Hometown Meme

I am not a big fan of memes but I thought this one was neat because it gives everyone a little sneak peak into everyone else's "neck of the woods". I saw this on Amy's blog, http://www.thecalicocat.blogspot.com.

Imagine you’ve made a connection with another blogger who lives in a completely different part of the world than you do. This blogger is about to take a trip and the connection you’ve made is so strong that she is going to make your house one stop on her trip. (Yay!) Unfortunately she can only stay at your place for 24 hours (boo!), but she’d like to see some nearby sights while visiting with you.Keeping in mind that time is quite limited so you have to stick pretty close to home (although not necessarily right IN your town - just anyplace you could go as a day trip), try looking around you with the eyes of someone who has never seen your area and tell us some things you’d share with…

A Visitor to Your Hometown

1. Your visitor wants to see something historical. Where would you take her and why?

I live in the center of Connecticut and every destination is 90 minutes or closer. I work in Hartford, CT so, If it's wintertime (BRRRRR! and UGHHH!) I would take her first to the Mark Twain House and then around the corner is the Harriet Beecher Stowe House where there is an awesome quilt display right now. Then we could go to Bushnell Park and take a ride on the one of the oldest carousels in America. If it's the summer, (MMMM! Sunshine!!) we could head for the shore and visit Gillette's Castle and the Goodspeed Opera House. Or maybe you're a gambler, we could stop by Foxwoods Casino or Mohegan Sun Casino and try our luck!!

2. She wants to see something hysterical…well, mildly amusing anyway. She’d even go for cute, quirky, odd, or unique. Where would you take her and why?

Just an aside, There is a house across the lake from where I live in Wolcott, CT, that is shaped like the hull of a boat, which is kind of neat and on sale for only $850,000!

3. She wants to take some beautiful and/or interesting photos to fill her albums when she gets home. Where would you take her?

While we are in Hartford, we could go to Elizabeth Park (if it's springtime) to see the fabulous rose gardens and a picture of the Mark Twain house is a must-have! Of course if we head for the shore, Gillette's castle will be an awesome picture both inside and out and we would definitely stop by the ocean for a view of the waves!!!

4. She’d like to buy a souvenir that will remind her of your area every time she sees it. What would you suggest and where would you go to get it?

I'm sure we would find something at the Mark Twain House. If we stop by the Casino, which is not far from Gillette Castle, there is tons of shopping there or we could stop at the Outlet Stores!

5. Wow, it’s been a long day and you’re both ready for a snack, or maybe even a meal. Where would you take her to really get the flavor of your area?

If we are in Hartford, I would take you to Max's in West Hartford for the Raw Bar. If we are on the shore, the Griswold Inn is the place to go! It has been in operation as an inn since 1776!

Wowww, I always think of Connecticut as boring but there is some good stuff here! I think I need to take a road trip!!

A half hearted attempt at blogging

I haven't been feeling very bloggy lately but I have been visiting everyone and leaving my 2 cents here and there!

The last week or so has been rough. On Monday of last week, I lost my favorite aunt Angelina, better known as Aunt Angie. She was 85 and had been ill for some time. It was a blessing but I was really sad. She was the first Italian to enter our mostly Irish family, and Sicilian to boot!! She was so full of life and loved to laugh. Of course, she was an awesome cook. She was married to my mom's baby brother but was much than he. But she had the most beautiful skin and never looked her age. When I married my DH, she was thrilled to have another Italian in the family. She always had an extra special hug and kiss for him.

On Monday of this week, I lost my uncle Norman. He too had been ill for some time. He was my dad's little brother. He married late in life and had lived with my grandmother right down the street from us when we were growing up. He and my Dad used to sit on Sundays and watch football. In the summer, he would come to our house and play cribbage or horseshoes with my Dad. My Dad passed away 10 years ago. I guess now he has his cribbage partner back.

It seems to me that more people pass in the winter than any other time of the year. I wonder why?

