A little sewing

I have been just so bad about blogging. It seems like I am not getting much done so there is not much to blog about. I have been working on a few things so I will share those things with you.
Pat Sloan started a few projects rather close together and of course I wanted to do them all.
The one that has actually gotten worked on is a year in applique from Pat's book New Ideas for Applique . You know how I love a Block of the Month. The two most recent blocks:
Once in a blue moon

and Candy Corn Toss.

There is still a ways to go, we did not start at the beginning of the year. I am also working on her pattern "Traffic Jam" which was a free pattern Pat had in her newsletter. That I am working on as a leader and ender.  Hopefully soon I will have something to show on that project.

I as still working on the McKenna Ryan BOM at the shop. Here is the third block. I still need to get pictures of the next two. I am working on the last block then it will be time to get it all together.

We had gotten a book by Tula Pink in the shop 100 blocks and I wanted it, but I resisted. Then I found a sew along in the blogs and I caved in. I bought the book, raided my stash, and went shopping for more fabric. (And more and more, but I digress) True to form, I did not start right away. Wow does a week fly by fast. Before I knew what happened I was weeks behind. I made a plan. I worked on the current week's blocks and blocks from the beginning. In a few weeks I caught up. I won't show you all those photos but I will share a couple.

I bought a piece of pink foam insulation when I was doing my layout for the quilt show and I plan to wrap it in either batting or flannel and  nail it to the wall for a design wall. Any thoughts on what to use? Hopefully soon I can put up the Tula blocks and see how it is looking.

I am also cutting DD's quilt that has been on the to do list way too long. I really must get a handle on those pesky UFOs.

Later and happy stitching

A few of my favorite quilts

I arrived at the show very early on Friday just to make sure everything was ready to go at the mini auction. It was.  So I wandered around and looked at all the quilts. It is so sew inspiring to see the quilts that everyone makes. Some simple, some stunning, all beautiful!!
Some of my friend's quilts:
Marcia and I did this Block of the month last year. Hers is done, mine is in pieces. (Jo Morton pattern)

She also entered Raining Cats and Dogs by Bunny Hill. I did the embroidery, she did the rest

Jeannie did this beauty as a Block of the Month (through the mail) But she took it up a few notches

Look at that beading.

She also designed, stitched, and quilted this one.

Carol had a favorite of mine in the show, pattern was in APQ I think.

She also did these cute dresses.

I did have mini quilts in the auction. Does that count? Hu?

Happy stitching

Can't get the last picture to post, so no dresses this time.

The Quilt Show Unfolds

Last weekend our guild held it's quilt show "Our Quilts in Bloom". It is really fun to watch the show come together, even more fun if you are not the one putting it together ;).   My committee of one, me, was the Mini quilt Silent Auction. Thursday was set up day and Friday was opening day. On Thursday I hung 95 minis, with some wonderful volunteers. Then I went home to nap because I knew Friday would be a long day.
Here are the minis for auction

The show closed at 8 pm Friday night. The bidding on the minis closed at 7pm. We start a count down about a half an hour before which usually results in a mob of bidders returning to the table to bid one more time. Once the bidding closes we circle the last bidder and the amount. Then the crown surges forward to find all the bids they won. They take them to the cashier and then the cashier hands them off to one of the volunteers to pull the mini(s) off the board. The rest are taken down, pinned to the bid sheet and set aside. Then we hung 100 more mini quilts for Saturday's auction.  Then  Saturday we do it all over again.

I am now following up on all the minis that were won by people who were not at the show when the bids closed. Not my favorite part. But I can contact people in my jammies, and I did.

Will show you some quilts next post!
Happy stitching

Book Review

Bethany House publishers sent me a book to read. My part of the deal is that I review it on my blog. I chose "Rules of Murder" by Julianna Deering.
Let me first say that I am a life long fan of mystery series, Cherry Ames, Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, to name a few. I grew older read more 'adult' mysteries. Can't get enough of them.

The back cover of this book says: "Introducing Drew Farthering.  From the tip of his black homburg to the crease in his Cheviot trousers, he's the epitome of a stylish 1930s English gentleman. His only problem? The body he just discovered."

