Kitting it up!

I decided to spend some time kitting up the Florabunda quilt fabrics before I head to Pennsylvania---Focusing on the background yellows--the florals were already cut by width across the grain of the fabric --- I decided that I would do two blocks out of each floral, because that is what I could get out of one 3.5” strip and 1 2” strip…

This is how things work their way through my head:

“How many can I get and have this piece GONE? Versus—“I want one block out of each fabric and have leftovers I’ll have to try to find a use for somewhere else”.

Do you think this way?

In the whole scheme of 72 blocks ---does it matter if there are duplicates? Is it a wiser way to use up the strip til it’s gone--- or, do I want to cut 72 different florals and have a bunch of half strips left over? Which is going to be easier to work with, easier to clean up after, and make better use of the fabric at hand?

SO, in other words, often times the number of duplicate blocks in any quilt out of any given fabric depends on how much I can get out of one cut of fabric with little to nothing left over!

When cutting the bow-ties from strips, I decided that I wanted no more than 6 alike within the quilt. 6 the same out of nearly 500? That’s a number I’m okay with. And many times that means I can get 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 bowties out of the same scrap strip and have that strip all gone.

How easy! Is that really going to change the look that much from a quilt that said “no two alike” ? How many more strips would I be cutting from to do that --- and how many strips would I be putting back IN the bin because I only used a small portion of each strip. Would I be leaving strips too short to be really usable if I were only cutting one bow-tie from them? As it is….as I cut…my 2” square bin is getting fuller just from trimming down the ends of the strips after I could no longer get any more bow-tie pieces from them!

I’m trying to find ways to USE the fabric, not just herd it around from one drawer to another!

Here’s all the kitted to size strips for my Florabunda. I fit this in a one gallon sized zip lock bag! My easy Angle Ruler and regular ruler will be coming with me, along with a small mat for cutting strip sets in to 4-patches, and cutting half square triangles from the short fat strips I’ve already cut to length.

This is so much better than traveling with a bin of fat quarters and hunks and chunks of this and that in my suitcase! This is why I love to kit up before going anywhere. It stream-lines, reduces, and gets a lot of the grunt work out of the way so when I reach my destination I can just plug in and sew! The only thing better would have been if I had had enough time to pre-cut my half square triangle pairs ahead of time too…but I’m fine with this.

A few episodes of NCIS and I’ll be a happy quilter, sewing away!

Hitting Newstands Now!

And hitting mailboxes too for those who have subscribed!

This is the new March/April 2012 issue of Quiltmaker Magazine, and you won’t want to miss it! There are some really great patterns this month, and a terrific use of scraps in many of them!

I’ve also updated the “Addicted To Scraps” tab found at the top of the blog with the block that is included in this issue--I've named it Grandpa's Star!

It is so named because it includes bonus triangles that were leftovers after making a quilt with my grandfather’s shirts. Every time I see those little scraps I think of him and smile!

Bonus triangles are one of my favorite quilt “leftovers” – There are so many things you can do with them, and if you can get them to already BE a useable size as you make them, all the better!

Click here for my hint on making those bonus triangles count!

Grandpa's Star

Isn’t this a fun block?

And look at how the gals at Quiltmaker laid it out in a sample quilt:

This simple quilt just sparkles! I love how it looks like there are half blocks around the outside edge, but there aren't....it's how the sashings in the block centers come together!

For more info, click HERE to go to the Addicted To Scraps section of the Quiltmaker.com website, or visit the Addicted To Scraps tab at the top of this blog page --- there’s lots of other good stuff up there in the tabs to explore too. When was the last time you took a wander through the different tabs? I’m adding new stuff all the time!

The car is almost packed with all the stuff I need ((And then some!)) for my trip up to Pennsylvania! I have a hankering to stop at the Virginia Quilt Museum on my way up…..I know they don’t usually allow photographs, but wouldn’t it be neat if they let me do a blog story on them? You think I could get them to LET me? I’ve added them to the side bar under my links at the left. Click HERE to visit the museum website.

