No Sewing = Lots of Internet

Well...since my hand is still a bit messed up and it took sew very long to work out 2 blocks last Saturday..I have been using my sewing down time to work on my internet skills...(Luckily my ergonomic keyboard doesn't bother my hand).  You guys are in trouble now... who knows what I will type about...  

Back to the internet, I am by no means any kind of expert, but I have been playing with things here and there....  I finally figured out how to make a blog button.  I had worked out a different button a few weeks back, but after looking at it for awhile...decided it just really wasn't me.  I didn't really want a scary monster.. and I wasn't happy with my coloring... So I searched the internet Hi & Low and found this free pix. I was able to add my Blog Name to it and Here it is. :) 

My Cute Monster Button

 I like it lots better than the other one.   I have put the code up in the right hand corner if you'd like to grab it for your page...and... If you happen to need a smaller button code... There is one at the very bottom of my blog.. :)  

On a different note... The Sewing & Stitchery Expo is this Weekend.. My S-I-L & I will be going on Thursday... There is so much to see... we spend the whole day there..oogling and dreaming and finding fun projects to try.   The past couple years more Quilting booths are appearing, so it is a great way to get a quilting fix and find some new projects to work on. There are vendors from all over - a total of 400 Booths.  Instructors from all over the world teach seminars all weekend long, about everything sewing..... www.sewexpo.com is the website if you wanna check it out.  Every year same time... So any of you that are thinking about visiting the NW.  Plan for that weekend.  I don't think you would be disappointed in all the wonderful booths.  Everything and anything to do with Sewing is represented.   

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BLOGGER BLUES!!!!

I feel horrible...  There have been so many blogs I have visited and tried to leave comments, but the Dang Word Verification that Blogger has started using is FRUSTRATING!!!  I have tried to enter Word Verification words in excess of 7 times at different sites and then I just give up.  I even tried listening to the word to type..and even  THAT didn't work.




SO if you are noticing fewer and fewer comments at your blog... It's probably out of frustration people are not leaving a comment.  


CLICK HERE if you wanna get rid of it.   Madame Samm has posted a quick instructions on how to remove Word Verification on your blog if you aren't sure how to do it.  Thank You SO MUCH Madame Samm for sharing your computer savvy techniques and helping the few that aren't  :>}

Wow...I've been awarded

the Versatile Blogger Award...

I am quite honored...Mrs Pickles picked me back on February 10th, as one of her 15 blogs to award the prestigious Versatile Blogger award to. *Big Grin*   Over at her blog Mrs Pickle's Garden,   She has great tips on gardening, as well sharing wonderful quilting projects she is working on.  She has several Bees that she participates in.  Her work is wonderful!!!  In fact she is one of my fellow Wonky Bee members and we just love all that is Wonky!!!!

I didn't post my award sooner, and I should have..I know..I am sorry.... I got busy with all kinds of other life happenings, but now ready to share with the world the great news... I also know I am suppose to follow some rules, but a few people that know me would say... "She doesn't always stay between the lines.."

Here are the rules I was suppose to follow.....

1.  Add the award to your blog  - Oops

2. Thank the Blogger who gave it to you  - Check - definitely

3. Mention 7 Random things about yourself  - Modified Check

4. List the Rules  - Check 

5. Award 15 bloggers  - Oops

6. Inform those 15 by leaving a comment. - Oops

   I have had a hard time picking 15 blogs...one of the reasons for the delay.... You can see from my Blog Roll Call that there are way too many to choose from..and I hate to have to narrow it down...So instead, I will share 15 Random things about me instead of just 7...and I will let you pick blogs on my Roll Call to check out, because in my eyes - they are all wonderful.   Since I didn't follow the rules completely... I will not post the award to my blog sidebar, but I will share it here with you on today's post only. :)

So here goes... 15 {instead of just 7} Random Things about me....{my personal punishment for not following the rules...*wink*}

1.   I was born in Japan, and have had several run-ins with the Government Offices about my US citizenship.. I feel a little like an Outlaw..hahaha (no..not really) .....But for some reason they just don't get the military base sovereign soil thing in some offices..hahaha

2.  Dad being military, I grew up all over the Southern United States and ABSOLUTELY Loved It!  It was a great place to grow up. One advantage to moving so much, was it taught me to speak up so I would meet people.

