I Am Still Alive!! :-)

So sorry for my absence from the blogging world!  I will try to do better!  I’ve had sooooo many friends email me and ask me why I’ve not been blogging… what wonderfully unexpected and sweet concern!! 

Mea culpa!!  :-)

I’ve been taking it easy after my trigger thumb surgery and have not done any quilting…sigh…  but am ready to get back to it.  I have made some needed clothes.  My parents and my sister are coming for a visit in a week and I’ve got to get my Mother’s quilt sandwiched and quilted before they come… besides the fact that I reallllly must do a super good cleaning of the house before they come, too!  Grrrrrrr!!

One of the things I want to get into is using my Accuquilt GO! to cut up my zillions of scraps and get some “free” quilts out of them all! 

Accuquilt is offering 22 free quilt patterns when you sign up for their newsletter.  This offer is good for new newsletter subscribers.  Their newsletter is informative and full of fun and creative ideas for using the Studio, GO! and new Baby!  They sometimes have free new designs and patterns and often have wonderful sales!  So, click on the image above or on the button on the left side of my page and sign up to get your free download of 22 patterns!

Sweet Yogi went to the groomer today and is always just tuckered out afterwards… he slept all afternoon when he got back! He gets the best sleep!!

The flowers on our deck are looking really good! 

I consider the deck another room and love to decorate it with as many colors as possible…

When it’s super hot, I have to go out there and water them every day.

We use allot of the fresh herbs in marinades, sauces and other dishes.  What’s your favorite herb? 

Mine is rosemary…and basil…and mint…and oregano and…  :-)

So, what have you all been up to????

 

Quilters Unlimited Quilt Show 2011

Today begins the 3 days of the Quilters Unlimited of Northern VA annual quilt show at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, VA.

The line was wrapped around the building to get in.  The venue is nice and big, but the cement floors are reallllly hard on your feet, knees and back….or was that because of all the purchases we carried around!!  LOL!!

Some of the quilts displayed were amazing.  It always inspires me to do more- learn more…especially the quilting…so stunning!

The vendors were plentiful and many were new this year, which is always nice when more quilt shops pop up in the areas nearby.

My bee friends and I have really noticed how much the fabrics have changed in the last few years…

influenced by all the new young designers who create such bright modern collections.

I was actually quite restrained at the show today…only bought a few pieces of fabric, some huge buttons for bags, two patterns, a cool magnetic scissor/pin holder, and a little Jim Shore sewing machine box.

There were lots of folks there…and it’s always amazing to me how many familiar faces I see at these events…from guild, the quilt shop I used to work at, etc…

Quilting is really a small world sometimes, isn’t it? 

When you go to a quilt show, do you go to the vendors first, then go see the quilts, or the other way around?