Quilt Congress 2013

Today was a fun filled day at the Annual Quilt Congress.  This year's theme was "Quiltin' On The River".

Each table was set up with a fish bowl.  Since the guild I belong to helped host the congress, we had a reserved table.  Everyone received a fish from the fish bowls.  The fish were needle cases.  Towards the end of the day the fishbowls and place mats were given away.

As hosts, we had to were these cute sailor hats.  Judy was kind enough to let me use her as the model for the hat..  :)

Everyone also had pretty name tags to wear.  Here's mine.

Everyone got a goody bag too and they were packed full of stuff.  

I was able to take a few pictures as everyone was showing up and signing in.  There were several vendors.

There was a silent auction and a "Flotsam & Jetsam" (dirty santa) store.

The highlight of the day though, was the time of the guest speakers.  Paula Mariedaughter and Charlotte Angotti shared their quilts with us.

I was able to get several shots of Paula's quilts.  I only got two shots of Charlotte's quilts, as I was helping fold the quilts after they were shown.

To save some space on this page I have created a page where you can view all the quilts I saw today by clicking on this link http://aquiltingsouthpawsthoughts.blogspot.com/p/quilts_28.html

Paula talked about scrapbook quilts, memories and stories and the importance of documenting facts of your life.  The backs of most of her quilts were just a fascinating as the fronts.

Charlotte talked about basically being yourself when you quilt.  You're going to make mistakes, but don't sweat it.  She had some beautiful quilts, even though many had mistakes.  But you know, life isn't perfect, so why should we expect our quilts to be?

There were a few quilts that were given away or will be given away soon.

Here are two I bought a ticket on.

I did good, as far as spend money goes.  I only purchased a doll pattern, which included the fabrics and hair ($0.50), I thought it was pretty good buy.

Then I heard about this improved upon seam ripper.  So I had to get one.  It's a normal seam ripper but has a rubber end to "erase out" the little threads left from seam ripping.  You know how tedious it can be, but this will help out much.

We gave away a bunch of door prizes today too.   I was one of the "runners", so I got my work out.

Here's the door prize I got, a jelly roll of fat quarters.

It was a good day.  I got to see a friend I haven't seen in quite some time.  There was a lot of laughter, good food and just overall excitement throughout the crowd gathering together.

"Quilting is sharing yourself with others"

Until next time,

God bless and keep you,
Sonia

Happy Autumn!

Today is the first day of my favorite season, Autumn, and what a beautiful day it was too.

Of course the Autumn decorations were brought out and put up at my house.  I didn't go overboard this year, as I have been known to do in years past.

I did just a few things this year.  I decided to do "groupings" this year.

The scarecrows gathered together to hang out by the oak and cedar chest.

The turkeys flocked together on the top of the piano.

The pumpkins rested next to the leaves on the cedar chest.

The floral arrangements added their Autumn color to the mix.

 

There is also a Autumn wreath on my front door, though I don't have picture of it.  I like the yellow, orange and orange-red leaves against the red door.

You may wonder why Autumn is my favorite season.

It is because in the fall when all the leaves begin to change color, and I look across the valleys with their array of yellow, orange, red, and dark greens, I imagine it as a beautiful quilt the Lord has laid out over the earth for me enjoy.

It's the cool mornings, seeing the moon hang low in the western sky as the sun rises in the east and the crisp evenings when the stars are out, twinkling like jewels in the sky.

It's the smell of cut hay and of camp fires and roasting marshmallows.

You might say it's the last HURRAH before winter sets in.

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DID YOU NOTICE?

You may have noticed I have added two new pages.  One is my personal testimony of my coming to know Jesus Christ as my Savior.  The other is a Prayer Request page.  I encourage you to check them out and if you need prayer for anything, please use the Prayer Request page and share it  with others you know who need prayer support.

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GOT ANY SUGGESTIONS?

 I had plans to work on my log cabin quilt this weekend but for some reason my machine was wadding up the thread on the underside.  I'm so glad I did a test run on scraps.  I cleaned my machine and re-threaded it but it still wadded up the thread.  So, I figured it may be the needle, but of course I had no new needles on hand.  So I bought new needles.  Hopefully that will be the solution to my problem.  I have tried them out yet, but will before the week is up.   Not sure what to do next if the new needle doesn't fix it.

Got any suggestions?

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Until next time,

God bless and keep you,
Sonia

Cotton Candy in the sky

Yesterday morning as the sun was rising, I noticed the clouds in the sky.   Though you can't see how pink they were in these pictures, they reminded me of pink cotton candy.

~ Praise the LORD!  I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.  The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.  His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.  He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and full of compassion. ~ Psalm 111:1-4


Have a great day!

God bless and keep you,
Sonia

Grace...

Grace...

When you hear the word grace, what comes to mind?

Mercy, forgiveness, charity, compassion?

I attended a Beth Moore/Living Proof Ministries simulcast with four of my friends yesterday.  I thought about not going, I was so tired.  But I felt a pull to go, so I did.   You can find out more about Beth Moore and Living Proof Ministries at http://www.lproof.org/


We went to Glendale Baptist church for the simulcast.  I think there
 were 70-80 ladies present.

We began with songs of worship.  Hearing the voices of my Christian Sisters raised in praise to the Lord was an awesome thing, bringing on emotions from deep within and the feeling of knowing I do not walk in the world, serving the Lord alone.

