Spring Doormat

I thought it was time for a new doormat.  Apparently we come in and out of the house a lot because the old was looking, well, old.  So I spotted this one at Home Depot last Saturday while looking for rat traps and a new galvanized trash can (more on that escapade some other time).

This one is from Martha Stewart and it's MADE IN THE USA. Amazing, but true.  Of course I had to have it -- it looks like an interesting quilt project, too.

I'm off to work -- have a great day!  Our mini group is meeting tonight and there's a massage therapist coming for chair massages -- woohoo!!

Missouri Star!

I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Jenny Doan, of Missouri Star Quilt Company, at the Cal-Co Quilt Guild meeting in Battle Creek.  They had an amazing crowd:  109 members, 4 NEW members, and 76 guests, including me!  They filled the pews by the time the meeting began.

Many of the rows near the front were saved by members so I sat about 12 rows back.  When one member noticed me she offered her seat in the third pew, because I had traveled so far and wanted to take pictures.  What a nice gesture!

Isn't this window behind the altar beautiful??!!

Jenny's husband travels with her and is her 'second banana'.

I'll have more to say about this wonderful lecture.  I've got a super busy week ahead -- I hope to write more soon.

OCQG Show Pictures, Part 2

Here are more pictures from the OCQG show last Saturday.  Even though the pictures look good, the quilts are so much nicer in person.  Everyone should visit quilt shows in their area and appreciate the talent in their local guilds.

Here are three versions of the same pattern.  Each is wonderful -- different fabrics, different quilting, different tweaks!

Late Bloomers by Leni Freeman, Rochester Hills, MI

Late Blooms on Steroids by Barbara Kowal, Shelby Twp, MI

Shades of Autumn by Jan Stepp, Lake Orion, MI

And here are more quilts I enjoyed seeing:

Megan's Graduation Quilt by Tammy Porath, Clawson, MI

Cinco de Mayo by Elaine Krause, Madison Hts, MI

Close up of Cinco de Mayo

Americana Modern by Marcia Hallopeter, Mason, MI

Wonderful quilting, especially in the outer border!

Violet's Quilt by Erena Rieflin, Rochester Hills, MI

Starry Orange Peel by Della Carian, Oxford, MI

Wagon Wheels by Lesa Reynolds, Rochester Hills, MI

Baskets & Blooms by Betsy Wallace, Alanson, MI

So cute!

Pheasant Bouquet by Lisa Burmann, Driden, MI

Beautiful quilting!

Another close-up

Starry Nights by Jean Becher, Warren, MI

Winterberry & Holly by Gerry Coan, Rochester Hills, MI

Sew Mini Diamonds by Jean Brown, Auburn Hills, MI

Lakeside Cottage by Lisa Burmann, Dryden, MI

Extraordinary work!

Pig Hill by Mary Schrader, Rochester Hills, MI

OCQG Show Pics Part 1

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the Oakland County Quilt Guild's quilt show and it was filled with beautiful quilts.  I met up with 5 friends and we all enjoyed the show.  I didn't see any of the vendors because I had to run to pick up lunch for my Mom, who I hadn't seen since February!  Since I gave up buying fabric for Lent, I didn't want to be tempted by the vendors any way, right??!!

Here are some of my favorites from the show.  I like a wide variety of quilting styles and techniques.  Limiting your appreciation is kin to only liking Italian cooking or only liking Be-bop jazz -- why would you deprive yourself of all of the varieties??!!

Look for more pictures tomorrow.

Scrap Box Jumble by Mary Asmus, Oakland, MI

Reminds me of a quilt made from men's ties

Floral Snowball by Pat Steele, Waterford, MI

These are a Few of My Favorite Things by Lisa Taylor-Nalette, Troy, MI

Ruth McCormick's quilting makes this look like it's really waving

About Trout by Shirley Buckmaster, Rochester Hills, MI

Crabapples by Ruth McCormick, Rochester Hills, MI

Red Floral by Barb Jensen, Rochester Hills, MI

Polka Dot Cabin by Carolyn Smith, Royal Oak, MI

Wonderful machine quilting by Ruth McCormick

Everlasting Wreath by Cyndi Anderson, Rochester Hills, MI

Untitled by Marylynn Danielson, Metamora, MI

Down at the Depot by Lisa Burmann, Dryden, MI

Wonderful embroidered trains

Amazing quilting!

How's Everything?

I hope Spring is kicking in where you are, or Fall if you're on that side of the world!  Things are slowly coming to life around here.  If I could just stay healthy for a while.  For the third time in two months I'm sick again, this time another cold.  Hmmph!  I haven't seen my Mom since the end of February as she can't be around sick people due to her Humira and Methotrexate meds.

And if being sick isn't enough, this morning I went to the dentist to get my permanent crown placed.  The dental assistant removed my temporary crown, scraped off the adhesive, hosed and sprayed the remaining tooth structure.  Next she removed the permanent crown from the manila envelope and placed it in my mouth.  She took it back out, set it on the dental tray and left the room in search of the dentist.

The dentist returned with the assistant and announced he had received the wrong person's crown.  He showed me the impression -- yep, some other dentist and some patient named Johnson.  Jones - Johnson -- so close, right?  Mine is for tooth 5, the other one 13.  At least they're both upper teeth.

So they put my temporary crown back in its place once more and I was done for the visit.

I knew something was up when I looked at the crown on the tray and it was MUCH darker than my teeth.  He assured me that no one else had had the crown in their mouth, as if to comfort me.  Not entirely sure about that but I guess he's probably right.  The lab that made the crown was closed and he was certain it was a simple mix-up and my real crown would be received and ready for installation next week.

Was I upset?  Nope.  Not any one's fault, just a simple mix-up.  He couldn't believe how understanding I was but at that point what difference would it have made for me to get mad?  I was only a few minutes late to work and expect that will be the same next week, so long as the right crown shows up.

Hope you're having a great day!!