Oh Sweet Camp!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY COMPUTER IS BEHAVING VERY, VERY BADLY AGAIN!!!!! .....but let's see what I can post!

What a great time we had at camp. I hardly know where to begin. I have a ton of pictures and my friends Annie and Beth have also given me some photos to share, so hopefully I can give you a good glimpse in to our 4 days of WONDERFUL at Camp Cedar Glen!!!

Here's my little PT filled to the brim with quilt related stuff. Carol and I brought way more projects than we could possibly get done, but we were very optimistic....notice the four sewing machines. Wouldn't want to be caught with a machine down!!! We meet up with a group of friends for breakfast and then stopped at three quilts shops before reaching camp!!

A view from our corner of the room. I wonder what happens when there is a room filled with about 25 to 30 women all with sewing machines, irons and lights........POWER OUTAGE!!! That's the camp director talking to Annie about our little problem :-)!!!! Seems we pretty much had plugged everything in to one or two power cords, with other cords plugged in to that.......I am sure you get the picture!! His reaction was priceless, but he was more than helpful, and had a great sense of humor about the whole thing!

Here is my buddy Annie on the left with LuAnn...our wonderful Quilt In A Day helpers. They cheered us on with every stitch, even offering to do some reverse sewing if necessary, and boy did I have some reverse sewing!!! Here's a view of the upper sewing area. In all I think there was around 60 very happy campers!!!

We were treated to a MAGIC performance by Eleanor Burns and her lovely assistant Sue. All the magic is in her new book, Day and Night.

The quilts pictured are actually made from strips!!! There is a wonderful ruler included in the book that helps to make the magic happen!! With the leftover pieces you can even make some smaller projects. Such an amazing technique. I can't wait to give this a try. Eleanor's performance was very entertaining!

Then Annie showed us the pattern that she has developed for Quilt In A Day, How Charming. Of course I just had to pick up some fabric to make a quilt for myself. Great job Annie!!!

This will be my first installment of quilt camp!!!! UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!! My computer just doesn't want to cooperative with picture downloading......extremely slow!! So some tinkering will need to happen before I can post more photos. Stay tuned!!! A very Happy Mothers Day to one and all!! Later alligators :-)!!!

Major Computer Problems.....But Finally Back In Business!!

What a week the computer and myself have had - UGH, let me restate MAJOR UGH!!!!!! First

it started off I couldn't get to my blog or visit anyone elses blog....then no emails.....and finally the thing just wouldn't do anything but come up with an error message that I was timed out. HOW RUDE.....the computer actually had the nerve to give me a time out!!!! HUMP....STOMPING MY FEET....POUTING..... OK, so maybe I needed a time out! My girl came home Friday and took pity on me and had a look see. It was the two of us for a couple days, a girlie couple days, and we had invited Mr. Wiggles to spend the night Friday so his mommy and daddy could have a date night. We had so much fun. He is quite the entertainer now! After he went to bed, she tackled the computer and after a few hours of doing who knows what she decided it needed to be defragmented......whatever that means. Now all my fragments must be back in place because I am zipping around like crazy!!!!!! A BIG OLD WOOHOO TO MY GIRL!! Today was lunch with all the kiddos....life is good and we are very lucky parents!

I am up to my eyeballs in bindings....no complaining, just stating the facts, so that has occupied

my week also. This is an antique quilt I worked on today. The customer took the quilt apart and the blue sashing and binding was actually the backing fabric. Love that blue fabric!

Early Monday morning my friend Carol and myself leave for a four day Quilt Camp at Camp Cedar Glen with the Quilt In A Day ladies - YIPPPPPPEEE. Here's a peek at the pile I have going so far! I am sure by tomorrow I will have changed what I am taking. We are meeting a group of friends for breakfast on Monday and then a quick quilt shop stop (gotta visit a shop before camp), and then off we go. I will have pictures and stories to tell at the end of the week. I am so excited to be seeing my buddy Annie also!!!

Here's some good quilt reading!!! I don't know if you have ever subscribed to the Goat Gazette by Country Threads, but wow is it ever full of quilty goodness! Everything from quilty stuff to animal interest stories, happenings at their shop with tempting quilt related items, recipes and just general wonderfulness. And of course the annual Quilt Sampler.....gotta love the Quilt Sampler!!!

