Charming Girls

I just barely got this one finished. I started it a couple of weeks ago and just really haven't been in the sewing mood. I am happy with the way it turned out. This will be the new tote bag I carry to my sewing group. There is plenty of room for all of the stuff that us quilters carry around. This is the second bag I have made from this pattern it goes together very quickly (if you work on it). Happy Halloween.

Happy Halloween!!

Can't believe that it is already Halloween, (it will be in a couple of hours). This month has just flown by. After a really busy week at school, I am looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow. Halloween is one of the best times to share "scary stories" with the kids at school. I have had the best time this week reading The Tailypo to our fourth and fifth grade students, it isn't too scary but I don't want to take a chance and really scare any of our students so I save it for the older kids. I have a sore throat from doing the creepy voice of the "mysterious creature'" but it was well worth it. The kids and teachers have had a blast this week. Now for a quiet relaxing weekend, Hubby is out of town so I plan on getting some sewing done, I have to finish some of my Christmas presents, time is running out. I have a doll carrier that I need to finish for my great niece, some boxers for my hubby, and a couple of bags that you heat in the microwave, I forgot the official name for them. I might take a break and go to Sweet Home with Becky, I never turn down a chance to go to a quilt shop. Happy Haunting everyone.

Pumpkins and Crows

Several people had emailed me asking about the pattern for one of the quilts from the Mountain Holly Quilts Show. The name of the pattern is Pumpkins and Crows, it is available through Log Cabin Patchwork in Hiawassee, GA. I believe that it is one of their original designs. I am looking forward to getting mine made for next fall. Happy Fall.

Cowboy(girl) Symposium

Where else would a Quilting Cowgirl spend her weekend but at a Cowboy Symposium. The Booth Museum of Western Art had their annual Cowboy Symposium over the weekend. It was very, very good. The museum is awesome by itself, plus all of the extra exhibits and programs going on over the weekend. The museum is in Cartersville, about an hour north of Atlanta, that is taking traffic into consideration. The art on display is magnificent, if you like western art. There is something for everyone, from bronzes by Remington, to a special exhibit on the President's of the United States. There were also special exhibits outside the museum this weekend, there were arts and crafts, a chuck wagon serving up great food, and a reenactment of the shootout at the O.K. Corral. Hubby and I had a great time, needless to say there was no sewing this weekend.

Ready for Halloween

Halloween is my second favorite holiday, Christmas of course is my favorite. I have a couple of Christmas quilts, and had never thought about making a Halloween quilt until I found this print a couple of years ago. It is very "vintage" looking. It took a couple of years to figure out what to do with it. I didn't want to cut it up in small pieces so I used it as the middle of a small quilt.


I went to my stash and found fabrics that would coordinate with it to make a double border. It is a small quilt, but big enough to snuggle under while watching "The Great Pumpkin."I even put a "fancy" label on it. I have always loved this saying so I found a graphic and printed it out on the computer. I really want to work on making better labels.

Mountain Holly Quilt Show

On Saturday I went to the Mountain Holly Quilt Show in Blairsville, GA. It was the first time I had been to this particular show. It was very good! I was really impressed with the number of quilts in the show. Most of the quilts were new, but a few were antique quilts. Those were really a treat to look at. Some of the antique quilts had labels that told the history of the quilt. It made me more aware of the fact that all quilts need to be labeled and not just with a name and a year. I think that will be my goal for all future quilts. I love log cabin quilts and the one above featured sampler block in combination with log cabin blocks. The name of it was Jamestown Sampler.

The star quilt was Scrappy Stars. It was made mostly from batiks with all of the blocks having the same background fabric.

Love this Halloween quilt. I took about ten photos of it, thinking I would love to copy it, then went I was looking at the different vendors I found the pattern. I decided that would be easier than making my own pattern, not cheaper but definitely easier.

This was another sampler quilt that was really nice, with an appliqued medallion.

This quilt definitely stood out!! It was done in black and white and was the quilter's first attempt at long arm quilting. I think she knew what she was doing.

