Whoo-hoo

Yep, that's what we heard off and on for three days. I spent three days at a Ricky Tim's seminar. Alex Anderson and Libby Lehman were part of the fun. I learned so much and got so much inspiration from the three of them. In addition to teaching techniques they also shared their journey in quilting and some about their lives. Ricky started quilting in 1991 and shared his first experiences, first quilt and his goals. He is a terrific entertainer and he performed a concert for us on Friday night. It is hard to believe somebody can be so talented in to many areas. I wanted to share some pictures with you. This is Ricky in front of two of his quilts. We were allowed to go up on the stage and take pi cutes and get up close and personal with the incredible work he does.

This quilt is by Libby Lehman. She is so funny and tells great jokes during her demonstrations. She is very knowledgeable about sewing machines and threads. Believe me when I tell you, these pictures do not do these quilts justice.

This is one of the quilts that Libby demonstrated the technique for us. I do think I could do something like this. She sure made it look easy. The machine attachment she used to do this technique happens to be part of my "what the heck is this thing for" box. Now for those who don't have one of the attachments, Meissner's was there with a store set up and you could purchase any Bernina sewing machine made, including sewing machine tables and quilting frames. They were even offering 36 months, no interest financing.

I have always admired Alex Anderson. She did a trunk show at Manteca Quilt guild and that's when I first saw this quilt. Alex is known for her HGTV show, Simply Quilts, and her hand quilting. When you get up close to this quilt it is almost unbelievable that some one could hand quilt all that. What a work of art.

This quilt is another example of Libby's quilting and thread art. It is so beautiful.

This is another of Alex's quilts that show cases her beautiful hand quilting. She did a lectures on how to chose the right quilt design for your quilt and other very useful information . She also demonstrated hand quilting.

This is another quit by Ricky.

This quilt is demonstrates a new technique he is working on, using photo's. Looks like he perfected it to me.

This is Ricky's quilt tool It was hanging on the stage and I studied this one up close. He quits his quilts too and doesn't use a long arm. That was the message I needed to hear. He explained his process and I'm ready to take on my stack of quilt tops.

This is another one of his quilts. He explained the process, from designing to binding this quilt. He breaks each step into small increments so you get motivated to give it a try. If you ever get the chance to attend a Ricky Tims' Super Quilt Seminar, DO IT. I'm sure you won't regret it.

The quilt pictured below is the first quilt Ricky made. His message throughout the three days is never give up. Everything you do will be a learning experience and a step closer to your goal of becoming the quilter you want to be.

I don't know what's up with the corner of this picture but I think you get the idea. Ricky is a great story teller and when he tells about his first quilt he credits other quilters who encouraged him and shared their quilt tips and techniques with him.

In two weeks I will be in Sister's Oregon for the fabulous outdoor quilt show. I'm working there this year but I will find a way to take hundreds of pictures and get more inspiration.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures, your Sunday is blessed and you have a fabulous week ahead.

Marvelous Monday

This is the start of a new week and it will be a marvelous week. Today is the beginning of a six week study of Ephesians on a blog. What an incredible tool to use to bring hundreds of people together to study the word of God. If you remember my last post, Saturday we had a video conference wedding linking England and the US. I can't wait to see what is next. It's not to late to get in on this study. Go to wendyblight.com and read all about it. This is a study that will bring joy to your heart.

I have a long list of things I need to accomplish today so I must get started. I pray that your day will be blessed.

Life Goes On

After a very sad week we are trying to stay busy and keep our minds occupied so we aren't focusing on the loss of our dearest little Herkie. His little buddy, Missy, seems to be looking for him. Maybe we are just reading something into her behavior that isn't really there. We sure miss him terribly.

Check out my newest challenge. This quilt is called Ladies of the Sea and was designed by Susan H. Garman. I have been admiring this for a few months but thought it was to complicated to tackle. I'm just getting into the applique technique. I love the ocean and anything nautical so after admiring from a far I decided to go for it. It's a 12 month block of the month series so I will take it one block at a time and I figure with each block I can only improve. The best part about taking on this project is knowing some very talented and accomplished appliquers that will be willing to help if needed.

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the wedding of Ashley and Elivs. Isn't she a beautiful bride? She is from England and her family couldn't attend the wedding so one of the guys from church hooked up a laptop with a video camera and connected her family to the church, by video, so they could be a part of this special day. How cool is that? The handsome pastor is Pastor Dan. That was his first video wedding.

It's a very warm day today and the wind has finally calmed down. It's the kind of day you want to stay inside and work on a quilt or read a book, and anything else that doesn't involve being outside in the heat.

Wishing you God's peace.

Good Bye Sweet Herkie

Our best friends eyes closed last night

as his head rest in our hands.

The doctors said he was in pain

and he could no longer stand.

The thoughts that rambled through our heads

while we cradled him in our arms,

Were of his younger years

and all the joys we shared.

Our bed is empty now

where he once laid his head,

Between the two people who loved him

and cherished the time we shared.

