Been a Busy Two Weeks!

Asterisk quilt top for Round 7 of the ORBC Quilt Along finished and waiting for winter for hand quilting. Too hot right now!

Ziplock baggie project to keep in my purse....1895 batiks...1 1/2" hexies.
Doll Quilt Swap 9 now living in it's new home in California.
Advent Calendar Swap....I had days nine and... twenty-one.

These two were the practice ones...so of course they are mine. My beading got much better on the others! They are 3.5" square.

Mystery quilt Clue 1...I made a mistake already. See that pile of 64 finished triangles in the middle? They look like the opened one below them....but they are supposed to look like the one on the left....hence the new pile of 128 triangles waiting to be sewn...but I just couldn't do it tonight!

Maria's graduation present..1 year 3 months late. At least she got it before going to the UK! That's an "M"....not a "W"!;)

Speaking of UK.....Maria's first purchase!

WVU colors!!

And still speaking of UK....present from coworker and pal Kerry at Webfabrics...I'm wearing them tomorrow!:) Thanks Kerry!

What we see driving down our dirt road...

...a deer and his gobbler pal!

I love the country!!

~d

..

One Swap Done....Hex Part II and a Mystery!

Two weeks without the girl and we are surviving!:) Wanted to thank all of you who have asked how everything it going and share a bit...here is her blog...and here is her flickr photostream if you are curious. I wish she would label her photos better!:)Another reason why all is well is because I've just been busy. Now working 3 days a week at Webfabrics and of course working on swap commitments. Above is my finished DQS9...it is the one in the middle on the top. I have a pot holder hiding the center so my partner doesn't see what is there before it arrives. I didn't really know what I wanted to do so I made lots of squares and then just put them together. I was going to do bento boxes but they weren't going how I wanted so I just did square in square.

Here is a closer picture of the wee quilt....so do you want this one...or one of the other ones? The choice is yours!!!

I also finished a tablerunner using the leftover hex pieces from Round 6 at the
Old Red Barn Quilt-Along. The original is hanging above our bed.

We are having a lot of fun at work...check out this huge wall of rick rack! That stuff is over an inch wide...love it. I think I need to get some for this baby quilt I'm making Maria's former bosses...I'm going to use this farm fabric because they have pigs!:)

Another exciting thing happening at work is this Mystery Quilt. I'm in charge of it!:)
Customers pick 3 colors, Carly picks out the fabrics and I cut the yardage and make a kit. This month everyone is picking up their fabrics, cutting instructions and the 1st clue. They get a new clue each month for 10 months and what is amazing is they really won't know what it looks like until they get the 10th clue! Because this is my project Carly also generously gave me the fabric to make my own so I'll be able to answer any questions...I hope!:) That's my pile above...grey and brown batiks and the bottom fabric is my third color. If you look at the store's Facebook page you can see some of the other color combos customers have picked. This is going to be fun...now I just have to be brave and make the first cut!!

~d

I Love Hand Stitching....and....I DO Win Something!!

I just don't know why I don't do it more!:) I'm doing Round 2 of Hoop Up! I'm in a group with three other crafty ladies Kate, Jo and Courtney. Each of us picks a theme and sews an inspiration piece showing the others what we would like. The above is my piece. I love Room & Board and Design Within Reach so that is where I am sending my posse for inspiration Here is my mosaic! If you click on each of my partners names you can see their inspiration mosaics and the fun I am going to have with this group!!

On the Doll Quilt Swap 9 front here is the label for my secret partner's quilt. I almost put the photo with my partner's name....goodness!;0 Yep, I do love hand stitching...and the other good thing about it is sitting with hubby on the couch instead of at the sewing machine!;)

My other exciting news is that I found out they announced on Scott Kelby's 3rd Annual Worldwide Photowalk site (man that's a mouthful!) that each winning photo from every city will get an online coupon for either The Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers or The Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers, to be delivered completely free!:) Since I only have Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 I don't think either of them will help me...so which one would you get?:)

Too bad one of my choices isn't Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 for Dummies!!!:)

~d

UKs Newest Resident, Meet n' Greet with a New Bloggie Friend and I'm a Winner...Sort of...

The girl and her pal Jen

She sent a test picture to hubby's phone when she arrived....

I think she's happy to be there!

I miss her but lucky for me the next day I met one of my bloggie heros, Amy of Diary of a Quilter! Her blog was one of the first I found last year when I started all this internet surfing and I have learned a lot from her. Lucky for me her in-laws live nearby and luckier for me she was visiting all the way from Utah on a day I needed to shift my mind elsewhere! Our first stop was an adorable LQS...

...then Amy took me to this amazing Antique Emporium in Frederick, MD that I didn't even know was there and I only live 40 minutes away...oh yes...I will go back often! Amy's big find of the day was the hex quilt top there on the right...reminds her of a top her grandma made...she took a better photo so I hope she post it!:)
There were a lot of lovelies there...

...including a lot of dishes in amazing colors....

...the vendors do a great job of staging their wares and of course being in a building in Old Town Frederick adds to the charm. Can you believe I didn't buy anything? I was just to busy chatting and getting to know Amy better to really concentrate!;)

I did find a few things at the fabric store in the sale section...love the tree fabric but I loved meeting Amy better...and you will too if you go visit her fantastic blog!

I sure hope we don't have to wait another year to see each other again.

Amy...it was amazing to finally meet you...thanks for helping me through the first day sans Maria...I'd say someone was looking out for me!;)

Remember last week I told you about Scott Kelby's 3rd Annual Worldwide Photowalk? Remember that I told you there were about 1,111 walks around the world and that each city will be represented by one photo from that particular walk? Well guess whose photo is representing Leesburg, VA....yep, mine!:) I mean I don't win anything but wow what an honor! Now there will be voting because there is a People's Choice award and 10 honorable mentions and Mr. Kelby will pick the overall winner....I have no illusions about winning anything but I sure would like to have a few votes!!:) I think only people that did the walk can vote...oh well!:) If you want to see the other photos from Leesburg click here and my sis who did the walk in Yorktown blogged about it here and here!:)

Lastly but surely not least, I am once again participating in Doll Quilt Swap 9...WhooHOoo!:) Above are a couple of piles of fabrics I put out there to see what my secret partner might like and a sketch of the quilt I might make....

Well, these are the fabrics I'm working with and some of the squares I may use....it's decision time!

~d

She's Gone and so is The Boy

Six fifteen AM....two huge suitcases backpack with ticket in hand....

...She's off....and safely landed....across the ocean....to her new home for the next year!

Eric, Boy, Jake and Alex-Hold Tight!

And this boy, he's in Chicago...Milwaukee tomorrow...then Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City, St Louis, Nashville, Ashville and home to Richmond....Pop Punking across the country...our traveling kids!

Wish we were with them!

~d

She's Not Packed....

...she has less than 31 hours, 2 suitcases and one backpack....

...I don't think it is all going to fit!

~d