Hello...

is anyone still out there?  It's kind of funny...when you have a quilting blog and you put your longarm into storage, and you do almost no quilting or knitting...there's not much to post about!

Things are changing around here once again.  My full house is just a little emptier now.  We're back down to just our children living at home and at the end of the month, Andrew will be moving out.  So, it will be just us and the girls at home.  Since our house never sold and I have a sewing room again, my longarm will be coming out of storage...I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this!  I really hope to be quilting again soon!

Lee and Andrew working

In the meantime, it's Canoe Carnival time again and we've done a little building.  Our float is very simple this year, but should be good! We've had some beautiful days to work, so here are a few pictures...

Beautiful day at the lake!

And we have a beautiful place to enjoy while we're working... 

The Lake House

Hosta Garden

So anyway, I'm back and will be posting again...I've missed all of you!

Happy 4th of July!

“Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.”   ~Kahlil Gibran

Return to the Flood Zone

Last year we were fortunate enough to visit the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN. It poured while we were there and I talked about the flooding here.

The hotel reopened in November and we were invited back for a "Welcome Back" weekend this past weekend.  We had a fabulous time!  The staff welcomed us with open arms...they even applauded as we walked into the special reception that they held for the "survivors" on Friday night.

On Saturday morning we were invited to a hotel tour.  Our tour guides, Brad and Rob, were exceptional.  They showed us the hotel in all its restored beauty and pointed out the changes that were made during the restoration...new restaurants, new decor..they even renovated parts of the hotel that weren't damaged by the floodwaters.  We had a beautiful view of the Delta Atrium from our balcony, as well as the "Dancing Waters" show that was right outside our door!

While there we decided to take a ride to the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg. If you ever have the chance, GO!!!  It's a beautiful drive there from Nashville and the tour was so interesting...I just wish we could have taken pictures inside the buildings!  There was no taste testing either...it's located in a dry county.

Even without the taste testing, it was a great place to visit.  I found it interesting that Jack Daniels died after kicking a safe in anger when he couldn't get it open.  An infection set in, eventually killing him.

There's a life sized statue of him near the spring that the whiskey is made from.

So the boss and I had to pose!

Many thanks go out to the Gaylord Opryland for having us back to the hotel for 2 nights at no charge, as well as providing us with the tour, the reception and even Grand Ole Opry tickets.

 And did I mention the chocolates that they left in our rooms the first night? They were pretty amazing too!

Knit One...

Or maybe two!  In the last month I've finished one slouchy beret....

and made a second one....

 I've made a scarf to match the first beret...

and started a second scarf in my Easy Lace class, just for fun...

But I have not sewn a single stitch....I'll need to remedy that soon!

Cupcakes!

Not much to show lately, except for these cupcakes!  I did finish the hat and am almost done a scarf to match (at least the colors match!) Pictures to follow soon. Grace talked me into buying yarn for 3 more hats, to be finished by next winter.  Maybe.  I think I'll probably need to find a different pattern so I don't get bored!

I've been so  busy I haven't picked up my hand quilting in a few weeks.  That might be done by next winter too!

What was I thinking?

A few weeks ago there was a Groupon offer that I couldn't pass up.  Three knitting lessons at a yarn shop in Haddonfield, NJ called Woolplay, for only $40.  Grace and I decided to go on a little adventure on Thursday and head to Haddonfield to sign up for classes. Of course, we couldn't leave without buying a little something!  Grace saw a sample hat that she loved, so somehow I offered to make it for her.  The pattern is the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret by Natalie Hanson and is a free Ravelry download. She picked out a gorgeous Malabrigo Twist yarn in the Damask Rose colorway.

Yesterday, in spite of having far too many projects started, I wound the yarn and figured I'd give it a whirl.  This is where I am after an evening's knitting.  I hope to finish it this weekend.  I love the drape of the knitted fabric, it's so soft. Grace is already putting in orders for her next hats...she figures if I make her 365 of them, she'll have never have to wear the same one twice!  I think I'll have to teach her how to knit!

