Monday Meandering 2 - 26 - 2018

What a week!  I try to post a blog at least twice a week but that sure didn't happen last week.  It was a wonderful week but I'm ready for a slower pace this week!

First up was Bonnie Hunter's Jamestown Landing class.  I had a lot of the units ready to go so I was ahead of the game.  I was making string blocks in the morning with everyone else.  I had less than half of them done so it made sense to me to work on them.  

My featherweight in the midsts of sewing.  For once my area stayed fairly organized and neat. Well kind of neat

In the afternoon while Bonnie was teaching how to make the half triangle squares I sewed some together and made the broken dishes unit.  Since I am a stickler about ironing I really only got one block together.  However I did continue to make the units.  

Here are some of the finished blocks.  Mine is the light turquoise in the middle.  It amazed me how it really went well with the other colors. 

I got a kick out of these quilty looking shoes.  Sorry it isn't a great photo but I thought they were fun. 

Wednesday evening I went to Bonnie's trunk show.  I know I've seen many of the quilts in books or online but there is just something about seeing them in person. I'll try to remember to share a picture or two in upcoming blogs. 

I was able to sew on these blocks several times this week but not enough to make all that much progress.  I laughed at the one block I made on Thursday.  It was wrong by one turn of one piece.  Sigh. I've put this away for a few days so I can get some other things finished. 

Friday Mary and I went to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt show down in Hampton, Virginia.  We go for the day and enjoy the quilts and the vendors.  I had quite a shopping list and was ready to spend some money if I could find what I wanted.  In the end I was disappointed.  One thing I like to do is get my long arm thread at the Superior booth.  Turns out this year they had really cut back on the colors of So Fine thread they carried.  I had 6 cones I was interested in and they only had 2 of them.  The discount applied to 3 so I didn't get any of them.  Now, I'll have to find another source, hopefully one whose price is lower than Superior's online list price with reasonable shipping costs. 

I did buy a roll of Pellon batting that I've already cut off a hunk to use.  I like Pellon's bats, especially the ones with some poly in with the cotton.  I was able to buy a roll of 80/20 cotton/poly.  Getting it to Mary's car wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be!  

Saturday was a fast trip to Maryland to see Natalie play basketball.  She can't shoot but boy does that girl have hustle!  She's in a kindergarten league. It was a lot of fun to  watch the girls try to play basketball. Amazingly some of them can actually shoot baskets.  Natalie, not yet.  But with her hustle she'll probably be able to eventually. 

Sunday we stayed home.  Phew, I needed a day of rest.  Except I didn't.  I loaded up the backing for the Plus quilt and started quilting it.  I finished 3 rows (or was it 4?) and finally quit as I was tired. Here's a sneak peek.

This quilt, finished, is my One Monthly Goal.  I am really trying to get it finished by the end of the month.  And I am hoping the Alphabet Challenge quilt is completely done too.  Hopefully I will succeed! 

Usually I post my weekly goals on Monday.  I think I'll move them to a different day of the week.  Hum, now which day makes the most sense?  I'm still thinking about that so for now, my goals aren't going to be posted.  Just know that I am still working on them, diligently! 

That's it for me now. With any luck I will remember to share my purchases from the last week. I'm looking forward to spending a bit of time cruising on the Internet this week since I didn't do much of that last week!  I'm linking up with my regular Monday linky parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Making, Moving It Forward, and Main Crush Monday. 

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie 

Stashbusting Report October, 2014

It's not too bad numbers-wise but wow am I late with them!

Here's what I did in October:

2014	Fabric In Month	Fabric in Year	Fabric Out Month	Fabric Out Year	Total In or Out Year
October	6.50	84.750	6.125	64.750	-20.00

I may have overstated how much I brought in, but if I did it isn't by much. I can't remember how much black and white fabric I bought while I was at the beach.  Much of it has already been cut up and in units for Easy Street.  

I thought November would  be great for finishing a few of my things so I could USE more fabric than I acquire...but that is definitely NOT happening.  Do you know about Craft Town Fabrics? Go visit them here.  Notice where it says, Don't Miss a Single Flash Sale?  I did that awhile ago.  They have some great sales.  Yesterday they had 10 pages of fabric at $3/yard.  I went a bit wild.  Of course, what I bought was NOT backings that I actually need to finish a few quilts.  I think I ended up with 12 yards of fabrics.  Mostly for charity quilts.  I'm happy to enable all you wonderful readers too.  

