Thank you!

A girlfriend sent me the following story one day last week, and it put a smile on  my face.

A much needed smile!

Because what the story has to share is so very, very true!!

My girlfriends have rallied around me and made

me feel like l can get through the tough times ahead.

 l know they will be there with a shoulder and a tissue when l need to cry.

They will be there to make me laugh!
l am blessed with very dear girlfriends, and l treasure them!!

 

And l would like to thank all my blogging friends who have taken the time to check in on me.

My heart is warmed by the friendship and hugs  you offer me in an email.

What can l say, but that quilters are the best!!

Thank you.

 

My dear Dad has been diagnosed with lung  cancer.

He started chemo on Monday.

It won't cure him, but maybe buy him some more time.

At 80 years old, some might say he has had a good innings.

Those who know him know he had many more great years in him.

l already miss him.

See, he was the keeper of my garden. For the last 15 years or so,

 he would turn up every Monday and Friday mornings, and spend the day pottering.

We would make plans for the vegetable garden or new garden beds.

We would chat over a cuppa. And share a joke.

He would tell me about when he grew up.

l loved hearing stories about the olden days.

 

Its been a few weeks since he came. l still expect to hear his car

 and the welcoming bark of the dog to let me know he is here.

 

Life will change and there will be good days ahead.

And many wonderful memories to cherish.

And for those l will be forever grateful.

The last paragraph says it all!!!!

 

 

In an evening class at Stanford University the last lecture was on the mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of

psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.
Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality "girlfriend time" helps is to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very GOOD for our health.

 

He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym. There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged? Not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!
So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky.

 

 

So, let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends.
Thanks to all the girls in my life who have helped me stay healthy, happy, feeling understood,

  appreciated, and loved.

 

 

 

 

And just to leave you with a quilt, here is the latest group quilt

 my Sorrento sewing girls made.

 Its from Edyta Sitars book, Friendship, Strips and Scraps.

Slightly revised, but essentially the same.

We reproduction lovers even managed to use batik fabric!!

 

And here is happy birthday girl, Anne,

who seems mighty pleased with her quilt!

 



 

 Go find a friend and hug her.
Its for your own good health!!

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

 

 

 

 

 

Lifes challenges.

Life has thrown me a few curve balls

 these past few weeks,

 and l have taken some time to come to grips

 with them and the future implications.

 

Life will change and evolve,

 but never be the same again.

There will be good time and bad times.

 There will be laughter and tears.

l pray for strength, courage and wisdom,

 when those around me don't.

Life is a challenge, and l think l am prepared now.

 

 

l took some time out this weekend to sew at Sorrento with my dear sewing pals.

They give me so much strength. Sewing is a balm for my heart.

l gave that machine a fair working out.

 Catching up on promised birthday quilts that have been

 patiently waiting till after our recent exhibition.

l completed 2, then gave myself permission to make a quilt for myself.

There are still 4 more birthday quilts waiting.

l hope to get back to my machine again soon!

 

A bright spark on the weekend was seeing this on a blog.

 

 

 

My first ever quilt to be published  in  Quiltmania

And  l made the front cover!!

 

Life has funny ways of giving us highs and lows!

 

Thanks to those dear friends who checked up on me.

 

 

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

 

 

 

 



Special Announcement!!

Today is a special day. It's my 200th post.

 

Just to show how it all started, here is my very first post!!

Today is a new day. l have been considering starting a blog for some time,

 as l read others and get great enjoyment from all that you share.

It's time to give back. Who knows where this will lead, and how

  many adventures will come from knowing you all. It may end up

 in the bin at the end of the day. Please bear with me as l feel my

 way round, learn the ropes and decide on a game plan. l will share

 my quilting adventures, of which there are many, both past, present

 and future, and hope you enjoy the ride with me. When l figure out

 how to add photos, there will be plenty.

 Thanks in advance to those who read and follow.

Linda

 

 

Who knew way back in April 2010 that l would still be here,

blogging and having a great time. All of the above is still true.

l still get great enjoyment reading other blogs. l have a game plan.

l have had many, many adventures. And some of those adventures have been shared

with bloggers and quilters l have met along the way. Lots l now call friend.

Many of you have shared the ride. The joys, the highs and the lows.

 And l kept my promise of plenty of photo's.

 

 

And to celebrate this special day, l have my first self published pattern to release.

 

It all started when the decision was made to visit NYC in March 2011

for the Infinite Variety Exhibition. Most of you have read all about it on

 blogs over the past 18 months.

