Tuesday, September 30, 2008

One is the loneliest number.....



I started with two HUGE bags of apples a week ago last Friday. I have made fried apples, crockpot applesauce, apple slices in the microwave and now this....



I have one apple left.. wonder who will eat it?

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Monday, September 29, 2008

My weekend.....

Pat Sloan scheduled a "virtual label making retreat" this past weekend. Her goal was to get a lot of us to clearly document those gift quilts we so love to make. I am guilty of not labeling my quilts. I always thought my quilts were finished once I put that last hand stitch in the binding. Now I know that a good label is the finish all quilts need. Anyone that makes quilts, either for yourself, family or friends should hustle over to her blog and start reading the posts starting last Friday... You will get all the inspiration and ideas you could possibly need....






These are the labels I finished Friday...three of them were made, written on and sewn on their quilts.
Today I plan to sew labels on DH quilt and make the two labels I need for the grandsons Christmas quilts. One I can sew on, the other will have to wait until it is back from my FABULOUS quilt Pat P.
Then I am going to get started on a few of these bags... I think these might make a great bag for some Christmas presents. I won't make them from Christmas fabric and then maybe they will be used all year round....

Saturday DH, Rock Star and I cleaned out the garage, washed it down, etched it and then Sunday while I was playing with Miss Abbie he did THIS....

We had an ordinary concrete garage floor and now we have a masterpiece. It looks perfect...


Well off to sew...and iron some of DH dress shirts...and make an apple pie for DH..

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

We make cake....

After a couple of clicks on different blogs, I found this... I know there are many recipes out there, but this is the one I used today.... so this is where I will link...

I watch two elementary age kids after school about 3 days a week. They live across the street so it is very convenient for the parents and it gives me a bit of spending money.

Today when they stumbled into the back door, I announced that M and L would be making their own snack. "What can WE make??" said M and L...

"CAKE you can make CAKE!!!"

So we did.... and it was good....









It must have been a hit, they said they want to cook again tomorrow...Are there any other "in a mug" recipes???

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Speechless.....

Very seldom am I speechless. It happened once yesterday and here is the complete story...

Yesterday was MY housecleaning day. I started around 9am and got busy upstairs. After dusting, wiping, spraying and scrubbing the upstairs was finished and I came downstairs to start in. It was a mess...

I started in the dining room, went into the living room and then it happened. The doorbell rang. Standing at my door was the mail lady. She had a bundle of mail the likes I have never seen. Package after package was heaped into my arms. Of course, I was completely embarrassed. Here I was totally unshowered and in my cleaning clothes...I am sure I looked and smelled heavenly..NOT!!

I received a book I had ordered from PaperbackSwap, a fabric panel I bought on line from SewItsForSale, Hubby got a couple of packages and then down at the bottom of the pile was a HUGE package.

Opening up this package....


Revealed this package-with cute black and white polka dotted bow..


First out was this darling little bucket...In my favorite red/white/black..This has become my new redwork project holder on the couch. It fits everything perfectly.


Then I pulled out this beautiful purse....The inside is all in polka dots with a pocket and it has a magnetic snap..and it's quilted in diamonds. Very pretty... this was a pattern in the Australian magazine called Homespun. Loraine had a photo of this on her blog and someone at the magazine saw it. They contacted her and it will be featured in the magazine under the "look what I made from one of your patterns" section... Isn't that cool? My purse will be famous.


Oh, look what is inside... Linda fairly swooned when I told her these were in the bag...she called me spoilt..


Then there was THIS!! This is absolutely stunning, gorgeous, wonderful, thoughtful, perfect, beautiful....did I say stunning?? It has perfect hand embroidery, machine applique, and is quilted. I can't wait to show it off at Redwork Club and Quilt Guild...


I can't say enough about it....

Now who sent me all this?? How did I get all these goodies in my mail? First, I joined Linda's bag swap.
Then I was lucky enough for Linda to pair me up with the wonderful blogger, Lorraine. Lorraine sent me these goodies all the way from Australia. She did an absolutely amazing job. Click over to her blog to see more wonderful projects.

I have sent her a private, positively gushing thank you, but here in public I would like to say THANK YOU LORRAINE....I love everything...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

PS..if you double click on the photos, they should show up in a new window as a closeup.

