Brandon's Birthday

My grandson is going to be six years old on the 29th. We are having a big Trunk or Treat thing at the church on the 31st, so my DIL decided to have his birthday party this weekend. Brandon wanted a hunting birthday party. My son has gotten interested in hunting and has been talking about it so....my little grandson thought it would be cool to have a hunting party where everybody dressed in camoflage...yeah, right. I bought him a fishing pole and a t-shirt that said: Future Fisherman on it but I don't look good in camo gear so I drew the line...My DIL made a birthday cake with camoflage colors and put a deer laying down and another standing up and pigs. (My son wants to hunt wild pigs.)

Happy Birthday Brandon.

Brandon and his cake


His deer target..



Brandon and his friends:

Annual ASG Luncheon

I went to our annual ASG (American Sewing Guild) Luncheon yesterday in Arlington. Our group was well represented. I think we have 18 people in our group and 11 of us went. To say the least, we were the loudest group there.You can't shup up women when they are talking about sewing and eating!!! We had a good lunch followed by our meeting, annual election of officers, door prizes and a wonderful trunk show. The trunk show was put on by Vivian Luster and her sidekick Bonnie, from the Sewing World of Grapevine. Vivian is the owner of this wonderful store that sells Babylock, Brother, and Janome sewing machines and they must have a great craft and sewing club (I wished I lived closer!!!) there because they sure showed some cute things from the club....Quilts, purses, tablerunners, bags, wine bottle covers, pillows, jackets and so much more. I go to this luncheon every year and this year was the best one I've been to. The food was good, the location was good (we went to the Hilton Hotel in Arlington) and the prizes were great. I won a great door prize, the John Flynn Quilting Frame. Nice prize, huh? Anyway, we all had a wonderful time and I'm looking forward to another year of sewing with this group. Here's a few pictures from the event....

Here's a cute Jelly Roll Quilt



This bag was made with 1 yard of fabric...cute, huh? It looks smaller in the picture than it actually is. This is turned sideways but the bag is actually quite big and roomy.



This is a lunchbag...check out the buttons on this one.



This pillow was made by one of the ASG members. I love Dresden plates so I just had to take a picture of this one...


This last picture is also made by one of the members. It is a sweatshirt jacket made with scraps of fabric.

New Sidebar showing some of the pictures from Houston

Ok, I'm new to this one. I added a slideshow to the right hand side of the blog showing some pictures from Houston. I'll add more later. If you click on them, they'll get bigger and you can see more of them. I have lot's more to show, I just have to figure this out first. Anyone familiar with FlickR? til next time....

Ahhh, I loved the Houston Quilt Show.

Yes, I went to Houston and saw all the quilts. Wow, what an experience. My first time to the Houston Quilt Show, but it won't be my last...The quilts were so lovely. I was amazed with the wonderful quilts. OMG, I have never seen such wonderful work before. And all the vendors, OMG, I have never seen so many vendors in one place. Wow! I almost got whiplash! Running from one vendor to another and looking this way and that. I just had to ooh and ahh at so many things... It was alot of fun but boy, was I tired. My feet and legs still hurt from walking so much. I bought my share of goodies and had to really stop myself from buying more. I could have spent alot more money but I would have been in alot of trouble when I got back home. I laid awake Saturday night thinking I should have bought this or should have bought that. But, I'm going to have trouble doing what I bought now and I can always go back and get more from the internet or locally...I got onto myself for being so greedy!

I sure had a good time with the ladies I went with. We had show and tell when we got back to our hotel and each one of us said: "I didn't see that. Where was that? I want that, or I wish I had bought that." It was so much fun. I'm ready to go back.
I saw Ricky Tims, Alex Anderson, Sandy Jenkins,and Eleanor Burns. I looked for Marti Michell but never saw her. I saw two of her quilts and liked them but couldn't find her anywhere. I saw her booth but didn't see her little white head anywhere...I ran into two ladies from Dallas and Austin that I knew too. I took alot of pictures and I'll post some of those later. Ah, good times. I'm going to guild tonight and see what ghostly things are in store for us. We're having a Halloween Trunk Show. That sounds like fun too, doesn't it? I'll take some pics of that too and post later. More to follow....

