3 pounds

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I only gained 3 pounds during my week abroad. My suitcase actually gained more weight than I did. The low weight gain is miraculous due to the foods, breads, wines and more breads I enjoyed during the week.

The trip begins heading to Frankfurt Germany. Leaving DFW airport around 3:00 in the afternoon arriving in Frankfurt, approx. 9:00. Drop off the luggage and head straight for the Messe Fairgrounds. This place is huge, 10 buildings… Oops 11 buildings, they added a new building this year. We had two days to cover the entire show. This involved some serious walking. I should have brought my pedometer to see how many steps we took. We had it all planned and knew if we were pressed on time we could skip a couple of buildings. Who needs to see an entire building of curtain rods, blinds, etc? Would you think there were that many different ways to hang curtains? First show day we had been up for 30 hours not counting the occasional nap on the plane.
Remember this show does not allow pictures so I don’t have much to offer except a notebook full of sketches that only I could decipher.

This show is so different than the quilt shows or gift shows. Hiemtexel is the largest home dec show in the world. The vendors exhibiting here build small countries. Bedding companies suspend beds from the high ceilings as if they were swings on a playground. Rainbow of towels, rugs, robes and slippers displayed along antique led tubs with claw feet and a babbling brook flowing through the booth.
I was enamored with a rug company that made rugs from the leather labels of blue jeans. There were patched denim rugs, rugs from silk ties, felted wool rocks rugs, and even rugs made from zippers. Rugs, cushions, footstools, loved it all. Reminded me of stuff I tried to patch together in high school. The down side to this isn’t I could take any of this home.

The one exhibit I was able to take a few pics from was the exhibit from the Frankfurt school of fashion, Tales of the Unexpected.

One tradition is too plan an evening at any of the apple wine (apfelwein) restaurants in old town of Frankfurt. Wagner’s is like stepping back in time and enjoying a German meal, fellowship and some new friends regardless of the language differences. Enter the restaurant, pull back the thick red velvet curtains that shield the inside from the cold and embark on rooms and rooms full of big long tables, benches and chairs. Complete strangers sit right along side you. They call this family style. Where I come from they call family style where they dish your meal in big dishes placed on the table, you it pass around and help your self. Here you don’t share food unless you want, you share the table.
Due to it’s popularity, it is a great place for the tourists to gather. This seems to help with the language barriers. The food is amazing from wiener schnitzel to the sausage sampler platter. Ya, the sausage platter was as gross as it looks in the picture, but one thing stands true, whenever we travel we try and do as the locals do. If you are in Nashville you have to listen to country music, so if you are in Germany you have to have sausage and sauerkrat.
I am not a big fan of the apple wine. Reminds me of when I was a kid and accidentally left apple juice in my lunch thermos. I opened the lid and it exploded. I told my dad I think I had just made beer.

Alsace, France
The real adventure begins as we rented a car and began the drive to visit the charming area of Ste. Marie Aux Mines. We made sure the rental car had a GPS system. We weren’t the least bit nervous. GPS IN GERMAN!
This wasn’t like rental car companies here where there are people everywhere. Nope, they just sent us out down a very,very long hallway, an elevator and a huge garage. We played with the GPS, when a man pulled up behind us. He worked for the rental car company and was only there to park another car in our soon to be vacant parking spot. He changed the language to English and we all had a good laugh.


The European Patchwork Meeting 2012 will be having an exhibit with some of Mark Dunns antique quilts and textiles. We met with Rhinetex, the Moda distributor along with the organizers of this event.
The entire trip I felt like the guys on The Bachelor television show when all they can say is “Amazing.” However my word was “Charming!”

pictured above – the exhibition hall, meeting with the team, Maarten and William at the Amish exhibition, the B&B we stayed during our visit.

on the road again
Drove to Heidelberg, Germany to see the “charming” castle and enjoy a cappuccino and a bowl of soup. The soup here is like no other, all the ingredients are so fresh and I am sure full of rich cremes. I decided to turn the rest of the trip into a soup tour trying to order it for every meal.


Had to get on the road to make sure we arrived at our next stop before nightfall. The GPS was great but there is something about driving in the pitch black along winding roads through the mountains with a voice repeating merge right at the next round about.
The drive was breathtaking through the Swiss Alps. Those are some big mountains!! We arrived at nightfall in Como, Italy. A perfect ending to a perfect day…. And I think no u turns that day.


