It's been a long time.

It's been SO long that the seasons have changed and my header photo is out of date.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

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

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?

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

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....

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...

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

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

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?

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

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

Happy 19th Birthday Coco!