Today's smile:  I don't know if wombats are usually placed in the cute category - but this video sure is!  

http://www.wimp.com/wombatman/

Yesterday morning was the Busy Bees business meeting.  I wore my new scissors, and they definitely got a reaction.  Carolyn is going to borrow them for an upcoming quilt retreat.

We had a number of charity quilts come in, although not nearly as many as in other months.  Guess the ladies were a tad busy with 'other stuff' over the holidays!  Here's charity chair Monica with one

and Peggy with another.

 (Lisa and Alex had a baby quilt made from that teddy-bear-with-balloons fabric, so this one brought back memories.)

This was a memory quilt that had come in (to Monica? to Melissa?) to be quilted.  (I hate it when the ladies hide behind their quilts; this was just yesterday, and already I've forgotten who was holding it!)  The quilt was made from pockets of a man's shirts, many with his name and aviation info.

Pennie whipped this up on her embroidery machine.  She's starting another 'class', and maybe I can get in on it and learn a thing or two.

And check out this jacket she embroidered for their restaurant.

Monica scored this hand-quilted hexie at an estate sale.  She had gone back 4 times (there were so many great deals) and ended up purchasing this on her last visit.  Turns out she hadn't planned on buying it, but the sellers were motivated to get rid of EVERYthing... and how could Monica pass up a $2 quilt?!

Sandy, well known for her hand-pieced hexie quilts, finished up this UFO.

The January class was a Hunter's Star.  Susan brought in this one she'd made some time ago.

I was sorry I didn't have my embroidery quilt to share (since it now resides in California) but I did have the wall-hanging top that I finished up at quilt camp, of which the ladies approved.  

I also had a 'Tell' about the Road to California show, mostly of the 2 dozen or so river quilts from Sacramento.  Each of the quilters was given a section of the river, a piece of the same river fabric, and the 'incoming' and 'outgoing' river dimensions.  The quilts were then lined up along a wall with the river parts matching up.  It was incredible how different each section of river looked despite using the same fabric.  What creative quilters!  I couldn't figure out how to photograph it so I didn't even try.  Wish I had!

Yesterday afternoon I had my annual Well Woman check-up; glad that's over for the year!  Then I came home and pretty much relaxed. (Watched a few more episodes of Dexter.)  Carlo is visiting from Idaho and whipped up a delicious dinner; he's a wonderful 'guest'!  He even offered to do the dishes, but I'd rather not wear him out; as long as he's cooking that lets Tom off the hook! And we all know that any time I don't have to cook I'm happy - plus we eat much better!)  Wish I could find the picture of me wearing this apron Mom sent me one year...

  Today is my day to get organized.  There's a long list of stuff to do around the house, and I'm looking forward to crossing at least some stuff off of it.  I'd be a fool to think that I will get everything done, but now that I've finished posting for a bit I can get on with it.  (The second load of laundry is already in, so that's a plus!)

More knappers are 'moving in' today, and Patti will be visiting tomorrow.  Tom's going to smoke another brisket tomorrow and that always attracts a crowd (Alex will definitely make it over to eat on his dinner break!)  I think some of the bluegrass musicians will also be here again.  The weather continues to cooperate (we're running about 10 degrees above average, and January is already balmy here), so even if we're 14 for dinner again like last Friday it won't be a problem seating everyone outside.

Forgot to mention that I'd asked Tom to be on the lookout for some small hemostats (they'll work better for my embroidery machine than the tweezers) and he found a pair of 'gold' ones with a curved end for me at Quartzsite.  So now I'm all ready for my next project!

And that's it for now.  

If' I've forgotten anything important <g> I'll just have to add it later.

I'm back home, and had a delightful time in California!  It was an early flight Saturday morning <yawn> but a quick one.  And the Ontario airport was practically across the street from the Ontario Convention Center.  Marcela and I enjoyed the (Road To California) quilt show, although we agreed that it wasn't as nice as the one in Long Beach.  Too bad this past summer was the last one of those (sadly that show is moving to the Pacific Northwest somewhere.)  

I did take a bunch of pictures at the show, but this one may be my favorite.  With virtually all the visitors to the show women, the folks in charge got smart and 'switched over' some of the men's rooms...

I did notice that I was drawn to the landscape/picture quilts.  

