Out da Door — Again!

I’m off to two fabulous locations!

This week I’ll see you in 2 countries!

On Tuesday, I fly to Olympia, Washington to teach, lecture and host a charity auction!

Immediately after that, I catch a plane to Calgary, Canada for Quilt Canada — where I lecture — twice!  One for entertainment, and one for business!

Now I wasn’t too far from Canada a few weeks ago when I was featured speaker and teacher in Minot, North Dakota!

To be honest, while I had heard of Minot, I had no idea where North Dakota was (I assumed, correctly I might add, that  it was the land above South Dakota).  Everybody told me that it was cold and that there was nothing there . . .

Well, as usual, everybody who had an opinion was totally wrong.  There IS a there in North Dakota!

I had the very best time.  The people were phenomenal. The Minot Prairie Quilt Guild was large and very talented (and treated me like GOLD).  And North Dakota, at least Minot, was charming, to say the least.

Here are some pics of my stay . . .

A Horse is a Horse, Of Course!

Right in the middle of town is a giant red Dala Horse!

Behind the horse is a traditional Scandinavian storage house.

Just look at the hand carving on this “shed.”

Goin’ to the Chapel

Across the plaza is the Gol Stave Church Museum that is all hand built and carved magnificantly . . .

I just found myself so inspired creatively by this building . . .

Here is the inside.  It is very, very plain.  Yet in its simplicity, it is beautiful.  Notice the faces of the pagen gods carved into the pillars at the top.  There are several faces carved in pillars around the inside of the church.

The hand hammered iron and the simple locks are stunning.

The altar is just a simple, hand carved cross with a very plain appliqued quilt hanging behind it.  It is the only color in the building.

Swedish Weaving

A beautiful example of this weaving technique hung in the church

My grandmother taught me how to do this kind of embroidery when I was a kid.

Deja Vu . . .

This was taken in the museum store.

I would have thought that I was smack in the local Minot bar scene because THIS is the only type of guy who ever hit on me!

I loved the beaded bodice of this traditional Scandinavian costume.

Throwing a Curve

Here are some pictures of one of my classes.

But of all the things I’ll cherish from the trip is . . .

Going out to dinner with the guild Minot Guild Executive and Show Planning cupcakes and their husbands after the show.   We had burgers at The Badlands Grill House and Saloon.

And I’ve never had a Long Island Iced Tea quite as good as the ones they served here!   Amazing!

Here’s the Long Island Iced Tea Recipe I use at home:

Long Island Iced Tea

1/2 c. Tequila
1/2 c. Gin
1/2 c. Rum
1/2 c. Triple Sec
32 oz. Lemonade
32 oz. Coke

DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!  I’m telling you that this drink sneaks up on you and knocks you on your can!  Honest!

Bought a couple of books . . .

Whether you’re a fan of O (as in Obama, not Oprah) or not, you would be foolish to pass up this significant bit of quilting history before it goes out of print and you’re looking at a several hundred dollar  used copy of Journey of Hope from Amazon (because I know, and you know, you will be looking).   This book, by Carolyn Mazloomi is TERRIFIC, dudes!  It features quilts inspired by President Obama and is one page of soon-to-be historic eye-candy after another.  The talent in our modern quilting community is amazing, isn’t it?

To be fair, I had seen a preview copy of this book, passed around the Board of Directors table at the Alliance for American Quilts in Washington DC, several weeks ago.  I knew then that I had to have it.   That weekend, I also had the good fortune to attend a lecture by Dr. Mazloomi.   If she’s speaking near you, make sure you get a ticket.  She’s very entertaining!  Visit Carolyn’s site by clicking —>  HERE!

BUY Carolyn’s book at Amazon.com by clicking —->  BUY THE BOOK

Next . . .

Now, I bought this next book online, sight unseen, based on the title alone.   It’s pretty simplistic in its approach, meaning an idiot could probably follow the directions and get something out of it, but all in all, I was hoping for something more.  I’m not sure what more, just more.   Fact is, I think that the majority of the quilts that I’ve actually seen over the years that had incorporated “pictures” into the work, tend to look amateurish and unappealing.  And I gotta say that I got that same feeling when I looked at some of the finished quilts in the book — they didn’t do it for me in the least.   On the other hand there are a couple of techniques in this book that seem to work pretty well and may transcend you above and beyond what we think of when we think of the marriage of quilts and photos. But those are the techniques that take you beyond copying a photo onto fabric, sewing blocks around it and calling it a quilt.  Like all art, if you want to create something of note, you have to work at it until it’s right!

Ever have the feeling that something was wrong even though you have no proof?

Well, I haven’t seen old Evan wearing his new glasses in several weeks.   I was sure his quest to keep his “Twilight-esque” Taylor Lautner look-a-like thing going was at the heart of it all.

Taylor Lautner —

Evan Lipinski —

But my curiosity got the better of me and I went on a opti-alogical dig in his room.

You guessed it . . .

Yup.  Here are Evan’s new glasses.  My worst fear realized.

The case is stained with soda.

The lens is popped out.

The arms are as hideously twisted as Heidi Montag’s self image.

And the part that go over the ears have literally been chewed off by the dog. (And I know which dog — VIOLET)

Only on Pickle Road, cupcakes.  Only on Pickle Road!