Baby Quilt Update, Swaps & Sightseeing

The baby quilt is finally quilted -- I decided to meander in the white spaces so that the "chain" would pop. Below are some pics of the quilting. I still need to practice meandering particularly on large quilts. I have a difficult moving the quilt and dealing with the bulk. Hence why I usually send my quilts to my long arm quilter. The binding is sewn on and should be turned over the next night or two. It is hard to tell in the photo but I took one strip of each color and pieced it together for the binding.

I joined another Doll Quilt Swap -- these ladies are awesome and are on Swap #7. Lucky for me I was able to join. This will be a bit of a challenge for me to make a quilt for my swap partner as her tastes are different than mine but I am looking forward to 'thinking outside of my box' and trying new fabrics and styles. I have two fabric lines in mind already and have been kicking around a couple of quilt patterns.

I have started a Flickr group with various photos of quilts and other things in my life. Basically my cat and lighthouses, are you surprised?

DH was on vacation last week. I was supposed to take a few days with him but the weather didn't cooperate and since he has much more vacation time than I do, I tend to be very frugal with my days. Since we hadn't made plans to go away, we decided to play tourists in NYC. Having grown up in the area you would think that there isn't anything either of us wouldn't have already done. Not true . . . neither of us have been to the Statue of Liberty. I have been around her by boat, flown over her in a plane and have even been on the island -- just never climbed to the top. Nor have we ever taken a Circle Line Cruise around Manhattan. Last Sunday we decided on a whim to take a ride into the City and book a cruise. It was a wonderful day and the weather fully cooperated. Luckily we went last Sunday as the weather yesterday was horrible here in the Northeast.

What is a cruise without a lighthouse? This little light is called Jeffrey's Hook and is located at the base of the George Washington Bridge.

A few days later we were back in the City. I really wanted to go down the shore but the weather had other ideas so we got back on the train to Penn Station, caught an uptown subway and went to the American Museum of Natural History. It is so easy to get to as the subway stop is right at the museum! This is one of my favorite museums and I have been to the Hayden planetarium many times and never get tired of either one. My brother and his family are planning to visit at Christmas. I think I will suggest we take my nephews to see the dinosaurs, insects and rocks.

I have also made more progress on my Halloween Redwork blocks (great way to spend the time on the train into NYC). The second to last one is half done! Guess I should be searching the stash and quilt shops for some Halloween themed fabrics so I can put the blocks together. It just might be finished for Halloween 2009.

Happy Stitchin!

Baby Quilt Pictures

A few months ago, my aunt asked me to make a baby quilt for her best friend's expectant daughter. After sorting through all of my books and searching the Internet for patterns, we decided on a free pattern from Quiltpox.

Over the weekend I finished piecing the top. Now if I could only decide how to quilt it . . . .

Happy Stitchin!

I Couldn't Resist Joining . . .

When I saw this post on Megan's blog, I knew I had to sign up for the challenge to finish my UFOs. I have numerous UFOs and I am hoping this will motivate me to finish at least one each month.

Kelly has tagged each of the participants to answer the following questions so we can get to know one another.

5 Things

1. My Favorite Fabric is:

Any fabric that has lighthouses or a beach theme

2. The pattern I'm most looking forward to sewing is:

The Claire Bag by Lazy Girl Designs

3. The food that is my weakness:

Lay's Potato Chips -- I can't have them in the house because the little voices inside my head taunt me until I open the bag. I can't eat just one!

4. If I knew I couldn't fail, I'd:

I would be a travel agent so I could travel around the world.

5. The Best "Life" Advice I know is:

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference

Not easy to live by but is has always resonated with me.

Happy Stitchin!

What I'm Reading

The rain has finally left the Northeast and we were blessed with wonderful weather the first few weeks of July. Today, it feels like a hot summer day as the heat and humidity have arrived. I am not complaining though -- I love the heat! When I retire I know it needs to be near the beach and where it never snows!

I've been reading, stitching and quilting over the past couple weeks. I recently finished Happiness Key by Emilie Richards which is a great story about 4 woman living on Happiness Key in Florida. I also finished The Shack. This book is unlike any other that I have ever read. All I will say is "you should read it". The next book on my list is The House at Riverton. In the summer I love to sit on the deck and read for hours.

I have been busy working on my Halloween Redwork. Below is a picture of Block 7 which is almost complete. Only two more to go!

