Back to Quiting

Here is what I've been working on the most -- my wonky 9 patch.  This has been time intensive to make this.  The directions failed to mention that you must use the pieces in the same direction.  And, each piece needs to be marked with a quarter inch on each corner. And the finished blocks only go one way or so it seems! Oops, I've got two of the same block next to each other.   This is what it looked like this morning.  As of this evening I only have 1 more to make if I go with a 4 x 4 setting.  I'm planning to put it together tomorrow and then decide if I need another row and/or borders.  

Suze at The Thread and I has inspired me to try the Wonder Wallet again (from Lazy Girl Designs). I tried making one this summer and some how screwed it up.  I finally had to dump the whole thing.  Next time I'm reading the directions better!  That will be a great fast project -- if I can do it right!  

My Nolting 18 should be coming in sometime during May.  I've got several tops ready to be quilted but I need to get the backings ready.  So that should be moved to the top of my list along with acquiring some batting. 

Raggs hanging out in the Great Room. 

Happy Quilting All     Bonnie 

Welcome Raggs!

Presenting the one, 

the only 

RAGGS!

The first thing Raggs did in the house was to check out the bear and his chair on the landing on the stairs.  I think he was hoping it was another dog. Ragg's back right leg was broken so he will be doing some slow walking to get him to use that leg more and to develop the muscle in that leg.  If need be we'll bring in a dog physical therapist to make sure his leg gets up to par.  Keep your eyes on this site for more on Raggs.  

No quilting today.  But tomorrow Raggs and I will spend some time in the studio.  Still need to get those wonky 9 patches done!  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie and Raggs... 

One More Day

We're Ready!

We're Waiting!

We're Set to Go!

We'll be picking Raggs up tomorrow. Stay tuned for photos of him. 

In the meantime I will be working on my wonky 9 patches.  (Yes, I'll vacuum the upstairs and the the studio... it needs it!) 

Happy Quilting All!  

Bonnie

Victorian Tea

Thanks to Judy for sponsoring the Victorian Tea.  She really got into the spirit by dressing in a costume... now if we knew whether it was Victorian or not....  The food was scrumptious.  Have you had clotted cream?  Or how about lemon curd.  I'll never turn either down in the future! 

Joan Strong presented some of her Victorian reproduction dolls and gave a brief introduction to dolls from 1870 to 1925.  Joan makes beautiful reproduction bisque dolls to order.  And, if you are so inclined, she can make soft-sculpted portrait dolls.  Joan doesn't have a web site but if you would like to contact her, her email is

jstrongdollmkr@aol.com 

 

 Here are some of the dolls she showed us with a little bit about them.  I believe all of these are Joan's reproduction dolls.  

The doll in the blue dress is based on Empress Eugenia of France.  She was Napolean III's consort.  She lived from 1826 to 1920.  She was a trend setter in fashion.  Dolls of this time period were often based on real people.  They were elegant and not designed to be played with by children.  This dress is based on a gown by Fredrich Worth. 

I didn't get full information on this doll in pink except that Joan used vintage fabrics for her.  The doll looks more child like rather than like an aristocratic lady. 

This doll was described as a character doll.  Joan chose to dress her in more casual style. But she mentioned that there were many dolls of color made with the same elegant dress styles as the blue one shown above. 

Perhaps the sweetest dolls Joan showed were these two dolls. These dolls were made to look like her children.  The boy doll on the left is holding a picture of her son with the a cute smocked outfit.  Joan made a smaller version for the doll.  The little girl is sporting some of her daughter's hair.  Notice how these dolls actually look like children?  Joan said it wasn't until the beginning of the 1900's that people began seeing children as more than little adults.  Thus, dolls followed that trend.  

If you are a doll enthusiast and live in the Mid Atlantic area, you might want to visit Parade of Dolls and Bears 29th Annual Show and Sale on Sun. May 3 from 10 to 4 pm in Easton, PA  (If you want more info please leave me a note and pass on the phone number.  Why don't these people do web pages??)  

