Happy 4th!!!!

Happy Independence Day to all of my fellow Americans,I hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July weekend! On to my thank you to Serena for my Crazy Swap piece... it arrived on Thursday, and it's just lovely. Serena you are amazing, I still can't believe you can hand piece and quilt so fast! I just adore it, and I know it will be well loved in our home. Thanks again!

I have a sneak peek of my swap piece too- my fellow swapper is anxiously awaiting it's completion. Thanks Sherry for your understanding. Now that my featherweight is in working order, it's almost finished!

I have few things I'm working on, so I'll be posting more pictures of those things soon. Oh, and I'm starting a new project, even though I have no business doing so. :-0 What can I say other than I love shopping for fabric! I know you all understand ;-)

I've been tagged!

Well, what do you know? I've been tagged with a Honest Scrap award by Kim at Magnolia Bay Quilts! Thanks for the "bloggerly" love, Kim. If you haven't seen her blog before, you are missing out! She always has beautiful posts, with lovely quilts and pictures. She also happens to be a quilt designer and has a new book that I hope to get my hands on soon Scrap-Basket Surprises. I am very flattered that she tagged me, and here is the part where I share ten things you might not know about about me:

1. I am a procrastinator, about almost everything, but I also work well under pressure, so it usually balances out!

2. I am afraid of creepy crawly things. Bugs, spiders, snakes, and the like.

3. I don't like going out in the snow. I never ski, snowboard, ice skate, nada.

4. When I was a senior in high school, I went to 'beauty school' school at night. I have my certificate as a nail technician, (aka manicurist) but I have never worked as one.

5. I've seen Nickleback in concert twice- and I'm going to again in July. I love rock music.

6. I don't watch horror films. They scare the living out of me.

7. Reese's anything makes me say yippie!

8. I don't have a MySpace or a Facebook page. I never plan to either.

9. Blue is my favorite color. Turquoise to be exact.

10. I plan on living on the water at some point in my life. Seriously, anywhere next to the ocean to listen to the waves, and taste the salty air. (Bonus since there is no snow!)

I have been also instructed to spread the love. Here are the rules:

• First, you have to tell your readers 10 things about you they may not already know, but are true.
• Second, you have to tag 10 people with the award.
• Third, you have to let the people you’ve given the award to know that they’ve received it.
• Finally, make sure you link back to the person who awarded you.


Here are my ten picks of blogs I want to share this great idea with. Drumroll please.....


Young Appalachian Quilter
Applique Artist
Log Cabin Quilter
Sugared Limes
Pepperberry & Co
The Rabbit Factory
JulieKQuilts
Tactile pleasures...In Fabrics
Stillmeadow Quilts
Fiber Fabrications


Whew, that was tough. Now go on, and get going. Go see all of these lovely blogs, and say hello!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part!

It's been two weeks. Two weeks people! I miss Mrs. Pfaff, BAD! Here is where I admit that I have a featherweight machine I bought on ebay quite some time ago. I finally had it serviced, and it looks so pretty when I take it out. But I don't have a quarter inch foot for it yet, so I try not to do any complicated piecing on it. Oh, and sometimes it jams up on me. For no apparent reason, other than the fact that it is 60 years old, I guess? (Or evidently my machine karma is off, I mean way off.) Mostly I wanted it, just to have it, just because she's so pretty ;-) See...... isn't she lovely, with her decorative face plate?

I tried calling the shop who has my Pfaff today for some news, and I kept getting a busy signal, all day. Hmmmm. Now I have to admit, a little paranoia is setting in... I will be trying again first thing tomorrow, despite the fact that I am working. I will keep you all posted.

I've been trying to do some hand work, but now that the kids are home all day, it's a challenge. Got about half way on the next BOW wool block. I also have a few more things to do for my June Crazy Swap. It's a surprise, so I can't post any pics just yet. This was probably the most challenging thing I've done this year. The theme was watercolor... I have very loosely interpreted that theme, let me just say.

I've been reading my Sookie Stackhouse novels, too. I'm reading #4 "Dead To The World". They are a vampire series of books by Charlaine Harris, and I'm loving them. I read the Twilight books last winter, and I'm still on that vampire falls in love with the human kick, I guess?!? They are very quick reads, and I'm not in the mood for any heavy mental challenges this summer.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day...To my hubby, my best friend. Thank you for everything you do for us. There are so many reasons to say I luv ya. But the blogger and quilter in me wants to say thank you for....

when....You understand I have just one more thing to sew, and then I'll be ready to go.

when....You come home from work and I have a lot planned for quilting, but nothing for dinner yet!

when....I'll just be a "few minutes" at the quilt store, and you wait in the man chair...without a complaint!

when....You see more packages in the mailbox from any.quilt.store.usa, and you just smile, and never ask how much.

when....You take over at home so I can go hide somewhere and sew, or go to a quilt class.

when....I tell you about my blog, and you really seem interested, and not just pretend interested!

when...You understand how important it is to me to create things, and you support me, despite all of the many (and sometimes obsessive and crazy) crafty things I want to try!

