We're Back from our Road Trip

Sue and I are back from our road trip and did we ever have a great time...We left here Sunday morning and headed up to Log Cabin Patchworks in Hiawassee, GA...we didn't have any lodging reservations but saw a big sign for Holiday Inn Express and headed toward it. Started to turn up the hill and there was a sign for the quilt shop...can you just imagine our delight...the quilt shop was one driveway up from the hotel. YIPPEE! We were at their door at 10a.m. sharp. It was just a wonderful shop...we both shopped like wild women...who would ever guess that we were in a quilt shop every single day. Here are a few of my purchases...these are just some reproduction fabrics that I picked up along the way to add to my stash. I also got some Chelsea Boutique fabrics to do the 2 jelly roll quilts in Blackbird's new book Chelsea Boutique...also got a bundle of "Vintage Reserve"...oh how I love that fabric.
 
Well Picasa just went nuts and won't let my do any more pictures. I'll come back tomorrow and add those...I must show you the feed store we found that had a quilt shop in it and the beautiful rhododendron garden that we went to in Hiawassee. I added way too many projects to my life this past week. I must live long enough to finish them all...I'll be 650 years old! Have a good evening everyone.

Our Road Trip Begins

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Sue and I are leaving at 9 this morning for our road trip...we are so excited. We'll be heading up to Hiawassee, GA today...and be at the Log Cabin quilt shop's front door when they open in the morning. Sue has done a mapquest for the whole trip...we are going to be busy girls...so much fun...so many quilt shops. YIPPEE! I'll take pictures...Howie and Zack gave me my Mother's Day present early...a new tiny digital camera. I am so thrilled. My old camera was one of the original digitals..big, heavy and had a tiny screen. The new one is small, thin, light and has a 2.5" screen. Boy oh Boy do Howie and Zack ever know how to shop for me. See you when I get back...we'll be home Thursday. Have a great week.

I think I'm treading water...

I feel like I'm just treading water right now. I'm not getting a lot done, even though I have the desire to be upstairs sewing all the time...I just don't seem to get there. Since Andy's retirement in mid-April I just can't seem to get back into my wonderful routine. I guess I'm a real creature of habit and it's hard to make big changes. Now don't get me wrong, I'm really enjoying him being home and he is almost like a new person with the huge stresses off of him...but I can't seem to get myself going. This month is really kind of crazy, but it's really going to be fun. This Sunday Sue and I are going on a road trip. We've heard for years about the Log Cabin quilt shop up in Hiawassee, GA so we're going. We have Rosemary covering the shop until Thursday so we're off...no set time to be anywhere. We're going as far as Dahlonaga on Sunday...stay there and hit the quilt shop there Monday morning and then another hour up the road to Hiawassee. When we're done in Hiawassee we'll start south through GA and we have a list of shops to hit on our way home. We are very excited so I'll have lots of stories to tell next week.
I get home and then Andy leaves for a conference in Dallas on Sunday...I'll get lots of sewing done (I hope)...then he gets home and I head to Chicago on Saturday to see Hampton, oh Josh and Katie too :) Then I'll be home Thursday afternoon. That just about takes care of May...and I wonder why I feel like time is flying by. Here is a new picture of Hampton...5 months old, hard to believe. This is from their first trip to the zoo. The kids took him on Sunday and sent pictures.
Can't wait to get my hands on that baby. I talk to him on the phone all the time and the kids say he really knows it's me...well that's what they say...honest.

Hampton's New Quilt

I finally finished Hampton's new Snowman quilt...I posted this before, it was folded up and he was on it, but I must confess the binding wasn't done. I finished the binding so I was time to show the whole thing. I really like it a lot, but it sure was a stretch for me. I just don't do bright quilts, but for him I'd do most anything. So here it is...
I decided when the kids left here last week that I would not let more than 6 or 8 weeks go by without seeing Hampton...so as luck would have it Southwest is having a huge sale and I got a ticket...I'm going up on May 19th for 5 days...I can't wait!!! Less than 6 weeks...YIPPEE!
Off to the shower and get this day running. Have a wonderful day.

Some Might Call it Multi-tasking

and others might just call it WACKY! Looking at my sewing table...Multi-tasking? Wacky?

Lots of you know that I tend to work on more than one project at a time...just not usually at the very same time. As you can see I've got those tiny little stars, Paducah 9 Patches and a Wicked Easy baby quilt all going on at the very same time...I think this is the ultimate leader-ender project. And what you can't see, on the cutting table...I have 2 Block of the Month blocks cut out and I'm going to start cutting out the next Spa Day quilt.
OK...I've answered my own question...WACKY!!!!!!!!!
I'm having a very fun Sunday, in spite of being wacky...I'm sewing up a storm and watching the first season of Grey's Anatomy on DVD. Andy comes home tomorrow afternoon...and I have several quilts that need the binding stitched down so I'll be able to spend some quality time with him downstairs...and stitch at the same time. Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

I Found Something I Like a Lot

Let me start out by saying that I'm sorry I'm at the shop and forgot to bring the camera in to take a picture of my new find. Some of you probably already use this...I'm a pretty simple quilter and I don't do gadget things very often. There were 2 gals in Spa Day on Sunday, mother and daughter...they each had a little plastic, flip open box next to their sewing machines...being the nosy girl I am I asked what it was. Well they were shocked that a shop owner wouldn't know what this wonderful stuff was...Lickety Grip. When I looked at it more carefully I realized I had a box in the cutting table drawer that the lady that developed it sent me a year or so ago. I ran to the drawer and pulled it out. It's kind of like that sticky finger stuff you use when you're going through lots of papers, except it is acid free and conditions your fingers and your cuticles as it helps get pieces of fabric together properly. Well, I took it home and have been using it and I love it. I working with some very small triangles and it really helps to get them together right. I'm very excited about this new find...even though I've had it for at least a year :)

Surprise...continued

I'm back today...I'm going to try to post some pictures since I had no luck yesterday. I'm actually doing this to escape from the TV and all the awful news. Since Andy's now home in the morning, must get used to that, he has Good Morning America on and watching every minute. If I were here by myself, I would just have to turn it off...the new is just so horrible. I can't even begin to imagine what the families of the students and faculty must be going through. This is just all so beyond belief.
I had to talk to the kids last evening...when bad things happen I seem to have to gather all my "little chicks" and make sure they are safe...they got home just fine, Katie said the plane was very full, and Hampton was very good. He is the best little guy...he's almost always happy. Here he is on the snowman quilt that I did for him.
Here's mom with her great grandson... Their very first meeting.
My favorite picture of all...how Andy spent his first morning of retirement... This is just so cute...he was making breakfast for Josh and Katie...I had been holding Hampton and had to run and do something, so I gave him to Andy. He continued doing what he needed to do...guess you never forget how to do things with one hand. Of course, I had to stop what I was supposed to be doing to get the camera. A moment to cherish.
Thank you for letting me share my wonderful weekend with you. I promise there will be some quilty things to show later this week. Andy is leaving Thursday morning for his annual trip with his best friends from college. They get together once a year, just the guys, from all parts of the country, to spend a few days together. It is wonderful for them and I get to sew for days. I bought Lean Cuisine meals for the nights he's gone...microwave, no dishes to do...I think I'm going to have fun! Talk later in the week...