Cats On My Quilts

A Winter Comparison

2012-01-26T18:21:00.000-05:00

Last winter, January 23, 2011. Cold and snowy all winter.

This winter, January 26, 2012. Warm and not snowy so far this winter. It was gorgeous yesterday and today in NH getting into the 50's which is shorts and sandals weather here. I seriously saw someone in shorts and sandals at the grocery store.

This snow will be gone by tomorrow since it's supposed to rain. I would love every winter to be like this.

An Embroidery Weekend

2012-01-23T13:03:00.000-05:00

It was a productive weekend in these parts this past weekend. It was cold and snowy on Saturday so a perfect day to stay put. And then we had to watch the Patriots on Sunday-WooHoo! I worked on the Birdie Stitches project I have restarted after I dropped it a year ago. I finished the first square I had begun last year and did 3 others. Please excuse the dark and not so good photos as it is cloudy and dreary today and I took these with my cell phone. Can't seem to find the cord to my camera which takes a better picture.

I'm also testing out some possible settings and I kind of like this Jade colored Kona fabric as a sashing choice. We'll see when it is all done.

As for the weather, it had been a really mild fall and winter here with very little snow. We still have very little snow which is fine with me. But it recently started getting colder, more typical of January, and a few small snow storms have come through. Now all this change in the weather started the day after the New Hampshire presidential primary. That was the day when all the hot air of the media and the politicians left the state. Coincidence? I think not.

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Time for Some Stitching

2012-01-19T14:08:00.000-05:00

I've been seeing a lot of embroidery on quilts last year and again this year that I wanted to try. Did you see the new Aurifil Designer Block of the Month? Then last year there was Birdie Stitches which I was going to do in 2011. I even got all my squares ready with the plain in the center to embroider and 2 inch squares to frame it. Got part of the first one done and then health concerns and shoulder surgery in 2011 got me slowed down considerably and I dropped it. Then Nicole started stitching up the blocks this year and that got me inspired so I am about to start up this project again so look for some updates soon.

Otherwise I just made this really cute sewing cube and I am finding it handy for my embroidery supplies. It's an Atkinson Designs pattern and I got it at my LQS. There was a learning curve making this but future ones would be quite easy now that I've done one. You can see a couple of my blocks all ready for embroidery resting underneath.

I don't generally buy a lot of fabric from Joann's but I love the Denise Schmidt fabrics they have and these fabrics are from that line. They are 30% off right now too.

So thanks for the inspiration Nicole. Check the fabrics she is using which are so cute. I am using all sorts of scraps in mine and I think I've got a good combination going.

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Welcome 2012

2012-01-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

I'm glad 2012 is here as some of 2011 really was not good for me healthwise but I am plugging along and hoping my illness stays under control this year, but on to fun quilty things.

First of all, sorry for the less than ideal pictures as it is a cloudy day here. First up is a Fig Tree pattern that I started pulling fabric for quite a while ago-June in fact. I love this quilt. I used a lot of favorite fabric scraps and love how it came together. There's something about seeing favorite fabrics together in a quilt that makes me happy. I prefer to put a quilt together this way rather than buying a whole collection of one fabric line.

I actually finished this sometime back in October but I hated both of the borders I had on it so I removed them and then did nothing until recently and I love how it came out. The original pattern has only a small border of the background fabric but I prefer this. My quilter chose a wonderful quilting pattern and I will get the binding on soon, which will be the same as the inner border.

Then I finally got borders on what I refer to as the ugly fabric quilt because I didn't like the flowered fabrics but they are looking pretty good now!

Again, my quilter chose a happy pattern and quilted it in green. The binding will be the same as the inner border. I think this one is destined to live at our lake camp.

So that's what I've been up to. We haven't had a drop of snow since the Halloween storm. It's so strange to see grass instead of snow. Now that I've said that it's bound to snow a foot or more soon!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T08:28:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone has a healthy, happy holiday and lets hope 2012 will be a great year for all of us.

Some Knitting

2011-12-10T09:29:00.001-05:00

Besides some quilting going on here I have also been knitting and here is a sweater I just finished. I used to knit quite a lot but somewhere along the line I stopped. But I have been seeing all the beautiful things being made on blogs and by friends and picked up the needles again and got going. This is a Plymouth Yarn Company pattern and it was made with their Encore worsted weight yarn. Loved knitting with this yarn. I already have another sweater I want to make so I will start that today most likely. So I'm still quilting but you're likely to see a knit project now and again.

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Ugly Fabric Quilt

2011-12-04T10:12:00.000-05:00

I'm back. Took a little blog break here recently. No good reason either. We have had a spectacular fall, despite the Halloween snow storm, so I have been out and about enjoying that. And I had a mess of medical appointments to deal with. But I have actually been sewing.

If you have some ugly fabric and don't envision ever using it here's a great quilt to put it into. Once it is done no one will be looking at the ugly fabric but will be looking at the overall effect of the prints and solids and how they work together. This is the fabric I was cutting out when I had no power for 5 days. It's just squares and triangles that I cut with my Go fabric cutter.

I have had this flower fabric for a number of years. I think it was a collection of state flowers and I bought a bundle at a store going out of business. Never really liked it but was determined to use it so all there is to this is squares and triangles that make up into a half solid and half print block. It's fun to then play with them on a design board. You don't need all solids either-just fabric that reads as a solid. I love using solids in my quilts lately. I have added a couple of borders since I took this picture so it's done. Just need to piece a back and get quilting. I may try and quilt this one myself.

Here's another quilt I made a number of years ago using the same design but just out of vegetable fabric that time.

I also made a lap quilt for my DIL for her birthday. It's from the Schnibbles Times Two book.

So that's it for now. We continue to have spectacular weather here. Supposed to be in the 60's today. We know that won't last but we'll take it for now.

A Perfect Day

2011-11-08T18:21:00.002-05:00

This is sort of how New England weather goes. A foot of snow one week, almost 70 degrees the next. That's what it was today so hubby took the day off so we could get out to our lake camp. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, we forgot to bring the sealer for the dock so we went canoeing instead. Like I said, a perfect day.

I promise the next post will be quilt related as I am sewing the pieces I cut during the no power 5 day fun. Yes, we got our power back. It wasn't all bad as I rediscovered knitting during that time and that's a good thing.

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Day 4

2011-11-01T17:13:00.001-04:00

Day 4 of no power. We have heard that it may be until Friday when we get power back. We have a woodstove to warm us, although it is not terribly cold here, we have water and a lantern and I have a Kindle and a droid phone from which to blog from so it's not too bad.

One thing that does not need power is my Go cutter so I have been cutting fabric and have managed to cut a quilt out of fabric I had. A stash is a wonderful thing. I may end up at my daughter's tomorrow to sew. This quilt will be destined for our lake camp. Those summer days seem so far off. Sigh.......

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No Treats Just Tricks

2011-10-30T18:12:00.001-04:00

A foot of snow and a devasted maple tree in October! Add to that no power and we are having buckets of fun. They say we may not have power for days. This is when I wish I had a treadle machine. I did manage to get a quilt partially cut out so I did have a productive day.

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Baby Tumbler

2011-10-24T14:39:00.002-04:00

The baby tumbler quilt is all put together and ready for quilting. I love scrap quilts and this one is so scrappy and wonderful. All from my stash too. Sometimes you just need a quick project so hopefully my quilting will get done in a timely manner too.

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Tumbling Along

2011-10-19T16:16:00.000-04:00

I have been pretty much absent here but the glorious fall we have had here has kept me busy and at our camp a lot. You know, I retired last June and I thought I would have more time for quilting but I am busier than ever. But on a rainy day here in NH I cut a baby tumbler quilt with my Go cutter and am happily sewing along on some bright fabrics. Hope you are having a bright and shiny day.

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Little Gray Camp

2011-10-05T08:44:00.000-04:00

As I posted about before, my husband and I have bought a small lake camp. And despite the rainy week we have had this week so far, we have been able to enjoy the lake in recent weeks with some beautiful warm fall weather we have had here in NH, and this coming holiday weekend looks like another warm one so Woo Hoo! So here's some things we've been doing at camp.

My mother in law gave me a bunch of pictures recently and there were many of my husband as a child at his childhood camp. So I wanted to display them somehow at our camp without having to frame them all which seemed too formal for this little home. So I took an old door, stripped it, added eye hooks on the back, strung some twine in a criss cross pattern on the front, painted "camp" on top and clipped a bunch of pictures on it.

Here's a shot of another door I had for a previous project. Unfortunately the door I used for the picture project was missing the trim on the sides. I got these doors many, many years ago from a cousin of mine who ran a retreat house for the diocese locally. They were renovating the kitchen in the large building they were in and were throwing out these wonderful doors which horrified me at the time. I rescued a couple of them and have been hanging on to them ever since. I wish I could have rescued them all.

I made a black board with the other door a couple of years ago.

And it's amazing what a little power washing will do for a neglected porch. This is the entrance of the camp and I think it makes a much better impression now, don't you?

And as for the question is a cottage, which is what I was calling it, or a camp, which is what my husband was calling it, it seems it has now settled into it's camp title.

As for me, I'll be on the porch. Note to self; got to get a sewing machine here.

I"ve Been a Bit Preoccupied

2011-09-19T18:34:00.000-04:00

I have been a bit preoccupied this past few weeks all due to this.

My husband and I have literally wanted to buy a lake cottage for years. After our week this summer of again renting a cottage at a lake right near this lake, the bug really got us and I started looking some more. I had seen this cottage on line for quite a while. The pictures they had were not flattering but something kept drawing me back to it. When the price dropped drastically at the end of summer I decided to go take a look. So one nice day in August, along with my daughter in law, daughter and youngest grandson, we made a visit. I immediately thought this could be the place so I had my husband take a look a few days later. He thought it could be the place too so we started the process. Our offer was accepted and all the inspections went well and last Friday it became ours. It's small but feels bigger than it is because it is very open. It has a fabulous porch on the lake side and it could use some cosmetic updates but I think we'll hold off on those for a while. It came with some furniture but we needed some more so my goal is to have anything I bring there be free or really cheap. Goodwill has been my friend! Here's one of my first makeovers.

This rattan chair we bought for a reasonable price but it was dirty beyound belief. A little elbow grease took care of that and some slipcovers made by me did wonders.

You can't tell from this picture but the fabric is vintage bark cloth. I found a pair of very long bark cloth drapes with a matching valance for $20! The valance is now in the cottage kitchen and I have a lot more fabric to re-do some other pieces. A really good buy.

By the way, I call it a cottage but my husband calls it a camp. I think it's a little of both but who cares.

The Giveaway Winner

2011-09-11T08:42:00.000-04:00

After a random drawing, the winner of the Out of the Box Giveaway is Nicole who commented,

"Super cute! I can certainly see that little tea mat on my counter!"

I have sent you an e-mail Nicole so send me your mailing address and I'll get this right to you.

Don't Forget-Giveaway

2011-09-08T19:41:00.000-04:00

Please don't forget that I am giving away the book and the little quilt that I talked about in this post so if you want to be part of the giveaway make sure you leave a comment on that post. And please make sure that I have a way to contact you as some of the previous commenters are a no reply blogger. If you want to make sure you can be contacted please change your settings if you are a blogger. If you have no idea how to change your settings, contact me and I'll lend a hand. I'll be picking a winner on Saturday. Good Luck!

An "Out of the Box" Giveaway!

2011-09-06T01:00:00.067-04:00

Among the many blogs and quilt artists I follow is Mary Lou Weidman who I have been following for quite a while. I love her colorful style and admire her free spirit. So a while back when she contacted me to write a review for the new book, Out of the Box with Easy Blocks, which she co-wrote with Melanie Bautista McFarland, I said "Oh yeah, I'd love to do it!"

