Paducah, here we come!

It's April, and that means the American Quilters' Society show in Paducah, KY. Several thousand quilters converge on the tiny town for a week of shows, competition, galleries, tourism, and (dare I say it???) shopping! It is truly a quilter's Mecca. I'll be leaving here on Sunday, returning the following Saturday. Hope to see you there!

Farewell to one of my "best friends"

It has been a week (yesterday) since we lost our beloved pet coon hound, Liberty. If you knew her, you know she loved you. She was large (over 85 lbs.), loud (loved to bark at the birds high up in the sky), clumsy (tripped over her ears until she finally grew into them), and affectionate (she gave the best hugs ever! We "rescued" her from the side of a busy intersection when she was just a pup, on September 11, 2003. She had been neglected, abused, and starved. She quickly recovered and claimed us as her family, trusted us to always be here for her. She quickly found her way into our hearts, though she never lost that drive to dig holes in the yard, bury her "toys", and visit the neighbors. She was scared of thunder and would tremble at the sound, even when it was so far away we couldn't hear it. We lost her in the worst way imaginable, under the wheels of my car as I was driving. An experience I'll never forget, and one I can't seem yet to get past. Goodbye, Pretty Girl. You took care of us, guarded us, protected us, and loved us unconditionally. You tried to teach us all those lessons. You certainly defined "unconditional love." We'll miss you.

Easter 2008, Orlando

Easter Sunday of 2008 was a day I'll never forget. After 2 full years, I was finally able to deliver quilts to Adam and Jason that were made from their mother's fabrics. Even though the quilts were finished last year at Easter, we couldn't make the trip to Orlando because Gordon had just had his first surgery on his leg and could not travel in a car for that long and he was not allowed to fly. Now that he is better and can travel, we were able to fly to Orlando for spring break and I took the quilts with me. You see, the presentation had to be done "in person" because I had to tell them the story of how their mother, Judy, had told me what to do with her fabrics. I had to tell them that the king-size quilts would hug them, keep them warm, and comfort them like she used to. Their reactions to the quilts when they opened them up was as perfect as any quilter could expect: their eyes lit up with memories they didn't even know they had, "I remember that shirt!" "I remember those shorts!" "I remember when Mom was making something with that fabric!" The longer they looked, the more memories they shared. They even started to remember things about their mother that didn't have anything to do with the quilt fabrics, but still were loving experiences for both of them. There were laughs, giggles, and even tears as they remembered their mother and her love for them. Now I know it was meant for their gifts to wait another year before giving them. It gave Jason and Adam another year to heal and recover from their grief and be in a better place to receive their mother's gifts. I was blessed to have a been a part of it.Of course, being in Orlando with our son, Cory, and his family meant spending Easter with his entire extended family, which meant lots of food, egg hunts, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, grandparents...they are such a loving, caring, generous family, and Cory is truly blessed to be a part of it. They always make us feel so special when we visit. The family is growing by leaps and bounds! Seems like every time we visit now there's another baby, or one on the way.

I hope your Easter was a blessed as ours.

What could have been more fun?

2008 Winter Knitting Retreat
in Boone, North Carolina

It really started on Wednesday, March 5, when I loaded a few boxes in the back of my car from the Baskets of Yarn warehouse, then I picked up Jordana Paige at the Charlotte/Douglas Airport and we drove directly to the Broyhill Convention Center at Appalachian State University. Arriving a day early was a lifesaver for me! Jordana and I were able to help Betsey and Diane (and Maisie) unpack boxes and baskets and get the shop set up for business the next day. It also gave us a chance to get a good night's sleep before 'hitting the ground running' the next morning.Jordana teaches her "Strawberry Apron" to a group of students in this photo.

Here is an example of the Heart Cables class made with Vicky Howell's "Love" yarn.


The first official day, Thursday, we had 2 classes for everyone--one before dinner and one after dinner. At the same time, registrants received their copy of the "Scavenger Hunt" and began working on that.


