Pat Sloan's Blog

What was I thinking and MORE!

I have to tell you that sometimes when I sew I think about other things... yes... really.. I know.. hard to believe isn't it? I bet YOU never think about other things when YOU are working...

So what HAPPENS when this .. errrr...ummmm.... mental.... what would you call it.. a distraction occurs? 

Let me tell ya....

The other day when I finished a quilt top for McCAll's Magazine ... I did the "yeah top done" Happy Dance!!

Next I pieced the backing, made the label and cut the binding... because I've found it's so much easier to do the machine quilting and then get to the "finishing" if everything is ready ...

just like cooks on a tv show where it's all laid out in little bowls!

So this is some of the fabric I was working with..Harmony from RJR. Now when I'm working on things I think are pretty standard... my mind wanders big time. And it does NOT hear the warning bells and whistles.. really..

The clanging could be as loud as a freight train and I'd just be working along. Sometimes noises are real.. other times it's my brain banging on the wall.. going hey.. hey .. HEY!!!

During the making of the binding.. which seems innocent enough of a task as I've made binding for at least a thousand quilts.. my brain was doing some banging... and I ignored it.

Then i went to put the binding on... I sewed one short section... turned the corner.. did about 12" and FINALLY I heard the banging...

It seems I had cut the binding TOO WIDE.  Now I spent way to long sitting there trying to decide if I REALLY needed to take it off and trim it down.. I'm NOT a good unsewer ... Finally I talked myself into removing the TOO WIDE binding, trimming it and back on the quilt it went.

a peek at THE project for McCalls... coming in the fall to your mail box! 

Does this ever happen to you????

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One of my fellow Radio Show hosts, Louise Masin Sattler, has a show called Learning and Laughter with Louise. It is live at 9am EST Wed morning.

Today her topic is so GOOD that I want all of you to listen in (or listen afterward if you can't listen live). Here is the info Louise sent  to me

**My topic today is an "online job fair" live with these companies at Wed 9am EST
http://toginet.com/shows/learningandlaughterwithlouise

CallVRS-  He is looking to hire qualified interpreters and office staff country wide.  Interpreters need to know American Sign Language (hold certification) and better yet, if they speak more than English.  Debbie Lesser will represent CallVRS which has both video interpreting and remote video (for physicians, as an example).

Motherhood Incorporated.  - Sandra Beck with be hiring people for real technical jobs (such as IT, editing, etc.)  She too is hiring women who want to work from the home with corporations nationwide. 

Nannies4Hire-  many of us know Candi Wingate and her great company.  They hire nannies and elder care.  Also, this company is good info for those looking to hire a nanny so they can return or enter the workforce themselves

Louise's Website is - http://www.signingfamilies.com/

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I'm so excited to start sharing with you the shows my co-hosts are producing!!

Be sure to see what is going on at My Forum http://www.QuiltMashup.com 

and come hang out at my FUN PAGE on Facebook... fabulous show and tell.. it's the BEST Quilt community on Facebook! CLICK HERE

And the Bunnies? Found on Roseann's blog and I just HAD to share.. are these GOOFY OR WHAT?

A little Recap

Let's do a little update/recap shall we? 

Do you remember Sarah Fielke's interview last Monday... did you hear the cute animal noises? I thought it was a dog.. but no....

Sarah wrote the other day "lots of people have asked me what all the noise was in the background of the Pat Sloan radio interview I did the other day. And here's the culprits: Cockatoos and Rosellas, my backyard is full of them and they were welcoming the sunrise. I took these this morning while they were making the same noisy welcome.

I think the red one is Amazing!  CLICK HERE and listen to my interview with Sarah on the March 22nd show!

  In my quest to create the BEST Quilt community on Facebook, my FUN page is growing!! I've already given away a thread set when we hit 2,2000.. by the time you read this we should have hit 2,3000... every 100 people up to 3,000 I'm giving away prizes!! And YOU could win!

CLICK HERE to my FUN Page at Facebook.

On the top right is a BECOME A FAN button. Click it.. if you don't see that button then you are already in the group, so get some friends joined up the more the merrier!

What GREAT guests I had yesterday!! Meg Cox is so dynamic and is going to take recording our quilt history to a new level with her work at the Alliance for American Quilts.. and Roseann and I bantered back and forth on hot things you can do to spice up your quilting!

