Quilters and their sicknesses

Just read this on another message board and thought I'd copy/paste it: 


A recent study indicated that fabric gives off certain Pheromones that actually hypnotize women and cause them to purchase unreasonable amounts. When stored in large quantities in enclosed spaces, the Pheromones (in the fabric) cases memory loss and induces the nesting syndrome (similar to the one squirrels have before the onset of winter i.e. storing food). Therefore perpetuating their species and not having a population loss due to their kind being cut into pieces and mixed with others. 

Sound tests have also reveled that these fabrics emit a very high pitched sound, heard only by a select few, a breed of women known as "quilters." When played backwards on an LP, the sounds are heard as chants, "buy me, cut me and sew me." 

In order to overcome the so called "feeding frenzy effect" that these fabrics cause, one must wear a face mask when entering a storage facility and use ear plugs to avoid being pulled into their grip. One must laugh, however, at the sight of customers in a quilt fabric store, with WWII army gas masks and headphones! Studies have also indicated that aliens have inhabited the earth, helping to spread the effects that these fabrics have on the human population. They are called Quilt Fabric Store Clerks. 



It's also been experienced that these same Pheromones cause a pathological need to hide these fabric purchases when taken home (or at least blend them into the existing stash), and when asked by significant other if the fabric is new, the reply is "I've had it for awhile." 

To "FIX" this sickness.... check out our friends at DJ's DISCOUNT FABRICS ...   you can find them on the internet at www.djsdiscountfabrics.com .  Diane is a sponsor for our retreat, and a new fabric store on the web ... so go check her out!  And tell her that you saw her on CIRCLE OF FRIENDS RETREAT BLOG!

Have a great week and happy sewing!

FQ BINGO !!! WHO WANTS TO PLAY !!!

YES!  We WILL be playing FQ Bingo at the Circle of Friends Retreat in Branson ... what would a retreat be without it?  It's gonna be F-U-N ... FUN!

~ Each card will be 4 FQs .  You are limited to ONE card per game.

~ We will have an UGLY category ... you can throw in AS MANY FQs AS YOU LIKE, BUT STILL ONLY PLAY ONE CARD ... it's a good way to give some of those "uglies" a good home to go to !  And just because the category might be "uglies", beauty IS in the eye of the beholder!  I've done "ugly" swaps, and from what I received, I was blown away at the BEAUTY that people were passing on as rejects!  Sometimes the "ugly" stack is just fabrics that you've bought too much of ... you're tired of looking at it ... you want to trade for some perfect GREEN ! 

So the FABRICS we will be playing with and for are ~~

~ ASIAN fabrics ... those gorgeous Orientals! (4 FQs per player)

~ REPRODUCTION fabrics ~ can be Civil War, 30's or other repro (4 FQs per player)

~ FALL ~ Gotta have those FABULOUS fall fabrics! {NO HALLOWEEN} (4 FQs per player)

~ BATIKS !!!  What would a party be without Batiks!!! (4 FQs per player)

~ BLACK & WHITES ~ fabric with black background & white print, or white background & black print (4 FQs per player)

~ NEUTRAL fabrics ~ beiges, tans, off whites, tone on tone lights (4 FQs per player)

~ UGLIES ... Everyone has some they are tired of or wonder WHY they ever bought those!  No limit as to how many go into the pot, but 4 minimum.

and possibly (time permitting)

~ ANYTHING GOES ~ this will be anything you want to throw in, or maybe you won some you don't really want.  Please make sure this is 100% GOOD QUALITY COTTON FABRIC.

This will be the last Bingo game.

Now for those that are flying, if you win big and don't want to carry them in your suitcase, or you do some shopping you just couldn't pass up ~~

WE WILL HAVE PRIORITY MAIL BOXES AND ENVELOPES AT RETREAT FOR ANY ITEMS YOU MAY WISH TO SEND.  THEY WILL BE FLAT RATE, SO YOU CAN WRITE ME A CHECK TO MAIL THEM (WE WILL ALREADY KNOW THE POSTAGE AMOUNT), AND I WILL GET THEM MAILED ON MONDAY AFTER RETREAT.  We will also have DELIVERY CONFIRMATION forms available as well.  Just please MARK ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE PACKAGE "FQ BINGO" ... 

