Shoofly Quilts

First Finish of 2012

2012-01-16T20:46:00.000-05:00

I've been gone from this blog for a while life just gets in the way. I've been busy though .

Thimblerries quilt for my friend. My sister quilted it on her longarm.

I know this is the time of year for reflecting and making resolutions. I rarely make them because over the years I've had trouble keeping them. I do some goals however, finishing up the masters program I started, reading more, staying above the fray at work, finishing up some wips. Hmm... how will I do? I'll keep you posted.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T20:08:00.001-05:00

A Different Baby Quilt

2011-12-08T16:27:00.001-05:00

A colleague at work is having her baby, next week. So of course I wanted to make a quilt. She doesn't really have a theme for her nursery, but the walls are painted beige. So I went digging in my stash, found a neat little pattern and some batiks. We had a shower for her last Tuesday, of course I didn't get the it done on time but managed to finish it that night all except the label, which sewed on during my prep. period on Wednesday.

Yes this is hanging in a classroom.

Appropriate for a teacher don't you think?

I did some straight line quilting and am very pleased with the end results.

Happy sewing.

Belsnickle

2011-12-06T19:33:00.001-05:00

Remember this guy?

This is how he looks now...

Close up...

Front...

and the back.

This class was a blast!

Here are some pictures of the others created.

All so different. The pattern can be found here and here.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Wishing you a Healthy, Happy Thanksgiving.

Wip and a Ghastlie Winner

2011-11-15T00:04:00.000-05:00

Went to Meeting House Fabrics again this weekend for the first of two Belsnickel classes. We made the body, sculpted the arms, and prepped the face for painting.

I don't like the way he's standing, so I'll have to add more stuffing and make some re-adjustments.

. Next week we'll put the finishing touches on him. Come back next week and see how he turns out!

I came home from a long day's work tonight and found this waiting for me...

Madame Samm had a Ghastlie blog hop and I was the lucky winner of this Ghastlie apron.
Nan Slaughter of Pots &Pins made this wonderful Ghastlie apron. Not only is Nan a very talented seamstress and wonderful cook, she writes books too! Be still my heart she included one of her very own Halloween books, along with a spool of Presencia thread!
Would it wrong if I prance around the house wearing my fancy schamancy apron after work tomorrow?

Wool Pumpkin

2011-11-09T00:21:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago my sister and I took a dimensional wool class at the Meeting House Fabrics, a local quilt shop. Kathy Gaul was the teacher. She is a wonderful designer whose company Meeting House Hill Designs. is based in Colorado. Kathy grew up in Leominster Mass. and comes home every October to visit family, lecture,and teach classes. We were lucky enough to spend a Saturday learning the basic of assembling this cute wall hanging. I haven't work too much in wool so I'm quite pleased how this has turned out.

I love the corn and the white pumpkin. I plan to frame it eventually.

This weekend we are heading back to the Meeting House to make a primitive Bellsnickel, which is an old fashion Santa.

We Have Power Again!

2011-11-04T21:46:00.001-04:00

Yup, I'm sitting in a warm and well lit house! On Saturday, October 29, we were hit with a Nor'easter and we lost power about six o'clock. Out side you could hear the trees popping, cracking, and crashing to the ground! We had an unusually ~~warm~~ hot fall this year so the trees have held on to their leaves. Leaves on trees and wet heavy snow results in very dangerous conditions.

Mark and I went to bed and suddenly we heard a extremely loud crash! Got up and looked out our window and saw that part of a maple tree had fallen. Both Mark and James went outside to survey the damage, they kept saying "You got to come see this!" Nope, not me, it was too scary out there! I woke up the next morning at 5:30 to take the dogs out. It was eerily quiet, no sound, not even birds chirping.

Six days without power, made me appreciate the simple things in life.
There are still many people without power tonight. Please keep them in you thoughts and prayers.

Some More Retreat Results

2011-10-27T17:48:00.000-04:00

We left for Incarnation Center Retreat earlier than usual this year, right after work on Thursday. Usually I take my Feather weight with me,and this year was no exception. I managed to get a few tops done but haven't quilted them yeat because I don't quilt on my Feather weight. I don't think you can, can you? Let me know if any of you have quilted using your Feather weight.

Any way here are some pictures of what I managed to accomplish this past weekend.

A couple of mini Halloween wall hangings.

Halloween was the theme this year for me.

Another baby quilt.

Here's a picture of Annette hiding from my sister taking her picture, but I caught her.

Annette is great, she very quiet and doesn't like a lot of attention drawn to her. She comes out her shell when she's around us. She has no choice. I love this picture of her cause that's what we do on retreat laugh, sew, laugh, eat, sew, laugh... get the picture?

Retreat Weekend

2011-10-26T21:18:00.000-04:00

Last weekend my sister, our friend Annette, and I went on our annual quilting retreat in Ivoryton, Connecticut.

Annette is in the foreground. Judy is taking pictures.

This year we took an applique class. Our teacher, Leslie Cook, has been appliqueing for years. She does beautiful work and one of the high lights of the class (for me) was that she showed us how to make vines using bias bars. Now maybe I'll tackle a Celtic designed quilt!

Here's Leslie in front of one of her quilts.

Another quilt she made designed from an antique quilt.

Here is my partially completed block.

Okay, I have a way to go before the Celtic quilt.

Tomorrow I'll show you what else I accomplished.

I'm a Winner!

2011-10-25T19:45:00.000-04:00

Pat Wys from Silver Thimble Talk blog wrote a book and I was one of the lucky winners! Strike up the band, open up a bag of Cheetos, and take a look.

Pat wrote the wonderful book on the left Spot Light on Neutrals. It's a wonderful book filled with beautiful quilts and inspiring ideas. It's all about working with neutrals, and being brave enough to make a quilt using all neutrals.

This is one of my favorites Haven Stone, can't wait to make this one. My picture doesn't do it justice.

Scrappy Nines is definitely going on my list to do. Matter of fact they all are so great that I'm just gonna move some things around and put these up higher on my list.

Pat also sent me another book A Baker's Dozen fill with some great quilts as well and a box of Wonder Clips too. A Big Thank You Pat, I love your book and am honored to be one of the first to own one!

If you haven't visited her blog please do so, and if your planning on going to the International Quilt Market in Houston make sure you look her up and say hi for me.

Help!

2011-10-03T19:26:00.000-04:00

My Iron had an accident,and I need a new one any opinions? What about this Reliable iron?

I would certainly appreciate any comments, suggestions.

Thanks.

Another Baby Quilt

2011-09-28T19:01:00.000-04:00

A baby quilt made for one of my husband's co-worker.

Monkeys sure seems to be a theme this year.

The back. The fabric is made from flannel. This was the first time I quilted flannel, It wasn't easy.

But I'm really happy with the outcome and so was the recipient.

Celebrating....

2011-09-26T20:09:00.000-04:00

Well another month has passed, and here I am writing another post. School is in full swing and I find myself very busy. I'm covering three grades this year, which means walking from one end of the building, upstairs and down, then back up again. I'm also trying to walk several miles a day with my friend, Sue. So by spring with all the miles I'm putting on my feet I should be skinny, or at least fit. :^)

On Saturday, my niece, Katie, got married. She and her husband had a private wedding ceremony on the beach in North Carolina sometime in November, so that she could join him in Hawaii. Her husband is in the Coast Guard and is presently stationed there. So Saturday was a day to cerebrate their union with family and friends. I was honored to preform their ceremony. Katie is a beautiful young lady, my God daughter and Will, her husband, is a very nice young man.

Aren't they just adorable?

A while ago my friend, Donna, gifted me with this beautiful purse. It is lovely and I loved i, but I also knew that I would probably never use it myself. I immediately thought that it would be perfect for Katie. But you know how kids are our tastes are not necessarily the same, but I presented it to her anyway. She loved it and was thrilled to have such a beautiful gift to put her personal stuff in at her wedding. It had just enough "Bling" and matched her gown perfectly!

