A Whole Day At Home....

yay for me.  Last night I traced the first stitchery for the Homespun stitch-along, and today I fused down the interfacing behind it.  I use Frixion pens to trace with, they disappear when you add heat - and there's always a heart-stopping moment when all of your hard work disappears in front of your eyes!



But then, you put it in a baggie and stick it in the freezer, and it comes right back.  Which reminds me - I have to get my stitching out of the freezer.

While I was chilling my stitchery, I decided to finally do something about my latest freebie.  I've taken to using pinking shears on the edges of all my stitcheries, it keeps them from fraying - I know, I'm late to that party, but I finally got there.



I took my strips that I had cut [1.5 inches], started stitching them together, and adding them to my little design.



Just kind of going around with them, similar to a log cabin.  Random piecing.



Stitch, then trim even with the end.




All the way around.



Very random, not much thought involved, the perfect Sunday-at-home project.  I added little bits in as I went.  Gee, I kind of like it just like that, should I stop?  Um, no, having too much fun.

By the way - I'm a seam open kind of gal, I always press them open except for the ones right along the edge of my stitchery.  It's hard to get a nice press with the interfacing on the back, so I press that one toward the outside.  See?



I kept adding rounds until I really liked what I saw, and decided to stop.



And hooray for stash, I found some variegated autumn colored quilting thread.



Simple wavy quilting, and the BEST knife-edge binding tutorial I've ever seen, thanks to Victoria at The Silly BooDilly....and my little quilt is done!



And the sun is still up!  I don't know how to act, having a finish when it's still daylight!  I hope you had a great Sunday too!!!

American Sewing Expo

That's where Cathy and I went today, and wow was it small.  We'd been through everything by 10am, and we got there at 9am.  We had arranged to meet Mary-Kay and her friend for lunch, thank goodness we ran into them and decided to eat early.  Not at 10am though, lol...Cathy and I were on our second go-round when we ran into them.



Mary-Kay's friend [how embarrassing, I've lost her name already] - Mary-Kay, and me.  Grey bangs shining like a beacon.

We chatted with this lovely lady while we waited for the show to open.



She's the founder of The Sewing Machine Project, they collect and distribute sewing machines to women around the world.  They've donated 750 to just New Orleans.  AMAZING story  - check her out, and if you have a sewing machine collecting dust, consider donating!  She also had some gorgeous messenger-style bags made out of sails, and decorated by artists, and the sale helps them raise funds.  Sewing machines are expensive to ship!  You can check those out too, here at Sea Hope Partners.

All I bought were my usual leather dot thimbles, I was almost out.  I get some every year.  Cathy did a little better. *G*  Afterward, we stopped at Joann Fabrics, and I got all the floss I'll need for the stitch-along at Homespun that I'm doing with Wendy.   And when I got home, I got the first block traced!  I'll fuse the interfacing to the back tomorrow, then start stitching the first block, yay!

I hope you're having a great weekend too!

The Hurrier I Go, The Behinder I Get

Seriously.  The old adage of 'if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it' does not apply to me.  The more I try to do, the less I get done.

Wendy from Sugarlane Quilts blessed my socks off the other day.   I saw a new stitch-along that she's doing on her blog, and fell in love with it - it's from Australian Homespun magazine, and of course I don't live in Australia.  The first block is in the magazine, and the rest are free downloads from their website.  She sent me the magazine, and two skeins of floss - isn't she a sweetie?  Look how cute this is, and see if you could resist it....




See???  Thank you darling Wendy, I can't wait to get started!

But that's not all.  Cori from Creativity Amongst Chaos just made a new pattern, and had a give away on her blog.  OH MY.  Cutest ever!  I bookmarked the page of her shop, so I could buy the pattern if I didn't win.  Well, I tend to browse my bookmarks late at night, when I'm sleepy, and totally forgot I entered her give away.  I bought the pattern before it ended, it's just way too cute and I had to have it.  Didn't even realize she'd have five winners...and guess who was one of them, lol!



The new pattern is called Dive In, see why I had to have it?  Bless her heart, she emailed me to tell me I won, and I laughed, and told her to pick someone else as I had just purchased it - and she offered me to let me pick another pattern!  So I picked Merry Kissmas, and they both came a few days ago.  If you love Dive In as much as I do, you can purchase it here!  The mouse wreath I'm going to make for my aunt for Christmas, I think she'll like it.