Today was vacuuming day and the whole downstairs was done.  And not much else.  Slow and steady is my motto unlike my over-achiever DH who needs to have things done and then is sore and tired for several days!  Opposites attract!  Tomorrow will be a quilting day.  

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

We are so very excited.  Raggs is getting a ride all the way to western Pennsylvania where we will meet the folks who have volunteered to bring him home when they come home from Hilton Head in South Carolina. He'll spend the night with them and then we'll pick him up there. He won't have to go on a segmented transport.  That doesn't sound all that bad except it would take forever.  Segmented transports uses wonderful volunteers who agree to drive the dogs about an hour and then hand them off to the next driver.  Raggs would have started at 6 am and we'd have gotten him at 10:30 pm and still have needed to drive another hour to get home.  So, keep all your fingers crossed that all goes as planned.  Pat and I will drive a couple of hours the night before we're to get Raggs and then do the rest in the morning.  The 5 hour drive home won't be too hard on us or on the Ragg-man.  

I actually did a little quilting this morning. Marked some blocks and sewed a few of the sections together. Then,  I went with a group of my quilting friends to a Victorian Tea in support of Cancer Research.  It was lovely.  The only draw back was it was about 2 hours from home.  Luckily I was a rider not the driver!  The guest speaker was a lady who makes beautiful porcelain dolls.  I'll have pictures to share tomorrow.  And, lucky me, I won the cutest little longerberger basket.  

Now, I'm off to finish the toe of a sock.  I want to get the second sock started before our trip to western Pa. 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie

Here Raggs

Yippee!  Looks like Raggs is going to be ours!  

Don't know how long it will take to move him up to the Poconos.  Wish we could drop every thing and drive to South Carolina to pick him up!  

Watch this space for more Raggs info!

No quilting done.  3 loads of wash done or in progress. 2 toilet bowls swished.  Lots of email and surfing. Quilting -- nothing.  

Happy quilting all.  I need to do a little quilting at least.  Bonnie

We're Waiting But Not Too Patiently

We are on a waiting list at Mid-Atlantic English Springer Spaniel Rescue.  We've been watching all the dogs who have come in to the system and then been adopted to new homes.  We didn't want to adopt until this past weekend as we were going out of town a couple of times and wanted to get a dog familiar with us before we took him or her on the road, so to speak.  

We sent an email to the group to say we were interested in Raggs. He is a most snuggly looking dog.  He was a stray in South Carolina before he was fostered with a MAESSR home.  His back leg was broken but he is on the mend now.  He is a mellow fellow which we like (don't mind watching lively dogs, but mellow is better for us) and he is very small (under 30 pounds.)  He is now listed at 2 but it had been 4 years old.   He does look young to me in this picture.  Isn't he a pretty (um, excuse me,) handsome boy?  No doubt you will be seeing way more pictures of him if we are allowed to adopt him.  

Now, I must get on with the quilting ... I haven't done a thing on it since Tuesday! Yikes! I was out running errands yesterday and actually bought a new collar for our new dog.  Not that we knew we were coming close to getting a new dog! Hum, maybe he needs his own quilt?  

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie

Award!

Thanks Chris!  

Chris awarded the Friend's Blog Award to me.  We've been reading each others blogs for several months now.  Chris does some amazing pieces.  During Christmas she shared the ornaments she has made for her daughter -- awesome!  And, her most recent piece is Blue Portal that really speaks to me. I think the quilting in the stones really adds interesting texture.  Many thanks to Chris for sharing this award.  Drop by Chris's Quilting Universe to see her work.  (and, now I notice she doesn't like all the quilting in the little stones of Blue Portal...) 

My job now is to award this to 5 other deserving blogs.  Hum. . .  how do I limit it to just 5?  

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers ."

So in no particular order I offer the Friend's Blog award to the following bloggers who I follow.  You may not know I do, but I do! 

Marge at http://delawarequilts.blogspot.com/   Marge does so much for lots of people especially notable is her work with Relay.  

Katie at http://mysandbox32123.blogspot.com/  Love her dog and her great outlook on life. 

