Last week I got to spend a day with my mom - her birthday was a little bit ago and this was the first chance we had to get together.

She decided she’d like to go to some quilt shops and have a little lunch.We stopped by Prairie Queens first, lots of Japanese fabrics (my favorites - the taupes, pastels, oh la la I just love them - I also found a Japanese book I didn’t have, of course I can’t share the title because I don’t know what it says but the but I’ve included a picture of the cover and here’s the ISBN: 9784863221109 (you can click on the picture to enlarge it)).

Next we made our way over to Golden State Sewing Center, a nice little shop with tons of batiks, Civil War prints and lots in between of course. My favorite thing about this shop…the little dog! She is just adorable! I snapped this photo of her waiting for her mom to bring back lunch. Isn’t she the cutest! I think I might have to use this photo for inspiration in an upcoming stamp supplement.

Anyway, we had lunch at a little burger joint - very yummy, sat and chatted for quite some time which is always nice.

Next we made our way to another shop, although not a quilt shop, but a stationary/scrapbook store called Only the Best. We ended up in downtown Los Gatos at our final quilt shop, Natural Expressions. But a downtown visit wouldn’t be complete without going to Icing on the Cake the most wonderful bakery on earth! I got my husband a couple peanut butter cookies, an iced cookie for myself and got two dog cookies for Tucker (he knew as soon as I walked in the door).

It was a lovely, nice and relaxing day just hanging out with my mom.

The UPS man dropped off a box yesterday, nothing for me - darn, but for my husband.

He unpacked it, put it on the floor and the kitties have been playing in it ever since.

It just made me laugh when I thought…we go out and spend money on some fancy kitty scratching post - 3 tiers high, the bottom has a hole that they can run in and out of, there’s a rope they can bat around - the whole nine yards…

but they want to play in the shipping box.

Good grief.

I don’t teach very often, but when I do I always end up having such a great time. I still get a bit nervous just because I worry, “these people are paying to learn something from me!” I certainly want them to walk away feeling like (1) they’ve had a good time, (2) learned a little something and (3) got their money’s worth.

I was on the calendar awhile back to each at ThimbleCreek (Concord, California). It’s a wonderful shop and the owners and staff are so friendly and always helpful. They are also one of, what it seems to me, a handful of shops that have a lot of hand applique quilts and patterns (my favorite of course). :)

I had over a dozen students in an all day class. We worked on “For the Brave”, a quilt that features little kids saluting the great ol’ USA - land of the free, home of the brave.

It’s so nice to meet all the different women (not being prejudice here, I just haven’t had any male students) and in an all day class I got to chat a little bit with each of them. I was a bit surprised and felt a little ping of wow when I learned that one woman from Houston was coming to California on business and for family, and actually flew out early just to take my class! Some others drove an hour and a half, and one lady actually pieces and quilts for Joanna Figueroa (of the famous and much loved Fig Tree Quilts).

It was also an incredible feeling to walk into ThimbleCreek and see a whole little section set aside for my quilts and patterns. I don’t mean to go on and on, but when I first started quilting this shop was like the Holy Grail of shops for me. Some of my favorite and most admired designers have taught there - most notably Verna Mosquera (The Vintage Spool) who had a monthly applique class years ago.

I know it sounds silly, but most of the time I just really love to make these things - my quilts, my little drawings turned into stamps, it’s when I’m happiest - being creative. So when others enjoy these things - I’m just so thrilled and so very grateful for being able to do what I do.

So anyway, just a big thank you to all of you who enjoy my work, who send me little notes letting me know that these things have brightened your day or put a smile on your face. Thank you.

Last year I ordered a few things for my sister-in-law from Williams Sonoma, now I get their catalog and emails. Most of the time I don’t order - just can’t afford all the great things they offer.

This time however, there was a Lattice Pocket Pie Mold. I was intrigued because it looked easy, yummy and it was under $10 (yeah - of course it was over $10 once I added the berry cobbler they were offering).

