It's Been Awhile!

What a great visit we had! Fabric (and plans for said fabric), food, laughs and just being together. Always a special time for me! 

Just a warning....many pictures ahead.

 

Thanks so much for all your help pinning this beauty (if I do say so myself) to the wall. Your ability with color placement is the best! I am planning on making a few more hexies but right now they are at the bottom of my list.

 I've been trying to use my Year of the Dragon without your help and I'm still doing okay but it's not as much fun. This was the state of my sewing nook just a few days ago

I cleaned out the cabinet that you named "The Office" several years ago. I don't think I had opened that cabinet since you named it "The Office"! I found all kinds of things I didn't know I had! Because I hadn't opened that cabinet in so long it was easy to fill up a trash bag but I did keep the three bottles of spray starch I found adding to the three I already had.  Don't think I'll need to buy any for awhile!! After I got everything semi-organized  I decided to try a new ironing idea... This will allow me to get into those cabinets that are storing all those soon to be quilts and gives me more room in my crafty place.When I need a larger ironing board I can get it out.

Your subtle hint that I should start my Temecula BOM worked! Thanks. I'm adding a lot of pics because I can't figure out how to post the video clip I made...maybe next time

 

Looking forward to working on all of our QALs this year. Actually got my first block done for Peppermint Rose, although I think I'm going to need to rename it!

Next time you're in town could you teach me how to use Wonder Under?  I had the hardest time with it and needed you here.🤣

 

 Enough about me....I miss you!

 

 

Making Plans. Acquiring Fabric. And Cleaning Closets in the Year of the Dragon

 

This is the year of the Dragon. It also happens to be the symbol for Ann aka she was born in the year of the Dragon. We have both independently (well not completely independently - we do share a brain) determined that we are tired of dragging the stuff in our homes that we no longer use, was bought impulsively, or that we had plenty to spare...

Here's our to do list...

First we will do Sheri McConnell's block of the month - note it's February and I haven't started my blocks or even decided on a fabric. This is year long and only one block a month.

Peppermint Rose from the book Celebrate with Quilts by Susan Ache and Lissa Alexander

Winter Slumber - impulsively ordered while sitting at your dining room table, and turns out we actually like it. 

Christmas Eve Lap Quilt to finish our 2023 of Home for the Holidays

If we have time the WeatherVane quilt inspired by the APQ magazine featuring Joanna Figueroa. 

You've likely finished 1/2 of this list while I was typing it up #BohoHeartsQuilt. You inspire me every day!

April 2023 in February 2024

I am writing this, sitting in your dining room, we are eating a delicious snack of Pimento Cheese (Palmetto Cheese), it's February 2024, where has the time gone?  We have been sew busy sewing that we haven't written on this blog in quite some time. 

The year 2023 started off strong with the inspiration of Sherri McConnell and Chelsi Stratton's book Home for the Holidays, we would do the sew along for 2023 Christmas all year. We started with the Poinsettia quilt and then when you were her sewed our Mistletoe tops. Next up is the Amaryllis, I haven't started yet but I do have the fabric selected. 

I know that I am 'camera shy' however, we usually do a better job. We barely took any photos when you were here for your visit in April. And we should have taken photos with Baby G too. If only there was a convenient way to take photos that we had with us all the time. 

 

On the drive up to Santa Barbara, we accidentally stopped at a fabulous fabric store. Roxanne's in Carpinteria, California. I hate to go back there without you, but I just might have to. 

Here's what I bought at Roxanne's and what I made out of the fabric.  In the far left of the photo above of the store you can see the inspiration for this quilt. They sold the pattern in 2 sizes, I went small and I'm glad I did. I love how this quilt turned out - of course if I were to do it over again I'd change the fabric placement....

Luckily we went to Candy's in Northridge since the weather most of the time was not conducive to going outside. Or was it us that wanted to stay in? We did have a good time sewing and thanks to the rainy weather we got to stay inside a lot (and sew). 

On the left you can see Echo's legs hanging off the settee as he takes a nap after tiring of supervising our sewing.

Here is your beautiful Mistletoe Quilt from the book Home for the Holidays by Sheri McConnell and Chelsi Stratton. More to come on our year long challenge using their fabulously inspiring book!

Overall it was a lovely sewing retreat, the electricity did not fail us and when we had hit the wall, we ate and watched Suspects and laughed every time the police detective would start to run! I may be sitting in your dining room in Hilton Head, however as soon as I get back to California I'll be expecting you to make a reservation to come back to Montrose for our next sewing retreat!

Ketchup Time

I started to think that we needed a logo. I love the graphic we have of the fabric on the dashboard but it's so 1990's early 2000's for us. We need something updated and cool (like us). I went to a website to see what I might be able to create. These likely don't really fit our 'brand'. 

 Then I fooled around a bit more. Likely we need to work on this logo together. 

What do you think?