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?

Swaps

Quite awhile ago, Andrea and I decided to do a swap, making small quilts for each other and having them mailed by October. After several mutual delays, she beat me and her swap arrived first. I'm so glad it's here...I love it! Hand embroidered and quilted...Andrea does beautiful work! Thank you, I will treasure it.

The boss was busy making things for me too. My son needed an ironing board and iron because he has to wear dress shirts to his new internship. I gladly gave him my 25 year old ironing board and bought a new one. I looked at all the larger ironing boards, all the while telling the boss what I really wanted...a big board. He offered to make one for me...I think we spent more time shopping for a board I didn't want than he did making this one! I love it, it makes it so much easier to iron yardage and the top pops off so I can iron clothes. Not that I do much of that!

My Pfaff is in the shop, we took it to Fabrics on the Hill in the beautiful Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. I'd never been there before and it was fun to shop in the little stores along Germantown Avenue. My favorite had to be Penzey's Spices...it smelled delicious and I had a good time in there!

Now I'm off to work...

January Rush

Back in May, when I was hired by Weight Watchers, they told me that gradually, I'd get a few meetings to work, but come January, I could work whenever I wanted. And they weren't kidding! I'm amazed at the number of new members that have been coming through our doors and at the amount of extra help we need! I'm enjoying the extra hours...I love my job!

Unfortunately, a few things have had to fall by the wayside, my blogging and quilting being two of them. I did finally finish the quilt I made for my friend as a Christmas gift.

I thought I'd be binding it on Christmas Eve, but she was away. I had plans to meet her for lunch yesterday afternoon, so there I was, late on Thursday night, finishing up the binding!

She loved the quilt, so it was all worth it!

After my lunch and gift giving, I went to my nephew's new house to help clean. I'm so excited for him...he's 24 years old, did well in college and is now moving up the corporate ladder at a major retailer. He closed on his first house yesterday...an adorable cape, with a built in pool and jacuzzi. We cleaned the kitchen, dusted the walls, vacuumed the floors, cleaned the bathrooms and generally got it ready for him to move his belongings in today. This afternoon, the Boss and I stopped by with a case of Hoegaarden as a housewarming gift. Yeah, I'm a good aunt. :o)

Happy New Year!

From our family to yours!

Christmas has flown by and it was wonderful to spend the time with our family. We've had a houseful since Christmas and have loved having everyone here. Andrew has gone back to his house now, but we still have Grace, Ellen and Ellen's boyfriend Jarred here. They'll be heading back to school on Friday. I'm hoping to do a little stitching tonight while waiting for the ball to drop...I haven't done any sewing since I finished that last customer quilt! I have been knitting a little...I hope I can finish the scarf for Ellen before winter is over.

I wish all of you a healthy and happy new year...filled with the people and things that you love.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a wonderful day, filled with the people and things you love. Have a blessed Christmas!

Counting down...

When the kids were little, we always took pictures of the boss pretending to hang them on the tree. We decorated the tree on Saturday and according to tradition...Andrew tried to hang his girlfriend Liz on the tree! She was a good sport and let him... Saturday evening the boss's sisters came for a visit. Rhonda (on the sofa) is here from Arizona and we hadn't seen her for quite awhile. It was good to catch up!

She brought her son, Noah, along with her...it was only the second time I'd met the little guy. He's a cutie! We corrupted him though...this was the first time he ever played with a Gameboy!

He loved it so much, he took it with him to keep himself entertained on the flight home! Of course he warmed up to Grace quickly, which led to tickle fights....

In the midst of the preparations for Christmas, I haven't made it into my sewing room, but I did cast on a feather and fan scarf for Ellen, in her favorite...hot pink!

The pattern can be found here. It's very simple and is working up quickly...I hope to have it finished before Ellen returns to school on January 2nd. I've had all the kids home for a few days and the boss is done travelling for the year. It's been strange to have so many people in the house...and to have to cook! I'm loving it...

I hope you're spending your holidays with those you love!

Coming Up for Air

Here's a gratuitous dog playing with his pepper picture so you don't remember that I haven't been here for over a week...
I've finally finished the last customer quilts of the year...

A shot of the back....

And I've attended the staff Christmas party for work. Now, here's a dilemma...when you're asked to bring a dessert to the work meeting, and you work for Weight Watchers, what do you bring? I settled on these little Snickers pies from the Hungry Girl website, which were quite easy to make. Take a regular size Snickers bar and cut it into 10 pieces. Put each one in a phyllo cup...

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees...

Let cool and serve. They were pretty good...and only 1 point each!

The Christmas tree is up (but not decorated), the cards are mailed, the gifts are wrapped...so now I get some time to play in my sewing room. If I don't come back in a few days, send chocolate!

December Ramblings...

I'm finding it hard to believe that it's December already! I've hardly started getting ready for Christmas yet, the decorations are still in the attic, although a few presents are bought. I picked up Christmas cards over the weekend, but the task of writing them out seems daunting!



The Thanksgiving holiday around here was fun. After the high school football game in the morning, I met my son and the boss at Ott's Tavern. It was the first time Andrew had been home since he turned 21, so it was our turn to take him out and buy him a beer. Life certainly feels different when you can go drinking with your kids! Afterwards, we headed to my parents' house for a delicious dinner of Crown Roast of Pork and all the trimmings. On Friday I cooked a turkey...what fun is Thanksgiving if you don't have leftovers? I didn't get the camera out all weekend...I'm just not a good blogger!



During the week I had painted my laundry room cabinets black...wish I could find the before pictures...these cabinets were hideous. Now that the doors are back on, with new hardware, I can't believe I waited almost 10 years to paint them...what was I thinking?





I've been doing a lot of customer quilting...here's a sneak peek of the quilt on the machine now. This one should be done in a day or two, then I'll only have two more customer quilts to quilt before Christmas. After that I will quilt the quilt that I'm giving as a Christmas gift. Why do I have a feeling that I'll be binding it on Christmas Eve?







About 2 weeks ago I spent a day at the hospital, having a biopsy and other procedures done. Yesterday I found out that everything is fine...no cancer, no tumors...and that with the proper medications, I'll be fine. Now that the stress is relieved, I'm looking forward to the holidays. I feel like I just received the best gift I could be given...anything else this Christmas will just be icing on the cake!