3.  I Love Chocolate & Peanut Butter!!! {Especially Reese's Peanut Butter Cups} & I am a Blue Monster Energy Drink Junkie... I know I shouldn't drink them, but I do...just one a day though... too many would be too much. *wink*

4.  I love to share information with people and feel that the more you share the more you learn and...If you teach you will understand what your teaching even better!  Sharing is Caring.

5.  I was a Grand Page in the International Order of Rainbow for Girls, It's a non-profit organization, part of the Mason's if you know about them.  It really helped me be able to speak in large groups and made me the versatile person I am now.. (*giggle* tooting own horn shouldn't be done)

6.  I am a huge Baseball fan..(something about those guys in baseball uniforms...*giggling like a little girl now*)...but no really I do like to watch Baseball, always have always will.

7.  I am a Quarter Romanian...and so excited to run across other bloggers from Romania to learn from.

8.  I eat all the Red Starbursts FIRST, when I get a pack of them.. I think they are the best and don't like to share..{Sorry..their my favorite *Evil Grin*}

9.  Cooking is my least favorite thing to do in the world....Lucky for me Mr Fantastic is so Fantastic otherwise I would be living on Ramen Noodles..*giggle*

10.  I drive a 97 Red Jeep Wrangler with a White top...and LOVE my Jeep (hence the username JeepGirl300.... I do want to upgrade to a newer model...May have to go BLUE next time.

11.  Other than Quilting... You will find me working in my yard or at a Bowling Alley...(hence the 300 in the username)  Yes I am extremely bummed that my hand is messed up... No bowling for me for quite awhile...  :(

12.  I also love Camping with Mr Fantastic and we enjoy going every year.  Funny part is I am a clean freak when it comes to the travel trailer..he just laughs at me and says "We're Camping for goodness sake".

13.  My favorite Colors are all shades of Blue, Green & Brown...and have to work hard at stepping away from them when I go fabric shopping...even though when I do... I LOVE it.

14.  I can tell you..... I never in a million years would have thought I would grow up to be a High Voltage Substation Electrician..BUT I LOVE IT and am SO very Happy I did.

15. Last but by no means least.... I secretly dream of having my very own Super-sized Sewing Cave that is full of wonderful fabrics, a long arm quilting machine, fantastic thread...and Ryan Gosling sitting in the corner waiting to give me a massage whenever my shoulders start to hurt.  (Just Kidding..I would never trade in Mr Fantastic..he's the best!)

There ya go....15 Random Things about me... Maybe I shouldn't have done this while Ryan Gosling was on TV... *giggling again*  

Again, Thank you Mrs Pickles for awarding me the Versatile Blogger Award!  It's an honor to have been picked.   I look forward to learning more about all of you and hope that you Share One Random thing about you in a comment below!  

Till Next Time....

Slow Sewing Saturday

....But Sewing I managed to still do.......SLOW... but Loved it anyway.....

I needed a distraction and I got it!  Thank you Mrs Pickles!!!! 
This morning she posted that she needed a new member for one of her bees, and I was excited to get to join!  

I was sitting in the living room catching up on this bee information and icing my hand when I started to read about the blocks that would need to be done to catch up.  Low and behold one of them was using 2 ½ inch strips… I already have quite a few scrap 2 ½ inch strips pre-cut from all my old scraps…an ongoing scrap project that I am building a stash for… So only had to do cross cuts.. Left handed rotary 101 is what I taught myself today… Can’t keep this quilter down....*giggle*   After quite a bit of finagling I managed to get both blocks cut and am pleased to announce that I even got them sewn together today.   I took lots of breaks and it took close to 8 hours to make two 12 ½ inch blocks… Normally I would have them done in at the most 2 hours, but HEY I didn’t want to just sit and do nothing on my Saturday Sewing Day…*Wink*

Here’s Mrs Pickles January Block & siggy block 

Here’s Danielle’s February Block & siggy block

My Mr Fantastic was awesome and signed my siggy blocks for me…so now I just need address for February block Host and I can mail these off on Monday.  I am SO excited to be part of another bee.

