The Zen Of The Scalloped Border

A friend asked me if I would put the binding on her quilt..oh yeah it’s a scalloped edge-----YIKES. I am not

fond of doing these bumpity edges, but I said yes. Let the whining begin :-)! I called a quilty friend of mine. We have been on this crazy quilting journey for many, many years. And I whined. She said -- “when we started did we know how to use a rotary cutter; when we started did we know how to piece blocks let alone read a pattern—and on and on and on!!! Basically put your big girls panties on and getter done (our favorite saying) That’s our Zen part :-)!!!

So dip by dip, bad words here and there—I gotter done! A quilty friend is always there to pull you out of a bind---couldn’t resist that!!! About every 4th dip kicked my you know what….but it’s DONE!!!!!!!!

This weekend was a full weekend of quilting. Saturday was Quilts of Valor day and we made pillowcases to put the quilts in that we make. I highly recommend you joining a group. It’s such a easy way to say thank you and spend a great day with friends doing what we love. Sunday my LQS, The Quiet Mouse, had a Quilt Till You Wilt Day…9 to 9 . A fun filled day with friends, crazy fun friends and so much laughing and eating!! Terry the owner made us individual chicken pot pies---yummmy!! There were prizes and of course sharing of quilts. Here’s a few but many more that I didn’t get pictures of. You didn’t dare leave your sewing machine unattended because it might just get toilet papered-my friend found that out! I worked on my Between Friends quilt and made lots of progress, so I’m thinking my April Charming club

goal just might be met .

I have been going through closets and getting rid of STUFF…..it’s amazing what you can collect over the years.

Then a big GIANT EXTRA EXTRA!!!!! Our very own Miss Red Geranium is opening her very own online quilting business. She has been planning and planning, getting things set up. To start off she will be carrying Lecein Fabrics, books, patterns, bundles and everything quilty, not to mention the wonderful purses that she makes to sell. Having been a frequent visitor of the shop she once owned, I can tell you we are all in for a BIG treat. Way to go girl---now OPEN, OPEN, OPEN.

Wishing you all a very happy week with some fun stuff thrown in that you love to do!

Friday Night Sew-In Update

I bought these strips in Houston years back..orignally for a Strip Club pattern—I just love quilting humor—so when I saw the Jelly Roll Sampler blocks on the blogs I knew that’s what I wanted to use-----a perfect Friday Night Sew-In project . Bocks 1 thru 4 done!

Then with some time left in the evening I finished the

four patch blocks for Between Friends…once again thanks Darlene for the great pattern and thanks to Heidi and Bonnie for our monthly Friday night meetings!!!!

Now what to cook for dinner…hmmmmmmm?!

Retreat Report

My friend Pat invited me to her guild retreat and we had so much fun. Located in the mountains about an hour from where we live, it was the perfect location for a couple days

of sewing, chatting and lots of laughing. Our sewing space was in this great big hall with this cozy fire to keep us warm. A time to catch up with some old friends I hadn’t seen in a while, and time to make some new friends….oh yeah, quilts to share~

25 women, so chatting and laughing was HIGH on the agenda. We played Left/Right/Center. Every one brought 3 fat quarters

and woohooo the fun began, with one lucky player getting ALL the fat quarters (you can never have too many fat quarters)!!!

I worked on my Between Friends quilt…guess counting isn’t high on my list because I thought I only had 10 more to do and actually I had 16. Got those done and all the 4 patches …..I am eeeking my way to the finish line and think I will be meeting my April goal on this one.

Reality has set in and I have settled back in to getting things done around the house…there was too much goofing off going on! We have had lots of wonderful visits this week with the little dots and our girl was here overnight…………very lucky mom and nana!

Hope your week has been good so far. Happy Thursday everybody!

UPDATE.....Friday Night is the Friday Night Sew-in!!! Come join the fun!!

Pictures To Share!

Back home, and laundry done!!! We had a wonderful visit with the little dots last night and their mom and dad, and next week our girl will be home for a bit. Boy did we miss all the kids.......but what a wonderful time we had. We visited so many interesting places. It was truly a trip of a lifetime with so many wonderful memories made. Traveling with our friends only added to the fun. I already miss our before dinner get togethers and all the laughter. I could totally bore you with all 210 pictures that I took.....but I thought some mini collages might be better!

First stop, Aruba. The water was the most amazing color...we took a ride on a glass bottom boat! That's one of our guides swimming under the glass.

Then Cartagena.....so pretty and so humid!!

