"She seeks wool, and flax, and works willingly with her hands."
~ Proverbs 31:13
Last Friday my alarm went off at 4 a.m., and amazingly, I jumped up excited to get going! This was traveling day!
My friend, Chris, and I had signed up for a workshop a month earlier with Lisa Bongean who was teaching at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, and this day was the start of a quilty weekend! 
Our quilty itinerary:
- attend the quilt show on Friday to get inspired, seeing all the wonderful quilts on display
- shop the vendor booths for fabric and/or sewing supplies or kits we might need
- attend the all-day wool applique table runner class on Saturday and have tons of fun!
I arrived at the Hampton Convention Center and checked in, along with hundreds of other quilt-loving ladies: 
Here I am with my friend, Chris, in front of a beautiful red and white quilt on display: 
Chris and her mom enjoyed browsing all the vendor booths for ideas and inspiration: 
Here's a beautiful floral quilt named Flower Garden on display using Kaffe's fabrics: 
This was one of our favorites below...an up-close photo of a crazy quilt with lots of handwork, including the spider's web, typically found in crazy quilts (this was new information to me...but we searched, and sure enough, there was the spider's web in one corner!): 
Here's another section of the quilt featuring a watering can, dragonfly, and beautiful embroidered flowers. We stood there for quite awhile oohing and aahing over every birdhouse, rake, thimble, bee, and hummingbird: 
A perfect display for me to pose beside:
I took a picture of this quilt especially for my accountant son-in-law, Eric. It's called A Piece of Pi, complete with each number circling the quilt: 
Can you tell we were having a fun time? 
The next day we began our Wool Applique all-day class with Lisa Bongean: 
Chris quickly traced and cut out her pattern and was ready to start fusing the shapes to the wool:
Here I am cutting out my pattern. It was so fun to take a class with a friend:
At the end of class, we were able to get a picture with our very knowledgeable teacher:
Here's a photo of the table mat I was working on....it's still not completely finished and needs more handwork done and the backing added: 
Here's Chris' mom standing beside a quilt she recently finished. We didn't even need to go to the quilt show to see beautiful quilts! She brought this one over to Chris' house for me to see: 
Our girlfriends' quilty weekend passed so quickly, and soon it was time for me to head back home.
We ended up not having time during the weekend to raid Chris' stash and work on an Easter wall-hanging project she had planned for us to do. But look at this....she worked on hers this week and sent me a photo.
It looks great and makes me want to get started on this one titled He Is Risen from Carried Away Quilting blog.
After all the ER trips and medical appointments for Granny going on in February after she experienced another compression fracture, it was good to get away for a fun weekend. I think Granny's recuperating well, and we're very thankful for answered prayer!
I'm also hoping the quilty weekend will get me energized to start back on some quilting projects! We'll see!
~Deb
*Quilt Festival ~ 2013
Aww Deb, I loved seeing all the photos and reading all the commentary!! It sure was a FUN weekend and was over way to fast!!!! Can you believe that my mom has completed her runner and it is beautifully displayed in her living room. She found the perfect spot, on top of an antique sewing cabinet and an antique oil lamp resting on it, so pretty! I realized that I don't think I sent you all the photos of the crazy quilt...SOOOO SORRY! I will do that right away! I'm glad Granny is getting along better now! Looking forward to another girls weekend!! Thanks for making the trip and sharing your weekend with us! :)
Posted by: Chris | Friday, March 04, 2016 at 11:40 PM
How fabulous Deb, I am so glad you had that fun. You look lovely in that bright red.
Please give Granny my love and best wishes.
Posted by: Rose | Saturday, March 05, 2016 at 05:47 AM
Thanks for sharing your weekend away with us. PI quilt is cool.My late brother in law could recite PI very far into it until someone asked him to stop.
I hope you get some quilting in before the garden work starts up .
Posted by: Tammy C | Saturday, March 05, 2016 at 10:30 AM
I'm a knitter rather than a quilter, but this looks like such a fun weekend. So inspired by those beautiful quilting designs!
Posted by: Amy M | Saturday, March 05, 2016 at 11:29 AM
Oh Deb, what a fun weekend with your friend! I hope you got your inspiration for quilting. Pass some along to me if you did. ;) I've been reading, snacking and enjoying winter, but it's nearly over now.
Have a great weekend!