January is off season so the area was very quiet but that didn’t take away from the charm. We visited any yarn or quilt shop we could find along our route.


Antipastos, fresh fish, wines, cappuccinos, chocolates, breads, olive oils, cheeses and a few more soups rounded out the stay in Como. This is probably the town where the 3 pounds happened.
I can officially say I have been to Milan. (driving to the airport at 4:30 in the morning) This just means will need another trip back to see Milan in the daylight.

-modalissa

disclaimer

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How many times I have I said I have the greatest job ever?
I am saying it again.
I DO.
This week I will be attending the Hiemtextil show in Frankfurt, Germany with the VP of design from Moda.
This is a huge show for the home dec world. 10 separate buildings full of everything from mattress, machinery, curtain rods, blankets and more. There are vendors from all of the world exhibiting their newest products. All it would take is a couple of pictures sent to some knock off country to ruin their campaign.
This is the show where hotels go to design their towels. They don’t order them right off the rack at JC Penney. Who knew? It is an interesting show that covers completely different industries and certainly opens your eyes to the fact that there is a market for pretty much everything.

 

 I wish I could post pictures to share the adventure with each of you but pictures are strictly, I mean STRICTLY forbidden. I have even seen someone try and sneak a picture and immediately security guards swarm the perpetrator.
The booths are incredible. They actually build entire structures. I will share whatever I am legally allowed in a future post.
Then we are visiting the venue for European Patchwork 2012 in Alsace, France. We are excited about this show because they are doing an exhibit about Mark Dunn, the President of Moda along with several other exhibits, contests, and classes. The exhibit is going to have some of the quilts and textiles from his collection on exhibit for the first time anywhere. More to come on this event also.

So while we are in that neck of the woods, we thought we would visit the venue. Pray for me because we are renting a car and I am the designated driver through the beautiful countryside from Frankfurt to Alsace. I am sure this will bring some interesting stories about U-turns and more.

I titled this post Disclaimer and the real reason I wanted to do this post is to let all of you know that if there is a random post on my face book page it is probably because my favorite son (in his mind) has hacked into FB and left posts to the other kids. He gets bored easily! Please disregard them.
Be back in a week and a recap of the trip.

happy quilting,
lissa

the baby maker

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Have you ever seen the movie, The Proposal with Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds

and my idol Betty White?

Betty White is classic in this movie as the future grandmother in law to Sandra Bullock, even faking a heart attack to make sure the marriage actually happens. If you have seen the movie, then you certainly know of the “baby Maker” scene, where Betty White gives them a quilt to sleep with, aptly named the baby maker.
My oldest son was married end of September. Yes I know I have shown these pictures before but this is another opportunity to show off my new daughter in law and my proud son.
Okay back to the quilt. Grant and Misty didn’t really have a color scheme so I struggled with what I should make them for a wedding  gift. It had to be perfect! I decided to do a friendship quilt using charm packs of assorted naturals. I sewed a few fabrics around the squares and instantly fell in love with the quilt. I knew they would love it also and certainly be surprised. I think this is about the time I decided to make it a friendship quilt. I secretly got addresses of family members, friends, co workers, old college buddies etc. and mailed each of them a square of fabric, a pen and a return address envelope. Then I waited and waited.
Have you ever been so excited to work on a project that you just couldn’t sleep?
Well this was one of those projects for me.
 I waited and waited for some blocks to start arriving so I could sew. This is also when I learned of several change of addresses as envelopes were returned as undeliverable etc.
Their wedding invitation was printed on a hankerchief with lace edging.
It was the perfect size to cut and use as one of the squares adding such a keepsake to the actual quilt.
One of the first squares to arrive was from Nate Miller, a local 6 year old friend of my sons. He drew Grant and Misty along with the two kids, dog and a butterfly that he thought they would have after they were married. Sounds like a perfect life to me, right?
My best friend gave them a platter with the weeding invitation printed on it. How cool was that? She always has the best ideas.
I had to add some grey squares as that is one of her favorite colors and it certainly added a vintage feel to the quilt.
The fun thing about sewing each of these squares as they arrived was that I tried to hand pick some of the fabrics to co ordinate with their friend’s  block. I was able to add a 30’s print with little kids on it.
After all it is named the baby maker.
Kate Benz sent in a wonderful quote from Mother Teresa.”It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.”
I was able to use some of the fabrics that I had bleached and over dyed for a vintage look.
Everyday I was so excited to get the mail to see how many blocks arrived and ignore the bills!!
Now I was doing all of this in the formal living room where I had moved my sewing room. The kids live locally and could drop by at any time so this certainly added a bit of adventure to the project by keeping the project hidden.
This is one of my favorite quotes. How much simpler can it be said?
If you read my posts you know that I am addicted to pinterest. (you can find me here.) If I am addicted to something I do like to share my addictions, so Misty is also on pinterest. I looked around to find a quilt she had saved and pieced the back of the quilt using that design making the quilt reversible. The perfect grey Sweetwater fabric had just arrived so I was super pumped.
Misty keeps the quilt rolled up and in a basket because she worries about any of the signatures disappearing if she has to wash it to many times. I will let you know if I see it out being used or maybe I should send Betty White over to throw it on their bed.
If you would like to get the pattern to make your own “baby maker” check out Rita at Red Pepper Quilts website. Rita does not call the pattern, Baby Maker, The pattern is named Tiffany.
Thank you Rita for the design inspiration for this project. It was perfect.

