Quilty weekend wrap-up/quilt-a-thon recap

Well, on Friday I stated that I wanted to sew a little each day - here is what transpired:

I pulled a UFO out & my cat immediately took up residence in the bag.
This is the UFO:
A faux log cabin...
What I accomplished Friday Night:

Do you see the "twosies" those got sewn "wrong" (that is why I usually stick to squares - no sewing them together wrong.)
So I decided to make 2 thimble doll quilts instead of ripping out all of those seams.
Here is one:

My Saturday accomplishment before pressing and borders.
On Sunday I worked on the one with the thimbles going the other way.

So I met my goal of doing a bit of sewing, exercising, & cleaning every day over the weekend.

Here's too keeping it up! (HA! HA! HA!)

The non-quilty weekend wrap-up

1. I met all of my goals. (the house could have been cleaner, but it is amazing what the reomval of a bunch of papers & a good floor cleaning can do.)

2. We went to the Civil War archeology site. Blockhouse Point. If you were expecting Gettysburg, you would have been disappointed...

The blockhouse was only an earthen structure that the archaeologists think was only used for about 3.5 months during the Civil War & it was burnt down by Col. Mosby on July 12, 1864 - so what we saw was what was left to the elements for 140+ years.

It was shaped like a Greek Cross & in real life you could make out that shape, but it did not photograph well.
Here it is on the Surveyors map:

One corner in real life:


We also saw the excavation of the camp used by the 19th Mass. Co. D. in the winter of 1861-62 while they built the blockhouse (s) They built 3 total - one has been completely obliterated & the other is on Federal Land.

& some relics found at that site (This location was purchased by the county in the 1970's - so there was a good amount of time for metal detectors to remove some items previously.)


& we went to an overlook of the Potomac River:


All told it was about 2 miles worth of hiking. (My official exercise for Saturday.)

We also stopped at Lock 23 on the C&O canal (Did you know that the C&O canal is the most visited National Park? I guess they count the people who hike on it every day each time they hike on it... & then there are the kayakers & bikers & tourists from out of town...)



While there we saw a Blue Heron!


On Sunday we went to get our CSA - beets, kale, cucumbers, summer squash, cherries, & potatoes. I plan on making the kale recipe that I shared last week - with sausage instead of chicken this time. & I plan on making a beet salad that I saw prepared on TV last night - that has apples mixed in with the roasted beets.

Then we went to get our Beef CSA & had to wait for a while, we arrived early & the butcher arrived late. Mr. Calico Cat & I walked for 20-25 minutes while waiting, then we went inside to wait in the A/C. We got 30lbs. that we are splitting 3 ways. We keep kosher in the home, so we only got cuts from the front of the cow... (But the butcher has a non-kosher subsidiary - so that he can sell the back end, so Libby when you are in town, you can get some organic grass fed beef.) The lady who came for her share had a 1 week old baby - you should have seen the cats checking her out! (Tentative dosen't begin to describe it & when the saw that they were being watched, they scurried along.)

Then my GF came over for the first time in a long time - between my school classes & her 2 jobs during the summer & the distance between us, we don't meet up very often. We did make it into the pool though - so I got some more official exercise! (We also had some wonderful crepes for lunch.)

I walked during lunch on Friday - for my exercise. I will walk again during lunch today - because the pool is closed on Monday.

It seems like we did so much more - I guess all of the cleaning spurts... Went through a pile of papers, removed books & sewing stuff from Studio B, moved laundry from Spot A to Spot B - hope to get the winter stuff into Spot C soon.

7 quirks

A. List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
B. Tag seven people to do the same.
C. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it."

Seven Habits/quirks/facts about me...hmmmm.

1. I told myself that I wan't going to do memes unless I was specifically tagged - Mamaspark tagged me so here I go. You can see her answers here.

2. Pregnancy has made me exercise - regularly (as in daily)!

3. Pregnancy has made me drink water - exclusively!

4. I hope to keep both of those up post pregnancy - water is sooooo much cheaper than soda!

5. I am actually kind of enjoying playing with "new to me" produce. So much so that I plan on making a beet salad that I saw on TEE VEE last night. (The beets did not get consumed last week - I waited too long.)

