Finally Some Sewing Time

I finally got some play time in my studio today. I started off the morning working on the butterfly blocks for the baby quilt I'm working on for a co-worker.

Then while DH was taking a morning nap (he is still adjusting to our time zone) I cut the fabric for the tablecloth shown above. Then when he woke up I sewed it together. I had enough fabric so I could use the WOF of the fabric as a long center piece and then I was able to match the plaid with two side pieces. I still have to hem it, but I love the way it fits into the colors in my dining room.

This afternoon I did some planning on my mom's Shoo-Fly quilt. I was too tired and achy to do much of anything else. Plus I watched the Patriots beat up on the Dolphins.

Tonight I had a burst of nervous energy waiting for the Red Sox/Indians Game 7 to start so I decided to have a mini cutting party. I cut 100 nickel squares for the Shoo Fly quilt. Then I cut napkins from the leftover table cloth fabric. Next up was binding for one of DIL's quilt. And to finish up the evening I took a package of 10 FQs from the Lakehouse Collection and added 2 FQs and cut them all up to make 2 Wicked Easy baby quilts. DIL and I will sew these quilts up next Sunday before the Patriots game.

Do you hear the contented sigh coming through the computer? That's me feeling happy and content at having spent so much time playing with fabric today. Also the Red Sox are going to the World Series and the Patriots are still undefeated! Life is good in New England tonight.

I've Been Tagged and Did Some Shopping

Laila tagged me for the Meme and I'm finally getting around to doing it.

4 jobs I've had:
library aide
waitress, waitress and waitress
switchboard operator in a department store
Director of Sales & Marketing Administration

4 films I could watch over & over:
Gettysburg
Gods & Generals
Tora, Tora, Tora
Sound of Music
(yes, I generally like war movies)

4 TV shows I watch:
NCIS
The Unit
Criminal Minds
Patriots football and Red Sox baseball

4 places I have lived:
Blaine, Minnesota
Orlando, Florida
Norfolk, Virginia
Dover, New Hampshire

4 favorite foods:
Steak
Coffee (is that a food?)
Pasta
Did I say steak?

4 place I love to be right now:
Right here in Dover, NH
Australia (meeting my online quilt buddies)
Anywhere there is snow
In bed

4 names I love but would/could not name my children:
Amanda Michelle
Emma
Roxandra
Bruce

Since this Meme has been going around for a while, consider yourself tagged if you haven't done it yet.

On another note, DH and I went shopping today. We were going to shop in Boston, but the city was packed with people seeing the Head of the Regatta, along with 2 conventions, a hockey game, and if that wasn't enough, the Red Sox play tonight. Instead we went to the Outlet Shops in Kittery, ME. I usually have very little luck when it comes to clothes and shoe shopping. But today I was 3 for 3 in shopping. First DH took me into the Cole Haan store. Not a store I would have ever thought for buying clothes for me. As we walked into the store, the clerk told us that all the coats in the store were on sale for $99. OK, so I thought I'd check them out. I need a new winter coat. I took this coat off the rack and tried it on. I like it. The hood is very furry, but I couldn't resist it. I looked at the price tag and the original price was $695 and I got it for $99! How cool is that? Bring on the winter.


I've been whining about not being to find boots that don't look clunky and don't have spike heels that I can wear in the office in the winter. I've been looking for these boots for 3 years. I found this pair in the 2nd store we walked into. These boots were half price - $40.

The last store we went into was Van Heusen. I thought they only carried men's clothes. But I was wrong. I walked out of there with a pair of black trousers and a gray pinstripe suite for about $90 - again less than half price!

I was so psyched to have found all these deals. I don't what I did to deserve such luck, but I'm enjoying it.

DH is home from Europe and will be home for 3 weeks. He said the same thing I've been thinking - I can't wait for life to get back to normal. 9 - 5 work days and no work interruptions at all hours of the day. How sweet it is to have him home. (Especially since he paid for all my purchases today!)

Tomorrow I'll be able to get back into my sewing room. I have some HSTs to make for a baby quilt. We are going to look at a house tomorrow. Our never ending house/condo hunt continues.

Do You Have a Least Favorite Day of the Week?

Wednesday's are my least favorite day of the week. I suppose you're wondering why. If there is one day of the work week when the world seems to come crashing down on my desk. Everyone wants everything done and wants it done yesterday. It never fails. Today was no exception.

It started with my morning phone call with DH who is in Rome this week. Husband and wife conversation soon turned to work talk and my work day was running over 100 miles an hour and I was still damp from my morning shower. (Now that paints an interesting picture, doesn't it?). Once I got to the office I spent my morning directing others, putting out fires and keeping bosses in Rome happy. I didn't get to sit down and do some of my own work until nearly 1 pm. That left 4 hours to do 8 hours worth of work.