CLICK HERE to leave a comment and be in the running for books and the HOT OFF THE PRESS Aunt Martha Stitchery prize! This is OPEN COMMENT WEEK.. so leave a comment then PROMISE to listen to the show when you can!

I have NO CHOICE but to share these peeps.. really... they would have been perfect if they had been yellow!! CLICK HERE for the story!

The winner at my blog for the Good Egg Blog hop is

Annie who wrote "My daddy used to hide the eggs outside. He would coax us with "I think there might be one nearby, over here. . " One year, it snowed the night before Easter. He hid the baskets inside. We all had our own color of Easter grass, so the baskets were hidden all over, and sometimes two in one place, but if it wasn't our color, we were encouraged to move along and give no hint. Anyway it snowed, and to make it even more real, my daddy painted white bunny tracks on the green floor of our porch. It looked like the bunny had left snow tracks from the outside door to the inside door. We were all just enchanted by this amazing bunny, and now by my amazing daddy. He was an artist by trade, so those tracks looked real.Happy Easter, and thanks for the chance to enter a wonderful give-away."

So MANY great stories were shared!! Lots of them have to do with outfits and hunting eggs!!! 

CLICK HERE to read YOUR favorite Easter stories!

Pat Sloan's Creative Talk Radio - Show 11

I had the pleasure of getting to know Meg through our Facebook friendship, then in Houston this past October we got to meet in person, always a joy for me to be able to connect in person!  Meg had just taken over as President of The Alliance for American Quilts and was so excited and energized by her new partnership .. her spirit was contagious!! 

As we got to know each other, I found her background in reporting so interesting. As well as the fact that she has written several book on traditions. Her quilt book is the wonderful "THE QUILTER'S CATALOG"

Join me to learn more about Meg's journey into quilt making and her quest to preserve our stories through fabric and traditions!

Visit Meg's website, read about her work, sign up for her newsletter.. tell her you heard her interview at Creative Talk Radio! http://www.megcox.com

The Allicance for American Quilts - www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/

Super Duper Quilt Woman of the Hour.. Roseann Kermes is back with MORE insider info, new stuff.. and what's hot! This Show Roseann is with me the whole 2nd half, as we just have SO MUCH info to share!

One of the hot new things we are going to share are stitcheries with an updated look from Aunt Martha.. yes.. THAT Aunt Martha! There are so HOT HOT HOT we can only tell you about them on the show as there are no photos yet!

Come learn what's new and then Visit Roseann's Blog often, she shares the BEST stuff!

www.rosebudscottage.typepad.com/

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CLICK HERE to my Creative Talk Radio Show Page

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*** And we have PRIZES!!! ***

Meg is giving away a copy of BOTH her New Family Traditions book and her The Quilter's Catalog book!!

The other week Cynthia won a prize package from Quilting Arts and already owned a couple of the issues that came. So Cynthia wants to 'Pay it Forward' and give them away to a lucky winner!

 

And Aunt Martha's Colonial Patterns is going to give away 3 HOT OFF THE PRESSES Stichery prizes.. AS SOON as they come in! so if you win this amazing prize it will be a few weeks until they ship... woot woot!

Visit Colonial Patterns http://www.colonialpatterns.com/

In honor of Meg's visit with us, leave a message about your earliest quilt memory... and then PROMISE to listen to the show this week.. ok??

You have until Friday at noon to leave a message. Remember you can listen RIGHT ON your computer!!! HOW GREAT IS THAT! Check email or facebook or your forums, listen to the show! OR download the show onto your player and listen while you do non computer things.. it's a GREAT deal!

  AND CLICK HERE to Join me on Facebook!!

 I just hosted a 'Quilt Show' on Saturday and Sunday and you would not BELIEVE the Awesome quilts that people shared!! 

 Join us! 

Pat Sloan, Quilters Just want to Have FUN!

The Weekend Quilt Show

I decided a few things when I woke up yesterday morning....

FIRST I wanted to see some quilts... I wanted to see some of YOUR quilts.. so I put a shout out to my Facebook FUN PAGE group ... I challenged them to show quilts this weekend at the group... and quilts have been popping up like wild flowers!!!

And since you were all doing this for me I said i'd give away some prizes... some FQ on both Sat and Sunday to a person who shared a quilt on that day!

