Lani takes Texas to NYC!

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Barb

The JSS Bee met for its monthly stitchin’ day and Lani was the guest of honor!  We had all secretly made blocks for her – Texas blocks – so that she could take them with her to NYC and stitch her up a quilt to keep her warm in the cold NY winter.  We also didn’t want her to forget where her real home was.  So we thought we’d send her up with a reminder from us all.
 

This pic shows all the blocks that we gave her that day.  She’ll be gettin’ some more blocks from a few gals who didn’t make it to the gathering.

It all started with Judy singing to Lani to get the ball rollin’.  You can tell by the look on Lani’s face that she wasn’t quite sure what she was in for.  And she knows how these JSS gals can be.  We have a reputation for big surprises and Lani wasn’t quite sure she wanted to be put on the spot.  But she was a good sport and she soon was in the swing of what was happening.

Each block was rolled up and tied with a ribbon.  Lani placed each one on the design wall so all could see.

Lani enjoyed each block, reading each one out loud for all to hear.  That is if you could hear over the chatter of 18 women all in one room talking at the same time.  It’s hard to get control of this group.  We always have too much to tell each other and not enough time for tellin’.

But Lani carefully read each one, caressed the fabric thoroughly and meticulously placed each one on the wall.  I believe she was quite overwhelmed with the surprise!

Here’s a closer look…..

Aren’t they cute?  There were Texas flags and Texas flowers, cowboys and lots of cowgirl boots….

More boots and a Cowboy Sam……
 

….. and a couple of Yellow Roses of Texas.

A couple of true Texas things – Blue Bell and Dr Pepper – to remind her that she would never want to leave Texas for good.

There were cute sayings penned on some of the blocks.   And each block was signed by the maker.

There was even a gentle reminder that we weren’t going to let her stay away forever!

And of course, what’s a JSS gathering without a big table full of food…….

…… in a room full of Texas quilts!

There were deviled eggs, fruit salad, tortilla roll ups, barbecue brisket and a chicken couscous dish.  And that was just on my plate!  And many, many desserts.  They got gobbled down so fast I didn’t even get a pic of the warm-from-the-oven peach cobbler with homemade ice cream and brownies and cookies and banana nut bread.  Oh, my!  I hope you’ve eaten before reading this today.  You ought to know by now that my posts aren’t safe to read on an empty stomach.

However there is always one in every group…….

These are the remains of Susan’s chicken and an apple core.  Can you say boring?  Well, at least the chicken had some interesting herbs involved.  But seriously now, wouldn’t you rather have the full plate above?  And all those desserts?  Come on, Susan!  Join in on the eating frenzy fun!

There’s just something wrong with drinking coffee from a mug that says “squash” on it….. what’s up with that?

Susan went on a hunt for some backing and binding fabric for her beautiful appliqued heart.

And settled on this perfect bright pink polka dot batik!  She had lots of help….. don’t all quilters love to spend their friends’ money help their friends buy fabric?

Lots of stitching happened during the JSS Retreat Day too……

It’s the perfect place to stitch with quilting friends!  Look at those girls with their heads bent over their work.  They were intense!  The rest of the gals were still eating dessert when this picture was taken.  In case you wondered about the empty chairs and all.

Peggy’s great basket for her Baltimore Album quilt.  Her applique is exquisite.

Judy L’s hands were a blur as she whipped the binding on her quilt.

Kay worked on binding too.

As well as Pat!  Apparently binding was the go-to project of the day.

Sue O worked on her basket for her Baltimore Album.  Great job, Sue!  And the fabric in her skirt looks pretty spectacular in a picture too!

Once again, a fabulous day with friends, food and quilts.  What more could anyone want?  And if you’d like to keep up with all of Lani’s adventures in NYC, don’t forget to visit her blog, Unfolding Stories. 

