Welcome September!

What a fun time I had at the Greater Kansas City Quilt Guild show this past weekend! I met so many lovely quilters and had the best booth mates on each side of me. The following three pictures are of my booth set up.

The best part of being a vendor at a quilt show are the people you meet. Lovely quilter and guild member Joeann Collins stopped by my booth and brought her adorable reindeer quilt she made from my pattern "Fa La La La La". She was so much fun to talk to and seeing her completed quilt was such a treat! 

We had a stormy week last week. Parts of Kansas City flooded, fortunately not where I live, but we had a 90 mph wind gust blow through our neighborhood leaving a lot of tree damage to clean up.

And now the sun is shining for what looks like a pretty Labor Day weekend! Can you believe it's September already? Annie sure can't, she's back to school! You can find this September BOM embroidery pattern and or little quilt kit on my Etsy site.

September is also a fun month because it is my birthday month and I plan on celebrating all month long :) 

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend, safe travels if you are on the road! 

Sum Sum Summertime!

Wow, who turned on the heat, summer time has arrived! 

Being as today was to be the coolest day of the week, a mere 87 degrees, Hubby and I decided this should be our outdoor adventure day, a picnic at the park. I made yummy egg salad sandwiches, I just love egg salad don't you? All packed up in my cute little basket with some sketch pads off we went. The quilt under my basket which you can hardly see is the 1st quilt I ever made 41 years ago! There was no pattern involved, or fabric purchasing. I used scraps of our 1st daughters outgrown clothing and sewed squares together with some applique tulips in the center of every other square, it was just a home sewing scrap project for her bed. It is now pretty tattered and has become the picnic quilt. What a nice memory of a cute little girl and all those sweet little sundresses I had made for her. 

And look what I found, a very old picture of our Melissa on her quilt with just a few of her stuffed animals lol. The photo quality is poor, what a long way cameras have come since then, but you get the idea! What a cutie :)

Well to tell you the truth Hubby and I just had to laugh. Our picnic lunch was great but sitting for a long spell on the ground was not as easy as it used to be so out came the soft fold up chairs. 

I brought an Annie to stitch, as you can see she is nearly finished. Fish were jumping from the lake and birds were chattering, it was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon. 

I have several projects in the works right now. This little reindeer wall hanging will soon be a new pattern, just as soon as I get a cover for it off to the printer it will go.

My next design arrived in todays mail, home from Brenda's expert quilting. I have to sew the binding on and start writing the pattern, I better quit goofing off now and get busy! 

Happy St Pats!

Happy St Pattys Day to you! Did you wear your green today, or go to a parade? I have to admit I did neither, only because I had to boil the corned beef for hours! I make Hubby his St Patricks day dinner every year, it's a tradition he kind of expects and I have it down to perfection which is why he expects it LOL!

Recently my Annies came home to Mama, beautifully quilted by Brenda as always.

A better view of the quilting.

And an even larger view, isn't she sweet!

Seems like I have been missing for awhile here. I lost 1 whole week due to a painful tooth problem, which always happens over the weekend. After finally seeing our dentist I had to take antibiotics before the root canal visit..... the 4 hour root canal visit....OMG... was he drilling for oil or what? It was no fun, but better than the tooth fairy coming at my age I suppose.

Next we celebrated Hubbys birthday and no he is not 9 but we were being kind because he is really quite vain.

When I couldn't sleep during my nights of tooth pain I shopped... online.. and purchased another doll to go with miss kitty, her name is Becky, don't you just love her bunny teeth :)

I now have my booth # for International Quilt Market, so excited! Only 8 more weeks and I know that sounds far off but believe you me I start to panic about now. I am using this beautiful fabric by Jane Sassaman for the border on my next quilt. Today I spent or wasted my afternoon trying to pull the fusible web backing off my applique pieces. Big UG!!! I should have known better than to frustrate myself with the brand I used which I have never liked but was all I could find at the time, so tomorrow I'll run to Joannes for the brand I like and start over.

