Perched On A Pincushion

Block of the Month

2011-12-13T17:00:00.001-05:00

A few months ago, I decided to do a block of the month quilt. So I made a little visit to one of my favorite online quilt shops, The Fat Quarter Shop. Clicked on over to their block of the month page and decided to get the Designer Mystery Block of the Month. Since I started a few months late, I received several blocks the first month I joined. Look how nicely each month's blocks are packaged. The instructions are very well written with a colorful illustration for each block.

I also purchased the finishing kit so that I will actually finish the quilt and not add another top to my UFO pile.

I am happy to report that I am all caught up and patiently waiting for the next block. The theme is flowers and the fabric line is Strawberry Fields by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda. Check out my blocks below.

Thanks for reading . . .

A Little Yorkie Christmas Silliness

2011-12-03T11:21:00.005-05:00

My last post I gave a sneak peek of some of the projects I was working on. Here is the unveiling of my favorite. Since my children are grown and living in three different states, it's hard to have all three together at the same time for a picture. I've taken to photographing my yorkies for my Christmas photo. This year I designed a pattern and made their little Christmas attire.
This years photo session was even more hilarious than previous years. It also took two different days to get a presentable photo for my card. Let me share some of those outtakes with you.
Enjoy!

Bailey is whispering in Bradley's ear. . . I thought I heard him say "let's goof off for the picture"

. . . because they sure did!

Bailey is usually the one that cooperates. . . not this time!

. . . and not here! Sammy just wants his treat

Bailey is at it again!

Sammy doesn't want anything to do with the twin terrors, Bradley and Bailey.

He would not sit close to them!

Bradley is about to make a run for it. . .

. . . and the other two weren't far behind!
*sigh*

Day two. . .Sammy's doesn't want to cooperate

Bailey is in the middle now and he's still acting up.

Sam doesn't want to hear anything Bailey has to say, he just wants this over with.

Bradley is mesmerized by something no one else can see.

We almost have a good picture.

Bradley won't stop leaning left, Bailey can even make his ears misbehave!

After getting a good shot of the three together, I took pictures of the terrors.

As you can see, it didn't go too well either.

"Boys. . .psst! I'm over here"!

Hope you enjoyed my silliness. . . thanks for stopping by!

A Little Bit of This and a Sneak Peek of That

2011-11-30T22:33:00.001-05:00

The past week or so, the weather in New Jersey has been amazing. Temperatures were in the high 60's and low 70's. It's been very hard to stay inside for very long. It just doesn't feel like November . . . or the start of the holiday season. It's been really hard to stay inside and sew, when the nice weather is beckoning me to play outside. So, while I've been busy sewing on projects, I've also been enjoying the nice weather we've been having.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the sewing I've been doing. Kind of like Santa in his workshop. . . only it's Denise in her studio. . .

On my cutting table: there's a mystery quilt in the makings and a baby quilt as well.

My sewing machine has another mystery block in progress.

I'm super excited about these little goodies. I designed a little pattern yesterday and sewed them up today. My little yorkie guys were great little pattern fitters for me. Wait until you see these!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2011-10-30T16:35:00.002-04:00

It's time again for the Blogger's Quilt Festival. I am showcasing one of my favorite quilts, Storm At Sea. I started this quilt in October 1985 and finished it in February 1991. Twenty years ago! I love how it looks like waves undulating across the quilt, even though there aren't any curved pieces. There are over 1700 pieces in this 77" x 98" quilt. I hand pieced and hand quilted every teeny, tiny little stitch in this quilt. The quilt hung in one of my homes for 5 years. It has been washed and snuggled under many times. It now is lovingly displayed on one of the beds in my home. It still warms my children and guests when they spend nights here.

The label I made for the back of the quilt, documents my journey and the making of this quilt. Note the "finally" penned on the bottom of the label. :-) During the making of this quilt, I took a machine piecing class. . . my sore fingers gave a sigh of relief.

Detail of quilt

Thanks for stopping by to see my quilt and thanks to Amy at Amy's Creative Side for hosting the festival! Click on the button below to see more amazing quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

Autumn. . . Snow!!??

2011-10-30T14:52:00.000-04:00

Today seems like a really, really, really good day to blog about my trip to Florida. Just a few short days after arriving home from Florida, it did this. . .

Really??? The leaves are still on the trees!!!

Makes me want to hop back on the plane and go to this. . .

The second annual meeting of the "Flip Flop Girls" convened in Naples, Florida. The weather was perfect. The water was refreshing and the food was delicious. We went to Sanibel and Captiva Island for lunch and a stroll on the beach.

We rode through the mangroves to get to the beach club. We saw alligators. . .

. . . and cool birds. . .

Little Blue Heron

Stork

We had good food, great conversations, and a lot of laughs. I believe on those glorious beach days we may have even solved all of the problems in the world. That's how magical this trip was for me.

Me, on the beach.

We combed the beaches for beautiful gifts from the sea. . .

I fell in love all over again with these little guys. . .