I've goofed off long enough this morning.  It's time to quilt. 

Happy Quilting All!  

Retreat Rewind

Twice a year I go on quilting retreats.  They are both sponsored by quilt guilds.  They are wonderfully refreshing and offer quilting time without pressure of cooking, cleaning and doing the laundry.  And, they "feel" very different. I wouldn't miss either of them.  Here's the story of the Faithful Circle Quilter's retreat from a couple of weeks ago. 

It was a rainy Friday when I backed my car close to Sharon's and off loaded my stuff.  She agreed to drive through the pouring rain, across the Bay Bridge and to the location on the Eastern Shore.  We made one stop to meet some of the retreaters for breakfast. Yep, we were ready to leave shortly after 9 am. Next year, we'll have to plan to attend rather than just show up.  It was a great way to start the weekend. 

Next stop the local quilt store, Peggy's Sewing Center in Centreville.  I was in the shopping mood and found several pieces of fabric to buy.  And, it's always fun to help others pick out their fabric.  Here are Sharon, Mary Beth and Eleanor finding some fabrics.  There was a good selection of fabrics and very reasonably pricing.   

The rain continued to pour down.  We hung around a little longer just to stay dry. Ha!  It made no difference what so ever!  We were parked close but still got wet.  A short drive brought us to the retreat location, a Methodist retreat center.  The rain continued unabated.  We decided to unload with the car backed on to the sidewalk as close as we could get to the overhang.  We still got drenched.  Although the machines didn't get hurt at all!  Some retreaters had to immediately change into dry clothes they got so wet. Sharon and I air dried just fine.  

Food was plentiful and tasty.  Sharon and I room together and set our machines near each other but we tend to sit at different tables at each meal in hopes of chatting with all the other retreaters.  Discussions were always lively with whatever group we sat with. Wow!  I didn't realize I also had evidence of the rain.  Check the windows in the back to see how much rain was coming down! 

Eventually the rain began to taper off.  Well, midway through Saturday.  We wondered if the grounds would flood. But as long as the electricity flowed we were content with our sewing. We had a few of these turkey vultures hanging around.  After watching them for awhile we decided this guy was trying to dry off his wings.  He was sitting on one of the buildings that had the bedrooms in it.  

Here's Paula, our intrepid retreat organizer.  She did a great job finding this location and organizing our activities.  She made the pinwheel blocks that Sharon taught but somehow sewed them together differently.  But that turned out fine as Sharon used them as a design feature with a couple of more blocks.  We will have 2 more children's quilts to donate to kids in need once Sharon gets them quilted.  

Paula did a great job on gathering prizes for the weekend.  I was lucky enough to win one of them.  The most interesting item in mine was a hot pink plastic mesh.  I'm pretty sure I see a tote bag in my future.  Anyone have any patterns for plastic mesh? 

When the rain finally stopped we were able to walk down to a river that flows into the Chesapeake Bay.  Sorry I can't tell you which one. This is what I was looking at as I sat at my sewing machine.  I took a walk out to this spot to view the river and snap a photograph. 

Sunday came all too soon unfortunately.  Our big fear was getting caught in bridge traffic on the way home.  Several of the gals who came over after work on Friday night in the pouring rain ran into a massive traffic tie up.  Some were on the road (evidently not going anywhere) for four to five hours.  Just to put that in perspective the drive should have been about an hour, 15 minutes.  YIKES!  Happily there were no backups at the Bay Bridge on the way home.  I was sad to have the retreat end but I was on my way to visit the grands. 

Here are a few more photos of quilts from the retreat. First up are underwater things made by Stephanie.  The guild is having a Project Linus challenge.  Those participating were given a brown bag with fabric in it to use to make the quilt.  All of the fabrics are polka dots.  Stephanie used hers to make her various sea life.  Love how the background fabric works! 

This one is Eleanor's.  She's setting her thank you blocks from being our fearless leader.  She was buying the setting fabrics at Peggy's with help from everyone who happened to be there then. 

 And finally, Nancy finished putting this top together.  The blocks were a block of the month from a quilt store in the West, maybe Arizona?  She was tickled to get it to the top stage.  I wonder if she is planning borders or not? 