I could sure use a little help, but probably not this kind :) My sweetie loves to hang out with me, I don't know why because my son says I'm pretty boring but Cleo seems to think everything I do is lots of fun!

Enjoy your weekend!

Come on down!

Phew, a full tummy, Hubby and I just waddled in the door. Tonight we met our son at Strouds in Kansas City, a restaurant famous since 1933 for their pan fried chicken and featured on Man VS Food. Some wonderful comfort food dished up here and folks were lined up out the door. And I thought before I put my feet up and collapse on the sofa I need to finish my blog post! Hubby drew a winning name from all 3 of you who entered LOL!

Come on down Kristin and claim your prize! Kathy and Sharon, your comments were also so sweet, Cleo said we need to send you a little something as well. We have an Annie February block with red and pink fabric strips to frame it in for you. So ladies please email your addresses and I will get these off to you! And thank you all for your comments, it was so nice to hear from you :)

This week I made a little more progress and added white sashings which I think shows off these prints nicely. I am now mulling over what to do for borders. I have some thoughts rolling around... what do you think?

It's sofa time now, Cleo needs a little cuddling, we're going to watch a movie, enjoy the weekend!

A little giveaway

I had a very productive week in my sewing room. Hubby was away for a few days and I was able to devote my full attention to sewing. Not that I don't get a lot done when he's home, he just likes a home cooked meal every night LOL! I don't know about you, but when I'm zipping along sewing it's hard to make myself stop, put on an apron and cook a feast. Noooooo, I ordered pizza one night and ate it for two! Day 3 I drove through Burger King on my way home from the post office, what a multi tasker I am! First of all I finished my quilt (not shown) for Market and sent it off to fabulous Brenda for some of her quilting love. It features the gray & pink fabric I showed you in my last post, all I can say is it's purrrfectly cute!

Then I pulled out my little Annie blocks who have been shoved off to the side for a long time, they were screaming to be finished cause they're so darn cute. Well, I had set them aside because I decided I wanted my block sashings to be a little wider. So I had to do some unsewing (don't you just hate that!) before I could re sew. Much happier with this change. This week I'll add the sashings and borders. Now don't even ask me why there is a golf ball in the picture LOL! See, thats what Hubby does during the winter, practice putting indoors, we have a regular little miniature golf course going on here. Either that or Cleo was batting it around.

I have lots of 2-inch wide fabric strips left from framing my blocks. My Annies are trimmed to

5-1/2" x 6-1/2" and these strips will work for this size block. I felt someone might love these scraps for their Annies, most are reproduction prints and a few vintage. There should be enough to frame all 12 blocks. I also added the January Annie Pattern to start you out.

Cleo will draw a name next Saturday, the 28th! So please leave a comment if these interest you, and hit my follow button if you have not already (it can be lonely talking to yourself over here)!

Until next time!

A little closer to a finish

Slowly but surely, stitching my Annies together, the 1st 3 rows are done! She is looking darn cute! Darlene at Quilting Daze posted a picture of her Annies she has been working on. All in Red Work, how sweet is that, I love watching her progress :)

My thoughts have turned to Spring this past week. When not working on my quilt I have been pulling fabrics from my overflowing stash to work on a Spring runner design. I have 3 groups of fabric I love, but they all seem to lack the one or two pieces that pull my thoughts together and I am torn. Back and forth, back and forth, you should see my cutting table.... well no, you shouldn't, it's not pretty LOL!

Mother Nature sure has been playing games with us here in Kansas. Last week we enjoyed a few days in the 70's. People were running around in their shorts and flip flops, windows flew open to air out Winter. Trees beginning to blossom and plenty of yard work going on, lovely to embrace the sun. And today.... well it's snowing and the furnace is back to roaring. Maybe next week it will be Spring for sure!

And speaking of Spring, look what the UPS man left on my porch yesterday. Yummy chocolate Easter basket novelties from Sarris Candy in PA. I have them shipped every year because we don't have anything like this in my neck of the woods.

