Happy Easter!

Wow! I can't beleive it is already Easter....Happy Easter! We have about 12 - 14" of snow here that fell two days ago, so it does not really feel like Easter. Emma loves the snow...being a springer...yup you guessed it she leaps and springs through the snow. Emma just went on a treat hunt...I hid a treat for her to find...it was a chicken Carvers. They are 80% meat and she really likes them. I know having fun with pup on Easter.

I'll post more about our Easter celebration later - that is if there is anything exciting to post...it could just be regular family time and not much to post about.

Yesterday was fun...I went to one of our local quilt stores called Bits and Pieces and it was the first month of a block of the month - the pattern is called A Kaleidoscope of Kolor. It is really pretty....we all get to pick out our own background fabric and mine is a white with stars on it. It should be fun to see the same Kaleidoscope of Kolors with different backgrounds like black, white, navy, creamy tan...very fun. Jen and Cindy were there and they brought Michelle...Jen also brought my Miranda bag which is beautiful. It was so nice to see Michelle.

Yeah...my cold is starting to break up some more...I wish it was totally gone and it has to be by this Saturday as that is when I am having my sleep study. I have to remember to call my doctor this week and ask if she wants me to have a sleep aid. That was on of the things they told me to do at the sleep study place.

I did go to Weight Watchers yesterday and well I'm up in weight. Not good. I want the scale to go down and you would think it would with my being sick. I didn't eat that much so you would think I would have lost weight but no, not me. I just have to really watch what I am eating I guess and write it down all the time not here and there. I should be good at this by now but I am not.

Tonight I have strips of fabric to cut because I am going to Frank's Sewing Center for a Fabric coiled bowl making class. Then I have to pull out the other supplies for the class. Tuesday I have Batik Club at Patched Works. Here I hardly have gone to any Quilting Stores in the past month and now I will have been to three in less than a week.

Happy Easter!

Tonight I tried a new Weight Watchers recipe and I wasn't excited about it...I felt it needed more flavor! Mark said it tasted really good. I made Orange Beef with Broccoli...it uses broccoli slaw. I think next time I will use real broccoli and more orange juice (fresh squeezed!). I squeezed the oranges and zested the orange! I felt like Martha Stewart - LOL!

I have another new recipe I want to make but I am a little unsure so I think we will be having stir fry for dinner tomorrow night. I am hoping I will be able to do some beading tomorrow night.

I was so excited that I was able to help Wendy, Jen, Judy and Tori cut fabric for the next three months of block of the month club at Frank's Sewing Center. I was so glad I got a chance to do some "quilting" related crafting. I have not had a lot of time to quilt...I have a lot of other things that have been taking up my time.

I did follow up with my insurance company today and I am working on setting up my sleep apena test. I am hoping to set it up for next weekend...this weekend I have other plans with my family! I also need to go to have my cholesterol level tested and other blood work as well. Tonight on Biggest Loser they talked about sleep apnea and how weight loss decreases how much you snore, etc. The doctor also explained that blood pressure increases when you have sleep apnea so there is hope that my blood pressure will go down.

Wow it's already Sunday

I was so looking forward to Friday and it was all I expected. I was so glad it was time to go to Wendy's Block of the Month at Frank's! Wendy made Fudgy Snow Balls...Ohh they were sooooo yummy! Wendy also showed us a lot of neat things at the store. I bought two Daydreams charm packs and one Daydreams jelly roll, also, one charm pack of Fossil Fabrics and a Debbie Caffrey pattern called September Song. Now my question is what can I make with two charm packs and a jelly roll???? After a fun filled evening Wendy, Jen, Sherry and I went to dinner at Mama Mia's...Yum. I am sure the garlic bread was not WW friendly. It was wonderful to sit and chat with friends.