I have really missed all you bloggy people and seeing what everyone is up to! Karen has posted her tutorial for the car caddy!! She did a great job on it. I'm thinking these will make great presents for quilty friends. Ms. Geranium is having so much fun playing in the dumpsters while they prepare for their BIG MOVE!!! I know there are stories going on over there that I need to catch up on!

Here's a bit of the flora and fauna Mr. Polka Dot has been tending to. I find him outside working in the yard every day. I was worried about him and retirement. His job was fast paced and I wasn't quite sure if he was ready for that to be over. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!! He is happier than ever and busier than ever. In fact the two of us just don't understand how we ever fit working in! Everyone kept telling us that, and boy is it ever true. I highly recommend the whole retirement thing!!!

Well I've gabbed enough for this post and I need to get my sleep so I can get ready for packing for camp tomorrow! Happy rest of the weekend bloggy people!

How About A Trip To Death Valley......

......is what Mr. Polka Dot said a few weeks ago. Ugh.........I said, (well I actually kept that in my head)! Neither of us had ever been. So off we went early Wednesday morning for our adventure to Death Valley......The sights...... well, truly amazing....... and I was won over immediately. Such great spots to hike and wonderful views to see. It was a fun filled three day trip. We had a visit to Scotty's Castle, such stories to be told there. Our guide was in costume and character for the entire tour which added to the fun. It's a good thing someone in this house has a sensible head and plans these wonderful trips!!!

Before leaving, I finished the binding on my Faded Memories quilt and the whirly thingie topper for
one of my Pay It Forward people (before the deadline)!! Finishes are good!

.....and isn't this soooooo cute for the car or a chair?!!! Karen over at Sew Many Ways has Tool Time Tuesdays where she comes up with the greatest ideas for things. This started out a cup holder and look what she turned it in to. She will be posting a tutorial on how to make one. There are so many, many great ideas there plus ideas from fellow bloggers. I always look forward to Tuesdays to see what Karen has been up to!!

Ok, that's it for me. Wishing you all a fun weekend with some sewing stuck in here and there!!!
See you later cow pokes!!!!!!!

Online Quilt Festival-April 17 to 24

Morning everyone and good evening in some cases!!!! Amy of Park City Girl has organized the most wonderful online Quilt Festival, complete with sponsors and prizes! Her idea is for us to share a favorite quilt and give the story behind it and then link to Mr. Linky on her blog. When I last checked there was well over 370 quilts listed and it is so much fun to see and read about the quilts. Here is my very favorite quilt that I have made, a pink and brown log cabin. A friend of mine had made one and I just fell in love with it. I didn't really have much in the way of pinks and browns in my stash and set about searching for just the right colors. My group of friends at work started digging through their stashes and before I knew it I had an amazing pile of pinks and browns. My friend Deb gave me the perfect red for the center squares. I used the creams & lights from my stash and bought the border. Not only do I just love the quilt, but it is such a wonderful reminder of those precious friendships. Thanks to Amy for this wonderful and fun idea!!

I have made a little progress on the Stars and Strips quilt with some of the bits done! That ME fabric is so happy to sew on!!
Looser Monday report.......I gained :-( !!!! I figured if I wrote it small it wouldn't hurt so much.

Happy week to you all and hope to see you in the online Quilt Festival!

Lots To Share

Happy weekend bloggy people!! I have lots of this and that to report on. Earlier in the week I finally got my signature blocks shipped off. The blocks had been done for a long time. The signing and stamping seemed to be the hold up, but hopefully they have arrived by now.

I finished the top for my cute Bow Tie quilt kit that Sharon gave me. Gotta love a Bow Tie quilt. Also I wanted to show the cute charm that was included in my goodie bag from her and also this great little tin for holding a measuring tape. SWEET ♥ Now I have to confess!! I thought I had lost the charm, or worse yet thought I had left it at the restaurant where we went. I searched high and low, well apparently not low enough...it had fallen on the floor under my sewing table. Whewww, close call!

My Faded Memories quilt is back from the quilter girls and they did a beautiful job on the quilting and bringing my quilt to life. I was less then thrilled with my piecing and almost decided

to stick it in the closet and forget about it. Thank goodness for the girls, because they truly brought it to life. Tonight I planned on getting the binding on it and start the handwork. That was until I got the bright idea to stream (hey two years ago I was putting my pictures upside down on my blog, now I'm streammmmmmming) the Coachella Music Festival because Paul McCartney was playing tonight. So instead of binding I watched Paul!!!

