Tour de Quilt

I know, I know...what a bad blogger I've been. Over a week and a half with no updates. Well. Now I'm getting my payback and I have sooo much to update on and not enough patience/time to get it all in one post.

This past weekend my mom, brother, and I went on the Tour de Quilt, an event put on by central Va quilt shops. It's really an ingenious idea, increases their business and makes us feel spoiled all at once. I actually stumbled upon this year's Tour by mistake. My sister Heather was getting ready to leave for Boot Camp, part 2 and we drove past my local quilt store (LQS?). I decided to stop in and browse and wow....it was hoppin'. The Tour consists of 10 shops and their is a central theme or challenge to the tour. This year the challenge was involving a new fabric line of 30 different fabrics. Each shop had to design a quilt using a central medallion and the new fabrics. Each shop also offered three of the fabrics cut into 1/3 yard pieces in a little bundle, so if you went to all 10 shops you would have all thirty fabrics, and supposedly enough to do one of the quilt tops. Each shop also gave a free black and white rough copy of the pattern to each person. There were door prizes and snacks at each shop. I figured that my sis would be bored by all the crafty humdrum because she usually starts complaining the moment I get within sniffing distance of any yarn fumes, but much to my surprise she said she was inspired. When she returns from BCT we are going to take a quilting class together. I was caught off guard at the first store so I don't have a picture of their quilt, but it was quite lovely.

Mom and Galen (my bro) came with me to the other shops on Saturday and Sunday. Galen was put in charge of the scavenger hunt that was part of the Tour and really got into it, racing around the shops looking for clues. The first shop we visited was That Little Quilt Shop in Madison.

That is their entry in the cometition. And this is my new project that I must. make. right. now.

I just bought the pattern for it, not the fabric, because I do have some restraint. Never mind the fact that I bought a bundle of the new fabrics at each shop we went too. And never mind that I got completely caught up in yo-yo makers and Christmas projects at another shop. But that's neither here nor there, right? So, anyway.....

After Madison we went to Patchwork Plus in Dayton, Va which is just outside of Harrisonburg.

Next up was Rachel's Quilt Patch in Staunton, Va. If you live in Staunton, I have nothing but respect for you. Every time I go to Staunton I get miserably lost. The fact that 250 snakes through the city and changes street names about a dozen time is ridiculous. Add that to the fact that downtown Staunton is nothing but one way streets, and whew. What a nightmare. This shop is built in an old railroad station. The whole atmosphere just screams quaint and is everything a quilt shop should be. Mom actually won a prize here but she didn't get in touch with the shop today before they closed so we don't know yet what she actually won. After stopping at Wright's for some yummy drive-in we went home.

On Day 2 we started in Midlothian, just southwest of Richmond.

After that we drove into Richmond to Quilting Adventures.

This shop has the whole "get the consumer at their weakest moment" thing down to a T. They actually had a table set up where someone was doing demo's of all their "make your life easier" products. Plus, they have a rewards program. You know, those little scanny things that you put on your keys that all grocery stores use now? They have one FOR THEIR QUILTING STORE! If that's not genius I don't know what is. (You hear that LYS? Rewards program!) It's not like a punch card that you will use or will expire. It goes on your keys and you never have to think about it again except to have the cashier scan your keys that are already on the counter as you try to exit the store without any more fabric making its way into your hands. Needless to say, Mom and I left that store with our pocketbooks significantly lighter.

Last on the stop was The Quilt Man in Ashland (just north of Richmond)

We only made it to seven of the ten stores, but next year we will plan better to make it to all of them. At each store you got your passport stamped and you could be entered into certain drawings based on the number of stores you visited. It was so neat to see how each shop turned the fabrics into totally different quilts.

Has anyone else seen this trailer ? This looks to be equal parts horrifying and funny. It's probably one of those movies that will have you laughing through your tears, if you know what I mean. It kinda makes me think about where my yarn is coming from though.

For those of you who play on Ravelry, check out the new marching band group I started. I went to the annual Charlottesville Cavalcade this weekend, which is a marching band competition for local high schools. I was involved in my HS's marching band all four years and love to go see them compete. They did very well, took home a couple of second places.

In Knitting news....
I picked up a bad habit today. I haven't had a chance to take any pictures yet, but I bought a drop spindle and some roving today. Yikes! This is so addicting. My yarn is so thick and thin and slubby and wonderful.

I also caught some sort of virus last week and the sudden desire to....SEAM!


Before everyone starts sending me unfinished projects to seam up, let me say. I suck at seaming. I only seamed one square before I gave up. It is such tedious work. So then I knit a few more squares.I have done zero knitting on the things that matter, like Christmas presents and charity projects, but have been whipping out miters like my life depends on it. Figures, huh?

SP Contest #3

Ok, shameless flashing....

I have the best yarn storage ever. When we moved into our house last year Doug built me this neat-o shelving thing that I helped him design. I separated my yarn by color in each cubby, the only exception being sock yarn...that gets its own.