Here are just a few (and of course they don't do the quilts justice!)

detail of feathers

And this one is of a spot 'near and dear' to me: Havasu Falls

I was very good when we hit the vendor sections, and almost (!) got out of the show without buying anything.  But there was a pair of scissors I just couldn't pass up; they should be a big hit at quilting.

After we headed home that night we met Steve at one of their favorite local restaurants, where they are well-known regulars and were greeted by name.  Diana asked if we minded waiting a bit before she could get to us - her help hadn't come in that evening and she was all alone... on a busy Saturday night!  Next thing I knew Steve was up and bussing tables and helping out in the kitchen.  Not only did Diana comp us our meals, she also sent us home with a scrumptious shrimp ceviche Marcela had admired as it went by our table.

Sunday was the birthday celebration for Ramona.  I was so excited about giving her the quilt!  First we did cake at her group home.

Then Ramona opened her opened gifts.

This sister picture was taken on Ramona's actual birthday last week, at Disneyland.  Marcela and Steve had surprised Ramona and her housemates by just showing up, knowing the group home was having an outing  there that day.

the unveiling of the quilt

Think she likes it? <g>

Marcela and I found the perfect spot to hang it.

And here's the whole gang: Theodora, Daniel, Ramona, Bob, Janet, Karen.  

They all had a favorite block.... their own!

Later we picked up Ramona's boyfriend Scott from his group home (the two met at work) and the 8 of us (Ramona & Marcela's mother, and aunt and uncle, were also with us) had dinner at Buca di Beppo.  It was a roaring success. 

  

And just to make things even better, one of the young waitresses recognized Scott (she's a friend of his brother Andrew) and had already heard all about the wonderful Ramona... so she took $30 off the bill!

Monday Marcela and I did a bunch of puttering around, and then went to see August: Osage County.  Meryl Streep gave her usual excellent performance.

And today I returned home.  Apparently it's been quite busy here since I left, with lots of knappers and trips to Quartzsite.  Last night there was an impromptu bluegrass concert here, which I would have enjoyed.  Unfortunately I haven't quite figured out how to be in two places at once.

And that's it for this posting.  Time for a quick soak before I go get horizontal for the evening.

Busy day tomorrow :-)

And yes, I DID have a marvelous time at Quilt Camp!  There were 5 of us (Jeannie was the common denominator and set it all up), and we all got along great; I now have 3 new quilting friends.  Not only did we decide to reserve that house for 'Same Time Next Year' (fyi that was a fun Alan Alda movie) so we can do it all over again - we're going to find a date sometime in the next few months that works for all of us (that part should be fun!) to all get together here for a quilt day.

Here I am working well into the evening - both nights it was after 9:00 when I stopped.  It's highly unusual for me to quilt into the evening (I am not a night owl) and I was definitely the first one to crash each night, while some of the ladies stayed up well past the witching hour.  My machine is out of view on the table behind me; that little one on the table is Jeannie's newest Featherweight that was on its maiden sew voyage for her and held up great despite her worries about bringing an unproven machine.

Let me introduce you to the ladies.  

Here we are getting ready to head back home yesterday: Janet, Mary, Jeannie, Cheri, and me.  If we look a tad subdued, we were just sad that Quilt Camp was ending.  I do want you to notice that (for a change!) I am not the shortest one in a picture!

When we got to Roosevelt Lake and I was unpacking my ice chest I discovered that I had forgotten the 3rd tub of stew (it was packed in a rectangular tupperware container, and 'somehow' when the rectangular salad went into the ice chest I thought I was done; I didn't see it in the frig because it had gotten pushed back.)  I was worried we wouldn't have enough to eat that first night (WE'RE GONNA STARVE!) but with the salad and sourdough bread (and the fact that Janet couldn't join us until the next day) we did fine.  There was actually a little stew left over which I brought home, and it made a perfect dinner for me last night.  

But Janet, whose husband 'helpfully' loaded up her car for her, realized when she was unpacking that she was missing all her fabric....   And Mary had somehow missed the final e-mail of assignments, so didn't know that she was 'on' for dinner Tuesday.  So I could have done worse, and I felt better about my faux pas!  And in case anyone is worried, we had PLENTY OF FOOD and ate VERY well!  There was no starving, despite my whining and worrying.