Off to dinner……then Ice the hand and to read some more of your blogs.  Thanks for the well wishes.  I have found that the ergonomic keyboard we have on our Desktop computer is much easy to use… I only have problems with the M & N keys… HAHA 

Till Next Time…

Just call me "Tripp"

Well this post is not about much quilting... I have been under the weather this past week with a sinus cold and didn't get as much done as I normally do, but then my week got worse :(   I will be having to put finishing touches on hold for quite a bit..Let me tell you about the good stuff first.....before earning my new nickname....


This project I started purchasing last year, via a BOM from Shabby Fabrics.   So every month I have been receiving a wonderful package of fabric and not working on it.. (I know what's wrong with me).... This Project is from Kim Schaefer's Book "Calendar Quilts" 12 Months of Fun, Fusible Projects. This is April.. Won't get March until March  (it's my last Block to receive).  I  told myself to start working on my kits and not start any NEW projects until some of my Kits are finished...  I finished piecing this project last Sunday Evening. The original plan was to hand blanket stitch for finishing and make this into a banner for my home :(  Will be on hold now...

Unfinished - Needs stitching done

Here is my Wonky Block for March...I know it's done wwwaaay early...but.... I was so excited, I started thinking about the Wonky Houses,  and couldn't help but get started on it earlier this week after work.  It was so much fun....  Will be touching base with Bea via email to discuss my dilemma.

Unfinished...Needs stitching done

So what's happened your wondering....


Well due to my amazing ability of missing a half step and fly among the materials in the back of the crew truck. (Sew very lucky to not impale myself with a sharp object..thank goodness)...I have earned the nickname "Tripp".   I know, it truly is a term of endearment, otherwise the guys I work with wouldn't give me a nickname at all. :)  


But alas, I did not getaway unscathed....

 I have messed up but good..  My right hand is in half cast.. and I can't bend my first two fingers without severe pain.  The doctor told me good news is I didn't break any bones, but the swelling is still pretty severe and he is concerned about the tendons/ligaments.  Won't know more until next Friday :(  


Here's a picture just before I went to the hospital...It's kinda ugly.... I had a friend take it, with my phone, so I could compare the swelling....

So If I don't have it cut already...I won't be working on it.  And if it isn't a straight stitch it gonna have to be on hold... because I pretty much can't push down or hold onto anything to support it :(  But I will be sewing I know it.. You won't be able to keep me down!  


 Oh By the way...did I tell you that I am right handed.. Yeah.. this is so much fun... Mr Fantastic has chuckled at me a couple times trying to eat.. :)  Keeping a postitive attitude that all heals quickly.  


Till Next Time...


PS..this took the entire battery on my laptop to type with pretty much one hand :) *wink*

Craftsy CatchUp

Saturday, I was surfing online, I decided to take a closer look at the Craftsy Block of the Month… It looks like a fun BOM and another great way to learn some new techniques and refresh on some others.  You will make a total of 20 blocks, over the next year.  I figure it will be a fun way to make another sampler quilt, and I've noticed a few other bloggers participating and I thought I would join in the fun. *wink*

I am trying hard to use up some of my stash....So I decided that I would use  Kona white as my background and my primary color Batik fat quarters.  I have them stashed in a drawer and seem to only use them as Eye Candy.  It will be a good thing to cut‘em up and put'em in a quilt top. I may have to make a trip to the fabric store and add just a couple more for variety, I'd like to add a red and a yellow.

It didn't take too long to catch up, since it's just February.   In fact I got the January blocks done last night.  These Blocks use the Slash & Sew Technique.  FUN and care free... I enjoyed trying two new blocks and a fun new Wonky block to consider for the Wonky Bee I am participating in... Not sure yet if this is the one, but it was fun to make the block.

January Blocks : Asterisk's Block & Wonky Pound Sign.

And I finished the February blocks today ;)  The technique we are practicing for February is Half Square Triangles (HST for short)  I liked both techniques she showed us and I thought it would be good to share a tip that I use when doing the Draw-A-Line technique. 

