Fair Warning!

Quilting can be very HUMBLING!  Regardless of your “professional” quilter status, regardless of how many awards you have won at large quilt shows, regardless of having had one of your quilts printed in a nationally distributed calendar, this week I discovered you can STILL do something really STUPID when quilting!  And no, I was not drinking, so I have nothing to blame it on except plain old not thinking!

The pieces for hubby’s sofa quilt are all cut out from recycled shirts and a solid cheddar fabric.  I had created a quilt plan in EQ7.  I printed out the picture of the quilt.  I figured fabric amounts needed.  I made notes of piece sizes and borders to cut.  That is all great… until I realized that I , too, am human and made a rookie mistake. 

While sewing the pieces together for these 4.5” finished 9-patch blocks I stopped to measure and be sure everything was as it should be.  But wait… the strip sets are measuring 5”… well DUH!  With seam allowances it SHOULD measure 5”… but then it dawns on me that I have cut 70 squares (the 60 I needed plus 10 more so I could adjust if colors ended up together… wasn’t I smart in thinking ahead like that?) that only measure 4.5”, from my precious recycled shirts, and some of them I used the last little bits I had… you get the picture?  I went back to check my notes, and written plain as day beside the notes for the squares is “cut 4.5 inches”.  GRRRRRR!

I will now try to scrape together enough shirt fabrics of the appropriate colors to cut 60 squares in the CORRECT size of 5”.  And I was making such good progress on this until reality burst my bubble!

The good news is… I am off for SIL  New Year’s Quilt Retreat tomorrow.  Fun, food, and sewing from now through Jan. 1 sounds just wonderful to me.

So, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!  May all your cutting measurements be correct in the New Year.  (And I hope that blessing comes back to rest on me… it appears I NEED it.)

And thank you for hanging with me in my blogging absence.  Inspiration (and time to post) has returned and I promise to be a more frequent poster.

Love and blessings to you all in the New Year,

KAT

Checking In…

The festivities are about to begin.  There will be some SERIOUS food indulgences… Weight Watchers will take a back seat in my eating today, then back on the plan tomorrow.  There will also be lots of laughter, visiting, busy children and catching up with siblings.  Thanksgiving at my Mom’s & Dad’s house will be absolutely CRAZY!  That’s because by the time all 5 of us children plus spouses, plus our children, plus grandchildren (and often a few non-family members added into the mix) get there we will have close to 30 people crammed into her house trying to get a reasonable serving of her homemade dressing before it is gone.

There will be tons of other food, but I’ll probably skip dessert for the most part and get 2nds on dressing if there is any left.  All this is written to tell you, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

And much in keeping with the traditions we were taught about the first Thanksgiving, DH killed a nice deer this morning. It won’t make it to the feast, but it will go into the freezer and I will be very thankful for it all year long!

I apologize for my great absence from the blog and also inform you that there won’t be much blogging between now and the new year.  Life is busy!  I am sure we can ALL use that excuse right now.  Yes, I have things to blog about but difficulty finding making time to do it.  Please bear with me!

The new laptop has a learning curve getting things set up where it is convenient to do the things I did so quickly on the old one… but I am slowly getting there.  There is an unbelievable difference in XP and Windows 7… I am SOOOO glad I opted NOT to get W8!!  That would be so beyond me at this point since the only thing I know about “smart” phone-type browsing is I don’t have a smart phone, and I don’t want one.  And then there is this thing where the cursor just jumps to places I don’t want it to go while I am in the midst of typing… anyone out there got a fix for THAT?  It is seriously causing me angst!  I guess you can’t (easily) teach an old(er) dog new (computer) tricks!

Enough dribble…. I’m off to eat, visit, and watch football.  I wish you and yours a wonderful day of counting blessings.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Y’ALL!!

KAT

I’m Back!

Did you miss me?  I REALLY missed all of you!!  You might be wondering where I have been.  The following poem will explain…

ODE TO MY DEAD LAPTOP (By Kathy Ellzey)

My very useful friend for the last 5 years…

Your untimely demise brought me to tears.

