Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking at the Comforter’s Quilt Guild in Puyallup, WA.  My talk was on making quilts from fat quarters.  It included lots of show-and-tell quilts that I brought.

These are all the quilts from my first two books.  In Bundles of Fun, each quilt uses 12 fat quarters.  In Fat Quarter Fun, the quilts use from 3 to 30 fat quarters.

I also gave them each a pattern for my Ditty Bag.

It was a lot of fun, and I loved the feedback about my quilts, but I had just as much fun seeing what they were doing!

This was part of their monthly block exchange.  Oh, how I wished I could enter my name in that drawing!

They had lots of “good neighbor” quilts that they would be donating in their local area.  This one is made with Debbie Mumm fabrics from quite a few years back.  I think I still have some blocks made from these fabrics in my WIP’s basket!

This is an interesting variation on a four-patch.

Aren’t these colors sweet.  This quilt will surely make some little girl happy.

A sweet cottage quilt.

Isn’t this a pretty strippy quilt?  It’s almost like a variation of Court House Steps!

This quilt is really visually interesting with the diagonal blocks!

I thought this quilt was just gorgeous.

Nice animal prints here.

Here’s another quilts that’s great graphically.

These bold colors will surely cheer someone up.

What a great way to feature a novelty print!

This reminds me of a stylized Bow Tie quilt.

Great interlocking Pinwheels.

I loved this modern quilt!

This was the quilt back.

Here’s a great patchwork.

A cool Rail Fence variation.

Same blocks as the quilt above, but set on point.  It sure changes the look, doesn’t it?

This bright Sampler reminds me of a Mexican Fiesta!

Imagine, all of the above quilts were to be given away.  What wonderful work.

Then it was time for a little member show-and-tell, like this stunning star quilt.

This is a really pretty color combination.

A beautiful bed quilt.

This T-Shirt quilt is for the maker’s granddaughter–a volleyball player.

A very pretty table topper…

…and a pretty table runner.

Thank you, Comforters, for inviting me!

Look what I bought the other day when I was antique shopping with my daughters-in-law (we had left the kids with the dads and Papa!).  Bob’s mom had a whole set of this Samsonite luggage, which I now have, but she didn’t have this piece.  I just love the shape of it.

I just had to have it–and it wasn’t very expensive.  And, after an afternoon of shopping, it was the only thing in the back of the car.  Bob was so pleased to see that I hadn’t bought a lot of “stuff.”

Of course, what he didn’t know is that as we shopped, I stuffed my stuff into my new trunk!  And boy am I a good stuffer.  Here’s what it looked like when we got home and I took it into the guest room to open it.  Of course as we unloaded the car, and Bob started to pick up my new suitcase, I quickly reached in front of him and said, “Oh no, I’ve got this,” just in case the weight gave it away!  So, what did I manage to get in there?  One very lumpy (but cheap) quilt…

…some adorable building blocks with letters and images…

…and sweet clothes pin holder…

…a wonderfully illustrated children’s book called Merry Murphy that stars a potato.  The end papers were beautiful.

It was a rebus book!  Some of the words were replaced by pictures.

I also bought this apron…

…and this apron…

…and this Hey Diddle Diddle crib cover.

Lastly, there was this rolling cookie cutter that I couldn’t resist–and I still had a little room for another treasure in my trunk!

Good thing Bob doesn’t read my blog!

It’s taken me a whole year to get this post posted. I know some of you are very familiar with camo, but if you’re not, here’s your introduction!

The whole Hamilton family visited Cabella’s in Olympia.

Cabella’s is an outdoorsman’s paradise.

And home of everything camo.  Do you see our grandson, Carson, in the photo below?  No, not the boy in purple, that’s Cole.  If you can’t find Carson, that’s the camo, aka camouflage, doing its job!

If Justin didn’t have that great smile, you might not see him in the photo below.  He already has quite the camo wardrobe.

Bill’s looking stylin’ in his camo pants and backpack.

He probably should have these boots, too.

You didn’t think they only came in one style, did you?

Oh, you don’t need rubber boots?  How about work boots?