6. I set some goals for myself this past weekend & for the first time in a long time I achieved them!

7. I keep telling my boy cat that he will be my only boy baby...

Now for the tagging in no particular order:

1. Michael - at any of his blogs (because the quiz master must have some quirks!)
2. Jeanne - because the Spiral has been far to quiet
3. Mama Koch - because a farmer girl has to have some quirks - especially compared to a city slicker... (Or maybe just some baking secrets)
4. Julie - because she has been far to quiet as well.
5. Rian - so that people can follow the link to her "new" blog.
6. Ruth - because we have not hear much from Africa lately.
& last but not least
7. Deb - because she actually likes memes.

all kinds of stuff in 1 post

First photos from last weekends quilter's yard sale are up on Toni's blog.

Deborah has my paranoia in high gear... Was my husband right all along? Wait a minute - that technically would be "not wrong" all along.

My GF is coming over to my house on Sunday for the first time in a very long time - she works 2 jobs in the summer & lives on the other side of Baltimore... Anywho - she bought fabric for a quilt that she wants me to make - Billie Lauder's Faux Log Cabin. It is in the same state of undone that it was been in FOREVER!

Speaking of people coming over to my house on Sunday- perfect strangers are coming over to take a part of our share of the "CSA" beef. For my husband this is not big deal - for me, we need to clean. (I can only think of two people who I would not feel the need to clean for - these aren't those two people.)

Exercising in the pool. I have an aquajogger (only the waist belt - fits above the baby bump) - so I dip into the deep end & go in circles. Last night I got to the pool after 4, so the deep end was fairly shady. So I only put sun block on my face - I wear a cap to help as well. I did not put any on my shoulders - I kind of thought that I would wear the t-shirt in the pool - I didn't. While I am not BURNT I am a bit tender. I'll walk today during lunch - even though it is going to be hot as heck out... (That way I won't have to feel guilty if I skip the pool tonight. I plan to hit it on both Saturday & Sunday.)

Quiltathon this weekend - I wonder if I can participate? (Am I the only one who A. has too many blogs on her blog lines - unsorted & B. know what blog she wants to find, but can't find it? I am searching for Judy's Blog so that I can link to the quiltathon. Found it - Patchwork Times - not Judy's... or Sunshine Quilts... Oh well, maybe this is baby brain?)

Let's review - I need to clean, I need to exercise, I need to work on 2 doll quilts, I need to work on one big quilt, I need to pick up 2 CSA's, I want to go do this:

Civil War enthusiasts will be able to enjoy the first public tours of Blockhouse Point Conservation Park in Potomac , the home of an 1862 Civil War outpost camp and blockhouse. Visitors will take a two-mile hike to the camp site where Union soldiers stood guard to protect the Potomac River from Confederate troops. The site is important because it's one of the last remaining Civil War sites in the county that hasn't experienced disturbance."

& The cabin right near where I work will be open as well.
The one-room cabin on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda that was once the home of Josiah Henson, the slave whose 1849 autobiography inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Henson lived in the cabin from 1795 to 1825 before escaping to freedom in Canada .

Neither one of those items are things that you can do at any other time as they are closed to the public...

Cooking - Since I mentioned the CSA, I cooked the Kale last night. While I won't be buying it at the grocery store - it was pretty good - I had preconceived notions that it would be a lot more bitter... This is the recipe that I used:
Indian Spiced Kale & Chickpeas (I did not add the chick peas - we din't have any on hand & I wasn't running out to get any while I had 3 pots going on the stove. I also just used water intead of the stock. Oh & I used red curry powder & Garam Masala only - eyeballed the amounts.) I made basmati rice with this - I cooked the rice with a couple whole cloves & a small cinnamon stick. I made chicken breasts to round out the meal - I am married to a carnivore.

Tonight, we will have Bison steaks (Grilled on the George) and roasted beets, potatoes, & onions.

Review & Kind of a mental plan for myself.
Friday - Walk during lunch - sew a bit after work - clean a bit after work.
Saturday - clean a bit, sew a bit, go to the CW exhibit - the 2 miles can be the exercise (Remember the water this time) Clean some more if necessary.
Sunday - pick-up 2 CSA's, wait for the strangers (while sewing?) & my GF (Hopefully with some blocks for Show & tell) go to the pool, go out to eat.

