Cupcakes

I'm going to set the record straight off...I can bake brownies and cupcakes, I CANNOT however decorate said cupcakes :)

I did decide that I'd take a cupcake class today after school with one of the teachers who makes terriffic baked goods.

Here are my sunflower cupcakes with oreo centers and red M&M ladybugs. Not a bad job for someone who doesn't like nor does a good job of decorating....

A UFO Finish or so I thought

I really am trying to clean up some old UFO's and not start on new projects....So, I have been putting binding on finished quilts and at night instead of doing my Snow Days embroidery, I'm tacking down binding. This quilt called Meadowsweet is a duplicate of one I made back in May. The original I gave to the social worker in school when she had a fire in her house but since I loved it so much and had some leftover fabrics I remade it and got the polka dot binding on last night. WELL, guess what ? This quilt was NOT on my UFO list! How the heck did that happen??? Oh well, it feels good to have it finished and now I can move onto a real ufo project from the list. (better put my glasses on to be sure this time LOL)

Red Pepper

This is a scrap quilt I've been working on for some time. I do a little then set it aside and do more and then I pick it up again like I did yesterday. It's on my 2011 UFO list so I need to start "finishing" not setting it aside.

I've temporarily named this monster "Red Pepper" because I kind of stole the idea from the Red Pepper blog and a quilt she did last year. I may have to keep the name and make a label with a red pepper on it :)

All of the fabric has come from my stash of scraps and lemme tell you, this girl does NOT like working with 2 inch squares. I find them too small and unlike at least a 3 or 3.5 incher, they just get wonky to me. The blocks that are the little squares take 100 2 inchers to make up, so you can figure out i'm doing a lot of "holy crapping" while I'm connecting them all :)

It will be approximately 75 x 75 without borders so I'm thinking that will be it.....no borders for this one!!!

Catching Up

Yes, I'm catching up with all my monthly commitments!!!

I did the monthly minis yesterday, and even got myself ahead of schedule, i'm catching up on my embroidery project "Snow Days" and today I pulled out booklet #1 of the "Hometown Christmas" and caught up with that. The deadline Michelle has us on has us finishing #1 by 2/28 so I'm on schedule.

Here's what we had to do........

The birds gave me a little bit of a fit but once I got them laid out they went together nice and easy and do look super cute don't they?

I'm having some computer issues today with my comma, question mark etc...I dusted underneath but they're still not working right....any ideas?

Count On It

"Count on It" is the new Art to Heart book by Nancy Halvorsen. Initially when I saw the book I didn't think it was for me so instead I signed up for the "Patchabilities, Inc." minis with my local quilt shop. Soon after that I saw that Michelle got the book and did the January snowman and I was jealous. YES, I said it, I was jealous. The snowman was so darn cute! So, I got the book and while Michelle and Robin were here last month shopping, Michelle and I scoured the shelves looking for like-fabrics to the ones in the book and got quite a few. I got my mother a hanger and started making her the mini quilts...which she loves. I've mailed February's off to her a while back but thought that since I'm flying down to see her on the 27th that I'd take her March, April & May.

I love how these look so I know she will too.....

I have hanging sleeves on the March and April, but the May block still needs the machine buttonholing and the hanging sleeve. That's my job for later today. For now, I need to go cut out my March Daffodils for "my" Patchabilities mini.

Happy Friday

Yes, it is a happy Friday here in NJ. No work, it's 63 and sunny and I finished another quilt.

I blogged about the Buckeye Blocks last week and showed a picture of them laying on the floor, but I didn't have enough blocks to finish it so I set to work this week making more blocks, laying them back out on the floor to see if I liked how they looked and then I sewed them into rows. Last night I got the rows assembled and the neutral border around the entire top. This afternoon after errands and lunch I got the red border on and pictures taken.

I am very happy with how this top came together. I didn't have to trim or fudge any blocks whatsoever. I just laid em out and sewed em up....Here's a picture of the finished top laying on my design floor :) Sure wish I had a design wall but since that's not happening anytime soon I will settle for the floor.

President's Weekend

Yes folks, when that bell rang at 3:00 I was out the door today and won't have to go back till Tuesday morning at 7am....Let President's Weekend begin!!! Thank you Abe and George and all the president's that followed you!!!

Blog Winner

I won, I won!!! Back on February 4th I entered a blog contest and won 2 spools of Essentials Thread. I got to pick my colors so I picked "Hyacinth and Lime" 2 of my favorite colors!

I want to thank LOFT CREATIONS for hosting the contest and Connecting Threads for supplying the beautiful thread colors...

I would also like to thank my friend Angela for finding the little chairs I was looking for in the last post. I swear I googled every word combination I could and did not come across them. Bloggers are just the BEST!!!!!!!