Kathy at http://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/  Kathy does wonderful work.  Hope you enjoy your time in Paducah.  We're waiting to here what it was like. 

Sinta Renee at http://pinkpincushion.blogspot.com/  Sinta is new to blogging but wow I like her style.  She has lovely photos and we all know how much readers like photos!  

Marilyn at http://northhillsquilter.blogspot.com/  Look at all the quilts Marilyn does. I don't care what she says, she is motivated .... and she's getting me motivated again too!  

Ladies:  Thanks for writing such interesting and inspiring blogs.  I enjoy popping in to read what is up in your neck of the woods.  Keep it coming!! 

Tomorrow I hope to have some new quilts (or old ones for that matter...) to share. 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Package Delivery

Look what came to my house yesterday . . .

No it isn't really quilt related.  But I guess it could be when it sucks up thread and snippets of fabric in the studio. 

I'm not wild about getting it but . . . 

our last vacuum cleaner was well over 20 years old. 

I guess it was time for a new one.  

When I tried it today it showed me that vacuum technology has changed quite a bit in 20 years! 

It almost took our beautiful wool rugs up when it sucked all the dirt out.  

So, I guess it isn't a bad thing.

And check out what else arrived at my house yesterday. 

I won a give away over at Amanda's blog last week.  

A yummy Moda Jelly Roll was in my mailbox yesterday.  

Now I am dreaming about jelly rolls.  

I'm looking forward to playing with this group of fabrics soon. (well after a streak of lightning, a wonky 9 patch and probably one ufo.) 

 It will be great fun to play with these.  

Thanks Amanda!  It is so much fun finding fabric in the mailbox!

Happy Quilting!  Bonnie

We interrupt this blog . . .

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog to make the following unprecedented announcement: 

IT'S OFFICIAL

Dr. Jenny Stapleton Lang

has been granted her doctoral of musical arts from the University of Maryland

Congratulations and Well Done 

You make us so proud.  Sniff, sniff. Grin!

Wow, about all I can say is Wow! 

Flash -- Snow?

Pat was out and about for work today and sent me an email when he got back to the office. 

    Some of the rain was really SNOW falling from the sky.  

Come on now, it is 2/3rds through APRIL!  Give us a break.

The local news said the latest measurable snow in the greater Scranton area was May 15th.

  I forget the year as I was so stunned with the date in May.  

I spent my time today getting the May block of the month ready for my guild meeting tonight. Here is my version of the block.  I love the way the turquoise sparkles in these blocks.  I've already got one quilt made with this block.  And, I've been making blocks to make a charity quilt using the same greens and blues I used for the lap quilt. Hum, I wonder if I have a scrappy turquoise quilt in the future?  

 Now to find or make new blocks for the blocks drawn tonight. The block being drawn tonight is light and dark purple four patches.  I had made 3 for the meeting last month but who knows where they went when I cleaned every thing up last time. (note to self: pick a place to store boms from one month to the next!)  

More happy quilting to everyone!  Bonnie 

It's All About Jen

Busy weekend in Maryland attending Jenny's last doctoral recital.  Here's the stage set for her first piece, Sonata for Horn and Piano by Carol Bernett.  Jen was focusing on modern women composers for the horn. (French horn to the rest of us...)  One thing doctoral candidates are encouraged to do is to add to the horn literature.  Jenny decided to do this by commissioning a piece by Elisabeth Mehl Greene, a graduate student at Univ. of Maryland.  The piece, called Arbor, was for horn and harp.  Wow!  Ms. Greene did a fabulous job as did Elizabeth Ciavolino, who played the harp, and Jenny.  It was a beautiful piece played with great skill.  (hey, everyone said that after the recital! It's not just the mom talking!) I am looking forward to receiving the recording of the recital.  Jen's last piece was for horn, viola, piano and percussion.  I'm proud to have shared a few of my knitting needles with Lee, the percussionist, to play during the recital.  That was a very difficult piece played beautifully.  (Lee, I like the sound of the knitting needles!)  

