The monkey's have returned!

At long last, I have the Pirate Monkey quilt back on my longarm.  Some of you may remember, Jim asked me to created a quilt with these darling embroidery and appliqué designs and enter it in the local fair.  Well I didn’t get the quilt done, but now I’m hoping to finish it before Christmas and find a home for it with a little boy somewhere in need of a smile and a quilty hug!

 I have most of the quilting done now, having spent most of yesterday on it.  I’d already done all the ditch work and the borders earlier this summer.

I’m off to Mama’s Log House quilt shop this morning, hoping I can stay awake at the wheel, I pulled another all nighter last night, ugh.

 

Just teasing y’all a bit.  Bread I baked for dinner last night, we had Tuscan potato soup and bread.  Yummy!

Mama's Log House Quilt Shop

By some amazing miracle, Jim got up early and we were on the road by 7:30 this morning.  It’s a good thing too, because the sale at Mama’s Log House didn’t start until 9:30, and the trip only ended up taking an hour and a half instead of a bit over two hours like we expected… and at 9:30, women from everywhere were piling out of their vehicles!

Fortunately the main shop was open when we arrived, and we were able to take a few pictures before it turned into an absolute mad house!

For some reason I expected to arrive at a historic log house on a lot in some small town by the name of Huntington, but the quilt shop is out in the middle of nowhere, and it’s been there for twenty years!

The log house itself is not part of the shop, darn it, I was looking forward to seeing the interior of it.  I don’t get in pictures very often, but here I am for a change!

Right next to the log house is the quilt shop.  See?  Nothing around for miles!

You would not believe the incredible selection inside this little building.  There is a virtual treasure trove in there!  Jim was taking pictures, and I apologize that I didn’t make sure he took enough to show all the displays inside… heck I was too busy drooling.

I’m afraid you’re just going to have to take my word for it, but this shop is definitely worth a visit.  I nearly went ballistic over the Creative Grids ruler display!  I’m a bit of a ruler junkie, but Jim was watching so I restrained myself.  LOL

Lots and lots of charm squares and jelly rolls, books and patterns galore, EQ software, scissors, and bolt upon bolt of gorgeous fabrics.  They even had a beautiful selection of hand dyes, done locally!

Across the highway is another building, I assume this is normally the classroom, where the sale was being held.

Within thirty minutes of arriving, you could barely move in either shop… people had descended from all over Arkansas and Oklahoma!

I bought a couple of patterns, about a hundred (LOL) fat quarters, and some nifty new marking pens.

I will have to make another trip, but I’m thinking on a nice, tame Wednesday, when there aren’t so many people around!

You can read about the rest of our trip on my blog.  You don’t want to miss the flamingos!

Quilts for kids

Over at Carol’s Crafty Creations, I learned about “Quilts for Kids”, an organization that transforms discontinued, unwanted and other fabrics into quilts that comfort children in need. These children are fighting a life battle with cancer, AIDS, and other serious illnesses.   They also gift quilts to abused children.

If you sign up, they send you the fabric for the top and the backing of the quilt, you supply the batting, thread and your time.  If you’re able to make a duplicate quilt from your own fabric stash, all the better.  

I’ve signed up, and I hope some of you will too!

On Saturday, Jim and I are headed over to Huntington, Arkansas to visit Mama’s Log House Quilt Shop, highly recommended to me by my Bernina dealer back in Missouri.

It’s a bit over two hours each way, but I’ve been told it is well worth the visit!  The store is in a 200 year old log cabin, and normally only open two days per week, but this weekend they are having a Super Bowl sale, so I asked Jim to make the trek with me.  I understand the owner and several of her customers all have Bernina 830’s, which I was excited to hear, they may even know of others closer to me.  They also use my dealer in Missouri, even though there is one much closer to them over near Fort Smith.  I guess I’m not the only one willing to stick with a dealer 180 miles away!