Christmas Fun...

I didn't post very much this month because I was so busy with the holiday season! I thought I would show you some pictures of the things that kept me busy. The picture above is a silk corsage that I made to send to Miss Carole. I didn't want to post the picture until I was sure she had opened her gift!

Here is a picture of Noah, my youngest child at his preschool program. I was a little bit happy and some sad. This is my last child in preschool! Last year his teacher would tell him to sing "Loud and Proud" and that is exactly what he did.

Within the space of about 4 days, we went to four music programs, celebrated our anniversary and celebrated a proud 7 year old birthday! He waits all year to get presents since his birthday is so close to Christmas.
We made Christmas cards that were our gifts to Jesus. Here is Noah, he had a great time!

My brother and his family came on Christmas day and we always do Dirty Santa. My nephew is the proud owner of a lovely elf hat! I don't think he reads my blog or even knows I have one! Ha!

Here is Eli with the other half of my nephew's gift. It was a lovely Reindeer tie that Eli stole from him. He thought that was pretty funny!

All in all it was a very nice Christmas and I promise, my next post will be back to crazy quilting!

Merry Christmas!

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and the line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

May you have a Merry Christmas,

Some more Retreat Pictures!

I am not much of a picture taker, but this year at the retreat, I really tried to make an effort to take more pictures! I would sneak into the classrooms and take pictures of things people were working on. This is a cute little bumble bee that J. Marsha Michler taught. I can't remember who stitched this (or the following spider) so if you read this, please let me know who you are!

Here is a cute little spider that J. Marsha Michler also taught. He is almost a little too real!

Here is a beautiful paisley from the paisley class that Carole Samples taught. Again, could you leave me a comment if you are the one who stitched this?

Now, I do know who this is! This is Jane and she was very excited to be at the retreat this year! She was always in the first seat next to Carole Samples! I'll post more pictures as I get to it!

Talk to you later,

Victorian Stitchery Retreat Contest Winners!

For the retreat, I had a contest. The only rules were that it be a six inch square and of course it had to be crazy quilted! The picture above is of Karen Guthrie who won first place. Her little mini crazy quilt square was just to die for! Congratulations Karen!

Here is a close up, it is just too cute and she started and finished it just a few days before the retreat.

Avis Nelson won second place with a crazy quilt teacup. I have to say I was grinning a little on this one because Avis took this as a class from me! Just so you know, I wasn't the judge for the contest! Congratulations Avis!

Here is Nark Royer with her little crazy quilt doll that doubled as a pin. She won third prize and look at that big grin! Congratulations Nark!

I'll post more pictures of the retreat as I have time, so keep checking back. It really was a week to remember.

Talk to you later,

The Start of a Busy Week!

Here is a picture of another little crazy quilt pin I made recently. I love making these short quick projects! The Victorian Stitchery Retreat starts tomorrow, so you won't be hearing from me all week, but I'll take lots of pictures to show you later on.

Have a great week and be sure to check in with our sponsor of Pink Saturday, Bev. Just click on the icon on the top left.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

On my blog, I very rarely venture away from crazy quilting. So read this post at your own risk because it isn't really a post on crazy quilting. I am not a big Halloween person, but I thought maybe it would be fun if a person could dress up as Marie Antoinette. She wore the most beautiful dresses!

Even Barbie has dressed up as Marie Antoinette! Most of the costumes that I found online were not really anything I would wear....so I guess it was just fun to think about. Who know's maybe I will make a crazy quilt Marie Antoinette something or other, that would be more my style!

Have a Happy Pink Saturday and remember to check in with our sponsor Beverly. Just click on the icon at the top right.

Talk to you later,

More MCC Blocks, a much needed Update!

Here are blocks 8, 9 and 10 for the MCC Pansy Crazy Quilt. I only have 4 more blocks to piece! The other ladies involved in the making of this quilt have been doing an awesome job embellishing and stitching, I'll keep you posted as I recieve more finished squares!

Talk to you later,

Yesterday it was raining and it felt a little bit like fall. I don't like winter, cold weather etc. I am a summer/beach girl. It was getting me down, but I stitched up some flowers and it felt like spring!

Have a happy Pink Saturday and don't forget to visit our sponsor Beverly. You can click her icon at the top right.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

Happy Pink Saturday! I have really had a good week, but it has kept me so busy that I didn't blog all week. If you follow my blog, you know that every year myself and 6 other very talented ladies make a quilt for the MCC sale in Hutchinson, KS. MCC stands for Mennonite Central Committee and they do a lot of wonderful things! They are known for helping with disaster relief and often are one of the first to arrive at the scene. This last year, we made a Valentine Crazy Quilt made from a pattern designed by Carole Samples. As I pieced the quilt, I made some changes from the original pattern but really I do love how it turned out.

