The Lion's BIG Adventures

OK, here is the post where I tell all about my week! The week started out normal, so to speak. At work where I got my promotion, we had the owner come in and stir up things there. Needless to say it was a long working week. I did manage to get two more trainees, trained and out on their routes. I also found a valued former member of the team and talked her back into working with us again! I missed Bridgett as much as I missed Sonya! It is good to have them back on board! I am hoping that things start running more smoothly!


Friday night was a big night for my Stephanie. Stephanie is a Senior in high school this year. I don't know if I had posted this but she made captain of the color guard. This past Friday was senior night for the band. I wound up having to come home from work and getting some sleep so that I could have enough rest so that I could go to the game and escort her on the Senior Walk across the field. I almost started crying. Another of my children almost out of the house! Why can they not just stop growing?!?


Saturday, now that was the fun day! I also forgot to bring my camera along or I would have had pictures! AAAHHH, well! Saturday I got to go to Warrington, with my CQ group. For those of you who don't know Warrington/Round Top, Texas once a year holds the biggest Antique fair that the world has ever seen! We spent about 8 hours there and did not get through even 1/3 of the vendors. That was just in Warrington! There is also Round Top!

You do have to be real careful when you go to the fair there though, there were ALLOT of reproductions! One of the items on my list that I was looking for was Silkies. There were not many there. The ones that were priced reasonable were not what I was looking for, the others that I found were WWAAAYYY over priced! Still other vendors had not a clue what I was talking about! Hard to believe they were antique dealers! (Right Renee??) By the way, Renee and I were a "stroll team" at Warrington. Renee, found a GREAT solid oak cabinet for stash storage! It is real nice! If y'all talk to her real sweet she might tell y'all all about her find! It came out of a 1920's hardware store.

The lace and buttons and other things were everywhere! You also had to be real careful there also. Some of those dealers were real proud of their items even though the quality was not there! The you ran into others that had more reasonable prices on their items.

Here are the pictures of the things that I did pick up:

Not too bad for an afternoon of baking out in the Texas sun! I am looking forward to this week as I am to be home early. The big boss at work has said "NO OVERTIME" WHOO-HOO! Vacation! I still have more posts but I am looking forward to getting them up this week that way all of y'all can see what I have been up to!

TTFN

The Lion

The Lion's Question

Happy Sunday to all!

It is good to be back blogging again! Last week was a busy week! I will tell everyone about that in my next post but first I wanted to get this contest up! It is a full week over due!

As everyone who follows my blog knows I have been having the "Catch My Star" Teasers. In my own special way I have been telling everyone about a quilt that I am going to make. I have sat down and planed several blocks and now have started gathering the embellishments and other things that I am planning to use in this quilt.

Here are several items:

Picture 1
Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Now here is the contest. I would like for you to post a comment and tell me what you would do with each of these items.

Friday afternoon I will have a drawing for a prize and when I post the winner I will tell you what I am going to do with each of these items!

Now here is the prize:

I have taken a multi-media art class. In that class I made myself a journal. I am using that journal right now. I use journals all the time to record my ideas. I refer back to them for inspiration. I have journals for each quilt that I am doing or have done.

I have made this "Pretty In Pink" journal for the lucky winner of my above contest!

I want to wish good luck to all! I am looking forward to your answers! I hope to get some good ideas from you all!

TTFN

The Lion

Basic CQ Course

I have them done finally! The blocks that are to be stitched for the basic CQ course on StitchMap. I am a mentor on a Yahoo Group called StitchMap. I have 2 apprentices, and am taking the course right along with them. I have had so much on my plate that I have just now gotten around to piecing my blocks for this course. I am an experienced CQer so I had to make this course a challenge for myself. I know that everyone is asking: How do you make a basic course challenging?????? Well, I asked myself that same question! The answer is all in the colors that are chosen to work with!
To make anything harder on yourself you choose colors that you normally would not work with or lots and lots of prints! So I kinda mixed it up in the colors and the prints that I would not normally work with!

Well here they are!

I think that when I get finished with them that they are going to be very striking! Be sure to follow the progress of these blocks! I think that everyone will get a surprise!

TTFN!

The Lion

Making Memories Blocks 2009 - The Start Of My Stitching

Last year I participated in the Making Memories project on the Crazy Quilting International Yahoo group. The theme last year was hearts. and the blocks were to be stitched in pink and white. A little bit of green was allowed.

Just to refresh every ones memory here are the pictures of the blocks that I stitched for the project.