If you ever have a chance to go on a quilting retreat -- give yourself a gift and GO.  I get a lot done and have a great time with my fellow quilters.  This one is  even better for me because I don't get to see these gals all that often.  I was tickled to see several younger gals joining us this year.  It was great to make new friends!  

Happy Quilting All. 

Lookie, Lookie!

Shoe shopping didn't happen this week...I'm hoping for next week.  But Diana and I did go up to Charlottesville to shop at Cottonwood.  Fun, fun fun!  I don't know how we do it but we spent over 2 hours at the shop.  I bought a book and some fabric.  The fabric on the left is for a Small Quilt Talk chat group 6" charm swap.  The batik on the right is probably for a rail fence swap at an upcoming retreat.  Heck, do I really need a reason to buy some fabric??? 

Pat made a special point to come back in the house today to bring me this box that was delivered.  What? A box for me?  From a name I didn't recognize??? Oh, yeah.  I won another blog contest.  (Have I ever told you how lucky I am???)  Thelma at Cupcakes N Daisies was getting rid of her "scraps" from making two quilts using Simple Abundance by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.  So, I added my name to her drawing and I WON!  She notified me Wednesday and I got this box today.

 Here's what greeted me when I opened it up.  

I just had to take the fabric out and play with it.  Yummy stuff.  And, you know I count every piece of fabric coming in and out of my stash... I haven't measured the smaller pieces but between fat quarters and yardage it is already over 10 yards.  Wowzer!  I have a plan for a quick (hopefully it'll really be quick) quilt.  I'd like to get it started and done in 2 weeks.  Hum, said that way it doesn't sound likely...but you never know!  I'll keep you posted though. 

I leave you with my neighbor Jennie's Peep House.  Oh yes, that is an honest to goodness Peep in a graham cracker house with flowers.  Too, too cute.  And, look at the edible grass...

Here he is all wrapped up. Jennie does a wonderful job on presentation. Notice his matching yellow bow. 

The side of the house with a lovely flower garden. 

Doesn't he look all snug in his beautiful house? 

 He's checking you out as much as you are checking him out!  Peep, peep!   Watch out little Peep.  You are on the menu for dessert tomorrow.  I'll let you know how it goes.  
 
I'm still putting all the pieces of the next scrap squad together.  I have most of the rows sewn.  I am adding 2 more rows on the bottom and 1 more column.  But, I'm having problems cause my design wall isn't quite big enough.  I hope to get some more done on it tomorrow.  If I can just get the center done I would be happy.  My new Quiltmaker magazine came in yesterday which means we will be revealing our quilts over the next 6 weeks.  Lots of cute quilts in this issue -- hum some more quilts I'd like to make!  


Pat and I will be singing two services tomorrow.  At least it's not three services starting at 5 in the morning like we used to do in Maryland!  For all who celebrate have a joyous Easter.  


Happy Quilting All! 

EARTHQUAKE!

Yep, we had a little earthquake here in Central Virginia.  5.8 on the Richter scale.  We live about an hour from the epicenter.  But I was off shopping in Richmond.  Nice ride and I really didn't think it was an earthquake.  I thought a big train must have been going by close by.  No, no train going by.  Definitely an earthquake.  Within about 15 minutes both of my kids had checked in with me.  


Here's my earthquake damage.  Yep, a plastic bag fell down from the shelf. And that's it.  I didn't even see anything that moved on table tops or shelves.  Much better than a couple of my neighbors who had a little breakage.  


And now we're getting ready for hurricane Irene. We'll probably only get rain and we'll be in Maryland over the weekend. 


After the quake, I kept shopping.  And, YEAH!  I've got a dress for the wedding and I love it!  Only downside is I need black shoes.  I checked out the two pairs of nice black shoes I own.  Here's what I found.   I have no idea what happened to them.  I dropped them on the floor and stepped into them.  They were stuck to the hardwood floor.  The soles were completely rotted out. Yikes.  The second pair had a broken strap and and didn't fit. So both of these pairs were dumped in the trash.  Next week my "consultants" and I are going shoe shopping. 


No quilting has been done yet this week.  Today I'll be quilting the red and white baby quilt.  I'm irritated with my backing.  The quilt is 42 1/2" square.  But the backing fabric is only 40" wide. ARGH!  So today I will piece the back and then load it up on Ruthie.  Pictures will be posted after I get it done.  At some point I need to cut some binding for it and the last two quilts.  


Now it is off to the Y so I can do my walk.  


Happy Quilting All!