Back from Vacation and Back in the Saddle

Well, I am back from vacation in Cape May, NJ. We had super weather with good friends. The week went by too quickly! Here is a picture of a couple who tried to stowaway in our luggage. That's Mr. B in the suitcase and Holly is looking to squeeze in.

This one was taken of me and my DH at Sunset Beach. We saw several sunsets and I even got up for a sunrise! We spent lots of time on the beach and lots of time eating! But now fall is here and for me it's a time to get organized and focused.

Since my return, I finished my Round Robin and passed it on. Here are a few pictures of my addition. I added flowers and butterflies using a technique I learned on Fembellish. This lady is so talented and inspiring. She is going through some tough times personally and has taken a little hiatus but check out her blog if you love embellishments!!

These aren't the greatest pics as I snapped them about midnight. The placement of the flowers and butterflies changed a little after I took these but I was happy with the result.

My next project this weekend is to finish my Taste of the Orient postcards. I have received one today which is fabulous. This is from a gal in Indianapolis. She is part of the ArtWeMail group.


Before I left, I received a doll quilt from Amy of Calico Cat fame, appropriately called "Ode to a Dandylion". Here is a picture of the beauty that she sent to me. I love the piecing and she even quilted a dandylion on it (which is an inside joke). Thanks Amy!! Hope we can do it again soon!

Well that's it from here! I am trying to catch up with everyone but you guys were not boring last week so there is lots to see. I hope to be around to see everyone by the end of the week!!

Sewww, QUILT TIL YOU WILT!!

VACATION!!!

I am leaving for vacation tomorrow morning and will be back in a week so I thought I would post before I go since there will be no computers or internet access on the beach! Thank goodness! I need a rest from the technology. This is a shot from last year's vacation. Hopefully the weather will be as gorgeous as it was then.

I am still working on the Round Robin . I have made a bunch of flowers and butterflies which I will share on my return. It was a really fun process! I also have started my Japanese postcards which will come with me on vacation to be beaded. I thought I would post a picture of the bag I sent to Christine in the UK as part of the surprise exchange we did through ArtWeMail. I showed the bag she sent a couple of postings ago. I have made quite a few of these bags now and have become quite proficient! I did a lot of beading on this one. It really is a great summer bag!

Just an aside, does anyone use another service other than BLOGLINES to keep track of the blogs they read?? I am not really happy with bloglines lately. It seems I am getting notifications really late and then 6 or 7 posts at a time for each blog. I like to stay on top of my blog reading since a lot can go on in 6 or 7 posts!! We are a busy group. If anyone uses another service, please let me know.

And finally, a picture of my little boy on his 21st birthday. I told you all about his death defying leap but didn't have my camera with me to post his picture. Hard to believe that he is now an adult!!

See you next week! Try to be boring so I don't have too many blogs to read when I get home!! LOL

Wet and Wild in Connecticut

I am trying to complete a few things before leaving for New Jersey and I am failing miserably, both on the quilting front and at work!! I did get my doll quilt completed and out the door to Amy at The Calico Cat. We did a one on one swap. It arrived yesterday at Amy's house and it looks like one of her kitties, RB, has taken a liking to it. Since Amy's pics came out soooo much better than mine, take a peek here. Amy's quilt should arrive at my house any day now! I can't wait!!

I am still working on the Round Robin. I have the border on and made some of the flowers I was going to use for embellishments. That is the requirement for this round. However, I am not happy with them so I am making more. I am also in the process of cutting fabric on the bias for vines and making bias tape. Might I just say I HATE APPLIQUE!!! There, I feel much better. I will do applique because it will look wonderful when it is done. This was to be exchanged tonight but I guess that won't happen. As my DH so appropriately put it, perhaps we will have this round robin completed by the spring when the robins appear again! He's a funny guy!!

I am also trying to finish the piecing for some Oriental postcards for a swap due out the end of September. I want to take them with me to do the beading in Cape May. I want to have some handwork with me as well as a couple of good books to read. I am currently reading Charles Frazier's "Thirteen Moons". He also wrote "Cold Mountain".

Work is a total disaster. We are on the bottom floor of a building and there was a huge water leak problem over the weekend. I opened the office on Monday and there was water in four of the five offices. The ceiling panels in the kitchen and the bathroom had collapsed due to the water and there was water in our computer closet. Not the way I hoped to start my week before vacation! We did manage to get the computers up and running again. Thankfully there was no serious damage to them. We had to replace our DSL modem and were off line for a few days which actually was not bad. Seems a lot more work was done without internet access. I came in today and there was mold growing on some of the walls. We now have maintenance in here trying to deal with that problem. I leave on Friday for Cape May and Friday can't come fast enuf!!

Anyway, that's how things are here!! Hope things are calmer and drier in your neck of the woods!!

Quilty Show and Tell and a little Catch up!

I haven't been doing much in the way of quilting. I love summer too much and love being outdoors and we have had a pretty busy summer schedule. Just got back from New Jersey where we spent a few days visiting with friends in Long Branch and Neptune. We will be headed back to New Jersey on the 15th for a week on Cape May right on the beach! What a way to bring summer to an end!

My son, Alex, was home last week to celebrate his 21st birthday. He did so in style and gave his dear old Mom and Dad a couple of gray hairs. He decided to go sky diving!! I held my tongue and let him make his decision. He had talked about it from time to time but now he had the money saved from working this summer and decided to take the plunge. I must say the DVD that he brought back was fabulous. It was a (hopefully) once in a lifetime experience. He is now settled back at college in Vermont and we won't see him again til October when we make a visit.

I am still working on a doll quilt (don't worry, Dandylion, I haven't forgot you!!) as well as some postcards due out the end of September and the Round Robin which really hasn't gone round too much! The gals in the group are pretty laid back, maybe we are a little too laid back, but the next exchange is hopefully next week at our first guild meeting for the year. Now that September is here I will be settling in and doing more quilting.

But I do have quilty show and tell!! This little beauty arrived yesterday from Libby as part of her Pay it Forward. After a frustrating day at work, her package arrived just at the right time. I have teased Libby in the past about her quilts made up of "little bits". She sent this to me with a wonderful note that really made my day!! My husband loved it and commented that it was really nice that "someone you don't know" would send such a nice quilt. I told him that, on the contrary, I do know Libby, thanks to her blog and our occasional emails and count her among one of my best blogger friends!! Thanks again Libby for this beautiful quilt! I am currently working on my Pay it Forward projects which I promised for the end of October.




In addition to Libby's quilt, I received this lovely bag in the mail yesterday from Christine in England. She is a part of the ArtWeMail group and this was a surprise exchange. Early in August, she and I were partnered for this exchange and we sent each other a little package of goodies such as fabric and embellishments. The second part of the exchange was to make something for each other using one of the items sent. I had sent her the mauve fabric and the fabric used in the triangles which is purple with butterflies, very Art Nouveau. She sent me this fabulous bag which I have already used to tote my books to and from the library. They say great minds think alike and it must be so because I just sent a bag to her as her surprise!! I hope she loves hers as much as I love mine!


Well, that's it from here! I hope to have some pics of things I have finished to post after the weekend.