Sonny Bryan's -- Dallas

Hi friends,

One last item before moving on from being in Dallas.  We had to visit some places that are pure Dallas!

We ate a lot of places in addition to the hotel where we stayed.  We visited Media in the Hilton Anatole 3 times.  The best was the last night before leaving.  The waiter treated us to butter squash soup because our meals were taking a while for some reason.  We sat in the patio area and it was just very pleasant dining.

We also ate at Pappadeux, la Madeleine (twice as the first time we only had 50 minutes to get there, eat and get back to the convention center!), Ojeda Mexican (twice -- it was good the first time!), Panera Bread and a steak place that I've forgotten the name.  Those who know me well will know why I forgot the steak place name -- steak just isn't my thing.  I do know it didn't sound like a name of a steak house in Dallas.  We sampled fried pickles there -- also not my thing!

The most fun was Sonny Bryan's.  Walker of Walker Texas Ranger et al were always going to Sonny Bryan's in that TV series.  Just thought you'd like to know.  Not being from Dallas, I didn't notice that when the show was running.

Sonny Bryan's is a place designed to get you in and get you out -- FAST.  There were no frills.

The food was good and fairly fast.  It was crowded so it must be a good place to go in Dallas.

Inside the door were lines of people either waiting to order or waiting for their name to be called to pick up their food.

This is what my tray looked like.  Inside the paper was a shredded chicken barbecue sandwich.  It was good.  You could add barbecue sauce if desired, but you had to go to the other room to get it. LOL

Seating was either outside at tables or inside at what I would call study hall desks.  You know a wooden chair with one arm that is smaller than the size of the platter the food comes on, but about the size of an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.  Not a place you want to linger and visit a while.

The signs on the outhouses er rest rooms said something to the effect that if you didn't get a key before entering expect to be interrupted.  Interesting concept -- usually you need a key to get in rather than keep others out!  I wish I'd taken a picture of the sign.

This was the most unique dining experience of the trip.  If you go to Dallas, you must plan to visit.  The Sonny Bryan's in the airport wasn't nearly as interesting!

Hope you are all having a great St. Patrick's Day/National Quilting Day.

I think I'll go quilt.

Until next time,

xoxoXOXOxoxo

Lois

National Quilting Day and Dallas Hotel

Good Morning Friends!

Did you know that Saturday, March 17 (tomorrow!) not only St. Patrick's Day it is National Quilting Day?  National Quilting Day is a special day set aside by the National Quilting Association several years ago to celebrate the art and craft of quilting and friendship.  Okay, they might not have included the friendship part, but that is what friends do together isn't it?  Quilt!

You can download a PDF of a wonderful pattern designed by Martha Etheridge who is the National Quilting Day Coordinator for NQA.   Go to the NQA web site here .  Did I mention this is a FREE project?  The Mariners Compass in the center is also the theme of the NQA 43rd Annual Quilt show June 14-16, 2012.

Now I promised you a look at where I spent the 8 days in Dallas.  If you have to spend that much time in a hotel, this is the way to go!

A sitting area is so nice when you spend more than one or two nights in a hotel.  Being able to go back and put your feet up or invite a few others in for a visit with an actual place for them to sit is great!

A place to set the computer to work is essential.  Wi-Fi was not free, though, so I had to go to the lobby for that.  Sorry, it would have cost a months worth of cable for the 8 days!

A coffee maker -- yes that is a must!  Behind the cabinet doors are a microwave and a small refrigerator.  Not that I had anything to put in them, but I did heat some water for tea in the microwave so it wouldn't taste like coffee!

Of course, you do need a bed to sleep in. But look at the size of this bed!

It was HUGE!  The last night I left my suitcase on one side of the bed while I slept on the other side and there was still plenty of room!  The patio door was nice, too, since I was on the 4th floor.  It was cold and rainy though, so the door didn't get that much use!