Thank you again Donna, even though you didn't realize it you helped make "My Girl's"day special!

Summer's End with an Unwelcomed Visit from Irene

2011-08-28T11:41:00.001-04:00

My Summer is just about over, I'll be heading back to work tomorrow that is if Irene and her rains permit it. So far it doesn't appear to be too awful bad, but the main part of the storm hasn't hit us yet. This summer will be a summer to remember, a tornado, which is pretty much unheard of here, an earthquake, and now a hurricane which we do get but not usually this far inland. We're worried about flood and falling trees and broken limbs.

I have been doing some sewing some I can show one the others not quite yet.

My mother started this quilt years ago. She is unable to sew any more because of macular degeneration. The blocks she made, I just squared them up and put them together. Now I just have to decide whether I'm going to quilt it or get my sister, the long arm quilter, to do it. It's pretty don't ya think? Kind of country chic.

My Dozen Quilter's project for May and June, pillow case dress for Dress 4 Me International.

Walker bags, July's project.

September's project a block for a quilt for a breast cancer fund raiser.

My sister, my friend Annette and I started the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt yesterday. I made three blocks and will post those later. I also made another baby quilt and am in the process of quilting it and plan to post pictures soon. There are at least two more baby quilts on the list of things to do.

Summer Time

2011-07-28T23:27:00.001-04:00

In the summer Mr. Shoofly and I like to visit places of interest around the state. The Bridge of Flowers can be found in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. A trolley bridge built in 1908, abandoned in 1928 along with the demise of the trolley, flower bridge was the brain child of Antoinette and Walter Burnham. It was created in 1929 with the help of the Shelburne Falls Woman's Club. It holds over 500 varieties of annuals and perennials. It's open in the early spring to late fall.

Off to the Finals

2011-07-13T19:16:00.000-04:00

USA finished off France now they're off to the finals to play against Japan.

Game will be on Sunday.

Gooooo USA!

2011-07-10T17:40:00.000-04:00

Short a player,questionable calls, and down by one point, USA tie it up in last minute of overtime, then wins in penalty kick shoot out!

http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2011/0710/usacelebvbrazil_576x324.jpg

Is it meant to be?

A Quilt and A Long Over Due Thank You

2011-07-09T20:48:00.000-04:00

I've been away for a while, computer problems and end of the year wrap up has kept me away. I haven't sewn much. matter of fact not at all until this week. Lots of things have happened around here, but I'll save those for another post.
First of all I want to thank Amy Hamberlin of Katie cupcake fame. I was lucky enough to win a fat quarter bundle of her delicious new line, Sugar Blossom! It's simply beautiful and I can see a a sweet little quilt just for me.

Sweet huh?

Don't ya just love the colors?
Yes, there will be a quilt just as soon as I finish up some unfinished projects. I have quite few and some of my mother's too, but I'm dreaming of those gorgeous fabrics wrapping around me .
So Thank You Amy for your generosity. If you haven't visited Amy yet, pop over there now.

A couple of my colleagues had babies this year, and I wanted to make a quilt for each of them. You saw one here. But then my quilting mojo just up and left me, that is until this week. So with out further ado here is Owen's Quilt...

Front

and back.
Seems like jungle theme is all the rage for babies this year. Mr. Shoofly has a co-worker who is expecting her first child and her nursery theme is monkeys. So I'm looking for some cute monkey fabric, I'm liking some of Anne Kelle's Urban Zoologie but so far haven't found it in the color way I want.
Enjoy your weekend.

Go USA !

http://www.ussoccer.com/~/media/39C3204C6BD04A4EAE8B38A7013FB4A3.ashx?w=401&h=271

Happy Birthday USA

2011-07-04T18:09:00.002-04:00

Fourth of July Pics quilt 008, originally uploaded by Shoofly Quilts.

Here's to our forefathers,who created this country and to all the service men and women who help keep us safe. Here's to all the people who make this country what it is.

Moonbeams and Polka Dots

2011-04-24T18:20:00.000-04:00

My guild has a challenge call Moonbeams and Polka Dots, the inspiration came from the song sung by Frank Sinatra with the same title. I've had the material for a year and the quilts are due at this this month's meeting, so I decided that that I'd better get going. Here is the finished quilt.

We were given four fabrics, the floral,polka dots, polka dot gray and the pink solid. I added the solid gray. I used the Strips' N Curves templates (basic set) from Quilt Escapes.

I've had these templates for a few years and was always afraid to use them. I decided to bite the bullet and give them a whirl. I'm pleased with the results and now will eventually tackle the quilt I originally planned to use them for...or let's just say it's on the list, I have a few things I need to finish first, Dr. Seuss for one.

Well spring break is over for me and it's back to work tomorrow.

Hope you all had a peaceful Easter.

FNSI the Result

2011-04-16T13:39:00.000-04:00

Didn't get as much done as I was hoping to but I did manage to almost finish this

just need to hem it. How about you what did you get done?

Tonight's the Night Another Friday Night Sew In

2011-04-15T14:46:00.007-04:00

It's Friday Night....
Just gotta wrap up a few chores, cook some dinner, run an errand then I'll be ready to settle down and get some sewing done. Why don't ya join us. Will post the results tomorrow!

What I'm Working On

2011-04-05T21:44:00.000-04:00

A little peak...

Hands All Around Quilt Show

2011-04-02T17:39:00.000-04:00

On Sunday my sister and our friend Annette drove up to Amherst to the Hands All Around Quilt show. On display was the Alzheimer's quilt show, this was a profoundly sad but beautiful tribute for the victims and families who suffer from this disease. If you get a chance to see it please do. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures they asked you not to take flash pictures and some how it just didn't seem appropriate.

I did take pictures of the Hands Around Quilt Show

This quilt was beautiful look at the house, the siding is made by folding fabric.

A mourning quilt

This quilt was made from a Kimono

These are only a few of the beautiful quilts on display.

A Little Quilt Show

2011-03-29T15:52:00.001-04:00

Two weekends in a row I was lucky enough to attend two quilt shows. On March 19th we went over to town next to us Monson so see a lovely little quilt show. Seems the town of Monson is celebrating 250 years in existence, one of the ways to celebrate was to make a quilt, and then hold a quilt show. My sister Judy, a long arm quilter, quilted several of the quilts on display.

The were some traditional and some not so traditional

Some very old vintage quilts

Love this old wool quilt.

Some very cute venues

I'll show pictures of the show we went to on Sunday.

I Got Mail

2011-03-27T22:00:00.000-04:00

A week ago Friday this arrived in the mail

Donna, from Brynwood Needle Works,was celebrating her 600th follower and I was the lucky winner. If you haven't had a chance to visit her blog please do. She makes beautiful quilts ,does lovely stitchery and so much more. Donna has two wonderful pups and one, Fez, writes his own post every Friday! He is very entertaining. So thank you Donna, I love the bag it's beautiful, the candle smells delicious and I can't wait sew a quilt from book... just have to decide which one the only trouble is they all look great!

Is it Spring Yet?

2011-02-23T14:54:00.001-05:00

This is winter vacation for us and the weather has been very cold, Brr! I shouldn't complain it hasn't snowed since Monday. I'm sure you know that we've been hit with multiple snow storms since January, and a good number of them have dropped more than a foot or more. Here's the only one who is still in love with the snow.

He loves it can't get enough. We on the other hand have been shoveling, fighting off ice dams, and discovering new leaks.

Here's Chab digging out. This has been a hard winter for a lot of us.

Its not been a total loss I've managed to get a little sewing done.

A sewing case for my Secret Pal at Guild.

The pattern was from the Be mine Blog Tour from Cathy's Creations

Cross blocks for A Dozen Quilters.

