Huh???

Look at this...
Any idea what it is??




Think

THIS ...


Plus THIS....


Yes, it is an Electric FlySwatter. WHO KNEW??? I feel so left out of the electronic age..I use a regular ol'fashion fly swatter. I have to use my own elbow grease to smash the bugs in my house. I believe I might need one of those...

Thanks Gari for the comment yesterday that alerted me to this fabulous must buy item.... now I wonder where the hubby hid the MasterCard?? ...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Hazardous Waste....

Tuesday is trash day in this household. My normal routine is to wait until the Rock Star gets home and then I tell him to load up all the trash upstairs and down and haul it out to the curb. The trash man comes very early in this neck of the woods. Normally he is here and gone by 5:30am. In fact, we missed a couple of times when we first moved here...

So today, I had some errands in town. I finally got it all together around 9am and after getting dressed decided that I better maybe press? the shirt I am wearing? It was pretty wrinkled.. ;-0 Turn on iron, turn shirt inside out, press. Fairly easy...Flip it over my head, put my arms in and

OUCH....OUCH...OUCH...OUCH.... YIKES!!

I pulled that shirt off so quick I dropped it. Something is burning!! my back!! Hurts!! Pain!!
Oh no, I think....I was working with fusible and I got some on my shirt...I have burned my back with glue.. but wait, I check the shirt...run my hands all over it...there isn't anything on there...no fusible...nothing...

Hm....wonder what happened. I have a big red spot on my back and it still hurts...

Then I spot it them.. 4 wasps...in my sewing room! Luckily I am not allergic to bee/wasp stings so I am fine now. But, boy it sure hurt like heck. I killed them all. Don't tell PETA...




So today, I decided to take the trash out by myself... can you blame me? It was considered hazardous waste!!

I'll be sewing today, but I will checking the room first...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

QUILT MAN.....

Quilt Man has been sighted on the internet.... Click HERE to see one photo and explanation (like there is a sane reason for this!!)

Thanks for the link Pat..

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Quick post.....New BOM....

Just wanted everyone to know that Jenny over at Elefantz has started a new BOM for 2009. The first two blocks have been reworked and put up today so go over and get those. And then return the first of every month for the rest of the blocks.

Thanks Jenny! They are lovely...

To get there the first of every month, stop by here and then click on her button on the left side bar....

Nancy

Sunday....and quilt man sighting..

Yesterday was the baby shower for my niece. She was very happy with the diaper bag and quilt so I guess that's done for awhile. Other nieces are either married and still in college or not married and still in college.. No babies for awhile...

Since I still have money left in my magic wallet, I am trying to get a shopping trip together with Anne and Miss Nancy. We all have different schedules so we are attempting through email to get a date together. HEY GUYS!! I CAN GO ANYTIME THIS WEEK!! Dang money is burning a hole in my pocket...

Today will be cleaning the sewing room, maybe doing some laundry (or go naked!), and figure out my plan for all the fabric I bought.

I brought home the guild raffle quilt and I need to check to see if it has a hanging sleeve or if I need to buy cafe pinch rings. Need to learn to set up the stand and hopefully it won't be gusty wind and I can get a good picture. I will post one when I do and see if anyone wants some raffle tickets. Guess you could use paypal and trust me to fill out the ticket? I could send a photo of the filled out ticket to you? Would you all trust me? I would like to think you would, but who knows in this day and age....

No photos... I am photoed out. Brenda left a comment that she had seen quilt mans photo on another blog so if anyone sees it can you leave a link in the comments? I think everyone deserves to see him....LOL and not just think I'm whistling Dixie down here...

Ok, off to sew or clean or something..

Nancy

Paducah, Day 2.....

Up early and breakfast at the hotel. We signed a list to be notified for next years show. AQS is cautioning quilters not to make any reservations that are not refundable. The contract for next year hasn't been signed (as of publication date) Oh, doesn't that sound fancy....like I'm really published....LOL

So today we decided to start downtown. We figure the buses will be letting out about 10am at the Convention Center most quilters will head there first, by the time we are finished downtown they will be finished and we can all trade!! (talk about a run-on sentence)...

Well, let's quickly detour... As we were on the way downtown we passed Eleanor Burns tents. She has a large area with sale fabrics and her quilt patterns and she gives a talk 3 times per day. We decided to have a quick stop and check it out. So, I am not an Eleanor Burns fan, so this was more exciting to me...

Sulky training....Very interesting.. If I knew how to upload a video, I would show you .... anyone??