Maybe there will be an antique mall or two on my way? Who can tell! It’s always an adventure behind the wheel of Shamu!

Morning Edition: Free Kindle Book!

Just a quicky….not a lot of time to post chatter this morning! But this sounds like a good one so I’m passing it on before the freebie runs out!

Snake Skin by C.J. Lyons is free today from the Amazon Kindle store, and has received an average user rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 51 customer reviews.

Category: Mystery & Thrillers

Book description:

Just your average Pittsburgh soccer mom, baking brownies and carrying a loaded forty-caliber Glock…

Lucille Teresa Guardino. A woman of many identities. Lucille to her doting mother, Lulu to her devoted husband, Mom to her pre-teen daughter, Lucy to her friends, LT to her co-workers, and Supervisory Special Agent Guardino to the criminals she captures for the FBI’s Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement squad.

A loving mom and wife, dutiful daughter, consummate professional, and kick-ass federal agent, Lucy is living the perfect life.

Until the day she comes up against a predator more vicious and cunning than any she’s ever tackled before, one who forces Lucy to choose between the life of the young victim she is fighting to save and her own daughter’s….and Lucy’s dream life is shattered.

As with all freebies, I don’t know how long they will be free --- it still was when I clicked it. I’m beginning to wonder if they only let a certain number of copies go for free, and when that quota has been reached, it goes back to charging? So best bet is to double check before clicking to see if it is still free for you. If there is a PRICE showing in the purchase button, DO NOT CLICK IT or you will be charged.

I’m not responsible for that, I’m not affiliated in any way with Kindle or Amazon --- I post these because they are ones that I like and if I like them, you might enjoy them too!

Carry on, peeps, Carry on!

iphone-O-Gram! A Clean Car & Class Space!

It's such a beautiful day in Winston Salem, I couldn't resist taking Shamu through the car wash so I have a clean car for my drive up to PA! I chose the apple/cinnamon air freshie for inside --- the kind the clip on the vent. Yummy!

Just heard from the Southwest Florida Quilters Guild in Ft Meyers Florida where I'm headed at the end of Feb --- they still have a few openings left in my Pineapple Blossom Workshop on Weds, Feb 22! If you'd like to come join us, please contact Linda Kleinhenz for more info! I'd love it if you'd come sew with us!

Afternoon Edition–Free Kindle Book!

It’s been a while since I’ve found a GOOD enough one to download. I’ve been reading Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants in hard back as my night time reading when I’m home –and kindle has been going with me on flying trips because Fall of Giants is so HUGE.

I’m loving the characters in this book –and I love Ken Follett’s writing style. I loved PIllars of the Earth, and World without End ---and this one is really proving to be a good read. I like being familiar enough with certain authors that settling into their “style” is like snuggling into a comfy space and listening to an old friend I haven’t talked to in a while!

I’m hoping this free book will have the same kind of feel – a drama that will suck me in and hold me tight. Don’t let the title fool ya! At first glance, I didn’t even look at it because it had the word NAKED ---but I’m glad I read farther!

From the Back Cover

"Bonnie Turner's Face the Winter Naked is a beautifully written tale of strength, hope, love, and despair. Within the pages of this book, the era of the Great Depression unfolds into sharply focused reality, and the people who were impacted the most by that time of financial desperation come to life. Ms. Turner is an excellent storyteller, and I found myself completely immersed in her narrative

Face the Winter Naked by Bonnie Turner is free today from the Amazon Kindle store, and has received an average user rating of 4 out of 5 stars based on 54 customer reviews.

Category: Historical Fiction

Book description:

Daniel Tomelin, a battle-worn veteran haunted by the carnage of the First World War, deserts his family in the Great Depression and goes on the road to seek relief from his soul-shaking trauma. He’s too proud to return and face his loving wife without a job, but LaDaisy is determined to care for their family alone, if that’s what it takes. After leaving his loved ones to cope with a hell he helped create, does Daniel dare show his face again? Sometimes LaDaisy feels like killing him.

