Church Banner

Last night I met up with some ladies and we sewed for several hours. It was so much fun to laugh and visit with them. They were making purses. Mom helped me and we worked on the church banner. We got all the landscape pieces attached to the background. Now I just have to sew them down, baste the quilt and quilt it. I'm hoping to be done by mid April, but we'll see how that goes.
The flower girl tried the muslin on for her dress and it was too big, so this weekend I'm going to make another one and see if it fits better. The wedding is fast approaching!
We got a little more snow last night and lots of slick roads the last two days, but I made it home okay.

May/June Quilter's Home

Last week Mark Lipinski posted on his blog that the new Quilter's Home would be arriving on newstands anyday. I asked if they had it at the quilt shop and they get their magazine deliveries on Wed., so last night I went to pick up my copy. I'm glad I got there when I did as there were only 2 left! They had sold a bunch yesterday. I think my favorite article so far is what to pack in the Quilter's Tool Kit.
Since I am going sewing tonight I checked to see if I had everything he recommended. While I do have a seperate travel sewing kit, I don't have quilte all the rulers he recommended as a second set. I do have them in my normal sewing room though. I keep my extra 6X12" and 6 1/2" square and a 1X6" rulers in my travel set.
Does everyone else have a second set of their most prized sewing gadgets specifically set aside for traveling to classes? Or, do you have to rummage around your sewing room, hoping to remember everything you need? I think my $50 investment (50% off notions at Hancock's) has been the best money I ever spent. I have almost everything I need for sewing away from home in one neat, square, 2"X12" bag. If you sew away from home once a month or more, I highly recommend a travel set of supplies. You'll be glad it's all set and ready to go when you are!

Crown Royal Quilt

Several years ago I saw a quilt made out of Crown Royal bags. It was a 9 patch and really poorly done, but looked really cool. I thought I would start saving the bags to "someday" make a quilt out of them. My brothers found out and started saving them for me as did my dad and other friends. I was slowly gaining, I only had about 20. Last Oct. my dad, brother & sister in law went on their annual opening weekend of pheasant hunting season trip to a friends house. They met up with other hunters there as well. One of the couples was from WI and the lady worked at a bar. My dad was telling her about the Crown Royal quilt I want to make, so she offered to send him some. I thinks she sent around 125 bags! I was in the midst of planning my wedding, so put them in the closet until I could figure out what pattern and fabric I was going to use. I made a churn dash block for another project and really liked how easy the pattern was and didn't take much fabric. I kind of put it in the back of my mind to see if i could use the CR bags to make the block.
Last night I was completely exhausted after work, but I really wanted to sew. I figured I was just making a test block anyway, so if I screwed it up not a big deal. I used 2 CR bags and a fat quarter of black fabric. The block turned out pretty nicely and was really easy to make. I'll have to remember to take a picture of it. I think I have enough of the fat quarter left to make a couple more blocks and make a wall hanging to send to the friends who sent all the bags. I have enough for one quilt and I'm still collecting to make at least a couple more quilts. If anyone has any they would like to send my way, I'd sure love to have them. This will probably be an after the wedding project, but I may make blocks as I go if I don't want to do wedding related sewing.

Happy New Year!

I am not a morning person, but Paul and I went to church with my parents at 8 on Easter morning. The priest started the sermon with Happy New Year! I may be a little tired, but I knew I heard him right. Well our church year starts on Easter and that's what he was referring to, but it sure got my attention. After church we came home and finished decorating the house and getting the folding table and chairs up. We had put a duck in the oven and two hams in the roaster before church, so they were cooking nicely. We fixed the other food and my parents came just before noon. My little bro Ed brought his new girlfriend Stephanie to meet us and Paul's uncle Will came over as well. His mom was feeling well enough to eat with us too. It was a little after noon by the time we ate, but it was all good and we really enjoyed some good laughs. After lunch most everyone left, except my parents. Paul went to take a nap. Mom, dad, and I played Rummy and my dad won. I got out the game UNO Attack and taught my parents to play. We all laughed so hard! It took almost 2 hours and I finally won. My dad is a fierce card player. I told him if he won again we were going to play cribbage. I don't like to loose at cards either. At my grandparents we always would have a noon meal, do dishes, grandma would take a nap, and when she got up we played cards till supper. She loved to play cards, but never had anyone to play with except on holidays. So my family plays cards a lot. My parents left about 4:30 to go home, and I was completely exhausted. I didn't sleep in or take any naps the whole weekend, so I was ready to crash. Paul and I layed on the couch and watched the movie Game Plan he got me for Easter. It was really good. Then we ended up watching Big Brother and the Newlyweds. I slept really hard and am still tired today. I have good intentions of making some quilt blocks tonight! It's been far too long since I have been at my sewing machine.

Good Friday day off!