Happy sewing and enjoy your weekend!

A big finish!

My last Annie block is finished... April Annie. Isn't she sweet, all decked out for Easter, don't you just love the flower on her bonnet :) She has been on an egg hunt this morning with her new stuffed bunny friend. I don't know whether to laugh or cry now that all my Annies are done.

I have spent a lot of time with her this past year, she never fails to brighten my day and she doesn't even speak LOL!

On the other hand, I am super excited to sew all my blocks into a darling quilt. I have them all spread out on my cutting table, contemplating a setting for them.

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but we all enjoying a bit of spring fever here! Yesterday was in the 60's.... WHOOOHOOO! I had the back door open to enjoy a little fresh air for the 1st time in a long, long, time. Hubbies thoughts are turning to golf on the weekends now and I am thinking about doing a little spring cleaning and decorating. Notice I did say "thinking" LOL!

Speaking of decorating, would you just look at these adorable Polish pottery bunny jars, I would love a bunch of these.

Heading up to my sewing room, after I have this donut with the green sprinkles. Enjoy your weekend!

PHEW!

Phew.... that was one crazy week! I have been on a roll, lots of company and cooking and such, all good :) Last Monday our daughter and her little family drove up from Dallas. Remember those stockings I was in a rush to finish for the boys? Well I got them done in the nick of time for their visit. Aren't they cute? I added vintage gift tie-ons to the bow for a little extra "me" touch. I love vintage doo-dads!

The boys did well with their long car drive and were ready to explore Grandmas house and release some pent up energy upon arrival. That same night our nephew also arrived, he was driving cross country from PA to Colorado and we were delighted to be a brief pit stop on his way.

Tuesday we decided to get out for a little while and took the boys to Union Station in Kansas City to see the automated Dinosaur exhibit. ROAR! Lots of these there!

And then there was the train set up which was hard to capture because it was such a large exhibit and dark but fun to watch dozens of trains going round and round.

Our visit was short but sweet as my pumpkins left Wed morning to continue on to Iowa and more family. But no time to sit and loaf.....next batch arriving for Turkey Day! Our son came home for the weekend from KU and brought his room mate as well. We were a small crowd for Thanksgiving, just the 4 of us LOL, but we had our usual full blown dinner, gotta have those leftovers!

And now my house is quiet, I can hear the clock ticking. I think it's saying Christmas is coming and I better drag the totes up from the basement. And oh my, I just heard the Hallmark Christmas movie is on tonight.... it really is sneaking up fast people!

I had another finish last week, February Annie is ready and on my web site. Won't you be my Valentine Cleo????? I just love getting cards in the mail, don't you? Especially ones with big red hearts on them :) Floss colors used were: Black, #3607 ,#938, #598, #414, #317, #899,

#581, #817, #167 and #758 if you are interested.

I have a new stack of fabric sitting on my cutting table, hope to get some sewing time in this week. Hmmmmmmm... what will it be?

Have a happy week all!

The 3 A's, Annie, an Apron and August

Good morning to you! I woke up early today, so excited to start working on some new projects I have had rolling about in my head. And now 2 hours later here I still sit attached to my computer. I've read all my Face Book updates, harvested crops on my Farmville farm LOL, caught up with all my blogging friends and the latest Google news. What did we ever do before the Internet, personally I think I got a lot more done! This week was my baby sisters birthday, Happy Birthday again Darlene! I won't rat on her age, because my birthday follows hers and even though we older children are sometimes notorious for picking on our younger siblings we were pretty close as sisters go. Well I had no choice, we shared the same bedroom growing up! And sometimes that seemed like a major pain and I had green envy of friends who had their own space. But the truth of it is we talked a lot, shared clothes and music and developed a great sister bond that may not have happened otherwise. I made her this little apron to send along with her gift, Darlene is a great cook and a girl can never have enough aprons! The fabric I used is from an old tablecloth I had, probably 50's and was just large enough to cut out a skirt, waistband and ties. No pattern was needed as these are quite simple to make. The best part was not having to sew side or bottom hems due to the pre-finished edges! I like having a pocket on my aprons but in this case did not add one as I felt it would take away from the charming design. I think it turned out pretty cute!