The book arrived the day I got home from my lake vacation and I couldn't wait to sit down and check it out. But as I read, I began to think she picked the wrong girl to review this book. What was she thinking! I am a mostly traditional quilter who doesn't step out of the piecing box too often so frankly I was a little scared. But I kept reading and felt I could use her methods to make any block my own. The basics of free form piecing are de-mystified and pretty soon I felt like I could probably do this-probably. But I'm the kind who has to actually do it myself before I fully understand the process so I decided to make something myself. So as I usually do before I start a quilt, I looked for inspiration.

I fell in love with the quilt, Caffeine Anyone, which is in the book, and thought I could make something that would mean something to me using her methods so this quilt was my initial inspiration.

When I was on vacation I bought this little tea pot and since I'm a tea drinker, not a coffee drinker, I thought this could also be my inspiration.

And this is what I made! Trust me, if I can do it you can do it too. I found it liberating to construct blocks this way. It was much easier than I thought and it was fun.

So for a giveaway I am giving away a copy of this wonderful book autographed by both authors. Along with the book I am also including the tea quilt I made. I know everyone out there is making mug rugs so I think of this fun little quilt as a teapot and tea mug rug! All you have to do is leave a comment and I will pick a winner on Saturday, September 10th. That's all you have to do although I encourage you to become a follower of Mary Lou here. It is a delightful blog with tons of inspiration so go visit and tell Mary Lou Chris sent you! Good luck.

No Problems

2011-09-01T15:38:00.000-04:00

Well thankfully we had no problems with Irene in my part of NH. Neighbors lost some trees but we fared well. Northern NH and Vermont got hit quite hard with flooding and there are still many roads closed. My husband and I have been in Philadelphia and went by Patterson NJ where it is still flooded and even from the highway you could see how high the water continues to be. My heart goes out to anyone who was affected.

The reason we were in Philadelphia was for my husband's great aunt's 108th birthday. She is amazing. People, she has perfect skin. Smooth and lovely and I asked her how she looks so young and she replied, "Chocolate, no spouse and no kids." She was never married so no husband or kids and she loves her chocolate. We all need to start eating chocolate right now! She was ahead of her time as she was a working woman when it was unheard of. She worked for the YWCA her whole life.

Since we never lost our power from Irene I got some sewing done on Sunday.

I got all the vertical panels of my Stems quilt sewn together and I love it. Now just need to out on 2 borders and this will be done. Be sure to check in on Tuesday as I will be having a giveaway.

Irene and Other Stuff

2011-08-27T14:51:00.002-04:00

Well, we are waiting here for Irene to arrive. It's very calm here right now so we'll see what happens. Looks like the eye of the storm will be coming right over my house. In the meantime not too much going on here but I do have some things to share.

I been barely sewing these days but am getting started putting rows together on this quilt. I hope I have power tomorrow to sew!

And big news-my husband and I put a bid on this lake cottage and it was accepted so we are in the process of purchasing it. It's about 35 minutes from our home and is a seasonal cottage so we are looking forward to taking posession in September and then doing some work on it. It's a good time of year to by these kind of places here, so with interest rates so low and some money available to invest we took the leap. We have always wanted a lake camp so this is a dream come true. We have been renting a cottage on a nearby lake and are really happy we'll have a place of our own to share with our family. I keep thinking of quilts I'll make for the place so that's what I'll be doing this winter! It's a bit rustic so I'll be sharing some pictures as we get fixing it up. What fun! I hope everyone in the path of Irene stays safe.

I forgot to add that Penny, my cat from this post won first prize in her category, cats on quilts! I am very proud of her. She loves quilts and can always be found on one. Thanks to anyone who voted for her.

Penny

2011-08-15T08:33:00.000-04:00

Good Monday morning. It's a rainy one in New Hampshire so lots of sewing room time today, after the gym that is. Anyway, I am featuring my little cat, Penny, who is in my header picture, over at Sew Cal Gal's Pets on Quilts parade so I thought I'd give you a little background on Penny cat.

Years ago we had a calico cat named Nutmeg that we got from an animal rescue in Denver when we were first married. She was a wonderful cat and she blessed our life for 19 years. Fast forward to the late 90's when my neighbor knocked on my door on a frigid December to ask me if I knew who might own this cat. I looked down and saw a fluffier clone of Nutmeg. It was love at first sight. We searched but never found her owner, then took her in to join our other cat we had and she has been a wonderful friend ever since.

One thing you must know about Penny is that if there is a quilt on a flat surface, she will find it. I have them all over the house and she rotates from quilt to quilt during the day. What a life! She is usually with me in the sewing room supervising and checking out what I am working on and what may be her next nap spot.

So that's Penny's story and I hope you enjoyed it. Please check out all the animals on quilts.

My Sister's Quilt

2011-08-08T19:30:00.000-04:00

Please go to my sister's blog and read about her making of this fantastic quilt. This from a girl who only started quilting a couple of years ago. I love it!

Hello August

2011-08-05T20:17:00.000-04:00

How could it be August already. Wasn't it just May a couple of weeks ago? This summer is flying by. Anyways, I usually do a lot of sewing in the summer but this year for some reason I haven't done much. It has been a beautiful summer here in NH and I have been out and about a lot and then I was gone from home a lot of July on assorted vacations so there has not been a lot of progress on some of my projects. I have been sewing on the Fig Tree pattern I wrote about here. I got all the pairs of fabrics sewn together and corners sewn on. Here's a great product review to sew on those squares to get those corner triangles-get yourself an Angler 2. It makes the job so much easier.

Then I sewed up some of the "petal" components to see how it was going to look and I like what I see so far. I was a littel worried about the background fabric being too busy but when you see it in person it looks kind of lacy and I like it a lot.

So this quilt seems to be going together nicely so I'm sure I'll be working on it here and there. I will actually be in Maine next week for another vacation-yes I know, it's a burden to go on so many vacations in one summer but someone has to do it. Plus while in Maine I get to go to one of my favorite quilt shops, Alewives. I think they put together some of the most amazing fabric bundles and I can't wait to see what treasures they have waiting for me. They have a good website too so check it out. See you soon!

Yay for Vacation!

2011-07-26T18:30:00.000-04:00

I am back from a week at one of NH's fabulous lakes and how smart of me to pick the hottest week of the summer to be by water. I planned it that way I tell you. We had a lot of fun.

There was lots of fishing.

This young man caught a pretty good size bass.

There were water cannon fights.

There were s'mores.

Machine quilting inspiration?

I did manage to buy some fabric at a local fabric store. Just some pinks and yellows that I don't have much of. The one thing there was none of was sewing-just a little knitting. I'll be back in the saddle again this week I hope but it is so nice out that I have been out and about most days. At least those 100 degree days have gone bye-bye. I'm glad we only get a few of those every few years. I don't know how you southern girls survive summer with day after day of those temps.

I Have Not Fallen Off the Face of the Earth!

2011-07-13T18:42:00.000-04:00

I've been gone a bit here and there lately so blogging has gone by the wayside. I actually haven't blogged much this whole year. It's been a rough 2011 for a time but things are looking up. First of all, I have been having some medical issues to deal with. Back in January it was discovered while I was having a CT for something else that I have a number of cysts on my pancreas. Sometimes these cysts are harmless and sometimes they can turn into cancer of the pancreas so I was really thrown for a loop. Throw into the mix a torn rotator cuff and surgery for that, and a job that was doing me in physically and mentally and I was toast. It took me a lot of time it seemed to get hooked up with doctors here in NH with some expertise in this area and I found out in the months long process that I needed to be in Boston and ended up at Mass General. I have a team of wonderful doctors there who are worldwide experts in what is going on with me so I am where I belong. Right now my cysts are of a type that can be watched and I got some news yesterday that the cysts are stable after my second MRI. I'll have another in 3 months so keep your fingers crossed. If all goes well in my MRI's I'll be watched the rest of my life but if anything changes I'll be having some of my pancreas removed. As bummed out as I was about all this, I am so grateful that I had the original CT that incidentally discovered this. By the way, I had NO symptoms.

Along this unexpected journey I had to look at what was important to me and my spirit and I ended up resigning my position at work. So I am not working. I can not tell you how much better I felt when I finally made the decision. So I have been busy and I wonder how I ever had time to work! I get to babysit my grandsons on a moments notice, I can sew during the week, not just on weekends, I am going to the gym every day, so life is good.

Here's what I have been up to; I went to Cape Cod for a family reunion,

I went to North Carolina for my niece's wedding. That's me on the left and my sister on the right.

Of course I found a quilt store in NC and bought some fabrics.

I finally cut up the fabric I pulled in this post and cut it up,

in order to make this quilt which is a Fig Tree pattern.

So I have been busy. Next week we are going to be at a local lake so another week away. I love a NH summer.

Pulling Fabric

2011-06-14T16:13:00.000-04:00

So I finsished on project and am thinking about starting another. I finished the fall quilt I was making, except for the binding. I love the leaf quilting my long arm friend did.

Then I have been pulling fabrics from the stash to make a new quilt. I have a couple of designs in mind but haven't decided which to do yet. One of my favorite things to do is to combine all sorts of fabric. I love scrap quilts and you just can't get the right look with fat quarters from a designer collection. So I have been playing with my fabrics and having fun.

It has been awfully rainy and cold here so I am hoping summer arrives soon - like this Friday when I am off to Cape Cod. Keep your fingers crossed.

Happy Memorial Day

2011-05-30T15:31:00.000-04:00

To all who have served our country, thank you. It's been a picture perfect weekend here in NH although a bit hot all of a sudden. That's how we roll around here-skip spring and go right into summer. Anyway, since my husband's work with veterans requires a lot of his time this weekend, I have been doing some sewing. This is a quilt from a pattern on the Moda Bake Shop blog. It's called Twin Nine Patches and you can find it here.

It's made with Arnold's Attic fabric that I got last year and I just love the browns and oranges with the blues and greens. This will have a border too out of a wonderful leaf print from this line.

I also finished a table runner and a table topper that I just have to quilt.

I am now off work for the summer so I am looking forward to this time to rest up and enjoy the NH summer and sew a lot.

Long Time, No Post

2011-05-18T13:20:00.000-04:00

Well, I've really been on a break here. Trust me, it was for a reason. I've been having a little medical adventure here and on top of the rotator cuff surgery I had in March, it's been a struggle. Let's just say that I know way more about my pancreas than I want to know. But I'm lucky to live an hour from Boston and have access to amazing medical centers so all is well.

And I am finally getting my sewing mojo back. I have a project started which I will show when it is more along. But in April my baby girl turned thirty! How can I have kids in their 30's? Anyway, I actually made her a quilt before I had the shoulder surgery and here it is. She's showing it off with my nephew on Easter Sunday which was also her birthday.

And I don't know what the heck she's doing here but she was happy. This is a quilt from Schnibbles Times Two book made with Fig Tree Folklorique fabric. It's an older line that I have had for a while.

So I've had a bit of a rough time here lately but there's nothing like family to help you along when you most need it. It's also been nice to be able to sew again. I had a long time before I felt comfortable sewing since my surgery but I have definitely turned a corner and plan on getting to projects now. So it's good to be back!

Shoulders Are Important For Sewing

2011-04-16T18:26:00.001-04:00

So I tried to sew last weekend, after getting permission from my phisical therapist, and the shoulder that had the rotator cuff surgery got sore real fast so I got a little done then and some more done today. I'll post a picture soon. But in the meantime I got to play with this young man, my youngest grandson, for the whole day yesterday while his older brother was home sick with Momma.

