It's been a while since I've posted. I have finally gotten over Shingles. My energy has come back and the pain is gone. I've been busy doing some stitcheries and today I took one of those stitcheries and made it into a tote bag. DH came up with the saying after I told him I was going to make myself a tote bag to use when I go shop hopping and I was going to use the Jell-O fabric I bought on vacation. So, without further ado, here's the front of the bag. The stitchery is also a pocket.

Here's the back of the bag. I'm happy with how the bag turned out. This is the first project I've made that has a gusset and once I got over my fear of gussets the bag went together easily.

The bag also has a matching mini bag that can be clipped inside the bag. The mini bag was quickly put together, but I'm not thrilled with it as it isn't lined and is somewhat flimsy. I may make a sturdier mini bag another day.

And then, just because I still had Jell-O fabric and I recently got the Wonder Wallet pattern I made a Wonder Wallet too. The wallet only took about 30 minutes to make and is a great addition to my new tote bag.

So now I'm ready to go shopping. Anyone want to join me?

And My Senior Year Project Is . . .

I had the drawing tonight from the bloggers who sent in suggestions for my Senior Quilt project. I liked all of the suggestions and I'm going to put them into my WHIMM jar for someday projects.

Without further ado the winner is Kathy from Kathy's Quilts. Her suggestion is to sew a mystery quilt using colors outside of my usual range. This will be a good one for me. I'm not a fan of mystery quilts because I always tend to go stray from the directions. I belong to two Yahoo groups where they have mystery quilts so the next time one is offered I'll be sure to make it. As for the colors I will probably use Thimbleberries fabric. Thimbleberries are too blah for me and I would never use them unless I had to.

So Kathy send me the name and contact information for your favorite charity and I'll send them a donation.

PS - In case anyone is wondering, the shingles are nearly gone. Today was the first day in almost two weeks that I haven't had any pain. I'm not falling asleep at 8 PM. And life is good.

Senior Quilt Project

Hi there!

Just a little note to let you know I have to delay the drawing until Wednesday night. I'm working late tonight and don't have all the challenges with me to do the drawing.

Stay tuned!

My Senior Year Project

My quilting anniversary is September 4. This year I will be starting my 4th year of quilting - AKA my Senior Year. Last year I wrote about my plans for my Junior year of quilting.

We're at the Deutsche Bank Golf Championship again this year. Today, while watching Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson play together I formulated my plan for my Senior year of quilting. The good news is one of my readers gets to help me choose my Senior Year Project.

How's that you ask? Let me tell you. I want to be challenged on my project so here is my plan. I'm going to list six guidelines. I want you to choose no more than three of them and send them to me in an email. I will put all the entries into a drawing and on Tuesday, September 4th (my anniversary) I will draw one of them and that one will become my Senior Class project. I will have until June 30, 2008 to finish the project. In honor of choosing someone's name I will make a donation to her favorite charity.

So, without further ado, here are my six guidelines. Remember, you can choose up to three of them. I have listed some suggestion for the choices so you understand what I mean. By no means, I am limited to those choices.

1. Choose two or three blocks. These blocks can finish to any size.
2. Choose two or three colors.
3. Choose at least one type of embellishment; such as buttons, beads, redwork, stitcheries, applique
   
4. Theme - should it be for baby? for a girl? for a boy?
5. Fabric choices - Civil War prints? 30s? batiks?
6. Type of project - wall hanging? table runner? lap quilt? This is the only choice where I ask that the project not be any larger than a lap quilt.

There you have it. C'mon and make my senior year project a challenge. You have until Tuesday night to enter your suggestions. I can't wait to see what you challenges you come up with for me.

Good News and Bad News

I was cranky and not feeling well most of the weekend. My thigh hurt and I didn't know why. But my mail box kept me from getting too cranky. I received my Stitchery Swap project from Rose. Isn't is adorable? If you live in the northern hemisphere you need to check out her blog. She has posted photos of spring in Australia and they are gorgeous.


Speaking of the Stitchery Swap Beth in Australia now has a blog. Please check it out here. Be sure to say hello to her and welcome her to the blog world.

Other mail goodies included 12 Barbie FQs from Carol. They won't last long in my stash. I think I'm going to make a simple charm quilt from them or maybe a few small doll quilts. That will be a great way to practice machine quilting.


