June 26, 2014 - Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary.......not long for folks our age, but it's been a good four years.   We've had our ups and downs and we're all the stronger for it all.  

Here we are.....taking our first steps together as husband and wife.

If you notice the charms hanging from my bouquet, one has a picture of Tim's dad and the other one has a picture of my parents on their wedding day......even though they are not longer with us, they were with us on this special day.

This is our aisle runner......I stenciled it myself with our initial "M" and the date.  I still have it and I'm thinking about making it into wall hanging.

This was our wedding cake.....we did individual tiers instead of layers, the tiny bride and groom were the ones used by my mom and dad, ad well as the cake knife.   Special memories.

Another busy day.......

Well, the West Virginia Quilt Festival 2014 is a wrap!   Held in Summersville, WV every June, it was a lot of work and there were a lot of beautiful quilts on display along with lots of vendors!!!

My Thimbleberries Village quilt received an Honorable Mention ribbon---not bad considering it was a BOM kit......I am very happy with it!

This is Sue Papouschek and me-----Sue owns Willowcreek quilting and she did the amazing quilting on my quilt!   Thanks Sue!!!!

Here's Beverly H. with her quilt!   It is a Kim Diehl pattern entitled "Private Garden" and is absolutely gorgeous!   Sue also quilted it!

Cathy S. also had a cute wall hanging in the show....."Snow Happens".....here she is with it!

Barbara J. won 1st Place with her quilt West Virginia Backroads.....also quilted by Sue Papouschek!!!!  Way to go ladies!

Tresha C. won an Honorable Mention for her quilt, "Patriotic Pinwheels".  It was recently published in Love of Quilting's Easy Quilts magazine!

My daughter, Heather did the embroideries on these and I finished it up...we received a third place ribbon!

 

Then of course, I had to buy a few things.....

And although we didn't have all of our group there, we did get a group shot on Saturday!

                                            Barbara J., Sue P., me, Cathy S. and Beverly H.

Cathy's daughter, Heidi, won a door prize.......the Baby Lock "Rachel" sewing machine!  Here's Cathy with the vendors who donated it!   Sew Many Blessings Quilt Shop and Quarters and Bolts Quilt Shop!

That's all from the Quilt Festival...............more later!  :)

Hmmm....

I've got more sewing to do, so I'd better get to it.   I think that's why last night I dreamed that I had to make 20 aprons as favors for a quilt guild meeting---and this would be the morning of the meeting!   I think I need to go get in front of the sewing machine.  Lol!

Where does time go?

Well, it's been almost a year since that last post.....in which I said I would be posting more often.  LOL!   So much has happened since then.....some good, some bad, but here we are in June, 2014.   I have started a Sewing and Alteration business from my home and it continues to go well.  I have been very busy this spring with curtains, prom dresses and now we are moving into wedding season....  

I received one wedding dress today for a few alterations and will be getting another one next week to work on.   I really enjoy making these beautiful brides happy.

On the personal side of things, all is going well, I haven't been doing as much sewing/quilting as I would like due to the business, but being busy is a good reason not to have much done.  I have managed to finish a small wall hanging and a large bed sized quilt that will be in the West Virginia Quilt Festival next week.  I've also finished up a "little quilt" to donate to the guild to be auctioned off.  

 

Above, wall hanging made by my daughter Heather Maxey and myself---before the binding!

 Paper pieced pattern from Paper Panache for the silent auction.

 Thimbleberries Village Quilt - the back---quilted by Sue Papouscheck of 

Willowcreek Quilting in Smithville, WV.

In addition, I have created a small wall hanging as part of a challenge for the WV Quilt Festival.  The theme was a "scavenger hunt" and there were 30 items that could be included.....it must contain at least five things from the list and one of those five had to be a "chief."  I managed to include all 30 items!!!  The entries are voted on by the visitors to the quilt show and the winner receives a prize.  I'll let you know who the winners are!

I even made a small map to show the location of all 30 items and attached it to the back.

On Wednesday, my husband and I were lucky enough to have tickets to the Elton John concert in Charleston, WV.   It was an awesome show!   What else can I say?

Last night, Thursday, was our local guild meeting.   We had quite a bit of show and tell---and some finished UFO's!  

A few weeks ago, several friends and I went to Columbus, Ohio for the 45th Annual NQA Show.   I realized that the first "big" quilt show I attended was the 25th Annual NQA Show that was held in Charleston, WV---at the very beginning of my quilting journey.   This one was a little bittersweet, since I attended that one with my mom, who has since passed away.   However, this one was just as special, because I made such wonderful memories with my good friends, Cathy S., Beverly H., Sue P., and Barbara J!   We had quite an eventful trip, and made quite a splash when we showed up all wearing our purple t-shirts with the quote, "Friends don't let Friends Quilt Alone!"      I was especially lucky because the quilt I entered, my round robin entitled "Back to the 30's" received a first place ribbon in the Group category!  I was and still am ecstatic !!!

Another dear friend, Cathy S. and I have one of our quilts hanging in the Division of Culture and History at our state capital in Charleston, WV.   We didn't receive any awards, but we were selected to hang, so that is wonderful.   Our dear friend, Tresha C., however, was awarded second place for her quilt and also will be receiving a cash award for her quilt "Raising the Roof!"   Way to go Tresha!!!!