Happy New Year's Eve!

The past week just flew by and I can't believe it is almost over. The last time I wrote about my 14" amaryllis, which is now hovering at 20", but no bulb yet. Thurs. I worked and then met my mom so we could get our nails done. Just as we were done buying a Jennifer Chiaverini novel at Borders, Paul called to ask me to go to his uncles' apartment with him. Uncle Bill's son Ben was here from CA, so we went and visite with him for a couple hours. It was after 10 when we got home. So much for shopping with my mom. Friday night I met up with mom at the store and we did our shopping. I even got home pretty early for me. Sat. morning I met up with a guy I had been working for over the course of the past year and settled with him. I was so excited to have that taken care of before the end of the year. Then it was off to shop with Paul. We got a lot done, but mostly for ice fishing. Sat. night I was my mom's date to her Christmas party since my dad didn't want to go. We had a great time and since I worked there some too it was really fun to visit with everyone. Yesterday I slept in for a change and then went to church. In the afternoon Paul and I went shopping for more ice fishing supplies and made it home for a nap in the late afternoon. We watched Shrek 3 which was really good and then I knew I had to sew! I took out my b/w quilt again and quilted 2 sides. Now I have one end and the four corners left. I really wanted to get them done, but we'll see how it goes tonight. We are going out to supper and a movie, so I don't know if I'll get it done. Tomorrow we're leaving before dawn to go ice fishing. Maybe if I'm not too tired I can sew when I get home. Hope everyone has a Happy New Year and gets lots of quilting done.

Amaryllis

Well here's my entry in the contest. It's right at 14" today. I think it grew 6" since this weekend. I moved it to a warmer spot and it seems to be doing better.

Christmas Pictures

I took a few pictures at Christmas, so I thought I would share.

This is a picture of the real cedar tree we got in the Cheyenne River breaks. It smells so good.

This is the new fireplace we just had to have. My Willowtree nativity is on the shelf by the clock.

These are all the flowers we got at Safeway. The pink are Paul's mom's. The red are my mom's. The yellow/red ones are for Paul's grandma.

These are the red roses Paul bought for me. Aren't they gorgeous? It's the first time he has bought me a dozen red ones.

This is my "little" brother holding his new fleece blanket. It's actually 90x108 and he's holding it horizontal instead of how he would actually lay under it. I had to be creative since the lady stole the last of the flames. I also made him a matching pillowcase. He loved it as it was exactly what he asked for.

Christmas Shopping

Saturday Paul and I set out to Christmas shop for his mom. She came with us, but didn't realize we were shopping for her. We had planned to buy her a watch, but her boyfriend got one for her, so then we went to plan B. She really wanted an electric stove/fireplace. We had one picked out, but it was gone, so we went to three other stores and they didn't have them either. We were discouraged, so we went to plan C, which was a Bunn thermal coffee maker. They were way out of our price range and not what we wanted. So by mid afternoon we were ready to go home and didn't have a thing for her. Finally I talked to Paul about option C, an upgraded sewing machine. She has a manual machine, but it's not a whole lot of fun to sew on, so I really wanted her to get an electronic one. We went to the store 5 min. before they were closing and looked at them. We showed her what I was thinking and then the next upgrade was $50 more. She really liked that one better and decided she would get it and pay the difference. I was so excited for her! We had to do a couple more stops and then we were going home. We were just leaving Wal-mart, when we were backed into, by an uninsured lady! I won't go into details, but she didn't see any reason to have insurance or why you would want to fix just a scrape! So it was after 8 when we got home Sat. night.
Sunday morning I got up to go to church and then we realized we had forgotten a few thing at Wally. We went to get those couple things and ended up with a new rug for the living room. We had to put the seat down of the little cavalier to fit it in. Then we went to Safeway for a few grocieres and some flowers. Paul ended up buying me a dozen red roses which are absolutely gorgeous. Then it was on to Menards for a shelf and his mom found a fireplace/mantel that she fell in love with. We packed it into the back seat and took it home, so now she has two Christmas presents! We ended up rearranging, putting the mantal together and cleaning house. I was completely exhausted Sun. night.
Monday Paul and I worked our little tales off to clean the house and get food prepared for our Christmas eve party. Then we had to run to town and get a few things. I had a 50% off coupon at Hancock's for a notion, but the lady who was working said the item I was buying wasn't a notion. I know it is because I've bought it before, but she's new and doesn't know what she's talking about. I was so mad I walked out the door. Paul knew I was mad too, because I am a very frequent customer and all the full time people know me by first name and my mom too. We got home and had his family out for a party. It was fun and I got lots of nice gifts from his grandparents, his mom, and him. We had planned to go to midnight mass, but we had freezing rain and decided it would be better not to go out on the icy roads. We thought we could just get up and go to church on the way home to my parents in the morning. Tues. morning we were up at 5:30 to get going. We called the weather hotline and it said slippery with spots of black ice. Since it was dark we decided to wait until the sun came out and the sand trucks had been out. We left at 8 and the roads were only bad in a few spots. We arrived at my parents and Jim and Addie, and Ed were there. We opened gifts, had lunch, everyone except me, mom, and Ed took naps and then they all left. It was a short day. Jim and Addie announced that they are expecting the end of June. I was so tired and cranky that it didn't make for a good combination. I felt like we flew in and out of my parents and didn't get to spend any time there. My parents did play cards with us and we had supper before heading back. When we got home I packed up Leslie's machine to trade at the store and put some of my gifts away. I didn't sleep real well, so I'm tired today. It doesn't help that there are less than 10 people of the 100 or so that work here, actually here. The rest took vacation. I need mine for the wedding and honeymoon, so I'm stuck here. Paul called this morning and his fuel injectors went out on the way to work, so I had to go pick him up to take to the shop and then he took my pickup home. He'll be here in a few minutes to pick me up.
On an exciting note, my mom and Ed got me lots of sewing related things for Christmas. Ed got me the large size ruler holder I really wanted. I'll have to take a picture when I get it set up. It's so cool. Mom got me a 8X24" ruler, a 12 1/2" square ruler, a sewing carry case for taking to class in pink, black and decker electric scissors in pink, a sewing basket in the black and white fabric I loved so much this year, a new 60" rotary cutter, and a couple USB sticks to put all my quilting pictures on. The other fun toy was a bluetooth headset for my phone. Paul got me a nightgown, pj's, a robe, and perfume. I was really hoping for an MP3 player, a quilt rack, and boots, but I guess I'll be buying those myself. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I'm going home tonight to work on my b/w quilt. It's the last major project I want to quilt before the new year. We'll see how it goes.