We also had our "Pajama Party" at dinner that evening, which was a great way to kick off the fun! It's easy to see that no one else's pajamas could hold a candle to mine, which were 'professionally' decorated by my good friend, Sonja. She even placed a "dragon" on my butt to signify my "draggin' ass". Lots of laughs that night, for sure!

Saturday evening was our "Fashion Show" of projects finished from last year's classes. Here are my students in their Entrelac Vests.
Aren't they just the purtiest things you ever did see? We also celebrated a very special birthday with Mandy from Florida. What a special birthday treat!


Betsey made sure everyone had a good time, scheduling 15-minute massages for all of us, giving us all the newest Jordana Paige Bronze Bella bag (just released at the retreat!), and lots of other prizes. She had "Knitting Diva" tee-shirts for sale (cute!) in 3 colors, lots of chocolate, and a few of the very generous students kept wine flowing almost constantly.

Even with the passing of her 103-year old grandmother, Diane kept us entertained with funny stories and fellowship. We had jokes after dinner each evening, yarn swap one night, and knitted into the wee hours of each morning.

The best part of all was for those of us who stayed over on Sunday night. We had 30-minute massages (whooooweeee!!), pizza dinner in our PJ's (again), and a surprise 50% off everything left in the store starting at 8:00. Betsey is just full of surprises. You really never know what she's going to pull out of her sleeve next. She already has the dates set for 2009, so if you were there this time you can register on April 1 at Baskets of Yarn.

Today's the Day!

Today I head up the mountain for the 2008 Winter Knitting Retreat sponsored by Betsey Macholz and Baskets of Yarn. I've been packing for weeks, but have been continually interrupted by getting the house ready to show to realtors (we've listed it, finally), so my packed items have been moved, repacked, unpacked, and packed again. Whew! I'm tired of packing, and I haven't even loaded the car fully yet. I have the honor of meeting Jordana Paige at Charlotte/Douglas Airport this afternoon and traveling with her up to Boone. We both have classes to teach tomorrow afternoon, so this evening will be spent helping Betsey and Maisie set up the "store" and organize for tomorrow's registration.

On a sad note, please keep Diane Earley in your prayers as she just received news that her 103-year-old granny has been placed in the care of Hospice. My heart goes out to you, dear friend.

About 25 realtors were here yesterday to preview the house. Liberty put on quite a show, as you can imagine. She's very confused and frustrated that we allowed so many people to come into "her" house at one time. She tried her best to "protect" us from the intruders, but she was truly outnumbered and finally just gave up.

Second Day of Jury Duty and.....

Lucas is sick! Sore throat, fever, vomitting...what can be worse??? I don't have to be at court today until 2:00, so I called for a 9:30 appointment. Hope we can get in, get him well, and get him to school. Poor thing--Mommy's too busy for him to be sick! No, I never claimed to win the "Mother of the Year Award". Still, the worst thing in the world for me is for one of my young'uns to be ailin'. After our bout with mono last fall, I don't want a relapse for him, so let's hope we can nip this in the bud!

Just a few more days, and ......

JURY DUTY!! What do you mean, I have been summoned for JURY DUTY!! How did that happen? Of all things, right when I'm in the middle of trying to get my house ready to sell, sorting through my (among other collections) yarn stash, cleaning closets, packing boxes, moving furniture, knitting samples for the knitting retreat--and now this!! Juror Number 3747737, report today at 1:30 pm at the Catawba County Justice Center. Can you believe that???? Maybe I can take my hat off and cough on someone and they'll dismiss me for cause.

Wait just a minute--maybe this is a good thing--maybe they'll sequester me for a week so I can get some knitting done--and maybe my cell phone won't even work in the building... How's that for turning lemons into lemonade?!

2008 Winter Knitting Retreat

March 6 - 10 in Boone, NC, sponsored by Baskets of Yarn in Charlotte, NC. Five glorious days of knitting, relaxing, learning and teaching. Fellowship, friendship, kinship with sister knitters.