Lani and I had a great evening together on this day too.  We blogged side-by-side.  Too bad I forgot to ask Dear Hubby to get a picture of us at our kitchen table with our laptops right next to each other.  We could have had a blog about blogging!  Dueling laptops.  The Blogging Sisters.  Could be the makings of a new movie, dontcha think?

Can’t wait to read about your latest adventure, Lani!  But don’t stay away too long.

Hugs,
Barb

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Friday afternoon at the……

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Barb

Here’s a little hint for what Dear Hubby and I did on Friday afternoon.
 

Can you guess?  It had been awhile since we had an afternoon date.  I’ve been busy with quilting classes, quilting Bees, quilting lunches, quilting projects.  And don’t forget blogging.  He says quilting is my middle name sometimes.  Actually he complains that quilting is my middle name sometimes.  He’s just cantankerous these days because all the rain has kept him from his hobby of flying glider airplanes.  Instead he has to mow the lawn multiple times a week to keep up with the grass.  Can’t say as I blame him for being a bit grumpy about it.  I’m glad I have an indoor hobby in these hot Texas summers!

Here’s another hint……

OK – that’s a pretty obvious hint, isn’t it?  Well, anyway, if you haven’t seen it run, don’t walk, to your nearest theater and see it!  It’s such a hoot.  Makes me want to go back and see the other two all over again.  The writers behind these movies are very creative.  Of course, I think we grown-ups, but kids at heart, appreciate these movies way more than the little kids do.  I found myself wondering if some of the really little ones even know what some of these toys are.  But I suppose the movies lead to a comeback for the toys themselves.  Such marketing!

Just a little movie review for your weekend enjoyment…..
Eat some popcorn for me (and we had fried pickles too – yummmmmyyyyy!),
Barb

P.S.  I’ll write about our day with Lani soon.  For those of you who are wondering about such things <grin>
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Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Barb

OK, it was really at Sally’s.  And lunch was included too.  And a snack.  Sally was apparently trying to keep up with the precedent set by Susan last month.    I’m having peanut butter and jelly next time.  Gotta get these girls back to earth!

When we arrived there were cute little boxes on our plates on the table.
 

Aren’t these the cutest things??  Judy got the Happy Birthday box because she has a birthday in July.

Aren’t these just the cutest things?

Upon further examination (shaking), it was discovered that there was something inside.

The cutest little bracelets you could imagine!  They were quite something.  I’m sure they came from Tiffany’s.  At least you would have thought so by the way we all reacted to them.  That Sally knows how to give good gifts!  Even if they come from the dollar aisle…….

And this was breakfast!  Stuffed French Toast, or as Sally called it “French Bread Cut into Cubes Covered with Cream Cheese/Peach Preserves Mixture Topped with More French Bread Then an Egg/Half & Half Mixture Poured Over the Top Refrigerate Overnight and Bake in the Morning” (Sheesh, Sally!  Can you please give this concoction a shorter name!) sausages, syrup on the French toast.  The syrup was in that fancy blue pitcher.  Which Sally bought at a cheap place in Fort Worth.  I think it had a fancy name, but Sally called it The Crap Shack (See?  She is capable of shorter names.)  She got that pretty blue pitcher for $2.  I’m jealous.  Now I have to find this place!!!!  Sally better leave a comment for us all with directions, dontcha think?

Oh, my!  Doesn’t that just look yummy?

And here it is swimming in syrup.  I’m a bit late with the blog this morning so hopefully you’ve already had breakfast.  These pics will make you ready for lunch!

The Sherbet Sisters showed up for the day.  I’m Orange and Suz is Lime (like you couldn’t figure that out.)  We hoped that Sister Raspberry would show up too, but alas.  Neither Judy nor Susan got the memo that they were supposed to wear pink.  Judy could have been Blueberry Sherbet, but we weren’t sure that even existed.  Ever hear of blueberry sherbet?  I thought not.

