Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Roundabout

Here is my March Schnibbles, Roundabout.

I used "Old Primrose Inn" by Blackbird Designs. I love the soft muted colors. This has been a very busy month for me, so the quilting will be done later. I think this will make such a lovely Spring quilt.

Can't wait to see the Schnibbles Parade tomorrow. I love to see how everyone uses the same pattern but how they all look so different.

Hope you are having a great day!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A few of my Favorite Things

I am trying to figure out about this Quilters Blog Along. There is a Daily Blog Along to prompt a blog post. I am joining in on A Few of My Favorite Things.

Of course one of my most favorite things is fabric!

Beautiful lovely fabric! How can we as quilters not love fabric. There is such an enticement when I walk into a Fabric shop. All the eye candy just takes me to a special place.

How can something so simple bring so much delight?

I even love the tools we use for quilting.

What fun it is to measure out and use the fabulous quilting tools that are available to modern quilters.

And of course Quilts are another favorite thing.

I could honestly surround myself with all of these favorite things and enjoy a day, a week, a month of projects.

So these are a few of my favorite things. What about you? What are some of your favorite things? Quilting related or not? I'd love to hear about them.

Happy Quilting!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Buttons & Bows

After we left the Quilt show, we headed north and ended up at this very cute Quilt shop called "Buttons & Bows".

Is that not just the cutest name?

And we were greeted by very warm and friendly folks too.

Don't you just love to go to a Quilt shop that is friendly?



Just a sampling of some quilts they had on display.

It is always so much fun to find a new Quilt shop and drink in all of their lovely samples. And of course we always like to do our part in helping the economy :-)

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Suwanne Valley


This lady was giving a talk on old quilts that folks had brought in. She was dating them and giving a little history about each quilt.

There were ladies on the porch doing all sorts of hand work.

Dressed in Pioneer costumes.


And I can't say that I ever have been to a Quilt show where there was live Blue Grass music.

It was definitely a little different then any other quilt show I have ever been to. But it was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy the sunshine and warm breeze.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Sewing Machine Man




The Sewing Machine Man had a display at the Quilt show.

He takes old sewing machines and refurbishes them.

He had quite a nice collection of old sewing machines and toy sewing machines.

This one was my favorite.

More next time :-)

Monday, March 22, 2010

Outdoor Quilt show

A few pictures from the quilt show.


I loved the miniature quilts. There were quite a few of them on display.

It was very difficult to take pictures outside because of the wind.
As you can see in this picture, the wind was a force to be reckoned with.

These postcards were so cute and very well done.

We did not stay long as the crowds made it difficult to enjoy the outing. I guess everyone was soaking in the balmy day. But I will show you more pictures of Trenton the next time.

Happy Quilting!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

A weekend to remember

Last weekend was a beautiful blue sky day. My quilting buddies and I went to the Suwannee Valley Quilt Show in Trenton, Florida.

This was our first time visiting this outdoor quilt show.

One thing that made it very different then other quilt shows we have visited was the Craft aspect. There were no quilting vendors, only crafts and antiques.

The Suwannee Valley Quilt shop was so packed you could hardly breathe, much less move. We tried to go in during lunch time, thinking it might be less busy, but it wasn't. So we came away from that lovely quilt shop without any treasures.

It was a pretty windy day, but thankfully it did not rain. Next time I will show you some of the quilts that were displayed.

Have a great weekend!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Quilt Shop Carousel

If you are like me, and enjoy new patterns, take a look at this link.

Visit each shop on the Quilt Shop Carousel, sign up for their newsletter and you will receive a free quilt pattern. That is twelve new patterns in all!

Enjoy!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Did you know?

Extra! Extra! read all about it.................


Did you know that my friend Kelly is having a celebration??

Not just any ordinary celebration. She is celebrating her One Year Anniversary of her blog "I Have A Notion"! And what a celebration it is going to be. For a whole month Kelly is featuring many of the products that she carries. And she is hosting a SUPER giveaway. You can go to any of her posts and sign up. All month long!

Did you know that Kelly has a fabulous blog? She brings every aspect that a blog should have. Drama, humor, action, travel, suspense, machinery, fashion, creativity. She tries really hard to stay inside the law. And I mean it has been close, really close. Like the time she ran away with Alex Anderson.......... and not to speak of the recent incident with the Scissor Man! But we try to keep Kelly straight :-)

And did you know that I Have A Notion has great prices everyday? How can you beat that?

