Quilting with Amanda Jean!

Over on Amanda Jean's blog you can see more pictures of the amazing quilt that she has made as the grand door prize for those attending our quilting retreat November 6-8 at The Inn at City Park in Fort Collins, CO.

Several of her commenters have asked questions, so I'm going to try to answer them here.

Do we still have room?

Yes, we have room for about 5 more quilters.

Do you have to stay at the inn?

Absolutely not--if you are local or know someone in the area, we have a discounted rate that still includes the meals and workshops, but no bed!

What is the nearest airport?

Denver International Airport is about a 50 minute drive. Sweet talk me and I will arrange for transportation!!!

The prices are really reasonable for what you get--not to mention the chance to win this AMAZING quilt or a one night's stay at the inn plus lots of other fun things that I'm currently working on! I am a trained chef, so the food will be incredible(not to toot my own horn or anything!); it should just be an amazing weekend with lots of quilting, laughing and making new friends!

Feel free to ask me more questions in the comment section and I will answer them ASAP--Like AJ said--Only 6 more weeks!!!

I, for one, cannot wait to quilt with Amanda Jean!

Fall is in the air!

I signed up for a summer mini quilt swap--my first of it's kind, and finally finished the mini quilt. Now that's it's fall, it doesn't seem right that I'm mailing a summer quilt, but my swap partner is in Texas and it probably still feels like summer there!


My co-innkeeper Alexis drew this picture on our chalkboard at work. We try to put fun quotes and seasonal pictures up there regularly and this one just spoke to me!

I don't know if you can read it but it says, "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability," by Sam Keen. So with the imagery of an afternoon in a hammock with a book and iced tea, I made a quilt that looks just like it!


I tea stained it and kept it wrinkly to give it a vintage feel. I left all the applique edges raw and then washed it to give the edges a frayed look and to give the piece some depth. I'm very happy with how it turned out!


The chickens are getting bigger all the time. They are so funny and have little personalities and quirks that constantly make us giggle!


New jammie pants for my little man--I love making these, they're so stinking fast!

Blocks are arriving from my quilting bee--I've gotten Jenny and Victoria's--Thank you!! I'll show you as soon as I have a few more!

I'd like to start a second bee if anyone is interested. I still need 6 more quilters to fill it up! If you want in, please e-mail me your address, so I'll know you're committing!

The Bee Balm quilting bee

I have belatedly gotten my fabrics together for my new quilting bee and they will be going in the mail tomorrow! I've been wanting to join a bee for a while, just never found one looking for people, so I decided to start my own! I'm so glad I have and I might have enough for another, just need a few more people!


Amanda Jean is making a quilt like Ingrid Press's and even though I thought I wanted wonky log cabins or some such, as soon as I saw her block I knew I had to do these houses! I've been stashing 30s repro fabric for a while and going round in circles as far as what to do with them, but this is it!

In other news there's a great giveaway of some embroidery goodies here! Check it out!

I've got chickens!

My dear, sweet husband built me a chicken coop for our 5th anniversary and yesterday we filled it up! I'm so excited--they are just too stinking cute!

We got two Buff Orpingtons(Buffy and Pecker(in honor of a dear friend--because chickens peck!)), two black sex-linked chicks(Monique and Unique), one Silver Wyandotte(Eagle), and one Rhode Island Red(Chicken Little).


Tade loves them so very much! It's so cute to watch. If all goes according to plan, we'll be getting 15-30 brown eggs per week beginning in late January. Hope I'm hungry!



I also received a swap package in the mail today. Thanks so much Solidia for such an awesome apron and package!

Here are the only confirmed quilters in the bee:

Bumble Beans
Yukon Viv
Solidia
Melina
San-Dee
Tara

This means I still need 6(!) to get this ball rolling. Some that had said yes have never gotten back to me so I don't want to count on them unless I hear from them. If you're interested, leave a comment letting me know and e-mail me your address. I have to hear from you in order to count you in! Invite your friends, invite your family, but invite somebody!

I still plan on having a giveaway of a bag made out of the curtains, but my sewing machine is in the shop, so SOON! (I hope!)