I'm done with 3 days to go!

I honestly can't believe I am done making Christmas presents. I really thought I would be finishing tonight at Sit & Sew. Last night when I got home I started sewing the backing to the front to make a binding on my brothers fleece blanket. That's what he wanted for Christmas. A really wide and long one. I hope it is big enough for him. I had to be creative in my fabric use, so I had to add some borders and do it differently than just putting to pieces of fleece together. It's in the washer, so I'll have to take a picture this weekend before I wrap it or when I give it to him. So I was celebrating being done when I realized I don't know what my next project will be! I have two ideas, a gift bag from the Lazy Girl blog would make a nice little addition to a gift, so I gathered some fabrics that might work. Then I decided maybe I should start working on the quilts for the bridesmaids. I have had the fabric longer than we've been engaged, but just have had too many things to make, so I haven't started. I decided tonight was the night to start, so I have them in a bag with the pattern. Hopefully i can at least get them all cut out. I have a plan for the evenings next week. I want to finish quilting my b/w quilt so it is done this year, but since it is so big I don't want to take it to S&S. I have three sides left, so I'm hoping with two weekends and some evenings, maybe I can get it done. We'll just have to see what happens. Tomorrow Paul wants to go shopping for his mom and then I think we are going to decorate the tree on Sun. and Monday we are having company for Christmas Eve. We'll leave early Tues. morning to go to my parents for the day. It should be a busy few days, but it will be so nice to have a 4 day weekend. It is so quiet around work today that I had to put a Christmas CD on just to stop from going crazy.

1 to go!

I feel like my goals are almost accomplished! Last night I quilted this tree skirt. It's simple and boring, but looks really cool on the tree. I used a red metallic thread that I had been fighting with for a few days. Well last night I went to my serger and got out a little net that goes over a spool of thread. I put it on the metallic thread and wouldn't you know I quilted the whole thing with not a single problem! Wish I had had it Fri. night when I was trying to quilt the candy cane tablerunner.

While I was quilting this, Paul put up the decorative trim on the door and put the oak base on the walls. They look so good! Then we moved the furniture and put the tree up. The hole in the tree skirt is a little small, but it looks really nice. Then I had to get busy and quilt the tablerunner I made the night before since our exchange at work was today.

This is the tablerunner I made from some scraps I had. I put the border on and the back is the same and then the binding is the same. I think I had the strips placed different when I layed it out, but when I sewed they ended up like this. I'm not real great at working with scraps, but my friend Karen does a lot of these types of quilts this way. I gave the gift today and the girl loved it! How much would you consider this gift worth, considering I didn't go buy any of it, just used what I had on hand. It was supposed to be a $10 item and that's what I consider it. My friend says since I didn't buy the fabric for it, so it's not worth that. I bet I have more than 10 in material if you add it up with the batting and thread and backing and binding. I guess I value the time spent putting it together.
I gave my other gifts today. The managers were really pleased and the president of the campus was shocked and had to show everyone. I really enjoy giving gifts when people appreciate them. I must have put him in a good mood, as we all get casual days Wed. - Fri. of next week and tomorrow.
I also finished up this little wall hanging for my supervisor. She really liked it.

It should be on point, but it was hard to take a picture that way. I had made the picture wall hangings for the other two managers, but I'm the only one under her right now, so I didn't want to have just a picture of me. I personally think it needs something else, but that's just me. Since she liked it I don't really care. I think quilters are harder on themselves than anyone else.
In the midst of getting these all ready I helped Paul's mom make a king size double layered fleece blanket for her boyfriend. It is really cool and we got it cut out on the living room floor, so all she has to do is sew around the edge. Then she helped me cut the edge of my brothers quilt, so all I have to do is sew it. That's all I have to do. I may do it tonight or I'll take it to Sit & Sew tomorrow night and finish. I haven't decided yet what I am going to do. I also got all my gifts for work wrapped last night, so I feel like I got a ton accomplished!

8 down, 4 to go!

Yesterday I made a list of twelve things that had to be done before Christmas. I carefully put down what I knew I had to make and when it was needed by. My co-worker was going to velcro some fabric together to make a pillowcase for her son! I said I would serge it up and have it done last night. She was in shock and so excited to have a nice, professional pillowcase. I didn't even put a cuff on it, just used the fabric she gave me. Can you imagine trying to make something like that with sticky velcro? What would happen when the kids hair got stuck in it at night? So I felt like that was my good sewing deed for the day, even though she gave me something for doing it. I was making my cousin's son Billy a pillow case anyway. The one on the left is for her son, the cars one is for Billy. I made him a quilt last year with Cars, so I made a pillowcase for him this year. I am giving his new baby brother Tyler a quilt for Christmas this year.

Then I put together a block for a friend that she wanted done this week. I couldn't believe I was able to get it done, but I knew it was important to her. Then I needed to make something for one of my bosses. I made two picture mats. One for her and one for another manager. I had their departments sign them in the light blue today, so they look really cool.
Then I finished up the two tablerunners from the class I took on Friday night. They were supposed to have wavy ends too, but I got tired and didn't want to do bias binding, so I did the burp method and was going to just do some straight quilting, but they were kind of stretched. I decided they lended themselves to some FMQ. Luckily they are for my two very close friends at work and one of them is a quilter, so they won't care how terrible my FMQ really is. I shouldn't have used the verigated and then you wouldn't have noticed how bad it is, but they are done and they will appreciate me making them.


So how did I get 8 off the list when I've only told you about 7? I was really supposed to make 2 pillowcases for the lady at work, but she only had enough fabric for one, so I got off a little easy. Tonight my little bro came over and tried on his shirt for the wedding. He is a groomsman. It fit him, so now we just have to make sure the best man's fits. He's coming over tomorrow night. After he left, I got busy. I made a purple tablerunner top and basted it. Just have to quilt it now. It is for the co-worker who I drew in our drawing for gifts. We exchange on Thurs. I also decided to fix up a project I had just about completed and give it to my boss. I got that done tonight. Then I sewed the tree skirt and flipped and pressed it. Now I just have to quilt it and put the tree up. I was too tired tonight to quilt, so I decided to blog instead. Now I just have to quilt those two items and finish the quilting/binding on my little bro's fleece blanket. I'm feeling a lot better about what I have done now.

