Shop Hop 2012 is in the history books

and will go down as a very successful one-for us anyway!

Libby picked me up after work yesterday and we headed straight to Panera's.  One can't shop on an empty stomach!  Also, we needed to let the rush hour traffic subside a little.  We arrived at Quilters Corner.  From the outside you are deceived into thinking this is a small shop.  You would be wrong. Over 7,500 bolts of fabric!  Complete lines of many new fabrics.  An amazing CW repro section, Kaffe Fassett, Batiks....ahhggg my brain just overloaded.

And samples (always many new ones) everywhere.

My wallet was correct in being nervous.
(don't tell Paul)  ;)

day 2 loot!

Rick rack for my watermelon banner (Libby got some too) we got way too much and I auditioned it last night, um it's too wide.  I'm not going to use it.  oh well.

A charm pack from Primitive gatherings, and yardage from them too -for the quilt in the magazine I have opened there.  It's from the summer issue of

which for some reason Google isn't letting me get a to link.
Anyway, I have all the other fabrics in stash, just needed the background yardage and the yardage for the hst's.  I'm not holding my breath on this one but now that I've dropped decent $$ into it -that should help the motivation department.

I also got yardage of Sweetwater's 'reunion' line to go with a charm pack I picked up at another shop on Wednesday.
And at the last shop I bought some Superior threads.
I've never used So Fine #40 -the one I got is a variegated.
Oh and finally, this year each shop gave a charm to go with the charm bracelet we received for buying our passport in April at the 'kick off' and getting a "VIQ" sticker on our passports.  We thought it was a great idea. In the past, VIQ meant at many of the shops getting a crappy FQ from ancient times, sorta like the fruit cake jokes at Christmas.  The FQ you just pass on to some unsuspecting person....
So this change was welcomed and the bracelet is too cute.

I will be wearing it to guild meetings and other quilt-y events for sure.
click on the pic to enlarge-they are really cute charms.

Shop Hopping 2012

Libby and I left at 8:30am. 

We got home at 10:30 pm.

In between we visited 8 of the 10 shops!!!

I drove 323 miles.

We laughed until our sides hurt.

I took no pictures. I had my camera but -duh-never remembered to take it out of the car.

Here is a picture I 'borrowed' from one of the shops.

It is their version of the progressive quilt.

It was my favorite one so far-love that border.  

The loot: 

I must say I was a very good girl. I didn't have a list--always a dangerous thing.

Some yardage, 2 charm packs, 3 patterns...

There are 2 shops left and depending on Libby's schedule we will either go to them Friday evening or Saturday morning.  Quilter's Corners is one of the two we couldn't get too.  It is a 'too die for' kind of quilt shop.  It was in Quilt Sampler Magazine in 2009.  

I'm looking forward to that visit-my wallet is nervous.

I will try to share now one funny story from yesterday.

Each shop had a block from the quilt and built their 'theme' around that. This year it's "Around the Town". We arrived at The Quilt Patch and their block was the hospital.

They had a room designated as a nursery with 2 cute dolls in a cradle.  The 'babies' had just been born that morning-twins a boy and a girl. Their last name was "Dresden" and we were given a slip of paper to write the babies names, first and middle on. It would go into a drawing. 

Now of course, there were other women in the room and we were also being told about other things pretty much at the same time and I was focused (as always) on

 1. where the rest room is and

 2. what little snack-y goodies they're offering.  :)

I got my little paper and sorta noticed how others were REALLY taking time to pick names for these dolls, I mean babies.  

In my head I'm thinking:

"Hello" how hard can this be...for goodness sake....it's a contest for a drawing...not brain surgery...."

So I wrote

"Amanda Jean"

and 

"Adam Joshua"

The names just popped into my head and I thought I was quite clever in having the first letters the same. I put it in the basket and forgot about it.

Fast forward a few hours.  

We're on our way home on the interstate and talking about the shops, what we liked, didn't, what's different etc, etc.

Somehow the subject of the names came up. I asked Libby what she picked. She said she didn't, she couldn't think of anything.