Earlier in the week I got blocks done on two of the BOM's I have going. One more month to go on the Fat Quarter Shop Designer Block Of The Month. My friend Jan has this wonderful system for keeping track of her BOM....a big old binder! Very clever girl. No more hunting around for where in the world is that missing block number 3!!!

Spring has definitely sprung around here. The rose bushes are just full of beautiful green leaves, the vine on the swing has all it's pretty flowers popping open and the kumquats are kumquating (my sister in laws beautiful tree)! I am planning a full two days of hiding out in my sewing room....how about you guys??? Later gators :-)!

Happy Easter From Our Bunny To Yours!

Our little bunny really enjoyed his first Easter, complete with ears from Sharon. This was taken at a visit to Aunties new house on Saturday. A friend of Nanette's had given her a book about things to do with PEEPS, and I just had to make this arrangement to take to my sister in law's house for Easter day. Talk about easy...and you know, I had never tried a PEEP before (there were a few left overs)....BIG MISTAKE, I love em'!!!!! I have decided I am not a very good pictureographer, but I did manage to snap a few pictures of our Easter day festivities.....Baby Bunny hangin out in the yard so happy, checking out an Easter egg with cousin Beth, and me snapping a picture of my nephew John through the screen....love you guys!
Oh and the HAM...wowie. My sister in law made THE BEST HAM EVER! The glaze was just amazing. She is such an incredible cook. Now don't be thinking we just had ham. Oh no, we had scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, asparagus, monkey bread and strawberry shortcake...but no pictures :-(!!! All equally as delicious and all will be my downfall at my Thursday weigh in, but oh so very, very good! And not to forget the best ever deviled eggs made by my mother in law!

Now I am backtracking to Friday. I had a celebrity breakfast date with none other than Ms. Red Geranium. We met at our very favorite breakfast eating spot!!! But what I didn't expect was the haul of goodies she brought me ...you can click the picture to enlarge, but man oh man are there wonderful things. That cute friend hanging that I had admired at her house a while back and so many, many other fantastic goodies. A really cute zippered pouch that she has a tutorial on her blog how to make (I think that's my bag in the tutorial!), a sweet bracelet with my letter C and a bowl to hold my bracelet nice and safe. The bag it's sitting on is for putting my shoes in when we travel. Ms. Geranium just thinks of everything. Does this woman sleep?!!!! She even included one of her kits to make a bow tie quilt, which I plan on making tomorrow!!! Such a fun breakfast and I got to hear all about her new house. I know the move is bittersweet because of leaving all her friends, but being near her family is something that she has wanted for a very long time. And her one sister only 25 minutes away....how great is that, and closer to her two boys, I mean men!!!

LOOOOOOOOSER MONDAY REPORT-----once again same old same, but honestly with all the above going on I will be gaining this week...just thought that I would put it out there!!! One thing to spur a girl on to getting back on the diet bandwagon is the word REUNION!!!! Yep, got the invitation to my (gulp, gulp) 40th high school reunion in August............................. I can not believe that I am even going to post this picture, but oh well..here's my senior picture!!! Glad it's in black and white because the white lipstick I was wearing doesn't look quite as white as it actually was!!! Hey by August I can definitely loose some poundage, that is if I stop celebrating all the time!!!

Now if you want to see some amazing photos, head on over to Carla's blog. Wonderful pictures of the birth of a butterfly. Great job Carla!!!

Wishing you all a great week and ladies step away from any left over PEEPS!!!!!!!

We're Back....Oh No----Looser Monday Check In!

We are back from seven fun days in Morro Bay. Whenever the weather is good here on a particular day my husband use to say it was a Chamber of Commerce Day...well we had a Chamber of Commerce week worth of weather. Sunny days with beautiful blue skies, a bit coolish, but so nice to have light jackets on and a warm camp fire every night. We spent the week with John's golf buddy Tim and his wife Nettie and alternated cooking, and of course eating out a couple time, one night with our longtime friends from San Luis Obispo, Ken and Suzie. We visited the elephant seals up the coast and went to Cambria...another favorite spot of ours. Morro Bay holds so many memories for us. As a child going there with my parents, us taking our own children there and so many, many trips with family and friends over the years. I remember visiting the Salt Water Taffy stand with my dad..warm fuzzy wonderful memories! We watched as other grandparents camped with their grand kids and got excited about the prospect of having our little guy with us down the road a bit!!

