Tyler's Modern Quilting Group

That is not our official name.  We haven't decided on a name yet but we have several possibilities.    We have had our second group meeting and it was great!  We are still getting to know one another and there was way more talking going on than sewing - we are suppose to be a sewing group :)

At our second group meeting, we shared the name tags that we had made.  I gave a sneak peek in my previous post, so now I'll show you the whole shebang.

 Here is an up close and personal.  All my points met up!  I was so excited.  That's why I love paper piecing so much.  It's so precise. 

I'm not that great with embroidery, mostly because I don't practice and I only use it when I have to, but I think my name came out fairly well.  I just wrote it on muslin with a pencil until it looked okay and then I used the outline stitch to embroider it.

I put my Modern Quilt Guild pin on my name tag.  We aren't part of the MQG yet but several of the ladies that have been coming are individual members and there is talk amongst the group about joining.  I think we have to have a few meetings first to see who all is going to be able to come on a regular basis and get to know each other.  But by spring, who knows.  There is so much talent in the group of ladies that have been coming - it's astounding.  I'm hoping we can get the word out to people in the surrounding areas because I know there are more Modern quilters out there in East Texas wishing they had a group of sewing friends that they could get together with and have fun!

Last shot, I promise.  I'm proud of our group and I hope we can continue for years and years.

This pattern is from a book by Linda Causee called 365 Foundation Quilt Blocks. 
I used fabrics from my stash for the project in my favorite colors. 
The text print is a great one.  It is from STOF and I bought it at my LQS.
My name tag measures 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches.

Thanks for reading!
Have a great day!

**I've linked up with Anything Goes Monday**and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story**

Quilt Show

About 3 or so weeks ago, the annual quilt show was going on in our little city.  I had never been before and thought I'd go check it out. 

There were a bajillion quilts on display and they had them roped off so that you couldn't get to them to look at them.  There were people standing at each little section, wearing white latex gloves and if you wanted to look at the back of the quilt, you had to ask and the lady/gentleman would raise it up so that you could look at it from about 4 feet away.  I have to say, I was alittle frightened. 
I had no idea that they were so fragile.  I had no idea that it would all be so proper and precise.  It kind of freaked me out alittle.

I was frightened and freaked out.  So, I just gave up looking at them and went shopping at the little booths set up all around the perimeter of the quilt show.  They had given me a ballot and I was suppose to vote for my favorite quilt but I was so intimidated that I didn't vote.
For some reason, I had it in my head that I would buy a kit and try to make a quilt.
So, I bought this.

Sigh.  Let's see how long it takes me to make that.  Geez, it's like I'm setting myself up to fail.

I also bought this little charm pack.  I've since found a tote bag pattern in a magazine that I may try this out with.  Or, I also found a quilted placemat pattern that I could use them on.  Placemats are small, so maybe I'll just start out small and graduate to the quilt.

And lastly, look at this little guy.

It's a pincushion chicken filled with sand.  He was so cute that I couldn't pass him up.  They also had sand pincushions that looked like mice with yo yo's for tails.

It was a fun and scary day. :)

My Beautiful Family

 Back in November, I decided that we needed to have family pictures done since we had not had any professionally done since my son was 2.  I found this wonderful local photographer and told her what we wanted.  She suggested the Children's Park, which is a city park in Tyler that was built to celebrate the lives of children who have passed away.  I had never been there but knew it was beautiful from pictures I had seen.   

 It is a beautiful place and a wonderful place to take pictures.  In fact, the park was full of people doing just that on the morning we were there.  By the way, who is this grown man in my pictures?  Where is my little boy?  :(  And who are those old people?  It makes me sad.

Cassie did an excellent job.  I'll treasure these pictures forever.  I highly recommend her to anyone in the East Texas area looking for wonderful photos - whatever the occasion.
http://www.cassiespaldingphoto.com/#

(P.S. - My son has braces in these pictures and still does in real life.  They affect his pretty smile.)