On the brighter side, I am preparing for my quilt retreat with 15 gals from my guild. We leave early Friday morning. This is my birthday present to me. My birthday is Sunday and I can't think of a better way to spend it than quilting with my girls! I have two lap quilts cut and ready to go, some flannel squares that I am going to make into HSTs for kitty quilts, one in cowboy prints for Bailey and one in pinks for Holly. (They need separate accomodations in front of the propane stove. Holly is not a good sharer!) I am also bringing the ill fated hat I have been working on for Alex. It is moving along slowly. Hopefully, I'll have it finished before the snow melts!

My camera has been on the fritz so I don't have any pictures. I know I am long overdue to post some quilty pictures but it is supposed to be ready for me to take on the retreat so I will have pictures to post after the weekend.

BTW, I want to wish a Happy Birthday to Amy!! http://thecalicocat.blogspot.com
She and I are both Aquarians and Dandylions! (She knows what I mean, tee hee!)

Sewww, everybody try to stay warm (or cool, if you are in Australia) and quilt til you wilt!

A New Year but not much is new

Although we are into the second week of the new year, I can't say much is new. Holly and Bailey are now established members of our family. Holly seems to be able to squeeze herself into the tiniest sliver of space between my DH and I to sleep at night. She has an enormous fascination with the toilet and basically runs the show. Bailey is more aloof. He sleeps at the bottom of the bed. He just follows his sister around and deliberates over whether to get involved in her hijinx or not. They seem to be keeping each other amused during the day and we haven't had any huge kitty catastrophes...yet. :)

On the quilty front, I finished my Christmas quilt for Bob this weekend including sleeve and label. LOL. Well better late than never. I will post a picture this week once we hang it. I am putting together a class demo for my friend, Diane's shop on the use of Angelina Fibers. Having lots of fun with that!

I am planning my projects for our quilting weekend at the end of January. I cut two lap quilts last night from a pattern called Crazy Eights. It uses 8 FQs. I cut one from homespun and plaids to give my DH for our anniversary. He has been complaining the quilt on our sofa is too short. I also cut one from lighter plaids for the spring.

I have picked out my medallion pattern for our Round Robin which starts in February. It's not supposed to be larger than 18' on a side but mine is 16 by 24 and I AM IN LOVE WITH IT. So, I will have to do a little whining to the other members when we exchange.

I also picked up a Moda panel of Valentine postcards which I cut up and will be playing with over the next couple of weeks. I got some groovy Art Glitter that I want to try on them!

And, I am starting a Art Journal class on Saturday at a cool quilt shop in Northhampton, MA. which is about an hour from my location in CT. There are three of us going from my guild so we will take turns driving. It's a once a month class for a couple of hours on a Saturday. I'm really looking forward to that.

I also am knitting a hat for my son which I promised him last year. I've had to start it THREE times but I seem to be on the right track now. If I can only get my kitties to stop swatting at my needles!!

Sewww, I guess I have a few things in the works. I find the winter months difficult. The lack of sunshine, the early setting of the sun, not to mention the cold weather (though we have escaped the cold so far here in CT). The winter has an adverse effect on me. I have a hard time motivating myself to do much of anything and feel grumpy most of the time. I wish I could hibernate til April. Ironically, my birthday is in JANUARY.

Well, enuf of this!

Maybe, a gratitude will help. I am thankful for:

1. my new little kitties,
2. my patient husband,
3. my quilting friends here at home and the internets..

It's a Wonderful Life!!

I wasn't planning on posting again until after the New Year but I got a Christmas present from my DS, Alex, that just couldn't wait!!! I'm sure you have all seen the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. It is one of my all time favorite movies. With that in mind, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you a new family member,

GEORGE BAILEY a/k/a Bailey. This isn't a great picture of Bailey but it's tough to get a shot of him when he isn't on the run!

And to keep him company, his sister, HOLLY! I wanted to name her Zuzu. But I was outvoted.

Holly is a typical girl. She loves to look at herself in the mirror!

I have been whining for some time now about getting a cat. I mean, what's a quilter without a cat or two or three??? :) We had a wonderful cocker spaniel, Sanderson, who was with us for fifteen years. After he died, we decided we didn't want another dog because what dog could top our Sanderson?? I have always loved cats but my husband had never had a cat and he was a little skittish about the whole idea.

