Due To Circumstances Beyond My Control

The  National Weather Alert issued on Sunday scared the tar out of me so I didn't dare consider of leaving my retreat in PA to drive home. You know it just wouldn't be safe....and since I was had my sewing machine with me....I just could not take any chances.

 (Photo Credit)  Added note: the first three photos are not mine....I just used them to be funny!

When I peaked out the window and saw this......I had to call Mr. McSteamy and give him the "bad" news....I would be delayed at least another day with MJ.

OK, the real truth was that the ice had come down and melted early in the day....but heck....that might have meant I would have had to drive in the dark.....who would take that chance?

You just never know what lurks in the dark!

 Do you know what I mean?  Who wants to be eaten by a wolf?  And what if that wolf wanted my sewing machine?  NOPE....I wasn't taking any risks....I stayed put :)

Because I lived through all of the possible catastrophes....I can now share the rest of the pix from retreat :)

Marje worked on a frog quilt for her grandson.  (I'm a frog lover so it was very difficult for me to not cut off  piece of that fabric to sneak home.)

Kay is right back at it .....she is making a hand pieced cathedral window quilt using batiks.  Each piece will be different.

We all donated some of our batiks so Kay will have a nice variety to choose from....and it will also make this quilt very special....bits and pieces of love from all of her friends.

When I say, "Kay is back at it", this is what I'm referring to:

Yep, all hand pieced and hand quilted.  Can you even imagine such a treasure?  

Marg was working on a needle turn applique border.  I wish I would have gotten a photo of the front of her piece.

 

Naturally we took time to eat....we needed our sustenance to continue "working."

Ann made several upcycled tote bags.  I've always wanted one of these bags and now I"m fortunate enough to have one.  Kim....well....she was being the Carol Merrill  for Ann....we're always having fun. 

 

My gift from Ann :)

 

  Kim was working on this "quiet" applique quilt.  I say quiet because most everything I've ever seen Kim do has been bold, bright and a bit "wild."  I asked why the quilt was so quiet and she said because her children are off to college.  Guess things are very quiet at her house these days.  (My days are coming.)

We do have a mother and daughter's team too.  Phyllis (Philly) is in the center and Bonnie is on the left and Brenda is on the right.  It was Brenda's car that I hit....we're over it now....giggles.

Brenda was working on a project from Scraps and Shirttails.  She had stacks and stacks of very neatly piled squares and rectangles.

 Bonnie had a very well oiled system going the entire weekend. 

Joyce had another finish....two in one weekend!!

OH YES....June came to visit.  June came and gave us chair massages.  Honest truth, June gives the best massages I've ever had in my entire life.  She is a retired OR Nurse and she knows the body, inside and out.  Her whole body massages last 2 hours.  Yes, I've had several over the years....ahhhhhhhhh.

Leona brought this quilt that she just got back from Pat Loux (Morris PA), a fabulous long arm quilter in the area. 

I know this post is getting long....guess you could always take a break and come back later...

Did I mention there was a birth over the weekend?  Yes indeed....Marge Harris "gave birth" to Florence over the weekend.  Isn't she beautiful?

 Apparently Florence was born without eyes....so a little sneaky elf (not me) gave her the gift of sight.

Florence can now look out the window on her way home.

I brought some UFO's with me to work on.  I got the Mandala top finished.

I like the red Mandala much better than the orange one I had made (see this post).  Now I'm going to trapunto the birds and outline the Mandala with decorative threads. 

MJ took over quilting for Marge while breakfast was being made.  MJ was glowing....I think she loves her quilting time.

Breakfast.   It was a egg, cheese, and ham casserole with corn flakes on top.  It sure was good......but I'm not thinking eating this more than once a year can be good for the heart.  We did have fresh fruit ...in our defense!

Always something beautiful to look at while in the mountains of PA.  Natures Paradise!

Somehow, a wee bit of nature found its way into the house too.

 

Ann has fresh eggs daily....and some of them are actually blue.  Can you see the blue hue to the eggs on the right of the photo?

The view as I drove away from Ann's house on Sunday afternoon.

I drove down this road with a depth of gratitude that filled my heart and soul.  Friends...one of life's greatest treasures.

The frightening ice storm had not hit yet....so I took cover at MJ's Sunday and Monday.  Those pix next.

Smiles,

Kelly

Having A Ball and A Bang

Here are some pix of my drive....

Yes, I hold my I-Phone up while driving and snap pix....I'm sure other drivers think I'm nuts.  I am careful though.....I don't look at the screen...I just snap.

Friday morning started with a BANG!

 Brenda's Car

My van....ooops!!!  While unloading sewing machines etc, I backed into Brenda's car.  Like they say, don't sweat the small stuff...:)

We all got right to "work".....

 Donna is making a Zen Garden

 This is Marj's Baltimore Album

 

Joyce is hand quilting this one.

Opened the door to find this fella looking back at me.....

 Then we had afternoon guests.