Ok, NOW downtown...

The Paducah School of Art....


All handmade,hand painted tiles....and they were put up there by hand...



Lots of neat buildings. Lots of antique stores. Some store fronts rented out to vendors.
Um... my sister-in-law got stuck in the antique stores. Me...Not interested. So we decided to have an early lunch and split up.

We ate here.. on the top floor of that little tree house area. The wind was really strong that day and it felt like the whole tree house was swaying... My SIL commented that she felt like she should have taken her anti-nausea meds...



This was our view at lunch. The National Quilt Museum. They had a special exhibition of the 24 quilts that have won since AQS started. Of course the 25th was displayed at the convention center as it had just won...



So lunch is over, but wait...not before we see QUILT MAN...On a Segway...just close your eyes and imagine.....

A man

in tights

with a cape

made from a quilt....

sorry no pic...he was really fast...and I never saw him again. Probably just as well!! I might have thought the heat got to me..

So off to the Convention Center I go with magic wallet in hand... What, you don't know about the magic wallet? Let me tell you. It's one great thing to have. No matter how much money I spent, I still had money left! I never got to the end of the cash! I brought money home!! Of course, no one knows but me and you, so don't tell.... I think a LQS is gonna get a couple of visits soon...

I hit the vendors one more time and saw some stuff I had missed the first day... imagine that!!

So, back to meet my SIL, but wait...what's that??



Yea, totally hitting that sale!! Ok, NOW we meet SIL...

She is done...I am done... I am ready to head home...

We limped to the car, her satisfied with a few antique aprons, a copper bracelet, a copper ring and I with

ALL OF THIS!!!



Yea, I did good...

This afternoon is the baby shower for my niece.. I hope she likes the quilt and diaper bag. It's all wrapped and sitting in the front seat of the car.

Hope to get some pictures...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Oh WAIT

I forgot to show you what I made... I already used some of the fabric in that last photo.

A new purse!!

Wanna go to Paducah with me?? First day...

Come on, let's hit the road...

We started about 8am Wednesday am. No traffic to speak of and soon we were tooling down the highway...



First stop was the Rend Lake Artisan Center.


This is a wonderful gallery of items made my Illinois artists. Most are for sale. I bought a book for DH.. Sister-in-law bought a button necklace.

Ok, let's get to PADUCAH ALREADY!

We stopped for lunch, oh gosh, can't remember where but it was good... Oh, Applebee's for spinach shrimp salad and half a california club sandwich. Really good!

YEA Paducah!!!


Then we hit Convention Center. We found a great place to park (free!) and only had to walk a couple of blocks to the entrance. We paid our fare and in we went.

Here are some of the zillions of quilts on display...


this is a closeup of the above quilt. It's a black whole cloth quilt entirely quilted in colored thread. Phenomenal machine quilting. It won one of the machine quilt awards.





Here is my haul for the day...



Apparently I buy in two's.... two charm packs, two yards of fabric and two books. hm....

So let's have dinner and find the hotel. We had reservations in the neighboring town of Metropolis..
What is Metropolis famous for?


No....that is Big John.. He lives here..in the grocery store....



But, further on down the road is

CLARK KENT!! oooohhh....he's cute!!



and that phone booth makes him totally HOT!!


TaDa SUPERMAN!!!!


Now where is that darn hotel?


Dang we missed it again... We had to go around a couple of times before actually hitting the entrance.

Ah....nice bed.....hot shower..... YAWN!!!

See ya zzzzzzzzzzzzzz tomorrow zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz .... for part 2....

While the Quilter is away.........

Hi Everyone - I hope you are all behaving yourselves while "The Quilter" is away enjoying herself in Paducah!

My oldest Daughter (and niece of "The Quilter") lives about 3 hours away with her husband and she will be at my home this week-end and is bringing 3 of her girlfriends for a "Girls Night Out". I really LOVE her girlfriends/sorority sisters! They are going to the Taylor Swift concert and are as happy as a bunch of 13 year olds - but they are older and 2 are married ;). Anyway..........she asked if I would cook dinner for them before the concert and I said "YES!" - I really do like to cook and it would be fun! After talking with her she decided on Appetizers so they could "graze" while "primping" for the night out. So here is the Menu:

Shrimp Cocktail

Southwest Wraps - she has a recipe in her head for this one.

