Back to Work

Greetings. I'm back to work after a marvelous weeks vacation. I did a lot of things but managed to stay close to home. I worked on four quilt projects and made plans for a new one. I gave Herkie a bath and trimmed him nice and short for these hot days. I think I did as well as the groomer and saved $35 too. Herkie doesn't like baths but he is so good about it. I found time to do some serious cleaning around the house, but the best part of this vacation was spending time with my hubby. The days were cooler so we sat in the patio and talked, listened to the radio, and swam almost every day. It was a very relaxed laid back kinda week. To top things off work wasn't too bad and I had a lot of catch up to get done so the day went by fast.

I'm playing with EQ 6 this week with a goal of creating my own quilt design, making the quilt, and publishing the pattern. I want to teach it at a quilt retreat coming up in Oregon in the Spring of 2010. I see all these beautiful fabrics and I want to put them into a quilt so I can enjoy looking at them. Buying them and adding to my stash isn't the same.

Wishing you a blessed week until next time.

Quilting in July

Greetings from the Vacation Zone. I'm loving not having to be any place special at any special time. I am enjoying doing what I want when I want. Is this what retirement is like? The best part of this is there is no loss of things to do. I've been swimming every day. I have also budgeted time every day to read. I'm reading Tami Hoag's Lucky's Lady. It's a fast fun read. I took my refrigerator apart and cleaned it. It looks like new. I also cleaned and rearranged some shelves in the laundry room. I just spent two hours reading quilter's blogs. There are some amazing people out there quilting.

This is a picture of a quilt I'm working on today. Actually, I've been working on this quilt for about six months. I get pulled in other directions and it gets set aside. This weekend I was inspired to applique and this quilt has appliqued blocks in it. The reds and blues give it a happy playful feeling about it. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's called Prairie Pot Pie, designed by Rose Wojnar, and will be 92"x 92"when finished.

Here is a picture of eight of the blocks I have completed. They are kind of close together but you can get a better idea of the true color. I want to start the applique blocks so I can sit with my hubby while he watches TV and work on my blocks.

This is a picture of a quilt that was hanging up at Bear Paws and Hollyhocks in Sacramento. It's the inspiration that got me thinking about applique. There are pieced blocks around the appliqued center and appliqued flowers around the boarder. As usual, the picture doesn't do it justice.

This quilt top was at J R Flamingo in Sacramento, the unique part of this quilt is the cranes in the upper left corner are appliqued on along with the large flower along the bottom. This would be beautiful as a wall hanging.

Now, how cute is this. These little guys greet you at the door of Bear Paws and Hollyhocks. That quilt store is so inviting. I had a great time looking around. I was with other guild members Saturday shopping for fabric for next years opportunity quilt. We visited four different shops and every shop had something different. I found fabric for a quilt I'm making for a friend and some fabric I will use in my Paper Doll quilt I'm making for Brooke. I had a great day Saturday.

I am sewing the blocks for my brother's quilt tomorrow. I need to set up a larger design wall too. I have some blocks I want to sew together and I need to audition them on a design wall so I can stand back to get the right colors together. So much to do and so little time. I better get busy. It's not work when you love what you're doing.

I pray your days are as blessed as mine.

It's Friday

Happy day it’s Friday and the start of my 10 day vacation. In thinking this out I thought it was going to be 10 days of spontaneous activities like quilting, cleaning, lying by the pool drinking lots of iced tea, reading, and a couple of day trips to the foothills or coast. I also wanted to spend time at the computer working with EQ 6. I made a TO DO LIST but only as a suggestion in case I can’t choose what to do next. That might sound a bit strange as I have so many things I want to do, and need to do, I get a bit overwhelmed. Having a list helps me to prioritize smart.

Thursday night at our quilt guild meeting Sandra shared her paper doll quilt. Isn’t it the cutest? There is a pocket on the back to store the clothes. I’m going to have to make one for Brooke. So my To Do List grows.