File clean-up?  So sorry… that took too much time.

Organize all my files? It will all be just fine!

Regularly make back-ups? I’ll get to that some day.

I now apologize for all my negligent ways!

Printing business invoices?  I no longer can do them.

No more surfing; no more Face Book on a momentary whim.

Finding phone numbers, weekly blogging…  Oops! No more for me!

Solitaire? Mahjong?… just a sad, sad memory.

My loyalties are now split between you and another…

Because this week I purchased your bigger, faster brother.

So welcome home, new laptop.  I’m loving you already!

You rescued my rear end, and made my world so steady.

So now you know!  It will take a while to get things all organized and set up for uploading pictures and such, but at least I am now back on-line.  I have lots of posts planned and lots of photos to rescue from the camera.  Hopefully by the end of the week I will have this new OS figured out.  Stay tuned… good things are to come!

KAT

Lost…

I’ve lost it!  I can’t seem to find it anywhere.  Several times I thought I was getting close, but it was not so.  I’ve lost my blogging incentive.  Several things have happened and I would think, “I ought to do a blog post about this.”  But I never followed through.  I know you don’t want a list of excuses so I offer none.

Distractions… perhaps I am just distracted by other things going on right now.  Life things, fun things, sewing things, knitting things, other things… so many distractions!

As quickly as it left, it is likely to reappear, so I am not overly concerned about this happening.  Stuff HAS been happening around me, a few pictures have been taken, and so I’ll post  these meager offerings in hope of keeping you with me…

The Stack and Whack donation quilt.

 

The quilting design is “Honeysuckle”, one of my favorite leaf and vine designs.

 

I had another quilt also, but managed to “oops” the pictures while transferring from camera to computer.  I REALLY must go change my recycle bin settings where things are kept there for a while so I can retrieve my mistakes!

I have been getting lots of knitting done.  The Reader’s Wrap is so near completion.  Just a few more inches and I’ll be ready to work on the pockets.  It is at that gangly, difficult-to-photo stage, but I hope you get the idea.

 

I think you will get a better view of the color on this photo.

Almost done with sock pair #8  for the year.  I’m rushing to finish these because I want to cast on…

this wonderful hand painted yarn that was gifted to me.  I had really thought about taking a break from sock knitting but have been drawn back in by this lovely.  I think I will choose some sort of rather simple pattern for this, rather than knitting my usual fast and plain stockinet.  We shall see.

Now… off to do housework, sew a little, pack for quilt club tonight, and then start gathering things for a few days of quilt retreat with friends.  Distracted… that’s exactly what I am!

Have a wonderful week!

KAT

A New Perspective

Today gives me new hope… a hope of getting better with age.  A hope of feeling better and looking better.  A hope of strengthening my relationship with my Savior.  A hope of aging with grace, and continuing to enjoy outdoor activities for many years.  A hope of a renewed outlook on relationships with others and my life.

Today I turn 56.  A lot has changed in the last year.  I have totally rewritten my life’s plan.  Perhaps I should say I have SURRENDERED   MYYYYYY plan and given in to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  It was a long battle with my will, but I am so thankful that God does not give up on us.  He has been convicting me for the last several years about my unhealthy lifestyle, but I would not listen. He has called me closer, but I would not commit the time.

Because I finally got to the place of obedience I am now much healthier and happier than I was last year at this time.  Because I have chosen to listen rather than remain in rebellion to His will, I am now almost 40 pounds lighter, feeling better than I have in years, and walking in power rather than defeat.  THANK YOU LORD!

Because I finally surrendered the time to “visit” with Him each day, I am encouraged and filled with His power, rather than struggling to change by myself.

The journey is not done, because I still have a long way to go, but the victories I have won in the last 6 months have taught me that it IS a war that is winnable… through His power, not mine.

There are rough roads in places (recurring foot and knee issues have really thrown my exercise plan for a loop), but He leads me on.  Temptation comes, but He is faithful.

