Late Thursday I arrived back home from my trip to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Guild in Fort Collins, CO. They are a great group and I had a wonderful time there; they took great care of me! The two day “Coneflowers” workshop was a lot of fun for all of us, I think. Some beautiful work was started and I hope to get finished photos to share with you!

Yesterday I had another commitment so I don’t even have all of the quilts put away yet – that is on the agenda for today.

Bad news arrived while I was gone – “Longhorn Splashdown” was not accepted to go to Houston this fall. This will be the first time that my work has been rejected there, and since they send their cattle up here to get fat, it’s not very nice of them not to take one back!!! Oh well, it will go somewhere else, I hope.Click on Longhorn in the side bar to see a photo.

It’s been a busy weekend, starting Friday afternoon with a trip to Lawrence to deliver quilts for the Kaw Valley Guild show. That’s over 90 miles, round trip.

Then Saturday I taught a Coneflowers workshop. I always look forward to the workshops as there are always enthusiastic students excited to learn a new technique! After that, a nice visit with a hospitalized friend before heading home to unload the workshop stuff and crash.

Sunday afternoon, back to Lawrence to see the show, shop the vendors and collect the quilts to return home. It was a lovely show with lots of interesting props reflecting quilting over the past century or so, numerous vendors where I spent more than expected and a silent auction and boutique to tempt more spending! Not to mention a wonderful array of quilts from antique to brand new. I have not been able to show there, or even attend the last few years due to my busy schedule so it was fun to be there once again. I showed “Watermelon Wine”, “Bittersweet Memories” and “Lazy Afternoon”.

Between these activities and rain showers I’ve fitted in some weeding which is getting out of hand with all of the rain lately – but the moist earth makes weeding easier so it’s a mixed blessing. As I get the weeds out I apply the Preen mulch and cross my fingers that it will help!

I hope to get started on quilting the Longhorn piece very soon and have been doing a little on-line research as to how the growth lines appear on the horns. Around and around apparently, as opposed to linear.

I flew home from Atlanta on Wednesday and it’s good to be home. Thursday was spent unpacking, putting away, doing paperwork and general catch up. Yesterday I had to get up early for my annual physical Dr.’s appointment, then to the bank, the library, etc. In the afternoon I got the outside house plants ready to come inside and the gladiola corms dug because we are in for some killing frosts. Busy, busy!

The GA trip was good. I experienced the best and the worst of weather there, as I was there during the horrible flooding. I saw the torrential rain but I personally did not see any flooding where I was. When the rain cleared it was just perfect! Beautiful fall weather with no humidity and comfortable temperatures.

I visited with four different quilt guilds in the area, doing “Easy Design Play” and “Coneflowers”workshops and presenting programs which were well attended and fun. Many new Coneflowers wall hangings were started and Show and Tell at the last meeting included four finished tops from the earlier workshops already finished!! Too many photos to show but if anyone sends me a finished jpg I’ll share!

In between working, I got to visit some quilt shops, tour points of interest including the gala re-opening of the Carter Center which coincided with the celebration of his 85th birthday, so Jimmy, his wife, extended family and dignitaries were there.

There was lots of security of course, including these guys, a bomb sniffing dog and men in dark suits and sunglasses scanning the crowd.

We got to tour the museum and have lunch there.

This is a view from the grounds from the hill where General Sherman watched the burning of Atlanta.

One day I met with a friend and we had lunch at her favorite Chinese restaurant and then spent some time in a large oriental grocery store. So many exotic choices- what fun!! Thanks, Robin!

Today is the first day of Quilt Market in Houston and for the first time in over ten years I am not there. It’s sad to miss it as Rose and I always have such a good time in Houston but this year it was not to be.  I do have works on display there though, and there is always next year!

Now that I am home I look forward to getting back to a routine and sewing again. It’s been a long time since I created anything new.

I’m leaving again shortly to visit Q.U.I.L.T. of NW Ark, for a lecture this evening and a two day workshop on picture piecing the Coneflower pattern. Here is the latest sample for that class, just finished.

Coneflower Sample

Coneflowers are so versatile, coming in so many colors and now, even in fancy double versions. It’s always fun for me to see them develop in class.

What a lovely group of ladies I had in the Sioux City Coneflowers workshop! I am anxious to see their finished work and hope that they send me jpgs!

The drive up was uneventful, the day overcast which is perfect for driving, and the array of different shades of green was endless! You would not even believe some of those greens if I put them in a piece of art, they were so vivid! On the way home, I had rain about half the way, but not the vicious torrential rain that makes driving so difficult. It was a good trip.

Since getting back home, after putting away everything from the trip, I have been sewing again. It’s been a long time; I haven’t sewn since finishing the bluebird. and it feels good! Not terribly challenging or exciting, but good. I am working to finish the Coneflowers sample started in the workshop because soon I will need multiple samples for some upcoming workshops.

I’m off this morning to Sioux City, IA to do a Coneflowers workshop and lecture for the Siouxland Samplers! How exciting! 275 miles is much more doable than the 800 to Ohio! They ARE predicting rain though, so I am hoping an early start will keep me ahead of it – please, no tornadoes!!

In the morning I will leave for a two day trip. Monday evening a lecture in Pittsburg, Ks and Tuesday afternoon a lecture in Joplin, MO. I bring lots of quilts and patterns if I am driving, so today will be spent getting those organized; it’s always more difficult packing for two different lectures!

Yesterday I taught a machine quilting class in Topeka, followed by trip prep errands. Fill the gas tank, get money, go to the library and find books on CD, yada, yada. The day before, which was Friday the 13th, (no problems here!) I needed to go to Sarah’s in Lawrence to pick up some quilts for my programs. Sarah’s is my favorite fabric shop in the area so it’s always fun to go there. My husband decided to go with me so we had lunch out and went on to Olathe near KC where I had just heard of a “Homegoods” store I wanted to check out. Cool stuff, I’m sure to go back.

All in all, a busy few days so I haven’t done any sewing other than binding “Grasslands” which was well received at the class yesterday.

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Where did the week go? Where did the MONTH go?? I have taught classes for the last three Saturdays, and while I love to do that and enjoy the interaction, I am looking forward to some uninterrupted working time. After a few weeks of that I will be raring to go teach again. It is so fun and gratifying to finish a class where folks came in with a little trepidation to having them leave saying “WOW! I’m so glad I came, it really WAS fun and easy!” Saturday was a “Coneflowers – Introduction to Picture Piecing” class. Hopefully some will send photos of finished projects that I can post for you all to see, but in the meantime here is my class sample with two completed sections plus a few other pieces not yet sewn.