Coming Up for Air

Looks like I need to clean my camera lens. There's a fuzzy spot. Anyway, here is s-o-m-e of my fashion fabric out in the yard sale we had this weekend. I had already sold about a row by the time I thought to take a picture. Man, let me tell you -- fabric is VERY heavy! I had 22 huge green trashbags full. Now mind you, I've been sewing for 35 years, so some of this fabric is probably 20+ years old but still in new condition. If there were a fabric collectors anonymous, I'd have to go. LOL!

The next picture is all my sewing patterns -- minus a box or so. That's not the worst part -- most of them were unused! I also sold all my crochet and cross stitch stuff. I can't believe my husband didn't even rub any of this obsession in my face. He's a saint! I have to say, though, we had an absolutely beautiful weekend weatherwise. It was high 70's and 80's.

While we are moving to Florida and trying to clear most of the house, this yard sale was only our basement, garage and shed stuff (minus the fabric). Once we sell the house, we will have an estate/yard sale. I have to say, it was very hard to part with my fabric and patterns, but I have to be realistic. I did, however, keep all my quilting fabric, books, patterns and magazines. They are coming with me to Florida. Hehehehe.

Tomorrow we leave for Florida for a week. We will be community combing, househunting, etc. I'll blog again when we get back.

I'll leave you with one of the beautiful trees in bloom in our yard.

Quilty hugs,

Random Thoughts and Weirdness

I've gotten my very first tag. Now those of you who have been tagged numerous times are probably not as excited about it as I am ... but try to remember back to when you were first tagged. Yes, that's what I'm feeling. Very cool! Thanks, Dawn from Sew Ritzy-Titzy. :o)

Anyway, since everything about me is weird (LOL!), I'll stick to the randomness with maybe a little weird thrown in for good measure. How's that sound?

Well, here goes -- first the rules...

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link back to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.


Ok, the straight-forward stuff has been taken care of -- now for the fun stuff:

1. You could say when I saw my husband it was love at first sight. I was 18 and worked in the same building as he did. When I saw him walk by my office, I actually and truly wondered what it would be like to be married to him. I've never done that with any guy I ever dated or met, let alone someone I hadn't even met yet.

2. Several months later when I came home for a weekend from business school, my best girlfriend and I decided to meet at a bar. Lo and behold, HE was also there. They were dating each other! That same night he asked me for my phone number. I thought -- what a jerk! During a powder room break, I told my girlfriend what happened and she was actually happy about it. Turns out they had already discussed that there wasn't chemistry between them and they decided to just be friends. She said to go for it; that he was a great guy. A month later we were engaged and 6 months after that we were married. My girlfriend was my Maid of Honor. The rest is history. LOL!

3. In 1995, I made my sister's wedding gown. It was the largest accomplishment so far in my lifetime and took 3 months to complete. It was made of ivory embossed brocade, organza, antique lace recut and placed in designs along the sleeves, bodice and bodice back, and had a gazillion tiny covered buttons down the back! Ugh -- the buttons! It was also completely lined. It cost her all of $200 for the fabrics and notions -- and I also made her veil and her "going away" dress from the leftover fabrics. Her tiara cost more. :o) She was thrilled with the final results (as was I) and several engaged girls at the wedding asked her where she got the gown! I was feeling pretty proud that day. Of course, my sister is my best friend, so I would do anything for her.





4. Red and yellow are my favorite colors.

5. I do not have a green thumb. I can kill cactus! LOL!

6. I taught myself to quilt about 12 years ago when I decided to make one for my cousin's baby shower. No books and no pattern. It turned out well and needless to say -- I was bitten. Since then I could now open my own library and fabric store with all the quilt books and quilting fabrics I've collected. :o)

7. I live in New Jersey and have never, ever been to New York City. I'm pretty embarrassed to admit that and would love to go, just never have gotten there. I'd especially love to take my niece to American Girl Place.

Well, that's it. I live a pretty boring life, but I wouldn't trade a thing.


Now for my tagees:

1. Carolyn - Lakeside Quilting
2. Paula - A Latte Quilts
3. Yvonne - Quilting Down the Stairs
4. Joanna - Applique Today
5. Perry - OKPeri's Place
6. Susie - Quilt Obsessions
7. Nicole - Sister's Choice Quilts

If you've been previously tagged, feel free to just link to that post in your blog.

Quilty hugs to all,

Not Much Quilting Going On . . .

There's not much quilting going on in my neck of the woods. We're busy getting the house ready to put on the market. We're also amassing a large amount of stuff for a huge yard sale. I can't believe all the crap...ummmm...stuff we've accumulated over the years. Of course, we also inherited all the girls' things that they didn't take with them. LOL. :o)

Thanks to everyone who sent prayers and thoughts my way about my Pop Pop's passing and my hubby's upcoming PET scan. They are much appreciated. It's great to have such wonderful blogging friends out there.

Also, thanks to those who participated in my little survey on the EQ quilts I uploaded. It was fun to get everyone's opinions and see how different our tastes all are. It's still not too late to take a peek and participate, if you haven't already. Here's the link...

Quilty hugs for now,

Heaven Bound

We received a call on Monday evening that my Pop Pop has passed away. He was 92 and his health had been declining quite rapidly in the past year or so, both mentally and physically. He went into the hospital a few weeks ago with pneumonia, but the doctors told us to prepare ourselves for him not coming out, as he was in pretty bad shape. Now he can finally join up with Nana in Heaven.

It was my maternal grandfather, and with my Mom not doing so well healthwise (emphysema), I'm wondering if she won't be too far behind. She is bedridden and about 88 lbs. soaking wet. It's so sad that she can't even go to her own father's funeral.

