Spring Fling 2014…

Yesterday TEN of the Clubhouse quilters piled into two vehicles and sped off to Corona, CA..

Our first stop was Stars and Scraps Quilt Shop!  Yahoo…let the Spring Fling Quilt Shop begin…

This shop is my favourite…can you guess what this shop holds?…yup…it’s full of wool, Civil War Fabric, Homespuns and Traditional Quilts!  You need to peek inside…and drool!

They have changed the shop around…the till is to the left….

Straight into the shop…just look at all that goodness!!

And to the right…where the wool is!!

Lovely displays all over the shop to catch your eye…and hold it!

Loved this quilt…with the wee vine stitched around the perimeter!  Dang cute!

This one caught Sandy’s eye and the kit went home with her!

I loved this sweet mat…and yes it followed me home!!  Those darn snowmen get me every time!!

I own this pattern!!  (HAPPY DANCE!!)  It was a gift from the designer, Laurel from Simply Put…to see it made up, in person, well let’s just say I was thrilled to own the pattern!!  Thank YOU, Laurel!!  All three designs are MUST MAKES…and yes, all three are included in the pattern!!  You can order your copy HERE!!  Then you can then do your own Happy Dance!!

Everyone agreed that we could easily stay at the Stars and Scraps for a couple of hours…but we had FIVE more shops to ‘do’!  SEW…next stop was…The Quilter’s Cocoon!

To the right as you enter the Quilter’s Cocoon…you will find the Long Arm machines and all the gadgets, rulers etc needed to run one!

Head on…all the rulers, patterns and books…to the right is the Fabric (and YES, they had SALES Fabric!!)!

To the left was the till…and man it was busy!!  Yes, the quilting economy is alive and doing VERY well!

Something has caught Pauline’s eye…she is on a mission!

At The Painted Lady…there was room to breath…

…all of the Canadian quilters dove into this pile of wonderful FLANNELS!!  At $7.99 a yard it was a steal!! I wish you could feel it…Moda’s softest ever!  The rack was fullwhen we got there…but we grabbed most of the bolts and headed for the cutting table! :o))

We were told that this lady was the ‘crazy lady’ but to us she was nothing but sweet!  Each stop had ‘treats’ for us…but I must admit that the Trail Mix at this shop was sinfully delicious!

Chris getting her Flannel cut!  The flannels that were in her bag were gorgeous.  She has an eye for putting colours together!…Or did she just buy a yard of each?

Then it was off to The Busy Bee…

And yes, it was BUSY!

This shop had two long arm machines…with an instructor.  She gives you a lesson and then you can quilt your own quilt!  How fun would that be!

At Cherry Berry Quilt Shop we found a nice mix of everything…

I loved this quilt and the fabric called “Hearty Good Wishes”…I bought two candy packages.  The fabric isn’t batik but is slightly mottled…as close to batik as I’ll ever get!! haha  It reminds me of a day at the beach which I think is the idea!!

Eureka!!  Cherry Berry has gotten into wool…

And I like it!!

Georgina’s was our last shop…here it is full on!!  Lots to look at…

I was excited to see a table full of Simply Put Designs!! Once again… Laurel, a local quilter and designer, has the sweetest patterns EVER!  It’s sew nice to see her designs in all of the shops!

We have two more shops to visit…Monica’s and Quilter’s Faire.  Both are local Palm Desert shops so we can do those at our leisure. 

This year each shop gifted a FAT QUARTER of this fabric called “Dappled Migration”!!

We all agreed that this fabric would make the sweetest baby quilt!!

All the shops had made a quilt using this fabric and gave us a copy of the pattern so that we could make a quilt of our own.…

Here are some of the samples….

It was VERY GENEROUS of each shop as we know that these FQs can add up!!  SEW we THANK YOU!!

We once again had GREAT fun!!  There is NOTHING like going on a Quilt Shop Hop with a bunch of ‘like minded’ quilters!!  Always an adventure!!  Thanks again, Gina, for driving your man size truck!!  For such a little itty bitty thing, you did a man size job!

I think we need to do it all over again…SAME TIME NEXT YEAR!

Have a FUN FRIDAY….and Happy Stitching!~P

Painted Canyon…

On Tuesday we decided to hike the Painted Canyon which is about a 45 minute drive from Palm Springs.  I was actually excited about going as we haven’t hiked nearly as much as last year. 

