To Market, To Market

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Barb

Houston, that is.  Huge Quilt Show.  Celebrities.  Parties.  I’m in big trouble.  I have 137 pictures.  And I can’t decide which ones I should not share with you.  I want to share them all!  So perhaps I’ll have to share them over multiple days.  Let’s go!

 

For those of you who might never have been to the Houston Market or Quilt Festival, this is the view from the second floor.  Looking down over all the vendor booths.  And this is probably only about 1/10 of the size of it.  Row after row after row after row after row.  You could walk your feet right off.  Or walk blisters right in.  It’s a lot of walking!

But I mostly took pics of the quilts in the Festival Show.  Keep in mind that these were all taken at Market.  Before any of the winners had their ribbons on them.  So we got to look at them all “cold turkey” without the benefit of ribbons.  We just picked our faves!

First of all their were miniatures.  True minis.  Tiny little pieces.  I had my friend, Janet, hold her finger in one picture so you could get a feel for the size.  Because in a picture it’s impossible to tell.

See?  The teeny, tiniest log cabin blocks imaginable.  Now keep in mind that scale for the next ones too.

Oh, my!  Tiny little quilting.  And tiny little applique.

Those little points were so sharp.  I’m not sure where the seam allowances go.

I think this was my favorite mini.  Those were the tiniest diamonds I’ve ever seen.  Unbelievable.

This one is not a miniature.  I’ve moved on from those.  The rest of the pics are pretty much full sized quilts.  And I thought this one was really sweet!

How about this one?  Storm at Sea blocks with a boat in them.  But you have to see the boat up close.

Aren’t the sails spectacular?  Little flying geese and other intricate piecing.  Fabulous.

These cute little houses are in a category that I always love to see.  “Handmade” which means that the entire quilt must be made by hand.  But you need to see one of the little houses up close.

Cute, isn’t it?  Lots of detail.  Incredible detail.

Again, made entirely by hand.  Amazing.

I loved this one too.  Same category.  Who has time to make a quilt like this entirely by hand?  These people have too much time on their hands.

A look up close.  Cute little squirrel.

One more in the handmade category.  They really are my favorites.  Incredible workmanship.

Interesting setting on this one.  And color.  Beautiful quilt.

An entirely different category.  Fabulous works of art.

And how about this little guy?  What a cutie.  So realistic.  All done in fabric.

This quilt really intrigued me.  Notice the edge treatment.  Very nice.

And who thinks of drafting a seven pointed star?  What kind of angle does that require in those diamonds?

I was so intrigued I took pics of multiples.  Seven points!

And how about the quilting?  Oh, my.  Did I mention the stars have seven points?

OK – this is the last one.  I won’t bore you with more.  But they really, really, really, really, really, really, really were amazing.

Janet, who is a longarm quilter, was with me when we looked at this one.  We were both blown away. 

Who is brave enough to quilt with black thread on a white background?  Apparently someone trying to win a $10,000 prize.  And this one claimed the big prize this year.

The quilting was amazing.  Unbelievable actually.

Again, black thread on white fabric.  Incredibly brave.  And totally incredible.

I’ll show more tomorrow.  Some winners.  Some not, but just favorites of mine.  If you’d like to view all the winners, you can check them out here:

International Quilt Association Winners

Happy Quilting!
Barb

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Dear Jane Goes to Johnson County

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Barb

I recently had the privilege of going to visit the Johnson County Quilting Guild as their speaker for the month.  A couple of gals there who have become Dear Jane addicts with the rest of us wanted to spread the DJ love around and try to get a few converts in their guild.  So I went to tell them all about DJ and encourage them to make a DJ quilt.

They had a cute quilt hanging from the podium that let me know I was at the right place!

And they had food.  Lots of food.  Including homemade soup in a crockpot that was very yummy.  And cheese and crackers and other yummy stuff.  Too bad I forgot to take a picture of my plate that night.  I guess I was too nervous about my speaking part to remember to take pics.

My friend Suz went with me to help set up and to hold quilts for me.  She even brought along a design wall to show my DJ blocks!  One of these days I’m going to actually finish these blocks and sew them together.  Then I might even consider having the quilt top quilted so it can become an actual quilt.  There are Janiacs who actually finish their DJ quilts.  Apparently I am not one of those.  But maybe one day.  I can dream.

I did remember to take pictures of their show ‘n tell quilts….

Cute little Fall wall hanging!

This quilter is ready for Christmas!

Times two!  I wish I could say the same.

