As many of you know, I am a team member with  Enchanted Makeovers which is a

nonprofit organization bringing awareness to the needs of women and children in abusive situations.

If you have the current American Patchwork & Quilting magazine

you can read about Terry and her journey on page one.

Terry Grahl has dedicated her life to making the shelters a better place

for these women and children so they can have hope and love in their lives.

This year EM has been on a nationwide tour to spread the word.

The final event for the year will be in New Jersey on October 16.

 We need help from all you quilters and embroiderers for this event.

The ladies are going to be learning about yoga and we need 30 handmade mats for this activity. The mats will be used as

lap quilts after the event and will be very simple but very bright.

We want encouraging words embroidered around the borders.

I will have a very simple pattern to follow and a list of words to be embroidered. If you can only do some

embroidery (hand or machine) or only sew the quilt – that is fine, we can tag team the process.

If you need fabric, we can take care of that also.

There is a time constraint. I will need the finished mats by October 1.

For more information on Enchanted Makeovers go to the website.

Enchanted Makeovers website

Check out Terry’s facebook page

Enchanted Makeovers Facebook Facebook link

Check out Enchanted Makeovers and Terry Grahl on

the Martha Stewart Dreamers Into Doers site.

Terry was recently honored as one

of People Magazines 30 All-stars Among Us

I do hope some of you have the time to open your heart to this cause.

I have been blessed beyond words by working with Terry and all the other volunteers.

Please let me know that you can help to make this

event very special for these ladies by leaving a comment with your email address

or email me direct info@calicocarriage.com and

I will contact you ASAP on how to get started.

We did see a few celebrities at Fall Quilt Market.

Becky and Jeanne took this picture of Marie Osmond at her fabric booth.

Mark Lipinski came by my booth and stopped to visit.

Batik Stars, Abilene trip & a Wind Farm on the way

It is a glorious Saturday morning here in north Texas. It is only 73º so far. Can you tell I am ready for fall? Yesterday was a very full day for us. In the morning I worked on some batik stars for a new twin size quilt. The batiks are Dreaming in Color by Laundry Basket Quilts for Moda fabric. I really like the cheery blues and yellows.

In the afternoon we went to Abilene, Texas for some business but then we had to have some fun. We drove to the small town of Buffalo Gap, Texas

 where the famous Perini Ranch Steakhouse is.

The grounds are peaceful.

The decor inside is very eclectic. This is 7 foot rattlesnake ski tanned on a board.

Have you ever seen a jackalope?

This bison head was watching us eat.

Our appetizer was Jalapeño Poppers. Jalapeño peppers stuffed with cream cheese wrapped in smoky bacon and grilled. Second course was a blue cheese salad with roasted pecans. We split a 16oz rib eye steak with ranch potatoes and still brought some home to enjoy today. We did save room for desert by bringing home some of our steak. Strawberries with sugar biscuits and real heavy cream poured over it all. This was not a heart healthy meals but it was wonderful! They also raise a few pump jacks on the property.

There were some very interesting buildings in Buffalo Gap

I took pictures of the wind farms on the way home.

These windmills are huge!!! It is kind of freaky when you first see them.  

This shows the wind farm with the sun setting behind.    

First Market pattern quilts finished!

All but one of my pattern cover quilts is finished. I just got them back from my quilter Jo Lynn O'Neil and would like to share them with you.

They are all made with future groups of fabric from Moda Fabrics.

Please check with your local quilt shops to see if they will have these fabrics and carry my patterns.

The first pattern is called Post & Beam. It is made with 8 fat quarters. It is great for the big bold prints but is also good for flannels.

The flannels used here are Timber Creek Flannels by Holly Taylor.

This one is made with Tranquility fabric designed by Sandy Gervais.

This one is also made with Tranquility fabric but it is scrappy and uses the panel that is part of the line.

This pattern is called Radiant Star made with my No Diamonds/No "Y" Seams technique. The front cover quilt is a large lap quilt made with

Tradition Fabric by Howard Marcus. The proceeds from this fabric will go to UNICEF.

The quilt on the back cover is a wall, baby, table topper made with Love Is In The Air by Deb Strain.

The last pattern is called Shooting Stars. There are twin, queen and king size quilts included. The cover quilt is a queen made with Heritage by Howard Marcus.

The back cover is a king made with Peace On Earth which is now in quilt shops.

Quilt shop owners please email me if you need more information on these patterns or the fabrics used. The patterns will be available soon.

I can’t believe the weather. Yesterday it was 103º and today it is only 69 º so far. I sure hope it stays this way for a while.

I am still working on my new patterns for market. This is the center of the queen size version of “Shooting Stars”.

No Diamonds and No "Y" Seams"

The fabric is “Heritage” by Howard Marcus for Moda Fabrics. This is a new group. Ask for it at your local quilt shops in September.

The proceeds from this fabric go to Gilda’s Club.

This is Miss Kitty. She loves fabric as much as we all do.

August 1! Can you believe it? It is definitely summer in Texas. We have had 100º + weather for days. 

I have been working on new patterns to present at Fall Wholesale Quilt Market in Houston. So far I have three.

The first one is called Post & Beam. It is a great component made lap quilt.

The center is one component done in four fabric combinations using 8 Fat Quarters. With two borders it makes a 60” X 60” quilt.

The fabrics I have been working with are new lines from Moda Fabrics  that will be coming to your local quilt shop this fall.

This example is made with “Tranquility” by Sandy Gervais.  It will ship in November.

 

There is a great panel in this line that I cut up to make sections for a scrappy version of the quilt.

The birds just make me happy.  

I am still working on border selections for these. Don't you just love this fabric? 

 I cut the tiny birds to make the centers of the blocks.

Check back tomorrow to see a very manly version for the guy in your life. Hint: it is flannel.

Be sure to check the website Calico Carriage Quilt Designs for all the patterns and books. We have a section called Specials that has some great deals in it.