Merry Christmas
Posted by: mngirltx on: December 25, 2009
There hasn’t been much going on to share as far as quilting goes…but December has been busy. There was my cousin’s wedding in MN at the beginning of the month: Kristie and I shopped at Mall of America when she picked my up from the airport. We parked in Texas:
We stopped in downtown Virginia, MN, to pick up some hot air from Canelake’s. It makes me happy to see the same Christmas decorations across Main Street year to year. I missed getting potica at Italian Bakery, but there just wasn’t time to do everything.
It was fun to spend time with the whole family. All Mom’s brothers and sisters haven’t all been in one spot for quite some time.
Kristie and I braved the cold temps down by the lake to wander through the beauty of Bentleyville…and we had our picture taken with Donner.
I had several Christmas celebrations with friends…I am very lucky.
And, I added a new cat to my household. Isn’t she a cutey? Her name is Felicity.
She’s 7 years old, and I got her at our local no-kill shelter, Operation Kindness.
I’ve spent my holiday with friends, Diana, Mike, Paris, and Sam. Had a perfectly lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. (Despite Mother Nature’s confusion and a white Texan Christmas!)
Merry Happy to all of you who stop by my little blog.
Swapping, Quilt-a-longs, and 3D
Posted by: mngirltx on: November 23, 2009
- In: Quilts| Swaps
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Happy Thanksgiving week! A couple weeks ago, my friends, Cindy and Diane, and I decided to start the holiday season by seeing the new 3D Christmas Carol movie at the Imax. Wow, it was big! 3D is so much fun. And, the glasses are so stylin’!
Diane, me, Cindy
I sent off my quilt for the holiday swap at 4SQS. It was adapted from the book “A New Light on Storm at Sea Quilts”. The ornament quilt in the book had 2 ornaments and was way bigger than the requirements of the swap. Here is my take on it:
I also received my package from the same swap. I am borrowing the picture from Kari, who was my secret partner. Isn’t it adorable?
Kari also sent me a charm pack and fat quarters from the Flower Show III line – which I love!
This past weekend I was back in Joshua for a quilting retreat. I didn’t feel like I accomplished as much as I wanted. It took me a full day and a half to complete the 5 blocks I owe Margaret for the final round of our row robin. I’m happy with the way they turned out, though. She wanted 9 inch star blocks. The last of the 5 I had originally planned didn’t work out as I’d planned, so at midnight on Friday, I was picking a new block…and not just a little disgusted with the way things were going. Anyway, I ended up doing a block called “Margaret’s Choice”, which I thought was more than fitting. Here is what I ended up doing:
Margaret’s Choice is the left most block. The other 4 are patterns from Quilter’s Cache…the home of thousands of quilt blocks!
Saturday night, my back was sore from all that time spent sitting at my sewing machine. Barbara has an anti-gravity chair in the retreat center. So, I retired to that seat with some microwave warmed heat bags on my shoulders.
(I know, attractive, right?)
And, this was the view from the chair:
We made 2 new friends this time around. Bridget and Nancy were great fun and did some lovely work!
After dinner on Saturday night, Barbara, Diane, Gerry, Cindy, and Kris relaxed in the sitting area.
What besides the stars did I get done? I put together the wonky 9-patch blocks for this round of the ORBQ. I am using Flower Show III.
I also made a scarf with dupioni silk on the front and red flannel (for warmth and to match my red wool coat) on the back.
Some of the other work on the design walls:
And, the girls:
Diane, Bridget, Nancy, Gerry, Kris, Cindy, and Kay
A finish coming up, Halloween fun pun, and more
Posted by: mngirltx on: November 5, 2009
Good golly, Miss Molly! Can you believe it is November already? I have about a foot of binding left to sew down to finish last year’s Sisterhood quilt.
I’m fairly certain I’m going to name this quilt after the George Strait song “Adalida”. I was trying to come up with something that wasn’t too cliche New Orleans…and the first verse of the song is
“Adalida, pretty little Cajun queen
Sweet Dixie flower, the bell of the bayou
You’re every young man’s dream.
Adalida, I’d walk through the hurricane
To stand beside ya sweet Adalida I’d swim the Ponchartrain”
And, I think the purple, green, and gold of the quilt are befitting a Cajun queen 
.
