Library Gal Quilts

Pink Lemonade QAL

2012-01-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks again to Lori for hosting this fun quiltalong and getting my sewing brain back in training! I know that having a project to complete was just the thing I needed. Here Miso Pretty inspects the yellow for the contrasting blocks. I think she agrees it's just right.

My corners are two shades of pink.

This "Charleston" fabric with the wonderful green and pink shapes will be my backing.

I am going to quilt heart shapes in the yellow blocks to represent the shortbread cookies

I would love to eat with a beautiful glass of Pink Lemonade.

Come on over, I am sure they'll be plenty to go around. Have a great week gals!

Say Thanks with a Pillow

2012-01-20T11:49:00.000-08:00

I've been back at work and the new semester starts Monday.I have been keeping up with my Humble Quilts Lemonade Quilt blocks and plan to sew it all together this weekend! I also whipped up a birthday quilt for my daughter that was sent off to the quilter's yesterday. So, I have been productive and it feels great!

16,000 students will descend on our little town this weekend and make their way to the library for help and study so, to keep ourselves up to the challenge at work, we decided we needed a new coffee maker. The new fangled kind with the pods. We googled, we asked, we read reviews. And then someone upstairs said, "I don't use mine, take it!" Wow. Free. And with lots of little pods to go with. So to thank her, I whipped up a coffee / library book themed pillow last night. However, the Rare Books behind my modest pillow are not included with the thank you!

Sometimes the spontaneous project is the most fun. Done in a little over an hour, and delivered this morning! Have a good weekend friends, and stay warm!

Things are New Again

2012-01-05T11:29:00.001-08:00

I am looking forward to this New Year. I know it's already 5 days old but it feels good. I am going to start by doing a sewalong called "Pink Lemonade" with Lori of Humble Quilts. I have a decent stash of reproduction fabrics that are wanting to come out to play. Thanks Lori for getting the New Year sewing started off right!

I also want to do the Building Houses from Scraps sewalong here.

Can you imagine how adorable 365 houses will be? If not in one quilt then scattered everywhere. Friends, be on the lookout for them appearing on your doorsteps when they start stacking up! Thanks to Jenneke for doing this international sewalong! She is in the Netherlands and it's truly amazing how many people have signed up to sew. Blog land is a wonderful place.

I've done a bit of clean up in my yard and planted some pansies and snapdragons in anticipation of Spring. Chico is always wonderful in the Spring. It's where I have lived for 38 years. I never get tired of spring flowers!
Hope the first week of your New Year is going well and you are happy. That is what matters!

What Debbie Made!

2011-12-28T10:56:00.000-08:00

These 3 gifts are so adorable I had to share them with you gals. Thank you Debbie! We are hoping to get back to sewing and jewelry making in the New Year. A resolution to sew more is always a good thing! a velvet pear with a silver spoon stem and button embellishments
A Christmas Owl Mug Rug

and a fussy cut Santa baglet!

Many Happy Gatherings

2011-12-26T19:03:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to get some sewing done when we got home from Kauai. I truly had visions of sewing the last few seams of so many quilt tops that have been waiting for me. They are patiently going to have to wait until next year. I swore (I did!) that I wasn't going to hit the ground running when we got back from our vacation. I was going to go with the flow. Ha ha ha.

We Bush gals and little Deakin managed a real photo session with Park Avenue Photography in Paradise.

Then there was the cookie party. We started this tradition when Carmen and Eva were 5 I believe. They are now 22. Of course I wasn't going to miss this annual event.

Then a few days later, John and Vicki came to town from Seattle and some of us old college friends gathered to catch up. We even had a few grown children that humored us.

The Chelsea Womens' Book Club Dinner was the next night. By golly, I rested up and even managed to get there on time, with my reading and my dessert.

It went by in a blur.

(What is that blur in the photo?? Hmmm.)

We usually share a reading and this year we all shared memories of our childhood.
Mary Ann had prayed so hard for a Queen Elizabeth doll when she was young. A raffle at her school was being held to win her. She sold lots of tickets.
She prayed the Rosary many times a day. And on the day the winner was announced it was some guy named James Anderson. Turns out, James Anderson was her "Uncle Jimmy" and the coveted doll was under the tree Christmas morning! (Dear me that doll is in need of a doll hospital stat!)

We had a great Christmas morning here on Meadow Road. Deakin got right in the spirit!

Lulu brought the new baby, Charles Franklin aka Franky.

Carmen brought Homie her beautiful Maine Coon. He was so happy to rustle through the wrapping paper.

We've only got a few days until the New Year. Time to rest, regroup and get ready for another year. I am looking forward to it!

Hawaiian Quilt Shop!

2011-12-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

Back on the mainland and boy it is chilly up here in Chico! I wanted to share some photos of Kapaia Stitchery in Lihue Kauai.

We had quite a few days of beach time and hikes and gardens and finally it was time to get grounded in the land of beauty with some quilting folks.

It's a really friendly place and has a wonderful selection of those wonderful hawaiian bark cloth heavy fabrics and batiks. And especially nice is the selection of precut Hawaiian applique motifs all ready for your needle turning pleasure.

They have a wonderful selection of needlepoint and fun gift items that are made locally. I loved the tea towels. I may have come home with "several".

Wish I had this beauty on my wall for Christmas!

We had a wonderful trip and this week is filled with get togethers and eating and twinkle lights! Hope your week is merry and bright! Aloha!

Aloha from the Garden Isle!

2011-12-13T10:55:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say aloha from Kauai to you gals! It is just beautiful here and we have had lots of rest and adventure...in that order! Here's what we saw yesterday and an ocean full of whales and dolphins. Super Wonderful! Today to the Rain Forest and the Gardens. Aloha!

Happy Day on Meadow Road!

2011-12-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

It was a very good mail day yesterday gals!

Look what I won in PamKittyMornings Giveaway last week! And look at that adorable little notecard. Ahhhh...sweetness plus!

Yay! I love winning and I love this block

and fabric
and Quiltmaker Magazine!

I think my favorite fabric in the whole PKM line is the pink one here. It just says "hi friend, be happy and sew " yes it does. They all do actually! It's fun cause you can have a new favorite everyday with this collection. Thank you Pam! You made my day!

PKM Love!

2011-11-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

Even if her name wasn't Pam, I'd love her anyway for all the inspiration and fun on her blog over the years. Yes, gals, PamKittyMorning is in the house! Well, mailbox and then house!

I ripped that package wide open and had to show you how it looked when I received it from Daisy Quilting Cottage. Sharon you rock with your cute packaging!!

Olivia, a kitty herself, inspected it for me. Always a good sign when she follows me to the mailbox.

I can't wait to receive the rest of my prints from these kind folks at Sew Fabulous Quilt Shop.

I have some ideas waiting to hatch for this adorable and very delicious fabric! Such as this darling happy liberated star from SweetJane on Etsy!

The "hand" of the cotton is very fine and I know it's going to make up into something special! Just as special as a gal named Pam!

PKM p.s. Received my fabrics from Sew Fabulous this afternoon! More goodness! Take a look.

Swoon and the Moon Hike

2011-11-11T07:02:00.000-08:00

I am going to be able to get quilting again starting next week. This weekend is devoted to my family and then pow...I am on it gals. I have a wonderful project I started and am determined to finish soon. My Swoon Quilt got it's start at my last Sew Sisters weekend and is calling me from the sewing room ever so patiently. I am using Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi and Valori Wells Wrenly all together. I love how large the squares are...and they do go together fast once you get the hang of it. I made a slight booboo when I began and having only a fat quarter of each fabric, I have to admit I took it apart and sewed the fabric back together and recut it correctly. Crazy, but it had to be done. One block will have a few more seams than called for but hey, it will be original! Have a great 11:11:11....I am going on a moon lit hike to Upper Bidwell Park with my family. Wish you were joining us!

The Love We Share While Here

2011-10-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

A note to tell you all friends, (my gals) that my dear Dad passed away Friday morning. It was a very peaceful ending to a good life. Raised on a farm in Glenwood, Iowa, Dad and his 3 brothers worked hard for their folks, played in Pony Crick (that's how they say it there), walked those miles to school, were poor as could be but happy in the simple life. I played alot of country music for Dad those last days even though I couldn't talk to him anymore, I know he could hear it. His favorite song was Storms Never Last by Jesse Coulter and Waylon Jennings. He also loved Allison Kraus and called her voice as close to perfect as anyone could get.

Hard working, loyal, and gentle, and honest. He could be stubborn as a mule and you always knew what he thought about things whether you wanted to or not, but that was Carl. The Navy was good to him and he was always proud to have been a veteran of WWII. He was employed as a painter for Ford Motor Company and was known for his detailed perfect work. When he trained as a cabinet maker after retirement, his motto was "I'll always fight for a 1/16th". As quilters we know how tough even the 1/4ths can be!

He was proud of my quilting. He told me so many times and that made me so happy. His mother Clara quilted all her life from scraps and clothing from her family. He told me the story of the ladies on Pony Crick and how they all had quilting frames made by their husbands that lifted up and out of the way until it was their day to have the bee. There is a Butterfly Quilt in the Herman Family made by my grandmother with names of friends and family scattered throughout, and there are squares in it done by my Dad and his brothers. My cousin Ann brought it to show us two years ago on a visit to Chico. Here is Dad's square...done at age 8. It's about the most precious thing I can imagine boys doing for their Mom.

So the words to the song Just a Country Boy bring me joy and tears today.

Never could afford a store bought ring
With a sparklin' diamond stone
All you could afford is a loving heart
The only one you own

You're just a country boy
Money have you none
But you've got silver
In the stars
Gold in the morning sun
Gold in the morning sun

When You Least Expect It!

2011-10-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

Hello gals. It has been a whoa nellie kind of month. My dear Dad is having health problems and we are in the full time grown up mode at our house. I know that sounds funny, but having had an empty next for several years, it is an adjustment to think about all of his needs and fit in our daily jobs, and etc. It will be a new chapter in our family and we are trying our best to adapt to his needs with compassion and still respect his dignity. Ahhhh life....