Hey - I have written in exercise, cleaning & sewing into each day of my weekend.

Please remind me - often!

Back to our regularly scheduled programming

Yes, ladies & gentlemen, I sewed last night. All of my thimbles are sewn into pairs!

I finger pressed a few so that you can see what the quilt will kind of look like when it is finished.

As you may have guessed from the name "Thimble" the template is fairly tiny. The narrow end is less than an inch wide. Which is fine for scraps & especially doll quilts.

Aside: Once upon a time ago, I started to trim my Y2K charms into square squares - they were "off" to say the least as they arrived... Now I am toying with thimbling them - I probably won't but I am toying with the idea.

Speaking of scraps - it is worth to repeat that ALL of my 30's scraps are trimmed into thimbles or tumblers. (I have a few bigger pieces of cats & novelty's mostly. I love I Spy quilts & with my luck, as soon as I got rid of all of them, I would be in a swap with someone who wanted 30's - I am glad that I kept some batiks for that very reason.)

Argh

It is official, I am not getting all of my comments in my e-mail box - my personal method of reading & responding to comments. Therefore, I must appologise to several people...

I was thinking - yeah, some post do not resonate & so people do not comment... Chalk it up & chat about something else...

Then I got an e-mail comment that started "I agree with ____" - wait a minute - I did not get that message!

So I am now going back & reading my comments in the comments & seeing what I was missing. Including a completely new to be blogger/blog! GASP!

For the record, when I am typing a comment on someone elses blog, I rarely read what the other commentors have said... Should I be reading those as well?

Oh & I don't do so good with blogs where the blogger replies in comments as a comment - I just don't. (I don't usually go back, I go forward with what is being said now.)

Controversial Subjects

Who knew there were so many controversial subjects?

I'm not just talking about politics (but I am glad that my "ring" is politics free - because I am afraid of what I would type & how wishy-washy I would sound - but don't those in the race sound a bit wishy-washy themselves?)

I am also not talking about oil & alternative sources of energy...

Or ____________

Or ____________

Or ____________

Rather I am talking about Mommy stuff.
Here is a list off the top of my head of controversial Mommy stuff - feel free to add more in the comments section or in an e-mail - I need to be prepared - I am apparently going in to this Mommyhood thing a bit naievely...

V@g!n@l (don't want trollers to find something that they aren't looking for) vs. C- Section (planned - not emergengy)
V@g!n@l with or without an epidural
Bre@st or bottle
Cloth or Disposable diapers
Pacifier or not
bumper pad or not
co-sleeping or crib

Not unlike many other controversial subjects there are some seriously hard core opinions on these subjects! Most of which need to be made ASAP

I always knew that there were options, but I had no idea about the "You don't love your baby if you do or don't do 'x'" hardline stances of some of these "Mommies."

For example, my mother bre@st fed her two children - I am not sure if there was any discussion on the subject or not or whether she did it because "that is what you do" or not - meanwhile in the same decade, my husband & his brother were bottle fed... Does that say anything about either of our mothers? We both survived...

Just some drivvel from the ever sick Mommy of almost 1. (Who has made some decisions about the list above - but my choices don't really matter - they are just that "my choices.")

Am I qualified?

Am I qualified to give advice? I doubt it...

With that said, I am pretty sure I came close last night when communicating with another recently pregnant for the first time gal. But in reality - I only wrote about my experiences... (not really advice.)

One thing that came up was quilting...

I then lamented on my distinct lack of actually stitching. Honestly, I have only been cutting & doing a bit of embroidery. (But I cut up ALL of those 30's prints!)

I am now thinking that rather than blaming it on the baby, I can blame it on my sewing cycle - you see I have been here before. This is a big part of the reason why I have so many UFO's & planned projects - I get in a mood to do one part, be it pulling fabrics for a project, cutting, or sewing... Conversely, I get out of the mood to do most of those as well!

Yesterday while reading my bloglines, I had quite the "start." I saw "Mailing Deadline July 1" & thought "Oh explative!" "I haven't even started to sew those tumblers together." Then I realized that not only did I already send my doll quilt for that swap, I have received mine in return. YAY!