I can't believe I've neglected my blog for this long. I guess that's what happens when you have company.
Thursday night I met up my mom and two of her co-workers and we went to supper together. We had a lot of good laughs! They are so much fun to be around. Then we went to The Sewing Center for Sew & Sews Club. I won a door prize of some green thread. I also saw they had the Janome Sewing Table in stock and the Bendable Bright light. They had the BBL on special so I picked one up that night.
Friday I was off work! So I started the day at the Sewing Center and picked up the Janome Sewing Table. I picked up my dad and we were on our way to a day of looking. We went to several home improvement stores and just did some looking and dad gave me ideas of for his birthday. This is only the 2nd time he has been up here this year, so we did any looking he wanted to do. We put on over 50 miles and didn't really go that far! About 4PM he was tuckered out, so I went home and Paul helped me put my table together, set it up and put my BBL on it. Then we met my parents for supper after mom got off work.
Sat. morning I got up and cleaned the house from top to bottom and did laundry. Paul put in hardwood flooring on our landing by the bedrooms which looks really awesome! My dad came out and spent the morning at our house. When I was finished cleaning dad and I went to a couple stores that we missed on Friday. Then we picked up mom when she got off work and went to the mall and Sams Club so my parents could look. We had supper and then they took me home. I know my dad was completely exhausted again from all the walking we did! I didn't get any sewing in, but I'm so excited to have my new table and light ready to use tonight when I get home.

I'm a Winner!

This week I received another squishy in the mail! It was from Gina in Wales for winning her blog drawing. I was so excited I had to take a picture of what she sent. She sent a tea towl with the country flowers of Wales, which I plan to use as a wall hanging, a book on Welsh Lovespoons, a chocolate spoon, and a coaster. They were all wrapped up nice and neat in a gift bag too. Thank you so much Gina for the wonderful gifts! It's great to have blogger friends.

Landscape Church Banner

Mom came out tonight and we worked on the church banner. We had the cross partially on there. We added the pieces of the landscape. I think the right side needs some more hills cut into it and there needs to be a mountain behind the cross. I'm going to have to go shopping for another fabric to put there and possibly another fabric for the left side. We'll just have to see what we can find. There wasn't anything in my limited stash that would work. I'm pleased with how far along we got tonight.

Design Wall

I won't say I'm genious, but when I need something I improvise or I figure a way to get it done. A couple weeks ago mom came over and we worked on the church banner. It was so hard to work on it since it's the size of a bed and in my little sewing room we weren't able to spread it out. We would take it up, lay it on the bed, do some work, then go back to the sewing room to work on it. This weekend Paul and I went to Menards and got a 4x8 sheet of high density foam board, and to wal-mart for 4 1/2 yards of flannel and last night I sewed the flannel together and stapled the flannel onto the foam board for a design wall.
Yes, it's big! There is a futon next to my sewing machine and I set it on that and was able to lay out the entire bottom section of the church banner. Since the foam is so strong, it is a great wall to lay the fabric out on. Tonight mom is coming out and we are going to work on the landscape part on the bottom of the quilt. This is the part that kind of freaks me, so it's a good thing mom is helping. I'm hoping we can get the fabric for the landscape on so that I can start stitching down the hills.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. I'm doing my part not to get pinched by wearing my green.
This weekend just went by in a tail spin. Paul's mom got out of the hospital on Friday night, so I met them there before Paul took her home. I met up with my friend Becca for supper. We haven't seen each other in ages, but had a really good visit and supper at Olive Garden was excellent.
Sat. morning Paul worked, so I was up at 6:30 when he left, which is way too early for a Sat. morning! I fell back asleep on the couch for a couple hours though. I got up and did laundry and cleaned house till he got home and while he took a nap, I sewed. I put the handles on another mini miranda bag and the velcro closures on two. I really wanted to start another, but I held back. Paul and I ended ups spending Sat. evening shopping for a new design wall for me. I now own a 4x8 sheet of high density foam board and 4 1/2 yds of fleece to cover it!
Sunday, being Palm Sunday I went to church early, thinking I would beat the snow we were supposed to get. I went to church and it was dry, but all through church I watched it snow very heavily! By the time I came home it was slick and we had a good inch. I decided I was staying home all day!
Paul took out the staircase to the upstairs and put in a new oak staircase on Sunday. I just stayed out of the way and it went really quickly. I locked myself downstairs in the sewing room and put the binding on both of my YBR quilts that Jen sent back and I received on Fri. They look so awesome! She's such a great friend for quilting them for me. They just need labels now. I also made two muslin sizes of the bridesmaids dress to send to one of them. The first one was too small. They went out in the mail today, so I'm glad I got them done. I also got the flowergirls dress muslin cut out, so just have to sew that together and have her try it on. I don't feel like I got a whole lot done, but I guess two bindings and two 1/2 muslins is quite a bit for one day! Tonight I'm hoping to get the flannel on my design wall so I can work on the church banner quilt.

