Lotti are you still there? I've sent you a pm.

Wel, I did it!! I'll let you know when I get "teamed up".
Lotti, I don't know the details, but I wish you the best in your move/vacation.
Gotta run. We brought Mom to a new facility yesterday and I want to make sure she's okay. Talk soon.

I "met" my IMQE partner! She is from Rome! Yay!! I loved Rome and Italy. This is one of the things that I love about TQS. Think about it.... I would never have had good friends that live all over the world. Literally, all over the world. We've been friends for several years and most of us have never even met in person. Now I'll have a new friend in Rome! And next year I'll be able to show my quilt and say "my friend Maria in Rome made this for me." Thank you TQS.

Lotti, I'm so going to miss you and your cheeriness. and beautiful pictures. Would you please try to get and post a picture of you and Terrie? And safe travels/moves/work/vacation etc. Remember, we are always here for you! To drive home my point from above.... I was touched by your picture of the lizards. I saw the one I made for you and it made me feel good to know that they make you feel good!

I made another bowl yesterday. I'm getting better at it. I have decided on a baby quilt pattern for my new grandson due June 22. I had another quilt all planned out, but saw this other one and said "that's it!" I need to go buy some light blue background. Lord knows I've got enough scraps to do the rest of it!

I hope to do more quilting. My mom is doing fairly well in her new home and her surgery was very helpful. My husband is going to have his other eye fixed, but we know the drill so it won't be so stressful. So maybe, I can sew instead of being a nurse!

Sounds like everyone is well and happy and busy! Say, has anyone heard from Ritzy? I sure miss her.

If you all decide to do a special forum or facebook page for the IMQE post it here so I can play.

Take care, geneva

I'm getting very interested in the IMQE, but I am scared of not following through. What to do? Lorchen, I do like the idea of a FB group. I think the interaction would be faster, although I do want to be a loyal member here. Oh, what the heck! Let me go click "Join"!

Wow, Wendy! You jumped on the beaded stiletto fast! Your toothpicks look great! You will enjoy the metal turkey skewers, too. They can be used for picking out stitches, and other things that require a really sharp point. And, thank you so much for the descriptions on your confetti quilts. I will have to try the fused method, and the organza. I always like to try new techniques. You never know when they will come in handy.

Lotti, good luck with the move, and remember to leave the heavy stuff to the "helpers". Take care of yourself! And, have a super vacation! Sounds like you have a really full schedule for the next few months! And, your new little town is adorable! Love the lake and mountains! Looks like where I live, except the architecture of the buildings is totally different.

Good to see your face again, Lorchen! And, I'm glad you are happy with your exchange teammate! You too, Joyce!

Hello, Geneva! I was wondering where you were! Thanks for the spring flower picture, Luann. And, Rosemary........are you making fun of us, over on this side of the pond?

Dawn

Wendy, sorry about your finger, that sounds so painful! I've not done that one yet, though I've gotten a sewing needle stuck in a safety pin once......

You all are making me curiouser and curiouser about the Mini Exchange.....Wendy, am I reading correctly you are still on the waiting list to be paired with a US person? There aren't enough of us US folks signing up...? Maybe I'd better take another peek at the guidelines.....eek! You all make it sound so tempting!

I am busy busy busy neglecting my rows and finishing a quilt I hope to enter into a show. I started on the quilting yesterday, right now just doing stitch in the ditch but as it's composed of a zillion pieced hexagons (each hexagon being pieced from 3 house shapes, and then all those pieced together, and then appliques on top of it....) it is a LOT of seams! Egads. I've never actually did the whole "every single seam" thing before. Slow going! But it must be done to reinforce all those Y seams and outline the appliques and......the "real quilting" will come when I finish this part. Spending every spare moment on it, and then some....soon as I finish I'll catch up on all my rows.

Lotti, have a safe vacation, travel, work, move, etc, and we'll see you again in September! Pop in here & there if you get the chance, we'll all miss you.

Okay, back to work for me.....

