Still Here

I loved the thong-wearing rooster so much that I decided not to post so it would stay up longer. That's my story and I am sticking to it!

Actually I've been busy with classes and helping out at a local quilt shop during a four-day sale (now over) and actually sewing! Who knew! So hopefully tomorrow I will have something to show. I'm very pleased with my fabric choices for the project and am anxious to finish the top. I also got fabric for several more projects while working at the shop--while cutting one sees the best stuff come through--sort of like shopping vicariously. Of course, then one has to edit the list to make it manageable. I sort of did. But in my defense, I haven't bought this much fabric in quite a while!

So until tomorrow, I am signing off. I now have to decide whether to have some supper (yes, I know it is very late) or do more sewing. Hmmmm....

Hugs to all,
Sharon

Blame It On The Thong Revisited

Well, the person in question was apparently not too "chicken" to send the pictures! These are an absolute hoot.

If I'm not mistaken, isn't that a rooster modeling the thong? It would certainly explain why the cock crows so early!!!!! (Great recycling project--used oil cans maybe?) Cute thong, too!

Thanks for sharing, oh one who shall remain nameless! You have made my day!

Who knows what lurks for the blog tomorrow? Heh, heh--only me--are you scared yet? Just a little? Just got a little tingle? Okay, back to work for me!

Hugs,

Sharon

Quilting Retreat 2010 Part 4

The last day of the retreat saw activity in the dining room of Fuller House. The friendship quilt is tied with buttons and pearl cotton, with the option of hand or machine quilting in the borders. Prairie points are also tied down with buttons.

Here are Gale and Sharon studiously working on tying those buttons! You can see the edge of Myra's beauty in the lower right corner.

Off the dining room is a screened porch, where we usually sit for meals. There is a great view of the grounds from the porch, and you can see some rockers on the right side of the picture. Porching is a definite activity at Wiawaka! Here are Lucille and Kathleen.

And Cindy and Nancy.

Show and tell was lots of fun. Liz brought some of her art quilt projects; Nancy brought some samples of things she will be teaching this fall. Others brought quilts and tops galore; this is a very productive group! Last year's project was an eight-pointed Star of Hope which I designed and is hand pieced. Gale brought hers from last year--she just finished the hand quilting. Note the 3D work in the center. (The picture is skewed--her quilt is perfectly straight!)

Cindy liked the project so much that she has done a second. She is still designing the applique for the center. Note the fussy cut star points--just WOW!

All good things must come to an end. Here we all are on the steps that lead to the House of Trix. What a fun time we had. Thanks, ladies, for the wonderful memories.

Tomorrow--a surprise!

Hugs til then,

Sharon

P.S. Yes, I am wearing shorts--I wore shorts every day. Who knows? Maybe next year I'll wear sandals!

Quilting Retreat 2010 Part 3

Nancy with blues, golds, creams and reds. Stunning! Nancy is very quiet and works diligently, but she is a barrel of fun! Don't let that quiet demeanor fool you!
Lucille probably had the hardest time putting her top together. She had directional prints which she had fussy cut, plus her fabrics were not distinctly light and dark. It captured the Adirondack theme beautifully, and the eye is drawn in to see all the detail.

This was Kay's first ever retreat! She thought that I was running a sweat shop and was a bit apprehensive! She recovered quickly and did a fabulous job! (The blurry picture is strictly my fault--her quilt is not a bit fuzzy!) Don't you love the dark green ferny border with the prairie points against it? Many fabrics were auditioned before deciding on the green--the perfect choice!

Cindy's choice of golds, rusts, creams and greens gave a sharp, crisp flavor to her piece. The top row of prairie points was taking a rest during the photo shoot--they really are there! And what a happy smile! Well done, Cindy!

The enigmatic Kathleen peeking from behind her top! Kathleen had the unfortunate dryer incident--she was almost to Lake George when she realized her light fabric was in the dryer at home! Several hours behind her! Quilters to the rescue. Lights were offered from all quarters and Kathleen was off and running. The addition of the purply-pink was inspired and made the quilt really sparkle.

Myra's finished top was already on the table and buttons were being auditioned before I could catch her with the camera. The border is a soft gray green that is the perfect backdrop for the darker green prairie points. Myra chose to do a variety of colored buttons on the white squares--the perfect addition.

Tomorrow will be the final chapter for the retreat. It is so much fun to relive the experience we had at Wiawaka. Friends, quilting, chocolate, fabulous surroundings--the perfect combination.

Hugs to all,

Sharon

Quilting Retreat 2010 Part 2

Day Two saw significant progress on finishing the tops. First up is Sharon, who decided to make a wallhanging for over her granddaughter's bed. It will coordinate with the quilt she has made for her bed. Perfect for a little girl!

