Friday, May 30, 2014

Summer.

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It's been a little weird getting back to some kind of normal after all of my traveling this spring.  On Monday I was totally desperate to finish something of my own. I made the mistake of going to the store and buying some butter mints to enjoy while I finished sewing the last two rows of Metro Rings.  I ate the whole bowl all by myself.  I really have a lack of self control in the sweets area of my life.  

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So, I finished my Metro Rings - the color placement was totally planned on my part and I completely love how it turned out.  The only thing left to do is quilt it, but that is for another day...or month more like it.  I have the pattern available as well as the Quick Curve Ruler on my website where we have added a lot of new notions and tools. You should get started on yours.  I have always wanted to make a double wedding ring quilt, but I did not want to do all the work.  When Jenny's pattern came out, I knew I had to make it because it was a simpler version of a traditional double wedding ring quilt.  I am just so glad that I made something for me for a change. 

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Yes, they watched a movie and I listed to music - best way to travel. ;-)
With the kids out of school we have a couple of mini vacations planned, and this week we took a trip to Las Vegas.  It's a quick drive under two hours from St George, and we stayed in this fabulous resort. 

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It's beautiful.  I put away my phone and had fun with the kids swimming and barbequing and reading.  It was so amazing.

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 We came home yesterday and it was back to quilting.  I am currently working on Thelma's Coastal Lily quilt and I love how it is turning out.  I will be sure to share my progress on Facebook and Instagram and the finished quilt here as soon as I am done.  

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This morning sky greeted me today and I am so happy for summer skies.  I hope your summer is off to a great start! I know mine is.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Quilt Market recap.

First things first, the winner of Kimberly's new book - Modern Quilts & More is Miss Lori.  Congratulations!  Please email me your address at judi (at) greenfairyquilts (dot) com and we will get that book sent out to you as soon as possible.
 
I love living in the desert.
Okay, so the last few months have been full of deadlines and traveling.  I never imagined that I would be traveling as much as I have been this last spring.  It has been exhausting, but well worth it.  Clint and I have worked together to make this traveling thing work for our family. But, I am so excited that this drive to the airport was my last time for the next three months.
 
Clint plans all my trips and makes sure I am comfortable.  I really like my new red Tom's too. 

 
 I had a bit of a layover in Denver on my way to Pittsburgh, so I had time to enjoy the beautiful skies.  I also started reading The Book Thief - love it so far. 

It was fun to watch my luggage get on the plane.  Bringing 7 quilts for Schoolhouse was a little nerve wracking because I didn't want anything to happen to my quilts. 

I was first to go on Thursday's Schoolhouse event and that was fun.  

I was a little nervous, but then when my quilts are pulled out - it becomes easy to talk about them. 

 
Best part of Market is meeting up with friends.  Linda Poole is a wonderful lady and I am happy to have been able to spend some time with her. We are just a little crazy together. ;-) 

  
I ran into Sherri a couple of times and she is always so sweet.  Love her.  So nice to meet her husband too!  He was good enough to take our picture. 

Dinner with Elaine from AQS is always fun.  We always have a funny story to tell after dinner together, ask me about it sometime.  ;-)

 
So, on Friday I was able to spend time with my sis-in-law and kids. It was so great.  I haven't seen them in almost a year and it was the perfect way to spend my time in Pittsburgh. 

The city is really beautiful, I was only able to get a couple of pictures from the car, but it really is beautiful.  Not what I'm used to living in the desert!

 
Jenny is a wonderful friend and I was lucky enough to get to know her this trip.  We have been friends over phone and email, but to actually spend time with her was so great. 

So the above photo was supposed to be my last, but on Saturday morning when I was at the airport I found out that my flight to Denver was delayed and since there is only one flight from Denver to St. George a day - I would have been stranded at the airport in Denver for 22 hours.  So, I opted to stay one more day and it turned out to be a wonderful day.  

I had a wonderful time talking with Amanda Herring of The Quilted Fish.  She is super talented (she designs fabric for Riley Blake Designs) and really nice.  We met way back when, so it was great catching up with her. 

