QuiltMouse

Where Has the Time Gone??

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Quiltmouse

I just noticed that I hadn’t posted since November 13th! Oh well, let’s catch up.

Back to the Quilter’s Quest. On Monday, November. 12th, I headed west to pick up my cousin in West Virginia. There were three stores in the Western Path and we spent the day checking them out.

Our first stop was the Scrappy Apple Quilt Shop in Winchester, VA. The Owner, Kelley Bova is friendly & helpful. This is the first year they were part of the Quest. Looking forward to seeing more of Kelley & the Scrappy Apple! Here is a picture of the Scrappy Apple’s Quilt made with the Quest Strips from all of the stores.

After leaving Winchester, we headed south-east to Warrenton, VA, and Kelly Ann’s Quilting. It was a beautiful drive! A couple of weeks earlier and the leaves would have been gorgeous. Kelly Ann is fun – She did ‘the chicken dance’ any time someone completed the Quest at her store, and, as you can see, she will ham it up for the camera.

After lunch, we headed back northwest, got on I-81 and headed to Hagerstown, MD, and the Traditions at the White Swan Quilt Shop. This shop is in a small building just west of Hagerstown. It has a classroom downstairs where they had lots of Fat Quarters cut – plus this was where they had the food!

This was my cousin’s first Quilter’s Quest. She is new to quilting and we had fun checking out these stores that are the closest to her.

So, this completes the 2012 Quilter’s Quest. It was fun and we’re looking forward to it again next year!

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Fun on a Shop Hop

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Quiltmouse

It is always fun to go shopping. It is especially fun Quilt Shopping! At Quilt Shops the staff are friendly & helpful; and if you are a ‘regular,’ it can be like visiting with friends.

While Quilt Shopping, you can meet & visit with lots of interesting people. At one store in Pennsylvania, I met a lady from Australia who was taking advantage of the large selection of fabric. She told me that “back home” she didn’t have quilt shops like we have.

BUT, on a Shop Hop the fun is so much more! There are a number of shops working together. There are door prizes. There are lots of fun & beautiful fabrics and the shops have lots of samples & kits. A Hop can become a Mini-Holiday, especially when you get to spend some quality car time with family & friends.

My DH and I like to take several days and do the Quilters’ Quest in our area. We take our time, enjoy the drive/scenery, eat out & visit lots of friendly shops/shoppers! This year I had a special time visiting the three ‘Western’ shops with my Cousin, Karen, a new quilter!!

This year, the Quilters’ Quest Shops’ Projects included 10 Free Quilt Patterns – a different one at each store. Each store had a Strip Set – a package of Ten 2-1/2” fabric strips. If you spent over $30, you got one set free, or you could buy a set for $5. Collect all 10 different Strip Sets and use them to make one of the featured free patterns. Each store offered a finishing kit for their quilt.

DH has a number of ‘responsibilities’ during the Quilters’ Quest. One is to take pictures, so we can later remember what we saw!

Quilters’ Quest 2012– Quilts from Strips

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

I’ve got the Strip Sets – Now what will I make with them!

Tomorrow – More Fun at the Quilters’ Quest – Scavenger Hunt.

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Quilters’ Quest 2012–Day #2–The Eastern Loop

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Quiltmouse

Zonya’s ready to hit the Road! She has our Quilters’ Quest 2011 Bag and she’s ready to fill it up!

Today’s agenda was to visit the four “Local” Quilt Shops participating in the Quilters’ Quest that are on the Eastern Loop – La Plata (Southern MD), Annapolis, & 2 in the Baltimore Area – Towson & Catonsville.

Shops open at 9:30 AM, so we are heading to the farthest store – Material Girls, in La Plata, MD. We discovered that they actually opened at 9:00 am, and a bus-load of quilters sponsored by Jinny Beyers Studio had just arrived moments before we did! This is a nice, large store; so even though there were lots of shoppers it didn’t feel too busy. We had a nice visit with Mike and checked out their expanded shop and all the Bernina’s they have.

I picked up a cute little pattern and a few fat quarters. The pattern makes 3 different sizes of runners – one is small enough to cover the top of the toilet tank!

Our 2nd stop was in Annapolis, Maryland, at the Cottonseed Glory Quilt Shop. This shop is in the bottom floor of an older building in the Historic District. We got to the shop just a few minutes before the bus that followed us from the last store. Unfortunately this is a small store with lots & lots of fabric, but little moving room. I picked up a couple of fabric panels, fat quarters and a couple of yards of fabric.

We headed north and went to Bear’s Paw Fabrics in Towson, MD. There were a few other shoppers, so we had a nice quiet time to shop. We got some pictures of the quilt the store made with the Quest Strips. We’ve been getting lots of pictures at each store, and I will post them in an album later.

Finally, we got around a very busy Baltimore Beltway and arrived at our 4th Shop of the day – Seminole Sampler, in Catonsville, MD. Like Bear’s Paw, this store is kind-a out-of-the-way, and not in a ‘typical’ shopping center. It is one of the smaller stores, but friendly. There was a lady there working on a quilt to be donated to a family in NY suffering from the affects of Super-storm Sandy. Quilters are wonderful!

