Postcards in the works

Remember how much fun it used to be waiting to see what the mailman would bring?? Well, I have been receiving the most beautiful postcards from all over the US, Australia, Scotland and Germany. If anyone is thinking about doing an exchange, JUMP IN!! It is great fun and I have been working diligently to get my cards done. Here is a picture of two cards I made last weekend. I actually made ten of these, all a little different. I did some sun printing with cheesecloth last summer and cut it up postcard size. I then used fabric paint and a stamp to put the fish on, then added some beads and stitched eyelash yarn on and around the edge.













I am also deep into my Art for Quilters class. This class has been great! Here is my homework from Lesson 2.


Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. My DH brought me breakfast in bed and cut tulips from the garden. I spent the day in my sewing room and I watched my beloved Red Sox win a game in the 9th inning!! My son was in Vermont working but I received a great phone call from him. He is due in tonight so I am off to the store to stock the refrigerator.

This weekend I am teaching Saturday morning at the LQS and then headed off to Rhode Island for a concert with my DH.

Here and Gone

Things have been pretty crazy at work and home the last few weeks. I have had to scale back some commitments, many of them quilt-related. I guess a girl can only do so much!! I may not be blogging as often since I need to get caught up with work projects and have limited free time but I will be visiting every chance I get and will try to post at least once a month.

I just wanted to share a special email I received on a day when I needed it most; just to show how we keep track of one another! I got a great email from Melanie at Covered Porches yesterday. I had posted on the 365 Yahoo challenge board that I was not able to continue with the challenge. She emailed me to tell me she was thinking about me! How sweet is she!! Thanks, Melanie! That really made my day! All of you ladies with your wonderful comments and help add that extra sweetness to a busy day!

Anyway, I just wanted to update everyone on a couple of things that our guild has been doing. I am so very proud of the work we have done over the last few months.

As you know, we were making pillowcases for the Hole in the Wall Gang as one of our charity projects. On Tuesday, all the pillowcases were collected and we had made 195 pillowcases!! One of our members will be making the delivery to the camp later this month.

Our Victorian Tea was held April 27th and the gross receipts were reported at the meeting. We raised over $5,000.!!! Of course, the expenses need to be deducted but we anticipate that this will put about $4,000 into our treasury. We primarily use this money to bring in teachers and lecturers.

We are also working on lap quilts for the local retirement home where we often hold meetings in their dining room as well as quilts for the Connecticut Children's Medical Center for the pediatric ward. We also just finished putting together a quilt for "Relay for Life" made up of blocks from our members. This group will be holding their walkathon this month. The cancer survivors and their families will be signing the blocks and the quilt will be raffled off by the organization.

I have to say we are a pretty busy group for 60 members!

I know that many of you are members of your local guild but if you aren't take a look around for a guild in your area. It's so great to get together with women who share a love of fabric and quilting. And it's a great opportunity to help your local community by covering them in quilts.

PQP Update! I'm here and quilting

I know I haven't posted in a while but that is because I have been very busy!! Work is crazy and I ran up against some quilting deadlines for my guild. Anyway, I have been visiting and commenting all around Blogland. Here's a PQP update!


1. I finished adding my border on the Round Robin I am doing with three other gals from my guild. This belongs to Linda. I thought the rickrack was a fun approach. Our first border had to include curves so I used the rickrack and the little circles in the corners. This lady's GD LOVES orange! Needless to say, she has quite a collection in her stash.











2. I finished my March Journal page. Our class was a week ago today. I started this on the previous Tuesday and finished Friday morning . II love this class because I am trying different techniques I have been wanting to try. The small size 8.5 x 11 is perfect. Now, I have celtic design out of my system. I'm happy with this. These little pages sit on an easel next to my little tree that I decorate monthly depending on the holiday or season. I have a good start to my April page.



3. These are the some of the pillowcases I made for the Hole in the Wall Gang plus six that another guild member had cut but didn't have time to put together SO I took them off her hands (what's a few more??!) This was a great project. The ladies in our guild went all out for this charity event.
All pillowcases are due at our May 8 guild meeting. I'll let you know what our grand total was!!



4. Juliann had asked me to post a picture of the bag I have been working on. Here it is! I will be teaching this as a quick project class at my LQS in May. I cut lots of strips so I could pick and choose and I guess I went a little overboard!! I had enough to make four bags. I wanted to practice putting it together so I would know what I was doing when I actually teach the class. I know this looks crooked and I'm not going to lie - it was !! LOL. I didn't realize it til I took the picture. I was so intent on finishing the beading that I never really took an "overall look" at it. But it has been straightened out and donated to our guild's Silent Auction which is part of our Victorian tea that takes place today. It is a big fundraiser for us.