  
Amy Ellis and April Rosenthal are so fun.  It was so fun to see their brand new fabric collections as new designers for Moda.  We will be carrying their fabrics, Modern Neutrals and Best. Day. Ever. 

Another fun part of being at Market an extra day was that I found one of the quilts I quilted almost five years ago.  It was hanging out in the Superior Threads booth and I still think it looks fabulous.
Another shot of Jenny and her sister Sharilyn, I wish I would have gotten Helen in this picture as well.  I love these ladies and it was so fun to see them work together and see what a great thing they have going with their QCRuler and patterns which we now have on our site. I would make all of their designs if I could create more time for myself.

Me, Helen, Eleanor Burns - woohoo! Jenny, and Sharilyn. 
So ya, I told Eleanor Burns that one of my first quilts was her strip pieced Irish Chain - wow, she is a wonderful woman.  She was so sweet, seriously.  

It was so fun talking with Emily Herrick of Crazy Old Ladies. She is so talented and so nice. 

Me hanging out with Richard in the AQS publishing booth. I totally made him sit there with me until my book came up on the TV behind me - I am such a nerd.

 I had a wonderful time at Quilt Market, but I was so excited to get home.  The beautiful morning sun was a welcome site as I traveled to the airport. 

And nothing brings me more happiness than these little people greeting me at the airport.  I can't wait to spend the whole summer with them. Yay! School is out this week for the summer! 

Monday, May 12, 2014

HMQS adventure! My trip to Salt Lake City...

First things first - I haven't forgotten about Kimberly's book giveaway. You can still enter here and I will announce the winner soon.

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So, last Wednesday I headed north up to Salt Lake.  I managed to fit over 40 quilts in the trunk of my lime green mustang.  It was filled to the brim, but at least it holds what's important!

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The drive was incredible.  Of course I had to get a picture of the clouds.  You might call me slightly obsessed when it comes to clouds.  ;-)
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I was able to stay with my parents and it was extra special on Wednesday because it was my birthday.  I have always given my dad a hard time because he wasn't able to be at my birth. He was stuck in Fresno, California on a job and didn't catch a flight in time.  He was with me this day and I feel so blessed to have him and my mom as my parents.  I love them so much!

I didn't find out until later that Clint let you all know about my birthday with a silly paint and crop picture - you'll see what I mean. It made me laugh.  Thank you for all the birthday wishes! 

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And, because I love my sister, I have to share this picture feed from Instagram (@judiakagreenfairy) She stole the picture of me and my parents, cropped me out and talked about how she loves our parents.  We had a good laugh after I almost killed her ;-) - it was too funny that she cropped me out of my own picture - not only that, it was a horrible crop job. 

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So after a night of hanging out with family I had my first class at HMQS on Thursday morning.  This is me with my first class.  I couldn't ask for a better group of ladies in each of my six classes.  They were incredibly patient with me as I worked on my nerves and by the time I taught my third class, I felt a lot better.  I can not thank you all enough for coming out to my classes.  But, I hope you know that I am so grateful to all of you!  Thank you!

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One of the best parts of this show was being able to bring my daughter Lili with me.  She was able to play with her best cousin Maggi and they had a fabulous time together.  Lili learned how to text on my phone this trip - she had a lot of fun texting Clint while we were driving up and gave him the play by play, literally.

Above we are in front of my Solar Flares quilt.

 
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It is still so surreal to see my picture anywhere, but a full page in a show catalog is always noteworthy. Being the Featured Artist for the show is quite incredible and I am honored to have been asked. 

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I dressed up with heels and all for the trunk show and had a fabulous time talking about my quilting journey and showing off the quilts I have put together.

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This quilt is the back of my Serendipity quilt and I still love it as much today as when I finished it 3 years ago.

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It was fun running into Amber of Gigi's Thimble.
She is a doll and I wish I would have had more time to talk to her.
 
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I had 15 quilts in the exhibit hall as well and it was so fun to walk around the exhibit and listen to peoples comments about my quilts.  I was like a fly on the wall just absorbing it all in.  Too fun!
Three days of teaching and presenting a trunk show was fun, but exhausting.  I am so glad I had the opportunity to go and I can't thank you all enough for coming out and seeing me.