As a group we decided to use fabrics that reflected the colors we saw around us in August in Lake George. Sandy's top has prints for the center and plaids for the prairie points. A soft, serene palette.

Liz chose many Kaffe Fassett fabrics for her top and then traded extensively with the others to make this truly a friendship quilt. Liz does fabulous art quilts. See the "W" in the center of the quilt? Liz designed a paper pieced pattern for that--reflecting the W made of twigs on one of the bridges at Wiawaka. And she brought the pattern to share with all.

Myra with the center of her top. She used many shades of green, with white and off-white lights and highlights of gold and other fabrics she got in the trading. She framed her W with stunning birch tree fabric she brought and shared.

The story continues tomorrow--same quilt time, same quilt blog. Stay tuned!

Hugs,

Sharon

Quilting Retreat 2010 Part 1

Last week saw eleven of us quilting, eating chocolate and having an absolute blast! We were at Wiawaka Holiday House, on the east side of Lake George. House of Trix, my classroom, is right on the water and one can wade into the lake from the porch!

Here are Sharon, Gale, Lucille, and Kathleen hard at work on the Friendship Quilt. This is the inside of the House of Trix.

Nancy, Cindy, Sandy and Kay.

Myra and Liz. So serious!

On day one we cut out the quilt. Squares of fabrics were exchanged as desired. The quilt is formed in rows. Here you see Liz's start.

And Kathleen's. Wait til you see them a bit further along!

Stay tuned for part 2! (This will play out over multiple posts--there are lots of pictures and we had a wonderful time!)

Hugs,

Sharon

P.S. No posting for last week because I had no internet connection. Did you miss me? Okay, those who are saying it was a good miss need to wipe that smirk off your face ;-)

Binding

What a fun day! I had the pleasure of helping five fabulous women learn to bind and add hanging sleeves. The day started with T. telling us how she had been humiliated in a class at another store by another instructor. And how she would not be going back to said store. Isn't that sad? But she was telling the story with a huge smile and a great sense of humor and we were off and rolling!

Everyone got their sleeve and the binding on by machine. I demonstrated the hand sewing portion and off we went. At one point we were laughing really hard and a customer said we were having way too much fun! Quilting is supposed to be fun!

Hugs,
Sharon

P.S. Jenni, thank you for sharing your story with Sheila. Sheila, soooo great to finally lay eyes and hugs upon you!

Happy Sunday

I've been busy doing some actual sewing today. Tried a new project which I will show you later in the week. The heat and humidity are back in full force. It's bad enough to have my own "personal summer" about every five minutes, but add in Mother Nature's special touch and I feel like I will spontaneously combust! At least I can stop asking "Is it hot in here?" because it always is for me!

Check out how beautifully shaped Hallie's ears are!

More soon!

Hugs,
Sharon

Gifts

Remember in a prior post I showed you "The Haul". Here is part one of what I did with some of it.

My friend Julie loves Maxine, so you can imagine my excitement at finding this! I got two fat quarters and made three 7.5 inch finished potholders and a set of four coasters. All are reversible to the other fabric.

My favorite is, or was, the green. It makes me absolutely insane to have its and it's misused! It would be at least slightly less annoying if people erred on the side of NOT using the apostrophe in everything. What this really says is "Age has it is advantages". I have another fabric I bought several years ago that was supposed to say "Angels we have heard on high" but actually said "Angles we have heard on high". I didn't know angles spoke....

Okay, I'm done ranting. Here are the potholders and coasters all neatly tied and ready for gifting. I'm not sure if Julie is keeping up on the blog, so this will either be a surprise now or when she really gets them. Which will be soon--no occasion required.

This was not fabric from "The Haul"; I got it in Massachusetts when I was there in June. I thought it would be perfect for Dick, the farrier who shoes the horses I help with. Both sides are the same and I only had one fat quarter. Two potholders and one slightly oversized coaster. I know Dick doesn't read the blog--so these will be a surprise when he actually gets them!

Here's what I am listening to: Tribute by Nora Roberts.

Here's what I am reading: Still State Fair by Earlene Fowler, plus The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd by Joe Camp AND Eat the Cookie...Buy the Shoes (Giving Yourself Permission to Lighten Up) by Joyce Meyer.

Til tomorrow!

Sharon

Blame It On The Thong

On Thursday, these five women and I had the best time! We rotary cut and laughed. We machine pieced and pressed and we laughed. The thong part comes from when I was telling them about the local farm/feed store carrying a thong made for horseback riding. And then one of these five seemingly innocent women admitted to having a thong. She was supposed to send me a picture of said thong for this post, but I think she chickened out. (Now, get your mind out of the gutter...it was just a picture of the thong, not her in it...jeesh...no wonder she was afraid!)


