Me Time ~ May 29, 2012

Here are a few pictures of some of the

projects from Me Time.

And some beautiful nonwovens

for me!



Memorial Day

It is Memorial Day here in the United States.

It is a day for remembering the men and women

who died while serving in the United States Armed

Forces.  Once known as Decoration Day, it

commemorated the Union soldiers who died

during the Civil War.  By the 20th century, Memorial

Day honored all Americans who died in all wars.

Graduation Day

We Are So Proud

Earlier today, our youngest child, Brennan,

graduated from the Indiana Academy for

Math Science and Humanities. The Academy

is a residential high school for Juniors and

Seniors and is said to be one of the finest

examples for gifted learning in the nation.

It was a very emotional day ~ I started crying

as soon as Pomp & Circumstance began...

One hundred and twenty-four graduates walked

across the stage into a new phase of their lives

today. They were offered over $10 million dollars

in scholarships, accepting $4.2 million, that means

a lot of kids got scholarships.

Congratulations Brennan!

Explore, Dream, Discover!

The Heat is On!

This Weekend is Going to be a Scorcher!

I just had to close the windows and turn

on the air conditioning, only 1pm and already

the house was like an oven.  The temperature

will be in the 90's here this weekend.

We have some busy days ahead, our son

graduates from high school this weekend

and he will be moving home to enjoy a few

months of fun before beginning college.

I will be designing new work, as always and

writing a book proposal ~ exciting!

I hope you have a happy holiday weekend,

it is the kick-off to summer here in the USA.

And stay cool...



Getting Back in the Swing of Things

Now that I'm back home, I'm trying

to get back to our normal life.

I get up with the birds and make sure

the flowers get some water.

I get out on the trail and enjoy

the beauty of nature.

And back to work on the next

collection of designs. 

Add to that, phone calls and emails

from sea to shining sea, stay tuned,

exciting things to come!

Me Time ~ May 22, 2012

I popped in for a little Me Time

today.  We checked out the

newest lines from Market.

There was some jewelry making.

These are the finished pieces.

There was some holiday stitching

and a whole lot of talking about

the past week.

Homeward Bound

We had a great experience at the International

Quilt Market.  Now we are heading home,

enjoying the beauty of the American Midwest.

We made it to just past St. Louis last

night and today we will get home,

unpack and begin the next step in

the American Homestead journey...

I want to thank all the wonderful

customers, suppliers, distributors,

publishers and fellow designers from

the International Quilt Market who

shared their knowledge and were so

much fun!  See you in Houston.

For now, I can't wait to get back to

my American Homestead...

The Excitement Continues in Kansas City

International Quilt Market ~ Day 2

After being inside all day on the trade show

floor it is nice to get outside and see the sky

again.  It has been another exciting day at

the International Quilt Market.  We met

people from all over the world ~ so many

people from Australia!  We met with

suppliers and distributors.  I was asked to

design for a magazine.  And would I be

interested in writing a book?

Hmmm ~ yes, yes I would.

Felt IS the New Black

International Quilt Market ~ Day 1

I think I said, "Felt is the new black"

a few thousand times today.

We are at the International Quilt Market

in Kansas City.  It has been an exciting day

making contacts, selling patterns, taking orders,

meeting distributors and a fabric company asked

me if I would be interested in designing a fabric line.

Yes, thank you, I think I would...

The rest of the evening will be spent here

and here.

Good night every one!





When in Kansas City...

...Eat Barbecue at Oklahoma Joe's

Kansas City is known for its BBQ and

Oklahoma Joe's is THE place to get it.

We had read it was in a gas station and

we pictured an old gas station redone

as a restaurant.  No.  It is a functioning

gas station, with the pumps out front, a

convenience store inside and a famous

BBQ joint thrown in for good measure.

Did I mention there is a line to get in?

We waited for an hour but there were

these great guys from Sweden and

Germany in front of us, and the time

flew by since we were having so much fun.

Anthony Bourdain has included this place

on his list of "13 places to eat before you die"

and that list includes such notables as El Bulli,

French Laundry and Le Bernardin. 

Not bad company...

Mr. Wonderful had the ribs and

pulled pork with creamy slaw.

I had the pulled pork and brisket

with a fabulous potato salad.  I had

to take half of mine home.  The sauce

was out of this world!

