Have A Terrific Weekend

My husband & I will be camping with "Mr. Wiggles" this weekend. . . .and hopefully he will be doing ALOT of fishing so I can get some handwork done. I hope to be able to get the Fall Quilt Swap quilt cut & pieced, plus I have the circular baby afghan to finish (especially since the baby has already been born!!).

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. . . .and I hope to be able to post more pictures when I return.

Be safe & keep stitching!

Sherry

Fall Quilt Swap update

Well I have the fabrics for my quilt picked out & in the washer as we speak. . . here's a picture:







I have several different ideas that I have played with through EQ6. . .but for some reason I cannot get them to upload to Blogger. . . . so everyone will just have to wait until I get some of the piecing done to see how things are developing.

I hope all my fellow Fall swappers are having a great time with their projects!

Also, thank you for your good thoughts. . .it appears that "Mr. Wiggles" may just have been having a bad spell because he seems to be "as good as new" since Friday. He has been getting a lot of extra love (not that he lacks for attention) from Steve & I so hopefully a crisis has been averted.

Have a wonderful day,

Sherry

This is my "best boyfriend"!

I thought you might like seeing the first love of my life. This is "Mr. Wiggles" (which is one of his many names!):

This is my "puppy" who is 13 1/2 years old. . . and has been with me since he was 4. He has been diabetic since he was 10 but the vet & I have been able to keep him pretty much on track so far. Unfortunately, he has been having some "issues" in the past week that are worrying me. . .and I'm afraid of what the consequences could be.

Guess he & I will cross our bridges as we get to them. . . may be time to get the vet involved in some more medical tests to check out where exactly he stands.

Hug your pets. . . and keep good thoughts for "Mr. Wiggles".

Thanks,

Sherry

My Turn to PAY IT FORWARD

Pay It Forward

I will send a handmade gift to the first three people who leave a comment requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet, but you will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your journal.

I am going to be the recipient of one of these. . . . and would love to be able to pass it on.

Have a wonderful day,

Sherry

Chookyblue's Secret Santa Swap

I received my email today telling me who I get to play Santa to. And it is not someone from the US!! (How's that for a tease???)

I have already checked out some of the blog entries from her but I'm still a bit curious about what she likes, doesn't like, colors, quilting style, other crafts she might enjoy, decorating style, etc.

So, in an attempt to make my Santa's live a little easier here are a list of information from me that might be of use (and if any other Secret Santa Swappers want to use them feel free to copy!).

Here goes:

Favorite colors: yellow (all shades including gold), pink, burgundy, neutrals

Quilting style: prefer traditional, not into "art" quilting, crazy quilting, redwork, bluework

Other crafts: crochet, knitting (I'm a beginner teaching myself), counted cross stitch, redwork

Food likes: pretty much everything. . .I don't eat sauerkraut, liver, sweet potatoes or veal

Snacks/candy: chocolate always works, in any category (cookie, bar, etc.), chips, cookies

Decorating style: country/Victorian/"shabby chic"

Clothing style: professional during the week at work and for church, definitely casual when not at work or church

I hope this helps out my Santa. . . . .now I'm going back to trying to figure out what I am doing for the Fall Quilt Swap since that requires immediate attention.

Have a wonderful day!

Sherry

PIPS. . . . oh boy do I have them!!!!

PIPS --- projects in plastic sacks

I have alot of them. . . and thought you might enjoy seeing some of them.

This first picture is of a circular baby afghan that I am making for the daughter of one of my friends. . . she is expecting her first baby. It is made with a variegated baby "sparkle" yarn.














I am teaching myself to knit. . .and this is a project that I found on the internet for a simple shawl. . .I'm using worsted weight yarn so it is going to be pretty warm (if it ever gets finished). It is a very simple pattern but knitting just seems to take so long in order to actually "see" something (as compared to crochet) that I have no idea when this project will be completed.

















This is an afghan pattern that I found on the internet. . .it is called Jacob's Ladder. This is one of the projects that I use in order to use up the extra yarn that I have in the house from other projects (or that I bought just because I liked it.













And here is a ripple afghan, again, this is being made to use up extra yarn.

















This picture is a table runner that I made from a kit.. I purchased it while my husband and I were on vacation in Virginia. The written directions were very confusing to follow (at least for me) so I just kept looking at the pictures, had an "ah ha" moment & was able to complete the top in record time while at a quilter's camp.
















This picture is of a quilt sampler that I made for my first teaching sample ---- at least 15-20 years ago!! It is still a UFO but I have completed more that 1/2 of the quilting & I am determined to have it finished by the end of this year.















The quilt guild I belong to makes charity quilts. . . and here is one that I made from the blocks & fabric that someone in the quild donated. It is flannel but I am using a regular cotton fabric for the backing & binding. It will be a good size for a baby.




I hope you enjoyed my little show. . . and I hope that I will have some completed projects to show you in the near future. But you will be seeing alot of UFO's along the way as well.

Have a blessed day,

Sherry

Four Seasons Quilt Swap. . . oh my!

