hodgepodge . . .

Really I have just a strange collection of odds and ends from my life to share today. All of them are important to me in one way or another, so I just piled 'em up together. There's no wonder I don't have a design wall per se . . . I've been too busy buying fabrics and running the video on my camera . . .

First, a nod back to Knoxville and the AQS show. One of the most poignant exhibits there was the traveling Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative exhibit. Unfortunately, in order to preserve the quilts, no photography was allowed, but you can see photos of it HERE at their website and some HERE if you "like" them on facebook. (Photo from the website.)

I had actually had an opportunity earlier in the year to put the name of a dear friend and mentor on one of the squares. I was so excited and touched to find her name -- my handwriting -- on the exhibit (yes; that's the thing I had a part in that was hanging at the AQS show) . It's a very beautiful and moving display and would have been worth the AQS entrance fee if that had been all I'd seen. If you have the opportunity to see it, I highly recommend it.

Next? I got not one, but TWO happy packages in the mail! The first was this wonderful collection of books - and you can see, there are some great titles (and a cute little notepad which is perfect for list-making and/or doodling)!

This came from Peggy at The Simple Woman's Day Book.

The second package came from Karen over at Lisnaweary Quilts. She picked my names, "Cactus Kid & Bo" for her little guys on her Wild West Quilt.

Aren't these fun and pretty? Perfect for the little cowgirl in my life (and I do have one or two).

Saturday I got to spend a couple of hours with my favorite little man, Sawyer Graham. I cannot believe how busy and chatty he is!

Just bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

See that frown? That's what happens when you try and read your books upside down!

Great profile shot, non?

Just so HAPPY!

I managed to whittle this little clip down from the eleven minute mini-movie it originally was. It's still entertaining to me -- and I've already watched it a dozen times!

Remind me to share why the pig says, "La la la!" I love being a grandmaaaaaa. :)

Then finally, from today, we have new visitors at the camp!

Mama Raccoon and her sweet little babies! They were the first raccoon babies I've ever seen. We saw the first fawn of the season up here last week -- but it was very timid and wouldn't come out for a camera shot. With the baby raccoons I had no such problems.

They were so cute -- and they didn't get too far from mama at first.

Todd commented how amazing it is that we're seeing them in the daylight like this.

Something startled them (another raccoon -- a big male -- came out to eat) and they went dashing up the tree!

After they'd been in the clearing for a while, they got a little braver and let mom get more than six feet away. But my favorite part of their visit I managed to catch on video . . .

Isn't that fun?!?!

All right, I've got a busy, busy (but fun) week in store. Tomorrow I'm off to a church finances seminar and then we've got Community Groups in the evening. I've got a dear, quilty friend coming for lunch and iced tea on Wednesday followed by an evening with the Ignite ladies at the movies (Winnie the Pooh), then Thursday I've got some book-keeping to do before I head off to my guild meeting. Friday I've got lunch at Emma's with a sweet young lady from church, and then a Friday evening ladies' conference at Lighthouse Baptist, and then Saturday morning is the Sulky Thread workshop. Whew! I'm out of breath just typing all that! Good thing the list Todd gave me for the week was such that I finished everything but one item today!

:)

i scream, you scream . . .

. . . we all scream for ICE CREAM!

Yup, it's that time again. National Ice Cream Day falls on the third Sunday of July, every year. It's true! You can verify the facts HERE. It's not a commercial holiday, it's a "cool off on a hot day with a sweet treat" holiday!

And in honor of this auspicious occasion, you can bet I will celebrate like this . . .

An Ice Cream Sunday, of course!

Of course, you can bet I celebrate ice cream more than once yearly!

:)

skipping to the end . . .

I'll get back to the quilt show and the lovely quilts (and my quilty purchases there) but I wanted to share this wonderful, fun shop we found in Knoxville as we headed home. Kathy, our quartermaster and driver, had seen an advertisement for the shop Mammaw's Thimble in The County Register (interestingly enough, she'd gotten that when we were in our own Hooked on Quilting--HOQ--last week). Kathy had also seen it noted that they were having a moving sale and all their fabric was 30% off!

So after a leisurely morning and a late breakfast, we headed to Mammaw's Thimble. The front looked fun and happy and inviting . . .

So we piled out of the car and went through the front door.

The minute you walk through the door, you're awed by the bolts upon bolts of fabric. But before your eyes can completely register everything, a chorus of voices greet and welcome you!

