Catching up

Hello Blog Friends!

It's been a busy couple of weeks, I've had a lot going on.

We had a very sad day on Aug. 5...our beloved kitty Betty passed away.  She blessed our lives for 16 years.  Here absence has left a very large void in our lives.  We miss her so much!

I haven't been able to make much headway on sewing projects since my last post...last weekend we were in Seymour, WI to Hamburgerfest.  Yes, it is rumored that Hamburger Charlie invented the hamburger at the County Fair in 1885 .  He was selling his meatballs at the fair, but they weren't going over very well, so he flattened them, put them on bread, and voila, the hamburger was born.  There was a parade, a giant 190 lb hamburger, bands, ketchup slide and a hot air balloon rally.  No doubt about it, small towns in Wisconsin know how to do a fest right, no matter what the reason!

Here's my brother Dave playing in the band at Seymour.  His band is called No Schtick.

 

The Ketchup Slide

 

Balloon Rally

 

It was a great day!

 

 

Till next time...

Row by Row Shop Hopping

Hello Blogger Friends,

Another Quilt Shop Hop is underway...the Row by Row Experience including US and Canada quilt shops.  A number of Wisconsin Shops have joined in this hop, and some are offering unique fabric "license plates" for sale.  Please visit the Row by Row Experience website for more information by clicking here.

Here are a few of the ones I've collected:

I have plans for a quilt and will incorporate these. 

Denis and I were on a road trip recently with good friends Gary and Cathy, to the southern part of Wisconsin...we visited quilt shops in Oconomowoc, Delavan and Janesville.  We many times see unique and what we term as "odd and unusual".  We happened along a antique store (sort of) with lots of rusty and rusting stuff sitting outside.  What really caught our eye was the airplane:

Now, how often does a person see that?

We visited a nice shop just south of Janesville named Life's A Stitch.  The shop was housed in an old farm house and was a very nice shop.  The barn on the property was aptly decorated with barn quilts.  This barn has definitely seen better days...note how the cupola is listing a bit.

Thanks for looking!  Till next time....

Quilt Shop and Hodags

Hello Blogger Friends!

Last weekend Denis,  Mom and I went on a short road trip to Wausau and Rhinelander,  WI in search of (what else?) Quilt shops. 

Our first stop was in Wausau,  where we visited Sew Smart.   A very nice store with an antique  sewing machine collection, with some toy machines as well.  It is a store we will definately visit again.  We lunched in Wausau at a place called Wisconsin Burger Company.  VERY GOOD!!  I had Wisconsin Cheese Curds that were to die for.

After lunch, it was onward to the small town of Rhinelander.  There we found a very nice downtown, 5 to 6 blocks long.  We stopped in Sew Smart, a very nice quilt shop right downtown.  Yes, the two stores we visited that day are sister stores.  This one in Rhinelander was very tastefully decorated in a north woods decor.  They had many lovely fabrics and samples made.  Both Mom and I came home with fabrics...Mom got some lake loon fabrics and came home with some wonderful flannels.  After all that strenuous shopping (LOL) we have ice cream cones at this cute little stand.  I'm definately going back there again for more -- the ice cream is 96% fat free!!  (Does that mean I can eat twice as much?)

While in Rhinelander, we discovered the town's masct, the HODAG.  And, just what is a hodag, you ask?  Well, as far as I have learned, it is a made-up animal, created by a town resident in the 1800's to promote the town.  After the hoax was revealed, the town adopted the hodag as it's mascot.  The local HS team is, you guessed it, the Hodags.  There is Hodag Park, a hodag on the water tower, many businesses with the name hodag, and a fall hodag festval.  We found some hodag statues in downtown, gaily painted in different themes.

It was a great day.  The weather was summer perfect, I was in good company with Mom and Denis, ate wonderful cheese curds and fat-free ice cream, visited quilt shops, and learned all about the hodag.

Till next time...

