Karen Kay Buckley

I missed a photo that I intended to share in my previous blog.  This was taken on our early morning walk across the river from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

We left Waco and headed to Fredericksburg in the Hill country to teach and lecture for the Vereins Quilt Guild.  To find out more about the guild go to http://vereinsquiltguild.org

What a great town with some fantastic shops and restaurants.  As we were driving around, we saw a field with thousands of butterflies. We, of course, stopped for a few photos.

We headed to Kerrville and the Hill Country Quilt Guild. Sue, my contact, was a blessing. What a great guild. Here are some of the ladies busy in class.

The Kerrville area  is another great place for restaurants. And, maybe, one of the nicest quilt shops in the world!

When I die, I want to go to Creations. The shop and the quilting retreat next door are amazing. Their displays, products, fabric selection and employees are simply the BEST.

I think some of the greatest quilt shops are in Texas!

We were driving down a dirt road, yes, Joe does loves to explore and came upon some longhorns.

What magnificent animals.

New York may be for Lovers, or is it Virginia??? Not sure,  but Texas is for Quilters and I’ll be headed to Houston tomorrow for another week in the Lone Star State. Yippee!!!

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Students’ Work

Karen Ishii from the Faithful Circles Quilt Guild in Downers Grove, IL sent me these pictures.  After taking my Fiesta Mexico-Block Three workshop, Karen finished her block and then adapted Block Eleven from the Fiesta Mexico pattern, as well.  Way to go Karen.  I love it when students share photos.

Great job Karen!

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On audio, I recently finished Daniel Silva’s book “The English Girl”.  This is book #13 in the Gabriel Allon series.  I don’t think you have to read the previous books to enjoy this one.  Allon, a former Massad agent, is enlisted by MI6 to find a missing British girl. The girl is the Prime Minister’s mistress.  Allon has an interesting background as an art restorer and a spy.  He convinces an old friend/enemy to assist him in finding the young lady and also bring justice to an ever changing series of twists and turns.  Love Daniel Silva’s writing style and his ability to keep you guessing until the very end.

Until next week…..

Just returned from a trip to Texas. Howdy!! I love Texas and Texans. They may be the friendliest people on earth. Our first stop was Bryan/College Station, home to Texas A&M. What a wonderful campus. Here is a photo taken on our morning walk.

I was the guest of the Brazos Bluebonnet Quilt Guild. Here are some of the ladies hard at work during our class.

Texas A&M University is the site of The George W. Bush presidential library.

The library had a special exhibit of Barbara Bush’s wedding photo and gown.

Here is a close-up: simple, yet, oh-so elegant.

Bryan/College Station is also home to Lone Star Quiltworks quilt shop.  We had a nice visit with the owner, Terry Skrabanek.  You can find out more about the shop www.lonestarquiltworks.com

Terry has built a fantastic shop, with such exquisite fabrics, great classes including every thread and notion imaginable.

We, then, headed to Waco…. just for a visit. I watch waaaaaay too much HGTV so I had to visit Chip and Joanna’s new Magnolia shop and Silos.  Below are some photos in and around Magnolia.

While I was teaching, Joe said he was upset about the Russians hacking our systems. So, he placed a call to Putin.

I think we should all vote for Joe for president. His motto is “Make America Quilt More”

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BOOK REVIEW

This cookbook has beautiful photography.  Just looking at the photos would have been enough for me.  But, there is so much more.  There are 47 different vegetables spotlighted.  For each one, there is a beautiful photo and then some general information about that vegetable.  On the following pages, there is more detailed information, like how to store it and how long it can be stored, grilling it, roasting it, steaming it…..nutritional information and then several recipes.  I have three friends who are all very, very good cooks. They taught me to not just purchase the cookbook but to read it from cover to cover, high-lighting recipes that you want to try.  I high-lighted lots of recipes in this cookbook.

What I really liked about Millington, Michigan, other than all my new quilt friends, was how warm and welcoming the community was. Even the town’s water tower is smiling.

Here are some of the Millington Quilt Guild members taking a break from our day-long Ocean Sunrise class. Thanks again: Cindy, Carole, Doris B, Jan S, Karen, Jan H, Julie, Cheryl, Jean, Julie, Doris S, Maggie … and Jeananne (taking the photo).

As usual, while we were working on our project, Joe was out doing his favorite thing: eating. The local restaurant had fantastic cinnamon rolls. This was the regular size:

Our friend, Frank, loves cinnamon rolls. So, we got him the large size:

We gave it to him last Saturday and he says he hopes to finish it by Thanksgiving! Wow.

There are some things that I enjoy so much about traveling. Like visiting quaint shops and businesses. The Zeilinger Wool Company in Frankenmuth is one such place. Begun in 1910, the company processes wool and other animal fibers for local and national ranchers. They handle wool from a multitude of sheep, llamas and alpacas. The wool arrives on their docks in bags:

It is then washed….

Dyed, bleached or left natural.

Then, milled and rolled by equipment manufactured in 1910.

Check out the original leather belts used to run these great “mature” machines.

The finished product is bagged and returned to the owners. How wonderful.

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BOOK REVIEW

During some of our recent car trips, we’ve been listening to some audio books.  We just finished “The Last Mile” by David Baldacci.

I am a fan of David Baldacci.  The beginning of this book had me so hooked I could not wait to hear where the story was going.  This is the second in the series with lead character Amos Decker.  Melvin Mars is on death row for killing his parents.  At the very last minute, he is granted a stay.  Seriously….I was hooked after reading that first part of the book.  Amos Decker was recently hired to work with the FBI on a special task force.  The death of Mars’ parents has some similarities to the death of Decker’s family.

Until next week……

Joe and I just returned from one of our most amazing visits with a quilt guild: The Millington Quilters Guild.  The group is in East Central Michigan and they are Wonderful!!!

Here are the members and their guests at the luncheon (all 250 of them). Fabulous!

I was the guest speaker for their annual invitational luncheon held at the famous Zehnder’s Restaurant in Frankenmuth.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

The restaurant and grounds were beautiful…

The village of Frankenmuth looks like someone traveled to Bavaria and transported an entire German town to Michigan. Here is what were saw:

Wonderful sights, warm and happy people, fantastic food and a week we will never forget.

We got home and were greeted by our puppies: Tillie, who just turned 16 and Sasha 17 1/2.They were ready for some Sunday football!

Until next week.