At Thanksgiving, we were at my "little" brother, Mike's house and his family recently got 2 kittens to replace their cat, Gus, who had recently died. That's when the "whining campaign" began in earnest.

My son, Alex, arrived home from college on Saturday with these two cuties! The vet clinic where he got them did not want them separated so he took them both. They are almost 4 months old. My husband has already taken about 1000 pictures of them. Needless to say, he is now in love. This has to be the best Christmas present I have received in years!!!

Merry Christmas and God Bless Us, Everyone!

This is my little Christmas baby ornament which has been on my desk for December. Every time I look at her, I smile. :) This is my last posting til after the New Year. I need to CHILL as my son would say.

I just want to take this chance to wish all my blogger gals and their families a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! No matter how you celebrate the season or who you celebrate it with, I hope that your day is full of peace, love and joy. I think that all of you are ready based on all the preparations and decorations I have seen on your blogs.

After our tree misadventures, things have settled down a little.

My son will be arriving home on Saturday from college. My mom is coming in from Florida and we are having about 20 people for Christmas Eve dinner. So I will be pretty busy the next few days with food shopping, last minute gift grabbing and wrapping, etc.

Next week, my DH and I are headed to NYC to look at the windows at Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Barney's. I'll take some pics to share. We are then meeting our good friends from NJ, Southside Susie and Radical Ron, for some post Christmas cheer.

BTW, HGTV had a special called Holiday Windows 2006 which showed the windows and how they come together. It was good! Any whooo, May your day be MERRY AND BRIGHT!! and until next year, Quilt til you wilt!~~

The Super Secret Challenge Quilt

I can finally unveil the super secret challenge quilt. This challenge was put together by an incredibly talented quilter named Barbara in our guild. She comes up with our annual challenge every year. Last year was "Ode to String" and my String quilt in reproduction fabrics with a "touch of orange" came out of that challenge. I posted a picture of that quilt in June.

This challenge was called "A Painter's Palette" and was offered to 8 members of the guild with no idea what the challenge was other than it was a wall hanging and it would be due in December. Each person who took the challenge was given an envelope and in it was a picture of one of Monet's impressionist paintings.



The challenge was NOT to reproduce the painting in fabric but to capture the essence of the painting in your quilt. Any color used in the quilt had to be found in the painting. The difficult part for me was once I saw the painting, I had a hard time coming up with an idea. The challenge was given out in June and come October, the flames were at my fanny to get started. I found a super pattern called "Frames" by Maple Island Quilts. Since this was to be my "masterpiece", I thought it was perfect.

I used the Stitch and Flip technique to make the flowers. I made about 15 different flowers and then spent about 2 weeks auditioning the flowers on the quilt. I'd add some, step back, subtract some, move them around. Too much yellow, not enough red. I almost drove myself to madness!!! All the fabric, other than the flower frame, was hand dyed by me at a workshop our guild held a couple of summers ago. My original idea was to bead the flowers but when I went to the drawer with all the beads. I found this embellishment kit I had bought at a show and the boa yarn was in it. I put the yarn along the edge of the flowers and the beading idea went right out the window.

I really loved this challenge because I had to come out of my comfort zone. It was also nice to be working on something really bright and springy at Christmas. It was a nice break from the holiday hustle bustle.

O Christmas Tree, Part Two

As you know, the Grinch stopped by our house the other night and tipped over our Christmas tree. My DH and I spent over an hour trying to get the tree to stand upright. ( this tree had spine problems!!) We decided to donate the tree to our birds who are now using it as a Christmas clubhouse.

Here is the replacement! This is my DH, Bob! Or as he is known in these parts, Mr. Christmas!!

This tree came prelit with 1000 lights. We added an additional 400 for good measure. It was pretty easy to set up and is 9 1/2 feet tall. We will finish decorating this one and the decorating will be done.

Now, on to present wrapping, Christmas card writing, cookie baking, more shopping, and of course, quilting and knitting!!!