Yesterday I had to drop off a form for a friend at Honey Run in Chico and as I was coming down the steps, I noticed two ladies getting out of a car. As I approached them, I didn't know them, but I did recognize the beautiful bag one of them was carrying!

What you say? Well. Here's the story. I had purchased Quilting Arts Gifts issue recently and inside was the very striking bag shown here. Guess what? The two ladies getting out of their car were none other than the proprietor of Renaissance Ribbons and her sister Elaine Schmidt,

who designed the bag and published the tutorial! Crazy! Very sweet and lovely French accents and laughs all around that I recognized the bag from over a lawn and glaring into the afternoon sunshine. The ribbons are amazing. They tell me that for instance, Kaffe Fassett sends them a very small original watercolor of what he'd like made into his ribbon. It is drafted and manufactured on a jacquard loom. They are really rather local to our area being from Oregon House, California, less than an hour from Chico. With all that has been going on in my life lately, this was a sweet moment and I just wanted to share it with you. All of their ribbons are available wholesale only, but I know you'll find just the ones you need at your local shops and online. Absolutely inches of art!

Southern California, now Back to Reality!

2011-09-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

Wow gals. I have been gone awhile! It has been almost a full month without a blog post? Crazy. I wanted to try to blog from Newport Beach but my ipad wasn't cooperating and we had very little connectivity. I guess that was good. Frustrating though when you are used to it. We went to cute little Solvang on the way down. Good old abelskivers for breakfast. Like eating home made donuts yummy! And fresh raspberry jam, too.

and cute mermaids. Then to Newport and the beach house. Love to spend the morning at Mother's Beach looking out at the boats...I mean yachts.

I sat there each morning and stitched up my Blackbird Designs cross stitch that I would like to get done before next year! Seems it travels to Newport each year with just a bit finished! The best intentions...

We took a few hours and went up to old town Tustin, California to see the Flying Geese Quilt Shop. It's only about 15 minutes from the beach house. Sadly, I had to drive on a freeway to get there. I am such a small town gal! But we survived and luckily because it was worth the fright! They have the most beautiful trees there. And all the store fronts are adorable too.

Great ladies there gals! And a very nice selection of fabrics. They have a birthday month discount and you get to pick your percent from a hat! I was lucky enough to get 15% and that made a good sized dent in my selections. I did manage to come away with a nice selection of sweet fabrics and a few patterns too.
Wish I had been able to go to the trunk show they had with Gene Shepherd. He's a pastor that also does a fantastic job of hand dyeing wools. They had some examples and it was really nice. If you live near there go check them out.

Besides the shopping aspects of so cal, the art is great. We usually go to the Laguna Art Museum but decided to go see the art the artist they are featuring instead. Isamu Noguchi built this interesting and serene setting between giant office buildings.

I must admit I am glad I don't work in that atmosphere but it's nice those folks that do have this space.

It is located near South Coast Plaza on Avenue of the Arts.

Finally we rode bikes over to Balboa Island and took the Car Ferry the last night. We went to my girls favorite store when they were young gals. Even Sisters. The famous cow painted differently each year. How fun that it has my favorite symbol the bee this season.

We came back to the peninsula and went up to have one last meal at the Crab Cooker, we even found this cute bottle of wine at the nearby Safeway (Pavillions to those of the So Cal land)

Bye for now beach house. See you next time!

Sewing with a Side of Pie!

2011-08-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-08-20T22:07:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-08-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-08-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-08-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-08-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Red Centre Hot

2011-07-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

It is heating way up. 100 plus today in Chico. In other heat related news, I had two friends over to fuse some fabrics and make little pillows and coasters the other day.

Teddy supervised

while Miso cat napped.

Didn't get photos of the finished projects yet. But look what Joan makes with her target bags.

Cool Huh? They are super strong and don't off gas when you make them which is awesome.

In sewing news, I am working on my reds. all 90 of them. Don't judge. It's a collection. Yes, one of many! Red Centre is the class I took with Kathy Doughty at Sisters this year. The background is a very pale gray from Moda solids. Super pretty. Can't wait to sew this together and see how it looks.

If you are out and about in Southern California at the Long Beach International Quilt Show, go see my friends at Morning Star Quilts Booth #1622. They will have amazing wool and batiks and some necklaces you may have heard of her before!

Yes, One Stitch Off has 40 new necklaces for sale and you could see them in person!

Stay tuned for our giveway...it will be for both of our birthdays in September. You just knew we were Virgos didn't you?

Bye for now and stay cool!

Modern Surprise! Happy Zombie Sighting!

2011-07-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

I was standing in front of Monica's lantern quilt listening to 3 ladies talk about it. Oh, how they loved it. It looked slightly familiar to me although I hadn't read the tag yet. I also hadn't had any coffee yet as the line across the street at Sisters Coffee Company was way out the door. So I stood and admired with them. I began to recognize the fabric. (seriously not your sharpest cookie without that morning caffeine) when I said to them, "oh that is a fabric designed by The Happy Zombie!!" "Oh, that is a quilt she made!!" "Oh, here let me write down her blog address for you!!!" "She is so fun and talented...you'll love it!" And we all cackled away and talked for a couple minutes. Then I head left and boom. There was Monica. My happy zombie. My tell it like it is zombie. Talent galore zombie. And I said Monica!! WOW!! and when we figured it out, we had a big ol' bear hug...and THEN there was Bari Ackerman!! And Violet Craft. And Elizabeth Hartman.

Well by gosh the brain trust of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild right in my sights. I was embarrassingly uncool. You might have seen me like this as a teenager when I had a Monkee sighting in Hollywood. Or went to see David McCallum (my teen crush to the max) But now that I am older and more mature....I went a little goofy on my quilty crushes. If PamKittyMorning had been there I might have had to have medical attention. Y'all make the world so fun, accepting, and fresh. Love you all. I forgot to get autographs. Next time.

p.s. My super score was that I was the top bid for Bari's Wendy's Wish postcard beautiful little stitchery of a make believe moment. With tiny shoes. and a chandelier!! As this day proves, dreams do come true.

I have a Material Obsession!

2011-07-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

Well gals it has been a wonderful week. I went to Sisters and took classes from Kathy Doughty from Material Obsession in Sydney. The woman is not only a fabulous color maven, design guru, but a really good teacher. And that means a lot. Trust me. And as class started, we had a visit from Freddy Moran. A Red Centre all on her own! What an extra treat to see her! The day just got better and better when Lori from Humble Quilts (my fav!) made an extra special trip to Sisters to meet up with me and of course to meet Kathy! Well what a treat that was! Lori is a bubbly happy lady! What a great moment it was! I really wished I could have spent hours with her and had her in class too. Maybe next year?? Let's hope so! Lori brought me a darling "humble" red white and blue pin wool cushion that is already in use. Thank you so so much Lori!

Lori, Kathy, Library Gal!

Here is Red Centre a pattern Kathy designed that really lends itself to scrapiness and is a great way to begin to see color as it works it's magic in hue and scale.

I have always loved the way Kathy puts great big ol prints in quilts in small pieces. Changes the entire way the fabric looks. And we all have scraps of those don't we? Then the way she worked with each of us to make our bundle of colors turn the wheel.

Crazy good. And we even went shopping with Kathy (okay you know I loved this!) as the Sisters Quilters Affair classes have a small but fabulous store in the lobby. We found some extra reds for my Red Centre as I was making it all out of my stash. Stash my eye. I have a small fabric shop myself in that closet! Anyway, the mood was fun and we all were very happy with our results. Kathy spent alot of time working the more difficult combos. She sat down and made it happen. She gave encouragement. She gave it her all. She shared her quilts, her humor, skill, and stories. Thank you for a wonderful day Kathy!

More fun to come blogging friends. And perhaps a giveaway in your future! xo Pam

Stitching Joy in Paradise

2011-07-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Well gals, just as I was all packed and ready to head out for "mecca" aka Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show...I dropped in on my friends at Morning Star Quilts and found a treasure in "Paradise" of wonderful things to show you! The newest Lecien fabrics ready to become treasured heirlooms...

known as "whitewash" by Meg Hawkley of Crabapple Hill is just so beautiful I had to have it. 12 fabrics to ponder and love!

Oh, and tea towels. Don't you love tea towels? Especially hand stitched ones. They are the things that make our life so sweet during those tedious days in the kitchen, with endless cooking, washing, and doing it all over again. What did I see on a little sign once? Housework is like stringing beads on a thread with no knot. So, happy little stitched tea towels for Christmas is definitely worth a summer afternoon of stitching. Probably with a glass of pinot grigio. Ah. Bliss.

Plus all the new wool wall of hand dyed wools, threads, and patterns to go with it all.

The projects full of wool and thread being created by those Sew Sisters up there is just fabulous.

Oh, and new stitchery books to drool over too.

So if you can't get to Sisters, and even if you do, you will love the new things do at our Happy Place!

Ready to Ride!

2011-06-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

It's only a few days until we leave for Sisters! Class supplies packed. Sewing Machine packed. Getting the house 101 ready for being gone. Done. 7 hours in the passenger seat go by alot faster if you have a project. In this upcoming trip it's gonna be mug rugs!

Yep. I have to say all those bindings were a bit tedious but now I have a mission for the trip. Get them bound down! Others in the household aren't as happy about upcoming departures. Awww. This is my Dad's pooch Shaggy and he heard we were leaving Teddy for a week. Wonder what the boys will cook up while we are gone!

All My Links are Gone Gals

2011-06-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

Nuts. I was trying to update my blog roll and now all my fav peeps are gone. I'll be rebuilding but it's gonna take awhile. Some people say D**N You Auto Correct. I say D**N You Blogger! Urrrrrrggghhhh.

Birthday Girl, Honor Dad, Sisters Scraps

2011-06-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

Gals, it has been busy. I am going to do the Farmer's Wife Quilt A long but I am so far behind I may have to go stay on a farm for a month just to catch up. Here is my stash for that lovely project. Either make 111 blocks or cover a small city with this pile. Geez.

I swear I just don't know how a month has almost gone by. Crazeeeee! Anyway, Carmen had her birthday on Friday Night and a darn cute bunch of friends came to the dress up party.