Smith County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Britton Jr. laid to rest

The funeral for my husband's cousin was yesterday, Saturday April 2nd.  The family chose to have a full police funeral.  It was a beautiful service.  The church was full to the brim of uniformed City of Tyler police, Smith County Sheriff Deputies and other officers from the surrounding area.  The honor guard and all of the officers involved in the service did such an amazing job, I can't even describe it.  I was so proud of them all.

The funeral procession to the cemetery was even beautiful.  We were towards the back and as the end of the line went through each intersection (which was blocked off by uniformed officers), those officers then joined the end of the procession with their lights flashing.  As we drove through town, we would look behind us and it looked like a Christmas tree with all the flashing lights of all the police cars.  Entire families came out and stood on the sidewalks as we went past, with their hands on their hearts.  Many of the drivers of the cars stopped in traffic also stood beside their vehicles with their hands on their hearts.  I start crying just thinking about it as I write this.

I really appreciated the amount of respect that was shown to his family by the people in Tyler and even by the local news media.  It's always a horrible thing when a police officer is killed in the line of duty.  I know he's going to be missed by so many people.

Here is a link to the local Tyler paper - story and video.
Here is the link to the local ABC station - KLTV (which is my favorite local news station because they are the most professional and the least sensationalistic when doing news stories).

Each of the above videos are different.
Thanks again to everyone who read my blog and sent up a prayer and kind thought for his family - including his law enforcement family.

Please pray

My husband's cousin, who is a deputy sheriff in our area, was injured Thursday morning in a  freak accident involving a cow, while at work.

See the news story here.

Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. 
He is in very critical condition.

Upcoming Spring Show

I'll be doing the upcoming Azalea Trails Arts and Crafts show again this year in Tyler. It's always a nice show with a large crowd of people. I just wish it were indoors and that we didn't have to set up my tent. UG!

But anyhoo, I've been busy getting ready for it and haven't had time to also take pics and list new stuff in my etsy shops. So, while they are still open, there won't be any new stuff in them for awhile. After the show is over, I'll be listing like crazy.

The show will be in Bergfeld Park, which is right in the middle of town, on March 21st and 22nd. If you're in the area, come on by! It's in a beautiful area of town full of azaleas and blooming spring flowers. Very lovely!

And I'd also like to say thanks to Cordovastudios and Buyhand for featuring my eye masks and sachets in their treasuries yesterday.

From CordovaStudios - Great Takes:

And from BuyHand - Sweet Dreamzzzzzz:

Thanks for the lovely treasuries, ladies. And for picking my items!

Festival on the Square, Tyler Texas

I got some really exciting news yesterday. I was chosen to be in the juried art section of the upcoming Festival on the Square, here in Tyler, Texas. I'm very excited to have been chosen for the juried section. This will be my first juried show and I hope all goes well.

The Festival on the Square takes place on Saturday, September 13, 2008 with the Arts and Crafts open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They also have food, children's activities and all day music. The music continues into the night with an after hours concert that last until midnight. For more information click here.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

To all the MOM's out there - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Handmade Whimzy will be at the Children't Miracle Network Arts and Crafts show TOMORROW, Saturday, May 10 from 9 am to 4 pm.

It is located at the First Christian Church on the corner of Loop 323 and S. Broadway. If your in the area, stop by and get a great handmade item for Mom, Granny, Auntie or whoever!

I've been so busy for the past few weeks getting ready for an upcoming local craft show. I'll be doing the Azalea Trail Arts and Craft show on March 15th and 16th in Tyler, Texas. If your in the area, come on down to Bergfeld Park and see all the great things. The azaleas will be blooming and the Trails wind through some lovely, historic brick streets that have beautiful yards and gardens. We get alot of visitors from out of town during this time to see our city bloom.

Here's a sneak peak of some things I've been working on for the show. Some has been listed in my etsy shop and some hasn't.