But because of that message, I got dangerously close to sewing last night... (Again I would like to blame the baby on the nap that I took instead, but alas, I napped before getting pregnant & look forward to being able to nap as the baby does once I complete the incubation stage! - when I am not taking pictures of the sleeping babe that is!)

Here's to doing some actual sewing tonight - & at least I haven't started to cut something else out in the mean time! (I only bundled up the stripes for the Handkercheif quilt.)

Am I turning into a Foodie?

Better yet, Do I know what a Foodie is or am I throwing around terms willy nilly?

I do know one thing, I am accumulating food blogs. I blame the CSA.

The only beets eaten in my family have come from a Jar or a can & were consumed by others.

Now I a couple fresh beets on my counter - so what is a pseudo-internet savvy gal to do? Google how to cook beets.

I got a few interesting hits - for recipes that sounded "not so good" to me...

Then I noticed one was a blog....

She has a recipe for Beet Risotto (Sorry no hyperlinks at this time - this is supposed to be a quick post.)

& on another food blog just the other day, I saw a posting for crock pot risotto (I am game for almost anything done in that migic pot - I need to get some liners for it though.)

So even though the weather is going to be in the 80's I am going to try out this recipe! (Or to be more correct - recipes, since that method for Risotto is new to me to.)

I am also going to make a soup with the kale... Mr. Calico Cat keeps the A/C on, so it won't feel like summer while cooking or eating - just while running to the store for the one missing ingredient... (FYI We had no Baking Soda for the Chocolate banana bread yesterday - so I had a bowl of dry & a bowl of wet waiting - gave me a minute to do a few dishes...)

One more thing - we are joining a CSA of sorts for beef! (Organic, locally raised - Frederick County, MD, butchered in Baltimore and Kashered beef.) The price is not great for people who do not eat Kosher Beef, but for those of us that do & understand all of the extra steps that contribute to the increaded costs it is a "deal." I am just happy to know that the cows ate grass not hormones & that they are local - I really like buying from local farmers so that they don't have to sell to developers making my commute even worse!

Confessions, Outing, & weekend wrap up

First the outing & the first confession. The Quilting Pirate & I went to a quilter's yard sale. Not together, but we were both there when the storage lockers opened. (I hope she blogs this, then it won't be so much of an outing & she took photos...) This lady had a "problem" of the bolts variety, as in she bought bolts of fabric & had more that a stores worth in her storage lockers (yes plural) she had seven total, 2 were opened up to the quilting public. What was on the bolts was offered up for sale - $3 per yard. (Some was good quality nice stuff others not so much - the lighting was pretty awful, but when you were shopping by looking for "X" brand on the bolt core, that helped a lot. It was a good thing that Toni was there - she was able to help me decide the needed lengths of a couple pieces. Some gals were there buying for charity, which is nice to hear.

I got a series of Stripes for the handkerchief corners quilt that is on the cover of Kaffe Fassett's Passionate Patchwork. I can not work it out in my head how that block works - my husband is going to get the book through inter-library loan. :o)

I also got the only cat print that she had - it is a border stripe - with only 2 repeats at the 2 selvedges, the rest is a floral. I was so not buying that a retail prices - you need so many yards for a border where there are only 2 repeats...

(I got a few other pieces as well...)

Which brings me to a confession # 2 which happens to be part of the weekend round up.
In the stewdio/nursery, I have 2 Ikea book cases - they were along one wall. I wanted them to be on the corner - freeing up some wall space for the 3 drawer dresser & mirror. Done - thanks Mr. Calico Cat. I also wanted to get 2 bags of scraps out of bags & into bins - done! While doing that I found some 30's scraps - so I thimbled them & added them to the other 30's thimbles (my purchase from the quilt show last weekend.) I them divided them into 3 piles, 1 for me, one for my swap partner, & 1 that is a bunch of duplicates - but enough for a doll quilt.

The confession - I haven't touched my sewing machine in a long time... (I unplugged it when we had some dicey weather - it is still unplugged...)

More weekend round up - I finally got a new iron & a new quilting magazine!