After breakfast we went up to Sally’s very cool sewing studio to stitch and chat….. and chat and stitch…. and chat some more.  Because after all, we had to do something while waiting for time for  lunch.  And I took the opportunity to stroll around Sally’s house and take pics of a few things to share with all of you.  They thought I was in the bathroom…. I’m very sneaky that way.  If I ever come to your house, you better watch me like a hawk if you don’t want me wandering off for pictures for the blog.  Just a little warning there.

A pretty cardinal checked us out through the kitchen window.

And Badger apparently can sleep in any position.  “Can you please get comfortable, Badger?”  And don’t you just love the special “dog noses frosted glass” on the door?

Pretty flowers adorned a table……

….. and this beautiful arrangement decorates the bathroom!  Cool, eh?

The next time my a/c goes out and I need a place to stay, I’m moving into this great guest room.  Where pretty quilts adorn the bed and the walls…..

…including this one that Sally made using Sizzling Circles – like the ones you’ve seen in some of my earlier postings about that class.  I love her fabric choices!

This pretty Patriotic table runner makes the coffee table festive for the season.  She changes this out for all the holidays.  I’m going to have to go back and see what she does for “back to school” time.  I suppose that would be the next occasion change?

This is Sally’s rug that she made using the Cotton Theory method.  You’ve also seen that earlier on this blog.  I guess you have to pay attention if you want to know everything going on here, eh?  Or you can refer back to previous posts and read them all.  That’s if you have 156 hours to kill reading a blog.  I’m apparently a fairly prolific writer on this thing.  Who knew?

After I took my photographic tour, we had Show ‘n Tell in the sewing studio!

These are Sally’s fabulous baskets from a pattern by Alice Wilhoit.  But you need to see a few of these up close and personal…..

Aren’t the embroidery touches just the best?  And Sally’s stitches are impeccable.  Faultless.  Unable to find a stitch out of place.  Perfect.  Have I told you that she’s a Best of Show winner?  Twice.  And now that I’ve thoroughly embarrassed Miss Sally I will move on.

Aren’t these baskets just the cutest?  You needed to see them today.  One more…..

….. because that’s how many pictures I took!  And you needed to see them all.  By the way, the spectacular quilting was done by Susan Corbett. 

This is Suz’ Cotton Theory project that she started in class recently.  Suz is cringing right now because she had to follow the pics of Sally’s baskets, but I think this is a fabulous quilt too!  Beautiful colors, Suz!  Red and tan are my favorites.  Are you making this one to give to me for Christmas?  I sure hope so, because I love it.

This is the back side of Suz’ quilt.  Equally as stunning in fabric selections!  I would love for this one to live at my house.  Suz?

I also took the visit to Sally’s as an opportunity to see how she handles her piles – remember my postings about those?  Again – if you have 156 hours available you can go back and read everything.  Just sayin’.  And I really think I need Janna to come over again for a day at my house soon so I can get my piles organized again.  They are piling up as I speak write.  They have a mind of their own.  Silly piles.  Maybe if I worked on her T-shirt quilt, she’d come over and help?

Of course at Organized Sally’s house, I couldn’t find any piles no matter how hard I looked.  Sally is probably laughing right now.  She had them hidden very well.  I did not look under the beds.  Here’s what I found…..

A cool lineup of boxes to contain the piles.

Very organized shelves.

More prettily contained piles on shelves.  I wanna be just like Sally when I grow up.

I also found this as I was taking my pictures……

The Wall of Ribbons.  All very much deserved for Sally’s fabulous quilting artwork!  See?  Even her ribbons are contained and organized.  All of my ribbons are scattered here and there around my house.   All three of them.  Did I say I wanna be like Sally when I grow up?  Maybe if I hang around her some of the talent will rub off.  One can hope.

And after all of that picture taking it was time for lunch.  Finally!  I thought we’d starve to death waiting for it to be time for lunch.  Not.

