Snow Days

Yes, I'm still plugging away on the Crabapple Hill "Snow Days" project.

I do have all 12 months worth of embroidery blocks completed but as we've said from the beginning of this project, this is the project that keeps on giving......

For example.......You would think that this is done....NO!
I have to take this block, attach May's block to the bottom of it and then I have to continue the embroidery from May's block into the June block....THEN when that's done and I attach these to the left side of the center section there is more embroidery to do..... It's a one year project that will probably take 15 months to do.
I do love it though so I'm ok with all the extra work that goes into this project.

Where Have I Been?

I can't believe I haven't blogged even once since I came back from vacation but the proof is right here....nothing!
Antigua was wonderful. A perfect place to relax and regroup. I did a lot of lounging, sipping ice tea, reading and swimming.
YES, I forgot my lotion the first day so by the end of the 5 days I was peeling like crazy. I did use lotion the remaining 4 days but the damage was already done :(
I don't have pictures yet because I have to find the CD to load the picture program on my new computer. Maybe by the end of this weekend.....Since back and returning to work I haven't gotten a lot done but I have been attempting to work on some yellow 9 patch blocks for my current project.
Here's a picture of some 9 patch blocks done but needing pressing. Some rows of squares that need to be assembled into 9 patch blocks, and also some squares cut up next to my machine that need assembling.



I think I showed you a couple of weeks ago what I was "attempting" to create.....here is 1 16 inch block that will hopefully be part of next summer's quilt for my bed.





The sun has been in and out all day here in NJ so it was a perfect day to stay in and work on this project.





PEGGY

Leaving on a jet plane...........

Yes, we're leaving in the morning for 5 full days of sun and fun.

I like relaxing vacations where I can swim in the pool, sit in the shade of a cabana and read or do embroidery, eat good food and just plain old relax............The Sandal's Resorts offer just that so at 7am Sunday morning I will be sitting in Newark Airport awaiting my jet plane to Antigua....

Adios till next Saturday!!!!

I'VE BEEN INSPIRED

To say I'm not a "YELLOW" girl is an understatement, but this yellow Irish Chain quilt that I found on the internet inspired me to purchase some yardage of assorted yellows yesterday and make this exact quilt for myself. Of course when I got to my local shop "Quilting Possibilities" and saw her yellow display I wanted to walk away, mostly because they had so many in such a variety of shades that I didn't know what to do..... I eventually picked 4 I think and the salesgirl Fern wandered around the shop and picked up more. In the end I bought 15 prints and then this morning I cut into them to see how I liked the look.....

Here is my first block.....

I'm doing them 6.5 inches and using a Kona White for the alternating block.

Farmer's Wife Update

I didn't get a lot of sewing done this weekend but I did accomplish one thing, I did finish sheet # 2 from the Marti Michell conversion chart for the Farmers Wife blocks, AND I started #3. Here are my 4 blocks.

Saturday Sewing

I did a little sewing today.

I wanted to catch up and do a few extra bowties so I don't fall too far behind especially since I'll be awa from the 17-23rd.

I have 35 and then cut about 20 more out to sew up someday when I get bored.

Did you do any sewing today?

I should have..........

I DEFINITELY should have gotten more than just this one star block done tonight but I have been way too sidetracked and I'm

a little tired...

I have to make 4 for the top of the Liberty Ridge quilt and 4 for the bottom.....Guess I better pick up the pace a little you think? :)

I got my friend Conni's woolie pincusion today in the mail. She wants us to think "fall" but not halloween. What do you think, scarecrows, acorns, pumpkins, squirrels etc??

I have a month to look at it and come up with something then mail it on to the next girl.... Should be a lot of fun!

Little Flag

While having my 2nd cup of tea this morning I did a little blog hopping and came across a free pattern for a cute little flag. http://temeculaquiltco.blogspot.com/

Let me just say, I had no intention of making it today but I was itching to start and finish something small today so here it is......

It was a lot of fun to make and took MAYBE an hour to complete....

Happy 4th of July Everyone!!!

Patriotic Sewing

I do think about making myself a patriotic quilt throughout the year but when it's actually a holiday where I'd like to display it is when I remember "oh yeah, I never did get it made".

