My Favorite Color is Pink?

  This is my latest completed quilt top.  The pattern is called Amish Buggy Wheels, so I named it "Bali Buggy Wheels."   I took a class from Jean Nolte the editor of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine.  She had designed and published the pattern a couple of years ago, and I jumped at the chance to try curved piecing.  Notice, the dominant color is...purple.  Why is that a big deal, you may be wondering.  Well, here is the thing.  If asked, I would say that my favorite color is hot pink.  I love red; I love pink.  I have operated under the belief for many years that my favorite color is, indeed, pink. 
  However, evidence would suggest that my favorite color may, in fact, be PURPLE!  I recently took stock of all my finished quilt tops that are waiting for me to have time to throw them on my trusty Nolting longarm for finishing, and 7 out of 7 are...PURPLE!  What!  This has shaken my very existence.  Do I love purple?  Have I been fooling myself all these years about my love affair with pink?  Why don't I have at least one pink quilt top?  I have pink fabrics purchased and hanging out in my stash.  Yet, I haven't made even one quilt top in the past two years focusing on this (my supposed favorite).  Shocking! 
  My vow for the remaining months of 2013 is to make a pink quilt!  When I do, I will decide if it steals my heart, or if my heart belongs to the color purple!

Bus Trip to Bountiful

http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/

 Every now and then, we all need to get away for the day and just have some FUN!  I did just that last Saturday with my quilt guild from Grand Island when we went on a bus trip through northern Kansas.  Fifty-one wild women boarded a bus at 6:45 am and headed out on a mystery tour.  We knew the day would hold surprises and lots of fun, and we were not disappointed. 
  We hit 7 quilt shops, ate two meals on the go, and returned to Grand Island around 10 pm.  Man were our credit cards smokin' by the end of the day!  The highlight for me was the tour of the retreat center in Bennington, Kansas run by Kansas Troubles founder Lynne Hagmeier!  The pics above are all from that retreat space.  I want to go there and hang out with some friends!!!  For more about Lynne, check out her blog-site listed above. 
  The Kansas (and one Nebraska shop) quilt shops opened their doors wide to their neighbors from the north and each shop was full of a bounty of fabrics, notions, gifts, etc.  There wasn't one on the list that I wouldn't gladly visit again, and in fact, I plan to get back down there sometime in the next year.  I returned with an armful of Loralie Designs panels and coordinates, as well as, a renewed inspiration for my sewing projects!