Home again!!!!

Early 6am on the bus and up I-29 to home....used up just about all of my Dramamine yesterday--so before leaving went to a convience store to pick up a pack--and since I didn't have a choice but to take what they had--these were NOT non-drowsy!! I sat down on the bus--started listening to my book and the next thing I know I am scared awake by the announcement that McDonalds in CouncilBluffs is the next stop!!! I might have to relisten to a few chapters!!! Just after Sioux City I get a call from Loren that Josh's girlfriend has a softball game in Sioux Falls--and that should work out just right. Bus gets to Sioux Falls about 12noon and since we were both craving pizza--Lois and I went to Red Rosa pizza and it tasted sooo good!!! Loren picked me up and Lois took the car home--worked out quite convienently!!

So off to Sherman Park we went...met up with Josh and a couple friends. The sunshine was beautiful and hot--so I am sunburned and tired. After playing 2 games from 1pm to 6:30pm both games ended in a loss for SDSU. Marlee had a nice game--hit a triple and a single. And I remembered why base/softball is my least favorite sport---it takes a LONG time with not much excitement!! Plus I already had bus butt--now add bleacher butt to that and I was so ready to get home. Taking all that into consideration it was still fun to watch her in her element and do her thing!!!
And so ends my Great Quilt Adventure.......until next time--Terri

St. Joseph, Missouri

Take Dramamine. Ride bus. Ride Bus. Play Bejeweled Butterflys. Ride Bus. Play Bejeweled Digger. Ride Bus. Stop at McDonalds so other riders could get senior discount coffee. Take Dramamine. Ride Bus. Listen to book. Ride Bus. Dinner at Cracker Barrel.Take Dramamine. Ride Bus. Listen to book and play solitare at same time. Ride Bus. Drop off passenger in Kansas City. Ride Bus. Listen to book and play solitare at same time. Eat NutterButter cookies. Ride Bus. Get to Drury Inn in St. Joseph. Wasn't very hungry so had some broccoli soup and nachos and cheese. Went for walk in neighbor hood. Better head to bed soon as the bus is loading at 6am tomorrow!!!
Not a lot of photo opportunities today. Plus my camera batteries are just about dead, so thought I would share a FEW of my purchases with you...

This adorable kit was found in the very first booth I went in--40 X 45 wool applique and flannel piecing wallhanging. It came in that sweet racoon bag. There is an owl, bear, rabbit, fox, wolf,racoon deer--and I forget the other ones. Just too cute of kit to not come home with me. I never seen it at any other booth either!!!

 

This photo isn't that exciting but it is the supplies needed to do some snow dye of fabric. I would like to try dye some fabric and using snow gives a great mottled effect. Click the link to a blog with a tutorial and gorgeous photos.So I wanted to have everything ready for next winter. Chartruese, Eggplant, Pumpkin and Turquiose. Can't wait to see what it makes!!!

These great buttons from the 70's that will become earrings on my Quilt Diva lady that I cut out the applique pieces riding the bus down to Kentucky.

Of course there were more purchases. A few ZenTangle books--someday I should actualy try tangling--but I love to read the books and they can inspire my quilting!! Some machine quilting rulers, DVD, and a few Digital Machine quilting books.

This trip as been quite a journey and inspiration overload. I have seen some amazing quilts with painstakingly small and precise quilting, great color combinations and inspired design!! I have met some great people on the bus who started the trip as strangers and ended the trip as friends.

Thanks so much for all the notes of encouragement and kind words that you have given me--they are all treasured and help to spur me on to the next level and challenge that the Lord may have in store for me!!!

Last day at the AQS Paducah....

Well the sun has set on my last day here in Kentucky...and it's only 9pm this time!!! Started the morning with a drive down Dogwood Trail. The dogwoods are in full bloom and absolutely beautiful in front of these stately old brick homes with wraparound porches--hard to get photos on a moving bus--but trust me--great spring blooms here!!!
I had a request for some views into the show areas...so here they come...the crowd wasn't quite as large right away this morning as because the weather was rainy yesterday the crowds stayed inside--and today they ventured out to some of the other sites.

 

 This is the line of people waiting to enter the show doors!!

Just inside the show...people deciding whether to go to the right or to the left...either way the choice will be wrong and the crowds will be thick wherever you want to go!!!