The Grinch Was at My House Last Night

As many of you gals know, my DH and I have been working diligently to get all our Christmas decorating done. We were working on the last tree, which is a real tree and about 10 feet tall. Well, last night as we slept, the Grinch stopped by our house and KNOCKED OVER our beautiful Christmas tree. It is now lying in my den with broken ornaments all around. We didn't have time this morning to try and set it upright again so it will remain on the floor til we get home from work tonight to try and set it upright. BAH HUMBUG!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made the switch to BETA

After trying to post to Beta blogs and being denied, I made the switch. Seems to be ok. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Since I switched, I thought I'd try to load a pic and see how it works. seww, here's another Christmas tree!

This little feather tree is in our bathroom. I bought all the little ornaments at a gift shop which went out of business. Again, boo! hoo! I hate when little novelty shops aren't able to make it! You never find things like this at Walmart!

And my little Irish snowman was a gift from my DH last year! I actually have two of them. They are so cute.

O CHRISTMAS TREE, O CHRISTMAS TREE

As promised, here are pictures of some of the smaller Christmas trees we have decorated throughout our house. This first tree is set up in my sewing room. All the ornaments are sewing or quilt related. The garland is made up of little spools wrapped in red plaid. You might recognize my little mascot on the tree, Ms. Quilt Til you Wilt. I also have a series of Hallmark ornaments on the tree and each ornament has a thimble. You can see Thimble Santa and the Thimble Mouse. I really love the sewing machine ornament. It reminds me of the Singer treadle machine I learned to sew on.

This second tree is in our bedroom. It's a new addition this year. We bought the tree from a store which was going out of business. It was used as a display. It's perfect for showing off all of our Margaret Furlong ornaments. I'm not sure what they are made from but each ornament resembles a shell angel and each year the angel was holding something different. This one is holding a floral garland. They stopped making these ornaments about 3 years ago. We were really sad!! :( Of course, we have Santa counting down the days until Christmas and our trio of snowpeople.



Last night, my DH began putting ornaments on our real tree. We cut it down on Saturday. We forgot to bring the tape measure so we just "eyeballed" it for size. Of course, when we got it home, it was too tall. (We should have known when the tree was longer than the car!) But a little off the top and bottom and we made it fit. It's about 10 1/2 feet tall. There is barely enough room for the angel!! We spent Sunday putting on 1200 lights and the garland. We will finish the ornaments tonight and I will post pics of the three full size trees tomorrow.

Well, I have a couple more but Blogger says NO! So I will try to post them later.

Breaking News!!! Mystery Quilt is DONE!!

DONE!! FINIS!! COMPLETE!!

As many of you may remember, this was a UFO that was started 4 years ago and became the infamous Mystery Quilt from Hell. I would pull it out, try to remember where I left off, do a little more and shove it in the closet again. I worked on this consistently this fall as a PIG for my guild's PIG roast but didn't finish it in time. WELL, it is done with label! I was going to give it to my SIL but DH really likes it so it will live at our house after all. Sure feels good to have this monkey off my back.

And I have been doing other things!! This is a little knitted skirt for my fairy goddaughter, Bridie, for Christmas. A skein of Chenille yarn and some fun fur at the bottom! She is going to love it. Made her a scarf to match!

And Finally, these are the wool christmas ornaments that I cut and brought to work on in Houston. Now complete and ready for my tree. I had the idea of making a bunch of them as gifts but didn't like working with the tiny pieces. They are cute and will be a nice addition to my tree.

The last picture is a close up of the snowman.

I am still working on my super secret guild challenge quilt. It is now in the quilting stage and will be ready for the presentation on Tuesday for our guild's Christmas party. I will post a picture on Wednesday.

I have been visiting everyone and loving the pictures of your Christmas projects and decorations. You gals are sewwwww inspiring!! Our house is just about done. We are decorating the tree in our living room today and cutting the tree for our den to be decorated tomorrow. We will have a total of EIGHT trees in our house when we are done ranging in size from a foot to 8 1/2 feet!! It takes about 2 weeks to get all the decorating done and we leave most of it up til 3 Kings Day in January. I want to be able to say it's for the kids, but we only have one, who is 20, and there are no grandkids yet. It's really for my DH. He has an EXTREME love of all things Christmas. (Please don't tell all the guys in the office !) He is really a kid at heart which is what I love about him. I'll post a couple of pictures of our trees next week.

Til then, quilt til you wilt and from DH, HO! HO! HO!