So I'm getting ready to get a lot done, hahahahaha.  Really, I am.  I have so many things going on right now....my latest free design is up on my design wall, waiting to become a little quilt.



I managed to get the strips cut, just need some time to work on it.  AND - I've been looking through some UFO's, I have so many things I've started that I think I'll give each project its own day.  Monday for this, Tuesday for that...and hopefully I'll have a finish before Christmas.  I do get a bit of stitching done while I wait in the car for mum to finish therapy, takes two hours 3 times a week.

Today I spent several hours running mum around - getting her meds, groceries, etc.  I'm exhausted, and as soon as dinner is in the oven I'm going to sit and stitch.  May have to get my jammies on first....hope you're having a great day too!

One of the sights around the metro area today....

Is It December Yet?

Cuz it sure feels like it.  Today we went here...



to meet our bestie friends from Canada.  It was an awesome visit but not long enough, and it COULD have been a wee bit warmer.  We didn't stay on the beach long.

Oh, and the court thing?  Didn't have to testify after all!  He saw everyone ready to testify against him and decided to forgo a jury trial.  He changed his plea to guilty and off to jail he went.  So relieved.  Thank you so much for all your kind thoughts and prayers.

I'm hoping to get stitching this week.  I'll show you what I'm going to start, soon, just need to take a picture, and it's dark right now.  It's all Wendy's fault *G*  She's such a dear!

And before I forget [I'm so tired, all that fresh air you know], Jenny is having a give-away, go see and enter!  If you tell her you heard it from me, and win, I could win too!  When you see what she's giving away, you'll want to enter, for sure - the cutest gumboot fabric EVER.  Check out her latest magazine issue as well, her guest designer this month is Michelle from The Raspberry Rabbits!  The projects in it are all so darling, and Jenny's daughter has a project in there too!  So cute!

I'll leave you with my favorite recent pic - my son and Chris Osgood, former goalie for the Detroit Red Wings.  We went to a recent autograph signing and got to meet him - one of my favorite players ever - so sad he's retired!

30 Days Hath September

And for some odd reason, they're always the busiest of the year for me.  I have No Time for blog reading, no time for anything.  Hopefully I'll be back next week with more time.  If you think of it, please say a prayer for me in the morning [Friday] as I have to testify in court and I'm terrified.  Simple case, nothing scary, but for a brief moment I'll be the center of attention and I Hate That.  Give me some good flowered wallpaper to fade into and I'm happy.

Have a great weekend.....

How About A Free Design....

I know it's not autumn yet, but it sure feels like it here in Michigan.  The temps will be going into the 40's tonight, we'll have to throw an extra quilt on!  Nothing wrong with that.

I've been wanting to do a cattail design lately, and today was the day.  This design is in honor of autumn, because while summer remains my favorite season, I do love the cooler nights and the changing leaves.  We won't talk about the Big Spiders at this time of year.

You can get the pdf of the design HERE.  It's only the design, I've only drawn it up today.  I'm tracing it out tonight and will start stitching, and will show you when it's done...it's going to be a small wallhanging, cuz I have no imagination, lol.  I'm stitching it on yellow, and will add autumn colors to the border.  Everything will be stitched in backstitch, using two strands of floss, except for Emily Bronte's name, where I'll use one strand of floss.

Please do get the pdf, the size is right and I can't guarantee it'll come out properly by saving the picture.  I'd love to see it if you make it!

Have a great weekend everyone...

Hmph

The darn sewing fairy hasn't shown up in my sewing room for quite awhile.  I'm not getting very far on my hst's without her.



They're still sitting next to the sewing machine, waiting patiently.

I've got two stitchery projects going, the hst's, and what am I doing?  Why, starting something new, of course....



This is a freebie from Kaaren at The Painted Quilt, can't remember exactly when she offered it but it's still there and I'm finally doing it.  The cutest Raggedy Ann quilt ever.  I can no longer resist.  Plus, I really need to print out Jenny's Promises and Borders, I have the fabric all picked for that too.