Last night I was making my July Big 3 list and remembered I had this pattern....so I pulled it out, grabbed the fabric and started cutting it out.


Here's how far I got before dinnertime tonight.....

It needs a neutral border on top and bottom of the ribbon border and then I can make some stars.........
With luck, I have this finished for Labor Day!

Peggy

July 3, 1985

Yes, I have that date right.....July 3rd 1985 my one and only son was born. He was such a cute little guy. He had curly blonde hair, ate good, slept sooooo good and other than the occasional spitting up on his father's suits when he came in from work, he was a great baby....so it's not surprising he turned into a wonderful adult.

He's away on vacation with his new fiance this week so we won't see him to wish him happy birthday but with all of today's technology that certainly wasn't around in 1985, we were able to wish Dan a happy 26th birthday! See you Tuesday......

Love, Mom

Woolie Pincushion Round Robin-Part 2

Remember the post I did earlier in the month about the woolie round robin I did this winter with some girls I go to retreat with? Well, we're doing round 2 and oops...today was mailing day :)

Have no fear....I got my act together this morning and got my base made.

The base was actually the easy part. I knew I wanted blue sky and green hills...My biggest fear in picking a gnome was making all his "parts". Little arms, a little face etc. BUT, I got him done and now he's ready for mailing.

I'm very happy with how cute he actually turned out!!!

A Visit

It was that time again......yes, time for a hair cut and to get the old grey covered up. That usually means a trip to the local hair salon where my "favorite" hairdresser used to work but since she moved to "Posh Hair Salon" in Baltimore, I have to take a road trip when time allows. Since I had off from work, that's just what I did. Got myself all beautifuled up and then.....lunch at "Red Brick Station Restaurant and Brew Pub" in the "Avenue at White Marsh". We sat at the outdoor area and listened to music and coincidentally they were having a hamburger eating contest, so we could hear the DJ and all the folks cheering.
Here's a picture of my hairdressser Jen, my other daughter Sarah and their cousin Shannon.
The girls accompanied me on the trip and while I was getting beautified they dod a little themselves with "feathers" in their hair! It's all the rage right now with the young girls and it's so easy to do and change out whenever the mood strikes. After lunch we wandered around Ikea then t was time to hit the road back to NJ before the holiday traffic hit..... I had a great day with the girls...Hope to do it again soon.

Three Cheers for the Red White And Blue

I'm getting ready for the 4th of July!!! I've had this pattern for Uncle Sam for quite a few years but a few weeks ago I was looking for a pattern for a friend and came across this one and KNEW I had to do it now....... He fits on a skinny wall in my kitchen between the pantry on the left and the doorway to the living room.

Farmer's Wife Blocks Update

I'm caught up and I might even be ahead...who knows. These blocks really are addictive and I'm finding them to be a lot of fun!!! I started out doing them in numerical order but I'm finding that when you use the Marti Michell conversion chart instructions and do the blocks she suggests in her order, you only have to take a couple of templates out at a time and it really is much easier. #12 Broken Dishes

# 16 Calico Puzzle

# 20 Churn Dash

# 21 Contrary Wife

# 70 Prairie Queen

I'm Obsessed

I'm obsessed!!! I thought to myself, "self, just make your one bowtie for today" but while I was cutting out the one I said "what de heck" and kept cutting until it was time to get ready for dinner. So, I'm good till the end of the month and thru the holiday weekend.

I'll have to do the same thing early in July too so I don't behind when I go on vacation.

I Caved

Yes, I caved.....Anna Lena Land is doing a Summer Bowtie Challenge where you make 1 bowtie a day from the first day of summer till the first day of fall. I don't exactly know how many days that is but I love these guys...and after making these 2 I decided that I'd keep up with them.
Karen gave directions for 6 inch finished and 3 inch finished. I chose the 3 inchers and they are super cute!
Now.....I might not do 1 a day, I may do a week's worth at a sitting because there are days I don't get into the sewing room....so stay tuned as I post pictures of my cute bowties.