You can see The Black Swan, Barbie, Twiggy, and my own Katy Perry. Mad Max, and various other creatures were lurking in the backyard.

Around 11 pm they all got on their bikes and rode downtown to Duffy's the local tavern. It must have been quite a site to see from the street level!

In Dad news, my own got to take his Honor Flight to Washington D.C. from Chico to San Francisco to Washington and back in 3 short days. I would have been extremely exhausted if I had to do a trip like that but at the age of 85 he did great and was up the next morning walking the dogs around the lake. We celebrated Father's Day a little calmly with shortcake and whipped cream and a few presents.

Then I began my next venture, Scrap management strips for my class with Kathy Doughty at Sisters in 12 short days from now! It was a mine field in my sewing closet.

I was somewhat overwhelmed but began by dumping all my strip scraps on the floor last night, sorting and then adding more from collections and stash. Good lord, it didn't make the slightest dent. But I did figure out my 9 color groups and I am loving the pre process of getting ready to go sew. Yay! It's summer!! And this is our Chico downtown center park with park sprites!!

Do the Lil Twister

2011-05-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

No, not more dancing! But have you seen the "Lil' Twister" ruler by Country Schoolhouse?

Wow. It is sure alot of fun. Yes, I am a rather easy sell on rulers that is true, but this one makes you look so clever! Here is the way it works. Sew 5 inch charms together. Add a 3 inch border. Lay the fabrics out so that you have some contrast between them. It doesn't have to be alot to be effective. Just wait and see! So you now have a nice little plain doll quilt.

Line up the marks on the Lil Twister on seams where the fabrics meet. Cut all the way around the ruler. I found that you can do three sides and then pull the whole thing away from the "quilt" and finish the last cut. Because of the little peg feet on the ruler, everything stays put!

You will end up with some interesting quilt squares that when put back together form a darling little pinwheel. Just keep cutting across your "quilt" and put them back exactly in order across your design board. Move on down to the next set of intersections and do the same. Cat not included. Cat hair, maybe! Continue until you have all the pieces back together and you'll see the magic of lil' twister!

You can certainly adapt the number of squares to make a larger quilt. Additional borders can be added for a bigger quilt top, too. I bought my ruler at Morning Star Quilts. They have them in both the small size for 5 inch and the larger size for 10 inch or layer cake sized pieces.

There is a companion book as well that shows layout options and ways to use the bits left over from cutting. I wondered before cutting if there would be a ton of wasted fabric. Not really. It is clever and you'll be too if you grab one up and go to town!

No Threads on these Gals!

2011-05-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

What do quilters do on Friday Night? Sew? Nope.

Even a few husband units accompanied us...

Quilters get out and boogie once and a (great) while! I have to say we all looked pretty happy and didn't even have thread on our clothes! Thanks everyone for coming out to see Decades! Carmen and company were thrilled to see us rockin' out! Here she is singing "Hey sista, Sew (Soul) sista"! Ha!

Yummy Red Velvet

2011-05-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

Honestly, the weather here has been so strange. Lots of rain, thunder, and then sunshine. You never know what the day will bring. This morning looked like this. With a chance of warm weather!
We have all been taking lots of naps in the cozy weather. Teddy included.

This is great weather for quilting too, and I finally finished my Red Velvet quilt made with Bliss fabric. I love the colors so much. The red is just so delicious! And so is the pink. I am so happy with how it turned out.

Our roses aren't quite up to what they usually are because of the rain, but look at Scentimental.

Isn't she beautiful. And goes perfectly with Bliss. Have a good weekend friends. It's graduation time in Chico...lots of parents and happy parties. Rain Rain Stay Away!

Mug Rugs and Mother's Day

2011-05-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

It was a sweet Mother's Day! Carmen made a reservation for brunch and we had a calorie filled yummy eggs benedict and crab cakes. Delicious! My dear daughter gave me this card, and commented that it "looked like applique". Be still my heart. My hip, lead singer, English Major of 21 years old has uttered the word "applique". Woo!

She gave me a heart rock for my collection. And Mike gave me the newest Josh Groban cd, with a little note that says, with love from Josh. Aw... My Dad gave me a book. Not just any book. Wow. It is quite interesting!

In sewing news, I too have been bitten by the mug rug bug. Here are my duos...with matching mugs. I could really get hooked on this kind of fun!

Rounds of Birthday Love

2011-05-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, our Sew Sisters gathered for sewing, eating, and good times. That is the best of all possible worlds in my book. We also had a very special gift to present. Ronda's Big 50. For the past year or more each of us, or in small groups, have pondered and planned growth of the quilt that was to surround the amazing applique of Marsha's center basket block.

Nothing planned in advance. Only the big box of batiks scraps and a few large pieces of repeat fabric. Here is the final result. Full of darling paper pieced blocks, log cabins, flying geese, and applique. On to the great reveal!

It's just spectacular. I wish you could hold it! She always said she wanted a black cat on her 50th bday quilt. Her wish ended up on the Friendship Star Label.

And sweet Debi made a matching pillow to go with.

Here are some other wonderful quilty photos of finished quilts and works in progress.

We always enjoy our time together, but this particular weekend was just very special. And we were even joined by the newest little gal, Taylor...she can't decide, pink or turquoise?

Go ahead sweetie--get 3 yards of each! Love you Sew Sisters!

Sunny With a Side of Chocolate

2011-04-25T11:16:00.001-07:00

It was a beautiful day for Easter yesterday!

Big Skies. Lots of clouds both white and dark, but the sun came through and made it bright and nice for the little (and big) kids looking for eggs.

Carmen found all 12 eggs. Go figure. She's been "finding" them for 21 Easters in the same garden!

We had a nice little brunch and visit with my Dear Dad.

Hope your day was sweet!

Work: It's Not for Sissies

2011-04-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

I probably wouldn't have bothered to say anything about how tough work has been these past few weeks except, well, maybe that's why I haven't finished any sewing projects (that and Mercury in retrograde. I guess that really messes with us Virgos) but I digress. I have worked at my current job for 30, count 'em 30 years. In that time, we have seen many changes in library practices. Digital everything. Google searches instead of students asking for help from librarians. And in my particular job which deals almost completely with historical images, books, and manuscripts, we have been truly blessed because with the new technology we can share what we have painstakingly taken care of for all these years by scanning photos, books, documents and indexes. It's awesome. In my time at Chico State I have probably cataloged nearly 20 or 25 thousand images. I kid you not. I know the historical families and their faces in this area like I was a distant relative. It's wonderful and kind of creepy all at the same time.

Still, I digress. Lately, there has been a change looming in our department to adapt a new numbering system to these resources. Having worked there all these years, I know the inherent difficulties with this idea. And I must say, I let it be known that I would not be a part of it. I even had the audacity to ask who's permission in the food chain had been given to allow this to happen. answer? None. Because I Said So. You Will Do It. It's Your Job.

Pam Bush - Photograph Curator 530.898-4308 pbush@csuchico.edu

I have always said, choose your battles carefully. Well this is mine. Some things cannot change just because a new idea gets hatched. I refused to use the new system. Now you may thing wow, Pam is so getting old and set in her ways. Get with the new. Out with the old. But gals, the old isn't broken. Don't Fix it. So this past week, losing sleep and talking my dear husband's ears right off his head, I was feeling so defeated. I made the appointment for applying for my retirement. I mentally started cleaning out my desk. How one thing can rock your world and tell you, hey, maybe I've given it my best and it's time to let someone else take over.

Then of all things, I asked for another meeting to plead my case again. I don't go away quietly. And as Mercury moved out of retrograde, and my retirement calculation was being figured out in Sacramento, my boss came to my door and told me that yes, indeed. The numbering system would stay after all. And then this morning, look at what the funnies had to say:

Sometimes the planets just line up in your favor. That pile of unfinished quilts is about to start having fun.

Backyard Friends

2011-04-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Gals, It's almost Easter! I love this time of year! It's Pink, White, Red, Purple, Yellow...and the beautiful sky and clouds. Even with the rain we have been having almost daily, the colors continue to lift my spirits.

The chocolate bunnies have been purchased at our darling little Chico store Schuberts, the jelly beans have been eaten (hee hee) but will be replaced by Sunday! We still hide those plastic eggs for our daughter. She is 21. We now fill them with quarters for her car so she has meter money when she parks downtown! ( Forever the parking ticket in Chico was $5.00 then in inched up to $7.00 and is now $28.00 ouch!)

My Bunny table topper thingy is almost done

...some free motion swirls tonight and a binding tomorrow and I'll make it in time!

Our backyard is beginning to bloom out

and the crazy petunias from last year are reblooming in the front window boxes.

They are thick and healthy! Never in my life have I seen them rebloom. Fabulous I'd say! Here's a look at our bamboo grove that has a little meditation seat inside.And of course the three amigos are enjoying the nice weather in their backyard. They play and chase and hide and seek. It's so fun to watch.

Miso Pretty

Teddy

and "Old" Livia

Hope we are able to get out and enjoy the backyard this weekend. Rain is predicted but you never can tell! Have a wonderful Easter!

UFO (s) Sightings!

2011-04-14T10:00:00.001-07:00

I have been busy now that the weather is sort of starting to cooperate. A little time in the yard, a few more walks with Teddy. The time flies as the workday takes up my sewing time from 8 to 3 every day! But a few hours before work and sometimes after dinnertime I have been getting a little done on a lot of different projects. T he saying, "Two hours in the morning are worth one hour in the evening" is so true for me! Here's a few things that are in progress. Hope to finish at least the bunny table topper before Easter Day!

Bliss

My Shes

...a Sew Sister project where I'll make 15 of these self portraits (yes, that's me!) and trade with all my Sew Sisters this coming October. Thank goodness I have a few more months!

Remember that Basket challenge with Lizzie. Here's mine. Very challenging at the moment. I am making the 6 inch blocks. I have 1 made so far. Only 42 to go!

Garden Party

fabric by Blackbird Designs. One of my favorite lines ever. The pattern is Two Block Hop! Two more rows and sashings but all the blocks are made! Slow but sure gals!