ME:  REALLY???

Libby: Well, it was too hard to think of 'quilting related' names. So I didn't do it.

ME: WHAT??

Libby:  Didn't you see the little story about the babies and how important quilting is to the family and the names were to reflect that.

I START TO LAUGH.  

It's the laugh of one who has been up since 5:30 am and driving for hours and hours and is tired and can't wait to brush her teeth (seriously I kept thinking ....I can not wait to get home and brush my teeth.  After all day, there comes a point where chewing gum just doesn't cut it anymore).

And I tell Libby how I did not see that, hear that, read that whatever! 

 I just named them and was wondering why those other women were taking it so seriously for goodness sake and I thought I was pretty cute with my names-- Amanda Jean and Adam Joshua...and we laughed for oh about 5 minutes, hysterically, and then kept chuckling about it for the next several after that.  

Oh how I would love to be a fly on the wall when they read MY ENTRY....

FUN TIMES, fun times.

Life is Good.

a new door banner

Yesterday, I should have started the quilting on Libby's 'Many Thanks' quilt.

It's all loaded and ready to go.

But I spied my stack of pulled fabrics for a new door banner and I was distracted!

It was good to spend some quality time cutting and piecing.

18 x 46

All fabrics fro the stash, you may not be able to see but the white 'welcome' fabric has ants on it -- too cute!

:)

Today is shop hop! 

Libby and I leave at 8:30 and we'll try to get as many of the 10 shops done today as possible.  I will try to be good and take pictures.  

We both are SO READY for a day out and dedicated to quilting fun.

The shops we don't get to today will, we'll finish on Saturday.

fun times, fun times!

An announcement....

My wonderful daughter, Meghan took and passed her FINAL final today in nursing school!

I'M SO PROUD OF HER I COULD SCREAM!

seriously, scream!  

But instead I just cry a little joy filled cry.  

She starts her internship next week in a CV/ICU (that's cardo ICU).  

It is where she hopes to get a job after graduation in June.

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And now back to  regularly scheduled programming, which is quilting.

Not much to show.  The work is beginning again on the basement, tonight I pack everything up and cover it and hopefully in a few weeks (eternal optimist).  I will be back in business. sigh. that will be nice.

Tomorrow is my Bday-the big 4 - 9!  oooh

Libby and I are going to get our VIQ "very important quilter" passports for the upcoming Shop Hop in June.  And then lunch somewhere. I need a day out birthday or not.

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So much to look forward to.

So many blessings.

Have a great day my blogging friends. 

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Fun times, fun times....Life is Good.

My whole life

           is a little off kilter these days.
I think it's the effect of grief, and the effect it's having on the ones I love most. I think of it as we've been knocked out of our normal 'orbit'.  Healing will occur and we'll become comfortable in a new 'orbit'. It won't be the same as the original (how could it be) but it will be ok and hopefully, because of what we've lost, we will become better people, separately and together as a family.

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And now back to the regularly scheduled quilty stuff: 

 I will NOT be making the 2011 Shop Hop Progressive quilt.  I'm putting that in writing here so as to help me remember my resolve.
I forgot to take my camera this year.  Seeing each shop's version  of the quilt is one of my favorite
parts.
        *the link above will take you to one of the shop's Blog with pictures of most of the tops*


Quilter's Corner 's quilt isn't shown.  The owner, Mary Beth Harnett designed an applique section to go along with the blocks and a unique setting. It was made using French General fabrics and is to die for.  I have a picture on my cellphone, but not the skills to transfer to my computer....heehee.  Will post a picture when techno-daughter/nursing student has a few minutes to help me.
    **as she was going out the door she gave me instructions...I must email picture from my phone to me....Oh bother....trying it now.  Ok sent first picture to my computer, the 2nd picture I sent to my phone (what is wrong with me??) then resent to my computer....TADA!!!

