Gifts From Jodi

Spoiled.
I was just plain spoiled last week while my friends Jodi and Lori were here.

Jodi came all the way from her home state of Oregon bearing gifts.

And I can now say I am the proud owner of a MUG RUG hand made especially by Jodi!
Have you read the delightful posts Jodi has written on Mug Rugs? Make sure to run over, even if it's for a review.

Cute little mini marshmallows, that Jodi shows how to order HERE.

yummy treats

hand delivered all the way from Oregon.

Jodi also gave me an entire set of her new templates that she has developed.

(*These will be available on her web site Pleasant Home by the end of the month)

I am really looking forward to playing with these templates!

The first set I want to use will be to make the Mini Double Hour Glass quilt. Jodi gives a free tutorial on Pleasant Home HERE.

Lori made these blocks while she was at my house last week, and they turned out so cute.

A great way to use up scraps, and the pattern is also Jelly Roll friendly.

Thank you Jodi! It feels like Christmas already.

Gifts From Lori

Lori Holt (Bee In My Bonnet) is one of the most creative people I have ever known. When she comes to my house, I am always showered with the most wonderful gifts that have been assembled with that Lori Flair.
If you are looking for some fun ideas for Christmas presents for your quilting friends, you can thank Lori.

Apron In A Jar
Complete with pattern, fabrics and trims needed for one really cute apron.

With an attached recipe card

I can hardly wait to sew with the pom poms from Riley Blake.

Cupcake Wrappers

Lori gave these as gifts for every one of her students who took her class at Quilted Works. What a nice teacher!

Handmade paper flowers.

Quilt Group Cookbook.

Lori belongs to The Clothesline Club sponsored by Quilts, Etc. in Sandy, Utah.

Each member shared their favorite recipes.

I've had some of Lori's Shrimp Dip, and it's YUM!

Cute Halloween treats

Lori brought both Jodi and I the pattern and supplies to make Snap Bags. I worked on mine while we were together Saturday night.

A great project to use up scraps.

These can be quite addictive to make!

Snap bags have measuring tape sections sewn into the top that allow the bag to open and close with a snap.

Lori had Mr. Honey cut up one of his old measuring tapes as a donation for our work night. We rounded the corners, then wrapped the edges with duct tape so they would not cut into the fabric. Great tips!

It was so wonderful having my dear friends Lori and Jodi here for 5 days of quilting fun. Thank you ladies, and I miss you already!

Tomorrow I will show you some of the things Jodi spoiled me with.

Lori Holt Retreat at Quilted Works

Yesterday was day 1 of our Retreat at Quilted Works with Lori Holt.
We had so much fun learning Lori's method of hand applique as we worked on EAT CAKE.

A true artist.
Lori had been designing quilts under her business name Bee In My Bonnet since 1994.
Before that she spent 12 years designing Tole Painting books.

Eat Cake is a small project, but we learned every technique needed to be able to move on to Lori's larger designs.
Lori has developed her own method for needleturn applique that really simplifies the steps. It was fun to see the students excitement and to hear them exclaim "I can do this now!"

We had homework last night, and will return today to finish up and apply the embroidery.

The room was packed to the brim.

Every one received individual attention.

Lori brought a Story Board of her fabric line SEW CHERRY that will be released in March under Riley Blake.

I can hardly wait to get my hands on this fabric!

A Quilters World
In preparation for the retreat, Lori sent two of her quilts that were displayed on the walls at Quilted Works.
I love all of her patterns, but A Quilters World is among my favorites.

This is the featherweight Lori sews on when we go on retreats.

And her vintage iron.

FAMILY REUNION

Who has not attached their name to a paper plate or made potato salad for a family gathering?

Lori has the ability to capture MEMORIES.

To see more patterns, make sure to visit Bee In My Bonnet.

Lori doesn't sell directly off her web site, but I know Quilted Works (435-674-2500) would be happy to do mail orders.

Eat Cake

I am all a-twitter, and have been so excited for this week to arrive.

Months ago I asked my friend Lori Holt (Bee In My Bonnet) if she would come as a National Teacher for a retreat at Quilted Works here in St. George, Utah.

And being the kind person that she is, the response was "Yes"!

The retreat will start tomorrow and go through Saturday. We will be learning Lori's great method for hand applique and making this cute wall hanging

EAT CAKE

And to make the event even more exciting, Jodi Nelson (Pleasant Home) has flown in from Oregon to take Lori's class.

Even though distance separates us, we communicate often. This felt like the perfect opportunity to spend some quality girlfriend time.

Both Lori and Jodi arrived at my house on Tuesday for our own little "pre-retreat". We have been talking non-stop and have even gotten a little sewing done.

I would show you a picture of Lori, but SOMEBODY considered yesterday pajama day.

You just can't blame the girl.

The weather here in St. George is perfect, with sunny skies and the temperature around 75 degrees.

The blue, blue skies against the red rocks beacons us to relax.

When ever I attend a retreat with Lori, I always learn a lot.

She is the queen in being prepared, and accomplishes so much in a short period of time. She says she does all her thinking before leaving, and will arrive with stacks of boxes with projects ready to be sewn.

All the fabrics are pre-cut.

And you will find her sewing away on her little Featherweight.

I also love her vintage 1930's iron that weighs a ton. (They just don't make them like they used to!)

Lori brought Jodi and I the pattern and fabric to make these Snap Bags. Jodi finished hers.

Last night we sat in comfy chairs and started a new crochet project together. I'll show you more about that later.

Wish you were all here!

Mixed Bag

One of my favorite projects to make is Mixed Bag designed by my friend Nanette Merrill of
Freda's Hive.
I've made this bag several times and it turns out wonderful in every fabric combination.

Mixed Bag features 12 vertical fabrics in a row, with 6 on the front...

and 6 on the back.

I used the line Wee Woodland by Keiki for Moda.

Mixed Bag will be a store sample for Quilted Works.
Lori Pallas, the manager asked me to implement the Inazuma handles they had just received in 3 beautiful colors.

I loved the red ones the most.

The handles do not come with any instructions, but they are easy to install.
I used a double length of thread in a matching color, and hand sewed using the provided holes as a guide.

Such a fun fabric line.

And you know how much I love fussy cutting pieces of fabric to use for covered buttons.

**just in case you are wondering, I will be taking pictures today of my delightful guests. We stayed up until 1:00 a.m. yabbering away, and SOME of us are still in our pajamas.