/apple users who hasn’t yet downloaded silverlight to be able to view the show, you are missing out! It’s a small little add-on, and the pictures view beautifully in it! So if you click the slide show, and it tells you to install it, do it! You don’t want to miss out!

Now look at THIS cutie thing! You know how I love seeing what others bring to workshops? This little scrap-catcher has triangle sides with button flaps and is perfect for catching threads and snippets! I thought it was just TOO CUTE!! Who would think we would get giddy over trash containers, but I do!

So for me tonight? A bit of USA Channel and NCIS…and some piecing in the hotel room! Probably early to bed. We’ve got a morning lecture/trunkshow here in Jackson TN in the am…then lunch out to a Mexican place….and then we’ll spend the afternoon sewing away at the Pineapple Blossom workshop from 1pm –7pm! It’s going to be a fun day!