This one was the winner yesterday... from Kay Morrison.. her Polka Dot Tree of Life.  I am trying to convince her it needs to come to my house for a closer inspection.. and that could take years... so far I have not heard back... 

Come See the Show, there are TONS of quilts in all kinds of styles!! Post one of your quilts today.. it's fun fun fun! CLICK HERE

And we are working to get 3,000 friends on the Fun Page!! So to sweeten the deal.. and accelerate the process I'm giving away a prize for every 100 signups until we hit 3,000!

CLICK HERE to sign up.. it's easy!

And a little thing I saw on a blog.. memory jars! I think she was inspired by a Martha blog... I love her jars.. how fun! CLICK HERE to hear her thoughts..and you Paris Challenge girls.. do you SEE what is in jar number 1?

And a Quote to sum up Friendship

“Friendship, love, health, energy, enthusiasm, and joy are the things that make life worth living and exploring.” ― Denise Austin

Instant Redecorate

After lunch with my friend i hit the local Target... looking for Liberty of London items.. to see what was cool (and what was not!)

Cool was the CHAIR!!!

NOT cool... the hippie dresses that I KNOW I wore in the 70s... really .. we don't need them back.

COOL were the containers!!!

NOT the scarves they made from the fabric.. stiff and icky!

And NOT FOUND was the Watering Can.. I looked, but should have asked! This photo sent to me on Facebook from Liz and Beth of Lizzie B girls.. when they heard I didn't HAVE ONE..... YET....

I did get some new Chai tea.. do you love chai tea? It has so much flavor.. yum yum! Then I played with some photo editing... what fun!!!

 

How about Blue or Green?

Or maybe mustard or Purple... boy that was fun!!

***The winners of my Creative Talk Radio show with Frieda Anderson and Sarah Fielke's books are ... drum roll...

Kathie L  "I enjoyed your very colorful show. I've been a fan of Sarah's for a while, and I am trying to be more adventurous in my fabric buying! My quilt guild is having a workshop on fabric dying this summer, so I plan to give it a try. Kathie L in Allentown"

Debbie "I''d love to win Frieda's or Sarah's book! I enjoyed the interviews very much. Hey, I enjoy ALL of your interviews. It's been so long, years, since I've had a chance to dye anything. Maybe one of these books would give me a push. Thanks for counting me in."

Mary C "Thanks for the show today. I love that Freida learned to quilt from her Meemaw. I have a challenge to make a quilt with trees, it would be fun to win a book from either of the ladies you had on the show. Loved just listening to Sarah with her accent. Amazing that her mom had a STASH."

Connie "Loved today's show. I am very interested in what quilters around the world are doing and enjoyed hearing Sarah talk about what she is up to. I also follow her blog. She is a very busy and creative woman. Her quilts are beautiful. Also enjoyed Frieda talking about dyeing and her use of color."

All have been emailed and books will be sent by the publishers!! Enjoy and report back!!!

Let's take a closer look

I've been asked recently what scissors I'm using...

First the shears. I use these to cut out my applique shapes. I love the ergonomic handles, they are light, sharp, open and close like butter and are AWESOME for 'rolling' around those shapes!

CLICK HERE To buy a pair!

 

I wanted some VERY pointy scissors.. ones that I can use to snip small threads with the utmost control, my friend Betty recommend these and it's PURE LOVE! that are SHARP, so I am including this cap with each pair!

CLICK HERE to buy a pair!

 

at my sewing machine I wanted some snips to garb... a student had these so I tried them and love them! GREAT hinge and work like charm

CLICK HERE To buy your own SNIPS!

 

I feel Pretty oh so Pretty!! EVERY quilter needs a beautiful pair of scissors.  These are a pewter color, sharp and great for your sewing kit... awesome for gift giving too!

CLICK HERE for your pretty scissors!

So there you go... a little tour of the scissors I just added... see all the tools bye CLICKING HERE

CLICK HERE for all the tools!

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And Sweet Liberty Yardage is IN DA HOUSE! CLICK HERE

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LEAVE your comment for the Bunny Hop post!!!!  4 Fat Quarters to a Lucky Hopper!

CLICK HERE

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I'll pic names for the Radio Show prize winners this afternoon and email you!! What you didn't leave a comment??

CLICK HERE!