A Trip to Toulouse!

While in France, I knew I must see my dear friend, Katell. 

She couldn't travel to Paris during my stay, so she invited me to come to her home near Toulouse.

Of course, I accepted!

,

Only an hour plane ride south of Paris, Toulouse is a beautiful city.

       They call it "the pink city" because most of the buildings are made from brick.

Here is my lovely host and tour guide, Katell.  

We spent all afternoon touring the city, then drove to her beautiful home for a home-cooked meal with her family.   

This is just one of Katell's stunning creations that adorns her home.

The next day, "The Bees" quilt group came for show and tell!

I took dozens of photos, but will only show some highlights here.  

What a talented, fun, generous bunch they are!

 

Before The Bees arrived, Katell told me a surprise would show up.  

I had no idea what it might be.

Then Ana Maria walked through the door.  She had come from Madrid!  Wow!!

Ana and I both turned 60 this year, just a week apart.  

The trip to France was my celebration.  Hers is a trip to the U.S. with her husband.

Seattle is on their agenda, so I'll see her at my house in a week!

I'm so happy that I'll get to see her again soon.

After the quilt show and all the excitement, The Bees produced a beautiful lunch.  

We sat on Katell's covered patio and laughed and laughed and ate their wonderful homemade dishes.

Then it was time for me to return to Paris.  

Ana and Katell left me at the airport with a few little tears in my eyes.

It was truly a dream come true.

On the plane, I vowed to myself that I would return.

I've begun saving my pennies for the next trip already.

So many thanks to Katell, her family, The Bees and Ana!

I am amazed at how quilt-making creates instant friendships across the globe.

Quilt-makers are the kindest, most generous people I have ever met.

Wouldn't you agree?

Where Have I Been? Paris!

Still celebrating my 60th year, my husband and I visited Paris for our very first time!

It's a stunningly beautiful city, as you all know.

The best part for me was visiting quilt-maker friends whom I've met through this blog!

This is Christine (left) and Willemke.

Our first full day there, Willemke invited us to her apartment to see her quilts.  Wow!

The apartment itself was an inspiration.  In just 500 square feet, Willemke and her husband have lived for 45 years and raised their two girls. She created "shabby chic" long before it was popular.   

The show started with a stack of dolly quilts, each one exquisite.  Here are a few.

  Then she moved on to her quilt tops.  With limited storage space, she can store many tops, but not so many quilts.  Ready for an incredible show?  OK!

This one really stole my heart.  It's all linen plaids!

This one was featured in Quiltmania magazine recently.

There were many more, but I was too busy admiring to take photos of everything.

The next day, we met with Christine, who was raised in Paris, but now lives in Greece.  

She happened to be visiting Paris just a few days while we were there.  What luck!

Willemke showed us one of her latest creations.

Christine toured us through some of the shopping "passages" and invited us to her sister's apartment for champagne and caviar.  Ooh la la!

I feel so fortunate to have met these lovely women.  They made my trip so very special.

I'll be back with more from Paris and a special jaunt to Toulouse to see my dear friend, Katell.

A bientôt!  See you soon!

Flowering Snowball is Quilted!

Flowering Snowball  90" x 99"

I've been trying to quilt all my recent quilt tops myself, 

but this one was just too big for me to handle.

Thanks to the talented Sharon and her long-arm machine, this one is DONE!

I love the stitching she did--fresh, yet traditional--just the look I wanted.

I made the top last summer, in a quilt-along with Molly Flanders blog.

I used up most of my retro look fabrics,

and threw in a few large prints to add variety.

In the end, I just had to add more contrast.  

Luckily, I found this Anna Maria Horner fabric on sale for the back.

Voila!

You can see more Flowering Snowball quilts from 

last summer's quilt-along here.

"Garnet Hill" is finished!

"Garnet Hill" 68" x 52"

The making of this started over three years ago.  

The inspiration came five years earlier, 

when I tore out a photo of a rug in a Garnet Hill catalogue.

I liked the folk art feel of the rug.

And decided to go with a similar color scheme.

It was fun choosing fabrics for these blocks,

Throwing in some shirt plaids.

                                                         I appliqued the flowers for about a year, off and on.

When quilting time came, I thought I'd do it quickly, just outlining the flower edges,

                And the seams in the log cabin blocks.

I wasn't happy with the outline-only result, so I added many more rows of stitching.

It took a lot longer, 

But I'm very happy with the result!

First Three Rows of the 1718 Coverlet

I'm having so much fun with the 1718 Coverlet!

The first three rows are sewn together.

I'm sticking with the original colors as much as I can, 

adding a few Dutch repro prints, plus some stripes and dots.  

I'm also simplifying some of the blocks. 

This project is addictive!

My Latest Obession--The 1718 Coverlet!

Ever since my dear friend, Katell, posted about The 1718 Coverlet 

last January, my quilting mind has been able to think of little else.

  

I've been gathering fabrics, 

Piecing little 5 inch blocks,

 and brushing up on my appliqué skills.

There's a quilt-along on Facebook.  

They have a plan to finish the quilt by the end of the year.

Not me.  I'm giving myself until 2018.

I also went to see the tulips in LaConner / Mt. Vernon Washington, last weekend.  

Always a stunning show!