Last year, I mailed my dirty laundry home via USPS and packed up all my fabric purchases and souvenirs in my carryon for the plane :)  I didn't care if my laundry got lost :)

So there's your categories for FAT QUARTER BINGO ... It's a retreat tradition... one we mean to carry on ~ big time! 

And what would the tradition of FQ Bingo be without our awesome bingo caller...  THANK YOU CHANLADY Lois for stepping up as our Bingo caller once again.  When I sought the advice of previous hostesses when I was considering having the retreat come to Branson, the previous hostesses HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Chanlady be kept as Bingo caller ... and after meeting her in NC and seeing her in action, I was MORE than appreciative of her "talents" ...  So THANK YOU LOIS !!!  I know you'll do a great job as Bingo hostess once again.

And remember... the games don't just have one winner!  THEY HAVE MULTIPLE WINNERS!!!

So let's say there's 35 people playing (that's 1/2 the registrations) ... at 4 FQs per game, that's 140 FQs ... if there's 7 winners, that's 20 FQ for your entry of 4 !  Also, there's sometimes MORE than 35 playing at a time, and sometimes more winners ... I know that last year I put my FQs in and won a bingo, and came out with about 2 dozen BEAUTIFUL ASIAN FABRICS!!!  That was a GREAT win ... but more than that, it was GREAT FUN with my friends!!

No one has to play ... but I'm pretty sure you will be wishin you had brought those FQs once you see the fun every has while playing ...

 

And remember ... the Bingo games is where Lena and Olie hang out with Chanlady !  

Hey........ that doesn't look like Lena! 

WE HAVE A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS RETREAT!!!

I went on a long country drive today ... it was a country drive, but with a purpose.  The scenery was SO beautiful!  The red bud trees and the dogwood trees are both in full bloom, and just breath taking as I drive through the country roads, over looking the hills and hollers, with the dog woods peeking out everywhere.  The other wooded areas are just starting to leaf, so they are pretty sparse, but then there are the dogwoods showing their beauty when nothing else is able to.  So as you drive, you have white dogwoods, a few pink, and then the beautiful shades of pink and purple from the redbud trees... I LOVE the Spring in the Ozarks!

So I drive a bit towards Table Rock Lake ... out to Cape Fair which is the BASS Capital of the US ... That's what the sign says :)  I cross over the lake, looking at the relaxed fishermen enjoying their day out on their bass boats ... I come to the small town of Cape Fair... drive a little bit more ... then, there it is!

It's a quilt shop in the middle of this small town ... and it's called THE QUILTED COW!  I had gone to a quilt show a few weeks earlier, where I met up and WORKED with our buddy Rainbow ... and I had talked with the gals from the Quilted Cow! 

So I drove and met up with the owner, Jennifer.  She is SO EXCITED y'all are coming to retreat!  She will have a vendor booth at the Ozark Piecemaker's Quilt Show when we go on Saturday ... 

but she is SO EXCITED, that she wants to do something special!!!

So... for those of you coming into Branson early, Jennifer would like to invite you to come to her shop, The Quilted Cow, and have lunch on her!  She'll be serving a light lunch of chicken salad, tuna, or egg salad, along with chips, goodies, sweets, and drinks. 

She'll also be having a GIVEAWAY while you're there!  There will be free patterns, door prizes (you must be present to win), AND she will also have a drawing for a GIFT CERTIFICATE that can be used on her website! 

You do NOT have to be present to win the gift certificate!  You just have to register in her shop while you're there for lunch!  

The hours for this fun is 10am to 2pm on Thursday, September 20th.  That will give you PLENTY of time to enjoy the Ozark beauty (about 30 minutes from Branson), have lunch, do a little pre-shopping at her store, and then make it back in time for Early Bird Fat Quarter Bingo and the Early Bird Dinner at Andy Williams Moon River Grill!  

She has LOTS of fabrics, patterns, everything a quilter could want, and they even do long arm quilting in the back room!  She's got a GREAT set-up, a friendly store and I think y'all will really enjoy yourselves if you visit her.  What a GREAT WAY to start off the retreat!

