Cherrywood Challenge exhibit

So if anyone tells you that things are not back to normal - they are lying! Where did all the people come from yesterday? Granted, it was a rainy Saturday afternoon, so people probably had nothing better to do. The shopping plaza parking lots were jammed. I had to zip out to get dog food. The store itself wasn't that busy, but then there were other stores in that plaza. 

I went to the Costco parking lot to find a geocache. NOT a parking space to be found! I parked in the plaza beside Costco and got the cache. Then on my way home, and because it was raining, I decided to stop at the grocery store. I haven't been to the grocery store in my car in a LONG time! Let's just say that I much prefer to walk. 

Anyway, the parking lot was pretty full, and I spotted a guy getting ready to leave his spot. He was facing outward so he could see me waiting. NO - he proceeds to sit there, so I thought maybe he had backed in and needed to straighten out his vehicle. The moment I drove past, he pulled out and drove away. Really??? So I backed up and then backed into the spot. 

And don't get me started on Tim's line as I stopped there on my way home. People just can't grasp the concept that there are TWO lanes in that driveway. God forbid that their cars are side by side - someone might pull ahead of them!

Plus, there just seemed to be tons of cars on the road. I know I don't drive much these days, but seriously?? If I could get away without driving, I'd be a happy camper! It seems that when (some) people get behind the wheel of a car, their superpowers control the entire road space. I don't know --- it just feels weird to be in the car for a day of errands with so many other people. 

I'm happy to report the magazine quilt is on the long arm! And it turned out way better than I imagined! I LOVE it! That needs to be done today, as well as a small customer quilt. This is my scrap box after the magazine quilt was put together. Yummy colors!!!!

Scraps from the magazine quilt

And it was made from a pre-cut. I normally don't work with pre-cuts, but this one worked super well! I used a pack of 10" squares. 

While piecing the quilt, the last of my five bobbins ran out, and I had to clean out the lint in the bobbin area. Yikes -- that's a LOT of lint. Changed the needle and wound five more. 

Lint from the bobbin area

I did try to find some geocaches yesterday, but it was wet and raining; the plazas were filled with people; it just wasn't a good day. So today, the weather is supposed to be warmer, and I've got a spot picked out that's in the country. 

Let's talk about Lady Diana. She was the theme for the 6th Cherrywood Challenge. There were three pinks and one white fabric in the bundle. I had visions of a very PINK exhibit. You can see the winning quilts at that link. 

The exhibit opened at Quilt Festival this weekend in Houston. I wasn't able to go, but I found someone who could take pictures for me. Thanks, Becky!!

Princess Di is waiting to greet everyone!

Princess Di cut-out

I believe there are 199 quilts in the entire exhibit. It's split into three different shows. The Diamond, the Pearl, and the Rose. 

Here are some shots of the entire show. 

The Cherrywood Challenge exhibit at Houston Quilt Festival

The Cherrywood Challenge exhibit at Houston Quilt Festival

The Cherrywood Challenge exhibit at Houston Quilt Festival

Karla, the owner of Cherrywood, put out a video on opening day, and you can see all the quilts. The video is just over 30 minutes long. Helen Anne also has a piece in the show (a labyrinth with roses in the corners), and you see it about the 27-minute mark. As she panned down the entire exhibit, I was waiting to see my quilt. Oh know -- she is getting to the end, and where is my quilt? OH -- it's tucked around the side of the exhibit with eight other pieces! Mine is very close to the end. 

AH -- there's my quilt! 

Here are the nine pieces on the side. Mine is the top one in the middle. OH boy -- here's a lesson in value! Can you see the two hearts? They are very faint! You'll see them better in the next photo. But I had to remake a bunch of the little pieces because I picked the wrong color. Let's just say that it's a challenge to work with a very limited palette. 

There's my challenge - the top middle!

Here is my piece! I am one of the few that did strictly piecing. Karla grouped them by style/technique, and that's why I, along with the other two in my column, are together. We only pieced - no applique or collage. Note the one below me, made a TON of paper pieced roses.