Sandpipers

Their little legs go a mile a minute, they crack me up!

And this tall, graceful one. . .

Snowy Egret

We saw amazing sunsets from the pier in downtown Naples.

We went to restaurants with delicious food. . .

That's me, third from the left.

There I am again! *smile*

We had a nice visit with Martha, the charming, funny step mom to my friend Lynn.

That's Lynn standing between me and Martha, on the left. It was a fun week with some amazing ladies that I am blessed to have as friends.

Lynn, Maureen, Denise (me), Marnie, Debbye and Joan

The Fabulous Flip Flops!

Thanks for stopping by. May you have many memorable, wonderful days in the sun...

FALLing for. . .Soup

2011-10-09T16:11:00.001-04:00

Although I hate to see summer end, I love the cool, crisp days of Fall. My favorite part of a day spent working in the yard, pruning shrubs, raking leaves, cleaning out the garden, screaming when I see a bug. . . is mealtime. There is nothing like having a bowl of hearty, homemade soup! It smells wonderful and tastes super delicious. It just warms me up, inside and out! Add a nice crusty loaf of fresh baked bread and you have a meal.
I ♥ soup! Today I made Chicken Barley Soup. Easy peasy and yummy too. You can find the recipe here.

Enjoy. . .

The Mint Museum~ Charlotte, NC

2011-09-21T20:25:00.000-04:00

Last week I went to visit my son Sean. He lives in North Carolina near Charlotte. One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to the Mint Museum located in the city of Charlotte. There are two Mint Museums in Charlotte. We went to the Mint Museum Uptown, which opened in October of last year.
The Mint Museum Uptown houses the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, as well as collections of American, contemporary, and European art. The museum is housed in a beautiful contemporary building. We had a great time exploring the different exhibits. They have quite an eclectic collection of art. It's not a large museum, by New York standards anyway. If you find yourself in the Charlotte area, visit the museum. It's worth the trip!

Go. . .Visit. . .Explore. . .

A Day of Rememberance

2011-09-11T00:01:00.009-04:00

America, the land of the free because of the brave. . .

Never forget. . .

I'll never forget watching the television reports and seeing the WTC in flames, not knowing what was happening. I remember the horror I felt watching the plane hit the second tower, knowing then that we were under attack. For days after, sitting outside, the eerie silence in the sky only broken by the fighter jets soaring by. I just wanted to gather up my children, hold them close and never let go. . .

Guilt Free

2011-08-13T17:07:00.003-04:00

As you can probably see from this post here, I have a lot of fabric. I have been quilting for almost 30 years,that's a lot of fabric! As I got more into quilting, I started amassing large quantities of fabric. I brought fabric just because I liked the design, the color, needed more of a certain color. Oh any old reason, I needed it for my stash. A couple of years ago, I declared a moratorium on buying fabric, unless I needed it for a specific project. Oh, it was a painful decision, but I was strong. . . sort of. Well this isn't time for confessions, let's move on.
Today I'm here to tell you I've found a way to get around my resolve to not buy any more fabric. Ladies and gentlemen behold . . .

. . . the Quilt Kit!

With the quilt kit you have the right amount of fabric for the quilt . . . and the pattern to go with it. Nothing left when you're done but a few little scraps No more mindlessly acquiring fabric, without a thought in your head as to what it will be used for. No big pieces of fabric causing fabric stash guilt!

Now this isn't going to cause any reduction in the amount of fabric you already own, but it sure does satisfy the urge to populate your studio with more fabric.

Check out one of my latest "controlled fabric purchases".

How cool is this? This kit came in it's own little cloth bag! I wanted a quick quilt to make and this one fits the bill. I ordered it at the Fat Quarter Shop. You can find it here.

It comes with the fabric and pattern to make a quilt top, AND you can use up some fabric in your stash for the back of the quilt. I call that a win win situation! YES!

Look at all the yummy Moda fabric rolled up inside. The fabric line is Amelia. The fabric and pattern are by Me and My Sister Designs. Check out their blog here. They crack me up, seems like they have so much fun doing something they love. Wouldn't this be a perfect gift for a quilting friend too?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Name That Quilt Pattern

2011-08-09T10:17:00.001-04:00

I'm looking for the name of this quilt. I do remember it was a Karen Stone pattern. I'm planning on quilting it in this lifetime. I made this so many years ago and I cannot seem to find the original pattern. I could tear apart my studio, but that's like looking for a photo in a photo album. Hours later, you're surrounded by lots of albums reminiscing about all the memories you've created through the years. . . and you still haven't found the one you were looking for!

Thanks for helping!

The Garden State

2011-08-02T12:09:00.000-04:00

I ♥ Stults Farm

There's a reason why New Jersey is called the Garden State. We have the best home grown produce! There is nothing as good as fresh picked Jersey apples, berries, corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini. . . A to Z and a whole lot more! I went to my favorite local farm and brought home some delicious produce. Years ago, I started bringing my children here to pick fruit and veggies right out of the field. The girls were in elementary school, my son was just a toddler. They are now in their 20's and 30's. I still love the tradition we started years ago, only now I pick my fruit and veggies right from the cart.