From Anne I received a goodie package in exchange for a package of fabric. She sent me this lovely FQ of soldier fabric, a pin keeper, some chocolate and a wallet pattern from Lazy Girl Designs.


And if that isn't enough good stuff I won a drawing at Wildcraft Farm. Janet will be sending me her latest Quilt Card pattern. How cool is all of that?

Now for the bad news. The reason I was feeling achy and cranky all weekend is because I have Shingles. Yup, that's right. After an absolutely awful night last night I woke up with a rash on my right thigh, hip, tummy and back. I knew I had to get to the doctor. And, sure enough, I have Shingles. Lucky for me I caught it early and have started the antiviral medicine and have pain medication to help me through the night. At this point wearing anything other than a sundress is uncomfortable. Needless to say I worked from home today and will probably stay home until I can wear something other than a sundress.

So that's my news for today. Hopefully I'm well enough to go the Deutsche Bank Golf Tournament this weekend. I'm ready for yearly Tiger Woods fix.

Do You Like Football and Nickels?

Here is a sneak peak at my stitchery swap project. The complete project will be heading to its new owner tomorrow. Thanks to all who participated in the swap. Several of you have said you would like to do it again. I will probably do one after the New Year. Many of us have joined Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap and I don't want to overlap swaps.


However, I am hosting a Football Season Nickel Swap for my Quilting Sports and Friends Group that doesn't conflict with the Secret Santa Swap. This is a nickel swap where you choose a football team to sponsor for the entire football season. For every game your team wins you do nothing. For every game the team loses you agree to send 8 nickels to the winner. At the end of the season you will send me all of your losing packages and I will swap them out and return your "winnings" to you. I still have some room for a few more players so if you'd like to join send me an e-mail and I will provide you the details.

I received my Pay It Forward gift from Floribunda. It's a gorgeous rotary cutter case - or is it for eye glasses? Either way it's gorgeous. DH commented that quilters sure like to make and use tote bags and carrying cases. I think he's right.

This past week I also received a needlecase from a swap for my redwork group. What a cute case. I haven't filled it yet, but will soon.

It amazes me how prolific bloggers are. During the week I can hardly keep up with all the entries. I read many of them and mark them, but often don't comment until the weekend when I am relaxing. Maybe with summer ending I'll have more time to stay caught up with everyone.

Back From Vacation

I think I have finally readjusted to being home from vacation. It's amazing to me that it took me three days to get back into my normal sleep pattern. I actually overslept two days in a row! I haven't done that in a long, long time. Today I was awake at my usual time (6 AM) and I'm ready to spend some time in my studio. DH is going off for the day for some guy time (read that as being a Fantasy Football draft and poker) so I'll be home alone. I love my husband dearly, but I think even he would agree that we are ready for a day apart.

Just a few more photos of our vacation and then I'm done with the tour. First up I'm showing my "nest". I've realized that one of the first actions I take when we enter a hotel room for the night is to set up shop in the chair in the room. This is my nest in our room in Portland. We checked in on Friday and this is what it looked like by Sunday afternoon. Do any of you do this when you are traveling? I bet a lot of us do this at home too.
On Sunday morning I had the pleasure of meeting Donna and Diana from my Yahoo Redwork group for breakfast at Mother's Bistro. The husbands came along too and that worked out great since all of them liked golf and football. Everyone could join in the conversation, including the men's experiences while the women go quilt shopping while on trips.
Monday was our last day in Portland. We decided to take enjoy the International Rose Test Garden. The weather was perfect for walking in the gardens and the roses were stunning. I hope you enjoy these few photos I took of the roses. On our way back to our hotel we found a shopping mall in downtown Portland. While wondering around the mall we found an Apple Store. I had mentioned earlier in the week that I was thinking about buying an iPod for myself. So my wonderful husband told me to pick one out and he would buy it for me for an early (two months early) birthday present. This is the the same husband who is flying my mom to visit me for my birthday because he is going to be in Hong Kong on my birthday. I picked a 2 GB Nano. I loaded up my iTunes on it before we left for home and used it on the airplane. I like it, but I've been having some problems with my ears lately and after wearing the earplugs for awhile the outside of my ears started to hurt. I guess I need to have them checked again.