And what classes did I sign up for? An "Easy Lace" class and a class on fixing your mistakes...I need that one badly! I'll have one more class, which will be in the fall.  The surprising thing is, this delightful shop has been there for 6 YEARS and I didn't even know about it!

Spring?

I took my Plan C quilt outside to take some long overdue pictures....

And look what I saw!

Crocuses definitely mean Spring must be on the way!

It's beautiful here in NJ...it's nice to have the windows open...

I'll enjoy it while I can, the weekend will be colder!  I machine quilted this on my Pfaff. I'd forgotten how awkward it is to quilt on a domestic machine after having the longarm.   I'm thinking about selling the longarm. I won't be able to set it up again for years and I don't want it to sit idle that long.  So, do you think anyone would be interested? 

Snow Day!

Our little 2" to 4" of snow that we were getting last night turned into a foot of heavy, wet snow.

All the schools are closed, the Boss and Andrew's office is closed and I'm staying home all day!

 

We decided we're not putting the house back on the market since we now have all the kids plus one at home, so we bought a sofa for our living room.  Now we have this cozy little space that we can relax in while they are in the family room watching TV.

On the table is my Plan C quilt top from Carrie Nelson's Schnibbles Times Two book ...I'm hoping to machine quilt it on my Pfaff today...with a day off I might as well play!

I hope you enjoy your day!

On the Side...

Sherri at The Loopy Ewe is having a First Quarter 2011 Cable Challenge.  The idea is to knit anything with a cable and finish it this quarter.  Yeah, by the end of March.  I decided to jump on in because Grace had asked me to make a scarf that matched the mitts I made her last year.  Easy enough!  I gave her a few options and she chose On the Side (Ravelry link) by Abby Tohline.  So far it's knitting up pretty quickly and is a simple seed stitch with a reversible cable down one side. I'm hoping I can finish it before the winter is over...I'd like her to be able to use it!  

 

I'm alternating working on this with hand quilting my nine patch quilt.  It was a Christmas present for Andrew's girlfriend Dayna and she's waiting patiently for it.  One of these days...

I also got back to my machine last weekend and hope to have a finished top by the end of this weekend...I'll post that when it's done!  I'll quilt this one on my Pfaff since my longarm is still in storage, which is where it will remain for the foreseeable future.  Someday it will see the light of day again...I hope!

Daisy Damage

I love my puppy, but she's a chewer. She has her own quilt, which sits on the floor in the living room.  She plays on it, sleeps on it and NEVER chews HER quilt.  Mine, on the other hand, is fair game.  So, over the holidays she did this...

I decided to fix it today.  First I found similar fabrics and sewed them together.  Then I appliqued the blue side into the nine patch.

Then I did the same with the white...

I tucked a small piece of batting into the hole, then appliqued an old Debbie Mumm Santa over the hole in the back.

I did a little bit of stippling to hold everything together...and I thought it turned out pretty good!  Now I'll pack it away for next Christmas.

And now it's a quilt with a story!  (And I do still love Daisy!)

Happy New Year!

I wish you all the blessings that the new year can hold. I've been blessed with this group in the photo...they've brought so many wonderful things into our lives.  Jake and Ellen are on the left, Grace is in the center and Andrew and Dayna are on the right.  They're all remarkable young adults and I can't wait to see what wonderful things they do with their lives. 

There are changes in the works here at Lakeside Quilting.  We've invited Jake to live with us, after a rough patch in his life.  He's been a welcome addition to our household and a tremendous help with Daisy!  I've given him my sewing room as his bedroom, so there will be much less sewing by machine in the new year.  I currently have 3 or 4 quilts to be handquilted, as well as enough yarn to keep me busy for several years, so I'll be content with whatever time I get in front of the sewing machine.