Thank You, Lord, that 56 (and beyond) looks better than the last several years have been!  “I surrender all, Lord. Be glorified… I surrender all!”  (From the Terry MacAlmon song, “I Surrender All”)

Have a blessed week!

KAT

On The Needles Today…

 

I am making a little progress on the latest pair of socks.  I am working on the heel flap, and will soon do the turn.  It is going slowly because…

I have really gotten SUCKED INTO this Reader’s Wrap.  I am loving it!  It is an easy and fun knit.  I forget how quickly large needles and large yarn add up!  The color did not come across well in the above picture.  It is called “Bronze”, is a beautiful tweed with black and tan nibs works into the yarn, and has a little more golden-brown cast to it than the picture indicates.  I have about 22” done, and try to knit at least 2-3” each day.  I need 58” before I work the ending pattern and make the pockets.

Check out what others are working on at Judy’s Patchwork Times!

Have a great weekend!  I plan on spending as much time as I can sitting in my chair knitting on the Reader’s Wrap (and nursing a very painful knee).

KAT

In Praise of the Redneck!

Honestly, the picture below shows the opinion of most of the world about rednecks.  I realize this is just in jest, and I do consider it funny, too!  BUT, the poor redneck has been given a bad rap.  Today I will convince you of that!

Most folks think of rednecks as lazy, trashing up their yards with junker cars, beer guzzling, gun slinging, cussing fools.  Now WHERE would they get that idea?  From movies and reality shows, for sure.

My least favorite of the reality shows set in our area is the “My Big Redneck Vacation”.  I’ve only watched it a couple of times because that is about all of that foolishness I can stand.  We are portrayed as drinking around the clock, passing gas without any modesty, doing really stupid and even dangerous things, destroying property and not thinking twice about it, and having no class whatsoever.  Although I realize these are characteristics of MANY young people in MANY cultures, I assure you that this is NOT the way mature rednecks work.

Mature rednecks are creative and resourceful, because they may NOT have the expensive gadgets that others have.  It might well be the reason they don’t have the expensive toy is because they just choose not to spend their money that way… not that they are poor and can’t afford it.

How would YOU get to muscadines that are way too high to be reached with a ladder?  DH has it all figured out!

Take your tractor with front-end loader, securely strap this double-stacked basket apparatus (created from metal baskets purchased at the paper mill salvage yard),

climb into the top basket, then get your wife to operate the tractor and lift you up to where the muscadines are.  Ours were growing WWAAAYYYYY up in a large pine tree.

No problem now, because you are now located about 20 feet up in the air!

       

YUM!  These muscadines are so good!

You might be wondering why the baskets have this cammo mesh on them… This also doubles as a portable deer stand.  Secure it to a nice size tree with straps, climb up the side of the metal, and you are all set to go!

SEE… I TOLD you we were resourceful  and creative.  My DH has been blessed with great “improvising” skills!  And yes we do have what others would consider “junk” (he calls it his “innovation pile”) but it is not lying around our front yard in an unkempt manner.  He has it more or less organized down by the barn where he has easy access and it is not unsightly. 

Yes, he hunts and quite often has a gun with him, but he is not blasting things just for the fun of it…  his hunting puts meat on the table. 

Now the passing gas thing…. I’m not EVEN going there!

KAT

On the Needles Today…

Actually, this is fresh OFF the needles.  My July socks are done…

 

…and the August socks have been cast on.  Well, actually, ONE of them has been cast on.  I have once again abandoned the “2-at-a-time” method.  It just adds a layer of stress to my knitting, and this is supposed to be relaxing and fun.  Since I don’t have the dreaded “2nd sock syndrome” it is not a biggie.  I’ll keep knitting socks one at a time and enjoying it.

Also on the needles is a practice run on the Reader’s Wrap. 

