Thursday, October 28, 2010

Guess where I'll be this weekend....

Posted by Strlady at 6:00 AM 4 comments

Yup.. I'm a bit excited! My sister Brenda is a quilt shop owner (PumpkinPatchPrimitives.com) and she decided to go to market this year. I was very excited when she asked me to join her in Houston but now that the day has arrived, I'm super pumped! Not only will I be getting to see my sister, but my daughter was also invited and she will be flying in today as well!!

I'm taking my camera and will take pics as we go. I'm signing off for now since it's a long, long drive and I still have a few things to cross off my To Do list. Have a great weekend!!!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

A New Project - Opening Day

Posted by Strlady at 11:20 PM 2 comments
It's time to chose a new project. This one just might be the last project of the year so I had to make sure it was a good one. Many options to chose from but I kept going back to the fact that I don't have a Christmas Quilt. Soon everyone will be pulling out their holiday decorations and I'll be all jealous.

Last year I said I wanted to make a Christmas quilt and went out and bought a FQ bundle of Glace by Three Sisters to make my quilt.
Here we are just a few weeks away from the holidays and I don't have my quilt made. Well, no more. My pending quilts have all gone out to the quilters and I'm ready to start a new quilt.


How appropriate that I chose Opening Day as my pattern!

I assume that you have heard that our Rangers made it to the World Series. I moved to Texas just a few years ago but this state has really taken me in and made me feel like I was a Texan all my life. I have loved my Red Sox and Pats (originally from New England) but credit where it's due. Go Rangers!!!


I started cutting and piecing this past weekend and I'm loving it


Those flying geese are a breeze with my Fit to be Geese ruler. I love that darn thing!
Thanks Carrie!!


I have only 3 stars pictured but I already have 8 made. I think this one will be made in no time at all. I don't think that anyone will be able to quilt it for me by Christmas but to know that it was made and ready will get me through the season without turning so green. LOL!

Have a great week!!

Two off to the quilters!

Posted by Strlady at 10:19 PM 1 comments
I sent off a couple of my babies to the quilters last week.


Short Story has been making it's way over to Mary at the Quilt Hollow.


and this special piece is headed to Margaret at Mainely Quilts of Love.

These ladies are a true treasure. Both do exquisite work and are always ready to make suggestions so that the final product ends up being exactly what the quilt is meant to be. I can't wait to have them come back home.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

No Name project in Progress

Posted by Strlady at 5:30 AM 3 comments
"No Name" was originally named 25 in 25 and first appeared in American Patchwork and Quilting's April 2004 issue.


As I went searching for a project for a particular loved one, I kept coming back to this quilt. It seemed to really speak to me but the white solids had me questioning the selection. I just had a real problem getting over the solid white. I have a problem with solids period. I've been working at getting past this but I still haven't really gotten over it yet.


When I was in Houston last year I passed a booth that was selling FQ batiks for a steal and as I was looking over the selections, this quilt finally, FINALLY became something I could visualize. I could see the beautiful batiks surrounded by that stark white which would get quilted to add the life that would hug my darling girl. Funny how some quilts make you wait before the decide to get in your face and insist on getting done.


I started cutting and piecing last weekend.
I made a good dent on the 25 blocks that I need.


But I still have 9 blocks before I can attach the sashing and call this top done.

I've been looking for a 108" wide hand dyed flannel for the backing but that fell through. So now I will need to piece the backing before I send this baby out to get quilted. I will also need to decide on what to name it and have been waiting for that AHA moment. Nothing yet.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

New Additions to the Stash

Posted by Strlady at 11:39 AM 4 comments
I am such a stash junkie! Yup. I am. I freely admit it. I am not embarrassed (too much) by it.
Why? It's a wonderful thing.

Last month a few pre-ordered Pre-Cuts arrived at my door from the Pumpkin Patch. and I had failed to share with you all.


I love Kansas Trouble prints but I was not able to get my hands on Butterfly Garden in the Spring, so I made sure I requested my little bit of Summers End. This Fat Eighth bundle is just enough for my fix. LOL!


I loved the New Clermont Farm line by Minik & Simpson but I have no idea what to use it for.
Maybe my version of this?


I've been working very closely with "Collection for a Cause - Hope" for some time now since I won a Fat Eighth bundle from Kelly but I had already ordered a FQ bundle so this one was just an added treat for me.


I REALLY have no idea what to do with this one though. I'll have to look over my patterns.

Last but not least (on the fabric front)...


Maison De Garance by French General. This beauty already has a project assigned to it.


I picked up a copy of one of Miss Rosie's newest patterns, Brown Eyed Girl.

Another cute little thing that made it into my work space was this thread holder. I love it. My sister Brenda picked it up for me on one of her adventures and when I was visiting her a few weeks ago she gave it to me.


