Peppermint Pinwheels Give-away!

Head over to the uber-cute Bloesem Kids blog and leave a comment for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate good towards anything in my Peppermint Pinwheels Etsy shop. Good luck!

I pulled an all-nighter!

Well, I didn't actually stay up all night, but it was close!  I'm a big fan of sleep, so you know it's important if I'm staying up late and waking up early.  I'll just come out and admit it, I went on vacation, over-committed myself, and fell a bit behind on my obligations. But, although I'm a bit sleepy today, I'm happy to say, I finished!!!

Confetti Quilt

Here's my new Confetti Quilt.  It's totally scrappy and lovely and I'll be teaching a class on how to make it in October!

You can see more pictures on Flickr!

A trip to the Virginia Quilt Museum...and then shopping.

While I was visiting in Virginia, my sister and I took a road trip.  The intention was to visit the Virginia Quilt Museum as well as whatever quilt shops we could find along the way.

The Virginia Quilt Museum

The museum itself was a bit of a disappointment as most of the quilts on exhibit were contemporary and made by the same woman.  They just weren't my cup of tea.  I would have loved to see more antique quilts.  The museum did have an interesting library where I could have spent a lot more time, but we had other things to see!

Our next stop was Patchwork Plus, which claims to be the largest quilt store in Virginia.  I picked up a couple of fabrics from the sale table, as well as a sweet little strawberry print that I just couldn't resist.  I have a thing for strawberry fabric.

Adding to my hoard.

After that we hit just about every thrift and antique store in North-Western Virginia.  At least, it felt that way!  I have got to say, the thrift stores were amazing!  I could have come back with a shipping container full of furniture, but alas...I only had suitcases to fill.

Since I hadn't gotten enough of antique quilts from the quilt museum, I made sure to pay special attention to the quilts at the antique stores, plus, they didn't mind if I took pictures!  The best over-all selection came from my favorite antique mall of all time, The Strasburg Emporium.  I literally grew up shopping there and they always have wonderful things to look at.

Dresden Fan with really fun fabrics

This quilt had hundreds of these little hand-embroidered campfires.  What is that about?

This antique signature quilt baffled me.  What were all the signatures for?

But, my favorite two quilts of the day were found at Vilnis Antiques, also in Strasburg. The fist is attributed to the Mennonites of SE Pennsylvania and dates somewhere between 1880-1920 (this, according the tag attached to it!).  I just adore the colors of this quilt.  ADORE!!!

"Joseph's Coat" quilt

Each stripe in the interior is quilted differently.

Detail of the hand-quilting

But, the one that came home with me...all the way back to California, is this one:

How could I resist?

I'm calling this my God's Eye quilt.  The top is made from double knit jersey - cotton mostly, but with just a few bits of polyester thrown in!  The binding is a polyester stripe fabric that is wonderful.  The backing is a hideously ugly flannel print of fruit, but it will never see the light of day as I never intend to look on the reverse side again!

I ♥ Virginia!

I may live in Northern California, but I'm actually a Virginia girl. When the cold, Bay Area summers start to get to me (seriously, I have to heat my house to get the temperature above 65 degrees), I jump on a plane and visit hot, humid Virginia. Here's why I love it!

View of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the Hartland Orchard in Markham, Virginia

Fresh tomatoes from my sister's garden.

Blue crabs, caught and cooked by my uncle. Yum

Fresh peaches, picked by my sister and me.

And so many great antique stores, flea markets, and thrift stores.  But, more on that later!