On the Road Again...

I just wanted to tell you girls that I will be on the road again in the morning (Tuesday) and heading to Indiana for my annual quilt retreat. Robin and I expect to leave NJ by 6am and with no problems, arrive at the Indianapolis Airport by 8PM at the latest. We allow ourselves lunch, dinner and multiple gas and bathroom breaks throughout the trip. We will be meeting Michelle at the Indianapolis Holiday Inn Express at the airport and then Wednesday we will head to the retreat site around noon. Hope you all have a nice week and with luck I come home with some pictures to share.

Peggy

Good Thing

Good thing I'm going to a retreat next week, I'll finally be able to get some sewing done.

Since construction started on the house and my machine was moved out of my room, I haven't sat at it once. Tonight I decided I'd better clean it up and make sure it was in good running order. I didn't want to make anything big so I picked a birthday block for one of my online groups. It's a My Blue Heaven (from Quilters Cache) block done in Thimbleberries.

The block turned out nice and the machine works good.... If I had more energy, I'd whip up a few more, unfortunately, I've been on the move since my feet hit the floor this morning so I'm beat. I need a cuppa tea and my feet up!

Happy Birthday Jen

Today my oldest daughter is 25! It feels like just yesterday when I held that little thing in my arms, but here she is with my son (23) all grown up and beautiful!!!

Happy Birthday Jen!!!

We went to CHEVY's for Mexican food for dinner and celebrated...she wouldn't let the staff put a sombrero on her head or sing to her but she did accept the free birthday ice cream :)

Hotter......Hotter than hades....

It has been hotter, hotter than hades here the past 3 days and I am not happy about it....(1) I am not a very good "hot weather person" and (2) it is way too soon for this heat!!! The only good thing about the weather is that the builder has had all of his crews out working. We already have a roof and the addition's attic has a floor....I'm amazed at what's gotten finished since Wednesday.

And, there is a countdown going on in the house.....I am driving the morning of May 12th from my house in NJ to Indiana with Robin and meeting up with Michelle and a few other gals from our online quilting group....When I realized that it was 2 weeks from today I got sorta giddy....just the thought of sewing, talking, eating, and more sewing with the girls made me very happy!!! I think packing up some projects might be just the job for a hot day in NJ today......

Red, White, and Blue

I had this project pretty much cut out and since I was itching to sew on the machine I plugged it in and sewed up this table topper.... I think it took an hour total to assemble. During the week I'll sandwich it and quilt it up....

Construction

As I reported the other day, we are under construction....Here's a picture of what the house looked like this time last week.....it's a good picture of the house but it's a bad picture of what is being worked on. We are adding a small apartment over the garage on the left hand side of the house over the garage.

Here's a picture of the house today....We built the house 16 years ago and did not put a basement in so hubby didn't have anyplace to put a pool table or bar or anything....so, we made the decision back in January to "just do it"....But, as is with anything we do, nothing is "just a room"...this one has a bedroom, bathroom, 3 closets and the living room area..... Our oldest will live in it as an interim place until she can save a little for her own house. I did think that the "living room" might be a perfect place for a long arm machine someday down the road.... hmmmmm....I may have to work on that LOL.

How was the weather where you guys were? It is very hot and humid here in NJ......

Peggy

A Finish

I have to say, I haven't done much else at night this week except sit on the couch and watch tv...it was a hard going back to the grind of work this week after a wonderful week in South Carolina...thankfully it's almost over :)

We are under construction here in New Jersey and my sewing room has been the recipient of a few "oopsies" since the construction is going on over that so I have my Bernina packed up and I've had to vacate the room for about a week.....

I have however been taking this little jem with me to work and after I eat my lunch I work on it for half an hour. I finished it today and I just love how it turned out even though it's too late for this Easter I will get the border fabrics on and ready for next Easter.... In case you are wondering where I got this kit from, I bought it from Bird Brain Designs....go check them out, they have a great selection of stitcheries...

Peggy

It's Warmer in New Jersey

It's warmer in New Jersey than it was in South Carolina this week. I thought it got warmer the further south you went? Anyhoo, hubby and I had a nice relaxing time....we walked an hour every morning, we ate healthier and we just basically had a good time.

We did go to the movies one night and saw "KNOWING" with Nicolas Cage. Now, I'm not a big Nicholas Cage fan but I liked him in this movie. I would definitely recommend it to you to go see.

I hadn't sat at my machine in it felt like ages, so I pulled out a tote bag kit that I'd gotten about this time last year from Pat Sloan's site and decided it would be a good project to do.... Is this fabric not cute??? I love tote bags!!!

Here's a picture of today's next to one I made last year at retreat.....

I probably have more tote bags than any sane person really needs but Michelle teased me today with one she made yesterday from the April 2009 Mc Calls magazine....so now I want to make that one......You should check it out, it's super cute!!!

Peggy

Weight Loss Monday

We are away in Myrtle Beach so my weigh in will have to wait until next week....I've reported to Sharon.....if the rain stops tomorrow then I'll get out walking so lets keep our fingers crossed that I can lose SOMETHING this week....See you all when I return.