There's my storm at sea to represent Princess Diana

Karla mentioned in the video that there were some paper piecing techniques. I did NOT paper piece mine. That was strictly regular piecing. I used the Tri-Recs ruler to cut the Peaky and Spike unit. And thanks to the amazing abilities of my EPIC 2, those seams all match, and the points are nice. Let's not forget my twirling seams technique, so all those points and seams are flat as a pancake. Each little square is 1" finished. 

There's a lot of symbolism in the piece. Thirty-six start blocks - one for each year of her life. Yes -- she was only 36 when she died. Two hearts (not intertwined!) for the two boys. And I picked the Storm at Sea pattern to represent all the conflict in her life! So it wasn't just a bunch of random piecing!

Anyway -- I'm happy with the results, and now it's time to shift gears and think GRAFFITI which is the theme for the next challenge. There is nothing like a good challenge to get your creative juices flowing. I don't win - I have no intention of winning a ribbon or a prize - I leave that to the people who want to spend copious amounts of time thread painting, collaging, beading, or whatever technique they choose. My goal is to get in the show! I'll try to remember to chat about challenges a bit more tomorrow. 

I ordered the book yesterday for the show and can't wait to see a better picture of the quilts. It would be nice to see part of it in person - I must check the schedule to see where it will go. 

As I walked in the forest the other day, we had to take a quick detour to miss a puddle. I glanced down and spotted this. Wow -- that's pretty creepy looking, but it's only a tree root. 

A forest hand

I guess the message is - if you can't grow through - grow over!

Tree trunks in the forest

The topic of Halloween cards came up on the radio the other day. Who sends Halloween cards? Well, my Mom does. Every year for many years, she has sent me a Halloween card! And they are handmade!

Halloween card from my Mom

And I got a thank you card from the Project Linus coordinator for the recent drop-off of quilts. 

Thank you card from Project Linus

Speaking of which, I dug out my box of Christmas cards, and I'll be sending out cards again this year! Does anyone want a card? 

As you know, we have two crazy dogs, and they couldn't be more different from each other. This is Lexi - a lady of leisure who just loves to lay around and soak up the sun! 

Lexi just chilling in the backyard

This is Murphy, who loves to play ball, and when she can't find it, she immediately looks in the pond, thinking it fell in there. She's so nimble and would play ball all day if someone would throw it for her. I think she should ask Santa for one of those automatic ball throwers. 

Murphy playing around the pond

And this is her toybox. She goes through it about once a day and pulls everything out while searching for something to play with. 

And she doesn't like to play alone! 

Murphy's toy box

 

And then last night, when I was chatting on the phone, the two of them came into the living room where I was, and they proceeded to fight with each other as they lay on the floor. I guess by this time, both of them were exhausted! 

Fighting while on the floor

And then they lay together to have a nap. They rarely do this, so I had to get a picture. Thank goodness you can talk on the phone and use the camera at the same time. It does help to use headphones! Notice how the Princess is on the quilt, and Murphy is happy to be on the floor. It's cooler! Murphy also looks completely relaxed, while Lexi is on guard! 

Let sleeping dogs lie!

Here is the quilt of the day! I need to trim it later today. 

Customer quilt - DONE

Shortly before Christmas last year, there was a house fire not far from us. That house sat for a long time before they did anything with it. There's a HUGE piece of some kind of paper used in construction covering part of the roof. Then one day, a couple of months ago, a dumpster arrived, and they gutted the upper front of the house. Well, they may have done more - it's kind of hard to tell from the street. 

The upper eaves of the house, near the peak, were damaged by covered with smoke, so the fire was definitely in the roof. When I passed yesterday, they have removed the bricks from the upper front and are in the process of rebricking the front section. 

Finally - repairing the damaged house

One of the beams in the roof is sagging - likely when they ripped open the roof to get to the flames. I can't imagine that construction material is very water-tight. I can imagine the mold and mildew that's occurred. But it's getting close to a year that this property has sat empty. Not a good sign! Let's just say that I would NEVER want to own this home.

Anyway --- it's time to get the day started! Lots to do, machines waiting to be run, dogs want to walk! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!