Town Hall Quilt Show #1

As promised here are some of the quilts I enjoyed at the show yesterday.

Here's a beauty by Norma Crowton:

That's my friend Mary's hand -- giving you an idea of how tiny the blocks are!
Here are some close ups of Norma's blocks:

 Aren't they spectacular?!!!!

There were a couple of these quilts in the show, designed by Edyta Sitar:

 I have her book, now I only need time, right?

I loved this quilt.  The quilting DOES make the quilt!

More pictures tomorrow!!!

Busy Saturday

Some days I can't believe all that I get done in a day.  Then there are days that seem to get away from me and nothing is accomplished.  Today was the former.

I went to a great quilt show with my friend Mary, who picked me up at 9:30 am!  Woohoo!  The show did not disappoint and I took many, many pictures.  I'll post them over the next couple of days so I don't wear you out!  So much eye candy!!

We did our fair share for the local economy at the vendors who were there today.  I bought several things from Chris Zane including a fabulous piece of hand dyed linen.  I see another jacket in my near future.  Mary spread her money around a bit!  We saw several members of GLHQ there and a few new vendors so I think there's a road trip in our future, too.

I finished sewing the giant snaps on my wool jacket and now I just need to tweak the collar a bit so it lays down better.  So far I'm pretty darn pleased with myself.  I haven't sewn garments in ages and I was pretty much winging this one.  Once the collar is straightened out I'll post pictures for that too!

It was a beautiful day weatherwise and it should continue for the next few days.  I'm lovin' it!

Here's one picture from the quilt show today.  I loved this one!  Simple, yet effective.  The border really makes it pop:

Keep 'Em Coming

My roommate has survived the initial interview and is now preparing with a second interview with the 'leadership team'.  I told him he needs to really prepare -- figure out how to answer situational questions, hypothetical queries, and just get his 'poop in a group' as my old friend Irene used to say.  So please keep sending the positive thoughts his way (and mine!).

I'm thinking a nice batter bowl green would look good in my new sewing room................

Time is Flying

I can't believe how quickly the last couple of weeks have gone by.  Every day seems fuller than the day before.  Tonight I went back to Haberman Fabrics to try and solve my button issue with the jacket I'm sewing.  The buttons I want to use are very thick -- about 1/4" -- so I can't really make a button hole big enough to get them through.  I think the solution is to use some giant antique brass snaps and sew the buttons on the outside of the jacket.  We'll see if that works out.

I'm getting ready to go to Charlevoix next week for Apple Festival.  My friend Holly and her husband Fritz have already said they'll be up there and will stop by to visit my booth.  Right now the weather is looking pretty crappy there -- 50s and rain some of the time.  I don't mind the 50s because people will still come out but if it rains, forget it.  It's still a week away so maybe the forecast will improve.

The day after I come back from the festival I have to leave for a business trip.  I won't have much time to prepare -- laundry and packing all over again so I can head out to the airport straight from the office.  Kevin will have to hold down the fort.  I picked up dog food for Maggie so she won't run out while I'm gone.

New Word Game

It's not that I think you all need another way of filling up the hours in a day but here's a great word game I discovered today courtesy of Worldstart.com.  I've already determined it's my go-to game from now on!

Making Do

This past weekend I was supposed to be in NYC but my work trip got cancelled.  I had a whole bunch of things I was going to do there so I just did them at home instead!

I went to brunch at Cafe Muse and sent a photo of my food to my niece Erica, who I was supposed to be dining with.  I went to several yarn shops in my area instead of the Yarn Crawl in NYC.  I watched the Tigers vs Yankees game on TV instead of attending the game at Yankee Stadium.

I wound nearly 40 hanks of yarn into center-pull balls.  Now I'm ready to knit like the wind without having to stop to wind a new ball.  Two of the skeins were 478 yards each so I had to use my Strauch Jumbo Winder for them.

Now that I'm in town this week I think I'll head back over to Cafe Muse for their special dinner offering this week.  They aren't officially part of Royal Oak restaurant week but they are having specials.  Their food is so very good -- I can't wait to go!

I started sewing my double-face wool jacket yesterday and got it nearly done.  I just have to work on the collar, side seams, and figure out the closure.  I'll have pictures soon!

Well, Darn

I am so disappointed.  I was all set to get up before the crack of dawn -- waaaaay before -- and get on a plane tomorrow at 6:15 to go to NYC.  My team at work had planned a meeting where all of us would meet next Monday and Tuesday.  I had decided to fly in early.  I had BIG plans.  First off, I would have brunch with my niece Erica.  Then I'd head into Manhattan for the 2011 NYC Yarn Crawl, where I would do what else?? -- BUY yarn of course.  I even contemplated going to the Yankees vs Tigers baseball game.

But it all went kaput when the meeting got cancelled and moved back a few weeks.  Darn, darn, darn.  I even had my suitcase out, my travel size toiletries, and set aside my clothes.  I wound several skeins of yarn into center-pull balls so I'd have plenty to knit with over the next several days.

You know what the say about the best laid plans, right?  Never fear.  I will have plenty of things to keep me busy this weekend.  Now I have time to work on my double faced wool jacket, which is cut out but needs to be constructed.  I also can knock off a couple of felted hats.  For retail therapy today, I bought two new patterns at Ewe-Nique Knits:  Square Peg, an updated poncho, and Bubbles, a really cute kids' hat pattern.  As if I needed more patterns, or projects, or things to keep me occupied.  Both patterns are available on Ravelry, and if you don't know what Ravelry is, leave me a comment and I can point you in the right direction!

It's going to be a chilly night tonight -- right now it's 41º -- I just might have to kick on the furnace.  I was hoping to hold off until October but I guess we're almost there, right?

Hope you have a great weekend, wherever you are.