Me and Elena at the Quilt Show

We had such a good time today.We met at my house and visited there for awhile.I loaded her up with some tomatoes and some Chow Chow.Then,we headed off to Paducah and saw hundreds of beautiful quilts.Now these aren't for beds..they're art.It was great seeing Elena and Al again and we had such a great time.My feet are sore,but we saw and did it all.

Here's a picture of us by one of the winning wall hangings.It was such a lovely garden scene,we both thought it was one of the best.

We spent all day and had such a nice visit.There's a quilt show in Nashville this summer...guess we'll load up and go.

Sounds like a wonderful day. The quilt is beautiful as are you two ladies. So, is it Melody and Elena, or Elena and Melody in the picture?

Elena, if you haven't tasted the chow chow before, it is absolutely wonderful!

Joan, it's Elena then Mel :) Great shot you two! Wish I could have tagged along!!!

Isn't Elena originally from Louisiana? If so, I just know she has had cnow chow. But it's hard to find the good homemade kind. Now, about that quilt! What kind of price does such a masterpiece carry? That must be the most gorgeous quilt I have ever seen! Excuse me, I mean to say textile based art. **Blush**, edited to correct the spelling of my home state!

This message was edited Saturday, Apr 27th 9:42 PM

I agree, it's beautiful!! I would love to have one like it too, but don't sew even a little bit.
Nice to see you two again. You both look great.

Nice to see you guys! Nothing like familiar faces. :) That quilt is gorgeous; it almost makes me want to learn how to quilt!

Chow chow? What is this chow chow? Our dog's part chow chow, but I don't think that's what ya'll mean!

What a wonderful day we had. Melody and Keith are the most gracious hostess and host imaginable. They made us feel right at home in their charming home. We felt like we had known them forever which is what one wants of good friends. Their dog is the sweetest thing and is so pretty. AWH!!! I want one just like theirs. I just fell in love with her.

Melody forgot to tell you that she also gave us 2 CDs of one of our favorite country artists. We will be playing that a whole lot. My datura and the tomato plants made it home in great shape and are now in the window of the potting shed for tonight. Tomorrow I will be cooking some beans or peas and then testing my jar of chow chow. I love chow chow and this looks so great. It is almost too pretty in the jar to spoil it by opening it and eating it but I am gonna EAT IT anyway.

The quilt show was wonderful as was the tour of the quilting museum. We had a fabulous tour guide for our tour. Our hostess was Mel's mother. She is a delightful lady and it is easy to see where Mel gets her winning personality. We felt really priviledged to have one of the (we think) best tour guides for the walk through the quilting museum.

We are looking forward to having Mel, her mother and hubby come to visit us this summer and are planning to attend the quilt show which is going to be here in Nashville, actually in our neighborhood. Since we are going to Roundup and will see Mel and Keith there also, we are going to know each other a whole lot better by the end of the summer. What Fun!!!

Hi Joan, Terry, Aimee, Susie and Kim. Yes Aimee, I wrote you about Louisiana some time ago. My family is originally from TN but we lived in Louisiana all the time I was growing up. I married a Louisiana guy and brought him back to TN with me when my family made the move back to TN. Susie,Terry and Kim. I am looking forward to seeing the three of you again at Roundup. Terry, I will be seeing you next Sat. at our joint plant sale here at my house. Pray for good weather, ok? Joan and Aimee. I have kind of lost touch with the roundup thread at the moment as I have been so busy. I hope you both are coming. I have got to close this post and head to bed. The day was wonderful and all but this old lady is sleepy and headed to bed. Thanks again Mel and Keith for a wonderfully memorable day.

This message was edited Saturday, Apr 27th 10:47 PM

GW, chow chow is a pickled spicy vegetable mix, usually predominantly cabbage and cucumbers, and the combination of veggies and spices is as varied as the Southern cooks who made it and the gardens they grew. Usually, near the end of a growing season, there are enough jars of cucumber pickles and other condiments to last the winter and have plenty left over, but there are still small bits of produce in the garden. Of course, no one in the old days wasted anything, so it must be used as long as it appears. So the mix might include the last of the green tomatoes just before a frost, some corn and bell peppers, always onion, usually garlic, mustard seed, dill, and just about any veggie that will hold its shape even a little. Sometimes it's hot enough to bite, but the best for my taste is just a bit of bite and lots of sweetened tartness. I have recipes for it, but none ever quite measure up to my childhood memories of it. We used it as a sandwich spread, a dressing for meat or a small stand-alone vegetable dish. Best slightly chilled, which was accomplished by storing it in the well in summer or under the house in winter. Did I understand that this lovely young lady made it herself?