Christmas Tree Hunting

This was an unproductive weekend for the most part. Friday night I went to a Candy Cane Tablerunner class. Everyone in the class, including me, thought it was simple enough to get two made in 3 hours. I made mine candy cane themed while everyone else made theirs fun and bright colored. I got the farthest with two tops done and sandwiched. I just have to sew around, flip and quilt a bit. The one got one made and the other one got both tops done. I went shopping with mom after class and didn't get home until 11.
Sat. morning Paul and I went shopping and then met him mom for lunch. We packed our bags and were on the road to my parents mid afternoon. We had to be there by 3:30 so there would be enough light to cut a Christmas tree.
My brother and dad were at my cousin Tommy's place and his wife Alice needed help branding the colts since he is still laid up from the gun accident. They have registered Appaloosa and quarter horses and they have to be branded to be registered I think she said. She puts the stud colts completely out to do it, but these fillies she had to do without putting them completely out, so she needed a young person to help. My dad and Tom, Tommy's dad are around 60, so they aren't limber enough to help. My brother held the colts while she branded them. Mind you she had only touched most of them once with halter breaking work, so the last few were pretty wild. It was so interesting to watch her work. She studies horse whispering and works with her horses a lot. She's also a vet, so knows how to take care of any ailments too. She was really good about answering questions I had. I learned so much from her. By the time we got 8 done, it was dark. We went home and had supper with my mom and then visited most of the evening.
Sun. morning we got up at 6:30 and went up to the Cheyenne River breaks to cut a cedar Christmas tree. We got three cut and were back home in an hour. Jim and my dad had to go to NE to pick up his wife who had been helping her parents move in CO. Jim, my parents, and Paul and I each got a tree. They smell so good! We went to church and then spent some time on making address labels for my mom's Christmas letter and magnets to include in the Christmas letters. Then we set up my mom's village. She has close to 20 that go around the room. Paul worked on setting up my dad's train set while we were decorating. We brought their tree in and set it up too. My mom had to go to a rosary service in town and pick up my dad, so we left at the same time and were home by 8. We had been planning to get his mom the watch she wanted for Christmas, but her boyfriend bought her a nice one, so now we have to go shopping for her this weekend. We have a couple really good ideas, but I thought she was going to be the easy one! We decided to stay home this weekend, have Christmas Eve at our house for Paul's family and then go to Milesville for Christmas Day with my family. I have added four projects that have to be done to my list, so I'm going to be busy this week getting them done. Tonight i sew!

NAU Wall Hangings

This week just flew by! I can't believe it is already the end of the week. Monday night I got caught up in a Hallmark movie and ended up watching it with Paul and going to bed. I didn't do a darn thing. Tues. night the second part of the movie was on, so I worked really hard to quilt a wall hanging for my co-worker Melanie before it came on. I got the quilting done, but had to put the binding's on during commercials. I got it done except for sewing the hanger down, which I got done tonight. She's not big on quilts, but has put up with all mine for the last 2 years we have worked together. In May we moved into and office with Karen and she quilts too, so Melanie was totally outnumbered. We have a tradition that when someone leaves our area we give them a quilt of some sort. Melanie liked my pants, so I used the scraps to make this quilted wall hanging for her. Tomorrow we are having a going away potluck. Since she is really health conscious, so I made her favorite... a veggie tray with dip.

A couple months ago I used the leftover core values piece to make a little table topper for a co-workers boss. He absolutely loved it even though I just felt like I threw it together. Last week he resigned, so he gave it back as he would no longer be with the university. I didn't want to regift it as it was, but I didn't want to keep it either since I have the big wall hanging I made. Tonight on Karen's advice I cut off the edge stitching, added two borders and a binding and requilted it and made the wall hanging below. We decided that it should go to the president of our campus, so it'll be a Christmas gift for him. Nothing big since these were scraps anyway, but I know he will really appreciate it since he always comments that he is never the one leaving so he doesn't get a quilt. He always compliments both Karen and I on our quilts, so I know he genuinely will like it. He was going to have me make his grandma a memory quilt, but she was near death, so he didn't want to do it since her time was short.

Last night was sit and sew. My little brother wanted a big fleece blanket for Christmas, so I knew all a long what he was getting. I needed to make it and since I don't have much room so, I took it there and layed it all out. I had to sew some side pieces on and make it a little bigger with what I had, so I still need to stitch around it, but it is at least layered. Wouldn't you know he showed up to pick up the cookies Paul had made for him! Oh well, he probably already knew that he was getting it. It is 90 x 120, since he's a big boy.
My mom was at a store and asked about the shirts we wanted for the groomsmen and they could order them from the different stores and have them shipped to us, so that's what she did. Hopefully they are there this weekend, so we can pick them up and have the guys try them on. Tomorrow night I have a class on a candy cane tablerunner. It looks pretty easy, so I want to make two for my friends Karen and Sandy at work. Next week is going to be busy with so much to get done before Christmas weekend.

Sit & Sew and the weekend!

I have a flower girl! Friday night I went to Sit and Sew and Emily and her mom Julie were there. Emily is really excited to be my flower girl. One other lady was there but the other 6 cancelled because of the threat of snow. It didn't start until 10:00 when I was on my way home. I got a wall hanging top and a tablerunner top done and both basted. I got the tablerunner quilted too. Sat. it was snowing pretty hard, but by mid day had quit, so I went to town and finished my Christmas shopping. By the time Paul and I got home it was time to get ready for my Christmas party. It was nice and elegant, but short and sweet, only an hour and a half! Aren't we pretty?

We went to Menards and Lowe's afterwards. Sunday I went to church and then took a nap. In the afternoon we went to Spearfish (45 miles) away to go shopping. I found a great deal on the western jeans I wear so I got 3 pairs for myself. I also picked up another gift for my mom and Paul. After we got home I finished the tablerunner and made two table mats.

Quiet Blog Land!