So hop on over and help Kelly celebrate her One Year Anniversary. I would shout about it, but I have lost my voice :-(

*** Oh and by the way, while you are there, be sure to wish Kelly a HAPPY BIRTHDAY too! ***

( Disclaimer- This is a totally unsolicited post. I have not been compensated in any way, shape or form by any of the above featured persons or their associates. Just the opinions of one very satisfied customer and happy bloggy friend :-)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Under the weather

It's been a busy weekend, and I've been fighting a cold :-( Sore throat, and now a little cough. Yuk, not a way to start the week.

Went here on Saturday -

and I will post some pictures in the next few days.

Right now I am drinking lots of fluids and soups, hoping this cold will not become full blown.

Hope your day is a happy quilting one!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

I couldn't help myself

Sorry..... But this -

precipitated a stop here -

to purchase some of these -

We had a little bit of rain yesterday, so the timing was good to plant a few little flowers.

Hope your weekend is warm :-)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

WIP Wednesday

Working on my March Schnibbles "Roundabout".

There's lots of cutting to be done before the sewing starts.

And guess what I was able to dig out of the closet today?

Flip-Flops!! Woo-hoo howdy! I was so happy to be able to wear flip-flops today! Yes Spring is coming :-)

Happy Quilting!

Monday, March 8, 2010

What spells relief?


I hope your day will soon be filled with relief :-)

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. " Isaiah 40:8

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Catch up on Ketchup

I've always felt that honesty is the true reflection of your inner self. And when I read a down to earth post in the blogging world, I appreciate the transparency of that blogger. Today as I read Carrie Nelson's blog, LaVieEnRosie, she was asked what tool in this whole quilting world she could not live without. Her answer made me feel relieved. I was happy that she found her most essential tool to be one of the simplest and basic for any sewer or quilter. One that is my constant companion. A seam ripper! I've always said that I cannot make a quilt unless I have a seam ripper and 2 pins. Stop by Carrie's blog and read the whole question and answer section. It was very enlightening.

And for the first time in two months, the weather beckoned me out today. The sun was shining, the wind was not blowing, and the temperatures were pleasant. I noticed a lot of people running, riding their bikes and even walking their dogs. It felt so good to be out and enjoying the day.

On a visit to the Library, I snapped this picture of Knock Out Roses as they too were enjoying the nice warm sunshine.

And this evening I was captured by the last rays of sunset. So I leave you with this glimpse toward the western sky.

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Quilting!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Who'd have thunk!

Happy Cottage Quilter

We All Sew has listed"Happy Cottage Quilter" as one of their favorite blogs this week and I'm completely thrilled! So I wanted to say "hi" and welcome to anyone new coming by to visit! I'm very happy to meet new friends and invite you to come again.

We All Sew has all kinds of great things there, so check it out! Free patterns, tutorials and links for some great opportunities.


** A little shout out for some cool giveaways -

Check out Lavender Ridge for her blogiversary giveaway. Quilters will love the book and pattern she if offering.
And my sweet friend Marydon is having a sweet giveaway. Hop over to her Blushing Rose blog. She is having a quilters giveaway and next week it will be a Tea giveaway.
Hummm..... let's see. Oh yes, check out PieceNQuilt (help her celebrate her new laptop), Bits & Pieces (very unusual giveaway), Blueberrymoon is giving away some awesome fabric, and Amber over at A Little Bit Biased is giving away a most beautiful wall hanging.

Keep that needle going up and down :-)
Happy Quilting!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

It's been a good day...........

It's been a good day to work on some machine quilting and finish up some binding.

Hand binding is my least favorite thing to do, so if I can do it on the machine, it makes my life happier :-)

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Soup's On

We've had a long and dreary winter. Even here in Florida the weather has been unusually colder then normal. So when it is cold, my family enjoys soups and chili. It's fun to take a recipe and refine it. That's what I did with an Olive Garden soup recipe. This one is fast and very easy to make.

Pasta E Fagioli

1 lb ground beef
1 onion (chopped)
2 carrots (grated)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano
1 (15 oz) can Red Kidney beans (drain but don't rinse)
1 (15 oz) can Cannellini beans (white kidney beans, drain but don't rinse)
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 can Chicken stock
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Ditali pasta (1 cup dry)
1. Brown beef over medium heat, drain off fat. Place in stock pot
2 Saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic for 10 minutes. Add to stock pot
3. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.
4. After 50 minutes, boil pasta according to directions, drain and add pasta to pot of soup
5 Simmer for 10 minutes.

You can add more chicken stock for more broth if desired.


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I hope you will enjoy!