Well, that's the story of my Oregon vacation. We loved every minute of it and can't wait to go back someday. Thanks for reading about my summer vacation.

Sisters and Grandmas

Yesterday we drove from Sunriver, OR to Portland, OR by way of Sisters and Salem. I admit that I didn't plan on stopping at Stitchin' Post in Sisters, OR. I was more intent on making sure I made it to Grandma's Quilting Attic in Dallas, OR. I know that sounds bad. How can I pass up Stitchin' Post? Isn't it THE quilt shop to go to when you are in Oregon?

However, my body had other plans. I had to stop to use the bathroom in Sisters and since we were there I decided I couldn't pass up Stitchin' Post. I'm glad I stopped. I found this gorgeous gray and lavender fabric for my MIL's quilt. Since I've had a tough time finding gray fabric I purchased what was left on the bolt - nearly 4 yards. More than enough for her quilt.



I also found this wonderful pattern for a child's tent, sleeping bag and bag tote. With 5 nieces and nephews under 5 years old I immediately thought how cute these would be for Christmas gifts. DH agreed. We have this wonderfully warm comforter that is beginning to show wear, but is still usable. I've been thinking about making a duvet cover for it and this book is just the ticket to make one. With several patterns for duvet covers and curtains I can redecorate our bedroom in no time. They also mention their book Oh Sew Easy Pillows which I think I'm going to look for to go along with this book.


Three hours later we arrived in Dallas, OR and found Grandma's Attic Quilting. What a gorgeous little shop. The shop is wonderfully decorated and one could spend hours looking through every section of the store. I found these Aunt Martha transfer patterns and this heart charm with my name on it. I totally forgot to look for the Oregon greenwork patterns she carries. Oh well, I'll order it when I get home.


Grandma's had lots of fabrics on sale. I purchased a set of 10 FQs from Lakehouse (I think) for $13.50. Those are in the top 2 rows. The other 25 FQs were $25 for 25 FQs. So all together I got 35 FQs for $1.10 each. Not bad.


We arrived in Portland late yesterday afternoon. We hit rush hour/vacation traffic driving from Salem to Portland and it took us an extra hour to arrive in Portland. Last night we went to the Bite of Oregon - a food festival that is on the waterfront only a couple blocks from our hotel. We purchased multi passes so could use the festival as our lunch and dinner restaurant for the weekend. We also went to Portland Saturday Market this morning. I found a cute handmade bead necklace (see photo below). DH bought soap in a log. And we found cute reversible overalls for our twin niece and nephews.

Tomorrow morning we are meeting two quilters and their husbands for breakfast. They are members of my Redwork Yahoo group. I'm sure we'll have a great time.

Retail Therapy in Bend, OR

I decided to go on a mini shop hop in Bend, OR yesterday. The call of shopping was greater than the call of staying in the hotel room all morning.

The first store I visited was BJ's Quilt Basket. This store was by far my favorite. The store is wide open and filled with any fabric you can imagine. Quilts adorn the walls. There is a good-sized classroom. I purchased this Quilt To Go Kit. This is one of many small kits they sell. The kit makes an 8" x 10" quilt that can be slipped onto an acrylic frame. The kits come with the fabric, including backing. I can't wait to get home and make mine. I also bought some purple fabric for a quilt I'm planning for my MIL. If I lived in Bend, this store would be my LQS.

My next stop was Sew Many Quilts. This store was a little hard to find. It's in the back of a small business strip mall and there is no sign on the road. This store has three big rooms, two filled with fabric and one classroom. The fabric selection was great. The displays were nice. The staff was friendly. This was the first store where I have seen Aunt Martha transfers so I bought a package of chef transfers.

Next stop was Pine Tree Quilting. This store is in the downtown part of Bend. Parking was a little tough, but doable. The store is not large and she did not have a lot of fabric. She was very nice and we chatted a little about the weather in Bend, OR.

The last stop was Mountain Country Mercantile. The second I walked in the door I was assaulted by the smell of cats and/or dogs. Now, don't get me wrong, I like animals, but I don't like to smell them when I'm shopping. There was a lot of fabric in this store. Two large rooms, plus a large classroom in the back that also had a wall of sale fabrics. There was an upstairs area that I didn't investigate. I walked through the whole store, but the smell was so overwhelming that I can't imagine ever going back there. I did find the other pattern in the photo above. It's hard to read but you have the option of stitching "For Maid Service, Push The Button, If No One Answers Do It Yourself" of "For Laundry Service, Push The Button, If No One Answers Do It Yourself".

