Some New Things to Enjoy- I Sure Did!

Here are two darling owls. If you belong to my chatroom on Yahoogroups.com, you know what this is all about. I give out patterns occasionally to people who want to join the block group. Each person makes enough blocks for one for each person who joins. Then they have enough for a quilt or a story quilt etc. Very fun. Stephanie from Western Washington who has long been a friend of mine sent me a photo of hers. Made me smile BIG. To join, simply type in Yahoogroups.com and the name of the room is Mary Lou and You or Mary Lou Weidman. NICE people in there and we have all made lovely friendships through this group. If you only lurk, please join someone else's group. :0)

To see Stephanie's blog, just copy and click this....http://kwiltzbystephanie.blogspot.com/----------------------------------------

This colorful and whimsical quilt was made by Lorraine who came to my retreat last June (there is another one coming up this June (4 day story quilts). Lorraine, had the whimsical spirit and everyone loved her happy birds. She calls it "Beware My Darling of Snakes In The Grass." I think the date on her camera is wrong....

And finally GOOD news! Mel and I sent in the second edit of our new book due to come out in July. What a relief to have it in the mail! Phew. It is snowing like crazy here again and to think it will be coming out when it is hot here.

More Snow Today and a note from my friends about Being Thankful...

It is still snowing here and it has snowed more now than it did all last year. Can you believe it?
I wanted to share something that my friend Mel MacFarland wrote me a long time ago...I bet she forgot.
"Be Thankful"
"Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude"
"Thankfulness is much more dependant on attitude than circumstance."
"When you feel the lack of what you don't have, thank God for what you do have!"
"At anytime, there is more going right in life than there is wrong. It's just that the "wrong" makes alot more noise than right!"
Jim Stevens
I loved this because it is so true-don't be a half empty glass, be a half full glass. Life is much sweeter that way and you have expectations of all good things to come to you and it happens!

Baby It's Cold Outside and Musings About This Time of Year

Well, Thanksgiving is Over and the turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce and everything else is put away. I made myself a sandwich today as I went over the second edit for the new book that Mel MacFarland and I wrote-"Out of the Box Easy Blocks-Free and easy blocks the FUN way." I can't remember the exact title but it is something like this and hey it is the most fun and easy blocks you will ever make and they all make something wonderful. Just wait until you see the cute Baby quilts, the party quilts and the kids quilts. Not to mention a great idea for quilts for your Bee friends for their birthdays etc. I think this is going to be a super seller book. More important it will be a book that you will make a quilt from and it will be a quilt that will be kept and remembered because it is fun and something people who see them will love. I am hooked on these!
As you can see it is very cold here in my city and there are many homeless here. It is common for people here to give money to the woman's shelter and also the shelter for little kids. I think that is wonderful. My big charity here for me is to buy pajamas for the men who are homeless and have no where to hang their heads. I heard a minister friend of my daughter's talk about a week he spent here in the shelter with his old garden jeans and no money in his pockets to experience what it is like. The one story he told that I really listened to was his pajama story. He said that at night all of the men who sleep at the local mission must take a shower and put their clothing into a locker. They are provided with pajamas. He is a tall young man and they only had pajamas that were too small. He put pajamas on that were animal print with tools on them. The pants came to his knees. He said it was pretty humbling to have the homeless point and laugh hard at you! Then he went on to tell about the nice men who had fallen on hard times and the breakup of the family and how it impacts young men to make bad decisions. At night when the men go to sleep, women come in and wash and repair their clothing or give them new clothing if theirs is really bad. It is a lovely thing and many people across the US come to Spokane because they have a reputation of turning lives around at the Mission.
I started buying pajamas once a year. I sell those scissor necklaces when I travel and teach and my share of the money goes to this charity. My friend named it "Jammie for Jimmy's." So it is that time for the sales on pajamas and I will be going down to buy them and drop them off. It is lovely because no one knows who does this and they have warm flannel pajamas to put in in this - degree weather. It is so cold here!
Today was a nice day to stay in. My Granddaughter spent the night and we watched cartoons and drew fairies and colored and also turkeys. It was fun as she is a good little artist. My Grandson is coming at 8:30 tomorrow morning and he will have all kinds of things he will want to do. He is an artist too and loves to build things with junk he finds just like his Dad. It keeps you young to be with young people who love art invention. If you are at a standstill creatively, invite a young person over to make holiday things. If you don't have young family, invited a neighbor child and their Mother over. You will be surprised what ideas kids have that you had forgotten. They think so wonderfully.
I am going to write me next newsletter on Sunday. My Grandma made the best pie crust in the world and my Aunt made the best fudge "Don't give this recipe to anyone fudge." It is awesome. I am posting those and some of my favorite links for you to visit.
I hope you are having a nice week this week and that you are warm with a place to lay your head,something good to eat if you want it, something to make you laugh or smile, and someone to love you (including your pet). This is what makes life rich and not all of that junk they show on tv. There are alot of people out there that have every "thing" anyone would want and they are sad and lonely. If you have love and an appreciation of Dod's blessings to you, you have it all.