Toni
Posted by: Toni | Saturday, March 05, 2016 at 12:16 PM
DEAR DEB: QUE LINDAS FOTOGRAFIAS DE SU EMOCIONANTE FIN DE SEMANA JUNTO A SU AMIGA, REALMENTE SON HERMOSOS ESOS ENDREDONES, MUY COLORIDOS Y TAMBIEN DEBEN SER COSTOSOS POR EL TRABAJO QUE LLEVA, A MI ME GUSTA MUCHO TODA ESAS CLASES DE TRABAJOS. ME AGRADA SABER QUE SU SEÑORA MAMA ESTA MEJOR DE SALUD, DIOS ES FIEL HERMANA, EL ESCUCHA NUESTRAS SUPLICAS EN MOMENTOS DE ANGUSTIAS. QUERIA PREGUNTARLE SI LEYO SOBRE LA NUEVA PAREJA CRISTIANA QUE SE HA FORMADO¿HA LEIDO SOBRE KATRHYN NEELY Y DANIEL STADDON? ¿NO HACEN UNA LINDA PAREJA? ME AGRADAN ESTAS FAMILIAS, SIEMPRE LEO SUS BLOGS, SON FIELES SIERVOS DEL SEÑOR Y SE QUE DIOS LOS BENDECIRA EN GRAN MANERA. YO HACE TIEMPO PRESENTIA QUE ESTAS 2 FAMILIAS SE IBAN A UNIR, EL ESPIRITU DE DIOS ME AVISABA, YA QUE YO NO LOS CONOZCO PERSONALMENTE, PERO ALGO INTUIA. BUENO DEB A LA ESPERA DE SU CONTESTACION A MI PRESENTE CORREO, LE SALUDO CON LA PAZ DE JESUCRISTO, NUESTRO SEÑOR Y SALVADOR, NO SIN ANTES COMPARTIR CON USTED UN VERSICULO BIBLICO: SALMO 9, VERSICULOS 9,10,11 Y 12. GOD BLESS YOUR LIFE AND YOUR FAMILY.
TRANSLATED:
WHAT PRETTY PICTURES OF YOUR EXCITING WEEKEND WITH YOUR FRIEND, THOSE QUILTS ARE VERY COLORFUL, REALLY BEAUTIFUL, AND ALSO MUST BE EXPENSIVE BY TAKING A LOT OF WORK, I LIKE VERY MUCH THESE KINDS OF WORK. I AM GLAD TO KNOW THAT YOUR MAMA IS IN BETTER HEALTH, GOD IS FAITHFUL SISTER, HE HEARS OUR PLEAS IN MOMENTS OF ANXIETY. I WANTED TO ASK YOU IF YOU READ ABOUT THE NEW CHRISTIAN COUPLE THAT WILL BE FORMED – WOULD YOU HAVE READ ABOUT KATHRYN NEELY AND DANIEL STADDON? DON’T THEY MAKE A CUTE COUPLE? I LIKE THESE FAMILIES AND ALWAYS READ THEIR BLOGS, THEY ARE FAITHFUL SERVANTS OF THE LORD, AND I KNOW GOD WILL BLESS THEM GREATLY. I SOME TIME AGO WAS ANTICIPATING THAT THESE 2 FAMILIES WERE GOING TO JOIN, THE SPIRIT OF GOD WARNED ME, SINCE I DO NOT KNOW THEM PERSONALLY, BUT RATHER SENSED. GOOD DEB, WAITING FOR YOUR REPLY TO MY EMAIL, I SALUTE YOU WITH THE PEACE OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, BUT NOT BEFORE SHARING WITH YOU A BIBLE VERSE: PSALM 9, VERSES 9,10,11 AND 12. GOD BLESS YOUR LIFE AND YOUR FAMILY.
Posted by: ANA | Saturday, March 05, 2016 at 04:54 PM
Hello Deb,
What wonderful quilts you saw on display so much detail in them, thanks for sharing. Working with wool must be so relaxing, hope Granny continues with good health. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. A girls weekend is what everyone needs now and again, glad you got to share it with your friend.
Happy days.
Bev.
Posted by: Bev | Saturday, March 05, 2016 at 05:45 PM
I love all those colorful quilts. Looks like you had a such a wonderful time. I'm glad you were able to get away for a fun weekend, and am so thankful Granny is improving. We continue praying for her.
Blessings,
Victoria
Posted by: victoria | Saturday, March 05, 2016 at 11:51 PM
Hooray for a new post...about quilting! I loved reading it, anyway. Still scratching my head why quilting fascinates people so. 😉
We, too, continue to pray for Granny. I'm happy to hear that she's turned a corner.
Keep those posts coming.
Posted by: Cathy | Monday, March 07, 2016 at 11:28 PM
Seeing these beautiful quilts is so inspiring. Someday I'd love to go to an event like that! :)
Posted by: Holly | Wednesday, March 09, 2016 at 05:58 PM