We had a little Halloween party at TQW on Halloween Eve. While costumes were not required, they were highly encouraged. I’m NOT a costume person. They are always soooooo lame. This year, though, I thought my idea was clever and punny, and totally fitting for a group of sewers. I was a Viking Husqvarna sewing machine – complete with a spool of “thread” and a giant needle!
and here is my costume with my inspiration!
On Halloween day, I went to open sew, and worked on my piece for the Christmas Swap at Four Seasons. I’m using a storm at sea block. I adapted the design from a pattern in “A New Light on Storm at Sea Quilts” by Wendy Mathson. I hope my swap partner likes it. It’s kind of hard to tell too much from this little bit:
And, finally, I leave you with a picture of Kiki and Conroe. Conroe is a sock kitty from the “Mingle & Jingle” at Cracker Barrel. (By the way, that’s my Round One top from the ORBQ that Kiki’s laying on…it would be nice to find time to quilt and bind it before Christmas, since it IS Christmas fabrics!)
Have a good weekend…TGIF!
Lori
Fall Festival, Part deux
Posted by: mngirltx on: October 19, 2009
So, are you back for more Int’l Quilt Festival beautifulness? Hopefully, you won’t be disappointed!
We had lunch out on the 2nd level patio on Saturday afternoon (Gerry, Cindy, and Charlotte).
Jim Shore was one of 3 celebrities I saw at the show (the other 2 being Eleanor Burns and Alex Anderson). Here he is autographing the Mickey figurine that Cindy bought.
Cindy and Gerry’s names were drawn in Make It University’s lottery for a Saturday afternoon class.
There were a lot of quilts with faces. Aren’t the colors on this one lovely? It’s called “Lipstick Sunset” by Betty New.
“Just Sing…Sing a Song” by Tom Russell is just so cute!
Bert Garino is “Quilting in Perfect Harmony”.
I believe the name of this quilt is “Puzzled”. This is the artist, Ruth Bloomfield, who is from Australia. The quilt is made from “fabric confetti”…a very cool technique, that I don’t think I have the patience to attempt! It was very neat to be able to hear some of the artists talking about their works.
A ribbon-winning miniature, “Quilters Utopia: Where Fabric Grows on Trees” by Sharon Schlotzhauer, had a teeny-weeny little quilt on it.
Twelve square inches! Mission: Impossible2 by Kumiko Frydl has a 128-point compass!
Judy Coates Perez created a beautiful “Moon Garden” with just one splash of color.
This group quilt from Japan is called “My Quilt Room” (Yasuko Ito and Oharibako). My favorite part is the little Japanese slippers used as sashing between some of the blocks! Sorry it’s a little blurry.
The detail is amazing!
Claudia Pfeil had 55,000 (yes, you read that right!) crystals on “Fire and Ice”.
And, we ended our time in Houston with a stop in front of Minute Maid Park to check out the trainload of pumpkins!
Fall Festival 2009
Posted by: mngirltx on: October 18, 2009
My friends, Cindy and Gerry, and I left early (early for me!) Friday morning for a weekend in Houston and International Quilt Festival 2009. Here we are outside the George R. Brown Convention Center.
(Me, Gerry, Cindy)
We spent most of Friday afternoon viewing the quilts, and all of Saturday shopping. The quilts were gorgeous! I was surprised at how many were wall quilts (as opposed to bed-sized), but the artistry was amazing. Some of the quilts attracted me because of their colors, others because of the picture, or subject matter.
This guy may have been my absolute favorite “quilt”. That’s me behind him. He represents Project Zambia, a global initiative to raise awareness of African children orphaned by AIDS. Mary Fisher is the textile artist whose display this adorable guy was housed. Look at this detail of his eye:
What else caught my eye, out of the hundreds of beautiful quilts? A few were in the “no photography allowed” areas, but here are some of my photographable favorites.
“Sultry Shadows” by Linn Shimek
The Pittsburgh Friendship Quilt – over 32,000 2.25 inch squares in 21 panels stretching 80 feet wide.
The detail on “Medea Escaping” by Marilyn Belford was amazing. And, the colors! Oh, my heck.
How freakin’ adorable is this? “African Adventure” by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga. Love this little guy’s eyes.
