Friends and get togethers

Every year or so, I travel to visit with a bunch of friends and have a long stitching get together.
I didn't go last year because I was new at the job, and although I could have, I didn't want to take time off without having accrued leave (we have an abysmal PTO policy), and I always feel weird taking time off within the first 6 months of a job... Even though I'm at the level where no one thinks twice, it just feels weird to me.

So anyway, I went to visit friends and had an absolutely lovely time.  We got some good laughs in, and other than a horrible trip home (I'm still waiting to see what Southwest says about that - I got home a day late! ), I'm very happy I went :)

So here are some of the goodies:

At Attic Needlework, I didn't purchase much (I feel like I'm pretty saturated now, and the things I'm really after haven't come out yet), but I did get:

Key to Home, which I'd really like to stitch and put an old key on (instead of the stitched one).   I'm also tempted to do them for all of the major places I've lived.  I won't, but it's a nice idea ;)   I do like the way the chart is made, there's a separate chart for you to figure out how to center your numbers (unlike some others that just have a blank line in the middle of the chart).

Judge Not by Plum Street, which I saw at the Silver Lining when I was at the Houston Quilt Show, but they were sold out of.  I was super excited to see this one!    I love the sheep on the top row that's up on two legs, he just cracks me up.

And another Sweetheart Tree -  Pretty Pyramid #2.   It's the only one I have (and the only one I saw).  I just love constructing 3D finishes.  So I grabbed it :)

I also bought a pair of copper scissors.  I don't have any that color, so why not?  Unfortunately I totally forgot to take a picture of them.

We also went to Mulqueens, and I gotta tell you, I LOVED that store.    They had tons of fabric, but even better they had TONS of notions, tools, threads (Aurifil, which is my favorite, is not one I see "in the wild" very often, and I bought two spools I knew I needed) and other stuff.   They also had a huge room full of used/older model machines.    I am saving up for a new (to me) machine, and if I was ready, I would have definitely gone ahead and taken one to be my carry-on :)

Anyway, other than some chalk markers (blue and yellow!) and a few other notions, I picked up fabric for a project.   I mentioned yesterday that I wanted to finish a cross stitch piece using Bonnie Hunter's Diamond Tile, and these are the fabrics, I picked up:

The white fabric on the end is actually a green/white grunge, and picks up the bit of green at the edge of some of the blended threads.   This finish will definitely not be something I would have chosen for myself, but the person I'm making it for will love it - and isn't that what really matters?

I'm super glad I found the fabric that matched so easily, and I look forward to getting that piece finished (this weekend?!)

I found new, better(!) fabric for my Hearts of America - California piece.   I keep buying new fabric for it, not really loving anything (but hey, at least previous versions have been "acceptable."
This one was in the BOGO bin, and it's perfect.   When I lived in California, I was a wee kiddo, and I remember loving my books, so I'll definitely stick to this one.

And this is the precut kit I posted partial pictures of yesterday.  I realized I hadn't taken a picture of it before I started sewing on the center tile, but this is what it looks like!    The example is what it looks like if you finish it into a 3x4 block solid piece, but there are tons of layout on the back (in case you can't lay them out yourself, I guess?)  I just really love the colors. It's also crazy easy to sew together.

And finally, we all got little gift bags from various friends.   Many people brought something from where they were from (I brought a Moravian Sugar Cake from Dewey's Bakery as well as Moravian sugar cookies), and our hostesses had great little gift bags with tools  that we won by playing "stitcher's bingo"  - it included a 2x2" and 3x3" acrylic blocks for checking your start at the corner, a snagnabbit, and other little things, and in my bag I got these two kits as well:

I'm so looking forward to adding this to my Mill Hill magnet collection.

And this adorable little ornament!

