More Shop-hopping with the Quilt Buddy!

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So on the second day I was out visiting the Quilt Buddy, we headed on over to The Country Loft for their annual Quilt show. This show was awesome! On display were some beautiful quilts from their vast list of classes as well as some made by students and instructors. In the front of the store they had all the quilts that were on sale for Sew For The Cure. I purchased an awesome fall wall hanging. All proceeds from the sales of these quilts went to the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. What a wonderful way to raise money for a cause that is dear to my heart! The Country Loft itself is the cutest thing ever! It literally is a cottage and has this gorgeous white picket fence surrounding it. Inside is beautiful displays of quilts, wall hangings, and their projects mixed in with antiques and prims. Out behind the store they had a gorgeous little courtyard that was decked out in the other quilts. Too cute! They also support a lot of local pattern makers and of course their teachers (see here , here and here). If you ever wanted a variety of classes to take this store has it! Oh my! I am contemplating going to see Stef just to take one of their classes! LOL!

One of my favorite Quilts on display was this Dear Jane quilt (finished!) and it gave me new found inspiration and I wanted to head home to work on my blocks to get here too! The Country Loft is actually having this as a class to support and help you accomplish this awesome quilt.

All in all, the visit to The Country Loft was awesome! I spent most of my money there as they had a great variety of things I wanted. Of course when we headed back to the car to go to Rosie’s, lookie what we saw…

I could not, of course, resist getting my fix! Then we loaded up and headed off to Rosie’s Calico Cupboard in search of more goodies!
What another great day of shop hopping! It of course was made even more fun by the fact I was by the side of my bestest quilt buddy! : ) Unfortunatley this is where the journey ended, as I was on the plane back to the East coast the next day. Thank you Stefanie for having me for a wonderfully awesome quilt filled weekend!
T.T.F.N.

Shop Hopping with the Quilt Buddy!

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Well, where to start…I am back form San Diego and what a whirlwind it was! It took me a day to just veg out and get back to East coast time and routine…so about my visit!

It was cool! On the first day Stefanie and I went to Temecula and met up with a fellow blogger at the Quilter’s Coop- who, you ask? Well it was none other than Red Geranium Cottage blogger, Sharon! I tell you she is one cool lady! We went to this cute little barbecue place down the road from the Coop and had a leisurely lunch chatting the whole time. I really did not want it to end!

After lunch we walked back to the Quilter’s Coop to do some shopping and sadly had to say good-bye to Sharon. It was great to meet you Sharon! You are awesome!

So we went into the Coop to drown our sorrows with some retail therapy! My how cute the Coop is- check out the loads of samples they have hanging and they have a wonderful selection of fabrics and patterns. I bought some gathered Ric-rack and some patterns from here.

Then we went onto Rooster Creek- wonderful stitchery store with some antiques and shabby chic decor products in the front. I bought some wool felt for a couple of the patterns from the Coop and a cute little felted bunny for The Little Ballerina.

Then we were off to get some Starbucks and to go home. We decided to get Rubio’s for supper. Let me tell you , if you have not tried their beer battered fish burrito…go get one…they are to die for! I dreamt about them the previous night knowing I could not get them out here on the East Coast! Yummm!

Well, I will leave you with that for now and tomorrow I will post about the second day and the Country Loft’s outdoor quilt show as well as the loot we got there! Also, here is my Hexagon progress- check out all of that Fig Tree love! : )


Until then…T.T.F.N.

A Cool Coincidence…

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I swear August sure is going by in a flash! I have barely had any major quilting time since my last post but I have managed to start yet another new endeavor- English Paper piecing. I know that those of you who also read my friend Stefanie’s blog are going “what?!” but we swear, it was not planned! What I am talking about is the fact that we are both doing the same thing (imagine that). The funniest part about it though is that neither of us new the other was doing it. I read on her blog about the quilt inspiring one of her purchase from the Long Beach Quilt show but did not imagine that it was English Paper Piecing (EPP). Then I read how it was the Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt in her post and that she bought the same size hexes as I did! I called her immediately to tell her I had ordered the same thing straight from here after reading Camille Roskelley’s tutorial on her website Thimble Blossoms.

So…… this ……

Became this….