She must like green.  Or someone in her life does and is getting this for Christmas.

Cute hummingbirds.  I could have stole this one and given it to my mother who collects hummingbirds.  Not.

Some cute table runners too!

And another table runner.  Very nice.

These girls are really mulling this one over.  I’m just mulling over how early she got it ready for Christmas.  Love the Santas!

And a nice Lone Star too!

Pretty black and white quilt.  She won a ribbon at the Texas State Fair!

This gal made some table coverings to coordinate with her Fiestaware cup!

And this one was putting out a plea for a pattern to make this old doll again.  She needed a matching one.

She had this one, but it didn’t match exactly and she wanted the perfect match.  If you know where she can get one, leave a comment on here and I’ll get the information to her!

What a cute snowman!  I wanted to take this one home too.

These ladies proudly showed off their quilts.  We quilters like to show our handiwork, don’t we?

What fun to see all their fabulous quilts!

And then as I began to talk about Dear Jane, I told them about my blog.

And I took a picture of all of their smiling faces so that you could see them.  They were a very attentive audience!

If you’d like to see pics of me and the quilts that I showed in the presentation, you can go to this blog:

Quilting Bear Gal blog

Donna was there and blogged all about the evening.  Thanks, Donna!

Now go make a Dear Jane block!  (I’m talking to myself here.)
Hugs,
Barb

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The Wedding Celebration Continues….

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Barb

I promised more wedding details.  And I’m all about fulfilling my promises.  So without further ado…. on with the show!

The First Dance

 

Don’t they look like they are having fun?  I love the grin on the Groom’s face.

They were having their own moment.  I’m not sure they remembered we were all watching.

Don’t you want to know what she just whispered in his ear?  Such a great laugh!

They floated on air around the dance floor.  I think they wished we would all just go home.  And they would have danced alone around that dance floor all night long to the beautiful music of the band.

But there was a party brewing.  And there was food to consume.  Lots of food.  Wonderful food.  And if you’ve read this blog at all, you know that I have pictures.

The Food

The waiters were fabulous.  The wine flowed.  And flowed.  And flowed.  Toasts were made.  The Groom was welcomed into his new family.   Stories were told by friends of the Bride.  We laughed and we cried.

And we ate.  Boy, did we eat.

The menu was tucked inside the napkin at our place at our table.  Don’t strain and try to read it in the picture.  I wouldn’t make you do that!  Just keep reading.

By the way, as we entered the reception area, little envelopes with our names on them awaited us.

And Dear Hubby and I were at Table #1!  You can’t get much better than Table #1.  Numero Uno.  Special.  And we felt very special all evening.  And well fed.

It didn’t take us long to find our table.  And soon the waiter came to place our napkins in our laps.  And the food was served!

First Course

Texas Goat Cheese and Arugula Salad with Roasted Golden Beets – White Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Roasted golden beets?  Who knew that such a thing existed?  But beets they were.  And they were wonderfully delicious.

Second Course

Mushroom Soup with Sherry and Chives.  Yum.

Entrée

Seared Petite Filet of Beef Tenderloin with Wine Merchant Sauce
Bacon Wrapped Cornbread Stuffed Quail
Caramelized Shallot Whipped Potatoes
Asparagus and Baby Carrots

Oh, my.  Just looking at the picture makes me want another plate.  Filet so tender you could cut it with a butter knife.  And the quail?  Just one word.  Yummy.

Dessert

Bride’s Cake.  What?  You expected Chocolate Mousse?  It was a wedding, silly!  Classic Vanilla Cake with White Chocolate Butter Cream Icing and Fresh Raspberries.  Delicious.

Groom’s Cake.  I know, I know.  It looks like a couch, not a cake.  Trust me.  It was delicious chocolate cake.  Dark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Cream Icing to be exact.

See?  I think we got an armrest.  Or the front half of a cushion.

I had some of both.  Because I had to take pics for the blog, of course!  But I did share them with Dear Hubby.

And those cute ribboned boxes?  They had these inside:

Chocolate Caramel Pecan goodness.  We brought them home.  And I just ate one 10 minutes ago.  There are two in each box.  I’m making them last.  Thanks, Brooke & Ronan!

More Dancing

The Bride danced with her Dad too.  Both Dads.  Do you suppose he’s giving her some last minute advice here?  More likely he’s just telling her how beautiful she is.

Can’t you tell how proud he is?

This pic really shows the beautiful lines of her dress.  Fabulous.

