My Second King...

Even though my desire to make another king-sized quilt just really wasn't there... especially since it took me for-e-ver to finish the first one I made, my Mom decided she wanted to quilt and we started working.

Many months later (thankfully NOT years later) the top is completed!! (Sorry, not that great of a picture... it was about 4am.)

*Happy Dance Time*

I always feel really great after I complete a quilt top. I'm not quite sure if that's because I allow myself about a week's vacation from the project or that I know I'm that much closer to the final product. Either way I like it. 

Summer is Ending

I know that the official end of summer isn't until September 21st, but with only one week left until school starts for us it feels like it's ending now.

We went to the Peach Festival down in Wyoming, Delaware, and the peach ice cream was divine. I loved it so much that I went back to Fifer's Farm later that week just to get some more. $5 a pint was painful, but with the taste of it still fresh in my memory I knew I would just hide it and save it until after bedtime. I know, I'm horrible.

The second quilt I was contributing to for our church project was also completed. I used the same loopy quilting on it and machine bound it. I like how it came out, I think the on-point setting and white sashing really helped it look a little more modern considering all the floral prints I had to work with.

I would like to add that all the fabric (except the white) was donated for use in these quilts.

Last, but not least, we have a visitor at our house. One who scares the crap out of me each time I walk out my front door.

That's my front entry, and you see that little tree like shrub? Well, this is what I found in it:

And, mama bird isn't exactly small. Or quiet. Either way, I hope her little ones hatch before we put the new front porch on. I'm thinking that our project will just have to hold out a little longer until the little family moves out, we've only been planning this thing for about a year... it can wait a little.

Have you seen these 2 lines yet?

From Fat Quarter Shop

From Fat Quarter Shop

I have to back away from the laptop so I don't drool on the keyboard!

These might have to be purchased just so I can look at them all the time!!

Denton Shop Hop

Last night I was lucky enough to escape to a shop hop at the fire hall in Denton, Maryland. It was a pretty small town, either that or I only saw one side of it.

There were some of my local shops there:

Delaware Sewing Center

Lil Country Shoppe. They had a book called Jingle All The Way - Art to Heart that I really want to buy now. The fabric line with it is simply delicious too!

There were also a few shops that I want to venture to now:

Serendipity had some super cute rolls of fat quarters, one of the lines had blue crabs and starfish ~ Loved It!! They also had some beach bags kits that were really cute, and lots of fun toys - I mean tools.

Shady Lane is a quilting shop owned locally by the Amish in Dover. They had really good prices, and lots of cute fabrics. I will be going there within the next few weeks.

There were also a lot of shops from Maryland that of course I don't remember their names.

Lots of raffle quilts too, one was a blue and white hand quilted- GORGEOUS! I would've entered, but the thought of winning that quilt then having to put it into storage for a few years would just make me cry. I would be petrified if the kids got a stain on it!

The thing that bugs me the most is that I took my camera, and of course didn't even take it out of my purse- errr. I did take my 2 year old with me, so that will be my excuse.

I did splurge and buy some 30s FQs:

The snowman FQ is the one I got when I paid to get in- free fabric is always great. But, I paid $3 to get in, so what exactly was I buying?? My FQ I think...

I'm collecting them for a quilt I want to make for myself, maybe my husband will be lucky and I might share with him hahaha. I already have some darker colors, reds and greens, and a few yellows. There was this one orange one I wanted, but they didn't have it in a FQ. Bummed is not the right word.

I got them at a booth with an online shop, quilts123.com. I really wanted to get their FQ pack of the full line they carried with 30s fabric, but I didn't bring $100 with me (shucks...).

Lucky to Receive

When I was visiting my grandparents last week, I was lucky enough to be the receiver of some very wonderful things from my grandmother.

She gave me some homemade herbal tea, seasoning mix, and jam. The BEST in the world, by the way.

 She gave me quite a few books.

I think these 2 are the coolest. The Victorian Crochet is a compilation of small newspaper type booklets that were published around beginning of the 19th century. And, the Star Wars is just self explanatory coolness.



She gave me quite a bit of yarn.

And, best of all, she gave me 40 squares that she crocheted. She told me that she couldn't remember the last time she worked on them, and had plenty of yarn to finish the project. I was so happy that she wanted to give them to me!

I think they are beautiful, and I can imagine the finished afghan in my living room.

My grandmother is a left-handed lady, so she crochets left handed. Growing up I was not able to 'read' her work and make a pattern from it because I wasn't able to grasp how it looked being produced by a left-hander. Since then, I have taught my daughter to crochet, and funnily enough she is left handed. So, in teacher her I had to teach myself to crochet left handed to better teach her (it was very hard to show her mirror image, facing each other).

Long story short, now I can read the pattern from a left-handed crocheter. It's still kinda tricky, but do-able.

I am planning to post the pattern, with photos, soon!