Rain, Rain, Go Away!

We've been having rain for several days here in New England. Between yesterday and today we have gotten about 5 - 7 inches of rain. Several low lying areas are flooded and the rain continues to fall! Mother's Day has been good to me. Bruce gave me a gorgeous card and tickets to see the Beach Boys on Cape Cod this summer. Geoffrey is here for a little while, but won't stay long. Roads are starting to flood around here and I told him he should get home.

I've spent some time in my studio this morning organizing my fabric and UFOs today. I've refolded most of the FQs and those pieces smaller than an FQ have been cut into scraps. I've also washed all the border and backing fabrics I've bought recently. Once I get my sewing table I'll be able to finish borders and sandwiching and, maybe, I'll even do some machine quilting. I still have a long way to go to get the studio in shape, but every little piece helps.

Yesterday two friends and I braved the rain and went on a Shop Hop. Because of the rain we were only able to get to 7 of the 9 shops. That's OK with me, I still managed to make a significant dent in my wallet while finding fabrics to finish quilts and enhancing my stash some. My goal on the Shop Hop was to find some purples and greens for a log cabin wall hanging I want to make for Geoffrey and Tasha. I need to find 6 shades of each color. I was able to find some of each color.



I was also on the lookout for backing fabric for Tasha's quilt and was lucky enough to find it. I also bumped into the fabric I want for the backing on my Pink Finity Quilt. Two significant purchases, but I'll be able to finish a quilt and Tasha will be able to get hers done.



Everything else I bought was fun stuff. We stopped at the New England Museum because they were having a sale and were between two of the shops. I picked out 3 FQs just because I like them.



This collection of Fusion FQs was hanging from a hook on the ceiling and caught my eye while I getting the pink backing cut and I couldn't resist. My stash was low on reds and pinks so these are nice addition.



I've been thinking about getting a Grace lap hoop and according to their web site one of the shops on the shop hop was supposed to carry it. Unfortunately she didn't have a hoop in stock, but I did find this pre-printed mini wholecloth quilt and thought it would be a great way to practice hand quilting. The picture is tough to see, but it's tulips. The owner chose the thread for me. It's a variegated blue and yellow. I'm anxious to get started on this project. It will be a good one to bring to Minnesota on vacation next month. I also found the cute LOVE panel in the same store.




My last purchase of the day was a total compulsive purchase. Although we had been collecting mystery quilt clues all day and Mavie and Veronica had been looking at the quilt kits at every shop I hadn't paid one bit attention to the directions or the kit. At the last store the kits caught my eye and couldn't resist. The assortment of colors and fabrics were incredible. I probably won't make the quilt but I did get 18 FQs, and 5 cuts of fabric ranging from 1/2 yard to 2 3/8 yard. Susan, the owner of the store, even let me borrow a Janome Stitch in the Ditch foot to try it out. Isn't she cool?



I think I'm done with fabric shopping for a while. My family social calendar is booked every weekend from now until the end of July so quilting time will be limited. Oh well, that's what happens when sons grow up and move on to new adventures in their lives.