And now they are back ...

go figure.

Now I am really confused.

Is it Monday?!?!?!?

So I stopped in to check on the 'ol blog and now all of the comments made be people are not showing up.  I can see them when I get into the interior of my blog, but they are just invisible to everyone else.  Don't have a clue what happened or how to change it.

Oh well ...

Nothing new to post today ...

everything is pretty much the same right now.  Nothing new ... but that means nothing bad either.

Cicero said ...

The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living ...

The past couple of weeks have been hard. My mother passed away suddenly on March 25. Today, I learned that my dear sweet friend Sylvia passed away yesterday.

They will never be forgotten as long as we continue to share our memories ...

AHHHHH ... Quilt Travel ...

Been there, done that ...
Got the Tote Bag.
I made a quick dash (LOL - it's all relative, if you ask me) down to the Long Beach Int'l Quilt Festival. While there I saw a few friends ...

And even caught Christine at Make It University. Christine is such a talented quilter ...

I wonder how she will work this technique into a future quilt.

I also met up with Mel and got a copy of the new book she did with Mary Lou Weidman. What a fun book. I can't wait to sit down with a good cup of coffee and do some reading this weekend.

I picked up some little needles and a little needle case along with some other goodies. I will have to get a picture of that later.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend.

More Applique at Lake Tahoe ...

We did have some rain come in late one day and had light showers part of the next day, but you know it didn't matter.

I took this next photo late in the day on Thursday.

This was my daily view ... awesome!
And then of course there was sunset. It was such a wonderful week.

I definately want to go back again.

More on Applique in Tahoe ...

We were in this awesome room that was all windows on the lake side. Plenty of natural light during the day!
Check out the quilts on the back wall! Absolutely gorgeous.
There were tutorials each day that covered additional skills for Baltimore Album quilts. You know, things like ribbon embroidery, ribbon roses, inking, couching, regular embroidery, bead work and Ruching.

And what a talented group of ladies! It was so much fun.

A Little Bit of R&R ... and Applique ...

Well, let me start by saying I hated to get back to work on the 5th of July.

I left home on Sunday, the 26th of June for a wonderful 5 day Retreat. Can you guess where ?

LAKE TAHOE!

Because of a prior obligation, I wasn't able to leave until the afternoon. A short drive (at least by my defination) then a quick stop to pick up my friend Deanna, and then we were on our way.

Check in was at 3 pm. But because of our late start we didn't arrive until after dark. We checked in, unloaded our things and found our sewing tables. A few people we knew were still up stitching, we visited for a few minutes then went to find our room and go to bed.

Next morning I woke up early and peeked out the window. OMG!

I cleaned up and then hurried outside to take the picture above. This was the view from our room!

It was so beautiful!

Did I mention that I hated to go back to work on the 5th?

A Hot Day in September ...

and a late afternoon coffee meeting with Pam. It was good to get together and gab, seems like forever since our last visit or sew day.

Well, we didn't have a sew day together this trip, but I was able to get some quilting time in. I attended 2 applique workshops in Livermore that were being held at Quilting in the Garden at Alden Lane Nursery. What a wonderful show once again. Cindy and her crew at Alden Lane did another fantastic job on the show. It was awesome.

I have pictures, but have to make this blog entry short as I head out the door. A lot has happened since my last blog post, so once again I have some catching up to do.

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by.

Sew Days with Friends are always so much fun ...

Just to sit, sew and laugh ... always fun if you ask me.

These pictures are from a sew day we had at Debbie's earlier this year.

Debbie is doing the Civil War Tribute block of the month from In Between Stitches.

And she was also very busy making a million tiny Desden Plate blades for a quilt for one of the girls. Okay so maybe not a million ... I think it was something like 754 - it was over 700 anyway.

And I was busy working on these little gems.

And then I made the larger block in the background for a Block Lottery at In Between Stitches.

They have a different one each month. It was, fun even though I didn't win.

And also worked on making a bunch of these little guys too.

Have more photos to go through, but will leave that for another day.

Hope you are all able to spend fun filled days sewing with friends.

Thanks for stopping by.

I wish I could be home sewing today ...

but ... "duty" calls and I have to go to work.

~~~

I have been working on a few things these past 5 months though. There was the Pirate Quilters Retreat, some sew days with friends and I have been also doing a Block A Month with an out-of-state friend. I have pictures to go through and post, so hopefully I will get my act together and get that done soon.

~~~

So, for those of you that have been stopping by and have been seeing the same 'ol same 'ol, there will be some new entries for you to look forward to.

~~~

That said .... I am out the door to work.

~~~

I wish I was home sewing ...

Did You Adopt a Shelter Dog in 2009?

If you did, Pedigree has an offer for YOU!

If you adopted a dog any time during the 2009 calendar year you can send in an offer for some free Pedigree.

Here is the link to the Pedigree Offer to read all about it. But don't wait too long. The deadline is February 2010.

That's all I've got for now (I was reminded to update my blog).