I had to laugh -- they strongly encourage you to grab a little shopping cart. You know, just to put your purse or bag in. I declined. But within fifteen minutes I was back up there grabbing a cart!

The owner of the store (above) greets everyone personally. She was quite a firecracker!

I had the most shopping fun here. You can tell from the fun fat quarters I scored while I was there!

This array of fabrics should make an elegant autumn something or another!

And I pulled this pretty grouping out of a Moda line.

I found a pretty little shirting and just two random bargain fat quarters that appealed to me. And with the 30% off, I spent less than $20! Thirteen fat quarters -- 3.25 yards of fabric -- for $20 isn't bad!

In the whole trip, though, I never saw the magical fabric line that fills my dreams -- Moda's Dragonfly Summer. Oh don't you worry though. I've already chatted with Cindy, the owner of HOQ. I'll have a little stash of that delicious line someday soon!

More favorite AQS quilts tomorrow. (After some sweet Sawyer time and my grocery shopping!)

:)

home again, home again . . .

. . . joggity-jog!

What a glorious, fun and frivilous two days it's been! We road-tripped, ooh'ed and aah'ed over quilts and fat quarters, shopped, ate, shopped, ate and shopped and shopped and shopped. And then we got up today and shopped some more!

Our first stop was, of course, the AQS show in Knoxville. We got there just in time for lunch and then headed down to take in the show.

There were tons and tons of gorgeous quilts. I long ago determined that even if I don't care for a particular layout or combination of colors, I can appreciate each quilt based on the workmanship, determination and creativity of the quilter. What a fascinating, incredible group we quilters are!

We were at the show until it closed. I took tons and tons of pictures, too. The challenge quilts were great fun, and there were several exhibits that held exquisite work as well. I know if it were up to me, a heck of a lot more ribbons would have been handed out. Oh, and would you believe, something *I* had a part in was hanging at AQS? For real!

Stick around . . . I'll post more beautiful quilt pictures, more trip details, and some photos of my *sweet* purchases (along with an explanation) over the next couple of days. Tonight, however, I'm headed to BED!

Catch you on the flip side!

:)

knock, knock . . .

Hi Neesey, c'mon in!

Hey my darling Sawyer! What are you doing today?

I'm playing house -- you want to play with me? Come play!

Sawyer, I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing than playing with you!

Neesey, this is my panda. I love him a lot. Mmmmwah!

Sawyer, I can see indeed that your panda is well-loved!

What's for lunch, Neesey?

How about sharing my zucchini and tortellini, and a piece of pizza for you?

Yum! That sounds really good, Neesey.

Sawyer, you have such big blue eyes!

First you see 'em, now you don't, Neesey!

Sawyer, you are so silly! I love you!

Nee--seeeeeeey . . .

Yes, Sawyer dear?

My lunch is that-a-way!

Okay, darling boy, here it comes.

Mmmm mmmm yummmmy!

Tortellini must be good?

And so are the bread sticks, Neesey!

I see that, Sawyer!

Now that I'm done and all cleaned up, will you read to me?

Of course I will, sweet boy! Let's find a book with bigger print, okay?

What about this one, Neesey? I like this one!

God Knows All About Me -- that's a good choice, Sawyer!

Does God really know all about me, Neesey?

Yes, darling boy, He certainly does.

At least, that's how I imagine his part of our conversation went yesterday! He's quite the chatterbox -- he talks nonstop! It's not his fault I can understand but a word, here and there. And it won't be long before his words will be clear and intelligible, either. He's grown a little (lot) more every time I see him. And he's so bright! I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with him yesterday. He's such a cuddly, loving little boy.

Tomorrow morning I'm getting up very early, grabbing my suitcase, and headed out with my friends, Kathy and Kari, on a road trip to Knoxville, Tennessee! We're going to take in the first day of the AQS show, spend the night, and do a little shopping. I'm thrilled to be able to go! I'll be sure to take my camera and my battery charger. Lots of fun pics when I return. And maybe a purchase or two?! Hahaha!

Toodles!

:)

design wall prequel . . .

Really, this is a parade of fabrics that will eventually lead to a design wall post. Friday turned into a mini quilt shop hop, and along with auditioning combinations for the Sentimental Journey blocks that my group is doing in Civil War fabrics and swapping out, I just did my part to help boost local economies and small business owners. *wink*

Our first stop was the one in Decherd, Tennessee, to visit Decherd Needleworks. I was very impressed with both his shop and his prices. While he didn't carry the newest, funkiest lines, he did have a terrific selection and his prices were wonderful. I don't think I paid more than $5 a yard for anything I bought there, except of one fabric. The shop was a good find and a nice way to start our day!