“Clam Session” by Karen Stone. I can only dream of creating a quilt this beautiful.
“Rose Window” by Kirsten Johnston.
Kathy Kelley wasn’t satisfied with just a cute quilt top on “Peacock Squawk”. The quilt angel was happy to show us how adorable the back was, too!
There are way more favorites to see…but if I show them all to you tonight, you might not come back tomorrow.
Lori
Fall Quilt Festival (of the virtual variety)
Posted by: mngirltx on: October 13, 2009
- In: Quilts
- 9 Comments
Park City Girl, Amy, is, again, hosting a virtual quilt festival. THIS was my entry in her Spring Festival. It has taken me a while to decide which quilt I wanted to enter as my favorite. The quilt I wanted to talk about was made by my Great Aunt Ella…and my sister and I liberated it from Mom’s place in the mid-80s and called it “blankie”. However, I can’t find a picture of blankie and, sadly, blankie was so well used and loved and hauled all over the place that the last time it went in the wash, it disintegrated.
From all the quilts I have made over the past 12 years or so, one of my favorites is only 12 x 12 – a Christmas wall hanging that I call “Christmas Beauty”.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Now, head on over to Amy’s blog with your favorite beverage, and a snack, and check out the other 500+ quilts on display!
I’ve been a busy girl…and it’s about time!
Posted by: mngirltx on: September 21, 2009
I feel like it’s been ages since I posted any quilting things, so I’m going to try to make up for it tonight!
Today was the deadline for the “Good Ol’ Summertime” Swap at Quilting Gallery. I hope my partner likes the little butterfly I made for her. Here is a look at it:
The pattern was from 3D Explosion by Cara Gulati. I had a hard time with the technique, and time was running out, so I decided to do it as a fusible applique.
I finished the raw edges by couching some 1/8″ shiny ribbon to them. And, the antennae are embroidered from metallic floss.
Here is my freezer paper template for the sashiko-style quilting I did.
And, the finished project.
On Wednesday of last week, we had our Sampler Studio class. The “Good Humor” quilt blocks are turning out so cute! Here is what we did this month:
Thursday was Sisterhood night. We were a few ladies short, but here is what we had to show:
After Sisterhood, I headed out to Joshua, TX, to the retreat center at Batik’s Galore for a weekend of sewing and fun.
This is a picture looking away from the retreat center:
Barbara has added 3 donkeys to her menagerie:
And, there’s always plenty of lovin’ to be had from Gus and Molly:
It was Barbara’s birthday on Friday, and we were honored to celebrate with her:
Somehow, I forgot to take a picture of the black, white, and yellow table runner that I quilted. I’ll get that later this week. Hopefully, I’ll get the binding on before the week is out. I finished the butterfly quilt while there, too. I also pieced the top for the first project that we did at the ORBQ flickr group. I chose fabric from City Girl Holiday and I Believe in Santa.
And, I quilted the baby quilt for my bowling partners’ grandbaby. I am so pleased with the way this turned out! Harriet showed me how to make leaves, and I think she may have created a monster!
Now, I’m off to watch the rest of “Dancing With the Stars” and “Castle”. With all the premieres this week, it will be good for binding in front of the tv!
Lori
How can you not love a face like this?
Posted by: mngirltx on: September 3, 2009
- In: Cats
- 5 Comments
This post is about Hercules. We’ve had a rough couple of weeks. His breath smelled bad, so we went to the vet. The vet called and said it looked like he had bone cancer. Then, she called back and said she pulled 4 teeth, and maybe it wasn’t bone cancer, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t soft tissue cancer. I brought him home. I’ve been giving him liquid antibiotics twice a day. And, feeding both he and Kiki canned food. They eat more expensively than I do!
This week, we had a follow-up appointment. The vet did another asperation of his gum area (after looking in his mouth and saying it didn’t look good). Yesterday, she called with the pathology results. Well, if the results are “inconclusive”, are those really results? Anyway, Hercules might have cancer, or he might not, but she seemed to lean more heavily toward the have side. And, if he does have cancer, it appears to be an aggressive kind. He has a tumor on the lower left jaw. It feels to me like it has gotten bigger.
