Family fun

This last week has been a whirlwind of activity.  It started on Sunday night with the beginning of a marathon cleaning of the house. Monday I had someone coming to help with the floors and bathrooms and stuff, but first I had to shovel a path so she could get through. LOL. Not really that bad. I do not usually clean DD#2's room because it is too scary for me. Since we were having house guests I thought a little clean up was in order. One huge pop up hamper of  laundry and one huge bag of garbage later and her room was presentable.  Monday the cleaning and laundry continued. Tuesday some shopping and finishing touches.

On Wed. my nephew came in to town from Philly where he is a resident in Interventional Radiology. He was here to interview for a fellowship next year. DH had to work and so did I, but DD#1 came over and she and here cousin went out to eat and had a chance to catch up.  Initially the plan was that J was coming Wed. and leaving Friday. Plans changed and his wife and baby came on Friday and they  all stayed until Sunday. I do not know why the plans changed but I was so excited!! I finally got the chance to meet my great-nephew. Of course I was also excited to see my nephew and his wife.  DD#2 came home  from school also so we had a full house.

                                                                       

On Saturday we organized an impromptu pizza party with DH's  family so that everyone who was available could see the baby (and mom and dad too). Of course here in the Chicago area we think Chicago style pizza is the best. So we got together at a local pizza place and had a mini family reunion. It was loud and lots of fun. The rest of the day we just sort of hung out and talked and played with the baby.

All too soon everyone had to leave. My nephew was heading west for another interview in California. E and the baby were heading southeast to Georgia to visit with her aunt and cousins. J's last interview is in Georgia and they will all fly back to Philly together.

Later in the afternoon DH went to work and  I put DD#2 on the bus back to school. I knew I would be alone when I got home so I made a detour to Joann's and bought a little bit of fabric and then  to Wendy's for some fries and a frosty.  Ahhhh. Comfort. I miss them all.

Hopefully I will be back in the sewing room making a mess this week.  Happy stitching everyone.

The Show is over

Sigh. The show is over and boy am I glad.  Let me back up a bit. As I mentioned a while back I was going to buy a midarm and frame from a friend from guild. Well I did. I worked until 8pm Wed night. On Thursday morning  I went to her house and we took the frame apart so that it was in sections that could be transported. When we were almost done I called DH and he rented a van from Home Depot and came over and loaded it up. We got home and unloaded it. I rested for a while then started to put it back together. DH was helping me get the machine onto the frame and he was on one side I on the other. He says "what is dragging?" So I move forward to see, trip over the other part of the frame, fall and in the process bend one section of the frame. (Not to mention serious bruises on my leg, arm and hand). Have I mentioned that I am a bit of a klutz? I don't think I need to tell you how upset I was. My DD#2 is helping me look for a replacment part. Until then it is just a large mess.

Moving on... Our booth at the show was only a single and knowing how much merchandise we took  I did not take my camera. Good thing too, because there was barely room to squeeze in my purse. The booth looked great and I had a really good time being at the show. The only bad part about working the show is that you don't actually see the show. Well my plan was to go back on Sunday and see the quilts. I woke up on Sunday with a severe neck ache and headache.I have disc issues in my neck and it doesn't take much to get it in a knot, literally. Needless to say, I did not get back to the show.  Some blogging buddies of mine did get photos and posted them so if you would like to see some quilts check out A Sentimental Quilter and Pieceful News blogs. ( I follow them so you can just click and go). The boss was going to take photos of the booth so I will try and get one to share later. It was the last time that Chicago will hve the show. Next year it will be in Cinncinati. Word is that Chicago is too expensive.

BTW just want to thank you all for your well wishes for my daughter, she is on the mend  and is feeling much better than a week ago. She was able to keep up with her classes for the most part so that is good.

I can't report any progress on my quilting projects this last week, but I will be back at it as soon as I rest up.

Happy stitching everyone

Show, kits, and mono?

No, the mono isn't me. DD#2 has mono but she is trying to keep up with her classes as best she can.  The joys of communal living. She called me last week complaining of severe fatigue and  tummy ache. The tummy is better but the fatigue lingers. She made a trip to the student health center where they took blood and gave her some antacids. Her question to me was how is that gonna help me with being tired? Poor baby... I hate that she is so far away and I can't be there to take care of her. Hopefully she will feel better soon.

The Internaionl Quilt Festival preview night is tomorrow night so the boss will be there today setting up the booth. Hopefully she won't leave a long list of things to do back at the shop. Getting ready for the show has been very tiring. We have cut fabric non-stop everyday. Now I LOVE to cut fabric and I really love to cut fat quarters when new fabric comes in, but non-stop all day is a bit much even for me. LOL.  On Monday the shop is closed but we were there cutting fabric for a few hours. We finished up a few little projects and ran while we could.

I will be working at the store today, the show Friday and at the store on Saturday. After that hopefully we will have a little respite before the next event.
While I was at the shop Monday I took photos of the toothbrush rug. It is the Aunt Philly's rug pattern and I teach classes on it.

I also took photos of the first 3 mini's that I did for our "mini monthly" that we do at the shop. We do this like a BOM only instead of a block you do a mini quilt. We are doing the Patch Abilities series this year. You saw the hearts a while back. My photo of the 3rd one didn't come out so maybe next time.

I better go get ready to head off to the shop. I think the show will be fun, but I will really be glad when it is over! Hopefully I will get some photos  of the show to share with you ! Later... Happy stitching.

Stitchin and coughin

I hope that everyone who celebrates Easter had a wonderful day. I have had a wicked cough that I can't get rid of, so I stayed home instead of going to  my Aunt's. My hubby worked, one daughter has a bad cold so she stayed home, the other daughter just went back to school after spring break so she did not come home. A  good day for most of us to rest.

I have been working on a few things ( surprse). I have the blocks completed  for a quilt I made with my "clean out" FQs. It is another Terri Atkinson pattern called Birthday Presents. I love her patterns, a lot of them are FQ friendly which is good for a FQ addict like me. All of her patterns are easy.

The little bee that I am in did our star block swap last Thursday. I think I know what I am going to do with mine, but I need to ponder it a little longer.  I guess we will have to wait and see.

I finished this bag. I really don't like the handle so I might have to take it off and modify it somehow. It will be gifted (Christmas) so at least it will be done on time.

I took a picture of one of the gold and white table runners that I finished. I gave one to my friend on Saturday. LOL. Just a little late for Christmas hu? Oh well... I will be ready this year.

I am also working on a 9 patch lap quilt, a small log cabin, and my BOMs.I am also working on the scrap challenge (below). I did finish knitting a bag and a sweater, but they are not yet complete so I will show them when I get them finished off.  Happy Stitching.