Woolie Pincushion Round Robin

Over this winter the girls I go to retreat with decided that we'd do a woolie pincushion round robin and do the reveal at retreat in May. I don't normally work with wool so at first I thought it would be a HUGE challenge. I made my base and added the flower that's up in the left hand corner. Then I mailed it off. We did not show each other what we added so when I got to Indiana and saw what the other 3 girls added all I could say was "WOW". I love the sheep, bird, rabbit and beehive with the cute bumble bees flying around.
I haven't made it into a pincushion yet but I am planning on it very soon.
BUT.....while sitting around, we decided to do another round. The ideas that were flying around the room were soooo good. Circus, underwater, winter etc.
Below is my inspiration...................... Now to figure out exactly what to do so I can mail to the first girl on or around July 1st..... Any ideas???

Thanks Michelle

Aw, lookie me, all Red, White & Blue!!! Thanks Michelle!!!

Since I got the new Red computer I've been having problems figuring out how to save downloads and such and got real frustrated last night trying to change my design.... All I did was email my favorite tech support gal and BOOM...I'm up and running and all holiday'd out!

Thanks Again Michelle......

Broken Dishes

Block # 11 of the Farmer's Wife blocks is called Broken Dishes.

Sadly, it's the only block I got done this weekend but I'm happy to have gotten at least this one.

Back to work tomorrow...but happily, the kiddies are done and it will just be us secretaries.

Everyone have a good week.

Peggy

Father's Day

First off I want to wish all father's out there a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! My father passed away too many years ago but I do think about him on this and every day. My children's father is a very busy man on his supposed day of rest :) Grocery shopping, lawn mowing, and now he's outside cleaning the pool so he can float for an hour or two, if the sun stays out.

I've been doing laundry, house cleaning and most recently, sewing....

Anyone that knows me KNOWS how obsessed I am with pincushions...primarily homemade ones. I don't care if they're simple squares or very detailed, I love them all.

This past May when I was at retreat I received a kit from Robin for a very CUTE carrot pincushion using wool, wool roving to stuff it and some super cute buttons and pins for decoration. I decided to pull it out and make it up today.....

You can see from the picture that it's not a big pincushion, probably about 5-1/2 inches long but is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

I just love it....and the nice thing about it is it took maybe 2 hours from start to finish.....

Do You?

Do you make a"Top 3" list at the beginning of the month with sewing projects that you'd like to have done that month? I do....and it works out well for me. This month I had 3 things on the list and I finished almost all of them.

1) Assemble TB Churnie Top

2) Assemble black and white baby quilt

3) Catch up with the Starry Night Mystery BOM, cut out my next set of blocks for the Hometown Christmas quilt and catch up with my Aunt Grace 30's BOM...

Well, I got caught up on everything but the Aunt Grace BOM....

I spent the last 2 nights assembling my Starry Night blocks so I am up to date....The blocks are all Kaffee Fassett fabrics with Robert Kaufman black.

I can't wait to see how they get set, but I have an idea in my head how I will set them if I don't like how the designer has me do them......

Now to get moving on the Aunt Grace blocks.....

Peggy

Farmers Wife/The first three

I figured I might as well look at the first couple of blocks while I waited for the templates to come and decided that I could do at least 1,2 and 4 without them so I pulled some fabrics and got them done.

I don't know if it will bust any 30's stash but who cares....these blocks are so stinkin cute it doesn't matter.

Peggy

Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt

Well, I've had this book for a few weeks or so, I'm not really sure, but I did buy it after Marti Michell posted that she'd be helping out with the cutting of the blocks in this quilt by using her templates and cutting instructions. The instructions are free by email every 2 weeks.

I signed up and then the other night I pulled the book out and started reading some of the stories. I really hadn't thought I'd do this quilt NOW but maybe sometime in the future. I have 2 sets of Marti's templates and after reading the stories and seeing my 2 buds Robin and Michelle say they were going to start it I thought "what de heck". I have a lot of fabric and a nice variety to choose from. I could do Thimbleberries and keep in the colorway of the author or I could use just random scraps or I could do it in 30's.

I have a TON of 30's prints and solids and truthfully, some have been sitting in the drawer in my sewing room for a good 10 years now....so the choice was easy, 30's!

