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.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Yes, it's true, at 6:45 EST tomorrow morning I will be leaving on a plane headed to Myrtle Beach. Afrter all the snow and cold weather, it's time for some relaxing! We'll only be gone till Thursday night because we want to be home for Easter dinner but it will be nice to get away and just do nothing for a few days.

I did do a little sewing today in between last minute laundry and packing. I need 2 charity tops, one for retreat and one for a group that's on the Air Force base where Michelle is right now. I made 2 the same since I had a lot of squares cut. I have them sandwiched and ready for quilting which will get done when we come home.

I'll be taking my Berry Pickin and also my Hocuspocusville stitcheries with me and a book to read....I'll report back with what actually gets done.

Have a good week.

Peggy

Bunny Runner

Since today was National Quilting Day I thought I'd do my part and sew a few projects.

I finished an Easter runner I was making for my daughter's coffee table. It will replace the St. Patrick's Day runner I showed last week . I have had this pattern probably 2 or 3 years...and what's crazy is I made myself a kit at the time because I was able to find almost the exact same fabrics that were on the front of the pattern! What took me so long is anyone's guess, but once I started working on it the process went fairly quick.

I also finished sewing the borders on a charity top that I need for the retreat I mentioned earlier today. I got it pressed, sandwiched and pinned. I'm hoping to get it quilted tomorrow...so until then, no picture!

WE'RE GOING TO RETREAT SOON

Yes...I'm going to retreat soon.....I know, I know, it's 51 days away but I can't wait.....I'm anxious to see the girls, do some shopping, some eating, LOTS of talking and laughing and just enjoying the time away.....

Robin and I don't actually have to put our stuff on the roof of the car, not yet at least, but we do pack the old Explorer up pretty tight!

We like to leave New Jersey at 6am, sometimes that doesn't work but we try.....then we drive it seems like all day thru Pennsylvania. I've said it before and I know I'll say it again...Pennsylvania is the longest state ever! We try to get to Indiana by 5PM so we can get Michelle at the airport but last year she had to do the old taxi cab thing :( Sorry Michelle! But this year if we get out of town by 6am we will DEFINITELY get to the airport for you.

We leave on a Tuesday morning and don't come back till Sunday night.... I am so excited!!!

I guess I will have to start getting all my swapping projects ready and then I can think about what projects to work on.....

I'm so excited!!!! I have to go find a blog counter that will count down the days...............

PS: The picture to the right of this post is us gals last year shopping the morning of retreat before we head over....

Chocolate Bunny

I decided after lunch today that I was going to take down the darn snowman wall hanging and get something springy up there...but I didn't have anything made up so I pulled out the newest "Patchabilities" kit and made it up. How cute is this guy? It's only 6 x 20 which made it very easy to trace, cut, fuse and buttonhole in under 2 hours.

You can't see the hanger real well but each kit comes with it's own hanger so you never have to go searching for something appropriate. I just love it!

I need to make 2 Easter runners too but I think those will have to wait till next week....I have a few projects that need attending to.

Hope you are having a nice Sunday!

Two More Finishes and a fixed car

Yes, I've been a very busy girl today. I have 2 more finishes on my UFO list. I blogged about this top while I was assembling it and now it's been quilted, bound, washed and labeled and ready to be given to a deserving person. Each block is 15 inches so it finished up to be a decent size quilt.

Next on my UFO list was an Easter tabletopper. I did the embroidery on this one probably this time last year and don't even ask me why it took so long to put the 2 borders on and then just stitch in the ditch because it took probably 2 hours from start to finish today, and that included hand basting the binding down....but now it's done and ready for the table after I take up the St. Patrick's Day topper.

And last but not least....back in December my Explorer got crunched and ultimately spent 6 or 7 weeks in the body shop...no, not because it had a lot of damage, but because not only did the body have to get fixed, I decided that I didn't like the khaki greenish/gray color that it was so the shop repainted it for me in a nice blue. I am so thrilled at having my car back and also with the color. Life is good again here at Casa Aront! Now to make sure I park out in the open and not near any trees when we go to Indiana in May for retreat....We don't want a repeat of the hurricane damage like last year, right Conni?

Another Table Topper

I was on a roll last week with my St. Patrick's Day fabric....seriously though, how can a blue eyed Irishman NOT have St. Patrick's Day decorations? So, after I made my daughter her runner I took the scraps and made myself one

I have a square table and really like the look of a chinese coins topper so that's usually what I make for myself. No M&M's though for me, I tend to use a candle more often since I don't need the temptation of M&M's!!!

St Patrick's Day

I know it's not St. Patrick's Day but I found some cute shamrock fabrics today so I made a quickie, and I mean quickie runner for my daughter's coffee table. When I went to put it on her coffee table I was pleasantly surprised to find a bowl of green M&M's so when she gets home she'll find a nice little surprise. Now to make myself one...