Here's Jen after the recital -- all done.  On Tuesday she will need to defend all of her recitals for the last three years.  And, then, it's Dr. Jenny.  She graduates over Memorial Day weekend and we will be going down for that.  

Jen is also a quilter so I thought I'd share what was on her design wall.  She's been working on it for a while.  It will be a baby quilt but there is no baby assigned to it.  I like how bright and happy it looks. 

I should be able to get back to more piecing and general quilt stuff soon.  Today I need to prepare for the next block of the month for my guild.  I was planning on doing it on my new EQ6 but the blasted windows computer has gone hay wire.  We are definitely not pleased.  And, if you have EQ6 you know you only can install it 4 times.  I've used 1 and the computer went crazy and removed it when it went through the restore cycle.  It also removed the internet explorer and firefox so no internet access.  But how screwy is this ... it still connects and gets email.  That is a problem for another day.  

I'm off to get everything ready for guild tonight including making more of the Mar bom's that will be drawn tonight.  I lost the 3 I already had. Where, oh where, did I put them... probably with Sharon's green fabric I can't find! 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Lint Bowl Challenge

I was reading Threads of Mine blog this morning.  Besides showing off a darling hat and onesie for her granddaughter, Ruthie talked about how much lint her thread was leaving in her machine.  Which brings me to the question . . . how do you evaluate thread lint?  Ruthie mentioned it had been 2 weeks since she had cleaned her bobbin area and decided she didn't like the thread she was using because of excess linting.   She uses Essential thread from Connecting Thread.  

Essential Threads is what I use most often and I like it.  I don't find it lints all that much. It is reasonably priced and is extra long staple, Egyptian cotton. So, I go back to the question -- how to determine linting.  I keep a little paint brush next to my machines.  So, every time I change bobbins I give a little swish and swirl in the bobbin area.  Every once in a while I take the bobbin mechanism apart, really clean out the lint and oil it.  I also pop off the needle plate to clean it and wipe down the needle shank.  

Has anyone done a time sewn versus amount of lint produced evaluation?  I'm thinking I should probably do one, but how is the question.  So quilters, what do you think of this methodology? Starting with a clean machine, sew for 2 hours.  Take pictures of the lint gathering places -- bobbin, under needle plate and needle shank.  Continuing sewing and take more pictures after 4 and 6 total hours.  Try it with a couple of different threads.  Make sure the bobbin and the top thread are the same.   I feel a Lint Bowl Challenge coming on. 

I will give this method a try beginning next week.  I am sure there are threads that lint less and some that lint more.  I also have a huge cone of cotton that probably will "win" the lint bowl, so to speak.  But, I think I'll keep an open mind about all these threads until I do an actual lint test.  It won't be happening right away, but I could start it next week.  Do you suppose different color threads lint differently? (Is lint a verb???)  

I challenge all of my readers to evaluate their thread using the methodology listed above.  And, report back so we can share the information.  (you can email me at brsinstitches@gmail.com) or add a comment to this post. 

Let me know what you think of my Lint Bowl Challenge? And, more importantly, report back in with your Lint Bowl Challenge results. 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Slow Week

Some weeks I get a lot of quilting done and some weeks I don't.   This is a "I don't" week.  Oh well.  I thought I would share a couple of blocks I'm taking down to Maryland with me.  First is the block of the month.  I really like this use of the Disappearing 9 Patch.  I would be very happy to win this group of blocks!  

The end of our quilt year is coming for Faithful Circle Quilters in Columbia, MD.  We make blocks to thank those ladies who are coming off the board.  This year only our President, Peg is stepping down.  I was happy to make this churn dash in yellow and white for her.  It's hard to get a decent picture of this yellow.  It really is brighter with more depth of color in it.  