Peggy

A pincushion and 2 Lookies

Have you seen this pincushion on "Bee in my Bonnet" blog? I think everyone who saw this fell in love with it. I wrote to Bee and asked her where she found the little chairs and she told me but she also warned me that she's gone in search of them again too and couldn't find any more :(

I've been searching since probably November for them thinking that this time of year the Michaels stores and other craft supply places would have them....but no, none to be found.

If anyone out there in blogland sees these cute little chairs, would you email me? Thanks.....

I have a list...........Actually, I have a lot of lists. I make a list the first of every month of "The Top 3" items that I'd like to work on. I have a list of "2011 Quilting Goals", I have a "UFO Challenge List" and I even, if you can believe it, have a list of all kits, bag o blocks, ufo's, BOM's etc...yes, everything I buy and store away I list. I love lists! List making however, only works in my sewing room...I don't make lists for anything else.

So...The first few days of the month I'm all about what I

have to do and I'm pretty much focused....then I get an email or a

text "LOOKIE". I groan just a little bit and wonder to myself "what is Robin or Michelle sending me now". This week was no exception, and it was only 6 days into the month!!! Michelle had gone looking thru her UFO list and found she had some Buckeye Beauty blocks on her list and laid hers out and sent a picture of how nice they looked laid out on her design floor. I said to myself "Self..you have those blocks too!" and the search was on. I did find my bag o blocks and laid mine out on my design floor and then I proceeded to pull together all the parts that were in the bag with the already made up blocks

so now i'm on a roll and assembling my Buckeyes too.

THEN Michelle got invited to a mini retreat about

an hour from home and was told to bring some 1-1/2 inch scraps with her. And today, not 4 days after the other LOOKIE email what do I get today? another email with a picture of what she did this afternoon with herscraps and some fancy

schmancy pineapple ruler. And to add to it, she is buying Robin and I a ruler and told us about a book we HAVE to get to go with it... AYE CARUMBA!!! These "sisters" of mine are supposed to be helping me finish up what I already have started NOT get me involved in new projects...

I guess I will just have to quit my day job and stay home and sew, that's all a sister can do when challenged with new and very interesting projects.

I'll get back to you on what hubby has to say about that tidbit :)

Peggy

Hunky Dory

Everything here is just Hunky Dory and I'm happy about that :)

I had a request back before the holidays from a teacher in school for a quilt for her daughter's high school graduation. I've known Kathy's daughter for at least 6 years and was thrilled to be asked to make such a special quilt. I gave her some pattern and fabric options and she picked " Square City" which was designed by Julie Herman. The pattern was in the May/June 2010 Mc Calls Quilting Magazine and she made hers in Hunky Dory by Chez Moi, so you know I had to do Kathy's in the exact colorway. I collected everything up and it's been sitting waiting for the perfect time...and today was the day.

I worked on the block assembly this afternoon and then after dinner I decided I had to get the rows assembled before I went to bed. Well, that happened but I just couldn't bear to go to bed with the rows laying over the ironing board so I got them all connected and ironed flat....NOW I can go to bed. I absolutely love how it came out and I'm hoping Kathy's daughter will too.

Now to get the backing done and off to the quilter this week.

Hometown Christmas

I was so successful in finding Michelle her Hometown Christmas kit and I knew I'd be seeing her this Saturday, I went ahead and cut out the fabrics for pamphlet # 1 and you know I couldn't cut it out without taking them for a test drive so I assembled Section 1. I assembled the house on Sunday and then tonight I connected the pinwheel and the hourglass blocks.

I will get to assembling and connecting the other 2 sections over the next week or so.

It was nice having today off and I don't mean to sound greedy, but I'd sure love to have a delayed opening tomorrow.....

Peggy

I think the picture speaks for itself

HELP

Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again, quilters are the best!!!

I posted for the Hometown Christmas Quilt kit and within minutes of posting I had an email from a girl saying she'd post on her Thimbleberries group and within a few hours I had 2 replies.

One girl had some of the fabric but the other girl has the entire kit, including the applique yardage. The best thing about it is she also lives in New Jersey and less than an hour north of me. We are trying to set up a day and time to meet and do the exchange. I'd have gone up while I was out if I could have arranged it but she apparently has a life and doesn't "live" with her email attached to her hip LOL I'm hoping we can meet tomorrow so I can have it in my hot little hands faster......

Thank you out there to anyone that responded and emailed me. You are really the best!!!!

Peggy

HELP

If you email me about this project, please set your email so I can reply. I've received 2 emails and they are both set for no reply....

Hometown Christmas HELP!

I know there are a lot of people that read blogs but don't comment on them. I read a lot myself but don't always feel the need to email the blogger. So, that being said, I was wondering if anyone out there that has a Thimbleberries Hometown Christmas kit or some of the fabrics????? If you do, would you email me? A whole kit would be fabulous....some of the fabrics would help.

paront1222@comcast.net

Thanks.....