Seeing this may cause me to re-think making the quilt. But for now the 2 blocks I had already made are in with the rest of the CW 12" blocks from 2010 Bl-a-days (which bumps the total to 48 blocks) so what I SHOULD do is use 12 of my blocks, their setting, will think about doing the applique part and that way I'll  have another bl-a-day quilt top done....did I think of that earlier and forgot? I think so... See what I mean, I'm off kilter.

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I think I've blogged before that I live in a teeny-tiny house.  I love it.  I only pine for a bigger house around holidays, actually just a big huge dining room would work.  I can't fit everyone here for dinner; it bums me out.   
Anyway, I sew and quilt in our basement. We put a bedroom down there for the boys years ago.
             (It's a 2 bedroom house-- they had to go somewhere!!)
It's very nice and except for not having a window you wouldn't know you were in a basement. The rest of the basement is 1/2 finished (read: 'crappy'), and were my HQ lives. There is a laundry room that is just big enough (not really) and under the basement steps is what is called a "Pittsburgh Potty". The builders of our old house put a toilet in the space under the steps (with walls and a door, thank goodness) but no sink so you can't call it a powder room and can't count it as a bathroom for resale. AND I don't want visitors using it and then having to traipse across the room past HQ and into the laundry room to wash their hands. (it's ok for family....you know what I mean right?)
Soooo, we're having a little renovation (insert heart palpitations).  They will be digging up the floor to hook up the plumbing for a small vanity...and since it's dug up we can move the toilet to a better configuration and add a closet (MUCH needed storage in this teeny-tiny house).  They will also finish the stairwell.  That's phase one.

Phase 2 will be to remove the walls of the bedroom and laundry room.  Make the laundry room a foot or so wider (Paul needs the space to better be able to work on furnace, hot water heater etc that is back there)  I didn't want to give up an inch of sewing space but DANG it is his house too!!! :)
and open the basement and finish it so that it could be a nice family room....but it will be "sewing central".  
In between the heart palpitations I'm really excited, then I get really nervous. Today I have to start figuring out where all my stuff is going to go during the destruction, I mean construction! Cue the heart racing...:)

I'm going to take 'before pictures' but don't think I'll share until I can show 'after ones' too.
 
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Last Sunday we went on a long bike ride (153 miles according to my biker hubby!) with his sister and her hubby. And although the weather was overcast and a tad chilly.
We had a great ride.

 Lunch at Rachel's Roadhouse and a stop at McConnells Mill State Park. I had never been there before. BEAUTIFUL.

Paul, me and Mary

Me, Ed & Mary

Mary & Ed leading

 We're going to go back in the fall when the leaves change....won't that be gorgeous!

I am one tired Shop Hopper!

We finished the Shop Hop yesterday afternoon, logging 227 miles! (just for Friday) I don't know how many miles we did on Wen. evening and all day Thursday--Libby drove and we forgot to check.  Regardless it was a lot of miles and ALOT of fun.  It took us to the final 1/2 hour of the ride home to finally be 'talked out'! 

I bought mostly fabric, fat quarters and yardage-got a good deal on fabric for backing (3.99/yd!)....you know how that goes:

 Walk up to the stack of bolts... see the sign...do a double take.... look closer at the bolts (holy-moley it's all quilt shop fabric: Moda, Thimbleberries etc)... your heart beats a little faster....you're eyes dart around to see if anyone else has spied this gold mine... And then you start really looking, counting the layers on the bolt (2 layers = 1 yard, good estimator) Yup, 6 yds at least...IT'S MINE! For practically a song....

...Yeah, you know what I'm talking about! ;)

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My sewing room is a mess.  Since I'm a prewasher that's what I did today, 'washed the loot'...but I'm dragging and not in the mood to press. So it's all neatly, was sorta neatly, piled on my sewing chair.  I'll get to it soon.

This morning I finished quilting The CW Medallion quilt. Woo-Hoo.  No picture until it's done cuz it's also in a pile (not nearly as neat as the fabrics) waiting to have the edges trimmed and  then; Oh man, Oh man have the binding wrestled sewed on.
Yuk.

Today I looked at my design wall at this.

 

and decided that I do not like it.

