Thanksgiving blessings.......

Post Thanksgiving Greetings Quilters!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family and friends.
I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your friendship and support.
Thank you all for your kind words, prayers, and encouragement since my loss of
Sophia.  I would have loved to have hosted you all for Thanksgiving here at the
Quilt Cave, but, since I couldn't, allow me to share some photos from my
family celebration of Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving, from my family to yours!

Tommy Boy, my Royal Palm Tom Turkey

was pardoned this Thanksgiving.

Lilly Mae loves her MawMaw!

PawPaw doesn't spoil his girls at all!

Momma helped me clean up

before the rest of the family came.

And, of course, she helped me cook!

No one makes deviled eggs like my Momma!

Dad made his world famous Egg Sandwiches

for our breakfast.

Sis helped in the kitchen too!

The turkey turned out great!

This turkey was raised right here at the Quilt Cave.

I love being able to raise my own food.

MMMMM....Momma's mashed taters!

LOLOL

You ALL know this is the best part....

of course Grandma saved them for her

grand babies to lick!

Brother in law always does a nice

job of carving the turkey.

Time to give thanks for all God has provided us.

Then it was time to dig in!

Ladies first, of course.

Our meal was delicious, as usual.

Just ask Lilly Mae......

or Abigail Rose.....

or Salvador AKA Kitty Boy.

I am so happy Daddy continues this tradition

with the new additions to my family.

Even though Sophia wasn't here to get her

annual bite of Turkey.

Sis and her family.

How on earth did these babies get this big!

Lil Bubs wants to grow as tall as me....

he is getting there!

This was as good of shot as we could get

with the fur babies.

LOL

And then, a nice afternoon nap

while Lilly is on the look out!

Our annual Scrabble game....

I hate to boast, but......

I mopped the floor with everyone,

and won! LOLOL

It was a blessed Thanksgiving Day.

Then, the next day......you all know what happened.....

The first clue for Bonnie Hunter's

Frolic Mystery.

I love making 4 patches.....

and I find using this kid's lap table

is most convenient to spin those seams on

while watching....or at least listening

to television.

In other news.........

My friend Tea has been keeping me

laughing, and in stitches,

helping me take my mind off of things.

Look how she is dressed, matching the scraps!

LOLOL

I also held a "Gracie Lu's Rail Fence"

workshop with the

Hearts-N-Hands

Quilt Guild in O'Fallon, IL.

These sisters are always so much fun

to have in class!

WOW!  Look at this spring like

version of the #SSSSQ!

Thanks for playing along!

We had a very nice workshop, 

and look at all of these great

variations the quilters

worked on.

Thanks for hosting me!

I have also participated in

Fun with Barb's

"Seeing Stars"

block swap this year.

Her swaps are always so enjoyable!

These will be mailed off soon.

I have some exciting things to share in the next

couple of weeks pertaining to the upcoming holidays.

I hope you all will be watching and participating!
Thanks again for your love, friendship, and holding 

me up.

Thanks for all of the encouragement!
Keep on Quilting!

Kevin the Quilter

The Highs and Lows............

Hey Quilters!
I have been Missing In Action......and I do apologize for that.
From the high of the International Quilt Festival in Houston,
to a very low point in my life after returning home.  Follow the
photos below and share in my highs and lows.

I had the wonderful opportunity of working with these

amazing gals in the

Homestead Hearth

booth while in Houston.

Thanks so much to Sarah, Dolores, and Lori

for letting me play with fabrics and be goofy

with my quilting friends from far and near.

The booth was busy at all times.  AWESOME!

I cut through A LOT of fabric

at the cutting table.

Sarabeth was my partner in crime!

It was a pleasure meeting and working with her!

It was so fun meeting, or reacquainting myself

with so many talented quilters from all over

the world!

 Janet of Mrs. Sew N Sew blog

My lovely Cecile of 

Patchwork Inpirations

along with her humorous husband

who accompanied her from France to

the Quilt Festival.

I think this is one of the ONLY photos I took with

Lori of Humble Quilts!

Lori hosted a meet and greet with

her Humble Quilts Facebook Group.

It was fun meeting fellow quilters in this group!

I was so blessed to share my experiences this year with

my good friends Tea of  Teaquilts,

and Ann of Attic Threads and Quilts.

It was fun meeting other quilters from

Teaquilts Facebook Group too!

Enjoy the video above to see many of the quilts

and some of the other highlights of the

2019 International Quilt Festival

through the eyes of Teaquilts!

 Judy in the photo above, won the grand prize

in the Kevin the Quilter, Quilt of Valor Block Drive

back in 2014!

It was so nice to meet her!

It's always exciting to share your passion

with so many like minded artists.

The Sapphire Quilts were amazing!

LOLOLOLOLOL

Bob Ross keeps popping up everywhere!

One last visit with Cecile!

Then we realized we had to bid farewell!

Mary Ellen Robison, and Paula Barnes

of 

Red Crinoline Quilts.

These gals are so talented.....AND nice!

On the road again!

What a nice road trip we had.

So many of you have reached out to me

and shared your kind words of encouragement

about my blog.  It's always nice to hear

positive feedback.

This is the story of my life and quilting.

While in Houston, Bonnie Hunter shared the devastating news

concerning the loss of her beloved dog Sadie.

You all know I have suffered my fair share of losing fur babies.

I was so saddened, and reached out to her to share my condolences.

When I returned home, the next day I was faced with some horrible

news myself.

My beyond beautiful, sweet, sharp as a tack, 13 year old

Boston Terrier,

Sophia Annabella

had a massive heart attack.

Oh, how I loved her......and I could feel her love for me.

She was ALWAYS smiling!

This is one of the last photos I have

of all 3 of my girls together.

My precious girl.........I have no words.....

Without the prayers, loving comments from

family and friends, and just knowing that Sophia

had an amazing life, and didn't suffer for

days on end at the end of her life, 

I wouldn't be able to function.

You all KNOW that I will have a

tribute on the blog for her.

She was such a bright light in my life.

One that has dimmed for me now.

I just can't process it all right now.

To take my mind off of things,

my friend Mike drove me to get the paint chips for

Quiltville's upcoming mystery

Frolic.

Mike and his wife Sherry requested I make this mystery

for them, since their youngest daughter claimed

the last quilt I made. LOL

They have opted to change the neutrals to light greys.

And the green will now be yellow.

All other colors will remain the same.

Another friend gave me 10 bags of scraps!

This has helped occupy my mind as well.

What a blessing to be able to enhance the

variety in my quilt making endeavors.

Thanks Reba!

You never know what you will get here

in Missouri!

Thanks for all of your encouragement!

Keep on Quilting!

Kevin the Quilter