Tulips from Holland

Well my trip to Holland was sew much fun! Here is the 1st row of my "Tulips" from Holland, that I got done Saturday. Nothing like I had expected - I knew it would be fun but this was even better! Who knew that 5 hours could pass by so quickly!!! Now, I know what I have been missing out on all these months.... too bad I didn't start traveling last year b/c now that the twins are coming my travel time is gone!

Maybe this can become an annual event? and I do it again next year for my birthday - after all the twins will be 1 by then and surly David will have a handle on them by then... Only next time I want my friend Heidi to spend the day with me and make a mystery quilt too! :c)

I arrived a little late - thanks to David wanting to drive me there - (35 min. drive) so I was postponed with having to help get Nora ready for the day.... honestly, I think he is too scared to attempt to fix her hair! LOL Seriously, he wanted to take her to I-HOP and it was just across the street so it worked out fine for him to take and drop me off. :) Plus, another bonus was that with him dropping me off was I didn't have to lift or carry my machine - and I think that was real important to him... he is "Mr Safety" after all! :c)

Arriving late wasn't a good thing for me... b/c being the competitive person I am - and YES, I know mystery quilts are NOT a race - but for the first hour I was speedy every chance I could get so that I could get caught up with everyone else. I was so pleased at the end of the day to have completed my 1st row of tulips! Out of the 20-25 travelers - there were only 5 of us who completed "a row." Many of the others were lucky to get "a tulip" together as they spent a lot of time chit-chatting. :)

After I got home Saturday - I was lucky that Nora and her Daddy were working outside and I got another 2 hours alone to spend in my sewing room and completed all 56 tulips for the quilt! There will be 8 of each of the 7 colors. I haven't started to put together any more rows - as this project is not a priority. It is now added to my "to-do" list b/c I spent money on buying all the fabrics for the final boarders!!! and so I will have to get it done.

Months from now, when the time does comes and I get back to working on these tulips - PLEASE someone remind me that the LQS owner/mystery instructor INSISTED that the best way to set them was RANDOM!!! I have a hard time with "random" as I like to plan everything out. LOL


Oh, and the food was sooooooooooooo GOOD!!! I forget everything on the menu but we started out with Artichoke appetizers which I had never eaten artichoke before but these were very cheesy and very good! Then when lunch was served I stared out with the Split Pea Soup – again something I had never had – but really liked… (David about died when I told him all about the things I ate, he couldn't’t believe it!) I forget all the other things on the menu but they gave us all the recipes along with the pattern for the quilt - so it is all upstairs in the sewing room.

TGIF!!!

Well thank goodness Friday is Finally HERE! :) and all of my 2nd Annual HGTV FQ BINGO preparations are done-done-DONE!!! :) This years game start Monday 4/16 and I will be calling 2 number each Monday thru Saturday.

Last year was my first go of this game and it was SEW much fun!!! I was impressed with the response - we had 770 FQ's in the jackpot! Well this year was much bigger and better - I was floored with how excited everyone was to play again and also the new board members... can you guess how many FQ's the players put up for this years jackpot...??!!!#@!@#

1594 FQ's pledged by 145 players! ...and b/c I like working with even numbers I threw in 6 to make it an even 1600 FQ's!!! which = equals = 400 yards of fabric to be won!!!

I just can't imagine how big the 3rd annual game will be next year....? I will begin work on it as soon as this game is over and work on it a little at a time - ALL YEAR long so that next time I won't have to repeat the rushing frenzy of working so many late night hours to get all the bingo cards prepared to mail out at the last minute (lesson learned)

Different from last year where everyone was competing with each other for the one and only prize - (however 2 players tied on the same day) - in this years game, I have split the players up into two groups according to how many bingo cards they are playing with. Group A and Group B will each have a jackpot of 800 FQ's to be won. And if there is a tie within either group those people will split their group's jackpot.

Also a little different from last year I have made another category to be won called Outer Box. Our Grand Prize is for the BLACK OUT bingo - where you cover every space on your card - but b/c last year players wanted more winners I have come up with a prize to be given to the first in each group to make the BIG OUTER BOX on their bingo card. Those winners in each group will receive 10 FQ's and still remain in the game for the Grand Prize.

In addition to the joy that today is finally Friday - there is more! We all know what day comes after Friday - - - -SATURDAY! and tomorrow isn't just any Saturday - it is The INTERNATIONAL QUILT MYSTERY DAY at my LQS!

I have never participated in a IQMD at the LQS before although they've been doing it every month for over a year. It has become so popular among the "regular travelers" that you have to book your "trips" a few months in advance as the flights fill up fast. Luckily I was able to get a space reserved for this month as this is my early Birthday Gift from David! A day to quilt - a day out of the house - a day alone...well sort of. No Nora anyway! My 1st day away from her in 3 years! OK about a half a day from 9:30 - 3:30 :c) - I have been looking so forward to this day!

I am so glad I thought of this gift idea and hinted to him about it - b/c there would be no way for me to do something like this for my actual Birthday in July -after the twins have arrived. If I am successful at breast feeding them like I was with Nora then I will be a full time milk machine and no time to sew! LOL

OK, back to the International Mystery - This month is called "The Dutch Mystery" where we will be traveling to Holland. They always offer 3 color schemes and this month the choices were:

1 Flower Auction - fl orals
2 Delft - blues
3 Canal Sunset - reds, oranges

I choose the Canal Sunset - which is made up of Oranges and Reds. So out of the ordinary for me! But I thought it would be fun. After all, I live in Orange, TX - so this can be my 2nd Texas quilt - the first being my RR with the bluebonnets. :c)

That fabric on the far right is more red than it appears in the photo and I choose it as my accent fabric when cutting my kit. The directions didn't specify which to choose... so I am hoping I didn't go wrong... eek!

Apparently no one else visiting Holland was brave enough to book the "Sunset" tour like I did - b/c when I went by last week to pick up my kit for the pre-cutting they said I was the only one that selected "the oranges." hummm, really - well I think that is great! Mine will be the only one! No other duplicates out there! :) :) :) which was one thing I didn't like about Mystery Quilts from pre-cut fabric kits - several "just the same."

I have everything all packed up of what I may need tomorrow - except my favorite thread clipping scissors!!!

Can you believe I have 2 pair and can not for the life of me find either pair!? I always make sure I put them up in the same place every time b/c of my 3 year old... but they are not in the drawer where they always are! I have looked and looked!!!

Oh well, guess I'll have to make due with the old regular pair of scissors... or buy another pair. Too bad I didn't hide-a-way a pair at Hancock's last week with the seam rippers.... LOL!

Happy Weekend to everyone - and Happy "early" Birthday to me ;c) ~Bonnie