This picture is a wee bit old. Some of the yarn here has actually been used or traded and more has been added to the collection. But for the most part, this is the stash. You'd think that with all this yarn I have I wouldn't need to buy any more, right?

Nope. Bought more sock yarn just today, and going to a yarn sale next Thursday.

Ugh.

I have a problem.

Back from vacay!

::Yawn:: What a relaxing week of laying on the beach and sunning myself with gentle breezes and palm trees.

Just kidding!

Doug and I took the week off to work on the kitchen. We discovered a *ahem* small water issue under the sink and set to fixing it. First we had to tear up all the damaged and moldy cabinents, walls, and floor. On day two of our vacation my kitchen looked like this:

Throughout the week we have installed floors, drywall, fixed the leak, and painted. Still to go....installing the cabinents and counters and then moving all my kitchen things back into the kitchen and out of the living room. Seriously, even my fridge is in the living room.

I say "we" but I didn't do that much. It was mostly Doug and his dad doing all the work, while my mom, Doug's mom and I went upstairs to the yarn room to craft and be yarny.

Kathy (my MIL) and I worked on our ongoing quilt for a while before my mom made me own up to all my WIPs. I guiltily pulled each item one by one out of the basket offering meek explanations on whe each one was still unfinished. Mom was ruthless and gave me goals and even took home items that were a lot cause to frog herself because I couldn't bear to do it, namely my lone jaywalker sock in my own hand-dyed yarn that is just a hair too tight to fit over my instep. She also took to frogging a tank top that I had started before I knew better than to knit with yucky acrylic and a blanket square in an intarsia pattern that wasn't ment to be. We decided that I must finish my Fetching mitts for my sister for a Christmas present and the lone fair isle mitten that is almost done but too small for anyone will be a wall decoration/Christmas ornament.

So....since I have all these WIP dredged up again and now they have intended recipients and deadlines (Christmas mostly) do I work on them? Nope. I have rediscovered mitered squares. Over the course of my vacation I knit 5 individual miters. First I finished the brown background ones.

Then I started some with a navy background.

(Not pictured is a navy/light pink I finished on the last day)

Then, I apparently got a wild hair up my you-know-what and went on a breif seaming streak.

Seriously, who gets the desire to seam?? Now, before I start getting tons of parcels from you all with pieces needing to get seamed, hold your horses. I suck at seaming. I guess as I seam up all these miters I will get better. I think I will practice some more though, because I just have the two fronts left to knit of Central Park and it's looking like the most wearable knit ever. I would hate to screw that all up with some wonky seams.

100th Post

Yay for me...this is my 100th post. I am so happy to be a part of this community. :)

I got my first Secret Pal package in the mail yeseterday, and it was sooooo goodie-licious!

There was a wonderful scent eminating from the package and when I opened it I found out why...there was a wonderful-smelling Yankee Candle Co. Macintosh and Peach candle (Yum!!), a travel pack of ginger peach tea that I can't wait to try and some yummy lip gloss. There was also all kinds of cute stationary stuff. Some cute notecards featuring a monkey wearing a scarf and a little notepad with a sheep complete with cute pens and pencils. I'm always on the look out for new stationary to write to my sister who is in boot camp. I've been writing about 2-3 letters a week. Top all that off with two skeins of SWTC Bamboo!

Thanks SP!

Does anyone have any project ideas for this yarn? I have always wanted to try it but I'm fresh out of ideas.

No new knitting around here. I have been pretty lethargic in the knitting arena. I just got a new porch swing and the weather is starting to cool down from the beastly hot temps it has been so I've been thinking tweedy sweaters, cables, and turtlenecks. I still haven't finished my Central Park Hoodie from last winter, but I'm close. That is top of the list. I'm going to make my "want" list soon. I really hope to turn out at least 3-4 new sweaters this year and I have some pretty specific ideas. (Have you seen the twisted yoke cardigan from Eunny in the latest Interweave Knits? Wow.)

In the meantime, we've been trying to squeak the last little bit of summer activities around here. Last week Doug and I took Chad (my sis's new husband) camping and kayaking.

I like that pic a lot. The colors are so neat. After camping we decided to go shooting. Doug is a true-blooded country boy. Guns, hunting, trucks, country music....that's his stuff. When we moved in together there was a great debate about guns in the house. We ended up compromising. They could stay if they were contained...so we got a gun cabinent. All of Doug's friends have always been a little apalled that I have never shot a gun before. So last Wednesday I finally gave in. The guys were shooting clay pigeons with shotguns. I gave that a try and ouch....the recoil gave me a bruise the size of a half dollar. Will not be doing that againg. But Doug also brought along his handguns.I actually have pretty decent aim, apparently. Doug was very proud and showed off my target sheet to everyone.I, of course, will be scrapbooking the target if I can figure out how to make it fit in my 12x12. :)