Thanks so much!

Thank you all so very much for your support of my work in Ghana! I would not have been able to do this without it! If you would like to receive direct emails from me please send me and email at toritha37@gmail.com and I will add you to my list. You can also keep track through my facebook page, the amekor foundation’s facebook page and at www.amekor.org. As soon as I have my blog up and going I will let you know! We have a lot of work ahead of us and I am sure that it will be both harder and more rewarding than we can even imagine at this point. Please continue to keep me, John, and Yao in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this amazing journey.

Some Big News!

O.k. guys I have some really big news – I’m going to Ghana!

In January of 2011 I will leave to begin a 3 month teaching position in Avedo, in the Volta region of Ghana as a volunteer with the Amekor Foundation. Day after day the children of Avedo show up, eager to learn, to a school severely lacking supplies and resources. While at the school, I will be teaching English and basic typing skills. My most important goal while in Avedo is to show the children that they have not been forgotten, to make it clear that I believe in them. I believe that despite the odds, they will succeed. I know that my time there will provide them with the opportunity to know more, so that they may have more and do more.

In order for me to make this happen I have to raise some money. So on Thursday Nov. 11 I’m having a “Please buy my stuff because I am going to Ghana” sale! We will start setting things out in the parking lot by the shop at 8 a.m. If you can’t make it to the sale but would like to contribute to my trip you can send money to:

Tori Morris 182 Candlewood Dr. Danville, Ky 40422

Or log into your PayPal account, go to send money, and send it to my email address – toritha37@gmail.com

We’re back and we’ve been busy!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Here’s a sneak peek at what we were up to -

You will have to stop by the shop to see where!

We also got in some really cute new fabric -

And some really awesome new pins -

See you guys soon!

See you on Tuesday!

    Les and I are taking a little break this weekend to celebrate Labor Day! The shop will be closed on Sat 9/4 and Mon 9/6. I hope you all enjoy your weekend immensely!

Honey I’m Home…..

Just back from a vacation westward! It was wonderful!

 

The king and I had a wonderful time but we missed you all deerly.

I promise we were working really hard……….

We are still in recovery mode from the retreat this past weekend, so i’ll be back soon with more details, but until then here’s a few pictures of the hard, hard work we were doing…..

Mystery Revealed!

Here’s mine -

Here’s Joni’s -

And here’s Mary Ann’s, with some borders she was testing out -

I’ll post the other’s as soon as they bring them in! It was very, very hard to keep the quilt a secret for so long! Everyone’s turned out great! Thanks for trusting me on this one guys (minus the tree grumbling!)!

Pretty flowers, bacon cupcakes, and good friends!

My birthday was a blast! And since then we’ve been busy, busy with retreat preparation, mystery quilt reveal (post on that tom.), and meetings for this and that. 

Leslie picked beautiful flowers from her garden -

Sue (who does not bake!) made me delicious bacon, yes bacon, cupcakes -

They were like a full pancake breakfast with a side of bacon! Delicious!

And last but not least our lovely friend Sylvia stopped by to bring me my FAVORITE strawberry wine that she and her husband make themselves! It even has my picture on it, but i’ll show you that another day!

All in all a wonderful day and a big, even though belated, thank you to all of you who  shared it with me!

Brass Band Brunch!

Along with our regularly scheduled Garden Party Mystery Quilt class, I thought it would be fun to have a parade watching brunch! We have a front row seat on the parade route and who does love a lil’ coffee cake! Bring whatever you like, food, drink, show and tell, project to work on, etc.! We’ll provide the coffee and cake! We’d love to have your company!

Here we are last year at the parade!

Ms. Mahalia #2

So Ms. Mahalia has undergone a few changes, she’s been spruced up a bit, since last we talked!

I’m quite pleased with how she’s turned out and am so excited to start sharing her with all of you! She’s on the quilting machine as I type so come by next week to see her make her debut in the shop!

This is the quilts’ namesake singing two of my absolute favorite songs -

Introducing Mrs. Mahalia

Our newest addition! A big bold quilt with a big bold name! For everyone who is finishing up the row or mystery quilt in the next months or anyone who is itching to start something new! It will be one of our next monthly classes. We are not exactly sure when the Mrs. Mahalia class will start meeting, but will keep you posted here, facebook, and through email!

Where I’ve been

Jazzfest!

Spent a long weekend in Mississippi and New Orleans with my lovely friend ginny!

There was good food -

Good music -

(Pearl Jam)

(That’s a tiny Van Morrison)

Good company -

(Lauren)

(Scott)

(Ginny)

And Pretty things -

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, despite the rainfall, and i’ll be back soon with some new projects we have going on at the shop!

A peek at my week….

Hope yours was just as grand! I’m working on two new projects to start up this summer and a really really really cute owl block!

I’ll post the owl tomorrow!

Pretty Bird, Pretty Bird

So here’s a funny little fact – I’m terrified of birds. I’m not sure what i think they will do to me, but when i see one coming near i get sweating and feel like crying all at once. Just thinking about the big bird houses you walk through at zoos makes my stomach lurch.  The funny part is that i love looking at birds. I think they’re gorgeous.  I love them on fabric, on clothes, in pictures, i special ordered my computer to have birds on it and i even used to go to the annual bird watch with the Audubon society (we used binoculars, so we were never that close). So that’s why Les made these birds for me.

Along with the orange one at the top,  they make three little wall hangings for my hallway! She embroidered them on the new 830 but the designs can be used on other machines too. The coolest part is that the applique is built into the designs! The machine stops and tells you when to add the fabric, where to add it, and what size it should be! They’ll be hanging out in the classroom for a bit if you’d like to see them!

Cute, Cute, and more Cute!

And they’re pretty useful too!

First up are these coffee/tea cup/pincushions!

Next is this awesome tote bag! Not only does it coordinate with cups but it has pockets inside and closes with a magnetic snap!

I know we all could use a bit more organization, especially in our sewing areas and especially if its cute like these!

We’re busy in the back today working on a quilt we’re donating to CASA. Many of you made blocks for it at the last retreat, so ill be back soon with some pictures soon!  Come by and say Hi!