So, I continue to give him antibiotics twice a day…and feed both of them canned food (which I’m mixing with bag food…and he doesn’t seem to have a problem eating it). And, I cry.
I’ve had Kiki and Hercules since the summer and fall of 1996. I knew the day would come when they would die. I didn’t think about one of them getting sick. Hercules doesn’t seem sick. He eats well, and he isn’t in pain.
I’ve never had my own pets before. The dogs we had when I was little don’t count. I wasn’t attached to them. Grandma and Grandpa’s dogs didn’t count.
I cry because he’s my favorite (even though I’m not supposed to have a favorite). He sleeps on my head. He likes to cuddle. And, he purrs really loudly. And, snores just a little. And, I will miss him. Even though he’s a cat. Look at this face.
and I’m fairly certain that Kiki will miss him, too. Even if she resented him 13 years ago. And, hissed and growled at the little ball of grey and white fur that he was back then. And, refused to sleep in the bed with him for a long time. And even if she hissed and growled at him last week…even though he is twice her size now.
If you have a pet…give him or her an extra treat tonight.
Quilty things coming this weekend.
It’s a good thing she’s cute!
Posted by: mngirltx on: August 27, 2009
Kiki, that is. There has been drama and trauma at Lori’s house this week. The trauma: Hercules went to the vet on Monday and came home with 4 fewer teeth. And, I’m hoping that he just had some deep root abscesses and not soft tissue cancer. The drama: Kiki is not liking him right now. I don’t know if it’s because he smells medicine-y, or like other animals, or if it’s because she doesn’t like the canned food they’ve been auditioning, but for 2 days she lived under my bed. Her personal space issues have been somewhat resolved, but she still growls if Herc gets too close.
In the meantime, the only quiltiness I have to show is my row for my row robin. I had Harley’s row this round and her theme is a night-time forest. She wants dark colors – greens, browns, blacks, greys, blues…I had a little difficulty coming up with an idea. Mushrooms kept coming to mind, but I didn’t want to do a whole 54 inches of mushrooms. Then, I thought of bear paws! Of course, there are bear foot prints in the forest!! So, here is what I came up with. As usual, click on the photos for a closer view!
These are the 4 rows I sent off to Margaret. Mine is 2nd from the top.
Here are close-ups of the bear paws and mushrooms:
I think the mushrooms turned out cute! I mean, for fungi. They are my own design. Not that mushrooms are all that difficult to draw.
I’m still reading “Queste”, the 4th Septimus Heap book. I’ve also just started James Patterson’s new book “Alex Cross’ Trial”. I have kind of given up on James Patterson…but I have always liked his Alex Cross series. This book is actually a novel “written by” Alex Cross.
Yay, Friday is almost here!
Have a great weekend, y’all.
Sisterhood – August 09
Posted by: mngirltx on: August 21, 2009
What’s more glorious than a Friday off from work? A Friday and a Monday off from work! Last night was my small group night (Sisterhood of the Travelling Block). Here is most of the beauteous work…somehow I didn’t get a picture of Cindy’s Christmas themed blocks.
Celia’s patchy blocks
Gay’s bright blocks
Barbara’s star blocks
Gerry’s western blocks
Diane’s cat blocks – this is my next block to work on.
Donna’s black and white blocks…Sam’s Sunbonnet Sue in outer space blocks
Janet’s horse-riding themed blocks and De’s soft red and green blocks
Diana’s autumn blocks and Lori’s (me) brown and teal blocks.
I had Diana’s block for August and mine is the one on the top row right before the brown and teal blocks start.
That’s about it for today. I still have to finish my row for the flickr group. I’m afraid I’m a week behind schedule, but I do plan to have it in the mail on Monday. I worked on it on Friday and Saturday, but just couldn’t get it finished. And, I’ll be at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Tulsa, OK, tomorrow, so no sewing until Sunday.
Books right now…the 4th Septimus Heap book “Queste” is the only book I’m currently reading. Looking forward to the next Sookie Stackhouse (Charlaine Harris) coming out October 6.
Oh, and just so he doesn’t feel left out, here’s my big old boy kitty, Hercules. He’s going to the vet on Monday – I’m hoping he doesn’t have a bad tooth and just needs a tooth cleaning, but he’s got some stanky breath.
Have a happy Friday and a fabulous weekend!
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