Just returned from Houston Intl Quilt Show where we sold over $4000 of 1905 Cookbooks and Food for Body & Soul quilts to feed needy children through Houston Food Bank. In case you didn't get to attend, here's a slideshow of some of my favorities: http://smilebox.com/blogInstructions/twitter.html?sendevent=4d7a4d354d446b354f54453d0d0a&sb=1&title=Houston+Intl+Quilt+Show&designType=Slideshow&partner=neverblue

Chasing after the Wind

Here's a link to my stories on Christian Devotions: http://christiandevotions.us/tag/judyhoward/

                           Chasing After the Wind

Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 4:6
I dragged myself out of bed at 5:00 a.m. on three consecutive Saturdays to exhibit 100 quilts, give a program, and sell books for eight hours. It was exhilarating, but totally exhausting. Every muscle ached from hauling quilts, racks, and books in and out.

Last summer I drove 400 miles round trip to a Watermelon Festival to present a program and quilt show and never got paid. And who could forget the wind storm at last spring's Kolache Festival that kept blowing my quilt racks down. Only because the ingenious Czech glass artist helped me tie the racks to the pavilion uprights with bungee cords did I not give up and drive two hours home in defeat, chasing after the wind.

That was the name of the sermon today. Confessed workaholics, my husband and I desperately needed to take that message to heart since we were past retirement age and still working twelve-hour days.

How much was enough? It wasn't the money or material possessions we were chasing. What drove us to live our lives out of balance? I thought I was serving God by spreading His Word printed on each page of my books and giving Him the glory. I wondered how much of this obsessive/compulsive habitual activity was intertwined with proving my self-worth. Perhaps I was so insecure and afraid of losing my identity that I could never be content being a Mary, instead of involved in a whirlwind of perpetual motion like Martha.

As King Solomon discovered, life lived under the sun is meaningless, utterly useless, temporal—chasing after the wind. Only when we discover God's purpose or will, can we eliminate the distractions and live above the sun, building up eternal treasures in heaven.

I was about to repeat this insanity and create more toil and stress when I still hadn't recovered from yesterday's beating. Instead of hitting the send button on an email blast to stir up more bookings, I waited when a voice within nudged me first to seek God's purpose and will for me.

When you want to rush. Wait on God.

Since 1976, Judy Howard has owned and operated Buckboard Antiques and Quilts in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Her love of quilts developed while taking a class from nationally renowned fiber artist Terrie Mangat. Judy became a charter member of the Oklahoma Quilt Guild, and antique quilts became her specialty. Her stories of quilting through the depression have been Awarded First Place by the regional Oklahoma Writers Federation Inc. Visit her at http://www.heavenlypatchwork.com/.
Read Judy's devotions.

Rocky Mtn Quilt Festival Feeds Needy Children

     Great time at Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival in Loveland, CO. Raised about $1500 for Larimer Cty Food Bank selling "1905 Cookbooks," vintage kitchen aprons & Food for Body and Soul Touring Quilts. See all 250 quilts available to feed needy children at charity of your choice. http://www.heavenlypatchwork.com/photos_of_food_for_body_and_soul_quilts.html

Collinsville, OK Library OK Pioneer Program & Quilt Show

From Norman, I travelled the next morning to Collinsville in Northeast OK to set up 100 food for body and soul quilts for their Smithsonian America by Food Exhibit. Gave my latest Oklahoma Pioneer Cooking Program. The local quilters brought their quilts also for a grand show with great attendance.

Sales from books and vintage kitchen textiles of $270 went to Dividing Bread, their local food pantry. Wonderful group of gals. Thanks to each of them for their great help setting up.

Cookbook Swap & Shop & Cooking Demo

Fun Cookbook Swap & Shop at the Norman, OK Library. Matt & Amy gave a cooking demo from my 1905 Cookbook of Oklahoma Delight Cake and Scalloped Potatoes along with shish kabob fruit and chocolate pomagranites.

Donated $700 to Food for Thought Learning Institute from sales of  vintage kitchen textiles, books and one antique quilt to expand their teaching underprivileged healthy and economical cooking skills.

Grilling for a Cause--Boys Ranch Town Orphanage

Spent 5 hours in 100 temps outside with the smokers and barbeque grills signing books as fast as I could. My helpers were three 12 year old super salesmen from the orphanage. We donated 100% (over $1000) from my book and quilt sales toward a new van for Boys Ranch Town.

