In which I had my first blog meet up

For me, one of the beauties of blogging is the connections I have made with people I otherwise would not know.  I see it like having a bevy of pen pals.  I correspond with people in my own town, the next state over, on the other side of the country and across the world. The only difference is that with technology the letters arrive electronically and at lightening quick speed.

When Fatty and I planned our trip to New York this past summer, I was looking forward to meeting Susan and Julie.  Now, wouldn't you know, they both up and moved before I got there.   Oh well.  Susan is in now living in one of the Portlands, both of which are on our list of places to go.  And Julie is in Chapel Hill, NC which is somewhere we actually do go.  Hooray!

So, on Saturday morning, accompanied by my sister-in-law Heather and baby Kenan, I met Julie for coffee.  What a treat!  We sat and chatted for over an hour about all kinds of things.

I couldn't show up empty handed so I made Julie her very own coffee, or tea as the case may be, cozy.  The color scheme was inspired by this shirt that she made for herself.  I couldn't find that Amy Butler print in my studio (I own it, but the studio's quite a mess and that really deserves a post of its own), so I used one that has a similar feel.

I embroidered her name on it, too.  I chose a running stitch because it is fast (yes, this falls into the last-minute category).  As I finished, I wished I would have taken the time to back stitch or split stitch it so it would show up better on the corduroy.  It is subtle, though, and I do like that.

I didn't leave with empty hands, either.  Julie gave me some sweet Japanese fabric (a whole generous yard!) and green vintage buttons!

Julie, I am so happy I had the chance to meet you in person!  You are just as friendly, kind and thoughtful as I had imagined.  Thanks for the quilt store tip - it was a good one.  I bought a few yards (imagine that!).  Tell Bobby I look forward to seeing him and his sweater in action!