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Recent happenings:
Mark’s visit to Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association
Meeting Marisa Zucek — check out her blog QuiltOtaku to see pictures of us at Guild meeting, and a picture of the cool little bag that she made me — I just love it!

I’m having my first Sale in the SimpleArts store. Free shipping on every order thru August 15th, which is WebGuy’s 50th birthday. Save now! The SimpleArts store is OPEN. Remember click on the link at the bottom of the page, which says “For more information, please visit this product’s webpage”, which gives you all of the info on the pattern back!

Pictures of the items that I found at Target:

Four-square basket with handle. This great little basket is hard wicker and would be nice and sturdy as a sewing catch-all.

Longaberger-style utensil holder – perfect for a Longaberger collectore (no one will know it’s not a real one ; )

Wood caddy – my personal favorite, which could be painted and decorated. Hey, we’re quilters, we decorate things!

Shoe sorter — a perfect place for stashing your fat quarters.

Here is the closet organizer unit with sliding shelves (I said “drawers”, sorry!). I think the sliding shelves would make it so easy to find your fabrics.

Here is another idea for fabric storage, in this so-cute basket cubby. I love that the baskets are lined.

My very favorite “Cutter Bee” scissors. $6.99 at Target and WalMart. When they don’t cut well anymore, toss them in the junk drawer for your family to use, or toss them out. Sharpening service will cost as much as a new pair. I love the big finger holes — my hands don’t get tired as much, and it helps with arthritis.

Can you envision sorting your rulers by size using this cool sorter? What a nice way to see your rulers at a glance, and be organized. That’s next on my shopping list!

What a cute mail sorter! However, this won’t hold mail. Here is what I use it for:

Here its’ companion, the magazine holder. Ooh, I can just imagine all of my cherished magazines, that I can’t bear to part with, beautifully organized in these cool little holders.

The scrapbook cubby – well, some might use it for that. I think it would be great as a quilt block keeper. Just grab the box you need for class and go! No pizza boxes causing drool with your family, that might mistakenly end up in the garbage.

Ziplock Big Bags XXL, actually come in smaller sizes for smaller quilts. I only wish I had invented the patent for zip-lock bags!

Value finder cards

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Finishing up the interview with Susan

The Quilt Show at Creative Patches in Nipomo, CA, where Susan did a book signing at the Old Town Quilt Guild show. Creative Patches is a nice store, owned by Patty Hughes. The shop has a tv, where you can watch quilt shows on DVD while having your fabric cut, or while waiting in line – ingenious!

Isn’t this quilt gorgeous?! It looks like an explosion of color when cropped to this view.

A great example of a two color quilt – using only two different fabrics. I’ve had a two color quilt on my mind for a long time and this one really inspires me.

“Walking in a Winter Wonderland” redwork quilt – what a lot of beautiful handiwork! The pattern is available through Creative Patches, or by designer Meg Hawkey at CrabApple Hill Studio – one of my favorite places to browse.

This is my favorite quilt from the show – visually incredible, jumbo rickrack in the sashing, and folkart applique in the border. Wow!

After the quilt show, Guy did a search on his smartphone Internet connection and found us a great place to have lunch. He searched on “barbeque” and got a listing for a new restaurant in Arroyo Grande called “Tanner Jacks“. They gave us automated directions, which were easy to find. Tanner Jack’s is excellent!

Here is Guy’s Pulled Pork sandwich with coleslaw. He says “It was great!”.

When you visit, try their signature soup – TriTip with mushrooms — oh yeah! We seriously recommend Tanner Jack’s and look forward to sharing an Apple Brown Betty when we return.

In the same parking lot as Tanner Jack’s, there is a really nice market that does their own BBQ for a quick sandwich. The market is gourmet and you can pick up everything you need for a picnic, including baked goods and nice produce. What a find, in the same parking lot.

We also recommend our very favorite restaurant on the central coast in Templeton, Mc Phee’s Grill, a pot of gold in a tiny town. Owner and chef, Ian McPhee, creates culinary masterpieces nightly.

To get a free subscription to Keepsake Quilting’s catalog, go to Keepsake Quilting.com

If you haven’t seen Alex’s new show, go to TheQuiltShow.com to find out what she’s been up to recently.

Happy Quilting!