Friday Evening VCQ Update!

What a full day! Class went from 9am until noon when we broke for lunch, and resumed at 1:30 and went until 5pm ----when we broke for dinner that started at 5:30.

Some how only 4 hours between the end of lunch and the start of dinner is just not enough to make me hungry so I am sneaking back to my room for some peace and quiet –--((Should say PIECE and quiet, but I didn’t bring anything to piece on this time around!))and upload some photos thanks to the use of Susan’s lended phone cord….and I thought I’d give you a good little glimpse at what is going on around here before I rush of to catch Becky Goldsmith’s lecture tonight!

161 women. Including teachers. A LOT OF FOOD!

Just to give you an idea….this is our lunch line--- all the fixins for out of this world sandwiches, and really yummy home made tomato vegetable soup…and this doesn’t even show you the cookie table for “DESSERT”.

I couldn’t eat my cookies..I saved them and squirreled them away in my drawer for later—but there really IS no later, because the desserts were even better after dinner, and I left them sitting where they were.

Good thing that Augusta and I took a long power walk this morning – and it’s going to take more to burn of these yummy calories!

Another thing currently going that has my interest is the silent auction! OH. MY. I’ve got my eagle eye on a few things and I’m holding back and waiting to bid until the last minute – secretly hoping that the price goes higher than I am willing to pay, but hoping all the same that I can place a winning bid on something!

THis quilt was spotted partially peeking out of a plastic bag. Has anyone bid it up yet? Love 9 patches and the burgundy resist fabric for setting squares!

It’s got indigos and shirtings and mourning prints..SUPER Utility style….tied, not quilted. Maybe, just maybe, this will come home with me??

And then I see this quilt with the tiniest cake stand blocks! I never understood what the difference between a cake stand block and a basket block is, so call it whatever you want, I just want to call it ADORABLE!

I unfolded to see how the center was – several are pretty shredded –so of course, who ELSE but me is going to want to take it home? Maybe THIS is the one that comes home with me!

Oh SO TINY!!!

Loved this one..do you see that ONE basket foot is different than the other? I love substitutions in antique quilts!

Someone’s donated a tumbling block quilt…it was in the baggie so I couldn’t take it out and explore it, but the points look pretty good to me! Lots of fun older fabrics too ---

A very fun pinwheel quilt top, quite shredded in bits, but fun for a photo…LOVE how the alternate fabrics are in color bands on the diagonal!

I dunno --- maybe THIS one COULD come home with me!

But THIS --- I really want this one to come home with me…It’s a little tiny Juki…not much bigger than a featherweight. It’s a metal machine, but doesn’t weigh much and ….well..I don’t HAVE one of these in the machine collection so I’m watching this one like a hawk..LOL! Of course, now that I’ve posted it here everyone will know what I’m up to….

Bidding ends tomorrow at 1:20 ----will I win? will I bid? So far I haven’t even been able to guess the correct number of hersheys kisses, st paddy’s day coins, or jelly beans at the Chiro’s office –so I’m kind of doubtful, but still – I’m WATCHING!

Speaking of watching, I better get this sent off quickly and go grab my seat --- Becky Goldsmith’s lecture starts in a few minutes!

iPhone -o-Gram! Get those machines humming!

Thanks to Quilter Susan--I have an iPhone cord! Yeah!

Breakfast this morning----I was gifted with a small lunch box FULL of already sewn bonus triangles!

We were also presented with a low carb high fiber sweet treat! Can you guess what it is? One of these things is not like the other---it's not edible!

Class is in full swing. It's a great day to be in VA!

I am SUCH a DUFUS!

So I go back to my room last night, ready to write this post and upload a bunch of photos ----

And it hits me!

I repacked my rolling carry-on lap-top luggage ----putting my laptop and a few necessities into a shoulder bag since I wasn’t going to be rolling it through the airport.

BIG. MISTAKE!!

I went to plug my phone into my laptop to transfer photos, and --- NO CORD!

Whaaaaa :c(

So..resourceful girl that I am, proceeded to email myself photos from my phone to my gmail account just to have something to share ----

Yesterday afternoon I took a walk down by the lake…and I was captured by the gazebo by the water and the sight of these chairs by the lake:

Such a beautiful peaceful place!

I did think quick when going up on stage to present the quilts for the workshops I’m teaching this weekend…….and took my phone with me to catch a shot of the wild and crazy ladies who are here with us this weekend!

So we are a little bit blurry --- but I’m moving fast trying to get it done! But they are all waving and saying hello to you!

This side is very happily blurry! LOL! I promise I’ll try to do better next time I get a chance!

Door prizes were hot and heavy last night ---the big gift of the evening was for a GO cutter and dies! WHooooot! You should have heard that quilter squeal when her name was drawn!