Peggy

Berry Pickin Update

I've been plugging away working on some UFO projects, the Berry Pickin embroidery project was on the top of my list...I've been working on it now for 17 months! YES, 17 months, and I'm tired of seeing it sitting on the shelf.

I got the blocks out today, made some borders and started to connect them. This is only one section but I have other units made...unfortunately, the block I need to connect them all is waiting to be assembled so I'm showing what I have for now. Maybe this time next week I'll have the entire thing done and ready for quilting....

Hometown Christmas

Has anyone made their quilt from this pattern?

I bought this kit in 2004!!!! I hadn't even opened the package until recently, and even then I just washed them and put them in a basket on the shelf.

I got a nudge yesterday from Robin who found her kit while moving stuff around in her sewing room, who in turn told me I should email Michelle and see if she wanted to join in on the fun, and of course she said yes....She's had the patterns forever and wanted to do this so now Michelle has to collect up the proper fabrics and get organized so she can join us.

I think we'll do it like a BOM so we can continue to do other monthly committments and keep up with our 2011 UFO list as well.

Does anyone out there have a kit of this project or some of the fabrics? Want to swap for something else I might have so we can hook Michelle up?????

Peggy

Humility Block?

Someone noticed that one of my corner hst's was turned and asked if I was going to keep it as a humility block? Ummmm, not this early in the game, especially since nothing is connected to it and it is on the corner....so, here it is all fixed:

Aunt Grace Circle of Friends- Month 3

FINALLY....took all afternoon to make this block but I'm done and all caught up. The gees in this 10-1/2 inch block are 1-1/2 inch wide so rather than mess it up, I had Robin make me a paper piecing pattern for the geese units, which made this block much easier to make and assemble. Thank you Robin!!! Now to move onto something else.

Aunt Grace Circle of Friends

I thought these blocks would go together so quick...... ha ha ha!

I guess if I had my half square triangles going the correct direction and I paid attention to what I was sewing instead of the TV I'd have gotten them done right. As it is, I spent close to an hour ripping apart the red/print borders and redoing them....But I did it so I'm done with the December blocks. January is only 1 block so I should be able to get that done fairly easy tomorrow. For now, it's bed time....Goodnight!

All Caught Up

I'm taking this weekend to catch up with all my block of the month kits and finish up anything small that I have started recently. I'm almost forced to do this because back in December Robin, Michelle and I each made our "Top 3" projects for January and when you actually make a list you kind of have to follow it. That's my story, and hopefully I'm gonna stick to it.

I got my mom's snowman mini done and mailed to her, I got the 2 borders on a quilt for a girl in work (no pictures since it's going to be a surprise) and # 3 is going to be Monday's project.

But in between I got caught up with my "Snow Days" block of the month. December's block had a huge amount of embroidery and add that to the holidays, and I just got

way behind but I did finish last week and made the pieced blocks and then immediately start

ed with the January embroidery. I worked on this one like a woman obsessed and finished it last night, trimmed it and got the pieced blocks made today AND I attached the blocks to make the entire right side of the quilt.

I have to say that in the end there will have been a ton of embroidery and piecing to this quilt and I'm thrilled with how it's looking. I look at it every day hanging in my room

and cannot believe that I have done all this work.

I have my Aunt Grace Circle of Friends BOM to catch up with now too. I need to get December and January's blocks done.

Peggy

Baby Quilt Finish

Yes, I have a finish but I don't know if I can consider it a 2010 or 2011 finish, and NO, it's not on my UFO list for the BPF Challenge but it's a finish, and that's all I care about!

My nephew and his wife had their 3rd child back in December and named her Kaitlyn. Since she has 2 older brothers I knew that she would need her own "girly" quilt. I used some 30's polka dots and prints for the blocks and a purple polka dot for the back. My friend Sandi did the quilting and if you look real close at the up close picture you can see that the quilting is baby bottles, pacifiers, baby pins etc. Sandi did a great job and the quilt should have been mailed off to Florida for the baby but I needed to finish tacking down the binding...which is one of my least favorite things to do.

BUT, it's done and if weather perm

its, it will be in the mail no later than Thursday.

Here's a picture of the finished quilt and a close up of the bottle quilting.

A Finish for January

I spent a little time this afternoon making this mini from the "COUNT ON IT" book from Art to Heart. Michelle is doing this mini BOM while I am doing a Patchabilities along the same lines.

I'd already ordered the book when I saw Michelle's snowman on her blog so when I couldn't decide what to do this afternoon I traced and got it sewn up. No, I'm not keeping this for myself, I've made it for a very special person for her house in Florida because she always tells me she loves everything I make so I'm waiting for the stand for it to come in tomorrow's mail and then this guy will be making his way to the Florida sun.