Before a day of play it's important to eat a good breakfast. My husband is a big believer in kids helping, with supervision, in the kitchen.

Then it's time for outdoor play which apparently involves work too. In the background you can see what New Englaners do when the snow melts, which it finally did just recently. We, and when I say we I mean my husband, cut and stack wood to start getting ready for next winter which will be here sooner rather than later.

And one thing I have observed about boys-they can make a toy out of anything. He played with a stick, a log stump with a hole in it and a bunch of sawdust for quite a while.

Grandchildren are the best. See, I warned you I'd be posting pictures of my grandsons if I wasn't sewing much. My shoulder is improving each week and this week I was alowed to lose the sling-WooHoo! So I am sure the sewing will pick up pretty soon. I miss it. And so my other grandson gets a picture in here, here he is at his 4th birthday recently with his aunt and uncle watching from out west on the computer. Isn't technology amazing.

Hello April

2011-04-01T14:06:00.000-04:00

Hello again. It has been 4 weeks today that I had rotator cuff surgery so since it is a new month I decided to finally check in. That and I don't do so well typing with just my left hand since surgery was on my right shoulder. The above picture is what April looks like here in NH today. The good thing about a snow storm this time of year is that it generally melts pretty fast.

Anyways, shoulder surgery was a rough time for me. I don't do well being dependant on others and I was totally dependant for a bit there. But I am at the point where I got to remove the large pillow part of my sling and just use a sling. The Physical Therapists are going to start weening me off the sling in the next couple of weeks but I am still greatly restricted on what I can do. The worst part for me is no sewing. I didn't realize how sewing lifts my spirits until I couldn't do any. Let's just say that my spirits went into the crapper for a bit there. I went back to work this week this week and it was good to see all my friends. It's a good thing to have lots of friends at work that you love being around.

So hopefully I'll be back to sewing and more blogging about it in a bit. Until then you may be subjected to grandson pictures!

Typing With One Hand Is Not Fun

2011-03-07T12:57:00.000-05:00

I'm here! Done with surgery but facing some pretty long PT. My surgeon had told me that it might be a simple AC joint repair and I'd be able to be doing most everything I was doing before long. Being the optimist that I am, I jumped on that easier surgery and recovery in my head.

But once he got in there he found a rotator cuff that was 75% torn in two different places. So I had to have a big surgery that will put me away from the sewing room for a while. It's taken me these couple of days to resign myself to this. I am in a giant sling contraption that I refer to as "my siamese twin". I think she needs a name-any suggestions?

So I'll be around and visiting all of you. I know this is a minor setback compared to what many people face So my pity party has ended and it's time to suck it up and move on. Thanks for all the kind notes which are hard to answer at this point but be assured that I appreciate them more than you can imagine.

Time for Surgery

2011-03-03T16:01:00.000-05:00

I'm having a little minor shoulder surgery tomorrow so I'm likely not going to be posting for a bit because there won't be much sewing going on. But ever the optimist that I am I have a couple of projects cut out in the hope that I may be able to do some sewing. The shoulder problem is one that has been bugging me for a while so I'll be glad to be done with it and move on to physical therapy and a shoulder that doesn't hurt.

First up is some Lumiere de Noel fabric and this is a little table topper all ready to sew together. I also have a table runner cut out. I love this fabirc.

This is Arnold's Attic which I cut into strips. This is going to be a small quilt for fall.

And this is a package that I won in a giveaway from Wendy at Snippets of a Quilter, all the way from British Columbia. There's a pattern and fabric for a tote bag, a quilt pattern, some post it notes and flags, and that turquoise fabric came wrapped in that candy wrapper. How cute! I thought it was a caramel or something so I ripped it open only to be surprised by the fabric. Very clever idea. Thanks Wendy! So be back soon.

Snow and Scraps

2011-02-18T12:35:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize I had been absent so long until I finally sat down and checked today. I've been here plugging along at home and at work so here's what's up.

We have had an incredible amount of snow and cold here this winter but today it's in the high 50's. I went to the store without a coat on-epic! Tomorrow it's supposed to be cold and wintery again. New England weather is like that. Here's what my husband was doing a couple of weeks ago.

We had an incredible amount of snow on the roof and there had been a number of roof collapses in NH so he got up there and shoveled. Scares the you know what out of me when he does this.

I also have finished the Blue Star quilt I had made. I love scrap quilts and this is one of my favorites. There are a lot of different fabrics in here which is why I love scrap quilts. I think it gives quilts a completely different look than one made with a fabric collection that has 40 fabrics, many of them pattern repeats, in them.

I even did a scrappy backing with leftover fabrics and orphan blocks. The star blocks you see were ones I cut wrong but I put them together anyway and they lok fine back here.

Here's a better closeup of the quilting.

I even did a scrappy binding. Whenever I make a quilt and have left over binding I throw the extra into a hat box I have. So I got the box out and pulled all the blues and put together a binding. I love the way it looks on this quilt.

So I have no idea what's next. Probably not much as I am having shoulder problems and am scheduled to have some surgery on it March 4th. Not looking forward to that but it needs doing. It's bad when the parts start failing!

Fabric Finds

2011-02-02T13:38:00.000-05:00

First of all, another day, another snow storm here in NH. Looks like we'll only get a little over a foot out of this one. But I got a snow day from work so I have been in the sewing room and I got my blue star quilt all put together. Now I just need to find enough fabric to piece a back.

But recently I got some great deals on fabric. There is a shop in Concord NH, The Golden Gese Quilt Shop (sorry, no web site), that I like. They have a great selection of excellent quality fabric and always have the latest lines available. But what I like, as you walk in the front door on the right is the bargain section which is where I always look first. Fabric here is always $1 or $2 a yard, and in January they have 20% off fabric all month long so I usually make my way there in January.

Once in a while they seem to clean out the storage and put out some oldies but goodies fabric and this is one of them. This is a Thimbleberries Halloween group that I should have bought but didn't when it was first out. I've seen quilts made out of this on several blogs and have always loved it but it's from 2006 so I never expected to see it.

They also had some of the companion fabrics so I grabbed them. $2 a yard. I see a Halloween quilt being made sometime this year. BTW, they only had a few yards of this focus print and I bought it all.

I also spied some Fig Tree Folklorique fabric which is an older line. The jelly roll was only $5, the charm pack $2 and the yardage was $1 a yard. I have a quilt in mind for this group. Something from Schnibbles Times Two I think. So while I busted out a lot of fabric from the stash for the blue star quilt, I have been enhancing the stash also which makes me a happy sewer.

On the Design Board

2011-01-30T16:35:00.001-05:00

Before we get to the design board, we are in the grips of winter here. This was my thermometer last Monday morning showing the indoor and outdoor temperature. The -5 was up from -7 when I got up that morning. It was awfully hard to get myself to go to work that morning but I did.

The view from my kitchen to the screen porch-dreaming of warmer days.

My neighbor has the most incredible icicles on her house. They nearly touch the ground.

The last item I had to do in my new sewing room was to construct some kind of design board and It is up and working like magic. My last design board was flannel and the blocks never really stayed on it for any length of time. My husband's secretary, also a quilter, has been using polar fleece and recommended it. So off to Joanne's with my 40% coupon to buy polar fleece.

It is working wonderfully! The blocks stick and stay on it. I have a large wall I can use for this and used it all so I have a very large design wall now. I have been working on the mostly blue scrappy star quilt and all the blocks are done and I am in the process of putting the rows together. This quilt is completely from my stash and was cut using my Accuquilt Go cutter. My quilting roots are scrap quilts so it's fun to get back to making these.

All you need to cut this if you have an Accuquilt Go cutter is the 3 1/2 inch chisel die and the 3 1/2 inch triangle die. Cut an even amount of light and dark chisels and light and dark triangles and sew light to dark and so on and so on. An easy block that goes together beautifully. If you do make this block just make sure when cutting the chisels that all your fabric is right side up. It makes a difference. The triangles you can cut right or wrong side up.

This is all I had to trim off of 42 blocks because the blocks come out very precise. I love using my stash and since I organized all my fabrics it's very easy to find what I need. There are a lot of fabrics in here that I forgotten I had. It was fun rediscovering them.

My Expert Shoveling Crew

2011-01-23T15:32:00.001-05:00

Another day (this past Friday), another snow storm. Seems to be how our life is going here in New England. I hear there's a big one coming the middle of this week. Woo Hoo! No fear-I have an expert snow removal team.

Grandsons Carter and Jackson love being outside no matter what the temperature is.

This is the pile of snow at the end of my driveway. We are the last house on a dead end street so all the snow from the street ends up here.

You could lose a grandson in here! My 2 kids used to love to play on these piles when they were young.

And here's the whole crew with their foreman, aka Ga, having some fun in the snow. So that's the rhythm of our life here this year. No complaints for now as I have had a number of snow days from work which I love. Bonus sewing days-always a good thing.

Sewing Room, Done!

2011-01-18T12:39:00.000-05:00

Finally the re-do of my sewing room is finished. I have wanted to get this room done for years but I was never quite sure what colors or what else I wanted but I have been checking the internet for inspiration and I found some. You'll see some befores and afters as you scroll down but here's a preview and a bit of an explanation. First, I found the blue color on the lower walls quite a while ago in a Pottery Barn catalog and just fell in love with it. It is Buxton Blue by Benjamin Moore. The upper walls are Cottage White by Behr. Then I saw the same blue on Alicia Paulson's studio walls. I love red and was thinking of doing red curtains and when I saw her gingham curtains, from Country Curtains, I knew what I would use. I also love the gingham in PamKittyMorning's sewing room. I know I've seen it elsewhere but darned if I can remember right now.

Before

After. The rug came from a local store, Ocean State Job Lots, and was the mighty sum of $20! All curtains are from Country Curtains. Don't know if you can see outside my windows but it is snowing yet again here in NH!

Closet before. There used to be a lot of space in the left part of the closet but you couldn't get to it.

Closet after. My husband opened up the wall and installed these shelves. The storage containers came from Home Goods plus some vintage tins and hat boxes I have.

My stash has been reduced dramatically and now resides in the two towers in the previous picture. These containers work perfectly. I got them at Target, BTW.

Northwest corner and a peak of the new floor. The table I have had for a while. It's a pub height table that I bought at a consignment store and it is a perfect cutting table.

Southeast corner. Gotta find someplace else to store extra chairs!

East wall-future home of a design wall.

My favorite red shelf moved from another room.

My "quilt" sign that I made like the Noel one at Christmas.

My childhood sewing machine. I even have the carrying case and the original box.

My Dad's tool carrier. I remember him having welding tools in it.

And then there's this. It used to be in my Mom's sewing room and I can't seem to throw it out. Whether it stays is up for grabs. So that's it. It's a nice sunny room that has 3 windows that face south and west. Now let's see if I can keep it this neat. That is probably not going to happen!

This is a Lot of Snow

2011-01-13T18:44:00.000-05:00

Well, the snow storm is over and this is what 20 inches of snow looks like. We are all dug out and today was all sunny and sparkly-a beautiful winter day. I enjoyed my snow day from work yesterday and spent the day painting trim in the sewing room. I'm getting there! I'd still rather have this 20 inches than ice anyday. I feel for you girls down south who got all that ice. And those of you in warmer locations, please don't tell me the temperature there. I don't think my mind could take it.