Can you see how my Precensia thread is displayed to all it's glory. I love this thread.

Okay... Now that I'm listing all my new acquisitions it sure looks like alot... but in my defense I bought it all over time, I'm just getting around to sharing now. Heck! No guts, No glory, Right?


Yesterday, I picked up the Nottingham Star pattern after Thelma, Lisa and Nicole pimped it out earlier this week.

So to wrap things up...
In: WAAYY to much.
Out: Not enough!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

A Wedding Journey.. The Dress

Posted by Strlady at 6:00 AM 1 comments
Sorry, not alot of pictures on this one since it's Top Secret! but I will share the journey with you.

This one is a biggie on the list. It's a bit early but Nyshma really wanted to get this one out of the way and now that she is living far away, there would be little opportunity for me to be with her. So we took advantage and went a shopping!

We had both seen a dress she really liked at a Bridal show here in Texas and before she moved we went and tried it on...


This one was the one to beat because she loved it. I encouraged her to keep looking to make sure that her feelings with the dress were not due to it being the first one she tried on. I honestly believe that until you put on that dress, it all feels a bit foreign.

After visiting the venue we drove down to Portsmouth, NH and met with the lovely ladies at Madeline's Daughter. The young lady assigned to our appointment was just wonderful and she brought some exceptional dresses to compete with the first.


There were some tears shed there and we thought we found a strong contender.
Still we walked away because we had one more stop before the decision was made.

We were visiting Kleinfeld's the next weekend.

The trip to NY was a last minute addition to our itinerary but after spending the summer watching many, many reruns of Say Yes to the Dress we had to find an excuse to go there. The excuse was a particular Dress that my DD (dear Daughter) had on her wish list and she just HAD to try on before her final decision.


The traffic in NY was horrendous, but we already knew that. The hotel was horrible, but we had low expectations. But it all was worth it because she found it! She found the one!

We almost walked away defeated but after about 8-9 dresses, the consultant took us to the back room where she let us loose to see if we found something she had missed.


Peaking from a plastic garment bag was a dress that had a top similar to the first dress DD loved and a bit of the second dress we had on the list. Pulling it out of the bag brought an inhale of breath and a few dropped jaws. I admit to tearing up when she stepped into it because I knew this was the one.


I wish I could tell you more but I have been sworn to secrecy and the pictures shown here have been previously approved (one had to get cropped several times over before approval was given).

Needless to say.. she said YES to the dress.

We left on a high and headed off to meet with a friend for lunch. We found this place where you select the pasta of your choice and it's cooked in front of you. Definitely yummy.


Nyshma's Yumminess


My Yumminess

We then headed out for dessert and I had to take a picture for Thelma...


These little bite size cupcakes (they are just a bit larger than a quarter) were soo delicious! I was tempted to go back for more but by then we were running late and I was just exhausted.

It was a wonderful adventure and quite a success so every minute was worth it. I was blessed to have shared this time not just with my daughter but with my sisters too (one is pictured above with DD and the other can be found here). Thanks Gals, for putting up with a fretful Mom!

That's it for now, will be back with more closer to the date.

Friday, October 1, 2010

A Wedding Journey.. The Venue

Posted by Strlady at 10:12 AM 2 comments
As some of you might know my only child is getting married. It's bittersweet because she is my baby and she is living far from me. She is very excited and I have been lucky to have her want my input on the wedding. With that I flew out to New Hampshire from my cozy corner of Texas to do some initial prep work for the big day (Next Labor Day weekend).

First up was the Venue. This was a big milestone because all timelines are based off the venue selection. You might want to get married on a certain date but if you can't find a place to have your wedding, you will need to re-evaluate your date.

Her top three venues were all booked on her date, but she was lucky to find a place close to her new home that offers her the feel she was looking for. Next year she will celebrate her wedding at The Bedford Village Inn.


Here Nyshma is standing on a small platform where the Bride and Groom
can stand as the ceremony takes place.


Here you can see the area where the chairs would be placed facing the small platform where she was standing before.

When she visited a few weeks before with her fiancee the venue was preparing for a wedding and she was able to see the chairs in place.


The chairs would have some covers but it helped to get an idea of the layout.

We were lucky to see the landscaping as it will be next year because we visited about the same time the wedding will take place.


Here is the entrance. Lovely!

What made this a challenge was that my daughter wanted a barn wedding. A rustic feel to the place was a must since she really is a let your hair down type of a gal...


The beams did her in.

Again, a peak at the place setup for a wedding really helped...


I really wasn't sure about the place but after visiting it I knew this would work for them and was happy they could accommodate the date they wanted.

Hope you enjoyed the preview..

Next up.. The Dress!

 

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