What a great way to spend the weekend!

I'm Saturday night and Sunday morning get pretty serious..... Lol.  Actually we just get a little (and I mean little) quieter because we literally put the pedal to the medal because I wonderful weekend is about to end!!

This is Heidi way of being prepared for the next day's activities....me... Not so much.... But I do see my water bottle waiting for me!!

I went to bed on Saturday night before Melody and I see I missed some sewing!!  Check out her Lone Star!!!  What's more impressive is she is SMILING and doing a lone star..... I don't think I'd be smiling!!!

Here's what she has completed so far on this project....

Phenomenal!!!!   I can't wait to see this one completed!!

I ended up sewing a bigger than a 1/4 " seam.... Which really means.... When you have sewn too many that way and you don't feel like ripping out:  you cut more, sew correctly, and then figure out a plan for the wrong blocks!!

I'm happy....2 for price of making a mistake!!!  I quilt sewing on Sunday when I got to here:

Not enough to start a new project.... Lol

So I decided to snap my last minute pictures and start packing it up.

Mom(left), Aunt Martha (middle) and Arlene sewing and chatting!!  These ladies won't see each other til May and they make every minute count!!

What's going on in the kitchen??  MacGyver aka Hedi was busy making me a "travel case" for the last of the Boston Cream Poke cake:

Who wants the last of the pretz dessert??

Finally it was time to head down the road and lock the wonderful memories in our brains and then start thinking about May.... Our next retreat!!

At last count:  22 completed projects, 5 projects started, over 22 bobbins emptied, lots of great meals, and more laugh than could be counted!!!!

Check out my Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/tadaquilting to see all the projects we completed!!

Happy Sewing!

Jill

Happy 4th of July!!

I don't know what it's like where you are at, but here in Erie PA it's a beautiful sunny day!

Today there is a Fourth of July parade, YIPPEEE!! because it goes right past the studio!

So I got up early and make sure that my parking spaces at my studio were still available....

It was before 8 AM but people were already steaking out their spots to watch the parade!!

The parade begins with the lighting of the Canon we could hear it blocks away!! 

Eventually  it got down to the studio and made it's loud boom we knew the fun was just beginning!!

Melody brought the treats with her! She made these French toast balls they were  so yummy this morning! 

And then when it got close to the noon we had pepperoni and cheese roll ups! Yummy! 

We were all set for the day. what fun the parade was to watch from the steps of the Studio!

 Of course while we were standing outside we made good time inside by quilting a frozen quilt!!

One float in the parade had the frozen characters on the side and Anna and Elsa chacters following the float!!  We got them to wave to us.... We were holding up the quilt LOL!

So many wonderful bands, floats, and entertainment for this parade! 

The weather was gorgeous but a little too hot so I had to duck inside for a little bit so I didn't get sunburned. I took advantage of it because my treadle sits in the window, so I sewed ANDY watch the parade. Now, that to me is a perfect day!

Hope you all have a safe and happy weekend!!

Happy Sewing,

Jill 

Take time to smell the roses or....

I guess in this case:  take time to pick the berries!!

I was reading Bonnie Hunter's blog..... Www.quiltville.bligspot.com...

Side note..... If you aren't a Quiltvillle fan or haven't experienced it.... Go check it out and see what the other 67 thousand plus people love!!  Bonnie is a phenomenal speaker and teacher!!  (And duet singer.... But what goes on in the Studio.... Stays in the Studio.... Hehe)

Ok back to the post 

She was posting yesterday about her day up in the Blue Ridge Mountains.... I love being outdoors and decided to take my dog for a walk.  

On my walk I discovered a black berry bush and remembered  I have one in my back yard!!

Upon returning I grabbed a bowl and wet grass and all wondered my yard!!

Not quite ready... Keep looking 

Jackpot.... As I looked around they were everywhere!!

I picked as much as I could eat throughput today besides I heard some birds squawking and figured I was ruining their gourmet dinner plans!!

 

Since I hadn't been in the back yard lately, I decided to take the long way back to the house....  Which is an extra 100 steps or so.... But whose counting.

My Day Lilies are in bloom!!

I love these little beauties!

Same with these!!

My back yard brings me peace and reminds me to stop and smell the roses or whatever you have growing!!

Then it's time to get silly.....

My dog butt coat hangers are still making me laugh!!