A mug mat for the Brynwood Mug swap. My partner is into vintage things the floral fabric I found in an antique shop in Vermont. It reminds me of spring, the bunny I made a few years back and I found the vintage Easter card in a local thrift store. Its on its way to her as I write this post. What about you what've you been up to?

Finished Monkeys

2011-01-24T18:27:00.002-05:00

Finished the Monkey Quilt for Baby Calvin.

Spent yesterday quilting and managed to sew the binding on just in time to watch Rex and his Jets loose to the Steelers, Yay!

No, I'm not a Steeler fan, my football heart belongs to the Pats

Just needs a label and a quick wash.
Go Packers!!
Gotta love those "Cheese Heads"

Monkeying around

2011-01-17T20:23:00.000-05:00

A quilt for a co worker's new baby boy. Little Calvin's room is a jungle theme, here's a sneak peak.

Just needs to be quilted.

Happy New Year

2011-01-04T21:42:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year to All. I've been missing in action for quite some time. No reason really, was sick a good portion of November and then lost my sewing mojo for a while. I do have a few finishes under my belt. Made some Christmas presents but didn't take pictures. Finally got caught up on the obligations over at "A Dozen Quilters," took pictures of those, so without further adieu ...

There's one more picture of a baby quilt but blogger is not cooperating .."sigh".

Thread City and the Frog Bridge

2010-11-02T09:10:00.005-04:00

On the way home from the Ivoryton Retreat we always stop at the Quilter's Dream in Willimantic Connecticut. It's a wonderful shop with a very nice selection of fabrics. This time we let Gladys (gps) lead the way. We found that her way brought us a very scenic and faster route. Back in the day, Willimantic was known as "Thread City." I ~~stole~~ borrowed this from Thread City.com

"For well over 100 years, Willimantic, Connecticut was known worldwide as the Thread City. In 1854 the Willimantic Linen Company started manufacturing high quality three and six cord cotton thread. This was around the same time as the domestic sewing machine was gaining popularity.

The Willimantic Linen Company imported a special raw cotton from the Indian Ocean Islands, known for its natural lubricants and tensile strength -- it didn't snap or become knotted in the sewing machine.

The Willimantic cotton mills were fitted with hundreds of humidifiers to ingeniously recreate the damp atmospheric cotton spinning conditions found in the valleys and dales of Yorkshire and Lancashire. The drier New England air had not been condusive to the efficient spinning of cotton thread. But now America no longer had to import cotton thread from England -- a trade then dominated by Britain's Coats Cotton Company. The Singer Sewing Machine and Willimantic cotton thread made the perfect partnership."

It also host this:


The infamous Frog Bridge

According to folk lore: one night the good citizens of Willimantic heard incredibly loud screeching, causing many of them to run out into the night with their guns ready to defend themselves from an unnamed menace. The next morning they found scores of dead frogs who had apparently fought to the death over the few remaining puddles resulting from the drought of 1754. Well folks that's the story of Willimantic Connecticut.

Retreat Pics

2010-11-01T09:00:00.002-04:00

Some pictures of the retreat in Ivoryton Connecticut. Pat Delaney taught a class on a New York Beauty. She is an award winning quilter and has been published in Quilters News letter and all of her quilting is done on a domestic machine. I took a machine quilting class from her in April at MQX and learned a lot, she helped me get over my fear of machine quilting.

Pat quilting her quilt on Sunday after Saturday's class.

Pat's trunk show

This is the quilt she taught us

Annette's Beauty

My sister's Judy's block

My siggy quilt with borders and ready to be quilted.

I'm not overly thrilled with the quality of pictures, I really want another camera a dslr would be nice.

I took the class but didn't take pictures of my block, I'll add it to my list of things to do. I'll share some more about the retreat over the next few days.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T21:44:00.003-04:00

retreat Oct. 2010 054, originally uploaded by Shoofly Quilts.

Retreat!!

2010-10-22T13:44:00.000-04:00

Off to our annual Fall retreat. Be back Sunday, will take lot of pictures.
Hope you all have wonderful weekend.

Marching Giraffes

2010-10-17T19:22:00.000-04:00

Finished this quilt for my great nephew.

I quilted it using my sister's long arm

I thought the Giraffes were a nice touch.

Backing is some safari fabric from my stash

Matter of fact all the fabric was from my stash.

A Whole Lotta Love

2010-09-29T22:22:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a fantastic give away from Leslie of Feather and Cloth Blog.

Look at all this Amy Butler Love! What to make? For now I'll just sit back and enjoy the beautiful colors and bask in all the love.
Thank you again Leslie. If you haven't visited her blog head on over there and tell her I said Hi!

More Go Giveaways

2010-09-23T22:31:00.000-04:00

Hurry over to Millie's for a chance to win a Go.
Jane's place is also having a Go giveaway.
Also Kaaren from the Painted Quilt is wrapping up her GO giveaway Friday.1
GOOD LUCK !

Friday Night Sew In the Results

2010-09-18T14:24:00.000-04:00

I didn't meet all my goals but did manage to put together the top to my Siggy quilt. I nee to make a couple of borders but don't have the fabric yet.

I completed Tonya's block for September's Dozen Quilters.

I'm having a hard time adjusting to the work I'm exhausted when I get home so I'm not accomplishing much these days, but I did manage to complete a skirt for a great niece.

And I made a bag for work the pattern is a Scrap- bags called the Big Easy Tote Bag.

I Like it and it holds a lot of stuff.

Friday Night Sew In

2010-09-17T15:24:00.000-04:00

Tonight's Friday Night Sew In. I worked all week, had our Open House last nigh,t and I'm ready to sew tonight.
Finished my house hold chores, got my tea and chocolate ready, lined up

some music, and a good audio book. I hope to finish up one quilt top and start another.
Will post the results tomorrow.

Happy sewing!

Fall-O-Ween Blog Hop

2010-09-14T22:08:00.000-04:00

Gudrun Erla of Gudrun's World has lined up 10 designers, and 10 projects for a fun blog hop. Are you in?

And The Winner is...

2010-09-06T20:39:00.000-04:00

I was blown away by the response to my little give away. There have been so many wonderful giveaways the past two weeks, I was surprised that so many were interested in this one. I tried to visit every one's blog, I didn't always leave a comment but I was there, trust me. The winner is Donna... who said...

"Hi Patty:
I came over to say "hello" and thanks for visiting Brynwood...and you're hosting a fabulous giveaway! How cool are you? Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm going to join your friends list so I don't miss any of your posts. I look forward to getting to know you better!
xoxo
Donna" I'll email you to get your address.

I chose another winner this is for a little candle mat kit I picked up in Cleveland this summer and the winner of this is Elizabeth,who said ...."Fantastic giveaway! The bunny is darling, the books look fabulous and I love the Rural Jardin line. :)"

Than you all for making my first ever give away a smashing success.

Another Give away

2010-09-05T19:39:00.000-04:00

Go to the Quilted Fish and check out this give away.

Give Away Day

2010-08-24T07:34:00.000-04:00

How about a giveaway?

The winner will get every thing you see, A quilted bunny,two Rural Jardin charm packs and two quilt books , an autographed paper pieced book by Carol Doak and a Book by Carol Burniston.

Leave a comment and I will pick a winner on September 6th.

Friday Night Sew In The results

2010-08-21T13:35:00.000-04:00

Made these block for my guild's Memory quilt need to write in the names and gather the rest at September's meeting.

Old Sturbridge Village & Fiday Night Sew In

2010-08-20T20:59:00.000-04:00

Summer is winding down for me, I'll go back to work on the 30th of this month poor, poor, me. On Tuesday my girlfriend and I went to Old Sturbridge Village. It museum that reflects life in New England during the !790's through the 1840's. It's a living museum with many of the old crafts in full swing. I took some pictures unfortunately, I failed to charge my camera before I left so the pictures are all from my blackberry, needless to say that the picture quality is not so good but interesting any way. We saw some very interesting thing including some you ladies dying wool using natural ingredients... didn't get a picture of that, but I did take some of...

