More Videos!

Two posts in one day!  Don’t get used to it…. I just have lots to make available for you right now while the retreat is still fresh in our hearts and minds.  The videos are just tooooo fun and you need to see them!  All of the laughter really rings out!  It is fun to re-live the memories and for those of you who weren’t there, I KNOW it will make you want to sign up NOW for the next retreat!  Which happens to be Oct 17-21 for anyone who’s interested in getting it on their calendar.  You DO have it on your calendars, right?  Once the general blogging world reads about all our antics they will be flocking to sign up.  Our retreat could become world famous!  Do you think we can get Pioneer Woman to come?

So without further ado…….here are the links to the videos!

Madelyn gets the best Trash to Treasure of all!

Lynn tries to steal Madelyn’s pin cushion/bag – I think a few retreaters put her up to it!

The Olympic Orchestra again plays the National Anthem!

Training for the Newbies!

And the Newbies play their own song!

Enjoy!
Barb

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Yeah! There’s a VIDEO!

Well, not in the blog but there is one up on YouTube!  So at least you can see it.  Perhaps one day we’ll spring for the extra stuff that costs money on the blog and have everything here.  We’ll see how this goes.  And hopefully I’ll get more videos up in the next few days so you can see them all.

But first…… more pictures!  YEAH!  I KNOW you were waiting with bated (baited?) breath – OK – we will NOT go there again.  Many of you remember we had the discussion about that word in a previous retreat.

Here’s Susan….. can’t tell for sure, but I think she had a little too much to eat (and those of you who were there know what a big fib that is!)  But she looks like she’s had a little too much of something in this picture…..

Sue O feels a heartbeat?  Or is Susan just HIDING her lovely trash to treasure gifts so nobody will steal them?

And remember I told you that the Newbies made us all signs?  I think I told you the names in an email.  Well, I wasn’t real happy with the name they gave me – “Big Bad Barb” – until Madelyn told me that “bad” is the new “good.”  Still, I was much happier when they picked up our nametags for drawings one day and when mine was returned it looked like this:


MUCH better!  There are some pretty nice words there…… Bouncy, Beautiful, Bold, Babe, Best Friend…. if you make the picture bigger by clicking on it, you can probably read them all.   And Judy apparently wasn’t happy with “Just Judy” either – until we heard the explanation was that she was always called Judylinn, like it was all one word.  I guess that was to distinguish her from our other Judy, as in Roybal.  But the Newbies haven’t seen much of Judy R and wondered why Judy couldn’t be just Judy!  We hope that Judy R will be able to come more often in the future and then Judy will have to be Judylinn again.  But in the meantime….here’s HER addition to her sign….

Yes!  Judy is definitely Joyous!

And now, a little retreat story….. Newbie Suz was a roomie to Susan, Sally and I and she asked us one day why our bathroom was SO tidy!?  Personally, I think she was just concerned that we weren’t showering OR brushing our teeth because there were no traces of anything.  She said, “Wouldn’t it be easier to leave some things in the shower?  And perhaps a toothbrush by the sink?  Why do you put everything away?”  (Again, I think she was worried about how dirty we were getting….just sayin’)  So one day I put ALL our stuff out on the sink.  Wondered how long it would take for her to discover it.  She couldn’t even get to the sink to wash her hands!  Couldn’t fool her, though.  She sat down at lunch that day and said, “The stuff in the bathroom is for MY benefit, right?”  LOL!  Here are the before and after pics……
            
and next retreat we’re all going to have these……

In our own personal color….. to keep our things all nice and tidy….. but allow us to leave them out near the sink!  And so Suz won’t go crazy, wondering if we’re showering and brushing our teeth…..

Now some Show ‘n Tell……

Barb’s batiks – a Bali Pop and a special ruler – easy!  Fabrics for borders to be added are on the right side.

       
Susan’s Vintage Valentine – with an up close of the name (bottom row – middle right block)

       
Kay shows her T-shirts – and an up close of one (turn your head sideways, please…..)