Peggy

Thimbleberries 2009 Club

I haven't gotten much done in the sewing room this week but I did get my March 2009 kit done so that I'm not behind when the April kit comes.....

My family celebrated Easter today since my daughter has to go back to college tomorrow.

She gets the train from RI to NJ and the only decent one back tomorrow was at 5:50 so we had a nice turkey dinner today with the family and then tomorrow hubby will make pancakes and bacon at noon for us before he heads to the train station with Sarah....

I am collecting up some stitchery projects to take to Myrtle Beach with me. I have a 6am flight Monday from Atlantic City. I'll be at the condo by 10am! Anyone out there know of a nice quilt shop in MB?

Hope you all have a nice Easter and a good week...

Peggy

Weight Loss Monday on Tuesday

A bright note for Monday was the pretty bouquet hubby brought home from the grocery store when he did the weekly food shopping.....
I have them on the kitchen counter on top of my Easter runner that Robin made me a few years ago. Aren't they a nice color purple???

A not so bright note for Monday was no weight loss! BLAH! I'm not going to beat that dead horse tonight though....

Peggy

Birthday Blocks

I belong to a Yahoo birthday group where once a month we make a block for the birthday girl.

This month we happen to have 2 girls so I decided I might as well look over their fabric that they sent in along with their block of choice.... One block went together lickety split....One, gave me fits....Can you tell which is which?

Peggy

YUP, It's Springtime on the East Coast

Yes, I think we can say it's finally springtime here on the East Coast..... My weeping willow tree has buds on it which I am sure will be in full bloom this time next week and oh yeah, in case any of you west coasters want to come east and visit, the "Naked Cowboy" is back at his post in New York City!!! I saw him at his post last Sunday.....

Another Finish

WOW...it sure has been quite some time since I posted.....Work was a bear this week and I have to tell you, if I didn't have this quilt addiction I'd be quittin quicker than you can blink an eye!!!

I was picked to participate in the stimulus plan on Joanne's bloghttp://splittingstitches.blogspot.com/, so I needed to get the borders on this 30's quilt so I can get it out to her tomorrow....

As I wrote last week, I took all my 6.5 inch 30's and kona white blocks out, assembled the sampler and then decided I wanted a piano key border. I put a kona white border all around the sampler then the piano key and I think it looks pretty nice!!! My quilt holders are all out tonight so I had to put push pins into it and hung it in front of my sliding glass doors....

I'm heading off to bed...hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Peggy

Weight Loss Monday

I honestly don't know why I am still a part of the group...I am not doing much losing but I guess knowing I have to post on Mondays it keeps me at least attempting to lose something....
Big ole goose egg this week -0- pounds lost :( -0- pounds gained :)

Peggy

Another Finish

I finally got the binding on this top so I can check another finish off my BPF Challenge list...Yahoo!

This is the 2008 Thimbleberries Club Quilt....It is as we speak hanging on the wall in the upstairs faculty room at school. I've donated this top to our multiply handicapped class who are in the process of raffling it off. The proceeds will go to an orphanage in India. A friend of our MH teacher built the orphanage and we do occasional fundraisers for it in school. I thought this was a great fundraiser and am happy to report that the staff loves the top and everyone is hoping to win it.

I haven't done any machine sewing this week yet, I've been working on pincushions for retreat and got myself hooked on my Truly Scrumptious stitcheries so that's what I've been doing....I'm thinking this weekend though I'll do a little bit of sewing on the machine....got a lotta bom's to keep up with :)

Peggy

A New Stimulus Package

Have you read about Joanne's Stimulus Package? She's a new longarm quilter and is offering a great deal...go on over and check her out...http://splittingstitches.blogspot.com/2009/03/update-on-stimulus-package.html
Sounds like an offer you just can't pass up on...

Peggy

Have you seen this????

Have any of you seen this? I was hysterical! When hubby showed me this tonight I said "SHOW ME THE CREDIT CARD!" lol I certainly don't need to be told twice, do you?

Peggy

Monday-Loser's Club

OK, don't go getting the horns and stuff out, it's only 2 lbs....but at least it's not a gain!!!

Another Finish

NO, not another quilt....this time it's just one of the Truly Scrumptious "girls". I love to do embroidery but when push comes to shove, I tend to gravitate towards piecing quilt blocks so my embroidery pieces take a year and a day to do...

I think this one's name is TILLY...isn't she cute?

I'll have to pull out the other ones that I finished and put a picture up.

Peggy

All Roads Lead to the Sea an Update

It seems like ages since I did the steeple portion of the church for this All Roads Lead to the Sea BOM so whenI got the March kit yesterday I wanted to cut right into the new kit. I started it pretty late last night because I wanted to get the sampler top assembled, so I didn't get much done. After working on it all afternoon today I manage to finish it around 7PM tonight. These blocks take a lot of concentration and you have to know that when you start one that you won't get much else done that day.

I took some liberties with my windows today and didn't put arches on them and I used a different walkway than what the quilt shop gave us but other than that, I stuck to the directions.

