My Lovely Holiday to Paducah

My Sweetie took me on a holiday to Paducah Kentucky to visit the Paducah Quilt Show. This is part 1 of my report of this fantastic trip. I am a crazy quilter so I was very thrilled to discover a full size Crazy Quilt called, "Crazy About Ballet" by Linda Steele from Victoria Australia. This CQ is truly beautiful in every way. It must of taken her forever to finish this quilt. Below I have several close-up of the middle blocks. Congratulation Linda on this truly beautiful quilt. I was told by Libby Lehman one of my class teacher who also is a judge in selecting quilt for this show. Libby said, that over 600 quilts were submitted for this show and only 365 was selected to be shown. She stated it is an honor to be selected to show your quilt at this show and a real honor to win an award. Click on "Winning Quilts At Paducah" to see all the winning quilts.

The Ballerina Block.

The Cinderella Block.

The Blue Bird block.

The Christmas Block.

I really have a great appreciation of nature and wildlife and I really loved this quilt allot.

I instantly loved this quilt which I considered a "Family" quilt.

This quilt was created from a quilter from "The Netherlands"..

When I left Michigan it was very coolish and rainy. Most of our trip through Illinois was also rainy, coolish and very windy. But when we arrived in Paducah all of a sudden the weather became sunny, with blue skies and a glorious temps in the 70ishF. Truly wonderful for a Northern. As we were coming into Paducah I took several photo of all the glorious blooming flowers I could see. Here is some lovely "Azalea" Blooming.

I thought these "French White" Lilacs were stunning.

There isn't any tree more gorgeous than a Blooming "Red Bud" tree.

At the end of February an Ice Storm blew through Paducah and much of Kentucky. This photo is only a wee reflection of all the damage that was done to thousands and thousands of trees.

This is the most gorgeous Crab Apple Tree. It is so full with blooms. It made me happy just looking at it.

While I was in Kentucky my wee gardens were also blooming. It was a very pleasant surprise to see the sunny faces of my daffodils.

This is my first tulip to bloom.

And my Forsythia were also blooming. In the background you can see my "Trillium" just starting to come up in our woods.

In my next post I will show you some more of the "Minature Quilts" I really admired and some of the "Goodies" I bought along with my friends I met down in Paducah. Take care all,

Hugs,

Clay Cloth and Clover and Mother's Nature Beauty

This posting is dedicated to "A Special Friend," Sherry!!

Many years ago, Sherry became my "Friend"!! . I consider Sherry one of my "Real" friends. Friend I've gone through things with. Friends who've been there in the good times and the bad times. For them, I'd do anything, at any time. Sherry Friendship is rooted fast, it is a plant no storm can blast.

For many years, Sherry has been an "Art Teacher". She has taught many students the art of pottery and countless other forms of art. Sherry lives in the Panhandle of Texas, many miles from me. I truly admire Sherry's artistic talents. Actually Sherry and I have never met but the barrier of miles have not stopped us for becoming the best of friends.

Many years ago we wrote "Old Fashion" letters to each other and now it is the internet and lovely phone calls. Several years ago Sherry sent me some of her lovely buttons she created, and painted by hand. I am now very pleased to say Sherry has created her own blog called. "Clay, Cloth and Clover" and has also open her own Etsy shop. I hope you all will have a look at her lovely handmade painted buttons.


My Favorite weather is "bird-chirping weather"!!! Oh, how I love Spring In Michigan. Life is not about accumulating things; its about accumulating experiences. Next to sharing our-selves through love and work, appreciating the achievements of others, experimenting with our creativity, and most of all connecting with nature are some of the most satisfying ways of making the most of our time here.

My sweetie and I will be heading south for a wee vacation soon. I look forward to enjoying "Mother's Nature Beauty" along the way and spending some quality time with dear friends. I will chat again soon.

Hugs,

Embroidery Envelope, Lavender Sachet Heart, Etc

In a couple of weeks My Sweetie and I are going on a vacation to Paducah Kentucky. We will be meeting up with my long time dear friend Inge and her husband Jaap from The Netherlands. We will be attending the "American Quilter's Society Quilt Show" and are scheduled for a couple of classes together.

I am also very excited about meeting and taking a Brazilian Embroidery Class from Peggy of Virginia. I will also be meeting Rita from WV another Brazilian Embroidery teacher which I took my first online class from. So to prepare for the BE class I decided I needed a special needle case just for my BE needles.

I bought a "Crab-Apple Hill" pattern called "Arlyn's Embroidery Envelope" sometime ago and thought it would be the perfect case for these needles. I did alter it a bit and added my own touches to it by using all BE flosses. This needle case folds into thirds which I really like allot. Above is the front of the completed Embroidery Envelope with my touches. I made it from 100% hand dyed wools.

This photo is of the pincushion part and I added my handmade clay "Rose" button and sewed it on with lovely pale pink BE floss called "Boucle"!!

This is a photo of the large Sundries Pocket. I used some lovely ceramic Pansy buttons and added the lavender flower and hearts with variegated pink and lavender Boucle floss. The lavender silk ribbon I hand dyed some time ago.

I added a hand dyed lace dragonfly with beads to add some more bling to the needle case.

This photo is of the whole inside of the embroidery envelope. On the far right I created my own flaps for all my Brazilian Needles. I also embroidery the needle sizes and which threads to use them with on the flaps. There is a pocket for my scissors and to hold a "Laying Tool" or a pen.

This photo shows the whole front of the Embroidery Envelope. I used a lovely pink cording to tie the whole needle case together. I also added my "JG" initials and a Swarovski Butterfly Crystal to add more sparkle to my case. I added three rose buttons for wee flowers along with the Lavender spikes.

My Sweetie and I took a Sunday drive to "Ludington State Park" to enjoy nature and so he could play with his new treasure hunter. This is a photo of the inside of the park with its lovely beach and lake.

After a very long winter it is also so wonderful to see the "Sweet Awaking" of my garden flowers. Connecting with "Nature" are some of the most satisfying ways of making the most of our time here.

In May of 2006 my friend Heather took a trip to Alaska and brought me back a wee twig of an Alaska Fir Tree she scoop up from a ditch outside of Anchorage with a large spoon. It was just one stem with no branches when I received it wrapped up in a wet paper towel. This is now its 4th Spring of living in my sun room. I have changed it's clay pot twice as it has been growing. If you look closely you can see the wee green buds just about ready to create new branches. Sometime at the end of May I set it outside for the summer and bring it back in the sun room in late September. I reckon I will be keeping it safely in my sun room for a couple of more years before I get brave enough to plant it outside for good.

This is a photo of my wee Alaska Tree in the summer of 2008 when I transplanted it into its new pot. You can see it is truly growing each year.

I visitAnita's blog to admire her crafts and gardens. Anita's blog is called, "My Country Cottage Garden". When I saw Anita's Lavender Heart Sachets, I instantly fell in love with them. I wrote Anita and ask if she could create a "Happy Easter" Lavender Sachet Heart for me. I received my heart last week. Isn't it lovely? It is in my favorite color of pink with roses. And it smells so wonderful with the scent of Lavender. Thanks Anita. It hangs in my sewing room and I admire it everyday.

I read a wee article in the American Legionnaire paper that was written by a pastor and she said, the author is unknown. I thought I would share it with my readers.

Speak words of "Kindness". Seek out the good in people.

As you grow older, you will discover, that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, and one for helping others.

The Beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The true Beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows.

The beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

Celebrate Everyday with Passion, Purpose and Inspiration. Happy Spring, Happy Easter Everyone.

Hugs,