Vacation...

My husband and I, along with another couple, headed south to Orlando, FL for a little R&R. We found the weather to be almost perfect. The lines at Disney’s Epcot and Hollywood Studios were short. Even at the new Harry Potter Islands of Adventure – Universal lines weren’t too bad.

For those of you going to Universal Studios here’s a tip…you many need reservations to get into the Harry Potter park section.

Check about reservations to avoid

disappointment. BTW…the flowers at Epcot were breathtaking.

The sand at Cocoa Beach, near Cape Canaveral was magical and the waves were awesome…again not crowded. Here’s another tip…go to Florida just before the spring break crowds arrive.

However, some Canadian schools were on spring break…how does that happen? Why does spring come to Canada before Minnesota? Isn't it colder there…just curious?

Nothing like going on vacation and finding out there is a quilt show nearby. What a bonus to the sun and sand of Orlando. The show was in a little town 50 miles from where we were staying. Mt. Dora, FL is a bustling city with a quaint old town section close to Lake Dora. Walking through the old section you can travel from shop to shop and find many a restaurant to spend time. We spent a beautiful sunny day walking around and going to the quilt show.

At the quilt show my husband sat on a bench waiting for me. He was very happy there reading from his Nook. Happy that was until every quilter that walked by wanted his portion of the bench or just didn’t see him and tried to sit on him. His mood was less than friendly when I returns and was ready to leave the quilting seen. I had found a lovely quilt in the show made from Valori Wells fabrics that I hope to reproduce. Luckily the fabric is still available and is on its way to me from Oregon.

That’s right a Minnesota quilter on vacation in Orlando, Florida sees a quilt at a show in Mt. Dora, FL, travels back to Burnsville, MN and gets on the phone to order the pattern 'Nest'

and fabric from a store in Sisters, OR. Now that’s dedication!

Resting up from my vacation...

Annemarie

Groovy Girls...

Groovy Girls…

Today is the last class of my Groovy Girls Club at Glad Creations, Quilt Block in Minneapolis, MN. It has been a lot of fun. What a fantastic group of ‘Groovy Girl’ students I have had.

We have had many a laugh. Especially, believe it or not, over the folding of napkins! Someone in class actually knew how to fold a napkin to look like a dead chicken. The tears were flowing from laughter. After all of the laughing quieted down one wonderful GG was then brave enough to show us how to fold a napkin in the shape of a male body part. Then there was the evening we strung clothes line across the front of the classroom and hung all of the bags we had made since the previous class. It was an amazing amount of work and talent on display. We had a fabulous time.

I learned a lot working with the patterns Terry Atkinson provided for the club. Her patterns are well illustrated and easy to make. Thank you Terry and especially thank you to all of the Groovy Girls that came to the club! I hope to see all of you again real soon.

Here’s a sneak peak at what is coming for tonight’s last club meeting….

Happy stitching,

Annemarie

Just a Little Applique…

3 blocks finished! The blocks are from Sharon Pederson’s new book, The Rose of Sharon Block Book, winning designs from the EQ6 challenge. I have really enjoyed making them using the invisible machine appliqué method. This method of applique is accurate and much faster than needle turn appliqué. The fabrics are from Island Batik and are beautiful to work with. Glad Creations, Quilt Block in Minneapolis, MN is offering the blocks as a block of the month. There is a book (of course), a video, template/stencils in all the necessary shapes and 12 beautiful spools of matching Aurifil thread.

Just a little more appliqué…I made this sweatshirt jacket from my mother as a Christmas present. The one she was wearing was complete in shreds. It was time for a new one. So I compiled a few appliqué patterns from my collection, added some of my own ideas and here you have it. It just needs a button. What is it ‘they’ say about quilters and buttons?

Hoping for spring to arrive!

Happy quilting,

Annemarie

3 Quilts in a Month!

3 Quilts in a Month!

3 quilts in the last month have been finished. They are very different. Mostly started and completed for reasons other than ‘just because.’ I love to start a quilt ‘just because’ I want to. I wish that would happen more often. I have a load of ideas twirling around in my head for new quilts. Sometimes it is just too hard deciding which one to start first.

Quilt #1...The Lone Star was started 5 years ago for my son. It will be a present when he graduates from college. He loves to fish - hence the lure fabric. The center lone star is made using a Quiltsmart foundation product. Great technique…I’d use the Quiltsmart foundation product again in a flash!

Quilt #2…Foursquare Farmhouse – designed by Terry Atkinson. I made this one for the Groovy Girls Club I teach at Glad Creations, Quilt Block in Minneapolis, MN. It was a dream to make. Easy as pie!!!

Quilt #3...Today I finished the first in Jo Morton’s club #10. It is called HST Challenge. 120 small triangles make up this sweet little quilt. It is very small, just 13”x15”. Perfect for a special child’s doll; easy, fast, and darling!

Happy Quilting,

Annemarie

www.QuiltsRemembered.com

Houston Quilt Market...2010

What a great time. I had such a wonderful experience. The drive from Minnesota to Texas was a long one but having my husband along for the ride made the trip a breeze. The books on tape helped too! Once we had arrived at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in Houston, TX, it was hard to get my head around the next few days in such a gigantic place. It looked like 7 football fields fused together.

Set-up went well. No problems. I had wonderful booth neighbors and fantastic quilts to

look at. What an experience.

The time flew by with excellent possibilities coming my way every day. The quilt I designed for Windham Fabrics, Calico Garden Medallion, will be in May's edition of Quiltmania Magazine.

My newest patterns are the last 2 pictures...Laura's 1870 Cradle Quilt and Cottage Fair. They were very popular at market. Quilts Remembered patterns are now available in the USA, Norway, Great Britain, Canada and the Netherlands.

Some new friends were made and hopefully some new business connections too. It was truly exciting - I can't wait until next year!!!

Working Vacation…

Up North, near Alexandria, MN I found peace from the phone but not from the hummmm of the sewing machine(s). The ‘retreat’ cabin I visited with 5 of my quilting buddies buzzed from the constant whirl of our sewing machines…mostly Berninas. Everyone was working on their own project(s). No one came with less than 3 projects to work on. Quilted bags, pillowcases, baby quilts and large quilts, we did it all. Of course there was way too much food…cookies, candy and crackers…dips and daiquiris…burritos and beer. Ok, we didn’t have any beer but it sounded good. Pictured are the quilts I worked on for 2 days…all 3 quilts are from Quilts Remembered patterns. I started quilting the new samples of Divided Stars and Olive’s Table Runner. I began piecing the Soldier Album Quilt from fabric I received as a gift. The fabric called ‘Miniatures’ is a new by Julie Hendricksen and printed by Baum/Windham textiles. There’s still a lot to do on them so I better get busy!!! So until later my friends…

Happy Living!

Annemarie

Gardens in Bloom

Yesterday, I went out into my gardens and took a few pictures. So many plants are in bloom right now. Some are just finishing up, some are at their peak and others are just beginning to flower. I enjoy all of the flowers; they really turn my yard into a special place for me. My hydrangeas are coming along nicely this year but unfortunately some of the plants don't have as many flowering heads on them this year. I wonder why??? The ferns and impatients are growing like they are living in Jersasic Park. All of the rain we have had has kept them very happy. The bees and the butterflies are very busy in the Russian Sage and Hostas. All these pictures need are a few quilts hanging among the flowers.

Enjoy,

Annemarie