"Popular Girls" Retreat

Get your friends together that you really like to do things with--you know, the ones you like to "play" with; the ones who like to do the same things you do--the ones you can laugh with, sing with, cry with, pray with, get silly with, and be serious with. Get them together under one roof for a whole weekend and remove all other "distractions" for that period of time--like jobs, spouses, and children. Pick a name for that group of special friends and plan to have a "retreat" like no other. We tried to get 10 women together, but you know how that is. We ended up with 8, which was a good number. We also ended up with 4 dogs and 2 cats under the same roof. It was an exceptional group of women. We called ourselves the "Popular Girls"--mostly because none of us really felt very "popular" way back when we were in school, but we do feel like we're popular with each other! Of course we didn't have the luxury of being able to invite ALL of our friends -- there just wasn't room enough for all of our friends, and we didn't mean to exclude anyone from this group--you can be a Popular Girl, too, you know. It's just a label we adopted for ourselves to make us feel good--and to have something else to laugh about. It's not like we have "rules" or anything like that! Two of the Popular Girls adopted the names "Paris & Niki" for the weekend, which caused all kinds of behaviorial issues to come to mind--and most of us were of the age when "Paris" or "Niki" was easier to remember than their real names! (Isn't that sad?)
We started the festivities at Sue Dial's house in the mountains of western North Carolina on Friday night, May 23, and didn't stop until after we attended the "White Squirrel Festival" in Brevard on Sunday afternoon, May 25. We slept on couches, in bunk beds, on sleeping bags on a screened-in porch, someone even slept in a van. Truly, there wasn't much sleeping all weekend. We did very little cooking (ordered pizza one night), only a short shopping trip (to a bead store and the local yarn shop), brought most of our "provisions" with us, and stayed very busy. Normally after a weekend like that I would come home exhausted and have to rest and sleep for a couple of days (at least) to recover; but not this time. It was really refreshing, renewing, and oh so much fun. We knitted, dyed yarn, worked with polymer clay to make special beads, learned how to attach beads to an already-knitted garment, talked and talked and talked--and laughed.






I hope to post more pictures when we can get the time to "pool our resources" and share photos.

As I promised, grandchildren...

There are so many things I can brag about when it comes to grandchildren, I could fill pages and pages. But I will restrain myself from boring those who do not have grandchildren yet and because of that wouldn't understand why it is so important to brag on them. I do have a few very important things to say about some of them, though, so bear with me:

Kate just graduated fromHollins University (Roanoke) with her Bachelor of Arts degree, Phi Beta Kappa, and Cum Laude. Her grades placed her in the top 10 students of her class. She plans to attend NYU graduate school later this summer, so she will be moving to New York.

Greg was just offered a job with the New York Mets in their security department, so he will be moving to New York next month.



Matthew, who will be married in August, flew to Montana for a job interview as a music teacher in a Christian school. The location is not far from Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, on the west side of the Rocky Mountains.

Jonathan performed over Mothers Day Weekend in a "Festival of Faith" concert at Wheaton College (Chicago) where he attends the Conservatory of Music. Fortunately, it was broadcast online so we were able to watch it on a laptop computer! Outstanding job!

Stephen graduates from high school in June and plans to attend (at this moment) Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mt. Vernon. Ohio.

Jesus Alfredo just finished an end-of-season baseball tournament in Orlando, where he plays several positions including Catcher.

Jessica still enjoys her year-round schedule for teaching 3rd graders in Wake County. She'll have a 3-week break starting in early June and plans to visit me for a few days. I'm looking forward to working together on some projects I've been saving for her the last several months.

Though there are several other grandchildren to brag about, I'll wait until another time to brag on them.

In the meantime, I'm taking Sonja to a weekend retreat in the mountains of Brevard tomorrow. We are so excited! We've started packing, making lists, checking lists, and packing some more. We'll be staying with my friend, Sue Dial, and she promises lots of fun things to do while we're there. I do hope your holiday weekend is fun, too!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

My son, David, ordered this cake for me--said it was the best picture he could find on short notice! Ha! I think he inherited my sense of humor, don't you?

My Ravelry friends sent me well wishes with special postings--aren't they the greatest?

Sonja (you can read about her earlier on this blogsite) threw a big dinner party for me, pulling out all the stops--and all her energy--to make sure I had a good time. Isn't she the greatest? To update you on Sonja-she's finished with her chemotherapy and ready to start radiation next Thursday. BTW, in case you forgot, Sonja made the PJ's I'm wearing in the photo.

Quilting continues to take up huge blocks of my time these days. One for the grandson who graduates from high school this year is at the long-arm quilting machine now, one for the "unofficially adopted daughter" is also at the long-arm. The top for my very special "Mystery Quilt" is finished, and I'm contemplating quilting it myself. Now, besides those projects, the Lake Norman Piecemakers have finished 98 quilts for the Blackfeet Indians in Montana! We set a goal of 100 quilts, and we're going to make that plus some! I'm so grateful that God has blessed this mission. We had some help from the Lincolnton Quilters Guild, and every single Piecemaker has contributed to this project. All the quilts will be displayed in the sanctuary at DUMC on Sunday, June 15, for a special blessing before they are sent to Montana.

When my hands are not cutting, measuring, sewing or pressing pieces of fabric, they are knitting. I'm almost finished with the Bettna Jacket, which I'm teaching this month at Baskets of Yarn
and I'm making lots of progress on my Stash Jacket (Grandmother of the Groom Jacket) that I plan to wear in August in Chicago. Being the "process knitter" that I am, I couldn't wait to start 2 more projects, too--both of them are lace. I'll be posting pictures of those on my Ravelry pages soon.

My granddaughter, Jessica, tells me she reads my blog every day. Wow! That really makes me accountable for posting news here so she's not wasting her time. Jessica is my gem, and someone more special to me than she'll ever know. I treasure every minute I ever get to spend with her.

I'll write more about grandchildren tomorrow.

Report from Paducah

Even with all the laughter and fun of being with good friends who share a common interest, Paducah proved to be a grand disappointment this year.

Maybe my expectations from former years' experiences were too high, maybe all the heartache and frustration of losing reservations (again) was too much to bear, but no a/c in the Convention Center and fighting too many people to get an "up close and personal" look at ANYTHING was just too much for me this year.


I won't be going back to Paducah for the AQS Show. We did find out that the show in Nashville this year will be moved to Knoxville in 2009. That's a much closer location for travel and will offer as much as I can stand in a quilt show, so that's probably where I'll be in August of 2009.



You can see all the winning quilts here.

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