Happy Stitchin'

'Twas the Night Before Christmas Giveaway

Christmas is my favorite holiday! Helen over at Hugs' n Kisses is giving away a copy of her newest pattern, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. What a great way to combine 3 of my favorite things -- quilting, stitchin' and Christmas. It would be so awesome to win a copy!

Thanks to Caryn for the heads up about the new pattern and giveaway!

And Congratulations Hannah!!!!

Happy Stitchin!

It's been awhile . . .

It has been about a month since my last post -- maybe I should aim for posting once a month :) The good news is even though I haven't been blogging (even reading blogs has been a challenge lately), I have been doing quilty things.

First I had to finish the two Friendship quilts to be raffled at the last guild meeting of the year. A BIG THANK YOU to Barbie and Janice for the awesome quilting on such short notice! I know I took pics -- just can't find the camera disc . . .

My next project was to finish the mini quilt for the mini quilt swap I signed up for last month.

I also made a little pin cushion to go along with the little quilt.

The pictures are not that good as the lighting in my house is not the greatest and I can't remember the last time the sun was out so I could take pictures outside.

My mini quilt from Ros in the UK arrived this past weekend. I cannot begin to describe how awesome this little quilt is -- the lilacs are made using numerous mini yo yos. Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers. They are so fragrant.

DH and I also took a little cruise to Canada. This was our first time cruising. We were fortunate that we had good weather the day we were in port at St. John's and the last day at sea. We spent it poolside with Caryn, her DH and two other couples. It was quite relaxing sailing on the ocean, sitting in the sun (with sunscreen) and having a cabana boy bring whatever drink you happen to desire. Yes I am sure we will cruise again.

My current project is a baby quilt. I am using pastels -- pink, pale orange, yellow, green, blue and lavender on an off-white background. The block is what I call a modified nine-patch. The four corners of the nine-patch block are actually four-patch blocks which help to create the chain. I was able to cut the fabric this weekend and started piecing blocks yesterday. Will post pics as soon as I have a couple of blocks pieced.

Happy Stitchin'

Good Friends

I know it has been quite awhile since my last post. All of flowers have been planted since my last post. I still have some maintenance to do in some of my beds. I am hopeful that the weather cooperates this weekend so I can finish.

Last week I was in Rockford, IL on business. After landing in Chicago, we began our trek to Rockford. A short distance from the plant we stopped for breakfast at a small restaurant in a strip mall. And then the torment began . . . a couple stores down from the restaurant was a sewing center. Unfortunately I was unable to stop as I was traveling with co-workers. The next night while looking for a restaurant for dinner, we past another quilt shop. This one was closed for the day so the pain was too difficult to bear. Ahh maybe someday I will be back on my own and have the opportunity to drop in a say "hello".

Last night was the first Bruce Springsteen concert for his latest tour in our area. Caryn, Sue and I had made plans to meet at the arena a few hours before the concert so we could have dinner, etc. I left work as planned and when I arrived at my truck I noticed a puddle (actually a stream) of water under it. Hmm this can't be good, I am thinking to myself. So I reach down to touch the water and try to determine what is leaking from the truck. Okay so I have no clue and I proceed to open the hood. Why I have no idea since I really don't know what I am looking for but I open it anyway. Hmm perhaps I should call DH -- no answer, call again, no answer. Okay call #1 DS. DS answers on the second ring. I explain what I see and after some troubleshooting over the phone we determine the water pump is shot. DS thinks I can make it home if I stop and pick up a gallon of water and put it in the radiator. I am not convinced but seeing as at this point I am not going to the concert, I have to figure out how to get the truck home. So I call Caryn to tell her what is going on and she immediately asks "do you want us to pick you up?" Now that might seem like a reasonable question, except that I am a good 35 minutes farther than they need to travel to get to the arena. I said that would be great except how am I getting home. I knew I could leave the truck in the parking lot overnight but I still needed to get home somehow at the end of the night. A few minutes later and we have a solution. Okay they are on their way to pick me up so we can go see Bruce. I make another call to DS to tell him I am not coming home and leaving the truck. I tell him Caryn and Sue are coming to pick me up so I can still make it to the concert. His response "wow Mom, you have good friends". I said "yes I do!"

BTW, Bruce was awesome!!!! We had a great time and are already planning to buy tickets for when he returns.

Tomorrow those good friends of mine and their DHs are going to the Wine and Blues Festival. You can be sure I will raise a toast to "Good Friends!"

Have an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend! Remember those who gave their lives for our freedom!

Happy Stitchin!