Checker Distributor 56th Annual Open House - Part 2

I have a bit more time today so I'll give you more of the skinny about my take on Checker Distributor's recent open house.

Julie Creus of La Todera Sewing and Craft Patterns had a fun booth.  Every time I see one of her flowers I can't help but smile. 

I'm not much of a "fru fru" type of gal...more of an LL Bean sort....but I'm telling you I've always loved Julie's flowers and can easily see them on my house shoes or on a pen like she had in her booth.

Isn't it just fabulous?  I would have loved to have some of these made up when my mother was ill.  I know she would have just loved having those on her slippers.  An easy and wonderful gift!  Speaking of wonderful gifts, La Todera also has some wonderful pin cushion patterns too!!!  The Urchin Pincushion would make a perfect baby gift...something that could be easily washed.

Bosal Fiber and Foam had a long line of shop owners in front of his booth. I know the quick placemats have been the rage for awhile now and Bosal now has them in round and hexagon shapes.

 

These placemats on the kitchen table would bring a smile to anyone's face.  You can find several placemat patterns HERE and the Bosal Forms HERE if you are interested in bringing some fun to your kitchen table.

Waldo sat down to take a break and met a fascinating and fun gentleman, Dalen Keys.

Dalen writes children's books and he gave Waldo/Rosemary a copy of "The Mess" for her grand daughter.  I asked him about his other books and he shared about his writing of "Just A Quilt" and "Charles T. Cup."  He was a lot of fun to talk to and you can see by his face that he has a lot of joy to share.  What luck to run into him and to learn more about his books!

There were a few machine embroidery designers at the Open House. 

 If you enjoy machine embroidery than you have probably heard of Lunch Box Quilts designs.

 About Trout is one of their designs and this has to be one of the best About Trout's that I've seen.  I loved the fabric and all the fishing lures. 

 I'd say this lure is the "cats meow" but that would be too corny since the Cat Design is laying next to it. 

Fancy Feathers was displayed on the front of the booth and it really grabbed me.  My mother loved birds and the minute I saw these birds I thought of her and warmth filled my heart.  (For those of you who don't know, my mother passed recently.)  Such a cheerful remembrance for me.

Once again I've got this enormous Elephant that I need to eat (co-workers, work, house, you know what I mean) so I'll have to come back and post more about Checker's Open House soon.

A quick reminder, if you have not voted for your favorites in the Pets On Quilts Show yet....NOW is the time to do it.

There are some amazing prizes to be won....I'd head over there if I were you :)

Smiles,

Kelly

Hand Made Gifts Are The Best

As I was driving home the other night I passed this house.  What a gift it is to everyone who drives past.  A labor of love that has been shared with those of us who drive past....I'm very grateful!

In those few extra moments I get to stitch, I've been working on making these kitchen towels with Holiday Recipe Towels (they come on USB).

These designs are by Lunch Box Quilts and from the moment I saw them, I just knew I had to make some for gifts.  I'm learning quite a bit using my "new to me" embroidery machine.  I know many gals who have asked Santa for an embroidery machine and I just hope those reindeer have been fortified because those machines are heavy! 

 

My girlfriend, Diane, made these beautiful gifts for me.  The towel is absolutely beautiful isn't it?  I can only hope to be as proficient one day as my friends are at machine embroidery.

Speaking of proficient, look what Karin sent to me recently:

 

Do you remember the Fall Machine Embroidery Hop?  If not, you can see the post HERE.   The design is from Marjorie's online store, Shop.B-Quilts.com.  I choose the Turtle Design to make mug rugs for my co-workers for the holidays and then promptly broke my hand and couldn't make them.  I'm all better now so I'm planning on making them each a mug rug for next to their bed.  Every night they take a glass of water to bed so a mug rug will come in very handy.

Karin always does such a lovely job.  If you have not seen her Etsy Shop, Sew-Write Creations, you really do need to go see the beautiful things that she makes.  Karin also does custom orders and I've had the pleasure of seeing the appliance covers she has custom made for some of  her customers.  They were absolutely top quality.

A Flamingo Update:

I know these photos would be much more fun if taken in the dark so you could see the lights, but then the flamingos don't show up as well.  You'll just have to use your imagination.

The Flamingos are being kept busy as you can see.  For those who would like to send the Flamingo Family a holiday card, you can Click Here for their address :)

Recently I saw this quote and thought it was wonderful....so I thought I'd share it with all of you.

Smiles,
Kelly