Of course a trip wouldn't be complete without a visit to a quilt shop, or two!! The surprise was when I went in to the Cotton Ball in Morro Bay and I heard this voice yell my name. There stood

4 customers from the shop where I use to work, with bags full of goodies. Being about 350 miles away from home, I just didn't expect that!!! They were on a quilt binge adventure, already having shopped 5 shops since leaving home, with two more to go that day ending in a four day quilt retreat.....WOOHOO!! These ladies were having a GRAND time but wouldn't let me photograph them for my blog. They said "no evidence please"!!!! Nice catching up on old times with them and ladies, my lips are sealed :-)!! A trip up the coast would not be complete without a visit to Quiltin Cousins in Pismo Beach.

I did manage to do some of my own bindings and pieced some charm squares together. We played lots of Mexican Train, and I continue to be on my loosing streak.. and a lot of time relaxing and be lazy......WONDERFUL!!!

Yikes.......Looser Monday check in.....well let's just say I really, really, really, really enjoyed my vacation Smores and all and I do mean all. When we got home I spent one whole day avoiding the scale. I got brave this morning and jumped on (with one eye covered) and to my surprise I only gained 1 pound. It's a miracle and I don't get it. The last two weigh ins I had very good weeks of eating and staying on track only to loose nothing. This last week I went hog crazy and only gained 1 pound ... it just defies logic, but I am very happy and will start the new week very grateful!

I have missed the blogs and all the happenings, and probably will need at least a day to catch up. We did notice that the campground that we stay at now has WiFi....oh please Santa may I have a lap top??? Wishing you all a great week and I can't wait to poke around and see what you all have been up to!

A Very Nice Surprise!

I got home late today and as I pulled in the driveway I saw a box sitting on the swing on the porch!!!! OK ladies we love getting boxes right????!!! I could hardly get in the house fast enough. So here's what was waiting for me. It was a box of Pay It Forward wonderfulness from Jackie of Canton Village Quilt Works. Such perfect gifties, from the wrapping....polka dot fabric and yellow rick rac, to the wonderful egg ornament and yummy, yummy box of chocolate (OK I already ate them so I know they were yummy), and the most wonderful topper. My camera is misbehaving badly, but if you enlarge the mosaic you can see there is rick rack tucked all the way around the inside edge of the binding...so cute, and so precise. The fabric is so cute and what a great design (and quilting of course). I have it proudly sitting on my Singer table in the entry. The label is perfect and will always be a reminder to me of my wonderful Pay It Forward Angel!!! Then to top things off the prettiest pin that I have been wearing all evening on my denim jacket. Again, apologies for the pictures...bad, bad camera!!! OK, it's probably the operator, but I just couldn't wait to post my goodies! Thank you Jackie .... you definitely spoiled me rotten and I love it!!!

Time to start thinking about the next raffle quilt for the zoo. When I saw this kit in Fons and Porter before Xmas I knew it was the one. The kit had been back ordered but came this week. It will be fun and easy to make. The fabrics could not be more perfect and I hope it will bring in some money for the zoo.

This coming week is a busy one in Polka Dot land and I probably won't be blogging much, but I will have tons to share eventually!!! Hoping that the weekend is filled with fun and family and maybe some quilty/sewing fun tossed in here and there!! Happy, happy everyone :-)!!!

Howdy Doody!!

Sometimes I just can't come up with a good title, so Howdy Doody it is!!! Possibly it could be it was late Tuesday evening when I started writing this and my brain was pretty well gone...yep, that's probably it:-)!!

Tuesday evening I became possessed...I just had to get my Dutch Treat done. The rows were all together, all I needed to do was add the corner triangles, the inner and outer border. I put the corners on...loved it. Then I went to put the small inner border on...didn't love it. The background in the kit was a checked kind of fabric, and as it is the setting triangles are headed in a different direction. Then I went to put on the inner border and it was all cocky wobble. So I opted for no inner and just the outer and here is the pieced top all done!!!!! I am a big fan of Best Press but have been out for a while. Our market carries this new Niagara non-aerosol spray starch that I really like and used on this quilt....it has a very nice scent and is a very light starch,

plus it's a great price.