I am patiently trying to be patient in waiting for my KnitPicks order to arrive.  For the last 2 days I have run to the mail box as soon as I hear the mail carrier go by… still no package.  BUMMER!  The lovely wool tweed yarn that is ordered will make such a wonderful wrap, but it is slow in appearing. 

I was so antsy to get going on this project I decided to do a trial run.  The above yarn is some acrylic Red Heart yarn I just had lying around.  I’ve made a dry run on the cast on and knitting so there will be no stress once the yarn arrives. 

Some have asked via email how we managed the storm (hurricane Isaac) and the truth is it went too far west of us to give us more than a spattering of rain.  We were surely hoping for at least a couple of inches, but only received about 5/8”.  I sure wish folks on the eastern side of LA and MS could send us some of the water that has flooded their areas.

Now, to finish off this post I MUST share the really unusual bug I found on the screen porch.

You simply MUST click on the picture to see the ridges on his back.  AMAZING!  From a distance I thought it was the average spider.  As I moved closer I thought it was a huge stink bug.  Closer still, and I was amazed at him.  God’s creation is SO wonderful!

And I also suddenly remembered that I have forgotten to finish my “Redneck” post, so that will be in the queue for sometime soon.

Have a wonderful weekend!

KAT

Knitting At the Speed Of Light

Yes, I am knitting as fast as my needles will fly.  I MUST finish the socks that have been on my needles for several weeks now.  “What is the hurry?” you might be wondering.

First, a disclaimer…. IT IS NOT MY FAULT!  (I love it when I have someone else to blame things on!)  I was merrily working on socks, minding my own business, when I ventured over to Nancy’s blog, Wyoming Breezes.  She is working on the neatest wrap! 

I have never been tempted to knit anything other than socks, so I was very surprised when this knitted wrap kept calling for me to make it.  It think it is the pockets that really drew me to this pattern.

It is NOT MY fault I now have that pattern purchased and in my hands.  It is NOT MY FAULT that I have a wonderful tweed yarn ordered from Knitpicks to make this wrap.  It will be here soon, and I know I will want to start on the wrap as soon as the yarn arrives, so I must HURRY!

I know… I’m still trying to do a little spinning with the drop spindle I recently purchased.  (And I am wondering what in the WORLD I was thinking when I ordered 400 grams of wool roving. Gee… that looks like it will be a life-time supply!)  I’m still trying to do 12 pair of socks in a year (working on pair #7).  I’m quilting like crazy on customer quilts.  And then there is the Farmer’s Wife quilt I am working on drafting paper piecing patterns for me and my friends.  And then….  You get the picture.

It’s NOT MY FAULT!  Nancy did it.  If she pipes in here and tries to deny it, do NOT listen to her.  It really is HER fault for showing such a wonderful pattern and tempting me beyond my resistance. 

THAT’S MY STORY AND I’M STICKING TO IT!

KAT

I Hope…

(This picture has NOTHING to do with the blog post subject… I just wanted to give you something to look at this morning.  This is a thread painting, NO PIECING,  which won 2nd place at MQS in Overland Park, KS.  Size is 12” x 18”.  I no longer have it… there is a sad story there, which I can give you on another day.  You can click to enlarge.)

I hope I get lots of knitting done as we travel this weekend.

I hope we bowl well at the Grandma-Grandpa tournament in Natchez, MS.

I hope it does not rain the whole weekend, as the weather forecast predicts.  (If it does, my #1 hope will surely be accomplished.)

I hope I find MAKE the time to do some file clean-up on my PC, and do some work on future blog posts for both blogs.

I hope  know we will have a great time visiting with our friends who live in Natchez.

I hope YOU have a great weekend too!

See you next week!

KAT

I Have Discovered…

These are things I discovered last week…

1.  Katie Bug is SOOO much fun to have around!  She spent a couple of days with us… our last fling before starting school.  So here is what we did…

Sewed a purse we cut out from a kit last year some time.  DONE!  I love the look of deep concentration on her face.

Cooked a little.  The lemon cake she helped make was absolutely scrumptious!