It came in the mail and I had to try it out this past weekend. One side is the cut out shape - the bottom of the pie and the lattice cutout for the top. I cut out the pieces and and then flipped it over. I put the bottom piece of dough in, added a couple tablespoons of filling, put the lattice piece on top and then squished. When I opened it up there was a perfect little pocket pie.

The box comes with a crust recipe. It said to use a food processor to create the crust, I just used my mixer. It also said that once the pocket pies are made they need to be put in the freezer for a half hour. I couldn’t wait so I skipped this step and they came out just great.

On the website they talk about not only sweet treats but making sloppy-joes. I thought it’d be fun to try hamburger or chicken with a little dollop of mashed potatoes on top.

Oh great, now I’m hungry!

Here’s the Lattice Pocket Pie Mold item number if you’re so inclined: 2242303

One of the reasons I hadn’t blogged in awhile is because family was in town. We actually spent the day at California’s Great America amusement park.

I’m just stating for the record I DO NOT like swings in fact I don’t really like anything that just freely swings - odd because as a kid I loved them, but NOT now. Roller coasters…now they’re another story - absolutely LOVE them, or even the Drop Zone - strapped in and falling straight down 224 feet!

There’s a “ride” at Great America called Xtreme Skyflyer. The rider is put in a harness and then pulled by a cable to the tippy-top of this thing and then 1-2-3 you pull your own release cord. Well there was no way on this green earth that I was going to do this!

My sister-in-law decided she wanted to go, at first I didn’t believe her, but then…my NIECE who isn’t even 10 said she’d go! So these photos are of them - not me. I was happily planted on the ground with camera in hand. You can see how high this thing is and when you get released you free fall for the first part until the slack is taken up with the cable and then you swing out over the trees - these are full grown trees, not little twigs.

It made quite an impression on me, although not enough for me to want to try it. Aighhhhhhh!

For a wee bit I felt like I was teetering on the edge - good grief there is always so much to do! My blog took a backseat for awhile but I feel like I’m catching my breath now. Whew.

School is still in session, we get a two week break for summer - I was hoping for a bit more, but I’ll take the two weeks for sure. I’ve been working on some assignments and gotten some layouts approved. Now I just have to get things going with color. We’ve purchased our portfolios and showed them for the first time awhile back. Somehow that made it more “real”.

I’ve just signed up for my last computer class - we’ll be learning how to create plaids, vintage flowers and toiles. I’m really excited! I just LOVE the computer classes because, well, I just love my Mac. :)

Here’s a peek at my approved border layout, it won’t look so stark once I get the color in, especially in the field (the part above the design) and the border. This is just a small piece, the actual finished project will be 18×24:

I’m working on color samples so maybe I’ll have a completed design after our break. I’ve also gotten a layout approval for some computer coordinates which I’ll show in another post soon.

Well, another month is here which means another block for our guild’s Round Robin.

When I got this person’s bag full of goodies I knew I just had to include a kitty - I know her and she’s very much a cat person. (However, I did try to remove any stray cat hairs from my kitties. I know it would have added to the authenticity of the block but didn’t want her kitties to get upset.)

With that said I wasn’t sure what else to include to make it fit with the other blocks. I looked through and someone did this:

I thought hmmm…I could do something similar in applique. So I did.

Anyway, I hope she likes it and can make it fit with all the pieced blocks - I feel like such the rouge appliquer. :)

Same as before, I created this pattern for a 12″ x 12″ block but reduced it to the standard 8 1/2″ x 11″ so it would fit most home printers.

Here’s the Kitty Block Pattern (PDF).

And hey, if you do make it, I’d sure love to see what you do.

Enjoy!

A little bit ago RubberStampMadness contacted me and wanted to know if it would be ok to feature my products in an upcoming issue.

YES OF COURSE!

I pulled together what they asked for and sent it off.