I continue to work on the wonky 9 patch.  I've got about 10 blocks done so far. This block doesn't come out square. (scroll down to the bottom to see it.)  That will make it interesting when I get to planning borders and setting the blocks.  Each block fits only a certain way which will make this all the more challenging.  I am looking for a few more light batiks to go with what I already have.  It will be fun to do a little shopping at Seminole Sampler, in Catonsville.  I worked at this store when I first moved to Maryland, about 15 years ago.  They have a wonderful selection of fabric.  If you are ever in the area this is a must see fabric shop! 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Happy Tuesday

Finished last night-- Streak of Lightning quilt.  It's been a top for years until used as a practice piece on the long arm in February.   Then it aged a bit more. Finally decided it needed to be put to use so I put the binding on.  I had planned to do it all by machine and be done with it but there was no brain engaged that day.  So I had to hand stitch the other side.  It sat around a few days before I finally did it.  This will eventually go to Project Linus. 

We got our new cell phone today.  Blasted cell phones.  I somehow broke the connector on the last one.  So, we were able to change carriers in hopes of getting better coverage at home.  New phone in different state means new phone number  too.  Oh well.  Hopefully it really will offer better coverage.  Won't know until tomorrow though. 

Last week I finished all of the items on my quilty to do list.  Amazing. Perhaps I am getting more realistic on what I want to do.  Won't have a really long one this week as it's already Tuesday and I'm just now thinking about it and we'll be down in Maryland over the weekend.  The (future) Dr. Jen has her last recital for her doctoral program.  Wow! Next month we will be down again for her graduation and becoming Dr. Jen for real!  Who would have thought that she would continue her interest in the french horn from 6th grade through a doctorate!  

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Happy Easter

What a Meal! 

if I do say so myself! 

Long time readers might remember I was sick as a dog at Christmas, so today, we had  our Christmas dinner. And it was yummy! 

We had bought a standing rib roast in December because I had found a recipe on All Recipes.  The recipe was pretty strange but we decided to go for it. Basically it said cook the meat for 30 minutes at 375.  Then turn the oven off for 3 hours or so.  Then turn the oven on again to 375 for 20 minutes or so.  And the most important step -- don't open the oven at all! It worked wonderfully. If you'd like to try it here's the site: Foolproof Rib Roast from All Recipes.  The one thing we did that really enhanced the flavor was use McCormick's packaged spice called Montreal Steak seasoning. I put that on the meat before it went in the oven. And, to go with the meat  I made red smashed potatoes and fresh cauliflower.  Dessert will be lemon cake although we are too stuffed to have any now!  

Today would have been a great day to quilt but I wasn't in the mood.  I lazed around after singing at church this morning.  Every time I laid on the couch to read I fell asleep.  Hopefully tomorrow I will get some more blocks done on the wonky 9 patch.  

For those who celebrate I hope your day was wonderful.  

Happy quilting all!  Bonnie 

Animals -- Real and Not

Pat and I were sitting in the former eat in kitchen that is now a nook with a couple of comfy chairs in it. We were probably surfing the net on our laptops when we heard a strange noise.  On the side window a squirrel was hanging around!  Dumb squirrel.  He came back again and we were able to snap his picture.  I can't tell if this is my nemesis or not.  Pat caught one on the bird feeder and went out to scare him off the feeder.  (He did the same thing I did but didn't slam the door behind him hard enough to lock himself out -- plus I was on the inside watching.)  It scared the heck out of him (squirrel, not Pat.)  All the squirrels on the ground scampered off.  The one on the feeder pretty much jumped off the feeder all the way to the ground (from the second story deck!) A couple of the ground feeders are finally back again.  

I've been promising pictures of my bunny for a while.  This bunny has been sitting naked in the studio for many years. (Even did a couple of months in storage when we moved.) How could I have done this to her?  She obviously trusted me way too much!  

Here she is in all her glory with the tulips I bought cause we have NO flowers in the yard.  I have to laugh at this photo because I spread a piece of white paper down, tried to get a neutral background (didn't work... the great room is in the back).  I'm staging a bunny picture?  Have I lost my mind?  Evidently the answer is yes because I am going to buy a foam core presentation board so I can have a backdrop. 5 bucks or so at Staples.  Bigger question is when I will be going to the big city again.  Give me a week or so and then you can see if I have succeeded with the background!  