I luv ya babe! Happy Father's Day!

Lonely

I. miss. my. sewing. machine!

Still No News

I wonder if there is a reason that Ms. Pfaff decided to breakdown? Update- she's still at the shop, and the person who repairs them said it sounds like it's probably the mother board. I am still under warranty for certain parts, but I have no idea how much it's going to cost. Maybe the machine knows it is a crazy time of year for us, and she wants a little extra attention? The wrapping up of baseball and softball for both kids, my daughter's dance recital last weekend (both days). The end of school in one week, and the beginning of summer,***yippie*** which happens to be all of our favorite time of year! So here's to summer, and hoping mother nature realizes that it supposed to start getting warm, and maybe even sunny!

Sad day....

So I left her (see previous post for questions) in goods hands today. All though, secretly I didn't want to let her go. Of course I didn't bring my warranty card with me, duh, so I have to go back tomorrow (only 45 min each way). Good thing I actually found it when I got home. If it pays to be organized, then I'm always going to bee one broke woman! I hope whatever it is can be fixed, and it doesn't end up being too costly. I was tempted, and I admit it, I looked around at all of the new and improved models while I was there... a girl could really get in trouble around all those shiny new machines!

I did take a picture yesterday during a stretching break of her Pfaffness and the quilt. You can see the minkee on the back. Now there just a pile of an almost finished quilt on my table where she used to be :-(





Well, on a positive note, I'll have plenty of hand work to do while I wait. I know I must be crazy, but I signed up for a BOW - yes, that means block of the WEEK! Ha, ha! It's from my favorite wool peeps at Primitive Gatherings... The first one is done, I like the rich colors it has.
All for now... I can't seem to get that picture right side up... The star is pointing the wrong way.

OH NO!!!!

Sew...ahem.... I mean so I have a BIG problem. I was happily quilting my cotton candy lane quilt for a few hours yesterday , and a few more today. Happy to report that I love the the way it's coming along. I used a varigated pink sulky thread for the top, I was just stippling like mad. It looks great! I matched the thread on the back to the hot pink minkee, perfect match, too! So, where's the problem you ask? It's my Pfaff....She won't turn on now, and when she does, she just shuts right off. Oh the pain! Why oh why, what's wrong with her? I am going to the nearest Pfaff dealer/service place in the morning. I could just cry. She's never acted this way before.... I've never had a machine being overused to the point of failure before either! In the absence of being able to complete it, (all that's left are the borders, argh) I found a funny cartoon image to share. Maybe I should include a disclaimer... Please don't try this at home. This stunt was performed by a professional. Ha! Just for those of you who actually might try that. Wish me luck, I fear words like motherboard, and computer code error, and reboot....... :-(

Pollen:7 - Danielle:0

Oh the pollen!  I am trying to beat it, but I can report that right now it is winning.   (At least 7 to 0!)  All week it's been kicking me down.  My head feels like.... well, words can't accurately describe how it feels.  And I can't seem to hear out of my left ear, but who really needs both ears anyway?  Zyrtec, decongestant, motrin, you name it, I'm taking it.  Hopefully soon, I will feel back to normal.  I know that the flowers/trees/grass are worth it though, how can you not love the spring flowers and green!  Like this peony, by far my favorite flower.  Each year they get bigger and better, like these:

I have a few pictures of my Chilly Charmers blocks and the latest Jamestown block that I completed.  The first Saturday is at Emma's Quilt Cupboard tomorrow, so I had to get these done.  When you complete the previous month's block, and go to the store at the specified time, you get the next month's block free!  Is that motivation or what?

Those penguins and snowmen are too cute!  Easy enough, I'm use machine applique around the figures.   Just like hand applique, the prep is the time consuming part.  Totally worth it though, I can't wait to see what the next one looks like tomorrow!

Monday, already?

I did say that I would post on Monday, so here I go. Not what I had planned to post about, today was a strictly knitting day. Boy, it takes a LONG time to knit, there is about 13" now... but it doesn't look much different, so I'll save you all the pain and post picture another time when  it actually starts looking like a sweater ;-)   I do have to share that I won the giveaway on Log Cabin Quilter's blog, a little over a week ago.  Thank you Karen.  I am very excited to be the winner, and I'm even more excited to make it.  It arrived in the mail Saturday, what a treat to come home to after a long day of working!  It's a beautiful kit with flowers and a vase that you needle felt and applique. It's funny too, the store it came from is about an hour from where I live. I just went there for the first time on my birthday. It's called The Quilted Crow, and it has really beautiful wool, floss, and lots of reproduction fabrics, and kits, and classes.... I can't wait to go there again soon.

Speaking of giveaways... there is a really great one going on at laniejane's blog.   It's a great Moda bundle from Simple Abundance.  Good Luck!