I caught the cleaning bug!

Thanks to Connie, I caught the bug to clean my sewing area. It was no easy undertaking! Luckily, as dangerous of a task that it is, I didn't get injured! ;o) lol

Would you look at this?

Is this clean or what? You know, I dusted that book shelf and man was it dusty.

Would you look at that floor! It's clean enough to eat off! Not that I would but... You should have seen it before!

Anyway, I did get a chance to work on the Pine Grove quilt yesterday and managed to sew on three (3) rows. It was my plan to quilt today but, like I said, I caught the cleaning bug.

One thing that totally gets on my nerves is the fact that my DH's workshop is right next to my sewing room. If ever you have a partner that says to you"I'm going to build a woodworking shop right next to your sewing room dear!". You just tell them that it would be best if it wasn't connected to the house. Frankly, had I known what I know now, I would have said "add an addition to the garage". lol

Although the door connecting our shops stays closed and that he does have a heavy duty dust collecting system, needless to say the sawdust just creep through the walls. It drives me nuts! No more sawdust!

Would you look at this? That's Stephen's shop. And by the way, I would need a wide angle lens in order to capture it all. He even has a skylight!

I think his space is much nicer than mine. Imagine the quilts I could lay on that floor and not have to worry about walking over it. I could even have a sitting area for hand work!

I tried to get him to build the barn bigger so that he could move in, but he wouldnt' buy it! Says he's comfortable where he's at! If ever we move, no more woodshop connected to the house!

For those curious minds, the wooden constructions on his work bench is the cupola. He's been getting ready for the barn raising.

Aside from the cleaning, not much is going on! Monday DD will start a day camp with Girl Scout, which means I'll have the days to myself! Hurray! Hopefully I'll get the Pine Grove quilt finished.

Keep well and thanks for stopping by!

The weekend is here!

At last, no running around, no appointments to keep, a beautiful morning to myself.

Last night, although exhausted from my day, I turned on my sewing machine. I had too! I was going nuts. It's a battle for me at times, do I sew or do I read up on my wonderful friends on blog land? It's not always obvious! I think of you as dear friends and the last thing I want is to ignore you. I compromised, a little sewing, a little blog reading! lol

This is the results of last night's attempt. Notice, it's ironed and ready for me to tackle the other side! lol

This is the lattice for the Pine Grove quilt and it forms a star in each corners. This entails sewing 2 inch squares to each end. Luckily, the squares were all cut last week.

Gosh, how much more inviting it is to quilt when the cutting has been taken care of!

A tool that I enjoy using for this type of piecing is the Angler 2. It provide a guiding line for diagonal sewing.

Since I'm sewing in the middle, it allows me to keep my block corners in line with the center. I have learned that I need to sew just a hair over the points for a perfect diagonally sewn line. Of course, this is dependent on the size of thread you use. I always do a test run!

I've also used this tool to make half square triangles. The beauty of it is that there are no lines to draw and no paper to rip. It's multifunctional! It's great for those learning to sew, as it provides a 1/4 inch guiding line.

This is how the block will look with the lattice.

This quilt is made strictly with fabric from my stash. This is my small attempt at reducing my stash. A few trees were made using scraps. As you can see, some of the fabric is quite old.

It is my hope that I will be able to finish the lattice and sew the blocks together today. The only cutting left to do are the side triangles, as the blocks are assembled in diagonal rows.

Some news on Louise, Kassandra the teen that relieved me yesterday afternoon, came by around 7:30 p.m. and informed me that Louise still had not given birth. That would mean over eight (8) hours of labour. Kassandra was spending the night at their house to take care of the little ones. This morning I saw Derick's car in the driveway, which hopefully means that all is well.

Thank you so much for stopping by and for your friendship.

Have a great day everyone!

Back to your regular scheduled programming!

DH, who happens to read my blog, mentioned that I've been off topic quite a few time as of late and should get back on topic. Hum....... well thank you sweetie dear for pointing that out, I shall get to it right away! lol

Getting back on topic, I need for you to budget that Bernina 730E that I feel I must have to facilitate my embroidery hobby. It's right in tune with your motto "the right tool for the right job". I'm a gal that lets technology work for me and my 180E, being of an older technology, I have to work for it!

******* Warning - Off topic *******

Unfortunately, not much quilting is going on, not even some hand applique. I'm presently babysitting our next door neighbour's kids. Louise, who is 41 weeks pregnant, is being induced today. So I'm home with a four (4) year old and a two(2) year old. I had forgotten how much work they are! lol Here I thought I'd be able to clean my house, catch up on some blogs etc.... LOL

Off to make lunch!

Happy Wedding Anniversary!

Today is are fourth (4) wedding anniversary and I remembered! lol I'm really awful with these things. Stephen usually reminds me of what day it is.

The photograph was taken in the front of our home by my friend Philip Carpenter. Being an older neighbourhood, our street is graces with majestic trees.

If you're interested in how we met, you me refer to a previous post It's all about me .

I need to get ready to assume my role as taxi mom. I'm thinking that perhaps I ought to go return the clothing I bought yesterday. If I'm planning on loosing more weight, it's senseless to buy clothes at this point. Perhaps today I'll pay a visit to our local quilt store! ;o)

Have a great day everyone!

Summer day!

Life as been busy as of late. I've been playing Taxi Mom since Monday. DD is doing a week long soccer camp with Plattsburgh State from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. It's a busy morning for her.

Dh, being the mathematician, calculated the cost per day should I do a up and down drive, which amounts to $12.00 in gas a day. In order to reduce the cost, he suggested that I stay in Plasttburgh for the duration of the soccer camp. Needless to say, I don't think we've been saving money.

So, staying in Plattsburgh means that I've got to keep busy for 4 (four) hours. I'm really not the shopping type but if forced too, I can certainly do it. Monday I went to Dick's with the intension of buying a spare bathing suit for dd. I ended up buying myself a spare bathing suit instead. A Speedo one piece cost $62.00 regular price. They were having a half off sale. What a deal! The rest of the time I read.

Tuesday I went to Borders for a quiet place to read in their Cafe. It didn't turn out to be so quiet. This lady, who appears to be a regular as I saw her today, wanted to chat. Once some one else came in, I was relieved of my listening duties. I took the opportunity to make a quick exit, but not before I purchased a book. So that's $15.00

Today I went shopping for a pair of running shoes. My old one gave out on me last night while I was doing a power walk. Seems they've been sitting in the closet for way to long. Since I'm shopping, I might as well look for some summer clothing. Once I tried on something, I became aware that I had lost weight. I'm a size less! WOW So I congratulated myself by buying a few more things. All and all I think I spent $180.00 today. Oh and dh asked if I would pick up a whatchamacall it for the aquarium, that was $5.00. I finished the time at Borders and read the book I bought on Tuesday. I stayed away from the area that lady sits! lol

Lucky for dh, I've been avoiding the quit store! lol Perhaps it would be cheaper if I did an up and down! ;o) ROTFL

On the quilting front, I've been plugging away at that 2,112 piece quilt, the corn and bean. The blocks are done and ready to be assembled. I've also sewn on the frame around the tree quilt. I haven't touched the In the Pink one yet!

Last night a friend of mine came over for a small quilting bee, which allowed me to work on a block from the Wildberry quilt.

It's a beautiful day in Upstate NY, which begs for outside activities. Perhaps I ought to test my new bathingsuit! lol

Have a great day every one!