Andrew will be spending more time at home as well and I'm so happy about that too!  Of course, with all these adults living in the house, I'm cooking a lot more, which is a good thing.  I enjoyed focusing on home this holiday season and we loved staying in with the kids this year...there's something about having everyone under my roof for Christmas that makes me happy and at peace. It was fun when they were little, but even more fun now that they're adults...and adding Dayna and Jake to the mix this year was fabulous.

So, 2011 will be an adventure here at Lakeside...and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you. Thanks to all of you who have continued to visit, in spite of the fact I don't post as regularly as I used to.  Thanks to those who comment and let me know that you're still out there. Thanks to all of you who have become such a large part of my life!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Daisy...

And from our "gingerbread" house to yours!

I wish you all the blessings of the Christmas Season!

December?

Time just seems to be flying by, so much to do, so much to see and not much time at the computer to share what's been happening! There haven't been any "finishes" for me, I'm still working on hand quilting the quilt (which will never be done in time for Christmas!) and I've got a few knitting projects sitting untouched.  I did get away for a few days.  There was a real estate convention in Atlantic City last week and my boss and I went from Tuesday to Thursday.  We stayed at Harrah's marina and this sand sculpture was in the lobby.

 After a series of little mishaps and inconveniences, Harrah's upgraded us to a suite in their Waterfront Tower, which was pretty spectacular.  I felt like royalty with our fancy bathrooom...

and our beautiful bedroom with an incredible view of the bay...

our lovely dining room, where we enjoyed our room service breakfast...

And even more beautiful views of the bay...

and our relaxing living room, where yes, I did sit and quilt for awhile!

We felt totally spoiled and enjoyed every minute of it.  Once I came home, I decided I needed a little Christmas. The Boss had suggested we go into Philadelphia to see the 'Christmas Village' which was set up by City Hall.  It was a collection of temporary shops which sold everything from mulled wine to German Christmas decorations.  It was set up around the city Christmas tree...

I just love City Hall...it's such a beautiful building!

Grace also wanted to do some shopping at Tiffany.  We did look at all the displays in the store, which was great fun!

Then we had dinner at Max Brenners...the food was incredible and the service was first rate. I was impressed that when they brought me the wrong food by mistake, they not only corrected it, but comped both my meal and my husband's. I'll definitely be going back.

Now I guess I should make some preparations for Christmas!  Most of the shopping is done, the tree is up with lights and the packages to far off places are mailed. We're not sure that we're decorating the tree this year, Daisy likes to chew most everything...furniture, kitchen towels, and I'm guessing that Christmas ornaments would be a real treat!

Happy Thanksgiving...

The rolls are baked

The apple pie is ready... 

The stuffing is made, the green beans cleaned...all that I'll have to do tomorrow is bake some cranberry bread, make mashed potatoes and gravy, and, oh yeah...roast that turkey!  We're staying home this year...the kids are looking forward to a quiet day filled with football and feasting.  We have another reason to stay home this year...

Daisy was spayed on Monday and she needs rest and relaxation so she can heal. Poor puppy, she does NOT like that collar around her head! But every time I take it off, she starts licking her incision, so on it stays.

I wish for you, my friends, a blessed Thanksgiving, filled with family, friends and all good things. Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Today is Andrew's 23rd birthday...I can't believe he's that old. Seems like yesterday that he was just a little guy, toddling around the house with his stuffed giraffe.  As you can tell from the picture, he might have grown up, but he's still a little kid inside!  He and his girlfriend Dayna dressed as Ash and Misty from Pokemon for Halloween.  Andrew, I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

It's the small things...

That make me happy! Today a customer stopped by with a copy of a just published book for me...Vivacious Curvy Quilts by Dianne S. Hire.

Inside was her quilt "Life on the Technicolor Highway", which I had quilted for her.  Here it is, on page 19...and not only mentions Jane as the creator, but me as the quilter! This is my first appearance in a book, although I did have a mention in McCall's quilting years ago, when I quilted a quilt for Michelle Scott.

But I guess it's always a thrill to see your name in print!!!