Sweet Saturday!!

Hello My Dear Friends--

It has been a lovely week. COLD, COLD, COLD here!! I did not peek my head outside from Monday until Friday except to visit my Mom once. I did not put on any makeup, nor fix my hair! It has been wonderful!! Boring for you, but wonderful! It got into the 50s again yesterday, but a cold front coming back in today will make tomorrow in the 20s. Brrrrr for Tulsa!

Mostly what I've done is take advantage of the time to put LOTS of stuff on Etsy. I have almost gotten all my extra sale fabric listed except the Bees Knees. I'll start on that today. Then I'll move on to the solids! I TOLD you I have more stuff than you can imagine!!

I'm taking next week off to enjoy Christmas. I hope you do, too. I may even be able to bake a little. Do you KNOW how long it has been since I have had time to do that?? I was telling some friends last night that this is the first time since I started this business that I am caught up and have NO deadlines in front of me. What a wonderful place to be!!

I am sharing a wonderful quilt with you today. It's from Josephine Gaaf from Holland. She loves feedsacks and has an abundant collection. She also has a fabulous and popular blog that she writes in both Dutch and English. Such fun to read! Check out Josephines Blog when you have a minute. Thanks for sharing your quilt, Josephine!

Here's hoping you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas and that your dear ones are near to you. We'll drive over to the kids on Christmas Day and then they'll be here the following Saturday to celebrate with Mom. I fear this may be the last time she'll be able to participate either because next year she won't be with us or physically unable. We're trying to make this year special for her holidays.

So til next time---

Much Love and Christmas Blessings ~

Fabulous Friday Again!!

It seems like I'm doing well to post once a week, always on Friday! What's that all about? I cannot believe that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away! I hope you are not driving yourselves crazy trying to get ready. We have such a small family that it doesn't take much, thank goodness.

I have no idea what I have been doing this week. Bill and I took the day off yesterday and drove to his home town of Neosho, MO so he could pay the tax bill on a piece of property he and his brother still own there. I got to do a little antiquing (didn't find much). We stopped at a big new Casino on the OK/MO border to check it out. I'm not much of a gambler, but put a few bucks in and won $30!! That was cool!

On the way home we stopped at one of our favorite places in Vinita, OK for fried chicken. I must say they have the BEST fried chicken I've eaten! Lots of crispies to mix in with the potatoes and gravy. Yummmmmm! Here's the leftovers (We alway order way more than we can eat so we can bring it home.....) Then you follow it up with homemade chocolate pie!

Today's gallery pics are from one of my sweet customers in Japan. Mika has bought so many feedsack squares from me, I've lost count. Here is an idea of what she does with them. I think the bags are wonderful! Wouldn't you love to have one? Thanks so much for sending me the pics, Mika!!

That's about the most excitement I've seen this week. Other than listing on Etsy and shipping, that's it for me. I've still got so much to put out there it's overwhelming.

Have a wonderful weekend and we'll be in touch next week!

Blessings~

Another Fabulous Friday!

Excuse me? Where did this week go??? I would love to tell you that I've been working my buns off, but no! I actually have gotten a bit of Christmas decorating done, which most of you don't know, but that's a real miracle in this household!

I can't say when it started, but many years ago I became the Grinch when it came to Christmas! I just got fed up with the commercialization and all the stress and said enough! I found I enjoyed Christmas from Dec. 23 until after dinner on Christmas Day. So minimal decorations went up about a week before and came down on Christmas Day night after everyone went home. My friends think I've lost my mind.

Well, this year we are having a few friends from church over on Sunday eve before the holiday gets too crazy and guess what? I'm putting up my decos now! Will even trim the tree today. Now that's amazing!! Here's my little entry table. Found this cute vintage felt runner when my friend Ann and I went antiquing on Wed. They probably didn't have that in the manger or a Merry Christmas sign above it, but it went well on that table! LOL!! That silly lamp only comes out once a year when I put it's Christmas shade on, too. My poor shepherd has lost his staff. Oh Biiillll!! Can you make me a new staff???



