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.