The Meat House in Edmond sponsored the event and donated the meat. So sad to be a vegetarian when you smell the aroma of steaks, ribs, corn and pork smoking. It was a spa experience with a free steam bath.

Civil War Quilt Trunk Show Program

Great time in Guthrie presenting my Civil War Quilt Trunk Show Program and autographing books at the Quilt Guild. Fun group and even sold about $200 in books to benefit their local food pantry.

Set up 100 food for body & soul touring quilts, vintage kitchen textiles and books at the Made in OK Festival at the beautiful Reed Center. They were barbequing outside with local wine and beer tasting and cooking demos and musical entertainment inside all day. Donated about $600 from sales to Midwest City Food Pantry.

Mission Norman Dessert Fund-Raiser in Norman, OK

I ate 4 pieces of chocolate fudge cake as my reward after sweating through a 10 minute speech before 250 people and selling $4400 of antique and touring art quilts and books. 100% went to feed needy people physically and spiritually and to expand their food pantry, medical facilities and temporary housing. It was a festive event with each women's church group decorating a table with beautiful china, tea pots, tableclothes and flowers.

Peppers Ranch Fund-Raiser for Orphans

Fund-raiser for Peppers Ranch orphanage at the Guthrie County Fairgrounds was a blast. Exhibited 100 Food for Body & Soul Quilts and autographed books with 100% feeding the orphans. Here's photo of the bright adorable members of the clan legally adopted by the house parents. They're doing a great job turning abused kids into bright students and productive citizens. Two are going to college.

Feasting on Pioneer Food

April 4th I feasted with the Nichols Hill Garden Club on fried tomatoes, corn fritters, gingerbread tea cakes, potato soup and lettuce sandwiches from my "1905 Cookbook." Yummy!! All fresh from the garden and cooked green like the pioneers.

The hostesses wore vintage aprons and tables were set with grandma's sterling, hobnail glasses and delicate china plates.

I shared stories from the 1905 Cookbook and exhibited 30 Food for Body & Soul Touring Quilts in the living room of this beautiful old home furnished in antiques, majolica and quilts.

Eye Candy Feeds Your Soul

New Entries Food for Body & Soul. 100% feeds needy children

http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d7a41334d5441774d54673d0d0a&blogview=true

Fun Browsing on Pinterest.com

Have you tried the latest, hottest and funnest internet experience yet?

Please follow me on http://pinterest.com/buckboardquilts/

Here are 1800s quilts available to feed needy children: http://pinterest.com/buckboardquilts/antigue-quilt-sales-feed-needy-children/

and here's m y22" touring food quilt contest and exhibit I'd love for you to enter:

http://pinterest.com/buckboardquilts/quilt-contest-exhibit-feeds-needy-children/

Rush Springs Quilt Program & Show a Hit

Rush Springs, OK welcomed me with open arms. The whole town showed up to help me set up the 60 touring food and patriotic quilts and Civil War quilts for the Civil War Trunk Show Program.

The Friends of the Library sponsored this fun event at the Lions Club Building with refreshments and even gave me the signed guest book with a handmade quilted jacket with a humorous cake recipe and antique photos on inside cover. I think everyone in town bought a "1905 Cookbook" and the Centennial Stitches and Heavenly Patchwork books to benefit the library and local Food Bank.

Thanks guys for a fun time and your great help!! Never met a friendlier group of folks.

Whig's Defeat pictured is my latest addition to the Civil War Trunk Show. The pattern is traced back to 1844 when John Polk of the Democratic party beat out Henry Clay of the Whig party for the president. This quilt was found in Josephine Palmer-Wylie's Oklahoma City estate. The family came from KY in 1889 in the Land Run to homestead a farm in Okemah and became leaders of Okfuskee County along with Woody Guthrie.

Genealogists Rock

Never had so much fun at Cedar Schoolhouse in Weatherford with the genealogists. They loved the Civil War Quilts & stories I brought. The signature 1929 fund-raiser quilt from Independence, OK Hi School contained some of their relatives names they'd been researching.

They personally knew some of the Chenoweth clan who homesteaded near-by, of which famous singer/actress Kristen Chenoweth is included. Here's a replica of the famous Chenoweth Civil War Eagle quilt worth $8-12,000 that's on the cover of Oklahoma Heritage Quilts.

Signed a book or two for everyone attending with 100% of sales going to Weatherford's local Historical/Genealogy Museum and their local food bank.