If you don’t want anyone to see your hands–and you want to keep them warm at the same tie–you’ll need these gloves!

Justin had some money to spend, but it was a hard decision what to spend it on.  Hmmm, maybe  this camo wallet???

Perhaps we’re spending too much time shopping. Time for a wresting break.

Wow! Not only can you be entirely clad in camo, you can get a camo ATV, too!

JJ found one that’s just the right size.

But, seriously, how about home decor?  Surely if we can outfit our bodies in camo, we can do our homes, too.

Clock, anyone?

Or a camo game table for just $99.00?

Of course, you’ll need somewhere to relax.

Pink and blue bean bags?  Is that pink for girls and blue for boys?

Ooh, here’s a comfy TV chair.

And McKenna modeling the latest in camo coffee mugs.

Now that we’ve furnished the living room in camo, how about the bedrooms?

Not only can you get the perfect comforter, you can get camo valances.

Don’t think this is just for the boys.  There’s pink camo bedding for the girly girls in the family.

Oh! Oh!  Bathroom accessories, too!

Aw, even dolls dressed in camo.

There were even kid sized chairs, as McKenna discovered.

Justin and JJ found them a good fit, too.

Carson had to give them a try.  Note the mini loves seat, too!

The top half of Justin just about disappears in this chair.

Is it Justin or a bear???

Justin or a deer???

I’m speechless!  All in all, it was a great camo day.

There’s got to be a rhyme in here somewhere.  That family that wears camo together…….  Well, you’l have to finish it.

Christmas Day was a Very Merry Christmas at our house.

The mantle is filled with my Christmas village.

Despite Bob’s concerns that all the heat will go up the chimney, we have a roaring fire!

Here’s the tree…

…with lots of blown glass ornaments collected over the years.  It’s so fun to think of the places I visited and who I was with when I got each of them–like New York, San Francisco, Colonial Williamsburg and the Hotel Del Coronado.

For years I collected vintage looking boxes.  I hadn’t used them in over 15 years.

But this year I dug them out and discovered I still love them!

We did brunch here, with fresh Dungeness crab legs, barbecued pork, gruyere potatoes, my mom’s homemade potato salad and her homemade cheese–along with some Cougar Gold.

I baked cardamom bread…

and pecan sticky buns and orange rolls.  We love our carbs in this family!

Sally, Ray, Dad, Mom and Cole.

Cole (hey! how did he get in there again!?!), Melissa, Matt and Bob.

A very Merry Christmas indeed!

On my recent flight home from Houston, the clouds were so lovely.

I couldn’t keep from staring out the window.

They were ever changing.

I thought how nice it would be to capture their beauty.

But in my experience…

…taking photos through airplane windows isn’t usually very successful.

However, I had my camera in my purse.

So I pulled it out.

I thought I’d give it a try.

My camera is a very basic point-and-shoot.

So, I pointed…

…and I shot.

I was amazed!

They turned out.

They really turned out!!

Then the sun went down.

More quilts from the quilt show at Quilt Market.  These Art-Pictoral quilts are incredible!  I hope you enjoy.

’52 Pickup by Marcia Stein.

Old Pecos Cabin by Michelle M. Jackson.

Facade by Melissa Sobotka.

Forest Walk by Pat Durbin.

Crossing Calamity Creek by Kathy McNeil.

Cone Flower by Mary Ann Vaca-Lambert.

Imagine by Caryl Scheutz.

Mermaids Wineglasses 2 by Sarah McLean.

Wings and Feathers by Mark Sherman.

Mexican Sunflower in Batiks by Jules Rushing.

Peacockiness by Marilyn H. Wall.

Spring Revival by Deborah Kemball.

Welcome to my Garden by Barb Forrester.

Daffodils by Barbara Holtzman.

Let’s All Spring Forward by Rosalie Baker.

Under the Sunflowers by Barbara McKie.

At our last two Redwork Club Meetings, we had doll show-and-tell.

As you can see, we’re all a few years past the doll playing age, but just look at those faces.  Girls of any age still love dolls!  I thought I’d share them with you, too.