Another proud Dad.  Smiling.

They did twirls.  Like Dancing with the Stars.  The Bride was the Star on this day.

What fun they were having!  And we had as much fun watching.

Friends, Family & Fun

Susan’s friends from her neighborhood.  Maggie and Dorothea.  They sat at our table.  And I sure enjoyed getting to know them.

That’s me on the left.  With Susan’s long time friends, Kay and Pat.  It was so much fun to meet them after hearing about them for so many years.

This is Kay’s daughter, Darin, with Susan’s son, Christopher.  They were chatting with Kay in this picture but it was a really bad picture of Kay.

Luckily I took two pictures.  Of course this one was really bad of Darin and Christopher.  But Kay looks great!  Now if I only had some really cool software that could join these two pics together…….

Me again.  This time with my dear, dear friend.  And the Mother of the Bride.  Did I tell you how fabulous she looked?

Susan’s son, Christopher.  The Brother of the Bride.  And soon to be Father of the baby just under his right hand.  With his beautiful wife, Meghan.  Mother of his child.  Daughter-in-law of Susan.  Soon to be a Grandmother.  I guess you get the picture.

The Groom’s Aunts.  All the way from Ireland.  And boy did they have fun on the dance floor.

Kay and Susan.  Long time friends.  Long time.  They’ve watched their children grow up together.

The Bride visiting with friends.

Here was a fun idea for a wedding.  A Photo Booth!  We all donned fun hats, glasses and/or feather boas.  And there was a long line at the booth all night long.

Here are our six pics.  We chose one (top right), cut it out and pasted it in an album page with a note to the Bride & Groom.  What a fun idea!

But this one was really my favorite…..  a true blogger.  Viewing the world behind the camera.  Supportive Hubby by her side.

Speaking of dancing.  I wasn’t speaking of dancing?  Well, I should have been.  The band was absolutely the best.  You can check them out at their website:  The Emerald City Band.

And you can also view some random video of the dancing at YouTube!  Be sure to watch for the cute Irish ladies.  They were my favorite!

Dancing on YouTube

Apparently at least one person danced their shoes right off.

One last photo of the happy Bride and Groom:

Congratulations Brooke and Ronan!  May your marriage be blessed beyond your wildest dreams.

I’m off to redecorate my house…..

I thought this table treatment was pretty cute.  But of course, I’ll have to try it with a quilt.  For my next Bee party.

Back to quilting, Susan!
Much love,
Barb

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The Biggest Day of Her Life

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Barb

But I’m not sure if I’m talking about the Bride.  Or perhaps the Bride’s Mother?  You see, Susan is my very dearest friend.  We actually met on the internet.  And now here I am on the internet, blogging about her daughter’s wedding.  And what a grand affair it was!  I hardly know where to begin.  Perhaps at the beginning?

One day, long, long ago, Susan wrote a note to the Dear Jane quilting group on the internet to mention that she had just bought the DJ book.  And that she lived in Dallas.  So I wrote her back.  What?  Not that beginning?  Oh, yeah.  I really should just start at the beginning of the wedding.  Since that is what this blog is all about today.  Sorry.

Once upon a time there was a sweet girl named Brooke.  And a nice Irish boy named Ronan.  They grew up millions of miles apart.  But one day they met.  In the city of San Francisco.  And they fell in love.  And got married.  This is their wedding day.

The Ceremony

St. Patrick Cathedral was all decked out for the Big Event.  With the sun streaming through the beautiful stained glass windows.  I got there early to not miss a single moment.  You can tell by the empty seats how early I really was.

This cute guy sat right in front of me and entertained Dear Hubby and I while we waited for the ceremony to begin.  He was apparently used to pictures being taken of him and smiled nearly every time I pointed the camera in his direction.  But he was so wiggly that most of the pics were blurry.  A very cute wiggle-worm!

The happy Irish Groom walked his equally happy Irish Mom to her seat at the front.

(Disclaimer:  I don’t pretend to be a professional photographer.  Many of my pics are very blurry and I apologize for them all.  I try to capture moments – the pros can make them all be in perfect focus.  Lighting was very low for the whole event.  ‘Nuff said!) 

Then came my dear quilting buddy, Susan, being seated by her handsome Son.  She looked elegant and beautiful.  The perfect Mother of the Bride from head to toe!

This was just after she was seated.  A perfect, elegant profile.  I couldn’t resist this candid shot.