Paul's Favorite Picture

This is Paul's favorite picture of the ones we took this weekend. It's out by the old barn at my parents home. I can't decide which one looks best.

Engagement Pictures

Paul and I were at my parents this weekend and my brother and his wife took some engagement pictures for us. We got some good ones, but the ones we really liked didn't upload last night, so I'll have to try again. This is one of the pictures we took.

My Favorite Jacket

I talked last month about attending a jacket class at TSC. It was a three night class and I only made two nights of it, but luckily I was able to finish it in two nights. It's a little wild for me, but I love the fit of it. It's so light weight and fits perfectly. I wore it to the trunk show Fri.g night, so that's why I have a name tag on. The pattern in from the My Favorite Jacket book by Cindy Taylor Oates.

My Name

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I just knew it had to be true. There is no one with my name!

Quilt Retreat Weekend

I think the first part of March is always so busy for me. It's like we feel spring should be here, so everything is planned for this time of year. Fri. night my mom and I went to the Dessert Sampler and trunk show put on by our guild. It was really good and I would say there were over a hundred small items displayed and at least 40 full size quilts we showed. We got to my parents around 10 and stayed up till almost midnight working on the guest lists for the wedding and reception.
Sat. morning mom helped my try my wedding dress on and we decided it didn't need to be let out, but did need to be shortened. We cut off 6 layers of dress! Now she will have to do a couple rolled hems and the final seam. I have to take the horse hair out of the top layer so she can put that back into the seam to hold it's shape. We got done just as Paul arrived. My brother and his wife came out and we met the lady who is taking pictures at the church and did some practice shots as well as looking at the angles in the church and what will look best for pictures. We took some engagement pictures too.
Mom and I went to Wall to the Quilt Banquet and trunk show by her boss Joan. It was really awesome and she is such a talented woman. I would love to make some of the patterns she has designed. I was in awe! My brother, his wife, and Paul went to the play my dad was in.
Sunday we got up early and mom went to teach her class at the quilt retreat. My brother and his wife and Paul and I went outside at my parents and took some engagement pictures. It was so cold and windy, so they didn't turn out very good. I think we'll have to try again sometime later in the spring. Paul and I went to the play and it was really good. Shortly after we headed for home. We were both exhausted when we got home.

Quilt Get Away Weekend

I have been anticipating this weekend for several months and it's finally here! This is the weekend of the Wall Quilt Guild Get Away. Tonight is a trunk show, put on by members (I'm one of them) and then tomorrow night there is a trunk show by Joan Davis (my mom's boss) the owner of The Quilt Corral and The Quilt Corral Too. She designs Gutzy Geisha Design Quilt patterns. I'm so excited to see more of her work. There are workshops on Sat. & Sun. My mom is teaching one on Sun., but I chose not to take any of the workshops because I don't need another UFO. Paul is coming down to my parents on Sat. and we are going to take engagement pictures and practice in the church to see what angles work best and see if we need more light or what. My dad is also in the community play, so we are going to that as well. It's going to be a very busy weekend! Hope you all have a great weekend. I can't wait to hear more about "George" when I return.

February Accomplishments... or lack thereof?

Well I have the same feelings as Jen. I don't feel like I accomplished anything in the last month. I guess taking a weekend out for Stock Show and a weekend for the Engaged Encounter really hindered my progress.
I finished:
Hearts Entwined tabletopper
Flowergirls quilt top
Leslie's Town Purse
My jacket
I also was featured in Quilters Home, got to see Mark's Katmandu trunk show, sent my quilts to Jen to be quilted, and became a dwirler! I also realized my absolute favorite new thread is Superior's Masterpiece, piecing thread. It's simply amazing and I encourage everyone to try it! So there's February in a nutshell. I'm hoping for more progress in March, but throw in Engagement pictures at home this weekend and Easter weekend and I may not get much done.

Strip Club and a 4 Wheeler

This weekend just seemed to fly by! Saturday morning I went to Strip Club at the Quilt Corral Too. It is always so much fun and they show all the newest merchandise. I couldn't believe how many new things they had in the store. They are always getting in new patterns and books. I'm going to make a new purse, so I picked up fabrics for it. I also got some fabrics to go with the panel Jen sent me. I plan to make a wall hanging, but needed some fabrics to go with it. After Strip Club Paul picked me up and we went to the Polaris dealership to look at the 4 wheeler he found. He was so excited when we decided to get it. I don't really care for them, but it's his toy and I know I'll be getting quilt frame and new machine soon, so gotta indulge him a bit. In the afternoon we went to Spearfish and picked up new clothes for the wedding and our engagement pictures we are taking this weekend. We had supper out and came home. It was such a nice day and so relaxing. Sunday I worked on my Miranda bag and finished it up.
Last night I had great plans of sewing on my new purse, but with the new 4-wheeler at home Paul wanted me to go for a ride with him. We did go and it was fun. We also confirmed the meal we want for the reception. I was exhausted and ended up talking to my brother and mom and got nothing done! Oh well there is another day.

