I'm Back....

Well, I am back from TN and I had a wonderful time at my nephew's wedding. It was different from any wedding and reception I had ever been to. I guess the moonshine, blue grass band and pig roast and the subsequent "pig pickin" were just a tad different than what I am used to at a wedding reception! We loved TN and wish we had longer to explore.

In my last post I asked if anyone knew of quilt shops in the area we were going to, and KQ Sue mentioned a couple of places, one of which was TN Quilts in Jonesborough. We had some extra time on Friday so my sister and I along with hubbies wandered to Jonesborough to poke in the shops and then stopped at TN Quilts which was fantastic! A great quilt store.
With a new grandson arriving in July I have been trying to decide on a quilt to make for him and they had the perfect one on display but unfortunately they had no more of the fabric-they were just selling the display quilt. But they kindly told me the name of the fabric, Michael Miller Boy Toys, and an internet search turned it up so I am going to make something similar to this quilt above. My sister bought a fantastic Kaffe Fassett quilt kit at which point my BIL declared that the cost of this trip just doubled! I know I would have bought a lot more if my hubby wasn't there! So we had a great time and it's back to work and reality now. Boo Hoo!

Update: I have since found out that that fabric above is also called Retro Transportation and In Transit in case someone was doing an internet search. All the other fabrics used in the above quilt are from the Dick and Jane group but I will probably be mixing it up a bit and using something else.

I'm Off............

First of all, I'm going to be gone here in a couple of days for a bit. We're off to Eastern TN for my nephew's wedding which my brother has told me will be a "Good 'ol southern wedding" whatever that means. I have never been to TN except through the airport in Nashville so I'm looking forward to seeing a part of the country I have not seen. We'll be in the very eastern part of TN near VA and NC and the Appalachian trail so it will be pretty I'm sure. Wonder if they have any quilt shops? Let me know if you know of any in the Johnson City/Elizabethton area.

Second, I loved hearing about how many sewing machines people have. Carolyn gave me a run for my money with her 7 machines but I still rule with 8. Would love to hear from someone with more than that so spread the word.

Third, the above picture has nothing to do with me going away unless you imagine the dogs are saying goodbye to me. The two on the left are my sister's dogs and the two on the right are her friend's and they just all magically lined up in order of size. As an owner of 2 cats I know you could never make cats line up like that but of course I don't have to walk them at all hours of the day and night! I love that!

The Enablers

There are too many enablers out there. There's the quilt shops who get all those wonderful fabrics and layer cakes and charm packs we can't resist. Then there's Nicole on Tuesdays. And then there's my sister.

She called me at work a couple of weeks ago to have me look up this little green sewing machine with cabinet on the internet. She volunteers in a charity thrift shop and they were trying to figure out what price to put on it. Well, I found out it is a somewhat rare and loved by those who have this model, Singer 15-125. By the time I called back they had already priced it at $30. I said , "I'll buy it!" So she bought it and brought it up to me Easter. I also found out that people treasure this model for the ease of free motion quilting it does. Now mind you, I have a really nice Bernina with the stitch regulator and no amount of classes and practice has allowed me to master free motion quilting on it. But I did try it on the Singer and it's true-it quilts like a dream. So I'm thinking I'll be quiting some small projects on it.

So my husband is probably thinking, "Why does this woman need another sewing machine?" I have the Bernina, the Singer, My Featherweight in the above picture,

then here's the toy machines in the above picture. The one on the right was mine when I was a little girl. And I almost forgot that I have a treadle machine that was hubby's grandmother's. I've never used that thing. So I guess that makes seven-I used to have more but traded them in when I got the Bernina. My Mom was a sewing teacher so I had inherited a lot of machines from her.

So here's my question to you-how many sewing machines do you have? I am really interested in who has the most so start counting and post a comment.

Update-I remembered that I also have a serger so I guess the count for me is eight! I'll probably remember another that I have hidden somewhere in the house.

Happy Easter

I am happy to announce, just in time for Easter, that the last pile of snow finally melted this week in my yard! The bad news is that it's 40 degrees-hopefully it won't snow on Easter! We are hosting 14 families members and friends and along with holiday celebrations we will be celebrating grandson Carter's second birthday which is today, Saturday. Hard to believe two years has gone by. Anyways, hope you all have a great Easter.

Tagged Again

I've been tagged several times over the years and this time I've been tagged by Pam at PamKittyMorning to write 6 honest things about myself. And I'm pretty sure I've tagged her before so I guess it's only fair that she get me back.

1-Pam said she loves coffee well I'll start by saying that I love tea. Never been a big coffee drinker unless it's summer and it's a medium Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee with one cream and one sugar. Otherwise it's tea for me.

2-I love college hockey and have season tickets to UNH hockey. They played in the NE regional tournament last weekend (I was there) and tied the semi final game with 0.1 second left! They won in overtime but lost the finals the next day.

3-I love to sew. My Mom was a sewing teacher so she taught my sister and me to sew at a young age. My sister (no blog) has just rediscovered sewing and is making some amazing quilts.

4-I have a titanium knee. It's simple-you have a really painful knee with no cartilage left, they take some of it out and put in some space age parts and now I am the bionic woman. I love my new knee.

5-I wished I lived in California. I do not like winter and this one has been especially bad here. I've been to different parts of California and loved it all so I would love to settle there. The earthquakes there and my grandson here are holding me back.

6-I hate lima beans. It's virtually the only food on earth I don't like. My husband loves them and is always asking for them but so far I refuse to prepare them.

So that's it. Really boring stuff. I think I will just tag my delightful daughter Caryl who is very creative, bee-utiful, and fabulous and has her own blog. Check it out and check out the great picture of her on it. She's always laughing like that. I gotta get a picture of me on my blog. Soon-be looking for it.