Thursday, March 16, 2017


Oh where oh where have I been??


 Hi everyone!  I am so​ ​sorry that I have not posted since last year.  Ok, so it is more like 6 months, but after you hear what has been going on you will understand. And if you don’t, quit reading my blog. HAHA! Contrary to what you may be thinking, I was not in prison or re-hab. Though I am sure some of you will think I should be institutionalized for this latest adventure!!

Last fall a friend had told me about a trip she had taken to Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton, MO. MSQC has been on my bucket list for several years. The whole town is quilt shops. It started out with one, and has now morphed into 13 different shops. A quilter’s heaven. My sweet friend explained how she met someone who worked for Missouri Star and how much they loved it. While I wasn’t really looking for a new job, the Denver housing market had really taken off- which means people were paying $1500/month for a crappy 2 bedroom apartments. This was becoming quite ridiculous for us.

On a whim, after chatting with my friend D, I got on the MSQC website and applied for a job, thinking nothing would come out of it. I had several other things fall through prior to this and figured this would just be another disappointment.

Well, here we are, 5 months later living in beautiful little Hamilton, MO with a great house and big backyard, paying wayyyyy less for the house than we were paying for our place in Denver. Every time I let the dogs out and watch them run with their little ears flapping in the wind, it makes me smile.


I basically bought our house online, and didn’t even get a chance to look at the inside until after I got here in November. I lived out of suitcases for 3 weeks, staying with my new co-workers and in other various places, while Bob stayed behind with the critters and did all the packing. Bless his heart!!! I even got FORCED to participate in a quilt retreat shortly after I arrived. That was torture, I tell you. NOT. Due to the fact I work in the retreat center they wanted me to participate in one so I could give feedback based on the experience. It was a tough assignment, but I pulled myself together enough to do it. It was fortunate I had brought my sewing machine with me, and of course several projects. Quilters are always prepared! I would highly suggest to anyone that a retreat here is fantastic, and worth every penny. I met some great people during that retreat, and some are even coming back later this year! Hi Christine and Terri!




We are loving small town life. We ended up moving into our house on Thanksgiving. Thank goodness, my brother and his wife made the 3-hour trek (Thought I was going to say 3 hour tour, didn’t you?) to help. While unpacking, our wonderful new neighbors showed up with a full turkey dinner for us all. (My plan for Thanksgiving dinner was Casey’s pizza) It made me cry. I could not even believe it. It was the nicest thing to do, and nice things just keep happening.  I love that Betty who works in the post office asked how we fared through our first tornado warning (BTW it was not fun but thank God, I had wine in the fridge), that when you check out at the grocery store your bags get taken to your car, and getting to know all of my new, wonderful co-workers. I thought I would miss the big city, but I do not. Not one bit. I do miss my kids- though one left Denver shortly after we did and moved across the country. Good thing I didn’t stick around just for her- brat. And of course I do miss my quilting peeps. A lot.  Thank goodness for social media and cell phones!

I am getting some sewing in- I have a few secret projects going on now that I cannot share quite yet. I will share them with you all very soon. Of course, my sewing room was the first thing I set up. Who needs organized bedrooms anyway? As long as I can find some clean underwear and a pair of jeans I am good. 

We have had a few visitors- my brother and his wife came and helped us move on Thanksgiving; our friends Kevin and Becky saved our lives by driving Bob to Denver, helped pack up our old storage shed and bringing all the crap valuable stuff back here; and our friends Ed and Terry surprised us with a last minute visit a few weekends ago and we had such fun! We also have some more company coming this spring and summer. I am so looking forward to all of them!

If anyone comes through Hamilton, please stop in the retreat/sewing center and say hello. If my office isn’t in there anymore someone in the shops can find me:)

Thanks for hanging in there with me, peeps! I promise not to be such a stranger.

Happy quilting!

Courtenay