Now the only problem I had on Friday was going home...it snowed and the ground was slippery and icy. This is a problem for a person who drives a Camero. I couldn't make it up a hill by my home...I kept sliding back and could only get to a certain point...no farther. Mark had to come and get me. I drove the truck home and Mark figured out how to get the car home. I had to turn the truck around and loop back to where Mark was. He was gone with the car but several other cars couldn't make it up the hill either. Once Mark got home with the car, we couldn't get it up the driveway. We tried pushing the car, backing the car in, pulling it in, etc. We ended up getting a parking permit and parking it on the street.

Saturday I did some organizing and cleaning off of our table we had a garbage bag full of papers, etc on the table. Then I decided to take the Christmas tree down. Yes it is finally down. I still have some Jim Shore Christmas decorations up and I need to take them down soon. The success is the Christmas tree being down. I also need to get a box from work to put my nutcracker in. My aunt gave me one for Christmas which is great and tall but I need something to put it in so it doesn't get broken.

Again one of the problems we had was getting the car up the driveway...it made it to the back door and got stuck...yikes...Mark tood the sand in a tube out of the trunk and used that - amazing - he got the car into it's parking spot in the driveway. I asked him what we are going to do as the car is having such a bad time this winter (getting stuck that is) and Mark said we just park it until spring. Nice idea but we often have two different places to be so we have to fix this!

Today I am doing laundry and watching TV and checking out other blogs. I still need to balance our check book and pay some bills but it will get done soon. I am feeling lazy today which is common on weekends.

Snow Storm

Wow...it's still snowing! Where I work sent us home at noon today due to inclement weather! The roads are icky and when I came home I ate lunch and then took a nap. When I got up I called Jen and talked to her...YEAH Kristie received her quilt.

I was sooo excited that she received it...Jen did a lot of work on the quilt...she did all the piecing of the blocks together, quilting and making the label. Cindy was wonderful and did the binding. IT is a beautiful quilt and I am glad that I was included in this team project but wow how hard is it to keep a secret from a quilt blog buddy.

I still haven't taken my Christmas tree down and Mark thinks that witht he poor weather I should take it down...I just don't feel like it. I teased Jen and said maybe I will keep it up until next Christmas. I am hoping to do this Saturday! I also need to hopefully go out and get my digital camera so I can take of my Works in Progress and maybe my quilting room so that I will get started on that. There is talk of an intervention (LOL)...my friends know me too well and I just haven't had the initiative to start cleaning. Ohh well at least I can own up to my faults.

All Day Quilt Retreat

Yesterday I was at an All Day Quilt Retreat at my friend and Quilting Mentor, Wendy Rieves' church. It was so much fun. We made these chicks...Jen is going to send me a picture and perhaps she is going to post it on her blog! They were so fun and easy to make unlike the quilt below. I had it all pieced, layered and the quilting begun...this is my nephew, Ethan's quilt. It is a really cute quilt and I am glad it is finally done! I finished quilting it and for some reason it took quite a while....it stuck to the bed of my machine, the thread had issues about clinging to the foot and wrapping around other things....all in all it just didn't want to get done...but I persisted. I love the fabric for this quilt and the backing is fun, fun, FUN!





For some reason this quilt waves! I am not sure why and it was suggested that I try steaming it but I just didn't want to do that. I figure it is a kid's quilt and it will be dragged around etc. I might try to steam it over the next few weeks but I am still unsure.

Okay I also got a block done for the BOM...two to go. I did cut out a bunch of 3" squares for a scrappy quilt I am making for my sister-in-law Terry. I know she will like it. It is all 3-dimensional box tie blocks. Needless to say it will take a lot of bow tie squares to make a quilt. I think that is all I got done but it is a lot when you think about all the putzy work that goes into the bow tie blocks. I did get 3 more of those blocks done.

All in all it was a good time...I sat at a table with Jen and really enjoyed myself! Okay the chicks we made were darn cute.

Snow, snow and more snow...

