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My hat is off to the organizers of Festival of Quilt here in Birmingham. The show is spectacular, the people are wonderful and warm, and if you are ever looking for a great quilting get-away, I would highly recommend it.

I got to meet up with so many wonderful friends. Better yet, I got to meet many of you. I learned that our international members are absolutely over the moon about TQS and the excitement and enthusiasm about it is growing every day. I know there will be many new members as a result of my visit so I urge you to click the Search link each day and review our newbies regardless where they come from, and send them a welcome email.

I'll be on my flight home tomorrow.

In closing - I send my best wishes and thoughts to John and Alex on this special day for their son and new daughter-in-law. Hope it was beautiful!

Photos: Three TQS Members (fabpatch, Lorchen, MaggieMac), before the concert dinner, and several quilts from a Russian quilt artist named Irina Voronina. These quilts are spectacular in photos, but standing face to face with them, I was in awe - stunning!

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It is wonderful to see so many TQS members here at the Festival of Quilts. Pictured here are just a few of the ones who came proudly wearing their TQS badges or pins. Help me with the name of the myster member. EDITED - The unnamed member is YJenn. Thanks everyone. It was late when I posted and my brain was fried.

Also, Gwenfai Rees Griffiths from North Wales has won first place with her Rhapsody quilt. Can you see me popping my buttons? Gwenfai's quilt will be featured in my next Rhapsody Companion book Celtic Fantasy which will come out this fall. Her original design is all hand appliqued and hand quilted. Gwenfai also told me today it has been accepted into Houston - so let's all cross our fingers for Gwenfai this fall too!

In addition I ran into Bob the Thread Guy and his wife Mother Superior (Heather) which was totally unexpected! And then came Bonnie McCaffery. Bonnie is here teaching. See Bonnie share her bobbin work on episode 205.

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I have arrived on British soil! After landing at the London Heathrow airport I boarded a train to Birmihgham. I was greeted with the iconic 'Mind the Gap' at on the train platforms.

After a good rest I headed over to the convention hall to help hang the exhibition of my quilts. Lo and behold I ran into Laura Wasilowski who is here selling her wonderful hand-dyed fabric. Then, I ran into two of my favorite Scottish quilters, Liz Furguson and Morven Roche. They are part of a 10 member Scotish art quilt group called Turning Point and their quilts are being featured in a special exhibit as well.

I've connected with many other quilters from the UK and Europe who I haven't seen in a long while. As I type this, I am finished with setting up my exhibition and tomorrow the doors will open and the hoards of quilters will descend.

Photo 1 - Montage of Mind the Gap, moving train, Paddinton Station clock

Photo 2 - Me with Laura Wasilowski - see her show on TQS

Photo 3 - Morven Roche (L), Liz Furguson (R), and yours truly.

Photo 4 - The crew hangs my quilts.

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Hey everyone! It's official. I'm about to board for my flight to the UK to visit the Festival of Quilts. Next time you hear from me I will be in Jolly Ole England. Sorry to be brief, but I don't want my computer battery to go down here at the gate. It's gonnna be a long flight and I'm adicted to my laptop. What would we do without all our gizmos?

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Coventry Carolers photos by Justin Shults

The short of the story is that Sarah (soprano, now living in Atlanta, GA, seated in the middle of the couch) was coming to Wichita Falls, TX to visit. It just so happened that her visit coincided with my visit to Wichita Falls for my folks 60th wedding anniversary. The four of us in the photo (all music majors during our college days) became the Coventry Carolers, a group that performed lot of medieval folk songs as well as old traditional carols - yes, including the Coventry Carol. We have all stayed in touch. I see Susan (far right on couch) and Holly (playing guitar) much more frequently because they still live in Wichita Falls. I've visited with Sarah in Atlanta, but we've not been together as a complete group since about 1981. So we planned a gathering.

Susan, pulled out our old music but we could barely play it. Not because we didn't know how, but because we were having so much fun we just couldn't stop laughing. "One, two three, hit it," seemed to mean start laughing. Finally we managed to muddle through some of the old music. Noel (with the cue card) was our original roadie/supporter/assistant/photographer and she managed to find the cue cards for Silent night, which we weren't expecting, and thus sent us into more uncontrollable laughter. Mostly it was just great to be with friends that I love and adore, and who help mold my life in so many ways.

Are there any of you who have had an 'old friend' reunion lately? Do you have an 'old friend' from your past that you've lost touch with? Maybe this New Day is a good day to locate them and reconnect

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Pink Flower Prelude will be on display at the Festial of Quilts in Birmingham, England next week.

It just so happens that Alex and John are flying over the Atlantic heading home on Sunday and I take off to fly across the pond heading to England for the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England on Monday. Darn, if our flights were just a bit closer we might could have waved at each other as we passed.

I have taught in England on seven separate occasions and LOVED it. The last I was there was during the travesties on September 11, 2001. So it's been a while since I've got to see all the wonderful quilters in that part of the world. I cannot tell you how honored I am to be participating in this fantastic quilt show. There will be a special exhibition of my quilts, I'll be doing a dinner/concert to a sold out crowd of 800, and teaching during my Rhapsody lecture on Saturday the 16th.

I will be at my quilt display when possible. During other scheduled times I will be in the Cotton Patch Booth E20 and D20. Please stop by for a photo op, an autograph, or just to say "It's a New Day!" How many of you will be coming to the Festival of Quilts?

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Photos by Justin Shults

This year dad (81 years old) has been making quilts, quilts, and more quilts. The ones you see here are just a sampling of what he has done this year. A couple of tops are currently at the quilters now and two other finished quilts are in Florida with two of his great grandsons. In one of these photos you'll see my great niece is standing in front of hers (with extra pink, her favorite color). You'll see a few that are variations of Papaw's Choice, a block pattern featured in our Projects page, and finally, Katie the dog was in dog heaven as we unfolded each of them to take these photos. It seems she liked seeing them too.

The string quilt is mostly made from commercial fabrics, blocks that were exercises from classs I taught years ago, but the students didn't take their sample exercises home (so I did) and this was the result. Finally, dad experimented by adding a few commercial fabrics to his stash of my hand-dyed fabrics and that quilt turned out great too. If you haven't watched Epidsode 211, take a look and see my dad talk about his quilting experience.

You may be interested to know that I now offer hand-dyed fat quarter and fat eight packs - so, instead of buying a full yard, you can now get a beautiful collection of fabrics that would assist you in making quilts like dad's. If you try to take a look at the seven different sets, and some are 'gone', then please check back. Once I get home, we will refresh the inventory. The thing that is really amazing to me is that dad doens't really do much planning - he just let's the colors do their thing. Are you a planner? - or can you let go and let it just 'happen'?

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Today I am in Wichita Falls, TX celebrating my parents sixtieth wedding anniversary. The day is young, and we've not taken photos, but I'll take some 'official photos' later today and post them here for you to see. The day will be simple with a little visiting and a dinner tonight.

Okay - we did it! Took photos! ....and I actually got my dad to smile (laugh).

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On the morning of the last day of our recent La Veta Quilt Retreat, I took the students on a drive up to Autumn Rock. We didn´t see any bear, but we did see about 100 elk. I still have a vision that someday this will be a place to hold quilt retreats. In the meantime, we can only make these short visits.

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Okay, before I go any further. Yes or no? Stop or go?