The day I've wait weeks (actually months) for is finally here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is it??????

What has me so excited I can't sleep?????????

Well, hopefully it isn't a big let down for you all, but I just can't tell you yet!

I want to tell you with pictures!

So stay tuned!

...butterfly garden quilt is in the hoop ready for

some more stitching

Sometimes, I like to challenge myself to make a composition in 5 minutes. I reach into my fused scraps, grab piece of fabric and just do it. I don’t want to over think it. So, feeling a bit worn out tonight, I did this quicky fiber sketch.

This morning, I overslept a bit and then the game was on because I had a guild committee meeting here at 10 am. I did a bunch of errands, three loads of laundry, packed up the t-shirts to send them to New York and then did the farmer’s market run.

I ...

Here it is.......Debbie's Quilt Shop. It's located in the community of Osage in northeast Iowa, almost to the Minnesota border, in fact. Before we visited the shop, Sue took us to the best bakery/coop.....Kountry Kupboard. Oh, yum. I bought the best package of Butterhorn rolls. I love a real bakery! But you're here for the quilting.......so take a look at this......just a small shop, you think.............
until you walk in the door and you don't know which way to go because there is so much to see. The shop is filled ...

Here it is my newest fabric collection 'Stitches' this fat eighth bundle contains one of each of the fabrics from the collection.......

 

Leave me a message and this cute little bundle could be yours. 

I have had fun making this lovely scissor holder by fussy cutting the cat out from one of the prints. Hope you approve?

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

My dear friend is celebrating a birthday in just a few days.  Because we’ll both be away, we took the opportunity this morning to quietly celebrate together with a walk through our local show garden.

Standing in front of the ‘wall of water’ it was hard to believe that the highway was just feet away.

M is a truly delightful person, loving and giving of all of her resources including one of the biggest hearts in the world.  She gives of her time freely to her family, friends, neighbors and church family, and graciously and happily embraces everybody she ...

Okay - they were great warm, and after waiting 12 hours I can now advise they are great cold too!  And don’t need extra cinnamon.  Isn’t it funny the yumminess of spices can be somehow lost in the warmth of a freshly baked goodie, yet when cold, shines?

So here’s the recipe for all those seeking a yummy, healthy, wheat free, mostly sugar free cookie.  (The sweetness of the cookie comes from rapadura (evaporated cane juice) and sultanas (which are high in fructose).

Wait-up Cookies
(makes 20)

(adapted from Sally Fallon’s Raisin Nut Cookie in her book ...

In this hot, hot weather all we can do is search for the coolest spots we can find.  A few days ago, we drove about 10 minutes from home to a piece of property where the owner, whoever this wonderful person is, has left his wooded land in a fairly natural state, carving a walking path through the shade of the old trees so that people like us can find somewhere to cool off a little bit.  Our basset, Sadie, needs walks too, and this is perfect for her – she’s really languishing in this heat.

In this lovely spot ...

When our children were small, one of our favorite family movies was Mr. Mom with Michael Keaton.  We not only took the film to our hearts, but we all adopted the use of the word "woobie."  (If you haven't seen the film, here's a link to the woobie scene.)  Just as Michael Keaton's character had to have an intervention with Kenny in the movie about his woobie, I've had to have one with Jim about his woobie quilt.  To quote Michael Keaton, "It's looking bad."


This quilt goes back to the early 1980's and ...

Last night was my second meeting with the Gisborne Quilters.

Things started in the early afternoon while I was driving home from the hospital.  DH asked me whether I was planning to go that night and while I was trying to recover from the shock that he remembered on his own I managed to spit out that I was hoping to go and waiting for all the usual objections.  There were none so I was told to drive safely and he'd cook dinner for himself and the kidlet.

Now I was scared.  Who are you and what have you ...

Head over to my friend Brenda's blog The Quilting Cowgirl to enter her Halloween in July Give-away. She has some "spooky" fabric and books that just might find their way to your home. Good luck!

July Give A Way ending soon. Click to the right on the side bar on Give A Way and it will direct you to the page.

When I started this blog in January 2005, it was a vehicle for looking at my work from a distance and thinking out loud.  I still do that intermittently with pieces I don't mind having seen by the immediate world.

To celebrate some good news, I treated myself to a sit-down at the sewing machine tonight.  Stitched this piece as much as I wanted to and if it needs a bit more after I put on the facing, I'll add it then.

In the meantime, I am back looking at this piece again and dithering over the orientation ...

Tonight Jan came in all excited with her treasures she had ordered off Ebay. Darling fabric, endless possibilies... She is so excited and so were we! It is so fun to get together and sew on Wednesday nights. Some study Dianne or JeriLu was telling us about said that association with friends was better for you than dieting or exercise(do you think I got that right?) and we all agreed that we were right on top of that finding! I can't think of anything better than sewing with my friends.



Have I told you how spoiled I am ...

Had a lovely visit from the postie on Tuesday. Kate sent me my PIF gift and included a lovely birthday gift as well, what a sweetie you are Miss Kate.
Below (left) is my lovely Hexagon mat/ table topper which Kate made especially with red and white spots so I could place it in my red and white spotty corner of my kitchen bench. Next week I am planning the big clean down and change around of my bench so once its placed with all its spotty friends I'll post a photo. See the gorgeous spotty tea towel Kate ...

As if my package from Molly wasn't enough, my Fresh ...

So, I have been dealing with a large corporation that I have a legitimate bill for and who have worked with me to help us when I wasn't working. While they may be one of the larger companies responsible for the melt down of the economy & were going to spend thousands to have a bigwig dinner...they have been very sympathetic to my plight.

Then, I contacted them a few weeks ago because their wonky math wasn't making any sense and I spoke to a CSR who was a real jerk and told me to refinance of forget ...

Okay, I am really curious if anyone else besides me is having problems when viewing other blogs on blogspot?

I will be reading a blog when all of a sudden, a million windows want to open up of the same page and I cannot close them, nor can I use the MS manager to close it down.
Even when the net is closed it shows flashes that more windows are being opened.

I have used my virus checker and I do not have a virus (at least thats what it is telling me), I have used anti spy ware programs ...