A little afternoon getaway

The sun is shining in Kansas this week and sometimes you just have to get out of the house and step away from the sewing machine. And so this weekend Hubby and I went for a little jaunt over the state line into Missouri. I had these shops in mind to visit in Cockerel and they did not disappoint! 

Five cottages in a delightful country setting, chock full of kitchen delights! 

                   And I mean full, here is just a small area of Fiesta Ware, my favorite dishes, I thought I had gone to dish heaven!

GurglePots! I was really tempted, they would match my Fiestaware! I hear they do indeed gurgle! Hubby dragged me past those, so I guess I'll never know. Um... this is not a place to bring your Hubby shopping if you know what I mean LOL! Make it a girlie afternoon!

After the shops we drove to nearby Lake Lotawana, an area which hubby had always wanted to explore. After driving for an hour through the hilly and windy narrow roads which surround the lake, we grew dizzy just trying to find our way out. By then we were super thirsty and in need of ice-cream. And so in our search of a Dairy Queen we happened across a little carnival!

I played a game where I won this penguin which cost me way more than buying it outright would have! And although we did not find ice cream, we had hots dogs and cotton candy!

Kansas City Quilt Festival is drawing closer, I finished Cleos apron and will spend the rest of this week cutting kits! Probably no more adventures for me until after the show. 

                                                                Enjoy your week!

Soggy and Wet

Hello! We are back from visiting our lovely Texas daughter and fun Grandsons over Memorial Day weekend. It rained most of our visit but in-between storms we were able to get out and about. We went to Grapevine which is always fun visiting the shops there. We ate lots of good food, played lots of Yahtzee and well just enjoyed being with them! Flying out of Dallas on Monday proved to be an ordeal but we made it home safe and sound on the last flight. 

And now I am back to my normal routine. Filling my dining room with boxes and totes, getting ready for the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival which is the weekend of June 19th. I am excited to vendor at this show, if you click on the link you find a list of vendors and teachers. If you live in the area don't miss out on this fabulous show!

You will find me in booth 641 in my cute apron. I am now working on an apron for Cleo. Ha, Cleo will not be there, but my friend Patty from New York will be! She is flying all the way in too help and visit of course. Come say hi!

Do you label all of your quilts? I have to admit this is not my favorite thing to do, and so I have been working on adding labels to a small stack. All of my labels have my cute Cleo logo appliquéd  in various fabrics on them. I love when they are done!

And so what is Daisy up too? We have been working on a better brushing routine, as you can imagine with all that beautiful hair she needs brushed daily. And because Daisy does not like brushing this is our on going battle lol. She loves to play and so I tempt her with special toys during this time, this works for a short spell but not for long, she has figured out this trick pretty fast! 

Enjoy your week and I hope you find plenty of happy time! Wether it's spent sewing, or tending your garden, take time to smell the roses:)

Stack of quilts

A busy week for me, gathering quilt and penny rug models, printing patterns, checking my lists once and twice. It is a lot of work to present and pack up a trunk show, but oh so worth the fun and adventure. Next week I am going to visit The Silver Needles Quilt Guild in Salina Kansas, I look forward to sharing my work and celebrating their 35th year guild anniversary with them! 

I stitched up a few pin cushions to add to gift bags.

I'll tell you, if they could only see mine lol! This is what sadly I most often do, stick pins to my sleeves and pant legs while I sew. I have pin cushions, one at my cutting table, one at my desk and one at my sewing table. But somehow all the pins seem to end up in  one or the other.

And because I was so jealous of that wrist pin cushion, why I made one for myself! 

Sometimes it's the little things that make life easy.

Ending my post with a picture of my cute girl... 

have a fun and fabulous week!

Barbie Jo and Daisy

Easter Greetings

Happy Easter to you! We had a lovely Easter brunch at home today. Our son and his cute girlfriend Emily joined us. It looks like Daisy decided to join us also and be our table centerpiece lol! 