Isn’t this the coolest container for the peach iced tea?  Sally bought this recently at World Market.  For a very special price that I’m sure she wouldn’t mind my sharing.  $20.  Isn’t it the coolest?  And it worked really well too.  Didn’t drip at all when you stopped filling.  When you run to WM and pick one up for yourself, will you get one for me too?  Before they are all gone.  You better hurry.

And because I took this picture and I think it’s really cool, you get to see it.  Oh, just humor me and enjoy it.  I’m having fun at your expense these days.  And I’m easily entertained.

Here’s lunch!  Tyler’s World Famous Chicken Salad (Tyler is Sally’s son who is a chef), yummy cole slaw and Lay’s chips (is there any other kind?)

“The Passing of the Croissants” for the chicken salad.  Susan decorated her sandwich.  I did not take a picture.  Apparently Susan is even more easily entertained than I am.

And remember the dessert that I told you about yesterday.  The “white stuff” is actually cream cheese mixed with marshmallow fluff.  And it is more than yummy layered with fresh fruit. Slivered almonds on top.  (Unless you are my niece who, along with her hubby, doesn’t like nuts.  I’m sure you could make it without nuts, Janna!)  I don’t think there’s anything else mixed with the cream cheese and marshmallow fluff.  But I’m sure Sally will tell us in the comments if there is!

And I forgot to take pictures of the afternoon snack that Sally had prepared.  Or maybe we were so famished when she brought it out that we gobbled it up too quickly for me to get any pics.  Just imagine it good.  Because it was.  Sorry you missed it.

This is what it said on the top of my little box that I got at Sally’s…….

…. and it was my motto for the day.  Maybe my motto for life.  Pretty good motto, don’t ya think?

Now before I close, QUICK!  Someone call The Pioneer Woman and tell her to read my blog today!

Because she needs to know that this is what a real Texas Pioneer Woman looks like.  Armed, dangerous and smiling.  Well, maybe not really armed (I don’t think there was any ammunition in sight.)  But doesn’t Susan look impressive?  Don’t mess with a Texas Pioneer Woman!

Now go fix yourself some lunch or dinner or a snack.  Because I’m sure that after all that food, you have to be hungry.

Tootles,
Barb

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Miss Sally & Psycho Cat

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Barb

Miss Sally is a cat lover.  Truly she is!  And she has two cats to prove it.  Daisy and Dusty greeted us today at our girls’ lunch day at Sally’s house.

Dusty apparently loves shoes, purses and bags.  She claimed my shoes and our purses and bags while we were there, trying to climb into anything and everything.

This is Daisy.  See how she and Sally have bonded?  Sally loves her kitties.

See how Sally loves Daisy?

And Daisy is calm, cool and collected and loves Sally right back.  Can’t you tell?  That’s until Daisy turns into……..

Psycho Cat!!!!!

Scary, huh?  Sally is unaffected.  Psycho Cat doesn’t scare her in the least.  Because she knows that very soon she will be calm, cool and collected Daisy again.

And then the only thing that Miss Sally has to worry about is that every time she gets up from her chair……..

Daisy takes over.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the rest of the day – including food, quilts, food, pile containment, food and more food.  Because when we get together, apparently it’s all about the eating.  But until then…..

This was dessert.  Oh, my!  Look at all that fruit.  It was very healthy.  Well, except for the white stuff.  But that was the best part!

And to all of you who are seeing that picture before breakfast, I apologize.  You better not view tomorrow’s post on an empty stomach.  Just sayin’…….

Until then, happy eating!
Barb

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New Bloggie Awards!

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Barb

Last week we had our “It’s OK Sampler Part 2” class so I thought it was worth a revisit to the bloggie awards.  Even if I did have comments about the awards being rigged the last time.  Something about it being all about “no child left behind” or some such nonsense.  Sheesh!  Just because everyone got an award doesn’t mean that everyone deserved an award.  And I reserve the right to reward or not reward.  After all, it is my blog.  And since there are no prizes, I feel the urge to reward away!  Rewards, rewards and more rewards.  Or is that awards….hmmmmm.  Maybe it was ‘A’wards last time and ‘RE’wards this time around?  Guess it doesn’t matter what we call it – there are still no prizes.  I mean after all, this blog is only a little over 2 months old.  I am not The Pioneer Woman, people!  I don’t have millions to start throwing around prizes.  You’ll just have to cope.