If you haven't added some 150 Grit Sandpaper to your sewing notions...You should...It's great to have when doing HST's.  Place the fabric on top and it doesn't shift at all when drawing the line on it.   Just a cheap-easy way to make life easier when doing a lot of HST's.  

Here's the February Blocks :  Balkan Puzzle Block & Chunky Chevron Block 

All Four together...they are super bright...unfortunately 

I may have to retake these pictures tomorrow during the day… 

The camera didn’t do them justice at this time of night L   

On a side note... I took Jasmine to the Dog park today so she could work off some energy.  Boy she played hard and then found this stick and wanted nothing to do with the other dogs...unless they were chasing her for the stick...This stick apparently was a very Tasty Stick *Giggle*  

Here she is after she got home from Park and had a bath to 

get all cleaned up... Think she burned off enough energy...

{at least for a couple hours...haha}

Till Next Time....

FNSI 2.17.12

My Friday Night Sew In was so relaxing after this past week.  After visiting with sick hubby till he fell back to sleep.  I snuck off to the sewing cave and started to work on my Farmer's Wife Sampler Blocks.  I worked out 8 new blocks.  It took me awhile, and it was probably a good thing.  I didn’t want to wake the poor guy sleeping in the other room with the sewing machine going right away. *wink*  But, I knew once he was a sleep for a bit, he wouldn’t hear a thing…that’s when I got busy. *grin*

 I can’t tell you how much fun it is to dig around in my scraps and find fun fabrics that I haven’t seen for a bit.  These little blocks are very addicting and I will probably work on some more today.  

 I know I have mentioned it before in previous posts, but I have to do it again…..The Design boards that I made earlier are AWESOME!!  They make it Super Easy.  I am able to lay the blocks out and then stack them up in a pile, and move right on over to the sewing machine.  Keeps them all together, and I don't worry about what step is next.   {in case you don't remember where I said you can find them...head over to Bee in my Bonnet.....Click here for Link}

So here are my New Cherished Nature blocks to add to the collection….

Churn Dash, Bow Tie, Contrary Wife & Bat Wing

And Here are my Scrappy Blocks to add to that collection… {have to say...my Bat Wing isn't my favorite in this group...was trying for a Bat flying at night..not so much...but I am sure when they are all together..won't even notice it.  *giggle*}

Contrary Wife, Churn Dash, Bow Tie & Bat Wing

What did you get finished during your Friday Night Sew In??? Make sure you head over to Heidi’s and check in with all the other FNSI participants!  I know I had a blast getting a bit of progress done my FWS project..and I look forward to the next FNSI.

Till Next Time….

Voting Time and February FNSI

Well I entered my Valentine's Quilt over at the Quilting Gallery.   It's for their weekly contest.   If you get a chance to stop by...Check out all the great Valentine quilts...and if you want... Vote for B'Lovely.  *WINK*      Have a great Friday.... I am hoping my weekend is better than my week....  Click HERE to go to Voting :) 

Here on the homefront it's been a tough week...haven't been able to sew....poor Mr Fantastic has been sick most of the week...finally went to the DR yesterday and they told him he had Pneumonia.  He has these coughing fits that are just horrible...poor guy... DR didn't believe him at first, but after the x-rays their story changed.  Keep him in your thoughts.  Hopefully the new medicine they gave him starts to help quickly!!


Tonight is Friday Night Sew In, so I'll be working on cutting up some New FWS blocks and getting my Lemons squares all pieced together hopefully...That's the goal...I need to relax after this week...Hopefully hubby falls asleep and can get some much needed rest.  Poor Guy.. Check out all the other participate's over at Heidi's.


Till Next Time.....

How Cool is that....

I'm sew very EXCITED and Honored!!!  They used my tutorial over at:

The pegboard that I made for storing my unruly rulers is featured in the Learning Center . 

 How COOL is that…. Now I don't want to take credit for the whole idea…I saw something similar on a different blog, but can’t remember the name. 
 I wish I could give credit to that person too.  I see so many wonderful ideas online, and love that we all share. 

I did a tutorial post on how I made mine and you can find it here ->> CLICK HERE.   When Quilting Gallery emailed me to ask if they could use my post, I was quite honored. 