Raspberries

Some of the sweetest corn, I can make a meal out of this corn!

Cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes

Peaches

Have a delicious day!

A Taste Of Summer

2011-07-26T21:12:00.000-04:00

Went to a pool party at my parents and I made some yumminess.

A Lemon Icebox Pie . . .

and Caprese Salad

Yummy!

Where Do You Sew?

2011-07-22T09:52:00.001-04:00

Kathy over at the Pink Chalk Fabrics blog is hosting a month long tour of sewing spaces called Where I Sew. It's fun to see where we create, whether it's a whole room or a little space tucked into the corner of a room. I've added mine to the mix and hope to see yours there too! Check out my original post here.
Enjoying the days of summer...

Endless Summer

2011-07-06T13:29:00.000-04:00

My Endless Summer Hydrangeas are in full bloom. They are beautiful and abundant this year!

Happy Summer...

My GPS has PMS

2011-06-09T15:24:00.001-04:00

On the way to meet some friends for coffee, in a faraway town. . .Ok, so it wasn't that far away. Anywho, I realized my GPS had lost her voice. Total silence, no "recalculating or turn here stupid", nothing. On the way home, she started speaking again. . .in German. She hates me, I'm pretty sure she hates me. Neuberechnung, du Idiot!

Coming at you from somewhere in New Jersey. . .recalculating. . . . .

Wacky Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T11:34:00.002-04:00

Love, Bailey the York!

Brooklyn Flea Market

2011-04-11T19:32:00.011-04:00

Yesterday, I met my daughter Alison in new York City and we took the L Train to Brooklyn. The trendy, hipster, cool Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. We went to the Brooklyn Flea Market located right by the East River. The Brooklyn Flea features a mix of vintage and antique goods, collectibles, handmade items, and food vendors. Everything from clothing to kitchen wares, jewelry, toys, furniture, linens, homemade pasta, sauces, preserves, salsa, bread, pickles...I could go on and on!

Since we arrived early in the morning and it was a bit chilly, we decided a cup of coffee would hit the spot. We got delicious hot coffee from Crop To Cup Coffee. Right next to the coffee vendors was a little place called Dough...as in doughnuts. YUM! Alison and I shared a chipolte doughnut, it was probably the best doughnut I have ever eaten. They had so may different, unique flavors to choose from.

We walked around the flea market checking out all of the vendors and the goodies they had for sale. The vendors were all very friendly and enjoyed talking about the items they had for sale. The handmade crafts were varied and very well made.

We worked up quite an appetite from all of the walking around we did, so we decided to check out the food vendors. You will not find boring, poor quality food at this flea market. Some of the food vendors were Choncho's Tacos, Frgali, Asia Dog, Milk Truck, Momofuku and Pizza Moto. There were many more to choose from, it was a tough decision. We finally decided on grilled cheese sandwiches from Milk Truck. Crisp, buttery sandwiches with gruyere cheese between thick slices of pullman bread.

We had a fun day at the flea market, and plan on going back again. To find out more about the Brooklyn Flea , locations, dates and times click here.

Thanks for stopping by...

Prayer Shawl

2011-04-04T15:23:00.001-04:00

While I was watching this...

I made this...

from this yarn...

A prayer shawl, for the Prayer Shawl Ministry at church. I hope it is a warm hug for someone in need of comfort.

A Bit O' Blarney

2011-03-13T18:14:00.002-04:00

So I'm back to tell you some more about our yummy day. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, Lynn and I decided to make Irish Soda Bread. I have never made or eaten soda bread, I was intrigued. Even more so, when Lynn told me that before the soda bread went into the oven to bake, we would "release the fairies" HUH?? What kind of blarney is this??

Ingredients for the bread

Mixing all the ingredients...is this when the fairies arrive?

Kneading the dough, a wee bit messy...fairies at work??

Releasing the fairies, they burst out of the dough

leaving little fireworks behind.

Baking, can you smell it?

Done!

For each petal on the shamrock

This brings a wish your way-

Good health, good luck, and happiness

For today and every day.

A Fabulous Yummy Day

2011-03-12T19:42:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, I went to my friend Lynn's house to cook and bake. We made stuffed artichokes. The recipe came from Lynne's Dad, Lou. It is a favorite family recipe.

Some nice, fresh artichokes

Bread crumbs, grated cheese, olive oil

Some chopped garlic

We stuffed the artichokes

Cooked them in a pot with some chicken broth

Had some yummy chocolates while the artichokes were cooking

And the results were delicious!

Can you smell the yummy goodness?? Come back tomorrow and I'll show you what we baked!

Creative Friends

2011-03-10T18:28:00.001-05:00

Today my very best friend Lynn came over to get my creative rear in gear. While she knitted, I cut fabric, sat and talked. Cut some more fabric, sat and talked even more. Progress was made. My machines will be oiled, bobbins will be threaded and sewing will commence.