When I grow up I want to be an old lady

Hello Strangers! I've missed you all! Been very busy and have had bloggers block.

First things first--Congratulations to treevillemary who won my salt scrub giveaway! Please e-mail me your address and I'll get that in the mail to you straightaway!



I'll host another giveaway next week for any and all to join, just because I really like to! It will be a bag out of this wonderful broadcloth. They are recycled curtains and I just love them! My 95 year old neighbor Wilma Borges passed away three weeks ago, and she was the sweetest, kindest woman I've ever had the pleasure to know. These curtains hung in her spare bedroom and were made by her daughter Virginia in the 60s.

She was a great friend of mine and she adored Tade. She lived by herself until the last few weeks of her life and I was truly blessed to know her. Her daughters generously asked if I would like anything of hers, and I requested her rag rug which now has a place of honor in front of my sink. Knowing it was made by her hands truly makes it special.

Then her daughters gifted me with some lovely cups and saucers, vintage milk bottles, some beautiful vases and a bag marked "quilt tops to finish". I certainly didn't expect any of this but feel so lucky that Wilma counted me as a friend too and let her family know that.


These 12 stars are rather crazy quilted out of what I believe are mostly feedsacks. These were peiced by Wilma's mother, which makes them quite a treasure!



These funky blocks were pieced by Wilma's husband Roy's mother. These made me smile because her daughter Irene said that Grandma Borges wasn't much of a quilter, yet I love them all the more for their funkiness.



I also made this Everything Tote that I LOVE from Weekend Sewing. There are quite a few errors in the pattern in the book, but I persevered and will be making another bag like this using burlap are the outer bag. SO excited to see it finished!

Now for a bit of business--the quilting bee. Here is a list of the joiners.

Victoria
Heather
Melina
Alexis
Viv
Amanda
Lisa
Solidia
Colleen
Jennifer(?)
Mary(?)
Tara

There are a couple that have expressed an interest but haven't confirmed, but I'll see what I can do to convince them. Please e-mail me all of your addresses, so I can get this thing organized. We also need a name for our bee so let me know if you have any brilliant ideas!

I'd like to start in September, please let me know if that works for everyone!

Tara

A quilting bee and a new friend!

SO....I'd like to host a virtual quilting bee. That means I need 9 more people to join in. I've got Victoria of Bumblebeans interested and my new friend Heather--a local blogger and artist that I got to meet and see her art space today(so cool!) plus myself.

If you think you can handle making ONE quilt block a month, following the requests and using the fabric of another quilter, you could be the lucky recipient of 12(really 11 plus the one you make for yourself) beautifully made quilt blocks-- enough to sash or border and have a really cool quilt top.


So if you're in, leave a comment in this post, making sure I can contact you. I think we should have giveaways and fun stuff like that too!

Starting Now!! Great idea! If you leave a comment in this post, you'll be entered to win a jar of my Nitty Gritty Gardener's Salt Scrub! It rocks--peppermint and rosemary and lavender! I'll leave the giveaway open until July 15. You don't have to be interested in the quilting bee to enter, but I do need to know one way or another



I'm ready to quilt this disappearing nine patch for my sister. I'd planned on having it done by the 4th, but who was I kidding? I really like it and did some piecing on the back that's a bit odd, but works. I should really learn when to take pictures--colors aren't remotely right.



And this wonderful package arrived in the mail today, so I'd better not like these books as much a Vanessa at V & Co., or I'm never going to quilt it!

Still space at the quilting retreat with Amanda Jean in November!!!


--Tara

Quilting Retreat with Amanda Jean!

So have you all checked out crazymomquilts? Amanda Jean Nyberg is an incredibly prolific quilter(the above marks her 20th quilt of 2009!!) with a great sense of color and a love of scrap quilting.

She's coming to Colorado for a quilting retreat at the Inn at City Park, a bed and breakfast in Fort Collins in November!!! I'm so excited! Really--I just want to keep doing a dance! So mark your calenders, book your flights and contact me or Alexis at the inn to book your spot! All the information can be found on the Inn's website.

Can't wait to see you there! We're working on all sorts of door prizes--everyone will win! Good stuff!