See this ship? That's the Explorer of the Seas...I will be aboard it tomorrow, Saturday, July 3rd, cruising for 5 days to Bermuda.

I can't wait to be waited on hand and foot and sit poolside all day. Hope you all have a nice July 4th! See ya back here on Friday.

Peggy

PS: Happy 25th Birthday Dan!

Sorry we are leaving on your birthday but I'm thinking you'll probably have plenty of people to keep you company as you celebrate!!!

12 Days?

Wow, has it really been 12 days since I last blogged? Where the heck have I been and what have I been doing???? I can tell you I have not been doing any serious sewing that's for sure!!!

Bindings on quilted tops and a few 9 patch blocks but nothing much to write home about.

I did have a few items on reserve that came in the mail today and even though I have been on a "NO BUY", I did buy these 2 kits....

The first one is a small "Sweetwater" quilt kit and the other is a "Sanibel" fat quarter packet with border yardage to assemble the attached pattern.

Sewing Machines

My first machine was a New Home that I got for Christmas in 1985, but unfortunately I lent it out about 5 years ago and never got it back. The next machine I bought was the Elna 2006. It's a great machine but not computerized so it's mighty noisy. Don't even try to listen to the radio when this one is sewing. I got it in my head that I NEEDED a machine that did embroidery so the next machine I got was my Bernina Artista 165 from hubby as a Birthday/Christmas present in about 2004 or 2005, I can't remember the year. This is the machine that I use on a daily basis and pretty much still like working with.

I also have a Singer Featherweight that I bought on the internet

probably 15 years ago. At the time I had it set up and did use it a LOT.....When I redid my sewing room I just didn't have space to keep it and all the fabric I'd accumulated out so I packed it up and it's been sitting in it's little case for probably 7-8 years.

I did run it this morning and it works like the day it was made!!!

Over time I've picked up a Janome DC2010 and also a Bernette50 that I occasionally take out and sew with, but not often :(

And, last but not least is my Baby Lock Quilters Edition machine that is on the Grace Frame in my upstairs sewing room. I am STILL having trouble getting quilts loaded on it but I think this winter I'll devote more time to it and if I don't "GET IT" then the frame will get sold and I'll just send quilts out to a longarmer....plain and simple!!! The sewing machine sews beautifully so it will just get set up on a table upstairs and i'll use that for piecing.

Hope you enjoyed my walk down the sewing machine lane with me.

Peggy

Sewing Machines

One of the Yahoo groups I belong to has started a discussion on what sewing machines everyone uses and owns. I'm thinking that's a great blog discussion so I'm going to go pull out my machines and take some pictures and blog about them.

It's an interesting question...do you only sew with one machine or do you jump back and forth from machines?

I can tell you that with the size of my room (9 x 7 approx) I only keep one machine up but some day..... Yes, some day I'm dreaming that I'll have a much bigger room with space to set up at least 3 machines....

Check back later for my post.

Fabric Tote Bag with Pockets

I coveted this tote bag that Michelle was carrying at retreat last month so nothing else would do....I had to make my own. I used the "Frolic" line for both the outside and lining (exactly like Michelle's). I cut it last night and then worked on it a little when I got home from work today and then after dinner. The binding around the edges gave me a run for my money but I'm thrilled with how it looks so it was worth all the work I put into it. Thanks for the pattern Michelle!!

Did I Show You This?

Back in January I assembled this quilt for my daughter. I have always wanted to make a black and white quilt but really wanted to add one other color just to add a little punch to it. Since I found a great fq bundle with turquoise in it that was what I used. I got it assembled and quilted and after a lot of setting it aside, I got the binding tacked down. Yesterday she was cleaning her apartment and decided it was the day to put it on her bed...and it looks great!

I'm keeping up

Yes maam, I'm keeping up with my 9 Patch Project, are you?

I have actually made these 8 and the alternating blocks to match with the wow corners "just in case" I want to use them in the same project.

I know these 4-1/2 inch blocks aren't going to make a big dent in my stash but if I use them with a bullseye project later in the summer then I might just clean out my 30's drawers.

LOOKIE

"Lookie", that's the kind of emails I get from "the girls"...yes, you know who you are Robin and Michelle! Well, I made the executive decision last night that the

2nd half was going to be a "no lookie" "no buying" time....even if it meant doing this

I'm very serious about not shopping for any other fabric for the remainder of 2010....except for quilt backs. I will have to take that money from my checking account using the debit card which rarely has a lot of money in it so this is going to be quite a test of my self control!!!!

So, what do you think? Think I will be able to do it???????

Have you heard?

Have you heard about the "Nine Patch Project" ? Karen Snyder at Anna Lena Land and Debbie at Quilting Possibilities had it on their blogs on June 1st. It sounds like a perfect summertime project, and if you know anything at all about me, I like NEW projects! These girls have it all figured out....if you do 1 block a day you end up with something like 92 9 patch blocks between June 1st and August 30th...