Quilt Retreat Table Topper - 1 year in the making!

So I guess I lied about having all my UFO's done. I thought this one was done and just needed to be trimmed, but it didn't have the binding on. I didn't have any more of the purple used for the centers and the triangles, so I put a white binding on it. My mom and I belong to a quilt guild in Wall (about 1 hr. from where I live). She used to go to the meetings, but they changed them to a day she works. Last year I went to the quilt retreat that was held at a little hunting lodge near Philip. There was lots of room, plenty of light, and a great amount of fun and laughter. Granted I was the only one there under 40 there and most were over 65, but we still had a good time. This was the project for the weekend. It's called Log Cabin Variation. I had to work on Sat, so only made it to Sat. night and Sun. of the retreat. Almost everyone else made three sets and put them together in a tablerunner, but since I was late getting there, I only made one set and barely got done. It's 15" square. Granted I'm not a big log cabin fan, but I did learn a lot and I like the little inset triangles on all the corners. This is done quilt as you go style and then the backs are nestled together of each of the four squares. Our guilds quilt show is coming up this weekend and I wanted something to show, so I got this out to trim the tails on the back thinking that was all it needed. I put the binding on and trimmed and now it's done and ready for the trunk show on Fri. night.

My 1st Miranda Bag

I finally finished my first Miranda bag! I had so much trouble with the town purse that I was a bit afraid of making the Miranda, but much to my surprise and excitement this was one of the easiest bags to make. It's too big for a purse, but the perfect size for taking my stuff to work. I always take several bottles of water, a pop, my lunch, a book, and usually something quilty, so the size is perfect for being my new work bag.
I made the entire bottom of the bag on Thurs. night, but was really displeased with my choice of lining fabric as it didn't match. Since it was the faux binding on the upper edge, I wasn't sure what to do, so I took it to the Quilt Corral and asked the girls there and they agreed with my suggestion to fold it over and put a decorative stitch on the top. You can't see it in the picture, but it's just a wavy stitch and it looks really good with the stippling on the rest of the bag.
Friday night I had my jacket class. I finished the jacket, but didn't have a camera, so no pictures. I was done about a half hour early, so I made the handles and attached.
Sat. morning was Strip Club at QC2, so I took the bag as show and tell. The girls loved it and the Miranda pattern was one they featured as a new item.
I didn't realize until I went to put the flap on that I had put the handles on backwards, so I took them off and put them on the right way. I made a liner for the bag-e-bottom and the flap yesterday, so now the bag is completely finished. I have in mind to make a smaller version with the same fabrics, so we'll see how that turns out. I really need a new purse!

I'm a Dwirler!!

I'm officially a dwirler! Yesterday Paul met me at the door with my package from SewThankful! I was so excited I ripped it open with my keys and popped it in the DVD player while supper was being fixed. I even cleared off the dry erase calendar on the fridge and started dwirling! Everything she said made so much sense! After supper I put the DVD in the computer in my sewing studio and listened to it while I was stippling the pieces of my Miranda bag. I spent 3 hours sewing last night and I have the entire bag bottom completed. I just have to add the handles and flap, which I could have done, but was tired, so I quit. That's a project for maybe tonight if I finish my jacket early. I have the last jacket class tonight and hopefully I'll be able to wear it to strip club tomorrow.
I've come to the conclusion that Jen will have a great time teaching this awesome bag and that with a two night class they should be able to finish if they do the bag the first night, and if they aren't that far, have it ready by the second class and then make the handles and flap and sleeve for the bottom the second night. I'm not real impressed with how my lining looks next to the top, so I may have to change it a bit, but otherwise it looks awesome. I'm thinking I may try to make a mini Miranda using the same techniques that I could use for a purse. This will probably be my new work bag. It's a bit big for a purse, or at least the kind I carry.
This weekend Paul is hoping to put the new oak staircase up to the bedrooms from the living room. I will be so glad when the remodeling projects are at a stand still. It seems we've done a ton in the last year. It's supposed to be 62 degrees on Sat., so I'm excited to be out and about, going to strip club and hopefully getting a haircut so I look decent for our engagement pictures. On Sunday when it's 30 as they predict, I'll be curling up with my white board and practicing my dwirling. Yeah. I can officially say I'm a groupie! Have a great warm weekend!