I'm getting excited about the Houston Quilt Show

I'm going to the Houston Quilt Show this week and I'm so excited. I'm going with Cathy and Marie from my tatting group. They are also quilters and we are heading out Friday to do some serious shopping. Should I tell you now? I have never been to the Houston Quilt Show. You say, what???? Never been? That's right. I have never been to the Houston show. I have been quilting since 1992 and really never wanted to go.... Why? Different reasons. Work, lack of money, lack of time, too sick, too tired, didn't want to go, didn't want to go with the people that asked me, didn't want to go by myself, etc, etc. etc. Well, this year, two of my tatting friends talked me into it. I just happened to have vacation time left over and the desire was there. I don't have all the money saved up that I wanted to but whoever has enough money? Well, I'm going and am preparing myself to be on overload so I won't be so overwhelmed when I get there. I'm going to try not to take 1000 pictures but I do remember things better when I take pictures. When I went to the fair, I took a picture of where my car was parked so I could remember...I deleted that one but it sure helped. I'm getting more excited every day. I told my friends that I had never gone and they couldn't believe it. Cathy said she was thinking about making me wear a tiara. Yeah, right, that will happen! Anyway, I'm looking forward to the trip and a few days with the girls. I'm hoping the weather improves before we go. Of course, we will see the quilts but I can't wait to see all the new gadgets, gizmos and gotta haves! Three more days and we'll be on our way....Maybe I'll see you there...

Tatting at the fair and Oprah

I went back to the fair again on Sunday to do the tatting demos...We had alot of interest and saw alot of people. The building was packed. We talked to alot of people and invited them to come to our meeting. It was alot of fun. I knew something was up though when about 12 policemen came into the building and were standing around talking about what to do. As it turned out, Oprah was judging a food contest in the back of the room that we were in. I got some pictures but they weren't very good. The police were there to keep everyone back. They shut the building down for an hour while she was there. Once she exited, everything returned to normal....It was a fun day with the girls but it was rainy and cold and I didn't get to walk around very much afterwards. I'm trying to decide if I want to go back again. I still didn't see everything I wanted to. I know if I do go back, I will not be taking the train again. It took us 2 1/2 hours to go by train. OMG, what an ordeal!


These aren't great pictures but it's the best I could do. I couldn't get close. I couldn't even see the shot I was taking. I had to hold my camera up above my head and just shoot in the direction she was. I was lucky I even got her in the picture.

(click on the pictures and you'll get a closer view)






Nancy took this one, she snuck in somewhere to take this one!

Shopping and some new treasures

I went to pick up my BOM this morning and I just couldn't come back home without making a pit stop at Joann's. They are having a big sale on books and notions. I bought a plastic container that was 50% off. I'm going to use this to carry my projects back and forth each month for my BOM. We have to complete the block and bring it in each month to show that we actually did the block. We then receive the next month's block free. If we don't make the block or we don't make it into the shop at the designated time, we pay $5.00 for the next month's block. Believe me, that is an incentive to get to the meeting or class to pick up your block. I know it's just $5.00 but that's another $5.00 added to your quilt top that you could have used for other fabric, a new notion or a Starbuck's... We get the next month's block and any tips or tricks too, plus we get to see each other and that makes it worth the trip. This group is a fun bunch of women and we get free donuts and coffee too...Let's not forget the shopping too! Oh well, sorry, I got off track! I picked up my block, visited with the ladies, took some pictures, bought a few pieces of fabric that told me they wanted to come home with me and went to Joann's....Now, back to Joann's...I bought my plastic container and a new quilt book that was also on sale for 40% off. This is the first book like this I have seen and I am really anxious to try it out. Have you seen this or used this book? It's called Quilting Dot to Dot by Cheryl Barnes. It is a book with patterns for the machine quilter (sewing machine) not long arm machine....I thought it looked very interesting..Give me your feedback on this book if you've read it or used it. I'll let you know what I think too. Here's my project box with some of the goodies I bought today.