I will be teaching 5 classes:

Cable Knitting ,

Beaded Earrings (twice) ,

Bettna Jacket ,

and Noni Adventure Bag .

Why don't you join me there?

Race for the Cure

As someone who has been touched very personally by cancer, and most recently by breast cancer, I've made a decision that will change my life. I'm going to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on October 4, 2008, in Charlotte. I hope you'll join me. There are 3 different events that day: 7:30 am the Competitve 5K Race - Timed; 8:00 am the Non-competitive 5k walk or run; and at 8:30 am 1 mile the fun run/walk. I'm not athletic, nor am I competitive by nature, so I'm planning to participate in the 8:00 a.m. non-competitive 5k WALK.

I think we all have a tendency to wring our hands and pace when we first hear that someone we love is sick. This is a way we can actually do something to help. If you know me very well, you know how powerful I believe prayer is, and I won't stop praying till I take my very last breath. But walking to raise money and awareness for the cause of a disease that is killing our mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces, cousins, and friends seems very pro-active to me.

This information is from the American Cancer Society: "The chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some time in a woman's life is about 1 in 8 (12%). It is estimated that in 2007 about 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United States. Women living in North America have the highest rate of breast cancer in the world. At this time there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States....Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer. The chance that breast cancer will be responsible for a woman's death is about 1 in 35 (about 3%). In 2007, about 40,460 women will die from breast cancer in the United States. Death rates from breast cancer have been declining since about 1990, with larger decreases in women younger than 50. These decreases are believed to be the result of earlier detection through screening and increased awareness, as well as improved treatment."

So, please join me, won't you? Click on Race for the Cure and find out more about what you can do to help win the race with breast cancer.

New Blog Graphic

Angela commented on my new graphic, so I thought I'd explain what it really is. I've started knitting the Modern Quilt Wrap, designed by Mags Kandis and published in "Folk Style" (published: September 10, 2007). You can get the pattern free at Knitting Daily by clicking on the link. Here's a picture of my work in progress.

As you can see on the closeup, I've added silver-lined clear beads to my wrap. I love how it's looking and can't wait to wear it!

Krispy Kreme Challenge

While I was in Myrtle Beach, SC, with my quilting friends, two of my sons, one granddaughter, and her mother were in Raleigh participating in the "Krispy Kreme Challenge". The challenge consists of a 2-mile run from the Bell Tower on the campus of North Carolina State University to the Krispy Kreme location, where all participants attempt to eat one dozen (that's 12) Krispy Kreme donuts (no, they're not hot) and then run the same 2-mile course back to the finish line--all that within the allotted 2 hours. Oh, and they're asked to do that without "losing" the donuts on the return trip. For that, they receive a t-shirt. If you've ever eaten Krispy Kreme donuts, you know how easy they slide down your throat when they're hot--and you'll remember that awful, sluggish, whale-like feeling you have after you've eaten one-too-many of them. Imagine eating 12 of them--when they've cooled off--and drinking whatever liquid you have to in order to get them down--and then running 2 more miles! Anyway, they made a lot of money for the Children's Hospital in Raleigh, and they ran off all those extra calories and fat grams--and they have a cool story to tell about it. Good for them! Sorry I don't have pictures for you--husband forgot the camera...


Elizabeth awaits the surprise party for Ellen & Eula Mae.
Diane ponders a menu.
I had a great time in Myrtle Beach with the quilters. We tolerated a very wet carpet in the living/dining area of our condo, but aside from that had a very good time. We sewed, attended classes, celebrated Ellen's and Eula Mae's birthdays, and visited with old friends--all the while wearing our shoes to keep our feet dry. The only regret at the end of the retreat was that we didn't have enough time there. Next year I think we'll go a day earlier.
Ellen and Mardelle share memories at the party.

