Give away.....

Nope, not me but check out John at QuiltDad. He made some beautiful bags that he is giving away with goodies. Today is the last day to leave a comment before he pulls the numbers.

Finally got a break in the weather and the humid and hot weather is gone for now. It just gets too hot for me to want to do anything ..... I think we may need to think about getting an A/C for the downstairs if I am going to be home in the summer since I really can not stand the heat. Thank goodness it doesn't get that way too often. Have to hit the gym today and then 'hope' to cut and begin sewing some valances for the living room during Aidan's nap this afternoon.... of course I also need to weed the neglected flower beds and the garden..... it will be a busy day so I best get dressed and get started! Have a great day everyone.
Oh - here is a picture of Aidan this morning - he finally smiles for my camera.


Deb

Machine quilting!

Well, I finally tried it and this is the result. Not great, but I think it is pretty good for a first try!

Top completed!!!!!

I finally got all the borders onto the quilt and the top is completed, despite the 'help' from Maxie!
Now my plan is to hand quilt it (67x89) and I hope to have it completed for Christmas. We'll see how I do. I sewed two placemats yesterday out of the blueberry fabric I got at the VQF....and forgot how to layer for the quick turn method so had to rip all the seams out of one and redo it. Closed them up last night and just need to 'play' with some free motion quilting....will wait until later tonight for that and hopefully it cools down a bit so I can put a fan in the window and cool it down to a comfortable level in the sewing room. After that, I really need to quilt a couple of Aidan's quilts since he is rolling over and will start creeping soon. Better to spit up on them than the carpeting....
I hit Joanns sale today and got a 40 yard roll of the warm and natural batting. It was such a good price with the extra 10% off. I figured it would last me a while and it won't go to waste.
So far, 5 hours of 'crafting' this month!

Nothing quilty...

Aidan and I went out to my parents camp yesterday and he had his first pontoon boat ride! It was so exciting..... he fell asleep and had a good 30 minute nap on the boat! It was a beautiful sunny summer day. Not too hot, and not too cold. Perfect weather. He got a little overtired last night so Daddy got to bring him for a quick car ride to get him to sleep.
Today - lots of errands to run and I really need to go outside and water the wildflower seeds and care for some of the flowers that need dead heading. Then it is gym time, drug store, groceries and a Costco trip to pick up things for the 4th of July celebrations on Friday. We'll be going out to camp with the rest of my family and some of my sisters friends. It will be a house full... probably close to 25-30 people. I will enjoy the time out there but will be very happy to get home Friday night to a 'quiet' house.
No real plans for the weekend other than working outside in the gardens to weed and maybe add some new plants for color. My goal is to try and sew or do something in the craft room for 30 minutes a day.... we'll see how I do! I am inspired by the JJM challenge that is going on in July. It will be interesting to see all that they get done this month.
Ok, off to shower while Aidan is napping so I can get going this morning.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!

Vermont Quilt Festival!!!

Saturday started out with us going out to breakfast with the baby. He did great and we both got to eat our breakfast while it was hot, no crying at all! I think we might be able to work up to eating out for dinner sometime!!! I remembered on the way home that the quilt festival was this weekend in Essex at the fairgrounds (about 30 minutes from us) and I mentioned it to DH. He said, 'go ahead if you want and I'll stay home with Aidan'.... well, don't have to tell me that twice. As I was walking out the door that morning he said, 'see you tonight'! Gotta love a hubby who says things like that.
I had a great time walking through and seeing all the quilts and vendors. I even bumped into a few guild members at the show. Two had won ribbons, my friend Joanna's Mom and our past president of the guild. I did not get pictures of their quilts but they were stunning. Here are a few of the pictures I snapped at the Vermont Quilt Festival.














Can't go to a show without making some purchases.... so I got a FQ bundle of civil war prints, some blueberry fabric for placemats, some needles for hand quilting, quilting thread, and a thimble.

Sunday I 'had' to stop at Joanns before getting groceries to see if there was any fabric I liked for curtains in the living room. This has been an ongoing task for a few months and I can never find anything I like at the various stores in the area. Until, today! I finally found something that I like, so that will be made into some summer valances for living room and possibly my sewing room. I also found a possible fabric for curtains for the den, so will go back next week with the other coupon and pick up some material for that.

charity quilt

Here is the charity quilt I put together over the last couple of weeks. Just got the borders on yesterday and now need to machine quilt it. Will probably just do a basic quilt in the ditch on this one. I would not have chosen some of these fabrics to go together, but that is what I was given. I should have this one done by the end of the month, and can turn it in at the September guild meeting. I also have one set of borders on DH's quilt. I'll take a picture once I get the flying geese border on...hopefully sometime next week. I am thinking I will hand quilt that one and maybe he'll get it for Christmas.....just not sure how I want to finish it! It will be a twin size quilt, big enough to cover him while curled up on the couch.

Happy quilting everyone and good luck on all the challenges going on in blogland! I actually got to sew for an hour yesterday! I am hoping for the same today while Aidan is napping.....

Reading but no comments...

I have been reading everyone's blogs (just this morning as company is gone!) but am unable to comment. I'll keep trying but for some reason I am now unable to see the visualization part so can't type it in. This has happened to me before and seems to fix itself eventually...

I haven't been on lately since it has been a busy week. Sunday was my parents 45th wedding anniversary, my nephew's 16th birthday and Fathers Day. We had the whole immediate family (21 of us total)out to my parents camp for the day to celebrate. Aidan got a little overwhelmed (who wouldn't!) but was pretty good taking his naps and DH and I even got to go out kayaking by ourselves!!! That was a treat. Monday, my FIL and his girlfriend arrived from Florida and just left this morning. It was the first time they had seen Aidan and was a real treat to have them come up and spend some time with us. We hope they can come back soon. Today is trying to clean up the house a bit, change out the guest bedroom, and clear off counters and try to get rid of the ants that think they were invited to live with us! Tomorrow we have company again - a friend of mine from NY is driving over for the weekend with her two kids (ages 5 and 3) to see us. They get to meet Aidan tomorrow! Saturday is the cancer walk with my other friend Kelly... so I'll pop over there Saturday afternoon with Aidan to make our laps around the track for a couple of hours.
Next week.... I've decided it will be sewing time for me! Now I just need Aidan to cooperate for me, but he is getting better at entertaining himself so I think I can put him in the sewing room with me while I get some sewing done. Oh - he had his 4 month checkup last Friday and is a real chunker of a boy! 16 pounds and 9 ounces and 26 1/2 inches long. No wonder my arms hurt while lugging him in the carrier! He is in the 90% for both height and weight so he is a big boy. He'll be taller than Mommy soon (5 feet 3 inches). Here is a picture from his Sears photo shoot on May 28th. He did great with lots of smiles.

And last night on the floor with daddy...



I did sew together a charity quilt last week and just have to put the borders on. I'll try to do that later today and will post a picture at that point.
Happy sewing everyone.
Deb