 

So I spent the next few hours, 3-4 hours is more like it.

But time flies when I'm having fun.

And I now have this

(not necessarily the final block arrangement)

Oh joy 2 more quilt tops have been born! 

I'm super happy with them both.  The one on the left is probably going to get a final dark blue border and the one on the right....hmmmm not sure yet it could be 2 borders but maybe just one. It has a name though "Seppy".  So I guess I could call the one on the left "Debby" and I'd have my 3 imaginary friends (Seppy, Debby and Juber) immortalized in my quilts. 

But it doesn't look like a Debby to me, more like a Frank, or maybe a "Jedediah" or "Josiah". 

"Bob" would have been easier, had to spell check the other two....

;)

I've been quilting my Civil War Medallion quilt with baptist fans. 

At the start, I was marking the arcs with chalk and a plastic template I have. After a few passes, I wondered if I could just do it without marks.  I found I was no more but no less consistent without marking and it went a lot faster. 

Last night I thought I would finish it.  Paul had gone out for a bike ride; he's off all week since his Mom's funeral on Monday, and Meghan was at school. 

Perfect!

But no, it wasn't to be.

I ran out of the So Fine thread (#407 Clay) I was using in the top.  I wasn't sure how much was on the spool when I started and sorta thought I might not have enough, but the further along I quilted the more likely it looked like I was going to make it....Nope. 

So I looked through all my threads and thought I had a good match, but ran out of steam and called it a night.  This morning when I started to stitch, Eegads! It's not a match or even close.  I ripped it out and will wait for another cone. 

The Western PA Shop Hop starts today.  Libby and I are going to hit a shop (or two if we're lucky) this evening and then the other 9 shops over Thursday and Friday. 

And miracle of miracles I actually have a list!!!!!

One of the shops carry Superior Threads so if they have what I need I'll be finishing this weekend, if not I'll have to order it and wait a few days.  I did toy with the idea of securing the unquilted area and unloading it and loading a smaller quilt that I could do in the mean time.  But since this quilt is 94 x 94 the thoughts of unloading and reloading...nah.

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Since I couldn't quilt I had to sew!

I know, I know, it's a tough life ...

I cut out and fused the 6th block of Henrietta Whiskers yesterday.

I sure am enjoying this BOM.

I forgot to flip the applique pattern sheet when I was transferring to the fusible so my squirrels are jumping to the right instead of the left.  hee-hee.  It really doesn't matter, so why do I mention it???

*smile*

After blanket-stitching this block and taking a picture, I got out the other finished blocks to see how it looks.

and sewed the top two rows together. 

The bottom rows I prepped yesterday

too.





Last week I started to frog an old quilt that I made from leftover blocks from Little Quilts that I had made...l-o-n-g time ago.

I really like it but every time I look at it the quilting just glares as me.  It was my first attempt at something that size on my DSM and my first stippling.  I think I could live with the jerky stipples and all. But what drives me bonkers is the thread. I used a brown variegated! YUK.

It is taking me F-O-R-E-V-E-R to un sew this baby. 

What is amazing to me is that ANY machine quilting stitches ever come out of a quilt. The quilting on this is not real good, the tension is OK, sorta--trying to be nice to myself-I was just learning....the stitch length is all over the place.  You'd think I could just rip a couple inches grab the tail an zip pity do da pull a nice section out.  Not a chance!

~pick, pick, pick~ 

It makes me feel much better about my quilting now.  I don't think I will ever do something like this again.

(oh dang-"famous last words"  just popped into my head!)



Shop hop...

We (me & Libby) had a blast! I drove on Wednesday. We started out at 9am and didn't get back home until 8:30 pm!  Since we now use a GPS, we didn't get lost once in over 200 miles of driving. 

The second day Libby drove, another 175+ miles!

I took pictures of all the shop hop quilts:

                 It's my favorite part of Shop Hop seeing the same blocks....so different!

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Tomorrow we head for the beach.

I'm so excited I can't stand myself!!

I won't have a computer... so c'ya when I get back......