Resolutions

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Did I scare you with my crazy organizing post?  I could say that I had a week off and didn’t know what to do with myself, or that I lounged around for two days and caught up on all my blog reading, or I wanted to get all the decluttering done so I wouldn’t have any excuses not to sew uninterrupted.
Well all of the above is true.
Does that make me normal?
Hope so.
The next big dilemma in my life was what to do for a new year’s resolution. There are so many choices.
I read about a gal that committed to exercising 1 minute a day. Makes sense. You have to get started somewhere was her theory and setting the bar so low as a minute, she certainly could exceed this. It was all about getting started.
I really wanted to commit to making 1 pillowcase a day for the million pillowcase challenge, so I am GOING to MAKE one a week. The bar may be set too low on this one also but I can go no where but up.
I see all the blogs that have a picture a day, man oh man, I wish I was that talented, creative and disciplined to do that.  I did find a cool app, Photo365 that I am playing with.
This is what the website says.
Photo 365Version 1.0An app that remembers your year one photo at a time.
Add a picture from the camera or albums.
Save multiple photos in a day.
Share your pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr or e-mail.
View your photos by the month.
Beautiful and easy to use.
 This will be fun to add a picture for peoples birthdays, special events, etc. The creative part will come in when I need to add a picture for a date like today, January 3rd.
 Well worth my .99 investment. 
 
There are so many other resolutions I could or should make but this is the one I have chosen for 2012.
 
 
Resolve to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you will have made three thousand, six hundred and fifty people happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment.