Sewing Machine Caddy

I need to practice my free motion quilting as it is the one quilting thing I'm really not very good at doing. Let me stitch in the ditch, echo quilt or do some cross hatching and I'm fine. Tell me to FMQ and I freak! I've tried on muslin, honestly I have, but I guess since it's going to be thrown away, I figure it doesn't matter and I don't do a good job.
So I read about making sewing machine caddies for the front of the machine out of Fat-Quarters. Don't ask me where because I don't remember. I honestly just read, quilt fat quarters, bind, fold up and sew pockets. I'm not good at following directions. So using that information, I bought several Loralie Design Fat Quarters to "practice" my FMQ on. Wednesday night I holed myself up in my sewing studio and started playing. The first Sewing Machine Caddy I just put two FQ's together with a piece of batting and practiced my quilting, put a binding on it, folded up one edge, and sewed several lines for pockets. It turned out really well, but I hate putting binding on something so small, so the next one I sandwiched, sewed around the edge, flipped it and burped it. I sewed a line around the outside to hold it together. Then I did my FMQing on it. I used a 25 weight thread since I ran out of black thread. I don't know if it was the thread or the fact that I got my rhythm down, but the quilting on this one turned out really well! I flipped up the edge to make pockets and FM'ed the lines to make the pockets. Talk about not wanting to change feet! I got them both done in under two hours. I went back to the quilt shop and bought 4 more fat quarters so I could make some more of these awesome little caddies.
Since I'm giving one away as a gift for my 200th post, I'll post pictures when the lucky winner gets it. So guess who that might be? You'll have to watch your mail to see if you are the winner. It should be arriving sometime next week.

What to do??

Last night I had big plans of holeing myself in the sewing studio and practicing my free-motion quilting. Just before I got off work the priest who is marrying us called to see if we could sign some paperwork since he was in town. We met up with him at Borders, filled out the paperwork and talked about the wedding. He has a wedding the night before, so can't do the rehearsal then, so we talked about having it the morning of the wedding. Since we have people coming from a distance this might actually work out better since they wouldn't have to come down and spend the night. Paul and I talked about not having the formal rehearsal dinner and instead having a BBQ for our wedding party at the river where we are planning to go fishing the night before anyway. Then we could have a rehearsal lunch, so everyone has somewhere to eat before the wedding. Did I mention the wedding is out in the middle of nowhere? It would probably be better to have a planned lunch for our wedding party, so they don't get drunk so fast.
We also talked about the time of the wedding and whether or not to have mass or not. It's something we'll be thinking about and need to decide before May. We could have a 2:34pm wedding with a reception at 5 on 6-7-8 or we could have a mass at 3:45pm and it would be the church's mass for the weekend and it would be a 3:45 wedding on 6-7-8 with a dance at 9. I guess we'll keep talking about it. We both talked to our moms and discussed options, but we really haven't figured out a plan for sure. I guess we'll just have to keep talking and planning, but it helps to know our options.
I came home and pressed all the fabrics I bought yesterday. Since they are QS quality and not going in a quilt, I think I'll just do my FMQ on them and call it good, but I was too tired last night, so decided to wait until tonight to give it a try. I'm still patiently waiting for my PJ Quilter DVD. With any luck it could be in the mail today. Keep your fingers crossed.

Quilt Shop Lunch Stop

In my area there are four specialty quilt/sewing stores within lunch time driving distance. I usually run over to TSC or The Quilt Corral, but today I went to a shop I normally never go to. It's not open after 5, nor is the other one I don't usually go to, so the only time I can go is at lunch. I really wish stores like that would realize that even staying open until 5:30 or 6 people like me would stop by on the way home from work. These two I drive by every day, while TSC and QC are on the other end of town and out of my way home. The shop I went to today has really poor lighting and it's hard to match colors. I needed some thread and wanted to see what they had available. I was hoping for Masterpiece or some of the other Superior threads, but they didn't know anything about them. Interestingly though the other lady there was from WY and she always uses Superior thread. I found a Mettler color that would match exactly and then browsed for a while. I found the Loralie Designs fabric that I really think is cute and got some for a project I have in mind. I also found the new Wizard of Oz fabric. I have a friend who loves WO, so I'm thinking something for her may be in store for the future. They carry different lines there, so it was interesting to see what they now have. I won't be going back there anytime soon, but I'm glad I got the thread I need and now I can start on my project with the new fabrics.

Leslie's Towne Purse

I finally made something! I feel like it's been months since I actually made a finished project. I have been working on a towne purse for Paul's mom since Christmas. Tonight I finally fought with the zipper and I won! I finished the purse tonight and was so glad I did. It didn't turn out like I expected, but it did turn out pretty well. The picture is pretty dark, but the purse is a maroon flower print with black accent handles and the inside is a mauve color. There is a pocket on the outside for her cell phone too. Plus there are 6 pockets on the inside. She really likes it.