Truly Scrumptious

FINALLY...got the 2 final borders on my "Truly Scrumptious" top. I am so happy with how it looks and even happier to cross it off my UFO list after working on it for 3 years or more.


Here's a picture of it before I fold it up and mailed off to the quilter. Please excuse the ruffly edges as I was in no mood to bend down and flatten them out. Also, I should have noticed how closely my fabric blends with the carpeting and took the picture on the hardwood instead...





OH, and just to explain why I was annoyed and wouldn't bend down to flatten the edges....The weatherbug says it's 51. I'm looking out the window at the beautiful sunny yard and I'm thinking I need to take the quilt outside and hang it on the line for a better shot.....



I didn't know it was that windy out...darn quilt would not cooperate!

Peggy


PS: I can't remember if I put this out there last week, but my friend Sandi in Utah has her own longarm shop and is having a sale on all her quilting designs for the month of March. If you are in need of getting some quilts quilted, please feel free to email her at spunkygal58@yahoo.com or check out her site Moose Valley Quilted Crafts..and please tell her PEGGY sent you :)

Sunday Update

I started working on the embroidery part of this "Truly Scrumptious" block of the month probably 2 summers ago. I was doing quite well on finishing them but for some reason everything came to a screeching halt, and all I had to finish was a tiny bit of embroidery on the last block.....I finally decided that enough was enough on the procrastinating, just git er done! So, I pulled out the block that needed the embroidery, finished it up and then put the border around the block. Why I procrastinate sometimes just blows my mind. So, now the rows are connected and ready for a border....I'm just not sure what type I want to put on it.

On another note, has anyone seen "Time Travelers Wife"?

I actually started to read the book but found it to be a little confusing so I stopped and figured I'd just see the movie when it comes out. Last night after sewing for a while I popped it in the DVR and sat back to watch. I was just as confused with the movie as I was with the book. Too much jumping around for me. Anyone else feel that way?

Peggy

Finished

I finished..... I had some fabric in my stash that I was going to use to back this top and when I pulled it out and saw how much I had I knew I could use it for the border too.

I had some nice purples but the solid purple is an odd color so nothing really went with it...this one, however, was perfect.

I will press the backing now and start the quilting tonight or tomorrow.

Peggy

More snow and a sneak peek

Yes folks, we had more snow this morning so we had a snow day AGAIN. It's 4:00 and as I look out the window i realize that if I hadn't lived thru the storm then I'd think someone was kidding with me. The sun is out, most of the snow is melted and it just looks like it's left over from a previous storm. I fear we'll be in school till June 30th if we get any more of the white stuff.

As I reported the other day, I have the one charity top done, washed, dried, and ready to mail but I want to send a nice little girly girly top along with it so after lunch today I started sewing up this quilt. The purple is a deeper color in person.....I don't know why the camera won't pick it up like it really is, but I guess I have to just settle for how it turns out...I'm not buying a new camera.

I still have to add a final border to it but I can't decide what fabric to use. I only had a few fat quarters of the larger square fabrics so I can't use any of them, but I do have a lot of the white with purple dots, and I have another piece of purple on purple.....maybe I should go thru my stash drawers and look for something else that might go with it......

What are you girls working on?

Start Your Engines

While watching tv the last 2 nights I finished the binding on this little quilt and last night before I went to bed I popped it into the wash, then this morning I popped it into the dryer while I made my morning tea. I am very happy with how it turned out and I just know that "Quilts for Kids" will appreciate it too. Downy Fabric Softener sent along a label so you had to put your first name on it and give the quilt a name, something I don't normally do...but it was easy to name it, "Start Your Engines" was very appropriate since the black fabric was the race cas and the border is racing flags. The backing fabric is this cute reddish orange stripe which was enough to back and bind it but I found the stripe in my stash and thought that looked better. I'm going to start a girlie quilt either tomorrow or Friday so I can send one that had the fabric provided by them and another that came from my stash.

I've gone out to a few blogs and I've seen where a few girls are doing this program too....It feels so good to make something for someone who otherwise would not have gotten a quilt.

So...who's going to get snowed in over the next few days? I'd like to get a day off from school but I don't want to have to dig us out or have school get out any later than it already is.

Peggy

Quilts for Kids

My last post was about the charity organization "Quilts for Kids" and how I was going to make a quilt for this worthwhile group. I went and donated a few dollars and noticed how you could assemble a top with fabrics donated by various shops/regular folks/fabric companies, so I signed up for that too. Now, I'm thinking to myself "did you bite off more than you can chew right now?" but I figured I'd manage even if it meant not sleeping :) I think I did that Wednesday night and would you believe I got the kit to do the assembly already? Those people work fast!

The kit comes with a pattern and all the parts already cut, all you have to do is assemble.

Here's a picture of the center of the top that I sewed together this afternoon. I got a kit for a boy with race cars on black.... I'm getting ready to add a thin lime green border around this and then a wider black border with race car flags on it!!! This is just a sneak peek...the next picture will be the finished product.

