Calhoun County Barn Quilt Tour

We participated as a vendor at the annual Calhoun County Barn Quilt tour  on Oct 21 & 22.  As an ecommerce business, we do not often get to meet our tried and true customers, so when we do, it is a particularly splendid event.  So thank you friends for stopping by our booth.  For our new friends - welcome and we look forward to serving you this next year.

For those of you not familiar with Calhoun County Illinoils - prepare yourself for 70 miles of the most scenic countryside America has to offer.  Besides the scenery - the county boasts of no stoplights and plenty of home cooked food. 

We will see you next year...third week end in Oct.

The Power of Rotary

If you do not know the Power of Rotary, hopefully, this short note will enlighten you.


Shortly following the earthquake in Japan, I was approached by 2 quilt groups to make quilts for victims of the Japanese earthquake.

I passed the word to a member of the International fellowship of Rotarian Quilters, Diana Barden, who mentioned it at International. The word spread through International and to the ears of a rotarian (whose wife is the editor of Quilters Newsletter, a popular quilting magazine). His wife spread the word through all of the quilting magazines editors.

Today I received a call advising they have collected 4069 Rotarian quilts and do I know how to get the quilts to Japan. Does anyone have any ideas?

The newsletter editor wants the Rotarians in Japan to handout the quilts in Japan

Calhoun County Quilt Block Tour

The next two weeks will be spent preparing for the Calhoun County Barn Quilt Tour.
I will have a booth at the fair - so stop buy and say hello.

(Calhoun County is a pennisula between Missouri and Illinois.  It is bordered by the Mississippi on one side and the Missouri on the other.)  Calhoun boasts of having no stoplights and only one fast food restaurant - very refreshing.

Come spend the day in Calhoun County, driving through the countryside, eating home cooked food and barn after barn sporting their quilt blocks.

What to do with all of those left over batting pieces

A member of the Hearts n Hands quilt guild in O'Fallon, IL offered this suggestion for using all of those left over batting pieces.  She makes mattress covers.

How will I work this.  Cut batting into 6 x 6 segments and place between 2 pieces (same size) muslin, then stitch around the block and across the block.  Prepare next block and slip 1st block inside this piece and top stitch.  Continue.. 

Seems like a good day by day project.

What do you do with your left over batting.

What am I working on???

Lots on the plate this week.

• Christmas wall hanging - designed a new Christmas wall hanging for Oct 21 show in Calhoun County IL
• Name tag -  Designing a "heart" name tag for Hearts N Hand Quilt guild.
• Constructed another Christmas wall hanging - still need to finish applique handwork...
• Cornflower design by Kumiko Sudo -- preparing applique items for application
• 2 baby quilts to quilt on long arm
• CQI Novice Rd Robin block - ready to apply my portion of this round robin.  It really stretches me.
• Clean house - hosting my quilt guild Thursday and really need to clean.