Last night I met my friends Jen, Cindy, and Sherry for dinner at Bakers Square....then we were off to Pached works to play poker. I wasn't going to go but the night before I decided to go.....thanks Jen for being such a good friend and being supportive. I had a great time. Afterwards we went back to Bakers Square for pie. Ummmm pie!!!! Julie and her mom joined us and I had a good time just enjoying friends company. I love the fabric we got ... there is a dark blue background with snow flakes on it....some of the snowflakes are silver....ohhh I needed more fabric like I needed a hole in the head but well I just couldn't resist....FABRIC...what am I going to do with it.

I still haven't done anything with cleaning my quilt room and now I have more fabric to find a home for.

Ohh Sherry brought us a gift....Bella Charm Pack and a really cute snowflake ornament...which is quite appropriate as tonight we have snow falling right now! Wow we have been having a lot of snow lately. In fact Jen helped me get weight in the back of my car last night. I drive a Camaro and well it is a rear wheel drive car and it does not like the slippery weather and snow.

I can't beleive that we have more snow coming down....I hope that they do a better job cleaning up the snow....right now they have a news item on the poor snow removal we had this last snow storm. They are putting down salt but I think theyshould be plowing....ohh my right now there is a new report about a snow plow over on the side of the road for 40 mintues...ohhh my...we are having some snow issues here. Hope everyone is home warm and toasty under a wonderful quilt.

Wow it's been awhile

So I have been working on the kitchen project. My mom came over and helped me rip down the wallpaper that was in our kitchen....there were many problems and many types of walls underneath the wallpaper such as mud (for drywall), drywall, primed but not painted walls, unprimed walls, you name it I think we had it except for plaster. Since that first day my mom, dad and I sanded the walls and washed the walls. Mark and I put this product called Gardz up to protect the drywall (it's for porous surfaces). Next came priming and painting. We painted all the walls a color called Capri Coast...it's a cream color similar to the color of sand on the Capri Coast...hence the name.

I have also gone to a quilt retreat at Jen's house which was a lot of fun! I loved the panel she gave all of the attendees!!!! She made wonderful chili and stuffed green pepper soup. There were also a ton of treats. I think the companionship was the most fun!

I also had a Lia Sophia jewelry party at our house. It was nice...my mom made these delicious banana bars. She is so wonderful...she came over and helped me clean.

Emma went to the groomer before the party and was given a English Springer Spaniel cut with her ear hair cut shorter so her ears would not hang in the water.

Anyways, I finished the top for the block of the month except for the piping and borders...I can't wait to get that done and I can't wait to get it quilted. I also worked on a Take 5 quilt which was fun...I did not have enough fabric to finish the border but the quilt shop sent me some so I can hopefully finish that part of the top this weekend.



Well there is so much more that has happened but I am getting tired and will write more in the days to come. I also have to figure out how to post some of the pictures that Jen sent me that she took of the Quilt Retreat at her home.

Take care and happy quilting.

4 Day Quilting Retreat

Wow it has been a while since I posted but four of those days I was in Elkhorn, WI at Lutherdale at a Quilting Retreat. I did not make either of the projects but brought about 15 projects and completed 10!!!!

I was called a prolific quilter by some of the ladies in our group at the quilting retreat. There were 41 of us and I was in the group on the lower level. Obviously there was a group on the main level. Well the first night I made Kristie (one of my roommates and quilting friends from before going on the retreat) a runaround bag and wonder wallet. Prior to this and a while after I arrived I met my other roommate and quilting friend from before the retreat - Kathy and she introduced me to Carol. We three of us went out to dinner and had Chicken pot pies. I should say we had pot pies which the chickens ran through to give it flavor and very little chicken...but what was there was good.

