iPhone-o-Gram! Let's Go!

Ive landed in Columbus where i was picked up by Catie and we commenced driving to the hotel.

Catie and I had stopped at a light and we spy this sign. I made her pull into a parking lot so I could jump out and snap this pic---

Hysterical!!

Do we go? Do we dare? Is this the sign our family members are going to put out after we are 6 feet under??

I'm just checking into my new digs---what a day.

We boarded the flight at O'Hare only to be deplaned an hour later because the pilot who was supposed to be flying us to Columbus had landed at Midway by mistake and was in the process of taking a taxi from Midway to Ohare so we could get to Columbus.

((longest one-finger-typed run on sentence ever!))

Sheesh!! I need a nap!

Gotta Go to Roberts Sewing Center!

Roberts Sewing Center --What a great place!

They are local Pfaff and Husqvarna dealers ---and you can get your machines worked on right there, so there is a busy clientele dropping off machines, buying new ones, and shopping for fabric ---- LOTS OF FABRIC all at the same time!

Did you ever wish to learn how to upholster a chair, or make draperies as well as quilt? They have classes for that here too!

Of course --- there are somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000 bolts of fabric to tempt and inspire you –the store is 2 stories tall inside, so quilts are displayed to full advantage EVERYWHERE YOU TURN:

Bannisters are just made for quilt-hanging, aren’t they?

Sample quilts are hung, patterns are available – kits too!

I Spy Hexies! and Northwind, and a great 9 patch/snowball variation! It’s the traditional time honored favorites that still call to me ;c)

If you come, plan to spend HOURS! There are nooks and crannies and cubbies --- heaven forbid you miss any corner!

More and more!

I had to venture up stairs to try to capture a better view!

It really was a wonderful place to have a workshop. The class room was well lit, we had plenty of plugs, room to move around ----and the staff at the shop was just delightful to work with.

And even more fun for me:

The upstairs is full of very cool, and some very old industrial machines! All these old boat anchors made me feel like I was right in my element. :c) Check out this one:

This ole guy was HUGE and HEAVY! I wonder what his job was “back in the day” before it came to live here. I wish I could see what was sewn on this machine --- upholstery?? Leather?? Boat sails? So happy that these old machines are still around and kept in working order…..I just love that they are still alive and kicking!

In case you are wondering where I am now --- I’m writing this post from O’hare airport in Chicago. Security was a bit tighter than normal due to the Nato conference in town….they actually made me take my featherweight out of my bag and send it through the xray machine in a separate bin, the same way my laptop did. Of course everyone in like commented on the magenta color and said it was cool --- so it did give me a bit of a smile to get to show her off a bit!

I’ll probably end up with TSA tags in my checked luggage just because of the kind of security they are providing to/from here for this conference --- but it’s all good!

I’ve got about an hour and a half til my flight to Columbus, so I’m going to set this to post later --- and then pull out the hexies! This 3rd fill in section is getting so close to being ready to ad to the “mother ship!”

Is it possible….that I’ll actually finish this top in 2012?! ((I have a feeling there will be loads of time to stitch hexies to and from Bali in August!))

Beta Testing Midnight Flight!

I must be the luckiest quilting instructor ever -

Immediately upon the release of Midnight Flight in 100 blocks by 100 designers, vol 4 by Quiltmaker Magazine, I was contacted by the gals in the Pride of the Prairie guild to see if we could do THAT block as a class.

I was very excited that they liked my block so much – and it actually worked out very well as I had just agreed to teach this as a full quilt in Williamsburg VA this coming August.

It just meant getting the quilt completed and the instructions written up just a couple months earlier than I thought ---but in the long run, it worked out well!

I told them it would be a brand new untested class ---and they were willing and raring to go with it!

I never know how much anyone will be able to get done in a 6 hour class, so this was confirmation to me that we broke the units down just right ---everyone pretty much got at least one block done ---and had several more under way with the units we had worked on ----everyone has all the info they need to keep working on this!

I am giving them four years to get it done – I’ll be back in May of 2016!

I don’t have a lot of time for commentary this morning – we are leaving at 7:30am to head to the airport. The NATO conference is in full swing, security in and around Chicago, both on the ground and in the sky is VERY TIGHT and we were told to expect delays and be prepared for them, so getting me to the airport and through security with plenty of time to spare is our main goal --- so let me just send you straight to the slide show:

		Midnight Flight, Pride of the Prairie 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

My thanks to both Illinois guilds that I have spent time with this week --- It’s been an awesome trip, and I owe it all to the Villiage Quilters and the Pride of the Prairie Quilters for making my trip so perfectly wonderful!

I’m on my way to Columbus, OH----where more fun and adventure awaits!