New Week…

And the most important thing is we have some new air out there now.  Yeah – the AC is off and the windows are open… at least for a day or two.  It has been too, too hot and way too humid around here.  But the higher than normal heat has been the story just about everywhere… so I’ll stop complaining now.

I went to the Hershey Quilt Show this past weekend… and although I tried to not buy anything… I did come home with a couple a few several things.

The fabric on the right goes with the Civil War Flying Geese pattern on the left… oooo this was pretty… a little applique and flying geese – what could be easier?  And it’s wall hanging size so it should be do-able… this will go on my University Class List (although I’m afraid the point of attending was to get stuff done that you already had on hand… ooops! my bad!)

The top left pattern Maddie Bea’s is a pattern and template set that I found intriguing and thought would make a good future class… so I’ll tell you more later after I’ve had some time to play with it.

The other two patterns are charm patterns and were just too cute… so they came home with me as well.

I’ve made progress this weekend on my Aunt Grace’s Circle of Friends BOM sample.  You know I’ve never done a BOM and didn’t think I’d enjoy the process… but I have enjoyed making these blocks.  I have the pieced blocks done and am now on to the applique parts and then on to assembly and borders.

I need to get off the couch and get busy – maybe I’ll vacuum while it’s cool here in the house… or there’s always the laundry that doesn’t seem to do it’s self either, or I could pour another cup of coffee and go sit on the porch and watch the fish. 

Momma Knows Best…

Well - outside of the fact that she made her nest in my herb garden… she’s really pretty smart.

At least she knows the fine art of making a nest.

I found the tell tale signs (disturbed dirt and grass clippings) in the garden the other morning when I went out to water.  So I didn’t water that area in case there were babies in there.

Later I started gently pulling out the grasses that covered the opening and digging further and further down pulling out stuff as I went… no babies!  Yea!

What a nice, cozy nest she made – at least 12 inches in and just underneath my thyme.  I dug out a bunch of grass used to cover the opening and line the walls of the nest… but as I continued to dig down – there was a bunch of wood pieces from the garden mulch laid in the bottom of the nest to keep her babies dry.

Sure hope she has a Plan B… 

Off to The University!

Yep… I’ve decided to take the plunge and work on a degree!

I know… everyone is sitting there wondering just where will I get the time to go off to school?

Well – worry not… I’ll be an online student!  I do not even have to leave my house much less get out of my jammies.

The most exciting part is that I’ve been personally invited to enroll by the Professor who is in charge of this particular program. 

Although I was quite excited that she thought I was worthy… I’m really not as smart or talented as she may think.  I’m just really good at bluffing my way through – but shhhh don’t tell OK?!

Now I have so many decisions to make… what degree do I work on?  An MD or PHD?  And what field of study?  I’ve dabbled in a variety of things over time… I hate to brag but I’ve done some work in History, Finance and Fashion (to name a few) so I could finish up those.  But there is also the lure of Agriculture and the Culinary Arts.

OK - so you want details?  I’ll be attending the University of Southampton… cool huh?

No - not The University of Southampton in the UK… I’ll be attending the Quilt College at The University of Southampton (aka Southampton Quilts). 

Their PHD (Projects Half Done) and the MD (Mostly Done) programs are quite appealing… I really could work towards both degrees with little more effort than unpacking a box and pulling out a few projects!

I have to ‘declare my major’ and submit my project list to ‘Professor Beth’ by September 15th as school starts in October!  Although I’ll be an online student… I hope to make it up to the campus to attend a class from time to time.

I know many of my fellow students and am quite honored to be working along with them towards our degrees.  (Hi Ladies!)

I’ll keep you posted as I go along… but for now - I need to go poke around in some boxes.

What To Do With A 15 Year Old Dino…

I ran across this little fella out in the yard the other week… resting under a bush… alone…

I don’t know the life span of dino’s these days – but I’m guessing that he’s really lived longer than most would have considering his condition.  He has suffered some loss of pink from spending too many hours in the sun and those mud baths have left some permanent staining in a few areas.  Although still pliable he did suffer an injury many years ago that left him with an opening that runs from his belly button around to his hip… the end result of that injury was to render him mute!

