Fabric Giveaway

Corrie at Retro Mummy is giving away 14 yummy fat quarters of Sweet Broderie fabric by Rosalie Quinlan.  The giveaway closes on Sunday, November 21st, so hurry over for your chance to win.

Where has the summer gone?

I can't believe I haven't posted since July.  Although I've taken lots of pictures of our mildly amusing summer adventures, I haven't finished even one of the projects I promised myself I would work on.   Now that my children are back at college and our life has resumed its quieter pace, I'm hoping I can get back into the groove.

This is the first time since we moved into our summer house in 1976 that we have spent the entire summer there.  My Viking daughter loves the lighthouse at Montauk Point which is at the end of the South Fork of Long Island.  She climbed the tower twice this summer.  She would have visited more often, but at $8.00 to visit the lighthouse and $8.00 to park it adds up to an expensive hobby.  When you are at the point, the next stop across the Atlantic is Portugal.

I

This is the view from the top of the hill outside of the lighthouse.  The cement guardhouse was part of the Coastal Defense System during World War II.  A Nazi submarine actually dropped off a few soldiers who were planning acts of sabotage in New York City just of here in Napeague.  They were detected by some local fisherman and picked up before they could do any harm.  Just beyond the bluff is Camp Hero which still has the cement bunkers that housed large canons ready to defend the East Coast.

This picture was taken from the window at the top of the lighthouse looking out toward Block Island Sound.

This view from the same window looks toward the Montauk State Park.  The building on the hill to the right of the parking lot is a concession stand/gift shop.

The lighthouse is still an important navigational aid for ships on the East Coast.  This is the light in the top of the tower.  The original lamp was fueled with whale oil.

This is the view out of one of the windows in the tower.  

When we visited Cape Cod in May, I was enthralled with the lighthouses.  It's wonderful to know that we have this fantastic national treasure commissioned by George Washington right in our own backyard.  Well, it's about 20 miles away.

Day Lilies in Bloom

The perimeter of our pool is planted with perennial flowers. At this point in the summer, the day lilies dominate the garden. The highest concentration of blooms is usually the third and fourth week of July. During that two week period we average between 85-100 blossoms everyday. This year many of our plants are flowering about two weeks earlier than usual. Unfortunately, a few of the lilies that usually bloom in August are starting to open. That probably means that garden will have bloomed itself out by the first week of August.
It definitely makes me happy to wake up each morning and greet the day by checking to see which of the lily blossoms  will spend their one short day with us.

Russian Sage

I bought a small Russian Sage plant many years ago after reading that it was named plant of the year (I can't remember which year).  We planted it in our perennial border next to our lavender, but it soon grew too large for the area and started to choke the lavender.  It is now in our herb garden, although the owner of our local nursery told us it was not edible (according to online sources the flowers and leaves are edible but do not have the same flavor as regular sage, I have never tried it).  It requires no special attention and is very tolerable of dry soil.  The leaves are feathery and the delicate flowers are light lavender.

Makes Me Happy Monday - July 11, 2010

It is a gift to be able to spend our summers close to the water.  The temperature has been sweltering for the last two weeks and it has been too hot and sunny to be out on the water.  Usually, we can count on a sea breeze to keep things pleasant, but it has been too hot to even move.  Yesterday after church, we took our kayak out to the harbor.  Retired guy does most of the paddling while I get to take in the view.  After Saturday night's rain, the air was a little cooler and the egrets, ospreys and cormorants were out in the salt marshes hunting for lunch.  It makes me feel happy and blessed to be able to be so close to nature and to  have someone who is still willing to row my boat after 37 years of marriage.

Finally something to post! Stash Report 6 - 27 - 2010

Finally, some completed quilts.  Some of these quilts appeared in the blog when they were works in progress.  I haven't posted stash results for months.  Today's report confesses some additions (part of the yardage is for a Civil War block swap due August 15th).

Year to date used:  28.5 yards
Year to date added:  34.75 yards
Used this report:  13.5 yards
Added this report:  10.75 yards

As the sun faded behind the trees, I was able to take some photos of the quilts I've finished within the past two weeks. With eight quilts finished, I am three quarters of the way to my goal of completing 10 quilts to donate this year.

The quilt on the left was a Quilts for Kids kit. I used my own stash for the quilt on the right which will also be sent to Quilts for Kids.  The colors are almost blindingly bright in person.

The 2 quilts below will be sent to Wrap Them In Love.  The yellow and green Disappearing 9 Patch blocks were sent to me by Brenda Lou of Scottie Dog Quilts.  Quilters at her retreats donate blocks to be put together for charity quilts.  She also sent me the handprint fabric used for one of the backings.  I have enough yellow and green blocks to make another quilt.

Front                                                                                          Back

Two more for Wrap them in Love.

One for Project Linus.  The borders surrounding the "Eye Spy" panel are not as blah as they appear in the picture.  The fabric  is white with primary color alphabet letters.