We need more hours in our days, don't we?  I know I'm not alone in this!

Kitty is making me sleepy....she finds the tiniest boxes....



By the way, I've started watermarking all of my photos.  Jocelyn did an excellent post on "scraping", and how your blog content can be stolen very easily.  I'm not a huge blog either, but don't like the thought of someone else using my content.  Go read her post and check out the links on how you can stop this too!

Scraping is not pinning, by the way...I don't mind pinterest at all, because it links back here.  I adore pinterest and spend far too much time there myself.  This IS a pin friendly blog!

The New Do And A Complaint

Ok, you asked for it...here's the new me.



I feel better now.  It may not look like this every day, I don't like having to pull out the blow-dryer and flat-iron.  But I do like it.

And now the complaint.  Word Verification - need I say more?  Carrie, Karen and Lori have all posted about it as well.  I read a LOT of blogs, comment on a lot of them, and this is driving me crazy as well.  On most, I have to type in the word and a number, and I can't see either of them well.  I only try once to type in the word - if it's wrong, you're not getting a comment from me.  Which drives me nuts, as blogging is a very sharing community, and I love to leave comments!  But since my time is so limited these days, I'm not even going to try once.

Blogger has a wonderful spam folder that spam comments go in.  I check mine once in awhile - mostly they're emailed to me and I can go in and delete them.  They never show up on my blog.  I love this blogging community, and I love to make friends here, but if I see something like this

then I'm done.  I'll read your blog but you won't hear from me.  I can't even read that, can you????

If you don't know if you have word verification or not, go to your blog and try to comment.  See if it's easy for your readers.  If you have it, Lori tells you how to get rid of it.  If you decide you still want it, by all means keep it, I'm not saying you should all do as I do - but if you don't hear from me, then at least you'll know why.  

And now I really, really should get some sewing in...I think I'll pick up some of those half square triangles that are glaring at me from the sewing machine and get busy!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Catching Up

Well, I think I'm all caught up with emails and blogs - it's not been easy.  Not only because I was out of town, but because every day I have to take mum to physical therapy and.  I say physical therapy 'and' because it's never just physical therapy.  I never know where I'll end up!

I was going to show you what I got in New York.  Not much....but I did get some gorgeous New York fabric from the City Quilter.  And huge bonus, if you can't make it to the store, you can order online!!!  They have their own line of NY fabric!

These are the fat quarters I got....subway fabric,



newsprint,



and these fabulous artsy-fartsy prints.




Someone asked what I was going to make with them, and I said MAKE???  I'm going to put them on a shelf and pet them now and then.  That's it.

I also got these slippers at the Insane Asylum M&M store.



I spotted them, and by that time, my feet were so sore even walls of candy couldn't tempt me - but memory foam slippers?  Couldn't get them fast enough.

A few of you asked if I was in any of the pictures.  Well, yes.  Yes I was.  We're fortunate the camera survived.  Did you ever think you looked one way, then saw a picture of yourself, and almost had to ask "who's THAT?"  Ew.  Well, that's me.  This is why I didn't show any pics of me....



That's my back, in the red shirt.  I had my hair in one of those bun clips, and thought it looked just fine.  *snort*  I look like I have an alien attacking my hair.  It looks messy and wiry and just plain old.  Trust me, the front is worse.  So. Much. Worse.

So today, I cut 6 inches off my hair, got out my trusty flat iron and went to town.  I'll get a pic one of these days.  MUCH better.

But that's not all.  In the pictures, I realized I'm growing wings.  You know, that excess that some women get on their upper arms....didn't know I shouldn't be wearing sleeveless shirts, but I do now!  Heaven help me I'm getting old.  I also broke out the dumbbells today.  Don't know if it will help but it sure can't hurt, right?  Listen girls, if you're under 40, get busy.  Start working out.  Don't make me show you my arms.  I'll be 54 next year and most of the time, I don't know it - I still think of myself as young and thin, until I see the proof.  The older you get, the more your mind plays tricks on you!

I'm staying home tomorrow, I don't know how to act - such a rare occurrence anymore!  I think there might be some sewing going to happen, whoopee!  Have a great Friday, everyone, hope you get to sew too!