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip - we like this recipe:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Copycat-of-TGI-Fridays-Hot-Artichoke-and-Spinach-Dip-52212
and
Stuffed Mushrooms - this is her favorite recipe:
1pkg of mushrooms (larger)8 oz cream cheese
4 slices bacon
Shredded cheese (can be any kind of cheese, cheddar, feta, Parmesan)
Butter
Preheat oven to 350
Peel and de-stem mushrooms, dice stems into small pieces, cut bacon into small pieces and fry crispy.
Season with Parmesan, minced garlic, basil, parsley, accent, pepper, paprika
You really can't mess it up, just don't add too much more salt.
Add diced stems to seasoned bacon towards the end (last two minutes of frying bacon)
Lightly spray 9x13 pan
Place mushrooms in pan with a few small pats of butter throughout,
Mix bacon mixture with cream cheese, blending with spoon
Fill each mushroom with mixture and cover with shredded cheese
Bake for about 30 minutes (when mushrooms are darker in color and cheese is melted)

Of course there will be some drinkys to go with this - I'm the designated driver and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm going out to dinner with "The Rock Star" tonight ! !
I hope we can behave ourselves - LOL! !

Carolyn
Guest Blogger
AKA: Sister of "The Quilter"

Paducah Ky....

HERE I COME!!

I leave tomorrow morning for the AQS Quilt Show. It's the 25th Anniversary and the convention center has been revamped. I am told the vendors will be everywhere and there should be less hiking this year...

I can't wait. I have my list, money and camera packed. Hm....guess I best bring some clean undies? Maybe another shirt? We will be driving so I will have plenty of room to bring back lots of goodies...

I will be back Friday to show all the photos....

Meanwhile, my sister will be guest blogging for me. She will also be staying at my house keeping the Rock Star company. DH was supposed to be in the office, but got called out of town at the last minute...

So be nice and leave her lots of comments....

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Quilt Festival - Spring 2009

Welcome to my part of the online Quilt Festival-Spring 2009. Amy was the gal behind this brilliant idea. Our own online quilt show with prizes... After reading this you can click on her name and head over to her blog. There is a Mr Linky with many many many quilters showing their favorite quilt...

My favorite quilt hangs on my living room wall. I joined Pat Sloan's yahoo group and in 2005 read about the group doing a row by row quilt swap. I was one of the last one to know about this particular swap and by the time I asked to join it was too late. UNTIL - a few days later when I got an email from the coordinator that someone had dropped out of one of the groups and could I get my row together in a week...YIKES!! YES!! I decided that houses would be my theme and quickly pulled fabric and started getting some machine applique done. WHEW! I made it and mailed my row, some extra fabric and a journal to the next person on the list. In just a few days I received an envelope in the mail and was ready to start on a row for someone else. This was so much fun. We posted photos as we went and could see our quilts getting prettier and prettier. Finally after 6 months, I got all of my rows back.... I quickly put the top together and then it sat until after we moved here in 2006. Oh, well that was only a year. For some reason I thought it was much longer, LOL

I got borders on it and sent it off to Pat (my long arm quilter) and here it is....






The rows were made by the following members

Top row - Jennifer
Second row - Margi
Third row - Cindy
Forth row - ME!
Fifth row -Joanna
Sixth and last row - Eileen

Thanks again ladies...I love it...

Thanks Amy, for this wonderful opportunity to meet new quilters and see their quilts.

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Sneak Peak revealed..

Friday morning found DH and I off on a quick trip to look at some land. We are in the midst of finding somewhere to retire and he wants some elbow room and I want to be closer to the grandkids. I think we might have found the perfect place. We will wait and see.

After coming home and getting some housekeeping duties out of the way, I ran upstairs and started to finish the sneak peak project. I finished it....

This is the inside..complete with zipper and pocket....



The outside with pocket and covered button...



And the finished diaper bag with matching quilt ...



I made these for my niece who is due in June with a boy... Fingers crossed, I hope she likes them.

I am off to Paducah next week for a couple of days and we will have a guest blogger, so be on the look out...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

opportunities...

Today in my inbox I was told I can

Move my career in the right direction

pursue a career in the Natural Healing Arts

Book my flight today

reduce my troubles

Get the funds that I needed yesterday today

Get my license in Massage Therapy (DH just might go for this one!)

and

revive my senses.

I guess I will be busy the next few days....



Working on the sneak peak project. No one has guessed it yet...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

taken a break for a sneak peak....

I am in the midst of writing the May newsletter for my quilt guild. Has to be DONE and printed today...for Monday's meeting.
BUT....I thought you all might like to see a sneak peak of what I am making...

Any guesses??



Gotta run!!

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

My sister would be so proud....

So let's give some background information first...