Monday, September 22, 2008

A review of Alex Anderson....

Today is cleaning day at my house. I am literally tearing it apart. I also have applesauce going in the crockpot so I am feeling fairly housewifey....lol So why am I writing in my blog?? instead of cleaning? Cause I'm taking a break!!! Yea, a break!! I have my ice water and I am sitting on the couch with the fan on. It's HOT in here..I have finished the complete upstairs... So there...

Last Thursday Miss Nancy, Anne and I went to see Alex Anderson. I forgot my camera and Miss Nancy was kind enough to send me some photos....







I was a bit disappointed. Alex started by talking a little bit about her background, her kids, how she got started quilting and how "Simply Quilts" started and ended. That bit was interesting. She showed slides of her as a wee girl at her grandmas knee doing some stitching and some slides of her kids and particularly of her son's wedding which was just 3 weeks ago.

Then the talk took a turn and became a BIG FAT BERNINA COMMERCIAL. I wasn't alone in this opinion either. Both Miss Nancy and Anne thought the same thing.

I was hoping to see some quilts in person, maybe some quilt hints? Anything? no...

There were her books on sale and if you bought one there she would autograph it. I guess if you brought one with you she wouldn't? Who knows. I don't own any of her books and didn't buy any there. The 7 Bernina dealers (I thought only one store had sponsored her talk as that is the ad I received in email) are the ones that got together and sponsored her visit, so there were demonstrations set up around the room and then a shuttle was available after the talk for a free lunch (reservations required, although no one asked our name) at one of the sponsoring stores. I was particularly interested in the bias binder for my machine (yes, I own a Bernina) but the attachment was $229.00 (with the $40 coupon in our Bernina Bag) and for me that is a bit high for a sewing machine attachment that really only has one function.

After the talk, we headed over to one of the shops and had a free lunch and made some purchases. I bought some FQ's (thanks Anne and Miss Nancy for the FQ's you bought me for driving) and some fabric printed with a line drawing of houses and shops in Paris (although the writing on the shop awnings is in English..what's up with that?)... They had a beautiful quilt made from the fabric, but I don't really need a red/white/black quilt so I bought enough to make 3 tote bags. Why 3? Not sure, but there wasn't much on the bolt and I was scared I would want more and it wouldn't be there...

All in all it was a lovely morning....but I think it should have been a free talk since all it was was an advertisement for Bernina....

Afterwards, I met my sister and my nephew and we went back to her house for awhile...My nephew is in Navy and he was home for a few days. That night my mom, step-dad, sister, nieces, aunt and uncle came for dinner. Sis made a great pork roast, fried corn and baked potato's...then the younguns went out to party..and I went home....I was beat and at one point fell asleep on her couch and apparently SNORED!! LOL

well, I guess break is over. ice water is gone..

My next sewing gig is to hem some drapes for the living room and dining room. We have had some problems with the rods we hung right after we moved in two years ago. They were not hefty enough apparently for the weight of the drapes and every time the dog jumps up on the sill and barks he pulls them down, curtain rod and all. Last week was IT!! He pulled them down for the last time. Hubby took all 4 of the rods down, filled the holes, repainted and last night we put up new wrought iron rods. I need to hem the drapes so they don't drag on the floors and hopefully this will keep the dog from destroying them. We will see...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Gone shopping....

Today Alex Anderson is in St Louis and I and 2 friends have tickets.(as you read this we have been on the road since 6am to get a good seat, one of us is short and needs to be near the front, lol) I guess it is a trunk show. I didn't get the tickets and haven't really paid any attention to the ads so not sure what all will be involved. I do know that after the lecture/trunk show we are headed over to the sponsors fabric store for a free lunch and demonstrations of items I am sure they want us to buy (and some of us might be happy to oblige them)

In the meantime, I have started to think about the reds and yellows I need for my new quilt pattern. The pattern calls for layer cakes and charm squares. Does anyone know of any new fabric lines with red and yellow as the predominant color? I am not even sure where or how to start looking. I am thinking dark red and a gold yellow. Not brights... Any help or links would be greatly appreciated.

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Answering Services DO WORK....and customer service lives...