This is the room they make and store cheese... rather stinky

Typical country meal of the late 1700's or early 1800's..
see the black dots? Can ya guess what they are?

Yup you guessed it..
FLIES ! Yummy...
The food and the table was covered with the pesky little critters.
Kind of a understand why there was so much illness back in the good ol' days.

My friend, Sue, checking out the inside of the huge kiln

They man who was making pots to go inside the kiln

pots before they are fired and glazed

Pots or brown ware after they were fired and glazed.
It sure was hot that day....

even for the poor piggies... it was so dry that there wasn't any mud for them to wallow in.

Melinda, my friend, I was thinking about you...

We took a spin in this fancy smancy stage coach.. This coach ran from Worcester Massachusetts to Hartford Connecticut (approximately 70 to 80 miles) in about twelve hours. Let me tell you that this was not a comfortable ride and we were just ambling it was stiff and you could feel every bump. They told us that normally it would travel twice as fast OUCH!

These young ladies were giving a demonstration about how two brothers discovered how to make a hot air balloon by using heat from a fire not the smoke. They used this little chimney and a tissue paper balloon, filled it up, let it go and it promptly flew into an very tall tree.

We only saw on quilt. Notice the ropes at the foot of the bed, these were used before spring, the mattress was filled with straw. I sat on one ... not very comfortable, but I guess better than a rough wool blanket thrown over a pallet of straw on the floor.
By the way my mother was born at home in a bed very similar to it. She just gave it to my sister.
Notice the wall paper it is a replica of the way it was mass produced Massachusetts, it is block stamped.
There is a fabric line I think it's call the Sturbridge Village Collection, it is inspired from this village and the textile and wall paper from this time era.
And speaking about quilts .. tonight is Friday Night Sew In so I better get to it!!

I'm Still Here

2010-08-12T17:45:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in over a month, time has just flown by... I've been busy. In July we took a trip to Cleveland.

We saw...

Tall Ships...

Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame...

and the Football Hall of Fame.

Couldn't take pictures in the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame but it was fun to see,hear and read about the evolution of Rock.

The Football Hall of Fame was fun too. There are only three of us in my household and I'm the only female, so needless to say sports pretty much rules the roost here. I've been a fan of football ever since my freshmen year in college when I caught the flu and was sick the whole Christmas break. I watched football with my dad and he explained a few things and realized I actually liked the game. My husband and I have always wanted to visit.
It was hot is Cleveland like every where else this summer. We only stayed for two days and headed home I drove, we hit such a terrible rain storm just outside the Buffalo New York area it rained hard for about two hours making visibility nearly impossible. I got behind a tractor trailer truck and followed him for quite a while, we made fairly decent time considering. So thank you Mr. Truck Driver where ever you are!
I've been tutoring my great niece for the past three or four weeks or so. She's having a little difficulty with her reading, but I have seen some real improvement lately. I'm so proud of her and she should do fine once school starts again. Linda, from Prairie Flower Farm and my virtual quilting group, A Dozen Quilters had us make a block with the Grandmother's Garden flower and I've been hooked on hexies ever since.

I've also played around with miniature Dresden Plates...

I made my niece a table topper for the Fourth of July and had some fabric left over and started playing. I started out making Shoo Fly Blocks, my thought was to have them appear to float on a white background. But then thought that it looked a little to stark, so I added some Grand Mother's Flowers...

I call it Shoo Flies from My Gram ma's Garden

What do you think?

Then I made a pillow for my son's girlfriend. This is also the block I chose for my quilt from A Quilter Dozen.
There's more but I think I'll save it for another day.

Happy Fourth of July America

2010-07-03T18:22:00.002-04:00

Kimmie's 4th topper 007
Originally uploaded by Shoofly Quilts

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July.

What have I been Doing?

2010-06-29T19:24:00.000-04:00

I'm still here, just can't believe it has been so long since I last blogged. So what have I been up to? A little bit of sewing, and quite a bit of yard work. Yesterday I pulled the two silcocks(out door faucets) off the house and had hoped to repair them myself, but when I went to get parts the guy at the plumbing supply store said he could do it I let him. But hey ,I took them off the house and put them back on all by myself. I've been planting flowers, weeding, and tearing down a garden. I'm embarrassed to say that I let two of my garden get overgrown...

now it looks like this...

there are still a few things I have to move but I'm unsure where they are going to go.

Next project....

this is going to be a project! First thing I had to do was get rid of the red ants, they bite!

I'll be tackling this mess tomorrow and hope to have it done by Friday. I'll be moving a few things but mostly it will be thinning weeds our and moving some lilies. I don't really know how this garden got so bad... just spent a lot of times running for soccer, taking classes other things. Still that's no excuse.

So stay tuned I'll show pictures of the finished product soon. I'll also show pictures of my sewing soon.

School's Out and a Finish

2010-06-16T17:13:00.000-04:00

Yay! I'm officially out for the summer. Today was my first free day, I planned to sleep in, wouldn't you know it, Mr. Shoofly called me at 7:15! That didn't stop me, oh no... I went right back to bed and stayed there until 9:00 am. I puttered around the house for a bit, made breakfast for the Boy, caught up with my blog reading, and that's about it. Tonight I plan on cutting some fabric for the memory quilt and will mail those out tomorrow. Life is good :^) For those of you who are teachers you understand how crazy- busy the end of the year is, throw in a graduation, a retirement party, a moving on ceremony and I just haven't had a whole lot of time for myself. I did manage to finish the Modify Tradition Mini Swap.

front

back...

Apologies for the poor quality pictures they don't do the quilt justice, I took them at 6:00 a.m.yesterday it was a misty morning. This was inspired by a blue and white antique quilt recently I spied in a LQS . The block has two names, English Wedding Ring and Crown of Thorns is that kind of and Oxymoron?

Oh Yes He Did!

2010-06-08T21:02:00.000-04:00

My one and only child graduated Sunday. Yay! It's been quite a journey, the past week was filled with banquets, awards, class trips, a party on Saturday and a graduation on Sunday in the midst of tornado warnings ( extremely unusual in this neck of the woods).

James the night of Senior Banquet (He wore matching blue shoes).

Look Ma, Here it is!

The picture in the background is of his soccer team winning Western Mass .

Proud parents.

Grandma and my boy

It was a great week, a lot of work but so worth it.

Remember

2010-05-31T08:34:00.000-04:00

Happy Memorial Day

take a few moments to remember why we celebrate this holiday.

A Block, a Find, and a Mini

2010-05-29T19:40:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that it has been almost a month since I last posted. What have I been up to? A little bit of sewing, I finished the block for my virtual quilt group "a Dozen Quilters." I joined the "Modify Tradition Swap" and finished my mini top, now just have to quilt it. I've been working on coming up with an idea for a memory quilt for my Guild, I will present it on Wednesday, wish me luck.

Work is winding down for the year and with it comes a flurry of activities. My colleague and I applied for a grant for some robotics, and just found out we were awarded it. It's very exciting, however I'm beginning to realize that it will probably be a lot of work over the summer...hmm... Is that a good thing?

I found a mini quilt at a local flea market for $7.00 it's cute but needs a good washing, and a little TLC.

Here are some pictures of my May block and the mini quilt. I can't show you the Modify Tradition mini yet because it's a secret. But I can show you the beautiful Modify Tradition mini I got in the mail from Shelley of Elsie's Girl. It's beautiful, I love it, everything; the design, the quilting, the color ! Shelley used Riley Blake fabrics a current favorite of mine. Without further ado, here are the pictures .

The back...

Isn't it gorgeous? Thanks again Shelly!