This week I also finished my December Annie design and stitched her up! Annie loves decorating for Christmas and her kitty loves to "help"!

These are the floss colors used in this blocks palette: DMC numbers 966, 702, 899, 758, 601, 817, 3807, 3852, 3862 and black.

8 blocks finished, my quilt is growing!

And now I am off to take a look at my wool felt stash. I have been missing working with some wool and have a new penny rug design I want to play with. I'm having so much fun, I hope you are too, have a great week!

A happy weekend!

I've been busy celebrating my Anniversary this past week end. 39 years together for Hubby and I, that is worth a few days of celebrating and most amazing is how quickly that time has flown by! Saturday we spent the afternoon doing a few things we each like to do, eat, shop and visit an art gallery. Our 1st stop was Kempers Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in Kansas City. I could not take pictures of the featured exhibit as it was on loan to the museum, but these are a few pieces I just loved. Each so different and unique in style from the other, so inspiring! Is it not hard to believe the piece below is a painting, amazing detail!!


And just look at this little girl and her dress, watercolor, beautiful!


This painting is huge, so tranquil and lovely.


After getting our art fix we headed to the Country Club Plaza, just a few blocks away. If you have ever visited Kansas City and did not make it to the Plaza, shame on your host! The Plaza was established in 1923 and architecturally designed after Seville Spain. It boasts the 1st outdoor shopping center in the world and is known for over 100 fountains, large and small. Large baskets of flowers hang from all the lamp posts, high end stores provide a shoppers dream come true and a choice of many restaurants to satisfy a wide range of appetites. Even if you just wish to window shop or hang out on Starbucks patio, this is a pleasant way to spend a pretty day.




Ok, so we are strolling down the street, on our way to the Apple store cause hubby wants to show me all the new goodness they have to offer. And we stop in front of Tivol. My heart is fluttering, I'm thinking hubby is going to buy me a big hunk of bling! My nose is pressed up against the window, it's very quiet, and hubby looks down at the sidewalk and says....... look Barb, they even have special water dishes for your dog LOL! After all that walking around in the 90 degree heat we had worked up a thirst and worked our way over to the Cheese Cake Factory. I love eating here, where you can sit outside near the fountain, people watch and enjoy a beautiful day! Order a nice frozen drink......

and my favorite Parmesan crusted chicken..... heavenly!


And now my little weekend is over. It's back to work for me, well this is so much fun you can hardly call it work! Here is my Annie progress in color work, 8 more blocks to go!


Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your week!

Some of this and some of that!

Some of this and some of that, I sure have been busy this past week. My kitchen table has been covered with stacks of pattern instructions, covers and sleeves while I put them together for a Fall catalog order. I just get in a good zone, turn Oprah on or some fun music and stuff, stuff, stuff! Funny how my family always disappears when its time to stuff, even Cleo slinks off!

Next on the menu was finishing my Annie embroidery design for September, isn't she adorable! It's Annies 1st day of school, teacher has asked her if she could write a word that begins with the letter C. I think she has done rather well don't you? Roseann, owner of Rosebuds Cottage quilt shop in beautiful Minnesota has put my nose to the grindstone to keep these blocks coming. She is stitching much faster than I am drawing :)

Roseann has cute plans for these blocks and I can't wait to see her finish.

I found the perfect fabric for my Annies, darling little red prints from Lakehouse fabric. I haven't decided on how I am going to set the blocks yet, but at least I now have my fabric to play with.

Have you seen this ADORABLE panel "Ruthie's Party" from Michael Miller fabric. I just had to have it. It has everything I love, that 40's/50's vintage appeal, cute kittens, OMG!

And next I have some packing to do, because we are now officially on VACATION!

Have a great week all!