Yes she did. She is a very talented young lady who does many wonderful things with her multiple talents. I found out today that she is only 5 or 6 weeks older than my daughter who is my middle child. My other daughter is a year older than the two of them.

Elena, I won't make round up this year, but I'm saving my dimes and quarters for next year. Sounds like we are going to be building a house this year along with more gardens.

You are in for a treat with Melody's chow chow, that I can tell you. I won a jar and I've eaten the whole thing already. Mostly with a fork straight out of the jar! Can't wait until the veggie garden starts producing this year so I can make more. Plus the Kimchee recipe I've just aquired this year! So many new things to satisfy my taste buds. Mel has THE chow chow recipe. Aimee, go look in the tomato forum, it's there under a thread called Private message for Melody, and "Oh, It's So Good!"

The Quilt are very beautiful. I loves it !!!

Nice seeing pictures and both of you don't look anything as I had you pictured. I was at my SIL'S today and she was showing us some quilts she had made for her granddaughter for a wedding present. They were beautiful also. One had a teapot in the center of the quilt and it was surrounded with cups.

Nice to see you both! The quilt is beautiful!

Nice to see you. I just love the quilt shows. They truly are works of art and that one is absolutly stunning!

Two of my favorite galz!! Glad that you both had such a great time! The quilt is just beautiful as are both of the ladies standing by it!!!!=]

so nice to see your smiling faces!

How lovely to meet you both and what a great time you must have had. I love quilts!! Never saw them till I came to the States and my SIL made me one. Such talent and patience!!

Hi all,
Yes,we saw hundreds of beautiful quilts,but the company we were in was best of all.

A little about the show and prizes.What we were standing in front of is actually classed as a 'wall hanging'.It's not big enough to be called a quilt.the winners get between 5 and 8 thousand for their winning wall hangings. The winning quilt gets 18,000.00.The other main prizes get 15 and 12 respectively.The Paducah show gives out about 125,000.00 in prizes each year.People come from all over the world to it.Lots of Asian quilters were there and one of the main prizes was given to a quilter from Saudi Arabia.I saw quilts from Canada,Denmark,United Kingdom, Germany ,Turkey ,Japan,Phillipines,Australia, Morocco and others that I can't remember.And believe it or not..the grand prize winner turned down the prize money and kept her quilt!
Lots of vendors come in to sell their fabric related products too.I bought fabric for my good friend in Norway,a hand dyed silk dress from the Phillipines,metal templates for rubbings that I do, and a pattern for a wall hanging. Elena bought some beautiful ceramic cat buttons.

It is something that Mom and I look forward to every year.She is associated with the Museum,and does quilt related stuff all year(she actually quilted on one of the quilts in the show)But we really enjoy the Show.

We might get a DG Field Trip together for next year if several want to come. We've got to decide early,cause all rooms are booked between St.Louis and Nashville and people are sleeping on floors all over WEst KY this weekend.People open their homes to quilters and it's one big slumber party all over! I've got some room...but if you plan to spend the night in a hotel...arrangements need to be made by Jan.1.

Anyway...it was a ball! I hope to be able to go to the show in Nashville this summer.

Melody/Elena what a lovely picture. So nice to put a face to my wonderings.:) I still have an interest in quilts even though it was one of my skills I lost to arthritis. I made a yoyo quilt in the 6o's. I went to county fairs and saw all the handiwork. I miss those days but it is such a great memory. This day you had will be with you always. I am happy for you both!

It`s so nice to meet you two. The quilt is really beautiful. I used to help my mother and mother-in-law quilt.
BTW Melody that sweater is gorgeous. By any chance, did you make that too?

So nice to put faces with names. What a great picture! And the quilt isn't bad either!~!

Oh man!! can't wait until next weekend! I get to see my baby, meet Melody and see quilts!! Hi ladies!!! I'm waving here!!

You are gonna have a ball, Kathleen. Did you get my email, by the way?

How nice to finally meet ya both. The quilt is beautiful.

Hi there everyone who has been commenting on it being nice to know us. I think all of you that I have never met now have an advantage over me. You know what I look like and I haven't the vaguest idea what any of you look like. Wonder if this is how the guys on the wanted posters feel? Guess I had better watch my step and not do anything illegal or one of you might recognize me and turn me in. LOL It is good to know you all. Lisa, it was good seeing your name in your post. We have missed "seeing you" around lately, don't be a stranger, ok?

I'll bet ya'll had a lovely day! Did your DH's go with you, or was this a "Gal Thing"? Only about 6 more weeks and a lot of us will get to meet you! Glad you had a good day. Jo

DH went also. He actually enjoyed the show, much to my amazement. He really enjoyed being with Melody and Keith also. Yep, time is clicking away and it won't be long before we will all be whooping, hollering, singing, EATING and having fun!