 

 

Looking down the quilt rows--the black curtains are arranged into 3 sided cubicles--so that 3 quilts can be hung together--right, left, and one on the rear. The chain keeps people from touching the quilts--but that doesn't mean that you can't get really really really close--so close in fact that sometimes the "white glove" ladies will follow you around to make sure that you are not touching the quilts!!!!

 

Just the start of row upon row of vendors--each of them with something that will make your eyes sparkle and your wallet lighter.....

It's been about a week since I played with my APQS--so I had to stop here and play--so I don't get rusty!!!

 

So yeah--there are always quilting celebraties selling their product and most of them are gracious enough to do a photo op. Ricky Timms has hand dyed fabrics and has written some great books. My quilt Deep Blue Rhapsody was made useing a technique from his book. And yes we did get matching shirts again!!! But we felt that this saying was just too true for us--as my stash IS bigger--and stash could mean several things!!! Sure wish I had a dollar for every comment on our crowns!! I could have bought more thread!!!!

We walked the few blocks to the Quilt Museum--the largest fiber arts museum in the world. How inspiring it was to see these works of art. When a quilt is awarded Best of Show at the Paducah show the quiltmaker is given the option to donate the quilt to the museum so there were some awe inspiring quilts to look at

On the way to the museum we passed by a BBQ vendor that was not part of the food tent--but on a side street and the owner asked if she could take our photo by her sign so she could post it on their facebook for advertising the quilt show--and being the good businesswoman that Loren taught me to be--I said sure for a sandwich!!!! She laughed and said--Come back for one at lunchtime...

So when we went back past again--we got our sandwich and put the lawn chairs by their sign and waved at passerbys!! The pulled pork was sweetly smoked and just right juiciness--and best of all the price was right!!!

 

These views are from the second level balcony. The men in red coats are volunteers who for $1 will keep your packages together for you--the packages stay safe--you don't need to carry the heavy bag around and you can even add to it if you need to. A really handy service!!!

Up next on our agenda was taking the bus system to Hancock's of Paducah!!--this is not the chain store. What a crazy outfit---rows and rows of fabric and people and carts with bolts overflowing trying to get through!! I didn't find any bargins--but a few nice gray and black pieces.

The resturant we wanted to try tonight was across the street from our hotel--the only problem is the street is actually 6 lanes wide with no crosswalk!! Since we were the actual youngest ones on our bus we decided that it wouldn't be a problem for us. It was well worth the risk. A lovely meal on the patio was an amazing way to end our stay here in Paducah. The rest of the evening was spent trying to organize the purchases back into the suitcase so nothing will get lost on the bus.

 

 

 

Half way point in Terri's Great Quilt Adventure...

To my family--you get this--to the rest of you--here's the deal. As our kids were growing up we  always took a vacation every year, but we managed to take a few special ones. These special vacations were given the title of "Great Adventures" and were documented with a journaling and photo quilt. So that is why the Promise Kept quilt needed to be made...so who knows maybe this adventure might need to be remembered in fabric too someday!!
Now on to the day...once again it is after 11pm and here I sit--and we thought we would be to bed on time tonight!!! At least tonight we both made sure that our phone alarms were off as both phones woke us up at 5:30 this morning--and we both thought that we had shut them off--so we went back to sleep. Lucky for us the alarm fairy made sure that the clock radio in the room rang at 7am--neither of us set it--so not sure why it rang.
Loaded up on the bus at 8:45. It made a few different stops to let people off at different events around the city. When we get to the convention center the line to get in is 6 people wide and at least 50 yards long to get into the main level--so being the non-conformist that I tend to be--we went to the lower level and walked right in!!! More vendors--but with shoulder to shoulder room in some we just looked from the outside to see if anything caught our eye and moved on to the next--still things just seemed to appear in my bag!!! That I purchased of course...
I would love to show you photos of the quilts and you may be waiting for them--but it is posted online that the AQS show does not allow photos to be shared unless you have the quiltmakers' permission--and I gave myself permission yesterday. So I will just try and give you a feeling of what the whole experiece is here. It's kinda like someone said at our bus tour's show and tell tonight--Everyone is happy because they want to be here--no one is forceing them to be here--unless they might be the husband who has to carry the bags.
There is a big tented area outside the convention center with several food vendors and picnic tables set up has a festival kind of feel to it. It was kinda rainy and drippy today so we just took it inside and ended up sitting on the floor in the hallway.

 

 

 

 

Buses waiting to take the weary shoppers back to their motels to recharge for the next day.