I did order 4 template sets and I'm just waiting for them to come so I can start.

Are you doing this one?

What size? What fabric?

I am going to go with Queen size. 6x6 blocks = 111 blocks set on pointe! I am going to make this easy on myself though....I'm not making anything that needs an inset seam or looks like it might try my patience. Sewing is supposed to be fun and at my age, that's exactly what I'm going to do...Have fun!!! I'm also going to start at the beginning with block #1 and work my way forward. I don't want to miss anything or get myself confused....

So, I'll be reporting back on my progress, and with luck I can keep up.

Another Finish

Yes, another finish! This is a 44 x 56 baby quilt in all black and white stash fabrics that I made for one of the teachers in school for her baby that is coming in August. I made her first baby a black and white quilt but added bright pinks and blues and purples. This one she wanted only black and whites. I love how it turned out and I know she will too.
I was thinking I'd maybe get some minkee for the backing but my sensible side kicked in and I decided that I was going to use my stash to back it. Actually, when I thought about hubby seeing another quilt shop bag come into the house I cringed thinking "new fabric vs divorce court" LOL I came to my senses and decided to use a black with white polka dots for the back.....

6 more full days of school for the kids and 3 half days !!! I'm excited for the summer to be here and to have some quiet days at work!!!

Thimbleberries Churn Dash Quilt

It's been AGES since I dipped into my Thimbleberries stash and even longer since I did one of the kits that I get monthly so when I was going to Indiana in May for retreat I pulled out a recent kit called "Churn Dash Delight" because of all the traditional blocks out there, the Churn Dash is my favorite. I got the kit cut out and 6 of the 12 churnies assembled the last day of retreat but that's as far as I went with it. The other day I decided to make my "BIG 3" project list for June and put this project at the top of the list....mainly because it's going to be a birthday present. The picture quality isn't the best because I took this with my cell phone because I can't find the hardware for my camera to load it on the new computer :(

The colors are not really "me" but hopefully the person they are for will like them. These are all medium and light greens with a BIG yellow and green print for the border and blocks.....

Now to get this quilted.

PS: It finishes up to 76 X 90 so it should be a nice wrap me up on a cool evening type of quilt!

Mama got a new toy

Yes....mama got a new toy!

Seems my old Dell was acting up last weekend so hubby ordered this new red one :)

Well, needless to say, we found out that it wasn't really the computer, it was our internet server but it was too late "Rosie" was already on her way to me.

The other computer was 5+ years old so it was "almost" time anyway.... I'll keep the other one in my kitchen as a backup or maybe just for recipes etc...

Gotta love a RED computer!!!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day - a time to remember those that have given their lives so we may be free.

Sewing, Maybe?

I came home from retreat in Indiana all fired up to sew.....but reality hit when I came home and realized my sewing room was inhabitable. I'd woken up Mother's Day morning and 2 wall cabinets had crashed to the ground and were in pieces.

Hubby and I had to spend half the day buying and packing up rubbermaid bins with fabric. I did hear a few "you are outta controls" uttered from his mouth throughout the process but we plodded along and loaded up my dining room.

We'd decided that the 5 wall cabinets would all be replaced since they'd all gone up at the same time and who knows when the next one would fall and land "heaven

forbid" on

my sewing machine or computer.

esterday our builder friend Vic came with his wife and voile', I have new cabinets.

Today since I'm home, I'm going to empty the dining room of all the bins and reload the cabinets with my "stuff".

And just a side note..."YES, I know

I'm outta control" but I have some help getting there! My BFF's do help with "LOOKIE" emails etc....Here's a picture of some of the gals that help me shop :)

On the Road Again

Yes folks.......on the road again!!! It's our annual quilting retreat in Camby, Indiana.

I haven't seen 90% of these girls in about a year but the minute we get there and give a big ole hug all around, it's like we just saw one another yesterday.

There will be a lotta sewing, a lotta laughing, eating, shopping and just good ole visiting going on...

So, i'll be back on the 15th late and hopefully Monday I'll have some pictures for you!

For all the MOTHER'S out there but more importantly for my own mother "EILEEN FOX", Happy Mother's Day. I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing day!!!!!!!!!