Here are the fabrics I bought. I've loved the jello fabric since I saw it on-line some time ago. This is the first time I saw it in person and I couldn't resist it. The purple fabric is for MIL's quilt. The black fabric has colorful hearts on it. That fabric and the yellow fabric with tulips will take residence in my stash until I decide what to do with them. I bought the green fabric and the cherries fabric thinking I'll make a tote bag for my MIL. She once won an award for her Cherry Pie and is still well known for her pies. This will make a great bag for her to take to the Farmer's Market.

Last night DH and I went out for a "date night". The concierge at the hotel recommended The Blacksmith Restaurant in downtown Bend. What a fantastic restaurant. DH and I like to order Chef's Tasting Menus and we were pleasantly surprised that they offer one and you can specify what you like and don't like. For me, that meant I could say bring on the steak and hold the seafood. We had six wonderful courses, each one better than the previous one. It took us two hours to enjoy dinner. We even got the chef to autograph the menu. I suppose you're wondering what we had. Here's the menu:

• First Course - Watermelon Salad - mixed greens topped with minted goat cheese, watermelon and basil pesto.
• Second Course - I had steak adobo and DH had haddock and scallops in a Pinot Noir sauce
• Third Course - A small pasta dish with house-cured salami, onions, fennel, roasted tomatoes and pasta. This course was very, very yummy.
• Fourth Course - Pork tenderloin on white beans with grilled nectarines and prosciutto on grilled radicchio
• Fifth Course - Sliced Top Sirloin with Fried Potatoes with a truffle oil reduction.
• Sixth (and final) Course - an Almond Tulle Cookie Cup filled with fresh berries topped with a lemon sauce. Very light and refreshing.

Now this reads like a lot of food, but each plate was about a third of the size of a regular portion. That combined with the timing between each course you were able to enjoy each selection without feeling stuffed. I'd go back there in a minute.

Come back tomorrow for more installments on My Summer Vacation. Tomorrow we will be driving back to Portland by way of Dallas, OR and a visit to Grandma's Quilting Attic. I'm excited for that shop.

I Know Where I've Been . . .

. . . and I know where I'm going, but I don't know where I am . . .

I said this to my husband as we drove from the Columbia Gorge area of Oregon on our way to Sunriver, OR yesterday morning. This is the view of the Gorge area as we saw it early in the morning. It was cloudy, cold and windy. Too cold and windy for us to take the Sternwheeler boat trip on the Columbia River. Instead we loaded up the car and headed for Sunriver.

The first gorgeous view we were treated to was Mount Hood. This mountain would dominate the first half our trip. We kept thinking we were getting closer and closer to it, but it was always there. The road was curvy, the scenery was tremendous and there was very few signs of civilization.

I made the above statement to my husband at one point because I getting antsy for a cup of coffee and just wanted to know that there would be some towns along the way. About 2 minutes after making that comment we passed a sign similar to the one below. Had I known I was going to pass the sign I would have taken a picture of it. Now I knew where I was.

After leaving the mountains the land became flat, almost desert-like. What a change in geography. Suddenly we came around a bend in the road and the land opened up into a deep, wide valley. Again I didn't know what we looking at, but it was stunning. The road went down into the valley and into the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. This is the view as we came out of the valley.

This morning I am relaxing in my hotel room and trying to decide if I want to go quilt shop hopping in Bend, OR or just relax and do some stitchery. This afternoon I'm joining my husband for a round of golf. Tomorrow we are going to explore Lava Lands in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

And the winner is . . .

. . . I bet you really want to know who won. Hold in, I'll tell you in a minute. First let me tell you about our excursion to the bank. The bank is two blocks downhill from our house so DH used his briefcase on wheels to carry the jar to the bank. The minute we walked into the bank you would have thought we were going to rob it. I guess bank employees don't like people coming into the bank with luggage.