I'm not one of those scrap cutter upper kinda gals so in order for me to participate I had to do some cutting and then just grab a couple of fat quarters and cut them up too. I'm doing 30's with a nice white on white cut up into 2 inch squares which will give me 4-1/2 inch finished blocks. These will go perfectly as a border for some blocks I have in my cabinet or even as a baby quilt

Here are my first 3 blocks. I am officially up to date LOL

Nervous?

Nervous? Me nervous???? Just a little bit! See this------------------------>

My 21 year old is sitting in Kennedy Airport right now waiting to board a flight to go see the Eiffel Tower for 27 days! I think I'd be a little more nervous if she were alone but she's going on a tour with Fashion Merchandizing students from all over the area and will be studying as well as touring so I'm not as nervous as I would have been otherwise.

I've never been to Paris but this will be the 2nd daughter to go. The other one went for a haircutting and coloring class about 5 years ago and loved it.

A Finish and MORE Dots

Hope everyone is having a restful Memorial Day and we're all remembering the reason for this day.

I put the border on this baby quilt a few minutes ago and since I'm home alone I had to go outside to get a picture. It's not the best picture but once it's quilted and bound I'll take a better one. It's definitely much cuter in person!!!

I also took a few pictures of some more DOTS Vickie :) I really thought I had more but it's a funny thing, when you go in search of them you just can't find them!!!

Here's my ironing board cover, a pitcher in my china cabinet, and my beach towel that I take on vacation with me!

String Blocks

I am NOT a scrap userupper.I'm just not really interested in making scrap quilts never was, never thought I would be. I usually will bring a large garbage bag full of scraps to retreat and have fun watching all the girls go thru the bag and take baggie fulls home with them. Sometimes they will assemble small projects while they are there too. Well, the last night of retreat last week I was semi challenged by my friend Deb Smith, who makes a lot of scrap quilts, to make something and bring it to retreat in 2011. So, I grabbed an old pile of muslin and cut some 7 inch foundation blocks from it and then took my scrap basket, which is pretty much empty and tonight I started to sew together some string blocks. I actually feel "good" about not wasting the fabric and in the end I'll have a pretty scrappy top that I can use or donate...

Here's a picture of my scraps and the first 4 string blocks.

The Polka Dot War Begins

WELL...I think I've been challenged by Vickie....I guess we have to let the polka dot wars begin!!!

Yes Vickie, I have glasses with red polka dots, napkins with dots, and a little snack plate that I have on the table next to me when I am sewing while I watch tv. I can sit my hot cuppa tea on it and the loose threads and such get put on it too...easy clean up at the end of the night :)

And I know you have one of these too, but I HAD to show it :) I always bring my own shopping bag anywhere I go so now I have the best looking one around. Ain't it purty?

Retreat 2010

I had a ball at retreat AGAIN this year. The 13 hour drive from NJ with Robin is grueling but the minute we get to the hotel the night before the fun starts, all that traveling is a distant memory....the drive home on the other hand is still fresh in my mind!!! LOL

I got a couple of projects finished and ready for quilting. One is a red/white/turquoise top. I had hoped to make it full size but my starting squares were undersized so I ended up with something that a little girl could use. I also did a flannel quilt for my daughter's boyfriend's brother and a red/white & blue top that I will donate to our school in September for raffling off.

We also had a guest appearance by Laura's friend Pepe.....And, last but not least, I got lots of gifts from the girls and brought home quite a few new pincushions this year...

Dots, Dots, and More Dots

My love of anything polka dot is legendary....but all of a sudden I'm noticing my obsession has turned to everything red and white polka dot. While at retreat last week I noticed a lot of conversations with my friend Vickie turned to the subject of the red and white dots almost hourly! I thought then that I should post a picture of a few of my most recent purchases.

First, Vickie and I went on a search on the internet for a red Ott Lite. I found one and sent her the link to it. Well, before I had the chance to do anything, Vickie had hers ordered and got her shipping notice. I ordered mine as well the next day but didn't tell Vickie that I got an even more special one than she did....mine is red and white polka dot!!! YES folks, red and white polka dot!!! Then at the end of the week we had a "Secret Sister" swap which also produced some yardage of red and white dots courtesy of Connie from Indiana....

Then when I came home having finished a cute red/white/aqua quilt, I went online and ordered some red and white dotted minkee....You should feel how soft this stuff is....Well, that came yesterday.

I also have a few things around the house that are red and white dots....my desk chair is covered in them, I have tea mugs that are red and dotted and my daughter wears the BEST red and white dotted shoes!!!

Now, if I could get my hands on those dotted bowls that Liz said she got at Costco, I'd be in heaven!!!