The amazing journey through the Panama Canal. Such an engineering fete. There was about 2 feet to spare on each side of the ship. It took 8 hours to get through all the locks. Wonderful views from every spot on the ship and a guide on board giving us the history of The Canal and info on the future expansion due to be finished in 2014.

A boat ride the next day on Gatun Lake....a search for animals that inhabit the many islands on the lake. Howler Monkeys making a noise I have never in my life heard....more like the sound of a lions roar, a sound that can be heard 3 to 4 miles away. There were Capuchin Monkeys in the trees that were very excited to see us....I'm thinking it was the plums the guide had that brought about the excitement. The train in the distance was a land tour that our friends were on...I'm sure they could see us waving at them!

The next morning, Costa Rica and a visit to a rain forest...........the lower picture, a Toucan peeking out at us on the aerial tram. Plants, flowers, trees, birds, butterflies, rain forest critters and peoople zipping through the rain forest on zip lines (if only I were braver)..........WOW!!!

Huatulco, Mexico.....one of my favorite ports. I didn't snap very many photos. Think I was too busy looking. The center picture is an outdoor church...no walls - breathtaking.

Acapulco.....and a visit to the Fort of San Diego which was built for protection against buccaneers that were preying on the expensive cargo that was being shipped to Spain. A museum filled with wonderful artifacts.....such a rich and interesting history of this area. The fort being built in the perfect location to have amazing panoramic views of the entire area. Our friend Yolanda taking in the scene.

Sadly our last port...Cabo San Lucas. Here's a spectacular view of the arched rocks of Los Arcos where the cool waters of the Pacific merge with the Sea of Cortez. (ok, I took that off that ship daily paper!) A beautiful resort town. Love that sweet pelican!! Our visit here was short............. hmmmmmm, maybe a future visit will have to happen!

A great time spent with good friends. We met wonderful people from all over and even ran in to some from our area. In fact a guy that use to golf with my husband where we live...small world!

We feel very grateful to have taken this trip, but also so happy to be back with our family.

I am very spoiled ----- tomorrow I am off to a weekend quilt retreat. Guess it's time to dust off the sewing machine. My plan is to finish my "Between Friends" quilt....pattern courtesy of Darlene. You know what I'm gonna say ------ pictures to follow!!!! Missed all the blogs, so now it's time to do some visiting, and Miss Sharon thanks for the entertaining evening last night!!! She may be far from me now, but she still knows how to keep me laughing and on the edge of my seat.....thank goodness for live chat!

Still Cruising!!

I am laughing at the title of my last post "Her In Florida"....I was pretty excited to get on the ship. We are cruising our way to Cabo San Lucas and will be arriving in the morning. We have had so much fun.....way too much eating and laughing till we've cried and the sights....AMAZING!!!! We return on Tuesday and I will have tons of pictures to share. We have some brief time to be on the computer so I just had to blog. Miss all of you and the goings on in blogland. Adios and Happy Easter everyone!

Her In Florida

We are here in Florida waiting at the hotel ....boarding the ship in about 1 hour. Carol I'm waving at you!!! Our flight was good and the friends we are traveling with are so much fun! There will be stories to tell for sure and pictures to share.

Thought I should do my Charming post in case we have no Internet...all goals accomplished except for finishing my 16 patches...10 more blocks to go. So my April goals will be to finish the whole "Between Friends" quilt. I am hoping to blog along the way!

Friday Night Sew-In & Packing!!!

Tomorrow night is the Sew-In and I will be working on the “Between Friends” quilt (pattern by Darlene). Tammy has zoomed ahead and will be getting her borders on. I’m still on the 16 patches! Ms. Red Geranium is suppose to be joining us also along with the other participants…….128 when I last checked :-) !

Again thanks Heidi and Bonnie for this monthly event! Tomorrow is packing day for our trip. Call me crazy – in all honestly I have been called much worse ---- anywho, Saturday I am attending an all day sewing event. So I have worked hard all week to be organized for our early getaway Sunday morning. Boy I have an understanding husband….just sayin”! I have had some great play time this week with the little dots. His mom thinks I am helping her out, but honestly I just love getting to spend so much time with them. Hope I'm not driving my daughter in law crazy!!! Ok, that’s it for me. Hope you are having a great week!

WoooooooHooooooooo!!!

Happy dancing going on here…..the Eye Spy quilt top is done. I had planned to work on it for the Friday Night Sew In, but working on it a bit each day, well I just couldn’t stop. Whewwww..it feels so good to have this done and I know both of the Little Polka Dots will enjoy it.