New Flower Garden with a Story

If you like Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilts, check out the 3 new ones on www.BuckboardQuilts.com:

Antique Quilt 5814 Grandmothers Flower Garden with garden path in tiny green diamonds
with pink junctures from Arthur & Carol Pemberton’s estate in Oklahoma City.
Incredible 1 1/3” hexagons hand pieced and hand quilted around @ 10 st/inch.
Pink back and binding. Fussy cut calicos and each outer circle around the pink
block in the center is the same color calico. Great scallops. Mint Condition
89x89 and 80x84 inside scallops.$695

Arthur E. Pemberton was born to Art L and Fannie Pemberton in
1929 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He passed away in 2006 after a lengthy illness. Art
moved to Oklahoma City in 1942. Graduated from Classen High School, 1947.
Graduated from OU in 1951 with a degree in Accounting. Married the love of his
life, Carol M. Cobb in 1955. Art belonged to the Young Men's Dinner Club, the
Men's Dinner Club, Oklahoma Grocers Association, Confrerie de la Chaine des
Rotisseurs. He was a longtime Elder, Endowment Fund Chairman, Church Personnel
Committee member for First Presbyterian Church, active in Mobile Meals
distribution. Art was a supporter of the Oklahoma City Zoo and a patron of the
Arts in Oklahoma City, alumni of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity at OU. Art loved
food, fishing, hunting, entertaining, reading, world traveling, square and
ballroom dancing. He had a wide variety of friends and will be missed for his
charm, humor and friendliness. Art worked with his father at The Crescent
Market, a Nichols Hills icon, and eventually owned and operated the Crescent
Market, retired 11 years ago and passed the store to his son, Robert, fourth
generation operator. Wood paneling, flickering coach
lamps, a cozy fireplace, beautiful crests, heraldic wall friezes, stained glass
hanging lamps, antique furnishings, a three-tiered metal chandelier, and
burgundy red carpeting that seems symbolic of rolling our the red carpet for
guests. A beautiful home in Nichols Hills—look again. This is the legendary
Crescent Market, an upscale food emporium, voted best gourmet foods in Oklahoma,
that is celebrating its 122nd anniversary April 22nd, 2011. The Crescent began
life as the J. L. Wyatt Grocery. At age 21, Wyatt, a Paducah, KY native, joined
a wagon caravan that started in Paducah and wound up in Wellington KS. In 1889,
when Wyatt heard about the Oklahoma Land Run, he went to Arkansas City, Kansas
and boarded a train for Guthrie on April 22nd. Although Wyatt staked a claim in
Guthrie, he didn’t even bother to file it, figuring his future would be brighter
in Oklahoma City. He set up his market the same day of the Land Run. Crescent
closed its doors in October because it lost its lease when Chesapeake Oil bought
their property—but it will reopen soon even better than before to carry on the
legend and remain the icon of the rich and famous. See www.theCrescentMarket.com

Valentine's Day Fund-Raiser

Had a blast signing books and donating 2 quilts for the Valentine's Day fund-raising dinner for Boys Ranch Town (orphanage in Edmond, OK). Donated a red and white quilt and children's "Favorite Critters" quilt for the silent auction.

100% of all sales of 150 antique quilts on BuckboardQuilts.com feed needy children and help local orphanages like Boys Ranch Town. Please share your favorite grass roots charities who need help.

Giving a Civil War Trunk Show Program at local PEO meeting Monday February 13.

Happy Valentine's Day. You are loved by God and me.

Links to Quilt Care & Quilt Collecting

Quilt Care: http://www.heavenlypatchwork.com/quiltcare.pdf and
Quilt Collecting: http://www.heavenlypatchwork.com/Quilt%20Collecting.pdf

Quilt Care & Quilt Collecting Links

Links to Quilt Care: http://www.heavenlypatchwork.com/quiltcare.pdf and
Quilt Collecting: http://www.heavenlypatchwork.com/Quilt%20Collecting.pdf

All Quilt & Book Sale Proceeds Feed Needy Children

After 35 years of collecting antique quilts and textiles, I'm selling them
all with 100% feeding needy children. Share you local food pantries so I can help them.

100% of my book sales feed needy children. Any favorite grassroots
food charities? How do I let people know?

The great Charity Quilt Giveaway. 100% of sales feed needy children. Choose your favorite quilt and charity on http://www.buckboardquilts.com/ Free quilt book with each purchase.