It’s great that we share ideas online and I am so greatful for all the support we give each other.  

Make sure you check out all the other great Ideas over at Quilting Gallery.  I know there is a Pizza box Idea for Storing Projects that I am all over.. I thought HOW COOL is that!! 

Till next time.. Happy Quilting!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Love is in the Air today!  

Wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day

I am so happy to announce I figured out how to make a BLOG Button!!  
WHoo Hoo... 
You can grab my "Quilt Monster in my Closet" Button anytime...
 Code located in the Right margin under picture.--->>>

I couldn't resist this image when I saw it  

Did a little coloring to personalize it

 & 
Some Serious pounding my head against the WALL!  
But I got it.  
Let me know if you have any problems.

Happy Quilting....
Lots of Valentine's LOVE to you ALL

-Christine L

4G ~ Lemons & Wonky-bits

This morning we finished up our weekend errands and while driving home, Mr Fantastic says “Hey, let’s stop by the cell phone store and find out if we are eligible for our upgrades, yet.”  (He has been totally bummed, because he didn’t get a smartphone last time and wishes he had)  So we check in and yes we are eligible for a discounted upgrade.. AND they just happen to have a special, Buy one 4G phone  & get a second one FREE!   WOW and we still get the discounted upgrade price on phone..Whoo Hoo... So we both end up with NEW phones for Valentine’s Presents… Just a bit EARLY.. HEHE.

I got a really cool RED cover for mine, Mr Fantastic picked black for his {of course}.   So....after playing with my phone until the battery died..... just so ya know.....I had to...…the guy at the Store said.... it was important to completely drain and then Recharge the battery…. I swear! *GIGGLE*.  After putting the phone on the charger, off to the sewing cave I went.

A weekend goal has been to finish up my last few Lemon Square Blocks from
 Fresh Lemons Quilts.

I finished them today and laid them out in the front yard... I made enough to go 6 across and 9 rows.  Each block is 9.5 inches unfinished.. So this will be a great size finished at about 54 x 81 before any borders, if any.  J  I loved seeing them all laid out and now I look forward to sewing the rows together.

{no space in my house big enough - I am just glad it wasn’t raining}  

 O000h and I have to share this one picture that I took at my SIL's house last night. For all those that are following along on our Wonky Bee Journey.  Aren't THESE AMAZING??  She is super excited to put this together.   I think she is just waiting for four more blocks.  

 I can't wait to see it finished!  I still don't have any idea what I am going to do for my Month.. I feel like I am at a restaurant with WAY to many favorite items to choose from on the menu...I have until December to decide so hopefully I can make up my mind by then.... HAHAha.  J

Till Next Time...I am linking up over at Judy's... Lemons are on my Design Lawn...*giggle*  hahaha.. Make sure you check out all the other Design Walls...

A Sewing Saturday...

Well I have been busy sewing today… Yesterday I told you all that I was joined a the Farmer’s Wife Groups and start on my own quilt.  Well after shuffling through my stash this morning,  I found I had enough of a specific fabric line to make a very pretty color coordinated quilt,  but I also still want to do the scrappy quilt.  SO I am going to make TWO.. I figure if I am going to do this - I know I will not want to go thru the process again later if I really like how the first quilt turned out…So… WHY NOT… I will just make TWO of each block..one literally from my Scraps.. and the other from a line of fabrics by MODA called Cherished Nature.  I bought a kit as a gift for someone that had this fabric in it and then went a different direction for that person…I also had bought a fat quarter of the whole line to use in a previous BOM, that went bust… So I have quite a bit of fabric in that line up.  It will be PERFECT.   Here are my first 3 or should I say 6 blocks…I am posting pictures in the groups I joined so you can see close ups if you'd like :)

My Cherished Nature versions of Autumn Tints, Basket Weave & Attic Window  

My Scrappy versions of Basket Weave, Autumn Tints, & Attic Window

I also worked today on my Lemon Square blocks.. I have just 6 left to finish and they’ll be layed out for your viewing pleasure ;)  More than likelly I will post about it tomorrow :)  I am excited to see how this quilt is going to look all layed out.  I ran into a problem and ran out of background white.  I went back to the store..they had something so I bought it, but I was a little disappointed in the quality..I didn't notice it until I got home... So will have to see how it goes..  {Pix to be posted Soon}

And after seeing all the great posts from my Fellow Wonky Bee members.. I had to get Jodi’s block done today too.  *wink.  I had a little 4 inch block left over & am mailing it back to Jodi..she might be able to use it on the back of her quilt.  Her colors were so bright and cheerful.. I had fun working on this one :)

I should have rotated the fabric so the kitty wasn't upside down.. Oops!