My Sewing Room

2011-01-11T19:16:00.001-05:00

I am lucky enough to have a sewing room. Although it always had a sewing machine in it, it was at different times a play room for the kids, a craft room (mostly for my very crafty daughter), a storage room for kids home from college in the summers and now my sewing room. The kids are married and in their own homes and this is my room! This is the only room in the house we have never done anything to and we have lived here for almost 27 years. Here's what it looked like a couple of weekends ago.

It's not usually this messy but I had emptied everything out of the closet.

This closet had one tiny door but really, it's a good sized closet. For 27 years I have wanted better access to this closet and finally hubby got around to opening it up.

He added shelves and opened it up so I can get to my supplies without having to empty the closet everytime. Sweet! I have had a serious stash manicure in the past year by using a lot of the stash and sorting and getting rid of a lot, which I did in November. All the fabric I have left is what is in those two white towers which are working perfectly for me. I love them.

I am using some new storage items, mostly bought at Home Goods and some vintage, like the cute tin above.

I love being able to see it all.

The aqua cabinet used to be my Dad's tool chest. It was really dirty when I got it but I cleaned it up and gave it a coat of paint. Great storage! So since these pictures were taken we have painted the walls, and installed a new floor. Still have some trim to paint and hopefully I'll be able to sew by this weekend. Tomorrow I have off from work since there's a big snowstorm coming. The world must be ending because they never close the college where I work but they have already decided to close so I am looking forward to the snow day. Perhaps I'll get this room back in shape. I love snow days.

Scraps

2011-01-04T19:05:00.001-05:00

I love scrap quilts. Before Christmas I did a major inventory of my fabric. Major, people! I purged some older fabrics I knew I would never use (not just some of them-a lot of them), gave a huge amount to the women's prison nearby that was looking for fabric and organized the rest. So what to do? Start a scrap quilt.

Remember these table runners that I talked about here?

It's a simple pattern that uses a lot of scraps. The table runners have 6 inch blocks. Then I remembered that I had the chisel and 3 inch half square triangle dies for my Accuquilt Go cutter. So I gathered lots of dark and medium blues and lots of lights and cut some chisels and triangles.

I've got the light triangles sewn to the dark blues and just need to do the opposite colors.

Here's a test 12 inch block and I think a bunch of these together is going to be great. But all is on hold because my sewing room is under a big re-do which I am very excited over. First up was some storage which I will take some pictures of and post this week. The rest we will probably pick at on weekends so it could take a while for a reveal. My husband is easily distracted and usually takes a while to actually finish a project. But he does good work and it's free labor so you work with what you have!

Welcome 2011

2011-01-01T08:48:00.000-05:00

I had a terribly exciting New Year's Eve. Stayed in with a hubby and a bag of Cheese Doodles! Good times! I was exactly where I wanted to be. The best part of Christmas were the four quilts I made for grandsons, DD and DIL.

I think I loved making the above tumbler quilt the most. It was made using the Accuquilt Go tumbler die and every scrap of Christmas fabric I had, which were many. I love scrap quilts and love how scrappy this one looks. Going to have to make myself one of these too. I've got several quilting projects in mind for 2011, one of which I have started and will show later on this week. In the meantime, have a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T14:08:00.000-05:00

A couple of last gifts here as I wrap it up for Christmas. First of all I finished Mr. Monkey here for my youngest grandson.

I don't know why I insist on making stuffed animals based on last year's experience but I do and my grandsons seem to like them.

Then this fabulous cloth candy cane arrived today from Debra.

She had a giveaway for her followers. She called them "Sugar Plums". All you had to do was e-mail her one word-Cotton or Wool. I said cotton and she sent me this wonderful cotton candycane. The picture does not do it justice. For one thing the stripes all line up on the seams-how'd she do that? It is aged and has little sparkles all over it. I love it! Debra was one of my fabric swap partners last year when I participated in the snowball challenge. That was last year and I'm glad I am not in any challenge this year. I'm tired and need a week long nap.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Be back next week!

A Little Quiet Time

2010-12-21T13:37:00.000-05:00

It's been a little bit silent here but I am now off work for a couple of weeks and taking a deep breath and getting some much needed quiet. I haven't sewn for a few weeks but visions of new projects are whirling about in my head for 2011. In the meantime I won something!

The fabulous Kath Mack from Pink Chalk Fabrics had a giveaway and I won! This book is right up my alley with all the colorful projects. I love color.

I love this baby quilt and will definitely be making this.

And this quilt-Love It! I love the color combinations and the simple graphic design. It reminds me of the Quilts From Gee's Bend, a show I was lucky enough to see in person in DC years ago.

Now if you have never purchased fabric or patterns from Kathy you need to go to Pink Chalk Fabrics right now and browse. I love the fat quarter packs she puts together, especially the color stacks. I recently bought a solid color stack for some of those 2011 projects. She has a great eye for fabulous fabric and I like finding something a little different from other online stores here.

By the way, it looks like we'll be having a brown Christmas up here in NH. No Snow! Unheard of in these parts. There was a snow storm yesterday that hit south of us in parts of Massachusetts but we got nothing. Can't remember when that has happenned before.

Two Lessons

2010-12-05T16:44:00.001-05:00

I learned a couple of lessons this weekend as I finished up a project. Perhaps I already knew these lessons but I was reminded of them as I wrapped something up. First, I made this quilt this past summer.

I used the fabulous Moda Maison de Noel fabric line that I had saved for years. I love this fabric.

I just loved the colors and thought the added aqua made it look so fresh. This is a quilt I would leave out even after Christmas. I loved the fabric so much that I saved every last, tiny, itty bitty scrap.

So the first lesson is that no matter how small the scrap, save it. I had to sew scraps together to get enough usable fabric to cut pieces for this runner. So I sewed quite a few scraps together to get new scraps but honestly you can't tell once it's all sewn and quilted. By the way, can you see Miss Penny the cat asleep, reflected in the mirror of the buffet? Asleep on a quilt of course.

This is how many scraps I had left! I also had some microscopic trimmings when I trimmed up the blocks but those went into the trash. The book to the left is where I got the pattern. Now see how the pattern stands out so well in the runner on the cover and how the pattern does not stand out to well in my version. It's all got to do with contrast.

So lesson two is that contrast is important. There's s lot of contrast in the version above which I made for fall a few years ago. The Christmas version I just did has a lot of busy, light fabrics so the pattern does not show up as well. I was so intent on using just the fabric from that particular fabric line that I did not see the lack of contrast until the end. I would have done better if I had gone to my stash and selected some less patterned lights. So lessons learned-learning something new is good!

Long Time Gone

2010-11-30T18:42:00.001-05:00

I've been absent from my blog for a bit. Just busy with work, Thanksgiving (we had 21 at my house) and life. But I haven't been idle in the sewing room so here's what's been going on.

I recently blogged that I got an Accuquilt Go and I've been playing with it but decided I needed to really get a project going. One of the dies I bought was the tumbler so I got out all the bits and left over pieces from quilts of Christmases past and started cutting tumblers, which took me all of 45 minutes for a good size lap quilt.

It went together as easy as anything. Perfect pieces go together like butta and make perfect intersections. All this fabric is from my stash, even the backing, which I pieced. I'm loving pieced backings lately. This took me very little time to put together and got it back from my quilter today so on to binding, also from my stash. I'm on a stash busting mission! I'll post a finished picture soon.

I have a lot of Thanksgiving pictures I could post, like the kitchen island with the 7 pies on it, but this is my favorite picture of my youngest grandson that day. Can you say Tom Cruise and Risky Business?

I am Not an Artist

2010-11-15T18:47:00.000-05:00

I am not an artist. At least that's what my former boss used to tell me when I worked at a college art gallery. But I do like to create things besides my quilts so I'm going to show you my "restyled" art-a little something I made for the holidays.

So what do you get when you take a frame from a consignment store-$1.20...

Add a piece of beadboard, some Martha Stewart paint, and some letters that I collect (I found a box lot of assorted letters in Maine this past summer)....

And you get "restyled" art, at least that's what I'm calling it.

I think this frame is perfect with it's chippy, aligatored paint.

I have another frame that I paid $1.60 for that I have another idea for a Christmas "restyled" art object so I'll work on that this week.

So have you started your Christmas displays yet?

Some Christmas Quilting

2010-11-10T18:53:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been gone for a bit from blogging. Not for anything fun either. Just basic work and busy-ness. But in the meantime I have made progress on a couple of little quilts I am making for my grandsons. First up is grandson #1 who LOVES Toy Story. He was Woody for Halloween.

I found the Toy Story fabrics mostly on Ebay and the rest is from my stash.

Then Grandson #2 is getting a sock monkey quilt. I also am going to make a sock monkey to go with it.

Both quilts were quilted with this fun spiral design. Bindings are attached and will be hand sewn to the back this weekend.

And my oh my-what is this? I bought myself an Accuquilt cutter. I have been wanting one ever since I tried a friends. I have arthitis and it is especially bad in my hands lately. Rotary cutting was bothering me and my accuracy was not so great so while the Accuquilt cutters were on sale at JoAnne's this week, I bought one. Happy Christmas to me! I'll let you know what I make first.

Autumn in New Hampshire

2010-10-30T09:16:00.001-04:00

I've been blog absent of late. Mostly because I haven't done a whole lot of sewing. I finished grandson #1's quilt and will start on one for grandson #2 today so back to the sewing room. Work just gets in the way. Anyhow, autumn here in NH has been really spectacular. The colors are the best ever. One morning I got up to get ready for work and noticed golden color coming through the living room drapes.

There's some wood amongst the colors on the side of the yard waiting for the chain saw.

A lot of the leaves had fallen at this point but they still are so pretty. Driving to work, which I do on back roads, has been a pleasant thing these days with beautiful colors to inspire.

I really like the orange and yellow berries against the slate colors here. Makes me want to make a quilt with these colors. The sky this time of year is often a slate color so it's really pretty with the colored leaves shining against it. Inspiration is everywhere.

Then there's Miss Penny who looks so good against my favorite Halloween quilt. Speaking of Halloween quilts, I scored some great Halloween fabrics in a local quilt shop which I will tell you about next time. I smell another Halloween quilt coming out of the sewing room in the future.

To Infinity and Beyond!

2010-10-20T18:45:00.001-04:00

In this post about my new sewing table there was a glimpse of some black and white checkerboards that I was preparing for a quilt.

So here they are in a quilt for one of my grandsons. He is obsessed with Toy Story, obviously, and I was able to find assorted Toy Story fabrics on E-bay to put in the quilt and everything else is from my stash. He is in pre-school now and brings a quilt to school for nap so this will be used for that I imagine.

He'll be Woody for Halloween. I made a little Woody vest for him for Halloween but forgot to take a picture but it came out cute. I like putting black and white in quilts. It tones down all the primary colors and makes a simple quilt a little more interesting. I even put black and white in pastel quilts as well. Now I just need to come up with an idea for a quilt for his little brother. The wheels are turning.

Vermont

2010-10-11T16:56:00.000-04:00

While I love NH, Vermont is pretty darn pretty too. One is right side up and one is up side down-do you know which is which? Anyways, I got to spend the weekend there with hubby who was celebrating his 35th college reunion and these pictures are from around Stowe, VT where we were staying.

Despite these pictures, the foliage was past peak. If it was peak you'd see many more reds and oranges but it was still really beautiful. I kept seeing the colors and in my mind putting them in a quilt. I love making fall quilts.

The Von Trapp Family Lodge is in Stowe but we didn't get there for a visit this time. It was a bit cold in Vermont this past weekend but I came prepared with winter gear. Pretty soon there'll be snow in these mountains. Until then, I'll enjoy the foliage around my home which is nearing it's peak.