Hello 2012

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Hello 2012,
Today is the last day of the year and I think I am ready!!
Last night I had my semi-annual sock matching party. In the past this was a New Year’s eve tradition but I did it a day early. Yippee!
I have always had a hard time telling the boys clothes apart. Between hand me downs, stray clothes from random friends, 4 big boys and their dad, I really don’t know whose stuff is whose, especially socks. ( I never had a problem with Jillian clothes) This has been a struggle my entire life. Now that my children are grown and this shouldn’t be much of an issue, Right?  I guess this is where my lack of housekeeping skills also plays a part. I would rather quilt than clean!
Kids have moved in and out, taking only what they “needed” and the leftovers remained so I once again have orphan socks. One year I cleaned the entire house hunting for any lost socks so I could get ready for the upcoming sock matching party. Once I was sure they were none of those little devils hiding, I packaged up all the pairs and took them to Goodwill. I bought several pairs of one style sock, all the same size, that ALL the males in my household would wear.
Makes perfect sense.
Or so I thought, then one little pesky stray sock makes it way into the cycle and here we go again. All the kids were here for the holidays, they live local so it is no big deal if they do not take all of their belongings —- More stray socks.
For years, Gary was in bed early for New Years Eve because he had to work at 3:00 in the morning. My big event was having a sock matching party, tricking some of the kids to help, setting all the clothes back an hour and ringing in the New Year.
You may wonder why I set the clocks back an hour?
I live in the central time zone  which gave me options on which channel to watch the festivities in Time Square. The ball would actually drop at 11:00 on one of the channels. I would let the kids stay up to watch the ball drop, blow their noisemakers, drink apple juice in plastic champagne glasses and GO TO BED.
This gave me a full hour of silence and reflection, not counting the I’m thirsty or Jarrod hit me interruptions.
An hour alone when you have 5 kids and a husband that works from home was sheer heaven.
TIP: Don’t count the socks becasue the numbers could be overwhelming. I think about cutting quilt pieces for the newest project. If a quilt pattern requires 1,890 pieces, how eager are you to jump on in and tackle the project? I don’t count, I just start cutting. (or folding if talking about socks.)
These are the remains of my sock matching party.  A dozen or so remain sport ankle socks tied with the one lone black sock. One more laundry cycle and if their mate doesn’t magically appear these guys are gone!!
Closets are Cleaned
I guess once a girl scout always a girl scout.  Always be prepared was my motto in my closet as well.
Monthly bloating? better keep that bigger size of pants.
Laura Ashley dresses may come back in style, better keep it just in case.
Never know when you may need a pair of bowling shoes, or a pair of railroad coveralls for a Halloween costume?
Well that is all gone except I did keep the bowling shoes.
I tend to shop for clothes like I shop for fabric. I like plaids, florals, textures and patterned pieces which I have learned doesn’t make for a very versatile wardrobe. You can use a beautiful floral print in several sewing projects, but the gals at work would certainly start to wonder if my washer was broken if I wore the same floral shirt too often.
So I de-cluttered the closet, bought all new thin coated hangers and even some little clothes divider tabs like they have in the dept store. You know the kind that separate the mediums from the larges?  Just write on the tab and hang it over your clothes rod to keep the short sleeve blue shirts separated from the long sleeve blue shirts. Yes, I  know I must be sick.
  This obsession will pass but I thought I strike while the iron was hot.
Wait there’s more…. If you hang all your clothes with the hanger going backwards on the rod, once you wear them, hang them up in the right direction. The next time I am ready to purge, I can quickly see the garments I haven’t not worn all year.
The clothes that the hanger is still backwards on the rod. I am trying it!!
Imagine trying to purge your fabric stash with this approach. The fabric you haven’t used in a year, purge?!! Goodness NO! Fabric is better aged, it  will not go out of style like my high waisted pants or the Laura Ashley dress I  had since high school.
The dress did make it into my fabric stash. It was 100% cotton, imagine that!
TIP: Once your side of the closet is all pretty, you might as well go ahead and tidy up the hubby’s side. I didn’t organize his with dividers for long sleeve or short sleeve but it is color coordinated.
Outdoor flood lights (you know the ones too high to reach) all have a bright shiny new bulb in them. Tall kitchen cabinets cleaned. Thanks, Jarrod.
Christmas is all put away and I even have Valentine’s towels in the guest bath.
 Some one please take my temperature!
I think I am ready for 2012. Let’s make it a good one!


The Ugky Sweater Party

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Today is the annual Moda Christmas party. Lots of fun and merriment will be had by all. No Christmas party would be complete without the UGLY Christmas sweater competition. Please remember that ugly is in the eye of the beholder. Do not take offense to an ugly sweater that may be your favorite pretty sweater.
I have my own version of the history of the ugly Christmas sweater but I turned to Google and searched….
History of the Ugly Christmas Sweater and found this article by Martha McCarthy .

‘Twas the Night Before Finals: The History of The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party…


Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties originated like the Post-it note: by accident. No, a 3M scientist was not goofing around in a lab, but the birth of the legendary Ugly Xmas Party tradition was one big fat accident. It started with elementary education teachers. They began sporting the sweaters like it was their job. This had a trickle down effect…slowly but surely infecting soccer moms, soccer grandmoms, art and music teachers, retired people, volunteers, PTA-goers, thrift store shoppers and the racks of Kohl’s department store. Ugly Christmas Sweater Fever (as it is clinically referred to) had reached epidemic proportions.


No one died, fortunately, but this huge mass of people were really really ridiculously confused. For some reason, they thought they looked good. Really good. Super stylish. Cute as a button. Hollidazzlin. But no, they were sadly mistaken.


They looked hideous. For a long time, the non-Ugly Xmas sweater wearers remained in the closet. No one wanted to make the first move to alert these sad souls of their super sad situation.


