Happy Birthday Greg!

Today is Greg's birthday. We're having a quiet celebration at home tonight and we'll celebrate again later this week when we get together with his family for Thanksgiving. I'm a VERY lucky woman to be married to my best friend, biggest cheerleader, most tolerant critic and the biggest goofball I know. He's my hero. Not only for his outstanding military service and his never-ending support and work for veteran's and POW/MIA issues but also for how he leads his life. He's one of the good guys and I love him for it! (Of course, it doesn't hurt that he makes tea for me every morning either!)

Happy Birthday Lumberjack Man!!!

Timber Time!

We were out in the timber cutting firewood this past weekend. Even though it's a lot of work I still love doing it. We do this several times a year and we usually take either a lunch or snacks and spend a good portion of the day. The dogs, of course, go with us too. I honestly can't tell you which I enjoy more -- being out in the timber getting the wood and watching the dogs play or having nice warm floors all winter long!

I remembered (finally!) to take the camera with me so I've got several photos to share.








Fanny was taking a break and resting up in this big pile of leaves.














Jack (The Wonder Dog!) was on the alert for any dangerous critters that might be in the area.









Myah was taking a break from tracking all the deer that live in the timber. She hasn't caught one yet but she hasn't given up hope!

New Mystery Quilt

I just posted the first segment of the new mystery quilt that I've designed on my website (www.iowastarquilts.com). If you like doing mystery quilts then you might want to check it out. It's going to be a three-parter that ends up being lap size. I really like this one and I'm anxious to get started on it myself!

I knew this blog was going to end up making me feel guilty! I've been so busy that I haven't allowed myself time to sit down and do some fun things on the computer -- including blogging! Now that things are settling down once again I'm going to try and do a better job of communicating!

I managed to get my two new patterns published in time for the AQS show in Des Moines at the end of October. THANK YOU to my friend Jean for quilting both of the lap quilts. She did a wonderful job and the quilts looked great hanging in the booth! (Jean does machine quilting for people so if you're interested please contact me and I'll gladly pass on her info.)

You've seen these quilts before as top before they were quilted. The top one is Road To Heaven and the bottom one is Fractured Star.

I'm pleased with both of these patterns and they were both fun to piece together. I enjoy the process of designing quilts and sometimes I get so caught up in designing that I forget about how rewarding it is to actually sit down and piece. It makes me feel really good to see the pile of blocks get bigger and bigger until I have enough to do the quilt.

The AQS Show in Des Moines was loads of fun! (My husband claims that I develop amnesia about the setting up and tearing down parts of vending!) We got a chance to hang out with a bunch of our vendor friends from across the country and it's always a joy to catch up with them. We also got a chance to chat with lots of folks who were attending the show and that's always a treat.

I spoke with several people who'd flown in and rented cars so they could get out of Des Moines and see some of the surrounding countryside and they were really surprised at how pretty Iowa is! (We knew that all along!)

I did remember to take a photo of my booth at the show. (Think I can cram anything else into it??)

Okay. So once I started sewing I couldn't stop and I've been trying to finish up projects that I'd started earlier. (Sound familiar?) This is one of those projects. It's called Road to Heaven and I designed it a while back and had it on my website as a mystery quilt. I'm getting the pattern ready for publication and decided that maybe I should actually do the quilt! (Ya THINK?) I love this particular kind of block because there are a kazillion different settings you can make using just the one block. It's not a fancy block and it's easy to piece -- but once you get a bunch of them made the possibilities are endless and that's what makes it so much fun (at least for me!)

I've been making lap-sized quilts lately and that's what this is. I'm anxious to see what it looks like after it's quilted!

Okay. So I don't post anything for a month and now I'm going to inundate you with stuff. Not fair, I know but right now I've got a little time to get caught up so I'm going to try and make the most of it.

A couple of weeks ago we had a rainy weekend which finally gave me a chance to get into my sewing room and get something done. I needed a baby gift and didn't feel like shopping so I used some of the baby flannels that I carry on my website and did a shaggy baby blanket. I had SUCH a good time! I got everything cut and was able to sit down in front of the TV and just sew. (Usually I'm working on a new design and have to make notations or corrections while I'm sewing. Kinda takes the fun out of it!) Here's a photo of the result. It's nothing extraordinary or fancy -- just a useable, washable baby quilt. What's nice about it is that it's DONE and I don't have to send it off to get it quilted and I don't have to bind it either.






I don't know if you can see -- but the flannel has little baby handprints and footprints. I've loved this particular fabric line for years and was tickled when they finally printed it in flannel. I just think it's sweet.

It's been waaayyyy too long since I've posted anything and I apologize! A combination of a sick computer (requiring a trip to the "computer wellness center") plus my own bout with the current Whatever's-Going-Around really put a stop to just about everything for a while. Again -- my apologies! Allow me to get things updated and we'll go from there.

Over Labor Day Weekend Greg and I travelled to Pittsburg, KS so that I could judge their annual quilt show. WOW! I was truly impressed with the quality of work that was displayed. Overall the workmanship was very good and the creativity was wonderful! I judged 177 quilts and felt privileged to be able to do so. They had well over 200 quilts in the show including quilts done by kids (which were great by the way). I honestly don't know how they manage to put a show like that together every year.




Susan Stewart was awarded the Best of Show ribbon for an absolutely stunning quilt. Susan started life doing heirloom sewing and has moved on to quilting. She does everything by machine and she's got a relationship with her sewing machine that's unbelievable! Here are a couple of photos of her quilt.

I don't know how well you can see this -- but here are a couple of close-ups of her work. Amazing.
Simply amazing.








I had a wonderful time judging the Little Balkans Quilt Show. The quilts were wonderful and the people were so very welcoming and friendly. Plus -- they're darned good cooks, too! Thank you all for your hospitality!