Well I got my copy of their Summer 2010 issue a bit ago (their magazine always comes on time, my postings do not). Way back when I first started into stamping - maybe in the late 80’s, their magazine was one I coveted. I don’t know if it was the first all-stamping-magazine or not but they’ve been around for YEARS! In fact I’ve been advertising with them since…well…I can’t remember not always having a little (bitty) ad. :)

Anyway, I was so tickled to be featured - especially during this year since it’s actually my company’s 10th anniversary. I started in January 2000 and am still here!

Below is a little glimpse of the article. There was only one minor boo-boo in that my stamps are not deep-etch. Way back when I first started that wasn’t as big of a deal as it seems to be now and requires a different machine.

ANYWAY, I was just very excited about it.

YAHOO!

This story starts with the fact that I’ve been neglectful with finding a new dentist. I’d been going to the same one for years and I think he’d rather be retired - fishin’ or golfin’ which meant he wasn’t the most gentle person at times. And around my teeth, especially when those metal cleaning tools come out - I’m just not one for pain!

Well a family member worked for a dentist so I decided to go to that one. Mind you it was not convenient, it was actually quite far away. But I called, made an appointment and went. Like I said it was a bit of a road trip. I was toodling along on a major highway, but when I turned off on a smaller two lane highway didn’t watch my speed and unfortunately someone else did! I got a ticket. The first one in YEARS! Argh.

The CHP was going the other direction and as soon as I saw her face, she flipped on the red lights and I just pulled over - I knew I’d been busted. She made a u-turn and stopped behind me. I handed her all the relevant documentation - license, registration, insurance card. In all honesty, I really couldn’t get too upset. If you’ve driven on California highways you know that if you aren’t flyin’ well then you just aren’t movin’ at all. It happened to be my unlucky day…in more ways then one.

Back to the dentist part of the tale…
I had my teeth cleaned and x-rays taken. I thought I might have one cavity but the news was worse…eight small cavities and two crowns that need replacing. I don’t know if this dentist was too thorough (if that’s possible) or if my old dentist wasn’t, but I was surprised by the news to say the least. So now, after ALL this, my family member no longer works for the dentist so I have to find a new one again! I’d say about this time I could use a stiff drink and a cigarette…but I don’t really drink and I don’t smoke at all. Does that mean cookies instead? Probably not since they are what got me into this mess in the first place. Funny how things come full circle.

A small addendum in July…
After I paid the fine I was able to go to Online Traffic School. Just a little note, while it’s less than having to spend a whole Saturday like it used to be (last ticket I got may have been 10-12 years ago) it certainly doesn’t take 20 minutes! I actually read through everything, took the practice tests after each of the sections and the final test at the end - 3 hours later I finished! Argh, what a way to spend an evening.

Quite awhile back I mentioned that I joined a round robin through my quilt guild. I posted the block I had made to start my quilts journey through the year long quest. I also said I’d try to post the blocks that I did for other people’s quilts and seem to have fallen short on that.

Here is one of the blocks I did. I won’t give away the person’s name as it’s supposed to be a surprise but suffice it to say she wanted Christmas themed blocks. I used some of the fabrics she included in her pass-around-bag. Santa’s in his very traditional red coat. I used hot fix crystals for his eyes, the bird’s eyes and the buttons on his coat. I embroidered “Happy Christmas” with a variegated thread using the stem stitch.

I thought I’d share the pattern in case any of you’d like to make him. It’s just a sketch mind you and I reduced it to 8 1/2″ x 11″ so it would fit most home printers. The original block was 12″ x 12″, so feel free to enlarge it if you need.

Here’s the Santa Block Pattern (PDF).

Enjoy!

I will be the first to admit I have an aversion to exercise. It’s not that exercise is awful, in fact when I do get some exercise I feel a whole lot better. But it seems that any little thing can distract me from actually changing my clothes and putting on my sneakers. I even decided at one point I would join a gym - get a little outside motivation. I went and checked a couple out. I found an all women’s gym that seemed perfect and was going to join a couple days later. When I went back the gym had been sold and was going to be closed for a couple of weeks while it moved to a new location. This was not a good day, so I sat down and ate cookies.