Dressed YOUR Turkey? Look at THIS! Thank you Sandi!

HAPPY HAPPY THANKSGIVING NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE WITH OR WHAT YOU ARE DOING...EVEN IF IT ISN'T THANKSGIVING WHERE YOU LIVE, I AM THANKFUL FOR YOU!

Thanksgiving Winter Wonderland Here and being Thankful First

Hi Everyone, it is a winter wonderland here and note my garden angel whose wings are sure white snow! It is still snowing out there and I am in hopes my husband will bring home some fresh sage and cream cheese on the way home. Brrrr, the temps are single digit...
Today my daughter called to say my little Granddaughter Mary came to her and said "the guy on the tv said "shut up" but he really said "please shut up" so it was sort of good." She is 4 years old. :0)
I am sorting and working on things and am thinking of many things I am thankful for.
I spoke to my Aunt who has terminal lung cancer but is hanging in there for life's little joys-she is happy for Thanksgiving and her Grandson's Andrew the taxidermists 21st birthday on Saturday. I am thankful for Bonnie because I have learned what little you are thankful for when you are so ill. If you can breathe, walk, hurry along in this fast paced season, give Thanks!
I am so thankful for each of you who check in here for inspiration and a little joy. I am thankful for the term Mari gave me called "joyology." I am thankful my 6 Grandchildren are joyologists." I am thankful for quilters who smile and laugh and are also touched by a sentimental story or something needed by a fellow quilter. They are there to help every time. I am thankful for my Bernina 730 which makes sewing a pleasure and goes through hours of sewing and never complains,I am thankful for the great blogs that I visit that have color and fun in them. I am thankful for Sandi and Debby who always comment on my blog even on days when I want to quit doing it. I am thankful for husband who goes out and works way to hard and comes home exhausted and sore and then goes back the next day. I am thankful for a phone call from a friend I haven't talked to for awhile. I am thankful that my daughters go and visit people who are in places that are lonely and sad and that even though the people they visit don't often remember them they love seeing the faces of my Grandchildren because not many youngsters come to those places. I am thankful for a nice house, warmth, food in my refrig., clothes in my closet because honestly I know that many people do not have these things and long for them. I am thankful for things to share with others, I am thankful for people who want peace and friendship and I am thankful when my friends don't speak of such things as politics because that seems to divide up and I want to unite in friendship. I am thankful for my new Benartex fabricline (The Best Of Mary Lou) with the cheerful quilters that I will have on my new website in January for anyone who wants pretty, colorful fabrics with a bit of whimsy, I am thankful for friends who have a passion of quilting, friendship, someone to love (even dogs and kitties), places to teach, people who teach me and the many blessings that God ALWAYS has for me if I just open my eyes and see them. And last, I am thankful that there will be turkey here on Thursday and my three wonderful children and their spouses and my Grandkids and we will all be thankful together!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Dear Friends,
Mary Lou (who is living in a winter wonderland)

Val's Quilts from My Retreat IN Idaho this year- New dates here for Next Years" Mary Lou Happy Go Lucky Retreat"

Below is the lovely Val who came with her boss from Ontario Oregon to my retreat last June. She was loads of fun and today she sent me her photo of the quilt she did! Pretty creative and fun I would say. I am doing another retreat next June the 13,14,15,16,and done the afternoon of the 17th-when we go to dinner at the Dockside restaurant in Coeur d'Alene Idaho. My book with Mel McFarland comes out in July so I will have new things to show you and we will have alot of story quilt fun! Hope you can make it.

Isn't Val a great model? Better than Vanna I think and the dog makes it even better. Both Val and Heather who owns the quilt shop are really pretty...and thin.

Val, I love your happy border and the use of rick rack and bees in there! Great job!

To see Val's friend HEATHER'S quilt shop go to http://www.thecharmshack.com/

if this link doesn't work then just copy and paste-that is what I did! Hope they are showing hoochy fun there. Poor Heather had to leave as she had a death in the family the day she got to Spokane. Bummer. Val stayed and took lots of note!

Hey if you are ever in the vacinity of Ontario, Oregon, go and visit this wonderful shop!

Free Pattern and this and that to inspire....