Sammy the york curled up in a basket of quilts that need to be quilted. I must keep this basket filled to cushion his old bones.
It's great to see you here!

Art Show~MOMA NYC

2011-02-27T11:52:00.007-05:00

On Thursday, I went to New York City to visit my daughter Alison. We went to the Museum of Modern Art. I saw amazing art from some of my favorite artists. Here are some of the pictures I took.

Enjoy the show!

Andy Warhol

Arshile Gorky

Jackson Pollock

Jasper Johns

Willem de Kooning

Wilfredo Lam

Claude Monet

Frida Kahlo

Joan Miró

Pablo Picasso

Fernand Léger

Henri Matisse

Vasily Kandinsky

Marc Chagall

Diego Rivera

Paul Cézanne

Georges-Pierre Seurat

Vincent van Gogh

Henri Rousseau

Edvard Munch

Happy Birthday...

2011-02-21T13:17:00.002-05:00

Today is the birthday of my favorite little person in the whole world. I love this little boy from the bottom of my ♥. My grandson Julian is three years old today.
Happy Birthday sweet boy, Nana loves you very much!

Julian loves to take pictures, so I gave him my camera...

Julian loves cars...

and clocks...

that tick...

and tock...

Here is his mom...

and his Nana (me)

and his cat, Gucci.

Thanks for stopping by...

Super Sunny Saturday!

2011-02-12T13:59:00.000-05:00

...sort of... in New Jersey. Most definately, in Naples, Florida last November when I took these pictures.

Enjoy!

So I'm Back...

2011-02-09T17:42:00.001-05:00

Thank you to Bradley the york for posting during my absence. I wish I could say I was on vacation all of this time. Actually I can say that...but it wouldn't be true. I've been snowed in all of this time. Snowed in since July?? Never happen...I hope. Actually, I've just been kind of lazy about blogging. I did change the design of my blog a few weeks ago, not sure I'm crazy about it but for now it will do. So I'm back and I will try to blog more often.

Here are some pictures of the twin terrors, Bradley and Bailey, in the snow. Sammy decided he wanted no part of it, so he stayed inside. The boys don't look too thrilled either, do they?

Do we have to do this?

I see the door, I'm making a run for it!

Last picture, I'm going in too!

This snow report brought to you by...

Vacation

2010-07-15T18:00:00.000-04:00

Hi! It's me, Bradley the york...Mom's on vacation. She forgot to take us, got my bag packed...the good thing about all of this is, Alison our human big sister gives us more food than Mom does...the bad???we'll be walking it all off when Mom gets home...

Love...

Gulf Oil Spill

2010-06-16T14:07:00.000-04:00

Pelican covered in oil

Just wanted to share a quick and easy, inexpensive way to help the wildlife impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf. Visit this site for more info. I've been using Dawn dish soap for years. It's a great product, works better than other brands I've tried. We use it at the Wildlife Center where I volunteer. One small thing you do, multiplied by each person that does this, creates a big impact...and that's a good thing.

Take a look here and here for photos of the spill. It is heartbreaking. My prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones and to all whose lives and livelihood are affected by this preventable disaster...and of course all God's creatures helpless because of man's greed.

Disclaimer~ I have no affiliation with Proctor and Gamble or Dawn, I just care...ALOT and am concerned about how this was handled from day one. It is now day 57 and counting...

Thanks for reading...

The Ugly Quilt

2010-06-14T17:44:00.002-04:00

Don't Call Me Ugly 60" x 70"

This quilt was the result of an online swap I was in. We swapped what we considered "ugly" fabrics. I designed it with one of the earliest versions of the Electric Quilt. It is machine pieced and hand quilted. I used different color threads to quilt around each square. I quilted squares in the borders. The border fabric is an Alexander Henry fabric. This quilt was juried into the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival in Williamsburg, VA. February 1994.

Quilting detail

Some of the ugly fabrics...

...more uglies...cute little frogs though...

Nothing like a little pre-printed patchwork...

Little pigs with a sign that says "free hogs"...huh???

...enough you say???!!!

Alexander Henry fabric for the back...I called it "Fish in Bondage". That's some scary looking fabric!

Thanks for stopping by...

Delectable Mountains

2010-06-03T15:20:00.002-04:00

The delectable days of summer...fresh fruit...

sweet cherries

...blueberries

...on a Delectable Mountains quilt...

Machine pieced...

...hand quilted

I ♥ New York

2010-05-24T18:32:00.008-04:00

On Saturday, my daughter Alison and I met my daughter, Lauren and her boyfriend, Bryan in New York City. They took a bus up from Maryland. Alison and I took the train into New York. We are lucky to live so close to the city.

After a discussion about how many Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks there are in the city, we started walking...and walking... We started in midtown Manhattan, walked for about an hour, hopped on the subway and caught the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty.

Hopped back on the ferry and went over to Ellis Island. My great-great grandparents and my great grandparents on my Mom's and my Dad's side came to Ellis Island from Italy.