And I don't know what kind of signs you see on your highway, but this is what we see here. This picture was taken in NH but we saw no moose on this trip. Don't you just love fall.

My New Sewing Table

2010-10-07T09:12:00.001-04:00

After suffering with a sore back for years using my Mom's old sewing tables I finally got a new sewing table and new chair.

It's called the Gidget 2 and although it's a small table it is working perfectly for me. With the acrylic insert it makes a nice flat surface which I have never had before and since I am doing more of my own machine quilting I needed a flat surface without having to spend thousands on a fancy cabinet set up. The chair I got on Jo-Ann's.com and it wasn't cheap but with a 50% off coupon and free shipping it made it a bit more affordable.

I was mostly excited about getting new table but the chair is the thing I am most in love with. I didn't realize how awful the office chair I was using was until I started using this chair. Very good on my back. And for the first time since I've had my Bernina, about 5-6 years now, I can actually use the knee lift which is really great. BTW, the little checkerboards are a start of a new project-details soon.

The two old tables I had from my Mom are now located to the left and back of this table and it's a set up that is working to hold up the weight of quilts I am working on. Those old tables use to shake like a really bad earthquake when I was sewing and the new table is really solid.

This is one of the old tables with the well for a sewing machine showing and a moving sticker from when we first moved from Colorado to NH in 1979! My Dad built the wooden insert to make it so you could raise up a machine and sew that way which never worked for me. So I am really happy with my table. I wanted something that was easy to move around and didn't cost a fortune. Supposedly my sewing room is getting a re-do this winter by Hubby but I've heard that story before so I'll cross my fingers and wait and see.

Here's What I'm Up To

2010-09-25T14:48:00.000-04:00

I started a new quilt recently from the Schnibbles Times Two book that I love so much. I made these two over the summer from that book. Now I am working with the Little Red pattern and once again this is a wonderful pattern with easy directions that goes together beautifully.

The pressing directions are especially helpful when you go to stitch the blocks together. They go together so easily. This may look like a hard block but I am telling you it is one of the easiest blocks I've ever done. I just love it. I can see making this pattern over and over.

I have the top three rows sewn together so far and will get to the others hopefully tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I'll make the small version at some point when I see a fabric collecton that inspires me. Until then I'll be in the sewing room.

Quilting Bloggers are the Best!

2010-09-15T09:10:00.000-04:00

I've been a follower for a while of Nichi at Quilty Cat. I love her colorful and creative quilts. Be sure to go on over and check out the awesome LOVE quilt she is working on. She visited New England this past summer and brought some New England coffee with her when she returned home to Italy. But she ran out and this is a post about it here. I saw the post and knew that I see that coffee everytime I'm in the grocery store so I offered to send her some and off it went to Italy. Then this past weekend a package arrived and this is what was in it.

I was thrilled to find one of her quilts inside in her signature style. And with coffee cups-how clever! I adore the colors-some great Kaffe fabrics. And look on the back;

A signature stamp! Gotta get me one of these. So thanks Nichi and as we all know, quilting bloggers are the best.

Fallish

2010-09-11T08:17:00.000-04:00

It was a bit fallish here in NH yesterday, finally. I love fall except for the fact that winter follows it but after the hot, hot summer we had it was nice to feel some cool, crisp air. So I whipped up a fall table topper. I have a round oak table in my kitchen so I usually have a small table topper on it so it was time to put away the summer one and pull out some fall colors. Except that I didn't have a fall one so out came the scraps. Hopefully I'll get it quilted today.

Then the next project I think is another quilt from Schnibbles Times Two.

In looking through some fabric I had, I discovered some Chrictmas fabric I have had for a while and it was just enough for Little Red.

This is Minick and Simpson Winter line which I have had for a while. I think I bought it in Maine a few years back so time to use it up. I love how there's a nice light blue in this collection but it still looks Christmas. I got it all cut out yesterday and will hopefully sew a couple test blocks today. So that's what's going on in my sewing room. What's happenning in yours?

Out of the Loop

2010-09-06T16:35:00.000-04:00

I've been a little out of the loop here with the start of the academic year at the college where I work but I think I am caught up at work and a little caught up at home on some projects. First is the baby quilt I was working on in our last episode. Acutally I made two of them and both are done which is a good thing since one of the baby showers is this Sunday!

I love the backing which I got at Alewives Fabric in Maine when I was on vacation there. A fabulous shop. I really like polka dots and this one was perfect. The binding was also purchased there and is a tiny polka dot. My quilter did a fabulous orange, paisley quilting design which I think looks fantastic.

Then I finished my small quilt out of Fig Tree fabrics, Mill House Inn. A nice fall feel I think so it will be hung on a wall in my home. I love the wheat quilting pattern my quilter did.

This is the baby sister of the large quilt I did. Both are from Carrie Nelson's really great book, Schnibbles Times Two.

So that's it from NH. We finally have a fallish feel in the air which I am thrilled about. I love summer but there was just too much hot summer this year. I'm over it. Time for Fall!

Baby Quilts

2010-08-20T18:47:00.000-04:00

I've been absent from blogging. It was back to work for me at college and it is always a busy time. But I recieved an invitation to a baby shower a little sooner that I expected so on my day off here I had to get to work finishing the baby quilts I've been working on. Shield your eyes-they are bright!

They are bright but I don't like pastel baby quilts so here you go. These are both for baby girls. I finished them up and sent them off to my quilter today so I should be all set for the one of the showers in a couple of weeks. I used all scraps I had of Amy Butler and Kaffe Fasett fabrics and played with colorways to get this subtle design going. I like it and now the design wall is empty so I'm going to have to decide what will be up there next. So many quilts and so many fabrics to choose from.

A New Blogger

2010-08-11T19:35:00.002-04:00

For full disclosure here, I borrowed this picture from my sister's brand new blog. Please go welcome her. Although we grew up with a mother who was a sewing teacher, and we both learned to sew, I took to it earlier that she did. But she has re-discovered sewing and is turning out some wonderful quilts. Go read the story of this one which involved a trip from Massachusetts to Tennessee to make it!

Update: I failed to mention my sister Angela's friend Sue, who is also new to blogging so say hi to her too. She was Angela's partner in crime to their trip to Tennessee last October to take a class with Kaffe Fassett.

Back from Maine

2010-08-07T15:14:00.000-04:00

I'm Back from a relaxing week in Maine. I was here.

Nice view huh? About 3 hours from our house in NH is this cottage which was hubby's grandparent's retirement home at one time. Now it's a place of rest and relaxation, sort of. I say sort of because when you own an old home there's always work to be done and this cottage needs a lot of work so vacations are usually working ones. But it was certainly nice to get away from the heat and humidity and enjoy glorious sea breezes every day. It has been a hot summer in New England and the sea breezes were a welcome respite. But my daughter and I managed to do some retail therapy in antique stores and this wonderful quilt shop.

I have always wanted to go here which is not far from the cottage so we set out one morning to make a pilgrimage. Alewives is one of the most wonderful quilt shops I have ever been to. The selection of fabrics is not what you'd find in most quilt shops. Lots of Japanese fabrics, Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, Anna Maria Horner, Joel Dewberry, and many other designers that are hard to find. Check out their online store if you can't visit in person. Sorry I have no pictures. I did not take one picture on vacation! What is up with that! I'll take some pictures this week of the few antique finds I managed to buy. So I'm back and on my last week of summer vacation-back to work in a week to the college where I am employed. Yuck-it cuts into my sewing time too much!

Away We Go

2010-08-01T10:22:00.000-04:00

This picture has nothing to do with this post except that it's my new couch in my great room and I love it.

But I digress. We are off to our cottage in Maine and will be back in a week or so. You can read about past adventures here, here, here, and here. I'm looking forward to some sea breezes and escape from the heat we are having here, although it's been nice yesterday and today. Stay cool!

Tuesday's Musings

2010-07-27T08:31:00.000-04:00

Hi all. I'm still here enjoying summer and not getting as much sewing done as I thought I would on my summer break from work. Three more weeks off and then back to work. Yikes! Anyways, I finished my small version of Imagine from Schnibbles Times Two, a fabulous collection of quilt patterns by the way.

This is the little sister of this quilt which I made at the beginning of the summer.

Just a wonderful pattern in my opinion. And in the mean time I've been gathering my Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett scraps and putting them together into a couple of baby quilts. Two of my nephew's are expecing baby girls with their wife in one case and girlfriend in the other so I'm experimenting with what I have and seeing what I can come up with. I rarely make pastel baby quilts.

We'll see when I finish if I like it and if I don't, I know I can gather more fabrics from my closet and come up with something else. So enjoy your summer. It has been a hot one here in NH. Yesterday and today have been pleasantly cooler but the heat returns on Wednesday according to the weatherman. No hints of fall here yet. Soon, very soon.

Where I've Been

2010-07-18T19:46:00.002-04:00

I have had a wonderful week away at a NH lake. I love being home but sometimes you need to get away to refresh and recharge. This is what I did on my week away.

Went to a wedding. That's my daughter on the left and the other two young woman were bridesmaids in her wedding.

Friends for life.

Enjoyed the wedding festivities in an ocean front location with a spectacular sunset.

Set out the next morning for this camp on a lake near us. This belongs to friends of ours. It has been in their family for many years and is 100 years old this year.

Watched a grandson catch his first fish. He declared we were supposed to eat it but we didn't thank goodness.

We set the poor sunfish free.

Meanwhile, his baby brother had no fear of water and regularly walked out a little too far for his Nana's liking.

We had visitors every night including this loon, an eagle and a blue heron. The eagle was BIG!

A little boy learned to sail and loved it.

And sunsets every night. It was nice weather at the lake all week so it was refreshing to escape all the heat we've been having at our home. It has been a hot, hot summer here and everyone is just a bit weary of it.

We don't usually have such hot summers in New England.

And we learned a valuable lesson this week at camp; never ever and I mean NEVER give a three year old s'mores at 8:00 at night. It's not a pretty picture when the sugar high hits right when you want them to go to bed. Heed my warning.

It Must Be The Heat

2010-07-09T13:27:00.000-04:00

I've been kind of absent here. I'm blaming it on the heat. We don't like hot and humid in these parts and we've had a lot of it for a week now. Anyways, I have not been sewing much except to finish up my blocks for my small Imagine quilt. I even managed to get four rows sewn together.

I love this fabric, Mill House Inn from Fig Tree. I love the mix of the soft aquas and green and those pops of coral/orage and brown just make it come alive. So I'll get to the finishing of this soon.

In the meantime I'll be gone for a bit here as we are renting a friend's lake house for a week. I could sure use a week on the shores of a NH lake. Not sure how peaceful it will be because the 2 grandsons, along with parents, and other assorted people will be there. But I wouldn't have it any other way. See you soon.

My 35th Anniversary

2010-06-29T20:21:00.001-04:00

Today is my 35th anniversary! And my wonderful husband surprised me with a cruise! A 3 hour cruise, a 3 hour cruise (come on, sing along)! Today was an absolutely perfect summer day in NH so we went on a cruise on Lake Winnepesaukee, also referred to as the Big Lake up in these parts, on the M.S. Mt. Washington. Here's my handsome man.

And here I am.

There are all sorts of camps along the shores and many islands.

And then there are the people who just have to tear down perfectly good camps and build these monstrosities-sorry a big pet peeve of mine. Can you say windows?

I think this next place is where French president Sarkozy stayed a few summers ago. It was reported to be something like $20,000 a day.

Before we know it there'll be snow here ready for the skiers at Gunstock ski area.