Hope you are all having a WONDERFUL Saturday.  I am off to Georgia’s house for dinner and playing some cards.  Should be a great time.  I am taking my camera to sneak some pictures of her Wonky Triangles   ;)

Till Next Time….

Farming with the Best

Well I am going to jump in and join the masses, and start a Farmer’s Wife Quilt.  I have been watching this quilt from the back of the room for a while and doing little things to get ready to start it.  I bought the book around Christmas time and  printed off the templates.  I even laminated all of them, so they are ready for when I start.

 I made these awesome mini design boards that will help me keep the blocks organized and have up to 8 blocks ready to sew at one time.…I found the instructions over at Bee in my Bonnet..I have already used these mini-boards for some other projects.  I love them! 

My main hold up has been fabric choices....I originally  thought it would be great to go buy fabric specifically for this quilt, but as I stood in the fabric store last night, I just couldn’t decide on something specific, there are too many choices and I just started to stack fabric up in piles with no real plan.  Then I started thinking to myself --- I should be using my favorite stash fabrics and make this a real sampler… So here we go Stash Busting is the name of this game.  I joined the Flickr and Yahoo Groups which offers tons of support…Plus I have all of you, which is the best! 

Cheers to all the Farmer’s Wives out there!  I have pretty much always been a city girl or a girl from the suburbs..hehe, and I admire those that live a farming life (I have cousins in Michigan that run cattle farms, so a little familiar, but never lived the life).  I look forward to reading the stories from yester-years,  and putting the blocks together, I am going to start small and work with a goal of 3-6 blocks a month.. I figure that will keep me motivated, but not overwhelmed.  We’ll see how it goes..maybe more - maybe less.. :)  If any of you would like to join me.. You are more than welcome to start with me, we can share our stories with each other.  I know that Sunni, over at Love Affair with my Brother has also started hers.. She kinda helped kick me in the bum to get started :)   I say Join us... The More the Merrier :)     

Till Next Time..

Sunshine, Pups, & Love

This weekend was wonderfully sunny & fun filled.  We kicked it off with a Friday night out with some dear friends at an Italian restaurant…Casa Mia’s

 Good Food ~ Good Times ~ Good Friends ~ Always Wonderful…Yum-O.

Not my actual Calzone, but looks just as good as the real thing did :)

 Saturday we took our pup to a Boxer Meetup…There’s an online site that puts different groups of people together.  You can check it out at http://www.meetup.com/ .  We were excited to find a Wonderful group of fellow Boxer Owners to chat with and learn about the breed..  There were over 15 boxers...and Jasmine played with them ALL... It was such fun to watch boxers boxing as they do with each other..  They also talk alot while their playing and other dogs don’t know what to do… Pretty sure she had a blast...she had tons of dreams when she was home sleeping... *giggle*

Jasmine & Tyson are cheek to cheek wrestling...
These two played GREAT together.

Sunday was all about sunshine, relaxing and a little sewing.  I worked a bit on my flowerbeds, so I could enjoy some more of the sunshine.   Mr Fantastic enjoyed the Superbowl.  I watched a few of the commercials.. I have to admit I really loved  the Betty White for "the Voice" and Matthew Broderick for Honda commericals.

While Mr Fantastic watched the Game,   I started on a Table Runner for my dining room table.  This one will be for Valentine's Day :)   I just LOVE it.  I found this Kit at an online Quilt shop that was at the NW Quilt Show last Fall.  The shop is called  The Quilted B.  (Click on name for link)  It's a wonderful online shop, I definitely recommend checking it out. Barb has some Wonderful kits ready to sew together.  This little beauty is called "B'Lovely Heart Runner". 

