A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…

…which means I haven’t got anything to say!   Michelle was right, Hollyhills Quilt Shoppe doesn’t allow photos!  So all I can say is the shop is lovely…gorgeous in fact… but without pictures that doesn’t help you!  Soo…here’s what you get…the front door…

Go ahead peek into the window…

Wish I could open the front door and let you in…but I can’t..

 

So that ends the tour of Hollyhills Quilt Shoppe!  I can hear the disappointed groans from here…but REALLY it’s NOT MY FAULT!  I tried…BUT don’t despair…we will be visiting TONS of shops who will  OPEN their doors to cameras and with wild abandon…shops like..The Cotton Ball, The Quilter’s Coop, Temecula Quilt Co., The Country Loft, The Christmas Goose Quilt Shop…just to name a few.  They encourage and welcome the camera toting Quilter!!  After all we are bringing them FREE advertising and promoting their shops.  In the past I  have had bloggers thank me for telling them about certain shops!

Let me show you something that I CAN take a picture of… Summertime by Primitive Gathers.  LOVE the colours in these little blocks.  I know, I know….I only have  1 1/2 blocks finished…believe me I am no Karen (Log Cabin Quilter). I had to chuckle…Karen’s been working on a stunning, HUGE appliqued quilt for the past 3 days and she was complaining that she still isn’t finished…Well I have news for her…it would take me 3 years and I still wouldn’t have it finished!! haha

See my cute little I Pod…green of course!!  My daughters gave it to me three years ago as a retirement gift and it’s engraved on the back.  Love it…Hayley downloaded more songs onto it over the holidays…so I’m grooving while I stitch…(I think I just dated myself!!:o)  

Last night we made it to Canyonville, OR and took the shuttle bus to the Casino for dinner…yikes!!  I’m not use to cigarette smoke in buildings.  In B.C. you can’t even smoke outside in parks or on beaches!!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS yesterday…sorry I wasn’t able to reply but the wifi at the RV park was so slowwwwwww….  I hope the wifi will be better at our next stop!

California, here we come…OK, I’ll spare you the singing…but today we are on our way to Corning, CA….yippee…

Have a wonderful NEW YEARS EVE and all the Best in 2011..and happy quilting!~P

And WE’RE OFF!!

We were on the road yesterday before the sun came up…don’t we look eager!!

First one in the line, first one on the ferry and the first one to get pulled over for a FULL RV search at the Border Check!!  Sheesh…doesn’t pay to be first!!  We assured the Customs Guy that we had NO fruits and NO veggies and our dog food is from the USA…but I think we must have looked shifty…we don’t drink, we don’t smoke...and they didn’t realize that the euphoric look on our faces wasn’t from drugs but was from the mere thought of no more rain!!  The good news is..they didn’t take away my sewing scissors, seam ripper or rotary cutters!! (which they found ‘hidden’ in the pull out drawer under our couch!)  Whew!!

So GOOD-BYE VICTORIA!

HELLO USA! 

If you really look carefully you will see the hail/sleet that is falling…but it only lasted for about 15 minutes.  Then the clouds parted and we had blue skies!  The Seattle area wasn’t so lucky…tons of snow and the roads were a mess!  Had we gone with BC. Ferries we would have been part of that mess…we dodged a bullet!! 

We stayed in Centralia, Washington last night…and if all goes well, it’s on to Canyonville, OR. tomorrow!  Wish us luck…

Have a terrific Thursday and happy Quilting!~P

My Little Black BAG of Tricks…

I found this little carrying case at a Thrift shop a few months ago…in fact they had several and I had my pick.  I’m not sure if it’s a computer bag or an overnight bag but it’s perfect for what I have in mind…and it was ONLY $1.50!

 

It’s perfect for my stitching projects…look at all the pockets to hold…

..my needles and perle cotton..

..my embroidery hoops, scissors and glue..

On the left I have my blocks…ready to be cut out.

The red binder holds my embroidery floss…      In the side pocket I have my wool threads…

And in this little plastic folder I have my project.  There is a pocket on the cover to hold the front of the pattern and inside…

   

I have my first block all ready to stitch…

and in pocket number two I have block two.

SEW…I’m all packed and ready to go…!

OK OK …so I’m not totally organized!!

But I’m getting there!!

Tomorrow we start our trek south…so blogging will be hit or miss…BUT Thursday I’m hoping to take you on a tour of Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe! 