My daughter came to NYC with me, and as her special O birthday was that year,

l decided to make her a quilt. A Red and White Quilt.

So together we looked at all the photo's l took at the exhibit,

 and she chose 6 quilts that appealed to her.

 l chose from those 6 which one l would make.

This quilt instantly appealed to me. And as DD loves lots of open space

 for quilting, this one just seemed to fit the bill.

And Infinite Variety Revisited was born.

 

Over  the many months that followed l made slow progress on the quilt.

So many red and white quilts were in my head from that exhibition,

 and we decided at QITB that we would hold our own R&W exhibition.

To be honest, l have not counted how many R&W quilts l have made over

 the last 18 months, but l know Infinite Variety Revisited took the longest,

 as others jumped the que. Finally it was finished, and

 l sent it to be quilted by Helen Hayes,

 who's quilting my Daughter had always admired.

l knew she would turn it into a very special quilt. And she did.

 Thank You Helen for the superb quilting.

 

The binding was finally completed 2 nights before we hung the exhibition.

As DD wandered the exhibition over the next few days, l asked her several

 times which quilt was her favorite. She always answered MINE!!

Its taken longer than l hoped to make this quilt.

But its been a wonderful journey of discovery.

l have found there are still R&W quilts l want to make.

 

And so at long last here is Infinite Variety Revisited.

 

The front Cover!

 

 

The Quilt!

 

The Inspiration Photo!

 

Huge thanks to everyone who voted. There are certainly many lovers

of Red and White quilts out there in Blog Land.

 

And the 4 lucky winners of my pattern are Cheryl, Kathie, Merilyn and Lesley.

 l will be sending you an email.

 

As the voting stands, here are the quilts in order that scored the most votes.

And l am pleasantly surprised to see that our viewers choice

 from the exhibition is also our most voted for quilt here too!!

Fiona, who stitches with me once a month, made this quilt,

especially for our exhibit. Its been a crowd pleaser!!

 

1st.

 

2nd.

 



3rd.

 



 

 

Tonight the house is quiet and empty.

All my international guests have gone home.

 Its been a fun filled 4 weeks.

Over the next few posts l will share some of our adventures during that time.

 Many of them included quilts or quilting.

l look forward to sharing them with you.

 

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

 

 

 

 Have opened an Etsy shop to sell the pattern.

This is the link. QuiltsInTheBarn.

 

As a special incentive to buy my pattern,

l am going to donate 50% of the pattern price for the rest

 of this month and all of  November to Breast Cancer Research.

l will be adding more patterns in the near future.

 

If you are a shop owner, please contact me for wholesale inquiries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Quilts, Quilts, More Quilts!! And a giveaway!

 

 Here are front on shots of most of  the larger quilts that we had hanging.
They are numbered for a reason.
Don't forget to click on the pictures for a closer look.
 

 

#1  

 

#2

 

#3

 

#4                              #5

 

 

#6



#7

 

 

#8

 

#9

 

#10

 

#11

 

#12

 

#13

 

#14

 

#15                #16            #17

 

#18

 

 

#19

 

#20

 

#21

 

#22

 

#23

 

#24 

 

#25

 

#26

 

#27

 

#28

 

#29

 

#30

 

#31

 

#32                   #33                   #34

 

#35

 

#36

 

#37

 

#38

 

#39

 

 

#40

 

#41

 

#42

 

#43

 

#44

 

#45

 

Tell me which quilts are your favorite and why!!

Is it the color? The design? The Quilting?  Or just because!!

Yes, you can choose more than one.

 

We ran a viewers choice during the exhibition,

and l will be interested to see if the same quilt is a winner again.

So please join in. And l hope you enjoy seeing these quilts.

 

l will choose 4 random winners on Friday.

 

My next post will be my 200th.

And l will be releasing my first Self  Published pattern.

Each of the winners will receive a pattern and a QITB pin.

 

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Come walk around the Barn with me.

Come walk around the Barn with me.

 

The photos were taken over several days

and some quilts and props were moved during this time.

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

l hope you enjoyed your walk around the exhibit with me.

l will be back soon with some individual quilts.

And a very special announcement and giveaway.

 

Thanks for visiting.

Linda.

 

 

 Due to the huge volume of spam comments l have been receiving,

which you don't see, but my inbox does,

 l have changed who can comment to

Registered User - includes OpenID.

l hope this does not stop you leaving a comment,

as l always enjoy hearing what you have to say.