It's been pretty quiet in blog land this week, which to me can only mean one thing... everyone is sewing like crazy to get their Christmas presents done. I for one am in the exact same boat! I decided to make a list of what has to be done, what the priorities are, and I'm starting tonight. The last two nights I quilted on the borders of my b/w quilt. Mind you this is taking forever since I have to mark as I go as it's rubbing off. I have one side done and three left to go. I have the goal of having it done in 2007, so we'll see.
Yesterday I was contacted about making a queen size photo memory quilt. It was a group who wanted to do it for a co-worker. They wanted the top at least done by Christmas to present and the quilting could be done after Christmas. Okay so how much would you charge to do this if you were buying all the fabric, including the fabric sheets to print, ink, and your time? Would you even do it considering there are 2 weeks to Christmas????? I told the person asking that I could/would do it for $500 for the top only to be done by Christmas and another $500 for the quilting/backing/batting/binding to be done after Christmas or they could take it to someone and have it quilted and bound themselves and pay them. I also said I would have to have half down to start, to buy supplies. Do you think I was out of line? What would you have done in this situation? Granted I have done several photo transfer quilts, and the top is the easy part for me, but in 2 weeks? The jury's still out on whether she wants to pay the price to have it done. I'll keep you posted.
Yesterday we got a nice little snow storm, with freezing fog first, so we had ice covered roads. I left work early and got home okay, but there were over 100 accidents in 2 hours time. We made Chili and let it simmer for a while and made cornbread and it was one of the best suppers I have had in a while. Tonight Paul is working late and I am going to Sit & Sew. I have several projects I want to get done, so I am taking lots of fabric and hope to get the tops of a couple tablerunners done at least.
Yesterday I also called the mother of the little girl I want to be the flowergirl. I have known the mother and daughter since I moved to Rapid. We sew together and though the little girl is 7, she is a better FMQ than I am! She will use my machine if her mom is busy even. She loves to sew, but is too young for the kids club. Since there are no little girls in our family and I didn't want to have a ring bearer without a flower girl, I decided to ask this little girl. Well I wanted to ask the mom first. When I called she was about in tears she was so honored I would ask. She said she'll bring the little girl tonight so I can ask her myself. I can't wait!

November Accomplishments, December Goals, and Quilt Journals

I guess I never really realized how much I have done each month until I started keeping a blog. I am much faster at taking pictrues and posting, so I have a copy on my USB stick. I have gotten a lot better at printing out the pictutres and putting them in my quilt journal, too. So far I have pictures of all the quilts I have made, plus a few other sewing related items. I am hoping to finish my 2nd journal this month and have a new one to start the year with. I have 14 pages left.
A run down of my Nov. projets:
2 finished tablerunners for the wedding
8 quilted tablerunners for the wedding, need to have binding
10 tops and backs done, just need to be basted, quilted, and have binding
1 woven tube bag made
1 John Deere LG Summer Tote
1 Coffee LG Summer Tote
1 Musical Tabletopper
1 Purple YBR baby quilt, quilted and binding on
1 Heart Tabletopper UFO, Binding on!!!
1 Shepard Wall Hanging
1 Hunky Carpenter pants made for me
1 Purple Vest
1 Gray Vest

That makes 12 actual projects completed!

I have a list for December of what I need to make too:
1 Pillowcase for Billy
1 pair of PJ pants for Paul - already done!
1 Purse for a x-mas present
Quilt B/W quilt, squares done so far
1 Fleece blanket for x-mas present
finish tablerunners for wedding
work on 2 purple YBR quilts
2 Candy Cane tablerunners for co-workers, maybe more if I have enough fabric.
1 tablerunner for a co-worker who has left - needs to be done by Dec. 8
1 hunky carpenter wall hanging for a co-worker who is leaving Dec. 14
There's my list and I'm sticking to it!

Let me tell you I have taken a tremendous amount of pictures since starting this blog. My computer was getting weighed down having so much on it. Since I'm so hard to buy for... okay except for my mother who will actually buy me the quilting stuff I really want, I asked for a 4 GB USB stick. I found a 1 GB stick at Target on Black Friday and completely cleaned off my computer of all the pictures I had on there from this year. In the past I have always made CD's, but with the size of so many pictures I would run out of room. This has been the perfect solution. I don't even save them to my computer any more. I just put them on the USB stick. I am sure hoping I get a couple USB sticks for Christmas so I can put them to good use next year! I have them posted on Webshots too, but I have almost filled that up in the last couple months, so I either need to start deleting or figure out a better plan for posting them online.

Does anyone else keep a quilt journal up?? I have had the popular green quilt journal that I got when I started quilting seriously in 2003. I have pictures of every quilt I made including my first t-shirt quilt in 1999. Last year I asked for a second one for Christmas. I filled the first up with last years and the previous years pictures. So this one, same size has been almost filled with all I have done this year! I need to get a new one for next year. Even if I have a few pages left, I want to start a new one with the new year. This is a wonderful way for me to show my quilts to co-workers and friends who want to see the work I have done. I can also see how much my work has changed over the years!

How fast can 3 pairs of PJ Pants be made???

Saturday we slept in and then did our few errands in the afternoon... PetSmart, Target, Scheel's, Hancock's, and the crazy store (which was really crazy because it was the 1st and a lot of people got their government checks!) We got home about 5:30, put away groceries, and then decided to work on Christmas presents. Paul's mom wanted to make her boyfriend a pair of pj pants and a pair for Paul, so I offered to help her. I told her using my serger we would have them done in a flash. She has sewn a total of two fleece blankets, one tablerunner, four pillowcases and is in the process of making a bag now. She doesn't have any confidence in sewing, so I've been helping her. I taught her how to make the pattern the right size, how to shorten it, and how to lay it out. She cut out two pair and I cut out one pair. Then we set up the serger. I showed her how put the pants together. She made both pairs and I got mine done too, or at least the serger part in 3 1/2 hours. We started at 7 and finished at 10:30PM! We still have to do the casing and hems, but the hard part is done. Considering she had never done this it took no time at all.
Yesterday I went to 8:00AM church and then came home and slept till 2! I guess I was tired. Then Paul and I went to pick up propane so he could grill. In the evening I worked on quilting my b/w quilt. I have almost all squares done, but they are a pain in the neck! I figured I would stretch out the quilting and do it over the course of the week. Last night my dad called to tell me my cousin had gotten out of the pickup to shoot a doe and the gun exploded in his face. His shoulder and eye were hurt. He was in the emergency room last night and I called and offered to watch his sister's boys, but she said they were just waiting and had the boys with them. Mom let me know that he is at his sisters' house (she lives up here) and will have surgery in a day or two. My parents and brother and his wife might come up to visit tonight, so I may go out there. Don't know for sure how he is, but hope and pray for the best. It's been a busy weekend.

Quilt Corral in Rapid City!!!!