I had a little bit of motivation left so I figured out what I needed to do with my Miranda bag pieces. They need to be quilted, but I was too tired tonight. Paul and I worked on our gift lists for the wedding and made reservations for the first night of our honeymoon. We also found a dance class we can take, so we got our spot reserved in that. The next three months are going to go so fast. We are going to my parents in two weeks to take engagement pictures and practice pictures in the church, so that will be done.

Short Weekend

This weekend just seemed to fly by! I sure didn't want to go to work today. I don't feel like I accomplished a whole lot, but that's the way it goes. Fri. night I toom my mom's Jacket class. I got to the sleeves, so will have to put those in, do the hem, and do buttons and buttonholes in the next class on Fri. night and be done. It is turning out real cute, but definately not my normal colors. It's a lime green, orange, and purple.

I got home just before Paul did. He went to Orman Dam ice fishing with his friend Jory. They decided to go to Angostora Lake Sat. morning, so Paul was up at 3:30 and left before 5 to meet him. I went to work at 9 and it was almost 5 when I got out of there. I stopped by Hancock's for their 50% off notions deals and then went home. Mom called and I visited with her while she was driving home. I sewed, but had trouble with the zipper on my towne purse, so quit. I think I need to use the walking foot, but that doesn't really work with the zipper, so haven't figured out how I am going to put it in. Paul got home about 7PM and we got ready and went out to supper. We were going to go to a movie, but we were both tired, so we went home.

Sunday we were up early, then had lunch and naps before going to town for groceries. We stopped by and dropped off more purple ribbon with my aunt for the flowers and then looked at Paul's birthday present choices. He wants a new scroll saw, but has been researching and trying to decide which one he wants. We did our Wal-mart, Sams Club, and Safeway shopping in under an hour and a half, so we were both pleased. We got home just in time to unload all the groceries in the rain. It rained most of the evening and then snowed on top of it. We had supper and then I visited with both my brothers and Mom. I tried my zipper again, but it gave me fits, so I just gave up. Figured maybe it would work tonight. I hate when it doesn't go right and I can't really do anything else until I figure it out.

Hairy Day

Yesterday was a hairy kind of day. Mom and I had planned to go to the fabric store and some other shopping in the evening. I got to the store to meet her and she asked me to go to Spearfish with her instead. I dropped my pickup off at home, picked up my hardanger and rode along with her to Spearfish. It's about a 45 min. drive, so we had a nice visit up and back.
My mom has always had really thin hair, to the point of being almost bald. She had cancer 3 years ago, lost all her hair and it grew back thin again! She wore a beautiful wig while she was having chemo and it looked gorgeous on her. When her hair came in so thin again, the lady who helped fit her wig, suggested she go with a hair piece. It's real hair and it's glued to her head and every 4 weeks she goes in for it to be cut and fixed and reattached. She had the same hair piece for a year and Tues. she got a new piece. Well the color wasn't right, so she went back last night and the lady dyed it and cut some more off and it looks great. My mom still has the bottom part of her hair and so you can tell the true color of it and the two didn't match. Now they match, it's fixed great and she looks like a new woman again. Her hairdresser is an awesome woman and really does a good job with my mom's hair.
After we got her hair fixed we went to this really good mexican restaurant and it was 11 when I got home last night. Sure different than what we had planned, but so well worth it. I am taking a jacket class tonight, so I am really excited to cut out the fabric and start sewing it together. My mom is teaching the class and she is an amazing teacher. She fitted the pattern to me, so it will fit and not look too big or too small.
Hope everyone has a good weekend. I'm working at the Sewing Center tomorrow, so it will be a short weekend.

Jen got the quilts!

I sent my YBR quilts to Jen last week to quilt and today she received them. I'm so glad they made it all safe and sound! I've been nervous about them getting there. Still no Dwirling DVD, so I'm starting to get anxious. I may just have to email them tomorrow and see what the hold up is. My mom came out tonight and we made the muslin's for the bridesmaid dresses and my jacket. I am taking a jacket class on Fri. night and she helped me fit the pattern since I missed class last week. We also discussed the wedding with Paul and his mom, so I feel like we got a ton accomplished.

I'm mad!

