For my Chicken Loving Buddies

OK, this one is for all of you gals who have a fondness for chickens. I saw this quilt at the quilt show this weekend and I immediately thought of all of you. Well good gravy! How in the world did I get away without a picture of the entire quilt???!!! Really? I must have been so captivated by each one that I just wasn't thinking. Yes, those of you that know me can laugh now. Well here is the info and the individual blocks:

I wish you could see these in person. I think Trish did a great job in choosing the fabrics:

The chicken wire is not printed. It is stitched:

  I have to track down these patterns. I'm not sure if I could do this or not, but where there is a will, there is a way and I'm going to name each one of these after one of you.

 Yes, I know some of these are roosters. :)

 I don't know who's who just yet, but it will come to me as I stitch.

One lady told me that the patterns were really expensive so this may be a really long project, but look how cute they are!

How can you NOT love them?

Dimmit Quilt Show

This weekend I pulled my arm, loaded up, and crossed state lines to a quilt show. This little Texas town of 4,000 pulls out all the stops for a big quilt show. It's actually put on by the Ogallala Quilters Society. I planned on meeting up with my friend M, but she was feeling poorly (Missed you, and hope you're back to feeling like a spring chicken soon!) , so I went in search of adventure on my own...always a gamble and usually leads to trouble. :)

My Nano and "Killing Lincoln" came a long for the ride so I was completely immersed in the Civil War on the 3 hr drive, and had the urge to scout out Civil War fabric while I was there.

I took a few pictures to share with y'all. Be forewarned - many of them are of a western nature. Gee, I'll bet that's a surprise. :)

This was the Best of Show Quilt:

 I was completely charmed by these tiny houses although the thought of so many houses crammed so closely together made me want to hyperventilate.

Each block measures just 3" :

And each little home had a fussy cut image centered in the window:

                                     

This was a quilt made by a local man, Charles. He took a class with Michelle Watts, who is our local quilting celebrity, using the 9° Circle Wedge Ruler:

And this one looks familiar!

I need to make one of these. Yep! Deanna, from Wedding Dress Blue made an appearance:

And what would a quilt show be without a Texas quilt? Those of you who are Texans, know how passionate we are about our state, and yes, I know I wasn't born there, but they adopted me. I'm an Aggie, and that makes me a Texan. :)

 Our LQS has this fabric, and I've looked at it numerous times, but wasn't sure how to use it. I really like it here:

I haven't seen these embroidery patterns before. The quilt was called "Raised on the Ranch" so of course, it called my name:

I've got a Texas Wildflower quilt dancing around in my head and I've got yards and yards of this fabric:

This center block is darling:

And even when I wander off the ranch, I've got bovines on my mind:

  I've got a bit more to share, but this post is already picture heavy so I'll save it for the next round.

And of course, the venders are always a treat. I loved being able to wander and visit with some of the nicest people you'll ever want to meet. I came home with a few odds and ends:

I've been wanting a cone thread holder and I found a cast iron one so that came home with me, as well as a few cuts of fabric. I'm working on the Granny Square blocks and these will fit in nicely. I found 2 nice towels for embroidery - love the feel of these and will be picking up more when they get some neutral colors in, but the rust and turquoise were fun. Then there is a kit for a grocery bag. I want to make lots of these and I liked the heavy canvas straps on this one. I also picked up a few pretty cards. Dear Sir, I'm sorry I made you tear up, and thank you kindly for the extra card. and I brought home a couple of vintage calendar towels from a lovely elderly couple who I wanted to adopt.  

Remember those towels? My mom had them, often they would arrive in packages from Europe. This couple and I visited for a good hour and I was so charmed by them so I came home with one towel from the year I was born.I had to get it when I saw this little cowboy sheriff and his little woman. They made me laugh:

And then the dear lady wanted to give me the one from the year we were married:

I loved the recipe for a happy family. You know, I love the feel of these old fabrics. They just have such a pretty weight to them. I wonder if the fact that I am reminiscing like this has anything to do with my age. Nah. Me neither. :)