This one is for Mission of Hope which is part of Denise Russart's Yahoo Group, The Quilting Post.  The quilts are distributed to shelters for battered or homeless women

Front                                                                                               Back

I am assembling the backing for one more quilt which should be finished by tomorrow.  I have a pinwheel baby quilt that has been begging to be finished.  Hopefully, I can get back to my Jambalaya batik quilt for the "Too Good to Cut" challenge.  Don't forget to visit Judy L's blog to see other blogger's stash use.

AccuQuilt Go Giveaway

If you are interested in winning an AccuQuilt Go cutter, visit amys creative side.  She is hosting a giveaway.  It sounds like a wonderful system.  Maybe having one would help cut down on my ever looming stash.  You can enter by clicking the button on my right side bar.  The winner will be drawn on Monday, June 14th.

The wonderful world of blogging and Bunny Hill

The blog world is a wonderful place to discover quilt designers, patterns, fabrics, and tutorials with exciting new techniques.  It's also a great way to connect to people and ideas that would be totally out of our reach without the internet.  I rarely have anything exciting to show or write about on my own blog because I am too busy reading other blogs full of the minor and major happenings in the daily lives of other bloggers.

One of the designers I follow  has a lovely blog full of inspiration and warmth.  Each time I visit Anne Sutton at Bunny Tales, her blog for Bunny Hill Designs, I feel as though I am having a cup of tea with an old friend.  I love hearing about the antics of her furry friends (especially my favorite Mooch the cat).  The pictures of her beautiful home are always so warm and inviting they make me feel as though I am sitting right there, even though I am in NY and she is in California.  Anne not only designs fabric and patterns, she generously offers a free BOM.  

About 15 years ago, I was visiting a little vintage shop and spied a pink 3 piece Depression glass child's place setting.  My beautiful cousin Teri collects antiques and I thought I would save it for her first child.  A few years later, she gave birth to lively twin boys.  Alas, the dishes have sat wrapped in their original tissue paper waiting for the right moment to be loved.  When Anne posted about finding things to decorate her booth at Quilt Market, I knew, at last, the dishes would have a good home.

Yesterday, Anne posted a picture on her blog of the dishes in her booth at Quilt Market.  While this is not earth shattering news for the rest of the world, for me, it was like receiving a hug from an old friend I have never met.

Here is one of the pictures I sent Anne to tempt her.

Thank you Anne for taking a little piece of me along to Quilt Market.  I had lots of fun.

Healthful Goals

Stephanie over at A Ditchin' Time Quilts has started a "Wednesday Weigh In" to help people keep their weight loss and exercise goals.  I really like the idea of quilters supporting other quilters to get healthy.  With all of us having so many UFOs, we really need to keep ourselves healthy long enough to actually finish some of them.  Check out her blog if you need some inspiration to keep you going.  I have committed to losing 26 pounds.  The number sounds huge to me, but I lost 21 pounds earlier in the year and seeing them creep back (4 pounds have returned), has made me determined to get back on track and get healthy. I wonder if lifting my stash counts as exercise?

Makes Me Happy Monday - May 17, 2010

This is my first "Makes Me Happy Monday" post since March.  It's not as if I'm not happy on Mondays, I just haven't had a good picture to post.  Last week my husband and I visited my daughter at college.  She was taking Afro-Caribbean Dance as a Phys-Ed requirement and they were putting on a performance as part of their last class.  We were able to spend a little time with her and start the end of the year junk removal from her dorm room (she is coming home today).  After our visit we headed to Cape Cod for a few days.  It was my first trip there and it was great!  Unfortunately, retired guy and I could not find anyone to take our picture together (it is the off-season!).  So we each took a turn posing on the whale at Provincetown.

 

Design Wall Monday - May 17, 2010

I can't believe I have not posted on Design Wall Monday since March.  This week I am stuck.  I am making a way over due baby quilt for a stylist (not mine) that works at the salon I frequent.  She told me she loves bright colors and doesn't want anything pink.  Okay, I can do that.  She particularly likes purple, green, and yellow.  I am trying to accommodate her request without straying from my stash.
I am using the 3 Dimensional Pinwheel pattern from "P.S. I Love You Two!" by Nancy Smith and Lynda Milligan.  I have owned this book for at least 10 years and never made anything from it.  This book originated the "Eye Spy" craze  when it was published in 1996.  My version will have 20 blocks (4 across - 5 down).  T
I am undecided as to the sashing (as usual), there are two border of the background fabric(small white alphabet letters on off white) with a prairie point border.  The binding will be the same as the sashing.  Please help me decide.  

Will it be contender #1.  A creamy butter yellow with white stars.

Choice # 2 is black densely covered with tiny bright colored polka dots.

Choice #3 is black with tiny bright colored hearts not as densely distributed as #2.

Choice #4 is a bright yellow Moda marbeled stars print.

Let me know what you think and then head over to see Judy L's blog to see what she's doing.