Here's the book I bought

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As you are aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Please take a minute and click on the pink button to the right of the screen. It takes you to the Breast Cancer site and you can click it to give a free mammogram to someone that cannot afford one. I keep this on my blog every day and click on it. It is the least I can do.

I am a breast cancer survivor of almost 4 years now! I am having good check ups and feeling good too. To all my fellow survivors, I wish you good health and full recoveries. To all the ladies out there, go have your mammogram and do your self checks frequently. Your life is worth it! Take time to take care of yourself...

ASG Meeting -Halloween and Block 6

I didn't go to my tatting meeting last night and I sure missed meeting with my tatting friends. I had an ASG meeting to go to and it was a tough choice. Since the weather was so bad, I decided I didn't want to drive in the rain too much so I just went to one meeting...This meeting we had a demo by one of our ladies and she showed us how to make a halloween bag for the kiddos...Here's a picture of mine that I did tonight. It was quick and fun to do. I'm going to have to do another one since I have two grandkids big enough for trick or treating and I don't want any fighting...



I also made this other bag. It is Debbie Mumm fabric and the fabric was given to me. I still have to put a handle on it but I'll do that tomorrow night. This fabric was a panel. It has a small witch panel for a wallhanging, some small 5-6" pieces to make hotpads and it had this to make a bag out of...I plan on making the wallhanging and using to decorate for halloween and I'll show you that one when it's done....Here's the cute little bag. One side is Frankenstein and the other is the witch.



The last thing I did tonight was to make block 6 of my Block of the month...This block is called Tempest in a Teapot. I love that name, it congers up all kinds of thoughts for me. I guess it's the romantic in me but, what can I say? Halfway done with these blocks, I can't wait for this quilt to be finished, it is a beautiful quilt...here's the block.




Gotta go for now, time for bed and I'm tired. til next time.....

This looks like it should

Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees....

Ok, here it is - the corrected setting. I had to unsew the middle flying geese block and rotate it to be correct. Now you can see the pattern. Gee, it looks alot better now. Thanks, J, for your help.

Trent's quilt

Well, duh! Do I feel dumb. The middle flying geese blocks should be turned 90 degrees so the blocks look like a square in a square. I'll have to do unsewing to correct this error. When I took the picture and posted it, I didn't even see it. See, it pays to post pictures to your blog so your friends can help you find your mistakes before it's too late.

Trent's quilt and a needle case

I worked on this little quilt and finished putting it together. I think it turned out really cute. I'm going to take it to my friend, Judy, this week and have her quilt it for me. I want to get it quilted quickly and finished so Trent can have it for his room. I'm only about 10 months late on this....no big deal, right? I embroidered the blocks and never could decide how to set them together. I finally saw a pattern that I liked and did some changes to it. Here's some pictures. I really did press it first, I laid it on the back of the chair and then my husband sat against it. I didn't want to walk back upstairs to iron it again tonight...I'll show it again when it's quilted. I took some close up pictures of the individual cars.


















I also made this little needlecase. I made it with my favorite fabric and I really like it. I only have a little bit of this fabric left and I'll probably make a small quilt with it. We'll see...I'm looking for a pattern now. When I bought this fabric, I bought all of it that was on the bolt. I wish I could find some more. I put one of my little tatted butterflies on it too.

Fun and Tatting at the State Fair

I went to the fair Friday to do tatting demos or maybe I should say, I went to sit and tat all day....Three of us from our tatting group are scheduled to be at the fair on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of each week of the fair. We are in the Creative Arts Building. We went and had a great time. There were so many people that stopped by, visited and even voiced an interest in tatting. Alot of them said that their Moms, Grandmoms, Great Grandmoms or Aunts did tatting and they remembered it. Alot of people didn't know it was still around. Some said they had never heard of it and one guy (yes, just one) said he wondered if it would be tattoos...Some stayed for a while and watched. We passed out cards telling where we met and hopefully, some of these ladies will come learn. All in all, we had a great day, we got to visit and tat and meet new people. We had more interest than we thought we would and that was a good thing!