My 2 inch applique circles on Daiwabo Japanese taupes. There are some kaffes in there. Some Valori Wells, and lots of fabrics from my collections. I chuckle when I see how I pick the same colorways over and over. Eventually they make their way into a project. Ironically, only a two inch square of the fat quarter or yardage!

Love this table topper from the Pattern Basket. I had to have Sunkissed and here was a way to use it! I love spring and bunnies, don't you?

My Batik block of the month applique center and two blocks that need to get made pronto.

I did however finish my "just one star " and popped it in the mail last week!

Jean Wells Basket Quilt with Lizzie

2011-03-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

A few years back I was at the Sisters' Outdoor Quilt Show and among the hundreds of quilts there, I saw this one and immediately knew I wanted to make my own.

The label said it was a pattern from Jean Wells and I went over to the Stitchin Post to look for it, but it was not exactly a good time to track it down. You know, it is a crazy fun zoo in there during the show. So I took photographs and it has stayed in my mind. That in itself is amazing **Big Smile Here** The other night at our guild meeting I was browsing through the library and saw this book.Could it be in there? Well, yes it was! So I happily checked it out and began my search for the perfect fabric. I decided on the beautiful fabric by Ediyta Sitar called Bon Voyage which has both vintage appeal and a whole batch of batiks that go with it. My beautiful background fabric is Grunge in Kraft by Basic Grey. I hope to mix it up and see what happens.

My dear Lizzie has decided to quilt along with me and make her own version of Jean's basket quilt. I am making the 6 inch blocks and she is making the 12 inch blocks.
This is just her test block, so stayed tuned for what turns up.

The really nice thing about this basket is that the handle is not appliqued but pieced. What are your favorite basket blocks? Have a good weekend!

A Generous Win Win Opportunity

2011-03-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Hey Gals, It has been a somber week watching the images about Japan and the devastation there. The Japanese people certainly need a helping hand and here is one way we can approach that need.

I have been a member of the Quilt Show online since the first episode, and this week saw that Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims are generously helping the people of Japan by giving all of us a chance to win a beautiful one of a kind quilt by Alex Anderson pictured below

or a workshop/retreat in LaVeta Colorado with Ricky Tims.

Go here to find out where and how to donate and enter to win one of these amazing donations.

I was reading about the importance of the spring blossoms to the Japanese people. I hope spring efforts to help them rebuild renews their spirits. Isn't this a beautiful ancient poem about cherry blossoms?

"When they bloom they fall
When they do not bloom we yearn
For mountain cherry flowers "

Give and Receive

2011-03-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday gals! I want to share a new little member of my sewing staff. Yes, she is quite petite but oh so helpful! I have named her Miss Rip for obvious reasons! My dear friend Lizzie surprised me with her last week! It was love at first sight.

If you'd like to have your own little friend, you can find them here. And don't worry--even after the long trip from Australia, she was raring to go on my most recent project problem sewing. She even seams to like the work! Go figure. By the way, the beautiful little hand stitched miniature pillow next to Miss Rip was also a handmade gift from Lizzie awhile back. I am lucky to have such a good friend who does nice work!

I also want to share a sweet photo of my long time friend Rosann and her "Mum" Mary from Exeter, New Hampshire. I have known Rosann since 1975 and her family just about as long. Mary is now 87 years of age and was visiting last week in Chico. We have always had a special connection, and I wanted to give Mary a gift to take home. So here we are with a small throw I made last year at Bodega Bay. It is lightweight with dream wool batting, so it isn't heavy on a fragile lap. It feels like a cloud to tell you the truth. The fabric is the popular French General's Rouenneries from awhile back. She said it is just the colors of her living room! A true blessing to give warmth to a dear friend.

Go Sewin'

2011-03-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hey Gals, Hope you are well and happy as the Spring starts to melt the snow and the trees begin their wonderful blossoms. I am such a California gal. Even February is a good month on the coast here and only a few hours from Chico is the beautiful Bodega Bay where I was lucky enough to get to spend 5 days (count 'em f i v e ) sewing with dear friends. What could be better than that! On the way over we took our time and went through the Sonoma Valley and visited a few wineries and enjoyed the iconic scenery of the California's coast. Look at those happy cows!

"Ask about our Library Wine" indeed! Perfect for a "Librarygal"

It was a lovely day and we even found a quilt shop in Sonoma called Broadway Quilts. Nice shop and a good omen for sewing to come!

We made it to the ocean by the late afternoon to the beautiful bay

and soon had the dining room turned into the sewing mecca we so eagerly anticipated.

I tell you, there is nothing in the world 6 quilters can't do.

The food was fabulous!

The sewing was spectacular!

And the view from the hot tub? Well, see for yourself below and I'm gettin' misty eyed just remembering it!On the way home we stopped at the Quilted Angel in Petaluma and enjoyed the great staff and darling quilts and displays.
Lots of love to our families and co workers for allowing such luxury of time and creativity!

Bye for now Bodega Bay--we heart you!

Hope, Bravery, Endurance and Courage

2011-02-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

No, not a new necklace sentiment but a real life message that is going on at our house. My dear Dad is battling his lymphoma again. He kept it to himself and just a week or so ago told us he had been to the doctor and that he needed to start treatment. So as all families try to do, we gathered our information and went forward. Yesterday was the first of 16 treatments. A tough day. Mostly because of fear and anger. But as the day progressed, and as he made it through his treatment and a night has passed the path seems better. What I want to share today is the beauty of the Enloe Cancer Center and the wonderful quilts that line it's hallways. You see, it used to be filled to over following from the ceilings with paper folded origami cranes.

Thousands of them. Well, the fire marshal didn't like that much and so they had to be removed...to other locations in lesser amounts and that left the hallways blank again. I recognized names of wonderful people as I looked on the tags for the wall quilts. People I never knew had had cancer that I know. Small world.

Let me share what Judith K. Johnson of Chico, California (Judy--wonderful quilter, traveler, mother, grandmother, friend) wrote beneath her quilts:

"Ribbons of Courage" "I have survived Cancer two times, 1997 and 2004. I have walked down the main hall to have chemotherapy many times, and enjoyed the Healing Arts exhibits, and the cranes. I know everyone that comes here likes seeing the art, and the paper cranes were so special to all of us, our family and friends. When the cranes were taken down, we had a new idea of making banners that could be hung in the main hallway. I was ready to be part of it. Everyone tht comes here will see these quilts and know that all of the artists that made them were giving special quilts to the Cancer Center to replace the cranes. My two banners celebrate the cranes, and four words of cancer patients, Hope, Bravery, Endurance and Courage."

There are more quilts and I'll take more photos as the weeks progress. It never fails that when I need to feel uplifted, somehow a quilt gets involved. Whether it's just the process or the giving or the friendships, or the viewing of special work. Amazing. And thank you to all of those quilters that make those hallways a lot less frightening. Dad's prognosis is very good. We are grateful and humbled by the nurses and doctors who so patiently take care of him.

A New Winner Terry!

2011-01-29T11:04:00.000-08:00

Well gals, I had no response from my winner for the Quilt and Bee Happy necklace. I have decided to pick a new winner. I used the scrap bag method once again and have pulled "Terry" from the bag! So Terry, would you please leave a comment and email me your mailing address? And the good news from Road to California was we sold LOTS of handstamped necklaces. We'll be adding more to the Etsy Shop as soon as we have time. Another wonderful mention of our work by the lovely Kathy Doughty of Material Obsessions! We feel so honored! It's fun to go international with your crafts!

A Little Blogland Help Today

2011-01-25T08:05:00.000-08:00

Need a little good energy today blogging gals. So however you send your prayers, thoughts, good vibes, can you do it for Carmen today? A million thanks! My sweetie girl broke her elbow Saturday night. She was helping out with auditions at a local theater company and slipped in a spilled drink on the floor. We spent the typical 5 hours in the emergency room (what happens that it takes that long? Good Grief!) And have been to see the orthopedic surgeon. It does not need surgery thank goodness, but is in a brace with lots of dials and numbers. She and her band Decades, have the opportunity of a lifetime (especially up here in the boonies) to film a professional music video today! They have been getting considerable positive attention from promoters since they did a New Years gig here. Trooper that she is, she is going to do it, even though she is in lots of pain. She has been "on stage" since she was 5. She has been in over 30 plays in her life and had the lead in Annie when she was 8, teaches in the summer at a wonderful Fine Arts Camp in Placer County, and has performance in her blood. I kid you not. My dear Mom was also a professional night club singer. Truly she was. When I was a kid, we went from L.A. to Las Vegas at least once a month and stayed in nice hotels and did our homework by the pools. They had a huge following in southern California.

So it all skipped a generation with me and went straight to Carmen! My Mom had a "day job" in a doctor's office and Carmen is a senior at Chico State trying to get a teaching credential in these bad times. Geez! I can barely get dinner on the table after a day of work much less anything else. I am amazed and proud. Thanks for listening and I'll let you know how it goes. xo Pam in Chico

p.s. my other little quandry is my giveaway winner has not responded. How long should I wait until I pick another winner?

Winner!!

2011-01-21T20:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Hour has come and gone. And I have a winner!

Johnnie's is the very nice old fashioned "lounge" bar in the renovated Hotel Diamond in Chico, California. It was hopping this Friday evening and although I doubt anyone noticed us, we picked our winners and cheered!

Well lucky gal BARBARA is my winner of the Quilt and bee happy necklace! Barbara please send me your email and address and I'll get this right out to you! Thanks everyone for playing along. I loved getting to see your blogs, many I have seen but some I have not. I'll keep checking on your creative endeavors and I hope you'll come by here again too. Maybe they'll even be some quilting done in the next few months! Have a good weekend all of you gals! love, Pam

Our Happy Hour Giveaway for One Stitch Off Jewelry!

2011-01-17T11:08:00.000-08:00

Good Morning Gals! Debbie and I have decided to do a giveaway for not one but two necklaces! Yep! I am giving away a Quilt and Bee Happy necklace shown below.

Leave a comment here on my blog and for an extra chance to win, become a follower of my blog. Winners will be picked Friday January 21st at 5 p.m. Happy Hour you might call it!