The floral fashion accessories were mine from quilt retreat.  I shared them with her… she really enjoyed dolling up.

2.  Wonky tree blocks

 

are a lot easier and more fun to make than wonky house blocks.

I think I may be changing directions on this art quilt.  At first I was thinking “all houses”.  Then I decided, “just a few trees”.  Now I am leaning to more trees than houses.  We shall see what we end up with.  It is evolving as I work on it.

3.  Rednecks are very resourceful.  I’ll give you a sneak peek, and then I’ll do another post next week in praise of redneck ways.

Have a wonderful week, and be t-totally blessed!

KAT        

On The Needles Report

June socks are D-O-N-E!  I love that feeling of finishing the last knitted stitch, but even better is when you weave in the last thread tail.  For some reason I REALLY dislike weaving in thread tails.  That means for now, there is no WAY I would do stripes, unless I use self-striping yarn!

And the really great news… I have persevered!

I’M DOING IT!  I’m actually doing 2 socks at once!  I did 2-at-a-time when I first started knitting, cuff down.  It seemed so slow, but then I was knitting English style.  I abandoned that method because it seemed to take forever to see progress, and I got tired of struggling with thread tangled and wrapped up.  Plus, one sock is much more portable than the 2 hooked together.  Now that I have changed to Continental style, toe-up socks,  my knitting goes twice as fast and I have tried several times to go back to 2-a-a-t socks but got very frustrated with the yarn ball tangles.  I decided to give it one LAST try and here we are. 

I don’t cast them on at the same time because I use a Cat Bordhi wrapped cast-on technique, which would be very hard to do with 2-a-a-t.    I cast one on, knit until all toe increases are done.  Cast another one on (separate needles), knit through toe increases, and then put them on the needles together.  I got it all mixed up when I combined the 2 socks and spent about 45 minutes trying to figure out which one was on the wrong needle and turned the wrong way.

But we are “cooking with peanut oil now!”  (TRIVIA:  Can you name the reality TV show that line is from?)  All is well, I am up and knitting 2, and unless I get totally frustrated by thread tangles we are good to go!

Now back to the needles.  Oh yes, I am supposed to be quilting and sewing today.   I realized mid-morning I was not in the mood for either, I wanted to watch the Olympics and knit, so that is exactly what I have done.  Quilting/sewing will take place tomorrow because I have finished all customer quilts in the house.  Two days in a row forME…. YAH!

And the answer to the TRIVIA question… “Duck Dynasty”, of course!  If you haven’t watched it you are missing out on some good ol’ Redneck fun.  I can say this because my neck is pretty red, and I have pictures to prove it.  But that is a post for another day!

To check out other knitting adventures, go to Judy’s Patchwork Times.

KAT

I Was Wondering…

1.  I was wondering… how YOU are enjoying the Olympics.  Are you getting lots of knitting/handwork done while watching?  I have finished June’s socks and will cast on July’s socks tonight while watching.  The “Knit-Lympics” are going great for me!

2.  I was wondering… if I will be able to figure out exactly how to spin decent yarn.  My supplies came in last week, I have played with it, but figuring out exactly how much twist is necessary in a ply will be a trial and error thing since I do not know anyone who spins yarn.  I have found some tutorials on the KnitPicks web site, but I am still pondering how much twist I need.  I have made quite a bit of a single ply.  Now I need to figure out how to get it off the spindle (and keep it in a usable form where it does not twist in knots) until I can get a second ply made.  The 2 plies will be spun together to make the yarn.  It remains a puzzle, but it IS fun!

3.  I was wondering… when I will get around to making jelly from the muscadines my Honey picked this week.  I tried taking a picture of the vines hanging from the trees.  They are LOADED with fruit.  The low light and distance from the camera meant no really good pictures were to be had, but maybe you will get the idea from these pictures.

4.  I was wondering… how Jan is going to like her quilt.  I LOVE this wall quilt pattern and the quilting really stands out on the dark blue fabric.

