Vacation Getaway

AKA "Women's Weekend" was a lot of fun! There was much laughter and conversation and great food and shopping...it's no wonder I'm already looking forward to next year! We could see IKEA from our hotel room so it made sense for us to begin there. Sensory overload and some fabulous purchases!

The weather was delightful and a nice break from the stifling temperatures we left in KC. A trip to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden was a lovely way to enjoy it too.

I often found myself thinking there was an "Alice in Wonderland" feel to several of the sculptures/gardens.

We also did some local shopping in St. Paul. I loved the mix of restaurants, apartments, older homes and shops all on one avenue...especially the older houses that are now shops!

And of course, Mall of America.....

And whatever the reason, on this trip, I seemed to have a fascination with lighting fixtures and other ceiling decor, so I'll leave you now with a couple of them.....
 

Marilyn

Gotta Have a Tote Bag

Women's Weekend is coming soon. It's our annual getaway--my two daughters and me, just the three of us--and we always have a wonderful time! This year, we're taking a shopping trip, specifically to IKEA, but we're open to other spots that grab our attention too!

So I say tote bags for all, and thanks to this tutorial, we're set.

I wonder how many times we can fill them...

Marilyn

Check Off One "To-Do"

So, one of the items on my summer break to-do list was clean up the craft room! The last time I had a major go-through-and-toss-away session with this room was three and a half years ago when I painted it. How bad could it be? Well, a week's worth of days over the past two weeks and many trash bags full, bad. But I was in the mood! And it felt good! Any sewing during that time was hand sewing (mostly hexies), but I did manage to recover my chair. It had gotten a little sad looking--10+ years and mega hours at the sewing machine will do that to a chair;) The fabric was some I had stashed away for pillows that never got made and I think it turned out to be just the right match for my chair.

I've received all of my Alice in Wonderland bitty blocks...
 

Aren't they adorable?! I added a teapot and teacups that I got in the Teapots & Teacups bitty swap and, of course, The Mad Hatter...

I'm looking forward to getting these put together.....and, hallelujah, I now have the space to get that done;)

Marilyn

Soooo, my last post was in December.....

and much has happened since then.  But what do you say we pick it up again with where I am right now.....




These little (3.5") blocks are for the June Bitty Block Committee "My Garden" swap. I used a pattern from Sublime Stitching for the tomatoes and a couple of text fabrics that seemed fitting to the theme.  I love their embroidered faces;-)

Summer break (from childcare for our 2.5 year old grandson, and since January, his new sister--now 7 months old) started this week--and I've got big plans to finish lots of projects before I start up again in early August!  Many of them involve bitty blocks from other fun themes the last several months.....so stay tuned!

Marilyn

phwoooh!!

That's me blowing the dust off my little blog:) Time flies, doesn't it? And life goes on! But enough of that...I'm on summer break! Liam's mommy is off work until August 1st, so I am too.

My first summer project is actually one I started on winter break. I finished my string blocks yesterday,


one hundred of them, and I laid them out on the floor this morning.



I really like it, but I really like scrappy quilts! I think it will end up measuring about 65" x 65" and could be a good picnic quilt. Sooo, off to the sewing room for me--I only have eight weeks to catch up on some projects, lol!!

Marilyn

Doll Quilt Swap 9 Received!!

I planned for my next blog post (this one) to be about Hoop Up! Round 2 and the embroidered blocks I've stitched so far.....but I received my Doll Quilt Swap 9 package Thursday evening and I couldn't wait to share it with you!!!

All the way from Vancouver, BC, Canada, Janet created "Birds of a Feather", a gorgeous masterpiece of a doll quilt, for me! I am so in love with it and it is perfect in every way! Can you believe the incredible quilting she did on it?!


I swear she is the best "stalker" ever! Doll Quilt Swap is a secret swap--we don't know who is sending to us until the little quilty arrives. To learn about our partner and their likes/dislikes, swappers can secretly check out/"stalk" the partner's flickr photostream and blog (if they have one). Janet definitely got it right when she chose colors and design based on what she learned about me! Amazing!