These quilts put together can be found at this link: http://pinyoncreek.blogspot.com/2008/12/making-memories-quilts.html

Leslie, bless her soul worked hard at putting these beautiful quilts together! These quilts were chosen by the Making Memories foundation to go on a nation wide tour and be exhibited at some pretty large venues! One of them is coming up here in October. The Houston International Quilt Show. My old man is going to take me to the Houston International Quilt Show to see them in person! I sure hope that they allow pictures!

My sister who refers to my beautiful CQ as "crafts" is going to go with me also. (Yes, my baby sister does need strangling!)

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It is now 2009 and we have a new Making Memories project going. This years theme is butterflies and dragonflies. The seams are to be stitched and the only motifs on these blocks are to be either butterflies or dragonflies.

I put together these blocks this morning for the project:

This year I am stitching three of them. I have some hand dyed lace butterflies and dragon flies that I am going to be adding to these blocks. These blocks are to be stitched in jewel tones. So now I am off to complete the tons of projects that I have going!

I hope that everyone has a good week!

The Quilting Lion!

TTFN

A Big Project

I belong to a Yahoo group by the name of StitchMap. I am the moderator in charge of StashAngels and our group teaser. I cannot for get the blog but I do share the responsibility of that one with Moon!

One of our members posted a "help post" last week, her Aunt's house burned down. One of the things that burned in the fire was a CQ wall hanging that was done by her Aunts mother for commemorate her wedding. It was a cherished item. Since Donna is the only one in the family to have an interest in CQ the family was looking at her to replace this heirloom.

Donna is new-to-CQ and felt a little overwhelmed. So Shari and I stepped in and made this a group project. I had tons of bridal fabric so.......................

Contacting Donna, I was able to get some details but not a lot of them as there are no pictures of the original wall hanging. So we cannot really reproduce it but we can make a replacement. In a time of crisis sometimes it is something like this project that comes as a comfort!

Calling for volunteers from the group I was able to get 13 Crazy Quilters and two Cross Stitchers to volunteer for the embellishing of the blocks and the making of labels to go on the back of the quilt.

Yesterday I finished the blocks up. Here they are:

16 blocks in all! They are done in white and pink. The pink may not be the original pink but it did come from an really ugly 1960's bridesmaid dress! (How many of y'all were bridesmaids?? Y'all know what I am talking about when I say ugly don't y'all?? Most of the bridesmaid dresses really are not flattering! What were those designers thinking???) The stitching on the original quilt was done in white pink and green. Donna knows that this is a replacement not a replica we have been given a go on a lot of things. The family remembers motifs on this quilt like birds, Doves for sure, sheep, butterflies, bees, a brides head with a veil. All the pictures were outlined which will make it all easier on all for sure! Lace and beads and SRE we are able to put on the quilt! So as these blocks come back in I will put up the pictures for everyone to follow along!

Most all of my volunteers are new to CQ so I tried to make these blocks easy to work on. (SitichMap is a learning site) I am going to enjoy seeing this project develop! Out they will go tomorrow to my volunteers!

TTFN

Cobi's summer DYB

Okay, here is another motif done from "The Silk Ribbon Embroidery Bible". I told myself that I would look for another source to get ideas from then Cobi came along and wanted a summer garden. Complete with flowers, rabbits and Birds! I thought that this is the perfect motif for this summer set!

It has a little bird house, a bench to sit on, and two little blue birds! There is nothing like sitting under a tree in the summertime and listening to the birds sing!


My next RR block is to get Cobi's landscape done and mailed out to her! Cobi, on this block I have inspiration from a new book! Only one question: Do you like "Bird of Paradise" flower?????

TTFN

Rita's Autumn Block

Sometimes being the last one to work on a block is good and sometimes it is bad. This time around I just could not get this block to "talk" to me. The block had a top clearly marked so I came up with the idea of a kinda vine border for the top of this piece. Complete with fall like flowers. Fall here in Texas there are still all kinds of green going on. Except when we are in a drought. When we are in a drought everything went brown long ago! Normally............green!

That is why Rita's vines are green! Plus the green I chose showed up better on the colors of her fabric. So with a little space left for Rita to fill in I am sending this block home to its owner!

Rita, here is hoping that you like your block!

TTFN

The Last UTS Block

Here it is the last block for the Under The Sea RR for CQI. This block belongs to my friend Pam in Cornwall.

The reasons I like Round Robins:

I love meeting people from around the world.
I love the challenge because everyone wants something different on their blocks.
I love the different colors and fabrics that everyone uses on their blocks!
Meeting all those new friends!

Pam and I would have never became friends without these Round Robins! Would have never know each other ever existed. Right now? Right now I cannot imagine not having her friendship! One of these days I know we will meet in person! But right now ..........we still have our computer world!

Pam I am hoping that you like what I did on your block!

Love and Hugs, your friend Lyn G, The Quilting Lion!