A flip switched somewhere around 2007. Many attribute it to white people*. White people and their undying thirst for theme parties. One college co-ed sported a said sweater to a regular Christmas party. Everyone loved “Ugly Sweater Guy.” Next thing you know, people are calling their elementary education teachers, their soccer moms and their local thrift stores in search of a sweater to wear to the next party. They know they’ve seen em…now they must track them down.

uglyxmasparty.com

Well my story started about 2005. The day after Christmas my sons insisted on going to the mall for the after Christmas sales. This should have been my first clue that something was terribly wrong.
We always went to Dillard’s to meet up with one of the ladies that worked in the school counselor’s office. (Mrs. Neinhiser you never knew what an influence you had on this whole ugly sweater phenomenon.)
The boys rushed to find Mrs. Neinhiser because she knew where all the over sized , glittery, shiny, tacky Christmas sweaters were. The boys would very strategically go through racks of  bargain priced sweaters, planning their wardrobe for the following year.

This became such a trend that the dept stores no longer had any Ugly Christmas sweaters left. I guess the ugly stuff sold at full price. We spent many years hunting the thrift stores looking, looking and looking for UGLY. Imagine that we didn’t find any Ugly!!

acrylic sweater for 75.00 from TheSweaterStore.com

Now my crew is quite the crafty bunch and they are not afraid of a hot glue gun, rotary cutter or even using one of their brothers cashmere sweaters to create their own version of ugly. These sweaters included ornaments, bells and even lights. I wish I had some pictures to share of their sweaters but….
they would not allow me to have evidence of all the things they used of mine that they shouldn’t have messed with. Am I the only one with such “creative” or sneaky kids?
This trend has certain grown. It was even covered on the Today Show this morning.
Have no fear, my boys no longer have to scour the thrift stores. There are plenty of websites where they can buy brand new Ugly “tacky” Christmas Sweaters.
Look what one of my sons will be wearing this year.  I don’t think I am going to borrow this sweater for the company party this year.
What’s the next trend?
Ugly Christmas Ties?
DISCLAIMER: No Moda company sweaters were shown in this blog posting.

and this just in from my husband

Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good

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Written by a woman on her 90th birthday
This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!! Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!
Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .
“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written.
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come…
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

Quilting From Little Things Tour

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I am honored to be included on this blog tour along with such a diverse and talented line
 up of fellow bloggers.
Thank you, Sarah for including me.
I have known Sarah and her family for many years. Her passion for quilting
and teaching has always been apparent in everything she touches.
Material Obsession by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke
.
Sarah’s first two books, Material Obsession one and two,  hold treasured spots on my bookshelf
and I can’t wait to add her newest, self published title, Quilting From Little Things.



 
Sarah’s newest book, Quilting From Little Things, is a feast for the eyes with
brightly colored quilts, brilliant photography and
close-up detailed pictures.
Click here for a look.
You may wonder about the name of the book….Quilting From Little Things.
Sarah’s passion for teaching continues in this book by clear detailed illustrations and instructions to make a “dolly quilt.”
Sarah teaches a new technique, how to practice it and accomplish the technique
 by making a small doll quilt. Then move on to using the same technique
to make a larger version with your new skill set.
The techniques include projects from beginners to advanced including
 paper piecing,
 foundation piecing, set- in seams
 and more.
This quilt is my current obsession.
Feathered stars have always been on my to do list.
Funny Story:
I had a piece of paper hanging on the wall behind my sewing machine with all of my UFO’s. On the top of the page, I had written, TO DO LIST.
Sometime, I am not quite sure when, my husband had added the words… in this lifetime. Do you have a to do list of quilts you want to make that is longer than any one lifetime?
This quilt has moved up my perpetual quilt…to do list.
I am actually waiting for a new Christmas 2012 fabric line to arrive any minute
 because this is the quilt I am going to make.
One more comment about Sarah and the quilts in this book.
Sarah’s color sense and combination of fabrics is inspiring. There is an international flair
(after all she is from Australia) to the combination  of scale, color and design.
Ask for this book at your favorite independent quilt retailer.
Thank you for stopping by, now hop on over to see what the prolific Monica has to say…
Friday 2nd December:
Saturday 3rd December:
Sunday 4th December:

 

If you are just joining the blog tour, please visit my fellow bloggers that have posted earlier in the week.
Monday 28th November:
Tuesday 29th November:
Wednesday 30th November:
Camp Follower Bags http://campfollowerbags.com/