It's Time!!!

Today is the last day to enter the B. Bumbling and Company give-away that Linda has so graciously sponsored! (See my post dated 3/15/2011). You have until MIDNIGHT to comment. Come on folks -- go check out these awesome patterns so you can win one.

Quilt Show Anyone???

Yesterday, my quiltin 'besties' and I attended the East Texas Quilt Guild Show in Tyler, Texas. We had a blast as ususal. The day started out meeting at the Brookshire Brothers parking lot. Well, needless today, that was a fiasco! LOL! We were meeting at 8 a.m. I arrived at about 8:03 a.m. to find NO ONE! I couldn't believe it because Annie is always on time and usually early. So I decide they must have parked in a different place so I drive around. "Oh look, there is a car like Molly's, but that's not her". Then I see Kathleen driving into the parking lot. We discuss where they may be and did we get our "wires" crossed. Suddenly, we here this 'honk'. It was Molly and Annie! (and YES, that WAS Molly's car). We hop in and off we go to stop and pick up Rhonda on the way! We are laughing and talking so much we "almost" passed up the Butler Store where Rhonda was anxiously waiting. Now we are set. SEW, let's go to the quilt show!!!!

This is a picture of the Guild raffle quilt:

The following is the Wacky 6-Pac Quilters who are quiet 'infamous'. LOL!!!! We had one lady say to us "ya'll look like ya'll are a really fun group!" And of course, (in our very shy and modest way), we told her "heck yeah, we are fun"! LOL L-R: Molly, Kathy (that would be me), Kathleen, Rhonda, and Annie. This Valentine quilt was made by none other than our "Aunt Kaye". She is really not our aunt, but the aunt of another quilting friend, but we all call her "Aunt Kaye". Kaye is a fantastic quilter and has her own longarm quilting business.

And of course, the Dear Jane quilt.

A feathered star quilt is on my quilting 'bucket list'. I finally made a small one (with the help of my friend Molly). Naturally, I am drawn to them and had to get pictures.

I really liked the alternating 9-patches and appliqued flowers in this quilt.

And here are the RABBITS! I don't know the maker of this quilt, but the fact that it was 'rabbits', it deserved a picture. You see, there is a "story" here -- one that I shall not share on the blog but it is about our precious 6-Pac member, Jerri, who is sitting at Jesus' feet working on her applique -- rabbits no doubt.

I loved the Eagle in this quilt.

I bet the maker of this quilt is either now on alcohol or some type of drug! LOL

After the show, we went to our favorite eating spot -- Mercados Mexican Restaurant and then on to "A Nimble Thimble" a fantastic quilt shop. I had to take a picture of one of the ladies working at the shop. Isn't this the cutest apron?????

And our last stop before getting home was this "junk place"! What fun we had.

That's all folks! I hope you enjoyed the show.

Happy Quilting!

It's Your Lucky Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of my quilting buddies! Today could be your lucky day!!!! Be sure to sign up to win one of the awesome patterns from B. Bumbling, aka Linda! (See my post below.) The drawing will take place April 1st.

Wordless Wednesday

A New Friend and a GIVE-AWAY!

Friends! What would we do without them?? There are many types of friends -- those that we consider family; friends we work with, go to church with, neighbors; friends who are parents of our children's friends; cyber friends. A cyber friend is one we meet through our on-line contacts that we may not have made in person. I have a new 'cyber friend' that is just that - LINDA!

Linda is a kindred spirit. We are both quilters, we both live in Texas, we both have sons, and we are both grandmothers. Linda grew up in San Antonio and lives in Pleasanton, Texas. Linda is also a pattern designer. She has a background in art as well as early childhood education. She approaches her quilt designing the same way she would if she were illustrating a book. I love the whimsical and colorful designs. For the last few years, Linda has been selling her patterns locally in San Antonio and recently began selling them online. You must go check out her website -- B. Bumble & Company and see the great patterns she has created.

