Bento Box

I know it's "git er done" time but I just had to start a new project last night....

I took this pattern and the "NIKKI" fat quarter pack from Pat Sloan, with me to retreat last May but never touched it. I have been thinking about it a LOT the past week so I pressed all the fat quarters and started cutting the appropriate size strips last night so now I'm ready to start sub cutting and making the blocks....

With the cutting instructions given, you can make 4 sub units or 1 large block.... Here's a picture of what I did earlier... I don't know if you consider this 4 blocks or 1 but I will not be assembling it as 1, I will be doing it like it is shown on the left.

The Nikki line is very bright and quite a bit different than the Thimbleberries fabrics I've been using a lot lately so I'm excited that I'll be getting something totally different and much brighter...... I'll be working on this most of the weekend so check back often for updated pictures.....

Peggy

An Honest Tag

My friend, Conni, recently tagged me for the "Honest Scrap"! It is my duty to reveal 10 honest things about myself that I have never blogged about, as well as list 5 addictions. Then I'm to tag 5 of my blogging friends to do the same.

Hmmmmm.....

OK, lets start with the 10 things I've never blogged about:

1) I am petrified of snakes

2) I don't like loud music, tv or loud places

3) I don't drink alcohol

4) I start new projects before I finish old ones (ha ha ha...like I'm the only one in the world...)

5) I have lived with the same man, aka Al, aka Big Popi, aka my husband for 30 years

6) I weighed 89 pounds when I got married. I probably weigh twice that now....

7) I love sappy Hallmark movies

8) I love to read

9) Can't drive further than 2 hours before I need a nap...ask Robin, she'll tell you :)

10) I don't like to cook

5 Addictions:

1) Bagels ( I could survive on bagels with peanut butter or toasted with butter)

2) Hot Tetley Tea (NO...I do not drink flavored tea, only Tetley)

3) The internet/reading blogs/shopping

4) Cleaning my house

5) Grilled chicken sandwiches

OK, so I am tagging Robin for sure......and geesh, everyone else I wanted to tag has the darn tag on their blog already......So, Robin, you're it for now...

Peg

OH YES I DID............

Yes, I did.....I caved. See this kit for a YELLOW BRICK ROAD quilt? Well, I'd seen Michelle's "Yellow Brick Road Good Enough To Eat" and decided that I needed one...It would make a perfect quilt to snuggle under when you're watching a movie or just plain ole TV, so I ordered the kit....

Not only did the above kit come, my little red caddy from Sharon came today too.... Isn't it cute? And, it's in my favorite color...RED!!! When I ordered it I'd wondered where I'd put it when I sewed at night since it was soooo big, but now that it's here I realize it's a perfect size for the end table where I sew...I'm happy that it's the size that it is.

(I laid my rotary cutter in front of it so you could see it's size).

I did see that Sharon's hunka still has some available, and he takes orders for specific colors too so if you're jealous, and i just KNOW you are, head on over to Sharon's Red Geranium Cottage and ask Sharon if she can hook you up with one....

Peggy

Loser Monday

Loser Monday or NOT.................
I didn't lose anything but then again I gain anything so I'm happy.....
Guess I gotta just buckle down and put my hand in my pocket when I see those darn M&M's....
Peggy

A Finish

January 2009 was the start of our "FINISH ER UP" Challenge and since one of the teacher's in school is due in less than a month or so I figured I better get a move on getting her quilt quilted.

In the past (and present) I've always sent my quilts to a wonderful quilter named Sandi. Sandi was or is a part of the challenge group and I have to tell you, she does some beautiful quilting. I didn't want to send a small baby quilt out to her because I kept telling myself that I have a GRACE FRAME up in the spare bedroom and I NEED to learn to use the darn thing since it's been up there exactly a year......SO....I took the quilt up, pinned her down, made some bobbins, threaded the machine and voile.....I have a quilted baby quilt that only took me an hour!!!

NOW, it's not perfect and the quilting design needs some work but I know that Kerry will LOVE and APPRECIATE it and not even see the flaws that I do.

I picked a moda marbelized red for the binding so since i'm on a roll or as I was told this morning I'm like a "runaway train"this weekend, I'm going to cut the binding and attach that so tonight while I watch TV I have some hand work to do....

Hmmmm....what will I work on next????

Peggy

Holey Kamoley

Yes, I said it, holey kamoley......It's Saturday night and I'm just posting now.....I can't believe I haven't done a thing since Tuesday? AYE KARUMBA...where have I been?

Oh well, I'm here now and that's all that matters....