A Good Start to the Day ...

Jim brought me birthday Banana Bread and a Peppermint Mocha. Now that's the way to start off a birthday.

The only downside is having to work today, but that's okay.

No one said life was perfect.

Time Slips Away ...

as it so easily does ...

Someone very close to me was getting after me about not updating my blog. And it is true, I have let time slip by ... always intending to update my blog but never quite getting around to it. Marlene would have definately been after me about not updating things here as well. She was good about keeping me on track.

A lot of fun things have happened since my last post and most recently something very sad.

This is Rio.

A very loved and some would say spoiled girl. But that's the best kind, right. This photo was taken just this past summer.

Rio passed away on Wednesday, December 23. She would have been 16 in May of next year. She was such a sweet and loving girl. She loved to travel with me and didn't care where we were going, she just wanted to be going too.

I miss you baby girl.

2 Days of Sewing Bliss ...

I am in piecing heaven. As usual I brought way too many projects to work on, but the good news is ... I have been able to spend time with friends doing what I love.

Will post pictures when I get back to my computer.

If you are out there and sewing ... hoping you are having as much fun as me!

Blogiversary Winner is ...

The list randomizer at Random.org has selected Mama T.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Mama T please email me your mailing information.

Thank you all for participating.

A Belated Blogiversary ... finally

Please, please excuse the delay, I know it has been a while. I just needed to get back on track with everything and, of course, something else had to go wrong. But now I think all of that is behind me, so on with the celebration.

So the blogiversary celebration is about 5 weeks late, but better late than never. And what better way to celebrate then with a Giveaway!!

Since the Fall and Winter seasons are fast approaching I decided that flannel would be very appropriate.

This is a complete quilt kit (finished quilt measures 60"x60") and includes backing and binding. I will select the winner on Friday the 11th, 6 am PT. No special questions to answer or hoops to jump through. Just leave a comment.

Thank you for coming and reading my blog.

Mending and Sewing ...

Well, I have finished all of my meds and am very much on the mend. Recovery is very apparent. Things have not completely returned to normal, but everything is a far cry from what it was.

There is some quilting news to report. Last weekend Pam had a small gathering at her place and I was able to spend Saturday and Sunday sewing with Holly, Bonnie, Alison and Pam. It was good to see everyone again and spend time sewing and laughing. Dwight took good care of us once again and kept us well fed. He is an awesome cook and you know we had to keep our strength up.

On Friday, I did take a trip to Helen's for a Sew Day at her house and had a wonderful day. Everyone there was doing hand work, myself included. Several of the ladies there are working on Baltimore Album quilt blocks and, I must say, it is going to be a gorgeous quilt. These ladies do exquisite applique. One of the ladies, Sandra, showed us a block she was working using wool. It was so beautiful, the wool just seemed to glow. And Kris was working on the cutiest little apron blocks using 30's fabrics. Did I say it was a wonderful day - well it was. Good friends, good food and a perfect day with needle in hand.

On a blogging note ... my Blogiversary was postponed because of things that were going on. Be sure to check back, something is in the works.

Not much new ... really ...

I don't really have anything new on the quilting front. In retrospect my memories of the trip to and at the Long Beach Int'l Quilt Festival are a bit fuzzy. No doubt because I was being attacked by a virus and didn't know it. I only had a few small purchases, a couple of them being gifts, so sorry no photos of those. And unfortunately, no pictures from the show.

Well, a trip to my doctor, continued meds and I think things a starting to turn around. It is going to be a slower recovery than I would like, but at this point I am not going to complain.

Take care of yourselves, one and all. You never know when a bug is gonna creep up on you and getcha when you least expect it!

You know what they say ...

Early on Friday my neighbor, Rose, and I set off to the Long Beach International Quilt Festival. Excitement filled the air as we chatted in the car during the drive.

We arrived, did an early check in at our hotel and walked over to the Convention Center. Did I mention that excitement filled the air? Well, it was.

It was fantastic entering the show room … Robert Duval said it best …

I love the smell of fabric in the morning!

Ok, ok, maybe he smelled something else, but you know what I’m talking about.

The day was great. We had decided to take in the vendors on Friday, of course, and Saturday we would spend on the Quilt Exhibits. So far so good. Got to chat with a lot of people I knew. Did a bit of shopping and saw several projects that I thought would be fun to do.

The day was GREAT. We met with some of Rose’s friends in the evening and had fun talking, laughing and hearing stories of Rose and Marge’s antics.

Then early Saturday morning things took an unexpected turn. I had to go to the doctor for some emergency care. Nothing life threatening, but enough to have to change our plans for the day. So, we stopped to pick up the necessary medications and a couple of other med supplies. Another stop for something to eat and then on the road for the long drive home.

I was so disappointed not to be able to go back for the second day, but it couldn’t be helped. It was just one of those things.

But we did have a fantastic time on Friday and that is what's most important. Sometimes the good does come with the bad. You just have to make the best of it and move on. I think we did.