All 50 states were in on the simulcast along with many more around the world.

The simulcast was all about grace, but it went much deeper than the way we normally think of grace.  

We are either living under grace, living under the law (ourselves) or in between.

I learned a new Greek word, cáris.  It means joy, favor, changes one into a new creature without changing their individuality.

I learned there are some things in my life I need to say "no longer" to.  A loud "NO LONGER".  Do you know what I mean?

Somewhere along the way, before lunch, there was a pop quiz.  A true or false pop quiz.   There were 13 questions.    I learned after the quiz that if you are living under grace, all the answers will be false. Needless to say I didn't not pass with a 100% but that's okay, I'm learning, I'm growing and there is always room for improvement.

The one thing that caught me by the heart was one of the questions on the quiz.  It was something along the lines of    T or F:  I feel  I am a disappointment to God.  I answered, True.

As we went along, I realized that though I know, that I know, that I know, I am a child of God I was still trying to keep the old me alive, by hanging on to the regrets of my past.  Dragging that "old me" into my life and letting it make me think I am a disappointment to God.

Romans 5:5 ~ and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.~ NIV

I realized that if God can forgive me of my sins and my past and throw it as far as the east is from the west, then I too need to get rid of it.

My church started Revival services for this week today, but my personal revival started yesterday during the simulcast.

God gives you what you need, when you need it.  I needed my lesson yesterday and I'm glad I went.

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I got a few more pictures to share with you.   

 I usually show you pictures of the beautiful moon God has given us to light the night, but I have sunrises and sunsets this time.

One day this week, around 7:00 a.m.  I noticed a orange glow on one of the office walls.

So I went to the window and there the beautiful sun was rising above one of the churches close by.

It was a nice way to start the morning.

 On the way home from Ft. Smith, I think it was Friday, I caught the sunset behind us as we traveled.

Yesterday, I got a few more pics.  This one of the flag was early yesterday morning.  I waited until a breeze caught it up.  I think our flag is the prettiest one in the world.

Here are some of an old house and a barn that has been stripped down to the studs.  You never know what might catch my eye.

On the way home, yesterday from the simulcast, my friend "Rita" took this picture of the sky.  It was a beautiful sky and a beautiful day.  It was one of those days where it wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cool.  It was just right.  

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The yummy smell of a baking cake is filling the house.  

David is baking a white cake and he added chocolate chips to it.  Doesn't that sound good?

I'll leave you with this reminder.

Remember to thank God for lessons learned, for the beauty in nature and for little things, like the yummy smell of a baking cake.

God bless and keep you, 

Sonia

Good day

This morning I decided I would cook an egg for breakfast.  When I broke it into the skillet I saw a heart shape in the yolk.

I thought that has got to be a sign of a good day.

It was a good day.  :)

I got to spend some time with an aunt and uncle from Florida, this evening.   It is always a blessing to spend time with family.

This afternoon, before I met up with the family, I pickled some banana pepper rings.   I was able to get four pints.  My house smells like vinegar but the peppers sure look pretty.  :)

Believe it or not, I have been able to work some on the log cabin quilt over the weekend.   I won't be able to work on it again until Thursday, but at least I've made a little head way.

As you know I like to visit flea markets and such on my days off.  My latest find is a  Better Homes and Garden sewing book.  It was published in 1974.  I like the vintage look of it and think it will look nice as a decoration in my quilting shop one day.

I will leave you with an inspirational thought.

Inspirational Pictures

God bless and keep you,
Sonia

Pretty way to start out Autumn theme...

Hello,

I've made some changes to my blog.  I decided to go ahead get started with an Autumn theme, as that is my favorite season of the year.  I also added some new pages, Get to know me and three others that are linked in to my Pinterest pages.

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Earlier today, I noticed how much the marigolds were blooming and to me they were as pretty as mums.  A butterfly liked them too.

I think they are a pretty way to start out my Autumn themed blog.  :)

Have a wonderful week!

God bless and keep you,
Sonia

Camera Ham...

Hello,
I trust you have had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend. :)

I have certainly enjoyed the long weekend and the awesome thing is I'll have another long weekend next weekend too.

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PROJECTS

In a couple of blogs back, I posted just pictures and one of the pictures was of yarn.

Here is what I made with it. I used only a single crochet through out the body of it, then a double crochet for the border.
 

It was so cuddly the young lady I gave it to, truly liked it.

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FROM THE GARDEN

A batch of banana peppers and a few bell peppers.  

I took a nap yesterday and when I woke, I found this beautiful bouquet of flowers in the living room.  David had picked them from the flower bed and put them in a vase. 

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FAMILY

Today, my side of the family had a cookout.  I got spend some time with my nephew and niece.  I took a few pics.   My nephew has a scraped up nose.  When I asked him what happened, his eyes got big and he told me "I was pushing my red truck real fast and then I fell down".  I learned that while he was pushing the truck it got away from him and he landed face down on the concrete.

Poor kid... but he is doing fine and has not slowed down any.


My niece was bashful at first, but then she realized I was taking a picture of her and she posed.  The little camera ham.  :)

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I'll leave you with a quote.

" Take time to laugh.  It is the music of the soul." ~ Anonymous

God bless and keep you,
Sonia