Ironing Board

This has always been my favorite picture of my ironing board. Jenny wants to be the center of attention which means she'll do anything to get in my way. We sometimes have to fight over space. And we won't even talk about when she thinks my thread and my HST's are toys. Libby has challenged us to show our ironing boards, the cover is pretty new, my old cover had rips and holes in the area I use the most. I picked this cover because #1 it was cheap and #2 because it didn't have a bright loud print that would drive me crazy. This was as neutral has I could find without being muslin.

Sewing Case and Block Exchange

I've made some progress on my little sewing case. I'm doing this with my stitching group that meets once per month. One of the ladies is an excellent teacher and quilter, her quilting is exquisite and she is being very patient with us while making this case. The gusset and the zipper have been sewn, I did hand sew them first and then by machine, the zipper slides around too much for me, so the hand sewing is well worth the effect. I still need to hand quilt the gusset. The front and back of the sewing case have been quilted and I'm working on the piping, again hand sewing to keep in place before machine sewing. Next week at our meeting we'll be working on the handle and I think assembling the case....I guess I'll find out.
I didn't make this block, this is part of a block exchange I'm doing with another sewing group. Two different groups are exchanging with each other. We were to make a 12" block and exchange with someone (your partner is a secret and from another group). Then we are to add piecing, appliqué whatever we want to the block without going over the 24" maximum size. I've been working on this one and because it's due next week, I'll wait until then to show you what I've done.
Isn't this Amaryllis beautiful? My daughter gave me the bulb for Christmas with instructions for planting. And here it grew into 2 very large blooms. One stalk has 3 blooms and the other has 4 blooms. A wonderful splash of colour for this time of year.

Tonya asked me what *VBS* stands for. Very Big Smiles to all of you.

Sewing Annie and Awards

Do you see what I see....little bits of hair sticking out from behind the tissue????
Here she is Raggedy Old Annie ready for any sewing task. She has her sewing kit Handy with needle, thread and thimble ready for sewing, quilting or stitching. I can't believe I have my very own Annie, do you see what's on her dress, my initial, there will be no doubt who she belongs too. As Carole said, my heart feels warm and fussy with how kind and generous quilters are in blogland. I've formed live long friendships who I might have the opportunity to meet someday. Darlene and I have been swapping nine patches for a number of months now, we each will seek in little goodies as surprise gifts....teehee....it's so much fun. Well the biggest surprise came from Darlene, she went and ordered this Sewing Annie just for me. I'm so very touched by her generosity and thinking of me on my Birthday....see I can stretch my Birthday out for the whole month. Thank you Darlene....I will think of you while enjoying Sewing Annie sitting next to my computer. Oh one more thing....A little birdie told me Sewing Annie has a twin with a different initial on her dress....Hmmm who could that be....*vbs*
There are more kind and thoughtful bloggers out there. Gizmo has award me the "Spreader of Love" award. Thank you Gizmo for thinking of me. I feel very blessed with your friendship.
And then Tamara gave me the "You Make My Day" award. Thanks for making my day with this award.

The rules for the "You Make My Day" award, are to re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know through an email or posting to their blog so they can pass it on. You may get the award more than once, so if you do, consider yourself very loved! So pass it on!!!

There are so many to choose from I couldn't possibly name only 10. So if you read my blog regularly consider yourself on my list of people "Who Make my Day"!!! And so pass the love on!!!

Happy Stitching.

Polka Dot Girls Block 2

Holy Moly....number 2 is one BIG block, you can see block 1 here. I'm so happy this block is done as it's the biggest in the quilt. The piecing is simple which makes it go fast when putting together, I'm using a jelly roll for the blocks which means I've had to make adjustments to the pattern but it's turned out easier that I first thought. I'm having fun stitching these ladies, I've said it before they certainly make me smile with every stitch I take.
Hubby bought me this miniature red roses (red is my favourite colour) in a sweet red cup with a heart on the front. The roses should continue to bloom and grow throughout the summer. It's nice to see flowers this time of year when the garden hasn't started to come alive yet.
On my next post I'll show the progress I've made on this little sewing case. It's sooooo adorable....I can't wait to start using it.

Happy Stitching to everyone.

Seven Random Things....

I've been tagged by Jeanne and Kim to tell 7 random things about myself. Are you ready, this is going to be really boring....LOL

THE RULES:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

1. I love drinking tea and when I'm making tea my cup has to pre-warmed with boiling water (not tap water)...yep really hot tea.
2. I eat Cheerios for breakfast...now that's really boring.
3. I love buying antiques.
4. I have 2 grown daughters ages 23 and 26.
5. I'm an Administrative Assistant in the High Technology sector....way to much stress.
   
6. This year I've decided to take a different direction and go back to school. I'll be learning about working in a dental office....this will take the next 5 months.
   
7. I love red licorice.

I'm not going to tag anyone, feel free to jump right in and play if you like.

Have a great week!