I did do a little whining this afternoon about how tedious this was and Robin reminded me that this is a once in a lifetime thing so I stopped complaining and just got er done...

Now, here's a picture of what I've got done so far....I didn't realize that I didn't do 1 kit, I found that in the box with the scraps so that needs assembly, and I have another house that has one of those killer rooflines that I can't seem to "get", but I'm going to get it out and make an effort to work on that tonight... This is going to be something that I'll treasure forever and I've already picked a place to hang it so I need to focus and keep up with it.....

2004-It was a very good year

I guess 2004 was a good year, at least it was for me and getting lotsa swap blocks....

I was looking to assemble a quick and easy top the other day and I wanted something in light flowery colors. I immediately went to my 30's drawers and pulled out a couple of bags of blocks and settled on the bag of kona white and 30's since I had enough blocks to arrange them 7 across by 10 down....which, after I add a thin border and then a nice size piano key border, will make a nice single size throw.

After I got it pretty much assembled I thought that maybe I should have put strips in between each block but I was looking for QUICK AND EASY and that would have made for way too much work. I would like to have this done and to the quilter by the time the month is over.

I do have to say though, the quilt is much cuter in person, for some reason the blocks look a little washed out in this picture, and they really aren't....

Peggy

Loser Monday Already?

Holy Kamoley....I cannot believe it's Loser Monday already....
Well, I for one did not weigh myself this morning so I will report back tomorrow.
I know I've been doing this Loser Monday thing for a while but I can't get used to
stepping on a scale so I always come home and forget....I will check in on Tuesday, PROMISE!!!

Main St. Stars

I keep forgetting to post another finish I had in February....It's a block of the month I did with the Main Street Cotton Shop from August 2007 thru July 2008. It was called "Main Street Stars". This was the 2nd block of the month I did with Main Street and when all was said and done, I am just as happy with this one as I was with the first.

Here's a picture of the front and the back. The backing fabric was kind of an interesting winter scene that I thought looked nice with this top....

The first block of the month I did in 2006-2007 was called "Main Street USA".
This one was more of a wall hanging size, which I thought the new one was too but I was sure surprised when I finished it and it was so large.

I've had this one hanging on the wall in my kitchen since it was done.

I absolutely love how it fits right on the wall with the shelf rack with my little dolls and pitchers.

I am thinking I need to make something that I can hang during the spring and summer, I just need to figure out what.....

Peggy

A Little Finish

I didn't get as much sewn today as I'd have liked but I did get a block of the month done and I got the rick rack tacked down onto a cute tablerunner I made yesterday....

The blocks at the left are part of the 2009 Thimbleberries BOM.

I had to get month 2 done 'cause I'm sure month 3 is probably in the mail as we speak....

The picture at the right is the corner of the Mary Engelbreit table runner I did yesterday.

It was made from 1 charm pack and the kit came with the cute fat red rick rack for around the edges.

It will be perfect for the kitchen island....

I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup for dinner and got some fresh bagels so we're all set for a very cold night in New Jersey.

How was your day?

Peggy

Weigh In

Haven't been able to weigh in since we've had 2 snow days....Will report in hopefully tomorrow (Wed)

Can you hear me cheering?

We got a snow day....and what makes it twice as nice, we got the call before heading to bed so I didn't have to set the alarm for 5:15 to get up......and it's still coming down so we might get 2 days and possibly a delayed opening out of it!!! Can a school employee ask for anything more?

What to do now?

Hmmmm.....I'm really in the mood to start something new even though I should really finish up something old... BAH....I'm going to cut into this kit that I've had hanging out on the cutting table for a while. It's called "CHARM RUNNER" and it came with Mary E charms, backing fabric and that BIG red rick rack.

Seems like a fairly easy runner to make so I'm hoping I can get it cut tonight and finish it up tomorrow. Stay tuned...............

Runner

Here's Project # 3 on my UFO List that I finished tonight. It's a table runner that I assembled at a retreat about 4 years ago at least. All I had to do was sandwich it and get it quilted....can ya believe how long it took to do something this small? Geesh....

I was going to stitch in the ditch on it but after I started I didn't like how that looked so I did a cross hatch on it. I think if you look real close you can see the stitching since I did it in a Robinson Anton thread called "Buckskin".

I think this will be set aside and given to one of my sisters for their holiday tables....

How's the weather by you guys? We are expecting between 12 and 14 inches of snow!!! I know you can hear me yahooing from wherever you are :) I've already gotten the call that school is closed so I can sleep past 5:15 tomorrow....

I guess that calls for a sewing day!

Another Finish

YAY, I finished another top.....

You might remember that back on President's Day I laid out a bunch of log cabin and churn dash blocks and started assembling a top. Well, tonight I FINALLY finished getting the 2 final borders on. I don't know why my picture looks washed out but I have to tell you, the burgundy/red border is way brighter than it looks in this picture...

It measures 65 x 90 so it will make a nice quilt to snuggle up under.

I am going to wash the backing now and make the binding so it's all ready for finishing....

So, what did you finish up in February? I'm trying for one large project a month...don't know if I'll succeed but I'm sure going to give it a try...

Peggy