We went to Bob Evans for supper--I can say that I don't have to stop at another one of those anytime soon again--I was quite hungry for a hamburger and fries--been having some ketchup withdrawals---so here comes my plate and it is a pressed square pattie--not that the meat was bad--just me--can't do square hamburgers--so I had a bacon cheese sandwich.

Anyway---we had show and tell with our group tonight at 7:30 and didn't finish until 10! What a great group of people on this trip--so much fun to see and learn about others with a common interest. Everyone has a reason to why they do this craft and it's so interesting to see the personality of the person shine through the choices in products and projects that appeal to them.

For my friends and family with snow on the ground yet--this last photo is for you--proof that spring will come...the Lord says there is a season to everything...springtime and harvest...so it will come.

 



Day 2.....

As I sit here on my bed at 11pm--I am trying to remember when both of our phone alarms rang this morning--and I believe that was 5:30--and we were in St. Louis. Crazy--busy day.  On the bus at 7am--should've took Dramamine quicker!! Will make sure and do better with timing that on the way home!!!  Arrived in Paducah ahead of schedule!! About 11:30am.
Went right to the Finkle building--

where one can find rows of tables filled with AQS books at a much discounted rate and vendors!!! While in the building there was a bit of "biker" flair to some of the surroundings...and seemed a bit out of place until we came back and saw this sign...

Apparently this building must be used as church when not a quilt space!!! Too funny!
Of course I had to purchase a kit in the first vendor space--wool applique Woodland baby animals--watch for those photos tomorrow!!
Paducah has very quaint architecture and adds so much to the appeal and charm of this show...

We had lunch in this great bakery and deli--chicken salad on a delicious cranberry walnut bread--along with a cowboy chocolate chip cookie for dessert...

Once again--cool things to look at--those bakery letters have such a great art deco feel to them--love it!!
Meet up with tour group again at 2pm--then off to the Rotary Quilt Show--more vendors--Cherrywood Fabrics recieved a substantial portion of my fabric allowance!!! Love these fabrics--it is what I made Promise Kept with!!!--antique signature quilts and Hoffman challenge--forgot photos of this place.
Finally to hotel at 4pm--just enough time to clean up, call taxi and get to the awards ceremony. Such a buzz of excitement in the air!!!

 

While my name didn't get called to go up on stage--everyone here wearing a lime green contestant ribbon is a winner--they took the chance and entered a quilt--if no one enters how would we have shows!!
After a quick shrimp salad at The Whaler--we had to make a mad dash--fast walk--to the convention center to the Sneak Peek Event. A limited amount of tickets were sold for this event. The pathways were not crowded and it was easy to see the quilts up close and personal. We had to go to the upstairs space to find the wallhanging section--but there 1433 is me!!!

Lois had to pull sneek the curtain back to get a good angle for the camera. While she was taking this photo a passerby said--Look she made her hair the same color as her quilt!! WooHoo--I actually did--thanks Maria!!!
We spent 2 hours walking through vendors--found a new thread to try--photo tomorrow--and then bus back to hotel.  Wow what inspiration overload--but oh so worth it!!
But wait there is more....when we arrived in our hotel room this afternoon my amazing husband had this cheerful bouquet of flowers waiting for me!!! My biggest cheerleader...thank you hon...Love you for Always!!!

Paducah or Bust--Day one....