View of Ellis Island from the ferry

One of the buildings on the island

Some of the luggage the immigrants used to carry their belongings

Some of the clothing worn by the immigrants

Some of the household items brought over..

...including sewing machines!!!

My great Grandmother, my Grandmother and my Mom all sew. I have my great Grandmom's treadle machine. I ♥ her machine, it reminds me of her.

This is inside the main building, it houses the museum now. This is one of the buildings where the immigrants were processed when they arrived here. Many lived here for months if they were ill and needed care.

Sooo...back in Battery Park, where the ferry docks....what can I say...only in New York...

We headed up to the Financial District to see where it all started...the rise and fall of our economy.

Wall Street

After that, we needed a drink, so we headed over to South Street Seaport for some lunch. We ate at an outdoor restaurant. Good food and very relaxing.

After lunch we walked over to Ground Zero. They're busy rebuilding on the site.

Ground Zero...

This is the Ground Zero Cross, found amidst the ruins of the World Trade Center

We visited St. Paul's Chapel.

St. Paul's was built in 1766. The 9/11 recovery workers were cared for in this beautiful old church.

The fence surrounding the church became the main spot for visitors to place memorials. After it became filled with flowers, photos, teddy bears, and other paraphernalia, chapel officials decided to erect a number of panels on which visitors could add to the memorial. They estimated that only 15 would be needed , they eventually required 400.

Many of the memorials are on display inside the chapel.

This memorial is a policeman's uniform covered with police and firefighters patches sent from all over the world. It's hard to believe that this tragedy happened almost nine years ago. It still brings tears to my eyes...never forget...

We hopped on the subway and went to the Empire State Building...here are some views from the top...it is breathtaking...

Thanks for stopping by...hope you enjoyed the tour...

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2010-05-21T04:26:00.003-04:00

Amy over at Amy's Creative Side is hosting an online quilt show. A Blogger's Quilt Festival... How cool is that?? A virtual quilt show!!! You can wear whatever you want. Who's going to know? I'm thinking you can even touch the quilts!! No white glove ladies at this show. Check it out, be inspired, make new friends, be amazed!!

Here is my entry. I know it's called Fox and Geese. I believe I got the pattern from Quilters Newsletter Magazine way back when...calicoes were HOT. But apparently I forgot to put a label on my quilt. When I taught at the local quilt shop here, I stressed the importance of putting a label on your quilt. Heck...I even taught a label making class. Go figure. Anyway, I had this quilt professionally quilted and it has a place of honor on my bed.

Fox and Geese

Quilting Detail

Thanks for stopping by...enjoy the show. I can't wait to see everyone's quilts!

Click here to go there!

Happy Birthday Sammy!!

2010-05-20T08:42:00.000-04:00

Today Sammy is 13 years old. He is my best friend...

Sammy got a new toy for his birthday

Sammy loves his new toy

Happy Birthday Sammy. Thank you for always being here for me.... always happy to see me...always there to cheer me up, to make me laugh. You make being alone a little less like being alone...Love you my furry little friend...

Stashed Stash

2010-05-11T13:52:00.004-04:00

~~Bird's eye~~ My eye view of my studio

After reading Kelly's post at Charming Chatter and Polly's post at Aunt Polly's Porch, I thought I'd share my fabric stash too. I have my fabric organized, for the most part, by color. Yardage on the bottom, fat quarters and smaller pieces on the top. Solids all on the same shelf by color. A plastic container here and there with patterns, hand dyed and "what was I thinking when I bought these??!!" fabrics.

Plastic bins for all of my decorative threads

This is my Dear Jane basket. This is a "patiently waiting for her to come back and finish me" quilt.

This is my "it's not a quilt until it's quilted" basket. Yep! just need to be quilted!

This is my, "needs piecing, quilting, or a good swift kick in my butt to finish" container. But only the top one...the bottom is some finished art quilts that don't look good on the beds. :-)

I have been quilting and buying fabric for almost 30 years. I sold a lot of fabric and books to a new quilter at a garage sale I had. Wait! That means I have room for more...I'm going shopping...

April Showers Bring May Flowers

2010-05-08T16:41:00.001-04:00

Wishing every Mom out there a Happy Mother's Day....

Merry Month of May Giveaway

2010-05-07T17:17:00.001-04:00

Honey Run Quilters is a quilt shop in California and they are having a giveaway. Check out their great blog and enter for a chance to win a fantabulous fabric prize!
Have a funtabulous day...

Crazy For Crazy Quilts

2010-05-01T15:09:00.005-04:00

Here are two crazy quilts I made. The one above called Crazy One. It was juried into the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza in 1999. I won second place in the Traditional Wall Quilt Category. The show was sponsored by Bernina and Quilters Newsletter Magazine. Liz Porter was one of the judges. I was so thrilled to win! It is machine pieced, hand quilted and hand embroidered. There are beads, charms, sequins, cotton, silk and metallic threads and silk ribbon. The fabrics are cotton, and some are hand dyed.