I am not a buyer... When I first started to quilt and sew I would purchase fabric just because I liked it. Most of it wasn't quality fabric and I passed it on to a home school group that was happy to get it for practice pieces.

Disclaimer - please know that the person picking up the fabric was aware this wasn't what I consider quality fabric. I personally believe you should use the best quality fabric you can afford...ok off the soapbox...

ANYWAY!! Now I purchase fabric for a specific project. This means I purchase smaller amounts and not that often.

Patterns however are a different thing. I will buy a pattern at the drop of a hat. I want ALL of them. I have redwork patterns, sewing patterns, scrub patterns, quilt patterns, baby girl dress patterns, purse patterns, books with patterns. I LOVE THEM...

So, yesterday I was reading a blog and got sent to another blog which led me to write a comment and ask where to get her newest pattern. I fell in love with Double Takes II. I have been hankering to make myself a red and yellow quilt for some time now and although I haven't started buying fabric, I have found the perfect pattern!
Thank you to the designer Heather Mulder Peterson. She is not a new designer, but is new to me as a designer. I hope you will go over and see her designs. They are extraordinary. Alas, no link to order the pattern. After a quick inquiry in her comment section, I received an email back from Heather to tell me that lots of stores carry her patterns. oh... So off I go to google it and sure enough,Quilters Warehouse comes up a couple of times. Off I go there. So like Vicky I poked a few buttons. (if you read her regularly you know how she can poke those buttons, even when sick,lol)

So what happened??

I poked the wrong button...

Silly me.

I wanted to order Double Takes II and I poked the button next to Double Takes I. Damn.... now what... I really don't need two patterns...

I click over to my email and just that quick there is an email with information on my order and an 800 number to call if you screwed up. It says call ASAP as they might be already fillling my order. I tripped over the dog to get to the phone. Well, turns out that Quilters Warehouse acutally does close but I got the nicest lady at their answering service. She said she would leave a message and QuiltersWarehouse would email me in the morning. I couldn't wait. I called at 10:02am.. Heather answered and I started to explain what I did last night when I was poking buttons. She said "Is this Nancy?". "Yes...." I said very warily...
"We were just talking about you!" she says. "we just got your message from our answering service and have changed your order" "You did?" I say.. "yes, your invoice will show the wrong pattern, but your package will have the correct order".

THANK YOU HEATHER AND QUILTERS WAREHOUSE... What great customer service...

If all customer service was this good, I might poke some more buttons...lol

I guess I better start collecting some fabric....

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Kuddo's to my daughter....

This past July, our DD#2 graduated from nursing school. This past week were her board exams and


She called me the morning of the test as she was driving up. She was so nervous, she was talking a mile a minute.... test started at 8am and by 10am she was back on the phone bawling...,

AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I flunked!! The computer turned off at 85 questions. I know I flunked, I couldn't remember anything.... Of course, trying to convince her that maybe, just maybe she had passed and the computer turns off when you have succeeded was not to be heard..

Two days later, she got on the computer at work, paid her $7.95 and got her results...

SHE PASSED ...

She called once again and was ecstatic....

Congrats to my DD#2...

Off to clean my Mom's house today. She has company coming this weekend so needs a good scrub...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Friday, September 12, 2008

It's raining, it's pouring and the baby is STILL snoring....

Well, she really isn't snoring, but she sure is sleeping. I struggled to keep her up past 6:15pm last night and finally gave in, slipped her jammies on her and tossed (not really DD#1!) her into bed.

It is now 8:35am and she still isn't awake. She only woke up a couple of times last night to "ask" for her binky. Last time was at 4:30 this morning and not a peep out of her since.

The Rock Star didn't wake her up, the shower didn't wake her up, barking Oliver didn't wake her up, the souped up car behind us didn't wake her up. Maybe I need to go peek at her?

My quilter called yesterday to tell me that another Christmas quilt is ready to pick up. She has had it exactly one week. I was shocked it was already done, but she says she already had the right thread and panto loaded so she just whipped it up. She also said not to tell anyone or everyone will want their quilt back in one week!! LOL Abbie and I were going to go this morning and pick it up, but she STILL isn't awake. Maybe if I start uploading photos she will wake up. Isn't that the way....you start something you can't possibly leave and they wake up..

here goes....some shots from yesterday....
Yummy peas and bananas......