I found Drew and his best friend, Nick likable, but maybe not really believable. That being said it didn't really bother me. I enjoyed the contrast of the English gentlemen and the American girls. The plot wasn't difficult to follow, but there were enough twists and turns to keep it interesting.Strange characters pop in and make you wonder hmmm?   A bit of romance, some danger, and of course murder to solve.  Enjoyable reading.

I plan to look for more by this author.

It doesn't seem possible that it has been so long since I posted anything. I am apparently getting old since I have been struggling with arthritis all summer. All year actually, but worse than usual this summer. Enough kvetching...;)

I promised that I would be doing a post about some great bags. I am a bit late for what I had planned to do, but the bags are still great.  While reading blogs I followed a link to  Sew Sweetness.com  and was just amazed. (I can't remember how to link) There are free bag patterns that are just so cool you want to make them right away. Then Sara started designing more bags that are available by PDF. Lots of great pictures and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. She has lots of bag testers and she shows all of their bags when she introduces a new pattern.

Not long after that I had the chance to meet Sara at Quilt Market in Houston. (And yes she is totally sweet). During that same time period we were expanding the shop to 3 times its original size. And by we I mean that I was there. Not actually doing any 'expanding'. The boss developed a plan to have a year of events to celebrate the expansion.

We had Karen Coombs do a trunk show and she taught a class the following day. She was great! Everyone loved the workshop. Our regional rep from Northcott came and brought a bunch of their quilt samples from market. Another great event ( I missed that one). We had a Moda rep talking about all that wonderful Moda fabric. Victoria Findley Wolf did a trunk show and a workshop the following day. She was a huge hit with everyone. So creative, and funny, and friendly.

In the middle of all this planning I asked Sara if she would do her interfacing lecture from Sewing Summit and then teach a bag class the next day. She said yes. I got to see her again when she came to discuss the details and bring some bags to pick a pattern from. We selected this bag..The Petrillo Bag. It has a cool separate pocket inside for your E-reader or Ipad. Still  lots of room for 'purse stuff'.
I missed her lecture, but got to be around for the workshop. (I was working so I did not get to take it).
Really great news from Sara is that she has started to print some of her patterns and they were picked up almost immediately by United Notion Distributors. And she has book coming out in November with all new patterns in it.

The bag
:

 

 

 

The Book:

 

 

In August I resigned from the shop. Since the expansion it is really busy and the pace is too much for me. My last day was August 31st. I will still be doing the Beginning Block of the Month that is in progress. I will also be finishing the McKenna Ryan pattern 'Heaven and Nature Sings' that is also being done as a block of the month.  I will catch you up on those next post.

There is still going to be an event at the shop in October that I will attend. I got the idea from a schoolhouse presentation and my friends at the shop made projects for the event. Now we wait until after some big vending the shop is doing in September and then we have a little fun.

More to come. ;)
Happy stitching

The week in review

Last week was a really busy one. It flew by in a nanosecond. OK maybe not that fast. No sewing happened at all either. My younger DD flew in from LA on Tuesday night. She came in to be a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding on Friday night.
We spent hours at a salon on Wed. getting DD's hair done. She has dark hair, but keeps it a very white blond color currently. When she called to schedule the appointment they said, oh no problem. We went there because our cousin works there and is a great colorist, but she was off that day and nothing else worked with the events surrounding the wedding. As we left it was sort of getting overcast. We went dress shopping for a dress for the rehearsal dinner. Later my other DD came over to practice doing wedding make-up.
Thursday we  woke up late and hung out and chatted until it was time for her to get ready for the rehearsal. After washing her hair she had what she described as a level 3 melt down. We had noticed that in places her roots looked a bit gold. Well.... it wasn't just in places. And gold roots and white hair is not a pretty look. She wore her adorable new dress and shoes. She wore a scarf around her head that covered the offending roots up front. While she was out I called my cousin and told her about the hair drama. She told me what kind of toner to get and what to do. Gulp. (Considering I have lots of pictures of me sporting very brassy blond hair I was scared).
Friday morning I shook DD out of bed early and we went to the beauty supply store for supplies. The nicest guy was working and he made sure we had everything we needed. (Except experience).
Back home I mixed the stuff and snapped on some gloves and got to work. I made her go shampoo a bit too soon so the roots were toned down but still a bit goldish. I reapplied and left the room. We waited the longest possible time and she showered and washed her hair again. It came out blond. The roots a bit darker than the rest of her hair but at least the same color. Crisis averted.
DD after the ceremony writing well wishes to the happy couple. Then taping her congratulations.