And for "one of those things that will be funny one day,"  I meant to bring some veggies with me on the plane to snack on (I'm trying to spend less money and airport food is SO expensive).  I brought most of them but managed to forget a container of cauliflower when I parked at the airport.    I was annoyed, but then totally forgot about it.   When I finally got home (a day late, and wearing the same clothes I'd had on for more than a day!), I opened my car door and gagged.    Rotting, hot cauliflower is in the top three most disgusting things I've ever smelled.   After throwing my backpack into the bed of my vehicle (90% of the stench was there) and blasting outside air on the way home (2 hour drive!) I made it home and took everything out of my car to either trash or wash.

On the back floor boards, inside a reusable grocery bag, I found a pair of Bohin scissors I TOTALLY forgot about buying nearly a year ago! (at least it was a year according to the receipts!)   So I guess occasionally rotting veggies in the car isn't a total bad thing.

(And yes, after 4 runs through the wash, a soak with Nature's Miracle, AND a soaking in OxyClean, the backpack does not stink any more... sadly, it's one of my favorites and one I can't easily replace here on the East Coast, so I was very determined to save it!)

Girls weekend!

This past weekend was my annual sojourn to Vegas to hang out with some very wonderful girlfriends.   We shopped, we gambled, we ate, we laughed, we cried, and maybe had a bit of fun.

The two stops I always appreciate are Stitcher's Paradise - an absolutely fantastic LNS with a huge, awesome fabric room, and a back room chocked full of older and overstocked patterns and Quiltique, a really nice quilt shop.   I could probably live without going to Quiltique, but I'm always excited to go.   I haven't really found a quilt shop I like here, yet (sadly, my quilt shop in Chapel Hill closed last year).

I didn't purchase a terribly huge amount, and I'm happy to say almost everything was purchased with an actual plan ;)

Cross Stitch:

I purchased a bunch of tiny cuts for biscornus and other little projects I'd like to work on:

I (try to) do a biscornu for every year and stuff it with the previous year's ORTs as a keepsake.   I am a bit backlogged, in part because I try to find something I like.  Luckily!  I have plans to get 2016 and 2017's biscornus done, and I've already started on what I'd like to use for 2018.   I ended up picking up three Biscornu kits from Sweetheart tree to front load my biscornu needs :)

I'll actually be doing the Blackwork one for 2017's.

I purchased fabric for Mirabilia's Zenia, a piece I will stitch on this year (for the Year of WIPs, I was short a WIP, and decided to bite the bullet because I luff her :) )

And I also purchased Royal Games II (and the beads).   I will be stitching each one as a full card and hanging them in the game room (since I won't be reno-ing that room until later this year, it's no rush; I'm thinking of starting them in 2019).  Because of my FB break, I had totally missed that this one was being published!   I absolutely ADORE the Queen of Diamonds.

I also bought a bunch of DMC.   I realize I could've gotten them for cheaper from a local craft store, but I only needed a few to fill in a few holes where I didn't quite have everything for a project or two (a skein here, a skein there :) )

And here's what I got from Quiltique:

If you ever go with me into a fabric shop, you will quickly discover that I have an utter weakness for precuts, especially jelly rolls.   Welp, this jelly-roll was half-off, and it's in my beloved monochromatic grays, so I had to have it.   I'm thinking of a wild and crazy colored backing after I make it.   And I'm going to cut some of these strips in half so that I get a strippier looking quilt.   I think it'll be fun (in years if I ever get around to it ;) )

I grabbed a couple of fat quarters; the evergreen looking one is for my Hearts-Across-America wall hanging, I'll use it for California.   I like it a lot better than one I picked up earlier (I was never sure I really wanted that one, this one felt right).  And that gray.  Because I like it ;)

I bought these fabrics (FQs) because I just thought they were beautiful.  I plan on making a topper for my Lane chest (next to the bed).   I bought a couple of yards of the backing fabric (way more than needed) because I love it, so pretty!

IS IT NOT GORGEOUS

 I also bought a yardish of fabric to back a spring themed table runner for the dining room table.  I'm so determined to end the year with less (unused) fabric than I started with.

So that was my fun for the trip.   A few things purchased, nothing over the top, and I'm pleased with everything.

International Quilt Show - Houston

This past weekend I went to the International Quilt Show in Houston with my friend Melissa.  I've been a few times in the past (when I lived in Houston), but decided to take a trek back to hang out and check it out.