Hmmm, they don't have this aisle

in my local gas station convenience store.



The Load-In

Kansas City

Before

and After.

It didn't take too long either, we are fairly

close to the loading dock which helped.

Tomorrow we have just a bit of tweaking

to do but we are happy with how easily it

came together, the set-up at home in the

gazebo was a big help.

Our neighbors are busy setting up

their booths.  More to come tomorrow.

Now it's time to find some barbeque...



All My Bags Are Packed ~ I'm Ready To Go...

Westward Ho!

I have finally fit it all in the car and now I'm

just waiting for Mr. Wonderful to get home and

we will be heading west to Kansas City, MO.

International Quilt Market begins on

Friday.  If anyone is going, please stop

by booth 739 and say hi.

Someone who is not going is this very sad

 puppy dog who misses her Mommy already...

Elle's Kitchen: Chickpea Salad

Easy & Tasty Summer Salad

Ingredients:

2 15oz. cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 tabl. fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tabl. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup finely minced red onion

1/4 cup minced cilantro

pinch of salt

Combine in a bowl, stir gently to mix.

Chill, covered, until ready to serve.

Enjoy!



Happy Mother's Day!

Heartbreak

We heard the terrible news this week

of a sixth young person in the past few

years that had some connection to our

family who left this world far too early.

The first five were due to accidents or

illness but this last one was a suicide.

A suicide, the family says that happened

because their loved one was bullied at a

new school. 

For middle school and high school, our

family had the priviledge of being part

of a very unique school.  It was a small

K-12 public school, where if your kids

went there you all were a part of the 

Burris family.  So this week has hit us

hard, it is about family.

Sadly, through all my years of parenting,

I think bullying starts by what kids hear

at home.  I have heard parents say awful

things in front of their kids and then the

kids think this is the way to behave.

Every time a parent makes a racist comment,

or a homophobic comment or says, "That

chick has a fat *ss" ~ yeah, you are teaching

a kid to be a bully. 

STOP IT - NOW!

Because bullying can bring an unimaginable

consequence.  And sadness.  And unending

pain for those left behind.

Some people gage their success in life by the

size of their house or the cars they drive but

I look at this photo and know I was successful.

It is a pile if shoes that were kicked off at the

front door and it means a ton of kids were hanging

out at our house.  They were with friends, they were

being goofy and they were having fun.  For us, it

meant staying home on weekend nights and having

to buy a few bags of snacks and making a pan of

brownies and it was all worth it.  I loved those days.

And for all those kids that have passed through our

door and our lives through the years, for that matter

any adults as well.  If you need advice, if you need a

good meal, if you need help, if you just need to talk or

if you just want to get away for awhile and sit in the

garden with a cute dog.  Come here...

The door is open and you are not alone.

The Light in my Garden

I love the dappled sunlight in my garden

in the morning.  The garden is alive with color

 and birdsong and it brings peace & happiness.

The billowing tumble of living
Through vaulting halls of trees
In the dappled light of sunshine
And green corridors of breeze.
The exquisiteness of living
When senses soar in the air
When the colours of being are rampant
And we savour each moment with care.

The Winds of Life ~ Marshal Gebbie

Be sure to savour each moment...

Happy Birthday Mr. Wonderful!

You are the guy I want to look at the night

sky with, and weed the garden with and

explore the world with...  I want to share

all the everyday, dull and exciting moments

of life with you.

I have been baking you a birthday cake for

nearly 3 decades!  I hope to share many

more Happy Birthdays with you,

and cakes!

Chock-A-Block Wednesday

Shoo-Fly

It's almost summer and I'm starting

to think about pie and that made me

think of the Shoo-Fly block.

Fabric Requirements:

Fabric A: White

4 - 4 1/2" squares

2 - 5 1/4" squares - Mark

a diagonal line on back.

Fabric B: Blue

1 - 4 1/2" square

2 - 5 1/4" squares

Make Half Square Triangles:

Pair Fabric A & B 5 1/4" squares

with right sides together and sew

on drawn line.  Cut on drawn line

and press to the darker fabric.

Square to 4 1/2".

Assemble Block:

Layout as shown and sew together

in 3 rows.  Press seams in rows 1 & 3

to the outside and seams in row 2 to

the inside.

Sew rows together and press final

seams open to reduce bulk.

Square to 12 1/2".

Then go eat some pie!