Modify Tradition Swap

2010-05-07T21:46:00.000-04:00

I'm participating in a swap hosted by Modify Tradition. I'm suppose to take about my likes and dislikes, I like color: browns, orange, greens, reds, blues, pretty much all color. My least favorite is purple. I like all aspects of quilting and like most of what has been posted on on Modify Tradition. I like a traditional blocks in fresh color ways, so whatever you make for me, I'm sure I'll love it. Current color ways I get inspiration from are Riley Blake, Joel Dewberry, Amy Schimler something along these lines. I hope to have fun with this swap and want the same for you so don't stress about what to do enjoy the creative process.
My Flickr address http://www.flickr.com/photos/shooflyquiltsbypattyruth//

American Pie

2010-05-02T11:36:00.000-04:00

Finished the top of American Pie, now have to decide how I want it quilted.

High 80's here today. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

2010-04-23T21:07:00.000-04:00

Or is it the long and winding road?

This quilt is one of those put away projects, I picked this kit up at Tala's Quilt (no website) Shop in North Adams, several years ago. I fell in love with the fabric but I don't remember the company or the designer, the pattern is the Yellow Brick Road. Any way this was going to be a quilt for me but then decided to give it to my sister-in-law. I even found the fabric for the backing and then nothing , it just sat there. I finally got it over to my sister, Judy, to quilt it then decided it needed to be bound in Kona charcoal, so a trip to the LQS, still nothing. Seems like my creative juices just stopped flowing for a while... I was way behind on my block for A Dozen Quilters Bee, had other project to finish up, just couldn't get out of my own way. Well this week we've been on spring break, and I've been busy catching up, and finishing up. This quilt will be hitting the road to Charlottesville, VA, Happy Trails...

Pieces of Time Quilt Show

2010-04-19T21:24:00.000-04:00

Pictures from my guild's show...

full view of my Irish chain

My friend Annette's quilt

My quilt from the "Threes Challenge

The winner of the "Threes Challenge"

And the winner...

End of a busy weekend...hope you had fun!

MQX 2010

2010-04-18T22:05:00.000-04:00

Back from MQX...

MY Sister Rocks!

2010-04-12T23:40:00.001-04:00

Here is a picture of my red and white Irish chain quilt. This puppy is huge, I have no idea why I made it so big. My wonderful sister quilted it for me, just in time to enter it on our guild's quilt show. I'm sorry for the poor quality pictures but I had to snap them off quickly before dropping it off for the show.

Judy finished the quilt at 9:30 Friday night and the latest the quilt could be dropped off was Saturday at three p.m. I got up on Saturday cut the binding, and finished it with 10 minutes to spare. Did I say this was a huge quilt? It measures 120" by 122".
If your in Western Massachusetts please pop into our quilt show, Pieces of Time
it runs from Friday til Sunday. I'll be there Sunday because this week is also MQX and I'll be attending that as well, check it out if you're in Providence, Rhode Island.

March Friday Night Sew-In

2010-03-20T16:25:00.000-04:00

Last night was Friday Night Sew-In hosted by Heidi and Bobbi. As usual I went to my sister's house and sewed. Posted below is what I worked on. It's the backing to a quilt that I have entered in my guild's quilt show, which will be held in April. I've always wanted a red and whit quilt so I made an Irish Chain and my sister will be quilting it. Seem that this quilt just didn't want to get finish, I bought the backing in February thinking it was a queen size quilt, but when I got home I measured it only to find that it is a king-sized quilt! Is there a lesson here? Hmmm... Maybe I should measure before I buy backing fabric. Ya think? Any ways I had to order batting, white of course, Joann's was having a sale with a coupon so I ordered online got my discount, it arrive sooner than expected, I opened the box and...Surprise! I had ordered Warm and Natural instead of Warm and White! So I ordered Warm and White batting from Hancock's of Paducah, for a better price I might add, went shopping at my mother's, and found enough white material to finish the back. Now it's sitting at Judy's house waiting to be quilted. Love ya Sis is it done yet? (lol)

As usual we had a great time. I haven't sewn since the last Friday night Sew-In and it felt good to get back into it again. The weather here has been beautiful I believe it has hit 70's today and I spied a crocus poking it head out to say Hello!

Enjoy Your Weekend!

A spring greeting.

A No Sew Day

2010-02-21T19:13:00.000-05:00

Okay haven't sewn since Friday spent two glorious days with my husband who decided to purchase a laptop. Oh joy! It was my last day of vacation and spent the majority of it in stores. Enough whining, I just found a wonderful giveaway Lila Tueller is giving away a quilt. Yes, a beautiful quilt, hop on over to her blog and check it out.

Friday Night Sew-In II

2010-02-20T09:43:00.007-05:00

Okay last night was the second Friday Night Sew in hosted by Heidi and Bobbi. I know that it is suppose to be a stay at home and sew in your pajamas evening, but my sister, Judy and I use it as a get together at her house to sew. This time our friend Annette joined us.

So after a nice supper, cooked by my brother-in-law, it was upstairs to sew. All the ingredients for a wonderfully productive evening right? Wrong, the night was wonderful, good friends, the Olympics playing in the back ground, the hum of sewing machine whirling in the night, but wait what's that sound? Errk...Errk... Oh no! What's up with my machine? That's right mechanical failure, seems that thread has wrapped around the lower pulley of my feather weight. Forty-five or so minutes later I'm all fixed and ready to go. All I have to do is make some bias stems for my applique, easy right? Not such an easy chore but eventually I got it done. So here's my big accomplishment for Friday Night Sew -In Part Deux.

Whoo hoo you say, you got a lot done... Look closely, see that green vine running across the checker board? That, my friends is my accomplishment ! That's it and

this... sewn to the quilt but yet to be appliqued in place. Okay not my most productive evening but still beacoup fun! Thanks Heidi and Bobby for hosting. When's the next one?

Happy Birthday

2010-02-18T19:58:00.000-05:00

Today is my sister's Birthday. When we were growing up I thought she was a pain, little sisters often are you know... today she is my best friend. So happy birthday Sista ,thanks for being you. You've grown into a wonderful woman, a loving wife, devoted mother, and daughter,and a loyal friend.

hope you enjoy.

Judy is also my long arm quilter and just finished up a quilt that I will post pictures of once the binding is sewn on.

A Finish

2010-02-07T19:18:00.000-05:00

So I finished a few things recently. I posted the partial finish of my tea cup wall hanging here, I did finish it and gave it to my guild for the silent auction to be held in April, unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it. So you'll just have to take my word that it came out really nice. I did finish my wool wall hanging today. It's been hanging around for a number of years, it's about time I finished it.

This will give me something to hang for the Fourth of July.

I also made two blocks for my virtual quilting group A Dozen Quilters today.

I'm going to let her choose which one she wants. This was a fun block to make, I can see this made into a big quilt.

I'm learning how to knit, yesterday I spent a bit of it knitting a scarf for me. I think I need to get another skein to finish because I like my scarves long and this one isn't quite long enough. I'll take a picture of it when I'm done. my goal is to get good enough to knit socks.

Signing off to watch the Super Bowl. My son is a big Colts fan, has been for years, so at the moment he's very happy with the score they are up 10 to nothing so far.

Life's Little Blessings

2010-02-02T20:49:00.000-05:00

Rachel, of Not-So-Plain Jane, posted about things in her life that makes her glad to be alive. I thought I'd follow suit. So here are some of the things that makes me appreciate my life.

a cup of tea in my favorite mug

a good book

the thump,thump of a wagging tail

feel of cotton

smell of clean sheets after they've been hung outside

banter between my husband and son

hum of my sewing machine

my son's laughter
the "me" time I need and that my husband understands
the light bulb moment when one of my students gets it
hugs from my great-nieces
sunday drives
my sister judy
my mother
laughing with my
son, sister,mother,and husband
my friend and co-work dawn, who helps me keep my persepective
my blogging friends
So what make you happy?

Chase the Winter Snow Away

2010-01-28T22:08:00.003-05:00

Tonya gave me this idea, so I'm running with it.