Now I’m tackling the 16 patches for Darlene’s “Between Friends” quilt pattern. There will be 35 16 patches and I have 10 pieced but all the rows for others done. This will be a great Friday Night Sew In project. Tammy has her top done except for borders……so Swell!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Polka and I have a big adventure ahead of us. A week from today we leave for a cruise to The Panama Canal. This has been in the works for quite a long time and it didn’t really seem real till I got the passports out and suitcases down. Now to figure how to pack 1 suitcase a piece for a 15 day trip. Don’t you just love Mr. Polka Dots duct tape passport cover?!!! We are so excited and going with a great group of friends. We tried to talk Hunka and Ms . Red in to going……seriously, that would have been way too much for one cruise ship!!

Happy week everyone!

Happy For Our Zombie!!!

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Have you heard about Monica….The Happy Zombie???!! She has her very own line of fabric coming out for Lecien called Holiday Happy. It is so stinkin’ cute and so Monica!!! I have been a stalker, I mean follower of hers since I started blogging and her sense of color and creativeness is truly wonderful and so much fun. Here’s a peek……….. and more info here!!! This yummy fabric is making it’s debut at Spring Market 2010…so very soon. We are all so proud of you Monica!!!

I am rolling along with my March goals….. bindings on my two mini’s, one runner, and block 9 of the Fat Quarter Shop BOM……………….. and I am very, very, very, happy to report the last 8 rows on my Eye Spy quilt are pieced

and ready to be added to the others! I am so excited to see the end of this in sight!

We are still pretty cool here for this time of year, but there are glimpses of Spring popping out .

I love these little blue volunteer flowers! Happy Thursday everyone!!

A Bit About Vacation …And Bragging About My Friend

My blog is a bit possessed tonight.  I have tried and tried to get my pictures on. Get them on start writing and, poof they vanish…so we shall see how this goes!

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Morro Bay was amazing.   A bit stormy, but that only made for beautiful photos.  Here was an otter floating on his back in the bay across from where we camped.  Life is good in otter world.  We have camped in this campground for 32 years with friends.  We were all so  young way back….now we are talking about grandkids and health care!!!

Now on to bragging about my friend…(this is a distraction since I have no quilting to share! ) My friend Jan made this wonderful Hunter ‘s  Star quilt.  Years back I made one that was paper pieced, but this one is made with a new Hunter’s  Star Ruler…and then this beauty..I was so in awe

of this quilt, I totally missed the explanation of the pattern.   I love, love, love this  quilt below.  She was one busy quilter!    Hold on to your hats…here’s a picture of what I worked on………….

bibs for Little Polka Dot!!!!  He has a heard of teeth coming in and is a drooling machine, so now he has three new minky backed bibs  I just need to hammer on the snap closures.  His little brother is doing so well.  We had them here yesterday while mom and dad hosted a party at their house.  Papa and I were having our own party!    That’s a wrap for me, fingers crossed that I get some sewing done this week!  Happy week everyone.

Charming Quilt Club March Goals

March already......geeeeeeeeeeeeez!! We are just back from 6 days at Morro Bay (soooo much fun), and some time with grandbaby dots and a day with my girl in San Diego. I figured I better post my goals before April gets here.

First things first....Charming Quilt Club February goals kinda met!!!! The borders are on my Quick Trip quilt and I am caught up on the Fat Quarter Shop BOM's (thru February anyway)....which brings me to the Eye Spy Quilt----as you can see it is right where I left it after the Friday Night Sew-In!!!

That brings me to my March Charming Quilt Club goals-----FINISH THE EYE SPY QUILT!! The next Friday Night Sew-In is March 19th so that will be my sew-in project. This is such a great time to set aside to sew with some of your fellow bloggers. Thanks to Heidi and Bobbie for getting us all coordinated. So that will be one night of work.........

next I plan to finish the March BOM from The Fat Quarter Shop, a mini topper, bindings on my two Swell runners and two small mini's. Tammy, Sharon and myself are all working on a quilt called Between Friends, designed by Darlene at Quilting Daze. Tammy and I are actually going to use some of our precious Swell fabric that we have been hoarding for a few years. My goal on this is to just get the 16 patches done. I am keeping my fingers crossed on the Eye Spy Quilt. That one has been hanging over my head for a long time!!! Thanks to Kelly for making the Charming Quilt Club so much fun.

Vacation pictures to be in my next post! Happy first week of March everyone, and here's to getting our goals done!