I always stitch spider webs on my crazy quilts. The tatted circle above was made by my Grandmom. It is very old.

My Gran also tatted the flower on the above block, I added beads to it.

Here is my ribbon...there was also a cash prize!!

And LOOK! here's me with my quilt!

This is the first crazy quilt I made. I made it in 1992. It is hand pieced, and embroidered. It is made of silk, satin and velvet fabrics, in the traditional Victorian way. It has beads, charms, shisha mirrors, buttons, crystals, old lace and silk ribbon. It was embroidered with silk, cotton and metallic threads.

My initials are on this block.

My name is embroidered on this block.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed seeing my crazy quilts...

Petal Pushers Table Runner

2010-04-25T13:31:00.000-04:00

Here is my newest project. I love the purple/green color combination, so I just had to make this table runner. I also like the crisp white background. There are 42 leaves to applique on this.

The fabrics are from the line, Crazy for Dots and Stripes II by RJR Fabrics. I'm sure I have some nice white fabric for the background.

The pattern is in the June 2010 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.

Happy quilting...

Sammy The Wonderdog

2010-04-20T14:45:00.003-04:00

He's not dead, he just can't hear too well...

Sammy is getting hard of hearing, he barks loudly...

I'm just saying...

I ♥ Mondays

2010-04-19T16:23:00.004-04:00

Who doesn't love Mondays? OK...so maybe I'm the only one who does. Anyway, I decided today would be I love Mondays, and I would share some of the heart quilts I have in my collection. I made the above quilt in 1990. It is machine pieced, hand appliqued and quilted.

I made this quilt in 1990. Machine pieced, hand appliqued and quilted.

This was given to me in an online button swap I was in when Prodigy and GEnie were around. 1993

This quilt was also received in an online friendship swap. 1994

Thanks for taking a peek...

Where The Wild Things Are...

2010-04-13T21:02:00.004-04:00

I volunteer at the county Wildlife Center here in New Jersey. I help to rehabilitate and care for sick and injured wildlife. I also help care for newborn and young animals until they are old enough to be released. The wildlife center is also the permanent home to many animals who were rehabilitated, but unable to be released because of their injuries. They are our education animals. American bald eagles, a skunk, an opossum, owls, hawks and several different bird species are just a few of our education animals. The Screech Owl perched above is one of our permanent residents.

This is a young Screech Owl, he will be released when he's old enough to fend for himself

This little one is a Saw Whet Owl, he is also a permanent resident at the wildlife center

This tiny little hummingbird also lives at the center

This time of year and until late fall we have a lot of babies coming in. These are eastern grey squirrels, the black one is also a grey squirrel, black is a recessive gene in the species.

Here are two little flying squirrels. One is upsidedown on top of the other. They have been at the center all winter. By the time they were old enough to be released, it was too cold. They are now fat and sassy. They will go into cages outside to become acclimated, so that they can be released.

This is an American Woodcock

Hope you enjoyed your visit with the wild things...

Spring Block of the Month

2010-04-10T13:50:00.004-04:00

Nostalgic Gardens

All of this gardening business put me in the mood to start a new project. Something fun and flowery. Up to my studio I went in search of the perfect quilt to make. This one has all of my favorite things to do. It has drawing, coloring with crayons and embroidery, all rolled up into one fabulous quilt. This block of the month quilt is called Nostalgic Garden. I bought it ten years ago at a shop in Hagerstown, Maryland called Traditions At The White Swan. It is still available by the designer here. Years ago, I was really into designing Art quilts and entering shows. Now I'm into finishing up UFOs, starting projects I've wanted to for years and making quilts that my family can actually use. Fortunately, there are no deadlines, self imposed or otherwise.

Anyway, I digress...this quilt should be fun. You trace the designs, of which there are twelve, onto the fabric. Color them with crayons...yes! color with CRAYONS! I love love love to color with crayons. Who doesn't, right? There's embroidered details with Wildflowers hand dyed threads, which I also love. There's a whole lotta' love going on here, isn't there? Here are a few more snaps of the fun stuff for this quilt.

The fabrics, by Moda

The threads

The CRAYONS glorious CRAYONS!

The patterns

My Litebox lightbox...I ♥ my lightbox too!

And check out this cool little gadget to keep my crayons sharp!

Thanks for stopping by, I'm going to take my crayons and go play. See you soon...

The Risky Gardener

2010-04-10T13:05:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone...I'm back! The weather here in New Jersey was unseasonably ~~warm~~ HOT last week. I spent a lot of time outside working on my perennial garden. Perennial, as in perennially neglected. Oh, it was looking pretty good there for a couple years, until last year. One word...Dahlias. For about two years, my dahlias looked spectacular, in my garden, in vases on my dining room table. Last year they failed to make an appearance. After a brief foray into Google land, I discovered dahlias are supposed to be dug up every year before winter sets in and then replanted in the Spring. According to Google, it was "risky" to overwinter them in my area of the country. Well, hmmm...I kind of like that, risky. So, this year I bought a lot of summer flowering bulbs and perennials that bloom all season long. And being the risky person that I am, I still do not know whether they need to be dug up, split up, burped or changed. Hey, as long as they make an appearance, I'm OK with that.