Then we're told that we have to this nifty machine to count the coins, and by the way, there's a 7% fee to use the machine. Of course, if I don't want to pay the fee I can get some coin rollers and roll the coins myself. Forget about it. Oh well, I guess we'll pay the fee.

We stood at the patiently at the machine and started dumping the bottle. Now the change goes in a lot easier than it comes out so there was a lot of bottle tipping going on. Eventually all of the change was emptied onto the little conveyor belt and we watched the digital display get larger and larger and larger.

The final count - $277.03. So the winner, with a guess of $278, is Annie from Annie's Quilting Adventures. So Annie, if you will send me your snail mail address and I will get your prize sent out to you when I return from vacation.

We haven't decided how we're going to use the money on our vacation. It will definitely cover our gas expenses or pay for our couples pedicure tomorrow morning or . . . I'll let you know what we do with it when we do spend it.

Thanks for playing everyone! I'm off to pack for vacation. Oregon here I come.

Last Day for Guesses

You have one more night to make a guess in my change jar giveaway. Tomorrow night I will name the winner. Do you know how much is in ther jar?

Meandering Around My Studio

I was watching one of the design shows yesterday afternoon on HGTV. The designer was redoing the living room of a woman who quilts, knits and does bead work. At one point during the show when they were looking through the woman's UFOs the designer said, "You should never have more than 3 projects to be work on at one time. Any more than 3 projects and you will feel bogged down." I wanted to jump through the TV screen and ask the designer if she has spent any amount of with quilters! Obviously not. I know many quilters have many, many more than 3 projects in their UFO pile, and yes, sometimes we do feel overwhelmed by the amount of UFOs we have, but I can't imagine only having 3 projects to work on at any one time. I like the freedom that comes with having many UFOs to choose from on any given day.

Take yesterday afternoon and this morning for example. Yesterday DH left at 2 PM to play poker so I had time for myself. I took a short nap and when I woke up I wandered into my studio. I started to straighten up so it was clean when we leave on vacation later this week. I put a few items away, but while going through one of my baskets I decided to make some 1.5 inch HSTs for a Challenge I'm working on. So I took out my Triangles on a Roll, cut some fabric squares and proceeded to make 128 1.5 inch HSTs while listening to Jesus Christ Superstar. I got them sewed, cut apart and the paper torn off. I also pressed about 32 of them.

I thought I was done in the room for the day and spent some time catching up on email, blogs and internet surfing. I've had this entry by Karen at Sew Primitive marked since she posted it earlier this month. I finally got tired of seeing the post so I closed up the computer, went back into my sewing room and pulled out my Siggie blocks from our Blogger Siggie Swap earlier this year. In 45 minutes I had the blocks sewn together and now the top is ready to finish. If you participated in the swap, can you find your block?



This morning I entered my studio with the same intent to straighten it up. While I'm on vacation and shopping I want to collect some purple, lavender and gray fabrics for a quilt for my MIL. I pulled the few fabrics I have so far and then remembered I have a BOM quilt I started for her 2 years ago packed away and unfinished. I started digging through my closet and found the container with the fabric and some of the blocks in it. I sorted out what was done and realized that with sewing borders on one block I would have four blocks done and I could make a table topper or baby quilt from them. So I did it. Not sure what to do for border, but someday I'll get around to it.

Since I was digging through my UFO containers I kept at it. I found the half-made blocks for a Snail's Trail quilt. This was a mystery quilt from 2 years that I got bogged down on because my block halves weren't matching up well. I put the quilt away and had forgotten I even had it. I started pinning the halves together and ended up with 20 decent blocks. So I sewed those blocks together and now I have another top ready for a border. But I am really stumped on how to proceed with the top. I'm not thrilled with how much white is on the quilt, but I'm sure I will take the quilt to my long armer and she will be able to fill in the white nicely with quilting. But what about the borders? Any suggestions for the borders? Help me please! This quilt would be a great gift for SIL and DIL.

Now I am done playing in my studio for the day and won't be back in there for three weeks. So tell me, if I had disposed of these 3 UFOs because I have more than 3 projects what would I have done this weekend?

A Giveaway

DH and I use a one gallon Sangria jar for tossing our loose change into when we empty our pockets. We save the money to use on our vacations. Since we are going on vacation next week it was time to cash in the change. So in honor of emptying the jar, going on vacation and just because I can, I'm having a contest.