Robbin shows one of her quilts at Show & Tell.
And speaking of next year: Mardelle Smith announced on Monday that the Myrtle Beach Quilt Party in 2009 will be in a new location at Myrtle Beach, the beautiful new Hilton just north of where we stayed this year. The website looks promising, and Mardelle really knows how to negotiate "deals" for us. I'm looking forward to it--especially with an extra day to relax and enjoy. We'll still have to find time to eat burgers at River City Cafe and Mexican food at Abuelo's

Myrtle Beach, here we come!

It's that time of year again--the Myrtle Beach Quilt Party starts tomorrow! If you've been before, I'll probably see you there. If you have never been, then you're really missing a good time. We meet at the Ocean Dunes Resort and Villas in Myrtle Beach (on the north side of Myrtle Beach, but NOT North Myrtle Beach). More than 100 quilters from all over the country converge for classes, shopping, show & tell, and fellowship every January. It's a great time of year for such a trip--the middle of the 'gray season' when the sun is typically hidden in all parts of the country except the south beaches. I'll be staying in a 2-bedroom villa with 4 other quilters this year. We're leaving early tomorrow morning (Wednesday) and will return on Sunday afternoon. We'll come home full of inspiration and ideas for new projects and very, very tired. I hope to see you there!

Oh, Life is Good!

DH had surgery on 1/7. We got the pathology results on 1/14. And guess what? They were GOOD! Benign Schwannoma. You can look it upon Google if you want to know more. What we know is that it is GONE and we don't have to watch it anymore. No more CT Scans! Yippee!! This is US doing a happy dance!

Truly, we weren't prepared to hear good news. We hadn't heard good news in a very long time. We were stunned, shocked, and awe struck at the surgeon's words. Today actually is the first day of the rest of our lives!

So much to look forward to, so much to do to get ready. Myrtle Beach Quilt Party starts next week. The 2008 Winter Knitting Retreat in Boone, NC, starts March 6. National Quilt Society show in Paducah, KY, begins April 23. I'll fill you in later. Right now I'm still celebrating our blessings. I hope you are, too.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!
We are glad to put 2007 behind us and forge ahead to whatever 2008 will bring. Looking back, we recognize the burdens we had to carry but also realize how very blessed we have been. True friendship was never failing, faith grew even stronger, healing was at its very best.

Gordon will have surgery on January 7 to determine what is happening in his abdomen. We will deal with it, no matter what it is, but of course we are praying for a benign insignificance.

Lucas will have a CT scan soon to check out a curiosity that has appeared on his recent chest xrays.

Sonja begins her chemotherapy treatments on Friday, 1/4.

I hope to post more news about knitting and quilting very soon. And did you know?? My son David gave me a Dell for Christmas! I had forgotten how fast computing can be! Maybe I can post more often now that I have some memory and speed.

How was your Christmas? What are you doing for the New Year? Any resolutions? Fill me in.

The Longest Day

It has been a very long 24 hours for us. Gordon went to the urologist yesterday morning for a recheck of his bladder. Dr. said everything looked good, no visible recurrence of any of the bladder cancer. They took blood to run a PSA test and urine to send to pathology. Dr. said they would run a preliminary 'quick test' in their office first and would call with those results, but he didn't expect to find anything. Pathology tests would take longer. When we got home the nurse called to tell Gordon the preliminary result of the urine specimen showed "abnormal" cells in his urine. I called her right back to find out more, but she really couldn't tell me anything at the time, stating that the doctor didn't want us to worry about it. ???!! And she said we might not get pathology results until next week! I asked her to tell the doctor that we wanted to talk to him asap. I couldn't believe he would ask her to call us with that kind of information knowing our history. Of course Gordon was upset and I knew he would stress out over it until he had a definitive answer one way or the other. With everything he has experienced this year, he naturally jumped right to the conclusion that his cancer had returned. When the doctor called we were both gone; Gordon was picking up Lucas and some other boys at school and delivering our guinea pigs to their new home, and I was with Sonja at her follow-up appointment with her surgeon. His message was that he wasn't surprised at the abnormal cells since Gordon had "a couple of cancers" in that area (bladder and prostate) this year and the radiation seed implants might also cause an abnormal reading in the test they ran. This didn't do much to calm Gordon's fears, so he didn't sleep last night and has continued to obsess today. Finally, this evening the nurse called back to say the pathology report showed NORMAL results on his urine test. What a relief! Praise God! I think Gordon will sleep like a baby tonight and have a much calmer weekend.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving with your families and/or friends, safe travels, and good weather--we need rain. Thank you for your continued prayers.