Sat. I got the best quilting news I have heard in a long time. The Quilt Corral is opening a store in the same building as the Sewing Center! For those of you not familiar with my little half of western SD, the Quilt Corral is the mecca of quilt shops in the area! It is in a part of the Mistletoe Ranch and owned by Joan Davis. Mistletoe Ranch is the ultimate year round Christmas store in an old victorian house near Hill City SD. It's about 20 miles/min. from Rapid City, so I get there every other month or so. Literally packed from floor to ceiling there are over a 4500 bolts of fabric, 1000 bolts of batiks, 500 flannels, 1000 Asian inspired prints, or so their website says. Joan also designs Gutzy Geisha designs, a line of Asian inspired patterns to use the prints. They are really cool and definately a little challenging. All in all she's an amazing owner, enjoyable shop, and tons of the best fabric. She also buys entire lines, not just a few bolts, so there is a ton of matching fabric lines to choose from. She also carries a lot of focus fabrics. This is where I got the Hunky Carpenter fabric.
The Sewing Center, where I spent a lot of my sewing time, and where my mom works in on a hill overlooking I-90 which runs through Rapid. They are in a building with a church, and a lawyer and there is a strip mall next to them. Quite a few months back I heard a rumor that Joan wanted to sell Mistletoe Ranch and move the Quilt Corral to Rapid City. Off handed I just made the comment to my mom that it would be so nice if they moved in where the church was and that building could become a quilting/sewing super center! Well not that anyone listens to me, but at The Quilt Corral's monthly strip club meeting Sat. they announced they are opening a store where the church is. Now I don't know a timeline, but boy was my mom excited and I was elated! We needed this kind of quilt shop in Rapid. We do have two others, but one is mostly Nancy Halvorsen/Pearl Louise Krush fabrics and the other is so dark you can't see what you buy and it's mostly old fashioned fabrics and batiks. As soon as I know a date they are opening I will post because I will be counting the days! I am pumped!

My Amaryllis

Okay, so I decided to join the others in the competition. I planted mine on Wed. night, so I don't know how much it has grown since it is at work. I take far better care of my plants at work, so decided it might live and grow there.

Shepard Wall Hanging Completed!

Last night my mom came out to the house and we completed the shepard wall hanging. It is the one we are giving to the church in Philip in memory of my grandparents. Mom did the quilting on it and the binding and then we added the glitzers and it looks pretty cool. It only took about 2 1/2 hours to complete it.

Tonight Paul and I are going out with his mom and grandparents for supper at Outback. It is his grandpa's birthday today, so we wanted to do something special for him. I'm hoping to have a great sewing weekend and get lots of quilting done.

November BOM

On the Carol Doak site there is a block of the month going on. You can do the 12" block which is the original with all the cutting measurements or the 6" block which she just made smaller without cutting instructions. I am doing the 6" version. Even though there is more waste because I cut the fabric bigger than needed, I like the smaller blocks and can use my b/w scraps. When I am done I plan to have a wall hanging for our room to match the quilt I am making. I made this one last night. I can usually get them done in a couple hours which is nice when I want just a small one night project.

Fleece Vests

Over the past few weeks I have been making vests our of fleece. I made Paul a gray one and a purple one for myself. Monday night I finally got mine done. We like to wear them over sweatshirts or sweaters when we go shopping as it's not as hot as a coat. His is just a little big.

New PJ Pants

I always enjoy having fun PJ's, so even though these cost me an arm and a leg to make, I just had to have a pair of Hunky Carpenter PJ bottoms. Since Paul is a carpenter, they are right up my alley!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Well I love long weekends, but I hate going back to work. I got off early on Wed. and came home expecting to write a few emails, only to discover that our internet wasn't working. Thurs. morning we got up and picked up my little brother Ed and went to our brother Jim and his wife Addie's house. They were both not feeling good, but my parents were there and we got the meal on and it went well. Everyone took naps in the afternoon and I did some computer work. Then we looked through all the adds and gave mom ideas for Christmas gifts. We had supper and then came home.
Friday we got up about 9 and went shopping. We had made a list and only went where we had things we wanted to get. I got most of what I wanted. Only a few things weren't available. We were home by 2 and the only place I walked out of was Hancock's because they didn't have enough people working and there were huge lines. Fri. night I went to Sit and Sew and worked on the banner. Then mom and I did power shopping. We did really well and there weren't any lines.
Sat. we had Paul's grandparents out for dinner. We made all the fixings and had a nice time. Then Paul put together the new gas grill he got a deal on. Then we went to the Parade of Lights. It was really good and not as cold as some years. We have gone every year we have been dating. Sunday I spent cleaning. I cleaned up my sewing room and bedroom. I finished up my one UFO and got ready for the week. Last night I made a purple fleece vest for me. Tonight I made my Nov. block for the Carol Doak group.

Shepard Wall Hanging

Friday night my aunt Jane, my mom Delia, and I worked on this wall hanging at Sit and Sew. We made it to donate to my grandparents church in town in memory of them. Since it's for Advent we really wanted to get it done. I did all the sewing and they cut out and put it together. I finished up the applique stitching last night and now am waiting for my mom to bring the batting and backing to put it together and quilt this week. It turned out pretty neat although we are definately not landscape artists.

MY ONLY UFO FINISHED!!!

I finally finished my only true UFO! I still have to get the quilt markings out, but otherwise it is done. I loved it when I made it, but I couldn't get the binding to come out right. Three years ago when my grandma was at my house in Buffalo for Thanksgiving, my mom and her helped me make the bias binding. It was the first time I had made it. Well I couldn't get the corners right, my mom tried, and finally it went into a box. I was determined to get it done! The little corners aren't perfect, but it is done. Now my b/w quilt and the tablerunners aren't considered UFO's because I'm working on them. I am the finishing queen. I hate not finishing something I make.

YBR Purple quilt

I finally have a picture of the completed YBR purple baby quilt. I requilted it and put the binding on. It's not perfect, but it was a good practice piece for FMQ. I don't know who will get it, but I have a friend who loves purple and if she has a girl this may be hers.

Musical Tabletopper

This is a table topper for a musically talented friend. I royally screwed up the pattern, but I like it anyway. It was supposed to have star points instead of the diamond around the focus fabric. I was completely finished with the binding on when I noticed, but I really like it this way, so I left it.

Summer Tote Pictures

I had a long weekend and no internet access, so I'm catching up on reading blogs and posting pictures. I finished two summer totes for gifts, so I'll post the pictures of those first. Each friend has very different tastes. The first is the same front and back. The other one has different pockets. I hope they both like their new bags. They really aren't very big, but would work well to take as an overnight bag with one set of clothes.

Another summer tote!