From the CSA we got: beets, potatoes, cherries, tomato, zuchini, yellow squash, kale, & spring onions. (now to figure out how to cook beets & kale - not necessarily together.)

I baked chocolate banana bread & learned something new about Mr. Calico Cat. He was brought up to believe that when the yellow skins on the bananas got brown spots that they were bad & it was time to throw them out. (These were a bit early for mashing into a bread... As in PERFECT for eating!) (If you want the recipe - leave me a comment & a way to contact you - I have it in an e-mail that I can forward.)

I learned a new way to cook a chicken on a crock pot - super easy!
take 1 whole chicken - rinse & dry it, separate the skin from the bird & season on the meat & skin with your favorite seasoning blend - I used one from Penzey's - Northwoods Fire seasoning. peel an onion & stick it in the cavity whole. Place the bird breast side down in the crock pot, cover it, cook it on high for @6 hours - I went longer & it fell off the bone! (or on low for longer).
No fuss, no muss, & super tasty. (I used the leftovers to make pulled chicken BBQ sandwiches - heated the chicken in a pot with BBQ sauce - another easy peasy meal.)

I exercized in the pool on Saturday & Sunday - part of my build up endurance for delivery plan...

I cleaned out my closet & donated a ton of clothing to charity. (The closet still needs work.)

At 17 weeks of prenancy - I got sick yet again... & I am waiting for the second trimester energy surge.

Passionate Patchwork

The quilt that I was trying to describe earlier is on the cover of Kaffe's book Passionate Patchwork.

Kaffe Fassett

Anyone know which of his books has the handkerchief pattern in it? Or any similar pattern would suffice. It is the one that uses a stripe.... I think all that there is to the block is a diagonal cut that is re-sewn to make a miter....

Any help is appreciated!

Grandpa's quilt (not my quilt)

Grandpa's quilt
Originally uploaded by Jonah Waind

What a clever idea. Reminds me of a couple of blogs that I have read lately that were bemoaning the "perfect" "extreme" quilting that you see in quilt shows these days. This would almost be the opposite. I love how it looks like some of those squares are trying to leave the blocks. (Any one know the pattern? Any one with EQ got this pattern figured out? - I may try to draw it on paper with my pencil later.)

Hoop Dreams

I can admit that since seeing several quilters incorporate embroidery into their patchwork & applique I have been enthralled/enamoured! (I wasn't so keen when I thought that the embroidery was only on crazy quilts.) But I am collecting Lynette's free Noah's Ark patterns & I have one or two other embroidery for quilts patterns...

But what got me started "now" - my round robin, this round is the embroidery round. So I traced a cat onto muslin to practice on... (I won't be sharing that one.) I then traced the pattern onto the round robin - the tension was palpable! I used back stitch intead of the stem stitch that I had been practicing - because it did not look so awkward in spots. & I did my first french knot that actually stayed a knot on the top of the project - HAPPY DANCE! (I won't be sharing the round robin...)

Here is what I will share, the second attempt at the stem stitch cat.
First, you know that I had to have help!
A lot of help...
Here is the kitty traced onto the muslin.
I started in a spot where I could go to the right for a while, but then I get to a "turn" & I am STUCK! What should I do at that point? I stuck my needle through to the back & came up in another spot - leaving the last bit of stitcing a bit light in comparison to the rest...
& since there was another turn, I got stuck again...
I did not photograph it, but I had the same "light" stitching at the elbow...
On the original, I completely messed up on the eyes - 2 strands was too thick so on this one I will try them with one strand.

one with the show

Definately my colors!
Take a look at the quilting - I noticed this "trend" at Mid-Atlantic...
I have/had that cat print + I like the use of the primary colors then the black & white prints. (Yes, I am a fan of the black & white prints & the cat prints & the fully saturated colors.)
I've already finished my Halloween cat quilt - but I might still have some of that JUMBO print.

There are a few more on my flickr - but I will hopefully show my own stuff tomorrow - for better or for worse.

I think my next quilt show is a big one in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in July.

Here is your chance to win some free long arm quilting

Go to this post to find out more:
Canton Village.