I received an email telling me who I am making a quilt for. . . and WOW, this is definitely going to put me "outside the box". . . which is fun to do at times -- it exposes me to fabrics and/or designs that I might not look at during the normal course of my quilting.

The keywords (at least in my mind) of my swap partner are: modern, contemporary, intense and abstract.

Hmmmm. . . they mentioned some designers (whom I am not familiar with) so I went on www.quiltshops.com to check out the names. Found a fabric that I think I will use as a "jumping off" point.

Now my next challenge is to come up with the quilt design. . . however, I do have some thoughts on that. . . looks like I might be doing more hand piecing (which is one of my loves -- especially since it is portable).

I think Saturday morning will find me at a QS (there aren't any local to me anymore) so that I can buy fabric to get this project started.

Wonder if my partner is going to have the same challenges with their project for me??

Have fun everyone!

Sherry

Fun Swap that I joined

As you can see from the side bar badge, I've joined up for the 4 Seasons Quilt Swap. Here is the information. . . . perhaps you would like to join us:

Four Seasons Quilt Swap I

Margaret has started a new swap of doll-sized quilts. She requested that we pass the word along to make this a big and fun swap, so here goes, from Margaret's letter:

Here's what I propose for the first swap...
This is the Four Seasons Swap. If all goes smoothly, over the next year we can collectively create a quilted project for each season. With Summer approaching it's end soon, let's begin with Fall.

Create a doll-sized quilt depicting your interpretation of fall. There are no design guidlines; use your imagination and you cannot go wrong. Keep the size between 12" x 12" and 18" x 18", with rectangular or square being OK. It may be for a wall or for a table (as in a runner or centerpiece). Please use prewashed cotton or cotton blend materials if possible. Embellishment with anything that sews on is great (ie., trims, ric-rac, buttons). Please no glue though. Specify to your swap partner how quilt should be washed. The back of your quilt should include a personalized label with the name you selected four your Fall quilt, the date and your name, at a minimum. The quilt top may be pieced, applique, or whatever floats your boat. Consider possibly a pieced quilt in fall colors, or something depicting fall, or a quilt for one of the fall holidays, OR WHATEVER SAYS "FALL" TO YOU!

August 20, 2007 - The deadline to commit to the swap challenge. The quilt must be completed by September 30, 2007 and mailed to your swap partner. Depending on the response, the registration may close.

If you are interested, email me msolomo1@maine.rr.com . Please include your full name, mailing address, blog URL if you have one and whether you are willing to ship internationally. Note: your last name & address will not be given on the internet, only to your swap partner. I encourage you all to indicate some of your preferences to style and color so that you may be matched with an appropriate partner - both in what you like to make & what you like to receive. If you do not have preference and would rather be surprised, that is great too. On approximately September 15 I will email each of you with your swap partner's information, and get an update on progress. I encourage you to post pictures of your quilts, though you may wait until after your partner has received it. I will also set up a group share on a photo site for these pictures to be viewed.

I'm back & have an editorial comment

My vacation was pretty good. . . but it was terribly hot & humid in Pennsylvania. The weather was not fit for either man or beast to be outside. Luckily our trailer has air conditioning and Bogart, our West Highland White Terrier, was able to be kept comfortable and safe.

Now, here is the editorial comment. . . and it may sound very harsh, but this is my soapbox & I plan on standing on it.

Pennsylvania is one of the SEVEN worst states in our country for puppy mills. This country can send money to every country in the world (whether they want our help or not) but we still have not eliminated this scourge.

For those of you that are not aware of what a puppy mill is I would suggest you visit www.stoppuppymills.org. However, I must warn you, the information and/or pictures on that site are graphic and not easy to view and/or read.

The "breeding bitches" that are used by these millers may have all died this past week from exposure to the extreme temperatures and weather. If they did die they are probably lucky -- since any that got sick were not cared for, not given proper water, shelter, medical care, etc.

What sickens me the most is that some of these mills are owned by Amish & Mennonites. These groups of people claim to be "true" followers of God's word as strictly defined in the Bible. . . .and I have admired them for many, many years as being good examples of charity, honesty, integrity, etc.

Unfortunately, the millers don't feel that animals have souls, therefore, they feel justified in treating their animals any way they want --- devoid of kindness, sympathy, or just plain common sense, etc. I guess they forgot that GOD made ALL creatures. . . and while Man was given dominion over all the "lesser" creations He made there is NO WHERE in the bible does God say that animals are to be tortured for the sake of money.

If you are in the market for a pet. . . .DO NOT GO TO A PET STORE. These stores buy from "distributors" that purchase from "millers". . . . meaning that the cute puppy you see was born from torture. Not to mention that since the mother was not given proper health care you have no idea what kind of medical and/or mental conditions you will encounter.

Go to an animal shelter, be open to adopting an older animal, open your arms to a creature that may require a little extra work but would be willing to do anything to have a gentle scratch behind their ears, or loving feet to lie next to.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox & hope that I did not offend anyone. . . .but if I spurred anyone on to pass this information on then I feel that I have done my part, again, in trying to get the word out & stop the millers.

Sherry