 

5.  I was wondering… how much quilting/sewing I can get done tomorrow.  I am taking a “play-day” for myself tomorrow.  I’ve scurried around today working on cleaning things just so I can play guilt-free tomorrow.

6.  And last but not least… I was wondering…  how long I have been vacuuming WITHOUT the filter in the vac.  Once I found it in the broom closet on the shelf above the vac, I vaguely remember taking it out to wash it somewhere around Christmas.  Since it can not go back in the vac while wet, I remember setting it out on the screen porch in a sunbeam to dry.  And 2 days later when I remembered it, I set it on the shelf rather than putting it back in the cleaner, which would have taken all of 30 seconds.  So I have been vacuuming for MONTHS now without it.  I WONDERED why my vacuum cleaner was sounding different lately… now I know.

So, what are YOU wondering about today? 

Have a blessed week/weekend.  See you again soon!

KAT

Let the “Knit-Lympics” Begin!

Hello, knitting fans!  This is my first time to post a link on Judy L.’s “On The Needles Friday” because well… I procrastinate.  So here I finally am!

Yes, I am way behind on my goal of 12 pair in 12 months… but I have a plan. 

 

I am almost done with my JUNE socks.   These were cast on 2-at-a-time, toe up.  I get so frustrated by the tangling, twisting, yarn balls.  I know, there are folks that love that approach, but it is just not me.  So I took the second sock off, am finishing the first one, then will complete the second.  This yarn knits up quickly.  It is a cotton blend so it is a little larger size yarn.  I am enjoying the pattern on the solid-color sock.  Perhaps I will try the 2-at-a-time thing again with another yarn that is not as twisty-clingy as this was… we shall see.

Now, for my plan:

I am “Going for the Gold” and having a “Knit-Lympics” at my house.  I love watching the summer Olympic Games, but can’t spend that many hours in front of the TV without feeling guilty for “wasting” time.  So… I plan to  knit and watch, and hopefully finish the red pair and at least one more pair for July.  Perhaps I’ll even get the socks for August cast on?

 

My candidates for the next ones are:

Lion Brand Sock Ease.  This will be my first time using this yarn.  I still need to get it wound so it will be ready to knit.

August socks will be Felici self-striping from KnitPicks.  I’m thinking I may do something a little different pattern-wise for this.  I have an idea that will be simple, but yet different.  We will see.

Of course, in the middle of all of this, my spinning supplies will arrive.  Hopefully I can sit and spin while watching the Olympics, also.  Of course, that will greatly slow down sock progress, I am sure.

So that’s the plan, and we will see how things unfold.  Do YOU have a plan for accomplishing more knitting?  If so, I would love to hear it.  Just leave a comment, and TIA.

KAT

An Easy Target

I did it again… I got sucked into something I really had no intention of doing.  Saturday we went to the Natchitoches/NSU Folk Festival.  I wandered around, and then I saw it… something that had intrigued me before.

There in front of me was a lady using a drop spindle to make cotton threads, then weaving them into beautiful garments and home accessories on a loom.  She also had a spinning wheel, but I knew that was totally out of my means so I didn’t even glance at that.

I have lately been wondering about a drop spindle.  How do you use it?  Is it hard?  Can I do this?  I was bitten by the bug after she took about 20 minutes of her time and demoed the spindle for me.   Even though she did not have any spindles or fibers to sell she graciously spent time explaining the process to me.  It seemed she was speaking a foreign language as she named off the different tools needed, what the fiber was called in its different stages, so many new terms I was totally lost, but yet the fiber and her nimble use of the simple spinning tool really called my name… again and again.  I kept repeating, “I do not NEED another hobby or craft!”  My heart did not believe that and did not listen to me.

I dragged my Honey over to her booth to look at the spindles because I was about to ask him to make me one.  He looked carefully at the different styles and, “Yes”, he said, “I can to this”.  As I was about to leave she reached into a bag and pulled out a handful of green cotton seeds.  Yes, different varieties of cotton plants produce different colors of cotton fiber.  Who knew?  If all goes well, about a year from now I will have just a few green cotton plants producing a reasonable amount of green cotton.