More Quilt Show pictures

Nancy at Patchwork Penguin is hosting a Chimney Sweep block exchange using Civil War prints.  At the quilt show yesterday, I snapped a photo of a quilt made up of these blocks.  The blocks for the swap will  have a cross shape in the middle made up of the backing fabric (Kona natural).

I really think I am going to love a quilt from these blocks.  I will be doing my blocks in double pink.  A few of the other colors that swappers are using are:  cheddar, poison green, indigo, red, yellow, brown, blue/brown, and scrappy.  Luckily, the blocks aren't due until August so I have plenty of time to fit them in.

Quilt Show

Yesterday, I attended the Northern Star Quilters'  annual show.  I haven't been able to attend for the last 2 years, so I was eager to see the exhibit.  There seemed to be less quilts exhibited this year and the majority of them were art quilts.  Mixed in was a good number of Baltimore Album style quilts and some traditional quilts.  I was surprised at how few quilts were what I would consider "modern style."

There also seemed to be fewer vendors with less merchandise.  Many of them were selling embellishments for art and crazy quilts.  I did come home with a pattern and a few pieces of fabric needed to complete some current quilts in the final planning stage.  I also came home with 4 empty fabric bolts that my husband quickly cut in half so that I could use them for storage.

Besides having fewer quilts, many of the quilts were not hung to show them to their best advantage.  As I walked past a group of miniatures that was too high to really appreciate, a woman stopped me.  She asked if I could tell that the quilt in front of us had 120 hours of hand work.  She went on to point out some of the stitching.  It was then, that I realized she was the quilter and she noticed that I did not stop very long in front of her quilt.  She was very upset at the way it was hung and I had to agree with her (she was actually a little scary).  It is a shame the quilt was not hung at a more advantageous level.  I would have liked to examine the stitching more closely.  Here is a picture of the quilter and her handiwork.  The white area forming the center of each of the flowers was made of of hundreds of tiny button hole stitches.

Below is a the front and back of a quilt by Mary Anne Ciccotelli who is currently soliciting photos of interesting quilt backs for her new lecture and trunk show, "Fun Backs - Going the Extra Mile."  It's not surprising that she won a ribbon.

Glad to Be Back

I can't believe it has been a month since my last entry.  I finally have access to my camera again.  My husband found the battery charger so I am now able to take pictures again.  I have to admit, I am a little disappointed because this means I don't need a new camera.  That will have to wait for a bit.

Saturday was my husband's goddaughter's wedding.  She was a beautiful bride and her dress was exquisite. I managed to play a small part in the wedding.  I made the ring bearer's pillow.  On the front, I used an embroidery design from Laura's Sewing Studio.  I do not have the software needed to properly digitize the names and date, so Laura did if for me for a reasonable charge.

I was a nervous wreck while making it, but everyone seemed very happy with the results.

The designs on the back are from Embroidery Library.
It will take me a few days to gather together everything I've been waiting to post for the last month.

Janome sewing and embroidery machine giveaway

Sorry I have been missing in action, but the charger for my camera is missing and I have no way to take pictures for a while.  Since text in a blog without pictures is totally dull, I thought I would hold off until I can replace my charger,  In the mean time, there is a fabulous giveaway on the DIY Dish blog.

You can click on the logo on my sidebar to find out all of the details and to see some of their crafting videos.


I hope to be posting lots of photos of what I am working on soon.  Until then, I will be hibernating until I can find a way to charge my camera or get a new one.  

Design Wall Monday - March 15, 2010

The first picture is of the fabrics I am using for a Terry Atkinson (of Yellow Brick Road fame) pattern available free online called Neutral Territory.

The stripes in the pattern are formed by sewing 2 inch strips in sets of 5.  My strip sets are already pieced, but I have a problem.  Apparently, my 1/4 inch seam was too scant when piecing the strips, so my strip sets finish at 8.5 instead of 8 inches. They are supposed to be 8 x 8 before they are pieced to the other strip sets.   I'm trying to decide how to adjust the pattern so it will come out even.  

These are my sewn together strips laying on top of the border fabric.  The one on the right has been cut to 8 inches.  The rest of the sets are folded to approximate the 8.5 inches they would be if I cut them square.  I love the red/black batik and really need to push myself to work on this.

Don't forget to visit Judy L's blog to see some interesting design walls.

Makes me Happy Monday - March 15, 2010

Family events can be stressful.  Whether they are for your family by blood or marriage, it's easy to get drawn into the emotional stews that have been simmering for a lifetime.  The bridal shower I attended on Saturday was no exception.  With all of the crazy emotional turmoil that took place behind the scenes, the bride's mom (my husband's aunt who is only 2 years older than he is) remained gracious and serene (at least on the surface).

Although my contribution to the shower decorations were minimal, she made me feel as though I was a major factor in the success of the shower.  As I left the restaurant, she presented me with one of the centerpieces.  It makes me happy  to know that I have in-laws, rather than out-laws.