TQS IMQE:
just read the guidelines and clicked JOIN on the international miniature quilt exchange...
as i won't have to submit the actual quilt till early next year i decided that i can join the fun - although i know i won't be doing much sewing this spring/summer/fall...


fabulous stuff being made all around - sooooooo jealous want do try it all - but love looking too.
wendy: fingers are for using, for holding, for licking when chocolate being held has melted, for looking after and comforting, for all kinds of things - but definitely NOT for putting a sewing machine needle through! yes - i know it happens - have done it too - now generally more careful (generally). very glad it was saveable and you can already do stuff with it! love those pin-thingies - looking great - another thing i want to try...

saying goodbye for a while...
as most of you know by now - I'll be moving in june - and off for a vacation in canada for almost a month before that... so I won't be around for a while as I need to get myself organized...
now -> 18. May: clear out and give away more stuff / pack everything else - just keeping what is absolutely necessary to live
bring my sewing machines for their big service / work - and get things organized for the spring/summer exhibitions / pack for vacation
19. may: get my hair done / bring luggage to railway station and do early check-in
20. may: hop on plane / hello montreal / hello terrie & walter
21. may: hop on train for ottawa
...
17. june: hop in plane for switzerland
18. june: try to stay awake until evening - get some fresh air
19. june: get key to new apartment ...
20.-25. june: get caught up on work and do the last of the packing
26. june: move
27. june: clean the old apartment
28. june: say goodbye to two workmates - one is leaving the company and the other is going off on maternity leave
29. june: check apartment is really clean and turn over keys
summer: get new apartment organized / at work try to do a 5-person job with 3 people for the next month or so while hopefully working in someone new...
september: hope to be back here

the state of my livin-/sewing room right now (yes my lizards are still hanging - and they'll stay up as long as possible - absolutely necessary for survival mode


What will be my new apartment as it was yesterday morning - joe is also in the midst of moving...







My new view (unfortunately it was raining and cloudy yesterday so you can't see the mountain... or the lake
the green hill you see is actually the foot of mount Rigi - the queen of mountains ... you'll get a good picture with an actual view in july - i hope

Morning Geneva, one more off the list in front of me Look forward to hearing how you get on.

Whew! I was off for a long weekend birthday party-ing with my sweetie and you all are burning up the lines! Nice!

Wendy, sorry about your finger, hope it's better. Dawn and Wendy I love your picks with beads. They are beautiful!

I joined the International Exchange last evening after reading your posts and have been assigned someone already. We just got home so I haven't reached out to her yet. But I will soon. It sounds like fun and it's good to stretch ourselves, right?

I know I am neglecting to mention so much, but I'm glad to see this thread lighting up. I missed you guys!

Take care, geneva

Thanks for your take on it Lorchen, let me know if you start a FB page or thread here. Your partner sounds great, how lucky you hit it off so soon.
I did suggest that Rosemary but it seems to be US based which I suppose TQS is

Lorchan, all you need to do is take one of your bishop's quilts and chop it in half for size. At 18"-24" square it is not a scary size at all.

I find it amusing that they currently have a short fall of American quilters needed for the group . Although it would be nice to get a partner from a different country that is not USA, _{speaking as a Brit}

Wendy, I have been partnered with a lovely quilter called Shelley in New Mexico. 'A marriage made in heaven' comes to mind. We seem to have a lot in common, and have started chatting quite a lot. We use email, but also facebook. By becoming 'friends' on facebook we can see what the other one is up to.

So far we have not really decided what to do, and we are very much aware that we have to keep a lot secret, but I think it's going to be quite an obvious one for Shelley to take her inspiration from the the native indian, desert, New Mexican culture and environment, and I'm trying to channel Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest..

I have the feeling that Shelley and I will still be friends a long, long time after this challenge has finished.

Like so many things in life, you have to be quite pro-active to make it work. I haven't really discussed it with Shelley yet. So, if she reads this, it'll come as a surprise to her, but I'm planning to hop over the big pond in September 2018. The reason is a retreat with Ricky, but that means I won't be too far from New Mexico, and I'm going to try my best to meet in person.

The one thing I have been wondering about........ I might be a good idea to start a closed facebook group for this challenge. It would be so much easier to use than the forum. What do you think??

This is also going to be quite a tough job for me. I don't really do miniatures. Heaven knows how I slithered into this one.

Lovely flowers Luann

Thanks for the info. Have fun with your tent time. I've given up camping, my back just can't take it anymore. So I just walk a lot, like at the beach this morning.


Or around the neighborhood.