They say memories are golden

and maybe it's true.

But we never wanted memories

We only wanted you.

Throughout the day we think of you

and throughout the day we cry

If love alone could have saved you

You never would have died.

In life we loved you dearly

In death we love you still.

In our hearts you hold a place

No one could ever fill.

Good bye Sweet Herkie.

Thank you Lord for the gift of his companionship and the time we shared together.

Computer Heart Break

Greetings from a very frustrated computer user. My computer finally died yesterday. All my attempts to revive it failed. I knew this was coming because I've had to use the system disk twice to get it up and running. After three hours yesterday I just gave up. My next step was to decide if I was going to use my laptop or buy a new desktop. I have been wanting to change over to a Mac because of all the problems and security issues with Microsoft but that would require going out of town and a bigger financial burden. I will be in Oregon in July and I was going to shop there, no sales tax. I opted for the laptop. I took the old out and hooked up the laptop and what a nightmare. This is an old laptop and so slow you could bake bread while waiting to get a response from it. By 6:30 I was ready to pull my hair out. I went online and researched systems and prices. I went through the Sunday papers and found a sale at Office Depot. They have the HP Pavilion Slimline Desktop on sale for $529.99. QVC had the same system for a lot more plus shipping. So I decided to take the plunge. Today I'm dealing with set-up. The computer comes with no manuals. I'm searching the system for manuals and what I need I can't find. I can't get my Microsoft Office to load. Half of my software won't run with Windows 7 and some of my software is no where to be found. My HP Officejet 7210 All In One, a purchase I made a few years back doesn't work with Windows 7. I love this All In One. There is an upside to all this, my files are backed up. So I will proceed until I can proceed no more.

I wish I was quilting. Have a blessed day.

Wishing you and yours a safe a memorable Memorial Day. My DH and I are nursing a very sick dog and we haven't had a good nights sleep for three nights. The upside to that is the down time we have to reflect on what Memorial Day means to us. DH was in the Navy during the Vietnam War and we have a son in the active Army Reserves who served 18 months in Iraq.

I haven't posted for over a month. There has been so much going on and I feel like I'm going non stop. My computer has tried to flat line on me twice. I had to use the system disk to boot up and I think I'm getting an outside sources trying to invade my system because I restore my system to a latter date and it works fine again. What's up with that? So now I don't shut down the computer, I just let it sleep. I'm trying to keep this computer alive until July and then I can purchase a new one, which I hate doing because I like Windows XP and I've been using this computer since 95. You would think a computer would last longer when you consider what you pay for them. Oh well, life happens. I'm thinking about buying an Apple computer.

On the quilting front, I'm ready to quilt my Sister's Choice and I only have two rows, and the inner and outer borders on my 19th Century Red quilt and it will be ready for quilting. I'm not sure what I want for the blocks but I differently want some full and fancy feathers in the borders. Film at 11:00! I pre-ordered the EQ7 upgrade and I signed up for a block of the month. There are more quilting surprises on the horizon.

On the home front, the main bathroom is done and it's beautiful. I still have to make the window treatment and hang it but after that, mission accomplished. Now it's off to the dining room.

Praying for peace and joy throughout the world.
Sandi

Never enough time.

Greetings. I was listening to a speaker saying that the only thing that can be stolen and never replaced is time. I have been giving that a lot of thought. Who or what has been steeling my time? My first thoughts are the television, newspaper, telephone, computer, husband, mother, family in general, and poor planning. It seems like I have been work all week to strip wall paper and paint a bathroom. Í started Monday and it's still not done and I find that very upsetting. Part of the problem is depending on somebody else to do their part. I was scheduled to start the painting at 7:00 a.m. today and I'm updating my blog and catching up on emails because the old flooring wasn't removed and that needs to be done before the painting. That flooring was to be out Thursday and no later than Friday. Oh well. Dare I hope for this project will be completed by May 1? I have so many projects around this house that need completing and I can't afford to have my time stolen.

A great use of my time is attending a quilt guild meeting. Thursday night the Pioneer Quilter's Guild brought their 2010 Opportunity Quilt to show off and sell raffle tickets. This is their beautiful quilt. Their web site is pioneerquiltersguild.org and their show is November 5 and 6th.
This is Judy showing off her Dresden wall hanging she started at a workshop a few months ago. She hand quilted it. Judy's work is beautiful.

This is Julie's Dresden quilt. I love her use of blue's and a splash of yellow. Julie is another accomplished quilter.

Barbara did the same pattern as Judy with different colors. She said it wasn't intended to be a Christmas wall hanging but it just might end up that way. When I see the beautiful projects these ladies create I want to start my own. I'm fine tuning the art of self control. It's a very slow process.

The upcoming week should be very productive, that's the plan anyway. I'm hoping to get my 19th Century Reds quilt pieced this week and who knows, maybe that bathroom will get finished. I do believe in miracles.

Wishing you a blessed and productive week.