And just to make sure you’re paying attention….. here’s the link to YouTube and the first video!
Every time something was about to happen in the room with Cindy leading the charge, The Twist would begin to play and everyone would get up to dance.  (It was the ONLY exercise some of us got the whole time – give us a break!)  Be sure to watch all the way to the end – do you think Betty was having a good time?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KHJs07V1b0

Back to Show ‘n Tell…….
           
Susan’s fabulous Baltimore Album quilt!  And some of the blocks up close and personal…..

 
Phyl’s Hydrangeas…… they look like you could pick them!

      
Sarah had three quilts to show……. all of them wonderful!  Go Sarah!

     
Peggy had three things to show – the first one was from her brown bag fabric and made by Barb!  Peggy has it ready for hand quilting.  The second pic is her round robin from her Applique Society group.  And the last looks like it will definitely qualify for the 50 or more different fabrics for the challenge for the TVQG Quilt Show in Sept!

And I’m afraid your Roving Reporter messed up on this last one….. I don’t know whose quilt it is!!!  So ‘fess up in the comments and I’ll add your name and the story to the picture!  Sarah ‘fessed up!  (And she thought it was just a trick to see who was reading the blog…..ooooo,  Sarah!  What a GREAT idea!)  This glorified nine-patch is hers.  She started it before she left Dallas and she’s working on finishing up some of those UFO’s!  Looks GREAT, Sarah!

When I got home on Thursday, I decided a special treat was in order.  Those of you who know me know that Pioneer Woman is my hero and I LOVE following her cooking stuff.  So after reading about this dish while on retreat, I decided I HAD to try it.  (Wasn’t that nice of me to link you to the recipe for PW on MY blog?  I’m sure she needs my help maintaining her millions of viewers.)  Here’s a hint:

I know, I know… the stone with the bread looks like it’s about to fall off on the floor!  I’m going to have to get better at staging my pictures if I’m going to be professional at this blog thing!  And Susan tells me I should get rid of the background things, but I think the Rachael Ray garbage bowl looks cool on my kitchen counter!  And before you ask….. I ate THREE pieces while Mark only ate one.  After all, I am trying to maintain my retreat weight, people!  It’s not easy!  That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Be sure to wait on pins and needles (ouch!) for the next post and more videos!  I’m trying to keep everyone happy here.  And you seriously didn’t even miss the fact that I didn’t darken the font this time, right?  You read all the way through and didn’t even notice until here, right?  Don’t lie!  I’ll know if you’re lyin’…..
Hugs,
Barb

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Random Retreat Pics

OK  – we’re going with font #2 today, for no particular reason than that it is the default for some reason on this crazy thing.  And no, I cannot make it blacker…….oops!  Maybe I can……….  So far the votes are neck and neck with 2 apiece.  So don’t be surprised if you never see either of these fonts again.  See?  I’m all about pleasing you…..<grin>  

 I’m going with the ‘random pics’ post today.  “Just get ’em up there, Barb!”  I hear you saying that to me so I aim to please.  I KNOW you just want to see the pics after all and NOT a bunch of text from me.  So ON WITH THE PICTURES!  (That’s me shouting to myself here.)      

As usual the quilts take on a life of their own at The Compass Centre:      


cats insert themselves into all the other projects and BOMS and fruit insert themselves into cats….

   
Some quilts got some really pretty borders………


that were really just the BACKS of great quilts being hidden from their owners!
 


One quilt got a LOT of silly embellishments  
 
LaLa
Hair received all kinds of adornments………..   

And if you received a gift of any kind…………

Apparently it was a requirement for it to sit on your head!
  


…….or forehead………………………………….. or just adorn your head in some way  


Newbie Pat got in BIG trouble when she went AWOL without permission from the group – she was locked out when she got back!  But her smile gives away that she wasn’t toooooooo upset……………
  


………….and she had a really pretty quilt to show the group!
  


Madelyn’s “T’s” made a very pretty quilt for her father who graduated from Texas Tech!  