With the gym experience behind me I thought why not get out on my bicycle - after all, it’s free. So I did.

One of the first things I decided was now that my rear-end is no longer what it used to be - or maybe technically it’s MORE than it used to be - I’d buy a new cushy seat with a little more “width”. I found the most wonderful seat AND got a gel filled cover to go over it so it’s EXTRA cushy. I think for the first time since I’ve owned my bike (which is quite awhile) I felt like I wasn’t sitting on a balance beam! Oh la la.

I also decided to treat myself to a little music while I ride and got an Apple iPod Nano - hot pink to match my bike. I just love it! I’ve been a long time iPod fan, so this isn’t my first one. I put some music on it - slow, medium and fast. The first time I tried riding to the faster songs - eeeek! My legs just couldn’t keep up with the beat. So I’m still in the slow and medium - which is fine with me.

The music also helped with calming thoughts when I got a flat tire - TWICE! Argh. My husband got new tubes for my tires that actually have slime in them (yes, really, something called slime), so now if my tire gets punctured the slime fills in the hole. I’m sure it won’t be long until that theory is put to the test.

So, I’ll keep plugging away on my bike, maybe someday I’ll get to the fast songs…

Is it REALLY April already? Geeze.

Quite awhile back I submitted a little drawing of a quilt to a book publisher. They liked the drawing and asked if I would make the quilt, so I did.

Well the book finally came out - yeah! It’s called Patchwork Comforters, Throws & Quilts (ISBN 978-1592172603).

I had no idea what anyone else was submitting - which is a bit freeing because then I had no preconceived notions of what I should be making, I just made the quilt.

I was so excited when the book came and I finally saw it in print. Anyway, it’s a nice quilt book, lots of projects, most aren’t too difficult. So if you get a chance and see the book at your local book or quilt shop, take a peek.

This is the quilt I submitted…

It’s actually not very big, the blocks are about 10 inches. I added a wee bit of embroidery on the hearts and the stitches on each of the bears’ belly but otherwise it’s pretty basic. I used some Japanese woven fabrics I’d been collecting for each of the bears (enough fabric collecting, it felt good to use some of them). I think it’d also be cute done in brights, maybe with a black & white stripe binding. Or even make the brown bears into panda bears…

So many ideas…so little stichin’ time. :)

Our latest computer class for school was “knits and weaves”. What we basically learned to do was take knitted stitches - they can be any kind and create a repeating all over pattern and then add color. I took this one, created the swatch and then colored it in using green and purple.

Now mind you, at this point we aren’t too concerned with could this really be reproduced - as in, could someone really knit this? So ignorance is bliss and we can more or less combine anything.

This was my first one, pretty basic. I’ll be doing five more for my completed portfolio - including the “weave” part of the computer class which is creating something more like linen, more of a woven fabric.

I’m kind of getting excited because I only have two more computer classes to go. I’m feeling like I’m making headway - a bit behind on my homework, but making progress. :)

This past weekend my incredibly wonderful husband took me to see “Ovo” a Cirque du soleil production. We’d seen some of their performances, but only on TV from the comfort of the couch in our living room. Well they came to our area and we were lucky enough to get tickets.

Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe this show. This particular one was about bugs and their mysterious world. The costumes are incredible, fun, bright, clever…well, except for the spider. I told my husband we finally get to see one of their shows and there’s a spider! (Can you tell I don’t like spiders!) But I got over it for the sake of the show. :)

And the acrobats! Wow, like nothing I’ve ever seen. One of the performances involved a huge rock climbing wall and trampolines. The “crickets” were jumping from the top of the wall, bouncing off the trampoline and ending up at the top again. I can’t even begin to describe it but it was wonderful.

If you ever get the opportunity to see one of their shows - DO!