Guest Blogger on Generation Q Magazine!

How exciting to be featured as a guest blogger over on the Generation Q Magazine site!  Go check it out and you can read more about our trip to Ireland this past October!  As you know, Don and I are working with Brack Tours and leading a group to Ireland in May!  It's not too late for you to sign up and come along with us!  Deadlines are fast approaching to get the best price!  If you've been thinking about taking this trip... NOW is the time to call! 

We've got a great itinerary planned that not only includes the most beautiful scenery you could ever imagine....but also a stop at The Sewing Shed, where owner and my wonderful friend, Nikki Foley will give us a lesson in fabric dyeing.

You can also check out this short Youtube video with just a few of the pics from our time in Ireland this past October.

The Thankful Tree - The Story of a Quilt

 For the second year in a row, Don and I spent a "Christmas Craft" day with the second graders at Otter Lake Elementary School in White Bear Lake, MN, where our son John teaches.

I'm not sure who was more excited...the kids, having special guests...or me...getting to teach the kids how everything is better with GLITTER!

 

While wooden frames were being painted and embellished with glitter and bling, we set up a photo booth where the kids could dress up with an array of silly hats, glasses and other fun props.  A quick trip to the local one hour photo processing store and our gifts for parents were complete!

 

 

Once the paint and supplies were put away and desks were clean again (Let's use the word clean loosely here...no matter how good their janitor is...I'd be willing to bet there's still glitter in the carpet!) we were ready to move on to our second project.

 

When planning our craft day, I contemplated having the kids draw pictures for a deployed soldier, who happens to be the son of a lovely quilter friend of mine.  As a military mom myself, I know firsthand just how hard those deployments are...my heart knows exactly what my friends heart is feeling.  I also know just how much our soldiers love knowing that they are appreciated and getting mail from "home"!

 

Somewhere in that line of thought came this fleeting question....

"What if I had them draw those pictures on fabric?"

Well, for a quilter...that's all it takes, my friends.

 A quilt was born.

 

The pictures drawn were to say "Thank You" to this soldier for his service.

Here's a few of those very special drawings.

Sitting on my living room floor the next day, I spread out all of the drawings to see if I could come up with a design for the quilt.  It was then I realized that I hadn't been specific with the kids about creating a vertical or horizontal drawing.  Oops!  That was going to cause a problem, right?

 

Apparently not.  Within minutes, my quilt began to take a very specific shape.

 

 

I could hardly wait to get this quilt together...and I'm pretty sure the top was complete by the end of that day.  The machine quilting took just a bit longer.

 

The  finished quilt....we've named The Thankful Tree. 

A trees roots run deep, just like the love we have for our family, our faith and our country

 

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close ups on the quilting

 

 

My intent was to return to Otter Lake Elementary School so that we could take a photo of the second graders with the quilt before we sent it off to our soldier. Sadly, Mother Nature and Old Man Winter have been trying to one up each other on a daily basis here in the Midwest, and it seemed like it just wasn't going to happen before Spring... I really wanted to get this quilt in the mail.

 So disappointing.

 

And then last Friday, in my basement studio, the second graders and I were able to chat via FaceTime.  By holding up my Iphone on my end...and John connecting the Ipad in the classroom so that it projected on to the screen in the front of the class.... I was able to show them the finished quilt.  They were each able to identify the drawings they had created and to see the piecing and machine quilting that I had done to complete our project. 

 It gets better.... 

Remember that group photo that I wanted so badly to take?

 

It Happened!!!!!

Not quite like I had imagined...but as they saying goes...where there's a will...there's a way.

 

Students, Teacher, Quilt, Me!

 

As soon as we ended our FaceTime chat, this quilt was boxed up and taken to the Post Office and is now on it's way to our soldier.

 

So excited for our soldier to receive this very special care package!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Galway, Ireland - IPS Western Branch -

On my recent trip to Ireland, I was lucky enough to be in Galway on the Saturday in October when the IPS-Western Branch (Irish Patchwork Society) was meeting.   The IPS was actually founded in 1981 and has 8 branches located throughout Ireland.

My friend, Cindy, from Fluffy Sheep Quilting came by our hotel and picked us up for the meeting, which was a thrill for me since she and I have been cyber friends for a few years now but had never met.  (can't believe as I look through the photos we took, and I didn't take one with her....geez! We'd better rectify that on my next visit, Cindy!)

Arriving at the meeting, I could not have felt more welcome by the Irish quilters.  So exciting as well upon my arrival was getting to meet another cyber friend, Linda, who owns a quilt shop in County Galway called Rags for Linda!  What a thrill to get to meet her in person too!



 

 

At each meeting, the local quilt shops take turns setting up a small "store" for those attending to get a little fabric therapy!  What a great idea!  I got to meet another cyber friend (I heart Facebook!), Lynn Naughton, who owns a quilt shop called Seams Sew Simple in County Roscommon.

 



 

As with most guilds, the Irish quilter's are no different in that not only is the guild meeting an opportunity to spend time with other quilters and share ideas, but also for those quilters to find a way to give to back to the community.  On this particular Saturday, a presentation was made to a local charity in Galway called COPE.  Check out these ABC quilts made for their new playroom.

 

 

 The guild also boasts a library as a resource for their members. 

 

 

It was a great morning spent with some very lovely ladies! I made several new friends and  I got to share with them a bit about myself and the quilty things that I am up to as well as share a give away of some Generation Q Magazines. (thanks, Melissa!). (stay tuned for details about my trip and spending time with Irish quilters in an upcoming issue of Gen Q) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you'd like to come along with me on an Irish adventure next Spring...click the link in the upper right hand corner!