I Heart New York [Very Long Post]

Oh. My.  I really do.  I can't wait to go back.  We didn't see a third of the things we wanted to.  I do have trouble walking, and walking is a must....mum was struggling too.  But OH.  MY.  What a city!


Outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal

We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Secaucus, New Jersey.  Took us 12 hours to get there from Detroit [lots of potty stops for mum].  Very nice hotel, the staff was awesome, clean and comfortable rooms.  The bus to NY picked us up right across the street from the hotel, and the bus stop had a vending machine to buy tickets.  We went through the Lincoln Tunnel into the city, and were dropped off at the Port Authority Terminal, where you can also pick up the subway.

 

Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden, outside Port Authority

We were a little overwhelmed at that point, but my niece met us there and took charge of us poor tourists.  Our first stop was City Quilter!



Inside City Quilter

What a lovely store, and really nice folks there.  Everywhere we went in New York, the people were so nice - and we felt totally safe the entire time.  New York felt more like a large village to me than anything else.  I did make a purchase at City Quilter, I'll show you another time.


Empire State Building

Our next stop was Times Square.  We walked there.  And walked.  And walked some more.  The closer we got, the more congested it got, and by the time we got to the M&M Store it was hard to move.  Inside the store was insane.






The only thing I got at the M&M Store was a lovely padded pair of M&M slippers.  John got a pound of M&M's, cost him $15!  Walls and walls of candy.  This was the only part of the city I didn't enjoy - far too crowded.  We did see the Naked Cowboy [plays guitar in his underwear] and the Candy Man [dressed only in candy necklaces - had a skirt made of them].

We all got hot dogs from a street vendor, oh yum.  Then headed back to the hotel to sleep - we had been up since 1:30am, on the road since 3am.  The next morning, we got back on the bus, and took the subway all the way down to the World Trade Center Memorial.


Mum on the subway

We had made reservations the night before to go inside, but got there late and our tickets had expired.  So we just walked around and enjoyed looking at the buildings, and slowly made our way toward Battery Park and the Staten Island Ferry.




We walked by Trinity Church, and stayed for about an hour.  It was lovely.  Very close to the WTC.





Alexander Hamilton is buried in the churchyard, along with several other notables.  The interior is stunning.

I don't know what this building was, but I loved it.




At Battery Park near the Staten Island Ferry

We finally arrived at the Staten Island Ferry.



Interesting food kiosk outside the terminal.

The ferry holds a massive amount of people.  Here's John, Sam and mum on the ferry, and the Statue of Liberty from the ferry - with zoom.




After the ferry ride [free], we headed back to the subway right outside the terminal and rode it all the way back up to Central Park, where we met my niece and her girlfriend again.  I met two of the nicest gentlemen from England on the subway - we chatted like best friends for the entire ride.  They had flown in from London, it only took them 7 hours - it had taken us 12 to drive from Detroit!  They were at their first stop on a cross-country journey, heading toward San Diego, I believe.




We didn't get far.  It's very hilly in there, and mum was struggling, so we left and headed slowly back to the Port Authority.  Some interesting sights along the way...



Lincoln Center

Metropolitan Opera - they were having a free concert, but we couldn't stay


I could have walked for days, looking at the architecture of New York.  I love the contrast between the very old and the very new, side by side, existing in such harmony.







And I could do a whole picture post of doors.  Love the doors.

And that was it.  We went back to the hotel, and next morning bright and early, we headed home.  Through the Appalachians, Allegheny and Pocono mountains, I think.  They were big, whatever they were.


No idea how high up we were - we were in the clouds.

My poor Toyota Rav4 didn't like the mountains.  There was one steep hill coming out of New Jersey, it was 5 miles long and it was so hard to maintain my speed!  On the way home, I had to put the a/c on to keep the car from overheating, but we made it.  Turns out my heater core might have gone bad, so thank you Lord for getting us safely home.

Whew.  I want to go back.  I want to take a year and thoroughly explore the city.  So much we didn't get to see!  But so much we did, lol!  Now, I need to get out of vacation mode, and try to catch up on blogging and emails, if that's even possible.  And I suppose I should unpack sometime today.....I guess I'll go get more coffee.  See you soon....