Our group has met the wonderful person who bought the quilt. She is also a crazy quilter and we know it went to a really good home! She sent me the picture above and doesn't it just look perfect in her house!

I will be offering this quilt as a block of the month/online class starting this month. For more information on enrolling in this class you may go to my website, http://www.valeriebothell.com
I hope you have a good Pink Saturday and remember to visit Beverly our sponsor at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

Hi everyone! Once again, I have taken an unintentional break from blogging. Well I am back and once again grateful for Pink Saturday because it makes me blog. I have been really busy getting ready for the Victorian Stitchery Retreat and a few other projects that I have going. The picture above is something I did 7 or 8 years ago. It is done in all hand dyed ribbon.

Well, I hope you have a great day and remember to visit our wonderful sponsor of Pink Saturday, Beverly. You click on the Pink Saturday button on the top right to visit her blog.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

As part of the fun at the Victorian Stitchery Retreat, I always have a little crazy quilt contest. Two years ago I had a crazy quilt name tag contest. I didn't enter the contest since I am the hostess, but I still thought it would be fun to make one. Of course it has a little pink in it!

Have a happy Pink Saturday and don't forget to visit our sponsor, Beverly at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com. You can click on the button at the top right and it will take you there.

Talk to you later,

My Website has a New Look!

I have updated my website, and it has a whole new look that I really like. Website work is NOT my favorite. I would rather be stitching, teaching, or even getting a cavity filled! These are some of the new hand dyed laces that I have put on the website. I like to name the color combination's that I use when I dye lace. The one pictured above is named Indian Summer because of the fall colors I used. The one pictured below, I haven't quite figured a name out for. It is a new color combination that I tried and I think it has many possibilities!

The lace picture below is a color I have been doing for awhile and it really is my favorite! It has a vintage look to it and has my favorite color in it!

I would invite you over to my updated website at www.valeriebothell.com and take a look! I will be adding items daily so you can keep checking back.

Talk to you later,

MCC Pansy Quilt Update

Just a quick MCC Pansy Quilt update. Pictured at the top is a finished square and below is a new one that I will be giving Dixie today! Look out Dixie, here I come!

Talk to you later,

Another Happy Pink Saturday!

A year ago or so, Carole Samples and I taught an online class together entitled, Fancy Valentines. We had a lot of fun and we also learned how different it was to teach a class online. Pictured above was one of the patterns taught in the class. Basically, Carole took a simple appliqued heart and designed beautiful embroidered stitches that fit perfectly around each heart. She even designed templates so that you could actually mark around the heart and take the guess work out of your stitching.

At the Victorian Stitchery Retreat in November Carole will be teaching part 2 of this class. She has designed more "Fancy Valentines" for us to stitch. The one pictured above is mine and of course, I did all of my Valentines in PINK. No surprise there...ha! If you would be interested in taking this class from Carole, you may email at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com.

Please take some time and visit the sponsor of Pink Saturday at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com or click on her logo on the top right hand corner and it will take you right there.

Have a very PINK day and I'll talk to you later,

Victorian Stitchery Retreat

It is hard to believe that there are only two months until the retreat! It is going to be a wonderful, fun filled week with 4 fantastic teachers! We still have room in Carole Sample's Build A Better Block class. This is a wonderful class for newbies as well as intermediate and advanced stitchers. Whether you are a beginner or advanced, it will teach you some new wonderful piecing techniques and give you lots of inspiration! The class will feature19th century modifications we can make to create beautiful crazy quilt blocks. You will learn about seam intersections, 7 different applique methods for piecing, adding 4 different kinds of curves, 5 different generic patch edges and 8 additional possibilities for building beautiful and interesting blocks.

If you have not taken a class from Carole, it really is a treat! She is truly a gifted teacher, crazy quilter and artist.

If you would like more information please feel free to email me at pinkbunny@valeriebothell.com.

Talk to you later,

Happy Pink Saturday!

I hope all of you are having a very happy Pink Saturday! This is a picture of some fabric that I recently bought at Hobby Lobby. The picture below is what I did with that fabric this week!
As I have mentioned before, I teach crazy quilting from my home(for the past 13 years!)and I wanted to spruce it up because I am having an open house today. I used to have these dark green curtains that were so old they were faded. I really love the new look and it really brightened up the room.

Please visit Beverly at www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com as she is our wonderful sponsor of Pink Saturday. You may click on her button on the top right and it will take you to her blog.

Have a very Pink Day,