Other than that , wanted to share the sweetest email I got with you. These notes just make what I do worth every minute. It's from Connie Mounsey who lives here in OK. It's followed by a pic of the sweet quilt she made for her Mom.

Dear Glenna,

I enjoyed your book so much and was so inspired that I just had to make the "For My Dolly" miniature quilt. It was so easy, and this was the first project I made all by myself from start to finish. I had broken my ankle in February and my mom has been after my sister and I to get involved in quilting. She has quilted for years and wanted us to share her hobby with her. She came to take care of me and brought me a 40s featherweight (she owns 7 and is always looking for more!) and so she took me to buy material for my first project and I am hooked! I made the doll quilt for my mom as I had made a simple 9 patch one that she bound for me and she really liked it. I didn't tell her about the doll quilt I was making for her as I wanted to surprise her and after I finished I was so proud. I mailed it to her (we live 4 1/2 hrs away from each other) and when she got the package she called and asked about the little quilt. I told her it was for her...a present and she cried! That was probably the best gift I ever gave her. I have attached a photo and can't wait to get started on another one of your designs!

Connie Mounsey

Thanks so much for letting me show it, Connie!

And that's it for me this week. Hope all of you are not feeling too stressed by the holidays yet. Be sure to take some time for yourself and enjoy all the sights, sounds, and blessings of Christmas~

Off to See the Fleas!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our daughter, son-in-law and grandson came over for the day. My Mom could actually hear the conversation and really enjoyed having the family together. She stayed longer than usual and was exhausted but it was a "good" tired. Here's a pic of the kids. Cameron really wanted you to see all his missing teeth. I guess he'll be singing "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth" this year.

He brought us a decoration that he made at school. It was lovely on the table, but he wanted to take it home so he could eat the suckers.

I'm sure most of you were exhausted, too! I know I was. Being on your feet all day in the kitchen is about the only negative I can find for the Holidays. Small price to pay.....

So off we went to the Flea Market this morning! Tulsa has had a wonderful weekly flea market for over 30 years on Saturday morning at the Fairgrounds. It has kind of been bounced around for the last few years due to building and expanding at the Fairgrounds, but the Saturday after Thanksgiving is always it's biggest day. Here's my haul---

I know you can't tell much, but there's over 30 feedsacks, a baby chenille spread, some buttons and a needle card. Not bad, huh?

You probably all know it, but Nanette at Freda's Hive had a Christmas Cottage swap this year. They are so cute! Imagine how fun it was to see some of them made out of my "Sugar N Spice" Christmas fabric! Here are some that Jane Remus of Jane's Fabrics & Quilts made out of it.

Thanks for letting me show them, Jane! This is some of the fabric on sale in my Etsy shop if you're interested.

Have a wonderful weekend and be sure to do your part for the economy this weekend! LOL!! Were you at the stores at 4 am to get the bargains yesterday?? They'd have to pay ME to do that!

Blessings~

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I guess everyone is cooking and getting ready for Thanksgiving today. I'll be off to pick up pies (what did I ever do before Marie Callendar's opened?) and other last minute things I need to get.

I actually got several fat quarter groups listed on Etsy yesterday. If you're interested, I'm closing out all my earlier fabric collections at $5 a yard or $1.25 a fat quarter. I've just begun to list what is available. I'll be listing some yardage as well. Trying to clear out inventory!

Have a great Holiday weekend, all you wonderful people. I'm grateful for each and every one of you!

Blessings~

Fabulous Friday!

I wanted to show you what greets me when I open my front door. It's just breathtaking right now!

This week has been spent getting my Mom taken care of. To the eye Dr. and the Audiologist. He fitted her new hearing aids yesterday and she can hear! What a thrill for her (and us!). A real blessing. We're having Thanksgiving at our house next week and she'll actually be able to participate in the conversation.

