On the Road .....

I've completed my to do list for today. We leave early in the morning for Louisiana to visit my MIL for a couple of days then visit my Dad for a day or two. Both of our parents are in assisted living facilities so we having to do the hotel and restaurant bit for the entire trip. In fact the only hotel in Central Louisiana where my MIL is living is in a  Casino. It's weird having to walk through the area with the slot machines to get to the hotel lobby. Since it is Louisiana, we are guaranteed to have great food the entire trip. We are hoping to have a good visit, but both our parents are having some "ageing" issues. I have binding to sew, stitchery prepared, books, magazines, and books on my Ipod for the LONG drive. It's an 11 or 12 hour drive from Atlanta.

I didn't get much sewing done this week, but I had lots of quilt ystimulation. I visited Sweet Home Quilt shop with my friend Brenda on Monday. Tuesday, I was able to attend the Gwinnett  Guild meeting (since I'm home for the Summer)  Visited with many wonderful friends. Thursday, I shopped at Intown Quilters with a friend looking for fabric for her daughtter's T-shirt quilt.  I just looked. I actually didn't purchase anything.

I did finish two projects last weekend. I completed the quilt top of the neutral quilt for my SIL for Christmas. I have to piece the back, then it's ready for quilting. I just love this quilt. It will look even better quilted.

I pulled an old UFO out of a bin. I worked on my Good to Go bag last Friday at Sisters. It's string pieced. I used Chelsea Lane fabric by Pat Sloan. I just love the autumn colors in this bag. The bag is a design by my friend Pat of  Silver Thimble Quilt Company.       I even used it a couple of times this week. That's another project off my extensive UFO list. DONE!

I'll have limited internet access until we return home next Wednesday. Have a great weekend! 

And The Winner Is.....

Sorry about the delay in my birthday give-away drawing. It's just been "crazy" busy here. In addition to a hectic schedule, we've had some computer issues. 

I put everyone's entries on a slip of paper. Put the

 paper in a bowl. I attempted to have Rusy, our Dachshund, do the honors, but he was more interested in the "

treat" I hid in the bowl. Finally, my son did the honors. Sue R. from North Winds Quilting in Maine is the winner. Sue, please send me your address. I'll get the package in the mail.

Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate my birthday! I loved visiting your blogs. I loved seeing which quilting book/magazine/quilters that you chose for your favorite.

Happy Quilting!

Sharing Favorite Quilt Books

It has been great fun reading the comments and checking blogs to discover the favorite quilting books of blogging friends. 

Pat at the blog Bell Creek Quilts e-mailed me to see if it was ok to post favorite quilt patterns. This drawing is  all about sharing our love of quilting so I said sure. Pat posted pictures of several quilts she had made from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville website and Mary Johnson's Mary Quilts website. Pat's post is a great tribute to these two incredibly generous quilters. I have "religiously" followed their blogs for a number of years. Bonnie's blog is Quiltville's Quips & Snips . Mary's blog is Making Scrap Quilts from Stash. Great blogs! Great quilts.

Maggie's favortie book is Garden Party by Cynthis Tomazewaki. It is one for applique lovers especially lovers of flowers.

Sue R. at North Winds Quilting (also owned by a dachshund) chose Jinny Beyer's Color Confidence for Quilters as her favorite. She has a picture of a fabulous quilt she made from the book.

Julia shared the same title as Lori in South Dakota. Her favorite is Big Book of Best-Loved Quilt Patterns.

Margo at Heart in His Hand Quilting  selected Freddie Moran and Gwen Marston's book Collaborative Quilting as her favorite. Her quilt Colorful Waves is from this book.

Sewinsharon's favorite is Charm Quilts With Style by Bobbie Aug and Sharon Newman.

Mary at My Needle and Thread by Mary posted a fabulous snowman quilt Sampling of Snowmen from her favorite book Winter Whimsies by Suellen Wassem. 

Laura at Pine Ridge Quilter  chose Liberated String Quilts (one I actually own) by Gwen Marston. Her quilt from that book is awesome.

Quiltma has two favorites, I Can't Believe I'm Quilting and Quick Quilt Tricks by Billie Lauder.

Brenda, ( who helped me spend some of my birthday $$$$ this morning at Sweet Home),   "The Quilting Cowgirl" listed two favorite quilt books. Stack A New Deal by Karla Alexander and Creative Quilt Collection Volume 1 from That Patchwork Place. Brenda's quilt from Stack A New Deal was a fantastic gift.

I have started a list of all these titles. I have several to search for and possibly add to my quilting library. Thanks ladies for helping me celebrate my birthday. It's been a great two days actually. Hate to limit the celebrating to just one day:)

There is still time to get your name included in the drawing. We will pull the winning name sometime later tomorrow. I did pick up a new charm pack from Sweet Home this morning. I love anything and everything by Three Sisters. This one is Shangri-La. I'm having trouble parting with it.

Quilting Books

I'm discovering quilt books that are new to me, but are favorites of blogging friends. I've started a list of these titles.  I will have to look for them on  my next visit to the book or quilt store.

  Lori  in South Dakota posted two of her favorite quilts books. Two Color Quilts (a Better Homes and Garden Book) and Big Book of Best-Loved Quilt Patterns are her two favorites for inspiration.

Sweet P. at Coffee Time Quilt Studio chose a magazine as her favorite book for inspiration. The Stitchery issue of Australian Country Threads is her favorite.  She begins a new project within days of receiving an issue. 

There is still lots of time to enter the give-away. Post your favorite quilting book/magazine on your blog. If you've made a project from the book, post a picture to have an extra entry in the drawing. Post a comment in the comments section of my blog to complete the process.

After I posted the guidelines for the birthday give-away, I couldn't think of a quilt that I had finished from a book. I have several projects in plastic boxes with the book, fabric, notes etc.  ready for me to begin. I wasn't sure I had one that I had finished.  After several hours, I remembered that I had indeed completed two quilts from different books. The first one is from Blended Quilts by Marsha McCloskey. It is the first quilt that I ever completed. It is in Gingham Rose fabric by Moda. I just love that quilt. It is actually on the end of our bed right now.

The second quilt from a book (that I finished) is called Three Bean Salad. This quilt was made for my SIL Shelly. It is from the book Wild About Flowers by Leisure Arts Studio.