'nuff said

Mail Call

2010-01-22T22:07:00.002-05:00

Look what the mailman brought me to day ...

Some Amy Schimler, a little Kona Cotton...

a cute bag, some pins and wonderful Moda.

Cherri from Cherry House Quilts had a giveaway before Christmas. She wanted to know what our Christmas wish was and then let her son choose the winner, and he picked me!

Cherri is a pattern designer and has recently finished a book which is scheduled to come out in May.

Keep an eye out for it.

Cherri's daughter recently had some medical issues but is recovering nicely, her son is over in Afghanistan, so I'm asking everyone to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Check This Out....

2010-01-20T19:40:00.000-05:00

Amy Hamberlin of Kati Cupcake is celebrating her new fabric line, Marabella is having a giveaway!

Hop on over to her blog and check it out.

Look What I Won

2010-01-17T10:29:00.001-05:00

Kathy from True Creations had a giveaway before Christmas, and I was one of the lucky winners. Here's is what I won!

A Terry Atkinson pattern call "Pie Crust," and two delicious fat quarters, "Neutral Territory" designed by Terry Atkinson and Lois Liz.

Yum!

Thanks Kathy!

Friday Night Sew-In Review

2010-01-16T12:04:00.000-05:00

Late night last night, I can remember the "old days" when staying up until 1:30 on a Friday night was the norm for me. Ahh the memories... makes me wonder why I ever did it the first place? So Judy and I had our own little "Sew-In" last night. A nice hot cuppa tea, a relaxing dip in the hot tub,topped off with a few uninterrupted hours of sewing! Life is good!

Finished up the table topper for our guild's silent auction.

Tea anyone?
Made Jackie Gerring's cute litte wall hanging.

I just have to sew the outside border,quilt and bind it and it'll be another finish for 2010.

Spent a little time on this guy here. I bought this kit at lest three years ago and never touched it.

I'm trying to finish up stuff that's been on the back burner for a while.

Of course that's what I say every year...

Let's see how much I accomplish :^)

So thanks Heidi and Bobbi for a Fabulous Friday Night Sew-In.

Which One Will She Choose?

2010-01-02T18:04:00.001-05:00

Today I finished my January's block for A dozen Quilter's . I usally make two, one for the quilter of the month and one for me. This time I made it in two different color ways. I didn't like the way the purple came out and I also didn't make a star, Gayly perfers a star block but left it up to us. So I took the purple block apart and remade it, this time incorporating a Friendship star into the block. I'm leaving it up to her to pick the one she wants....which one would you choose?

Friendship Star Variation...

Comet

Gayly provided the multi color, and the block had to be 15 inches, while using ony one other color.

Good Bye Christmas, Hello New Year, and Little Ma to Boot

2009-12-30T22:18:00.001-05:00

Got up this morning and decided to take the tree down and pack up all the Christmas decorations. I usually save this task for January 1st. I really don't know why I chose to do this today, but this way I'll have more time for sewing.

My mother has been a constant inspiration in my life. Not only on the really important life lessons, but the sewing kind as well. Ma has always sewn, and made most of my clothes as I grew up. She has been quilting for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately about three years ago, she was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration.You can read about it here. She is/was a smoker, and unfortunately most of the treatments out there are dangerous for smokers. Any way, she continues to sew quilts, and up until recently could thread a needle quicker than I could. She made a quilt for her neighbors this Christmas, my sister Judy quilted it and Ma presented it to Robert and Maria with the promise to bind it after the holiday. Well Ma called me today very frustrated because she couldn't see to finish the hand sewing. Its an easy fix really, I hope to have it done by tomorrow.

My Mother has overcome a lot of adversity in her life and can't help but feel a little outraged at her medical condition. I don't think she deserves it. I know things happen for a reason and God has his own plan, and I leave it in his hands.... It doesn't make it any easier to watch.

I'm so proud of you Ma, you never give up and take whatever life hands you with good old Yankee fortitude.

Well this is offically my last rant for 2009. I try not whine or complain to much because life is really too short and ya just need to get on with living. I wish all of you my blogging friends a peaceful and prosperous new year ahead. Bring it on 2010!

Nice Christmas and a New Block

2009-12-28T18:42:00.000-05:00

Christmas was wonderful. Spent a nice quiet morning at home with my boys, then over to my mother's to visit with my siblings and their cildren and their grand children. Had a nice surprise, my niece, Katie was up from North Carolina two days early, as a surprise for my sister and brother-in -law. We all enjoyed a nice meal, quiet visit, then home again home again jiggity jig.

I managed to complete the block that was due this month for my virtual quilt group, A Dozen Quilters.

I'm making the same block for myself each month, so I'll have a quilt as a keepsake for this journey. The block I'm sending Christy is on the right and the one I'm keeping is on the left (obviously).

The block is called the Jack-in -the Box, and the fabric is Heather Bailey.

I'm hoping to get my sewing room organized and finish up a few projects this week while I'm on break .

Have a pieceful day.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T21:59:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a blessed and joyous day.

SENIOR NIGHT

2009-11-03T19:55:00.003-05:00

Last Thursday night the high school soccer teams celebrated Senior Night. Both the boys and the girls. The Boys were scheduled to play on Wednesday but was rained out. So the AD decided to reschedule the game for 5 o'clock the next night much to the chagrin of the boys. Here are some pictures of the 11 seniors boys and 5 senior girls.

The J Crew

(My son is on the left)

Good Friends

Palmer Fire

(these boys have played together since they were eight or nine... DH was one of their coaches)

And so it begins ... the first of many goodbyes... looking back on good times... looking forward to new adventures.

James, your parents are so proud. :^)

Pumpkins and Puppy Tales

2009-11-02T19:44:00.004-05:00

Here are a couple of things I've been working on lately.

A cute bag for my great-niece.

Pumpkin quilt... ready for my longarm quilter, my sister Judy.

Okay so I'm getting ready for work today and I hear crash! So I yell "Rooney what are you into now?" Down the hall comes this...

It seems Rooney boy wanted to help his Dad take out the trash!

Have a good evening. =^ )

Quilt Retreat Revisited

2009-11-01T19:51:00.000-05:00

Hi Everybody, hope you all enjoyed your Halloween. The weather held out here and we had a fairly good turn out. Not as many as in years past, but all in all good. My son, James, showed up just in time to help hand out candy.
Well as you may recall I told you that I was going on our annual quilt retreat last weekend. It used to be called "Quilting on the Sound," but the Mercy Center, has closed. It was a pretty place located in Madison Conneticut right on the ocean. Now our retreat is called "Quilting at the Center." This new palce is located in Ivoryton Conneticut not very far from Madison. It is located on a lake and the grounds are very pretty. The food was fantastic! Over all the new place turned out to be quite nice. The bathrooms left a little to be desired but we were assured that they are working to update them and by next year they should be fixed.

This is the building that my mother, sister Judy, Annette, and I stayed in. This was one of three buildings that our quilters used. The building that you slept in was also where you quilted. There was one teacher this year and she taught a variation on a pineapple quilt using jelly rolls. I decided to "Do My Own Thing," this year. I had a lot of projects I wanted to finish up. Did I? No, but I accomplished a bit.

My sister Judy, hard at work, Annette is in the background tracing an applique.

My Mom in the foreground and some of the other ladies busy,busy,busy. My mother is suffering from Macular Degeneration and mostly sews by feel now, but she's still sewing !

Another view of the ladies.

Annette's Four Patch Posies quilted by my sister, Judy.

A couple pictures of Show and Tell. I apologize for the quality of picutres, they kept moving the quilts and my camera wasn't on the right setting.

This little guy was just hanging around and greeted us every morning.

All in all it was a beautiful and productive weekend.

I'll post some more pictures tomorrow and show what I've accomplished in October.