This is Patsy Ann.  Mary got her second hand when she was a girl and was very sick.

The ladies of her community refurbished old dolls for sick children.

And they made wonderful clothes to be given with the doll.  She was Mary’s first doll–and she cherishes her still.

This was another doll Mary got–still in the same trunk she was delivered in!

These porcelain dolls are very old.

This doll–and chair–belong to Cortne`.

These are the dolls that came the first time we had show-and-tell.  The big doll in the back belongs to my Mom.  She got her for selling subscriptions to the Seattle PI in about 1928.  She has disks that drop into her stomach and play music!  Also, in the front are two Patsy Ann dolls that belonged to my mom.

Some of the boxes the dolls were brought in were as interesting as the dolls themselves.  I love he pictures of the altar boys on this box of candles.

Mary’s uncle worked for an appliance store and this Hotpoint doll came from him.

This very old, very tiny dolls was amazing in its detail.

Marla brought her grandmother’s doll.

This trunk of doll clothes belongs to Cortne`’s dolls.

Here are a couple of them.

She even had a bride doll!

And a Polish doll–although she’s not Polish!

Cortne` admits to being a bit tough on their hair!

Melinda brought this photo of her with her doll–and her brother with a calf.  I LOVE it!  Update:  I just heard from Melinda.  The boy with the calf isn’t her brother, it’s Lee, her husband!

Another great box!

Inside were lots of dolls wrapped in–of all things–quilt blocks!

Really nice quilt blocks.

These chalk dolls were inside.  These were the biggest.

Most of them were small like this.

Melinda’s mom took some doll making classes a few years ago and made this wonderful doll…

…as well as this one.

Eleanor brought a Cupie doll that belonged to our friend Sally V.

Eleanor made this doll a few years ago.

When Robin’s girls were young and money was tight, she made them each a cradle for their dolls.  This is one of them.

I love how her daughter embellished them–even drawing a doll inside!

This Campbell’s Soup doll is also Robin’s.

Robin and I are the same age–the age to have had Barbies!

She has TWO carrying cases for their clothes.

They’re full of clothes and accessories, many of which Robin and her mom made.

Here’s Robin’s Ken, Barbie and Scooter–or is it Skipper?

Here are my Barbie and Ken.  My mom knit that dress and scarf!  I didn’t play with dolls much–I had a horse!  But my sister loved them and had lots of dolls and accessories.

Robin had this pair of glasses which my Barbie just had to try on.  Quite stylin’!

I also had Miss Revlon.  I do remember playing with her.  She had diamond earrings and a fur muff, coat and hat!

She’s really quite beautiful. Update!  I just learned this ISN’T a Miss Revlon doll.  She’s a Cindy doll.  Oh well, she’s still beautiful.

I hope you enjoyed our trip down memory lane with our dolls, and that it reminds you of some of yours!

Here’s the last of the show-and-tell from Retreat.

Connie was taking pictures for me and learned how to use the zoom.  Trouble is, she zoomed so close, the “show-er” got cut out of the picture.  Okay, Ladies, whose quilt is this?  Update, this is Susan O’s round robin quilt.

Here’s Teresa showing off the great T-shirt Mary made for her.

This is Mary’s quilt.

Carol O. made this great table runner.

Again, Connie, too close!  This is a Santa of the Month quilt.  Very cute!

Cathy Z. brought Christmas stockings for show-and-tell.

This is Renee’s stunning One Block Wonder.

She designed this dress block.  I think it’s fabulous!

Hmm. Again, I don’t know whose quilt this is.  Can someone help?  Update!  Debbie W. made this for her daughter.

This is Debbie W’s Soduko quilt.

And her very stunning block quilt.

And she made this paper pieced flower block.

Carol L. made this adorable bathrobe for a granddaughter’s doll.

Jessica made this photo quilt.

And this one, too.

Oh, I should know who made this!

This is Gail with her quilt.

Here’s Maryann with her wonderful applique block.

Help!  Who made this?  Update: This is one of Nancy’s quilts.