Here are just a couple of her patterns (keep reading because you can win one!!!!):

The Good Sheperd. This quilt is approximately 43" x 36" and is a loving shepherd cradling a lamb on his shoulder. The verse embroidered around the border is Isaiah 40:11 ~ The Lord tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. What a great quilt for a baby, for Easter, for a church classroom, or gift for a friend -- think Baptism, Confirmation, Easter, etc.Another adorable pattern is The Little Cowboy of a mischievous looking little boy (or girl -- pigtails and skirt are included in the pattern) is standing in oversized cowboy boots and hats. This quilt is approximately 59-1/2 x 51 1/2 inches. This would be a precious baby quilt, a birthday quilt, or to be used in a western-theme room.

BE CAREFUL!!! You just drooled on my blog!!!!!! I bet you wish you had one of these patterns! Well, you can! Just follow the instructions below to be entered in a drawing. The entry deadline is at Midnight on Tuesday, March 29th. I will compile all the entries and choose a winner on Friday, April 1st. There are several ways for you to win:

Visit Linda's Blog, Buzzing and Bumbling and leave Linda a comment on her blog telling her that I sent you to visit then come on back and tell me you went visitin'!

Become a follower of Linda's blog and leave me a separate comment telling me you did.

Blog about this give-away and leave me another separate comment telling me along with a link to your blog where you posted about the give-away.

Visit Linda's online store, B. Bumble & Company, to check out all of her precious patterns and come back and tell me which is your favorite.

Make sure you include your email in your comments so I can reach you. GOOD LUCK!!!!

THANK YOU LINDA FOR BEING SUCH A GENEROUS SPONSOR!

In Loving Memory................

......of my dear friend, Jerri, who lost her battle with cancer one year ago today -- March 14, 2010. She fought long and she fought hard. She never gave up and battled to the very end. She handled her cancer with grace and with an uptmost faith in God. She was not afraid to die. Jerri was one of the neatest people I've ever had the honor of knowing. We met at a quilting retreat about 12 years ago. We 'clicked' and became the best of friends. This post is quite 'picture heavy' but I just want to share Jerri with you.

Here she is at a quilting retreat, we had blue painter's tape on our stations with our names on them. Jerri put her tape on her chin so she wouldn't forget who she was!!!!

Jerri loved to learn new things and was never afraid to take on a new task. Here she is with fellow 6-pack quilters, Molly and Rhonda, try to figure out 'something' on the computer.

In 2008, we went on a quilting cruise. Oh My! What fun we had. Jerri always blamed me for her not being ready to go. I would stand outside her cabin door, knock on the door and say "Wackies on the Move". She would get frustrated with me because she would not be dressed yet! She gave me a hard time over this! LOL! Here is a picture of Jerri and I on the shuttle being transported over to the cruise ship.

One of our retreats was on Halloween weekend. Of course, being Wacky the way we are, we had to have some ghoulish times. Here is a picture of the "Wacky 6-Pack" in our crazy glasses.

Back to the quilting cruise, Jerri made each of us some Wacky Glasses to wear. We chose one of our "formal dinner nights" to wear the glasses. Here is Jerri modeling hers! We were quite the "hit" on this cruise. They say on every cruise, there is usually one group to watch -- we were the group!!!!

One of the things on my "quilting bucket list" was to go to the Paducah, Kentucky, quilt show. Here is a picture of Jerri, Kathleen, and myself on a bus full of quilters heading to Paducah. We were known as the "Brat Pac". We had not merged with the Wacky Women yet. One funny thing is Jerri had got cold on the bus and slipped on her long-sleeve denim shirt, but she put it on backwards! She looked at Kathleen and I and said "Now looky here! If we have a wreck, don't you girls let them try to twist my head around!"
Not long after my Mother died (she was also a quilter), one of my Mama's friends invited me to go on a quilting retreat and told me to bring a friend. The theme was "YaYa Quilters". Here is a picture of Jerri and I in our "YaYa" attire.