 

At the crack o'morn Sunday we were on the way to the airport so she could head back to LA :(

Later we went too DH cousin's home for a Father's Day celebration. Our Older daughter joined us there. This is the view coming out of the kitchen door.

A close up of the pool.

DD sitting on the diving board.

DD (on her phone) with the tennis court/basketball court behind her.

This week I need to rest up from last week.
;)
Happy stitching.

A few odds and ends

The first Block of the Month, McKenna Ryan's Heaven and Earth kicked off last week. You saw the snow bear and his bear buddies and that is the first block we are doing. I did get the second block ready for a sneak peek at the kick off.

 

Due to low enrollment, the start of the Beginner Block of the Month has been delayed by one month. I don't think I posted the pattern yet. It is called Cobblestones and is very traditional, but using the shop's bright pallet.

Here is the first row ready and hoping more quilters want to join in. Bad picture, will try for a better one later.

I have block 2 of Pat Sloan's Block of the Month fused. I still need to stitch it down. I also need to get going on block three.

I also have two more Bunny Hill blocks done. There blocks are so cute. And pretty fast. Just love them.

I have not forgotten about the tease on the awesome bags. Coming soon I promise. I need to get some pictures for you.
Happy Stitching!

Quilts and more

I mentioned in my last post that We went to a really cute town filled with adorable shops and antique stores. I think it was Glendale, but the name just flew out of my brain. I though you might like to see some of the quilts I came across.

 

 

 

Just a little bit about the town we stayed in, Elizabethtown, KY. The biggest name to hail from there is Abraham Lincoln. Thomas Lincoln, Abraham's father was a skilled carpenter and furniture maker. In 1809 the Thomas Lincoln family was living on the Sinking Spring farm. There they welcomed Abraham, named after his grandfather, on Feb. 12. Eventually the Lincoln family settled in Cole's County, Illinois. The home that Thomas built:

 

Across the road from the home.

I feel like I came home knowing a bit more history than when I left. A great trip even though I didn't quilt. LOL
Happy stitching

A quick trip Part 1

The first Friday in May I packed up my car and hit the road.  I met my BFF from high school at the half way point between our two homes. She lives in North Carolina. Our Dad's were career Navy. We met on the first day of high school. We got our first jobs at the same place. We had our first serious boyfriends at the same time (and they were friends). Lots of history between us. But I digress... we met in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. On derby week end. It rained on me all the way through Indiana with is most of the trip. I hit Kentucky and the sun came out. It warmed up. By the time we met at the hotel it was beautiful out. We had lots of plans for the week end.
Saturday morning dawned or rather did not dawn, but stayed cold, dark, and rainy. We went for a walk at the mall. Then we went to a quilt shop. We stopped into the tourism office to find something to do indoors. The lady there recommended a small town with lots of cute shops and antique stores. We grabbed umbrellas and headed out. It was a cute town. I saw lots of quilts. (Will post those later).

Sunday we awoke to more of the same, but not raining as hard. Luckily I brought my laptop so I grabbed a map and started looking for more indoor stuff to do. We headed for Bardstown. We walked around the square and the town and stopped for lunch at the Old Talbott Tavern. The original part of the building was built in 1779 and is known as the oldest western stagecoach stop in America. We ate in the original building. It was so cool. Some pics of downtown.

 

 

Then we went museum hopping. We went to a Civil War Museum, The War Memorial of Mid-America, and Women of the Civil War Museum. Gives such a life to all that history studied in classes. Our last stop was Old Bardstown Village, a reproduction of a 1790 frontier community. Most of the buildings are original, some over 150 years old. Of course they were moved to the current location. I sure would not want to spend a winter in those tiny buildings.