I finished up the CASA PUENTE quilt to take with me to California tomorrow.  The striped binding was a nice bright addition, and I also got a hanging sleeve attached on the back. 

Yesterday when I got home (around 4:00) Tom wasn't back yet from Quartzsite, so I had plenty of time to pop over to Carolyn's and show her how it turned out (after quilting and binding) before it heads to California tomorrow.  She was such a big help that she deserved to see it 'up close and personal'.  The rest of the Busy Bees and Foothills ladies will just have to settle for a picture.

  I also made up a label for it which I'll attach to the back today - then it'll be completely finished.

And once I buy some alphabets for my embroidery machine I can make up embroidered labels.

At camp I also finished up a wall-hanging top that's been a UFO for <mumble> years.  I'd worked up the 9 individual blocks, and then it sat (and sat!) waiting for me to get around to finishing it.  Camp seemed like a perfect place to bring a small project like that. The sashing with the stars turned out great, and the ladies loved it; and (surprise, surprise!) even Tom liked it.  For some reason I didn't get a picture on my camera during camp (though I'm pretty sure someone else took one) so I snapped this one at home this morning.

The yellow of the stars is washed out in the pic - 

but if you look at the one in the upper right hand corner you can sort-of get the idea.

We got Mary started on Pinterest (she may - or may not! - thank us later.... LOL) and here we were on the couch checking out my Bobbi's Quilts board.

But for some reason (do computers 'need' a reason???) a while ago a whole bunch of those pins have stopped loading the pictures, so 'sometime' I'm going to have to go back in an reload those.  I had hoped whatever the glitch was it would just fix itself <g> but gee.... THAT never happened!

Guess it's time to adjust some more sails... LOL

Here's what the other ladies spent their time on while at camp.

Cheri (my roomie for the week) got a lot of projects done (a Kindle cover, some pillowcases for her grandsons, etc.)  But she was happiest about this project, which had been giving her problems.

The red fabric for the birds wasn't with her, 

so 'sadly' <g> she had to set this aside and start working on the wine quilt.

This one of Janet's is gorgeous!  It was supposed to be a Christmas tree skirt, thus needing a hole cut in the center.  But it turned out so beautiful (I want to learn out to make those curved flying geese) that Janet couldn't bring herself to cut it up (I know I wouldn't!) so now it's going to be a wall-hanging.

(You can also get a small peek at some of the blocks for Cheri's wine quilt off to the left.)

Mary had decided to use up some of her scraps (we can never seem to get rid of all of them - I'm pretty sure that they multiply when we're not looking) and make a Magic Lantern.

The scrap fabrics Mary brought with her were beautiful, rich colors, and her quilt is going to be stunning.  Here she is, modeling 3 of blocks from her finished stack. 

Jeannie, who is 'stuck' spending most of her time quilting for her clients, rarely has time to make quilts of her own.  So she was determined to make good use of her camp time to get a couple of tops made for her sister and niece for their 2014 Christmas presents.  As least she got an early start!

Hard to see all the different Christmas fabrics, but they're there. This one will have the tree blocks (see below) around the border

and this one will have the square-in-a-square (see above) as its border.

Cheri had brought her EASY button ("that was easy") which fit perfectly inside her bobbin case.  We all loved finishing up something (anything!) and getting to hit the button and listen to that cheery voice.  

It was especially gratifying when we'd been struggling with something, or had had to do some of that dreaded frog stitching!  I know it certainly was for me.

(FYI that's pronounced RIP It, RIP It...)

And my Roosi Rules, which I printed up and laminated just for this trip, were followed by everyone.

They go nicely with these rules :-)

And now I need to get off of the computer and into the shower.  I did laundry last night, so after my shower I can pack for tomorrow's trip.  I already got my boarding pass printed up this morning so I'm ready!  Tom got up early and started the brisket (and something else) on the smoker.  We're having (at least) 14 for dinner late this afternoon.  I'm sure there will be much partying into the night, but since I have to get up early in the morning to head to the airport I'll no doubt be the first (again) to head off to bed.

And just another reminder, Miss Betty, that I'm heading out of town once again (Road to California) and won't be blogging again until at least Tuesday of next week.