So, this week I got one of my favorite BOM's in the mail....The Pint Size Traditions from Main Street Cotton Shop. It's a Thimbleberries book and the projects are all traditional Thimbleberries in small sizes. I've done quite a few of them so far but over the holidays I took a little leave of absence and just put them in the cabinet. This one really caught my eye though and since I need a table topper for my living room I made it right up today....

The book is on the left and I was excited with it because I liked the yellow and blue they showed...well, Main Street sent more of a brown/green/gold colorway which is also nice but I think I'll be making it again in some lighter colors too... ( I have no clue why the picture of my topper is so off color but I can tell you it is nicer in person :)

Now to get it quilted and on the table....

Whirl Into Winter Giveaway

I just wanted to write and tell you that I received my present today from Sherri Dodds
(http://walkerlady.blogspot.com) I won a pair of Gingher Embroidery Scissors and she wrapped them in a cute piece of lime green & black polka dot fabric!!!
Sherri, thank you so much......

Lets do this again soon :)


And, on the weight loss front, I lost another 3 lbs this week....I just wish I felt like I did.
I thought I'd feel different, but I don't. I did have a couple days that I grabbed a handful of M&M's and a cookie here or there but for the most part I was really good....Can you imagine the weight loss if I'd been GOOD? Hmmmm...may have to give it a try next week :)

Peggy

All Roads Lead to the Sea Update

As I posted yesterday, I pulled my All Roads Lead to the Sea BOM back out and have been working on it. Here's what I have as of today....

On the left there is supposed to be a cabin with 4 trees...well, I have to tell you, right now, there are tree tops and a partial roof. It is giving me such fits and I don't want to waste a beautiful snowy day getting frustrated so it's getting put back into it's baggie and will get pulled out another day. I'm reading the instructions and I'm cutting accordingly but they are sooooo vague that I've even shot an email off to the designer asking for some help.....I do love it so far.....

BEAUTIFUL

This is what I woke up to this morning.....being a snow lover I find this to be BEAUTIFUL!!! Only thing is, it's not deep enough. I can only hope though that we get more tonight and I get to stay home and sew AGAIN tomorrow.....

And, the reason for being home today is because it's Martin Luther King Day. I noticed when I checked Pat Sloan's Blog out this morning that she had a link to his "I have a dream" speech so of course, I had to go have a peek.... Do you have a dream? I have a lot of dreams that include deeper snow, a bigger sewing room, no more aches and pains, a cleaning & laundry fairy and other things, but mostly I'd like to turn on the news and not see abductions/murders/killings etc., no more bombings overseas and mostly I'd like to see our servicemen and women back in the US where they belong and can enjoy their families. I don't think I'm asking for too much, am I?????

Peggy

No, I haven't given up................yet

As I said above, no, I haven't given up on my All Roads Lead to the Sea BOM....I just got a little frustrated with block #4 so with the frustration and the holidays, kits # 5 and 6 just sat in their basket. This morning I decided to bite the bullet and pull the fabric out and start cutting #5 and voile...here it is with # 1,2,3............

I am going to cut # 6 now and with luck it will be assembled on Monday. YES, you heard that right, MONDAY. School is closed for Martin Luther King Day so I will sleep in, have a relaxed breakfast and sew ALL day :)

Oh, and YES, I will go back to #4 as soon as I get # 6 done......I promise!!!

The First Block of the Month

I don't know how Robin didn't do it but Michelle and I both caved and joined The Fat Quarter Shop's Thimbleberries Block of the Month Club for 2009.... My addiction to Thimbleberries fabric and books has been going on for years and sometimes I wonder if I'll put myself in the poor house trying to keep up with them.

My 2009 promise to myself is to finish each month's kit within 5 days of receiving it. No falling behind and no procrastinating!!! So, on the left is a picture of what the finished product will look like and below on the right are my month 1 blocks.

I also wanted to thank Debi and all the people that entered my Whirl into Winter Giveaway Contest. I was overwhelmed with 190 entrants....I'm sorry I couldn't respond to each and every one of you but I will tell you, I did try and look at all your blogs and I did enter quite a few of your contests.

I won 2, yes folks, 2 prizes. When they arrive I will show you what I got and tell you which blogs I won on. I am so excited knowing packies will be arriving in my mailbox soon.....

Hope you are all having a nice weekend....we're freezing our butts off here in 21 degree New Jersey!!!

Peggy

And the winner is.........................

I just had my son pick from my jar of 190 entries and the winner of this arrangement of gifts is...................................................

Mary Grace Mc Namara .

Mary Grace, I will be emailing you when I finish here and will put your package in Saturday's mail.

Thank you everyone for joining in on this fun giveaway and I'll see you all soon.....