It’s a wonderful Quilt Shoppe just off the freeway in West Lynn, Oregon.  Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe was featured in the Summer Issue of the Quilt Sampler magazine!  My copy is all warped and wrinkled from all my drooling!   I sure hope they let me take pictures!!  Stay tuned!!

Oh…and before you go…check out Temecula Quilt Co. Blog.  Everyday they are giving away a block to their 12 Days of Christmas Quilt…it’s going to be spectacular!  They are already on day 3 but you’re not too late!!  GO NOW!

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!~P

Enough Already!

This is how I feel…I have had enough already! haha

The Christmas tree is GONE and the decorations are packed and put away…and the kids have gone home…:o(  Christmas is over way too soon!!  Weeks of preparation over in a matter of hours! 

It’s time for Mr. Sweet P and myself to turn into Snowbirds and fly this coop!! We pull out of here, in our 5th wheel, on Wednesday morning…we are trading the rain, mountains and rain forest for SUN, desert and palm trees! 

But first we have some jobs to do…like packing~ yes first things first…got to get my stitching all ready for travel!! :o)

This is Summertime by Primitive Gather…block 1 all ready for hand stitching!!  (The colours are much nicer than this picture..the background fabric is a tea stained beige colour- not this mustard colour!!)

I also need to put the binding on this quilt so that I can finish it off while traveling…First things first!

Packing clothes, linens and food can wait just a bit longer….  Oh and I also have to clean the house so that our House Sitter has a place to hang his hat!!  He moves in on Wednesday afternoon…so I also need to clean out the bedroom closet and the dresser…BUT first things first…!

Have a marvelous Monday and Happy Quilting!~P

Your Christmas Wish..

The ONLY thing BETTER than creating a quilt…is watching someone open the quilted gift that you made…and really liking it… Xs 4!!

I hope your day was was good as mine!!

Oh..and I got my Christmas wish…everyone I love most under one roof..LIFE IS SEW SWEET!!

 

Including my gorgeous Grand-dog, Lola!

What about you?  How was your Christmas?  Did  you get your Christmas Wish?

Have a Beautiful Boxing Day and (hopefully) Happy Quilting!~P

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Merry Christmas to you all!!  I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you…my blogging friends…those who comment everyday, those who comment once in awhile and those blog lurkers..oh yes..I KNOW you are out there… and everyone else who may be following along- “THANK YOU”!!  You make my day!   I’ve had such fun getting to know you and I love and appreciate your comments.  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas full of family, friends, food and fun!

AND I hope you get a little bit of ‘YOU time’ to stitch, quilt, sew...read a quilting magazine or book…whatever it take…but some quality time just for YOU!!  Hope you have a good one…and REMEMBER...don’t get yourself tied in a knot!!

Have a wonderful Christmas Day and all the best!~P

Delores Saves Christmas..

Delores worked her magic and as a result all three daughters will have a VERY Merry Christmas!!  Check it out…

The three pillows are finished…and all are gorgeous…

…and are now wrapped and under the tree…and Delores has settled in for a long Winter’s nap!! 

Yes, Virginia…there REALLY is a Santa!  ~P

In Delores’ Workshop…

The workshop over at Sweet P’s has been very quiet…in fact it has come to a stand still …but over at Delores’ workshop things have been ROCK’N!!  Just look at what she has been up to! 

Delores has three daughters…check out what is going to be under the tree for these three lucky girls…

Daughter #1 will be getting this lovely brown pillow..The pattern is called "Snow Mum Pillow” by Amy Butler.  Stunning! I love the way the huge flower is placed in one corner!! 

 

Visually striking!

Daughter #2 is getting the huge flower pillow that I first showed you on Tuesday.  Delores has since made it into a pillow…you can find the tutorial on how to make this pillow on Sew. Cluck. Sew. Blog.  Just lovely!!!

Delores is madly sewing Daughter #3’s pillow as we speak…here’s what she has done so far…I know, I know…looks like four fortune cookies on some fabric…but Delores is working her magic and will turn this into a masterpiece…I’m sure of it…and if not.. well, we will have two thrilled daughters and one in therapy…stay tuned!!

The tutorial for this project can be found on Felt  Furnishings and is called Pillow with Rosette Clusters.

We are down to the wire now…hope everything is ready at your house!? 

I want to take a moment to send out my warmest wishes to you for the Best Christmas ever!  May you get everything on your wish list… including lots of love, laughter and good cheer!

Have a Fun Friday and a wonderful Christmas Eve!! 