Another Give Away

2009-10-31T18:12:00.003-04:00

Happy Holloween everyone. It's been a busy week and right now we are being inundated with all sorts of ghosts, goblins, kitties, monkeys and elephants!
Linda, from my virtual quilting group, is having a giveaway to celebrate her 102nd post. You should hop on over to her here and check it out. Its been a very busy couple of weeks here, between shop hopping, quilting retreat and soccer season will have picutres of my finds and accomplishments hopefully tomorrow! until then HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Great Give Away

2009-10-20T20:00:00.001-04:00

I'm back. My computer has been down and my son has had many soccer games, so I haven't posted in almost a month! I was visiting Tonya's Sewing Room blog and she turned me on to a great give away. Pumpkin Patch Primitives is giving away a wonderful bundle of fat quarters and then some! . I'm sure most of you have seen it already, if not get on over there its really worth the visit! Will post again with all the things that I've been up to soon. Just have to get my pictures together.

Pet Parade

2009-09-23T20:27:00.001-04:00

September 30th Pet Parade ! This summer I made a dog scarf to help homeless pets through the Kaylee Kattilac Blog. She reached her goal and is having a party to celebrate. Miss Libby will be there as will all the other doggies. Join in the fun! For every link to http://www.katillacshack.com/ earns a $3.00 donation join by September 27th.

2009-09-20T19:57:00.005-04:00

A block made for "A Quilter's Dozen" Block swap. I've enjoyed the beautiful weekend. Took my mother to a local quilt shop, Quilt and Treasures, yesterday. Visited my sister today and snatched up her grand babies, and stopped by an apple orchard.

A nice change from the hectic work week. My DS is a soccer player in his last year of high school(Whoohoo!!!) so worked the concession stand three times this week. Did my volunteering for the season. Had to decide which proofs to choose for senior pictures. Not an easy decision, Maryellyn from http://www.on3photo.net/ did a superb job!

Another Sweet Give Away!

2009-09-14T16:40:00.006-04:00

Head on over to Melinda's blog she's having and awesome giveaway! You can find here blog here.

Sweets, More Sweets, and Candy Land to Boot!

2009-09-13T17:35:00.010-04:00

Finished Gracie's skirt and delivered it today. Forgot to take a picture so will have her mom take a picture for me. I'll post the pictures when I get them. Glorious day today. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.
Gracie's Birthday theme was Sweet. She had a very pretty cake and there was tons of candy! She also had a bounce house and I went in and was mauled by a couple of four year olds, a six year old, and a two year old. I discovered that this fifty-four year old is just too darn old for that foolishness!!

A couple of weeks ago Liam, my great nephew, celebrated his fourth birthday and his mom made him a Candy Land cake. It was phenomenal! Here are some pictures of it.

School Bells and Puppy Dog Tails

2009-09-08T23:40:00.014-04:00

I'm back! I can't believe that it's been a month since I last posted. I don't know where the time has gone. I've been back to work since August 25th. It's taken a while to get back in the swing of things but I'm managing. We also have a new addition to our family. He's a four legged bundle of joy! yep that's right we adopted a new puppy! A week before going back to work. We've been busy working on house training and things have been coming along just fine. Here's a picture our little Rooney.

Time to post my projects for September for the Charming Girls Quilt Club. I did make and finish a project in August but didn't post it until now. You can see a picture of my finish project down below . This month I want to finish two projects, the first is a skirt for one of my great nieces. She's turning 4 and really likes bugs so I'm making either a dress or a skirt with bug fabric using an Indigo Junction pattern.

This is one of the projects I want to finish in September. It's a kit from Thimbleberries called Sugar Bear Pumpkins.

This is what I made in August. This is for the the Good Ol' Summertime Swap. It's ready to go to the other side of the world.

This is is what came in the mail Last Wednesday. It's from the Good Ol' Summertime Swap.

This quilt was made by Deborah from Quilts Galore and More.

It's Done!!

2009-08-05T15:42:00.002-04:00

It's Done !Last paper handed passed in. Both presentations are done, one more class to go! Whoo Hoo!!

Tiny Seamstress Throwwdown Bag

2009-07-27T19:37:00.013-04:00

Okay here is the bag I made for the "Tiny Sesmstress Throwdown Bay 2009"link. This is the first bag I've ever made ! I was fun and surprisingly easy. The finished dimension of may was off so I took it apart and added the polka dot band around the top.

I'm pleased with the out come. I liked it so much that I made a mini version for my great niece Hannah. She just turned six and we celebrated her birthday on Sunday. She's really into horses and I made her a skirt and with the material I had left over I made her a little bag and a littel pillow. I forgot to take a picture of the pillow but here is the bag :

Okay, July was very productive as far as sewing has gone. I will dig through my WIPs and decide on an August project and post very soon. But for the next 8 days I'll be wrapped up in a summer course which will bring me closer to my Master' degree. I'm going sign off for now to work on a case study that I'll be presenting tomorrow! Yikes!!!
Enjoy your week.

Caitlin's Quilt and Hanah's Skirt

2009-07-24T11:51:00.008-04:00

I was hoping show you a completely finished project quilting and all... but my sister, a long arm quilter, was going to sneak it in for me, unfortunately she had appendicitis and had surgery on Tuesday. She is home and doing well hoping to get up to her machine sometime today but I don't think Caitlin's quilt will be quilted by the July's deadline. So here is the finished top minus the mitered border. I didn't have enough material and had to add corner squares. I'm pleased with the result. yes it is a bit big for a baby quilt but it will grow with her.

I haven't given up on mitered borders and will try it on a future quilt.

I made my great- niece, Hannah, a little skirt for her birthday. She is really loves horses and has been taking horse back riding lessons. On Saturday we took a ride to Greenfield to the Textile Company and picked up dome Horse fabric. I made her a skirt using Indyo Junction's Little Charmers pattern.

Today I'm going to make the bag from the Tiny seamstress Throwdown Bag 2009. It needs to be finished by August third. I still need to start the Good Ol' Summer Time Swap. I have a few ideas dancing around in my head. There's a lot to do before my class starts next week.Yikes! I know I won't have much time for any thing else because its a full graduate course jammed into two weeks.
What was I thinking?

Day Tripping...

2009-07-20T22:33:00.029-04:00

First I want to show you what I won. Sue from Alderwood Quilts had a give away a few weeks back and I was the lucky winner!

I love the colors and plan on making this quilt very soon. Thank You Sue!

The Chab is on vacation this week. We are planning to do some work around the house, and take a few day trips if the weather permits. Let me just say that I love New England! I live in western Massachusetts and can drive south and be in Connecticut in less than a half an hour, or head north and end up in Vermont or New Hampshire in about one hour.

On Sunday we decided to head north to Brattleboro Vermont. There's a little record shop Chab likes to visit. While he peruses the old vinyl, I hit a few of the neat shops along main street. Brattleboro is very artsy. One of places that I always visit is Twice Upon a Time, a neat antique shop where I picked up some vintage fabric...

Afterwards we jumped on Route 30, headed north for a little bit and stopped here for a late lunch.

New England is known for its covered bridges. The first one is in Vermont and I believe that it's the longest covered bridge in Vermont. The second one is in Massachusetts near Charlemont.

In Heath Mass. We discovered Berkshire Sweet Gold Maple Farm.

This syrup is made totally by solar power. We tried some on Monday morning. Yum!

A few more sights along the Mohawk Trail...

Bears are big in this neck of the woods!

It is worth noting that the Native Americans who lived along the Mohawk trail and in Eastern region were primarily farmers and did not live in tepees. They lived in Wetus, Wigwams, and Longhouses, you can see their housing here.
Enjoy your day!