I finished another summer tote tonight. It took me right at 3 hours to complete it. It is for a friend for Christmas. I'm hoping she will like it. My co-workers were giving me a bad time that I haven't made anything for them and they are friends. I said well Christmas is coming. I can't show you something if it's for you. I hope they got the hint. I have a couple table runners I am making them and a wall hanging for another coworker. I have big plans to quilt my b/w quilt this weekend. We'll see if that happens. It'll depend on how much company we have. I finally got Yahoo to accept more RSS today, so I added a bunch more blogs to my daily reading. Today was boring at work. Everyone has to be registered tomorrow, so I am done with most of my work. Next week with the start may be busy with last minute ones, but I usually slow down for a couple weeks now. I haven't heard much today, so I'm guessing everyone was sewing up a storm or having other fun.

Shop Hop Flop

This weekend my aunt and I planned to go to Edgemont, SD to visit their quilt shop. It's a podunk town about an hour and a half from us. They mostly just had kits and patterns. I did find a cute panel and matching fabric, but that was about it. They just didn't have much for fabrics I liked. Then we came back through Custer and wanted to stop at that shop, but it was closed for lunch. We didn't want to wait so we went on to Mistletoe Ranch, the Quilt Corral. It is the ultimate quilt shop in the area. I picked up some more hunky carpenter fabric. When I got home Paul was putting doors on the house. I went and worked on my purple baby quilt and finally got it quilted again. When he got the front door put on, we went to Menards for more supplies. It was after 10 when we got home from shopping. Sunday morning I went to church and then we went and got food for t-day. When we got home Paul took a nap and I put the binding on the baby quilt. Then I made a pair of PJ pants out of the hunky carpenter fabric on my serger. I love them! They are just so fun! Then I took my 2 hour midterm. I got done with it and still had time to work on a bag for a friend for Christmas. I messed up one side because I applied the steam a seam 2 the wrong way.
Tonight I finished it and it looks great and I'm really impressed with how it turned out. Then I made a tabletopper for a gift. I really like how it turned out, although I didn't exactly follow the pattern, accidentally. Oh well at least it is done. I plan to finish another bag tomorrow night and then work on my b/w quilt this weekend.

Sew and Sews

Wed. night I had really good intentions of going to sit and sew and getting a bag made for my friend. Well everyone else cancelled, so we didn't have it. My mom and I went shopping instead which was fun.
Last night was Sew and Sews. This is a club where everyone has a variety of interests. Some embroider, some quilt, some do garments, and others do quicky projects. It's an interesting group, but definately the older ladies. Very few take classes, so I don't see them other than every other month. Last night we had an ornament exchange. I made a postcard and put a hanger on it as my exchange ornament. I won a Marie Osmond embroidered ornament. We also learned about a lot of the new products that they picked up at Market a few weeks ago. My favorite is a new olfa rotary cutter that one side of the other comes uncovered, depending on if you are right or left handed and it had a snap on snap off blade changing system. It is a little bigger, so it fits better in the hand too. I LOVE it and put it on my wish list for christmas. We also learned how to fold fabrics with a 8 1/2x24" ruler, so it fits better and is more organized. They also brought home the new frosted rulers. I had seen them before, but now they are going to carry them. Plus there were tons of new books to look at! It's always fun to go and see the show and tell that everyone has too. I didn't see any ideas that I just had to make, but there were some nice projects finished. Hopefully tonight I can go home and relax and maybe sew a bit. I'm exhausted from being out every night this week.

Home and Garden Party

Last night after work I went home and changed and Paul and I went back to town to my brothers. There we met his mom Leslie (who had just gotten off work) and my mom. I went with them to a Home and Garden Party hosted by Leslie's stepmother. It was an interesting party. You got party dollars for finding things in a magazine and the lady showed all the different products. I did like a few things, that were completely out of my budget, but for the most part, none of the stuff would fit in with my decore. I guess I found it to be kind of old ladyish and expensive. My mom and Leslie got a couple things, we had a snack and left. We dropped my mom off and were home by 9 or so. Paul went with my brother and two of his friends to the movie 310 to Yuma. He said it was really good and he had a good time being out with the guys.
I am in need of some much deserved relaxing sewing time. I planned to go to Sit and Sew tonight, but the others cancelled, so it was cancelled. Now I guess I'll just have to go home and sew by myself. Oh well, at least I have a plan to make some Lazy Girl Summer Totes.

Woven Tubes Bag Class and other quilt related things

This month is going to fly by I can tell already. Even though I was trying to catch up from being gone last weekend, I really wanted to take mom's woven tube bag class. So Wed. night I spent the entire night, 3 hours making 32 tubes for the class. Thurs. night we wove them together and sewed around the edge. This is the same process as when I did the b/w with pink one back a couple months ago. We left our stuff and on Friday night were back to finish up the bag. I worked really hard and tried to get it done, but I still had to hand sew the lining in after class was over. Oh well, it turned out really neat and I am pleased with it. The front and the back are exactly the same. I bought the fabric at Mills End in SF when we were there and I wasn't pleased with it at all. But when I got it done I really love how it turned out. I wanted a little more sophisticated bag for taking to work.



As I forgot to take pictures of the back of the tablerunners, I decided I better get that done right away or I would forget. The picture didn't turn out well, but you can kind of tell what it says. My mom spent all of Sat. and Sun. morning doing the embroidery on 20 backs of the tablerunners. These will be given to those who help with the wedding and to those who traveled great distances to be with us. They are going to be part of the center pieces for the tables at the reception too.
By sharing our lives
and our love, you have
been a special part of
our wedding day.
Thank you,
Paul & Moneik Stephens
June 7, 2008


Last week I mentioned that I had bought the fabric for the bridesmaids dresses. We found a great deal on Halloween costume satin and lining, so ended up getting it. We will probably have enough to do the groommens vests too. The bottom left is the fabric with glitter/sparkly and the top is of the purple. It didn't photograph well, but that's what it looks like. We bought all they had of the sparkly which was only 1 1/2 yards thinking of doing the dress bodices in it, but the more I am contemplating it, we may do the front of the guys vests in it. We'll just have to see what works out when the time comes. We are going to make them in early spring.

And finally... Hancock's had a 50% off notions Sun. and Mon. sale, so I got a little something for me! I'm going to put it in the back window of my pickup.

Quilting Retreat Day 2

Our quilting retreat day 2 was really awesome. Mom and I went to church early and then we came back and sewed. We got the tops done and then went to lunch and the fabric store. We all spent quite a bit, but Hancock's was having all their notions, fleece. and batting on sale for 50% off. By last night about 5:30 I had put on two bindings as seen in the photos below of our finished table runners. Each tablerunner is made up of a strada A and a strada B. We made 5 sets of A & B, then we mixed them up so no two A's would go with the same B's. So each tablerunner is completely different then the next. They have a really cool saying my mom embroidered on the back too. Leslie and I quilted them as mom basted. We got 8 basted and quilted, two with bindings, and 10 that need to be basted and quilted, but we had to clean up as my mom needed to head home.