Can you guess how much money is in the jar? Send me your guesses and the person with the closest guess will win a goodie bag from me. I will take guesses until Wednesday, August 1 and will post the winner on Thursday, August 2. Let's see if anyone can guess how much extra "fun" money we get for vacation.

In other news Carole sent me these wonderful goodies and cute pattern. She is sharing her Australian chocolates and I'm so thrilled. The chocolates are/were yummy. The snowman pattern has earned a place in line on my To Make list.

I have emailed out the swap partners for the Stitchery Swap. Let me know if you signed up and didn't get your partner. Feel free to post your progress on your stitchery project. But let's keep our partners secret, OK?

I'm extra excited today because the New England Patriots started training camp. I LOVE football and soon the games will start. Football season finds me spending all day Sunday watching games so I must start working on building up my hand work projects. Now that I do stitcheries I bet I'll get lots of projects done this season.

My Doll Quilt Swap Arrived

I arrived home from work tonight after driving through the rain to find a package waiting for me at the top of my stairs. No, it wasn't Harry Potter - that was sent to my office for my son and he picked it up today. Instead it was my Doll Quilt Swap Quilt. Tami at Lemon Tree Tales sent me this stunning quilt appropriately called Purple Rain.

The quilt is jaw dropping gorgeous. I was speechless as I took time to admire the choice of fabrics, the quilting and even the embroidery she included on the front. How did she know I love to dream in the rain?

The back of the quilt is just as beautiful as the front. The color in the photo doesn't do the quilt justice. The batik is a deep purple highlighted with lavenders. The quilting is done with a variegated thread and adds a fantastic finishing touch to the quilt.

For now the quilt is on my design wall until I decide what to do with it. I don't have any dolls so the quilt will most likely stay on display somewhere in my studio.

Thanks for a gorgeous quilt Tami!

Weekend of Finishes

Sandra, you signed up for the Stitchery Swap today and I tried to send you an email twice and it bounced back. Please send me your snail mail address so I can include you on the list.

I had a weekend of finishes. Yesterday I finished the binding on my Pink Finity Quilt. Today I finished the binding on my last Pay It Forward gift. They will be going out in the mail this week.


I finished the stiching on my F is for Fairy block from Bobby Socks this morning. This is the first month I'll be able to start the block for that month. I have the G is for Gingerbread block prepped and ready so I can start working on it tomorrow morning on the way to work.


Since I've had 5 finishes on projects this past week I treated myself to a quick project and made myself a small purse using some of the charms from one of the Connecting Threads new fabric packs. I liked working with the fabric. It's soft, sews up nice and looks wicked cool as a purse.


The purse got a quick workout tonight. I think it needs a closure of some kind. DH, being the smart man he is, says I need to find a magnetic snap for it. So now I have an excuse to go to Joanne's this week.

Only nine more work days and one weekend left before vacation. I'm getting so excited. I can't wait to get to Oregon!

Saturday Morning and Golf

We are watching the British Open golf tournament this morning. This is one of those weekends where DH doesn't sleep in, but is up early and watching golf. The sun is shining and we are expecting a glorious weekend. Later today we will be having a surprise birthday party for my in-laws. Both of them turn 65 this coming week.

I had a mixed-up week. On Thursday I got a call from my brother that my mom was being rushed to the hospital with chest pains. Add that to a work day filled with deadlines and I was absolutely miserable Thursday night. It didn't help that DH was gone on an overnight trip.

Friday was an extremely better day. The work load was lighter. My mom was diagnosed with a fibromyalgia attack and was released from the hospital. And then my boss (AKA my FIL) surprised me with a significant raise that I will get over the next 6 months. Life is good!

So far there are 13 swappers in the Stitchery Swap. Five from the US. Five from Australia. One each from Canada, Norway and the U.K. Anymore takers? You still have a week to sign up. Come on and join the fun!

A Quick Project and Thunderstorms

Before DH came home this early afternoon I made this travel pocket from Leanne Beasley's Romancing The Road Trip book. I didn't do any stitchery on it because I love this fabric. I got it in a Summer Solstice package a few weeks ago. I haven't decided how I'm going to use it, but it will definitely get used on my upcoming vacation.