Here's my next project.  This was shown in McCall's Quilting magazine, I think the February issue. I thought it was interesting and a bit different. After finishing a few things I thought I could start something new. I plan to give this to a friend for her birthday. We'll see if that happens or not!  I am happy the block lies flat.  I wasn't sure it would once I got it all together.  It won't be a fast project like I thought because each corner of the individual pieces need a cross hatch at 1/4".  More stuff to do in front of the tv.  (and I am such a hugh tv watcher, NOT!)  

 I've got a baby quilt ready to sew the binding down by hand.  I had planned to do both front and back by machine but zoned out when I sewed the first side on the wrong side of the quilt.  Oh well. 

That's it from the studio and the decks here in the Poconos.  Dinner is out -- no cooking sounds good to me.  

Happy quilting all!  Bonnie  

Luck Is in My Pocket

Are you lucky?  

Do you think lucky thoughts?  

Do you enter things so you can be lucky? 

I AM LUCKY!

There is no doubt that I am one lucky person.  I have won in the past 10 or so years the following things:

Quilter's Unlimited Opportunity Quilt, 

An American Girl Doll, clothes, quilts, chair and trunk (most were hand made not the purchased stuff!) 

A Janome Jem (yes, a sewing machine!) 

And today, I found out I had won the drawing from Amanda's Busy Little Quilter! Here's what I won.  It's a Moda Jelly Roll.  All more exciting cause I am not buying all that much and rarely buy jelly rolls. 

Check out her blog sometime... she has some wonderful springy looking things hanging around.  She's my BFF right now! (LOL)  So Amanda, thank you from the bottom of my heart --- well include the top, front, back and insides too.  These strips are singing my name ... my bonnie lies over the ocean.... oops.. sorry carried away there. 

Did I do one quilty thing today.  Er, um, no.  But there are groceries in the house, I've done some vacuuming, emptied the dishwasher and I'm running the washing machine through the clean cycle. (what a pain, to have to CLEAN your washer!) And I have a load of laundry that will be going in as soon as that clean cycle finishes.  

Tomorrow's another day. A new quilt is beckoning me... and the sun is shining. What more can you ask for?  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Spring! is Done

Spring! is done... the wall hanging -- not the season.  I am doing the Snoopy Tango (watching too much dancing with the stars... can't you just see Snoopy doing one of those dances??)So, with no further ado, here is Spring! 

Spring! was designed by Kim at Kim's Big Quilting Adventure and you can purchase the pattern at Kim's Big Quilting Adventure Etsy store. This is the second wall hanging I've started and completed this year. This is way different from my normal working style.  My usual modus operandi is starting several projects at once and working on them in rotation.  I may be sewing two and sometimes three different projects when I sit down at the machine.  I have fully embraced Bonnie Hunter's leaders and enders method. I try to have some block or part of a block to continue sewing on instead of using just a piece of fabric.  Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.  My fall back sewing-on-something is my bow tie blocks.  Might need to look at putting some together.  They do add up!

I was very productive at the Wednesday sewing group.  I finished hand sewing the binding on Spring!  I made and decorated a jacket for a naked bunny. (Hey I finished 2 bunnies at a class oh, 4 or 5 years ago. They were hanging around the fabric shelves... probably freezing, ya know, they were naked...) Anyway I decided to drag them out and see how fast I could clothe them.  One got her coat today. I still need to finish decorating her hat and figure out a closing for her coat.  The other one is lonely and naked now!  (so, I've cracked slightly, remember, I was an elementary librarian for years!) I ripped some stitches on a cute little thread holder -- for some reason on the fourth one I tried to make I screwed up and it's been waiting months for me to fix it.  And, I also got some more blocks done for Bricks and Stepping Stones, another Bonnie Hunter pattern.  When it is pieced I'll share it with you. 

Tomorrow's plan is to bind a baby quilt, and start a new quilt with batiks.  It is a wonky nine patch from one of the recent magazines.  (and put clean sheets on the guest bedroom, sing at church for Maundy Thursday, maybe clean a bathroom... etc, etc!) 

Pictures tomorrow of the bunny and the baby quilt. 