Then hopefully I will get the inspiration for the design as I get some flowers pieced….more to follow…

I also am making huge progress on my Home Sweet Home and this is a sneak peek of it…. I have a few birdhouses to finish and then I will baste it and I have decided (since hand work is the only thing I am accomplishing this week) to hand quilt it! It should get me back into practice I think!

Well, I am actually drafting this from the plane (to be cut and pasted into a post later), as I am headed out to San Diego for an impromptu visit to The Quilt Buddy’s house. We have lots of quilting to do, shop hopping to do and of course the reason for the trip is the Cottage Quilts outdoor quilt show!!!! So excited! I will try to blog a little this weekend!
T.T.F.N.

Oh I almost forgot…in light of the fact that I managed to lug my sewing machine with me (I carried on) I would be very interested in hearing, in the comments, how people have travelled by air with their machines or if they have not. Also if you have any tips, trials or tribulations you have experienced in doing so! I look forward to reading your answers!

EDIT: This post was actually written last night. I have since arrived in San Diego safely and have already had a wonderful day here! We went to Old Town Temecula and met a really cool bloggy friend for the first time and in person, had lunch and shop hopped to a couple of awesome quilt shops! More on our cool meeting and the loot on the next post once I download the photos…but what a wonderful world the blogosphere is!
T.T.F.N.

Family time.

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This past week has been a pretty busy week with not a lot of quilting happening. My parents came to visit and we celebrated Baby Son’s second birthday which was a blast! All I have to say is” pretend powers tools” and you know he was in his glory! Even though I spent some very good quality time with my family, I did manage to make a purse for my mum before she left. It is from a patten by Little Scraps, This and That flower patch and I used a MODA charm pack of “Portugal “. It is definitely a fave and I can’t wait to make myself one! Mum said she used it all day yesterday!

Then yesterday after my family departed (:( boo hoo)…I went to my monthly ‘Strip Club’ at my LQS. Susan and Doris had the cutest samples made for us this month! A jelly roll bag and table runner. Just wonderful! Here are the pics of their samples…

This pattern is by Bunny Hill Designs and is called Jelly Bags

This pattern is by Cozy Quilt Shop and is called Diamond Medley

I bought both patterns and a Jelly Roll friendly book. Lots of great projects on the horizon so I am looking forward to getting more off my WIP list! (P.S. thanks Susan for modeling the samples for me!)

Grateful for a wonderful week… T.T.F.N!

Quilter’s Helping Quilter’s

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Here is what I love about quilter’s- they are all such a generous, kind, caring and fun bunch of people. It is a kindred bond- one I am so fond of and happy to say I am part of this community. The biggest example I have seen this week is when I was over on Gudrun Erla’s blog. Gudrun is the designer/owner of G.E. Designs ( a wonderful designer whom I am a big fan of her patterns an such -see my dilemma in an earlier post). She has reached out to all quilters in blog land to help the quilters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As you know that area has been hit with massive flooding and a lot of people have lost everything. She has organized to collect donations of quilting supplies for the quilters that have lost in the floods . So if you think you can help please hop on over to her blog- http://gudrun.typepad.com/my_weblog/– for all the details and to see how helpful and generous your fellow quilters can be!
Gratefully…

A productive week!

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This week I have gotten a few things accomplished and am ready to tackle the rest of my WIP’s!

To start with I made 2 pillow cases for our guild as one of the girls, Ashley (no blog), had a sew-in that I could not attend to complete as many as possible for Con Kerr. I took those to our monthly meeting on Thursday- all in all she managed to have our guild members make and donate 102 pillow cases! Way to go Ashley! What a great cause for us to be involved in!

Then I was able to finish piecing the quilt top for Star Struck. So now it has been added to the To be Quilted pile Yippee! Now when I get batting I will be going to work on the quilting process!

I also finally got my embroidery module to work with Vista (thanks Bry!) and finished the embroidering on The Shabby Angel Baby Quilt for my neighbor. In the same order the lovey quilt to match was able to be quilted and delivered!



Then got started on my Designer BOM from the Fat Quarter Shop. I did not get very far though as I found my son standing on what appeared to be my Heirloom/dress box. He had pulled it from my closet to use as a stool for some reason. So once I removed him from the top of it, I found myself looking thought the box and remembering the dresses I have made for the little ballerina (my daughter). She is such a girlie girl and still has one of the sun dresses I made for her that she is constantly wearing and asking me to wash it ( I made it long so I could keep letting the hem down until she outgrows it.) She came in while I was doing this and saw the fabric I had had out from the pillow cases and the book of Jumper’s and asked if I could make her another dress. Being that I am a sucker for manners, I got started once they went to bed. A few hours later this is what I had.

