Daily Blog

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TQS recently attended the Quilt & Stitch Expo in Pueblo, Colorado. 

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Photo by Gregory Case

Join us for a fun-filled show where the tables have been turned to feature Alex Anderson as the guest artist in Episode 408.  Alex shares how quilts can be elegant and charming using only neutral fabrics, as well as her personal quilt history.  We also travel to the Mother's Guild of Boys Town to learn how quilts have touched orphaned children over the years.  To watch the show click here. 

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Starting today, there are 648 days until we leave for our fantastic African safari. We want lots of TQS members to go - so we did the math. If you saved $10.50 a day for the next 648 days, you would pay for the trip. Seriously, that's a sandwich and a soda! Since many of us are looking for a good diet, why not try the "I wanna go to Africa diet?" Or, what about cutting your expensive daily cup of coffee and make it at home for MUCH less? Then of course, there is the, "I'll plan my errands so I can save gas" plan. What else can you do to save a few bucks? Let's go to AFRICA!!!

For details on this incredible tour with Sew Many Places - click here.

News flash - spots are filling! We're already one-quarter over or our goal and it's only been announced one week!

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Fifteen images of houses, buildings, and scenes from La Veta, Colorado on Easter Sunday 2009. (90 seconds)

We'll the snow continued well into the afternoon! In the meantime, I took the opportunity to photograph some really great houses in our tiny town. Look closely - you'll seel Justin in front of our house on the hill with Katie, Wanda, Raisin, and Mabel.

The colors of Easter mixed with the delicate snow was a treat for my eyes. I hope you will enjoy it too. Collecting these phots was like collecting colored eggs. What did you find in your Easter basket today?

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Indeed! La Veta woke up today to a gentle snow. This time of year our snows are very wet - and always much needed! It's not that cold. It's just barely cold enough to snow. So - Happy Easter everyone. What was it like today in your neck of the woods?

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We have an amazing assortment of quilts in our Quilt Gallery. They are there for your inspiration and encouragement. Each member, Basic or Star, can upload 12 quilts. Enjoy the show and find one of the makers to send a quick email of appreciation.

Thank you to Nat King Cole for the lovely music.

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Tulips by TQS member Kathleeng

There are many beautiful spring flowers posted in Show and Tell. Check out the inspirational photos now! Add your current spring blossoms to the TQS Show and Tell today! If you're still waiting for Spring flowers - remember to add them soon. Many quilters are also gardeners - how many of you will raise your hand to that? Do you like floral quilts - floral fabric? This virtual spring garden is sure to inspire.

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Story Submitted by: patcollie

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Need to smile?  Here is a fun journey that will make you smile, and hopefully, dance.  (We apologize for the misspelling of the word "heck".)  For a better picture start the video then click the HD on the bottom right of the viewer.

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It was 30 years ago today on April 10, 1979. My hometown of Wichita Falls, TX was struck by what was - at the time - the most destructive tornado in US history. The storm sat down just west of our city limits and became a mile wide tornado plowing through the town and staying on the ground for over an hour and traveling a distance of 47 miles. Wichita Falls is a town with a population of 100,000. On that day more than 5000 homes were destroyed, 1700 people were injured, nearly 25,000 people lost their homes, and 47 people were killed.

I was 23 years old, attending our local university (Midwestern State), and living at home when it hit. I was away that evening doing a concert a few hours from Wichita Falls, but my parents survived the storm by getting into a storm cellar just 15 seconds before it hit. This tornado was so large that it actually had a calm eye in the center. Many people were injured because they came out from safety during the eye only to be blindsided by the next wave of winds -which were estimated to be about 220-240 miles per hour.

In less than two minutes our home was gone. What was left of it is pictured above. I had traveled with friends so my car was parked in our front car port which was framed with tall hedges. The carport, hedges and most of the house was gone. My car had been tossed into the living room and was pushed into my brand new Yamaha grand piano.

Electricity and phone service was immediately completely shut down due to all the destruction. In those days there were no cell phones - so I had no way of knowing the fate of my family. I arrived home early the next morning to see destruction so devastating that I could not easily find my own street in a neighborhood I grew up in. When I found my house, I also found my parents sifting through the rubble trying to salvage anything they could. One of the greatest joys of my life was seeing them alive.

One of my best friends, Holly, was also a music student at the university and she managed to ride the storm out inside a bedroom closet holding her dog. When the tornado had passed, she pushed open the closet door and saw that nothing, literally nothing, was left of her home except the closet she was in. As she stood up she bumped her head on a 2x4 that was piercing the closet just inches above her head. I'm thankful she was not seriously injured - we are still great friends today.

My parents later had the piano repaired as best was possible and that is the same piano that you have seen in the Christmas concert videos and on the TQS shows when I play. The scars on the piano are a constant reminder of that day. I would say that day, along with April 24, 2000 (the day I had quadruppel heart bypass surgery) are the two most significant days in my life.

So - what would one remember about such a horrible event? We'll for me - more than the memories of physical destruction - and the phenomenal oddities associated with tornado violence - it was the lessons learned; that material things don't matter as much as family - and the love for life and living. In the days that followed, everyone who was connected with this tragedy witnessed how the human spirit rose to it's highest level and began - with sheer determination - not to be beaten down - but to rise again - to be better - stronger. When any tragedy strikes - such as the recent earthquake in Italy - I feel my heart tug in ways it might not if I had not experienced such devastating loss in my own life.

Facebook recently started a group called 1979 Wichita Falls Tornado - Terrible Tuesday. It is a group open to all - but over a hundred personal stories, impressions and memories of that day are posted. If you are on Facebook, I encourage you to join the group and read some of the post. You will be stunned at the stories that unfolded in those brief life changing moments. If you are not on Facebook, do a google search as well as a YouTube search and learn more about Terrible Tuesday in Wichita Falls, TX.

Today, I count my blessings. I'm thankful I was not at home when it happened, but I have always felt I should have been there and have guilt that my family had to survive it directly. Nonetheless, I believe I was meant to be away - for who knows where I might have been - and I might not be here today if by the grace of God I was not away playing a concert. My prayers today are with those who lost loved ones that day.

Here is a short video recently created to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Terrible Tuesday.