More from Annapolis

This is a 1/2 size of my long term hand applique project. It was a blovk of the month at a local shop - this one only has 9 blocks - mine has 15 - so she went for less while I went for more. I went for more because the fabrics that I chose for the stars came in 5 color variations & I could not decide which one to leave out.
Here is a close up of one of the blocks:
The small half square triangles make a second star - I chose a different fabric for mine so that those stars "POP!" (Love the fabric that she found/made for this kitty.)
Annapolis is on the water, so from my experience there are water themed quilts hanging in this show - this year was no different.
Here is a close-up of the compass:

And another water themed quilt - this one with a more tropical slant.
I love how those fish are scrappy!

Lesson learned for me:
I was all over this color combination a while ago, not not so much - glad I got my quilt done already & I guess I better get moving on some of the others that may lose their luster over time...

I am still liking the snowballs made with Kaffe prints (this one mixes other prints as well.) but I am not questioning my choice to do mine as a charm quilt - the repitition is nice too...

Another reason why i take photos at quilt shows: "So & So would like this one." This one is for Norma - it is a chicken quilt! Take a look at the close up - it even has drumsticks!


You know I like challenges here are a couple from this guild. (Susie liked this one too.)
I love the execution & use of the theme...
But this one is my favorite:
The state cat of Maryland is the calico. (Tidbit of trivia - Maryland has the most "State things" of any other state.)

More from Annapolis a little later.

The baby & weather made me do it.

I stopped in the grocery store for fresh basil & prunes (Yeah, I've got that symptom too.) But I walked past the cookies - thinking we are going to have a Thunderstorm - a sweet indulgence might be nice...  I got a small cake. 

Which brings me to my second question. What to Buttercream & cats have in common? Usually nothing, but my girl has a sweet tooth! (Amazing for a cat who doesn't have very many teeth...) She came over for her piece of the cake before eating her cat food. "Not today little girl!" 

simple quilt

IMG_2760
Originally uploaded by sasikirana

You know, I keep liking quilts like this, nice & simple - this may be how I use my second minkie-like back.... (The first one will be used with the mod birds.)

The weekend in review

So I went to a quilt show in Annapolis, Maryland on Saturday with my girlfriend & we both had a wonderful time. This local show is regularly very nice. This year they had far more vendors than in the past, which is good bad & indifferent for me! YAY!. I took 30+ photos, so I will be sharing them soon.

One of them that really caught my eye for some reason is this one:
One more time I can honestly say, "I am not into 30's." BUT Doesn't that look perfect for a baby of either gender? I thought so too.
One of those vendors... had a pack of 120 4 in. x 8in. charms of 30's prints... I bought one... Bad for me. (but this was my only "real purchase.")
I spent a good portion of the rest of the weekend cutting them into tumblers for a baby quilt. Good for me.
I am also cutting them into thimbles fof a Summery doll quilt - 30's to me are summery - I look at them and see laundry on the line & a tall glass of freshly squeezed lemonade. Even better for me.
Besides, one of the first gifts that I got for the kitten is this bib that was made by my great grandmother in the 30's or 40's.
Lucky for me I don't buy into blue is for boys...
Also at the Chantilly, Virginia quilt show I purchased this vintage 30's quilt.

close-up of the cat applique:

close-up of the embroidery:

close-up of the chenille back:
Good thing I don't buy into pink is for girls.
The top and chenille were assembled recently, but the top & the chenille are vintage.

I am blaming the baby for the 30's resurgence & I am making a "mod" bird quilt too with a shirred border & minkie-like back.

We then ate Thai food (at about 2 p.m.) they ran out of my favorite - sticky rice with mango :o(.
The food was good while it lasted - yes, I am in week 15 & still getting sick.

On Sunday, after breakfast at IHOP - father-to-be on father's day & 20% off coupon, we went to get out weekly CSA share - last weeks weather rotted the lettuce (down pour followed by hot sun), but we got another tomato, some squash, onions & radishes. Next week promises cherries!