It was a delightful afternoon. We had been on 2 previous nightime cruises but I really wanted to go during the day and see more of the sights. And you can't beat a view up to the north part of the lake like this.

I hope I can cruise many more years with this wonderful man.

In Our Last Episode....

2010-06-28T16:43:00.000-04:00

...Chris was in Maine here at our cottage.

It was nice and hot at our home in NH but cool breezes were the order of the day here. It was gorgeous. We'll be going back soon. Since I've been home I've been busy and finally got back to the sewing machine to sew the smaller version of Imagine from Carrie Nelson's fabulous book Schnibbles Times Two. Here's the large version I finished recently.

It has since been quilted and is waiting for binding. And here are the beginnings of little sister Imagine. The big quilt has 9 inch squares and the small version has 4 inch squares to give you some perspective.

I'm using a layer cake of Fig Tree's Mill House Inn that I've had for a while. I also had a bit of yardage of the yellow background and will have to pick up some backing when the time comes. So I'm enjoying my summer off from work but time is going so fast! I'll savor each day until it's time to go back to work in August. Hope you all are having a good summer.

A Big Shout Out!

2010-06-22T08:32:00.000-04:00

Here's a big shout out to Gretchen at Bird's Nest Cottage who picked me as a giveaway winner. Thanks Gretchen! I have been pouring over the Cottage Style book and love it.

I'm off to Maine tomorrow so I'll bring them both with me to read in the quiet time of my time there. Not sure if there will be much quiet time though because hubby and I are off to clean and fluff and get the cottage ready for another beautiful summer. You can see some pictures of where I'm going from past trips up there, here, here and here.

Maison de Noel Done!

2010-06-15T08:39:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a cloudy, drizzly few days here which means I got a lot of sewing done and my Imagine quilt top from the Schnibbles Times 2 book is done. So while there is a peak of sun I thought I would plop it on a bed and sees what we have here. (I hadn't sewn on the top border yet in this picture.)

This was a delighfully, wonderful quilt to make. I loved the process and there have been many quilts that I have not enjoyed the process. The only change I made was to add an extra pieced square border all the way around to make it better for a queen size bed. It calls for just one row of the squares but I had enough fabric for the two rows so I went for it.

I love the fabric, of course. I have been holding on to this bunch for a few years and finally found a pattern that I found visually interesting and would still show off the colors and patterns of the 3 Sisters Maison de Noel collection.

This is literally what I have left-some scraps and some bigger pieces of background. I'll probably find a way to make a table runner out of this chaos. The pattern gives directions for layer cakes but here is what I had to work with-I had 29 fat quarters and 2 yards of background fabric and it worked out perfectly. I did some math and I thought I had enough but if I didn't I was prepared to use some other 3 Sisters fabric I had from other lines. They all work well together.

I did not have on hand any backing or binding but if you look on-line there are still a few places that have a few of the fabrics. I did find enough for backing and I even found pre-made bias binding. That was easy to find and the prices were all over the place. It was as low as .50 to as high as 1.50 a yard. So on to my quilter now and then on to the small version of Imagine in a completely different colorway.

Sewing Along Here

2010-06-07T13:04:00.000-04:00

Well, after owning this fabric, Maison de Noel by 3 Sisters for Moda, for several years I have cut into it and have now begun sewing it. I'm making the Imagine pattern from Carrie Nelson's fabulous book, Schnibbles Times 2. This is the big quilt and I'll make the smaller version next. I know I had a pattern in mind when I bought this fabric but for some reason I just couldn't cut the fabric up. I like this pattern with this fabric because I can still see the big swatches of this wonderful fabric and the wonderful colors and patterns. This pattern has fantastic directions. If you are going to make it, follow Carrie's pressing and cutting directions-it makes a difference. I have since sewn half of the rows together and they go together like butta! Nice crisp points and a very pleasing pattern. After some of the more complictaed quilts I have done recently like the snowball quilt, I needed something easier and this fits the bill. I am really enjoying the process making this quilt and that's what it should be all about.

Summer Vacation

2010-06-02T13:01:00.000-04:00

My summer vacation from work has started and boy am I happy about that. I work in college academics and it was a long, tough year. If you are a parent of a college student, please don't be a helicopter parent, forever hovering. It's a problem people. Anyways, I have finally gotten to know my sewing room again.

As I posted about on my last post I am in love with Carrie Nelson's Schnibbles Times Two book and I'd love to work my way through the book making all the big and little quilts. But to get started I am making Imagine-the big quilt. I have had the fat quarter set of Maison de Noel by 3 Sisters for a long time. I know I had a quilt in mind when I bought it a few years ago but I can't remember what it was. Now this collection is impossible to find and I was always relictant to cut into it. But it's all cut up now! That was hard to do.

I have made a couple of test squares so I'm ready to go. I think I'm going to be doing some chain sewing here for a bit. But a note about the directions in this book, at least on this quilt. The directions are clear and there is such a clever method for making these squares that you can't possibly have any bad ones. Genius I say! So it's time for me to enjoy sewing with this beautiful fabric and then on to little Imagine with a great Fig Tree collection. Fun on my summer vacation among many other things planned.

Upcoming Projects

2010-05-23T14:37:00.000-04:00

I've been absent-it's all my work's fault. But I have just this week to work and then I have 10 weeks off for summer. I'm ready and I've been thinking about some sewing projects I want to accomplish. First off, if you haven't seen or aquired this book you should. It is fantastic. Big quilts and their matching little sisters-genius! So I have decided I'm going to make a set. I think I'm going to start with Imagine.

Now for fabrics I have litterally been hoarding this set of Maison de Noel fat quarters and some background yardage for a long time-a very long time. It is so beautiful I couldn't make myself cut it-insane, I know! But I'm going to use them for the big quilt. It's one of the fabrics by 3 Sisters and their fabric lines are always brilliant. I've used several of the lines and have loved all of them.

Then I also have this layer cake and some yardage of Mill House Inn from Fig Tree Quilts, another of my favorites. The small schnibbles quilt will be this. So restful and restorative time awaits me after Thursday. It makes working tolerable when you know there's a nice break coming up. August comes fast but I'm usually ready by then for a new bunch of scared Freshmen college students to show up and the cycle begins all over again. I just won't think about that August day until sometime in July.

Too Much Going On

2010-05-15T20:05:00.001-04:00

I've been busy people so that is ny only explanation for being absent. I work at a college and the end of the year is just about as busy as the beginning of the academic year but I don't have to think about that until August. Two more weeks and I'm off for a good part of the summer. One of my good friends at work announced this week she is retiring. Sure gets me thinking.

Anyways, I have been sewing new cushions for my screen porch couch-almost done so pictures soon.Other than that I have done no quilt related sewing but I have a list in my head to get going on so there'll be many pictures soon. But what's a post without some pictures so here's a couple.

This is my cat Penny who always finds a quilt to nap on and also seems to find the sun which she did one morning this week. Oh to be a cat and lounge on a quilt all day.

I refer to this chair as the magic rocking chair because it magically puts babies and adults asleep. They stayed this way for an hour and a half this past Friday. But have no fear, I stayed right near by to make sure they stayed safe and sound. Life is good!

Happy Mothers Day

2010-05-09T18:33:00.000-04:00

I borrowed this from my daughter's blog because I loved it so much.

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine..

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

I Love This Table Runner!

2010-04-27T18:09:00.000-04:00

I've been sewing a bit and after looking through all my table runner patterns I went back to my favorite.

It's one of Heather Mulder Peterson's Little Charmers patterns. Very easy to make plus she gives you great pressing instructions that make it go together easily. The table topper is one of her patterns too. I especially like the table runner because it's the perfect size for my kitchen island.

There's mostly Wiscasset fabrics in here along with some other strays I had.

I told you I like this pattern. I've made it before out of Heather's Rebel Roses fabric.

And here's my fall one. This was made with assorted fabrics I had but it's a perfect pattern for charm squares. Once in a while you need a quick project and I love making table runners or toppers. Next up is not a quick project-I need to make new slip covers for my screen porch bamboo couch-6 cushions worth. I made the original covers about 15 years ago so it's time. I'll come up for air eventually!

A Full Circle Story

2010-04-20T19:10:00.000-04:00

I have a story to tell you all but before I do I want to make clear to everyone who may read this that I think everyone needs to find their own style. It may not be my style but I will probably still love your style because I just admire people who find their style and go with it.

Having said that I want to talk today about painting furniture. I have some funiture that I have painted but the vast majority of it is what I call "man wood"-unpainted, stained wood. And there is a fascinating reason with possible deep psychological reasons why I like stained wood and that's the story part of this.

I was a teen in the 60's and both of my brothers were in the service. My older brother was in the Army and was in Vietnam for a couple of years and my other brother was in the Air Force in Thailand supporting the activities of the Vietnam war (he fueled planes). There was this one summer I remember vividly that my mother painted most of the furniture in the house. She called it "antiquing". My father hated what she did.

To give you an example,this is a rocking chair that my Mom painted although the paint is wearing off. There's actually a green layer under the brown layer so she did this one twice. I remember her painting it again after reupolstering it. I have plans to re-do this chair someday.

Now here's the full circle part of the story. My son was in Afghanistan in 2002 and I spent that summer stripping the furniture she had painted, to cope with the stress. Somewhere along the line I figured out that she had originally painted the furniture to cope with the stress of having two sons in a war zone. I had a lot of conversations with her that summer even though she had passed away a few years before.

This cabinet was orange. Big bright orange! She also painted my father's desk in his office orage. As I said, my Dad hated the painting jobs. This was a big stripping job and took a long time but it took my mind off things for quite a while.

This little chest was green and when I started stripping it I found this painted design under the paint. I had to carefully use a heat gun to get the paint off. It's a little rough but I love this chest-it's a really warm golden color in person.

Now this table is something I found recently and I plan on painting it. I'm living with it for a while so I can figure out what color it should be so see, I do paint some furniture. There were a few other things I stripped but have since sold but I'll never forget that summer. Luckily my son came home safe. I think a lot about military mothers-it's a hard road to go down. So that's my little story and I'm sticking to it!

I Got Nothing People

2010-04-15T19:31:00.001-04:00

Really people, I got nothing to write about. It's go to work, come home and throw a nutritious supper together, try to stay awake watching the news and then watch a show or two. How exciting! I have done no sewing. I have been enjoying the nice spring weather we've been having the past couple of weeks but of course being New England, that will change. It's supposed to be cold and rainy over the weekend so there'll be some quilt related item to show next week.

But we did finish a bathroom renovation recently. I used the beadboard wallpaper that everyone in Blogland has been raving about and I gotta say, it is geat stuff. We have walls that are a bit beat up and while we did the best we could fixing them up there was still alot of bad showing. We put the wallpaper at the 5 foot level and it looks great!

It covered a multitude of sins and it looks like real beadboard. I never would have beleived it but decided to try it anyways and I'm sold. I'll be using this again. That and all new fixtures really made this bathroom a beauty. I have no before pictures because I was too embarased at how awful it was. I don't have any after pictures of the whole thing because this is the smallest bathroom in the world. It's DH's bathroom-I have my own.

So I hope to get some sewing done soon. I get the summer off and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and boy do I need some time off. Soon, very soon.

Hello Sunshine

2010-04-01T17:03:00.001-04:00

Don't want you all to think I have disappeared. I was just hiding in a closet sucking my thumb trying to escape from the rain and the gloom. Seriously-it was RAINING here for days on end. Not good for the spirit. But I was doing some occasional sewing, including using the Meadowsweet fabric I purchased.