And Judy “hid” in plain sight in front of Sue H’s on point quilt! 


One retreater even tried to help with a blog name…… although at least presently, her advice was not taken!
 

I’m learning here…… and it’s getting a bit better!  So taking a break for tonight and will post more tomorrow!  I think that’s the smart thing to do (keep ’em coming back, Barb – that’s the ticket!) and will give me more to say tomorrow.  I’ve had such fun today reading all the comments as you all logged on.  Just a bit of trivia….. I can look at stats for the site (didn’t I tell you I was keeping tabs?)  Yesterday there were 15 views on the site (apparently all of them ME!) and today there were   131 !!!!!!!!  I love my fans already!  LOL!

And OH, by the way….. Boo says hi and…..


…………”don’t take my toy!”

Until tomorrow…… go get some quilting done!
Barb

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What? Me, a blogger?

OK – here it is – you asked for it and you got it!  Now I expect LOTS of support!  Once again you all are my test market for this thing…..  Now you’ll have to bear with me as I try to figure it all out.  I know I can count on you!
This blog stuff is gonna have to get easier or I’m going to be a wreck!  Maybe I’m just tired after 585 hours of retreating with only 2 hours of sleep this week?  Well, anyway – I’m moving along to try to post a few pics here so I can talk about them as we go…..By the way – since we’re ALL new to this thing, just thought I’d let you know that you can make the individual pictures bigger if you click on them.   In case there’s something you want to see up close and personal and all…. (like the stuff between Pam’s smiling teeth in photo #4 – just kidding, Pam!)
Here are some random Trash to Treasure shots….
The Trash to Treasure table
This is the LOADED table (it got re-loaded every evening with new things – it was a truly MAGIC table!)
Madelyn gets a treasure of fabric! 
Madelyn gets a treasure of fabric 
 Betty does NOT want her treasure stolen!
Betty does NOT want anyone to steal her treasure!
Pam's lovely treasure
Pam receives a beeeeeyuuuutiful applique project…
Now because we’re just trying things out here – let’s try inserting a video…..  OOOPS!  Maybe not!  It costs $59.97 to upgrade to a video package for your blog — EVERY year.  Guess we’ll just go with pics for now…. and do the YouTube thing for the videos!  When I do get those uploaded there, I’ll insert the link in the blog post.  I’m assuming I can do THAT!
By the way – for those of you who were at retreat and are interested….. GOOD NEWS!  My skinny ankles are back!!!!  I guess I must have left them at home because the fat, swollen ones seem to show up the minute I walk in the door at The Compass Centre!  And I don’t think it’s the water when they show up THAT fast.  Something in the air?  What’s up with that?  How in the world am I going to be able to retire at TCC when I’m ready for the nursing home with this problem?  Someone is going to have to help me solve the Mystery of the Swollen Ankles before October.  So get on it you sleuths out there!!!!

 Guess this might have to be it for my posting today or dear hubby might disown me.  I’ve made 11 revisions to this one so far!!!!  YIKES!  And notice how the font just changed?  Gotta figure out why THAT happened too…… sigh….. you all have created a MONSTER here!  Like I really need to spend more time on the computer!  It’s all your fault!  And I’m going to keep blaming you until the day I die….which could be sooner than we think if I don’t get something else accomplished here today.

So….. I’m signing off on this first post.  And as soon as I solve the Mystery of the Changing Font – I’m off to the shower!  (By the way – although this SAYS it was posted on 4/29 – after 11 revisions it REALLY should have 4/30 on it.  Guess I’ll figure out how to fix THAT issue at a later time too…. too many things to learn!  And now you ALL are along for the journey!)

Thanks for coming along – and for your support,
Barb
P.S.  When you visit the page, please leave a comment for me so I know you’re out there!  And maybe you can let me know which font you like better…. number 1? 

Or number 2?  Or just tell me what you had for dinner or what to do about my swollen ankles or if you’ve ever blogged yourself or are just torturing me with it…..
 
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