And for those who think you can’t get anything done in “spare time”?!? I want you to know I got the binding half sewn down by hand during last night’s meeting time! And not only that..I was in good company. Becky Goldsmith was deep into her applique sitting in the row with me as well. It’s how we get it done --- ANY CHANCE WE GET!

Classes start tomorrow and I’m sure that I can borrow, beg or steal an iphone cord from one of my students or someone else near by. If not, it will be a while before I can post the big slide shows of the class pictures ---but know this – I’ll be busy TAKING pics, even if I can’t post them.

Remind me next time --- I need an iphone cord that LIVES in the car!!

It’s Jamestown Landing Day! WHooowhooo! I am so happy to have this quilt back in my hands ----I’m sure we’ll have red ones and green ones and purple ones as well….but blue and white quilts are my favorites!

((Photos to come, whether it’s today, tomorrow, or Sunday after I get home!))

Happy Weekend! GO SEW SOMETHING!

iPhone-o-Gram! Live from Smith Mountain Lake!

It poured the whole way! I mean---the WHOLE WAY!

And of course by the time we were done unloading everything and feet were wet---it stopped!

Quilters are arriving and finding their rooms and room mates. I'm sharing a room with Augusta Cole, who I've met once but don't really know. I'm as nervous as a kid at girl scout camp!

Becky Goldsmith and Sara Madson are my next door neighbors!

I took a little walk once the rain was over ---before it starts up again---oh this will be fun!

Tonight is meet and greet---tomorrow is Jamestown Landing, Saturday is Smith Mountain Morning, Sunday is show and tell in the morning and we all head home Sunday afternoon!

Have a great weekend!

iPhone-o-Gram! Count the Donut Holes!

I'm at the chiropractor waiting to be adjusted. Walking in the door I see they've put out a spread of yumminess!

Maybe I should come in mornings from now on instead of afternoons??

The jelly bean guessing is still going on! No tally yet--

Makes me wonder what we will be doing for Cinco De Mayo!! Lol!

After this---I'm off to VCQ!

A Walk on the Wild Side!

Shamu, my Toyota Sienna van is all packed up and ready to head to Virginia. It’s been a while since I had a driving trip, but I’ll be making up for that in the next couple of weeks ---still, I’m looking forward to just hitting the road, listening to my book on my mp3 player that is hooked up through the car stereo aux system and GOING!

First stop? Well, the Chiropractor of course --- who knows, maybe they will have the total number of jelly beans figured out by now? I’ll let you know if so!

From there ---I really NEED to stop and get a haircut before I show up at VCQ Celebration. I’ve been putting it off the past few weeks and I’ve really noticed the ends are dry and brittle ----I know I’ll feel better if I get that done! And then I’m on my way ---

I got a message on Facebook from a quilter telling me of an antique place I need to stop at on my way up to VCQ ----so I jotted the address down and hopefully there will be time to visit there too!

We really did fill up every minute of my time in Delaware. Speaking of Delaware:

Deb: "What DID Della Wear?"

Me: "I dunno --- WHAT?!"

Deb: "A NEW JERSEY!"

Okay, it's corny, but I fell for it! LOL!!

After our last workshop on Tuesday, Deb picked me up to take me on a bit of a drive of some of the more remote nature places around Dover. It was perfect weather. We’d had rain pretty much since the time I arrived ((Remember my Amish walk and getting drenched in the down pour on the way back?))but by Tuesday morning the sky was blue and the sun was shining ---she knew of a great nature preserve area that we could view from an observation platform ---and I’m game for ANYTHING, so off we went!

The first pic at the top of this post is the beginning of the board walk leading to the observation tower/deck…..

The boardwalk lead us past some pretty marshy-swampy-primeval areas….

We reached the end of the boardwalk where the tower was ---- and up we went! Can you smell the woody-ness of a new SPRING?! It was definitely in the air.

This was the most cool peaceful place! I could imagine coming out here with a picnic lunch…..a book to read…..climbing the stairs and taking time to just be “unplugged” for a while.

What a panoramic view!

What you can’t see…or what I couldn’t capture any better with a simple phone camera ---is the edge of the Chesapeake Bay. The dark blue of the water was just there where the marsh ended…..

Can you see it? It’s the finest dark blue line right where the marsh meets the sky at the horizon. Deb pointed out a whole flock of egrets ---and handed me the binoculars to check them out. There they were! Strutting out there, doing their posturing ---of course they were too far away to catch by camera…but with the binoculars I could sit and watch them for a long long time.

Just a very big sky meeting a wide empty place before it drops off into the water…..I can barely see the edge of the bay in this photo….maybe if you look close?

From here we headed over to Pickering Beach ---it’s Horseshoe Crab Spawning season!

