Quick Update

I am sorry that I haven't been able to post much... All of the activities here at the retreat have kept me busier than I thought! I have created a new Webshots account and have uploaded photos of the Main Street Cotton Shop in Hutchinson, Minnesota and of the Trunk Show given by Lynette Jensen on Monday night. We got a preview of the Quilt Club 2008 quilt and projects in both the Lodge and Lakeside colorways. To see all of these photos, click on this link: http://community.webshots.com/user/thimbleberry5

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It's Off to Retreat I Go!

Whoo hoo!! I am typing this from my hotel room in Wisconsin after an EXHAUSTIVE day of travel... I can't wait for my head to hit my pillow - but I'm waiting for my friend Patty to arrive. Patty and I both flew into Minneapolis/St. Paul today at different times and we each took separate road trips. I'm sure she'll have a lot to talk about on her blog once she returns home :) My day started with a mad dash to the airport... I don't know what it is, but I have a really hard time getting to the airport on time, let alone 'early'. Fortunately, DH put his race car driving skills to the test and found a way to drop me off at the terminal with seconds to spare. The kids even chose to see me off at the airport instead of sleeping a few extra hours - how sweet! Once inside, I quickly checked my luggage and ran to the security checkpoint. Surprisingly, they did not have me open my carryon bag (which held my sewing machine) for a hands-on inspection. Once I got my sneakers back on and laptop re-packed, it was off to the gate. I was praying with every step that the plane wouldn't leave without me - and, when I got to the gate, the Continental employee announced that boarding had begun. Whew! I can't tell you much about the flight itself - because I slept most of the time. Before I knew it, the plane had landed twenty minutes EARLY and I was off to the car rental area. I got a compact car (Chevy Cobalt) that suits me just fine. And - bonus - has XM satellite radio! Once I got my GPS gadgetry all setup, it was time to start hitting the quilt shops! (To be continued...)

Packing...

Ouch! Has it really been so long since I've posted a message?? I guess now is as good a time as any! As you can see, I'm in the middle of packing for my trip to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. I haven't had much of a chance to do anything quilt related because I've been preparing my home for my father-in-law's visit. At least when I come home from my trip I won't be going TOO crazy trying to clean up, right? :)

While visiting various quilt shops, I'll be on the hunt for fabrics I need in order to duplicate various Thimbleberries patterns. I'm mostly looking for fabrics from the Storybook Prints and Apron Strings lines of fabric, which were printed in the mid to late 90s. Here are four Cover Story patterns that I'm trying to find the exact fabrics for... Do you know where I can any of the fabrics used in these patterns?

Best Laid Plans....

As you can see from this photo, having two happy kids ready for school was about the only thing I accomplished on my to-do list... Both are now in middle school, which is just up the block from our home. Yesterday afternoon was spent listening to all of their stories... like Logan's issues with the lock for his locker, and how Mackenzie's class has five girls - and nineteen boys!!

I 'did' manage to attend September's Thimbleberries Club meeting at my LQS last night. On display was the fourth quarter pattern Raspberry Swirl - which I think is my favorite of the four individual projects. The TB Club leader and LQS owner had not seen what 2008's club quilts looked like, so I showed them the photo that Main Street Cotton Shop had added to their website. If you'd like to see a preview of next year's club quilt(s), click here. I'll probably do the Lodge version and repeat one of the center blocks instead of doing five different ones. Hopefully we'll get to see these at the retreat - along with the four individual patterns!

I brought an item for show and tell - but I can't show it here, because friends going to the retreat with me will see it and know what will be in their goodie bags from me! LOL It's a really simple project that requires just four seams!

Besides preparing for the retreat, I need to clean my home from top to bottom before September 24. That's the day DH's father will come from Colombia to visit us for three weeks. DH was born down there and moved here 22 years ago. His father has never been to the US, so this trip is a long time coming ;) DH can't wait to show his dad the sights... Not just the touristy ones, but the landmarks in DH's own history. I am so happy that my kids will be able to spend time with Grandpa Nelson, and show him everything about their lives here.

So... today I must TOTALLY clean the kids' bedroom. Grandpa Nelson will be staying in there, and it's a disaster area right now. I'm hoping to have the room re-painted before I leave for MY trip... but nothing's set in stone :)

Hope those of you in the US are enjoying your holiday weekend! The kids are preparing to go back to school on Wednesday (yippee!) and we're getting our last swims in at the town pool. Here's a photo of DH with Mackenzie and Logan as we were leaving yesterday.

I haven't had a chance to do ANYTHING quilt-related, so I'm going through a bit of withdrawal right now. On Saturday, we went to a barbeque at my Mom's house and I had a chance to catch up with my brothers and sisters. Two of my siblings have needed to visit the emergency room in recent weeks because of incidents involving alcohol. My brother Erik was trying to break up a fight at a bar when he fell and broke his leg - and needed surgery to repair it, which cost a whopping $12,000. His out-of-pocket expense for that one will be $3,000. And my sister Sara was in a car during a fight between a friend and the girl's boyfriend. Well, the boyfriend was drunk and wound up slamming the car door in anger - and caught Sara's ear in it. She needed stitches to close up the wound. I just don't understand why my siblings need to have alcohol to have a good time. At least my kids are seeing for themselves the harmful effects of abusing alcohol.

Well, the plan for today is to (1) finish shopping for school supplies/clothes, (2) swim for a little while, and (3) cut out my Christmas Patches Tablecloth. Here's a photo of one that I saw at the retreat back in 2003. (My apologies to whoever's butt I caught in the picture!) I would like to have all 100 of the hourglass blocks pieced before I leave, so that I can just worry about sewing the rows during class time. I was able to find ALL of the original fabrics, and have been looking forward to sewing this one for a long time :) I'll report my progress tomorrow...