These pictures are not very good. I just ordered the fabric and when I get it done I'll post the picture.

This blue quilt has embroidered centers and hundreds of half square triangles. I love it.

Saturday five of us from the guild are going on a road trip shopping for fabric for next years Opportunity quilt. We are going to Quilters Corner in Sacramento. I took a class there and it is an awesome shop. Then we will be off to Tayo’s in Fair Oaks, J R Flamingo and Bear Paws and Hollyhocks in Sacramento, and Torrie’s Sew and Vac in Carmichael. In case you aren’t aware, that would be the same as turning a bunch of kids loose in a candy store and telling them they can have anything they want. I can’t have anything I want but is there is something I can not live without it will be mine. You have to be real about this stuff.

Wednesday night is a board meeting and Friday night I’m taking a serger class at Jan’s. Her daughter Jennifer usually teaches the classes and she is a sweetie. She is very talented and a good teacher too.

I’ll keep you posted as the week progress.

Have a blessed day.

The Heat is On

The heat has arrived. It's 101 today and it's going to get hotter through the week. I can't believe we had light rain on Saturday and it was only 79. I love the rain and I sat in the patio and watched the sprinkles come down and the dark clouds moving overhead. We even had a rainbow. This is unusual for July in Stockton. Last year half the days in the month were 100+ degrees. I'm not fond of the heat so I'm grateful for the mild temperatures we have been enjoying up until now.

I was reading a friends blog and she mentioned that she had found some half finished blocks and seemed amazed by that. I thought that was normal. I have discovered something about me and my obsession with quilting. I don't quilt to have a quilt. It's about the process that I enjoy. Don't get me wrong, when I finish a quilt I'm very pleased but I'm also okay with having numerous quilt blocks tucked away in their project box waiting to to be sewed into a quilt. Next week I am taking some vacation time and I'm planning to finish two quilts. One is my brothers birthday present and the other is the Patch Work Party quilt I started in March. The setting blocks need to be completed and then I can assemble the quilt top. I will post a picture when it's done. I have a couple of kids crafting aprons I want to finish and send of to two of my granddaughter's. So much to do and so little.

Wishing you a blessed day.

Betty Boop

I have been a fan of Betty Boop since childhood. As a child I watched Betty Boop cartoons and I think that’s when it all started. When I see Betty Boop it reminds me of my childhood when I was allowed to sit in front of the television watching Betty Boop cartoons.

I have been collecting Betty Boop items for 40 years. Some of my collectibles are rare and pricey and others are inexpensive and fun. The majority of my Boop collection is gifts from friends and family so they have a special place in my heart.

This is my latest addition and I purchased her because she is making a statement about breast cancer awareness. I love her pink dress. She is made of porcelain and is a true collectible.

Quilting is my passion. A day doesn't go by when I'm not doing some kind of project involving fabric. Quilting can involve embroidery, paper piecing, strip piecing, templates, etc. and sometime I get board or something else catches my eye and I go to a new project, hence the UFO's. So, when my friend publicly, on her blog, asked that we reveal our UFO list to the world I freaked. Family and friends read my blog. This is how I keep up with family and friends out of town and state. Do I dare reveal all? Sometimes when I'm searching for fabric I will find a quilt top I did years ago. Not like 10 or 20 years but like 2 or 3 and sometimes maybe 5 years ago. I guess I should be thankful that she isn't asking about my unfinished kits. So I'm doing some soul searching and I'm going to go through all my UFO's and start the list.

So, here is a quilt designed by my talented friend, Dianah, called Hole In My Roll. It's made from one Bali Pop. It was fast and fun. I will finish it this week and quilt it myself. This is a picture of it on my design wall. I love the colors. I'm not sure if I'm going to add a boarder yet so It will leave it hanging a few days and look at it, study it, take it to work and ask for opinions and then we'll see.

Until next time have a blessed week.