Her macular degeneration seems to be getting worse. The Dr. is trying a new drug. Do you know they use chemotherapy to treat it? A shot in the eyeball every few weeks. I guess it beats going blind, yes? My Mom would say it sucks to be 97.

Today's beautiful quilts are from Nanette at Freda's Hive. She does fabulous work and loves vintage stuff. Here are some pics of feedsack quilts she made. I love the red in this snowball with the yellow border.

The little daisy block in this darling piece is from my Daisy Patch pattern. I love how she combined it with other applique blocks!

Here's are some closeups.... I think she bought some of the fabrics from me, too.

Don't you just LOVE the rickrack handle on the teapot?

Thanks so much, Nanette!! I'm sure all of you know that she is a terrific designer and one of the biggest blog stars on the network! If by chance you haven't visited her blog, be sure to do it soon.

Keep sending the pics! I just love seeing and sharing them. Have a great weekend!!

Blessings~

Shopping!

I got to have lunch and play time with my friend, Ann, yesterday. There is nothing I enjoy more than wandering through antique stores and malls. So relaxing and inspiring. I did find a few things I wanted to show you. The 40's floral is to die for and the little scottie fabric is too cute! Paid a lot for it (probably too much), but decided I HAD to have it!

I LOVE those old button cards, too! Look at the colors!! Those were what the salesmen carried to sell buttons with. Have no idea what I'll do with them, but something will come sooner or later.

That's it for today. I might actually get some things listed on Etsy next week! Ya think it's time??!!

Blessings~

Wonderful Wednesday!

Finally, things are beginning to smooth out a bit here. I should be done with wrapping up orders that came in while we were gone. My Mom's hearing really took a dive while we were away for some reason. She was very hard of hearing before, but now is almost stone deaf. I took her to the hearing specialist yesterday and at least they have some hearing aids that should help. Just one more hurdle for her. Bless her heart!

I've been washing fabric and petting it while putting it away. Getting very inspired to work with it and think I have my first quilt formulating in my mind. Can't wait!

Since I have nothing exciting to share, I'm showing a quilt today that Carla Rives of Sugarland, TX sent me. She used my Bees Knees fabric to make up the Tutti-Frutti pattern from Super Simple Squares by Possibilities for a shop sample. I love seeing how my fabrics translate into other patterns! Thanks so much, Carla!!

BTW--I know many of you haven't received the Free Pattern I promised for sending a pic. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. I even took them with me to Houston to send, but no time. They should be on their way this week! And PLEASE keep sending pics!! I love showing what you've been up to.

Hope you're having a great week! Till next time--

Blessings~

Check Out the Loot!!

We're back from our visit to the kids, but I'm sorry to say that things didn't quite go as planned. Bill woke up yesterday at 5 am with a dreadful intestinal thing and we couldn't make it to Grandparents Day at Cameron's school. He just wanted to get home!

I had 2nd thoughts about that but I understand wanting to be in your own bed when you're sick. So I piled him into the car and about 5 miles down the road, he needed me to pull over. He opened the door and sat there a minute then crumpled out and hit the ground, out cold. Scared me to death! He passed out once before with a stomach ailment, so I hoped it was the same kind of thing. Called 911 and he was awake before I was off the phone, but still sick, sick, sick. So the ambulance came and we were in the Emergency room from from about 10:30 am to 6 pm yesterday. Then checked into a hotel and came home this morning. He's sleeping it off today. What an ordeal!! I'm just so grateful that's all it was. Many angels both human and otherwise came to our rescue.

Beyond that I promised to show you all the goodies I found on our trip to Market and Festival. The first night we stopped in Corsicana, TX and found a great antique mall. The very last booth had these feedsacks and you know I scooped them up!

Then during Festival I found these great pieces of vintage fabric.

