Sewing with a Side of Pie!

It was a fun weekend! I was invited to sew with the Material Girls and we had a great time talking and eating. And sewing. I finished up my Red Centre. Thank goodness. That quilt has given me quite a lot to frog...rip it, rip it, rip it...as the saying goes. I just had the devil of a time getting those turns to turn. But now it does and Carol found the last "oops" after I got the whole thing done. Better then than after quilting!

And here are some of the wonderful things the gals were working on Saturday.
Aren't they a talented group? I love the hand applique they are so adept at. Look at that Bunny Hill Tisket a Tasket Carol did. Older Robin Pandolph and lots of other sweet fabrics. Just darling! And Debbie's Crop Circles from our class at PIQF with Sharon Pederson. Mine is somewhere. But not finished. And Judy and Bev and their Kim McLean appliques...oolala. I love them.

Sunday my Dad and Mike picked about 150 peaches off our tree. Best year ever. And I made three pies. Now don't get the wrong idea. I am not a cook. I really don't even like cooking that much. But I had to give these peaches their due. They were delicious. And now, all three g.o.n.e.
Gotta love that!

Teddy Needs your Vote Gals!

Time to vote for your favorite Pets on Quilts! Teddy has been extra good this week, and would love for you to give him your vote! Just drop by Pets on Quilts Page and click on the #16 link and vote! Ted Ted says, if you have any messy ice cream bowls to lick up, he'll be happy to help do the dishes! xo Pam

Party Hats On!

I am back to work this week gals and it has been a bit of an adjustment. Honestly, I do have a very interesting job, and I shouldn't complain. It's just the dressing up and driving there every day. People telling you what to do, and then doing it. Oh. That's work! Well, I had better get in the swing of things. Maybe tomorrow 'cause it's Friday!

Today I went up the hill after work to help celebrate Morning Star's 5 years of business birthday party, and to see some of my Sew Sisters.


There was even a Sew Mister there.

Marsha's husband Mark, is recently retired as the Paradise Fire Chief, and now that he has more time, he stops by the shop and helps out. He's just the best guy. Hauls in a zillion sewing machines and sewing stuff for us when we arrive and leave on sew days, puts up with our goofy talk and has been known to bbq for us on sew weekends. Pretty special? I would say so!

Thanks for a great five years! Through thick and thin. From fabric to fabric and quilt to quilt you have made us a sisterhood!

Big Smooch to all!

Pets on Quilts Show 2011 Smile Teddy!

Morning Gals! Time to show you what happened when I was getting Teddy to pose for Pets on Quilts Show by SewCalGal this week. Here is my photo shoot with Teddy, our sweet Bichon Frise, also known as TedTed and Ted Bush and The Professor to those that love him.

We had a few problems when I did my "photo shoot".

First he "talked" to me about it.

"No no...my hair looks terrible!"

You know this happens with friends. Now pets are getting attitude! I think going to the Bow Wow Doggie Day Spa has made my little guy a tad vain!

Then, he really got naughty.

Rolling his eyes AND sticking his tongue out at me!

Santa is going to hear about this Ted Ted!

So when I mentioned Santa, he got a little worried.

"okay, okay" take the photo. But I am not smiling."
What is this a teenage Bichon behavior? Good Grief!

And then, the innocent, bright eyed boy I know and love:

"Okay Mom, I'll be good" I do want to lick those ice cream bowls!"
(And Christmas is getting closer!)

Kids, you gotta love 'em! Hope your pet kids are ready for their red carpet moment! Get on over and read up on the wonderful giveaways and fun this week with Pets on Quilts!

Get ON that Quilt!

Miso on my Allspice Tapestry Quilt

Shaggy on my Kaffe Snowball

Usually are you saying, "Get off of that Quilt!!" to your sweet furry friends? Not this week gals. You have a great opportunity to win prizes and show off your Pets on Darlene's aka SewCalGal weeklong contest "Pets on Quilts". Our little necklaces business 1 Stitch Off is a sponsor and you could win a quilty necklace of your choice! Lots of other awesome giveaways too including a $150 gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop! Wow! So get those cameras out, start shooting and follow SewCalGal's instructions on Monday August 15th. It's gonna be fun to see everyone's sweeties and win those great giveaways!

Summer Flowers in Chico

It has been a great Monday. Up early and out in the backyard looking at all the beautiful colors. It's a jungle out there. Wild. Overgrown. Looks like Kaffe himself was out there with a paint brush! Had a day of sewing with Joanne and Marsha at Morning Star. I worked on my Soul Searching blocks. Hope to get those all done before too long. Enjoy your week gals!

Soul Searching with Material Obsession!

Another class I took at Sisters this year was also taught by Kathy Doughty. It has come to be known as "soul searching" aka looking through your stash and finding your color strengths and weaknesses. It was a great class although the before class prep was a bit daunting. We were to pull 9 color groups from our stash and have a strong set of neutrals to go with it all. I keep my fabrics in collections mostly. So the idea of pulling from them kind of set me on edge until I started. My sewing room looked like a bomb had gone off. But in the end, I had 9 or even 10 sets of beautiful and diverse fabrics to dive into at class. Here is a start of what I did. I began with my purples because they are easiest for me to go to. Greens? Not as much. That was my second set. A challenge of sorts for me. So with a satchel full of 2 1/2 inch strips off to class I went. Cool thing was, we even had a nifty ruler to use to build our blocks. Kathy sells it through the Stitchin Post and through Material Obsessions website if you are interested. It easily lets you cut 2 1/2, 4 1/2, etc so your block builds like magic in no time. I have my yellows, browns, oranges, pinks, blues, blacks, and reds still to cut and arrange. Interestingly, the first one was a challenge but as you get going it gets easier and you feel more confident in your placement and choices. Kathy is just very good at helping too.

Here is Kathy's Quilt during the Sister's Outdoor Quilt Show at the Teacher's Tent. I was happy to have Mike snap my photo in front of it too.