So think it over ... if you're driving in, might be worth it to come a little early.  If you're already planning on coming early, then it will give you a little added fun!  And if you're coming from the south, you can stop in on your way into Branson!

And HUBBYs ARE WELCOME!  For lunch and shopping!

She says they usually congregate in the back room with the MAN doing the long arm quilting!  They have a blast, she says!

I'll be asking about it later on as it gets closer, just to see what kinda of numbers we may have that want to do this ... just so she has enough food.  She's VERY excited y'all are coming!  So if you get a chance, stop by her QUILTED COW WEBSITE at www.thequiltedcow.com or LIKE them on facebook!  You'll like Jennifer, and you'll love her shop! 

THE RETREAT !!!

The RETREAT is something that our Circle of Friends look forward to each year.  It's a gathering of friends who are like minded in that they have a LOVE of quilting... sewing home decor items... sewing for kids and grandkids ... they love putting the pedal to the metal (the foot pedal that is), and allowing their creativity to take over.  And they LOVE their fabric!  A quilter's fabric stash is as valuable to her as any jewels she wears.  

The retreats offer a time of friendship building, of fellowship, of having fun sewing, some learning, definitely some good food, and LOTS of fun!  One year the HGTV Circle of Friends worked the retreat around the Houston Quilt Festival, and an excursion was planned for the festival ... one year it was in Portland, and planned around the Sisters Quilt Show, and they took a bus down to Sisters and spent the day drooling over quilts, talking with friends, and buying some gorgeous fabric!

This is our sweet friend, Bluesnail ... the bags were almost as big as she was!

Last year was the 5th anniversary for the Circle of Friends and the retreat was held in Charlotte, NC.  We took a double-decker bus to Mary Jo's Cloth Store in Gastonia... O MY GOODNESS !  What a PALACE of fabrics!!!  It was fun getting to know everyone during the retreat, and we ALL had a blast hauling our booty back with us.  I LOVED the batiks collection they had, and did most of my shopping in that section ... altho I did get sidetracked just a tad, and my friend Lori helped me pick out a real beauty!   THANKS LORI !  I'm thinking this would make a GREAT fat-quarter challenge fabric! ;) ~~ but we'll show THAT later !

Quilters and Stash !!!

Quilters go to great lengths to acquire and build their stash ... some have small stashes, because they like it that way, or because of storage restrictions.  And some have complete rooms full that would rival most fabric stores.  And they go to extreme measures in obtaining their stash and keeping it "their little secret".  Some husbands just don't understand our NEED for stash... it's like their tool collection, or miniature toys or whatever else they collect ... for my DHubby, it's fishin poles and equipment.  And I, being the understanding wife, totally cooperate with his needing to build his collection ... I'm a giver like that !  And over the years, he has learned to accept my need for stash, and sometimes I see this bewildered look in his eyes like "how did she get so much... and HOW does she fit it all in here?"

Well, we quilters get very creative in how we don't flaunt our purchases in front of our hubby's... some (I won't mention my name), has been known to put it in grocery bags and bring it in with the food.  And I just kinda take a little side trip to the sewing room to drop it off before hitting the kitchen!  He knows when I go for some "retail therapy", and that's all well and good.  He never says a thing... but I just don't want him to know how MUCH therapy I really need :)

When my daughter & Precious moved out of our home, at first I was bummed... then I saw a sewing room!  then somehow my stash took over the room, and I was forced to then move my stash into my guest room so I would have enough room to sew.  Then we remodeled our home for my mom to move in, and our bedroom got moved into the finished basement, and mom took over the master bedroom.

When she left to move back to Calif, I was kinda bummed ... but then I saw a BIGGER sewing room!  AND it (for now) handles my stash !  So my guest room is again a guest room, my old room became my office, and the master bedroom of the house with the huge walk in closet now houses my stash and equipment.  I decided I was wasting the bathtub, so I put a piece of plywood across it, and house tubs of my kona fabrics and storage supplies.

I am indeed a blessed woman... Steve keeps wondering why I didn't just take over the whole bottom of the house ... because I like windows and I like looking out at the birdies and the flowers ... but honey, your man cave would fit a long arm just perfect!

How do YOU house your stash?  How do you obtain it?  How do you get it in the house?  LET'S TALK STASH!  And then there's the friends who try to raid it !