5. I also have signed on for the 365 Challenge started by Leanne Beasley. I have started pulling my fabrics together and have my freezer paper and Zig pen ready to go. I am part of the Yahoo! challenge group and the ladies are really going to town with this project. I will hopefully be starting this June 1, after I finished the postcard exchange.

6, I am also making postcards for the Art2Mail group I joined last month. I need to get 25 postcards made and mailed by the end of May!!! Here is a sampling of the ones I have already received.




7, And, finally, I signed up for a Quilt University class "Art for Quilters" being taught by Marilyn Belford. You may have seen her "Rundy" portrait quilt. I saw it in Houston and it is fabulous. Marilyn will be teaching us some fundamentals of art which can be applied to quilting, particularly art quilts.

Here is my first lesson completed. It was really fun!

And finally, a KITTY update!! Because what is a quilting blog without a gratuitous kitty picture?? Bailey (left) and Holly (right) were born in September so are now experiencing the "great outdoors" for the first time. Since they are indoor cats, the closest they will get is the windowsill! We put the screens in last weekend on our one nice day and they spent the day in the window.


SEWWW, as you can see, I have had a pretty full plate, and right now I just find that my time has been better spent quilting. Stop by again soon!! I promise to be a better blogger!

Cleveland ROCKS!!

I have been working like a dog!! and so a reward from my boss! He has a friend who works at ESPN and I now have two tickets to the Women's Final Four in Cleveland!! I have been cruising the net for airline tickets and a hotel room. No easy task as most everything was sold out. But we have seats on a plane and a room to sleep in! I am meeting with the cat sitter from Wagging Tails tonight about taking care of Holly and Bailey while we are gone. We will be leaving this Friday and will return late Wednesday. We haven't been to a Final 4 for a couple of years so we are pretty excited! Only sad note is that my beloved Huskies will not be there. The Lady Huskies got their tails beat by LSU on Monday night, but I will be rooting for the Tar Heels and Miss Ivory Latta to win it all.

I have missed a few doses of PQP of late with all the basketball going on but I did get all 81 blocks made for my Spring/Summer quilt and don't like them much. Hmm, now what to do! It's a very simple block which I think is the problem but I wanted something fast and easy since it was queen size. I think I'm going to cut them up and swap bits around to make it look a little scrappier. But that will have to wait for my return.

I have made 4 summer purses out of hand dyed and batik strips. I am teaching a class at my LQS in May called "Saturday Morning Surprise". In two hours, you start and (here's the best part) FINISH a project. We are keeping the project a big secret and giving a supply list that won't give away the project. All the brave souls who take the class won't know what they are making til they get there! Anyway, one of these purses is a sample and the other three will be gifts. I wanted to be sure I could put the purse together without directions!

Sewww, won't be around for a bit but look for me on TV! LOL

This is March ??!??

TOP OF THE MORNING TO ALL AND

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!




Here is a picture of my yard yesterday afternoon. We got about 14 inches of snow, sleet and rain between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. By noon, today the sun was out and the melting had begun. The last gasp of Winter, I hope.


I don't really mind since this weekend is the beginning of MARCH MADNESS. My DH and I are huge Women's Basketball fans! Go UConn Huskies!! The first and second rounds are this weekend and we will be glued to the TV all day. Yesterday I cut the pieces for my spring/summer quilt and I have a table set up in front of the TV so I can sew and watch BBall at the same time..
















I am also posting pictures of my February Journal page. My idea is to do something every month based on the calendar and try a new technique or style of quilting that I have never done. You may remember that January was a little landscape called "Left Behind". This month's theme is Crazy Quilting . In addition to February being the month of Valentine's Day, it is also the month my DH and I were married. February 20th, it was 24 years. On the block, you may be able to see a little piece with our names and the date we were married. I call this one "Still Crazy After All These Years". I spent a good 20 hours on this 8 x 11 1/2 page and could have spent 10 more hours! Crazy quilting is addicting!! I really enjoyed the process but felt a little pressured with a deadline for the class. In addition, I was able to meet Judy of Sunshine Quilts challenge to use a fabric that had been in my stash for about 3 years. The peacock feather fabric is a Liberty FQ that I had not been able to cut into. I LOVE this fabric and actually would pull it out and pet it, it's sooo soft. But, I cut it and used it! Not only in the front where you see just little bits of it, but I used it for the backing of the page. I now need to start on my March page which of course will be IRISH IN NATURE! Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

What a daily dose of PQP can do!!

As many of you know, I have been rising before the crack of dawn and squeezing in an hour or so of PQP. It is definitely easier than I thought, despite Daylight Savings Time, and makes the start of my day special. Sewww, I thought you would like to see the results of two weeks of a daily dose of PQP!