My partner in pounding Debbie is also doing the same giveaway but with a different necklace. Go on over to OneStitchOff and leave her a comment and become a follower too! She is giving away Love, Laugh, Quilt as shown below.

The Road to California is this week in Ontario, California. If you are a southern California gal, you should absolutely try to go! Stop by Honey Run Quilter's booth to see our necklaces in person!

Spread the love and mention the giveaway on your blog if you have time! Thanks and good luck!

we have been at the kitchen table gals!

2011-01-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday Afternoon gals. What a weekend in Chico...cold and gloomy, clear and freezing. Just the kind of thing to make me stay indoors the whole weekend. Seriously. My "partner in pounding" Debbie of Onestitchoff and myself made ourselves a good sized mess and had fun too. We have been incorporating more crystals and vintage beads and even adding some other fun earrings and necklaces for friends of quilters too. Oh, and for those who knit, bead, collect buttons, and love cupcakes. Enjoy!
Our new slew of jewelry is taking off for our etsy shop and to Road to California too! If you know any southern California quilters, tell them to keep an eye out for these little handmade necklaces and earrings at the Honey Run booth January 19-23rd, Ontario, California!
p.s. we will be having a giveaway during that time, so check back in soon for how you can win the necklace or your choice!

Sew Mama Sew Homework Questions!

2011-01-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

I wanted to add my two cents to Sew Mama Sew!

2010 Reflections + 2011 Predictions

questions about quilting this past year. Here are the questions and here are my answers.

1. What was your favorite trend in 2010? I had two actually. Solids including semi solids like Basic Grey's "grunge". I loved the Gee's bend solids. I love the craftsmanship of beautiful solids like Cherrywood Fabrics. The Kaffe shot cottons, the Kaufman Chambrays, the dupioni silks. All of these textures and colors make for energetic quilts. Love them! My second favorite trend was the amount of Voile that was introduced. Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks was so dreamy and soft I just couldn't believe how it worked up into the most lightweight and beautiful quilt. I used dream wool and it was as light as a feather!

2. What were your favorite fabric collections? I loved and purchased so many! Hard to say, but what comes to mind again is Bliss by Bonnie and Camille, Martha Negley's Autumn Medley, Edyta Sitar's Batiks, and Red Rose Farm by Elizabeth Scott, Laura Gunn Poppies and Lanterns, So many others! The Kaffes, The Michael Miller Collections, The FigTree, the Valori Wells, the Lecein, the Art Gallery! All of it wonderful.

3. What were your favorite patterns? I loved "Check Out the Stars" by Quilt Moments...it's especially nice for precut pieces. I made the Pam Kitty Mornings Come Around for Coffee, and it had very good instructions. Love that! all the Aardvark patterns, and the darling Knight Watch by Lizzy House and Oh Fransson!

4. What were your favorite blogs? This is too hard! Any certain day, any certain mood and amount of time would send me dreaming away and further and further down the rabbit hole of blogland. I always check my friends's blogs, Quilting in Northern California, Our Happy Place, OneStitchOff, TraceyJayQuilts,ABC, msmcporkchopquilts, Honey Run, Simply Cotton and always love Material Obsession, Humble Quilts, Sisters Choice, PamKittyMorning, Happy Zombie, Baumcat, Small Works in Wool, Valori Wells, Sue Spargo, Frieda Anderson, Laura Wasilowski and on and on. I don't want to hurt any feelings. Look down my "Virtual Inspiration" tab. they are all worthy and fabulous.

5. The Best thing you made? I'd guess I liked my Little Red House under the Gwenny Stars best. It was just a real fun quilt to make. I pretty much designed it, pieced it, quilted it myself, and here it is. It hangs in my sewing room. A reminder of a small challenge to myself to figure it out!

6. The best thing you saw made by someone else? That would be House Party by Tonye Belinda Phillips. It has everything I love. Colors, beautiful stitching, and fabrics incorporated from far and wide!
8. What is your sewing agenda for 2011? Woah. I'd rather call it something else, but I would visualize some finishes that were put aside it the past year, some new ways to use what I have already in my stash. It is time to use it up or move it on. I keep telling myself this isn't a library collection although I know all the "titles" and "authors" or my beautiful cloth stacks...mostly that is. I mostly want to enjoy the moments. I also love getting others involved in quilting. I hope I don't push too much, but I love the common pleasures to share with friends. Putting those little squares together is meditation for me. It brings me happiness and gives my mind a place to settle and think things through or perhaps not worry about things.

9. what would you like to learn more about? I would really like to know how to resize patterns. I had the devil of a time reworking a square that I wanted to be larger. It took me hours to make little paper pieces and measure and do the math. I finally did it but I know there some magic out there that I can use. Can anyone help me find it?
So there it is. Lengthy and lots of links1 I enjoy quilting. I love the community it brings, the joy of color and patterns. Happy 2011!

The New Year and a Slow Start!

2011-01-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

Playing at the computer today I started messin with my blog...it's rather purplish at the moment. Stay tuned, it may change! Sometimes you just have to rearrange!

I have a rotten flu/cold thing I got on New Year's Eve. We went to see our daughter's band play at a local casino (weirdness times weirdness where do those people come from??) The band known as "Decades" plays songs we all grew up with and can sing along to from each era...I loved hearing some old Fleetwood Mac and some Blondie and even the Beatles. Fun. All these band members are college students at our local Chico State, work other jobs besides their band and are really fun to be around.

And all of the kids in the band had both their parents there. Truly amazing in this day and age!

Carmen is having fun and earning some extra money. Good for her! The "crowd" loved them. I really have to say though that I hate cigarettes and smoke and I probably wouldn't ever go there unless she was performing. Let's hope they get a gig at a cool fun quilt shop barbeque party with margaritas! Yeah. Right! Lady Gaga dressed in Kaffe ...or something like that!

Gosh it has been so long since I have had a real chance to sew. My Batik block of the month is sadly lanquishing. Here are two finished blocks and next I have to get the center motif and the borders pieced. I had planned to whip it out during the new year's day parade. The best plans sometimes get delayed! Look out January 3rd. I have got your number!! Here it is all ready to go!

Quilts Come & Go but Christmas Surprises are Forever!

2010-12-30T12:14:00.000-08:00

My dear daughter Carmen has been asking forever for the Glorify Quilt I made this summer.

I took a class from Pam Dinndorf at Sisters and then I had Renee of Quilted Elegance quilt it for me with a beautiful dahlia design.

Carmen wanted that quilt so badly she offered to "pay" for it in installments. Ha! Well a mother's heart was warmed and a quilter's heart was delighted that she liked it that much! She refers to the quilt as "color theory" because I believe I mentioned that was the name of the class.

So, I wrapped it in an appropriate box

and here's the moment!

Santa's Little Teddy Bear

2010-12-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

At our house we call Teddy by various names...Ted Ted, Ted Bush, etc. He is a happy little Bichon Frise. I picked him up from the groomers' yesterday and he was looking all spiffy as you can see with his jingle bell collar.

Being a good momma, I purchased a cute little santa toy from Bow Wow Doggie Day Spa where he spent the morning...(I know isn't that name a kick in the pants?) Well, we got home and I took my little purchase into the sewing room and then went about my business. A very short time later I heard a rustling in the room...you got it, Mr. Ted Bush had pulled down the bag and taken his santa!

You can see the "uh oh" on his little mutt face! You are soooo busted Mr. Ted Bush!

Then he howled like crazy for a few minutes to distract me.

But with my usual parenting skills, I gave in and was rewarded with this sweet little look.

It really tuckered him out. He found his pal Miso and took a long winter's nap!

Smoochie Smoochie!

2010-12-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

No gals, you don't have to kiss me, but I did want to show you my little project finished just in time for holiday smooches! I purchased Quilting Arts Christmas gifts late in the summer and dreamed of making lots and lots of these. Exactly 2 have been created and I believe that will be it for me this year as my eyes are always bigger than my time allotment for quilting. Honestly, I love green fabrics and it was a great reason to hunt for more for the mistletoe. Finding the little felt balls was easy too. If you are looking for them try this source on Etsy adorable little things from Handbehg Felts. The project called for silk ribbons which are so dreamy but hard to find in Chico. Ribbon is one of the items I look for when I go a traveling to larger cities. Britex in San Francisco has rolls and rolls of it!

The interior of the leaves is heavy Timtex two sided fusible. The edges of the thick pellon was visible so I used two colors of green sharpie and it soaked it up just fine I am ready for my sweetie to pucker up and give me a smooch!

Merry Christmas!!

Pounding Away! More One Stitch Off Jewelry

2010-12-05T12:11:00.001-08:00

Good Afternoon Gals! Quilting has been set aside while I pound out orders and presents for One Stitch Off this weekend! It has been alot of fun and very encouraging to be so well received with our new little hobby!

It takes about 30 minutes or more per necklace by the time you pound, polish, drill and assemble. We have our etsy shop open too. All the designs below have been spoken for but more can be pounded as Debbie and I keep Santa's workshop going into the wee hours! What are you all working on? Or is it a secret? I have some of those going too...and they are somewhat quieter in the making than mixed metal jewelry! Enjoy your week! xo Pam

A Bali-Pop Giveaway at Morning Star!

2010-11-30T16:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Gals, I wanted to get right on here and send you on your way over to Our Happy Place the blog of Morning Star Quilts so you can see what they have been up to up the hill and to have a chance at winning a Bali-Pop! I so love batiks and no matter what you cannot have enough! Doing the block of the month with Morning Star right now and am loving the colors they picked for our beautiful project. Take a look below at Marsha's finished quilt (and look closely at the fabulous quilting she did on her Handiquilter. WooHoo!)
Mine will be done this time next year!