One of the ladies was new to quilting and you could see her just blossoming as her skills increased. One is making the quilt for her son, who turns seven; one is making it for her family and chose fabrics and colors outside her comfort zone. One is going to be a comfort quilt for a family member. It was one of those days that will long live in my memory as so special. Thank you, ladies! You are the best!

On a different topic, check out this blog:

http://tttl1998.blogspot.com/2010/08/surprise.html

You may have seen Jay's name in the comments on my blog and this is a blog post from Japan about him! You'll see why I am so proud to call him my friend.

Tomorrow I will have pictures of what I did today! In the mean time, you can make up your own stories about why we are "blaming it on the thong!" You might even share them with us--okay, maybe not!

Hugs til tomorrow,
Sharon

Thursday

Just a quick post for tonight. It was a wonderful day and I will share more of that story tomorrow, complete with pictures. It's still hot and sticky here. It rained torrentially for a bit today, but it only made it more humid. I seriously did not think that was possible.

Perhaps, as part of my new presidential campaign, I will propose that when the temperature reaches a certain number of degrees and the humidity is 1 billion percent (doesn't it feel that way!), all of America will have the option of going totally nude. I mean, really, one can only take off so much clothing in polite society, so let's legislate a nude polite society. Okay, maybe just a polite society would be a start. Just sayin'.

Okay, enough rambling for tonight. Stay tuned for the next installment.

Hugs,
Sharon

Lily of the Valley

Several years ago I spent some time with the Feather Princesses, a chapter of The Applique Society, in the Tampa, Florida, area. These ladies are very serious about their applique and it shows in their workmanship.

Elaine C. was in the Lily of the Valley class and she recently sent me this picture.

It is always thrilling to see finished projects from classes--and this is no exception. Elaine added the embroidered stamens to the pattern I provided, which is based on a Nancy Cabot design. Students learned how to form 1/8 inch stems, appli-piece leaves, backstitch embroidery and so much more. The use of the black background really makes these yellow flowers pop! Great job, Elaine! Thanks so much for sharing.

Sorry I didn't post last night; by the time I got home it was after midnight, so I decided to take a bye. On a totally unrelated note, have you tried coconut M&Ms? Delish!!!!

Loved Julie and Julia! What is it about Stanley Tucci? I remember liking him in Shall We Dance, but this was even better! Apparently Meryl Streep asked for him specifically! And I just sat and watched the movie--not even knitting!

Goodnight for now!

Hugs,

Sharon

Check These Out!

These are the coolest things!

First is a new ChapStick - Fresh Effects in refreshing mandarin. It makes your lips tingle and it tastes great! Still a bit hard to find, but definitely worth looking for.
Last night I had mentioned the color catchers. Here's what the box looks like to help you find it. Usually in the laundry/softener/pretreater aisle.

This stuff is so fabulous, I just can't say enough! I had a couple shirts with set-in stains (that I had tried to pretreat before previous washings--obviously unsuccessfully). So as a last ditch effort and with a thought of Billy Mays, here's what I got:

You can treat up to a week ahead of washing, or use it immediately. Here's what the cap looks like. You push down on it to release the product and then use the knobby things on the top to rub it in! My tube is almost gone--but no worries, I have another on stand-by. The gel is blue.

As always, absolutely no money was given to me for my endorsements. I wonder how I get on the endorsement bandwagon? Oh, well, my integrity is still intact ;-)

That's it for tonight. I am going to get something to eat and sit and watch Julie and Julia on DVD. Perhaps finish the gusset decreases on the sock I'm working on and maybe get a start on the foot. Or perhaps I will simply sit and look at the screen. It's really a toss-up at the moment.

Hugs,

Sharon

The Haul

I thought you might like to see what I bought yesterday! The fabric in the top row, from left to right, is for: backing of an applique piece, the potential background for the hexagons the border for another applique piece, 13 pieces to go to the retreat, and the last two are for a small tablerunner.

The bottom row is: a just because, Maxine fabric x 2, another just because, and the rest of the row is for a new pieced sample.

Close-ups:

I am very pleased and am in the process of washing the lot. Do you all know about Shout Color Catchers? I swear by them! You simply put one in each load of fabric (and darker clothing). When you get ready to put the fabric in the dryer, find the color catcher and see if it is still white. If not, you have a "bleeder" and need to find it. I had a batch of fabric recently that I had to wash 4 times before the color catcher was white. Better to know now than when the fabric does its dastardly deed in a finished quilt. I also just bought some dark colored polo shirts and they ran. Color catchers to the rescue!

I'll keep you posted on how the fabrics are used. What are you all working on? I'm also trying to make some semblance of order out of the horizontal surfaces throughout the house. I fear it is a losing battle...but I am forging onward.

Hugs,

Sharon

P.S. I am reading State Fair by Earlene Fowler and listening to Spartan Gold by Clive Cussler.