Peggy

Quilts for Kids

My daughter, who is not a sewer or quilter was watching tv this morning and on "The View" one of the actresses from Greys Anatomy was telling about being the spokeswoman for Downy and "Quilts for Kids". I was just checking out the site and thought that it sounds like a very worthwhile program so if you are so inclined to assemble a quilt either from your own stash or request a kit from them that this would be a great program...
http://www.quiltsforkids.org/volunteer/

Peggy

Internet down

I haven't had internet since the snow started on Tuesday....I'm jumping on here real quick hoping I can get this posted.
With luck I'm back posting soon.

Super Bowl Finish-UFO Challenge Project

I finished the Log Cabin top just now. I am thrilled with how it came out with the piano key border. It finished up to be 96 x 71 which a bit bigger than I thought it would but it will make a great top for any size bed or even over the back of a couch. I really thought it would scream "Christmas" once it was done but I'm surprised that it just has a nice warm feel to it without a holiday feel. I'm going to back it with a red on red print but have to wait till the end of the month to send it to the longarmer since she's got a wedding coming up next weekend.

So, not that I normally keep track of this kind of stuff but to assemble this top I cut up 30 fat quarters and a yard of the cream on cream first border. I have a small pile of the piano keys left over for another project some day.

Sunday Happenings

Hi everyone....
The snow stopped and the sun came out so I'm thinking I may not have a day off from work tomorrow. How sad is that? From now on, no snow on Friday into Saturday...I want a darn day off from work!!!
I had a nice comment on the start of my log cabin quilt "I think you blocks aged very well in the zip lock baggie, the quilt will be beautiful. How do you finish a quilt during the Super Bowl?
The what??????? Just kidding.... I will watch baseball, which I love, I will watch basketball if it's on and I'm sewing, but football? Uh...I don't think so..... My son played football freshman year in HS and I went to every home game they had.....BUT, I went with other mothers that didn't understand or like the game and we sat and talked the whole time. Don't even ask me scores or what went on on the field . I WILL watch Carrie Underwood sing the national anthem but then I'll switch to HGTV or FoodNetwork...
Stay tuned...I'll have the log cabin quilt finished in about an hour or so.

Log Cabins Assembled

I finally got the log cabin blocks assembled into a top this afternoon and then after dinner I added a 3-1/2 inch neutral border....then came the real work, getting into my stash and cutting up some strips to make a piano key border for it. I didn't want to have to repeat any fabrics on each side but I think I did use 2... Here's a picture with the first side border laying next to it tonight. I'm too tired to continue sewing so tomorrow I will start the assembly of the other 3 borders and then during the football game I can finish the top off. I cannot believe I held these blocks in a ziploc bag for close to 4 years and did nothing with them...

What do you think?

Peggy

Snow, snow, and more snow

Have the people on the east coast gotten tired of the snow yet? NOT ME!!! Only thing is I want it when I can get a day off from school, not on a Friday night!!! What good does snow benefit me if I can't get an extra sewing day in????This is a picture of my back deck from the family room. YOWZER!!! It's still coming down pretty hard and from what the news people are saying, it will continue for about 4 or 5 more hours....Allright, so I MIGHT get Monday off...ya think?

I will however get a little sewing done once I get off this computer and throw some clothes on so that's a good thing. Come on back for an afternoon or early evening update....

Peggy

Is this kit cute or what?

I saw this kit on the Fat Quarter Shop's website last week and resisted ordering it for about a whole minute but then I just couldn't resist. The kit not only comes with the SPRING FEVER charm pack, it comes with the white fabric, the blue print for the border, the pink binding and the whit print for BACKING!!! How many kits do you see that you fall in love with but when you add the backing it takes up your whole monthly budget? Well gals, this one has the backing included.... You need to head on over to the FQ Shop and order it...you will not be disappointed!!!

Now, some of you might say "I thought you were not shopping but trying to finish up what you had in the sewing room?" And I will tell you, I am working on my BPF Challeng projects. Of the 12 on my list, I am working on # 6. I totally finished the Fig Tree quilt, have it quilted, bound, and washed, the black/white/turquoise quilt is quilted and the binding is on, just needs tacking down, the snack quilt and the TB stars are both out to the quilters as we speak, the Christmas Brick Walk is 85% done, just needs a final border then it too can get quilted, and last but not least, my 26 Log Cabins are ready to be assembled. I decided on a simple setting for them last night and am going to start assembling the rows today.

I'm just going to set them in rows alternating the green and red blocks then depending on how big it finishes up, I'll either put 1 wide or 2 wide borders. I have no one in mind for it but I've decided that I'd assemble anything I have and have them all done "just in case".

Now, you don't have to email me and tell me that the last block in row 4 needs flipping, Michelle already took care of that. I flipped it AFTER I took the picture.

So, I'm off to get the assembly started.

Peggy