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There are only four more days until the winners of the "Win Alex and Ricky for a Day" contest are selected.  Alex and Ricky want it to be your favorite quilt shop or guild.  Competition for the most new members is heating up.  So get out there and encourage your local shop or guild to sign up new members.  Remember the last chance to register a new member is before midnight (Pacific Time) November 30, 2007.  To view current standings click here

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Story Submitted by: dphock

In early October, my daughter's elementary school had an electrical fire, and about half of the school buildings were destroyed. (Thankfully, the fire occurred on a Sunday and no one was hurt.) As a result, the kids were out of school for two weeks while school staff regrouped to provide a safe school site. During that time, my 11 year old daughter and I talked a lot about the fire and about how people come through scary and difficult experiences like that. Caroline was born in China and her Chinese name includes the word for "Phoenix," so she is well-acquainted with the symbolism of a phoenix rising from ashes. (Every kid who has read or seen Harry Potter knows about that, too!) We decided to use Caroline's time out of school to make a piece of art for her beloved principal, Rhonda Bellmer. Caroline drew the phoenix image, and I enlarged it on my computer. Then, Caroline traced it onto a piece of silk using a liquid resist. She painted the silk, too. Once it was all dry, I sandwiched and machine quilted it, adding subtle flames with red and yellow thread. We presented the Phoenix quilt to Ms. Bellmer on the first day back at school. Ms. Bellmer was speechless and teary-eyed, and invited Caroline to show the quilt to the school staff at the staff meeting that was just about to take place. So, Caroline then showed the quilt to all of the teachers and staff and talked about why she'd made it and what it meant to her. There wasn't a dry eye in the place! This Phoenix quilt now has a place of honor in the principal's new (temporary) office. It was a wonderful experience making this together. It allowed us to talk a lot about a difficult situation, and it was satisfying for both me and Caroline to create art that presented a positive image for the experience.

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Story Submitted by: SandiMako

A few years ago, I found an abandoned adult rabbit in the park. My son named him Stew and my two cats quickly adopted him. Now he roams the back porch with the cats and and he learned to use the litter box. He also does a little dance for his meals. My husband, Mike, started a garden for us with lots of collard greens, kale and parsley for Stew. When I saw this quilt on the cover of the April 2007 Quilter's World, I knew I had to make it using some of the garden material in my stash. I call it "Stew Bunny in the Garden." It was temporarily hanging in our local library's display window.

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Meet Virginia Avery. Jinny has been a guiding force in our industry for over 50 years! Jinny was a pioneer to quilting when she started teaching in the 60’s and did not retire until recently in 2005. Through her enthusiasm in teaching and helping people find their voice in cloth, Jinny quickly became a major influence during the quilting renaissance of the 1970’s and her efforts continued for decades. Her innovative approach of using patchwork in garment construction was ground breaking and paved the way for the incredible popularity of art to wear. Her perseverance, dedication and love of this industry has made her our pick for the first TQS quilt legend – 2007!

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We snuck away in Houston and got to see where Libby Lehman works and plays - As always, gracious and welcoming!

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As the "win Ricky and Alex contest" comes into to the last week of voting, it came to my attention that one guild was concerned that their members had used two or three names for their group. As I started to "undo" their specific situation, I noticed that SEVERAL guilds were in the same boat. Hours later, I got the tally straightened out - I was AMAZED at how the standings had shifted. In addition to the shifting, the race is VERY CLOSE!!!!! If one of the guilds listed in the top twenty really gets organized this next week - Ricky and I could very well be at YOUR guild. You have until Nov 30th to rally the troops and tip the scales - This has become VERY exciting to watch!!!!

 

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627_filters.jpg Here is a way to use the blog filters to find what you want. There are two drop down boxes that help you locate past blogs.

Select how far back you want to see. You can choose from Today to The past 12 months.

Then select a category in the second box.

Let's give it a try. First select "View the Last 6 months". Then in the second box choose "Ricky". After it filters through the blogs you will see all of Ricky's Japan Series right near the top of the page.

Now choose "Alex" in the second box. After it sorts, you will see the Houston Series right near the top of the page.

Now choose "Breaking News" and scroll down to August 2, 2007. There you will see the Production files from the last taping.

It's fun and useful. Give it a try.

 

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It's the biggest shopping day of the year so don't forget about browsing around the TQS Shoppe. Looking for a great gift for a quilting friend? Why not check out the kits that are ready to go. Remember, you get 10% off all purchases during our grand opening. Offer ends November 25th so don't delay!

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Happy Turkey Day! Today is the US Thanksgiving Day - a national holiday - so we are all off having a good time with families and eating lots of tukey and pumpkin pie. It is a day to relect and be thankful.

I am thankful that we have almost made it through our first year of TQS. Thirteen months ago this was only a twinkle in an eye. The vision of our sponsors (please continue to thank them), Web Guru Bob, Lilo, and Paul have all made this dream a reality. They have all played a HUGE role in making this first year a success. To all who have supported us and to all who helped build this community - THANK YOU!

I am thankful that I survived the year - seriously! It has been a fast ride and the last few months in particular have been overwhelming - but it is all good. I am thankful that I get to spend my time doing what I love. I am thankful for the support of those near and dear to me. I am thankful that the ARJJ directors share a vision and that we work together so well. I am thankful for each TQS member and hope we serve you well.

Even if you do not live in the USA, I would love to hear what you are thankful for today.

P.S. - Okay, some of you did not notice that those tail feathers are the TQS star! 

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Quilters are the best! Meet two ladies I had the privilege of talking to. Also, check out TQS member Clara8 and her quilts on the site. Her work is AWESOME!

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