Chattanooga Quilt Show

Last week was the AQS Quilt Show in Chattanooga. Pam, Anne, Judy and I made the trip and spent two fun-filled days---shopping, looking at quilts, having show-and-tell, eating out, and laughing. It is always so good for my soul to get away with girlfriends for a few days--and if it involves fabric too, even better!!

I thought you might like to see some of the quilts in the show, if you weren't able to make it. The quilts definitely leaned to the more modern side-there were only a handful of traditional quilts. So, most of my pictures are of bright, modern quilts. I hope you enjoy them.

 The bird on the right is beautifully appliqued-the bird on the left was just as beautifully quilted. It was titled Me and My Shadow.

This was my favorite quilt! It was entitled A Slice of Pi. She even quilted "Pi" in the borders-3.141592....... I love a quilter with a sense of humor :)

Here we are with the Best Of Show quilt.

This was an interesting exhibit. Cherrywood Fabrics sponsored a challenge based on Wicked. There were a lot of terrific quilts-and we each got to vote for our favorite. 

I hope you enjoyed a little peek at the show. Tomorrow I'll show you what I bought. 

Spool

Yesterday morning I left home with two friends, headed to Chattanooga to meet up with another friend for the AQS Quilt Show. Our first stop just HAD to be Spool-home of the BadAss Quilter's Society. Maddie was in the house and we had a blast shopping and laughing. If you've never been to Spool and you are near Chattanooga, you really need to go. Of course, we had to take a picture with Maddie to earmark the  occasion. Here we are.....

Anne, Pam, me, Judy and Maddie

My Gorgeous Wooden Seam Ripper

Three weeks ago I went to South Carolina to see my two BFFs, Pam and Anne. There was a "vendor only" quilt show going on in Columbia and it was a great excuse for us to get together. 

I bought a few fat quarters here and there at the show. Shopping was not the point of the trip-being with my friends was.

And the point of this blog post isn't to chat about the trip or the quilt show, but to share with you the new seam ripper that Anne gave me (she gave a similar one to Pam too). It is absolutely gorgeous and is a piece of art. 

Anne has a friend in her guild named Carol Fischbach. Carol's husband, Woody, turned the wood on his lathe and made this beauty. Carol brought some to their quilt guild meeting and the ladies went crazy for them! Anne bought several seam rippers and spool holders. (After they sold them all, Woody turned around and donated ALL the money to their guild!! Wasn't that sweet?)

Pam and I are ecstatic! They are SO beautiful! I wish you could feel how smooth and polished the wood is. Mine is made of maple. It has now actually become a pleasure to have to rip a seam. I have to admit that I have used it several times already. :)

In case you've never seen one before, I'll show you how it's made. The seam ripper pulls out of its wooden holder, and then you turn it around and put the non-ripper end back into the wood.

I can wear the necklace around my neck to keep my ripper close at hand, but when I need to use it, it easily pulls off, because it is held on with a magnet.

Anne also bought me a spool holder that Woody made. It is just as pretty to look at and fun to use. 

It's wonderful for those spools of thread with the large center holes or for thread cones. It keeps them from rattling around on your spindle.

Here it is sitting on my machine. Doesn't it make my spool of thread look fancy?

I'm such a lucky girl. Thank you so much to my dear friend, Annie.

A British Quilt Show with Tisha

One of my dearest and most favorite people in the world is my "friend from across the pond", Katisha-or Tisha, as we all call her. Those of us who are friends with her love her wacky sense of humor and her infectious laugh. 

Tisha and I met five and a half years ago on a online quilting board. Our friendship started because of a sale of fat quarters at my local quilt shop. I posted a picture of my great bargain and offered to shop for others. Tisha took me up on it-and the rest is history. We began to chat in a private chat room on the quilt board, then we emailed back and forth and eventually we began to Skype. In October 2010, Tisha and her friend, Avis, flew to Texas and met up with me and my peeps (Anne, Pam, and Karen) for the Houston Quilt Show!! It was awesome! We all had a fabulous time. And when it was over, Tisha and Avis flew back to GA with me and stayed at my house for a whole week. We did lots of sightseeing and shopped the area quilt shops. 

We had fried green tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, GA. (This is where the movie was filmed)

That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Tisha has been back to visit me every Fall since. I have taken her to eat hot dogs at the ballpark, to Jekyll Island for a stroll on the beach and to Jacksonville, FL for a quilt show. 

Tisha has become a big baseball fan-or rather a Braves baseball fan. She has been to two games and had a great time learning all about the game, eating ballpark food and people watching. 

We have been to SC to visit Anne and spent a fabulous day together in Charleston. We have been to Maryland and stayed with Pam's daughter, Melissa, for a girlfriend get-together. We have been to Lancaster County, PA and visited Amish land and all the wonderful quilt shops. 

We have made so many great memories, have had so many belly laughs and have shared so many ups and downs. We have been through the heartbreak of losing a parent, the joy of new grandbabies, and the pain of a divorce. Yes, my friend from across the pond is a treasure, a true blue friend, a sweet, thoughtful, darling person and we are all so fortunate to have her in our lives. 

Tisha lives all the way across the pond in England, in Stapleford, Nottingham (the home of Robin Hood) with her two dogs, Harriett and Hamish and her cat, Oscar. 

 

She's an avid gardener and has a very green thumb. Even though her yard is small, it is such a peaceful place with all of her beautiful plants and flowers.

Tisha's other passion is quilting. She has been sewing for a long time, but started quilting in the last 6 years or so. She is very lucky to have been gifted a free-arm featherweight by a friend who didn't want it! Obviously, she didn't know what a gem she had on her hands!!

Tisha has sewn countless miles on this machine. And I'm sure she will sew many more. 

Last Friday Tisha and Avis attended the Great Northern Quilt Show in Harrogate. Tisha took lots of pictures and shared some of them with me. I hope you enjoy these. 

I love this quilt! And I'm so glad that Tisha sent a close up of it too. It's made with 1930s fabrics. :)

This quilt won best of show. The quilting (the two pictures below) is beautiful!

My favorite quilt that Tisha sent a picture of is this one. Being a "scrappy girl", this quilt makes my heart sing. The pattern is called Going Buggy and is from the quilt book Miss Rosie's Spice of Life Quilts. I think this quilt may have to go on my quilting bucket list! 

That is all of the pictures that Tisha sent from the show. And as the sun was setting, she wished me sweet dreams from across the pond.

Happy quilting to all and to all a good night. 

Grammy