I'm back

Sorry for such a long time since last posting but we got in from retreat VERY late last Sunday and then this past week was spent playing catch up with laundry and work and then Thursday it was time to go "back on the road" for our trip to Rhode Island to pick up the youngest child from college and to attend her awards ceremony. She finished up her junior year at Johnson & Wales and received 3 scholarships amounting to enough to pay for housing next year!! It was a wonderful surprise when we saw how much she got and finished out the year with a 3.86 GPA...another nice surprise. Since she wouldn't pose for any pictures yesterday I can only write about it, not show pictures....
Thanks Sarah for making Mom and Dad so proud of you!!!

On the road again........

On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again.............well, I could do without all the driving but I am anxious to see all the girls again and spend some real quality time sewing. Robin is supposed to be here for me tomorrow morning so we can be at the bagel shop when it opens at 6am and then we'll be heading thru NJ to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and on our way to Indiana.

I've checked and double checked my list of things I need to bring to work on as well as all my supplies....if I've forgotten anything I guess I'll just have to borrow from one of the other girls. Have a great week while I'm gone....

Peggy

I totally forgot

I totally forgot that we had a birthday here at Casa Aront last Saturday.....

Well, not really FORGOT as much as wasn't able to connect to the internet for 3 weeks from home (thank you very much Comcast)....but anyway, our beautiful daughter Jennifer turned a young 26 on May 1st. The family went out to a hibachi restaurant for dinner and then home for presents and cake....

Here's a picture of the birthday girl and her honey Tim...don't they make a cute couple? Please ignore the fat lady in red....for some odd reason the photographer would NOT listen to the lady in red and I can't get her cropped out LOL

Next time I take the pictures so I don't have to embarass myself anymore. Geesh..my hair was a mess, the angle was all off and what's with the stunned look????? Anyhow, Happy Birthday Jen, and many more!!!

Meadow Blocks

I am definitely on a finishing roll....not on UFO's but new starts. I don't know why I even make a UFO list sometimes but I do :) So, last week I'm just aimlessly wandering around the sewing room one afternoon when I'm home here by myself and not in the mood to do laundry, clean house or anything else...so I say to myself "self, get out a kit and get to sewing". I've had a kit from the Fat Quarter Shop on my shelf for at least 6 months or more and I keep looking at it so I pulled it out and cut into it. Once all the parts were cut, the assembly was quick! The pattern name is "Meadow Blocks" by Carlene Westberg Designs. 16 fat quarters and some backing and binding and you have a beautiful quilt!

I took it ouside today since it's beautiful out and tried to get a decent picture of it...sure wasn't easy with the breeze blowing, but here it is.

It is very bright but it's going to make a fun quilt for a little girl and it will go with any color room...

And speaking of flowers....everything here in NJ is blooming, I have green surfaces all over my house from the darn pollen to prove it!

We have some purple flowers out back and my beautiful weeping willow is all green!!!

A Clean Room and a Finish

I did a little cleaning up of my room today, which was way overdo. I tend to pile stuff up on top of the books in the corner so that got all wiped down and organized again. I hung all my scissors up and put all the rulers in the stand...then I mopped the floor and emptied the garbage. When I got done I didn't really want to make a mess but do you see that little pile of fabric on my cutting board? Well, those 2 fabrics were the borders for the quilt I showed in my last post. They came late in the week and were just crying out for me to cut into them...so I did, and here's what came of it.

This quilt is called "A Piece of Cake" and as much as I liked it on Tuesday when I finished laying out the rows, I LOVE it even more today with the 2 borders on it!!!

I also spent some time this morning before I got to sewing, making up a couple of kits of quilt tops to take to Indiana with me on May 11th....It's going to take every ounce of patience NOT to open one of the ziploc bags and start assembling one of them but I realize then I'd have to make more kits so in the meantime, I have a couple of embroidery projects to work on and 2 tops to bind so I'll stick to working on them....

How's your Sunday been?

A Piece of Cake

OK, so here's a sneak peek at what I started making with those fabrics I showed you on Sunday.
Even though this quilt is 2 fat quarter packets combined, I didn't care much for the pinks mixed in so I am setting them aside for the next one.
This pattern was quick and easy...

What am I doing with these fabrics?

Hmmmm...what am I doing with these fabrics? Stay tuned....I have 2 very specific projects on tap and one is already in the works.....

Oh, and some of you might ask if this pile is on my UFO list. The answer to that is NO! I just could not resist cutting into them today so UFO List be damned!!

Pincushions

I finished my first prototype pincushion tonight for retreat.
I like how it turned out so I'm going to go ahead and make the other 2 for the swap.

I like to make fun food pincushions the best but I'm starting to run out of ideas....I've made cake slices, cupcakes, donuts and carrots. These chocolate dipped strawberries actually were quite easy and look much cuter and have better color in real life.

I also got my Cinderberries girls quilt back from Sandi, my longarmer friend. I was really nervous about sending an all embroidery top for quilting but she did a fantastic job on it so I am super happy.

Below is a picture of the quilting upclose and also a picture of the entire top before I trimmed the extra fabric off. Now all I have to do is get the binding on and tacked down and I can cross another project off my UFO list.