Even though he could no longer ‘sqeeeeeeeeek – SQEeeeeeek’ when you squashed him with your foot he was still much loved by our sweet old girl. This was her toy that she’d had since she was a puppy.  It’s been a few years since we’d throw it for her to chase – running wasn’t graceful for her any longer.  But she’d happily take it and walk off with it if you offered it to her. 

All her other puppy toys are long since gone – destroyed as only a growing dog can destroy.  But this dino was different – maybe because it’s a bit sturdier – but I think mostly because she loved it differently.  She really kinda babied it rather than chewed on it.  We did most of the squeeking of it… which would bring her running to rescue her toy from under our feet.  She use to jump and dance around as we stepped on it…. sqeeeeeek…. and as soon as we raised our foot and it would start the inhale ‘SQEeeeeek’ she’d lunge at it, snatch it from under our foot and run off.  She would then squeek it a few times herself to make sure it was OK and then proceed to lick and baby it for awhile.  Sure miss that sweet old girl.

I need to go this week and pick up her ashes… she was ready long ago - but I wasn’t… probably still not - but I’d hate it if she got lost at the vets office because I didn’t go pick her up.  We know where we will bury her… her favorite place in the yard to lay and watch the world go by.

The dino will sit in my kitchen window for awhile… it makes me smile… and cry…

I’m Just Looking…

That’s all I was doing… just looking.

I wandered into the local Janome / Pfaff Sewing Machine Shop this weekend to poke around and check out the shop.

I have been considering getting another machine – something I can leave down at the quilt shop to use.

I usually use the owners Pfaff when I sew at the shop – but I end up changing out the thread and bobbins because we work on different projects and use different stuff. 

So I thought maybe I’d go in to the sewing machine shop and see what they had in a used machine…

Somebody should have told me that wasn’t a good idea.

They had a couple used Janome 6500’s that were in really, really good shape.  Those caught my eye because of the large work area for quilting.  And they had a 6600 that had just come in as a trade in… that model has the even feed foot built in.

So I talked, and tested, and thought, and, and, and…

In the end I decided it wasn’t a good idea to go and look… because the 6600 is now a new (to me) machine.  I’ll keep it at the house and take my Viking down to the quilt shop to use.  Maybe now I’ll get busy on some of the quilting I need to do.

Just looking… yeah – they must hear that all the time!

I’ve Got Mail…

You know - like real mail… delivered by the postman!

Yeah the same postman that can’t seem to close my mail box 4 days out of 6 - but that’s a whole different story…

I got mail… real mail – not an advertisement, not a bill, not a magazine – real mail.

Hand written words put to paper… Two different pieces of mail on the same day. 

I know it’s silly but it made my day!

Aunt Grace Circle of Friends…

The shop will be offering this BOM program this fall and just before the retreat event I received my kit for the quilt top.

Of course there was no time or energy available to do anything other than say… “oh that’s nice” and put it away.

I have put my sewing room back together now and have begun cutting… and hope to get blocks done up pretty quickly.

I find it interesting that I’m working on a quilt called “Circle of Friends” right after having a retreat with a great group of quilty friends!

Check with your local quilt shop to see if they are offering this BOM program…

Fabrics are by Judie Rothermel, Marcus Fabrics and the BOM patterns by Vicki Bellino @ Bloom Creek

 

So Quickly…

Why is it that when you are having a wonderful time with good friends the time passes all too quickly?

Three days of sewing, visiting with each other… a fair amount of shopping and good food – all the things you need for a gathering of quilters!

I Want…

I want to do this…

I want to throw open the windows and let the fresh cool air in!

But what I want and what I get are usually two different things.  So the windows are closed and the A/C’s are running and it’s HOT, HOT, HOT out there… oh and humid too!

Last year a couple of quilty friends came to visit. Not one to waste the opportunity I invited several other quilty friends and we had a mini-retreat.

This year we are doing it all over again… more friends, more food, more sewing!  I can’t open my windows but I’m going to fill my house with quilty friends (and a local motel too!).  We will spend the weekend down at the quilt shop sewing… There can’t be a better way to spend a weekend in July!