I'm not kidding when I say nearly every Wednesday is similar. I have a working theory about office work flow. On Mondays people are trying to get a handle on their work week. On Tuesday they are a little more focused on their work list. On Wednesday they are beginning to panic about uncompleted tasks and everything has to get done NOW! On Thursday they start thinking about the weekend. On Friday it's all about the weekend.

Saturdays and Sundays are the best. That's when I get to play in my studio and enjoy myself.

Do you have a least favorite day of the week?

Don't forget to check out Wildcraft Farm's Christmas special. Buy your Christmas gifts now and have them delivered for you.

Do Some Holiday Shopping for You or Someone Else

Would you like to find a truly surprise Christmas gift just for you under your tree? Or perhaps there's a special quilter or stitcher on your Christma? Or maybe you celebrate Hanukah? Check out Wildcraft Farm's Special Offer.

Wouldn't this be a great way to do some holiday shopping and help someone else out? If you do decide to order a gift from Wildcraft, be sure to let Janet know you came from my blog. Hey, everyone likes to save a little bit of money here and there.

Sleeping and Sleeping

I've been going to bed early every night since Tuesday night. I guess I'm still trying to recover from a busy weekend and DH and FIL 12 hours ahead of us. Last night I was sound asleep at 7:15 and slept until 9:45. DH was texting me and emailing me, but I was out like a light. The doctor has put me on pain meds for post Shingles pain and the first 2 days I've been on it, I can hardly stay awake. Today I'm a little more awake, but I think I'll be in bed early.

DH comes home tomorrow morning! Hooray! It's been a long 3 weeks. He's only home for the weekend and then he's off to Rome for the week. Next Friday night he'll be home and this hectic international travel will be over for a few months.

I haven't been in my studio or even picked up my stitcheries in nearly 2 weeks. I miss not working on anything. On Sunday I'll finally be able to sit and work on something. Not sure what, but it will probably some type of hand work project. After all football is on that day.

Well, the game is on so i must pay attention so I can tell DH about it. Have a great weekend. I'll be back later.

Aaaah . . . peace and quiet

Don't get me wrong. I love my mom and my children. But between having everyone here for the last 7 days, plus dealing with DH and FIL in Hong Kong and 12 hours ahead, I am exhausted. I feel like I've been on-call for 24 hours for the 7 days. This morning I drove my mom to the airport and DS #2 left for home. I worked for a few hours in the office and then came home to an quiet and empty house.

DH did send me a wonderful birthday surprise yesterday. These gorgeous orange and purple flowers being hugged by an adorable teddy bear were waiting for me at my door when we came home from shopping. I can't wait to give him a huge hug when I pick him up on Saturday morning.

Today I came home from work to find my birthday FQs from one of my on-line groups on my doorstep. Fifteen assorted FQs to add to my stash. I also received 10 porcelain buttons I ordered from Giggle Buttons in Australia. I'll take photos of those goodies later. I'm just too tired right now to focus a camera.

Well I've eaten my dinner, watched one episode of NCIS on my DVR and I'm ready for bed. I want to get in a nap before I have to speak with DH again to prep him for a meeting later today in Hong Kong. Yup, I'm still on call until Friday night.

I've Been Shopping and Shopping and Shopping

I said I would share my bargain buys from Marden's the other day. Here they are. The top 3 fabrics are Thimbleberries and cost about $3 per yard. These are for my Senior Quilt Challenge and as soon as my on-line group announces a mystery they will get used. The bottom row of fabrics is 5 one-yard cuts that were sold as a group for $14. It's a little tough to see what they are, but one print is swimsuits, one is hats and the last one is postcards.

These are cat fabrics I bought for my mom's Nickel quilt. The white fabric has different color paw prints on it and is the background fabric. The other cat print will be for the borders.

This smiley face batik was on sale for $1 a yard. I bought what was left on the bolt, about 9 1/2 yards. I'm going to use it to make tents for 3 of my nieces and nephews for Christmas.

This gorgeous purple and orange Homespun fabric was also $1 a yard. I bought 4 yards and will use it to make a table cloth and napkins for our dining room. The orange in the fabric is very close to the color of our dining room walls.

Now, I'll move on to my Shop Hop purchases from yesterday. There were 5 of us that went shop hopping. My mom, DIL, 2 quilting friends and me drove about 500 miles around the beautiful state of New Hampshire and visited 8 quilt shops. We started at 10 am and pulled into the train station at 7:50 pm - just in time for the train to pick up my friends. What a fun-filled day we had.