There were several really good vintage booths. In one I found this wonderful pumpkin color rickrack on the bolt. They also had this fabulous nile green rickrack and bias tape. You don't see the ones with the matching thread very often, but I think they are so neat!

I also found these fabulous vintage millinery flowers. Have no idea what I'll do with them, but loved the colors!

As for new stuff, I bought these great Moda collections to play with. I don't know if you are aware of it, but the Rise N Shine group will be my last fabric design for awhile. I just need to back off from deadlines and this is one way I can do that. My Mom is really going downhill and I need to be more available for her. One of the fun things about not designing fabric is that I can now use some of the terrific fabrics out there by other designers! I haven't had a chance to really work with charms squares and some of the other fun stuff. Can't wait!! I'm thinking some seasonal things.....

And some kids stuff.....

And something in wool.....

Other than that I bought a few things for inspiration. So there you have it! My travels in a nutshell. Thanks for letting me share some of my goodies with you. We're finally home for awhile so I'm looking forward to spending more time with you here. Til next time---

Blessings~

Blog Stars and More!!

I told you yesterday that I was going to show you all the fab gals I've met through blogging that were at Market. It was such fun to be able to put names and faces together! My first event was Schoolhouse and I saw Sharon of Red Geranium Cottage and Nancy Noblog in the audience! I was so tickled to see some friendly faces there. Here we are I after Schoolhouse. Nancy took the picture so I stole one of her from Sharon's blog. Don't mean to imply she drinks alot, but it's the only one I could find of just her and you know, Sharon had all those drink coupons!

The next day I had a book signing and Jackie of Canton Village Quilt Works was there! She had this pic of us taken and I have no idea what I was looking at!

While walking around I ran into Cyndi Walker of Wishful Stitches! Note the bag she's modeling made from the Bees Knees fabric!! How cute it that??

Not far away I got to meet the infamous Pam of PamKittyMorning! She's as much fun as I knew she'd be.

She was there with Late Bloomer Quilts as Elizabeth's Trusty Sidekick! Her quilts are absolutely darling!

Meeting all these gals was such a delight! I aspire to be half as good at blogging and admire their talents. What a joy!!

I also got to visit with some old friends while I was there. Karen Snyder of Anna Lena's (soon to be not!) and I got to stroll the aisles and have lunch together. Her new fabric collections with Timeless Treasures were wonderful! Did you know that she has been recently tapped as the new "Face of Elna"? You'll be seeing her alot in the coming days! Karen and I also got to play in Spring, TX one day between Market and Festival. More about that later.

I also got to spend some time with my "Soul Sister" Darlene Zimmerman. Our stuff is so alike sometimes it's scary! No pic of us together - forgotten camera thing again, but here is one of her. Like you don't know what she looks like!

Linda Jenkins of Piece O Cake and I got to have an early dinner and shop the Festival on Wed. night together. We've been friends for a long, long time and we always have a great time. Here's a pic of her and Pat Sloan who I met when we were both designing for P&B. That girl works harder that anyone I know!! I have no idea how she does it. She's the new demo girl for the George machine with APQS.

Here's Pat & me looking a bit fuzzy. Could it be that Bill's hand was shaking from taking in so much beauty at one time??

Bill and I got to have a lovely dinner with Barbara Jones of Quilt Soup and her hubby one evening while we were there. We had such a wonderful visit. She always does something fun and fabulous with my new fabric. Here she is with a quilt called Oklahoma Pop-ups. She named it that because I live in OK!! She just started blogging and is doing a GREAT job! She also has a new fabric coming out soon with Henry Glass. I got to see it on paper and it is WONDERFUL!!

Well, there you have it. You've met all my buds both new and old. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to know all these gals! We're off to see the kids in OKC this afternoon and go to Grandparents Day with Cameron. When I get back I'll show you how I tried to keep the economy going while I was gone. See you then!