My garden is about 30 feet long. There "should" be lots of pretty something or others popping up in the next few months. Stay tuned...

Easter Baking

2010-04-03T15:17:00.004-04:00

Today I made yummy Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. The recipe is a healthier version of carrot cake. You can find it here. I think next time I would use a little less nutmeg, as it is very strong. I also baked brownies, nothing low cal about them, but delicious.

Here are the carrot cupcakes, I decorated them with jelly beans to make them look festive.

Then I dyed some Easter eggs. I put the names of my three children, Lauren, Alison and Sean on them. I also put my grandson, Julian's name on one. My children are grown and not at home. It has been a long time since we've decorated eggs. The Easter Bunny will hide them for my Julian to find tomorrow. I can't wait!

Easter blessings to you and yours...

Work(s) In Progress

2010-04-02T15:44:00.006-04:00

This is a picture of the worktable up in my studio. How many works in progress can you see? The largest, a Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt, is for my grandson, Julian. He is two. This is his Christmas present...last Christmas. I'm sure I can finish it before Christmas rolls around again. Besides, he's still in a crib. How old do you have to be before you can sleep in a bed? Nine, ten?? Good I'm covered.

Unless you think I am some kind of slacker, take a look at the above counted cross stitch projects I have recently finished. They are ready for framing. I ordered the frames, cut the mounting boards. Everything's ready for finishing. Pretty impressed aren't you?? Uh huh, thought you would be. Now click on the picture and take a look at the date on the little sampler. 2001 Yep! 2001, that's when I started that one. Well, it's impressive that I finally got around to finishing it and three others. One more little sampler and I can say I have finished all of my counted cross stitch projects. I have no desire to do anymore...ever!

What keeps you motivated once you've started a project to get it finished? What inspires you?

Fun and Games

2010-04-01T22:06:00.003-04:00

My daughter Alison has off from work tomorrow, so she came over to visit. We had chinese food for dinner from our favorite chinese restaurant. Then we played Scrabble. Alison won. She has been playing with friends on her i Phone, so she is really good now. I was reviewing some of the rules in the rule book. Next to rule that says, "Play only across the board from left to right or down - never play diagonally or upwards", was written Alison's name. I believe I may have written her name there. It looks like my handwriting. Apparently the last time we played, it has been several years, Alison did not play nice. She's come a long way. We had a great time. I am going to study the Scrabble Dictionary.

Meet The Yorks

2010-03-31T20:07:00.008-04:00

I am owned by three of the cutest, craziest, most loveable yorkshire terriers you'd ever want to meet. The Yorks, my babbacheekies. Yes, the babbacheekies. Sometimes strange words for people, places and things pop into my head, and they stick, ask my kids...on second thought, it might not be a wise thing to do.

Anyway, back to the Yorks...Presenting Samson, better known as Sammy. He is almost 13 years old and he is the boss. He is so sweet and very demanding. Here he is with his favorite toy, Squeaky Man. This is probably the fifth squeaky man he has owned. We once bought a HUGE squeaky man for Sammy as a joke. It was at least twice Sammy's size. It didn't deter him in the least. He dragged that thing all over the house for years. It was hysterical watching Sammy with giant squeaky man. Guess the joke was on us, he loved that super sized toy.

Sammy has a little, ~~slightly~~ extremely annoying game he like to play. See that metal cat lurking below?? There is something about it that Sammy does not like. After all of these years, I have yet to figure it out. Sammy will take whatever toy he is playing with and plop it down in front of the cat, then he barks. He really barks. Did I say he barks?? It's a "come get my toy away from this thing," bark. I know as soon as I hear this bark, exactly what has happened. I have to stop whatever I am doing and rescue Sam's toy from the metal monster residing in our home. We do this EVERY day. I haven't had the heart to put the metal cat away. It's good to have a little routine in one's life, and this is ours.

The Cat~ AKA metal monster

Sammy barking because the cat has his favorite chew ball

Now I'd like to introduce you to the "twin terrors", Bradley and Bailey. These two little cuties are brothers. They are 5 years old. They are good boys for the most part but have been known to get into some mischief together.

Bailey

Bradley

They somehow communicate to each other that it's time to run amok in the house and boy! look out! They like to take Sammy's cherished squeaky man and play tug of war with him.

And they have a hard time waiting for Santa to put their presents under the tree, before they open them.

But at the end of the day, quiet reigns. I'm thankful I have these little ones to share my life with.

Thanks for stopping by!

Homemade Granola

2010-03-30T13:42:00.010-04:00

Recently a friend had given me some granola she had made, and it was delicious. The recipe she used did not specify amounts to use. That led me to scour the web for a healthy granola recipe. So with a little of this, some of that and a few of these I came up with a yummy, healthy granola recipe.