Home for the Holiday…

Two of my three girls are Home For the Holiday…the third arrives tomorrow!  It’s wonderful to have them home under one roof..although my youngest daughters is suffering with Asthma (she seems to be allergic to our newest dog, Rylie…).  Rylie is a cockapoo…but seems to have more cocker spaniel than poodle in her…and she is a shedder…meaning she is a dog!! (Hayley is fine with poodles as their dander is different and they don’t shed)…So today we will work on getting that under control.  Her bedroom is and always has been a dog free zone…

Here’s a picture of us walking the Nature Trails just before dinner.  Love this park and it was a gorgeous sunny day!

My husband’s son and grand-daughters are coming for dinner tonight as they can’t make it on Christmas day.  As I told them…we will take whatever we can get!!  So let the eating begin…!

AND speaking of Home for the Holidays…my Buggy Barn loot arrived yesterday…my win from Buggy Barn’s Home for the Holidays give away!!  Talk about bounty!!  It was a box full of wonderful quilty stuff… now I’m not bragging or anything…BUT you have to see this to believe it…

Schnibbles…four of them!!  DMC embroidery floss….

‘Stir Crazy’ by Buggy Barn and a book on how to make Shams and Pillows to go with the quilts that you make…both books are wonderful!!

A summer time quilt pattern called Summer Slices by Jillily Studio…so cute…love the little snowballs in the middle!

Some appliqué glue…and man did I ever need this…I am using a popsicle stick to get the glue out of my old bottle!!

A kit to make this super cute Snow Mama…very cute and..

..look at the fabric that came in the kit…LOVE Buggy Barn’s fabrics!!

And the sweetest Buggy Barn bag to carry all my quilty things in!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, BUGGY BARN!!  What an incredibly generous Give Away!!  Why it felt like Christmas…!!

You can visit Buggy Barn’s new Blog right here..it’s call Continually Crazy!!  They have lots of eye candy…just their Header alone makes me drool!!

Speaking of drooling…Sentimental Stitches released Block 15 for  the Beyond the Cherry Tree Quilt …so if you are collecting this BOM now is the time to do it…while it’s FREE!!  Gay is painstakingly reproducing the pattern from the original well worn quilt…see her blog for details.  What a labour of love on her part!!.. and we THANK HER!!

“THANKS SO MUCH, GAY!!”

So onward Christmas…the baking is done, the house is as clean as it’s going to get, the presents are bought, wrapped and under the tree (which is decorated…just barely!), the turkey is thawing…and the food is ready for preparation….it’s NO wonder that by December 25 we are all exhausted!!

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting (is there ANYONE out there sewing???) ~P

Some Christmas Shopping…

A few weeks ago, my friend Claire emailed me and said she was placing an order with Primitive Gathering’s On-line Store and would I like to order anything…LOVE that shop…Whenever we order anything we always check with each other…that way if we both want something we can share the shipping and handling costs.

So I placed my order…I have been drooling over ‘The Autumn Night’ by Threads That Bind  since seeing it HERE at Wooden Acorn Blog…LOVE IT!!

 

And look at the pattern…it’s full size (about 25” X34”)..making it a piece of cake to make!!  Let me re-phrase that…this huge full size pattern will make it easier to cut and place the pieces.  I love it when designers include this!!

I also ordered charm packs of wool…it is so difficult to dye a deep rich red and look at these yummy browns..perfect for little gingerbread men!!

Merry Christmas to ME!! 

What did Claire order?  Well she also bought ‘Autumn Night’ and the red and brown wool charm packs plus the kit for the Folk Art Blooms BOM by Buggy Barn (gorgeous fabrics!!) and the kit for Let it Snow!  Merry Christmas, Claire!!

AND Thanks Claire, for taking me shopping!! :o)

For those of you wondering about Fran’s Snowflake quilt…Fran took a workshop on how to make this quilt at the local Quilt Shop…the quilt is called Log Cabin Snowflakes but she doesn’t remember who the designer is…

I have inserted some close-ups in the hopes that this will help those who are interested in making this quilt. 

Such a visually stunning quilt..isn’t it!! 

If you recognize this quilt would you please email me the info…I have several quilters out in blogland who want to make this one!

Only THREE more sleeps!!  I have to go food shopping for the big day…hope that goes better than Costco did…what a mad house!!  YIKES!

Have a Wickedly Wild Wednesday and Happy Quilting!~P