Blessings~

Quilt Market - 1st Post

OK!! I'm home and my pics are readable so I'll start at the beginning - boring as it may be! Bill and I travel in a motor home and tow our car. To quote another friend - I didn't know I was a turtle. I want my house on my back! To be clear.... I am NOT a camper! I just prefer my own stuff and my own bed and my own potty to a hotel room. Let's just say that I like to have my condo on wheels.

This is where we parked in Houston. A nice place around a pretty little lake where we'd stayed before. The weather was mostly gorgeous!

The RV Park was FULL of people there for disaster relief from Hurricane Ike. There were 5th Wheels as far as the eye could see!

As soon as we got there we were off to deliver quilts to the Maywood booth to be displayed. Here's how my quilts looked...

And here's a close up of the chicken coop. Another pattern designer (I'll find out who) made these pincushions and needle keepers with the Rise N Shine fabric. Are they not the cutest things?? I think they're going to be in Nancy's Notions. Also note the darling Rooster quilt beneath the coop.

And another designer (again, I'll find out who) did a fabulous Block of the Month with the fabric. You can do either the big quilts or two smaller ones which are hanging on the sides.

After hanging quilts we were pooped and headed for home. Come back tomorrow to see the best part. I got to meet all kinds of wonderful blogging stars!!

Til then... Blessings ~

Quick Update

Well...

I had fully intended to have several posts online by now, but my laptop won't read my photo card (grrrr) so I'll have to wait til we get home!

I've got some great pics to show you and lots to tell you so be sure to check back over the next few days. I did my best to help out the economy while we were here!

Blessings~

Last Day Before Market

Well, this week we're tying up loose ends and getting ready to head out. I'm looking forward to seeing many of you this week in Houston. If you're there and have a minute, here's my schedule:

• Schoolhouse on Friday from 12:20 - 12:50


• Book signing at Krause on Saturday at 11:00 am


• Book signing at EE Schenck on Saturday at 3:00 pm


• Book signing at EE Schenck on Sunday at 11:00 am

Other than that I am going to have fun looking around and seeing what's new! And hopefully visiting with friends.

My Mom got sick last week with bronchitis. You might remember that we had to cancel our vacation last summer when she had hallucinations. What a nightmare that was! I took her to the Dr. on Friday and he put her on some med that made her hallucinate again. I think we nipped it in the bud and she seems to be some better. I've got a nurse checking on her every other day for awhile. Keep your fingers crossed that she does OK until we get back.

I wanted to show you the quilts that Denise Schillinger of Swanville, MN sent me pics of. The first one is a butterfly quilt that she made for her church for an auction from some feedsacks that had been donated. Lucky gal! The second is another butterfly that she made from repros and a closeup. I never get tired of butterfly quilts. I know there's one in my future. Thanks so much Denise!

Don't forget to keep sending the pics! Can't wait to see what you're up to!

I'll keep in touch while I'm gone. Til next time---

Blessings~

Quick Note

If you haven't visited Pat Sloan's blog, take a minute to check out her interview with my dear friend Linda Jenkins of Piece O Cake. Her celebrity interviews are really fun!

Linda wrote on Oct. 7th about our visit to see her and her husband, Paul, this summer. If you didn't have a chance to read about it, check out the Piece O Cake blog for that date.

Blessings~

Terrific Tuesday!

Finally! I'm DONE with my last project before Market and it's off to the quilter!! Woohoo!! I do have a couple of bindings to do, but I can sew those down in the car. It's a great feeling to have that done. Here's a pic of the newest Rise N Shine project. All the new quilts will be available in kits after Market.

Today's Gallery Quilt is from Kathy Holscher in Greeley, CO. She has done a fabulous job with this feedsack quilt she calls Feedsack Frenzy. The large squares look like they are all novelties and she has sashed with an amazing array of feedsack triangle squares. Absolutely stunning! Thanks so much for sharing, Kathy!

Don't forget to keep sending pics to share!

Have a great week!

Blessings~