Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Photofinish
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
quiltish---does a giveaway


pictures by Allisa Jacobs
I post this somewhat reluctantly because although I certainly want to get the word out on how awesome quiltish really is, doesn't this actually decrease my chances of winning?? Ah, well. I'll take my chances....or lack thereof.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Quilts that sizzle
Yeah, so anyway....it was really nice when we got to Alden Lane this morning. It was really nice until about 11:30. Then the heat smacked us. Hard. But people were still nice and friendly. We had a nice day of sales.
We took a picture of our special friends, who drove all the way from Fresno to see
Jennifer, Jessica, Rachel and Bethany even made some blocks, learning fusible applique
And they took a picture of us. And don't be fooled by the shady look of our booth...
Friday, September 25, 2009
A little tease...
So here is a little collage of pictures as the nursery looked today. So gorgeous and colorful. Just wait until the quilts are hung from the huge old oak trees tomorrow. Definitely "one in every color."

Seriously??
I have long been obsessed with fabric selvage edges. That has already been established, I think. Since we are going to be at a quilting show, wouldn't pincushions be a good idea? Wouldn't thinking about this a couple of months ago have been a better idea?
What have I learned from this?
1. It's kind of a messy process, but really fun.
4. Procrastination--not such a great idea. Two pincushions ready for sale. Two....for a two-day show. Planning ahead would have been a really good idea. Can you say "special order and free shipping"?
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Color Therapy Thursday: House of Blues
She loves blue. Loves.It.
And here is the proof:

Her friends knew she needed to be surrounded by a shield of love. We have done this before with friends who have battled cancer. In fact, when Sue was helping to finish the last quilt, she said, "I sure hope I'm never the recipient of one of these quilts." Little did she know...
Friendship quilt made by Sue's many friends
Making a quilt for someone you love is about so much more than the fabric you pick and the time you spend. It is about putting your heart into each little stitch that goes into it, and then letting them wrap themselves up in your love. Ready to face their foes, not alone, but surrounded by those ready to fight the battle with them.
The label on the back of the friendship quilt (thanks to Maggie)
Truer words could not be spoken...
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Little House on the Prairie
First of all, we didn't stay in a little house. We stayed in a two-story farm house with our good friends, Roger and Clarine. Nor was it in Walnut Grove, that town where Little House on the Prairie is based. But we were really close to Walnut Grove, so there you have it.
We went back there for Mark's high school class reunion, which always coincides with the Butterfield Threshing Bee, which takes a town of 600 people and turns it into several thousand for the weekend. Think tractors, lots of tractors. In a parade. Long parade. And not just your run-of-the-mill tractors either. Big, small, unusual (to me at least, but I guess that is my city girl showing through).
We went to Bergen Bar and Grill twice. Bergen, Minnesota, with a population of 16, but wow, do they know how to grill. While we waited, I took a picture of the local crops: corn and windmills.
Bergen Bar and Grill doesn't seat too many people inside. Like the town, it's rather small. But they do have a nice deck where you can wait in nice weather (in bitter cold winter, you wait in your car and they call your cell phone). And if you want to order a soft drink (okay, "pop" for you Minnesotans) or a beer, you just walk right up to the window and place your order.
We went to the Fairmont County Fair. We actually changed the dates of our trip, leaving and returning a day later than we had originally planned, so we could attend the fair. As far as country fairs goes, I think it was pretty typical. However, this kind of blew me away. Someone was raising money by selling tickets for a raffle. See the ticket container? See the money box? See the empty chairs???? Very trusting people here in Fairmont County...
Now you may be asking yourself why we would want to change the dates of our trip. To go the Fairmont County Fair. Well, all because of these guys, Tonic Sol-Fa. Amazing acapella singers. They sing a huge variety of music, jazz, pop, country. Mark first found them while channel surfing a couple of years ago when they had their own PBS special (and they are filming another one--they're that good). And here they were, at the fair, free with our paid admission of $3/person, thanks to Roger and Clarine getting tickets on the radio! Really outstanding concert. Well worth $3. No, really, I would have paid ten times that to hear them in person, and we were in the sixth row!
But my personal highlight? It would have to be meeting my online pen pal, as Mark refers to her. My friends and family know that I am blog-obsessed. Some people spend free time playing free cell or solitaire. I read blogs. Even when I don't have free time. Anyway, first I became a fan of her daughter's blog, How About Orange, and I can't even tell you how I first discovered that one. But shortly after I started reading it, I was hooked. The best part was the dialog between Jessica and her mom, Grandma G, in the comment section. I was intrigued. I clicked on Grandma G's link and found out she lived in southern Minnesota. About 40 miles from Butterfield. We emailed back and forth for nearly a year, found out we had a lot in common, including each of us having a super cute granddaughter with brown curly hair, and we made plans to meet. She lives out in the country so we met at the very cool coffee shop in town, Left Bank Coffee, which Mark learned was named that because apparently there used to be two banks in town and this was....uh, the one on the left. I have to admit to being nervous while we waited. You know, kind of like a blind date. Like what if she met me...and hated me?? Anyway, thankfully, that didn't happen. We drove out to where she lives, which Mark, being a farm boy at heart, really enjoyed. This is the view from Candy's house.
Thanks, Candy. Meeting you was definitely one of my highlights. Who knew I would make such a good friend because I love the color orange?
Monday, September 21, 2009
Weekend Recap...and the winner is...
And as soon as we got home, random.org picked the winner of Playin' the Name Game (drum roll...), Number 7: Happy Cottage Quilter. Even though this was totally random, and you didn't even have to make any suggestions to be eligible, she had some great names. So thanks to all of you who commented. We'll be doing this again the next time I get stumped for a good name.