This afternoon during five separate thunderstorms I was able to finish the binding on my DIL's quilt. She'll be happy. She's been waiting for several months for me to finish the binding. The quilt was the first one she made. I don't have any photos of her with the quilt so I'll take one when she comes over to pick it up.

During the fourth thunderstorm there was a lightening strike on the building across the street from us. The fire alarm went off in the building and I called the fire department. Luckily there was no fire and damage done to the building.

Next up on my list is to finish my Pay It Forward gifts and get them out in the mail. I should be able to do that this week. Then it's on to the binding on my Pink Finity quilt.

I slept under Wicked Girlie last night and it must be a pretty good quilt since I slept until 8:15 am. I never sleep until 8:15, not even when I'm sick. I always wake up by 7 am at the latest. I hope it's not a continuing trend. I'd hate to have start using an alarm clock when I sleep with Wicked Girlie.

Wicked Girlie Quilt is Here!

I picked up my Wicked Girlie quilt from my long arm quilter this morning. She did a truly superb job on the quilt. I spread the quilt on my bed and I'm so excited that it more than fits the bed. Of course, I have to get some new sheets and bed skirt to match the quilt, but I'll do that later.
Here is a close up of the quilting. Susan chose a flowery template and used a dark pink thread.
The backing is the real "fun" part of the quilt. I had purchased this fabric for pajama pants, but decided it was the perfect backing for a Wicked Girlie quilt. Don't you agree?
Since this quilt is meant for me to use when DH is traveling and since he is traveling tonight, I am going to sleep under the quilt even though the binding is not on yet.

I started the binding on my DIL's quilt today, but I'm having some upper back pain so I didn't get too much done. I guess it's time to go see my PT for my "annual tune-up." I was hoping to make it through a whole year without having to see him, but no luck. Oh well, at least I know a few trips to see him and I'll be better soon.

My Doll Quilt Arrived

My doll quilt that was sent to the U.K. has arrived. Elizabeth took much better pictures than I did of the quilt. I'm glad she likes it.

I'm without a camera this week. DH decided to take it with him for once. So I can't show you photos of the charms I bought from Connecting Threads. I purchased one charm pack of each of their new fabric lines. The fabric is adorable, but the I'll wait to play with it until I finish a quilt or two.

I've been working long hours at work this week. Nothing new for this time of quarter. We'll be busy for the next three weeks, right up to our vacation in Oregon in August.

I've posted the list of Stitchery Swappers so far. Check out their blogs. Sign-up is still open if you want to join. The guidelines are below.

Swap Update

Just a quick update on the swaps mentioned in my previous post. I have enough people for the Pay It Forward. I took four names since the last two were in my mail box this morning. I'll be sending out my gifts in the next couple weeks.

There is more interest in the Stitchery Swap. I will add the names to my side bar later today.

If you've signed up for either swap, please mention it on your blog too. I'd like to get more people in the stitchery swap.

It's time to go to work. UGH! I wish I could have more time off.

Anniversary Weekend

DH and I spent the weekend in Manchester, NH for our 6th wedding anniversary. What's the appeal of staying in a city that is only an hour from our house? Well, the hotel we stayed at is in the left field of the minor league baseball park and we had a room with a great view.

Friday was our anniversary and we had a full day of fun. First up was a golf game for DH at Crotched Mountain golf course. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm rolled in and they closed the course when he was on the 15th hole so he didn't get a complete round in.

Next stop was a new-to-me quilt shop - Apple Tree Fabrics. I bought backing for my Autumn Stairstepper quilt, one yard of fabric that DH says, "This will look good in my house", a collection of sewing notion bluework patterns and this cute little hand painted box with fat eighths in it.

For dinner we went to a Brazilian steak house. Yummy! All you can you eat salad and meat dinner topped with scrumptious carrot cake and cappuccino for dessert.

Saturday I got to pick up my Pink Finity quilt from my quilter. She did an outstanding job quilting it and I can't wait to sew the binding on and enjoy the quilt. I dropped of my Wicked Girlie quilt and she will have it ready for me next Saturday. That will be two of my finishes this month. Hooray.


I'm in the swapping mood and have one swap announcement and a Pay It Forward exchange. You can sign up for one or both if you'd like.