I hope your Easter table was filled with those you love and plenty of chocolate too!
Barbie Jo and Daisy

80 degrees with a chance of snow tomorrow lol!

We've kept busy here this funny month of March, with the weather reaching almost 80 degrees one day and snow flurries the next! Hubby and I put the wintry days to good use updating the guest room. New paint, new bed and fixings to make our guests more comfy. This room of course comes complete with your very own kitty if you wish!

During the sunny days Hubby was in his glory golfing and I hit the back patio with my book to soak up some nice vitamin D and catch up on my reading.

March is also Hubbys birthday month, I made all of his favorites for his celebration dinner, plus Texas sheet cake.. not shown. We ate mashed potato casserole leftovers for a week... but it is so yummy!

Finished this new cute snowman pattern. I know many of you are tired of snow now, but this guy is so darn cute you will want him hanging around all winter long! You'll find him on my website under "new Product" at www.cleoandme.com.

I love snowmen! Sadly I didn't get my snowman fix this year because we had so little snow. 

My printer has been whirring away as bunny patterns have been multiplying and hopping out the door. I have a new runner back home after being beautifully quilted by Brenda and so another pattern to write. Lots going on here... keeps us young right? 
Have a happy week.... 
Barbie Jo and Daisy

Happy Birthday Daisy!

An exciting weekend in our house, today is Daisies 1st Birthday! It is so hard to believe a year has gone by already. And so today is all about Daisy. She got a new toy and is dining on tuna (the canned variety) tonight! Daisy has added a lot of fun and laughter to our lives, as you know... we are just gaga about her. I made a short slide show of her 1st year for you to view if you wish!

Personalize your own slideshow design

Next up is Valentines Day tomorrow!
I hope you have some sweet plans. Hubby is taking me out to lunch and I am really looking forward to a little adventure! 

Last but not least, I have a new embroidery design for you, just in time for Easter!

"Clover and Sam", two cute bunny designs to stitch up quick. Pattern includes pillow finishing instructions. Now available on my web site if you want a peek.

And thats it for me tonight dear people. I am going to finish making my pizza for dinner. I love to make pizza, and of course I love pizza too! After dinner I'll play with Daisy, she loves to play! 

Hope your weekend is fun and full of treats!

Lovey Dovey

January has been a busy month, putting Christmas away keeping up with orders. Daisy and I have been nested in my sewing room, all cozy and warm, sewing up a storm. We have a new Valentine pattern ready for you.... "Lovey Dovey" awwwww. This runner is fast and fun to make, you can finish it in a weekend! Log cabin blocks with a scrappy look use a sew and trim method of construction. The center square uses a fussy cut motif of your choice, I of course chose what else but a Daisy kitten look a like! You can find it on my website here at: www.cleoandme.com if you wish.

Last weekend, while I was in my office deep in thought working away on the pattern, still in my jammies I hate to say, there was a racket at my front door! Door bell ringing and someone pounding on the door. I thought geeze... so I went to see who was making all that noise and who stood there but my friend Martha from Oklahoma.. SUPRISE she says.. I have candy for you :) LOL

Of course Hubby knew the plan, those two sure know how to keep a secret is all I can say! But what a fun surprise it was! And so I hopped into fast gear, fluffed up, and after a little catching up we headed into Kansas City for a little tour. We had a cocktail in the beautiful Union Train Station before heading to a favorite restaurant Cafe Trio for dinner.

Sunday we had brunch at Cafe Europa, love that place! Afterwards we stopped by a wonderful shop called Stuff where we had so much fun making necklaces with charms by Kansas designer Amy Labbe. This is just a sampling of the selection!

Difficult decisions but I finally picked a few :)

We had a really fun visit and it flew by way to fast. Martha has a unique hobby I think, she has been studying and practicing glass blowing. She brought me this beautiful paperweight she made for my desk. Awww Cleo, I see you there :)

And so I'm back to my normal predictable routine this week, the break from it was fun and nice. Slowly writing another pattern and stitching up some very cute little bunnies for another! 

Wishing you a happy week!