Erie "Roar on the Shore"

Another great weekend getaway on the bike. 

We went up to Erie on Saturday morning, it looked like rain but I wore my new rain gear so as to insure no rain would fall!  

Paul and the other guys went on a test bike ride.  My SIL and I stayed in the shade and relaxed.  We went on them last year and didn't feel a need to go again. Mainly because you are required to wear long pants, boots and helmet.  We do but had already changed into our walking around shorts and flip flops.  

 

"test sitting" on a Victory

w/Paul's sister and her husband

We went to this rally last year but didn't stay over.  It was way too long of a ride home at night after being in the sun all day so this year we stayed over.  Definitely the way to go.  Also this year we took the 'scenic' route up and back; it was longer but so much more enjoyable. 

Granny Squares...

...35 are done and as of about 1/2 hour ago all the rows are sewn together, just didn't take an updated picture.  I have them on the wall 7 across 5 down cuz my wall isn't long enough to fit them the other way.

Whatever works.

I was off on Tuesday and FINALLY got new curtains sewn.

I've had the osenburg (sp) for months.  I took my old drapes down to wash after Christmas , I think...a long while ago regardless. And decided I hated them and would not put them back up.  So I got rid of them and bought the fabric and have been curtain-less since.  The front living room window is not done-I'm thinking of just simple panels on both sides (not too wide) and then perhaps a valance in middle; this is just up there. But I like it like this too, so it may just stay that way-and if I ever get the urge to make a raggy quilt w/osenburg in the center, I just need to shop my living room window.  I also got new rods but they have to be put up by Paul...hoping before this Christmas! hahaha

 bedroom

I also bought 2 of those 27" decorator pillow forms as JoAnn's (50%) off coupon! and sewed the dogs quilts into covers for them.

They seem to love them.

Poor pooches have been neglected for so long in the bedding department.

I was blog hopping (lurking) Tuesday morning and found a quick Kleenex purse pak cover and said something like "OOOHHHH I gotta make that now!~"

so I did.

with leftover fabric I used to make my purse.  

Sadly my tissues are generic and open at the end not the middle like the 'Kleenex' brand so I will need to indulge in the good ones.

My grandma passed away last week.  She still lived on her own, in a small apartment but rarely went out anymore.  My dad grocery shopped for her every Friday.  

She had 'very bad heartburn' and called 911 herself.  My parents didn't know about it until a few hours later when the hospital called to let them know she was being admitted! 

She had had a heart attack.  Her wishes were to not have intervention of any kind.  A few days later a second heart attack.  

She was born in 1912. 

Yep, this December she would have been 100 years old! 

I have been helping my parents with cleaning out the apartment.  It is a sad thing to have to go through and discard and divide.  I felt the same way last year when we cleaned out Paul's parents apartment.  

Makes me want to cull my 'stuff' now.  

And I'm not even thinking about all my sewing stuff.  

**I resolve to redouble my efforts to get Meghan into quilting**

**smile**sigh**smile

So I am thinking these things, in between working at Hallmark---YOU DO KNOW THIS IS ORNAMENT PREMIERE WEEKEND!!!

Always amazing to me when I worked there before and it still does.

Christmas in July and all that crappola.

:)

I have been doing a bit of quilting too.

feathers actually, all over soft, pink and lovely...

...just what this quilt and I needed.  

The next quilt is loaded, wonky feathers. Almost as much fun as regular feathers.

Fun times, fun times.

Life is Good

even when it's sad.

Fire Escape

is all done except for the binding (yuk-o).  I may sew it on after posting this, before I have to go to work today at 11.  

The front: 

(72 x 90)

The back:

The close up on the quilting, which is 'water ripples' free hand all-over:

Before I loaded it I had seen this quilt on my computer desktop background. I have my quilt pictures as a rotating background.  It's nice to see older quilts that I've forgotten about.

 Any who...

I forget what it's called but it looks like tongues of flames.  I saw it as a panto and just do it free hand.  

I was probably on the second pass of Fire Escape when I remembered that I had wanted to use this other one!  Oh well, that's what I get for not writing down an idea when it comes to me!  

I do think the water ripples looks just fine on it.

****

I have 2 granny square blocks left to make and I will have 30.  I was going to just do 30 and make a nice lap quilt, 5 blocks across,  down  but now that I'm close I'm thinking 5 more and 5x7 setting and with the sashing and borders it will be more usable...it's the little project that keeps going and going

****

The weatherman said it would be 64 this morning.  

It's not. 

It's 77... and humid as all heck.

I'm disappointed.

I'll get over it.

Soon this will be back.

looks rather nice right about now actually

Fun times, fun times. 

Life is Good.

Well, the 4th of July is over.  I'm still up to my eye balls with 'things to do'.

Blogging has been hit or miss, mostly I'm lurking leaving a comment occasionally but mostly lurking. 

Meghan graduated from nursing school last Thursday evening.

You can't tell in this picture but she's bawling.  The picture is bad for two reasons:

1. I'm a crappola photographer 

2.  I'm bawling too.

This picture is Meg and 3 of her classmates, they have all been hired in the CV/ICU unit at Mercy hospital.

Then on Saturday we partied. 

  

The 4th of July was quiet.  Just my mom and dad. 

Today was my day off so I finally finished the binding on 

Scrappy Happy.

still not 'thrilled' with this one.  Oh well, it's done.

And I started and finished the binding on OBW #3

60 x 51

I'm also nearly finished quilting Fire Escape. I'm doing 'water ripples' on it and have 1 full pass and then another 5 inches to finish it.  It will be done tonight.
She says hopefully.

And then the binding....can't seem to get away from that lately.


Is it hot where you are?
It's in the high 90's here, humid.  I remember when we moved here.  
No A/C for the first couple years.  


So spoiled now it's embarrassing.

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.