This is Paul's mom Leslie and Missy the dog in our sewing arrangement. We were in the living room and my mom was on the kitchen table.



We had the ironing board set up on one end of the kitchen and the cutting mat on the kitchen counter. My mom is at the table working on embroidery for the backs of the table runners.

It was a long couple days, but we got a lot accomplished.

Quilting Retreat Day 1

Well today was the first day my mom, Leslie - Paul's mom, and I planned to sew the tablerunners for our wedding. Last night, Paul, my dad, and my little brother Ed, headed home to the ranch as it was opening weekend of deer season. I slept in this morning and then finished up the bag I made at class the last two nights. It is really cool, but you'll have to wait to see pictures as Paul took the camera. Leslie and I had lunch together and then did some shopping. We moved the furniture and brought sewing tables into the living room. We set up the ironing board, our machines, and about 4 started sewing. We got the stratta's done in about 2 hours. Mom came after she got off work, so it was about 5:30. She set up her embroidery machine and started working on the backs. We did take a break for supper, but otherwise we worked straight through. We got 5 tops completely done, 15 more that the main part is done, but they need borders, and there are 6 backs that still need to be done. Then we have to put the batting in and quilt and put the binding on. The project is coming along pretty well, so I'm excited. Hopefully when Paul gets home I can take pictures and show our progress.

Wedding Dress Shopping!

So the big weekend to go wedding dress shopping arrived quicker than I expected. This will probably be a long post about the weekend, but I offer an incentive at the end to those who make it through. Friday I met my mom and we headed down the road. I dropped my pickup off at my brother and sister in law's place, so I would have a way home on Mon. We met my dad in Philip (the nearest town) so he could take some stuff home and we were on our way. We stopped a couple times to eat, visit my aunt, and were to my friends house by 9PM Friday night. Jon and Nichole have been married 2 years and we planned to spend the weekend with with them and Nich is one of my bridesmaids, so she was going to take us to the dress shops.
Sat. morning we were up early and headed to a quilt shop in another small town. It was pretty cool and had Lazy Girl bags made up, so I got the towne purse and summer tote patterns. Then we were off to the first store Interlude. It was a nice shop with huge private rooms. I really enjoyed trying on dresses there, but didn't find anything I remotely liked. My friend Angie (the other bridesmaid) and her one year old son Carter joined us. They live in Albert Lea MN, so had about a 3 hour drive to meet us. We went to the second store, Ido2 which was in the same strip mall. It had dresses that were no longer being made and couldn't be ordered. I had my heart set on a white dress with straps. Those were my only two qualifiers, and reasonable priced. My friends brought me lots of dresses and I finally tried on an ivory one and although I wasn't crazy about it, it looked really nice on me. It was a little tight, but could be altered. Angie loved it and I called it the rope dress. It had big loops of cording that reminded me of rope. She even made me realize I look like a ghost in white and ivory was a lot better color on me. I tried on a few more and was tired. Since it was noon their time (we had changed time zones so were an hour ahead), we decided to go eat. We had requested a place that we don't have in Rapid. They have Panera bread which was awesome. My mom's cousin Sue and her mom Vi met us there and ate. Since I was kind of disappointed in what I had seen all morning, I decided I needed a break. We went to the mall and walked around, looked at the western store, and went to places like Yonkers and Macy's that we don't have. My mom looked at the fancy dress section of Yonkers and found a dress she loved, but it was 2 sizes too big. It was on clearance, so I said well it doesn't hurt to ask if they have it in your size. She did and they had one in Omaha. She didn't know if she should get the first dress she found, but she loved it, so I told her go for it. Purple is the color, that won't change and it won't matter what shade compared to the girls dresses. It is on order and should be shipped to my parents this week. After we left the mall we went to a place called Kathryn and Co. When we walked in they asked if we had an appointment. I didn't, because Nich called to check if we needed one and they said no, so I didn't make one. Well they might be able to find time for us, but they did close at 5. It was like 3:15! I think I tried on 3 dresses there and was ready to leave. I was not impressed. I mean seriously, we just wanted to look and try a few on, not take over. This was the only place they wouldn't let us take pictures. By this point my mom was looking at dresses on the clearance rack that we could use the train and make a new top to go with them! We ended up having enough time to go to the Dutch Rose quilt shop. It was an interesting little shop, but not many samples and not real welcoming. We only had 15 min. so we went through fast. Then we went to David's Bridal. I had a 4:15pm appointment and we spent a good hour and a half trying on dresses. Lots of them were neat, but didn't have all the elements I really wanted. We finally ended up leaving. My mom went to spend the night with her cousin Sue who had come out from SF and Nich, Angie, Carter, and I went back to Nich's. She had made supper for us and we all relaxed and caught up on our lives. It's been a year and a half since we were all together. I emailed pictures of the rope dress to my dad to see what he thought and later called and he liked it as did Jim. My friends met Paul at Nich and Jon's wedding and then they came out last summer and spent a weekend here with us which was fun, but that was before Carter. He is such a cutie and was so good while I was trying on dresses! We played with him and just had a relaxing night. Angie is a very well prepared, great parent and I have so much respect for all her mothering skills. Nich and I met in college our sophomore year at SDSU and lived together our Junior year, Angie and I met our freshman year in 4-H and she ended up getting an apartment with Nich and I and her roommate Sarah our senior year. Since we graduated 5 years ago, you can tell we've been friends a long time. Angie even set Nich up with her husband Jon and Nich tried to tell me he was interested in me when we were living together and he would come over all the time. So anyway, we stayed over and because of the time change were up at 6 the next morning.
We took our time getting ready and I took Angie's measurements. Then Angie and Carter had to head home about 9. Nich and Jon headed another direction to visit a high school friend, and I headed back to Sioux Falls to pick up my mom and have breakfast with Vi's family. By noon we hit the ground running. Mom and I had discussed the dress situation and I wanted to look at the possibility of making it. We found patterns and looked at fabric. We started at Mills End Fabrics and found a lot of fabric, some for my table runners, some for the landscape cross banner for the church, and some for coasters for the guests. I also found the LGD pattern City Bag. Then we headed to Joann Fabrics, since we don't have one, this was major for us. They have tons of lace and stuff to put on dresses. I also found a really cool ivory fuzzy fabric to make a jacket out of. While there we found purple satin, lining, and a sparkly satin to make the dresses for the bridesmaids. It was 60% off!!! We also found more fabric for the church banner. We really looked at all the possibilities for making my dress too. Then it was on to Michaels where we found the heart shape grapevine wreaths I wanted to decorate with and the invitations. We don't have one of these either so it was fun for us. We went back to the mall and did some more looking too. Then it was back out to Jon and Nich's for the evening. We discussed the day and took Nich's measurements for the dress. Mom also installed the My Label software program on her computer so we could do the 3D model of the girls measurements. When Jon got home from Symphony, we discussed the music for the wedding. He is going to play the cello for a couple of the special parts.
Monday morning mom and I got going again early. We went back to the Dutch Rose quilt shop and found a few things we needed. Then on to Heirloom Creations. I would call it the Cabela's of quilt shops in SF. They have a ton of gorgeous fabric, but also sell Janome, Bernina, and Viking sewing machines. I found the Miranda bag pattern! I was so excited. I also got the perfect colored thread to quilt my YBR quilts. Then we had to stop at Mills End again for a few more pieces of fabric. I found the coolest fabric there, but if you want to see what it looks like you'll have to email me your snail mail address so I can send the first three people to email me a little piece of it. It's awesome!!!
Then we went on to the dress shop Ido2. I tried on the rope dress again and finally decided that with a few alterations from mom, the price was right, and I liked it, that it would be my dress, so we brought it home. Since I'm not showing Paul until the wedding, you'll have to email me if you would like to see the pictures. I'm not posting them until after the wedding. We were ready to head home by then, so we got on the road about noon. We stopped in Mitchell and went to the Pin Cushion where I found the perfect fabric for another gift for the wedding. Then over to Cabela's. I needed to pick up a gift for Paul for X-mas. I just happened to walk by the shoe section and find purple cowboy boots, on sale that were calling my name! I had to have them, so I got them. I am so pumped that I finally found them. I had been searching all weekend for them. Then on to our next stop, Chamberlain, where they have the most incredible shop for a tiny town. I got some more gorgeous purples and drooled a lot! We also stopped at the western store there, where I found two cheap pairs of jeans/dress pants that fit perfectly.
We made it back to my brothers about 6:30 and he fed us supper and we looked through their wedding pictures. I left his house about 7:30 and made it home at 9. I was completely exhausted, but Paul was asleep, so I just went to bed too.
Last night after a long day at work, I washed all my fabric and weighted it. I brought home 16 pounds of fabric! My stack was probably 2 feet high of just the quilting fabrics. I spent time rearranging my sewing studio and getting ready to sew for tonight. I also worked on taking out the quilting on the baby size YBR. Tonight I have to stop and get batting and then I need to make the tubes for the class I have tomorrow night. It's going to be a fun one, as the weaving makes a bag this time.
I'm still not adjusted to the time change since we gained an hour coming home, so I am still trying to get into the swing of things. I'll try to better at posting, so it doesn't get so long next time!

