Hi everyone,
This will be the last post to my blog at this url. I'm moving it to:
http://prairiejill.blogspot.com
Click on the link at the right to get you there!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Quilt Festival
I went up to Chicago for the day on Friday to the International Quilt Festival. The bus left at 7 a.m., which as you know is waaaay too early for me! But it was a fun trip - doughnuts and games help pass the time. And I won a bundle of beautiful blue hand-dyed fabric!
We got to Chicago about 10 and then had to sit on the bus for about half an hour - they really control the bus traffic to the convention center. So it was after 10:30 before we got in.
My first stop is always the Cloth,Paper,Scissors area. In fact, I spent most of the day hanging around there! I watched a bit of Pokey Bolton's fabric book class (wish I could have got into that!), wandered around looking at the vendors, swapped some ATCs, and took a couple of Make It U classes. Here are the ATCs I took to swap:
In the first one, taught by Jane Davila, we made tiny collages and put them into frames to make a pendant:
The second one was Melanie Testa's, and we learned how to use freezer paper resists. I've read about that and have been meaning to try it, but, well, you know how that goes - never did get around to it! So it was nice to have the class. I really enjoyed the classes and meeting the CPS/QA gang and some of the artists. They're all so nice! Pokey, Barbara Delaney, and Helen Gregory were great - they're so busy at the quilt show, but were so friendly; they made me feel like a friend!
After I took the 2nd class, I realized it was nearly time to leave and I still hadn't looked at the quilts! So off I ran to see as much as I could in half an hour (after a quick stop to treat myself to a bundle of Kaffe Fassett fabric. It was hard to choose - all the colours are so beautiful!). This is the one I ended up with:
The quilts were all gorgeous. Needless to say, I particularly liked the True North exhibit - quilts from Canada! It's so nice to see our flag featured on a quilt.
All in all a great day, although I could have used another couple of hours there! Not sure if I'll try to go up for 2 days next year or stick with the one-day jaunt.
The trip home seemed endless - traffic getting out of Chicago was really heavy; then we hit some lengthy delays for construction, so it was midnight before I got home. A very long day,but worth it!
And finally, a few more ATC backgrounds, waiting for the next swap!
We got to Chicago about 10 and then had to sit on the bus for about half an hour - they really control the bus traffic to the convention center. So it was after 10:30 before we got in.
My first stop is always the Cloth,Paper,Scissors area. In fact, I spent most of the day hanging around there! I watched a bit of Pokey Bolton's fabric book class (wish I could have got into that!), wandered around looking at the vendors, swapped some ATCs, and took a couple of Make It U classes. Here are the ATCs I took to swap:
In the first one, taught by Jane Davila, we made tiny collages and put them into frames to make a pendant:
The second one was Melanie Testa's, and we learned how to use freezer paper resists. I've read about that and have been meaning to try it, but, well, you know how that goes - never did get around to it! So it was nice to have the class. I really enjoyed the classes and meeting the CPS/QA gang and some of the artists. They're all so nice! Pokey, Barbara Delaney, and Helen Gregory were great - they're so busy at the quilt show, but were so friendly; they made me feel like a friend!
After I took the 2nd class, I realized it was nearly time to leave and I still hadn't looked at the quilts! So off I ran to see as much as I could in half an hour (after a quick stop to treat myself to a bundle of Kaffe Fassett fabric. It was hard to choose - all the colours are so beautiful!). This is the one I ended up with:
The quilts were all gorgeous. Needless to say, I particularly liked the True North exhibit - quilts from Canada! It's so nice to see our flag featured on a quilt.
All in all a great day, although I could have used another couple of hours there! Not sure if I'll try to go up for 2 days next year or stick with the one-day jaunt.
The trip home seemed endless - traffic getting out of Chicago was really heavy; then we hit some lengthy delays for construction, so it was midnight before I got home. A very long day,but worth it!
And finally, a few more ATC backgrounds, waiting for the next swap!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Snow Day
It seems like the weather forecasts here in Indy are never quite right. So often, they forecast a lot of snow but not much materializes. A couple of weeks ago, though, they got it right! We got about a foot of snow - a lot for Indianapolis. Enough, in fact, to close a lot of businesses, including my school, which prides itself on rarely shutting down. Ah, the luxury of an unexpected day at home!! It was so nice to be able to lounge around in my jammies, sipping my coffee at a leisurely pace instead of making my usual dash to get ready and out the door and to work on time! When I finally did get dressed, I went out for a few minutes to take some pictures. It really was beautiful.
This was the view outside my front door:
And here some views outside my back door:
And a week after this, the temperatures were up around 60F! They say that, in Indiana, if you don't like the weather, you should stick around for a few days because it's bound to change.
This was the view outside my front door:
And here some views outside my back door:
And a week after this, the temperatures were up around 60F! They say that, in Indiana, if you don't like the weather, you should stick around for a few days because it's bound to change.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Happy New Year!
And so another new year is under way. I hope it's a good one for you!
I really enjoyed the holiday break. I spent time with friends, ate far too much chocolate, and did some more artsy things. I also went to a conference in Florida. The conference was pretty good, and yes, I skipped out a bit to walk on the beach and visit a couple of beautiful gardens in the area. Here are some pictures. Hope they warm those of you dealing with the cold of winter!
These first two show St. Pete Beach, right outside the hotel. I really enjoyed my long walks along the beach every day while I was there. The weather was great - high temperatures in the 70s. You know, I think I could get used to that kind of winter!
This next one was taken at Pass-a-Grille, just down the road from St. Pete Beach.
I went to a couple of Botanical Gardens in Tampa and the Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. They were all beautiful! And seeing flowers in bloom at this time of year was a lovely treat.
I got a kick out of these signs (made me kind of nervous, too!!). I did see some alligators - luckily, they were sleeping and didn't seem to see me!
I've also posted some black & white pictures to my other blog (JillBlogz) - click on the link at the right if you're interested!
And now, it's back to work. It's going to take a while to get back into the routine!!
Best wishes for the new year!
I really enjoyed the holiday break. I spent time with friends, ate far too much chocolate, and did some more artsy things. I also went to a conference in Florida. The conference was pretty good, and yes, I skipped out a bit to walk on the beach and visit a couple of beautiful gardens in the area. Here are some pictures. Hope they warm those of you dealing with the cold of winter!
These first two show St. Pete Beach, right outside the hotel. I really enjoyed my long walks along the beach every day while I was there. The weather was great - high temperatures in the 70s. You know, I think I could get used to that kind of winter!
This next one was taken at Pass-a-Grille, just down the road from St. Pete Beach.
I went to a couple of Botanical Gardens in Tampa and the Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. They were all beautiful! And seeing flowers in bloom at this time of year was a lovely treat.
I got a kick out of these signs (made me kind of nervous, too!!). I did see some alligators - luckily, they were sleeping and didn't seem to see me!
I've also posted some black & white pictures to my other blog (JillBlogz) - click on the link at the right if you're interested!
And now, it's back to work. It's going to take a while to get back into the routine!!
Best wishes for the new year!
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