This teapot panel was too cute to pass up. The colors didn't photograph well, but the orange is again very close to our dining room color. I'll either make a wall hanging or some pot holders from it.

These 15 FQs only cost $1 each. The white dots are stars. I'll probably make a quilt out of them.
This is a collection of 25 fat-eighths all in fall colors. I'm going to design something using them. Another challenge to use up all of a collection.

These are my other assorted fabrics. There are 2 purple fabrics to add to the collection of purples and grays for my MIL's quilt. The Christmas stars were half-price so I couldn't resist it. The coffee fabric was a "just because I like it" purchase. The 2 cuts of linen will be used for a stitchery project and the cream fabric on the bottom is from the 26 Letters line and will make a good baby quilt backing piece.

I did have some non-fabric purchases. I bought a bottle of Mary Ellen's Best Press Lavender scented starch alternative, a package of 4 inch Thangles to finish the baby quilt I'm working on, 2 Quilter's Quarter Inch rulers to use for gifties, a redwork pattern from Lace Tales with a pattern for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, a set of Lori Smith Fat Quarter Quilting: Throughout the Year patterns, a book called Make Spectacular Books, Fabulous Fabric, Skewer and Folded Books, and last, but not least, a Country Threads Stitchery magazine from 2004 (it was half-price). My mom also insisted on buying me a couple birthday gifts - a scissors fob and Alex Anderson's Shadow Redwork book. DH gave me money to pick up my Birthday Garden quilt from the quilter, so I have one more quilt to bind. I also found a present for my DH, but I can't show it until I give it to him.

I'm done shopping for now. I'm tired today and I'm watching football and baseball and just being lazy. Tomorrow is my birthday and I think DH has another surprise in store for me. My youngest son is here visiting too so I've had a wonderful few days with family, friends and shopping.

Shopping With Friends and Mom's Visit

My mom arrived last night for her long weekend visit. It is good to see her again.

This afternoon we went shopping at Marden's with two of my friends. Marden's is a surplus store where, among the many other household items for sale, they have quilt shop quality fabric for $4 or less. We found some great fabric deals and I will share photos of my goodies tomorrow. But the best deal they had was batiks and Homespuns for $1 a yard. That's right, a mere $1 a yard for batiks and Homespuns.

Here is a photo of my friends and I after dinner.


I'll be back tomorrow or maybe Saturday night after our shop hop. I'm sure the goodie pile will be much bigger by then.

Friday and Saturday Progress

Friday night was great. The evening went just as I had predicted to my assistant at 4 PM. I was going to have a steak dinner, watch the Red Sox win and the Yankees lose and work on the binding of my Wicked Girly Quilt. All of that happened and now the Red Sox have won the AL East Division. Hooray!

I spent a lot of time in my quilt studio yesterday. The first project of the day was to make 2 inch HSTs using Thangles. I've never used Thangles before and all I can say is I love them! I think I've used all the other methods of making HSTs. One of first entries in this blog included my thoughts on HSTs. If I knew then what I knew then about Thangles that entry would have been different. I find with Thangles there is minimal fabric waste, and you only need to trim one dog ear off and I was able to trim 8 dog ears at one. A very slick process. The only downfall of Thangles is that the LQS close to my house doesn't sell them. But, nearly all of the shops I am visiting next week on our shop hop carries them and I may just stock up on one package in every size. Here's some of the HSTs I made.

The rest of them became parts of 4-patches that will eventually become butterfly blocks for the baby quilt I'm making. I couldn't finish the baby quilt because I need to buy 4 inch Thangles next week.


Since I was in an HST mood I finished trimming 132 1 inch HSTs for my Ugly Fabric Challenge. Gee, I don't think the fabrics look so ugly in a pile like this. Do you think I could call the project done? Nope, I've got big plans for these tiny HSTs.

I started to look for the project bag for the Ugly Fabric Challenge and came across a bag of 32 2.5 inch strips I bought at Keepsake Quilting on my shop hop this past spring. Suddenly I decided I wanted to to try the Strip Cocktail pattern I had. The pattern itself is easy. I had the top put together in a couple hours, but I was disappointed in the package of strips. There were quite a number of the strips that were cut smaller than 2.5 inches. I noticed it when I started sewing and thought I had used all of the strips that were correct. However I missed one strip and didn't realize it until I put all the rows together. So now the top is a little wavy and I will have to trim the sides down to make it work. I decided to call this quilt Singapore Blues. Since I was missing DH yesterday while he was flying to Singapore.