Well I'm mad at the President's Day holiday. It delayed the shipment of my dwirling dvd and I didn't get it like Regina and Suzan. I really wanted to pop it in and watch it while I was sewing a purse tonight. To top it off I sent my quilts to Jen and insured them and didn't realize they were going to require a signature, so she didn't get them today. Why don't they tell you this stuff when you send them? Tonight I cut out the pattern for my jacket class and made the muslin. Now I just have to have my mom help me fit it tomorrow night. So I'm not dwirling and I didn't get my future MIL's purse done either. On a good note, I did get a package of blue scraps sent off to Bethany today. I was so proud of myself for having the envelope handy, putting them all in it and going to the post office in a timely manner. Hopefully tomorrow is a more productive sewing night. My mom is coming out for supper and we are going to work on the muslins for the bridesmaids dresses.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This past week just flew by and I haven't had a chance to update my blog. I feel like a really bad blogger! I did write a really long post on Friday afternoon at work and wouldn't you know the internet went down and didn't save any of it!
Wednesday night I met my mom after she got off work and we went to the fabric store and Hobby Lobby. They had their bridal event and we needed a bunch of stuff for the wedding, but were waiting for it to go 50% off. I am also taking a jacket class the next few Fri. nights, so I needed help picking the right decorator fabric for it. She took me out to Arnold's Diner a new 60's restaurant in town. It was really enjoyable to spend time with her and visit just the two of us. I got to open my presents from her too. My parents gave me a new black belt with bling bling on it, a Gypsy Gripper, a new Olfa 45 mm quick change rotary cutter, a notebook cover, bobbin saver filled with bobbins, and bobbin buddies.
Valentine's Day was an amazing day for me! I love Valentine's Day and my birthday! I woke up at 6:30 to my dad calling to wish me a happy birthday. I got ready and headed to work. The girls at work had brought donuts, so we had a long mid-morning break. My two close friends at work gave me a cupcake container filled with purple and lavendar m&m's! They know me so well. Too bad they are $12 a pound, we won't be having them at the wedding! I left at lunch and mailed my quilts to Jen. I also stopped at the Bagel shop for a heart shaped bagel sandwich. After work I went home and my brothers both called to visit. Then Paul and I went to The Fireside Inn for our 8PM reservations. They had changed hands and now it is an elegant, fine dining restaurant. They had four choices for the main course, Lamb Cutlets, King Salmon, Wild Cornish Game Hen, or Beef Tenderloins. We were really were looking forward to the Prime Rib they used to have, so we were really disappointed. We had the beef Tenderloin, but it was really small. It came with wild Pheasant soup, a mini eggplant filled with crawdads, a couple hard as a baseball buns, a twice baked yam in a tomato shell, stringy green beans, and hazelnut creme brule. Neither of us enjoyed the meal and it was really over priced for what we got, so we won't be going back there. We'll have to find a new special occasion restaurant. Paul gave me a 4GB pink MP3 player which I really wanted, so I was excited. His mom got me a new curling iron and hairdryer that I had asked for as well.
Friday after work we packed our bags and went to the Engaged Encounter weekend. It was really a very good weekend for us. We listened to presentations, wrote our thoughts and dialogued. It was a relaxing experience and we learned a lot more about the Catholic faith and marriage. We were both glad we had went. We stayed at the monestary, so got to meet several other couples and get to know them. One of the best things was the Sat. night meal was done by candlelight each couple sat at their own table and we got flowers, wine, and there was music. It was so romantic and the food was way better than our V-day meal. We were completely exhausted when we got home. We layed on the couch and watched the end of the Daytona 500 and then I reorganized my computer table and cleaned my room. It really needed it. I was too tired to sew, so I went to bed early.
Hopefully this week I will get to sew some and finally get caught up at work.

Dwirling

Jen got me started, then I couldn't resist and wouldn't you know this week I ordered the Pajama Quilter Reloaded DVD from SewThankful. I am so excited that it will be coming in the mail any day now. I see Regina ordered it too, so we're really going to be dwirling away! I can't wait.

Bed Quilts

Jen issued a challenge on her blog to show what we have on our beds. I have 4 quilts on my bed. This is the first quilt I ever made. It's from all my high school t-shirts. I made it in 1998-99 while I was a freshman in college. It's King size and my grandma and mom helped me burp it and tie it. It's flannel and all the t-shirts have interfacing on them, so it is really heavy. I have learned a lot since this first quilt, but it still keeps us warm.

This is the one I just finished and it's Queen size, so I love that it goes over both edges and tucks in at the end.

I think this is the third t-shirt quilt I made. It's from my college 4-H shirts. My friend Angie got the fabric for a t-shirt quilt I made her and there was just enough for sashing and borders for mine. It's twin size, but very special to me.



This is the last quilt on the bed. It's one of the first quilts I made from a pattern and LQS fabrics. It is also the only one I have ever had quilted by anyone else. She did a great job, but I chose poor fabric for the back, so I am disappointed in that. It's one of my favorites and I don't let the dog get on this one.

Our pillows usually have pillowcases to match the black and white quilt, but this week I have on a Valentine's one for myself and a cars one for Paul that I made him last year. That's my bedding in a nutshell. I'm sure we don't quite need all the quilts, but I like to be warm when I sleep.