I never really knew much about horseshoe crabs…and I’d certainly never seen live ones. I’d seen their shells before, but no critter was alive in them! There were even “please help the crabs” signs around…..it seems the tide comes in, the crabs ride in on the tide to come lay their eggs on shore, and then the tide goes out leaving them stranded on the shore, many times UPSIDE DOWN and unable to right themselves!

So basically the signs are asking people to give a “Helping Hand” in turning them back over so they can make their way back to the sea!

When we got there, we saw this gentleman and his wife digging. My first thought was that they were digging for clams, but they had this whole area roped off with pink flags. I’m a curious sort, and not afraid to ask questions to strangers ---turns out that they are with the horseshoe crab preservation society or some such thing, and were actually taking sand samples to track the quantity of horseshoe crab eggs present. I was told that they are like little green pearls.

The BIRDS were going nuts…they love to eat the horseshoe crab eggs – it’s like little birdy caviar to them, and they were just wanting us to go away so they could have their snack!

The crabs were everywhere……many of them upside down…I thought they were dead! They certainly weren’t moving or flailing about while they were upside down ---maybe they are conserving their energy? But as soon as you flip them over…they get to moving and trying to get themselves to the surf!

Deb picked this one up and his legs just started kicking to beat the band! That’s when I got the idea to turn the video camera on…..They aren’t the greatest, but it was fun to see them do their thing:

The folks collecting the egg samples also took time to explain to us the difference between the he-crab and the she-crab ---it was just an interesting unexpected adventure!

I got two videos, one with the camera right side up, one side ways ---you can sure hear the hungry birds in the background! My narration is kind of stupid, but hey – we had fun!

Here I think you can see them all just there on the beach waiting for the tide to come back in. So just remember, if you see these stranded on their backs, be kind and give them a “Helping Hand” and just flip them back over so they can make their way. They don’t have pincher claws…..just lots of legs!

PIckering Beach, Delaware

Lesson Learned: Sometimes we all need a bit of help to get back on our feet, pointing in the right direction in an effort to achieve our goal!

And with that – I’m off to Virginia. I wonder what adventures are in store NEXT?!

Window With A View ----

I’m writing this from the Philadelphia airport! I took a very short and very bumpy flight from Baltimore to Philly and am waiting for my flight home to Greensboro.

Can you see downtown Philly in the distance? I love seeing the barges on the water too, don't you? :c)

Some have commented asking why I flew to Baltimore in the first place ---- well, the biggest reason is because I do whatever I can to save the hiring guild expenses.

My original thought was to drive up here to Delaware…..stay until tomorrow, and then drive tomorrow straight to Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia for the Virginia Consortium of Quilters “Celebration.”

The only problem with that plan was that I would arrive in Virginia completely toast after white knuckling the steering wheel for an “at least” 5 hour drive from Dover to “somewhere near Roanoke.” The 4 H camp where Celebration is held is in a well-hidden-off-the-beaten-path place called Wirtz, VA.

In looking online at airfare, it actually cost way less for me to fly into Baltimore and have the Dover girls come get me…than it would have to fly into Philly, and the driving time for them is about the same. It also cost way less to fly this leg of the trip instead of driving it ----and it best of all is going to leave me less tired.

So I arrive home in Greensboro tonight about 5pm --- I’ll load up Shamu and and head to Virginia in the morning --- and get ONE NIGHT to sleep at home in my own bed! It’s worked very well for all involved.

My little hop, skip & jump flight lasted all of about 25 minutes ----and it was the same kind of propeller plane that I got to fly in Alaska! These are actually pretty fun --- if you like roller coasters.

The view from a dirty plane window!

Here we are crossing the Chesapeake Bay ----bound for Philadelphia! the propellers look curved, but they are not – they are just in motion and that’s what the camera is picking up ---

Another couple of minutes and I’m seeing the land on the other side! And there is the reflection from my lap --- HEXIES ready to sew!

After the couple days of rain we had this week---things are really starting to green up! I love seeing the aerial view and the “patchwork” appearance of the fields. SO NICE to see the trees leafed out and fully green!

More of the shore ----heading Northeast toward Philly!

what a beautiful world we live in -----even the patterns of the clouds creating shade add depth and contrast to the landscape!

I’ll be on my next flight heading south to Greensboro in about 45 minutes ---- better send this off and get myself over to my gate ---

Ladies & Gentlemen, thank you for flying Quiltville Air ----we hope you enjoyed your flight. Please check your seat back pockets to be sure that no quilting paraphanalia has been left behind or we will feel free to confiscate it for ourselves ;c)

iPhone-o-Gram! BWI Bound!

On our way to the airport in Baltimore!

Just crossed the bay bridge on route 301. Gorgeous day on the Chesapeake Bay!

And check out the size of this osprey nest!!