The scariest thing you'll ever hear

is, "you have cancer."

It makes your heart stop beating. Life comes to a standstill. You can't breathe. Nothing will ever seem "normal" again.

We have been touched by cancer this year in a most intimate way. The great love of my life, my dear husband was diagnosed with 3 kinds of cancer earlier this year. Life, as we knew it, changed forevermore. He is doing very well, excellent, in fact. He has had 3 surgeries and several 'procedures' that have not just treated his diseases, but have cured them. One of his cancers is still being treated, but we have every reason to believe it will disappear. But, we don't give credit for his good fortune to the medical industry alone. PRAYER is the medicine that worked best. We praise God for His wisdom and mercy and know in our hearts that He alone is responsible for the healing of Gordon's body.

Once again we have been touched by cancer. My good friend, Sonja, has breast cancer. She will enter the hospital tomorrow for a mastectomy, to be followed by 12 weeks of chemotherapy, followed by 6 or 7 weeks of radiation treatments, and finally she will receive 5 years of hormone therapy. At first, of course, she was devastated, as were all the friends who love and depend on her so very much. But now as she stands at the threshold of surgery and treatment she is courageous, confident, even feisty! PRAYER is the medicine that works best! I am asking everyone I know to pray for Sonja's complete healing. We can see and feel the Holy Spirit working.

Of course the Lake Norman Piecemakers had a very special Prayer Quilt for Sonja. While the quilt was on the altar there were crowds of people waiting to pray and tie knots in her Prayer Quilt. No one seemed to notice the quilt was covered with very bare, pudgy bikini-clad women! She does, of course, love the quilt!

Marathon Men and Woman

Just when I start to brag about one grandchild, I realize I have to brag on them all--they are all so good! Following in the footsteps of her dad and brother a few weeks ago, Jessica entered her first half-marathon race on Sunday in Raleigh and we were able to go there and cheer her on. The weather was perfect which made for a beautiful day. We caught up with her just before the race started at 7:00 a.m. near the Wolfpack football stadium in Raleigh.



Then we drove all around the city to make our way back to the 7 mile (approx.) mark so we could cheer her on. That's when Gordon ("Pappaw to Jessica") decided to join in the race with her for a few yards.

We made our way around town again to find her at about the 11 mile marker, thanks to our trusty and knowledgeable guides, David and Jim.

Seeing her cross the finish line was a treat for us all!

But I doubt any of us was as thrilled as she was.
Congratulations, Jessica! Well done, indeed!

Keeping up

Whew! What a week! It's been hard to keep up with everything I HAVE to do this week, let alone everything I WANT to do this week! Did you see Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday night? What happened? Can you believe Sabrina was kicked off? I thought for sure she'd be in the grand finale. Oh well, my favorite is Marie Osmond--maybe it's because we're the same age. Who is your favorite?
I designed and knitted these last night, finished assembling them this morning. Aren't they cute? I WANT to make 5 more pairs before my class on Saturday, but I HAVE to catch up with the laundry... I also WANT to design some earrings using Size #6 beads, but I HAVE so many other things to do that I may not get to that for several more days. Also, I want to work more on my Maple Tree Shawl with the new Tencel yarn and beads, the Forest Path Stole with lace mohair, and I'm very excited about making the Modern Quilt Wrap by Interweave Press. If you click on the blue text you can download the pattern for FREE. I'm using a collection of Kid Mohair for mine.
Have you been to the new knit shop in Hickory yet? A Strand of Purls is on north Center Street, which is really Hwy 127. A quiet shop with a nice atmosphere. She has a knitting group on Tuesday evenings, but that's the only night she is open. The store is open Tuesdays through Saturdays. She will be offering classes soon. Hickory is one big puzzle to me; one-way streets, avenues, boulevards, and roads with the same numbers--were they trying to conserve numbers when they laid out that city? Anyway, Laura at A Strand of Purls told me about a new quilt shop there--it's on 2nd street off of Center (don't ask me if it's northwest, southeast, avenue, road, or parkway), and it's a one-way street going east! So you have to turn west on 3rd off of Center and overshoot it to come back east on 2nd to find it. I think it's called "Sew a Fine Seam." No other info available yet. Let me know if you find it and what you think.
Week Two of our Mystery Quilt class was yesterday. Sandy is doing a great job of teaching, and we aren't the best class. Experienced and accomplished quilters make the worst students. We are grateful to her nevertheless.
More soon!