Life's to short....I try hard to enjoy each moment!!!

Happy sewing!!!

Jill

Barn Quilt Anyone......

The Hands All Around Erie quilt guild had a class with Suzi Parron, author of Barn Quilts and the American Trail.

It started out with a presentation at our guild meeting.  I had signed up for the class becaused it sounded interesting but after Suzi's presentation.... I was excited!!

Next day was our class.  Didn't hurt that they decided to have it down on the Peninsula!!  Being near the water on a beautiful sunny day set the mood!!  (We won't talk about the frog drowning rain that happened in the morning!!)

Suzi started out with a little instruction but before long we were creating our own Barn Quilt.

Lots of happy chatter was going on as we made progress on our own projects and checked out our neighbors progress!!

After we drew out our pattern and taped off our area.... It was painting time!!!

A few of us went outside to "fan" our block to get the first coat to dry.   

More painting and taping and in no time at all we really got a lot accomplished!!

Talk about time flying.... Before we knew it.... Our class was over and for the most part almost everyone was done or just had a little but left!!

Look at all the beautiful Barn Quilts that will be hung in Erie County!! 

Here's a clever idea....this one has an alternative plan.... This was made to accompany a quilt and will be part of a bedroom decorations... How cool is that!!

Me.... I decided to do my logo .... card tricks and by the time I got done... I changed the coloring a little bit and chose "manatee" as my background color. Manatee is a solid color from Freespirit fabrics that my bestie and I bough a gazillion yards of.... So it seemed appropriate to use gray for mine!!

Side note:  I'm the one who put the tape on the wrong side of the line and for a minute couldn't figure out why my block looked funny..... Suzi said someone would do it..... Anyone surprised it was me??

I walked away with not only a finished project but a new friend, lots of great memories and a ton of new ideas!!

Happy Sewing (or painting)!!!

Jill 

What do you get when you add.....

6 women, several bags of Harley Shirts, and a really rainy Sunday......

Besides a great day of giggling and sharing.......(reveal at the end)

The six of us were women on a mission today!!!  When Carla asked for fund raising ideas at a LOH (Ladies of Harley) a few months back ..... I believe Jackie suggested making a quilt.   That idea took off!!!  

They contacted me, and I was all for it!!!  Carla and I figured we'd need about 6 people to make it happen.... That was easy..... Jackie, Valerie, Sandy, and Linda jumped right in to help.....

Ok.... We have a team.... But to make a T-shirt quilt we need shirts!  

Side note.... Erie's H.O.G. chapter is the most generous group of people I have ever met!!!  I've seen that group reach in their pockets and donate $300 in half hour for a good cause!!

 Carla announced the idea at our monthly meeting and asked members to donate old shirts.

Susan and Kelly Lapping, owners of the dealership, graciously donated a gift certificate so that for every shirt turned in they got a chance to win the gift certificate!  Susan and Kelly are so supportive of this group and are a great asset to the Erie area!

Before we knew it.....over 70 shirts were donated!!!!

So we started at 8am....
First up.... Rough cutting the shirts

Next up.... Ironing on the interfacing and then I squared them to 16"

I handed them off to Carla (left) and Linda (right) and they started laying them out on the design wall.

First goal..... Get them all to the final size before going to lunch.....goal met!!!  We went to lunch around 1 - it actually stopped raining long enough for us to get to the restaurant and back!!  Thank you Mother Nature.     

(L-R: Carla, Linda, Valerie, me, Jackie, Sandy)

We had lunch and giggled more!  It was so nice to sit and share with these ladies!!!  But .... What goes on at the Studio.... Stays at the Studio. But if you ever get the chance ask Carla how her and husband got together do...it's a great story!! 

The funniest part of the lunch was we realized that our husbands all go to lunch together a few times a week at this restaurant....I know we have more fun at lunch than they do! Great guys but as we talked about them it's funny how we did our imitations of our spouses.... But again what goes on at lunch stays at lunch... Hehe

Ok back to work.....

In no time at all we had them all layed

 out!

Thumbs up but everyone.

Sandy and I took to sewing the quilt together while the others straighten up and got the remaing shirts in order for the next quilt!!

Before we knew it...we were down to the last seam. Carla and I helped guide this quilt so Sandy could sew. 

 Big quilt!!!

