Soliciting Opinions

I have come to the decision that I want to explore a quilting machine. The past few years I have graduated out of the wall hangings and into bed size quilts. I cannot maneuver anything larger than a twin in my machine. Which has resulted in my UFO pile to be made up of a King top (brother and SIL), Queen top (mine), a Joann Fabric BOM from way back and a huge desire to do more than wall hangings.
Any suggestions, opinions, etc??

The Amish Auction

Saturday I dragged my husband and son to an auction that was to benefit the local Amish schools.

We drove over Friday night to make sure we knew where we were going because I had heard that if we didn't get there at 7AM (Un-natural on a Saturday) we would be parking in Timbuktu and with the husbands fake knee that is not good and does not help my case to him being there with me. So we got that figured out and just seeing all the stuff was amazing! So we get home and the hubby decides to start a batch of home brew- a 4 hours process! I went to bed without him at 11 and have no idea when he was done.

So we did not arrive at 7AM as I had wanted-8:30! I didn't complain because I knew how lucky I was to have him there at all. We wandered around and were amazed at all the stuff! It ranged from normal trash to treasure stuff, to homemade furniture, farm animals, quilts, crafts and bedding plants. It was awesome.

Zach and I checked out the quilts and he was amazed at their desks! The desk was the back of the chair-how neat he thought. The quilts were amazing and to think they were completely hand done! To me that is amazing because the only hand done on anything of mine is the binding.

The hubby and I discussed that we would bid on one big enough for our bed (king) and in a design that I would never do-Applique or curved piecing (I know my limits) yet we had a $300 limit. We have a big vacation coming in July and are headed to our parents Memorial Day weekend.

So there were some awesome ones that we tried for but they were going for $400+ oh well. I was able to get this neat wall hanging for $50-it is about 52" square and I liked the colors although it is really pink. I also got at table runner in a wedding ring design that has yet to make it in front of the camera.

I was successful in adding the borders to my Miniature Booty quilt and now just need to decide how to quilt it-traditional like the pattern or modern like the fabrics....hmmmm.

So glad tomorrow is Friday

No sewing this week and that stinks! I got some great thread on Sunday and cannot wait to give my Amish 9-patch a modern twist and yesterday my Smoke YLI thread awaited my return from work and I want to get my friends Miranda bag done this weekend. She chose the beautiful fabrics from the Moda Shangri-La line and I didn't want to take away from the fabric design with the quilting so I decided to quilt with the smoke filament. Plus there is my Booty quilt to add the borders to and the ALQS to design. I think since that one is not due until July I might go with an Applique design-just a thought.
I am grateful that tomorrow is Friday and this busy, crazy week will be done!
Saturday is a local Amish school fundraising auction-I am so excited-there are over 200 quilts to be auctioned! I love watching how much they go for!

Yesterday was supposed to have been scattered showers so instead of being stuck inside we planned a day trip to Philadelphia. 9AM on a beautiful blue sky morning with the portable DVD player and a sitter for the dog we headed to Philly. We never had one rain drop. I am not complaining because it was a beautiful day with the blooming trees and flowers.

We visited a few of our favorite places: Conshohocken Italian Bakery, Trader Joe's and of course IKEA-my favorite. If they carried fabric I would never leave!! My husband is NOT a fan of IKEA but he was so tolerant of my looking at everything and the child was allowed to drive the cart so he could have cared less. A while back I had bought the child these square containers with wheels and lids that could stack on each other. They have been great for LEGO'S-he can wheel them from room to room versus carrying something-8 year old boys are not known for their grace or balance. After Christmas and his birthday the LEGO'S have outgrown the container and a new one was in order-the purpose of the trip. No worries that was not all that I found! I have been buying spices in plastic flat containers that take up a lot or room in my cupboard so I found some "spice" jars. We have been talking about a new knife set but just haven't gotten around to researching it so IKEA had 4 in a block for $4-what the hay-if they only cut paper it was a good deal!! That was not all but those were my favorites!

The next stop was Trader Joe's. We are not organic, wholesome food eaters as a practice-we enjoy our hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and such. We visit Trader Joe's for the unique products that we cannot get anywhere else. We love their grilled veggies with balsamic butter. This trip found White Balsamic Vinegar, artichoke ravioli and a Gorgonzola raspberry salad dressing in our cart. The child decide he could not live without sushi for one more minute so he opted for 2 packs of veggie rolls. Yup-the 8yro loves his sushi and he is willing to try different ones-not me, I am stuck on veggie or California.

So that was our scattered shower day-shopping in mid 70 weather. Sadly we did not visit a fabric store-when I persuade the hubby to visit IKEA I cannot push the limit to include fabric too....

A quilt story

I haven't done any quilting this week so I have no updates to show there so I thought I would show some stuff I have done in the past. Unfortunately this is not a flattering picture but I will share just the same: It is 12x12 and was my first attempt at applique and a miniature. At the time I had a 90 minute drive to work with 20 of those 90 minutes spent at stop lights in downtown Raleigh NC. I sewed the center while at those stop lights. You cannot tell from the picture but the fabrics are all of the same design just different colors. I love this quilt. I sewed magnets into pockets on the back so I can hang it on the cabinets in my office. I would love to do another one but cannot remember where the pattern came from-hmmm.

The top to the Booty Swap is done and now that my rectangle size has been approved I will add the borders this weekend. I need a cool variegated thread and had planned on heading to JoAnn's on Saturday but the new ad came today and if I am patient and wait until Sunday the thread will be 1/2 off along with the cutting accessories!! I have learned that paper piecing is rough on my rotary blades and am in need for some new ones!

Happy quilting Cyber Guild! ;)

What a beautiful day it was in central PA-60+ Degrees, blue sky, sunny-just beautiful. A good part was that the boy was outside playing and I was left to sew with minimal interruptions. I got the top to my Miniature Booty Swap done and just need to decide how to put borders on it.
It was fun and kind of scary because you are selecting colors and a design for a stranger and hoping you make the right choices and they will like it...I like it enough that I want to make one for myself just a little bigger.

Quilt Swap

I have done lots of quilts as gifts and have even managed to keep a few for myself, only a few. So I have never wondered what I would like to receive because I have NEVER received a quilt. I would be appreciative of anything that someone took the time to do-because having done so many for everyone else I entirely appreciate the time and care that will go into my new mini.

My Very First Quilt Swap!!

I rushed home from work this evening knowing that my partner's information was going to be waiting for me-hurray!! Never have I been so impatient waiting for junk mail to load and move to the trash!

I was not disappointed-there is was-the whole reason for my new found interest in blogging-a Quilt Swap partner. Life is good.

Now time to play in EQ, hunt through the stash and possibly plan a trip to my local quilt shop, Our Gathering Place, www.ogpquiltshop.com. Never really need an excuse to go in my mind but justifies it to the hubby.

Beautiful huh? What a nice surprise while I was outside chasing the dog on this balmy central PA evening.

Work today was long, this headcold is refusing to go away-I may have to relent and admit it may be allergies versus a cold. I have felt like doing nothing after work. Which is really bad because I have a Miranda bag that I need to finish as a gift, two Amish 9-patch wall hangings to quilt and bind and 2 charm packs of Shangri-La to play with...I think I want to do the disappearing 9-patch with some of my charms only not at 4". The great part of the day was having 2 quilting magazines in my share of the mail! Quiltmaker and Fons & Porter. Quiltmaker showcased a quilt and a machine quilter from my hometown of Watertown NY-how neat!