Peggy

Whirl Into Winter Giveaway

I am a winner, can you believe it? I was so excited to log onto the computer today and find an email from Walker Lady http://walkerlady.blogspot.com/ and she told me I won her Whirl Into Winter Giveaway..... I get a new pair of Gingher Scissors!!! I am so excited.....
I am going to get my dinner going and afterwards I will have someone in my family pick from the jar the name of the winner that posted to my blog.....

Peggy

Whirl Into Winter Giveaway

The countdown has begun......you can't win it if you aren't in it!!!
Come on girls...tonight's the final night..... when I get in from school tomorrow I will have one of my kids draw from the jar....... Get on back to the original post and get your name in......

Peggy

Weight Loss Challenge

Since I can't seem to get the camera to work right today I am posting an older picture of me. This is my "before" picture...and yes, I am in the orange top. EEK!!!

The other gals look much thinner than I do and you can tell can't you that the mid section is where I'm attempting to do the most work.

So, week 1 loss was 3 lbs. I did have a couple of days where I cheated, especially since hubby and I were on the road with Sarah this past weekend.

I promise that this week coming up will be as good, if not better!!!

Peggy

I DID GET A LITTLE SEWING IN

I was able to manage a couple of hours at the machine today while hubby watched his game.

These cute 4 inch Shoo Fly blocks are for a retreat in May.....yes, I know I'm early but I signed up to do these and a brown bag mini and also need to do a charity top along with all the blocks of the month I'm signed up for and keep up with Liz's challenge....so, in order to keep on top of things I started these today. 3 down 21 to go.................

Peggy

On the Road Again

I sound like the Willy Nelson song all the time don't I?
We left Friday night to go to State College to collect up all Sarah's stuff from Penn St. and bring it home yesterday. Hubby and son are out unloading the trailer as I type this (since I'm in jammies) and son will return the trailer in the am. THEN this afternoon, after the GIANTS game, hubby, Sarah and I will venture north to Johnson & Wales Univ. where she's been accepted as a Fashion Merchandising and Retail Marketing major. We are going to look over their program and campus and decide if she starts there on 3/10.... wish us luck, 'cause I'm tired of singing that Willy song.
As a disclaimer.........Sarah LOVED Penn and will miss it a lot, but they just could not offer her the major she wanted. Anyone looking at Penn, certainly should. Wonderful campus life and great architecture.....she loved it up there, if only she didn't have to go to class!!! :)

Have a great Sunday, GO GIANTS, and we'll talk tomorrow night if we get back early enough.

Peggy

Polka Dot Love and Box Blocks

I made a New Years resolution not to BUY unless it was backing or fabric to "finish" something.

So, before the ball dropped I placed an order for some Polka Dot love.....I finished up all my black and white polka dots and only had a teeny tiny piece of red and white left , so....to make it worth my while paying postage I ordered some yellow and white and this delish lime green.... I have some Mary E fabrics that I'm wanting to use in a table runner and these dots will work so nice with them.....

And, here are some box blocks. Robin, Michelle and I picked this block probably a year ago never realizing how tedious and time consuming they are.

Another New Year's resolution was to finish my committment to the girls and get my last 2 sets of 3 done and off to them. My blocks are the 2 on the top and the 2 on the bottom are Michelle's.

Here's a picture of all of the blocks I've received so far. I have a feeling that this is going to be one awesome scrappy top once I have all of mine and they are set. I know Michelle is working on her last 2 and Robin wants to work on hers but she's up to her eyeballs in paint brushes, rollers and drop cloths trying to set up her new condo. We did do these at our own pace and there is absolutely no rush so you may not hear about these blocks for a while...quite possibly not until Liz calls for our next "Finish er up" challenge!

Also, today was Day 4 of Sharon's diet challenge and I must say, it's been easier than I thought. OH, don't get me wrong, I have been tempted by coffee cake and fresh brownies and of course my favorite bagels with Jif peanut butter, but I've resisted and feel good about the fact I have a little self control. I am hoping that next Monday will bring a lower # on the scale.

Peggy

Join the 2009 Challenge aka Step Away from the Turkey Leg

If this looks familiar, then you need to step away from the turkey leg!!!

Seriously, have you been over to Sharon's blog in the past few days? NO? You need to take a pop over and check out the challenge to get healthy and lose a few pounds.