There were many, many pretties, but unfortunately, they are also kinda strict on pictures.  It's understandable, most quilts can be deconstructed by people who are good quilters.  I am not an awesome quilter, so I did take a few pictures, but mostly just bought a few things.

We didn't get into the actual quilt show area - it took us an entire day just to walk the floor, and we didn't feel like coming back the next day.  

Fortunately (?) the 'Stros were kind enough to win the World Series, and there was a huge parade downtown as well.  The George R Brown Convention Center is just down the way from Minute Maid Park (the baseball stadium/park), so the parking/driving was a bit of  a mess, but the attendance was lighter than Thursday (we're spit-balling the idea that people either went to the parade instead or just stayed away from downtown).

We got to look at quite a few things and venture into the booths and there weren't too many problems with bumping into people.

So here's my haul and/or entertainment:

One of the things I suck at with regards to fabrics/sewing, is changing colorways.  It's funny how easy it is for me in stitching, but quilting breaks my little brain.  So I found this pattern I liked in another color scheme and took a picture for reference (not that I'd use the aquas, but I like the idea better than the original).

These are two quilts I just really liked.  I'm not sure I'd do them, though.
The "Wrented" one just gives me a giggle, and I found the preponderance of raccoons somewhat surprising at the Festival.  There were a lot of raccoon quilts, but I really liked these guys best.   I thought they looked like they might mug you for your Christmas prezzies.


This quilt I straight up bought the kit for... Ok, I didn't.  I thought about it for an hour or two and went back to it, hoping it was sold out because I really love the colors in it.  It's in a very different color way than the pattern (Poppin' In).  I loved it in the hot pink and I have a great place to display it in the Lady Lair.  Plus, I thought the kit was more than reasonably priced, especially because I wouldn't have to go hunting for the fabrics myself.
It was at a booth that sells those crystal bits, and while they were really pretty and sparkly, I won't be embellishing my own quilt.


Oh heck, here's the pattern from the interwebz:
There's a "Poppin' Out" pattern that is it convex instead of concave, and I nearly bought that one, too.

There was a booth with a lot of pincushions: Cats, Mice, Dogs, Pigs, etc.   They came in pretty small and fairly large pieces, and I just loved this mouse so I got it.   He's huge.  And all mine (and added more than a little weight to my overly burdened bag!)

I stopped by the Missouri Star Quilt Company booth, because I had to.  If you haven't been to their site, or checked out their youtube tutorials and you're into quilting (or want to be), they're my favorites.  So easy and not annoying ;)

This is Tula Pink's "Spirit Animal" layer cake.   I just kept saying "SPAAAACE OTTERRRRS!" because they make me laugh.  I have absolutely no idea what to do with it, I just wanted space otters.

I didn't pick up much in the way of fabric, because it's heavy, and to be honest, I wasn't seeing a whole lot that was so unique I had to have it.   Plus, the quilt show is a little pricey and I come from a state with tons of quilt stores (and FQs that are typically 0$.50-1.00 cheaper)

But there was a nice place that had really pretty metallic fabrics, and I thought these would make a fun table runner for Christmas:

The very first large purchase (so clearly my camera roll isn't set to chronological) is this quilt, Weeds in the Sidewalk.   They had this one displayed and I HAD to have it.  They had it in the pure black and white, and another with a yellow splash of color.  Melissa is a bad person and found the very last kit and presented it to me.   And of course I bought it.   At least it will go well with the white fur from Mona.

Oh heck, I'll stick them in here, too:  The two colorways.  I think the yellow is pretty, I just like monochromatic designs a lot more.


And then we stumbled upon a shop that does a lot of dish towels and pot holders and the like
A lot of them were really cool, and a lot of them were also Texas themed.

