A Christmas Gift-Away

Hey ya'll.  Christmas is right around the corner and I'm so excited.  Things around the house are beginning to look like Christmas.  Outside that is.  Inside will have to wait until this coming
weekend, but it's coming.

Visiting the Logan's Lap Quilters

This week I had the pleasure of visiting with the Logan's Lap Quilters Guild in Columbia, South Carolina.  They are a welcoming, loving group of quilters!

Car packed with lots of quilts, and by 8:30 I was off.  When I journey to share my Quilts and Their Stories lecture with a guild, I love to travel with lots of great quilts both old and new to share stories and examples of what quilting looks like through the ages.  This time I only had one antique quilt with me to share.  I wasn't able to get with my friend Jackie to borrow hers, but rest assured, the stories of her antique collection were shared, including her White Sheep Games quilt. 

I met Donna at the church in Columbia just before noon and we drove to meet a group from the guild at a nearby restaurant.  If you're ever in Columbia, SC, I highly recommend J's Corner.  From their website,

“J’s Corner gas pump… now refurbished, serves as a reminder of the days when Jaco’s was a gas station. At the corner of Bluff Road and Rosewood Drive stands a vintage gas pump and a small building. This spot for more than a century housed Jaco’s Corner, a gas station-turned-neighborhood bar near the State Fairgrounds and Williams-Brice Stadium.These days, both the gas pump and little old bar are looking shiny and fresh, as they’ve both been refurbished. And they’re dwarfed by the brand-new structure behind them — the main building for J’s Corner, a new restaurant and bar”
-Free Times Magazine 

The food was great and their was a light, airy feel to the restaurant.  If you're in the mood for a good burger, you'll not go wrong with the Mushroom-Swiss!  It was also great to see the University of South Carolina Football Stadium across the street.

After our great lunch and conversations, we went back to the church to prepare for the guild meeting. 

 The ladies were milling about, signing in, visiting tables of goodies, raffles, and so much more.  At 2:00 on the dot, their president started the meeting, then turned the program over to me. 

I of course shared stories of my quilts, and we talked about everything from Leader and Enders and Bonnie Hunter to stories of the ladies' quilts. 

After I finished my presentation, they took a break to allow me to pack up and talk further with the ladies, answering questions and hopefully spurring on some conversations about labeling quilts and entering them in shows if not for anything but to share their work and inspire others to get started!

I packed up and was on the road home after that.  I usually stay for the remainder of the meeting, but the ladies assured me that I should get ahead of the rush hour traffic and I was grateful for that.  When I arrived home, I opened the gift bag that I was handed before the start of the meeting.

What a great bag full of goodies.  The bag is a reusable shopping bag with lots of great quilting phrases and such on it.  There was a sweet pattern, Stonehenge Jelly Roll and charm pack, small ruler, personal fan, and Grandma's lotion and stain stick.   The lotion is great!  THANK YOU SO MUCH LADIES!

I had so much fun with these ladies and hope to see them again in the future.

I'm busy working on something great for ya'll that you'll definitely want to check out!  It will be my Christmas gift you each of you!  Stay tuned tomorrow for that!

Until next time, quilt on!

Grateful, Thankful, Blessed, and Charity

November is a month for thankfulness.  It is a time of reflection on what God has provided for us.  As my mind often does, I turn first to my relationship with Christ and my salvation.  I also turn my thoughts to my quilting.  God has so truly blessed me with talents beyond measure with abilities to create and desires to bless others with that creativity.

My sewing group with the Cruso Friendship Club recently began a project to make quilts for our local DSS and Child Services.  We call these our Comfort Quilts.  What began a little less than two months ago has ballooned into a wonderful project.  We are typically a small group of 6-8 that meets most Tuesday mornings.  Two of our usual friends have ventured back to their winter homes, one in Florida and one in Texas.  We had another friend who lives in Georgia visit recently with a generous gift of fabric, blocks, and quilt tops that she had been given.  With these pieces and parts we have already put together four tops with several more started.


Our initial goal of making 20 quilts before our first delivery is being reached quickly.  We have seven in the completed pile with at least 12 more in various stages from cut fabric in kits to completed tops awaiting quilting, to a few only needing binding.  We are making quilts in a variety of sizes and styles from crib to twin and everything in between.  We have some that are very juvenile, while some are flowery and some are bright and geometric.  All patterns are welcome, none frowned upon, remember there are NO quilt police!

We always welcome help with our projects. If you would like to help, we can use fabrics (please only quilting cotton), blocks, completed quilts, or if you're free on a Tuesday morning, we would love to have you join us at the Cruso Community Center from 9-12 and we'll sew up a storm.  I can also get kits to you that need sewing or binding, or if you happen to be a longarmer with a spare moment or two , we could use some additional quilting help too!  This is an ongoing project for us, so if you find time even after the busy holiday season, send me and email or call me at 828-400-7323 and we'll get to work.

While I've been working on Comfort Quilts, I've also been finishing up a long-time due wedding quilt and baby quilts for twins due around the corner.  My friend Jennifer and her husband were married 4 years ago.  I began a wedding quilt for them and as the best laid plans usually go, it got waylaid.  I kept jokingly saying, "I'll get it done before you have a baby"...Well, she's due with twins just after the first of the year, so I've kicked it in high gear and have all three ready for quilting then gifting!!!  All three have turned out exceptionally well.  I can't wait to get them quilted and bound so I can get them delivered.  I'll share pictures of them once they are delivered, since the designs are still a surprise.


Recently, I tried my hand at making something other than a quilt.  I made my first necktie and let me tell you it was super simple and a lot of fun to make.  There will definitely be more in the future.  I found the pattern from Bryanna of Sweet Shop Sewing.  She has lots of great patterns and this one was exceptional.

This week, I was blessed to be able to share my Quilts and Their Stories lecture with the Logan's Lap Quilters Guild in Columbia, SC.  I'll post more about that tomorrow.  I also have exciting news coming in the next couple days, so you'll definitely want to check back for that!

Tim is certainly flying, but I encourage you to take a moment with me, to remember all we have to be thankful for and to give thanks during this season of Thanksgiving.  Thank you for sharing this quilty life with me!

Until next time, quilt on!