New Years Day- 1/1/11

Here it is, New Years Day 1/1/11! Family is all safe and happy (yay for that), I got snow last week, had the week off to sew, spend time with family and be a bum (yay for that) so basically, all is good!

Last night we had dinner at a nice chinese restaurant that we frequent quite often because their food is the best, and from the looks of all the people there and the waiting line, i'm guessing that a lot of people know about this place too. After dinner the kids went out so hubby watched TV (read-snoozed on the couch) and I sewed.

YES, I sewed 75 4 inch pinwheel blocks last night. I mentioned in a previous post that I was using all my scraps for these pinwheels but when I realized how long it would take to do it that way I decided to try the Triangulations Papers that Robin and Michelle suggested. OMG, what a lifesaver those things are. One night to pick and press the fabrics and sew them, the next afternoon I took the papers off whilst doing other things around the house and then yesterday I pressed them open, paired them up and made up all 75. It took till just after midnight but they turned out fabulous (and perfectly sized!) and now I'm up to 126 pinwheels out of 314 that I need. Not a bad 3 days work!!!

Today will be another quiet day at home taking down the tree and getting my daughter's laundry all done since she leaves to go back to college tomorrow. She hates to leave but there is light at the end of the tunnel....She graduates in May so she has that to look forward to.

I am still mid way on my Snow Days embroidery project. My December block is almost done, minus one small snowman and the little boy building him so I think before I sit and stitch tonight I will have to get the pieced blocks done because as I've said in the past, this is the gift that keeps on giving because once I attach the blocks I will have to trace some more trees or something onto the blocks....and next week we'll be getting the January pieces so I NEED to get these done pronto! More pictures of that project this week I hope.

Hope you all enjoy 2011!!!!

New Years

2010 is coming to a close so I wanted to wish all my blogging friends, family, and anyone else out there "Happy New Years" and all the best to you and yours in 2011!!!!

Pinwheel Project

Back in November, in the Winter 2010-2011 Mc Call's Quilting Magazine I found this quilt and I KNEW I had to do it. The quilt finishes up to approximately 79 x 96 and you need 314 4 inch pinwheels....Yes, you read that right 314 pinwheels!!I have a cabinet of Thimbleberries fabrics and a drawer of 3 inch squares in all different colors, not just brown. So, I decided that I'd mix mine up but still use neutrals with them. I started with some blue fabrics and then the holidays hit. I had shopping and some small holiday projects to do so I never got back to doing anything with the project until yesterday.

I know there are a lot of ways to make the half square triangles for the pinwheels, one of which "triangulations papers" works well as per Michelle, but with them you still have to rip the paper off. My method you have to draw the lines, sew and then trim. I guess no matter how you do it, there's a lot

of work to these guys.

My real goal in doing this quilt is to use up as much of the fabric in the cabinet and drawer!

What do you think....think I can make a dent???? I guess we will see when I finish the project!!!

Darn Blogger

First off, I want to start this post with stating that I've attempted to post about this project 2 times only to have BLOGGER post an error message and shut me out! I am not happy with Blogger today!!!!

I have another ongoing issue with Blogger.....why can't my pictures be uploaded in a post to the exact spot where my curser stops typing? I don't get it. Does anyone else have these issues?

Wooly Pincushion Swap

Some girls I go to retreat with every May are doing a "wool crazy" pincushion swap. We are doing the swap 4 girls to a group, 2 groups. We're starting in January and when we meet in May we will get our pincushions back from the last girl that worked on it. I'm excited to see what I'll get back on mine after they see what I've started with. I have a sunflower on mine since it's my favorite flower and I'm thinking they'll add crows, birdhouses, butterflies, watering cans etc.....

Here's my first attempt at working with wool......

Here's a link to my friend Laura's blog with her pincushion top on it....ain't her rabbit cute?

http://leftatthestoplight.blogspot.com/

PS: This is starting out as 8 inches round.

New Light

I thought I'd share a picture of a lamp with a magnifying window for us ahem "over 50's" that want to still do embroidery but are having a little trouble seeing the lines on our pieces. My son gave me this for Christmas and lemme tell you....it's good!!! Can you see the little flip up door?

You don't have to use it but this here girl will!

Here's a link to the shop where it was purchased for anyone that want to know:

http://www.shoptablelamps.com/tl37981.htm

YAY for Snow

Yes, we got us some SNOW yesterday. Official count is 22 inches!!! This picture on the left is my back deck from the family room.

The other picture is my front yard. My son and husband have been out 3 times just trying to get a start on clearing.

Of course, my attitude on all this on 12/26 is "why couldn't it have waited 1 more week?" Why you ask? Well, I'm already off work this week since school is closed. If this was next week I'd get another week off!!!!