You might think I mistyped the title for this blog. But no, I made 2 trips to the Chicago area for two different guilds. I was home four whole days between the two trips. My first trip to the Windy City was for the Illinois Quilts, Inc. guild. Jim Pilarski, a simply wonderful guy, was my contact with the guild. He picked me up and took me to one of their local quilt shops where he teaches and we went to lunch at Jim’s favorite Chinese restaurant. I am sorry I forgot to take photos of the shop because it was awesome. (The photo below is from the shop’s website.) The name of the shop is Fabrics Etc 2 Inc. www.fabricsetc2.com Check out their website for a tour of the shop. If you live near Bensenville, Ill, or even if you don’t live close by I think a road trip might be in order! Jim was so organized and a great sponsor and the guild’s members treated me very well. I loved my trip to the Illinois Quilts, Inc. guild.
Here are some photos from the workshop. They are so hard at work they do not have time to look up!
One of the most exciting things for me was that a student, Carole Bates, had taken the Heard It Through the Grapevine workshop with me in the fall and brought her finished block. I love it. Carole added some additional elements including lots of hand embroidery and some cute little dimensional flowers in the center. Great job Carol!
I left Chicago for home Saturday night and on Thursday afternoon I was back at the Harrisburg International Airport heading back to Chicago. You know you travel a lot when the airline stewardess addresses you by name. “How are you today Mrs. Buckley”. The stewardess then asked if I was traveling with my husband. I looked at him kind of funny. I was sitting in a single isle by myself. He told me there was a Mr. Buckley a couple of rows back. The stewardess thought we might be having an argument! (I did not know the Mr. Buckley on the plane.) You also know you travel too much and do it from a small airport when the TAS people know you also! “Hey Karen where are you headed today?”
My next guild was the Salt Creek Quilters in Hinsdale, Ill. What a great group of ladies. Linda Kennedy and Karen Walton were the program chairs. I really enjoyed working with both of them. They took very good care of me by sharing the duties of picking me up at the hotel and getting me to the lecture and workshop locations and to some fabulous meals. I’ve said it many, many times before. Quilters know the best places to eat. Here are a couple of photos from the Kansas Rose, machine applique workshop.
Both of my trips to Chicago were rewarding. When people leave my workshops excited about what they have learned I know I did my job.
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I have not given you a book report recently so here goes.
Highly recommended by lots of students was “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” by Lisa See. The story is set in 19th century China. It tells the story of a lifelong friendship between Lily and Snow Flower. I learned a lot about the Chinese culture and was captivated by the writer’s story line. I would definitely add it to your list of must reads if you have not already read it.
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The next book was also recommended by lots of students and was also a very good book. I think it is my favorite book so far this year. The name of the book is “Still Alice” and was written by Lisa Genova. The book is about Alzheimer’s. The author has years of experience as a neuroscientist and writes a realistic story about Alice Howland who has early onset Alzheimer’s. The story is heartbreaking and hard to put down. You fall in love with Alice and feel for her mind altering changes. This is a must read book.
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Next is a book recommended by my friend Laura. The title is “Like Dandelion Dust” and was written by Karen Kingsbury. The story is about the perfect family. Everything is going great and then the floor falls out, so to speak. Jack and Molly Campbell have an adopted son. The biological parents want their son back. It is a heart wrenching story.
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And the final book for this blog, “The Murder of King Tut” by James Patterson and Martin Dugard. I listened to this on audio. I would rate this book as good but not excellent. It was fun to listen to while I was sewing. The authors story follows the death of King Tut and the stories that surround it.
Thanks to those of you who tell me you follow my blog and look forward to reading it. I look forward to writing it and sharing some of my experiences. My next adventure is to Houston, Texas. Hope the weather is better there than it has been here. The weather is living up to the saying “April showers bring May flowers”. There have been lots of April showers.