I think I've finally (maybe, possibly) settled on the two combinations of fabrics I want to use for the blocks I swap. The pictures don't do the colors justice, but quilter's have such creative imaginations, I figure you can make up for what the photos lack.

The blues in that beautiful cheddar were wonderful and the shirting fabric did a nice job of complimenting.

And I really loved this flip-flop combination of deep, burnt reds and cream.

My favorite fabric of the day was this pink. The shading is so subtle and beautiful. I may use this combo for my own blocks. We're only swapping for a total of 40, and it'll take at least another thirty or so for a quilt. Yup, I may fill in a lot with the pink. Or may be I'll just use it for something else. I wanted to buy the whole bolt. But I didn't. But I might go back. Seriously.

And I have to say, I was *so* impressed with the shop that I got a little carried away. But they were all so PRETTY!

He had a *really* nice selection of fat quarters, too. I got a little Halloween on while I was there.

We finished so early -- before noon -- that we really didn't feel like we could call it a day. So instead, we zipped on down Highway 64 and hit one of my favorite quilt shops, Hooked On Quilting!

I can always find fabrics I like there, and she did have a line of fall fabrics that was absolutely gorgeous! But since I'd already pretty much emptied my wallet in Decherd, I resisted that urge. I couldn't leave completely empty-handed, though, so I did pick up this cute Halloween charm pack. I have a fun pattern that's just begging me to get fabric for it and get busy. ;)

So we finished up there and decided it was not only too early, but there was a quilt shop down the way that was closing its doors and had some good prices, so we loaded up into the car and headed south, back into Alabama, to Quilter's Refuge.

It's sad to see any small business having to close its doors, but it's even sadder when it's a quilt shop. When Kathy and I got there, they were down to just a few shelves of fabric and some notions and patterns. I did find some pretty fabric to fill in my stash . . .

And a couple of patterns that I couldn't pass up!

And after I'd made my purchases, we hopped back in the car and headed for home.

And while that was the end of my quilting/shopping/fabric day, it was *not* the end of my day! I got home, traded my shopping bag of fabrics for my bag of scrapbooking supplies, and headed right back out!

Before we proceed to pictures, I must get in this disclaimer: I am not a scrapbooker. *But* when the kids went to Europe with my folks several years ago, they also came back with tons of pictures. Jocelyn does enjoy scrapbooking and has all the cool tools, but James -- he just had pictures. I offered to scrap them for him and he gladly turned over his pictures and souvenirs. That was SIX years ago! I'd purchased a book and pages and page protectors and photo tape and lots of fun stickers . . . and still no completed memory book. I knew I needed motivation, so I hooked up with a group of women from Lighthouse who scrap, and asked if I could join their next party. What a difference it made!

It was fun to lay out (once I figured that the pictures were numbered in the order in which they were taken), but it was also tough.

I wasn't on the trip, so I had no way of knowing the significance of any of his pictures!

I left plenty of space and I'll go back over the pages with Jocelyn to see if she can help me fill in the blanks.

Whew! It took me six hours, but I finished the whole thing! There was even a spot left at the back of the book for me to insert pamphlets and tokens and leftover pictures. It's all there.

Since James doesn't really get into blog reading, I'm good to go. I'll present this to him for his birthday! I'm *so* glad it's finished. I may never scrap book again! I think perhaps that scrappy quilts may be more my style. :)

But shopping wasn't finished. Saturday I turned around and took my completed BOM squares to Patches and Stitches and picked up my July instructions . . .

These two blocks and then two in August and the blocks are done! Whoohoo!

I also picked up a little more of my foundational fabrics for the BOM quilt (which I'm still working on names for), as well as a handy little quilter's tool. What quilter doesn't want/need perfect seams?!?

Another gadget for my collection. Can a quilter really ever have too many?

Today I'm off to work out my camera. That's code for "I'm spending the day with Sawyer!" And then there's a good chance I may be headed to KNOXVILLE and the AQS quilt show! Whoohoo!

In the meantime, head on over to Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times and check out all the lovely stuff being in created in the quilting world! (Note: her design wall post wasn't up last time I looked.)

Happy Monday!

:)