These two quilts are for Valentine's Day! Ooops!! Well, the one with the hearts was done just a couple of days after the actual day and is hanging in my sewing room. The hearts are string pieced and the two baskets were from a Moda panel that included the two flower blocks in the other quilt and six Valentine postcards which I assembled and mailed BEFORE VALENTINE'S DAY!!

I am showing you a close up of one of the blocks for what I call the FLOWER POWER quilt. I hope you can see the glittery effect. I am in love with Art Glitter and have been using it profusely. In fact, when I was putting it on this quilt, my kitty, Bailey, jumped up on the table and he was glittered also!! I started quilting this one today and should finish it tomorrow. The sleeve, label, and binding are already made. (I find if I don't do those two bits beforehand it can definitely hold up the completion of a quilt)

This next picture is of the thirteen pillowcase parts cut for our service project for the Hole in the Wall Gang. We were supposed to meet and put them together but it had to be postponed due to SNOW. The four little pincushion hats sans their ribbons are the favors we are making for our Victorian Tea to be held in April. This is the second time we have hosted a Tea and it is a big fundraiser for our guild.

This little quilt is going to be for our silent auction which will be held as part of our Victorian Tea. I started this project some time ago. I didn't have an intended recipient for it so it seems a good candidate. I will finish the crazy quilting on it, add some borders and send it on its way.




This next picture is the snowball and friendship star blocks each of us are making for the Relay for Life quilt the guild is donating. It is a local walk for cancer and all survivors are encouraged to sign the blocks. This takes place in June and many of our members participate and help coordinate this event.

I also completed my February journal page but I haven't taken a picture of it yet. Will post later this week.

Now that I have some of these guild commitments done, I hope to concentrate on a queen size quilt for my bed for the spring/summer and get some samples made for a couple of classes I will be teaching at the LQS.

Guess I better get moving!!!. HMMMM, maybe a double dose of PQP is in order!

Hubby of the Year Award

I am nominating my DH, Bob, for Hubby of the Year and here's why! On Saturday morning, we got up and he told me that we were going on a little surprise road trip. So we got in the car and started driving. Two and a half hours later, we were in New Jersey. I figured we were going to visit friends but I was wrong. Next Stop- the Mid Atlantic Quilt Show in New Jersey!!

I had never been to a quilt show with my husband and it was really interesting to see what quilts he liked and his response to different types of quilts. We saw some really beautiful quilts and I will post a few pics later in the week. But, this is about my super-duper Hubby!!! He even endured the vendors with me!!. Now you ladies know that in the company of your gal pals, $$$ slips from your hand with all the temptations around you!! But I was being really good and was almost out the door with a FQ and some bias tape (under $20.00!!) but then I came upon this.....


THE BABY LOCK EMBELLISHER. My eyes popped out of my head, I was drooling!! I asked my DH," just let me take her for a spin around the block." Welllllll, OK, he said.

Once I was behind the wheel, there was no turning back. I had been looking at this machine online and salivating over all the fun I could have. I had even found a blogger (http://fembellish.wordpress.com) who was constantly posting cool things to do with this beauty.

But I was as cool as a cucumber, when Mr. Salesman came over and asked "How do you like her??" I hemmed and hawed, "I don't know, I already have three machines". So I wandered off and started looking at this.... the Janome Gem Platinum.

Now, I have the Gem Gold2 and have loved it for taking to classes and retreats,and at 11 lbs., it's fabulous! But the Platinum is the Cadillac. It has needle up/down, 60 stitches, it has the true daylight bulb. We talked about it, Mr. Salesman told me the price. I hemmed and hawed some more and told him that I already had a Gold which I would want to trade. He said he'd take my trade and pay to ship it back to him." Wellll, I don't know, what about a deal if I buy both??? " Now it was my DH's turn for eye popping and foaming at the mouth!! Mr. Salesman tells me the price. I get Mr. Salesman to throw in a couple of books for the Embellisher and I sweetly say"I have to talk to my hubby". So I take DH aside and explain what a super deal this is for the two machines plus the books and because the machines are being shipped to my house, NO SALES TAX!!

A couple of kisses and a BIG hug later, and I'm the proud owner of both!!! Now really ladies, is he deserving of the prize or not!!??

Have you had your daily dose of PQP today???

I just want to thank everyone for their wonderful comments about my recent revelation. It seems that lots of us are having difficulty squeezing "PQP" (pure quilting pleasure) into our busy days. Just based on the short time that I have been rising early to get my daily dose of PQP, I can tell you that my days feel better. As Finn so accurately put it, those 60 minutes of PQP give me "something to lean on" during the difficult parts of the day.

Ladies, I can't say enough about how important it is for all of us to get our daily recommended dose of PQP . I know that we are all trying to take better care of our bodies with exercise and diet but remember PQP is medicine for the creative part of a quilter's soul.