Today will be a day spent doing stitchery projects. Football is on and I won't be caught in my sewing room during a football game. DS and DIL will be here so it will be fun afternoon. I may also start working on my shop hop list for next weekend. I did this the last time I went on a shop hop and it worked well.

Have a great Sunday!

Is it 5:30 Yet?

I can't wait for the end of the work day today. I have a delicious weekend of sewing, sewing, some baseball, some football, and sewing lined up. DH will be flying to Singapore all day tomorrow so I won't be able to talk with him until almost midnight and I'm home alone. DIL will be coming over tomorrow afternoon to sew as well.

Do you have the newest issue of Australian Country Threads Stitchery magazine?


Yesterday I got an email from a quilt shop I visit about once a year on our shop hop. Lo and behold, they announced they have the magazine. I didn't even know they carried Country Threads. I think it took me all of 30 seconds to place my order. I should have the magazine sometime next week. If you're interested you can order the magazine from the Quilted Crow in Boxboro, MA.

The Red Sox still haven't won the division. The Yankees won and the Red Sox lost. Well, it will be over one way or the other by Sunday night. Go Sox!

Time to get ready for work. My car is getting appraised by the auto body shop this morning so I'm off a little early. Have a great day and a wonderful weekend.

wooooooo . . .

Hear that sound of exhaling? That's me. DH left early yesterday morning. FIL left today. Gone for 3 weeks. Last night I was in the office until 7 doing last minute packing for FIL. I bought dinner on the way home, turned on The War Episode One. Watched one hour of the show and went to bed.

Today was quiet in the office. Two women were at a charity golf tournament and one salesperson was out sick. I was able to get quite a bit of work done for a change. Woohoo! More work tomorrow, but that's OK.

Thanks for the suggestions on how to handle the women in my department. By FIL made my job a lot easier yesterday by speaking with each of the women individually and explained his vision of the department and how I am the supervisor. I think it helped a lot.

This is what I saw when I took out the trash this morning.


We've lived in downtown and have parked on the street for 4 1/2 years and have never had any problems with our car. Until today. A huge dent in the hood of my car. So before I even left for the office I had called the insurance company and had filed a vandalism complaint with the police department. Tomorrow I go to the body shop for an estimate on repairs. Luckily there was no other damage to the car.

Is there anyone who participated in the Stitchery Swap and has not received their swap gift? Let me know. Many of you have expressed interest in another swap. I will be doing another after the New Year. I'd like to set it up as a themed swap. Any suggestions?

Well, I'm enjoying night home alone #2. I was actually able to leave work at 5:30 (the time I'm supposed to leave). I'm watching the rest of The War Episode One. At 8 Navy NCIS debuts, followed by The Unit and, if I'm still awake, Cane. The Red Sox are also on, but I'll probably watch the game on the internet. I'm taping The War so I'll be watching that later this week. I guess that's more info than you need to know about my TV habits, huh?

I Need Some Stitching Help

Work has truly become my life during the week. In the evenings I used to be able to come home and forget about the office. I could read and comment on blogs and generally enjoy my evenings. However, during the last few weeks, work issues have started to drain me and I've been coming home from work so tired that I'm in bed by 8:30. It's very frustrating for me.

Does anyone have advice for managing a department with three creative, marketing women, each with their own skill sets and four admin staff (two women and two men) without creating cat fights or hurt feelings? Let me know if there are any secrets or what I can do to ease work issues. Most of the stress is handling the marketing staff. The women all have strong personalities and are confident in their skills. Their skills are different, which is good, but it's the emotions I'm struggling with. I was raised with three brothers and had three sons. I guess my skills in handling females is lacking. Does that make sense? Give me a roomful of men and I have no problems managing them, but a roomful of women and I want to run for the hills. Any suggestions on what I should do or resources for developing management skills?


On the stitching front last weekend I used tracing paper and an iron-on pencil to start a new project. This is a stitchery block from an Australian Country Threads Stitchery magazine. I used WOW fabric instead of muslin and so far I like it. Here's my question: Do you see the little yellow flower on the upper left? I'm thinking it doesn't quite look a flower and is missing something. Perhaps a green french knot in the center? Or something else? What do you think?

I'm happy because the Red Sox have secured a playoff spot. They haven't won the division yet, but I think they should be able to do that. If they don't there will be a lot of unhappy Red Sox fans in Red Sox Nation. The Patriots won again today. They are 3-0. Undefeated. Life is good in football land too.

DH and FIL (my boss) leave at 3:30 tomorrow morning for 3 weeks. They will be in Phoenix, Singapore and Hong Kong. They will be home for 48 hours and then off to Rome for 1 week. With them traveling the work load will be a little lighter. Just enough for me to get my evenings back, I hope.

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?