Wow

While perusing my favorite blogs this morning, I ran across this link to the winners of the Sydney, Australia 2007 Quilt Show. All I can say is "wow." Can you imagine doing that much applique?! And the quilting...it's just as detailed. You must check out the back of the quilt. It's as gorgeous as the front! You would definitely have to put me in the looney bin after making a quilt like that. My brain would be mush.

Class updates

Just a quick reminder that it's not too late to sign up for the X-block class this Saturday, July 28. The quilt below is called Venetian Tiles, and is yet another one of the possibilities you can make with the x-block technique.

If there is room, and if I can convince my DH to help me with the shop, I'm going to participate in Saturday's class also! I don't plan to be in there the whole time, but I am very excited about the quilt and these fabrics that I picked out this afternoon! These fabrics might just be enought to keep my rear firmly planted in front of the sewing machine all day.

For those that have asked or silently wondered about the Random Access class on Saturday, Sept. 8, these pictures are just a portion of the Tony's finished quilt top. (It's absolutely humongous, but don't worry - you don't have to make yours that big.)

The general idea of the Random Access quilt is that you start with one fat quarter for each block you want to make (if you want 20 blocks, you need 20 fat quarters). You cut them all up and put the pieces in bags. As you sew, you blindly (this is the random part) pull pieces from different bags. The rule is that if you haven't already used the fabric you pull out in your current block, you have to use it. I know some of you may be feeling faint at the idea of not painstakingly matching the fabric for each block as you sew. But that's exactly why you should take the class. Fabrics don't have to match perfectly, and this quilt will be a good exercise in letting go of your control just a bit and letting the quilt take over.

And just in case you might wondering if I even make quilts anymore, here's my proof.

Well, it's not a whole quilt, but it's the third block for the Rosebud Lane block of the month. I think this is my favorite one so far! My goal is to have the whole quilt top finished by the third Saturday in August. Now that I've put that goal in writing, maybe I'll be more inclined to stick to it.

X-blocks are coming to Around the Block!

If you don't know about this technique, it's a very cool, very simple way to get a ton of quilts out of just one block. That's right, I said one block. Patricia Pepe is the genious behind this technique, and you can read more about it and see more quilts on her website.

Around the Block is holding a class on X-block quilts on Saturday, July 28, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The class will be taught by Dottie Lankard. Dottie is one of a group that won the Hoffman Challenge in 2005. Needless to say, she's an excellent quilter. You don't want to miss the opportunity to learn from her.

Here are just a couple of Dottie's X-block quilts (sorry for the terrible photography):


Call or e-mail us at the shop to sign up!

That's (Quilt) Show Biz

Hello everyone! Hopefully there are lots of new people reading this blog, because Around the Block was a vendor at the Jubilee Quilt Show in Dewey, Oklahoma this past weekend. We had a wonderful time and met lots of new people. It was also good to see my fellow quilt shop owners, catch up with them, and talk about the joys and sorrows of owning your own shop. We don't get the chance to visit very often!

Besides the people, it was a lovely show. Lots to see, for sure. Here are a few of the quilts that caught my eye.




We (the DH and I) rewarded ourselves after the show on Saturday by going to the movie theater to see the new Harry Potter movie. I hate having preconcieved notions (good or bad) about a movie, so I'll just say this: If you liked the others, go and see this one. I'm not going to give anything else away. With that said, I am highly anticipating the release of the 7th and final book (which now that I think about it might be today?). I've read all the others, but it's been so long that I'm going back and re-reading books 5 and 6. I tend to read very late into the night which I've discovered is not good for retention.

It was a very fun but very exhausting weekend. It was topped off by our air conditioner quitting on us. So I've been doing very little at home - I even broke a sweat unloading the dishwater. My dear hubby is on the case though, so we're hoping it will be fixed by this evening when we get off work. Otherwise, I may be spending quite a bit more time at the shop!

Our "magical" week

We're back from vacation and diving headfirst back into quilty endeavors. But before I tell you about that, let's recap the vacation, shall we?

Our first full day in Florida, we went to Daytona Beach. I'll spare you those pictures. I will say I was suprised by the extreme lack of attractive people. Afterall, it's Daytona Beach. You expect bleached-blonde, slender girls and muscular guys to be as abundant as seashells. Not the case. On the bright side, I didn't see anyone in a Speedo.

Not too far from Dayton Beach is the Ponce Inlet, where the Ponce de Leon lighthouse is located. Since we were all pretty sunburned by 2:00, we left the beach and stopped at the lighthouse to look around.

Views from the top of the lighthouse, which you access by climbing a very curvy, very steep, very tall set of stairs.

Imagine my excitement when I discovered quilts at the lighthouse! These pictures are from the caretaker's residence. I had to take pictures through the glass since the house wasn't open to the public.


After we left the lighthouse, we headed for Orlando. The next morning we began our Disney parks marathon. Three parks in three days. In July. My husband did a little research and informed everyone that we were visiting Disney World on the third busiest week of the year. The busiest week is Christmas, and the second busiest is spring break. I still think I would take either of those weeks over the one we chose simply because of the heat. It reminded me of physics class. When the temperature rises, particles start moving faster and bounce off of each other. That's how I felt - like a particle, uncontrollably bumping into people as we trekked through the parks.

Not to say we didn't have fun and see some really neat stuff. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. My husband and I thought it was hilarious that the tram drivers and ticket takers would say, "Welcome to _______. Have a magical day." So it sort of became an inside joke to describe everything as "magical."

The first day we went to Epcot. My favorite part of Epcot is the "countries." Epcot has a lake surrounded by a street. Other streets offshoot from the lake like sunbeams. Each offshoot represents a different country, where the buildings, restaurants, and people area all meant to make you feel like you are in that particular country. We visited them all, but my favorites were Germany, China, and the UK. Here is a picture of one of the gardens in France.

We ate in Morocco. It wasn't the best food I've ever tasted, but it was interesting. We had some hummus, which I had seen on tv on the food network but had never tried before. I'm glad I tried it. I would have preferred Japan or China (I really wanted my husband to try some sushi), but some other members of our group didn't want "that stuff," so Morocco was a good compromise. My husband's cousin had a margarita in Mexico. She said it was good, but it was way too hot for a cocktail for me.

The next day we visited MGM (which I highly recommend, especially if you like movies), and our last day we went to Magical Kingdom. Having learned our lesson from the previous two days, we opted to wait until the late afternoon to go to the park. We arrived at the parking lot a little before 4:00. The first tram we got on caught on fire. It wasn't engulfed in flames or anything, just a small electrical fire. By the time a 2nd tram arrived and we took the ferry to the entry gates, it was about 4:15. I doubt the Magic Kingdom was any less crowded at 4:15 than it was earlier in the day, but it was certainly cooler. We rode some rides, and I got my face painted with a Tinkerbell inspired look. I was probably the only 20-something gal in the park with a painted face (except for the employees), but it made me happy so I didn't care.

We were killing time, taking a tour of Mickey's and Minnie's houses, when we came across this room in Minnie's house.

Who knew Minnie Mouse was a quilter? I never really was a big Minnie fan, but I have a whole new respect for her now. Her quilt hanging on the wall even has a blue ribbon.

We took the obligatory picture in front of Cinderella's castle. We stayed late for the fireworks, which were definitely the best I've ever seen. After manuevering through the traffic jam that ensued after the fireworks and picking up a few souvenirs, we headed home.

I would definitely go back, just not in July. For now, I'm ready to get back to quilting for awhile.