What a weekend!

It was 3 of the busiest days of the year. Diane and I left very early Friday morning to get to Asheville in time for her first class at SAFF . Diane made the "Madeline Hat" with Chad Alice Hagen (and it was the cutest!) all day on Friday.
I took a Beginning Spinning class in the afternoon. I can now declare, "I can spin." But I also know that I am NOT a "spinner."It was a great class with great instruction and some individual attention by the teacher and her helpers. It took the class and some real soul searching for me to realize that I will never be a spinner. I would rather use the time to knit than spin. Oh well, in the grand scheme of things it wasn't a huge disappointment. I know now that I just cannot do EVERYTHING--as much as I try.

Diane and I took a class together on Saturday afternoon, "Beaded Bag", which was a beautiful evening bag. It was knitted and had Size 6 beads all over it. But the coolest thing about it was the beads were not pre-strung! We learned a really neat technique from Judy Pascale that allows the knitter to add beads as the project is knitted. It's really great not having to slide beads across the yarn for yards and yards and yards.

Our last class was Sunday afternoon, "Airy Fairy Scarf", taught by Chad Alice Hagen, a wet-felted scarf made with wool roving, lots of water, and an equal amount of elbow grease. We had so much fun making these that we ran right out after the class to purchase more wool roving so we can make a few more scarves for our friends.

I'll add more about this weekend after I watch "Dancing with the Stars."

Let me introduce you to the Lake Norman Piecemakers

Lake Norman Piecemakers are among my favorite people in the world! Primarily they are a chapter of Prayers & Squares which is an organization formed for the purpose of making prayer quilts for people in need of prayer. People need prayer for a multitude of reasons: sickness, death of a loved one, impending surgery, marital problems, child-rearing issues, just to name a few. This group of quilters donates their time, talents and often their own fabric and other materials to fill that need. They tirelessly devote Wednesdays (and often more days every week) to this special ministry, to offer up prayers for those of us who need them. The finished quilts are 'tacked' with perle cotton and the threads are left long. They are placed on the altar of one of the community churches where the congregation is invited to pray over the quilt and tie a knot with the threads. Each knot represents a single prayer for that person. Some threads have multiple knots in them. The quilts are really never finished, because each person who comes into contact with the owner of the quilt can be invited to pray and tie another knot. Often the recipients of these special gifts are strangers to the group, yet as much love and prayer goes into those gifts as for quilts that end up with friends.
They meet at Denver United Methodist Church each week for quilting, fellowship, and lunch. Yesterday was the day to celebrate the birthday of one of the founding members of the group, Elizabeth. One of the many nice gifts she received in celebration and honor of her special day was this quilt, "Bamboo Dance", from me. She watched as I made it, gushing over every piece of fabric in it, and it finally became evident to me that it had to be her quilt! I finished it in record time to be able to give it to her for her birthday.


Here she is admiring the backside of her quilt.






Here is the prayer quilt made for a friend of ours who recently found out she has breast cancer. She always makes us laugh with her infectious sense of humor and positive attitude. This quilt seemed to have her name all over it:
Isn't it fun? I hope it makes her smile.

I'll be thinking of you while I'm at SAFF this weekend!