Only 2 Month's Until Halloween......

Over the weekend, I decided to "play" with the Halloween fabric. I think my favorite quilt pattern is "disappearing 9 patch", and since I couldn't think of anything better to do with the fabric, I decided to go for it!

I managed to get 3 blocks done. With some black fabric for sashing and borders, these 3 blocks should make a nice sized table runner.

I'll be sure to post a picture when it's finished!

Shipped to Alaska

My niece and her husband are expecting their first baby. They are currently living in Alaska. The baby is due in just a couple of weeks. I decided I better get something sent off to them, to welcome the little bundle. Since they don't know what they are having, I tried to keep things as neutral as I could. If they have a girl, I'll have to send some pink things later! The dog bone shaped things are burp cloths!

These are flannel receiving blankets. I know, it's a bad picture! One is a pale green with white stripes, one is green with dots - blue and yellow, I think, and one has a print - green, with some blue and brown.

These are bibs........ I am sending a total of 4 of them. I made 5, but let's just say that one of them had issues.....

This is the back side of the quilt. I machine quilted it myself.

This is close-up of the front.

And here is the whole thing..... I just love the monkey fabric.

If you click on the photos, you'll see them bigger!

Painting Today

We are painting the living room today. Diamond Vogel #7472, Turquoise Trick. I didn't realize that was the name of the color, until right now. It's hard to get a picture of the true color. Anyhow, painting and getting ready for this -- the sofa and loveseat, that is. Also a recliner, not pictured! I found a similar ottoman on the Target website - that opens for storage. I am thinking I might need that as well.

Which should be delivered on Tuesday. I am getting excited! My friend Julie is getting this version - also on Tuesday.

Scary Fun

I need to get started on something with these. I am thinking table runners would be a good idea. I got them both here. I'll be sure to keep you posted on the projects........

Weekend Getaway?!

The weekend before last, we took one a trip, our final "hurrah" of the summer, you might say. Son #3 whined that we hadn't taken him anywhere during the summer, and he would be leaving to go back to college soon. I took Friday off. We stopped in Mankato, to drop Charlie off at with son #1 and dear daughter-in-law. After going out for ice cream with them, we headed up to the Twin Cities. Shakopee, to be exact. We would be spending the night at the hotel/casino.

Note: none of us are in the picture. And I would NEVER sit at a table and play Black Jack. I would (and did) play a few slot machines and video poker. Son #3 was the only one that came out ahead. He seems to have a thing for red 21 on video roulette.

We ate the buffet........ it was delicious! I don't know what's on this plate (again not my picture)! But of course who would think to take any pictures of the buffet.... :). Also keep in mind that I am not very good at getting my pictures lined up with what I'm writing about!

So, Saturday morning we got up, fed the machines a little more money, and decided to leave. The plan was to go to the Uptown Art Fair in Minneapolis. Ah, but it was raining. We decided to go to Key's Cafe for a delicious brunch. Son #2 had the Italian Hash. He gave me a sample and it was delicious! (Again, not my picture. - are we seeing a pattern here?)

By the time brunch was over, it was done raining, the sun was out, and it was getting very warm. (ok, downright hot!) We headed to the uptown area of Minneapolis, for the art fair. It took awhile, but we finally found a parking spot several blocks away. We saw lots of wonderful artwork for sale, and tons of people.

We walked around for a couple of hours. It was really hot and humid. Finally, around 4 p.m., we decided to go check into our motel. We were staying near the airport, in Bloomington. I won't bore you with any pictures of the motel, since I don't have any. In fact, I really don't even remember which chain it was.

We rested and cooled off for awhile, before heading out for dinner. We ate at Psycho Suzi's - a place we had seen on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives on Food Network. This actually is my picture of the sign......

It is a tiki-bar. But this is not my picture of the tiki......anyhow, you get the idea. We had very tasty BBQ chicken pizza. It was SPICY!

After dinner, we went here for awhile....... When we used to live in Minnesota, I remember a radio jingle for the mall......... "a place for fun in your life, Mall of America." Well, they had some trouble with some gangs a few years ago, and we changed the words to "a place to run for your life, Mall of America."

On Sunday, we got up and went to Ikea.

From there, we went here....

Then we went to Slumberland. I have been wanting some new furniture for quite awhile. I offered son #3 my sofa for his apartment, and he accepted. That meant I need to get something new for the living room.

In the Slumberland ad in the Sunday paper, they had a brown sofa and loveseat on sale for a great price.

Here is the sofa --We'll be getting the matching loveseat, too....... sorry, no picture - it looks the same, only 2 cushions rather than 3. We are also getting a recliner........ but it's taking me forever to add the photos, so I'll wait and show you when I actually get it. Oh, and while I was at work today, they called. It's not coming tomorrow, but next Tuesday instead......

After we left Minneapolis, we went down to Mankato, to pick up Charlie. Before leaving for home, we took the whole group out to eat here.......

I know....... not a very exciting vacation, but we did have fun. I'll try to post some pictures of projects later this week!

"Pure" Quilt Top

Remember a little over a week ago, when I posted a picture of my new favorite line of fabric? Well, the quilt top is finished, and ready for the quilter!

String Quilt

I finally got the binding finished on this quilt last weekend. I'm not very pleased with the way the picture turned out, as I don't think the colors look quite right. Also, it really looks wonky in the picture, and when I look at it in person, I don't see any "wonkiness". This was my first attempt at a "string" quilt. The quilt top is paper pieced on 8 1/2 squares of paper. I basically used my junk mail, squared up to 8 1/2 inches. The strip of muslin went down the center of each square, on the diagonal, followed by random fabric strips in a variety of widths. It is sashed with a light gray, and the border is a darker gray. I did some random piecing on the back. The binding is a cream with red dots.