And this?  Update:  And this is also Nancy’s!

Peggy shared her Kokeshi doll with us.

Sally showed off the scrapbooking she got done during retreat.

This is Robin’s gorgeous Nasturtium quilt.

Mary’s quilt was made from blocks she got from her secret sister a few years ago.

And even one of the staff at the retreat center shared her wall hanging.  She said she made it for her sister, but I think her sister made it for her!

Retreat was so much fun, we’re going to do both Spring and Fall next year!

I was delighted that Joy shared these vintage Sunbonnet Sue blocks.  They were made by her husband’s grandmother and she plans to finish them.

Penny made this great wildlife quilt.

Lynelle made this gorgeous jacket.

Margaret showed us a beaded bag she’d made with some vintage beading.  It was stunning.

Linda F. was a great presenter–pulling socks she’d made from her sleeves, waistband, etc.!

Sherrie made this beautfiul quilt.

This is Carol C.’s stunning table runner.

Here’s Pearl’s striking Log Cabin.

And she’d made several of these wave table runners for gifts.

Another table runner design of Pearl’s.

She also made this Bargello quilt.

And this is the quilt she made for her bed!

Virginia made this great circle quilt.

Oh, look–my Sweet Pea panel.  Thanks,

Suzette made these paper pieced animals.

Another quilt using old sheets made by Evelyn.

And look at this great sheet on the back.  I could have used that in highschool–my bedroom was hot pink and orange!  Imagine!

Quyhn made this charming quilt.

Sisters Kim and Emily were given this antique Redwork quilt by a great aunt.  It was quite amazing.

Michelle showed off her new Jessie Bag.

She also made this quilt using family photos of bathing beauties!

Peggy fell in love with this fabric at Boardwalk Quilts and had Renee make her a jacket from it.

Then Renee surprised her with a sewing machine mat made from the leftovers!

Susan shared this Basket Sampler with us.

And I think this, too, is one of Susan’s.

More in the next post!

Finally, the quilt show at Mission Mill.

I loved this Halloween applique.

And this Pumpkin Patch was superbly done.

A great fall wall hanging.

Yum.  Love those colors!

These strippy quilts are very popular, but the addition of this adorable puppy really made it shine.

A great, graphic use of bold prints.

It couldn’t be Oregon without a covered wagon!

I love these New York Beauty variations, and the color placement in this one made it especially nice.

Isn’t this bright quilt fun?

What a great scrap quilt!

The graphic quality of this quilt makes it stand out.

This floral applique was really lovely.

I’m fascinated by the perspective in this quilt.

At first glance I didn’t realize this was a log cabin variation.  Very interesting.

This quilt and the one below it are made from the same pattern.  Really.

Isn’t it amazing how different they look?

I haven’t seen a border like this on a Grandmother’s Flower Garden before.

The colors are amazingly bright for an 80 year old quilt.

A pretty Dresden Plate.

I’m always amazed at how many prints women had in their stash–even in the 1930′s!

Is this pattern Hearts and Gizzards?

There’s something special about curved piecing.

Whoa!  This quilt is all made with fabric from my Daisy A Day line!  I loved seeing that!

Here’s an early 1900′s quilt.

Another Grandmother’s Flower Garden.  Hmmm, this one set with orange.

Orange and blue is always such a great color combination.

Someday I’m going to make a Trip Around the World quilt.

But that’s a lot of 1″ squares!

This Colonial Lady is one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen.  The quilting on it was wonderful.

And the colors clear and bright.

Who doesn’t love Teddy Bears?

This is a great scrap quilt.  Another one for my list, perhaps…

This Dresden Plate on red was different.

And I thought these diamonds were quite unique.

Here’s a chubby Dresden Plate.

The pattern for this Sunflower Quilt was printed on labels of Mountain Mist quilt batting.

The machine quilting here is very nicely done.

This quilt top was for sale.  Do you see yellow flowers with blue centers or do you see scrappy flowers with blue centers.

Either way, it has a new home new!

It was a great show.  I plan to put it on my calendar for next year.