Victorian Stitchery Retreat

Because this is the last year that I am doing the retreat, I would like to have as many people as possible attend!  For that reason I am having a "sale" on the cost of the retreat.  If you enroll by Monday September 3,  you will receive $50 off of 4 days of classes, $25 off of 3 days of classes and $10 off of 2 days of classes.  I will need to receive your payment by September 3 to be able give you this discount.  If you would like more information on the retreat, you may click on the Victorian Stitchery Retreat button on the right sidebar and it will take you to my website where all the information is posted.  Please email me with any questions!  This offer does not apply if you have already enrolled.


Talk to you later,

Then on to Nebraska!

For the next part of our adventure we flew to Nebraska!  Allie is on the Quilt Alliance board and they were having their annual meeting during the day.  I found plenty to entertain myself with during the day!  I went to the Durham Museum in Omaha and it was nice!  Also, no day would be complete if a girl didn't go to the mall...

That evening the Quilt Alliance had an event called Quilters Take Omaha and it was held at the newly located Accuquilt headquarters.  Did you know that all employees at Accuquilt have to spend 2 hours a week on company time making quilts in their Dream Studio?  What a great company to work for!

One of the purposes of the Quilt Alliance is to document quilts and quiltmakers so their stories will not be lost.  Have you ever found an old quilt and wondered why the person made it?  Pictured above is Marin Hanson, Curator of Exhibitions for the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.  During the course of the evening several quilts were displayed and a video recording was made of the person speaking about the quilt's story.  Marin choose a quilt from the IQSC and she had three minutes to explain the meaning of this quilt.  All videos made by the Quilt Alliance are then filed in the Library of Congress and are available for viewing.  What a wonderful way to preserve quilt history!

One member of the board, Linda Pumphrey, was retiring from the board and she was gifted with an amazing portrait of herself made by up and coming artist/quilter Luke Haynes.  It was a wonderful evening but the BIGGEST reason for coming to Nebraska was going to happen the next day!  Be still my heart....

We traveled to the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln to see the crazy quilt of all crazy quilts!  Yes, we were taken to the storage area of  the facility and allowed to view....MY CRAZY DREAM!  Yes, that is the crazy quilt that is on Penny McMorris's book!  To tell you I was in heaven doesn't even describe it...do you see the smile on Allie's face?  It truly was a magical moment and that quilt is beyond description and NO picture around can do it justice!

It was the best ending for a very wonderful trip and two very happy crazy quilters!

Talk to you later,

The Rose Capitol of America!

Across the street from the Japanese Gardens is the International Rose Test Garden.  Portland is known as the Rose capitol of America, the area has ideal conditions for growing roses!  The Test Garden is composed of  over 10,000 plants and 4.5 acres of lovely smelling goodness!  I wish you could just smell what we smelled when we walked in the garden.  Absolutely every plant was blooming to perfection!

The colors of the roses were just stunning!

Is this rose really real?!

These looked like the paper ones you buy....but they smell much better!

This rose bush was growing in the middle of other surrounding roses....just love it!

There were also some beautiful fuschia's.....

 I really loved the rose gardens and they were free....no charge to look and smell!  It was wonderful....

More adventures to come....I'll keep you posted....

Talk to you later,

A Visit to Portland

Allie and I had been busy sewing for a couple of days and we decided to take a break and go to Portland!

First up, we went to the Japanese Garden.  It was a stunning display of 5 Japanese Gardens that are done to perfection.

 Japanese sculpture...

Crane scuplture...

An amazing waterfall!

The gardens were just so lush and green.  Everything in Kansas is so brown and burned from the heat, so it was refreshing to see all the greenery.  I had never really seen moss like they have there...it's just everywhere!

An amazing curved pathway...

 

The irrigation system...

The garden was full of all kinds of inspiration as well as interesting textures!  It was really an amazing garden to experience.  Attention is paid to every detail in the gardens!  We saw a woman on her hands and knees carefully pulling moss from rocks.  In the next couple of days, I'll tell you about our visit to the Rose Garden...my favorite!

Talk to you later,

Allie's House

Well I am finally back from Allie's house!  I had a wonderful time and she is the best hostess!  The picture above is a pink bouquet of flowers that she put in the bedroom I stayed  in.  Pink is my favorite color, so of course I was thrilled!

Allie set up a work station for me in her studio and as you can see, I am working hard and have already made a mess!  The creative juices were flowing in that room and we really had a great time creating together.

Here is the view from her studio, isn't is great?  This Kansas girl  had just come from 110 degree temperatures which she happens to love but it was in the 70's at Allie's.  I was so cold but it is just beautiful there because all the plants aren't getting burned up by the heat like they are at home.

Allie went out to water her flower's one day and I took the opportunity to practice using my camera.  Aren't these hydrangea's beautiful?

Not sure what these are called, but I love them!

Same with this one....

Hot pink snapdragons.....just lovely....

Poppies...one of my favorites too!

Of course, I had to stalk Allie and take a picture of her watering her beautiful flowers.

More to come of my adventures with Allie....keep checking back!

Talk to you later,