Three people have expressed an interest in the stitchery swap. I thought up these guidelines if that helps you decide to join:

• We will swap one-on-one a stitchery item no larger than 12 x 12 inches. It could be a pin cushion, a needle case or a small wall hanging.
• The item can be redwork, bluework or embroidery. But there must be some type of stitchery in the project.
  
• I will gather the names and addresses of people willing to participate and swap out the names and addresses. You will mail to your swap partner.
• Deadline for sign-ups is July 28th and you will have until September 1 to mail your stitchery.
• International swappers can play too. So if you sign up let me know if you don't mind sending international packages.
  
• If you'd like to join the swap send me an email and let me know. I will send you my email address and then you can send me your snail mail address.
  

Floribunda posted a Pay It Forward exchange and I signed up. I will send the first 3 people who want to join the fun a handmade gift as long as you promise to Pay It Forward to 3 more people. So, if you'd like to join in the fun, let me know.

I just got home from dropping off DH at the airport. He is gone until Friday and then next weekend he is visiting his best friend so I'm home alone for the week. I came home to find the new Rachel Ray magazine and two quilting books in the mail so I'm off to take a bubble bath to relax and read.

Anyone Interested in a Stitchery Swap?

Everywhere I look I see another blogger has decided to start making stitcheries. I admit at first I couldn't understand what made stitcheries so much fun. But after I tried it, I love it.

I'm wondering if any you would be interested in having a stitchery swap? Perhaps a small item that includes a stitchery like a pin cushion or a needle case or a small book cover?

If you're interested let me know. I'll set up some guidelines and be the swap mama. Come on and join the fun! Think how cool it would be to get a stitchery from someone else.

Month of Lasts

This past weekend may have been a weekend of firsts - but I've decided this month will be a month of "lasts", as in finishing some quilts.

Here is my Last list for the month:

1. I will be picking up my Pink Finity quilt from my quilter on Saturday. It will be ready for binding.
2. I will be dropping off my Wicked Girlie quilt at the same time and it should be quilted by the end of the month.
3. I've decided to tie my Don't Touch Me quilt and then that one will be ready for completion.
4. Since I successfuly machine quilted my doll quilt I'm hoping I will have the courage to machine quilt my Tea Time Splash and my Autumn Stairstepper quilt and finish them.
5. I have a pincushion to make for a swap.

Will I be able to get the "lasts" done? Stay tuned. I'm hoping my listing them here I'll feel obligated to get them done. Wouldn't it be grand to have 4 adult quilts done for football season? Since there are 4 of us get together to watch football that's one quilt for each person. The Don't Touch Me quilt will go into the Grandchild Hope Chest. When those projects are done it will be time to start working on projects for others.

A Weekend of Firsts

I had another weekend with the pleasure of spending lots of time quilting and stitching and lots of first-time projects for me.

I started and finished my first doll quilt. All of the fabric came from my stash. It is the first project I machine quilted and the first time I've made french fold binding with strips only 1 3/4 inch wide. Wow! Talk about skinny binding. I'm going to save photos until my swap partner receives it.

I've seen many bloggers who are working on one of Leanne Beasley's projects and couldn't wait any longer to make one for myself. I took out my scraps from my Wicked Girlie quilt I made a couple weeks ago and made a block from her Romancing the Road Trip block. My first for this project was I traced one of the postcard patterns onto paper and then traced the project onto the fabric using my light box. It was also a first because I used interfacing behind the muslin. I haven't decided what I'm going to stitch in the second muslin block.



Does anyone have a pattern for making a 15 inch pillow cover? I think that's what I want to make with this block.

Another first was I decided to make a series of small quilts with the Bobby Socks alphabet blocks instead of waiting 2 years to make a bed-sized quilt. I put the first four blocks together today with burgundy sashing strips. I think this little quilt needs something else, but I'm not sure what. Any suggestions?


Short work week this week. We have to work Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday we're off for the holiday. Thursday we have to work. Friday we are taking off for our wedding anniversary. I'm taking DH golfing and, of course, we will stop at a new to me quilt shop. We are spending the weekend at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manchester, NH. The hotel is the right field part of the minor league baseball park. We will have a room with a view. On Saturday I get to pick up my Pink Finity quilt from my long arm quilter and I'll be dropping off my Wicked Girlie quilt for her to quilt.

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans!