Totally Obsessed....With All Things Creative

A Finish....

2012-01-13T08:53:00.000-05:00

This morning I'm sharing this quilt that I finished the end of December. Procrastination kept me from taking the pictures and posting them.
I made this with a bundle of Fig Tree fat quarters from a few years back....and it was quilted by Karen sometime last year.

It still doesn't have a label.....

On another note....the Man Shirt quilt is now up to 91 blocks...with 2+ shirts left to use.
Not sure if that will make it as large as I want it to be or not. Hope to know by the end of the day today!

S

First (Real) Post of 2012

2012-01-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to show you girls what I've been up to.
These are my Man Shirt blocks. Last time I worked with blues, and this time I'm working with blacks and greys. I'm really having a good time working on these blocks, but I do find it a little more challenging to find shirts I like. Each time I go to the thrift store to get some more I end up coming home with another 1 (or 2) blue shirts...so there will be another blue quilt in my future.

Anyway, I wanted to show you how these shirts break down...I'm really getting a lot of yardage from mens XL and 2XL shirts.....and I feel like I have hit the jackpot when I find a mens 2XL Long.

After I cut them apart I starch them until they are as stiff as paper. It helps me keep the stripes straight and makes the cutting easier.

Im loving the labels inside some of the shirts...and I intend to incorporate them (and maybe some of the buttons) into the quilt.

So these are the blocks I have finished so far today. I'm hoping I can get at least 10 more done before I clean up for the day.....

That's it from me for now.....I really want to get back to work!
S

Too lazy to post my own work......

2012-01-08T21:03:00.001-05:00

Have a great evening, chicks!
S

It's Been Awhile....

2011-12-12T15:54:00.000-05:00

But here I am...
I finished a couple of quilts that I wanted to share.
First up is a Blackbird Designs quilt that I wanted to do from the minute I saw the pattern in the book. I collected the reds, greens and blacks for awhile, and then one day, somewhere around LAST Christmas, I decided to get started on it.

Im glad to have this one all finished, and after I share it with The Quilt Chicks later this week at out Christmas get-together I will hang it up on my wall.

I also finished up this quilt....some Very Good Friends announced earlier in the year that they were going to be grandparents for the Very First Time....and I was so excited at the news that I just had to make a quilt....and as soon as they let us know that the baby-to-be was a boy I knew what I wanted to make.
I took a trip to the local thrift store, grabbed some striped mens shirts and mad this:

As you can see, Jasmine the Resident Quilt Inspector approves of this one.....But I'll put it in the wash, AGAIN, to be sure that it is hair and allergen-free for Baby Mason.
After I share this one with the chicks I will make a date with the new mom and take it over....before that baby is full-grown.

Also to share:
What I'm reading,,,,

And what I have on -the-needles:

Day one of a mystery dishcloth...
and:

A merino lace weight cowl. Yarn from a shop in East Tawas, Mi.....

So that's it chicks. Nothing more to chat about. I have a couple other projects to get to, so I better split!

Give Me n Inch....

2011-06-19T19:02:00.000-04:00

And I will take up the whole house.

A serendipitous turn of events left me with an empty house this weekend (as well as the rare opportunity to use the word Serendipitous!)
Friday included a trip to the farm, the airport, and a wedding.
A very nice wedding....with a beautiful couple and really, ReallY good food.
Saturday was mostly mine...

Two of the Silvia's, Claudette and Sue, came by to finish up Sue's quilt that she started at our farm retreat back in February. It's is Sue's first quilt....and she plunged right into it fearlessly.

We worked together to finish sewing down the binding....and now the quilt is set to be given to Sue's daugheter at her high school grad party next weekend.

After the girls left the day was all mine, and I proceeded to spread out.

I'm working on a scrap quilt....trying my darnedest to work my way thru parts of my stash that I want out of the way. Too many new projects waiting to be shopped for and started, but no space for them has forced me to clear this stuff out.

The problem with that is the more I cut, the more that scrap pile grows...and so I must continue to cut.

No telling how large this quilt will be.

I'll keep you posted.

p.s.....where are the pics of my quilt? Trapped somewhere in my camera.

I probably cant blame the camera.

I Like A Challenge

2011-05-29T09:46:00.003-04:00

Or I'm an idiot. Not sure which.

I have other things I could tell you about.

Like opening my garage door Monday afternoon and finding a (pocket-sized) dog locked inside.

Or opening my BBQ and finding (another) birds nest (filled with eggs).

Or I could show you more pics of the trip to NC.

But I'm lazy....so I'm going to start with this instead and if I get up the motivation (at a later date) to show and tell the other stories I will.

But for now....the challenge.

I finished this quilt top this week. I bought the kit from Guildcrafters many, many months ago. I don't know why I bought it because I found working on it to be a dreadfull experience. I hated the fabric choices, the lack of variety, etc. I will NOT buy another one of these kits. (Next time you see me with one in my hands you have my permission to SLAP ME SILLY.)

So anyway, weeks back I made the 1/2 square triangles, and this week I laid them out on the floor.

After laying them out I just dreaded the idea of sewing them together. More precisely, I dreaded the idea of getting in and out of my sewing chair and walking back and forth to where I had laid them out......

So I decided, after leaving the blocks on the floor for a couple of hours that I didn't want to pick them up and stash them away for ever....that I would just set my old machine up on the floor and sew like I did when I was a kid SO lazy that I couldn't even clean off my desk top to do my homework and would just spread out and work on the floor.

So anyway, it took Monday night to sew the blocks into rows, and most of Tuesday to get the rows sewn and pressed, and here is is, Saturday, and I'm finally getting around to taking photos....
Of course, I couldn't take any photos until today due to rain and lightning and MORE FRIGGING RAIN....but today it's WIND that I am battling....And THAT is what today's challenge is. Trying to get a picture of the damn thing.

Like I said, I'm not in the least bit fond of this quilt....so I'll be finishing it myself and giving it away to the next charity in need.

And that's that.

Sometimes I make mistakes....

2011-05-20T10:54:00.001-04:00

I did have a couple of pics from our overnight roadside stay:

We look so well rested, dont we?

Stray dog. He actually looked both ways before he crossed the road.

Our very scenic view. Mountains. Fog. Semi's.

Our view has changed quite a bit since we arrived at Tom Johnson's RV Resort:

RV'rs like their tow vehicles to match their rigs. (Photos loaded huge...click for correct image!)
This ain't tent camping, chicks.

But I Did Stay In A Holiday Inn Last Night......

2011-05-19T12:23:00.000-04:00

Oh no I did not!
(Monday, 16, 2011)
Location: Somewhere north of Bluefield, West Virginia....No photos because it is dark and foggy.
We slept /stayed at a rest stop somewhere near Bluefield, WV. I think. With no cell phone service, no Internet connection, and no local radio station to tell us anything except that we were going to burn in the fires of HELL because we had not been saved, it was impossible to pinpoint our exact location.
Of course, we did have the option of getting out of our rv and walking over to the sign that tells you that You Are Here.......but it was very dark. A little scary. So we remained uninformed.

West Virgina, while being breathtakingly scenic, offers little in the way of food or lodging when traveling along I 77. We drove past the capital city of Charelston, where we saw a high rise Marriott, but didn't think we wanted to maneuver the motor home thru city streets, and we ASSumed that there would be an exit on the outskirts with lots of hotel choices and restaurants .
There weren't.
Nary a restaurant (not even a Bisquit World????) nor a skanky motel were to be seen past Summerville. (Remember Summerville kids? And Summersville Lake Retreat? The Liger? The fire that Would Not Start!?)
So we pulled off into the rest stop, parked amongst the idleing semi's, and attempted to sleep.
I had my earplugs in which did next to nothing to block out the WISH sound of the airbrakes of the trucks, or the Womp Womp Womp sound of their J Brakes..... and wondered if we would die from carbon monoxide ppoisoning from the running truck engines parked just a few feet from where I attempted sleep..)

We awoke, un-refreshed, and Tim joked about how there was probably a huge exit just ahead with tons of restaurants and hotels.....and damn it if that wasn't the case.
There was even a Country Inn and Suites (My usual lodging choice) and every imaginable restaurant (including a Biscuit World, Waffle House, and a Bob Evans, among others....
We stopped for gas ($154 bucks....) and eventually Bob Evans for breakfast,
Got back I-77....and navigated hairpin turns at breakneck speeds in rain and fog..........

Sights we are seeing: Mine Rescue Trailers
                                    Porn Palaces
                                    Fog
                                    Endless Rain
Sights we did not see: "Nipple Mountain"" (too foggy)

To Be Continued...................

Spring....It's Here!

2011-04-30T15:39:00.000-04:00

Im sure hoping that it will last.....

I got the last couple of rows sewn together for my thrifted shirt quilt Sunshine and Citrus.
It looks like it's as big as it's going to get. I might make a quick trip to the quilt shop to see if they have anything I would want to use as a narrow border, or maybe just call it a day and find a back ad binding.
I thought Id get a pic of it in its current Flimsey state, but Mother Nature had her own ideas:

Until the wind dies down, that is as good as it's going to get.

Until next time.........

Coming back to life, slowly..

2011-03-29T13:39:00.000-04:00

Hey Girls. I feel like I'm starting to come back to life after the NYC trip. Went Krogering, put some laundry out to dry in the sun, and ate some lunch.
Since I also got the bills paid , I think I'll take some time to show you a few more red and white quilts.

Enjoy!

New York City, And Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts

2011-03-28T11:58:00.000-04:00

I'm exhausted girls. I don't even know if I have the energy to tell you everything I saw and did.....so I'll post some photos for you and hopefully you will be able to get a sense of what I experienced.

Sunshine and Citrus

2011-03-23T09:51:00.001-04:00

I was out and about with my friend Claudette last week. Our travels took us to The Salvation Army, as it frequently does. Claudette found a couple of denim skorts...her go-to summer wordrobe staple. She needed to replace her well-worn (worn-out) skort that has seen her thru many good times and adventures. I wish I had a pic of it to show....

Anyway, my search took me to mens shirts and this is what I found. This pic does not do them justice. The shirts are in the colors of sunshine and citrus and bellinis. I just love the madras plaid shirt. The colors in it are beautiful and blend with all the other fabics I chose.

And this is what I did with them. I cut them up into random sized strips and just started free-piecing log cabin blocks. I added some of my scraps to the blocks and I think they fit in perfectly. These blocks are 6 1/2 inches...because that is the size ruler I had on hand. All the shirts I purchased were large, XL, or 2 XL, so the amount of fabric I got from each shirt was tremendous. The 30 or so blocks I've made so far only used the fronts of the shirts....the backs and sleeves are still whole.

And these little guys are 3 1/2 inches. Not sure how they will all end up together, but I was having a great time working on them.

So that's what I worked on this past weekend. Not spending any time at the machine this week, but I'll be back at it next week. I'll post more progress when I have it.

Talk to you chicks later!

Project Update

2011-03-21T21:52:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to show you chicks that sometimes I do finish (sort-of) some of the things I've started.

(I'be been wanting to share this with you for some time but I lost the transfer cord to my camera)

This is a from a kit I bought in the fall of 2009 at a quilt show in Oxford. I have the binding all set to go....the back required some piecing....and some more piecing....and I might applique some "loops" on the back so that it looks like a ribbon on a gift. I need to look thru my stash to see if I have some batting. I plan to quilt it myself.

This is my Just One Star blockng ...waiting for my siggie and an envelope. Its on my To-Do list for tomorrow.

And girls, I wanted to show you that I got out our Material Girl Challenge blocks from Way Back When and I'm going to try to work out a setting that I like and I swear, As Bob Is My Witless, that I will get this turned into a top...and a quilt, by the end of the year.

There....I said it. I put it out there. So it will happen.

Thats all for now girls. Talk to you later.

February Fun

2011-02-28T11:01:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I got to enjoy some perfect snow and a long weekend of sewing at the farm.
That delightful Snow Woman was built with assistance from my friend Claudette, a.k.a. The Drama Mama, a.k.a. Silvia. She added the anatomically correct details, while I was responsible for her fashions.
I would have been fun to build an entire Snow Woman family, but with nothing but dish and garden gloves for protection our fun had to be brief.

You can see that Snow Woman is thinking about warmer weather, wine and gardening.......

This apron and pot holders are a little housewarning gift I made for one of my daughter's friends. She just got her first place and I wanted to send her something. Now I'm just waiting on an address.......

This is a terrible self-shot pic of the holly applique quilt that I finished and will hopefully be taking to the quilter this week......

That's all I have to show you for now......I showed you mine....now show me yours!!!

A Little Knitting

2011-02-11T08:10:00.000-05:00

I'm showing Nik in the cowl I knit for Elle....it's been done for a while, but the weather and pure laziness have kept me from posting the photo and then sticking it in the box and mailing it.
It's just a simple seed stitch. Cant remember how many stitches I cast on, and I don't remember what needles I used, but I'd like to make another one for Nik as well as one for myself so I'll have to go on a search for my notes.
Elle sent me this pic from her phone after she received her package yesterday at work. She loves it, but could have used it when winter hit in NYC....Not sure why cant spin this pic around.....

That's all for now.....Have a great day!

A Post-Blizzard Post

2011-02-03T12:50:00.001-05:00

Well Chicks, it looks like the BIG BLIZZARD turned out to be a BIG BUST....so I'm not going to bother showing any pics of my ruler in the snow or of the drifts and piles of snow. We had quite a bit but it certainly didn't break any records and I dont thing it merited the cancellation of school, but whatever....
Maybe what I should show you is my over-stuffed refrigerator? I let all the television news hype get me worked up and I actually went to 3 stores and stocked up on everything. Why? I dont know. I have no little children who will suffer if the milk runs out.
I did decide I better bake something, at the very least, since I purchased 2 different kinds of flour, so I made a small batch of peanut butter cookies (because I also bought peanut butter.....)

The week before the storm I spent several days out at the farm, sewing and watching the bird feeder.

This guy kept showing up at the feeder. Watching him run thru the yard was very comical....like something from a cartoon. Its been a very long time since Ive seen any pheasants this up-close....so it was fun to watch him.

I worked on a kit I bought at The Ice House in Grayling in 2005

(I think) when I went up to a Karen Stone class with The Chicks. I dont know why I waited so long to put it together, because it went together so fast (because it was so simple). Not sure where I'm going with it from here. I'll add a border or two to make it a little larger....use up some scraps on the back and maybe quilt it myself since it's not that large.

Thats it for now. I'm sitting in a nice sunny window, getting ready to work on my applique and sip my nice hot cup of tea.

Have a Great Day!

I Have Something To Share With You!

2011-01-26T16:15:00.007-05:00

Ive been working on this all day...(not that I got it all this done in one day)

Hanging out here at the farm I find that I can devote alot of time to my projects without the distractions of home....so Ive been hard at work sewing away all day and having a good time doing it. I have a little dvd player going in the sewing room, and so far today I've watched The Hangover and Finding Nemo. I guess I have eclectic movie-viewing taste.

Anyway....here's what I have accomplished so far.
(DAMN BLOGGER WONT LET ME UPLOAD THE PICTURE. OMG! )

The pattern is from Small Favorites for All Seasons by Barb Adams and Alma Allen. Ive wanted to make this quilt for a couple of years now, so now I'm working onit exclusively.

I never have time to do a Christmas quilt before Christmas.....but after, when it's all cold and snowy (which it most certainly is here...) is a great time to work on one.

So that's it. Gotta get back to the sewing. Lots left to do......

Just a quick post

2010-12-14T09:47:00.002-05:00

No photos with this one. Head on over to p.s. i quilt for her give away.....it's a fat quarter bundle of Kona Solids..................Hurry up! The drawing is Saturday!!!

First Big Snow!

2010-12-12T20:19:00.003-05:00

My new pic is of my neighbors Santa Pumpkin.
Last year my good friend and neighbor Shawn forgot about her pumpkin on her porch. Winter came, snow piled up, and I joked with her that I was going to sneak over and put some lights on it. I really would have liked to do it, but I just never did.
Well, it's a year later and I got another opportunity, so tonight, when the wind from our fabulous winter storm died down I took the Santa hat Nikki grabbed for me at the dollar store and an old strand of lights and decorated the snow covered pumpkin. Took a quick pic and ran back home (careful not to slip on the icy walk) and then sent my neighbor a text telling her someone was at her door.
She laughed. I laughed.
Is there a (potential) Santa Pumpkin in your life?

Tim and Sharon's Big Adventure 2...Hallodega Edition

2010-10-27T19:51:00.004-04:00

INSERT PHOTO HERE!

You should be looking at a picture....What the heck happened to the frigging picture?Anyway........

It was supposed to be a picture of the balled up, ripped up RV awning.

It's ok to chuckle. Laugh. Gaffaw, if you will.

It's ok.
I did.

It happened like this.

We were driving down I-75 We were near Flatrock, MI . High wind warnings are posted on the electronic billboards. The winds make staying in our lane difficult, if not impossible....but Trucker Tim is at the wheel and everything is under control.

We were making tracks in the fast lane, passing a very long line of slow trucks, when we heard a very loud BANG!

I looked out my window and yelled "Shit Tim! The Awning! YOU HAVE TO GET OVER! THE AWNING IS GONE!

By gone I meant open......unfurled....flapping in the wind and metal supports dragging on the ground.

(As I said before....it's ok to laugh.)

I co-piloted Tim across the 2 right lanes to the shoulder, all the while asking "Are the flashers on? Are the flashers on? The flashers....ARE THEY ON????"

So we make it to the shoulder, alive.....(no images were taken for safety reasons....) I think we both were concerned that we might be taken ou by a passing semi....

We secured the awning with bungee straps and drove slowly along the shoulder to the exit and pulled into a parking lot. Tim decided the canvas was beyond repair and cut it off the frame with

our trusty Ginsu knife.

(Cant locate the pic of this either. Maybe I was in shock and didn't actually take a pic of this!)

He secured the awning frame to the motorhome with the bungee straps, and then deposited our destroyed awning in a dumpster.

It was at that point that I felt overcome with laughter.....(because it really was funny.....in a scary-OMG-It -Could-Have-Been-So-Much-Worse kind of way.

Ps.......shortly after that we had to pull off the road after the winds got so strong that we felt the motor home lift up off the road. WE are now in Bowling Green Ohio....in the Hampton Inn.

There is an old hotel turned flop house (for lack of a better word) across the parking lot and there is someone in the room above us who must weigh 650 pounds....judging from the sound of their foot steps.

Im not sure that we will be going much further with this adventure. Tim is ready to throw in the towel. We'll see if a night's sleep will make for a more optomistic tomorrow.....

Nothing Very Creative About This....

2010-10-07T07:58:00.003-04:00

The youngest child, who's not all that young anymore, got into an accident last night on her way home from work......

No one was hurt (except her poor Jeep)...It was NOT her fault so she didn't get a ticket, and the other person involved was a good (TALL!) guy who stuck around and waited for the police to show up. He even provided her with tape to hold things together until she could get home.
Now we get to share cars for a couple of weeks until this thing gets fixed. Hopefully our favorite body shop (and we DO have one..) won't be too busy and it will be fixed quickly!

Fall, 2010

2010-09-28T10:46:00.005-04:00

Since my last post, I enjoyed one of the nicest summers I can ever remember---hot and sunny---a perfect sitting-by-the-pool summer and I did plenty of that. I soaked up lots of sun, read a ton of books, enjoyed a week in Traverse City and spent time with good friends. What I didn't do was sew.

Not one stitch.

Now it's fall. The leaves are changing and falling, the air has cooled off, and the local farm stands have replaced sweet corn and berries with pumpkins, cornstalks, mums and squash. It's time again to plant bulbs, bake and make pot roast on Sundays.

And sew.

I kicked off my fall sewing this past week by attending Gwen Marston's retreat in Elk Rapids with my friends Faye and Nancy. We had a great time, and although we ate too much and slept too little we managed to work in alot of sewing time.

The theme for this years retreat was Liberated Quilting--which really appealed to me. I've wanted to attend this retreat and work in a liberated style since I first found Gwen's book Liberated Quilting in the library years ago.....

This is what I put together:

Somehow I don't have a finished pic of what i did....but I think I'll wait and post that when it is totally complete. This pic was taken while I had my work taped onto a window....which explains the glare.
Here are Nancy ad Fayes WIP's: Fayes is the red baskets, Nancy's is the blue and green bags...

Now....I've given you a quick peek at what we did....next time I'll show some other pics of the retreat. For now, I need to get off this computer so I can get stuff done!

Photos of Home.....

2010-05-27T15:23:00.003-04:00

Just sharing some pics of the front yard....Mostly for the benefit of my daughter who is much too far away from home (but very happy being where she is....)

This is the bloom on the hosta by the front walk..........the biggest one I've ever seen on this plant.

I wish I remembered the name of the big hosta....I guess I'll have to do some research to find that out. Its easily 5' across this year. I've been trying for years to dig a piece of this one out, but I've never been successful. It's so darn big and the roots are so dense I can't cut through them.

The iris's are beginning to bloom. The rhododendrons are half way through their bloom---they are not as vivid in color this year as in years past. I think it's time for some fertilizer!

So there you go D. I would have had more to share, but your sister went to the freezer for a treat and found that the darn thing had defrosted. Had to pack up the contents and take them to Dad's work....now I'm off to clean it up.

Good Morning from Talladega! Here's another quilt to view....

2010-04-25T08:44:00.003-04:00

I don't have race pics yet. It's early and the sun is shining so everyone is up an at 'em, even if there isn't anything to do until a little later this morning.
(I'm Thrilled to see the sunshine!)
Anyway, I wanted to share a quilt from Paducah that I thought was interesting.
I was taken by the qilting....and I felt like I wanted to meet this quilter (if only for a minute) so I would know who had made it and what her inspiration was.

Tough to post today...

2010-04-24T23:14:00.002-04:00

We are in Talladega right now. We had about 12 hours of heavy rains, with tornado warnings and watches all that time.
We were fortunate that we only had rain and wind.....we are safe along with the thousands of other that are here camping out.
Dissapointed that the race activities all had to be cancelled, but both races will be run tomorrow, weather permitting, so we will still have lots of fun.

Important Life Lessons....Part 1

2010-04-24T22:40:00.003-04:00

This is the most important gauge on the motor home. It's more important than the gas gauge, more important than the oil light, and even more important than steam shooting out of your radiator.
This gauge tells you if your holding tanks are full.
(For those of you who are not aware of what a holding tank is, it's where the grey and black water are stored. To be more specific (and perhaps a bit more graphic) 4 lights lit would tell you that the shi**ers full.
I'll give you a moment to digest that information.

Now, when this occurs you should make plans to empty your tanks. You will know that you should do this when you see 3 of those 4 lights lit....You should not wait till you are ankle deep in water in your tiny little shower, with shampoo in your hair (and eyes) and no one around to hear you scream.
Fortunately for me, Tim heard me scream. He said "Oops".
It's sweet words like that, said by him, that that caused me to marry him. Really.

So Tim got ready. He put on his very expensive Clark's Driving Mocs and headed out to the side of the rv and got out the hose............
And discovered that the hose was too short.
Now...this is the point where, if you saw the Robin Williams movie RV...you know that you should start laughing.
Our very helpful neighbor who I called Wisconsin (cuz that's where he's from) came over immediately and saw that Tim had a problem and jumped right in to help.....Wisconsin is on the right....Tim is on the left.

Fortunatley for us, Wisconsin had an extra length of hose....and a COUPLER.
I thought that they had a hose spreader but I later found out that they had a simple screwdriver that they used to help slide the second length of hose onto the coupler (again...if you saw the movie you should also laugh here....

To Be Continued.....

Important Life Lessons...Part 2

2010-04-24T22:33:00.005-04:00

So after lots of fiddeling, stretching, and more fiddling, and a little more stretching, the coupler was firmly attatched to the hose, the hose was fitted into the appropriate emptying place, and Tim flipped the lever to allow the grey and black water to exit the RV. I did my part by running water to help clean out the system, (and of course take pictures and laugh ALOT)
And after the valiant team effort of Tim, Wisconsin, and I, Tim was able to re-enter the rv to changed his clothes, laugh some more with me at the hilarity of the situation (and the similarity of our RV trips to that in the movie RV...).

Job well-done, Tim Grieser. You are The Master Of Your Domain!

World War 2 Quilts at the Paducah Rotary

2010-04-22T21:59:00.004-04:00

And here you go chicks..........some more "Style"!

A few more quilts.................

2010-04-22T21:43:00.002-04:00

Aren't these gorgeous?

Having a wonderful time.....Wish you were here!

Fashion Matters...............

2010-04-22T09:20:00.002-04:00

These chicks have it going on. They've got style and they arent afraid to show it.

Yep........I love the Hawaiian Whole Cloth Quilts.........

I'll share more later.........We might head back to the show for a bit this morning...and then go to the local quilt show before we return our rental car and head back to the RV for the day.

There is a local racetrack that has a pretty big race tonight...so we might ck that out....and then we'll pack up, say goodbye to our new friends, and hit the road for Talladega!

More quilts!

2010-04-22T08:28:00.002-04:00

Hexigons! Thousands of tiny hexigons!

We went to the museum the first day here. Not very big....not that many quilts (well, not as many as I was hoping to see.) Hollis Chateline (sp?) was there, speaking about her quits, and there was an exhibit of Sunflower quilts. Those were very nice. They made me want to go home and sew. The Beatles Quilt was there...and it was very cool to see that , indeed, all of the lyrics of all of the songs are written on the back of the quilt. Very Cool.

The Quilt Show

2010-04-21T21:47:00.002-04:00

Yep. That's me. Posing in front of the goofy backdrop. I had a normal smile on my face until Tim said "Are you ready?" and then began a countdown. By then the smile had deteriorated and I was speaking through gritted teeth. Well, this is how I look when I'm almost mad enough to march forward and snatch the camera out of Tim's hands. My kids know this look. They saw it last Christmas when we were trying to take pics in front of the tree.

Loved this quilt....I think it's one of the few that were NOT made by a Japanese quilter (boy, there were LOTS of those at the show)

I saw the dots and thought of you first, Nancy. And then I thought of you, Faye (because of your current bom). Isn't this neat?

Here's a quit by one of my faves, Karen Stone. I sure wish that the colors were true in this pic...the quilt was really beautiful.

I can only load 5 pics at a time or my computer refuses to cooperate, so I guess you'll just have to wait for some more.

TTYL!

A Little Place We Like To Call Home

2010-04-21T21:11:00.003-04:00

Yep. We are proud (temporary) residents of the Duck Creek RV Park.

This is our spacious camp spot. Shortly after this photo was taken we put the slide out about 6" out.....and rolled out the awning. Put down our rug (to accentuate the gravel) and unfolded our chairs.

This is Tim....seated in one of the gazebo's at the front of the park. Note the faux palm trees.

From this angle you can see some of the many, many potted plants.........real and otherwise.

Behind the main building is a laundry and a pool with a bath house. Haven't yet made use of either of those amenities yet, although this afternoon, after the quilt show, I did get a massage next to the pool. It was fabulous!

Gotta Sew Something....

2010-04-21T19:23:00.002-04:00

Hey chicks!
I have stuff to post, but we just found out that there is a race at Paducah Speedway!!!!....and some of Tims fave drivers are going to be there. Gotta take a few minutes to plan that out (have to return the rental car....can we get there with the RV (i think so) & park for the race AND get back and pull into our teenie tiny camp spot in the dark?????)
So I need to work on that.
And I'm having a hot flash.
I've got to get out of this darn RV!

Hancocks of Paducah

2010-04-20T20:16:00.003-04:00

They come from all over to go to Hancocks of Paducah....................................

The dusty lot was filled with cars from just about every state......

Some of the cars were filled with ladies....some were husbands and wives....Many, if not most,

had dogs in them.....(what is it with people traveling with dogs? Seems like a huge hassle to me!

But just about every one of those cars left loaded with incredible amounts of fabric.

Just not my car.

To tell you the truth, after the first few minutes of feeling overwhelmed when I walked in the door, I quickly became aware that this place, while HUGE, wasn't everything I had pictured it to be.

Yes, they had TONS of fabric...but it's everything you see in the catalog. Nothing more. Just rows and rows of bolts and bolts of fabric.

I didn't feel anything like I do when I walk into some of my favorite quilt shops and my heart sings and I get all excited about all the possibilities that are ahead of me.

I walked around the store twice before I decided to choose some solids for a small wall quilt that I've wanted to make.........and then I grabbed some scissors in case I wanted to start it before I got home (but I cant do that unless I go buy an iron somewhere)......

And that was all!

I spent less that $20 on fabric.

Hopefully I will find something different/unusual when we go to the show tomorrow.......

This afternoon we rented a car to get around easier, and we headed over to the Quilters Museum.

I'll tell you more about that later........................................

We Fought The Orange Cones....

2010-04-19T19:59:00.003-04:00

And the orange cones won.
We were driving down the road...might have been on 71....when we came upon orange cones VERY haphazardly placed in the roadway. Some were placed on the line dividing the lanes...some were placed a foot over..some 2 ft or more inside the lane we were driving in. Tim did a great job of dodging those cones......the motor home moved smoothly along what I can only describe as an obstacle course....and the BAM! WE hit one that couldn't be avoided.
I screamed! (ok, I cursed).
Everything seemed ok. For a minute. That's when we heard the sound. Couldn't figure out what the heck it was. Some nice guy driving down the road put his window down and pointed at the side of the RV......and so Tim looked out the window and down toward the ground. The exhaust pipe from the generator was dragging on the ground.
Crap.
Of course, many people who drove past us also decided to point out our problem.
We saw an exit ahead and pulled off....just as the pipe let go and fell off, onto the roadway.
We parked the RV, and a Kentucky State Trooper, with great big smile on his face and a prisoner in back, pulled up along side of us to let us know that our generator exhaust had fallen off, and was just back aways......
We thanked him and got out of the RV.
Tim said to me "Go get that".

On the Road With Tim & Sharon

2010-04-18T22:08:00.003-04:00

Hello from somewhere near Western Kentucky. Hanging out in a Holiday Inn Express, in a room across from the ice machine AND the laundry room. Don't be jealous...it isn't attractive and you know it.

The drive was very nice...Tim and I both remarked how easy the trip has been so far. I realized that it was because we didn't have a single unhappy child/teen/young adult in the car with us, making demands or faces or asking to go to the bathroom 30 mins after leaving a rest area or restaurant (Sorry Kids!)

My pics didn't load in the order I would have liked, as usual, but if you start from the bottom and work up you'll see Tim and I in front of the rig....and then various scenes of Ohio & Kentucky.

We stopped in KY and ate at Chipotle Mexican Grill. Never ate there but heard about it on Oprah. There is one near our home and I've never been there before...but I will go in the future because it was De-Lish! (Try it kids!)

Our room has in intoxicating damp smell (just down the hall from the pool), and although Ive tried to mask it by spraying Bath and Body Works Lavender Vanilla spray I'm not noticing much of a difference. Oh well. With a little help from my Bag of Tricks I'll be asleep in no time.......and since I'm only steps away from the breakfast room I'll be up bright and early, grabbing coffee & something carb-a-licious for breakfast.

I'll be back (hopefully) tomorrow to fill you in on the next leg of our journey, which should take us to Duck Creek RV Resort...which is just a hop, skip and a jump from Paducah!

TTYL Ya'll!

A Gorgeous Day In Michigan!

2010-03-30T15:36:00.003-04:00

I've been wasting the day cleaning. Bathroom scrubbing, ceiling fan dusting, and laundry have taken over my day. I should have my head examined.

So, since I haven't done anything at all creative today, I thought I'd share a couple of the quilts i saw when I went with my Quilty Chicks to the local community college to see their exhibit on The Depression Era. There was quite a bit to see, although I wish that there had been more quilts and that I could have gotten closer to them to get better pics.

Here are just a few.

Can anyone explain to me an easy way to move pics around on this thing? Id like to show some more of the blocks from that lavender applique quilt....but I need to move it down one space. UGH. I get so frustrated sometimes with this thing!

The heck with it. I'll show them in the next post.

Can you tell me why this is suddenly double spacing my sentences? Double UGH!

Instant Gratification Project

2010-03-28T09:04:00.004-04:00

I made these 2 make up bags this weekend (from my stash, with the exception of the zippers). I am donating them to my Sister In Law Alyson to use as door prizes for one of her Breast Cancer 3 Day fundraisers. She and her team are hosting an all day crop that I will be unable to attend (due to my trip to Paducah!!! and Talladega!) so I thought I'd hurry up and do something to help her out. I am hoping to make one or two more.....and I will be heading out to the farm later this morning to get to work .

I really working on these types of projects...finished rather quickly and with materials on hand.

You chicks have a great day.....

Nothing much to show.....

2010-03-26T20:24:00.002-04:00

But I will go ahead and post a photo of my Simply Vintage quilt. I still have one border left to put on. It has a vine, a star or two and a gazillion leaves.
My Hawaiian quilt is hiding behind it on my design wall. I have a block that I want to re-do on that and then all that will be left to do is put in the setting blocks and triangles and send it to the quilter. I really would like to get that done before Christmas....lol !

That's all for now. I went to the Michael Buble concert last night and stayed up past my bedtime. I need a hot bath, my jammies, and my rice bag. I need sleep.
Goodnight!

A Quick Share....

2010-03-02T15:59:00.006-05:00

Had the chance to visit my SIL Tam in her new diggs....and made her a little something as a housewarming. I used the same pattern for this apron as I used for the ones I made for my girls this Christmas.

I'm sorry that I didn't get a closer shot...I just love the words on the fabric: Fresh, Renew, True, Authentic. All words that describe this dear friend of mine.

This pic is of her adorable Sphinx kitty Newbie...........A tiny little hairless ball of energy! I Love her!

A Nasty Headache....

2010-02-25T16:48:00.006-05:00

Has gotten me down. Needless to say, I havent been very creative (or obsessed) lately. Lucky for me, I have friends who ARE obsessed & creative, and have provided me with pics of their most recent work.
Nancy and Vicki were both inspired by Rouenneries by French General....and here's what they were compelled to make. (We'll go alphabetically!)
First is Nancy's Basket Quilt. She took her inspiration from an Alex Anderson pattern.And now here is Vicki's.

Same fabrics, with a very different look. I'll add the pattern name when Vicki sees this and lets me know what it was....(Stars of Grace from McCalls Quilting October 2009)

Both are absolutely beautiful quilts. Thanks for sharing them Chicks.

A Beautiful, Sunny Friday......

2010-02-19T12:24:00.010-05:00

And for some reason I'm spending way too much of it on this computer, rather than being near a sunny window or actually getting outside and enjoying it!
Anyway..........here is my first block of Juniper and Mistletoe. I'm not totally happy with my stitching on the stars. I didn't do a good job of matching thread colors so every single stinking stitch shows.
Oh well. I'm not tearing anything out.
However, seeing the way they turned out sort of takes away my urge to work on the next block. So---don't expect to see the next one any time soon!

Just Thought I'd Share...

2010-02-15T13:26:00.004-05:00

This was a freebie from Blackbird Designs. I finished the stitching sometime last weekend. Not yet sure how I intend to finish it, but hopefully I can make a decision and get to it soon.
(Notice my nifty new ironing board cover....a super deal from TJ Maxx...I Love It!)

The Youngest Daughter is leaving tomorrow, before the crack of dawn (ugh!) to spend the rest of Fashion Week in NYC with her Big Sister. She'll be working backstage (as a volunteer) at the show of the designer her sister works for. It should be a very memorable experience!!!
Hopefully there will be some fun and interesting photos to share.

You chicks have a great day.......and remember, those quilts aren't going to make themselves while you are surfing blogs!

Happy Valentines Day 2010

2010-02-14T12:37:00.005-05:00

I've been trying to put a post together for about 30 minutes now with no success. My pics don't want to load correctly and I'm about to throw the computer across the room.....So much for the warm, fuzzy feelings I have after receiving a beautiful heart-shaped box of Godivas from my One and Only......

Since I'm not a quitter....I'll keep trying.

Speaking of my beautiful heart-shaped box of Godivas:

Here is my 9th block of Simply Vintage. I have obviously taken a few liberties with the design in an effort to make it my own. I'm not sure that I'm finished with it. I see a leaf that I dislike greatly, so that may have to be removed and replaced. I'll stare at the block for awhile and see how I feel after a day or two.

Here are the fingerless gloves that I started, well, more than a year ago? At the Harbor Star...before Vicki moved to Florida so that might be more than 18 months ago? All I've had left to do on them for the last year was finish one thumb. Just 1! So last weekend I picked went on a search for the needles, found them , and had them finished in about 15 minutes.

Ok. That's all I have. Not enjoying the whole blogging thing right now, so I'm going to shut down this computer and walk away. Talk to ya later!

The Quilty Chicks meet Gwen Marston

2010-01-24T08:38:00.002-05:00

Yep! That's us. We visited Cameo Quilt Guild on Thursday to hear Gwens lecture on Abstract Quilts in Solids, and on Friday morning we attended her workshop. I think that we learned alot, and I was amazed that Faye (the blond Chick) was able to break free and do as much as she did. (Faye usually likes patterns and rules!)

Nancy hit the ground running- she cut a big pile of strips and worked out her Liberated Greek Key and did a great job of it. She got lots of compliments from the other participants. I didn't fare as well as Faye & Nancy. I didn't get much sleep the night before, and I never quite found my groove. Also, as Gwen said, it's harder to work small than large, and that proved true for me. Anyway, I'm looking forward to pulling out my pile of fabrics and trying again....and I'm really looking forward to attending Gwen's retreat in Elk Rapids this coming September! I've wanted to go for years and I've finally committed to going.

A quick word about the Cameo Quilt Guild.....What a happy, friendly group of women ! This guild has some good speakers lined up for the year, and I'm looking forward to visiting them again.

That's all for now chicks!

Farm Girls Winter Get Away

2010-01-19T13:18:00.006-05:00

Hi Chicks!

I'm just back home from a long weekend get-away to the farm. My sister-in-law Al and my friend Claudette joined me Friday thru Sunday....and then I decided to stay until today (Tuesday) .

Claudette is into paper & photography, among other things. She worked on some scrapbook page lay-outs and made ALOT of her beautiful gift cards.

Al makes jewelry, and she stayed busy most of the time making some beautiful necklaces.
The three of us also managed to make a mess!
I also got a chance to do some late night reading.....this book was excellent!
And, hiding behind the book, is my latest finish:
Just one block left to make for the Simply Vintage quilt. Then there is a border of 1/2 square's to do, and then another border with 100+ leaves....but I'm not going to think about that right now!

I did work on a few other projects, but I've shared enough for now. I have time to make up on the treadmill after being away for so long, and then a guild meeting to attend tonight.

Later chicks!

My First 2010 Finish,,,,I Think

2010-01-08T15:25:00.002-05:00

Here's the youngest child, modeling the Prairie Paisley Disappearing Nine-Patch.

The light was best outside for the pic....so she willingly stepped out into the snow to assist me.

You'll notice we hardly have any snow at all. The weather forecasters predicted The End Of The World, and as is usually the case, we barely got anything at all!

So that's it. A short post, but a post none the less!

Winter Wonderland

2010-01-03T14:16:00.005-05:00

My header pic is one I took while in Traverse City a couple of weeks ago. As we were driving up there the weather went from Not-So-Great to We-Shouldn't-Be-Doing-This!!!!!.............. But we made it there safely and it ended up being a beautiful weekend.

The Bay was starting to freeze, and the ice was piling up and the snow was blowing:

But inside our condo at The Lodge we were sipping wine in front of the fire and we were toasty warm:
We're looking forward to another trip Up North soon...........

Don't Be Getting Any Big Ideas....

2010-01-01T19:25:00.007-05:00

That I'm suddenly going to become some over-achieving blogger just because I blogged 2 days in a row. It means nothing. It just means that I wasn't willing to continue sitting on my bed watching the Jennifer Aniston movie marathon on the Lifetime channel.

Right now they are showing The Breakup. I've only seen this movie a dozen times.

So...............I'll share a few photos, type a few words, and then I'll slip back into my role as Slacker Blogger. I'm good at that. I'm comfortable with that designation. Don't think that your encouraging words will change that. They won't.

Here's Rob....with his Christmas Quilt. I would have liked to get a better pic, with less clutter in the way, perhaps one that actually showed some detail of the quilt itself. Alas, that was not to be. Perhaps another time.

Here is The Fabulous Nicole in her apron........the fabric is shopping bags on a black background. So Her!

And here's Danielle's apron. The fabric is (obviously) and Eiffel Tower print that I got at Rainbow's End in Florida. Come to think of it, I think Nicole's apron fabric came from there as well.
Lastly, here is Tim in his Christmas scarf. Again, my pic doesn't show alot of detail. Not sure what I was thinking as I took my pics this year. I knitted it in front of him....he never even asked about it until a couple of days before Christmas. I think I said it was for Rob.

So that's it for now, girls. It's all I've got. Well, except for this:

Happy New Year!

It's been a long time.

2009-12-30T21:11:00.002-05:00

It's been SO long that the seasons have changed and my header photo is out of date.

What can I say. things get busy around here during the fall and winter holidays. Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas shopping, Christmas, more birthdays, New Years Eve/Day...You know how it is.
All the decorating and the shopping and the wrapping and the cooking and the eating. I guess I shouldn't forget the drinking.
Some people are good at doing all that and still having the time and energy to take photos, post them and then talk about them. I am not one of those people.

Lately I find myself overwhelmed by all of it....to the point where I find it very difficult to enjoy any of it.

That said, now that we are heading into that time of year where nothing much is going on at all, I have hopes that I will get back to blogging.
However; I'm not making any promises.

Once again, I'm a bad, bad blogger

2009-10-26T19:53:00.000-04:00

After being on a week long road trip from Tampa to Michigan, I'm home...tearing apart my basement (again) and not spending much time being crafty. Or maybe I should say not finishing much of anything.
So, with Nancy's permission, I will share with you a few pictures of her latest finish, Kaitlyn's Quilt, that Kait actually helped put together. The embellishments are by Nancy. I think the colors are gorgeous.

Aren't these pics pretty? Nancy's quilts are always so pretty!

Hopefully I will pull ou the camera and post some pics from the road trip soon.

Towne Hall Quilt Guild Show

2009-10-05T20:10:00.000-04:00

Since I don't have a finish of my own to show you, I thought I'd share the pics I took this weekend at the Towne Hall Quilt Guild show in Clarkston, MI. Tim and I braved Saturdays crappy weather to head north on I-75 and it was well worth the trip.
There were so many really beautiful quilts there to see....and here are just a few.
The first couple are from Suzie Sage, owner of The Harbor Star in East Tawas, MI. The walls of The Star must have been pretty bare, as she had a number of her own quilts in the show.

There were so many beautiful quilts...I'll just show a few more.

After the show Tim and I headed further north the Fenton for a late lunch at the French Laundry. It was fantastic, as usual. We really need to go there again soon, chicks.

That's all for now. I need to get back to work on my own projects! Talk to you later!

It's Been A Loooong Time, Hasn't It?

2009-09-29T18:57:00.001-04:00

I'm back....to the blog, that is. My headaches seem to be under control for now, so I thought I should hurry up and post. I don't have any finishes to show, but I can show you what I've been up to!
First of all, Faye @ Mimi's Passions (http://mimispassions.blogspot.com) did such a good job of blogging about out trip to The Harbor Star that I'm not sure I have all that much to add!

Here is a close-up of those blocks that Faye left behind on the design wall. With all the work that went into them, it's hard to believe she forgot them! I'm sure that by now Suzie has put them in the mail and they are safely on their way to Faye.
These next ones are close ups of Nancy's Minick & Simpson quilt, and the wool quilt Vicki was making as a gift for a friend
:

On the ride home from our retreat I spotted an A & W Drive-In , so we drove in....
But we ate inside. We (I) had to order over the phone...even though the counter was just a couple of feet away. I felt kind of silly, bet it was fun!
Lastly, here are some shots of Downtown East Tawas, (at least the way I saw thins)">

Faye also did a great job showing the high lights of the Bruce Station Sheep And Wool Festival......My pics are a little bit different than hers, so I'll share a couple:

Yes, there was wool, and there were indeed sheep, but we all know what that looks like, right?

That's all I have for now chicks. I guess I better get some sewing done soon, so that I'll have something to show ya!

Headaches = No Progress

2009-09-13T21:53:00.000-04:00

So I lost another week of sewing/creating due to these Stupid Headaches.
I'm hoping this will be a better week.
I have an applique block prepped - tracing is easy to do when you feel crappy.
I did start a knitting project, even though I promised myself I wouldn't start anything until I had another real finish.
Oh Well.
I'll do my best to post a finish soon!

I Was Thinking About Making A Bundt Cake....

2009-09-05T15:09:00.000-04:00

But I decided on One-Bowl Brownies. You know the recipe...the one on the back of the Bakers Chocolate box. They are my go-to recipe when I am in need of some chocolate. I borrowed from Mrs. Field's recipe and I add chocolate chips to my brownies...I just sprinkle them over the top before I bake them. I tried mixing then into the batter once, but they mostly just melted and you couldn't tell they were there. Sometimes I use different types of chips...chocolate, butterscotch, white chocolate....today I put some of the white chocolate on, along with lots of semi-sweet ones. My family isn't big on nuts, so I didn't mix any into my batter.
I put them into a baggie, smashed them with my rolling pin, and sprinkled them over the top. I guess if they really don't want to eat them they can pick them off!

The headache is beginning to improve (which explains my need to get back to normal and do things like bake...) and hopefully, but the time my brownies have finished baking I will have finished my applique block and can share it with you.
I'm actually stitching and typing. I'm such a multi-tasker!

You chicks have a great afternoon....and enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!

Just Checking In...

2009-09-03T10:46:00.000-04:00

I'm just a few stitches away from a finish on block 5 of Simply Vintage, but a headache is keeping me from doing that....so instead I am tracing the pieces for my next block, and I hope to get a bit of that prepped today so that I have something to work on if and when I start to feel human again.
I also picked up a quilt from Quilter Karen this week....and apparently I didn't make a binding yet (stupid me!) so I have to go in search of that fabric or go buy some more. Darn it! As soon as I get that figured out there will be some photos to show.
Till then.....Keep Sewing!

A Simply Vintage Finish

2009-08-27T13:15:00.000-04:00

Another block completed...That's 4 down and 5 to go. I actually have been working on block #5 at the same time as this one...so hopefully I'll have it done and posted soon!
I also pulled out the yo yo's and worked on them for a bit.
I started this project last summer. This summer I'm wondering what on earth made me think thise was such a great idea. I know I said when I started them that this was one of those projects with no due date...that I could work on whenever I wanted and put away again....but the darn things TALK to me and want to be finished....What started out as fun has become a monkey on my back.

Here's a quick peek at part of my tomato harvest: We aren't having the best weather here for tomato growing. Too much cool weather, too much rain.
This gorgeous creature and I met last week at the Armada Fair. I'll share more pics from fair week another time.

Have a great one, Chicks!

Monday Road Trip....Labor Of Love Yarn & Fiber Arts

2009-08-17T15:43:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning with an urge to get out of the house....so I got in the car and headed north to check out the new location of Labor of Love Yarn, now located at 246 North Main in Romeo, Michigan.
The house that the shop is located in is beautiful, don't you think?
The interior is beautiful also...my pics just don't do the place justice.

She has a couple of nice work tables..and plenty of natural light. SO important when choosing colors!
Oooohhh. So Pretty......
That's just a tiny piece of one of the many stained glass windows in the shop.
And lastly, here is a peek at a little something I picked up while at the shop....

I had a nice visit with Tina and her friends at the shop. Hope you can make some time to go see her too!
Later Chicks!

How About This Heat?

2009-08-14T16:15:00.001-04:00

It's certailny a hot one out there....summer took it's time getting here and now we're getting plenty of it. My friend Faye is out on Woodward Avenue enjoying The Woodward Dream Cruise...I sure hope she's got lots of water, a hat & some sunscreen!

I spent some time out by the pool this afternoon, chatting with my favorite neighbor. It was delightful. I forget how much I like doing that, and I don't do that nearly enough! Thanks for getting me out there, Shawn!

Before I went out I finished a block of the Hawaiian Quilt. It looks sad, taped up on the wall, but I'm looking forward to getting this top put together! This is the last of the 9 blocks I'll be doing. My origional plan called for 12, but I think I'm done with 9.
Here is my latest start for the Simply Vintage quilt:
I'm enjoying this one. I have another one that I work on , on and off....but it's not ready for a photo. Maybe it will be a finish soon.
This is a sampler I started a couple of years ago. I put it away, and I've been thinking that I needed another skein of floss but learned that I didn't. Did about an hours worth of work on it yesterday, only to discover that I'd messed up badly and had to rip out all my stitches. (I guess I could have pressed it before the pic, aye?) Lesson learned: Don't stitch when angry.
I have no idea why this pic loaded sideways. I hate when that happens.

Lastly, a pic of Jasmine. She likes to sit in the sunroom on a hot day, in her chair near the a/c vent. Her quilt is one I rescued from a garage sale. It didn't sell, and it was going to be dropped at the Salvation Army. I couldn't let that happen. So Jasmine enjoys it's cool, cottony goodness. I just love those whales. Too cute!

That's it for me girls. I'm not getting any sewing done while I'm blogging.
Oh...one last thing. My SIL Alyson is walking this weekend in the Breast Cancer 3 Day....... She's such a do-er...and has a great heart. I know that she has completed her 20 miles for the day...Congrats to you, Al. You are Awesome!

Another Nice Little Sunday

2009-08-09T18:35:00.000-04:00

Despite waking up at the crack of dawn with a world-class headache, the day, so far, has been a great one. A hot one....it was already 88* by 1pm.....(90* by 6pm)
Stopped and snapped a photo of the rock (I can't help it...)

Here's a pic of my meager garden harvest....I did eat quite a few bite size tomato's before I snapped the picture....

My main reason for heading to the farm (with that stupid headache) was to get a photo of my latest finish:

The pattern is Looking Glass by Miss Rosie. The machine quilting is by Karen McDavitt (if I have that wrong, will one if you girls let me know so I can correct the name?) I wasn't very fond of it before it was quilted...but now that that is done and it's washed it has turned all crinkly and squishy and I love it.

My Hunk Of Burnin' Love worked very hard this week....and one of the things that makes him happiest is sitting in his barn, relaxing, listening to the race or the game on the radio......
Hopefully soon he'll be able to connect the satellite and television and watch his sports out there.

That's all for now chicks............

Baby has a Birthday

2009-08-06T15:40:00.001-04:00

Happy 19th Birthday Coco!

As seen on The Rock

2009-08-06T15:32:00.000-04:00

I guess Jason loves Mary.

Peaceful, Sunny Friday Morning

2009-07-31T09:47:00.000-04:00

I want to start this out by saying Happy Birthday to my Husband. He's a great guy. a terrific father who loves his children, and after all these years still has that look in his eye that makes my heart pound. Happy Birthday, Babe!

Here is a look, finally , at the quilt that I have been working on. I started this at The Harbor Star a year ago, and it was intended for a baby who never received it. Probably because I never finished it.
I quilted it myself, while at the farm with my friend who needed some soul-soothing, and even though machine quilting is not something I excel at I'm still happy with the way it turned out, especially once it was washed and all the mistakes were hidden in all it's crinkly splendor.
I used one of my machine's decorative stitches for some of the quilting, and I did some free-motion leaves on the diagonal.
I also knitted a couple of very Simple Baby Bibs that I found on www.knitlist.com:

I hope to get a pic of the new baby drooling all over them soon.......well, sometime in September, that is.

I've got other projects going, so I better get back to work. You chicks have a great day!

A finish & a sneak peek!

2009-07-29T22:36:00.000-04:00

Here is another block from Simply Vintage....again, what's with the damn leaves?
And then there is this....
Those are a couple of peeks at my machine quilting last night....as soon as the binding is on and it's washed I'll show it off to you!
So till then......

A Start and a (Few) Finishes

2009-07-22T16:48:00.000-04:00

I have been a very bad blogger again. I let life get in the way sometimes, and other times I'm just super lazy.
I won't bother you with the details that kept me away....I'll just get right to the crafting....

Here are my first two blocks from Simply Vintage........I just don't know how it is that I started another applique project with SO MANY LEAVES!

This is the block I started putting together yesterday, so that I would have something to work on in the car on the way to and from my youngest daughters graduation from cosmetology school (YEA NIK!!!)

I guess that is all I have to share for now. I will try to be a better blogger in the future (have I made that promise before?).

Sisters

2009-06-19T11:09:00.000-04:00

"Elle" is home from NYC for a wedding that is taking place this weekend, so a visit with sister Coco for a reunion and some hair-do'ing was in order.
We went to lunch, which we topped off with strawberry shortcake and conversation with a very attentive waiter who wondered what the girls plans were for the afternoon.
After lunch we headed to the salon where Coco got right to work on Elle....
Nice work, Coco.

A finish or two......

2009-06-12T22:28:00.000-04:00

This is from a Miss Rosie pattern, in pink and brown reproduction fabrics. I used a Moda sampler fabric for the majority of the lights.....I like it well enough, but it's one of those that I'm just glad to have finished. I'm looking forward to moving on to something new.
Here is Nancy's pink and brown, made from leftovers from a previous pink and brown quilt. That's Karen The Quilter peeking out from the right, Nancy from the left.
And here is a close up of the quilting.....Karen does such nice work!

As seen on the Armada Rock

2009-06-12T22:22:00.001-04:00

This one is for you, Coco!

2009-06-09T21:38:00.000-04:00

Today my youngest, the cosmetology student, had to do a cut, color, style and make up on a model... My friend C, who is a real gamer, was willing and available so she and I got up at the Butt-Crack of Dawn and drove through morning traffic and construction for 90 minutes to get to the salon. Of course, our little hairdresser was sure I'd be late, and was actually waiting outside the door for us, texting and calling. I cant blame her for being anxious. Years of racing across town for early morning volleyball tournaments and afternoon softball games taught her that I would certainly be late and most likely get lost on the way to any destination that required promptness.... But this isn't about me.

Anyway, we got there, with minutes to spare, and C (who you might recognize from the garden structure post) and Nik dissapeared into the salon. I was left to park and find a seat in Barnes and Noble where I read all the knitting and quilting mags while sipping coffees...and awaiting the "We're Done" call. When I got the call,
I packed up my knitting (ok, I was kniting and reading, and sipping coffee. I multi-task) and went into the salon.
I was greated by these lovely girls:

Nice work, Coco. Thanks so much, C, for volunteering. I think you look great!

What do you get.....

2009-06-03T16:55:00.000-04:00

When you have two girls with power tools.....

And a pile of wood?
It a little something we'd like to call A Perfectly Imperfect, Totally (Non)Symetrical Garden Obliesk....
Still in need of a coat of paint, and best when viewed from a distance.
Will it pass the all-important Husband Inspection?
Hmmmmm. Not sure........

Florida...Part 2

2009-05-31T22:37:00.000-04:00

This was our view of the gorgeous sunsets we saw...a few times anyways. When it wasn't raining.
We got a chance to meet up with Vicki and Dan....they came out to the beach to see us on an ugly day....
Vicki brought several of her projects along, as requested, so that I could share them with you. Somehow I neglected to take any pnotos of her knitting, which was beautiful, but I did get pics of some of her quilts and wip's.
The first pic is from a class she took with ...well, now ,,,,I just cant remember who. Here is an up close shot:
She's working on hand quilting that one!
The front and back of one of her gorgeous Moda quilts...

Some lotto blocks that V won.....they have so much personality...I can't wait to see what she does with them!
And this is her basket quilt that she recently got back from Karen the Quilter. It was so nicely done. The quilt was pretty, but Karen adds so much to it with her quilting.
V also brought along some of her bom / wip's.......but I've posted enough for now.
Talk to you chicks again soon!

Florida Trip, Part 1

2009-05-25T21:43:00.000-04:00

Hey girls!
I guess I'll ease back into the blogging slowly (as if I've ever been all that on-top of it!)
Here's a few pics of the Florida trip. The citizens of The Sunshine State owe Tim and I a huge Thank You for ending the drought. Every time we go there we bring rain with us. This time, it was more than just rain. It was a deluge. Noah was getting ready to build another ark. A pirate ship drove down Gulf Drive (I kid you not! )
So anyway....here's a little photo tour of our some of the trip:

This is a beach side pic of the house we stayed at in the Holmes Beach/Anna Maria Island area. It was pretty nice. Crappy towels.......but it had a great location...just steps from the beach and the Gulf of Mexico. What could be better?

We splurged on our transportation..........got a little yellow Corvette convertible. Too bad we never were able to put the top down!

Saw a pirate on the beach. I believe she might have, at one point, been on the pirate ship that drove down the road.

Is this starting to feel like one of those times where your old aunt corners you and shows you pics of people and places you dont know / dont care about, but you just cant walk away? If that's the case, I'm sorry. I'll speed it up.

Here is an example of the terrible weather that we enjoyed just about every day that we were there. Thunder, lightning, sideways lightning, un-real winds, and incredible down pours that went on for hours. I'm terrified of storms. They make me nuts. I made myself feel better by drinking margaritas and whipping up batches of guacamole. Delish.

Despite the inclement weather, the sea turtles were coming out of the gulf at night and making their nests. Volunteers are assigned portions of the beach to patrol....and when they find a nest they stake it, and mark the stakes with the date and the name of the volunteers (among other things). It was really pretty neat to walk the beach in the mornings and see if there were any new nests.

Saw lots of birds...
And saw this pretty little garden on a drive along the water one afternoon. Part of this womand garden is lined with these pretty little plates. I wish I had taken more time and more pics while I was there!
And I found this groovy tree. Isn't it spooky looking?

Well girls, I think that's about enough for now. It's already after 10 pm, and Medium is on. Time to go.
Talk to ya later!

I really liked this pic

2009-05-12T20:55:00.001-04:00

And I wanted to share it with you.

I haven't been crafty in awhile....

2009-05-12T20:17:00.001-04:00

But I did get a new camera for Mother's Day and I've been playing around with it, trying to figure it out. I'm terrible at reading directions and making sense of them, but I'm trying very hard to figure this thing out.
So anyway, I'm going to try to post a couple pics........let's see if this works.

Here is Jasmine. She was a very unwilling model. She hissed and spit at me and ran off.

This is the picnic basket I got from my SIL......it was her grandmothers. Very cool...from the 50's, made by Red Man of Indiana. I love it. Its gorgeous and I think it would make a great project basket.

This is the one crafty thing I have been working on...this is going to be a felted bag for my daughter...and this was my first attempt at forming and felting one of the flower-like rolls. I have a front-loader washer, and I also have a top loader, but I have no hot water working in the top loader so I had to tote hot water to it....it was a pain and it didn't totally felt, but I got the basic idea and I know that I'm on the right track with the construction of the roll.

Here is Nik, my cosmetology student. She came home for a few hours on Mother's Day and was more than happy to test out the new camera.
This is a pic of Nancy's quilt for Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn started coloring them about two years ago, and now they are done and beautiful. I love your bold use of color and pattern, Nancy.
I think I've shown enough pics for now.....I have more but now I can't find the file.....so the confidence I gained is now gone. Crap. Technology is not my friend!

Another view of spring....

2009-05-06T16:48:00.000-04:00

Winter here in Michigan is long and dreary, and spring is usually very short and wet. Our reward for not packing up and moving south is Lilacs. I have 6 bushes here at home, and I have 10 or 11 out at the farm. The aroma is incredible......
I thought I'd share these with you.

Today was not a crafty day for me. Had a few plants to pot up at the farm, (I did get a little knitting time in) did my laundry early so I could dry it on the line and made a stop Krogers on the ride back home since I had to do a little more yard work there. I also put a roast in the oven with onions, potatos, and carrots. It smells wonderful here in my kitchen (although the lilacs and the beef are competing with each other!)
Talk to ya later chicks!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2009-05-05T15:12:00.001-04:00

Or Happy Cinco de Moustache, whichever you prefer to celebrate.

This very large rock is in a park in the small town where our farm is located. People paint it up for every imaginable occasion. Graduations, new babies, marriage prorosals, and declerations of love or team spirit. It's always fun to drive by and see what it says.

I've been busy at the farm, planting peas, spinach and swiss chard. Also potting up 10 lilacs and a couple of red maple seedlings. The heat is waking all the bugs up, and there are alot of very creepy country bugs, so I spent alot of time wacking things with a flip flop and screaming when I missed. I'm going to have to do some spraying around the house very soon.
I also got some work done on the pink and brown quilt, but not as much as I would like to. I am determined to get that top finished, and I do see a finish coming soon...at least a finished top. The quilting can wait till later.

That's all I have for now, chicks. We'll talk again soon!

I believe it might just be spring!

2009-05-01T13:44:00.000-04:00

My daff's are all a'bloom & happy, as are the tulips:

This time of year I get a little nuts and jump from one project to the next, rarely finishing anything.
Here are 2 (almost) finishes:
First....my chair. Liberated from the trash at least 10, maybe 12 years ago. Had a green faux finish on it that I didn't hate, so I left it alone. Eventually recovered the ratty seat with a scrap of fabric that the cat decided to shred. Covered that with the leopard scrap I found somewhere about a year ago.
Here it is, awaiting a little distressing and a coat or 2 of wax:

I also bought a can of aqua spray paint and put a couple coats on this plastic dress form...I think it came from Hudsons/Marshall Fields when they turned it into Macys.... It is currently dressed in a Jose Castro Original.........sent to The New Emily as a Thank You after her internship in Spain and her assistance at Paris Fashion Week..........you cant see much of the dress form....but you can see that it is a slightly shocking color combo.

One last thing........this story just texted to me by The New Emily. She is out and about in NYC, picking up a sweater from Maison Martin Margiela, a store so expensive (Emily's words) that they don't even have price tags on their clothing.
She was walking to catch a cab and she saw......Meg Ryan! Anyway, she politely asked (because she was so well-raised) if she was, in fact, Meg Ryan and of course Meg Ryan said yes.....So Em proceeds to tell her that she and her roommate, who have viewed and enjoyed You've Got Mail, go to Cafe Lalo all the time (I believe that is where Meg sat waiting for Tom Hanks, with Pride and Prejudice and a rose). The conversation, however short, ended with a Thank You (because apparently Meg was also well-raised) and a hand shake. At which point Emily went back to work.
And that ends your vicarious brush with fame.
Have a great day!

It's A Finish!

2009-04-29T10:44:00.000-04:00

Here It Is!
My (somewhat) Cropped Cardigan...
Its a Blue Sky pattern....knited from the top down so it was super simple even for me. I used Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino ...slightly less than 8 hanks (purchased at Labor of Love in Romeo with the gift cert from Nancy and Faye). I lengthened the body by about an inch or so....enough to cover my jiggly bits.

Yep...........I'm One Happy Chick!

Just thought I'd share this one again...

2009-04-26T21:52:00.000-04:00

This is deffinately one of my favorite quilts. I'm amazed that I finished it, and I'm so happy with the way the quilting turned out (Thank You Nancy Watson!)

Quilt Show Pics

2009-04-25T15:43:00.000-04:00

My Quilty Pal Nancy and I went to the quilt show for the Quilt Guild of Metro Detroit yesterday. It was a beautiful, almost hot & sunny day here in Michigan. Inside the show was nice and cool, and we saw some beautiful work done by some very talented people. As usual, my camera crapped-out on me, but I was able to get a few shots of the quilts before it died and I had to switch over to my cell phone camera, which also had issues. Nevertheless, here are some pics:

The above quilt was from a workshop with Flavin Glover.

This little quilt came from a Mickey DePre Workshop.

After the show nancy and I stopped at Culvers in Clinton Township for an Olive Burger. Mmmm, it was SO good chicks. Wish you could have been there to enjoy one with us!

More later......

Post-Headache Progress

2009-04-21T18:54:00.000-04:00

After a week-long headache, I found myself awake and feeling almost human this morning....so I blew off the housework that has been neglected, braved some hideous weather that included rain, freezing rain, some snowflakes and hail to drive out to the farm and get some sewing done.
I've been working on a Miss Rosie pattern (and I cannot remember the name of it now) and I'm using my pink and brown fat quarters.
The majority of the top is done:

And now I have somewhere around 280 squares to join together for a border:

I did some bathtub reading this week, and finished ( quickly) this read by Kate Jacobs.
Im still on the library wait list for the sequel of The Friday Night Knit Club, and I hope I get the call soon that a copy is available. I really like this author (and I think you chicks would like this book too!)

I guess that is all for now, Chicks. Talk to you again soon!

A Finish

2009-04-13T17:36:00.001-04:00

Actually, I finished this a couple of weeks ago. The pattern is from Batiks and Beyond, and Karen the Quilter machine quilted it. The top has been sitting and waiting to be finished for more than a year now (more of that procrastination that I am known for) and I finally decided it needed to be finished. It's wallhanging sized, and I'm hoping it will hang in my living room.
That's all, chicks!

Can you believe it?

2009-03-30T15:08:00.000-04:00

2009-03-27T16:54:00.000-04:00

Hi Chicks.
Still feeling pretty bad about being such a lazy blogger. So many opportunities come along to provide fun topics to write about, but pure laziness keeps me from following through. I am ashamed.

Yesterday I went to Labor Of Love Yarn Shop in Romeo. Love that store. Very friendly owners & customers. Took a pattern with me that I purchased while in NYC, and found some Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino in a rather bright almost cornflower blue. I imagine it would look nice with a pair of jeans, a white T, and some silver jewelry. Hopefully the vision I have will actually become the sweater I intend it to be. I had no problem casting on, but by the third row I had already goofed it up and frogged it. Then I moped and pouted, and questioned WHY I felt I needed to be a knitter. But this yarn is yummy.....THAT is why I must knit!

Today Nancy, Faye and I traveled to South Lyon to one of our favorite quilt shops, Lake St. Mercantile. I never really got past the entrance of the store. I was immediately smitten with the Simpson & Minick line Flag Day Farm. I spent more than an hour sorting and arranging fabrics to make my version of a quilt in the Red Wagon book Every Seven Years.
There are several very good applique quilts in the Red Wagon book..........the cover quilt is a nice example.....
I need to go fondle my fabric.......so I'm outta here!

I'm A Very Bad Blogger

2009-03-12T21:32:00.000-04:00

No photos to post...I'm just here to admit to you all that I am a very bad blogger. My excuses are mostly lame. I spent some time getting ready for a quilt retreat at the farm, and I enjoyed it very much. Faye at Mimi's Passions posted the photos of our sewing fun within moments of her arrival at home, even though she has a crazy, hectic life that involves work and ailing parents and in-laws.

I, however, left the retreat to deal with several inches of water in my basement at home. That basement was where my stash lives. Some of that stash was on the floor...or near the floor. Some was lost, some fabrics bled into others but survived the hot water washing and will be used someday, somehow. Books and magazines absorbed many times their weight in water and are now entoumbed in the landfill.

Framed photos, childrens artwork, and scrapbooking supplies met with the same fate. Some could be saved, others, not.

Roaring fans and horrible, obnoxious odors have made our home an unpleasant place to be, but slowly the smells are fading and hope is returning.........the carpet can be saved and the walls are drying, without any evidence of mold.

As life begins to return to normal, the call of my needle and thread grow stronger and I will soon take a photo of something created by my hands.

(Sure is a dramatic way of saying my freaking basement flooded, huh?)

Talk to ya soon chicks.

Where does the time go?

2009-02-18T14:53:00.000-05:00

Its been a very long time since I've posted!
First of all, my computer has been SO slow that it was no longer enjoyable to use it, so I sent it to get fixed. The 2-3 days that it was going to be in the shop turned into almost 7....
And I was very surprised at how many hours there were in a day when the computer isn't in front of me helping me to use many of them up!
While it was gone I got some cleaning done and spent Valentines Weekend at the farm where I awoke Saturday morning to find this:
I'm not sure if you can really tell what is in that pile of gifts, but My Guy got me a Burpee Seed-Starting kit (he's a hopeless romantic!) several packets of seeds, a Borders gift card, and a "Little Something" from VS....presumably to wear while I am out in the garden planting my seedlings.

I bought him a card, which I forgot at home in my nightstand drawer.

So anyway, since I've left most of my sewing & quilting out at the farm I only have this handwork to share:
I made some dishcloths. Nothing fancy....although the yellow one has a star knit into it and the large colored rose one is basketweave. I felt like trying something different.
I also finished another block for the Hawaiian quilt. Ya know, I'm really sick of leaves after this one:

The last is a shot of the Rooster Quilt that just cam back from Karen the Quilter. I made this a couple of years ago from a pattern in one of Nancy's books. I don't know why I didn't have it finished before now, but I think the thought of hanging it at the farm spurred me on to get it done.

That's all I have for now, Chicks. Talk to ya later!

February Thaw

2009-02-10T15:35:00.000-05:00

Can you chicks believe it is in the high 50's outside today in Michigan? Holy Crap!
Of course I had to go outside and enjoy the weather for awhile. I returned some bottles at Kroger (a fair weather activity for me) and grabbed stuff I could BBQ. Couldn't pass up an opportunity for some chicken on the grill!

After that a quick trip to JoAnns for a couple new balls of cotton yarn for dishcloths & some floss so that I could finally start the Gail Pan "A Christmas Wish" BOM.....
I wanted to do a project that would come from my stash and wasn't a huge commitment. Just needed something new to work on.
I didn't bother to shoot the photo too upclose because my stitching is primitive, at best. I havent done much of this since I was a girl scout. I did enjoy it though, and I look forward to getting started on the next block, which is "merry".

I also thought I should show you this. I finished it a few days ago, but as usual, I procrastinated snapping a pic, so here it is, another block for the hawaiian quilt. I think that has me at 6 blocks completed. I've got another one started that maybe I'll be able to show by the weekend.

That's all I have for now. Get outside and enjoy the weather!

So What Did You Do Today????

2009-02-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

I waited in line, in the COLD with my good friend Claudette (aka The Photophreak) at the local Denny's for a free Grand Slam Breakfast.
Now those of you who know me well know that I wouldn't normally wait in a line on a cold February morning for much of anything....not even a free breakfast, but this friend of mine has a way of getting me to let go a bit.....I've known her since I was a pretty young chick (yea, even younger than I am now, if you can believe it), so she knew me When...well, when I did things I don't brag about now but laugh about when I'm with her.

So there we were, with the News Copter hovering over the restaurant, sharking for a parking spot and wondering how long that line would be by the time we got into it and how long it would take to get through it.
We were surrounded by an interesting group of people. Some who probably needed a free meal, some who would have to give up due to the length of the line, people with improperly dressed babies (who most likely needed that free meal) and high schoolers skipping classes who were dressed more for spring than an icy, painfully cold day. An unorganized, fractured wave broke out...but the freezing line standers were unable to keep it going.

Lucky for us, the line moved fairly quickly, and when a counter seat for 2 opened up we jumped at the chance to get inside and warm up. Our feet were just about frozen, but we quickly forgot about the pain as we dove into our pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage. It was delish!

A big Thank You to you, Claudette, for calling me and getting me off my butt and out into the world for a little while. I had a great time.

Holiday Road Quilters Retreat

2009-02-02T15:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I admit it. I'm a terrible blogger. Blogging and procrastination do not go well together. I will try to do better in the future.

Here are some photos of some of the projects The Quilty Chicks worked on this weekend at our quilt retreat. We all stayed pretty busy, with breaks for eating and sleeping, as well as some time Friday night in front of the tv watching Sex and The City.
First up is a baby quilt that Faye created. The batik colors really played off well against the black and white fabrics.
This next quilt is one Nancy has been working on. Her extensive stash is very evident in this quilt......these blocks are 6", and she is using a green sampler fabric for her setting triangles. This one is just gorgeous. She's at home, as I type, working on more blocks, I believe. Cant wait to see this one finished!

This is Nancy's Turning Twenty.....She prefers smaller blocks, so this quilt wasn't rocking her world.......so she gave up on getting it just right and sewed those blocks together and called it done. Way to set yourself free, Nancy! Now she can get it quilted and give it away!

I also was able to get to work on some long-neglected quilts. The first one is my first quilt with jelly rolls.....While I enjoyed working with those pre-cut strips, in the end these colors dont really move me. Oh well!

I also now have all the blocks done on this applique quilt. It was a Blackbird kit that I got a while back from Cottage Quilts. I just LOVE this one, and I'm looking forward to sewing those rows together and getting the scalloped border on it.

There were a few more pics, but I still need to go through them to see what I have.

I'm looking forward to getting together with the girls again soon............

Cold Monday Afternoon

2009-01-12T12:57:00.000-05:00

Not alot to show, but I can show you this:
That's me in my snazzy new winter overalls, my Christmas gift from my always thoughtful spouse. I love them They are super comfy, they accentuate all my curves, that rusty orange color is Uber-Flattering, and with the right accessories you can wear them anywhere.

Since I cant seem to wrap my mind around sewing lately, I have some blogs you should check out and you can see the cool things that are being created "out there"!
First of all, check out the Love Quilt at Lazy Girl Quilting. I love it!

Then go check out the tiny stars at Brown Dirt Cottage. She's also working on some concentric circle HAND quilting on her chunky Churn dash.

Go see A Simple Girl...she's getting hooked on 9 patches...and we all love those things, don't we?

And lastly, if you want some free stitchery patterns, go see The Noble Wife.

Have fun, and don't stay on the computer too long. You've got some sewin' to do!

Creativity and Chaos

2009-01-07T11:47:00.000-05:00

As I sit amidst this mess, I wonder if everyone else makes a mess like this while working on a project? I mean, I managed to do create this chaos in less than an hour.

The upside of this was I managed to finish another block of my applique. The pattern is How Does Your Garden Grow by Blackbird Designs, and it is a kit that I bought from Cottage Quilts some time ago........

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T10:08:00.000-05:00

I've been lax lately. My usual Post-Holiday-Funk.
I need to go backwards to be able to move forward, so we'll start with this one.
This is my boy on his 25th Birthday. We had plans to go to the Beefcarver......but when we got there...NO BEEF. They had actually run out! Ever heard of anything so crazy?
We weren't going to eat the meatloaf or the nasty scrod floating in wet-looking butter sauce, so we quickly came up with a Plan B and went up the road to Mr.B's....the food was ok,(but it wasn't roast beef and those awesome mash potatos we were looking forward to) and we made the best of the situation.

There is a pic of D heading back to NYC. We had her here for 9 days and they flew by. She was back in time for the ball drop........

And then yesterday I decided to make cinnamon rolls for New Years Day....and I couldn't resist taking photos, so here they are:

Blogger is misbehaving right now, so I'll have to edit this post later. In the meantime, I hope that your New Year is a Sweet One......

Rest In Peace, Margaret.

2008-12-26T22:08:00.000-05:00

If any of you are Detroit Red Wings Fans, you may have at one time or another seen The Knitting Lady in the stands....at least that is what I always called her. Well, The Knitting Lady was named Margaret, and the television announcer just reported that Margaret passed away.
Seeing Margaret there, knitting away, always made me smile.
I'll miss her.

19 Degrees Fahrenheit

2008-12-22T13:29:00.000-05:00

Baby! It's Cold Outside!

My girls are driving on snow and ice encrusted freeways to get to East Lansing, and I'm trying to keep myself occupied in an effort to keep my mind off all the terrible things that could happen between here and there. There are cars in the ditches and medians and the going is slow, but they are checking in from time to time to let us know that they are ok.

So.....I thought I'd work on something to keep my mind off all that.

I started off with my Christmas Presence charm squares. I turned a pack or two of them into 1/2 square triangles sometime last year and then put them away. Pulled those out and started playing around with them.....

And decided that I'm still not that fond of them and I'm going to put them away again.

Then I read an email from Nancy, and she mentioned looking forward to starting a new prorject and I thought that sounded like a great idea...until I pulled out a mound of future projects and found this one underneath them all:

And I decided that I would rather finish this one and send it off to the quilter before I start on anything else. I discovered that I have 5 blocks finished, with 4 in various stages of preparation. I'm pleased to say that I still like this one, and I'm looking forward to working on it again. All I need to do now is pack up all those other WIP's so that they don't distract me and get to work.

Hope you Michigan chicks are warm and safely ensconced in your sewing rooms....and for those of you in warmer climates....you should thank your lucky stars that you are not here!

It Just Keeps Comming!

2008-12-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

We're getting quite a bit more than an inch an hour here. It took me 40 minutes to clear the driveway and by the time I got to the end of it there was more than an inch of new snow waiting for me at the top!
The predictions are for 6 to 10 inches before this is over. Thank goodness it's light and fluffy.

Oops! I Did It Again

2008-12-18T09:17:00.000-05:00

You know, it wasn't all that long ago that The Spouse complimented me on the patience I was showing with my knitting. The compliment came after I knitted 2 right gloves from my nifty green wool from Skeins on Main....gloves that I started in August. When I discovered my error I was bummed, but I frogged that 2nd right and got to work on it again. Of course, other projects interrupted the finishing of that glove, but last night I sat down with the intention to finish it and post it on the blog this morning. Well, I didn't finish it last night, but when I got up this morning I picked it up and noticed something. I did it again. I knitted a 2nd right hand. Again. I shit you not.

So here is proof of my stupidity.

Recognition for Faye!

2008-12-12T11:19:00.001-05:00

This is my friend Faye's quilt that she entered in a contest at AQS. She's a winner!!! Not only did she get alot of nifty prizes for her fantastic work, but her quilt will be hanging at Paducah this spring. Congratulations, Faye!

Another gift completed!

2008-12-11T16:04:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick post. Just showing you another finished Christmas gift. Really, really working hard on this hand made Christmas plan!

Also, I should take this opportunity to show my pile of gifts from The Quilty Chick's Christmas Get-Together. Such beautiful things! I feel spoiled!

That's all for now, chicks. Hope to be back soon with more!!!

The Armada Christmas Parade

2008-12-10T17:03:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late sharing this with you chicks. Here are some photos of the Armada Christmas Parade. It's a perfect snap shot of small-town life....complete with carroling middle school students, a tree donated by a local family, decorated by the school children, with Jesus being mentioned more than once or twice. Here are some photos I took with my frozen stiff fingers:

. Thanks you to Faye and Mike for braving the cold and snowy roads to hang out with us for a couple of hours!