My plan was to swear off jelly rolls, honey buns and all the gooey stuff for a while....that was until I saw this quilt made up in a ME Jelly Roll......so this is my next victim!!! I just couldn't help myself. There surely is a Jelly Roll/Honey Bun anonymous group somewhere??? Another pattern I have been obsessed with is All Dressed Up. This is a pattern from Fredas Hive. I ordered the download from Nanette and she also directed me to Susan's blog who has a WONDERFUL technique for getting bonus blocks out of snowball blocks Check out her 3/22 post. Not only that but what a great blog she has!!!!

A whirly thingy pattern update. I have had a lot of comments and emails about the quilt in my previous post. The very nice lady that made the pattern is seeing if it's possible to have some more templates made, if so I will let you know. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Spring is definitely in the air. You see it all around the blogs and I see it in my garden. The leaves on the roses are filling out and the Liquid Amber's are starting to bud. I think a trip to the nursery might be on the list today. I'm thinkin' some petunias would be dandy!!! Happy Wednesday everyone.

The Reveal And Looser Monday Check In

From this.................................. to this!What a fun class and what a cool way to turn charm squares in to whirly thingies. Fast, easy and tons of fun! My friend Evelyn made a oh so cute cherry topper, and my friend Carol got creative and added a wonderful red border to her pretty charms. Another person in class used her stash of pinks and browns, and then there was a finished sample for us to drool over!! Ten people in all, and each and every one pretty darn snazzy!!!

Looooooser Monday report.....same old same old. No loss no gain, again I had that coming :-)!!! My two great friends informed me on our Sunday class day that points didn't count, so it was a free for all with food!!! I am sure I will pay for that no point day on my Thursday weigh in, but boy we sure did have fun including the McFlurry I had on the way home!!! General Geranium wanted us to post a recipe with fruit, so here goes my entry.

Bananarama Wafer Puddin' (This is from the Hungry Girl Recipe book)
2 cups fat free milk at fridge temp
2 medium bananas, sliced
24 Reduced Fat Nilla Wafters
1 small (4 serving) package sugar-free fat-free instant vanilla pudding mix
Optional: fat-free whipped topping

Combine pudding mix and milk in a bowl. Beat with a whisk for 2 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Set aside. In a medium bowl or casserole dish, arrange a layer of wafers, and then top with a layer of banana slices. Continue alternating layers until all wafers and banana slices are in the dish. Top dish with the pudding and let it seep down in between the wafer and banana layers. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. If desired, add whipped topping before serving. Makes 6, 1/2 cup servings. 3 points per serving.

Thought for the week.....beware of friends telling you that there are no point days :-)!!! Happy week everyone.

All Play And No Work!!!

There has been way too much playing going on around here so not much quilty production, but YIPEEE SKIPEE for all the playing. I have squeezed in some bindings here and there including this one that just about did me in. The binding was easy, it was cutting off the border part that I struggled with. The customer just was not happy with the quilt with the border on it (mind you it was already quilted). Have to say I agreed with her, but cutting it off after the fact (that's the border laying on the left) and hoping against hope that the binding would go on nicely had me a bit worried.....no problem it went on like butter and the quilt is a beauty.

The playing part........Tuesday was a full on quilty day spent with friends: a breakfast, a sew and visit with several friends (more visiting and eating then sewing), and followed up by a group of us quilty peeps having dinner. Thursday I was invited to dinner and to see Mamma Mia with my girl and a bunch of her friends. So much fun, and I still have that music stuck in my head. It was an amazing production and the staging made you feel like you were right there! Our girl came home Friday and we had to squeeze in some time for shopping---OF COURSE, and then today all the kiddos are here to celebrate dad's birthday. And our favorite, a couple days of our quality time with our grandbaby, who I am now naming Mr. Wiggles!!!!!!! Whewwwwwwww, I need to take a rest!!!!!!

Tomorrow will be a day filled full of quilting fun with some quilting buddies, where we will be turning this into........................???? You will have to stay tuned for the reveal on this!!!

Times up here, and I need to get back to getting the birthday festivities ready. Hope you all have a great weekend.........Mamma Mia, here I go again, my my how can I resist you? Bye from Auntie and Mr. Wiggles :-)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!