Monday we still hoped for good weather, but it was not to be. I hit the map and the laptop again and found Pleasant Hill which was a Shaker community in the  1800s and early 1900s. . We got our tickets and started off to see the village. In most of the buildings there were people in Shaker dress to give some history, and answer questions. It was fascinating. I really did not know much about the Shakers beyond the furniture. This Shaker community was mainly agricultural. They farmed, raised chickens, pigs, goats, sheep, and cattle. We saw a sheep being sheared. later we saw the washed fleece, saw it carded and spun, and then dyed. Being a knitter I was of course excited to see the process.

In addition to the yarn, they still produce woven fabric, shaker brooms, and shaker wooden boxes. Of course Shakers no longer live there, but all of the 'manufacturing' is still done with the original tools and methods used by the community so long ago.  It was just an amazing experience to learn about their way of life.

Tuesday dawned bright and sunny. Of course it did, we were leaving Kentucky. ;) We did manage to do the driving tour of historic buildings in Elizabethtown before we hit the road headed for home. Sad to part, but happy to have had the time together.
Happy stitching everyone!

Starting to sew

The end of April I finally started to sew again. Not a lot, but at least I feel like I might be able to be a quilter again.
I have been spending time online looking at quilting sites and seeking inspiration. While doing that and playing on blogs Craftsy was having a sale. I went there and looked around. I signed up for some classes. I signed up for the 2012 Block of the month and the 2013 Block of the month. I decided to just do the 2012 one this year. And I am not trying to 'catch up'. I just started with the first blocks and will try to do the two blocks every month. Here are the first two

I spend a lot of time on Pat Sloan's online forum too. There are so many wonderful quilters there. So much inspiration and encouragement. Anyway, Pat is doing some sew alongs and I am doing one from her newest books. Here is my first block. I still need to stitch it down. Not sure if I want to do it by hand or by machine.

It is time at the shop to start new classes and programs. I had planned to have a new Block of the Month for beginners started by April. That was before the move of course.Now it will kick off in June. I have the blocks cut and ready to go. I also started a McKenna Ryan quilt that will be a Block of the Month for 6 months. It is a Christmas pattern called Heaven and Earth. This will be the first block presented.

I have more to tell you. A short trip. More quilty stuff. Some very cool bags.

In the middle pics

The actual physical part of the move went smoothly. The movers arrived on time and started to work. The way they pack the truck is totally amazing. Just over 2 hours later and the house was nearly empty. Another 2 hours at the apartment and the truck was empty. I must say they were no where near as good at putting things into storage in the basement.

Since the apartment was not really ready for prime time, we decided before the move that we would go back and sleep at the house. We left a TV and a chair. We had the air mattresses in the rented storage space. The DH was too tired to go get the air mattresses, said he would sleep on the carpet upstairs. I got us some food (Subway) and myself a camp chair. Just like camping, but without weather. The next day we started living at the apartment.

I will not bore you with all the details of living in a tiny space during reno, and painting. I just tried to put away what I could. I unloaded the whole basement storage and redid it so everything fit in it. The DH is still amazed. LOL

Things are not completely done yet, but I thought you might like an update. The Living room is mostly done, I have curtain rods going up tomorrow and a replacement for that cracked window has been ordered.

The kitchen has new stove and fridge. It has the "shells" of cabinets. I used two of the shelves from the linen closet to make a counter top for the microwave. I can not wait to get a sink.

The bathroom is done, except for a vanity light and a back splash for the sink.

Remember my favorite light fixture? Well this is the new one.

I am still changing the sewing room around trying to find a comfortable work set up. I think I might have found it.

Yesterday I went to the rented storage space and got a bunch of yarn, knitting books, and quilting books. There is still a ton more there, but there is still a little room here so I can bring some more home. It made me stupid happy to put that stuff in my room.

I will be back at work this week, and I hope my friends can help me find my mojo. It has been gone a long time this time.
Thanks to all my blogging friends for your support and encouragement.

Happy stitching.