This morning, I was able to get a dozen pillowcase parts cut for our community service project which my guild is doing on Monday night. We are assembling pillowcases out of novelty and kiddie fabric for " The Hole in the Wall Gang " summer camp which is located here in Connecticut. This camp was started by Paul Newman and is for kids 7-15 who have cancer. Each camper gets a pillowcase, which I think is used as a duffel bag of sorts to collect their gear. At any rate, at the end of their camping session, each child gets to take the pillowcase home as a momento of their stay.

It sure was great to start my day not only doing something I love but being able to help others and BUST THAT STASH at the same time. A quilting WIN-WIN-WIN!!

I've had a revelation!!!

First, I want to post a picture of my January journal quilt which I am calling "Left Behind". I think it goes along well with Project Spectrum's colors of the month with a splash of red. It is only 8 1/2 by 11 inches. This picture doesn't really show the sparkly sky which was added with star sequins and beads. I found it really challenging to get my point across in such a small space. Some details that I wanted to put in were eliminated because they made the overall quilt look cluttered. I am really enjoying this class.


Now, for what I think is a revelation, at least for me. I find winter a tough season to get through. Thanks goodness for quilting and women's college basketball! I have had a difficult time getting out of bed in the morning. I usually tried to start my day with a walk on the treadmill but lately I have been just burrowing into the covers until the last possible moment. I am not enamored with my day job lately and this is adding to the burrowing. So, this weekend, after I found that I had no trouble getting up super early to go to a quilt class, I decided that I would set my alarm an hour early and I would get up to QUILT. I would start my day doing something I love instead of thinking about it all day and getting to it at the end of the day if there was time available.

Sewww, this morning at 5:00 a.m., I got up, fed the two little meowers, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed off to my studio. I set a timer because I know that once I enter that room I lose all sense of time and place! I am pleased to say I got a back pieced and did some glitter work on a couple of blocks for a quilt I have been working on and when the timer went off, I set myself up for tomorrow morning. And, the day started on the right foot. I felt good because I got to do something that makes me feel good. If more time comes my way for quilting at the end of the day, then great but if not at least I had 60 minutes of pure pleasure.

Project Spectrum and kitties

The two- PS and Kitties-have nothing to do with each other!! But I know that Kitties are always a draw for you quilters!! LOL!!

I have been traveling around Blogland and came across a reference to "Project Spectrum" and decided to give it a look. This is right up my alley because it is loosely based and very inspiring not to mention that I LOVE the colors for February and March,. Even though I HATE winter, I love the colors of winter. (Does that make any sense??!??!) This is one of the postcards I did for the Heart2Heart project. I made the snowflakes out of Angelina fibers. See, winter colors!




I have three WIPS that will meet the criteria of blue, white and gray and I know I can get at least two of them finished. One is actually the first quilt I ever started-yep, it's still kicking around. I love the idea of working with a color theme!

The more I travel from blog to blog (yes, I am a blog hopper) , the more inspired I am by how many women are out there expressing themselves in so many different ways-not only in quilting, but knitting, photography, mixed media, paper, etc. - and the best part is they are willing to share it with all of us!! Sewww, thanks to Lolly I have signed up for PS and invite all of you to take a look at her cool idea!

And, now for the kitties..... (these guys have doubled their weight since joining our family in December!) That's Bailey on the left and Holly on the right.

Emerged from my hole and saw my shadow!!

Yikes! I feel like Punxsutawney Phil! I know it has been a couple of weeks since I've posted but I have been busy and yes, if I have anything to say about it, there will be 6 more weeks of winter because it is perfect weather for quilting.

Last you heard from me, I was on my way to our quilting retreat in Rhode Island and another birthday. The retreat was fabulous and very productive for me. I finished two lap sized tops (minus borders) , which are pictured here, started and finished a little knitted hand bag, and put some red, pink and white strings together to cut hearts for my Valentine's wall hanging.

I remembered to bring the TAKE YOUR CAMERA yellow post-it , but, of course, forgot the camera, so I have no pics. But a good time was had by all!


I also completed the center for the Round Robin I am doing with three gals from my guild. I didn't give this angel any face or hair as one of the rounds involves embellishment and I thought I would keep her "anonymous" and see what kind of "personality" she acquires while she is out of my reach.

I do have some pics of the valentine postcards I had been working on! Some are from a Moda panel which I jazzed up with art glitter and the others are from my experiments with Angelina fibers. I am sending some of these to the Heart-2-Heart project which I found on someone's blog (can't remember who!).
I'll share my Valentine Wall hanging which I hope to finish in the next few days and my valentines tomorrow.

But wanted to let my blog gals know that I am alive and quilting!