Then the next day she wore it and I took these other pics. It was a little big in the top but I adjusted the buttons and I think she’ll get another summer out of it too! She was so excited- which of course just made my week!

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday!
T.T.F.N.

A little quilt and some instant gratification.

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I wanted to share a finish that is not mine…actually it is my brothers girlfriend Rosie’s.

At the end of June my brother and his family came to visit us for a few days and I was showing Rosie some of the fabrics that I had in my stash/scraps and she started playing around with them and she ended up making her first quilt! It is a little quilt and it turned out really well I think.Here it is displayed in the nook and one of Rosie holding her finished product! She did a great job and I look forward to her playing in the Nook again sometime! Good job Rosie!

Then this past week I was trying to finish up Star Struck but decided I was not sure how I wanted to quilt it. I felt like I need some instant gratification so….here is what I did!

The pattern is “Patched Quilt Carrier” from Patchwork and Stitching Volume 8 No 2, that my friend Stefanie sent me in my latest awesome parcel. (the pictures were not very good sorry). I usually use a plastic carry bag to take my show and tell but this is way better! I can even use it for a shopping bag when at the quilt shop too!

As I mentioned, Stefanie sent me another one of her amazing parcels. She had the theme as lemonade by the pool. Inside was a pitcher that was full of yellow fabrics and then there was also 2 Australian Patchwork magazines included to read with that lemonade. Lots of wonderful stuff inside them that has been added to the wishlist of things to do. As usual she was spot on about me- yellow fabric to brighten my stash and my love of Australian quilting!
Hope you are enjoying a nice glass of lemonade yourself!
T.T.F.N.

More Quilting time and giveaways…

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Unfortunately they are not my giveaways, but they are just too cool not to mention. There are 3 cool giveaway’s happening out in blog land and here they are:

Go to Janelle Wind’s blog and leave a comment about a cherished childhood item that you have and check out the completion of her Bluebird BOM quilt (gorgeous!) and you can win a copy of the pattern!!

Then hop on over to Anna Maria Horner’s blog and leave a comment on her ne fabric line– Garden Party (totally fab!) and which one is your favorite (not an easy choice I may add) and she will be drawing for some fabric.

Last but not least, if you need a new summery bag pop in to Red Geranium Cottage as she is giving away some handbags she has made (very cute!).

Whew! That is a lot of very generous people! I just love giveaways- don’t you?

On the quilting front, I have been working on finishing a couple of projects…one is my Home Sweet Home quilt ( see WIP list for the link) and trying to finish my Star Struck strip quilt. I have also made a pact with Stefanie over at The Quilt Buddy to help both of us clear up our unfinished projects and our baskets of planned semi-fabric-bought-for-but-not-started projects. We have plenty to work on so hopefully we can show some restraint for a little bit and get these things to at least flimsy status! More on this later as we are compiling our lists of the ‘To Do’s’.

Well, I am off to get back at it! More later and happy giveaway hopping!
T.T.F.N.

A Big Thank You to Margaret!

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A little bit ago I signed up for my first swap since coming to blog land – a pin cushion swap! Yesterday the post-lady handed me a parcel and I immediately was excited! Of course I rushed inside, grabbed my camera and proceeded to open my parcel. Here is what it contained….

Pin Cushion swap

GORGEOUS! Is about what I can say! And so a great big, huge THANK YOU! to Margaret for my wonderful pin cushion! I love it! It is so very ‘me’! She is so sweet to also include some other little goodies that are just delish- a porcelain Espana thimble for my collection, a cute ‘I Love Quilting’ book marker, a pretty fat quarter and some sweet hand-dyed flosses for my next stitchery! (I have just the quilt to use them in: ) ). I must say Margaret, you made my day and also made my first bloggy swap so nice!

Here is a closeup of the beautiful pin cushion and it’s perfect stitchery!

2008-06-25- Pin Cushion swap 006

Before I go I also wanted to say THANK YOU as well to Linda for organizing such a wonderful swap-ortunity!

Happy Swapping!
T.T.F.N.

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