Here are some of the ingredients I used.

All mixed together, except for the dried fruit...

...and baked in my roasting pan. My roasting pan only sees the light of my kitchen once or twice a year, so it's nice to get more use out of it.

Toss in some dried fruit and there you have it. Yummy healthy granola. I have about 1/4 cup of granola with some non-fat greek yogurt and it's delicious and very filling! The following is the recipe I came up with. Give it a try, let me know how you like it.

GRANOLA

Preheat oven to 325º

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup ground flaxseed

1 cup ground wheat bran

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup slivered almonds, chopped pecans or chopped walnuts

1 cup unsweetened coconut

1- 1 1/2cups dried fruit~ cranberries, raisins, cherries. If you have a Trader Joes, they have a Golden Berry Blend that is perfect for this recipe

In large baking dish or roasting pan stir together all ingredients except for the dried fruit. In a 2 cup glass measure, stir together~

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup natural unsalted peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Heat this mixture in the microwave on 50% power until it is hot, about 2-3 minutes. Pour over granola mixture and stir well. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After granola cools, stir in dried fruit. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Enjoy...

Monday Miniatures

2010-03-29T17:34:00.013-04:00

Today shall be Miniature Monday because I have a couple of small quilts to share. The first quilt is an Amish Bars quilt I made and entered into a contest for Miniature Quilts magazine. I did not win but they wanted to feature my quilt in an issue of their magazine. My little quilt was on the cover of the magazine. The pattern to make a version similar to mine, was inside along with a little blurb about me and my show quilts. What an honor this was for me. The quilt is hand pieced and quilted and 12" x 14" in size.

Detail of quilting

Miniature Quilts Issue #46

The following Lily quilt is a doll quilt I made in 1985. It is 20" x 15", hand pieced and quilted.

Lily quilt detail

Thanks for reading...

First Quilt Friday ~My First Quilt

2010-03-26T08:45:00.005-04:00

I've decided to make today "First Quilt Friday" and show the first quilt I made.

This is my house quilt. When I decided I wanted to learn how to make a quilt, I bought a book and began to teach myself. Well the book I bought had no templates, so I learned how to draft patterns. I thought this was how everyone learned to make a quilt. I did not realize at the time how invaluable this lesson would become. I can resize any quilt block to suit my needs. Knowing how to draft a pattern has also been helpful when I designed my own quilts. Graph paper has become a lifelong friend.

This quilt is all hand pieced and quilted. I quilted shingles, bricks, grass and window panes. Each block has a different design quilted in the sky, wind, sun and a kite to name a few. This quilt is 35" x 52" and I made it in 1994.

House quilt detail

Thanks for taking a look!

Doing A Little Spring Cleaning...

2010-03-23T19:36:00.004-04:00

I'll be back...

In The Beginning

2010-03-22T09:29:00.004-04:00

This little bunny is how my creative life began. I love to read and when I was very young, I would walk a few blocks to the library. Doctor Doolittle, Winnie The Pooh and Nancy Drew were some of my favorite books to read. I also discovered craft books and realized I loved to make things. I made this bunny in second grade. I have had this sock bunny for 45 years. She was naked, a friend taught me how to knit. I made little overalls for her. The buttons came from my Mom's sewing basket. I never gave her a name...hmmm.
My children played with her when they were young. I had to replace her worn little body. She's been in my cedar chest for many years and now sits atop an antique quilt on one of the guest beds.
Through the years I have learned so many crafts. Clothing for me and my children, reproduction antique baskets and dolls, drawing, painting, embroidery and cross stitch, knitting and quilting. I have been student and teacher. I love my creative life.

No Flair For Gougéres

2010-03-21T13:43:00.009-04:00

Sooo...don't know what possessed me, but I decided to try a recipe similar to this one, for herbed gougéres. Not such a great idea it seems. My batter is too watery and I have a blister on my finger from the part that says "with a wooden spoon, vigorously stir in flour all at once until mixture forms ball and leaves side of pan. Well, I stirred vigorously and that mixture never formed a ball, it never left the pan, let alone the sides of it. I have been working on this for over an hour. I am now supposed to "drop by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheets". My batter is more of the consistency of "pour into a pan, and see what happens". Gougéres cupcakes? I think it's time to throw in the towel and admit defeat!

Perhaps I do have a flair for gougéres, well sort of. I poured some of the batter onto the parchment paper, popped them in the oven and voila!! Gougéres crisps, crunchy on the edge and chewy in the middle. They are quite tasty, but not quite ready to grace my mom's Palm Sunday dinner table next week. Now who's going to help me eat all of them?

Perching Precariously

2010-03-20T06:35:00.004-04:00

After a year of fits, false starts and being easily sidetracked, I have started my blog. I kept getting hung up on what to name my blog, what to write about, why don't my socks match...all of a sudden inspiration strikes, I have a name and here I am. The rest should be easy. I'm going to do some fiddling around here, find out what's what and I'll be back. Thanks for reading!