Wow 12 hours on and off in the bus.....let's just say that I am so glad that my dear Husband totally convinced me that I needed to sit in the front of the bus. Even sitting in seat 2 and Dramamine at regualr intervals...my stomach was twirling around like a circus clown!! Extremely thankful for the audio library book on the iPad---I may have dozed off through a chapter--but thanks Ashley and Jan for the audio hint!!!
I picked up Lois in Rock Valley at 6am and we headed off to the Holiday Inn Express in Sioux Falls where we joined up with about 12 other crazies waiting for the bus coming from Crafty Corner in Worthington. Left at 7am and headed south down I 29 with drizzly gray skies. Stopped at McDonald's in Sioux City for breakfast and pick up another passenger. Left Sioux City with lots of rain--just rain--no ice!!! Pit stop at first rest stop into Missouri--felt so good to walk around in SuNSHINE!!! Yes there still is a sun up in the universe! St. Joseph was the next stop at Cracker Barrel for dinner and another pickup. How amazing it was to see freshly mowed green grass along with all the flowering trees!!! BEAUTIFUL--oh man just thought--should've taken a photo to prove it!! Will try get some spring photos tomorrow!! Once again back on the bus for the final push to St Louis--this is where the circus came into play!! Pick up another passenger in Kansas City. Man did it feel good to get to the motel!!! I would guess that there are about 30 of us along with the Husband/Wife team from Crafty Corner.
There were several ladies that had read the NWIowa Review story about Promise Kept--so they asked me to explain a bit about the quilt to everyone--with a microphone and turning around to the back of the bus--I so love public speaking...NOT..but I managed to get through explaining most of the elements--with Lois' prompts from the side. One lady had been to the Minnesota State Quilt Show last year--where Promise Kept had won a First Entry award--and she remembered seeing it hang there. I thought that was pretty cool!!! Nice to see that it made an impression on someone!!
Well it is another early morning tomorrow--although I am getting quite used to getting up early--as the last 6 weeks have had 4 trailers and 7 semis of market hogs going out--that comes to 1500 head of hogs being sorted and loaded--along with moving 500 nursery pigs to finisher, getting in 500 new pigs and vaccinating them. Then add in the 28 customer quilts that were quilted!!!
A big shout out to a wonderful son-in-law  Tyler for helping Loren load the semi this morning!!!

Yes we have matching shirts--and no we did not plan it!! How funny is that--but yes this is the ultimate road trip!!!! Our standard answer to the crowns --Yes, we are Queens for the week!

Day one was ended with a nice supper at Max and Erma's--nice Applebee's type resturant--in a mall next to the Motel.
Paducah by noon tomorrow---see you then!!!

Accuquilt Barn Quilt Block--contest

My name is Terri and I am addicted to quilting contests....I guess that is what I would have to say if there were a 12 step program for quilt contest addictions!!! I just find such a rush in the challenge of designing for a specific project!!!
I received an Accuquilt Go Baby as a prize for making it into the final round of the McCall's Quilt Design Star contest--no dies to cut the fabric shapes--just the little machine to make the cuts--yeah--didn't seem right to me either--so when I found this contest put on by Accuquilt to design a Barn Quilt for their factory in Omaha--thought it was worth a shot--might even be able to get a cutting die out of the whole thing and then finally be able to use the Go Baby!!!
I was working out in the studio and came upon this block scrapbook on my bookshelf...

So a bit of history behind this scrapbook--it is from my Great Grandmother--Mrs. Joseph {Katie} Horn. It was in my Grandmother's--Mrs. Peter J. {Minnie} Vis' possesion and my Mom gave it to me. Inside are newspaper clippings from the Kansas City Star from the late 1920's to the late 1930's. It has been a fun connection to look through this a feel a conection with an ancestor who apparently appreciated quilting--or at least the free weekly patterns. So I decided if I found any blocks that might look great on a barn with a bit of redesigning--I would enter the contest.

 

Above are 2 of the 3 from the scrapbook that I decided on doing some redesigning with...The Quilt Without A Name and The Secret Drawer. I spent a few evenings working in EQ7 software playing with adding a line and doing some recoloring of the blocks. Then submitted my designs and waited to hear what blocks made the 100 vote.

Last week was an extremely busy week on the farm--3 semi loads of hogs going out--and a big spring ice and snow storm--resulting in many power outages along with a severe lack of sleep. So imagine my excitement to check the website on Wednesday morning to find that 2 of my blocks had made it into the 100 vote!!! Prize for that is points to purchase a fabric cutting die for the Go Baby!!!! But there is still voting to be done to see which of the 100 blocks will be selected to be turned into a Barn Quilt for the factory.

There are still a few days left...so lets see what we can do!!

 

The Secret Drawer block I added some triangles, 16 patch in center, and thread to the spools. I renamed it The Thread Drawer.

 

The Quilt Without a Name I added the flying geese through the center and did some more recoloring. Since this block--has no name--I decided to honor the woman who so carefully saved these patterns from the newspaper and so I call this block Great Grandma Katie's Delight.

 



The link below will take you to the home page where you can find the voting page. There will be 100 blocks to look through and you are welcome to vote for 5. I believe my numbers are 45 and 59--but these pictures are what to look for.

Thanks for joining me in this fun--and if any of you happen to find a 12 step program for quilters--let Loren know!!!!

http://www.accuquilt.com/barnquilt.html