Favorite quilt blocks/ patterns

I've been so busy making things for the wedding that I haven't really had a chance to do anything other than that. I haven't even looked at patterns or books online for several months. Jen's been trying to convince me that the Pajama Quilter Reloaded was worth it. I went to the SewThankful website and it was on sale! Plus I've been meaning to order some Superior Masterpiece thread to try and they had it as well, with a coupon code discount even! So, I ordered both and I'm so excited. It's like a birthday present to myself!It should be here by the end of the week or maybe even next week. I've made a lot (4) Yellow Brick Roads in the past few months and I love the pattern. I also love the Happy Hour book from Atkinson Desings. I'm a big fan of the Gathering Friends patterns, especially Blackberry Island which I have made several quilts from. In the future (when married life begins) I would love to make a Double Wedding Ring. My mom got the templates, so I'm hoping we can learn together. I also make a lot of Carol Doak blocks and have several of her books. I'd like to hear what everyone else likes to make, what blocks people specifically like, quilt makers they like, anything to give me a little inspiration to look online. I never would have bought a quilting DVD without Jen's recommendation. I think other's recommendations are really what leads me to buy products. Please share links if you can. I'd love to see what our Prolific quilters group really likes.

My 200th Post!

I can't believe Jill and I are on our 200th posts in the same week! We really must have a lot to say. Since she's doing a drawing, I thought I would give away a gift as well. I have a quilt pattern I think will make the perfect gift for one of my quilting blogging friends. So leave a comment and I'll pick a winner on Thurs. to receive the gift. What better way to celebrate my b-day than to give a gift!
It was a busy weekend for Paul and I. We took our mothers out to supper at Red Lobster on Fri. night and had a nice visit. Saturday I worked at The Sewing Center. I work there on Saturdays when they have shows which take away some of their staff. We were fairly busy which made for a fast day. When I got home Paul had the carpet torn off the stairs and was working on what he needed to replace them. Then he started playing with his new toy a 4GB MP3 player. It's the one I want for my birthday, so we'll see if I get one just like it or not. I know he bought my present while I was working. We went to Hobby Lobby for more flower stuff and dropped that off at my aunts. Then we went to Menard's for the stairs supplies. We had supper and it was late when we got home. I was just exhausted!
Sunday I slept in for the first time in weeks. I went to church and then Paul and I did some errands. I stopped at the Quilt Corral Too and got the other fabric I needed for my Miranda bag. We roamed the mall and picked up our cake topper and a gift for a friend. Then we went to Runnings and I found the boots I wanted, so got those as well. When we got home I cleaned house, changed the bed, and then decided to relax. I sewed the backs for my YBR quilts, ironed all my fabric for my Miranda, and started making the towne purse for my future MIL. I got about half done with it when I cut it wrong. I knew I was tired, so time for bed.
Last night we met with Fr. Mark to do our FOCUS questionaire as part our marriage prep. I was tired when we got home, so no sewing for me. Guess I'll try to get something done tonight and get the pictures of my bed taken.

Jill's 200th blog

Jill is celebrating her 200th blog with a giveaway! Everyone should go over to her site and check it out. She's getting ready for a St. Jude's quilt retreat and is collecting door prize donations. She's got some amazing prizes already! My 200th post will be my next post, soon hopefully.

Katmandu Trunk Show

Today at lunch I took off and enjoyed our beautiful 38 degree weather (wow a heat wave). I went to the Thimble Cottage Quilt shop. The owner is Pearl Louise and right now she has Mark Lipinski's Katmandu trunk show at her shop, so I just had to go take a peak. It was really awesome and so much variety. I moved through 4 different rooms to see all the pieces and studied the quilting and embellishments. I really encourage anyone who gets the chance to go view this trunk show. I also couldn't help but pick up the next book by Jennifer Chiaverini in the Elm Creek Quilts series. Borders didn't have it, but Pearl Louise did! I found four different Katmandu fabrics in purple, so I just had to pick them up. It was a nice lunch break and I really enjoyed seeing the trunk show. Now I have to convince my mom to take a look before it's gone.

Kristie's Quilt

Just before Christmas my blogging friend Kristie told us she had Grave's Disease and would be having radiation treatments. Another blogging friend Jen came up with the idea to make a comfort quilt for her. I knew I wanted to make a special block for Kristie's quilt, so I chose to make a hat from the same pattern she had recently made a quilt out of. I also included horse fabric because she loves horses and it's a common interest we share. I got my block sent off to Jen and she put the quilt together with the blocks of other blogger friends. She quilted it and put the label on and her mom Cindy did the binding. Then it was sent UPS to Kristie. We had the tracking number and delivery date and were just waiting for it to be delivered. Jen and I stalked her blog and the UPS tracking site trying to determine when it was delivered. Wednesday afternoon it arrived and she loved it! Here's a picture of the quilt and the label.