Happy Quilting All!   Bonnie 

Spring Decorations

Here's a few pictures of my spring decorations.  In the two bunny picture the bunny on the left is a cheap one probably from Joannes.  But the little bunny on the right I made in a class years ago.  I'm sure the instructor painted the face cause I know I am no painter!  

Now this group of three bunnies are my favorites.  The little plaid bunny is one of several I made for my kids quite a while ago.  This one was Kevin's. I'm not sure where Jenny's is since the move.  The little one to the right was given to me by our good friend, Barb.  Now the taller bunny was made by Sandy, a friend in Faithful Circle Quilters.  For several years, she would make a bunny for each of the auctions we sponsored.   And, I would bid.  It took me several times to win the bid because these bunnies were very popular.  I am sorry that I haven't found her basket of carrots.  The little quilt they are sitting on I won from a raffle.  It came with an American Girl doll, clothes, several quilts and a little chair.  The doll isn't out but I ran across the quilt when I unpacked something!  The bunny is sitting on a chair.  Here's a close up of her face.  Isn't she sweet?  I have a ufo I've started working on -- two stuffed bunnies.  I'll share a picture of them if I finish anytime soon.

Woot, woot!  I had success making muffies.  That would be muffin tops for those of you who don't eat at Panera's.  I really like them and have been trying to recreate them.  I've been using Betty Crockers mini muffin mixes to get this figured out.  And yesterday I was able to make a perfect muffin top!  The BC mixes seem a little more liquid then home made muffins.  The package that makes 6 regular muffins makes 3, mayb

e 4 muffies.  I use the convection oven at 375 for 14 minutes. (And of course, the muffin top pan.)  And yummy muffies are the results! 

Here's an update on the Spring! quilt.  It is almost done.  I have the binding on ready to turn and stitch.  Yes siree!  I am going to have it done by tomorrow!  And, it will be hanging on the wall.  I'll take a picture and post it tomorrow.  (It is too hard to get a decent picture at night.) 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Lunch with Fabricholics Annonymous Retreaters

Back up to Friday when Pat and I drove down to Lancaster for the quilt show.  First it POURED rain.  It would have been far better if I had just pulled a bag over my head... paper bag.  I was beyond tense.  It was raining so hard you couldn't see through the windshield wipers.  Pat is such a good driver but I see things differently than him.  I'd have pulled off and rested while it poured.  Of course, I would have gotten there at 2 instead of noon! 

First off was lunch with Marge Gordon and some of the other Fabricholic Annonymous ladies and some who go to Marge's retreats. Marge runs retreats at the Bird-In-Hand Inn.  We went to Isaac's for lunch. (Yum -- if you have a chance to go there all the food was great!)  Pat was in charge of photos.  Here we are seated from left to right, Joan, Bonnie (that would be me), Candy, Laura and Jen.  Standing behind me is Marge and on the other side is Suzie.  (Ladies I apologize if any name is misspelled!)   

Before we left we decided to get a picture of three out of the four moderators for Fabricholics Annonymous.  Bonnie, Candy and Marge, list owner.  Carol couldn't make it.  It was great fun to spend some time with these ladies who I chat with on a regular basis.  Next time Marge, we need to sit together so we can chat more!  

Pat and I went from there to the "renegade" vendors mall.  (I think they actually call it Cherry Festival or some such thing but it was first explained to me as renegade from the Quilter's Heritage so it stays that!)  We wandered around there for a couple of hours.  At least an hour was spent with the HQ16 people -- Hi Debbie! The HQ16 is a really nice mid arm quilting set up.  The people (I think all of them were from the Quilt Basket) were fabulous but I wanted a little bigger space to do the quilting.  Plus, on Friday, we knew there were several additional machines for sale at the show.  

What amazed me the most is I didn't buy ANYTHING from those vendors.  I was on a mission.  By the time we left we were exhausted.  Internet was down in the Quality Inn where we stayed so we could not read or post anything.  Bummer!  

It is really time for me to get to quilting today.  I've been either on the phone or the computer since 8 am! More on Lancaster trip later.... 