But we were there to see the Bride.  And we didn’t have long to wait.  The doors at the back opened and there she stood with the sun streaming in behind her.  What a shot!  Too bad I missed it.

But I did recover to get a pic as she came down the aisle.  And a beautiful Bride she was!  From the front……….

……..and from the back.  Notice Susan dabbing her eyes.  But she was not the only one!  You can see one of the bridesmaids behind her doing the same.  Brooke was indeed a Beautiful Bride!  And brought tears to many eyes.

The Priest was from Ireland.  But came this day from Tyler, Texas to perform this special ceremony.  Father Kelly.  Dear Hubby and I enjoyed him very much.  He had many fun stories to tell.

Dear Hubby was glad that one of the groom’s prankster friends hadn’t painted “Help” on the bottom of his shoes.

Isn’t she beautiful?  A profile as lovely as her Mom’s.

Another pic just for Susan.  Because the Mother of the Bride especially appreciates all these pics of her lovely daughter.  So that she can see all the things that passed by in a big blur for her on The Day.

Father Kelly sometimes spoke just to the congregation.  Admonishing us that “what God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”  In other words, don’t you dare do anything to come between this beautiful married couple!

The beautiful couple shared a private moment while Father Kelly talked just to us.

They held right hands as instructed as they exchanged vows.  (Check out the beautiful lace on her dress!)

Look at the dreamy looks on their faces.  Just what a wedding is all about.

They exchanged rings.  As most newlyweds do.

A happy moment!

I included this pic because I wanted you to see all of Susan’s beautiful dress as she took communion.  Of course it would have been much better if I’d used the flash.  But then I would have disturbed the sacred moment and we couldn’t have that!  Use your imagination to unblur the picture.  Please.

The happy newlyweds heading off to the reception.  Is that a big sigh I see coming out of the groom?  Love the smile on Father Kelly’s face.

Susan, her Dear Hubby and the Groom’s Mom.  They all look fabulous!

The Bridal Party on the steps of the church.  They are all looking at the professional photographer as they should.  A blogger has to be happy with nice profile pictures.

What a beautiful, happy couple.  In half profile.  Especially for the blogger.

This one’s for Susan.  She is quite beautiful.  And she looks a lot like her beautiful Mom.

The Flowers

The Bride’s Bouquet.  Stunning.

Flowers at the Reception.  Exquisite.

More flowers at the Reception.  With candles.  On the tables where we dined.  Magnificent.

I had planned to show more in this blog today.  But rather than overwhelm you with it all in one day, I think I’ll wait and continue on another day.  Keep them coming back for more.  That’s my motto.  And I have more.  Lots more.  Including The Reception, The First Dance,  Dancing with Dads and of course, The Food.  Because if you’ve been reading this blog for long, you know we are all about The Food.  And I know my faithful readers will want to see pics of all the food.

There is also some very cute video of the dancing.  With Ronan’s sweet Irish Aunts and his Mom doing their own line dancing – so cute!  It will be on YouTube soon and I’ll include the link for you to see.

Blessings on you, Brooke & Ronan! 

And Susan, it’s time for you to get back to quilting.  I’ve missed you.
Love,
Barb

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A Wedding Teaser

Posted on November 7, 2010 by Barb

Dear Hubby and I attended a wedding last night.  A gala affair.  My dear friend, Susan, was Mother of the Bride.  And she looked amazing.  Exquisite.  Stunning. 

See?  Her hair alone was magnificent.  Wait until you see her dress!

Her daughter, Brooke, was a drop-dead gorgeous Bride.  I will be posting several times this week about the wedding.  As soon as I sort through my 4,638 pics and videos.  OK, OK, maybe there were only 270.  Two hundred seventy pics!  Probably not as many as the professional photographers took, but hey, there were 54 of them on staff, flitting around taking pics of everyone and everything.  I’m glad I’m not the one who has to decide which of those pics make it into the permanent wedding album.

I could do a whole blog just on food and flowers.  It was amazing.  So I will do lots more posts soon with all the festivities.  Just wanted to provide a little teaser for those of you who are waiting patiently to hear about the big day.  Well, maybe patiently isn’t exactly how you are waiting, but you will have to wait.  I have some major sorting to do.

In the meantime, here’s the gorgeous Bride with her beautiful Mom.

All the details to come soon.  I promise.  Lots and lots of details.  And pics.  Maybe not all 270 of them.  I don’t want to overload the system.  Video on YouTube too.  You will be “weddinged out” before the week is done.

Stay tuned.

Love,
Barb

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