There you have it -- my home away from home and a FREE project for National Quilting Day.

The corned beef is in the slow cooker so I'm ready for both St. Paddy's Day and National Quilting Day.

Hope you have a wonderful day today and are able to celebrate quilting and being Irish tomorrow!

Until next time!

xoxoXOXOxoxo

Lois

Dallas Quilt Celebration

Oh, friends, how I missed you!

For 8 days I was in Dallas.  First for a National Quilting Association Board of Directors meeting and then for the Dallas Quilt Celebration.  Guess which was more fun!  BOD meetings tend to be intense, non-stop meetings.  A quilt show?  Hands down the winner in the fun department!  BOD meetings are necessary and worthwhile and I'm glad to participate so that quilt making will have a future.  The days at the Quilt Celebration were spent primarily in the NQA booth (oh, yeah, I did see the quilts and visit the vendors!). Meeting quilters from all over guarantees a good time!.  Most of the quilters were from the Dallas area, but some were from other states.

I got to meet my blogging friend Julie!   In person!   She is a wonderful person and quilt maker from the Dallas area who makes the most amazing plaid quilts and string quilts.  We just didn't have enough time to visit!  She always has several projects going at once and each one is more beautiful than the next!  If you haven't been to her blog, you must go visit her.

Julie is on the right and I'm on the left.  It was very chilly that day!

The quilts at the Dallas Quilt Celebration were simply amazing!  I had planned to post photos, however, the show program specifically asked that no photos without permission from the owners/makers of the quilt be posted on the Internet so I am honoring that request.

Linda Roy won Best of Show and you may have seen her quilt in other shows.  It is a work of art as are all of Linda's quilts!

This is where I spent most of the time at the show.

The beautiful quilt on the left is for the Texas Association of Quilt Guilds that was the booth beside us.

We started out giving  visitors the NQA member magazine, the Quilting Quarterly, but ran out on Saturday.

The banner says it all -- Creativity, Education and Heritage, that's NQA!

Isn't the bee cute?

If you would like to know more about the National quilting Association, Inc., visit us on the web to see how you can become a member of this fine organization.

Next time I'll show you where I stayed and talk food!

Until next time,

xoxoXOXOxoxo

Lois

Stacking Bricks Again

Hello friends!

We have been in the process of closing our business which has been an emotional drain so I'm glad you've stuck with me while I've not been posting quite so much.  I really miss you guys!

This is part of the change I posted about in my New Year's post.  Hopefully, we are on to the adapt and create part of the 3 words for the year!  I'm hoping this means more time with you!

It's been quite some time since I've had time to work on a quilt that wasn't a gift with a deadline.  This past weekend and yesterday, I finally had some time to sew!

Last June I started working on the pieces for Stacked Bricks and I told you about that process here. As I had time, I continued to work on this quilt top and showed you the progress here.  Finally things are progressing to a point that I can show it to you again.

The strips between are attached and the first border is on.  I need to decide on the next border to make this a bit larger.

The quilt was not without a challenge.

First look at all that bias!  While the bricks are on the straight of grain, they are at an angle when pieced.

The triangles on both ends are quarter square which means they have a straight of grain on the outside edge of the strip -- whew!  If they were on the bias it would be a nightmare!

However, the rows are mirror images and the top and bottom pieces had to be mirror images as well.

Here is what happens when the wrong piece is stitched in.  It's just laid on here, but, yup, I put it in wrong the first time!

Notice that the bricks are tumbling on the right strip!

Here is what it looks like now. 

the bricks are properly stacked and the herringbone pattern is in tact.

How did I miss that in the first place?

Here is another look at the quilt top so far.

Do you have any suggestions for the border?  I'd like it pieced I think, but would it be too busy then?  Sometimes I plan a quilt completely before I take a stitch and sometimes, like this one, I design as I go.

So here's your chance to tell me what you'd like to see the next border to be -- don't be shy, speak up!