Happy Quilting! Bonnie 

What's On the Way!

 Here is what is on the way to my house.  Well, it has to be made first and then it'll be on the way. I think mine will be charcoal.  (I skipped the lavendar because the room it will be housed in is deep red.  And, the green didn't do much for me...) 

I also had my interview to be a volunteer with MAESSR -- Mid Atlantic English Springer Spaniel Rescue.  We are in the queue to adopt a springer from MAESSR.  We're waiting until after Jen's recital and then we're ready.  See all the beautiful Springers at MAESSR's web site. Hopefully the pupster will make it before the sewing machine!  

Jen:  I had to laugh at your comment.  You are welcome to come try it whenever you want, as long as I have a couple of days to play on it first!  I'm sure I'll let everyone know what it is like once I have it.  I do know I was pleasantly surprised when I was buying thread for it at the Lancaster show.  The thread vendor said that all their threads run on a Nolting. Evidently that isn't true for every long arm.    Wowee! 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

PS -- Spring! is still being hand quilted.  I worked on it today after not working on it since Wednesday.  I'm hoping to get the quilting done in the next day or so.  I'll keep you posted. B.

A Quick Note

We're back from Quilter's Heritage Show in Lancaster, PA.  Enjoyed lunch with Marge Gordon and Candy and some others from Fabricholics Annonymous on yahoo groups.  The Wifi didn't work at the hotel we were staying in so wasn't able to post yesterdays activities.  

We did some major damage at the show -- made the decision on the long arm sewing machine.  Opted for the Nolting 20" with a 12' frame.  Pat was all for me making up my mind today and committing.  I had done enough research that I was ready to make the decision.  So the down payment is made.  And, then we get home and Pat says "do we really have 12' in that room?"  What? I was using info he had given me.  Guess what we'll be doing after church tomorrow??? 

Pictures and more tomorrow.  I'm worn out!  

Happy Quilting Bonnie!

Stashbusting (?) Report

Here's the Stashbusting Report for March:  

Fabric used by finished quilts or giving away:   8.5 yards

Fabric purchased or received free:        .5 yards

Net fabric USED from stash:     8. yards 

Year to date fabric used: 16.9 yards

Year to date fabric purchased: 20.83 yards

Year to date  ADDED to stash   3.93 yards

ARGH!  I am still in net added to stash. That is NOT how to bust the stash.  And, tomorrow I go to Lancaster for the Quilter's Heritage show.  I feel a sinking feeling here.  I can be strong sometimes, but sometimes it is so nice to buy some new fabric.  We'll see how I do. 

I did finish a quilt and gave a top to Jenny.  But, I sure don't see a lot of finishes happening right now.  And, I only started one -- the Spring! quilt.  So, maybe I've been distracted. I know I had two different times where I got involved with a book.  And, I'll admit I surf the net too much... so who knows whether I can garner some finishes soon!  I have a baby quilt ready to put the binding on and I may work on that today but you should see the pile of laundry that is awaiting me! (hey I don't do laundry every week ... well not the entire collection, so to speak!)  

Today's plans: 

LAUNDRY (blech!) 

Handquilt on Spring!

Vacuum (double blech!)

Pay a couple of bills... 

No more procrastination... back to work! 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Quick Post

I'm not getting all that much done... Bummer... the Spring! quilt is taking forever to hand quilt because it is so hard to pull the needle through and my hand starts to hurt.  So, I'm trying not to over do it.  We'll see.  

Remember this post  with the picture of my new purse from Jen?  Jen, this post is for you. I sewed the button on.  I have a pretty great collection of buttons from both my mom and my grandma. So I rooted around in the tins and boxes and found a handful of buttons I thought would go with the purse.  After auditioning them, I sewed this one on.  Here's the skinny on the pattern for this bag: It is called the Salem Bag, sold by Creature Comforts Quilting.

The plan for tomorrow is laundry (bluck!) and getting a back for a quilt that needs to go to the long armer.  And, more handquilting on Spring!  

Happy Quilting!  Bonnie