Then we had a dusting of snow....it is beautiful here in the mountains of PA.

Smiles,

Kelly

Gone Fishing

Translation.....I"m out of here!!!  Driving to PA for my annual retreat with my girlfriends.  Lets pray all the cops are sleepin' today cuz I'm in a big hurry.....girlfriends, sewing machines, girlfriends, sewing machines which must mean FUN!!!!

Before I go, I thought I'd leave you with a bit of a funny.  A few years ago I participated in a fabric swap coordinated by Karen at Sew Many Ways (that was back before she went viral...lol).  It was for I-Spy fabrics and I tought my boys would love an I-Spy quilt.

Sometimes procrastination pays off!!!!  They are now old enough to put it together themselves! 

Giggles and Smiles,
Kelly
PS....if your driving east on 80/90....get out of my way!

Golden Quilter Awards 2013 and An Ode to Carol

 

Be sure you read this post all the way to the bottom :)

First off, be sure to head over to the Golden Quilter Awards being hosted by SewCalGal to nominate your favorite in the following catagories:

Author

Designer

Teacher/Instructor

Quilt Shop (brick and mortar and internet based)

Best Long Arm Quilter

Most Innovative Product

Best Book Publisher

Lifetime Achievement Award

(hope I didn't miss any)

 

You can submit your nominations through February 9, 2013.

Feburary 10-28, 2013 you can go back and vote for your favorite in each catagory.

Not that you would need any incentive to head over.....but....there are tons of wonderful prizes!!! 

Now on to the "An Ode To Carol." ....

 written by Barb Wilhelm a member of the Black Swamp Quilt Guild

A wee bit of  background info....Carol held several classes to teach us gals how to do the quilt as you go method in hopes of getting more and larger charity quilts finished.  You may remember Waldo and I working on this project.  I blogged about it here .  So with further ado.....

"An Ode To Carol"

Published with the authors permission

Carol gave the call and said to pick

Pretty fabrics she had a new trick.

So I cut and cut until my stash was bare

She didn't set a limit so what did I care?

I listened and sewed and had a good time.

But wait-what's happened?  It's a horrible crime!

There are still 2 inch pieces on my sewing room floor,

In a bin, in a tin, hanging half out the door.

So I started a new quilt.  I guess I needed one more.  

I got out the bin, I got out the tin.

I picked up the pieces that littered the floor.

I tracked down the pieces that had gone out the door.

OK, I had fun as I sorted and stacked

OK, I had fun as TWO more quilts were packed! 

A few two inches pieces managed to drop

But what I really need is a class teaching me when I should stop!

Barb read this to the guild at our last meeting and we all enjoyed it so much.  The laughter was wonderful so I asked if I could share it with all of you.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

I just read THIS and had to come back and post it to my blog today!!!

EXCELLENT DEAL SHOUT OUT:  

Did you know SewCalGal is currently hosting a Quilter's Auction Fundraiser for Operation Homefront?

I was just over there, HERE, and I couldn't believe the incredible things you can get....I'm talking about Hoffman Fabrics, Island Batiks 2 1/2' Strip Tease Bundles, Sizzix Big Shot and dies, a Robinson Anton Thread Collection, a Beam N Read Light, and Layer'em Up #3 by Sharyn Craig.  The bidding ends between Feb.3 and 6th......hop on over, I did :)

Smiles,

Kelly  

  

  

 

Intentions, Imperfection and Acceptance

Do your intentions ever get lost?  Or forgotten? 

I started this quilt before May 9, 2011 (my memory is not that good....I checked my blog posts):

My intention at the time was to make a quilt for myself and use some of the fabrics I had in my stash.  I had a Bali Pop that I liked and I really liked this pattern, Hugs and Kisses, by Jaybird Quilts.  Simple and manageable intention right?  Where did I go astray?

I made all the blocks and that went well.  Then I joined all the blocks and that went well.  I had one seam left to join the two halves of the top together and yet it has hung on my quilt wall for months.  MONTHS!!!  Just waiting for one seam.

You know what it was?  I didn't like how some of my blocks met, they were off here and there so I put it aside.  Perfection got in my way of finishing a quilt for myself.  Not a quilt for some big show.....just a quilt to snuggle under for myself.

I have a confession to make:  I'm not the best piecer in the world.  There....it's out....I feel so much better.  Waldo has even offered to give me some lessons on better piecing. No big deal right?  You know what I tell other people, including my daughter? 

"Just start, have fun and let it be what it turns out to be."

Great advise ay?  I think it is time I start taking it myself.  Acceptance is the word I choose to define my year and I'm guessing I'll be revisiting the practice of ACCEPTANCE over and over again.

I can accept that I'm not a great piecer and I can accept that my quilt will not be show quality and I also admit that if you look for the mistakes, you'll find them.  Somehow finishing a quilt seems so much more exciting than wrangling with all these "issues" so I finished the last seam yesterday.