Then we went to the French Store & spent far too much money... I got some maternity wear (Basically anything they had in my size - which was not very much, I am once again the most popular size on the rack. It will be a brown brown brown pregnancy (skirt, pants, 2 shirts in brown)...Oh & since when is it a good idea to have tops out number bottoms by about 10 to 1 - seriously that had a ton of shirts to choose from, 2 skirts, a few shorts, a few capri pants, a few dresses, & that is about it!) & we got a lot of kitty litter - now we won't have to buy it for a while.

We then went to the kosher grocery store for a sandwich :o) on our way to a big box lumber store for a furnace filter (have to maintain that investment.)

Then it was back home to rest! Check out the back-40 & cut tumbers.
Look who I saw in the back-40.


I got sick last night & again this morning - not fair! I hope to finish cutting thimbles tonight & I need to trace some embroidery designs - two things I would rather be doing than getting ready for the Monday morning blahs - aka work.

I have always been told...

I have always been told not to wish your life away...

Still I am so ready for the weekend! I get to go to a quilt show tomorrow with a friend... We get our CSA on Sunday... We'll go to "the French store" sometime this weekend for kitty litter & liners - fun, I know.

I am also having one of those, if I wasn't at work I would/could be doing X, Y, or Z.

Not a good sign when it is still before 7 a.m. huh?

CSA

I forgot to mention what we got in our CSA bag on Sunday...
Broccoli, spring onions, peas, green leaf lettuce, strawberries and a salmonella free tomato.

I am mentioning it now because I used the broccoli in our "stir fry" last night.

We get more stuff on Sunday - funny how that works, huh? (not really but I digress...)

Our pick-up is near a kosher grocer so we so far have stopped in there after picking up the loot.

Is it nap time yet? The little man cat has started to rise at about 3 a.m. - usually begging for cat food but this morning he had some sickies & then a coughing fit. We may need to take him in to get that checked out. Poor guy, he had a rough night all around because the girl was being very territorial. She was lying down, he laid down, she made her warning noise - he didn't do a thing she smacked him... ETC. (About 1 hour before it was time for me to rise, he snuggled in for some loving.)

It is amazing the difference a day makes

Weather wise that is...

It is by no means cool, but it is cooler that the past two day, especially in the shade.

I am supposed to walk for 30 minutes a day, I passed yesterday & Mopnday because of the heat advisories. Today & needed to go to CVS & most of the walk is in the shade - artificial or treed & boy was it "nice." The only problem, I finished my water before I winished the walk.

Oh & I went into World Market - a funky store that carries all kinds of stuff including food... We are having Soba Noodles in a Japanese sytle sauce with chicken & veggies tonight!

One of the things on my stuff list from the other day was cat related... No matter how hot we are or it is, my boy can sit in the oven (I mean window) & heat himself up - go figure! I picked him up last night, he felt like a heating pad!

The subject that everyone hates to talk about & more from the quilt show

Copyright: Can anyone explain this as it applies to photographs that you take in a venue where photography is allowed?

Specific: I took a photograph of a quilt at a quilt show where photography was allowed (unlike Quilt National that I also attended where photography is explicitly not allowed.) I even gave the quilter credit. I am now told that my photograph is a copyright violation...

On with the status quo - only now I won't bother to dot down titles, makers, or even prizes... (I only go for the visual stimulation anyway - all the other info. was for you. & for the quilters - giving credit & all, but they are the ones who have a problem with my photographs.)

I previously blamed the baby for a lack of titles & makers...

On with the rest of the show:
I took this photo because the flowers are made with ric-rac. CLEVER!
It's scrappy - need I say anything else...
More from the scrap bin.
I kinda really like that bird print...
If my husband were a fisherman or if we had a lodge...
I mean, what is not to like about that fish?
I made a Trip Around the World once upon a time ago that was watery & my plan was to applique fishies on it just like this... (Too much work in the piecing - I chickened out & put the fish on the back.)
Simple yet sophisticated.
WOW
One of the Better Baltimore Album quilts that I have seen in a while.
The original Washington Monument in Baltimore.

There are more on my flickr, but this is all that I will be posting. I am going to another show this weekend (In Annapoils if anyone is in the area.), so get ready for another show next week.

Oh & the winners at the Syndey show have been revealed: http://www.quiltersguildnsw.com/quiltshow/
Michelle Turner professionally quilted a few of them - she used to blog...