That bright spot on the bottom is the sun shining in, at least I think that's what I think it is. It's been so long since we've seen it I may be wrong. But it's back from my quilter and waiting for binding. I just love how this came out and I'll definitely be making this pattern again. It works with fat quarters or layer cakes. I used fat quarters. My quilter used a thread that matches the vertical and horizontal strips that make that plaid effect.

Then I have cut out and waiting for the sewing machine some summery patriotic colors for a table runner and table topper so I'll get to those after Easter. I'm using a Wiscasset charm pack I had, some leftover Prairie Paisley and some other fabrics from my stash. I love using my stash.

Then, while I was craving bright and shiny I got some pillows for the family room.

These are silk pillows with down pillow inserts from Target and for a low price. I love them. I have 2 other colors too-a turquoise and an orange. Seriously, the inserts are worth way more than they charge for the pillows! The colors make me smile and I needed it with all this March weather we've been having. April so far is looking good!

Hope everyone has a wonderful easter weekend.

Is it Spring?

2010-03-22T16:18:00.000-04:00

We had two glorious days on Friday and Saturday here in NH. Temperatures in the 70's and bright sun. Just what the doctor ordered. Then today arrived-rain and in the 40's. Yuck! Anyways, in my quest to inject spring in the house I put up a few spring things.

A spring quilt I made a number of years ago. Hand pieced, hand appliqed and hand quilted!

A basket quilt also hand pieced and hand quilted.

Another spring quilt. I love the tulip fabric on the border. If I remember correctly I bought that on clearance for $2 a yard.

On a mantel. I love egg plates and egg cups.

So hopefully spring weather will be back soon. But knowing New England we'll probably have another snowstorm or two!

My Mother's Needleart

2010-03-17T18:58:00.001-04:00

I mentioned on my last post that I was going to do a post about an art that not many people do anymore. I have recently been mesmerised by Alicia Paulson's recent posts on her blog Posie gets Cozy. She and her husband are going through the long process of adopting a child and she has been sewing little girl dresses that are just so precious. If you scroll down through her posts you'll see some smocked dresses. Which brings me to the purpose of this post. My mother was a sewing teacher but the one art she loved the most and taught for quite a while was smocking. I am reminded of it every spring when I get this out for Easter.

It is one of my most treasured things. She also made many dresses for my daughter which I still have. Here are some pictures of some of those. First, a romper.

A dress with matching bonnet

Detail on a dress.

I love the sleeve detail on this dress.

A Christening dress.

I just wanted to show some of her work and I hope you enjoyed it. I remember when I was getting married she smocked an enormous white satin wreath and put that on the front door so everyone would know her daughter was getting married! I don't know what happenned to that wreath but I sure wish I had it now. She taught me and my sister, not my brothers though, to sew early on so she set the stage for our own needleart of quilting which both my sister and I do now. My Mom passed away in 1999 so I am surely happy I have these but I mostly wish I had learned how to smock from her.

Sewing in the Rain

2010-03-14T16:51:00.000-04:00

It's been a rainy weekend here and while I planned on sewing quite a bit, I only managed to do a little. That was thanks to the bathroom renovation from you know where. When your house is over 40 years old, when you replace one pipe, the one next to it starts to leak, and so on and so on! It was supposed to be done in January-I have hopes it will be done by Easter. We are DIY'ers so we are the ones responsible for the cascade of mishaps that seem to be happening to this reno.

But I did manage to get my most recent quilt project together, except for some borders I am adding to the pattern. This pattern is from Heather Mulder Peterson and what I love about her patterns is that she gives good pressing instructions, so when you get the point of sewing it together, it is easy. It went together like butta! So that's what's going on here. But stay tuned, I have a post planned on an art that not many people do anymore. You'll love it.

Time Off-Time On

2010-03-07T12:31:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been away from blog land for a week. It was spring break at the college I worked at so I took some time off-didn't go anywhere or do much of anything, but I did get some rest and R & R right here at my home. Back to reality tomorrow!

I did manage to get sewing on the Meadowsweet fabrics I had.

I'm using one of Heather Mulder Peterson's books, Livin' Large, and this is the quilt on the back cover, Pretty in Pink. Obviously I'm using a different colorway but I like how this pattern has a secondary plaid going and it shows off some great fabric very nicely. So I'm poking along on this.

Also while off work I did some trash to treasure shopping and found this.

I had been looking for a round table for a reason. My grandson has a favorite chair in the great room. There used to be a rectangular side table next to it where I was afraid he was going to poke his eye out on the corner, thus the search for a round table. I was hoping to find something I could fix up cheap. I have literally been looking for a year-I know my daughter and I looked in Maine last summer. Well at Goodwill this one was $5-SOLD! But it gets better. When the saleswoman pulled off the price, which was taped to the top, a bit of the finish came off with it. I kind of went "Oh," and she said "How about $2." I said SOLD again! So I'm planning on painting it as the finish on this one needs work and it hopefully will look like an expensive Maine Cottage one when I'm done. A good week all around. Hope your week ahead is good too!

Toto, I Don't Think We're in NH Anymore!

2010-02-28T15:46:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been quite a time up here in NH. Perhaps you heard on the news we had a BIG storm up here Thursday. Luckily I did not get the snow where I am but boy did it rain. And then the wind started-I thought I was Dorothy in Kansas. My favorite Vera Bradley umbrella is toast, boo hoo-turned inside out several times! They say when a tornado arrives it sounds like a freight train and that is exactly what this wind sounded like during the night---and then it got louder. It was really scary. So we've been without power but it's finally back and we did not lose any of our trees. We had a bunch of trees taken down last fall thank goodness otherwise they would have been on top of the house. We were warm with our wood stove and we had lights from some of the oil lanterns we have. We went to my daughter Caryl's house Friday night to watch tv so that was a nice respite. I was able to cut out a quilt from the Meadowsweet fabric I pictured in my last post. I'll get sewing it soon. It's going to be a while before some of our friends get their power back so we are some of the lucky ones. So I'll get things back to normal here and hopefully post some quilt pictures soon.

Many Hearfelt Thanks

2010-02-21T12:32:00.000-05:00

First of all, many thanks for all the wonderful comments and e-mails about the death of our cat, Oscar, last Tuesday. It all happenned so fast that it had our heads spinning. We are just thankful he is not suffering anymore. Oscar was the cat we rescued from the animal shelter after our beloved cat, Nutmeg, passed at the age of almost 20! So between her and Oscar that was 34 years of feline wonderfulness. We still have Miss Penny who was a stray we resued so I am sure there is a cat out there somewhere who will join the ranks of our household. You just never know when they will show up. While this was all happenning my MIL ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. Happy to say she is home now and doing well. Whew! What a week!

In the meantime this fabric showed up on the doorstep.

This is Meadowsweet which I have been trying to resist but in the end the fabric won. I just love the mix of greens and oranges and aquas and browns. Haven't quite decided what I'm going to make but it will be something that shows off the fabric. So it was a welcome distraction to see these happy, joyful fabrics when they arrived. Reminds me of spring which hopefully comes early to NH although we may be getting snowstorn this week. I can dream of spring a bit longer I guess.

2010-02-16T18:14:00.000-05:00

Oscar

March 19, 1996-February 16, 2010

What's New?

2010-02-07T14:14:00.002-05:00

So what's new with all of you? It was an expensive week here with the refridgerator finally dying. I hated that thing and DH has accused me of sabotaging it but really, it kicked the bucket on it's own. Other than that it was time to clean off the cutting table and see what was hiding there. First layer revealed a bunch leftover fabrics that were originally a layer cake so I whipped up a little table topper.

Then I found a Minick and Simpson Winter layer cake that I was going to make a Christmas quilt with but that never happenned so I may tackle that soon. I'll be so early for next Christmas, not late for this past one, the way I see it. Plus there was a Wiscasset charm pack in there too-don't know what I'll do with that. Did you know that we pass right through Wiscasset Maine on the way to our Maine cottage? It's a cute little town but the traffic is awful.

Next I made a quilt block for a Quilts of Valor project that DH's secretary is part of, all with fabrics found on the table.

And finally here's my cutting table and believe it or not this is cleaned up. I'm neat everywhere else but this table is never neat, although it is actually cleaned up here. By the way, I love this table. It's a pub table that I bought at a consignment shop and I highly recommend them. It's meant to pull up bar stools to but it's perfect height for my 5'6" to cut at. And as you can see you can stow a lot of crap underneath! This is the ugliest room in the house with it's original 60's vinyl flooring and grey paneling it's really groovy! An update is on the radar for this room. The turquoise chest in the background was my father's tool chest that I painted. Handy for storing things in and it's tall and on wheels. So maybe soon I'll be fixing this room up. First DH has to finish up an even uglier 60's bathroom. That project is going SLOW!

So where do you cut your fabric? I'm lucky enough to have a sewing room but I'd love to see where everyone else creates

Snowball Quilt-Final Update

2010-02-01T14:41:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the deadline for posting about your snowball quilt but I was having major issues with Comcast so I couldn't get on line so here I am. I was undecided on the last post as to whether to add borders or not but I ended up adding them.

I just thought it needed borders to stop the pattern so I added a small red one and a larger print one. The fabric I used on the outer border is a Heather Mulder Peterson print from her Rebel Roses line from a couple of years ago. I just love this fabric and have made several things out of this line. I had used this fabric in the snowballs and I love how the yellows were jumping out of the blocks and making your eye travel so it works as a border too.

It has already been quilted by my quilter and the binding is just waiting for some hand sewing. This quilt is going in my DD's old room which is yellow.

I asked the quilter to use a fun pattern and I love what she picked. Although it is a winter/Christmas pattern I didn't want mine to scream holidays and it doesn't so I can see leaving this one out much of the year. I also asked her to use red thread. I liked how the red blocks jumped out at you when the top was done and I didn't want to take away from them so this works for me.

All in all, I enjoyed this project and I love this quilt. It might be an all time favorite. On the downside I wish this challenge had not occured during the holidays. I just had so much to do and that fact had me re-thinking the whole project and if I should have signed up for it. Having said that I would do it again. I loved the fabric swap of the whites and creams. I got some wonderful fabrics from my partmers in the swap and it helped the quilt so much. The rest of it came from my stash. Except for the backing, which I bought from my LQS when it was closing for $2 a yard, I pulled from my collections and scraps of reds and creams. You'd think I'd have no fabirc left but the pile still seems big. Now how does that happen?

NOTE: To see the other finished quilts there is a parade of them at Fat Cat Quilts here

http://fatcatquilts.typepad.com/fat-cat-quilts/2010/02/this-santa-red-and-white-snowball-quilt-was-made-by-thelma-of-cupcakes-n-daisies-you-can-read-her-post-about-her-finished-to.html

Ta Da!

2010-01-21T18:34:00.000-05:00

Well, I finished my snowball quilt! Sort of-more on that later.

I used time wisely this week and sewed if I had time before work and in the evenings and little by little, row by row it got done.

I have to admit I adore this quilt now, but didn't like the process at times. First of all, so many half square triangles to make-480 of those suckers! And then I did not like most of my red fabrics. I was determined to use what I had and I did but that meant using reds, some pinks, lots of dark reds and maroons, orange reds, reds with large yellow flowers, reds with a lot of white in it, you get the idea. When you're cutting all those out and they're laying there lifeless on the cutting board they do look like they will never work together. But I think it's those very qualities that gives this quilt a lot of movement and makes it interesting to me.

Now the "it's done-sort of" statement. I think I'm going to put a couple of borders on it. I have been auditioning some fabrics and have found a combination that I like so I may go for it this weekend. I like borders on a quilt. I don't like doing them but I think they help some designs and I think this one needs a small border to highlight the middle and then a slightly bigger one. So a second reveal is in the making. I've been seeing some of the other quilts in the challenge and I think everyone did a spectacular job.