The turkey above was taken from a friend's yard...isn't this cute and wouldn't it make a great quilt? Inspiration is every where!
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I thought I would share some photos while I clean out my files to make more room for new photos. I can't delete anything without thinking about it and there are some good things here to share with you....some of them "again" but we have so many new people in here that it might feel like the first time they saw it. :0)
Isn't amazing how a stripe fabric can make a simple block look complicated...this was from a border done by Giner DeValue in a class of mine....her color sense was great too!This was a quilt photo that someone sent me a long time ago. I have kept it in my files because it is so darling..... Great idea for a story and a nice memory of MomAs you already know I LOVE angels and they are even lovlier with leaves, birds and colors of Autumn.....This angel has a smile on her now..she is tucked away somewhere....

Here is a closeup of some Hoochy Mama blocks I was fooling around with...love those brights!

The word below was put together by my friend Pam Hansen. I wanted some samples for quilts and also for the new book. She did this scrappy with bright colors and I love it....it is going to be in a quilt one of these days for fun! great job Pam.Had to show this quilt again that was done by Carol from Panama. This was before she got all of the faces and embellishments on it. The colors are so pretty. This is my block of the month pattern for angel lovers. :0)
Here is a better view of Gretchen's quilt from my John C. Campbell "Plaid to Meet You" class. Just wait until January and I will have my plaids for sale here...they are so pretty!
I wanted to enlarge this pretty quilt to show you the details and color. As it says in the right column it was made for her daughter's friend. isn't this a nice gift? This is an older pattern of mine that I did for a magazine....just thought you might like the idea of cats and birds and leaves and color and plaids.... free pattern below

http://dev.karl.sites.ckmedia.com/articles/catty_rompus_applique

Baltimore,Maryland welcomes stitchers and artists alike!

One thing that Balltimore had was wonderful row houses....I wish I had gotten more photos of them. Some were interesting in that every single door was a different color and the posts were different etc. People sitting out on the stairs and stoops and it was interesting to see how they lived and the little kids played out front. We take our yards forgranted but there, no yards to play in and no backyard barbeques -everything right out in front...neighbors have to love each other or.....

Baltimore is a place with many cultures and languages and tastes...some of the most beautiful grocery stores are here.

Here is something you don't see every day....a three story flamingoI thought this poster was a good one....loved the purples.....

Bet you never saw this before....a sweater knit for a tree- me either

Isn't this a great sign for a knitting shop? Loved it!

Menu flowers...what a great idea-and loved the font of the "soups on"

The trees in Baltimore were so pretty.....lovely reds, oranges and golds all on one tree

All of these faces were spitting into the same fountain....hmmmm, how could you turn this into a quilt? Maybe bugle beads...... The faces are great and whimsical.....

Loved this crazy Duck outside the Visionary art museum in Baltimore....Gee I left out this great flower "pot" photo.....isn't this cool? I wouldn't want it in my yard but it is rather lovely....

Paper Moon in Baltimore-And YOU think I have an imagination????

Isn't this sign exceptional???? I loved it and all the junk on the Moon part.....

Wow, while I was in Baltimore, I stayed an extra day and Didi picked me up and took me to a Museum (I have photos to show later on of that) and also a fab place called "Paper Moon." It is an eating establishment but we only ordered something cold for walking back to the Museum parking lot. Lots to take photos of and imagine in quilts.

I don't know if this person had a thing for collecting toys and maiquins or what but they were all over the place along with sinks, toilets, and bathtubs filled with flowers, leaves and vines...so cool....but I don't think my husband would appreciate them in between my bottle trees...I still love the idea of glass tree like the ones in the next blog below though.

Awesome building colors!

This is just one of the walls inside the eatery....how much dust do you think these things hold?

Hey, I love my shadow in there....she's always with me

Ever seen this shade of bath tub? Me either.......

Ever thought about Pez Holders for a window curtain?

If you could get the faucets to work, you wouldn't have to worry about watering these....

Someone gave this poor girl a black eye.....

This elephant was on top of the building....

Cool birdhouse and sculpture out of silverware on the right.....

I love lime green but wasn't crazy about this on the girl....how about you?

Fun poster that was somewhat of a story quilt idea......IF you have ever eaten at Paper Moon, please comment....how was the food????

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I have to express my opinion here also. I have been reading about people who are angry about body scans and the like before they get on an airplane. I have already gone through many of the ones that they can see your whole body....no problem. I want them to see whatever they need to see because I want to be safe and to be able to come home to my family, friends and loved ones.

I cannot imagine why someone would want to cause trouble when they are only trying to make sure we are safe. Yes, it is a pain to wait and go through all of this but it is better than getting on an airplane with someone who has only bad intentions for innocent people. If people don't want scans and body searches, then stay home or drive somewhere. I want to be safe.