In 2008, several of our quilting group entered the Texas Department of Agriculture's "Go Texan" quilt contest. Each person purchased a fabric pack from the TDA and designed an original quilt block that depicted the theme. The theme for 2008 was Texas Wine. Our group was honored to have THREE members' blocks chosen -- Jerri, Rhonda, and myself. Here is Jerri posing with her winning block at the 'unveiling' at the Texas State Fair.

Oh how I miss my dear friend! When the "Brat Pac" quilters and the "Wacky Women" quilters merged into one group, we became the "Wacky 6-Pac". Sadly, there is only 5 of the 6-pac now, but we will always be the "Wacky 6-Pac" as our dear Jerri is always with us in spirit. There is never a time that we are together that her name, or something she said or did is brought up. She continues to live in our hearts and will be there forever. If I could have traded places with her, I certainly would have done it. What an awesome lady she was and what a wonderful friend!!!! I was so BLESSED to have her as my friend. I love you Jerri and I miss you more than you can imagine, but I take great comfort in knowing that I'll see you again.

Looky What I Did!

They say you should "toot your own horn" every now and then so here I go.......Looky!!! I won at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo "Go Texan Quilt Contest"!

This quilt is Bunny Hill's free online BOM a couple of years ago. It is made with both cotton and wool and hand-applique. It was a fun pulling fabrics from my stash and a very fun quilt to make. Each block represents a month of the year. I entered it in the county quilt show and it won the Go Texan Award which qualified it to be displayed at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. I just learned the quilt not only got a first place ribbon but also won Best of Division in the wallhanging category. WOW! I'm so excited! I'm anxious to get the critique sheets from the judges -- you know that's how us quilters learn is hearing from the judges!

I'm a WINNER!!!!! Kathleen Tracy over at A Sentimental Quilter was giving this book away on her blog and I won!!!! I am so excited. THANK YOU KATHY!!!!!!!! I can't wait to make a project out of it.

Wordless Wednesday

An Appeal for Help!

My niece, Kim, over at A Peach in Stitches, is in a 'peach of a mess'. She is asking for help so I thought I would put her appeal here on my blog to help her out. She is missing instructions for block #2 of the BOM "Paris in the Fall". The pattern is from This & That. Please go over to her blog and see if you can help her out. Thanks friends!

Hot Mama Apron Swap

I participated in the Hot Mama Apron Swap with Val. The theme? CHICKENS! I love me some chickens (not the real ones -- LOL), but my kitchen is decorated in kitchens. My partner was Amy from California (a transplanted Texan). She is so sweet and we became fast friends.

When I came in from work, my hubby said "you have a package". woo hoo! I open this box....the excitement is increasing. Look at all these goodies.......

LOOK.....Amy has absolutley spoiled me. Check out that black/white chicken -- LOVE it!! Also, adorable napkins, a cool T-towel (red -- Perfect for my kitchen) an adorable x-stitch pin cushion, egg separator, chicken broth, a darlin' spatula (yes, there are chicks on it), an adorable rooster figurine, and two recipes that sound fabulous!

I saved the apron for last!!! It is too stinkin' CUTE! It is a 'convertible' apron. You can take the bib off and it will be a half apron. I absolutely love all the fabrics and colors.
Look at this darlin' bib and those chicken buttons are absolutely awesome!
Look at the cute chicken Amy appliqued on the apron -- lovin' it!
THANK YOU AMY for a fabulous swap package and thank you Val for hosting such a fun swap!!!!

Childhood Memories

Isn't it funny how you can see a picture, a person, or object that will jog your memory about something in your childhood. The other day, I was blog-surfing (yes, that is a new word--LOL) and I saw a picture of a quilt with a child playing on it with little cars. I am the youngest of three children and the only girl. With two older brothers, naturally I would want to play with cars. I LOVED playing cars. I have a fond memory of a quilt that my Mama had and I loved to play on it. It was perfect as a 'town'. I would spread that quilt out in the middle of the den floor, gather my little cars and enter the world of make-believe. It had a place to park your car, roads to drive those little cars on, and just make believe. I have no idea what the pattern was nor do I know what happened to that quilt. But it just made me feel good all over to remember such a fun time from my childhood.