Wisconsin Fabric Tote Bag

Hello Blog Friends,

Here is the first project using the Wisconsin fabrics from the Statewide Shop Hop. 

We are going on a road trip to Colorado in a few weeks,  and I wanted a bag to keep all my paperwork  in. (relating to itinerary, attractions, hotel reservations,  etc.)  

The pattern is Tahoe Tote  from Pink Sand Beach Designs.   The handles are all leather from Cindy's Button Company.  The sewing instructions were easy to follow and the bag went together easily.  You can see more from Cindy's here .

More later..?

Pretty Petals All in A Row

Hello Blog Friends!
 

Baby Girl Quilt is finished!  I've given it a proper name, Pretty Petals All in A Row.
 

I quilted it in what I call a "whimsical" meander, including curliques.  I used a high loft batting because this is for a baby, then a young child.  I wanted to maintain its "squishability" factor. 
 

Pretty Petals will move on to its new owner in just a few weeks.  "So long, and I hope you cradle and comfort your new owner well."
 

I'll be back soon with more news soon...
 

BABY GIRL QUILT

Hello Blog Friends,

While on our travels around the state for the Wisconsin State Shop Hop last month, I visited Barn Door Quilts in Sturgeon Bay.  I've visited this shop many times, and love the selection and the samples they have made up.  I've purchased fabrics from this shop for several quilts and projects I have made.

I have seen samples of row quilts hanging in the shop many times.  Mom has commissioned me to make a baby quilt for a gift she want to give to the daughter of a close friend and neighbor.  I found the following fabrics, and as you can see, they are cut for sewing into the row quilt.  The mother-to-be knows her baby will be a girl.  I wanted to choose a main print that this little girl can grow into, instead of something definitely babyish.  I think these fabrics are perfect...what little girl doesn't just love pink, purple and flowers?

Since I'm under a deadline for this project, I will be completing it in the next couple weeks, in plenty of time for Mom to give as a shower gift!

I'll be back soon with the finished project...

Wisconsin Quilt Shop Hop 2014

Hello blog friends,

I've been doing a little traveling the past couple of weeks...to quilt shops, of course!  The Wisconsin Quilt Shop Hop took place all last month, and I've been working on completing all the visits in my own section.  Although I would love to visit shops in other sections, it is hard when you work full time...somehow my boss might not understand if I took a couple of weeks off to shop.  Come to think of it, my husband might not think too much of that idea either!  LOL

My husband is a very good guy, however, and has acted as my companion and driver on the Saturdays in June.  On June 6, we traveled to Sturgeon Bay and to Green Bay to collect the stamps for those shops.  This past Saturday, June 13, we traveled south to West Bend, Thiensville, took a side trip to Plymouth, then to Sheboygan, then Mishicot, then back home to Appleton.  We traveled to Plover for another stamp in the passport, and finally finished our local section last Saturday, June 28 in Oshkosh.  We don't mind the driving, though, because we love Wisconsin and never tire of looking at the farm fields in the countryside and turn of the century downtown buildings in the cities and towns we visit.  We sometimes see what we term the "odd and unusual" in our travels.  Saturday, we saw a (no kidding) submarine on a trailer.  I didn't have the camera out, so sadly, no picture.

2014 is the third year of the Wisconsin Quilt Shop Hop.  Over 70 shops all over the state are participating this year, and a special collection of fabrics unique to the shop hop are available.  You can get more information at the WIQSH website (click here for the link).  I've purchased all the fabrics needed for the quilt I've designed.  Here are the fabrics I'll be using:

I just love this print of old postcards from around the state.  This fabric called to me and grabbed on to me (you fellow quilters understand what I mean by this.).  I have a guest room that has been in need of something and is perfect for this fabric.  I'll show you that next post and you'll see what I mean.

Here is a collage print of the history of Wisconsin and some symbols of our state.

 

This postmark print goes hand-in-hand with the postcards.

There are some other prints in the collection as well.  I'll incorporate some of them into the finished quilt.  I'll be back soon with a progress report.

Until then...