I'm a little depressed right now, as I was hoping to have a break from the rollercoaster that has become my life these past two years. I'm also scared because my hubby's PET scan is scheduled for Thursday, April 10th (rescheduled from this coming Friday -- as that is Pop Pop's funeral), and I'm really afraid now. I just hope his cancer hasn't spread. You know how they say things happen in three's.

If you could, please send some prayers our way. Thanks and huggles.

A Little Fun With EQ6

Does this quilt I previously designed using EQ6 look familiar? Yep, it's this one.

Well, I have been playing around again with my EQ6 program and designed several possible future quilts. I'd love to get your opinions and find out which (if any) is your favorite. Just a little quilting-related fun. Click here to see the quilts. Just click on each quilt to make them larger.

I look forward to reading your comments and opinions. :o)

Quilty hugs,

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Today is my baby girl's, "special" birthday -- 25 on the 25th.

Happy Birthday, Rachel! We love you, baby!

Goodbye Tension . . . Hello Pension!

It's official! I'm retired! After 29 years, Thursday, March 20, was my last day of work. It was very bittersweet to say goodbye to all my friends and co-workers. They had a retirement dinner on Thursday evening and approximately 45 people attended. My husband and I had a great time and it was wonderful to see some people I hadn't worked with in years and years. I'm going to really miss everyone -- even more so once we sell our house and move to Florida. They were all so supportive when we learned about my husband's cancer, even donating time so I could be off work to help him recover from his surgery and spend time with him, and again when we learned his cancer had come back. The past two years have been a hard road for us, but they lightened the load with their thoughts, prayers, and generosity. I will always be thankful to them for that.

So now we are on to the next chapter in our lives. Selling our home and moving to Florida to be near our eldest daughter and son-in-law, and my husband, Chris's, family. We're also hoping our youngest daughter and grandson will be able to move down, as well. It's exciting, scary, and a whole host of other adjectives that I can't think of right now. I would have never thought that I would be retiring early at age 48 and that my husband would be battling cancer. It's funny how life-altering events can change your whole outlook. Pretty much puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

Hugs to all,

All Squared Out

Ugh. I've sewn 576 of these little 1 1/2 inch suckers together. Being a scrapaholic has it's limits and on this quilt 576 was mine. This is what I've been doing with my spare time these past two weeks. Working on my Keepsake Squares UFO. This was before ... and below is now.

The yellow fabric between the brown border and the mottled tan border is "free floating" -- meaning it's just fabric I folded in half and stitched between those borders. It gives it a fun 3D textured effect. Now granted, the mottled tan border is very plain, but I have plans for it. Now, now, you'll just have to stay tuned to see, but here's a hint...

And "no" the 576 doesn't take into account all the little squares that make up the flowers. Am I crazy or what? I have to say this quilt has been a lot of fun to make and surely will be very scrappy, so I will enjoy staring at it and ooohing and aaahing over all the different fabrics that are in it. It's not a true charm quilt, as there are a handful of duplicates, but when I was planning it I didn't intend it to be anyway. I still have to cut up all the leaves and then I can play away with the border design.

Hope you stay tuned for the results. :o)

Quilty hugs,

Lead Me Not Into TEMPTATION . . . Except Quilt Shops (and Quilt Shows)

I think the T-Shirt says it all. I was a baaad girl. But I look at it this way -- I did help stimulate the declining economy, right? Yeah, that's it!

Besides spending entirely too much, we had a blast. Even my grandson, Anthony, had fun looking at all the beautiful quilts and fondling the fabric. I think I have a future quilter on my hands. :o) At each booth he said, "Can I touch this fabric, Nana?" because he knew he couldn't touch the quilts. LOL! He's such a cutie!

We had a false start after getting lost -- for some reason I thought the show was in Edison, but while it is sort of, they consider it Somerset. Whatever...we found it after I called my brother-in-law and had him Google it and give us the directions. We have a GPS, but of course it's useless unless you input the correct destination. :o/ Now mind you, I printed out the directions before we left...but they, too, are useless unless you actually remember to bring them! Oy!

I've uploaded all the quilts that caught my eye (a lot, of course) for you to enjoy here. They were all so beautiful and amazing, and the workmanship was to die for. I was also surprised to run into Mark Lipinski of Quilter's Home Magazine at the very last booth we visited before we left. Let me tell you -- he is a hoot! I had him autograph his latest issue and Anthony and I had our pic taken with him. He's a great guy and he and Anthony got along famously. He really likes kids and was great with him. If you haven't read his magazine, you're really missing out.


Well, I promised to show you my ill-gotten gains, so here they are. All those bags! I'm glad I remembered to bring my tote cart...although if I had forgotten it like I had forgotten the directions, I wouldn't have purchased so much. LOL! But then again, the economy would have suffered....right? Right. :o)

Happy Quilting!

Fessing Up Time

After adding my UFO list to my blog, I decided to totally fess up (especially to myself) on all my unstarted kits and BOMs that I've let collect in a bin to be forgotten until I happen upon them (see the list on the right of my blog page). Out of sight, out of mind is sooooo true. Maybe if I list them and see that list everyday, it will guilt me into actually completing some of them. I can't believe I have 16 projects ready to start -- in addition to my 23 UFOs already in progress. It's a disease, I tell you!

To make matters much, much worse -- Saturday my hubby, grandson and I are going to Edison to the NJ Quilt Fest. If you think I'm walking out of there without anything in my hot little hands, you're crazier than I am! LOL!

Don't worry -- I'll post my ill-gotten gains for all to see. Just because I'm fessing up to all my indiscrepancies doesn't mean I'll stop adding to them -- just maybe slow down a little. Yeah, right. I wonder if I can talk my sewing machine into sewing on its own. What? Hey, it embroiders at the touch of a button, why not sew by itself? :oP

Quilty hugs,