They had made lots of nice items using the Quest Feature Fabric and were thoughtful enough to make kits. I picked up a pillowcase kit (top/left under the basket) and a table runner kit (center/bottom). I also found a pattern for a table runner (center/left in picture) and a small zippered purse (center/right in the picture) that uses the strips that are part of the Quest.

The day was getting late, so we headed west on 40 and stopped at The Canopy in Ellicott City, to pick up some BBQ for dinner. So ended our Day #2.

BTW – The BBQ was delish!

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Quilters’ Quest 2012 – Day #1

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Quiltmouse

Well, it’s begun! This year we have 10 whole days to Quest! This is good because the 10 “Local” Quilt Shops that make up the MD/DC/VA Quilters’ Quest are scattered all over the place.

This is the 5th time that we have participated in the Quest. In 2007, I was new to quilting and this gave me a chance to learn where the Quilt Shops were in the area. If I remember, we went to all 10 shops. The next couple of times, I don’t remember making it to all the shops. Last year we did complete the Quest.

So, today was Day #1 of the 2012 Quest. We started this morning about 9:00 am and got home about 3:00 pm – putting 94 miles on the car.

First we headed north to Mt. Airy, MD, and Patches Quilting & Sewing was were we began.

We timed it just right. They had just had a busload of shoppers leave and another busload was on it’s way. We had a nice visit with the staff. I found a ruler that I needed and picked up some fat quarters and the shop’s featured 2-1/2” strips. Each store will have a different group of strips and after stopping at all 10 shops we will have 100 2-1/2” strips and 10 different quilt patterns that can be made with the strips.

The next shop we went to was Capital Quilts in Gaithersburg, MD. I guess you can call this “My Local Quilt Shop.” This shop is the closest to our house. I picked up a yard of the special, limited edition Quest fabric, plus some “Mary Ellen’s Best Press Spray” and a couple of Fat Quarters. I picked up their free quilt pattern and when you spend $30 or more you get the strips free.

Finally we headed to Great Falls, VA, and to Jinny Beyers’ Studio. Jinny is known nationally & internationally as a quilt maker, author, lecturer & fabric designer. The Limited Edition Quest Fabric is her design. So many pretty fabrics! I could have spent all day there!! Each shop has a number of quilts & other projects featuring the Quest fabric. There was a BOM (Block of the Month) included in the pre-Quest Newsletter which highlighted the Quest Fabric. I purchased a kit to make a quilt/wall-hanging using the BOMs.

Tomorrow – Day #2 – 4 Shops/The Eastern Loop

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I Voted! But Did It Count? Sorta……

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Quiltmouse

First – the people at my polling place were very nice & polite BUT really couldn’t help much. BTW – There were fewer voting machines at our polling place than in previous elections.

Second – I registered to vote on July 28, 2004 – 8 years ago, my polling place is less than 4 blocks from our house, and I have voted at that polling place in previous elections.

Third – I have my Voters Registration Card, and last March, I even went online to the Maryland Board of Elections in March and verified that all my information was correct. I even printed a copy – I KNOW I WAS IN THE COMPUTER SYSTEM!

Fourth – Last night, just because I wanted a sample ballot to write on, I went to the Maryland Voter’s site and checked my Voters Registration – it wasn’t found! I checked my husband’s – it was there. I checked our daughter’s – it was there. I thought this was funny but guessed the system may have been busy. But it was a good thing – I was PREPARED for problems!

So, this morning when my Brother and I walked down to Vote, was I surprised when the volunteers there couldn’t find me on the Voters Roll? I presented them with my Drivers License, My Voters Registration Card and my Print-out of my Online Confirmation from March 2012.

I was not allowed to vote using the voting machines. I was permitted to fill out an application for a Provisional Ballot and then was allowed to vote using a paper ballot.

Although ‘everyone’ was assuring me that my vote would indeed be counted, I wasn’t so sure. According to the Provisional Ballot Application “A provisional ballot is counted if a local board of elections determines that the person is registered and eligible to vote in Maryland.” Well, the WHOLE PROBLEM is that my registration has disappeared and therefore I was NOT Registered and my Provisional Ballot WOULD NOT BE COUNTED! Footnote: Provisional Ballots won’t be counted until the 2nd Wednesday AFTER the Election.

So I called the Local Board of Elections to file a formal complaint about my polling place experience. I spoke with a very nice lady, Mrs. C. She tried to look me up using my name, my address, my date-of-birth, and my voter id number. She looked under deceased/cancelled/moved voters and didn’t find me (guess I’m glad to know I’m not deceased!).

After she checked with someone else, it was found out that my Original Registration had been written over with someone else’s New Registration. It is being ‘fixed’ and I have gotten a new Voter ID#. They have promised to send me a new Registration Card. I’ve repeatedly asked and have been told that when they check my Registration in two weeks when the Provisional Ballots are counted, that it will show I am registered & qualified to vote in the 2012 General/Presidential Election and my vote will count. (Quick Check Online – I still don’t show registered! Crying face )