Instead of tearing out the stitches when the blocks didn't quite meet, I did a basting stitch first.  When I opened the quilt I decided I could live with the imperfections so I then stitched a permanent seam.  There is freedom in letting go :)

Now, to choose the borders and binding.  Here I go again....frustrating the tar out of myself.  I want the quilt to be pleasing to my eye when it is finished.  I'm not the best at choosing colors....so....I went through my stash to see what I had (after all I intended to use my stash...not buy more fabric).  Here are some options:

 

Exhibit A...LOL

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

Exhibit E

Exhibit F

Exhibit G

Exhibit G

And these are only the options I want to show you....am I nuts or what?  I need more color confidence is what I need.  After I publish this post, I'm going down and getting my color wheel....it will tell me which one's work best together.  I'd also like to know your opinion.....someone needs to educate me today :)

Perfectly Imperfect Smiles,

Kelly

Holiday Re-Cap

This is a photo heavy post...be forewarned!

The holidays are still with us here at IHAN....if you can believe that.  We were hoping to get our holiday decorations down tonight, not happening!   Too much going on...still...so it will have to wait until later in the week.  I don't feel too bad because I see plenty of neighbors who are still turning on their outdoor lights :)

This photo hasn't been posted yet....hate to be so late in wishing everyone a Happy New Year from the Flamingos, it just happens sometimes :)

(Monday morning now and I'm finishing this post.  You may be shocked to know we no longer have a Christmas tree in our living room....giggles.

Back to the Re-Cap

Wait until you see what "the girls" gave their grandparents for Christmas.  Keep in mind Maddy has less than 3 hours of sewing time under her belt and Krista has none...zero...up until they decided they wanted to give their grandparents matching aprons. 

They purchased some aprons and came with these designs all on their own....using only what I had in my stash.

 Here they are Christmas morning surprising Grandma and Grandpa (they call one another "Hun" and "Babe").

This is their "daytime" aprons.  Grandpa's tie is put on by velcro so it can be changed out for his "evening" apron.  The bottom of Grandma's apron is buttoned on so it is interchangeable.

All Grandpa had to do was unsnap his apron to unveil his "evening" look and Grandma just buttons on her matching evening wear....complete with crystal bling across the top...look closely.

The pride I felt watching those two girls go to work on those aprons made my heart swell.  They did a great job, don't you think?

This is one of the gifts I received from all three girls (yes, we have three grown daughters for those of you who are new to the IHAN blog).  My own sewing tool belt.  They went to the internet and took images of the notions I have and printed color photos and taped them into the tool belt.....they are just tooo clever!  I think I'll wear this and use it to hold my phone too!

A few other very noteworthy gifts I received:

Fleece socks from LLBean.  I have made several pair of fleece socks for myself because I love fleece socks in the winter.  When I saw these in the LLBean catalog, I made sure to point them out to Mr. McSteamy!  I am crazy about these socks.

These PJ's, given to me by my mother, really tickled me too.

Fun frogs really make me smile and boy was I surprised when I opened a package and found these frogs looking back at me.  Yep, I'm a frog lover....and elephants too.  No clue as to what this says about me....but I'm sure it reveals something...lol.

Five days before Christmas my mother moved to a seniors apartment.  It was 40 years to the day that she had moved into my childhood home.  I knew her space was going to be smaller so I bought these small canvases, probably 3 x 3, and let the boys create some "apartment art" for grandma.  Who could help but laugh when you see what they boys drew....too funny.  They were a big hit, grandma loves them and they fit perfectly in her new apartment.

Mr. McSteamy has a snow globe collection so I thought it would be fun for the boys to make him some snow globes for Christmas.  I Googled "hand made snow globes" and came up with several methods of making snow globes.  The biggest challenge was finding glass jars with wide openings that would still look good.  I found some fun things at a rummage sale and at the Salvation Army to decorate the inside.   I found this tiny jar and Zach found a way to get this tiny house into the tiny jar.  He was very proud.

Not all hand made gifts turn out as planned......

These carolers look more like pickled people then a snow globe....oops....stuff happens :)

Just a few more fun pix....

Christmas eve the boys put their cookies, carrots and glass of milk by the fireplace and went to bed.  The girls were up late helping wrap gifts and Maddy decided she should be Santa this year.  After all, someone has to take bites out of those cookies, right?  In true Jackson style....she went full measure with her new job....

As you can see, we don't have much fun around here.

Last week, Maddy returned to pick up a few things including the sewing machine I had given her (by way of MJ :) and some sewing notions to inspire her creativity.  She had just finished a 2 day road trip from FL and her car was stuffed.  I was told the sewing things wouldn't fit.....you'd think she'd know me by now!

 I was able to fit a sewing machine, fabric and some rulers into her already full trunk.  She was traveling with her two dogs as well so I had to plan accordingly.

A large cutting mat fit perfectly against the back seats.

What fun would all those notions be without some beautiful fabric? 

Yep, we had a wonderful holiday season and I'm sooooo glad it is over and all that food is out of the house!

Smiles,
Kelly