Little Quilts and BOM

Firstly I'd like to give a really big "Thank You" to everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes. I'm still working on getting back to each person...this will take me a couple of days to get caught up. I get so distracted by all the lovely things posted that it takes me longer to get around to the emails and then I'm reading new blogs and loose track of what I was doing....it's all good stuff, don't get me wrong...I love all your visits.
I finished my first 2 blocks for the Lori Smith Peaceful Nights. The first one sure has a lot of small pieces, some of you mentioned that in the last post....I didn't think about that when I signed up....my head was thinking "ooooh I just love those fabrics". These blocks really have some gorgeous fabrics. I'm very happy with the blocks and look forward to the next months blocks.
I've quilted the 2 nine patch quilts I did this week. There both washed and all binded. I've got to get going on quilting the pink and brown little quilt and the one with the flying geese.
Since Valentine's Day is so close I thought it would be a good time to show a better picture of this little heart quilt I did a few years ago. I love it so much it's in my header and my living room for me to enjoy all year round.


I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Happy Quilting.

Part 2 Birthday Shopping

I didn't really spurge too much on my birthday shopping. BTW my birthday is Thursday this week, I'm stretching it out as much as I can....tee hee. I bought two FQ bundles, one with neutral colours and one with reproduction greens, I don't have much in my green collection, so I wanted to get some. The pinwheel pattern I fell in love with and bought an assortment of blues to get me started. The cello bag is a scrap package which is 1 yard total of pinks, brown and beige. I also bought this Little Quilts book, it's an older book but one that I wanted a long time ago and never got around to purchasing. Now that I'm obsessed with small quilts this is a good resource book. I also signed up for 2 classes, one that is a 8 month BOM which I mentioned yesterday, the other is the Little Jo club which I think runs for 6 months. That's lots to get me started this year and then there's the list of things I have at home...LOL
Below is the Lori Smith BOM pattern. Pieceful Nights A Sampler Quilt. Each month is 2 blocks and with that are different layout options. So if someone doesn't like the medallion option shown on the front, then they will have more choices as we get more blocks.
Look at all the fabrics we got to start our BOM. Some are for future blocks as we go. Do you see the colour printout of fabrics all nicely labeled, the shop has given us a reference sheet to tell us where each fabric is to be in each block. This is a very well organized package.
Here are the ladies getting down to work on their blocks. I haven't finished mine yet...to busy taking pictures and eating those chocolate bombs. I'll show you later in the week when mine are finished....I hope...that's the plan anyway.
I've been busy with more small quilt. These 2 are made with 3" finished 9-patches. One still needs a border...couldn't make up my mine about what fabric to put on the border before taking the picture. And then I'll do machine quilting to finish them.
Happy quilting....thanks for stopping by with a comment.

Birthday Shopping Trip

Warning: this post is a little long.
What a fantastic day we had at this shop today. We all got up early to get in line at the border. It was a really nice surprise when we got to the border and the the line up was short....woohoo...let's hit the quilt shop. Today was the big birthday shopping spree, for those that might not have read my last post....I'll repeat myself, Two Thimbles offers the birthday girl 25% off (during your birthday month, that's me) when you bring 3 friends shopping with you, yah...the friends get a discount too but not as big as the birthday girl...teehee. I had to bribe them somehow to come shopping with me...not really I know they love my company...LOL We look ready for some serious shopping I'd say. Don't let these sweet faces fool you, these ladies are a crazy bunch and can do some major damage when shopping. That's me in the white sweater.
Here is the front counter, Lee the shop owner has done a wonderful job with this shop. Lots of beautiful displays and she is so helpful with choosing fabrics. I get so much inspiration when I visit here. It's a good thing the shop is NOT closer to my house....It would be too easy to be at this shop a lot and we all know what that means....LOL.




See that blue and white pinwheel quilt on the wall. I bought the pattern and blue fabric to make that. I'll post a picture tomorrow of my purchases. I would have done that tonight but it was getting too dark by the time I got home and the light is not good for pictures.
Sample in the class room, I really like this one.
Don't they look serious about their new BOM, Lee is giving us the instructions to get started on our first block. Oh yah... we all signed up for a BOM using one of Lori Smith patterns and reproduction fabrics. There are 12 blocks and several options for the final layout which will be fun to see what everyone will choose. Each quilt will look different in the end. Below is a picture of the first 2 blocks. I think Arnette (on the right) is wondering what the heck I'm doing taking a picture or maybe she's just bored....LOL
Lori Smith pattern BOM. Sorry I forgot the name of the pattern, I'll post it tomorrow.
The shop owner had some treats us, they were to die for....yummy cheese cake chocolates from Trader Joe's, I've never had one of thing chocolate bombs before today, I think I'll be dreaming of them tonight. If you haven't had one...you're definitely missing out. There is a layer of chocolate cake on the bottom with a layer of strawberry cheese cake on top and all surrounded by chocolate....Oooooh so good....as you can see they are almost gone. It's a good thing I got a picture before they completely disappeared.
These two trouble makers were joking about going into this questionable establishment for lunch. Do you think they could pass for the evening entertainment....teehee...just kidding ladies.
We had lunch at this Italian cafe (D'Anna's) instead, much better choice for food and company. I really had a great time with these ladies and since we are doing the BOM, we'll be spending more time at Two Thimbles....woohoo.

Sorry about such a long post...I hope you made it this far...thanks for sticking with me.