Living the good life!

Let's see - quilting, friends, laughter, chocolate - ingredients for a wonderful weekend!  Just got back from Stitchin' Chicks Quilt Camp.  Three times a year our group of 12 - 16 like-minded women gather in a local AmericInn and sew and laugh and joke and eat.  It's like going back to college only the curriculum is lots more fun than the college I remember.  The camaraderie is similar and we do act like we've returned to those carefree days again.  Everyone is so talented and sharing what we've learned is so much fun.  When we finally retire at night, dorm life comes to mind.  It's kinda amazing that we haven't had that knock on the door by our dorm mother.

At one camp, one of us (not me) decided to clean one of the irons before it had cooled, smoke filled our large sewing room and then the fire alarms began blaring.  The manager had to be called at home because no one knew how to turn the alarms off.  Oops! 

Usually we sew and eat in the big meeting room but one of the daughters' of one of our group decided to bring in a miniature cow at another camp.  We have an outside door so she pulled up, out came the little critter and into the back door.  Well - until that day the day manager really hadn't visited us but of course on this day she made her presence known and then she discovered that we had smuggled in this little cutey!  It wasn't house trained but the visit ended without an accident.  Now management cruises through on a regular basis.  Hmmm...  

Sewing the binding on a quilt is the final step in the construction of a quilt. I made this quilt at our last camp, I had it quilted by someone locally, I sewed on the binding Thursday and now I will hand sew the final binding step. Their eyes need a spot of color I think (colorful buttons) and then I will be done.  I love the happy birds and the quilting is so unique! Thanks Karla! This one will be at our house so grand kids can cuddle underneath it on our cold Minnesota nights.

Scottie dogs, cabbage roses and cherries are fabric themes that find their way into my sewing room.  I made these three billfolds using a couple of these favorite fabrics.  It's amazing to me how much more fun it is to work on projects when the colors and fabric themes are special to me.  My local quilt group, Mora Quilting Friends, will be having a Quilt Show and Sale May 22 and I will be making and then selling more items similar to these billfolds so I better keep busy!!!

Sometimes I work on a larger quilt but this time I made this baby quilt top. I have hundreds of quilting books and magazines but this pattern was free in some propaganda to buy some quilt books. Go figure! Now to finish it - I think I will tie it so it will be nice and soft. It will be for sale at our Farmgirls Country Sale on June 4 & 5 this year.

My pat answer for complicated issues that come up in home ownership or computer demons or other left brain challenges is "I like to sew!"  Its my therapy along with gardening and reading.  So I should feel invigorated after the last four days...and I think I will after I catch up on the sleep I lost at camp.  I'm confessing that I took a little unscheduled nap today - now I'm off to put away the car full of stuff I brought to camp! 

Darn!  I see a huge rabbit out in the yard scampering away from my tender little garden plants!!!  Gotta go - see ya soon!