I don't own a scale so even though Monday is our weigh in day of the week, I wasn't able to get near the scale in school without every kid in town seeing what I weighed so I went to work a few minutes early today and snuck into the nurse's office and jumped up onto the scale...OMG, this is the absolute heaviest I've ever been... So, the big push to start watching what I eat starts here and now!!! I don't think I have the same nerve Sharon does...she posted a before picture and at some point in time she's going to post an after shot. She also posted her weight. That girl is my hero!!! I'm still not able to come to grips with the actual weight in numbers so for now, all I'm sayin is I want to trim my belly down and drop 20 pounds.....

Who else is gonna join us over at the Red Geranium Cottage????

Peggy

SUMMERTIME WOOL PROJECT

I know, I know, I'm not supposed to be starting any new projects but I just HAD to start this one. I got the package in yesterdays mail with all those gorgeous wools and couldn't hold myself back from opening them up and cutting into them.....The picture doesn't do it justice but trust me, this is going to be one gorgeous wall hanging when I finish it.

If you like to do handwork and are looking for a neat project, this might just be the one for you!

Peggy

An Almost Finish and A Nice Mail Day

I will start with an almost finish....I have the 2008 Thimbleberries on my 2009 Challenge list and have been working on it for the last 3 days. Well, I think it looks nice just the way it is but in looking at the instructions, it is calling for another 81/2 in black border all the way around. As it is, it's already 77 x 92 which is a good size quilt . Adding more to it will make it HUGE and I don't know that I need another queen size quilt.

What are your thoughts on the size it is and the way it looks now???

And for my good mail day, I received the kit pictured below from Epicurian Crafts in today's mail. I'd stumbled across Jennifer at Sweet Liberty Grace
a couple of weeks ago and admired a quilt she had on her blog and it's been on my mind so the other day I wrote Jennifer and she hooked me up with Epicurian Crafts and so I called Monday morning and voile, it showed up in my mailbox today. I am so excited to have it in my hot little hands... Lookit the colors of the wool, they're gorgeous!!!

I may have to go grab my freezer paper and start tracing tonight :)

I think with all the wool for the blocks, the pile of black wool behind the colored wool and the pattern that if I did it as a BOM that it would have been about $13.50 a month...not bad all things considered!

Don't forget, the Whirl Into Winter Giveaway is underway....just leave a comment on my 12/31 post for a chance to win some nice prizes!

Peggy

Ya Gotta Be In It To Win It

Happy New Years Day Everyone!!!

Don't forget, today is the first day of the Whirl Into Winter Blog Giveaway!!! I've had 34 visitors today and am hoping for a whole lot more...I have a huge jar for the names so there's a lot more space in there...

Don't forget to leave a comment on the blog giveaway post with your email address for a chance to win some goodies from New Jersey.

Peggy

"WHIRL INTO WINTER GIVEAWAY"

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!!!

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the "Whirl Into Winter Giveaway".....and welcome to my blog.

I thought I would just start off by stating a few rules of the giveaway.

1) NO comments will count unless they are left on/after January 1, 2009 and no later than January 15, 2009. I will post the winner's name on my blog the evening of the 15th so check back then.

2) I am requiring all commenters leave me your email address IN YOUR COMMENT!

3) Only 1 post per email address will be counted

Now that the nasties are out of the way, lets have some fun....

Here's a picture of my goodies:

I am sending 2 Thimbleberries pattern pamphlets, a notepad, a Mary Engelbreit journal, a homemade petscreen zip bag for your rotary cutter, 2 fat quarters and a homemade woolfelt "HOMER's DONUT" pincushion.

If you'd like a chance to win my goodies please leave a post on my blog and to make it interesting I'm asking that you tell me your favorite quilt block.

I have come across a few more items that I will be including also.

Peggy

Backporch Friends Challenge for 2009

So, Busy Liz over at Backporch Friends has issued us gals a 2009 Challenge...send in a list of 15 unfinished projects for the chance to win a few small gifties. The entrance fee is 2 fat quarters...now, who can't afford a few of those? So, I packaged up my fat quarters and a list for Ms Liz and proceeded to take some pictures of my projects.....WHEW....I'm gonna be one busy woman this upcoming year!! Here are a few pictures of the TOP 4:

First, on the left is a 30's Round Robin I did about 5 years ago. It's done in muslin and 30's... I really like it and need to add some borders to at least bring it up to a single size....then the usual quilting and binding.

These 12 blocks are 18 inchers that need setting. I won them on Ebay a few years ago for almost nothing. I've never "bid" on blocks before but took a chance they'd be nice. I was pleasantly surprised when I got them just how nice they were. Any ideas on setting them?

Now we have the 2008 Thimbleberries Big Quilt....

It needs a few borders so I think this will be my # 1 to work on.....

And, last but not least are the brown/turquoise/cream blocks I did over the late summer in a swap. All of the blocks were beautiful and i'm itching to set them....