Did you want me to smile??

Here's your smile, grandma....


Well, still no noise from the baby...I am going up to peek...

UPDATE - Abbie woke up at 8:30am,(she was quietly sitting up in her bed looking around) has had breakfast and we have been to town to pick up her Christmas quilt from my quilter. Photos after I get the binding on...



Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Thursday, September 11, 2008

NOT Abbie.....

Ok, just have to say...some people are just plain ridiculous. Check this out..

And just in case you are completely crazy, see all the styles here...

And hurry up if you want a pair of Kate's....they are set to retire...

Does anyone other than me find this completely ridiculous?? Am I the only one that kept my babies in socks until they walked..outside...then bought cheap tennies because that is what the pediatrician said was the best. Ok, I will admit my kids are now mommies so this was a while ago and times change, but come on!!! This is crazy!!

What next? They say a boys version will be next.. I can see it now...penny loafers, boat shoes, combat boots....

Ok, off my soapbox.

Abbie will be here at noon and I sure hope she isn't wearing any crazy shoes.

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Oh Baby.....



Look what I got to buy today. BABY FOOD!! My dear sweet Abbie is coming to stay with me. Mom and Dad both have to work and the babysitter had her own little one this week, so Grandma gets to have her Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon....

I am frantically decluttering and crawling around on the floor baby proofing...When you have 2 adults and a teenager in the house, you don't really worry about papers on the coffee table and thread and scissors on the couch.... At 8 months, Abbie is already pulling herself up and cruising around the furniture. She is gonna be an early walker for sure...

Happy Sewing to you....
Nancy

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Did you notice???


I have a new photo on my side bar.... Today was sewing day with Miss Nancy and Anne and I took the latest Christmas quilt to finish. This is Snapshots from Terry Atkinson book Happy Hour. I just needed to hand sew the binding and I got it all done. This is for granddaughter #1. Just two more to go and they are currently at the quilters.

Then of course, the mystery quilt...

I spent this evening writing and printing the master copy of the guild newsletter. I volunteered last meeting in a moment of weakness. lol I really don't mind doing it, I just worry that I will

A. Forget something
B. Spell something wrong

Tomorrow I will take it to the printers and get it done for Monday. Then some errands and come home and get some sewing done...Need to get the months mystery blocks done so they are ready for Monday also.

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Friday, September 5, 2008

GIVEAWAY ALERT

You can either click on the title of this post or HERE.

The space will be quiet over the weekend. DD#2 and grandkids are coming to visit.

Hopefully they will sit still long enough to get a few photos to share...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

HI-JACKED...........

Hi - I'm the quilters Sister and I'm hi-jacking her blog for just a short note:

My sister and her husband have been the best. She helped me move over the week-end and gave up precious sewing/quilting time for me. On Friday we moved my Kitchen - well not the whole kitchen, just the stuff in it:) and got my new kitchen organized! On Saturday they both showed up at 8:30 am to move the furniture and the rest of the boxes. I have an entertainment center that comes apart in 2 pieces, but one of them weighs about 500 lbs. and it was pretty scary at times. Everything was moved in 2 U-Haul and 1 pickup load by noon. They also delivered my bench (see previous blog). Then on Monday they came back and her hubby used his skills to make me a desk in my kitchen for my computer. There was a scary moment - but no details will be told :).

I owe them more than I can every repay them. I don't know what I would have done without their help. I think I owe them a dinner.........

I just wanted all her blogger friends to know what wonderful family I have. If you are moving or need a built in desk I don't think they are for hire.

Quilters Sister and guest hijack blogger :) Hey, you didn't sign your name!!

Hi-jack over - I don't think she will be mad at me - I hope not, I may need more help :)

Carolyn...

HEY!! This is MY BLOG!!! What are you doing here???

Ok, I'm putting in my 3 cents worth..

1 cent - Isn't her bedroom pretty? Makes me want to redecorate. (PS. you don't see any flimsy shitty scarves over the windows either!! I told her I was throwing them away and I wasn't kidding. I tossed them into the big trash dump..)



2 cents - I'll be changing my password

3 cents - Joe's Crab Shack sounds good..

Nancy


The Pod People Return.....

Nothing really exciting is happening around here. Or at least I didn't think so. Then the Pod People returned.....