 

 

 

Going Back to Ireland - May 15-25, 2014

Many of you remember that just over a year ago, I had the opportunity to go to Ireland, and I fell head over heels in love with Ireland and it's people.  So much so that I have sought out an opportunity to return and I would love to take you with me.  My husband has agreed to come along and see what all the fuss is about.  He's a photographer and would love to share is photography skills with anyone who comes along...and trust me...there is so much beauty your camera will be working overtime.   

And because of my quilting background, I promise to include some quilty goodness in this trip!
Nikki Foley, of The Sewing Shed, has offered to allow anyone interested in our group to join her for a fabric dyeing class. 
Our goal is to provide those who come along with opportunities to spend time with local artisans and really discover the best of Ireland!

And now...for your viewing pleasure....I've added a few of my photos from my journey last year.

 

 

If you, or someone you know might be interested in coming along with us, feel free to contact me directly here in the comments....or send me an email at psuebarnes@yahoo.com

Also, you can contact Sinead at Brack Tours at sinead@bracktours.com  For more info follow this link

http://www.bracktours.com/tour/don-penny-barnes-anam-cara-tour-15th-25th-may-2014/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Festival Friends Block Swap...the Reveal

So in my last post, I may have mentioned that I was a wee bit stumped with how I was going to make these eleven blocks and the panel I had chosen, into a quilt.   And not just any quilt...I wanted my quilt to tell a story...or more importantly...my story.

So for several weeks, my blocks were pinned on my design wall...and then they began to speak to me.  Come on now...don't tell me your blocks or fabrics don't speak to you....you know they do.  Inspired by my friend, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, and her book 15 Minutes of Play, I decided to use some of the blocks I'd received, as fabric, to create new blocks.  I also decided to combine some blocks to show how our lives become "intertwined" with those we meet.

Remember Nikki's block?

And Carol's?

 

I combined those two blocks to create this one.

 

And then the Palmer's block...

was joined with Pam's block...

 

And became this.

 

Cecille's Block....are you read?

 

Became this...because quite frankly... my quilt needed a castle.

 

Peggy's embroidered initials were cut into a heart shape and added to the tree as if they'd been carved there by very special friends.

 

The heart from Dana's block was added to the root of my healing tree...because true healing begins in the heart...and the pains of life run deep into our roots.

 

And my Festival Friends Quilt....(somebody play a drum roll please)

 

 

 

I am so incredibly proud of my creation.

 

a few close ups of some of the quilting....

 

  

 

 

 

And there you have it!  My first ever quilt created from a block exchange!  I'm thinking I might like to do this again sometime....

Got Blocks?

 

Festival Friends Block Swap

You might remember that this time last year I traveled to Ireland for a tour and a quilt festival.  I fell head over heels in love with Ireland and made some very special friendships while I was there, as well as a few seeds of friendship that were planted...and have continued to grow since my return. My trip to Ireland was also such a healing experience for me.  After losing my Dad just a few months prior to my trip, my heart still felt extremely heavy....and I was going to be there on the anniversary of my Mother's death.  Some of you, who know what it's like...when you lose that second parent...you not only grieve their loss...but you feel the loss of the first one all over again.  I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't focus on sad things while I was there.  And then, on the night of the anniversary of my Mom's death...I met this wonderful woman named Holly and her husband Jim.  Holly and I were having a lovely conversation about quilts when she asked "Who taught you to quilt, your Mother?"  One simple sentence and I had no control over the tears that followed and slid down my cheek.  When I shared with her the significance of the day, she took my hand in hers and said "You realize your Mother is here with you, right?  She's here and she's shining through you tonight."  In that very moment....I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be...hearing exactly what I was supposed to be hearing....and my heart was beginning to heal.

Holly and I

About a month after returning home, I received an invitation to participate in a "Block Swap" with a group of quilters who each had a connection to the quilt festival.  Nervous...as I had never participated in one before...I still said yes.  In the beginning, there were 12 of us, each receiving the same one yard cuts of three different fabrics.  Tweedy, by P&B Textiles were chosen in a shade of blue, green and gray.

There rules were simple.  Using at least two of the three fabrics chosen, we were to create a block twelve times over so that we each ended up with one of every one's blocks.  Of course, I wanted to create something that would represent my experience in Ireland.  So I chose a "heart" block.  I decided on using the small Twister template and drew out my pattern.

I used 2.5" squares and created the heart using different shades of green (P = Print) and surrounded my heart in the blue "Tweedy" to represent the sea.  After much deliberation...I decided to add one more little touch of a black and white striped border.

I titled my block "Ireland Captured My Heart" 

 

By the end of December I had received all of my other blocks for the project....now eleven in total including mine, as someone had to drop out due to time constraints.  These were the blocks I received.

 

created by Pam Hotle of Wisconsin

 

created by Kim Caskey of Canada

 

created by Nikki Foley of Ireland

 

created by Carol Moellers of Iowa

 

created by Karen Farrell of Ireland

 

created by Cecille Flagg of Ireland

 

created by Michelle Banton of Massachusetts

 

created by Dana Lynch of Mississippi

 

created by Chris and Rebecca Palmer of Ireland

 

created by Peggy Bass of Kansas

 

A few of us were fortunate enough to meet up in Houston during Quilt Festival to "swap" our blocks.

 

So now to create a quilt using these eleven blocks.  I will admit freely...I felt stumped.  These blocks were pinned on my design wall for quite awhile.  I kept waiting for that "light bulb" moment to happen.  Occasionally I would move them around a bit in hopes that act would spark some idea. Then one day I was looking through some photos from another quilting event and saw a quilt made with a panel that caught my eye.  I did a search and discovered it was called The Healing Tree by Melissa Marie Collins at Frond Designs...and I knew that somehow this panel had to be a part of my quilt.

 

So now, you've seen all the of the "pieces" that I would be working with to create my quilt.  Later this week I will be sharing my creation with you.