My Kind of Town!

So there we are in Chicago, "Our Kind of Town" stuck at a Quilt show. I'm in heaven because these are my people. But my sweet husband has had enough of me winning awards and looking at quilts. So on Saturday we ditched and went into the City. Joe figured out our route with the hotel's concierge and off we walked to the Metro, taking the blue line. As we approached the platform to wait for the train, I hear a "Melinda!". Oh, no, we've been caught ditching the show. No, it was just my friend, Mary Kerry, from California, another quilt artist. The last time we ran into each other was in Morro Bay at a quilt shop.
Mary and Joe on the Metro. Is he holding my purse again?


We walked to the Navy Pier. You can't leave Chicago without having a hot dog. We stopped at this place called Billy Goat Grill for a dog and by chance it just happens to be the place made famous by John Belushi and Dan Aykryod on Saturday Night Live. "Cheezborger, cheezborger, chips, chips, no Coke - Pepsi."
Then we where on the search for Bob Newhart's apartment. Joe informed we have now been to all of Bob Newhart's television home towns. How exciting for us.

This sculpture is at Millennium Park. What a beautiful park. Its called the Bean. Can you find us in the reflection?

Spring Has Sprung!

Today is the first day that I really feel that spring has arrived in Northern California. Beside all the sneezing that is going on in my house. My roses are full of blooms and the pollen is falling by the bucket load.
Today I am working on a new floral bouquet quilt. I hope to enter it in Houston this fall. I was taking picture of it and realized that this would make a beautiful new header for my blog. So welcome to the new look.
There is a new magazine or should I say it is really like a book. It's called the Artful Blogger. It's really cool with great ideas and writing from other blogger. The one I liked the best was an artist that said " I'm not much of a writer so here are my pictures." I can relate to that. I love to write. It's just time consuming because I can't spell. I have to re check the words about 10 times before I post and still I get it wrong. The other day I was writing up a flyer for my up coming retreat in Tahoe and put down lesion instead of lessons. So for that retreat you can have 4 days of Lesions for only $600. Such a deal!!!



I have this little pillow on my bed. I made it about 7 years ago. It's my design but somebody gave me this anonymous saying. I turned it into a cross stitch pillow so I would never forget these very true words. Here they are:

Dear Lord,
So far today I have done all right. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy,nasty, selfish or over indulgence. I am very Thankful of that. But Lord in a few minute I going to get out of bed and from then on I'm going to need a lot of help!

Splendor In the Grass truly is splendid!

I just bought the most beautiful purple rose on a recent trip to Southern California. The girls, my mom sister and nieces’, went on an outing to Rogers Garden in Newport Beach last month. The roses where all blooming and there she was, the most perfect color of purple rose I have ever seen. Thanks god that I had driven down this time, because I was not leaving without that rose. I picked the bush that had lots of little buds ready to bloom. When I got home this Sunday from IQA Chicago Show, they were all in bloom. I have never seen a rose this color. I know she will have to be a quilt someday, just like I knew that Splendor in the Grass needed to be created. It’s funny to see your creation (quilts) win awards. When I was making Splendor in the Grass, I never thought about what will happen after it was done. It just had to be created in cloth. I get a little artistically obsessed.

I took a picture of 3 red day lilies at Bushnell’s garden center in Granite Bay. They have a beautiful day lily farm in the back. I always miss the blooming season but this day I hit gold! And I just happened to have my camera with me. For 3 months I longed to make this quilt but I was on a dead line to finish my first book, Cutting Garden Quilts. I place the picture up on my computer and starred at that picture of 3 months. Every day I longed to be up in the studio. But, I was learning how to be creative with words instead. When I would hit a blank wall with the book writing, I would look at my beautiful lilies picture, get inspired and continue the writing process. My reward for completing the book was that I could finely make the quilt.

So the day I put my last word on the page, sealed the envelope and return from the UPS store. I grabbed my scissors and started this quilt. I work on it nonstop for about 8-9 hours a day. Joe brought home a lot of take out. i finished the quilt top in 7 days. The thread work took another 5 days. Then I was done. I was overwhelmed and I fell on my knees and cried. I knew it did not come from me but from God. It just flew out of me. Like a exploding volcano. My finger tips where on fire. I knew then that I had had one of those rare artist moments that may never happen again. It still makes me cry. But it happened, that is why it is so sweet to have won “Best of Show” with this quilt. Not because I had any intention on winning anything, but that this quilt was meant to be in the world. It’s also nice to know that I am not the only person that thought it was special.

Summer Rose

I am working on a new pattern. Just in time for spring. Its called Summer Rose and I am in the process of adding beads that look like dew drops and other fun embellishments.
This is going to be a great quilt class to teach. It comes with a color chart, of course. And I am pretty sure you can turn it into what every color of rose you like.
I have just been asked to teach at Road to California in January 2010. It looks like it will be 2 classes, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. One class will be this new Rose. I will also be doing a luncheon Fashion Show which will be fun. I may even have some new outfits to show.
Summer Rose will be available soon, So keep checking my web site shop.
www.melindabula.com