Purple YBR Baby Quilt

Well I guess I have been incognito for a while. Friday night I went to a Sewing Slumber Party. I got my b/w quilt pin basted and spray basted this YBR quilt. It was just some left over purple fat quarters I had that didn't match anything so I thought I could practice FMQ . The blue really does have purple in it, but reads blue in the quilt. I free motion quilted it and had a lot of trouble with tension, thread shedding, and uneven stippling. I did start stippling about 11, so that might have had something to do with it. I am in the process of taking it all out, because it is too loose. I'll just practice more!

I love the swirly fabric on the borders and it is on the back too. Sat. I worked 9-3 and then went home with my mom. We went to the hall and the church and measured and decided what flowers, decorations, and such we would need. I also embroidered a little thing to put on the back of the tablerunners. We came back to Rapid Sun. night as she had to work this week while the boss was in Houston. We stopped at my brother and sister in laws and picked up some books on wedding planning. My brother gave me all kinds of advice and things to know and showed me the new stuff they got for their wedding. He was like a little kid at Christmas. Monday I woke up feeling crappy, so I stayed home and slept all day. I wanted to sew, but used what little energy I did have to work on my term paper. I got it done and ready to proof yesterday.

Tues. night we went to Scheel's and Paul bought the rifle he really wanted so he could use it for hunting next weekend. Last night I went with my mom to look for wedding stuff. We mostly just looked, but it was still fun. I am so looking forward to going to Sioux Falls tomorrow to look for my dress. It's going to be a great fun weekend.

Anniversary Supper

Tuesday Paul and I celebrated 3 years of dating. We go out to eat quite often, but we never go anywhere fancy. We went to a place about 20 miles from home called The Fireside Inn. You eat by the fireplace and they have the best prime rib! It's outrageously expensive for our area, so we don't go there except maybe once or twice a year. They start with ham and bean or spicy clam bisque soup, then spinach salad with mushrooms and a special dressing or a house salad, dinner rolls, and then the meal prime rib with choice of potato. We never look at the menu, that's what we always have. Well my friend just happened to be our waitress and wouldn't you know they are out of prime rib! I thought Paul was going to die! He ended up having the New York strip and I had Filet Mignon, but still it just wasn't the same. We were both disappointed, but they did give us each a free dessert. Paul took me there on our 2nd date and it was the first time I was there. It is just an awesome restaurant. It's one of those only on special occasions, type of places.
Last night I had really good intentions of working on my term paper that is due next week. Well wouldn't you know we ended up going to wal-mart and supper, so it was 8 when we got home. I was too tired to concentrate on writing a paper! I'm hoping tonight that once I pack my stuff I can get a good start on it.
Tomorrow night is the Sewing Slumber Party at the Sewing Center. I'm planning to work on my b/w quilt and get it basted and hopefully baste the purple quilt too and then probably quilt one or both of them, depending on how long it takes me. We will have supper and snacks there and quilt from 6-midnight! Should be lots of fun, but I'm not looking forward to working at the store the next morning. After work I'm going to my parents for the weekend. Should be lots of fun, but a lot going on too.

Living room to Kitchen

This summer we spent fixing up the house. Paul put in granite/absolute black granite/and pink marble tile in the kitchen, laminate hardwood in the room downstairs (my sewing room), and hardwood in the living room, and tile in the entry way to the house. I'm including some pictures so you can see his work. We also got a new table and chair set for the kitchen, new couch, and new chair which you can see in the picture. This is where the hardwood meets the kitchen tile.

Hardwood Floor

This is the beautiful hardwood in the living room.

Kitchen Tile

This is the kitchen tile and it meets up with the other side of the dining room where there is the same tile square.