Our dog, Molly is getting old…and has a collapsing trachea.  After our last hike up the mountain behind Palm Springs, Molly was wheezing and coughing like crazy and I find those inverted sneezes down right scary!  So I take the dogs for a good walk everyday but nothing gruelling.

This is the entrance to the Canyon…during the whole hike you are sandwiched between two mountain walls…really spectacular!

Sandy came with us…here we are checking out the wild flowers…yes we were surprised to find a few growing against the mountain.  Like the flowers, notice how we stick to the shade too! 

At the end of our hike this is what you find…ladders going up the crevice.  At the top of each ladder there is a small flat room with another ladder going up…

More adventurous hikers, without dogs, would consider this the BEGINNING of their hike.  The ladders take you up the mountain to a path that takes you to another set of ladders that take you down to another part of the canyon and back out to the parking lot.

Here’s Sandy checking out the first room…she agreed that it looked pretty cool!

All in all, it was a great hike…took us an hour and a half, which was just right as it was a hot day!  The dogs loved it…they haven’t been off leash for a long time and went wild running up and down the path…even Molly!!

Nothing quilty to show you today…BUT… TEN of the the Clubhouse Quilters are piling into two vehicles and heading down the Freeway…to EIGHT Quilt Shops (six today, two tomorrow)!!  It’s our ANNUAL Spring Fling Shop Hop!!  Yup, this Snowbirding is just one lonnnnng Quilting Retreat…shhhh… don’t tell hubby that!  He thinks we’re RVing!!

Have thrilling Thursday and Happy Stitching!~P

Wishful Wednesday…

Isn’t it wonderful when you find a kindred spirit quilting friend…you know what I mean…someone with ‘like styles’ in quilting…For me that someone would have to love wool, Civil War fabrics, Homespuns and traditional quilts!  It’s funny how you automatically tend to gravitate towards each other when you spot one of ‘your kind’! 

Well this year at Clubhouse Quilting, my kindred spirit is missing!  Family events prevented her from snowbirding down south this year…I have to admit, the old Clubhouse just hasn’t been the same without her!  I am talking about my quilting buddy and friend, Seattle Judy! 

Man, can this lady quilt…do you remember THIS QUILT?  Loved this one and Judy whipped it up in a matter of days….  She is also into wool…check out her wool creations!

She jumped on the band wagon when Anne (Cotton ‘n Wool) was hosting the Quilt-A-Long…and produced this beauty!

And Judy proved that simple is better when she made this four patch out of Civil War fabrics…be still my heart!

Well even thought Judy isn’t with us…(geeze I better reword that!!) … Even though Judy HAD to stay home this year, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been busy stitching…

Check out what she has been doing…

Dashing Through the Snow by Primitive Gatherings!!  Gorgeous wool mat that is huge!!  (This was a free pattern if your ordered a certain amount on PG’s online shop.  You can now buy the pattern at their shop).  Love it…and just look at that mottled wool!!

This fun, whimsical quilt is very sweet…(did you know that Seattle Judy has a trunk load of baby quilts for future great-grand babies?!)

I remember her buying the book at the Fat Quarter Shop to make this sweet quilt!!  LOVELY!!

And another sweet woolie…ready for next Winter…oh…I guess she is using it now!!  (I keep forgetting that it’s WINTER NOW!!)

Love this sweet bow tie quilt…This mat will add charm where ever she puts it!  Love the CWF!!

She loved this rabbit candle mat SEW much that….

…Judy made TWO…one for her and one for her grand-daughter!  Dang sweet!

Judy made this adorable wee mat…another Primitive Gatherings pattern!!  Swoon!!

And last but certainly not least is this wonderful basket quilt!!  We both love baskets….sigh…yup…kindred spirits!

No idle hands for Seattle Judy!  She has been busy!  Hope you liked seeing what she has been up too…I know I sure did!  So keep ‘em coming Judy and hope you make it down here NEXT YEAR!! 

We need to have more adventures like this one…ahhhh yes, I remember it well!!

…and maybe Chris will make it down NEXT YEAR too!  Geeze all my kindred spirits are dropping like flies!  Wishing you both all the best…MISS YOU!

Have a wishful thinking Wednesday and Happy Stitching!~P