Just 11 miles!!

Yesterday we had a walk-thorough at the new house with the constructor. He took his through the house, room by room, and gave us the run down of special features. We learned things like how to turn water valves and gas lines off, how the windows open for cleaning, how the fireplace has a gas line if we want to put in a gas log instead of burning wood, how set the alarms, heater and water sprinklers... So many things! The ceiling fans have light switches with a slider to change the high-low speed!!  No more jumping at the light fixture to pull the chain! Lol, I feel like I've been living  in a time capsule and have jumped into the future. My Heartbeat and I are very pleased with our new house, waiting for closing is difficult.

Sitting in my car, after the Walk-through, my Heart on his way to work, I decided to see how far to the nearest quilt shop 😁.

It's just 11 miles!!

Minding My P's and Q's

I suspect the shop was empty because it had become a very blustery day. One of those days for hot chocolate, fuzzy slippers and blankies on the couch.

Fortunately, I was already out and about 😉.

And received a warm welcome when I stepped through the quilt shop doors.

I met long-armer Fran, who was finishing up a client's quilt.  The custom quilting is fantastic!!

Minding My P's and Q's quilt shop has a big classroom!

One of the newest classes is the Poppins tote that's sitting in the floor. It is a very roomy and sturdy tote!

I found scrap bags!!

And look!! They've pulled a collection of fabrics to match the new Bonnie Hunter mystery colors!! Very thoughtful!

The shop has so much yummy stuff, and this is all I left with.  I'm trying hard to wait until we're settled into the new home.

Minding My P's and Q's quilt shop

Their calendar is full of classes and activities. 

All just 11 miles from where I'll be living (hopefully moved in by Thanksgiving!)

This shop may become my second home ☺️.

Material Girl Quilt Shop

I hadn't planned on finding a quilt shop yesterday (two days ago now, because it's taken me that long to write this short update. 🙄)

  We were driving around and looking at furniture stores when I saw a quilt shop on Maps right on our route to the next store.

Material Girl Quilt Shop

(I put a link to the shop's website, but as of today it hasn't been updated since Nov '11.)

It's a sweet cozy shop!

The shop owner Alice greeted me warmly.

Alice didn't mind me taking pictures for my blog 🥰.

There's possibly a classroom back there. I didn't explore too much because my Heartbeat was waiting for me in the car.  

Alice and I talked about our quilting, getting to know each other a bit.  The shop isn't offering classes at the moment as she's without a teacher.  ....hmm, a future opportunity, perhaps? ☺️!!

An evening with the Quilt Guild of Dallas

Just a quick FYI before I tell you about my day...
It. Rains. In. Texas!!
The saying is that "everything is bigger in Texas" seems to hold true. Even the raindrops feel bigger here!
Ok, onto my day....

I am often amazed how easy it is to get information these days.  Social media is a fantastic resource!
I am a Facebook fan. You can find a group for just about anything! (At least I assume so. I have only looked for quilters or needle crafters myself.)
When I moved to Texas, I did a quick search for quilting groups and found the Texas Quilter's Group (tm). It's a closed group, I did have to "apply to be a member" by answering  three questions before I was accepted.
I made a post to introduce myself and to ask for guilds close to where I would be living. I can tell you, I was thrilled to get responses!
I was invited to six guilds, a quilting bee, and a Quilts of Valor group! There were also mention of several quilt shops in my area. It's going to take me a while to visit each one!!

I was told that the Quilter's Guild of Dallas meets on the 2nd Thursday of the month.
Guess what yesterday was?! Yep, it was the second Thursday! And even though my GPS showed that it is a 40 minutes drive (into Dallas), I was determined to go because Linda took the time to comment on my FB post and invite me. Thanks, Linda!!

The November meeting happens to be the guild's charity sewing event. Which takes place at the Best Little Retreat Center in Texas.
I walked into a room that was buzzing with activity and sewing machines running.

Tables were littered with color coordinated scraps.

Looks like some were also theme coordinated too.

Many design walls were in use.

I noticed that the walls were custom made design walls! I mean, the whole wall! Corner to corner and as high as anyone could reach!
In the first room, ALL the wall space was covered like this!

Quilt tops were not limited to string piecing.

One quilter was attaching bindings.

She had a pile of quilts that needed to have the binding turned and stitched down.

This is Bonnie who invited me to turn bindings with her when I pretty much walked in off the street and asked for a job 😆.

And so I spent the next two hours or so chatting with Bonnie and stitching this binding.

And though I haven't made the commitment to become a member yet, I was given a welcome packet.

And I won a door prize!

I'll have to return when there's a regular meeting. I walked into the frenzied end of day rush to get a much done as possible. Only a handful of ladies introduced themselves to me. But I felt very welcomed. Almost like a raindrop falling into a puddle.