She also sent a quilt pattern that I love and can't wait to make and a bundle of beautiful fabrics. And a mug rug, the greatest mug rug, so pretty it makes my morning coffee taste better than ever!


When Janet completed my quilt, she blogged about the process here. It's really fun to see her photos all together in one post.

Janet, I cannot thank you enough...here I am, two days later, still gushing, lol! Although, really, who wouldn't be?!

Marilyn

Still Another Way to Play with Fabric

When it comes to my crafting, there is one constant: more projects on my "want to make" list than I have time! Add grandbabies to the mix and the list gets longer, and even more fun:)


I finished a fabric tag book this week, inspired by Gwen Marston's book, Fabric Picture Books. I got to play with bright colors and fun patterns; the possibilities are practically limitless...






And the rewards are priceless...how sweet is he?!


After a visit with the little guy yesterday, I headed home, having waited out a huge windy, rain storm. Seems we've had way too many of those this summer. But then the rainbows appear and I never tire of those!



Marilyn

Here a Swap, There a Swap...

Oh my, two weeks since my last post! Where does the time go?!

Most likely fun times spent with these two cuties...




And I've also enjoyed some time in the craft room. I made a couple of potholders for the KC Modern Quilt Guild potholder swap...

(fronts)

(backs)

We swapped them at last week's meeting and I came home with two amazing potholders!!

This one is from Jaime--isn't the fabric adorable?!


And this one is from Alex--I love the purple and gray, and the grommet!


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An ATC Swap in Mary's Your Vintage Gluebook Online Class is soon and I finished my six cards this afternoon...


This has been the best online class--Mary is an excellent instructor and shares so much information and beautiful images too! I need to show you my lesson pages, and will do that soon, but for now you can see some lovely work in the class Flickr group.

Marilyn

Summer Lovin'...

That was the July mini quilt theme in the Swap Til You Drop group.

And yesterday, my swap partner Laura, received the little rendition I made for her...


The backing fabric was my inspiration for the quilt...love the beach (she says from this land-locked state in the middle of the country)!


I appliquéd an extra umbrella onto the center piece--that pair of chairs just seemed to call out for one:)


A few summery-looking extras for the package and off it went. (Has anyone tried the Skittles Crazy Cores yet? Maybe I should have gotten a box for myself!)


The quilt Laura made for me went in the mail yesterday. She posted a sneak peek after it was pieced and I already liked what I saw then so now I'm getting very excited to see it finished. It's like Christmas, I tell you!!

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Another bit of summer lovin' has got to be this "Fairyland" eggplant that came in our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) bag a couple of weeks ago.


The little baby eggplant was only about 2 inches long--isn't it cute?! Or maybe it's just me--I'm such a sucker for anything in miniature:)

Marilyn

Craft Day at Vintage Arts Studio

Yesterday, I had the delightful pleasure of getting to know Lauri at her Vintage Arts Studio! She rents out the space to groups and Mary arranged for our craft group to meet there for the afternoon.

When Shawn and Bethany and I pulled into the drive, we were immediately taken with the outdoor space--it is absolutely gorgeous!






And it continued on into the studio too. There were so many wonderful things to see and be inspired by!





A giant table in the middle of the room provided plenty of space for the seven of us (Beth and Karla arrived a little later) to spread out and work, yet we could still easily talk and visit because we were all at one table.


Some of the girls brought a lunch from home but Lauri also offers the option of purchasing a box lunch...which is what I did and it was really quite good.


Mary took some video of Bethany talking about how she created one of her pencil holders. I think Bethany was pleased with the final cut:) (Soooo cute!)


Mary also brought presents for everyone. She is very good at hunting out, and finding, the most incredible vintage ephemera and was nice to share some with us! (Thanks, Mary!)


More photos from inside Lauri's lovely studio...




Thanks very much, Lauri...it was a wonderful day!

Marilyn