I hand blanket-stitched around the hearts during those commercials 
Didn't quite get it finished on Sunday...

 I did Free Motion Hearts on the background and stippled the main border.  S~I~L and I decided to take a sewing vacation day, as her boys had today off from school and I can't resist a day to sew.   I think it turned out Adorable.  She had the extra buttons to set it off.  It looks perfect on my table ;)

Finished size is 15 x 29

Linked this to Finish it Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts,  since it's a great Valentine's Project finished this week, and to Judy's since it was on my Design Wall Monday... Make sure you check out all the great finishes and design walls.

Need your input

Okay..my head is spinning... I could use any & all of your help.  I am starting to do my research for a New Quilting machine and Frame.  I have an old Kenmore machine (Kenny) that I can't part with.  He's great for piecing...but Quilting anything other than a mini or baby quilt, and I get sore and frustrated..   I am seriously investigating all mid-arm & long arm quilting machines and Frames.  I've been online for about 3 hours now and there are just TOO many choices.  My DH is fearful of me taking over the house, and I probably will.. haha, but he sees and hears how frustrated I get and isn't completely opposing the idea.  I just have to find a great price and a good machine.. I have never been a "have to have the top of the line kinda gal", but I do want a good quality machine.   If you have any suggestions for me, I'd appreciate hearing them.  I'd love to hear the pros and cons of all the different types of home systems that you have and or heard about..  Thank you for taking the time to comment in advance.  I appreciate it very much!!

Wellness Day

First I have to say that I can't believe that February is already Here...January flew by!  Rumor has it, in case you haven't heard... the Ground hog saw his shadow, so we are suppose to have 6 more weeks of winter... but today was beautiful!  I had a couple different Dr appointments to go to today, so yesterday,  I decided I  would take the whole day instead of a half day off from work.   Boy did I ever get Lucky… The sun has shined ALL DAY… My first Dr told me to enjoy my day when I was leaving… he calls a day like today a wellness day and he is a firm believer in them.  He told me that after all the stress I put myself thru with my testing and the overtime..it is a well deserved day to relax and enjoy with nothing on the agenda... So...after my first appt, I took the pup and the camera down to one of our Waterfront parks.  We checked out a new section they have been working on, it’s a tribute to the Chinese immigrants that helped build our town back in the 1800’s.  The finished parts are just beautiful.  Here are a few pictures that I took along the walking trails that are accessible.

There are several rocks that are engraved like this along the trails, 

very neat idea and creates a welcoming walk.

I love how they used square rocks to set off this walking bridge 

 along the parks water edge.  I bet there will be quite a 

few wedding pictures taken here.  It's a perfect spot.

 A really neat Chinese Structure is in the Center of the park...

I took a close up of the roofline. 

 There is some pretty neat details that have gone into the structure.

Then I was off to my second Dr appt…Low and behold I have been advised to get reading glasses…Wouldn’t ya know it.  

Probably too much blog reading and sewing.  

Oh well…I knew it was coming J  I’ll look for some really super cute ones.

When I got home from all my appointments.. I could not resist finishing up a bit of sewing. J  I had the Patriotic quilt almost finished so I decided to get it done.  

I quilted it last night..so today was just binding and pictures.  

 I LOVE how the quilting turned out...you can really see it on the backside.

  Tooting my horn when I say I am feeling better everyday about my free-motion quilting.  I practiced on a sheet of paper first, then tackled the quilt on the sewing machine.   Not perfect, but will work for this fun mini.   

Will be a fun table centerpiece on my round dining room when July gets here ;) 

Well that’s how my day went today… Before I head off to hide a bit in my sewing cave and see what I can find to work on for this weekend, I will share just a few more pictures from the day with you...I hope you all are having a wonderful week.  Let me know what you’ve been up to ;)

Some very cute ducks were swimming along the water's edge...along with

a Kayak-er enjoying the beautiful Day out on the water....

And my crazy pup Jasmine trying to see everything going on 

from the top of the logs ;)  She is too funny!!

Till Next Time.....