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Lili and I headed out early Sunday morning to get back in time for church.  It didn't go as planned.  I can not believe the snow storm we had to drive through.  Many prayers were said as we traveled and slipped in our car and saw several slide offs and rollovers.  One semi decided there was no reason to stay behind and drove past us and made it so I couldn't see anything for at least 8 seconds by splashing snow on my windshield.  It was the longest 8 seconds of my life.  I kept singing in my head, Carrie Underwood's song - Jesus, Take The Wheel.
 
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I felt a little safer when we were stopped completely, but we ended up being delayed for an hour and a half. I am just grateful to God that we were blessed to get home to my boys safely. 

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And what's better than a rainbow unicorn shirt as a Mother's Day gift from your husband?  Well, I can tell you we had a good laugh.  Love that man.

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I was also surprised with fruit trees planted in our yard.  It makes me feel more at home.  My dad has tons of fruit trees and we always had fresh fruit to pick straight from the tree.  I can not wait until these trees are producing a lot of fruit.  It was also very nice to get back to warm weather!  I love St George!

I only have one more quick trip for Schoolhouse at Quilt Market to make this week in Pittsburgh, then I won't have to leave again until September for Australia. It has been a crazy spring, but it has been so fun.  I am excited for summer to be here.  I am also excited to getting back to my quilting machine.   
 

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDI!!!!

I (Clint) hacked into Judi's blogger account to let everyone know it's her birthday today!! She's just as cute as the day I met her!  Judi is on her way up to Salt Lake City right now to teach at HMQS, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDI!! 
(I found a picture on my phone and cropped this out - she probably won't be happy about that!)


Also, beginning today you can use the code MOTHER for a special discount off your favorite fabrics, or purchase a Gift Voucher and we will add bonus $$ to the voucher!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Modern Quilts & More Book Giveaway!

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Okay, so this first picture is for Kimberly - only for you friend!  My hair is crazy today!

Anyway, I am so excited to share with you Kimberly Einmo's new book, Modern Quilts & More recently published by AQS Publishing. I have known for a long time that the quilt Orange Zest, the one I quilted for Kimberly was going to be on the cover of the book. Yay! So, today I received the book in the mail and I can not tell you how excited I was!  Best mail day in a long time!!

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Perfect timing on all parts, I actually have Orange Zest in my possession to show off at the HMQS show next week.  So, I was so thrilled to take pictures of the book and quilt together.  Now I can finally share this quilt I quilted forever ago.

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Kimberly has outdone herself and the quilts in this book are fabulous!  You will love this new book, I am sure of it.  You can purchase a signed copy of the book from Kimberly here.

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I have to tell you that I still pinch myself to think that I get to share my quilting with so many people and to be on the cover of Kimberly's book is nothing short of an honor that I am so grateful for.

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I also have to give a shout out to the Editor's at AQS for making this book fantastic, the layout is beautiful!  Of course I am thrilled and maybe a little bias ;-) towards them since my own book was released in December, but they really do a wonderful job when it comes to their publishing.

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So, what do you think of the quilting?  I absolutely love it.  It was so fun to quilt up.

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Look on page 32 and you will find this fabulous quilt.

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Yep, my name above.  Never gets old.

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And, a special treat - I talk about my quilting on page 37.

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Oh, and it's always fun to see my book in the back.

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You can see a few more of Kimberly's fun projects on the back cover.  Aren't the projects fabulous?

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 One more shot of the quilting. I absolutely love this quilt and I am so happy to finally be able to share it with you.  One of you lucky readers will get a chance to win one of Kimberly's books, signed by her of course - just leave one comment telling me how excited you are for this book and I will pick a winner in the next couple of days.

Good luck!

One more thing - Stephanie is hosting the Supernova Friendship Block Swap here - and she is giving away a copy of my book and a gift certificate to our website.  Lots of places to win today! Be sure to check that out after leaving a comment here for Kimberly's book.