Baby Quilt...

I just finished quilting this adorable baby quilt...

I just love the bear paw blocks with the little bears...

These little guys are so cute!

I sure hope the little boy who gets this loves his quilt!

007 Day

My path through the house this morning....Walking down the upstairs hallway...

Coming down the stairs...

By the front door...

Heading towards the kitchen...

Through the family room...

Into the laundry room...

By the back door....

In the kitchen...

Ready to make my tea...

And Grace's breakfast...

The child is subtle, isn't she?

I guess I'll be stopping at the store today...

How could I say no???

And now for something completely different...

I had lots of kids around! Last week was Spring Break for Rowan and Rutgers, so two of my favorite guys were hanging around the house... Good thing we got MarioKart for the Wii...Andrew and Ryan had a great time. See the big smiles on their faces? They're both back to classes this week, but it was great to have them around. I'm guessing I'll see lots more of both of them now that Andrew lives here again! I've also done some sewing. I finished Ellen's quilt and it has arrived safely in Providence. She'll be taking it with her in September to her new school. We just found out that she's been accepted to Rhode Island College, so she'll be back in Providence next year, but at a different school with a new major.

I love this quilt. The back is one of Anne Sutton's gorgeous flannels. It's so warm and soft...

This was the first time I ever made a bias binding with a stripe. Or without one for that matter! I love the diagonal lines and the binding lay smoothly on the quilt. I may start making bias bindings for all my quilts.

I've also been working on Judy's Quilt Along. I finished the center of the quilt and decided to go with simpler borders. Pictures of that when the outer border is sewn on...just as soon as I find time to get back into the sewing room!

Happy Birthday...

Just want to wish the Boss a happy birthday! We've been together about half of our lives now and we've had our ups and downs. But I wouldn't trade any of it. He's been my better half, my strength and my hero for a long time now and I look forward to many more happy years together. Happy birthday...I love you!

What a difference a week makes...

This was the view from my sewing room last Monday...birds eating...

a daughter earning a few extra bucks...

about ten inches of the white stuff...

and here it is, a week later and I sat with my windows open, the 70 degree air blowing in, as I finished step 3 of Judy's Bears in the Farmhouse quilt....

It was a beautiful weekend!

Where I wish I was...

Gotta love business trips! The boss is in Venice for the weekend and I so wish I was there! He did send some pictures...

St. Mark's Basilica
The clock tower in St. Mark's square...he just called me from the top!

St. Mark's Campanile

St. Georges Island

The Grand Canal

Basilica of St. Mark

Basilica of Santa Maria

I really hope that next time, he brings me along!!!

Step Two done...

It's been a busy weekend, but I managed to finish step two of the Bears in the Farmhouse quilt. And that's about all I've done this weekend...at least in my sewing room!

On the back burner...

that's where the blog seems to be staying these days. I've been spending less time on the computer reading quilting blogs and more time actually quilting. I guess that's a good thing! I've been busy making half square triangles for Judy's Bears in the Farmhouse project...

I completed block #2 for Anne Sutton's basket BOM...

I've been working on a quilt for Ellen...who was home from college for the weekend and gave it her approval. And of course she wants it NOW...it's cold in Rhode Island!

I've been doing some customer quilting....

And I made a trip to The Knitting Store to use my Christmas gift certificate...

I received an email saying that they are going out of business and everything is on sale. I picked up this beautiful cotton/silk blend to make the Lily Cardigan.

I've also been spending some time with doctors...again. Before Christmas I smacked my head on a low doorframe, momentarily knocked myself out and hurt my neck. In the past few weeks most of my favorite things to do...like knitting, machine quilting, playing guitar...have made pain shoot down my arm and my hand go numb. Thinking this is a BAD THING, I went to the chiropractor, who agreed. I had an x-ray yesterday which didn't show anything cracked or broken, which is good, but it showed arthritis and the narrowing of something or other, which is not good. I have an MRI tomorrow...we'll see what that shows. The fun never ends here!

We did get Andrew all moved home over the weekend and I'm enjoying having him home. I knew I missed him while he was at school, but didn't realize how much. It was great fun having everyone around the dinner table again...

A few things...

I finished the first two blocks of the Block of the Month from Gail Pan Designs last week...I love these little stitcheries, they're going to make a beautiful Christmas Quilt.

I've also chosen my fabrics for Judy's Bears in the Farmhouse quilt along. I didn't have a good stripe to use for the centers of the blocks, so decided to make a more patriotic quilt since I've always wanted one. I don't have any large cuts of fabric in my stash, I'll need to buy a blue fabric for the outer border. Good thing that the Fat Quarter Shop is still running their Valentine's Day Sale...I think the coupon is still good!

Valentine's Day was very quiet here...the boss has been out west since last week and spent the weekend in Seattle. I did go have drinks on Saturday afternoon...we were welcoming home one of our friends from Iraq. When I got to the restaurant, I thought it had been evacuated...there were people all over outside and emergency vehicles in the parking lot. It turned out that our local Yellow Ribbon Club had arranged a motorcycle escort for Will from his house to PJ's to thank him for his service. Most of us had no idea that this was going to happen...if I'd had a clue I would have been at the house and not the restaurant! They kept it very hush hush to surprise Will. It was wonderful to see so many people come out to support him. The picture above shows him addressing the crowd when they arrived at PJ's and it came from the Burlington County Times website. He'll be spending some time at Walter Reed taking care of some non-combat injuries, then he'll be coming home for good...and we'll be happy to have him back!

Happy 19th Birthday, Ellen!

I hope your birthday is wonderful...I wish I was in Providence to celebrate with you! Love you!

Blooms!

I received this beautiful amaryllis as a Christmas gift from my dear friend Molly. It's blooming and is absolutely gorgeous! Thanks, Molly!

I forgot...

to take pictures of this little quilt that I made in a swap for Andrea. Of course I realized it once the package was winging its way to Wales! This is a Jo Morton pattern, machine pieced and hand quilted. I also included the book and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels from my favorite chocolate shop for her. I think she liked them. :o)

I'm so glad she posted pictures that I could borrow. Thanks, Andrea!

New Beginnings...

This year has gotten off to a busy start...lots of drama around here! Andrew has moved back home now that his lease is up, so he'll finish out college as a commuter. Ellen has decided she wants to change her major in college...and change her college! We're in the midst of a new college search.

The boss's luck has held out once again. Last weekend, while in Chicago, he was riding in a cab. Another car hit the cab, pushed it across the street and it knocked down a pole holding a traffic light. Just as in his previous accident, he escaped with a gash on the head and some sore muscles. He's a lucky man!

In the meantime, I've been working lots of hours. I have found a little bit of time to quilt for customers....

and I've started Anne Sutton's new Basket Block of the Month...

I've cleaned my sewing room so I can get started sewing without having to find the table underneath the mess....

And I've pulled fabrics for some new projects...including a few from Jo Morton and a new quilt for Ellen.

So, that's what I've been up to...how about you?