I was thinking with these blocks I'd set them just the way I have them laid out, using a setting square and strips between them...nothing fancy, just a simple setting to showcase the blocks. What are your thoughts????

Peggy

DO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY KNOW ME?

What do you think, do my friends and family know me? Just last week alone I received 6 mugs, 4 of them are in my favorite color!! My daughter Sarah is always calling me Mamasita so when she found the one on the right (with a different spelling than the way I spell it) she had to buy it and give it to me for my BD. Jennifer gave me the big red dot and the "You are special" one and the red dot one behind Jen's is from Michelle.....I have a different mug for every cup of tea I drink during the day...How lucky am I?

Peggy

It's Starting To Take Shape

Yesterday I showed you the 2008 Thimbleberries blocks. I spent a little time last night working on the assembly of them so here's a picture of them taking shape.....

I'm going to start working on the other side tonight.....

We had a gorgeous day here today in NJ.... I'm wondering if Mother Nature noticed that it s December 28th? It hit 70!!! I had windows and doors open airing the house out. It's so nice that we're going to grill some burgers for dinner.....

How was your Sunday?

The week between....

So, what are all you quilty girls doing for the week between??? I was going to start a new project but then I thought to myself....NO..YOU MUST NOT START ANYTHING NEW!!!

So, I pulled out my 2008 Thimbleberries Lodge Kit and decided to catch up and try and get the whole kit and kaboodle finished..... I have this much done but need the setting triangles cut and then the borders....I have quite a bit of work ahead of me but I'm really enjoying it. I'd like to send this out for quilting as soon as it's done and it would be oh so nice to say I got the whole 2008 kit done in 2008.....

Has anyone else out there assembled their top totally?????

Peggy

Vending Containers

Did I get your attention with that title? LOL So, have you ever asked yourself "self, what do you think 200 vending containers look like?"....well, frankly, neither did I until the other day.

I like to do embroidery and use the # 8 dmc embroidery floss on a ball but I find it unravels and then I end up with knots galore. So, last weekend I'd gotten an email from Bird Brain which sells cute little floss balls I think they call them. Their price was not too bad for a dozen but I needed more than 1 dozen and in one of my daily emails to Robin she mentioned that on ebay someone was selling these vending balls for a tremendous price...so, I wrote the guy and voile, I am the proud owner of 200 vending balls.....not that I need 200 but I will split this box full 3 ways and mail some to Robin and Michelle for these balls of floss that I have to do a small project.....

Fabric

As I reported earlier, today was a gift fest at work....What do you say when a non-quilty co worker gives you a gift bag and inside are 2 1 yard pieces of fabric? You almost want to say,
"OMG...you seriously know me"...and almost cry... That is what happend today when I opened a gift bag and inside was a large ziploc bag with these 2 fabrics inside...the front fabric is called mirabelle by Alexander Henry and the back fabric is a Laurel Burch. I could not get over the fact that this girl would order me 2 yards of fabric for Christmas! I KNOW the mirabelle is going to be a purse for sure. I don't know what I'll do with the LB but I'm looking forward to picking a purse pattern out and making it for the spring.... Miss Abby, if you're out there....You're a keeper!!!
Happy Holidays to you and yours!!!

Peggy

Woo Hoo for Birthdays and Christmas

That's all I can say....Woo Hoo!!!

Yesterday was my 54th and boy oh boy, did I get treated royally. From breakfast with gifts in work, to dinner and gifts from the family last night....I felt like a queen!!!

So, in between breakfast and dinner I got a little packie from Robin....now, you know I love packages, and when they come from a quilting sister I just gotta smile, and blog.... Robin made "Peanut the Elephant" from a cute 30's print with his saddle being made of yo yo's...she also made me that beautiful purple scarf in the front as well as the pincushion on the left, sent a roll of TB thread, a book on how to knit, knitting needles and yarn as well as a cute little hard cupcake that you can use as a treasure keeper.

Michelle was nervous that her packie was lost...have no fear Michelle, it arrived this afternoon and all was intact.... a red with white polka dot mug, a rooster (i think) pincushion, a candy bar, 2 boxes of flavored tea, 2 ornies, a candle mat kit and this sock monkey...is he cute or what? Makes me want to just smile when I look at him. OH...and lets not forget the cute, cute, cute, wallhanging. It says Tea Time and it's embroidered and looks antiquey...Michelle did a great job on it because it has a lot of small intricate stitches.

A gal is very lucky to have friends and family so close and so nice to treat me to this birthday loot!!!!

And to think...Christmas is 2 days away...more pressies to open LOL