Applique the Tonye Way

2010-11-09T05:51:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, I attended the Stitchin' Post's in Sisters, Oregon classes the week before the big outdoor quilt show. During that week the little community known as Camp Sherman had their quilt show the day before. Tonye Belinda Phillips who lives in the Camp Sherman which is just 15 miles from Sisters, had just published her first book,

Hand Appliqued Quilts, Whimsical Designs & Simple Techniques and her quilts lined the walls of the little loft in the community hall. I knew this special person had to visit Chico someday and share her cheerful, beautiful quilts with us. And this past weekend, she did! First a trunk show and lecture at Annie's Star Quilt Guild. You can see the size of this beautiful fruit basket next to Tonye.

Not only are her quilts rich with craftsmanship and sweetness of color and design, she is a wonderful happy person and a very good teacher as well. So this past week she finally made it to Chico. Houses, Birds, Baskets, Watering Cans, Flowers, all of these elements are part of her designs. But somehow these modest motifs become fresh and fun with Tonye's eye for color and shape. Really. She makes a gal want to applique. Even me, the gal that thought she never really would! Don't look too closely at those points just yet...but I am trying!

Another really fun thing happened during her visit. Tracey a wonderful mother, wife, and fellow blogger that lives nearby to Chico was able to join us to sew with Tonye.

Go check out Tracey's blog asap! She is currently featured on the Moda Bake Shop!

Funny thing about blogging, I was at Honey Run one afternoon and looked across the cutting table at this young woman who was helping a friend pick out fabric. She had an adorable little baby boy with her. I just couldn't put my finger on how I knew them. Chico can be like that. Light bulb moment: Are you Tracey? Is that Steiger? Oh how fun! The bloggers meet!

Real life sewing. Woohoo!

One thing leads to another

2010-10-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

Well gals, this morning I was doodling around on the computer before work and was wondering about using Transfereze to do embroidery. I googled around and found a fun blog that just cheered me right up and made my morning a little brighter. Andrea of Bad Birds did a tutorial on using it here. (Yes, I may add that little craft to my ever growing list of things that take time, money, and creative energy. Who needs dinner or laundry done, or sleep?

A little edgy and a lot creative! Her very own Original Art and Original Embroidery Patterns. If you have time, go take a peek at Andrea's blog. She also has an amazing Etsy Shop. Go ahead. Make your day!

Super Duper Quilts From Pacific International

2010-10-22T00:06:00.000-07:00

Gals, we couldn't have had more fun than my three days at PIQF. Wow. Besides being giddy about our little onestitchoff quilt jewelry and the positive feedback we received from everyone, we just had the best adventures from the word go. I'm going to post tons of quilts on my flickr page later but for now, lookie here! I'll start with a few of my favorites and continue, but honestly some of the quilts just drop you to your knees with talent.
The vendors get to me right away and I just know I can make at least 5 quilts next week when I start grabbing up those patterns, fabric, ribbons, buttons, rulers, and so many cool things you start getting a little light headed. But the best part is of course the people and the quilts. So very nice to see those smiling people that do want to sell things, but are also very human and kind and funny. And the quilt celebs? Well, you know I think they are pretty cool and Debbie egged me on to get photographs with lots of talented people. She really didn't have to try very hard, hee hee.

I also marveled at an Indian Wedding that took place while we were at the Hyatt. Here's a few photos of the guests and of course the lovely bride being escorted to the groom. Woohoo! We had a front row seat somehow at the bar accompanying the wedding scene. And we happened to find the reception ballroom pictured below. Heavenly...the walls covered in white tulle with violet lights behind, satin table linens and ribbons on each and every chair. Amazing! The room was set up for at least 200 people or maybe more.It was dreamy! And it smelled like a million flowers. Fabulous! I wonder if we saw it before the bride and groom?

So, back to reality now and work and home and the fall has definitely hit Chico. Rain for three days this weekend and beyond is predicted. But I don't mind. I have all my loot and inspiration to keep me happy for days. And I hear the sound of lots of pounding in my very near future!

Winner! Sharon of Grassroots Quilt Studios!!

2010-10-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to all of you gals for playing along for the giveaway! We have had so much fun selling necklaces at Pacific International and spreading the word about our little "chicken".

Sharon of Grassroots Quilt Studios you are the big winner! We will gladly send you any of the designs we already have, or you can choose a personalized message....we had a suggestion from a quilter here for her longarm business of "long armed and dangerous! How funny is that!

Gals, we also want to give a big shout out to Nicole of Sisters Choice. So many of you came by to visit us through her. Thank you for sharing us with your blogging friends Nicole! We heart you!

And thank you all for keeping us in mind if you'd like a special necklace for yourself or a quilting friend. We are thrilled with all of your positive comments on our venture!

Tomorrow, photos of PIQF and the fabulous creative hobby we all love...Quilts of every color, shape, and theme. Until then, Quilt and bee happy! xo Pam and Debbie

Thank You and How to Order One Sitch Off Jewelry!

2010-10-13T11:24:00.001-07:00

WooHoo! Thank you all for your overwhelming interest in our quilt-themed necklaces. Many of you have asked how much the necklaces cost and how to order them, so here's the info:

The necklaces
are $22 each, plus $1.50 for shipping.
If you want a personalized necklace such as this one (you can tell us what you'd like it to say!)
the price is $35 plus shipping.
To order, please send an email to 1stitchoff@gmail.com and we'll send you the order form. Just email us back the information on the form and presto - our little hands and fingers get busy!! Once we finish your order, we'll send you a PayPal invoice. If you don't have PayPal, we'll be glad to work out other arrangements.

We should have our Etsy shop stocked soon (www.etsy.com/shop/1stitchoff) but we will be taking this weekend off to enjoy the Pacific International Quilt Festival.

Again, thank you all for your comments and feedback! And stay tuned for the giveaway Saturday night at 10 pm. Live from PIQF!!

Pam & Debbie (aka PIP partners in pounding) !!

A Giveaway from Library Gal & One Stitch Off!

2010-10-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

Okay gals, now this is a real turn of events! While quilting is my most favorite past time, my friend Debbie and I have started a little chicken. What you say? Well, grandma used to say, "everyone needs a chicken so they can sell the eggs for spare household money." Insert the words "fabric money" and you've the picture!

So, Debbie brillantly cooked up this great idea to start making stamped metal jewelry. We both love how it looks and have been pounding our hearts out getting it up and going. One Stitch Off Mixed Metal Stamped Jewelry has been hatched! We hope to spread our little business far and wide and it's first debut will be at Pacific International Quilt Festival, available in the Honey Run booth (#110). You can stop by and see if for yourself if you are going to the show.

Because we are giddy with positivity, we want to give away a personalized stamped necklace. Yours could say, Mom, Wife, Grandma, Quilter...we'll add the charm you'd like or crystals in a favorite color.

So, spread the word about our giveaway and good luck!

keep calm and quilt quilt and bee happy love laugh quilt

personalized necklace above

l. Please leave a comment telling us which necklace you like best on both of our blogs.
2. Suggest one necklace message such as: "live, laugh, quilt"

BONUS!! If you are a follower or become a follower, mention that in your comments for an extra chance to win. Please also tell your blog readers about our giveaway!

OneStitchOff and I will throw all the names in a basket Saturday night and pull the winner at 10 pm.

If you would like to order any of these designs, or a personalized themed necklace, get in touch with us at: 1stitchoff@gmail.com and we'll get it going for you. We can send you an order form via email.

Thanks for stopping by and wish us luck with our chicks! Pam and Debbie in Chico

Update Wednesday, October 13th:
WooHoo! Thank you all for your overwhelming interest in our quilt-themed necklaces. Many of you have asked how much the necklaces cost and how to order them, so here's the info:

The necklaces
are $22 each, plus $1.50 for shipping.
If you want a personalized necklace such as this one (you can tell us what you'd like it to say!)
the price is $35 plus shipping.
To order, please send an email to 1stitchoff@gmail.com and we'll send you the order form. Just email us back the information on the form and presto - our little hands and fingers get busy!! Once we finish your order, we'll send you a PayPal invoice. If you don't have PayPal, we'll be glad to work out other arrangements.

We should have our Etsy shop stocked soon (www.etsy.com/shop/1stitchoff) but we will be taking this weekend off to enjoy the Pacific International Quilt Festival.

Again, thank you all for your comments and feedback! And stay tuned for the giveaway Saturday night at 10 pm. Live from PIQF!!

Pam & Debbie (aka PIP partners in pounding) !!

September Catch Up

2010-09-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

Gals, I hope you didn't forget me...I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth...just having a blogging break because life is just so daily...isn't that the truth! Where to start ...The very best news is that my Dear Dad is completely free of any cancer! The latest round of tests shows no sign of lymphoma at all...here is a cute summer photo of him with a peach pie made with his Elberta Peaces! It is a true blessing. Mike and I have been on vacation to Newport Beach. It's special to visit the California Coast in September. No people...everyone back in school mostly and very good weather. No quilting but some cross stitching on the beach watching the dolphins jump...I found an interesting store in Costa Mesa, Piecemakers. A little bit of everything but mostly ribbons and floss and dimly lit rooms...I bought some wonderful wool acrylic floss and some overdyed floss too.

We love Newport and always have fun there. We have been going to the same beach house for over 15 years. Now that it mostly is just me and Mike, we have different routines than when the girls were small. Different but still wonderful. This year we went to San Diego to see the USS Midway and it was really amazing. If you haven't been on an aircraft carrier, well, this is your chance.

My 57th birthday was a complete surprise visit from my brother Michael and his kids from Southern California. I was called into the living room and could not believe my eyes! It was a great time and so unexpected. I loved it!

Had some fun sewing days this summer too. Started making a Kaffe Romance Pickle Dish and spent time with some of my Sew Sisters pictured below:

Hope your summer was relaxing and you are spending these last warm days buttoning up outside chores and getting ready to sew this fall. Can't wait to see what you have been up to. xo Pam

More Piecing Less Blogging!

2010-08-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

Oh gosh, blogging has taken a backseat to quilting! Hooray! Since I go back to work in a week I have really been focused on getting things done...once back at work things kinda slowwwwww down.

Here is Glorify which I will teach at Morning Star with Cinde Nelson this coming October.
She is a fabulous watercolorist that will lecture on color theory and all the fun that goes with that.

And here is my nearly finished "Come Around for Coffee" which is a free pattern by the wonderous Pam Kitty Morning and can be found on her blogspot.