Next week I'll be in Dallas so hope all you Dallas area quilters and quilt lovers will be at the Dallas Quilt Celebration.  Look me up.  I'll be in The National Quilt Association, Inc. booth.  Stop and say "hello"!  I'd love to meet you in person.

Until next time,

Lois

Birthday Flowers

Today is my birthday, but I'm at work. 

The bookkeeper brought me this miniature rose plant and a wonderful delicious lemon cake!  Isn't she sweet?

Tonight we'll go out to dinner.  Yum!

What do you do to celebrate?  My mom used to bake me a cherry pie.

This is really George Washington's birthday too.

Hope you are having a great day. 

Until next time,

Lois

Des Moines Star Clone Finally!

Hello again, friends!

It's been a while again.  I'll explain what has been going on in the near future.  It's all about the change part of the 3 words for 2012.  I'm ready for the adapt and create phases as the change part hasn't been fun.

The final stitch on the Des Moines Star Clone Quilt was taken over a week ago, but it took a while to do the photography and editing.  While photographing I wasn't happy with the light and tried to move outside but it was too windy.  Quilts suspended on display photography stands do not play well together. 

I had just put a new "pin" piece on the top of one side, but in trying to get the quilt on the stand outside, the wind wanted it to be a kite and another pin broke.  Fortunately when I ordered new parts the last time I ordered extras.  This is a flaw in this particular stand.  Or maybe they just weren't meant to be used the way I use mine. 

Here is the best overall photo of the Des Moines Star Clone I could get.

The first block I made had all the same blue fabric and all the same light fabric.

Can you say BORING!  ZZZzzzzz

So,  first I decided to mix up the background light fabrics. It was better, but YAWN! Still not too exciting.  I looked at the antique one I showed you here and discovered it was more scrappy in each of the blocks.

So, I decided to mix it up a bit more.

Yes, now we were getting some where.  Much more texture and movement in the block.

So some of the blocks contained black as well as blues just like the antique.  In fact this block has antique fabric used in it.

Here are a couple more of the blocks.

And a few more.

You may notice that the antique quilt had less quilting in it.

I added diagonal lines.  I like it better that way.

More quilting is better, don't you think?

Whew!  Now I can move back to some of the other unfinished projects I have.

Do you think Mindy and Mike will like their quilt?  They've waited.

And waited.

And waited for this quilt.

Hope they love it!

All it needs is the label.  I think the label will have a photo of the antique version on it.

Have you ever made a duplicate of an antique quilt?  It is kind of a cool way to preserve the original by making a clone.

Try it, you might like it!

Hugs and kisses,

Lois

Murphy's Law Strikes Again!

Hello Friends,

Last time I wrote I whined  about  Murphy and his really annoying law.  Well on Monday, this happened.

This happened in downtown Phoenix, but the car is sitting in the garage here so the light isn't so good.  It is an old car, but it gets good gas mileage.  It has a lot of miles on it, but it gets good gas mileage.  With gas pushing $4 a gallon, that good gas mileage thing is important!  Besides it has been paid off many years.  Did I mention it gets GOOD gas mileage?

This is what happens when the hood goes UNDER an SUV.  It's not pretty!  No one got hurt.  The airbags did not go off.  We were not traveling very fast.

The other cars, yes CARS, were not damaged.  Only our little old car was messed up.

The bumper is messed up and the lights don't all work. But no one was hurt!  No injuries, that's huge!

The dents are deep.  It goes in for a face lift tomorrow.

I really like my little car.

It's zippy.

It fits nicely in parking places.

I hope they fix it fast!

So I will leave you with something good.

My lavender plant survived the winter.  I LOVE lavender!

Today I am photographing the completed Des Moines Star clone quilt.  I'm waiting for the light to be at the right place for the quilting to show up best.

No more Murphy's Law days!  I'm tired of them.  On to the good stuff.

Until next time,

Lois