Catching up ... and a finish!

Yes, I've got a finish that I haven't shown you. This darling little dress for Milly. I know, I'm spoiling her! It's such fun! 

If you're old enough, you may recognize this pattern from when your own children were babies. I've had the pattern for ages now. I think I used it for the first time when Jolie was little. She's 16 now, but it's possible that the pattern is actually older than that.

Does it look familiar? I love it. And it was very easy to sew up. There are only two pieces: the front is cut on the fold and the back is cut sort of crooked to keep it straight of grain. Both need to be lined, but I decided to cut the opposite side in a light plaid so the top is reversible.

Did you notice that when I switched the dress around to take pictures, I didn't unbutton both straps? There are buttons on both sides so I should have unbuttoned both straps and buttoned them with the strap over the front.

Instead of making the panties that came with the pattern, I used the shorts pattern that I've been using and added elastic in the legs by increasing the size of the hem to make casings. Surprisingly, they are a little tight when made like this, but she didn't complain about the shorts, so we're going with them.


Now she may not have complained about the shorts but wow! she was in a mood. She fussed and cried for a good ten minutes for no reason. None. She was just cranky. That is very rare, so I changed her into a comfy little outfit and rocked her for a few minutes. Ahh, the joys of being a retired grandmother!

The only other news I have is that I'm already getting ready for our August meeting. We have a special guest coming to give a presentation. I'll wait to surprise you but thought a little tease would be fun.

And I'll leave you with a few quilts from the Krotz Springs show on Saturday. These are all from the trunk shows. I had to crop out the backs of heads, but I hate to stand in front of people to take pictures. It feels rude to be in other people's line of view. 
Hope you enjoy!

Krotz Springs Quilt Guild Show

Some of my favs. I love the colors and patterns.

Krotz Springs always has a great show. First there are plenty of quilts to see and several vendors, who are all members of the guild. Second, they have trunk shows throughout the day. 

I'm not sure how one decides whether the quilt(s) belong in the show or in a trunk. I assume the quilts that are hanging are quilts  finished in the past year, but those in trunks could have been made at any point in time. There are usually three or four trunk shows, so the members take turns presenting their trunks.

Some of the many quilts made with
reproduction print fabrics.

Pam and I try to arrive early to have enough time to view everything before the trunk shows begin. Once those are over, and we've visited enough, we go to the only sit-down restaurant in town and have a great meal. Today we both had chicken-fried steak. Yum!

Having a show in a venue that is not quite large enough presents a few problems, which the guild has managed to work around but not really solved. The quilts line the walls, the vendors sit at tables only a few feet in front of the quilts and the trunk show/entertainment happen in the center of the room. Chairs lined up in the very center provide seating throughout the day.
  

Still, I don't like that I can't get close enough to most of the quilts to really look at them. One reason that I love shows is that I have an opportunity to scrutinize the work. While that sounds that I may be the quilt police, I only want to learn. 









I like figuring out the blocks, looking closely at the quilting, appreciating the applique. The women in this guild are especially talented. Their works are exquisite, so it would be a wonderful opportunity to learn. 

I suppose we all do our best, and for Krotz Springs, this is their best. The venue is great in every other way, and certainly it would be impossible to hold anything out-of-doors in the 100 degree heat. So we visit with old friends, see fabulous quilts, shop, and enjoy the show and fabulous door prizes. What is your favorite part of a quilt show?

Krotz Springs Quilt Show (pt 2)

Yesterday I told you about the Krotz Springs Quilt Guild Show that my friend Pam and I attended on Saturday. The River City Quilt Guild visited with a quilt show from about five of their members. 

As each member came up to show her quilts, she explained how that quilt came about, whether it won awards, and interesting details about the quilt. Two very accommodating guys held the quilts up and passed them off to two sweet ladies who folded the quilts once it had been shown. All very neat and orderly. 

 These aren't all of the quilts that they showed, but I didn't get pics of every one. Sorry about that, but there were too many to include them all anyway. 

This little animal quilt, which the maker said came from a kit, was very popular among the audience members. The animals have attitude and shoes, which certainly increases the cuteness factor.

The flip flops were also quite popular. I think it has something to do with the colors and popularity of flip flops. 

Hope you enjoyed the trunk show. Thanks to the River City Quilt Guild for sharing their lovely quilts.

Krotz Springs Quilt Show (pt 1)

Last weekend Pam and I went to the annual Krotz Springs Quilt Show. We've gone to the show together for the last couple of years, so I was very happy that she invited me. (Click here for last year's post.) Thank goodness that she's both my friend and the president of our local guild...it means she has information that I don't necessarily get since I can't attend the meetings. And she is very kind about passing info along to me.

We agreed to leave early enough to have several hours at the show. It's not a terribly big show--perhaps 50 or so quilts--but there are quite a few vendors and the guild always invites another guild to give a trunk show. This means that there are several things to do.

The show is set up with the quilts lined up against the walls, tables of vendors within this circle and chairs set up in the middle of the room. Plus one area is set up with tables for demonstrations. 

 I didn't spend much money, but Pam is a  good shopper.  So she shopped and we chatted with friends and laughed about all sorts of silliness. And hadn't even looked at the quilts! That meant another round of the room after I walked out to put our bags in the car.

I snapped photos of almost every quilt that was hanging. Unfortunately, the quilts are folded so that all of them can hang in the available space. This means that viewers see only half or a third of each quilt. While it's enough to get a clear idea of what the quilt looks like, it's just not the effect of seeing the entire quilt. 

All of these photos are of the quilts that were hanging, which means they were made by people in the Krotz Springs guild. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the quilts from the trunk show. I can't show all fifty pictures, so I've chosen some of my favorite. I hope you enjoy. 

Come back tomorrow to see pictures of the quilts from the River City Quilt Guild trunk show.