First off - I grabbed their very last UT dishtowel.   Of course they were the first school sold out ;)

And then I grabbed these three pot holders - sorry they're a little fuzzy.  I thought they were all cute, and I got duplicates to give out as Christmas gifts as well:

We swung by a shop called "Treasures of the Gypsy" that I remember from even my first quilt show in Houston.   The show sells 'exotic' fabrics and dolls (and patterns) by Arley Berryhill.  His blog/sale site is here.    Treasures... doesn't have a website, and it's full of really cool soft-sculpture dolls.  My only complaint is that the owner can be really rude sometimes.   They could also improve their signage re: not touching anything, because they're soft sculptures, people touch, and their signage is crappy.  More than a few people came away from that shop muttering/talking about 1. rudeness and 2. the need fore better signage.

*ahem*

Anyway, I saw a doll with a raven's skull, which I would have loved to purchase, but was priced for more than I was willing to spend. 

And I had bought a lot of the patterns for the dragons back in the day and they were lost or stolen, or who knows what, so I was looking to replace them.  But you know what?  I suddenly didn't feel the need to really sew them, and then I saw the firebird:

You can check out more/better pictures here - scroll down - (because again with the no picture taking), which I highly recommend.  I'm looking forward to using fashion fabrics - dupionis and jacquards to really make this special.  I love it.

And I also grabbed this six image panel - part of Fabric Fiesta by Dan Morris.  I'm thinking about cutting and sewing it into a long panel as as a dining room table runner, and embellishing them.  If there's a panel left over (size, y'all) or something, maybe I'll make a super blingy, embellished wall hanging.

And finally, a couple of patterns - this one is a sloth pattern;  I have a lot of friends who are obsessed with sloths, so I thought I could make a single panel Sloth Pillow for them - the pattern is fairly easy and straightforward and I think it looks like fun.

And the last of the quilt patterns - "God Bless Texas"
I've seen this one around quite a bit, and I was happy to grab this.  Fairly easy again, and I think fun for a smorgasborg of fat quarters.  I think I'd go with something other than white for the background because that section of the "supposed to be white re: the flag" is already so close; maybe a nice light blue.   It's hard to see in this photo (or the pattern itself), but they've actually quilted the Alamo, roses (presumably yellow roses ;) ) and other Texana into the backing.  Quite pretty.

I went by the Silver Needle, but sadly, they did not have what I was looking for in stock.  Their booth was in an odd location and seemed kind of small this year, but it's been a while since I've been there.

We also swung by the Bohin booth (on purpose!) and in fact, had cash in hand because they do not take cards.  I bought a few packets of needles - I usually buy them in bulk but have not found my bulk needles to take with me to Houston, and I grabbed a pair of bunny (er... "hare...") scissors.

They also had some hand made scissors for more than $500, but I managed to stay away from those, though they were STUNNING.

So that was the one day quilt show extravaganza.

The next day we swung by ABC Stitch Therapy, a stitching store on the NW side of Houston (fairly close to where I grew up, actually, though they weren't there back then).    They are pretty close to where 3 Stitches is, but since I've had nothing but bad experiences at 3 Stitches, I never darken their doorway any more.

Everyone was super nice at ABC, and lo'!  They were having a Primitive Hare trunk show.   I really LOVE her designs, but I know I'll never get around to stitching them, so I haven't bought a lot.

But I did find this, which I think would be perfect for the kitchen:

While I was at it, I went ahead and grabbed Dog Pile from Ink Circles, which I've been meaning to grab for a while (I always try to purchase from Brick and Mortar stores, and tend to get my yearly's wish list at the get together every year at Stitcher's Paradise in Vegas, but since I was here...)

I found this older Sweetheart Tree April sampler - I was actually looking for a biscornu to grab me, but this did instead :)

And my last grab was this:
They had different gates, but I liked this one best of all.  And it fit within my rule which is now: "Will this work with any of the mountains of fabric you already own"  haha.

So that's my Quilt Show weekend extravaganza/purchasing fest.  It was a lot of fun, and I hope to go again in the future (though not as soon as next year).

And one last final thing:  The scrap metal sculpture I picked up at the grocery store.  Because who doesn't need a longhorn santa that you then have to figure out how to transport home ;)