Friday morning I lost my mind and decided to try paper piecing again. I did it once or twice before but this time it was a much harder project and I think I have paper pieced myself out for the rest of my life ... or until I forget the pain I was in when I was paper piecing ... whichever comes first. Okay I made a wall hanging with two pumpkins and a cat wearing a mask...it is adorable but there are millions (okay a tiny exaggeration) of pieces. I told Kathy and Kristie that they could smack me upside the head if I ever get it in my mind that I am going to paper pieces again. When that painful experience was over I then worked on an Origami bag. This did not take long and all the ladies on our floor loved it and wanted the pattern. Many of the ladies made the bag and it was the hit of the retreat. I was told that next year I need to bring another easy project. Several of the ladies told me I should be teaching quilting and projects as they thought I was quite good at it. Ohh my me teach!!!!! I don't know about that but I took it as the compliment it was meant to be. Linda heads the retreat and last night (Saturday) I mentioned the comments that were made and she said that she thinks I should be teaching as well. Wow how is that for a compliment!!!!!

Okay the bag doesn't take too long and that was with reading the directions and making it for the first time. I then worked on some two table runners....before you know it - well it was late and time for bed - Late is somewhere between 1:30 and 2:30 a.m. Okay before I went to bed I tried to make an easy project...a pillowcase...somehow this is just not the project for me. I sewed it according to the directions and Kristie told me it didn't look right and suggested I rip out all the work I did ... well I hemmed and hawed and finally ripped it all out...fixed it and proceed to sew the seams...somehow I broke two needles and one of them was titanium. Kathy tried it on her machine and it was fine....I just think I was too tired but who knows.

Suddenly I wake up and it's Saturday...well after breakfast I decide to work on making a top for a table runner I have wanted and just never gotten around to. Well I run into a snag because well I forgot it uses triangle paper. Okay well lucky for me we are going shopping later so I cut out all I can and then it's time to go. We went to Backyard quilts where I check out how to make my flannel and chenille quilt that suddenly I just couldn't remember which is supposed to be the binding (blue with snowflake), inner border (white) and outer border (fabric with words in blue). Okay this is also a reminder for when I decide to finish the quilt because you know I will forget by then. Well anyways I wander the store and end up buying a book and a bunch of fabric that is used on the samples in the book. I decide that I have fabric at home that I will make a tree skirt someday for my mom which is in the book. Then we stop at Sammy's Pub and I have Italian beef (which Carol and Kathy tell me is delicious and ohh were they right)! After that we head over to Milton to Loose Threads. There I buy more of the delicious fabric that I started to buy at Backyard Quilts. Ohh I am a fabric junkie. I think when we got back I laid down for an hour or two because I was fighting a migraine all the long weekend. Then I finished the table runner and was ready for show and tell. Ohh the first night I finished the hand binding on my mother-in-law's quilt and early on Friday I finished the First BOM Block for Wendy's group. Ohh is it beautiful. After show and tell I started cutting the chenille and flannel. Ohh was that a pain and I asked Linda for some suggestions as to how to cut some of it and square it up. This morning I finished cutting the fabric into squares so that later on I can finish this quilt! So needless to say I was quite busy. When I got home I dumped all my stuff in the living room and here it still sits. I left Lutherdale at about 10 AM and arrived home about 11 AM. Emma was very happy to see me and is now laying on my hip to tell me it is bed time...so I better finish this post.

When I got home I talked to Mark and then slept because my migraine medication was kicking in. When I woke up an hour and a half later it was time to get up and I ate a hot pretzel...not much for lunch but I wasn't feeling too good still. I laid down with ice on my temple because my headache was revving up and well I just didn't want to end up in the ER this weekend so it was nap time again. Then when I woke up Mark took me to the Machine Shed. I have been soooo lazy today and I can't believe it is almost 10 PM. Ohh well it is off to bed for me and I hope you all had a great weekend. I know I did. I made several new friends and one of the ladies Frannie and I talked for an hour and a half or so one night ... I got up at 2:30 AM to go to the bathroom and just checked to see if anyone was sewing and she was so I sat and chatted with her. What a great time I had but I did miss Mark and Emma and was glad to be home as well. I did miss seeing Michelle and her group when they came and visited Jen and Cindy and I did miss the Wendy's BOM group that meets at Frank's Sewing Center.