On with the show!

Best Double Irish Chain/Churn Dash Centers…..  you guessed it.  They are ALL winners!
 

Sue O’s – love the red with the charcoal/black….. very striking!

Cindy’s – can’t wait to see her log cabin blocks too.    Hers are going to be very different from the rest of the group.  Guess I’ll have to follow up on these pics, won’t I?  I’m always open for more blogging material.

Patti’s – nice red, girl!  I love red.  My favorite color.  This will be a happy quilt.

Sally’s – quite a contrast from the bold colors above, isn’t it?  Sally’s a pink kind of gal…… soft pink.

Judy’s – OK, so she doesn’t have any churn dash blocks.  She gets an award anyway because hers is bigger.  And it’s pretty.  And because I said so.

Karen’s (left) and Pam’s (right) – I love both of these.  And not just because I helped them put together the fabric selections either.

Barb’s – that’s me!  And yes, it’s OK for me to get an award.  Remember…… no prizes.  And I happen to think mine’s pretty cute too.

Best Mischievous Grin While Eating Cake

Now come on……. did you really think this could go to anyone other than Cindy?

Best Stealing of Fabric Scraps

That’s our sweet Sally, pulling my scraps right out of the trash can!  I guess you can’t really call it stealing when they were in the trash.  But Best Use of Fabric doesn’t work either since she hasn’t technically used it yet.  Keep an eye out for this pink in her next Ribbon Winning Quilt at the Quilt Show in September.  She’s sneaky, that Sally girl.  And if she wins an award with the quilt she makes, I’m gonna claim part ownership.  It was my fabric, after all.

Best Party Crasher Part 2

Can you believe Madelyn crashed the party again?  She had such fun the first time around she decided to return for The Award Part 2.  You party animal, you.

Best Hairdo and Best Silly Face

Karen got all spruced up with a new hairdo just for the blog!  Doesn’t she look cute?  And Pam was trying to keep up with the small gals in the blog on July 1st.  Looks just like Grace, doesn’t she?  And her hair is pretty cute too, but not quite as cute as Karen’s.  And Karen’s great smile could never have put her in contention for the Silly Face Award.

Best Show ‘n Tell

What’s a party crasher without a little show ‘n tell along?  Madelyn’s hat boxes very nearly came directly from the quilter to show us.  And they are grrrrreeeaaaat!  (Picture Tony, the Tiger here.)

Best Other Projects

Judy – a cute table runner and topper……. and…..

……Judy!  This one is for a silent auction donation to the guild.  Cute, Judy!  And I know what you’re thinking, but I couldn’t very well call these Show ‘n Tell Awards!  That award was already taken.  Give a blogger a break.

Best Sample Design Board

Beverly!  OK, OK – so it was the only sample board.  That doesn’t mean it wasn’t the best one!

And finally……… Best Shirt with Coffee Cups on It … (Go ahead – just try to guess who won this one.)

Sally!  You didn’t guess, did you?  It was really tough to guess, I know.  But now you know that she is the absolute Queen of Shirts.  And I want one too…… she’s going to have to teach me how to make one!

That concluded our “It’s OK Sampler” class.  Hopefully the finished quilts will show up at a JSS Bee gathering one day soon so you’ll see them in their completed stage.  It was a very fun class! 

All Awards are semi-final.  No fabrics or quilters were harmed in the making of this blog.  All rights unreserved.  Prizes furnished by…..oh, yeah.  There are no prizes.  Prizes?  We don’t need no stinkin’ prizes.  (Quick!  Name that movie……)

Hugs,
Barb

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