The little Christmas quilt should have been done last year (note fabric of seasons past :) but at least I churned it out this year! I added liberated stars to the corners.

Off today to take a class at Morning Star from Kaffe's Quilt Romance the Pickle Dish with tons of polka dots...and the Paradise Quilt Show is also going on. Good times in Fabric Heaven I'd say gals!

I've had some time to Sew!!

2010-07-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

I have gotten in a couple days of sewing and it feels so good! It took a little time to get inspired to finish up my Liberated Stars project. Here is what I came up with.

Little Red House, Tall Green Grass under the Gwenny Stars

...the little bits of Kaffe really soften up the bold Gee's Bend Solids which I love so much. I'll be teaching this star method on September 24th at Morning Star. Maybe you'll come join me!

I also made a little kitty from Anne Sutton's Scooter Pie Pattern.

Easy, cute and I think I'll end up making lots of these. Maybe wool when the weather cools off!

And here is the finished top from my class at Sister's with Pam Dinndorf.

Pam and Pam

..I made the Baby Peels into a larger quilt by adding two additional peels...I like the size because it fits across one width of fabric by the length so no piecing the back.

Lazy gal that is me.... I don't really know how to quilt this one yet. It is so simple really and I don't think it needs alot. What do you think?

Have a great middle of the summer weekend. It's off to the farmer's market for me.

Love getting there early and getting the best stuff!

Hey Sistas!!

2010-07-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

It is a wonderful week to be away from all the hustle and bustle and stress of home...and be at my favorite cabin on the Metolius River in Camp Sherman Oregon.

Of course the fabulous classes and world famous Stitchin Post make for a little more than just nature loving time! Great classes with Pam Dinndorf of Aardvark Quilts.

If you haven't checked out her patterns you really should. Simple, vintage feel, and they lend themselves to a variety of fabric styles. Awesome! Had fun meeting up with Carmen from Honey Run who is here taking a four day marathon class with the sweet wool diva Sue Spargo.

Tonye Phillips has a new shop/studio in town these days and we went there for some inspiration and shopping. Along with Kathy Deggendorfer who paints just gorgeous happy watercolors of life in flowers, animals, and the scenery of Sisters and surrounding areas.

Of course Jean Wells
who is also getting inducted into the Quilters' Hall of Fame next week

has been working hard to put her latest work in a gallery show this year.
The High Desert Gallery has a stunning display of her work. p.s. I think I may be coming home with a small one this year!!

Ricky Tims was very inspiring yesterday about quilting your quilt top. A three hour lecture on how he approaches this daunting task. As he says, just one 6 inch spot at a time and soon you are all done. Yeah, right! Alex Anderson was entertaining and personable too. I hadn't realized she was such an ambitious hand quilter. wow.. beautiful and no fear! Tomorrow is the big show. Hundreds of quilts and thousands of people. The estimate is 1400 quilts. It's amazing and the vibe is colorful and happy. Hope you are happy too. xo Pam

Red White and Yellow!

2010-07-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July Gals! I know that it's red white and blue day, but for me it's red white yellow and a little pink day!

I finally finished up Carmen's little southern roommate's quilt. Here they are hamming it up for me in May when we went to visit. My daughter said to me, Maddie loves quilts Mom and wishes she knew you well enough to ask for one...enough said right?

It is made from two lines of fabric both with Sugar in the name! Perfect for Miss Maddie and perfect for a southern gal!

From Flower Sugar by Lecien and Sugar from Art Gallery Quilts . I had no idea at the time I was combining them! Later when I was saving the selvages for my someday selvage project, I saw it! I had the Flower Sugar in my cupboard and went to find some extras to go with. Love it when that kind of serendipity happens!
And by the way, I quilted this all on Miss Meander! Thanks to Lizzie for putting on the binding for me by the way!

P.S.
The southern quilters I met were wonderful. I was able to visit both stores of People, Places and Quilts. They are awesome, y'all! They deserve a new fabric line just as sweet as they are and I want someone to design a new line of fabric called Sweet Tea
Those darlin' gals down south would love it!

21 in the Magic Kingdom!

2010-06-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

I gotta tell ya gals, I am not as young as I used to be...I grew up in L.A. and went to Disneyland when there were still "E" tickets and The Carousel of Progress and the House of the Future. I even worked there one Christmas vacation in the parking lot. So for Carmen's 21st bday we went for 4 fun filled days. OMG. I am so exhausted. You know I don't usually do roller coasters but what's a Mom gonna do when it's just her and the bday gal? Yep. I went on them all. Notice every other person is smiling but I am horrified and screaming. It's not a pretty sight. Only time I got really sick was on the Mickey Ferris Wheel with the swinging buckets. It took an hour or more to recover. Ugh. But it was great otherwise. We saw everybody and they said to tell y'all hello. Mickey, Minnie the whole gang. We went to the Aladdin Stage show at California Adventure which was fantastic...just like Broadway! Right to the front of the line as VIP's...seriously, it's good to be with the birthday gal!
On the big night June 17th we went to the House of Blues in Downtown Disney so they could check Carmen's id for real and she was legal. It was to be a night of 3 bands (oh boy! rock bands which I can love when I want to really...but who were these guys?) inside I was astounded to find walls full of quilts. Fantastic Quilts. Instant Comfort with a Gin and Tonic. Now that is what I needed! Made it through to the end and managed to stay sober and awake. We got up the next morning and made it to Disneyland by 8:30 a.m. As for today? I could take a nap with 10 quilts on top of me!

The She's Go Progressive!

2010-06-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

Gals, it has been nearly one month--no excuses just a lot o' life packed in the last 30 days... Sweet and Sour all at the same time.

My daughter Carmen came home from a year away at school in Charleston, South Carolina and stayed at our house for 3 weeks before moving into her own cute place. Here we are on Mother's Day.

My dear Dad was diagnosed with lymphoma. Luckily it is a very slow growing type of cancer, and can be treated by an infusion drug called Rituxan. Lots of tears, lots of terror, lots of prayers. Lots. Fortunately he lives in Chico and I will have the summer off to take care of him.

But yesterday was a sweet day indeed. What does it mean to be a She? Love, Laughter, Thread, Talk, Fabric, Hugs, Food, Help, Advice, and more Love.

My Sew Sisters better known as The She's gathered for a progressive dinner beginning at our house and traveling to Debi and Gayle's for a delightful calorie filled few hours. I love visiting people's houses and seeing how they live, the photographs of family, the kind of collections they have. Our youngest member Taylor the precious daughter of Coleen was very patient with all of us as we had our turns holding her. (Wish I had gotten a photograph of Emily, Ronda's darling daughter who is officially the designated driver of Shes who may have had a glass of wine or two.)

The Sew Sisters are 15 women who are related in some way or another either by birth, marriage, long time friendships, and in my case pure luck! And of course quilting. We meet at Morning Star on the last Sunday of the month when we can, and a few times a year we get to sew for three days together. Love to Marsha and Jen for making sure that happens. They are the dearest women every one of them funny and caring and talented.

Please keep good thoughts and prayers for my Dad and keep in touch over the summer.

I may even have a quilt or two to show you soon! Liberated Star and a Kaffe Snowball in progress!

Happy Mother's Day Gals!

2010-05-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

Mom

Carol Jeanette age 6, Hollywood, California

Isn't this a darling photograph of my Momma? She is channeling her best Shirley Temple I do believe! Growing up in Hollywood, my Mom took tap with Mickey Rooney, went to Hollywood High and took the red car to the beach. Long time ago and good times I can imagine. She is watching from heaven on this rainy Mother's Day in Chico...and my girls will be here for the afternoon. Love to you all and have a really happy Mother's Day! xo Pam

A Giveaway Link for Y'all

2010-05-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well hey gals, just got back from Charleston SC and I have so many fun quilt shop photos to share with you, but first go on over to Carmen's Honey Run Quilters Blog and enter the giveaway for Tweet Tweet by Moda! It sure looks adorable to me! Just become a follower of Carmen's blog, leave her a comment with your all time favorite Jelly Roll or Charm Pack pattern and voila you may be the lucky random generated winner....good luck, and we'll talk soon about South Carolina's food and fabric!

Tulips for Janie

2010-04-29T16:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Janie! Good to see you today at Morning Star. Here's a bunch of tulips of many colors....for you...because you are always so sweet and always are so nice about reading my blog...I appreciate you and send prayers for your husband's improving health. Keep sewing, keep being your creative wonderful self! I took these photos at Ananda a couple weeks ago.
A lovely spiritual center up above Nevada City where the friends I went with "warned me" about how happy everyone was" hahahaha yes they were and lovely too, a terrific day and a connection to positive vibes is always a good thing. With scones, whipped cream, and a great vegetarian lunch as well. They have been many times for retreats and time to reflect for themselves. Nice.

View of the canyon beyond the tulip gardens, and the Yuba River is below. Stunningly beautiful! They even had a quilt in the hallway, good vibes indeed.

love, Pam

Batik Butter Cake

2010-04-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

It been awhile since I made a wedding quilt. One of my students in the library is getting married in June and she has been with our department all of her four years of college. She has grown up and found a wonderful guy...when she started planning her wedding, she wanted "watermelon" and "turquoise" for her colors with a modern theme. I chose this wonderful pattern that is easy and I think somewhat modern looking by Cozy Patterns Cake Therapy called Butter Cake. It's a fun one to make and I cut my own 10 inch squares of various batiks. The corners are a piece from my stash that is a batik with a heart ever so subtly sprinkled around. Ahhhh.... The two dark pieces in the middle seemed to work nicely and I put in a couple more for interest. I almost skipped the first turquoise border near the piecing due to laziness, but I'm glad I didn't as I think it really looks nice floating out the piecing.

That being decided, I bought these fabrics at Morning Star and began their quilt. I found out last week the colors are now yellow and gray and "vintage" is now the theme. Well, I thought about keeping this one and making a new one, but hey, by June the colors could be red and white with a patriotic theme, so I'll just stay with this one and wish them love and cozy snuggles. Speaking of Butter Cake, did I mention she is making her wedding cupcakes? 200 of them with tiny flowers and bees on top. Gotta love that young spirit. And I might mention, I did the quilting on this quilt on Miss Meader...free motion, four hours. I think the cupcakes will take much longer to do!