Taste of Enfield

2009-07-11T09:49:00.023-04:00

Haven't tackled the mitered borders yet. I've had a bit of bad news about my job, and it has made me quite angry, needless to say I've had a hard time concentrating... but my rock garden is looking better! Weeding is such good therapy it's a way to work off my anger, but I digress... We've been attending the taste of Enfield (Ct) for a number of years and last night was the night. The Taste hosts a bunch of little tents filled with Enfield's restaurants so the populace can sample their wares. I think its set up on the town common right next to the town hall.

All kinds of people come out to enjoy...

There's always music, and families spread out on the common to listen.

All kinds of food of course...

My Hub like sausage grinders Yumm...

Fried Ravioli ? Interesting.

Is this an American staple now a days? This was one of the most popular booths.

This was the most popular booth! Pirogis anyone???

Dickey Betts-"Lord I was born a ramblin' man..."

No matter where I go, I see...

QUILTS!
There was a family sitting next to us and I spied this little gem. I asked if I could take a picture and found out it was made for the mom by her grandmother. I told her it was a treasure and she replied that he kids had pretty much wrecked it. I replied that it could still be saved and she just chuckled. I Hope she thinks about it and at least puts it away. It still amazes me that some people just don't realize the value of handmade things.

So we'll just have to appreciate it for them...

Have a nice day.

Almost Done

2009-07-08T20:56:00.005-04:00

I was very busy to day, not sewing but the necessary things you have to do to keep your house in reasonably running order. Ugh.. Clean !

Yesterday however, I worked on the baby quilt putting all the blocks together and adding the inner border. The fabric I'm using for the border makes me want to try mitering them. This will be my first attempt, so I think I do a mock up version first. I like the way this quilt is turning out and would hate to ruin it because I messed up on the outside borders. Should be finished with the top by tomorrow if all goes according to plan. =->

2009-07-06T22:13:00.008-04:00

I'm joining The Charming Girls Quilt Club. I think this will be a good way to motivate me to finish up some UFOs, and get support along the way!

Okay I'm suppose to post a picture of the project I plan to finish this month. This is it another baby quilt using Amy Butler and Moda prints the pattern I'm using is Ashley from the book Super Simple Fat Quarter Quilts By Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith. I cut it out last week and made the blocks today. I need to get it finished by the 20th in time for my newest great-niece.

Finishing up at least one project a month is a good goal, and hopefully I'll be able keep up and stay on track , and actually achieve my goal. Wish me luck!

July 4th and Movie Day with the girls.

2009-07-05T22:05:00.008-04:00

July 4th was a great day! Spent the day at my Lil' Sis's house, ate great food, visited, watched the great nieces run around, roasted marshmallows, made s'mores, and watched fire works from their front porch. Here are some pictures;
The view off my sister's porch.

"Chillin with Pa" Great niece #2 and BIL

" Yumm!! This wiener is good"! Great Niece #1

My Nieces, Mom to great nieces is the blond.

Only Son, Lil' Sis, Lil Bro, and DH in the shadows.

Today the Girls and I went to see My Sister's Keeper. Loved the book, it gave me something to think about... movie was good ...a bit different than the book. Bring tissues if you go to see it.

We had a great weekend . Hope everyone had a great one as well

2009-07-04T10:14:00.003-04:00

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Here are a few quotes from our second president of the United States, John Adams:

" Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom."

"It should be your care, therefore, and mine, to elevate the minds of our children and exalt their courage; to accelerate and animate their industry and activity; to excite in them an habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity, and an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty, and virtue. If we suffer their minds to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives."

Education should be the fundamental right of all people ...This I firmly believe and strive daily to impart on all my students.

John Adams was from Massachusetts and played an integral part in the founding and building of the United States, he was a very irascible man,and I believe because of that,is often overlooked by Americans. Here are some more quotes that I think are as appropriate today as when he spoke them:

"Everything in life should be done with reflection."

“Always stand on principle....even if you stand alone”

This last one I think says it all about our current economic crisis :

"All the perplexities, confusion, and distress in America arise, not from want of honor or virtue, but from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation."

Enjoy your holiday and reflect and remember all those who have gone before us and who are currently making the sacrifices necessary to hold on to our freedom.

Design Gives Back

2009-07-02T16:50:00.002-04:00

Here's Liberty in the Oliver Wendell "Play Strong" scarf.

A storm was brewing and she's afraid of thunder so Miss Libby was saying, "Hurry up Mom!"

Decorating this scarf was a lot of fun. My mother had a bunch flowers left over from past projects, so I just glued them on.

This is a Design gives back project. Decorating an Oliver Wendell "Play Strong" scarf and taking a picture of a dog wearing the scarf earns a 10 dollar donation towards helping abandoned pets. Kelee's goal was 150 scarves by July 6th earning $2,000! I hope she reached her goal.

Madison's Quilt

2009-06-26T20:12:00.012-04:00

I finished the baby quilt today and sent it on its way to Little Miss Madison. A beautiful little blonde baby. She is the first grandchild of our long time friends Jerry and Tracy. Its a happy quilt and I hope Madison will enjoy it.

The best part is that I was able to make it from my stash! The only thing I had to buy was the backing. I'm trying to use up my stash and finish up UFOs this year. So far I've been (s true to my word (sorts). The only fabric I've purchased recently has been to help finish old projects.

One more baby quilt and then on to finishing up old projects

In the Good Old Summer Time

2009-06-23T18:18:00.004-04:00

I've been very busy over the past few day finished a quilt top and am in the process of quilting it. Will post pictures when I'm done. Helped my mom go through some old pictures that belonged to my grandmother. We'll sort those out and get them to some of my cousins soon.

I also joined " In The Good old Summer Time Swap." I'm excited this is my first blog swap. If you're interested, head on over to quilting Gallery to register.

Pay It Forward

2009-06-21T19:30:00.002-04:00

I just received an email from Eileen at Robin Hill Quilts telling me I won her Pay~It~Forward.

This is a really neat idea.

Here how it works :

I will make and send a hand-made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post requesting to join Pay~It~Forward exchange.

I will email each person for their mailing address and send a handmade gift when completed.

What you have to do in return is Pay~It~Forward by making the same promise on your blog to 3 different people.

The gift can be any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your items.

When you receive your gift feel free to blog about it.

This is only possible for only those who have a blog.

Bittersweet Goodbyes

2009-06-18T21:33:00.009-04:00

Yesterday was the last day of school. It was full of many mixed emotions. Saying goodbye to our Seventh Graders, many of whom I had the pleasure of teaching for two years, they are great kids and I'm very proud of them. Our town, like so many others, is suffering from the economic down turn. This has unfortunately translated in loosing teachers, either to reassignment or to permanent layoffs . Programs have been cut. Art and Music has taken the biggest hit. I can't imagine our school without the Arts! Our poor kids. We also said good bye to Teresa Abbate a special education teacher who has taught in our town for 35 years. She is my colleague, mentor, and friend. She has a world of knowledge, a great sense of humor, and a passion for students. To honor her years of service I made Signature quilt. I was fortunate enough to get many of her colleagues, past and present and some students to sign it. Here are a couple of pictures. I apologize for the quality of the pictures but I'm proud the way the quilt came out. The pattern was in the winter edition of Quiltmaker magazine.

2009-06-11T18:42:00.004-04:00

Counting down 'til the last day of school. The weather has been dreary to say the least...
Listening to my husband and his friend chopping up that big old pine. Perfect for cool summer night fires...
J's gone to summer soccer try outs...
Wondering if my colleagues will be here next year? ...scarry times for our school system...

2009-05-31T15:44:00.004-04:00

Today is the last day of May. Thankfully the weather is feeling much more like spring. I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get above 60 degrees. Should finish up Terry's quilt today all I need to do is attach the binding. Will post pictures after I give it to her. Its a signature quilt honoring her 35 years of teaching.

My goal for this week is to start and finish two baby quilts! Time is running out and I'd like to get them done before the babies arrive.

Walking! Walking and more walking! Gardening, my gardens are a mess, need to clean them out may even start fresh? I believe these goals are realistic don't you?