Fall at the Cabin

Boy, was I ready for a relaxing weekend. Last week was a short week at school, we were out on Monday for Columbus Day, but I think when the weeks are short everyone tries to cram too much into a shorter period of time. Joe and I headed up to the cabin Friday night. We were excited for different reasons, Saturday was the first day of deer season, and I was looking forward to going to a local quilt show. When I got up on Saturday morning, it was really cold, much colder than it has been here in Atlanta. Joe had already left in what seemed like the middle of the night. I headed out to the quilt show and to do some Christmas shopping. The show was great. (will post those photos tomorrow). When I came back to the cabin the smoke coming from the chimney was a pleasant surprise. Joe had a fire build and had saved me some lunch. I worked on some stitchery the rest of the afternoon and he went back into the woods. It was even colder this morning, a chilly 36 degrees. I love being up at the cabin in the fall and winter. More on the quilt show tomorrow.

Great Book!

Several people had recommended this book to me, and I have to admit I was a little hesitant to read it. I had looked at a review and while it sounded good, it was translated from Swedish and I just didn't know if it "would flow". WOW, it certainly does flow. I didn't have school today so I was able to stay up really late and finish it. It is an extremely good book. There are some violent scenes, but overall it is great. I can't wait to read the other two in this series. I seem to be on a kick reading books where the author died before they were published. Stieg Larson died after delivering the manuscript much like the author of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Bloggers Quilt Festival

Having missed out on the Spring Quilt Festival from Park City Girl I didn't want to miss out all of the fun this fall. I have spent the last hour looking at some of the great quilts already in the festival. The quilts and their stories are amazing. The quilt that I decided to show is one that I made last year. I started it in a class last June and didn't finish it until a year later. Nothing wrong with that? I had signed up to take a class at our LQS last May, the name of the class was Stash Pot Pie. When I saw the sample I knew that I had to make the quilt. What I didn't realize at the time was that just a couple of days after the class I would be in the hospital having a hysterectomy. The surgery was unexpected, after a trip to the doctor for what I thought was a minor problem the surgery was scheduled. I was so glad that I had signed up for the class, it definitely took my mind off of having surgery. It took a couple of weeks after coming home from the hospital to start feeling like sewing. The main problem was that my sewing room is in the basement and I was supposed to go up and down stairs. Normally I would have just gone up and down the steps, I felt ok, but my husband works out of the house and he was watching me like a hawk. I had to go out side, walk through the back yard and go into the basement from the yard. At least I got a little exercise. I call this my "Recovery Quilt" All of the fabrics in the blocks were from my stash. The only fabric I had to buy was the backing. This is the quilt that I am using on the sofa when I watch TV now that the weather is getting cooler.

Check out the great quilts at Park City Girl's site.

Charming Girls

I just remembered that I needed to get this posted today. It is the project that I plan on finishing this month. I have made one bag like this and gave it away. This one is for me to keep. I love the fabrics, they are very southwestern. Once I get started it shouldn't take too long.

Fall Festival

Last weekend DH and I went to the Fall Festival at the John C Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. It isn't that far from our cabin in Blue Ridge. I always love going to this because it isn't your typical fall festival. The festival highlights the students who take classes at the folk school. Their work is incredible. The folk school offers classes on everything from blacksmithing, to quilting, weaving, jewelry making, and pottery.

There were some great quilts on display. The one above was made by a student at the folk school. It was stunning, the colors were beautiful. Which I am partial to anything that has red in it.

All of the tools used in the barbecue were made at the school and the pig was served to students at the school.

I usually buy some hand dyed alpaca yarn and this year I actually got to meet the alpaca's. They are so cute, when they aren't spitting.

If you ever have the chance to go to the festival I would definitely go. It is my hope to someday take a class there. Happy Fall!!!

Molly and Me

This is a me and Molly, a dairy cow. Our health teacher arranged for her to visit our school since a number of our students and teachers had never seen a "real" cow before. It was great to watch all of the kids faces while she was being milked. Since I grew up on a farm seeing a cow was nothing new, and when I was asked to pose with Molly I didn't' hesitate. This was Molly's first visit to a school I think she was more afraid than some of our children. Have a great weekend.