We all said.... Of course.... TA DA....

The proceeds of this effort will go to The Sisters of Saint Joseph's. 

Thanks ladies for a great day!!!  What an awesome team - one 110" x 110" quilt started at 8am and the above picture was taken before 5pm!!  I loved working with these ladies today!!  Beautiful inside and out!!!

I'm back home and going to work ony hexies for a little bit!

Happy Sewing!!

Jill

Remember the whole one a day ....

I remember..... Wasn't I going to make one hexie s day -which ends up being 1 "flower" a week..... One year.... A boat load of hexie flowers..... AGAIN.... Kids stay in school and learn your math....  You will need to learn the sewing equivalent of a "boat load"!!

Anyways..... If I felt like looking I believe I would find about 4-5 months worth of hexie flowers.  But if I take time to look.... I'll find something else I miss placed and not come up with a single flower..... So I decided my time would be better spent kicking out this quick blog and creating more hexies!!

I have some triangle paper to English paper piece but I'm really trying not to start a new project!!

But I got this great book from my secret pal last year..... Cheryl was a great secret pal!!!  I got all sorts of neat stuff!!!  One of my favorites besides this book.....

    Was my Harley Build A Bear.... Complete with his own motorcycle!!!

   Just have to add.... I knew exactly where those two items were.... Now if I could only find my wool appliqué blocks....maybe I should look for my hexie flowers..... Lol

Ok.... Back to my hexies.... I have some catching up to do!!

Happy Sewing!!

Jill

Privileges of having a Bestie........

I hope everyone has a Bestie...but ya can't have mine!

My best friend Melody is a true godsend.  She is the one who talks me off the ledge, understands what I'm saying when I don't, she drives over to my studio to pick something up and I don't have it at the studio. Does she complain, does she look angry, no she just smiles, we laugh and away she goes! Side note:I did find the item at my house, and I did get it to her through my husband then through her daughter LOL. 

 None the less -  it did get delivered LOL but not as easy as it would have been if I would of just remembered to throw it in my bag (which I thought I had done)  LOL.

 She is caring, she shares, she has a beautiful heart and I could go on and on....but I'm sure by now I won't be able to "live" with her anymore because her head is probably to big to get through the door.

I do have to note, that having a Bestie doesn't mean that it's a one way street.... You need to be a bestie back!!  That is the beauty of this friendship....we both care and give whenever the other needs it!!   Who else but a bestie would drive to Baltimore and back to help her daughter pick up a pinball machine??

I do my share of lending my ear when she needs it ..... Actually we are both very guilty of long venting sessions that we both just listen to the other and say "yup,  ah huh, oh my etc".

We both agree with each other when we just NEED someone to agree with us.  But we can be very honest and bring the other back to reality!!   Some of us need to be brought back into reality more than others.......

We decided that we would not go as far as to give each other the shirt off our backs...... because nobody wants to see either one of us walking around without a shirt LOL. But we will freely give each other fabric that is needed from our stash to complete a project!!

Being a bestie gives you the privilege to share your world with someone who's got your back!  Sometimes (hopefully not often) it's sharing the bad/hardships of life but mostly it's sharing all the good of your life with them!!   

One of our traditions is to sew on Memorial Day!  This year we were women on a mission..... I got two of her quilts quilted this weekend.  

She had two small projects she wanted to get quilted but didn't want to do them on her domestic machine. So we loaded them up on the long arm and with a few instructions away she went! 

After we were done downstairs, we headed to the classroom.  My friend Sandy Rosenthal designed a row for me to use in this years Row By Row Experience.  Time to test cut and sew a sample!!  

 I cut a kit and then sub cut the pieces and Melly sewed the pieces!!  We did lots of math yesterday..... Side note: "Stay in school kids.... You WILL use/need those math skills more than you will ever know!!!!"

Once that was completed we moved on to me helping her with piecing her backs so that her longarmer (me) won't be mad cuz it's too small again!  But I don't get mad...I, like her, just smile, laugh, and move on. 

Shew .... Great day with lots accomplished!!

Here's to all the Besties out there!!!!  

True definition of a Bestie.....When you can roll your eyes at your bestie in front of them and they don't get mad....they laugh because they just realized what just came out of their mouth deserved an eye rolling!!  We both have done that to each other!!!   

Happy Sewing!

Jill