Heart of the Home

2010-03-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

Even a Tile Friendly Table Star!

Well gals, it has been about 7 1/2 months since we started our "6-8 weeks" kitchen remodel. I won't go into the horror stories of how it took so long, but it was worth the wait. Natural Maple custom cabinets, typhoon green granite island (Mike calls it The Continent not an Island), Italian and Japanese tiles, stainless steel. A lot of decisions, and a lot of guessing, but in the end it all turned out fantastic. These gals in the photo? My college friends from Chico. Some of us stayed here and others moved away and some have come back. But here we stand 35 years later. I know the friends and family that fill this room will make it all worthwhile. Come on over!

Circles all Week Long

2010-03-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

Don't you love it when you get inspired from everyday objects to quilt designs? This week I went to the Farmer's Market and saw some wonderful shapes and colors. This was one of them, tiny little mandarins in a wire basket. Then I was looking through Etsy I found this wonderful image of a wagon wheel block quilt and you can purchase the pattern here. Wagon Wheels Pattern by Rangolidesigns

And today at work while cataloging the wonderful historic photographs of our area of California, I came upon this man, Ike Stokes, and the largest handmade wheel I have seen in awhile!
I love circles. They are my favorite shape...whether a fruit, a ring, a polka dot or a quilt piece. Have a good weekend gals!

The Fort Gals throw a Party!

2010-03-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

The Fort Gals Ann Gayle Pam and Jo Ann

You know our Fort is our home away from sewing room, and we had an open house last weekend. We invited lots of gals that we know to come by and meet Miss Meander, our Handiquilter Fusion long arm machine. A talented and fun bunch of friends showed up and had a go at long arm free motion quilting. Our guest book? Please sign your name in stitches!

Applique and Paper Piecing by Ann, Shabby Chic and Green & Red Scrappy by Jo Ann

Carmen and Marsha our lovely quilt shop owners from up the hill and down in the valley!

Carmen and Carmen. Cute hair gals.

Emily and Carmen meet for the first time since being born on the same day in Chico! Proud Mommas Ronda and Pam not pictured!

Jen says, "Now watch and learn gals"!

Nancy gives it a whirl while Jan gets ready for her turn!

Debbie takes the machine by the horns!

Rocki in the zone!

Cake Stand by Pam

Martha Negley Garden Veggies & Fruit by Gayle.

More of those Liberated Baskets!

Beautiful silk reds, pinks, browns and purples "P.S. I love You" by Jo Ann,
Vintage Hour Glass with Kaffe by Pam

Ricky Tims Convergence Wuthering Heights Garden by Pam

Romantic Rosy by Gayle

Wild Log Cabin in Flea Market Fancy with a hint of American Jane by Pam.

Take a look at our very tidy shelves (one week only!)

Thank you friends for cheering us on!

Quite a Pile ya got there Missy!

2010-02-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

Dad and the boys (Shaggy and Sampson) were over yesterday, and while the pups were running crazy in the backyard with Teddy, my Dad wanted to see what was going on in the sewing room. Well, I had my Charming Squares rows up on the wall (which by the way he put up for me, isn't he a great Dad!) so I showed him the progress.

I had started this quilt at Bodega and have been bound and determined to finish it. I have been plugging away in the early mornings before work...and it's getting closer all the time!

I had just last week mucked out my sewing room and made quite a pile of UFOs. Annie's Star Guild is doing a thing this year that gets those who will fess up to turn in a list of unfinished objects and then bring them in completed to get checked off a list. Supposedly the winner gets a prize. I was all set to do this torture but it rained so hard the last guild night I stayed home in my jammies and didn't go. But I did pile up my lovely undones.

Dear Dad said in his nice deep voice, "that's quite a pile ya got there Missy!!" I thought you bought a quilting machine? Gulp . Yep I sure did but by golly it didn't come with a little elf to finish things up! My Fort mates have been going like crazy. JoAnn has done at least a dozen if not more, Ann is racing to catch her. And Gayle has done about a half dozen or more. Me? Three. Absolutely not acceptable.
Miss Meander above (aka the Handiquilter Fusion) awaits me. I am so looking forward to summer and the two full months off I will have to quilt this pile up! In the meantime I will be adding to the stack!Does this happen to you too?

Liberated Amish Sew Together

2010-02-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

Hey Gals, If you are up for a sew together, go on over to Tonya's or to her dedicated blog for Lazy Gals Liberated Amish Sew Together. I am excited to participate and use solids...which are becoming my new favorite collection! Stay tuned for my Liberated Broken Dishes or Liberated Star coming soon! We are getting inspired by Gwenny's newest book:

and Amish Abstractions

the exhibition now showing at the De Young in San Francisco. Why don't we get a group together and go see it? Road Trip!

Funny Thing About Joy

2010-02-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

The Real Housewives of Bodega Bay!

Just a couple days worth of scraps and slivers

Our "dining room" table!

Fabulous Coffee

Incredible dessert ala Rochelle...berry shortcake with warm brie in a basalmic reduction omg that was heaven on earth!

Fabric sewn together! WooHoo!
Bali table runner for the new kitchen with a wonderful Aardvark Pattern

Bunny Hill Chelsea Manor in brown with baby blue radiance

On the way back to reality we maneuvered the road closed signs through the countryside

and stopped at the Quilted Angel in Petaluma. Wonderful place and super nice people!

We had lunch Aqus and walked a bit and saw some of the neighborhood.

yummy lunch

cute neighborhood nearby with quilty windows

Then home to our rain filled streams and busy, full lives. Life is good!

Gal Time

2010-01-20T10:25:00.000-08:00

This house at Bodega Bay is so big and quilting friendly! I think the owner's might faint if they saw how we transformed the lovely entry into a staging area, the beautiful dining room into a classroom and the walls into design walls, oh yeah, 5 quilters on holiday. The drive over was Mr. Toad's wild ride with a storm like a bucket drop and a upset stomach to boot. It's all good now and we have had sun glorious sun while Chico and Paradise have a typhoon. Much laughter and thread. A much needed rest from the Chico remodel and such fun to be with good gals full of talent and spice! Woohoo!

Craft Hope for Haiti

2010-01-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

Yes that is what we need to do. Please go read this blog http://crafthope.com/ and do what you can to donate to the Etsy program for donations to Doctors Without Border. I couldn't get the html to work to add the gadget, but thought it was worth posting to spread the word.

Almost A Post

2010-01-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hello gals. Well, each day I think of a good story to tell you and then poof...the day shoots by and I don't post...so now that I am back on a decent schedule of work and home (no the remodel is not done yet and I am getting crazed with the contractor and not in a good way :) I am getting ready to go to a great getaway vacay to the northern California coast at Bodega Bay (you know, where they filmed the classic Alfred Hitchcock The Birds) with 4 friends to sew, sew, sew!! I am sorting projects and dreaming up all the finishes I will attempt while there. Almost a week of sewing in a beautiful home near the ocean...who cares if they say it might rain. We are sewing. Hooray! And steering clear of large groups of birds.

Happy New Year's Eve !

2009-12-31T23:38:00.001-08:00

I read a beautiful quote in a new quilting book yesterday. It is a good way to end the year and start a new one. With reflection and hope! My love and friendship to you all gals!

"The Patchwork Quilt is really a symbol of the world which must come: One new design made out of many old designs. We will stitch this world together yet. Don't give up." Pete Seeger.

Whirly Gig Mode!

2009-12-28T10:01:00.001-08:00

So this month has been a whirl alright. I can't even get these photos in the right order and that seems to be how it goes these days. So much has happened here since October 1st when the remodel began and the Handiquilter was delivered to the Fort. We managed to fit in work, walking the dog, picking out every blasted knob and fixture for the kitchen. Lived out of the bathroom and garage for a kitchen, had Thanksgiving, library retirement parties, made quilts, played with baby boy, went for a train ride, drove to S.F. to pick out tile...had book club dinner, read book club book, and finally had Christmas with the family and three square meals cooked in the new kitchen. WooHoo. So, things should quiet down by Easter I would think. Time for a nap!

The Big Ol Quilting Machine Arrived!

Carmen and Lulu on Christmas Morning with Teddy....
Lil Red and Great Gpa!!
The Living Room is almost free of sheet rock dust...almost

Christmas Eve morning the plumber and the contractor showed up to make things work temporarily so we could have our dinner! Hooray for them. And for Kent who arranged it all, the true spirit of Christmas indeed!

First pot of spagetti fired up on Christmas Eve..notice those exclusive plywood board countertops!
We had our cookie party...love Carmen's Sims and Obama cookie...She thought the dragonfly looked like a medical symbol so it says "House, M.D."
The cookie party girls grow up. This tradition has been going on for over 17 years...before they could hardly hold the sprinkles!
Alice's Retirement Quilt from the Library...
Book Club dinner...our book club is 29 years old this year. We haven't changed a bit.
We fit in a trip to the Shasta Sunset Dinner Train...with dear old Dad...in a snow storm.
All the new cupboards before the "accident"...and boy was that scary. Our dear cabinet maker fell from a ladder and our house was full of emergency personnel! He broke several ribs and took a ride to the hospital in the ambulance. We were at our lowest after this happened. Scary.
The old dining room dismantled above...stay tuned in 2010 for the new dining room!
The day Teddy saw the front of the house come off. I almost fainted at this scene!

So if I don't talk to you until next year, Have a wonderful New Year's Eve and Day. I hope you get to fit in some quilting time. I sure hope I get too! xoxo Pam

No Peeking!

2009-12-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

This morning in a blur of carpenter's hammers and cabinet people trying to button up this remodel, I heard a squeaking coming from the gorilla room (where we say there is a gorilla because we don't want anyone going into the MESS). Look what I found. A very naughty boy named Teddy who grabbed his present out of the gift bag. Looks like Miss Froggy has a new boyfriend. Don't tell me he isn't a little person in a bichon costume!