Sucked in, I tell you.  I was totally sucked in!

When I got home I did some internet browsing.  That was such a dangerous thing to do in my weakened state after trying to fight this tug of my creative spirit all afternoon.  Oh, I was SOOOO sucked in, and SOOOO bad!  It turns out my favorite knitting site also had a lot of items for spinning at very reasonable prices. 

Wool roving,

 

a book,

a drop spindle,

and a niddy noddy

are heading my way from KnitPicks.  I will surely post pictures when my new things arrive.

No regrets!  I will absolutely love trying to spin my own yarn for making socks or other knitted items.   Perhaps I was born in the wrong century?  NAAAWWW!  I love my AC too much to dwell in pioneer times, but I sure do enjoy trying my hand at old craft skills.

I wonder what I will get sucked into next?  I have discovered my heart/creative spirit does not listen to my pleas of “no time for new things”, so I might as well stop fighting it and dance with my muse.  Cue the music!

KAT

Retreat Report

Did you think I had forgotten?  Here you go… I can guarantee you “What happens in Vegas STAYS in Vegas” is NOT the rule when one of the retreat attendees has a blog!

Sixteen of us ventured to Coldspring, TX to the Red Barn Retreat.    Our theme was, “Don’t worry, sew happy!”   This was carried out with a beach theme.  That will explain the flowers and leis.   Our “stretching” song was that reggae hit from the 80’s, “Don’t Worry… Be Happy!”  

Here in no certain order are: 

Paula.  It was her very first quilt retreat.

Jan, and Vicki.  It was also their first retreat.

 

Carolyn.  I assure you she was plotting some sort of evil… or pondering her next quilt.  I’m not sure which it was.

    

Barbara and JoAnn.  We have not seen much of these 2 ladies lately so it was great fun visiting with them at retreat.

Gloria.  The maker of some most unusual and fabulous quilts! You will see what I mean later.

Suzanne.  Don’t let her quietness fool you into thinking she is harmless.  She unleashed a psychedelic frog on us (for the “Rippit” award)!  You just did NOT want to get caught ripping after we found out the rippee must display the frog in their area until they could catch someone else ripping.

Judy and Jan…  can you tell they were having fun?

And last but not least, Debbie W. and Debbie G.  Can you say, “Double-Trouble”?  Unfortunately I am missing pictures of a few folks.

We soon discovered there was a great danger of getting your sewing area or bed “flocked”, along with a note explaining your infraction.

What type of infractions?  “Indecent exposure at the beach!”  (Sorry I did not get a picture to show you the crime.  Just know it involved one of the Debbies…. ‘nuff said!

Other offenses… being an “over-achiever” at your first retreat and finishing about 6 projects.

Sewing Christmas things in July.

Having the rippit frog the longest, and ENJOYING it.

And lots of other silly reasons to prank your friends.

Some of our projects finished were:

   

Debbie’ W’s first quilt, a t-shirt quilt for her daughter.  She also finished a challenge project for her quilt guild.  They were to decorate a burgundy-colored apron.  Her apron features animal print, potholder pockets, and it will be finished with a “fascinator” hat.

  

Carolyn’s beautiful pink 9-patch.

Vicki (Miss Over-Achiever) finished a pile of projects!

Paula finished a quilt made from recycled men’s shirts.

Gloria and her Louisiana Quilt… wonderful!

JoAnn and her cowboy baby quilt in the background.  I don’t remember who the flower garden quilt belonged to.

 

My finishes were a “vintage” Stack ‘N Whack quilt from about 10 years ago and a lap-size throw quilt made from recycled shirts and cheddar fabric.

It was loads of fun!  We all got “flowered”, “leied”, attacked by flying frogs, decked out in button rings and flower bracelets…

I just can’t report all of our silliness.  Maybe what happens in Vegas DOES stay in Vegas, IF I want it to!

KAT