For some reason this was very fascinating to me...must be my boring life...LOL
Fortunately this house sale is not the result of foreclosure, unfortunately it is the product of divorce. Not sure who is moving out, maybe both sides. There used to be a For Sale sign and it is now gone, so maybe I will have new neighbors...and maybe one of the will sew?? Wouldn't that be great...

Off to run errands I didn't get to yesterday...oil change, dry cleaners...DH is off to Michigan on a very last minute trip, Rock Star works til 9pm so I will get a chance to sew uninterrupted....

Don't forget to watch Project Runway tonight followed by the second season premier of Top Design...

Happy Sewing to you....
Nancy

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

My Retreat projects....

So now it is time to show you what I got finished at retreat.

I did teach and make one of the bucket bags from Pink Penquin. You can find the pattern here...

I finished piecing the top of TicTacMo. I had all the blocks made and the side triangles cut so I only had to sew the rows and then sew the rows together. This is for #2 grandson for Christmas. I will drop it off at the quilters on Wednesday.



This is an applique/needlework bag. It has two pockets inside and one outside. This pattern is by Pat Sloan and I have made (and use) 4 of these bags. I keep a different project in each bag. I love them. There is velcro along the inside so the whole thing opens up. I can keep scissors, thread, hoop, project on the inside and my cell phone, keys and money in that outside pocket if I am going to stitching.. The pattern also comes with a stichery and applique that you can do for the outside. I get more compliments on this bag and everyone at retreat loved it.



And finally I got half way through a mystery quilt. Of course I can't show you a picture cause it's a MYSTERY..DUH!!



I had two projects that I didn't get finished, but that's ok cause I have another retreat in November...tee hee...

Today is Tuesday, but I have to pretend it is Monday which is errand day. Then need to unpack that sewing stuff...

Happy Sewing,
Nancy

Monday, September 1, 2008

More retreat photos....

Bev sent me two photos that I didn't have.


These were the hand workers...One lady handquilted all three days, two were doing embroidery and a couple of them were just talking...I never did see them sew anything. LOL


Here is the yo-yo Santa. Cute isn't it...


Thanks for the pics Bev...

Nancy

The Quilt Show....

Welcome to the Pik-Lin Quilt Guild Retreat Quilt Show..... get yourself a cup of coffee, or have some lemonade with me, sit back, relax and enjoy the beautiful quilts....

We did a class on these buckets from Pink Penquin. Mine is third from left in the first photo. I used some Holly Jolly fabric... Mine is smaller because I forgot one of the fabrics, so I had to make do...


Here is Veronica with her Snapshots quilt all from Patriotic fabric. She was making this as a gift for a co-worker ...

Next up is Hot Flashes by Nancy #1. (there are 3 of us in the guild, so we have #1, #2 and me #3...) Hot Flashes is an original pattern the quild did a couple of years ago.

And here is Bev showing off 1 of 3 Yellow Brick Road quilts she finished.

Anita did this deer quilt but I can't remember who she said it was for. She did 2 or 3 different charity quilts during retreat. I lost count.

And here is Bev proudly showing off another Yellow Brick Road..

I am terrible with names, but this lady got 4 of these 4-patch stacked posies done and set. She was also doing some handwork.

This was brought strictly for show-n-tell. She did all the piecing, applique and then hand quilted it. It was stunning. It is turned sideways so the white didn't get dirty on the floor. The head of the bed is to the left in the photo. It is uneven on purpose. There is enough at the top of bed for the pillows to be tucked under and the applique will be centered. This would have been too much math for me.LOL

This quilt top was HUGE....It was all 4-patch stacked posies and she finished the top complete with mitered corners.She had a lot of the this quilt finished before coming. I don't want any of you thinking the rest of us were slacking off. LOL She was also working on some Santa faces made with yo-yo's and I missed getting a photo of them. They were really cute.


I totally missed getting photos of the ladies that were hand quilting and doing embroidery work. There were 5 of them I think. All in all there were 21 of us that had a wonderful time and left our deposits for next year....

Tomorrow I will show you the projects I finished. I need to unpack my sewing machine and stuff. I got home to scads of dirty laundry. I think it's all done now. WHEW!!!

Happy Sewing,
Nancy