I am not a shopper.
I don't shop for clothes, bathroom accessories or new knick knacks.
I don't enjoy spending all weekend at the mall.
I own one pair of jeans. Well, I OWN two but one pair has some holes in a very unfortunate place so I can't wear them out anywhere...
I wear the same clothes over and over until I get them so stained with food drippings that they are unwearable (even by me).
I own 3 pairs of jogging pants and one pair is over 8 years old.
I own about 12 t shirts and all of them are solid.

So as you can see I am not a clothes horse...

Today I went here -



I walked in, tried on 9 different items and bought 4 of them. DONE...
Went to the post office, drove through MacDonald's for a Big Mac and came home.

Not bad for a Wednesday morning. Oh, and I got the senior citizen discount that I am not even entitled to (for another 5 years or so). Kohl's gives 15% off every Wednesday to senior citizens (age 62). I noticed that the price went down and as I looked up at the sales clerk, I said "What age is the senior discount?" He said "62" and as I started to open my mouth to say I wasn't old enough he piped in with "Oh, I know you aren't 62 yet, but I just give it to anyone I want to on Wednesdays". "You aren't offended are you?" "Heck no", I said. I'll take a discount any day!! LOL

My sister the shopper would be proud. I not only went shopping, but I went to her favorite store AND got a discount.

So that's done for another year or so. Wonder what else I can cross off my list today...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Jackpot...

Today was a wonderful mail day...DH was home unexpectedly. Emergency business run to New Mexico tonight for him so he came home to quickly pick up his packed bag. While he was leaving he saw the the mail lady coming and decided to wait...WOW I won the mail jackpot... Oh, bye honey....see ya tomorrow .....
Now to the box....\

HUGE BOX -



With lots of goodies -



First is a really pretty basket that exactly matches my bedroom. See the lovely green fern print?



These hang over my bed. Perfect match huh...



Then a beautiful piece of linen for Abbie... Of course Abbie is only a year old, so her mom will keep it for her.. She is gonna love it...



Next up are these lovely clothespins. She must have peeked into the sewing room and saw the little clothesline I have hanging above the ironing board! They will look so cute hanging up there....



This pillow is gorgeous. All machine appliqued and with some hand embroidery. I already have it stuffed and sitting on the couch in the living room. Beautiful work. The fabric reminds me of heavy burlap and it has a zipper and everything..



Look at the cute pencil topper! Some grandchild is going to love writing homework with this..



And then this purse. With hand made flowers. Out of white linen. With a red handle.



And the cutest little red fabric bird. He loves hanging out with my other birds...



Now why did I get this wonderful package? Because I joined Linda's Spring Swap! My secret partner was Noemia of Portugal. Click on her name to see her blog. (there is a translator button on the right side bar) Such wonderful goodies. Thank you so much Noemia...

I am sewing at Miss Nancy's today. We are making a new bag for Paducah...Just big enough for cash and a cell phone...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

This foot was made for walking....

I love my sewing machine and all it's different feet. I like my 1/4 inch foot and my 1/4 inch foot with the bar on the right side to keep me within my 1/4 inch seam. I like my open toe foot for machine applique and my zipper foot that I am no longer afraid to use.

Mostly though, I like my walking foot...



Because it allows me to do this....



To this...



I finished this quilt Saturday. It is for my nieces new baby due in June. Her shower is the Sunday after Paducah, so I knew it HAD to be done before I left on the 22nd...

I love the way it got all wrinkled and old looking after washing and drying. Hee Hee, it will look just like the baby...all wrinkled and old looking...hee hee...

Then my sister said "I think she wants a diaper bag to match". UGH!! I don't think I have enough fabric left to make it to match, so guess that means I go back to the store? Or maybe just make her a diaper carry case? Will think about it...

Cause tomorrow's another day....

And today I am too tired to think.....

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Mo to Hungary....

My swap partner emailed me Friday afternoon (my time, no way do I know what time it is in Hungary although she was off to bed). She has received my Spring Swap package so I can finally reveal what I sent her....



You can click the photo to make it larger. I made her the purple bag on the left. It was a pattern I found in an Australian magazine. I added a stack of purple
fat 1/8's, covered a journal and made her a zipper bag. Do you see a purple theme? A little birdie said she requested purple.

I am glad the package made it across the pond from Missouri to Hungary... Now I am patiently waiting for mine to arrive. The mail lady must think I am stalking her as I stand at the window and watch her arrive each day...

Hey, do I hear her now??
Bye!
Nancy