Where Has Chris Been?

2010-01-14T19:44:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been right here at home in NH, not somewhere warm which is hard to find in the US I guess. I've also been perfecting the art of coughing myself to death. I had three weeks off from work (I work at a college) and I was really looking forward to the week after the holidays so I could get a lot of sewing done before I went back to work but the creeping crud, as my Mom used to call it, came to visit. The cough has yet to leave.

Anyways, I did manage to get some of my snowball blocks done and one lonely row sewn togethter. Now that I am back to work sewing time is hard to find. Hopefully this weekend I'll get going on it. I think I'll be adding borders to make it a bit bigger or I may just make some more blocks to make it bigger but probably not that option. The thought of making a bunch more HST's makes me think twice about that. I think the deadline for this challenge is the end of this month and I may not make it but who cares. I want to get this quilt just the way I want it and that may take a bit longer. I don't like rushing just for a deadline-sewing should be fun. So I hope you are finding some sun and warmth. It actually was sunny and in the 30's today and it felt heavenly!

Progress

2009-12-30T16:40:00.000-05:00

So since I have a break from work and I have rested after the holiday it's time to get caught up on the snowball challenge quilt. I had virtually abandoned it almost as soon as I started it as the holidays really took over my available time. But now everything is cut, the HST's are sewn and some of the parts have been sewn so perhaps one of these days I'll be able to show off some blocks. I've done a couple of test blocks but that's not enough to show. There are some over achievers in this challenge that have finished their quilts! Then there's me who is hoping there's a prize for last quilt completed!

One of the sewing projects that had me distracted before Christmas were these two aprons that I made for my DIL and DD. I love this pattern and will have to make one for myself one of these days. After the snowball quilt, I promise. Note to self; don't sign up for a quilt challenge so close to Christmas!

2009-12-23T15:34:00.000-05:00

Catching a little sunshine on my tree this afternoon so I hope you are all able to catch a little sunshine this holiday in your life. Thanks to all my blogging friends for making 2009 so much fun. We'll have even more fun in 2010! Have a restful and healthy holiday! See you in a bit.

Never, Never, Never

2009-12-22T16:30:00.000-05:00

As G*d as my witness, I will never make this pattern again. Never, never, never! Hardest thing I ever made.

(Feel free to hum the music from Gone With the Wind while reading this post.)

A Mail Surprise

2009-12-21T10:31:00.001-05:00

There's nothing better than a surprise in the mail and I got one last week. One of my swap partners in the Snowball challenge, Julie, sent me an ornament in honor of the challenge. I love handmade ornaments and I especially like them when they remind you of an event. Every time I travel I try and buy an ornament that reminds me of that trip. When Christmas rolls around and you are decorating, happy memories come back when you put your assorted ornaments on the tree. Some people buy t-shirts, I buy ornaments! So I know every Christmas I'll remember Julie and the snowball challenge! Speaking of which, I have done very little on my quilt. Hopefully after the holidays I'll get to it.

Busy, busy around here and I hope to post some pictures of items I have finished but just can't yet because they are supposed to be a surprise afterall!

Dear Santa

2009-12-15T11:02:00.000-05:00

Dear Santa, I have been a good girl this year. I have not bought much fabric at all and have been following Al Gore's mantra to use less and save the planet. But there's only so much planet saving one girl can do and right now she needs some fabric! So go to the Fat Quarter Shop and the nice people there have promised to help you and hook me up with this amazingly beautiful fabric. I need it! Please Santa?

What's on the Cutting Table

2009-12-08T19:16:00.000-05:00

While it was doing this this past weekend, I locked myself in my sewing room and worked on some Christmas presents that have been waiting.

I made three of these table toppers from an Atkinson Designs pattern. I just love this pattern. You can make these toppers in three different sizes and these are the smallest size. I used fabric all from my stash, although I'm pretty sure I bought the neutrals from Nicole's stash. You'll notice the front one is different than the others because I messed up in the placement of the greens on the outside but it still looks good.

This is the medium size, again all from my stash.

And then there's this-animal body parts. The making of this has not been pretty. Not easy, questionable directions, and not for the faint of heart. It's survival is questionable at this point in time!

Some Christmas

2009-12-01T19:36:00.000-05:00

Allyson at Fat Cat Quilts is having a week of Christmas to get the decorating started so since I got some of my decorations out I thought I'd join in. First up is one of my trees (I put up a few of them). This is the one I put all my family ornaments on.

This year I thought it needed some Christmas bling so here's what I did.

I bought a big bow, Walmart $2.50, and some berry springs, Joanne Fabric $0.39 each and dolled up the top. I saw this idea on Heather Bailey's blog last year. I'm glad I even remembered where I saw it! I'm not creative enough to come up with these ideas on my own so I need to steal, I mean borrow from others.

Then I bought about 42 of these big red snowflakes at Target, 6 for $2. I love them! What I like best is that the tree looks all sparkly in the daytime too. So that's a start for me. Haven't had much time to do all of the decorating but I'll post some others as they make an appearance. It sure felt wintery today with cold temperatures. Now all we need is a little snow. But just a little please.

Happy After Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T08:30:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful day. Here's what my day was like and then it's on to Christmas. We went to Connecticut to DH's brother's and SIL's home. This is their house. It's an old Victorian with an addition on the side. They have spent many years fixing it up.

This is their front yard. They live on the ocean and those islands out there are the Thimble islands. It's fun to do a boat trip around the many Thimble islands as I did years ago.

My niece got married between those trees a number of years ago. It was a great wedding. You can barely see a little island out there with a house on it. There are lots of little islands like that with summer homes on them just perched there waiting from someone to visit. I would love to go in all those cottages. I don't think I'd especially like getting the groceries there though!

And here is the room I spent most of the day in. It was a mild day with some sun so it was wonderful to sit there and just look at the view. When it got dark, one of the big houses across the way was all lit up with white lights. Good food, good company and a beautiful day with much to be thankful for. A perfect day in my book.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T13:52:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot going on here but none of it quilt related. I have Christmas presents I need to finish but can't show here and as far as the Red and White Snowball challenge, I'm going to be in last place finishing that one. There are actually people out there who have finished theirs, hello Thelma! And my camera broke so I am showing a picture from a couple of years ago of what I usually do the day before Thanksgiving-bake pies. I love to make pies so that's what I will be contributing this year since the meal is being held in Connecticut and not my house. So have a wonderful day all you blogging peeps.

Snowball Quilt Update

2009-11-15T09:26:00.001-05:00

So as previously stated I am participating in the Red and White Snowball challenge and I received all my light fabrics that were part of the swap. No duplicates and a wonderful mix of fabrics. I have been saying all along that I was not going to do the red. I was planning on doing another color with the lights but I love red and I kept thinking about it and I went to my stash and I have plenty so I too am doing the red.

Yesterday was very rainy here, thank you Ida, so I ironed and cut all day. Just a little more cutting to do today and I'll get started on the sewing. But I see the sun peaking out so I may end up outside instead. You see, we New Englanders know that we'll be stuck indoors for a while soon so we tend to be out when we can to enjoy every last minute of fall and there has been some very nice weather lately so I have not been in my sewing room at all until yesterday. I am anxious to get going here. Can't wait to see everyone elses quilts.

2009-11-10T16:32:00.001-05:00

How much fun is getting fabric in the mail! I am participating in the Snowball Quilt challenge hosted by Allyson and Nicole and part of the fun is exchanging light fabric with the people you've been matched up with as swap partners. Some of my fabric packages have arrived and what fun it is to open them although one of my swappers, Debra, is saving all the packages and waiting until they all arrive and then opening them! What stamina! I could not wait so I opened them as they arrived. The above picture shows what has arrived and above them is the three fabrics I sent out. What a wonderful combination and no duplicates.

On a side note, I stopped at my LQS yesterday to get the Easy Angle ruler that I have been wanting ever since Nicole showed how she is using it on this challenge. When I went in, the place was in a jumble with fabric everywhere, her long arm taken apart and all the displays down. She is closing! She decided late last week to close-no explanation although I think the shop was a victim of the economy. I have been getting all my quilts quilted there so I need to find a new quilter. Help! There have been a number of shops that have closed around here in the past couple of years. I sure hope it stops.

Fabric Is On It's Way

2009-11-02T19:20:00.001-05:00

Have you heard about the Red and White Snowball Challenge? I am participating in it and also the fabric swap that goes along with it so I got my light strips ready this weekend and got them in the mail today so my swap partners should have them soon. I am actually trying to decide if I am going to do reds or something else.

Now the Kaffe Fassett book is an entirely different story.

My sister and one of her friends flew to Eastern Tennessee to go to a 3-day workshop with Kaffe. We had been there in April for my nephew's wedding and we found Tennessee Quilts, a wonderful quilt shop in Jonesboro. We got on their e-mail list and an e-mail came across about this workshop and my sister declared "Roadtrip"!! Unfortunately, I work at a college and there's no taking time off in the middle of a semester so she went with a friend. But she did bring me back this book, signed by Kaffe, which I have been drooling over eversince. Can't wait to try one the patterns in here.

So Katy, Julie, Debra, Jennifer, Kathy and Esther, be looking for your package from NH!

My Mojo

2009-10-26T17:32:00.002-04:00

So I think my quilting Mojo has got up and left. Since my surgery I haven't done much sewing and I had no project that was exciting me enough to get going. That was until the Red and White Snowball Challenge hosted by Allyson and Nicole.

So check it out. I haven't decided if I'm going to do red and white though. I may go rogue! I know some others are doing other colors. I have something really different that keeps showing up in my head so who knows whay I'll do or will I chicken out and do red and white, which I love by the way. So stay tuned.

I haven't been totally idle though. I love scarves and I am knitting this one which is a free pattern on the Purl Soho blog. Not for the faint of heart though. This is a lace pattern and it takes some concentration but the yarn is yummy and it has been fun to knit again. I'll be doing this one for a while though since I love my scarves long. So whether you're knitting or sewing, try a new project. Just what I needed!

It's Still October for Crying Out Loud

2009-10-19T18:58:00.001-04:00

It's was mighty cold here last week when my grandsons came for the day. There really is a baby in there somewhere in that fleece above! Jackson wasn't quite sure he was enjoying the walk we had last Friday morning. Afterall, it's October and it's supposed to be warmer than this.

But the other two, Carter and Ga, did enjoy the walk. The leaves were beautiful, the neighborhood was mostly quiet and it was nice to be out in the fresh air. What you can't quite see in this picture is that is was just starting to snow at this point. Baby Jackson is still not sure what to make of this.

Then is was time to rake some of those pretty leaves by this expert raking crew I hired with the promise of a grilled cheese for lunch. The littlest crew member did a great job for a while until it was more fun to mess the pile of leaves up. Oh well. There will be more to rake next week.

Maine

2009-10-11T19:26:00.001-04:00

We went to Maine to check on our cottage before we turn it over to a winter tenant. It was a cool, crisp autumn day and it was a beautiful ride. It's a 3 hour ride from our home in NH so you have to enjoy the ride and who wouldn't with scenery like this. This is what our freeways look like. What do yours look like?

Here's our little cottage waiting for us.

The view is as spectacular as it was in summer. Just a few less leaves right now.

Here's the best climbing tree ever. I think it is so beautiful with it's leaves mostly off.

And the view from the kitchen sink isn't bad either.

So until next spring we say goodbye. I'm going to miss going up here until then.