FACE THE WINTER NAKED is a story for today’s struggling economy and unemployed citizens, set in a tragic era when hope was sometimes all they had.

Bonnie Turner’s Face the Winter Naked is set during the Great Depression, but her story encompasses issues that reach far beyond that era and know no time constraints”war. Political strife. Economic collapse. Environmental catastrophe. Division of families. Cruelty and oppression. Poverty, inequity, and all the faces of prejudice. But it is also about love. And faith. And strength. And hope, forgiveness, and perseverance.

Face the Winter Naked provides an engrossing read in which Turner interweaves history, geography, and a compelling love story. More than that, it is a story that looks beyond the surface, delving into the inner workings of the human mind a powerful narrative that illuminates larger issues of humanity that are timeless and volatile and just as apropos today as decades ago.

And with that I’m off to go ship some quilts via FedEx!

On Quilters Angel’s Wings!

Or Fed Ex Ground as the case may be!

Today is a busy errand running day ---and one of those errands is packing up all the quilts for the next book to send them off for photography!

I wish wish wish I could be there for the photo shoot this time. I was there with the last book, even had some input on how to display things, what might look good where, and when the photo proofs came back, I saw my own suggestions in print….and I was thrilled to be a part of the process.

This year, my schedule has me other places, so I’m putting all my faith in the crew and waiting like a little girl at Christmas time to see what they do for the shoot.

Doesn’t look like much does it? You might even see some you recognize from glimpses over the past year or so. Roll Roll Cotton Boll and Orca Bay are at the top. The others, we’ll leave that to be a guess and a mystery to you!

Best shipping cartons EVER! I get these at Lowes or Home Depot….there are holes in the top for securing with zip-ties. I just put extra zip-ties in the cartons and they can use the same ones to mail back to me. They are waterproof and very tough! Later this afternoon Shamu and I will take a drive to the Fed Ex drop off in Winston.

And then maybe, just maybe I’ll get to finish kitting stuff up to take to Pennsylvania!

Or….shoot. I need to write my post for Yard Sale Saturday coming up on Feb 4th --- This NEXT Saturday! Have you thought about what you want to clear out? Quilt books you don’t want any more, old block sets you are never going to turn into a quilt, bundles of FQs you’ve thrown together and want to sell?

I’d love a heads-up of who wants to participate so I know what to plan on. I have a couple vintage things that need to find new homes, so if you love antique textiles and quilts, don’t forget to come back Saturday.

This is how it works…..I write my post, you write yours –how you collect the funds on what you are selling is up to you. I’m going to go easy and use paypal. Shipping will be determined before I send the final bill, the item does NOT include shipping. When the paypal invoice has been paid, the item ships and we are all happy!

My post will go live at 7am Eastern Time on Saturday morning. You come to my post, add your link to the post you wrote on your blog about what you are selling ((The specific post, NOT just your whole blog address….that isn’t enough)) And we are good to go! If this is something that works for people, we might try it every couple of months or something. I know I have more stuff than I need and I’d love to pass it on for someone else to love :c)

Remember, these are YARD SALE type Quilt-Related items. This is not for new crafts you have made to sell, it is not to sell your favorite pair of jeans that are now too tight, or the food processor you don’t want anymore. QUILT RELATED ((Vintage, UFO, Fabric, Notions, Books, etc)) items is what we are looking for? Got it?

Drop me a comment below to let me know if you are planning on joining in!

Evening iPhone-O-Gram!

The side of me you never see---evil but necessary!

Not a stitch has been sewn. I've been cleaning house, washing and changing bedding--ooh I love a bed with clean fresh sheets!

If you thought the life of a traveling quilter was glamorous, think again! Rewarding yes---all the way down to my very clean finger nails thanks to a sink full of sudsy hot water and a mop bucket.

I've had a Monday date with none other than Mr. Clean himself. :-)

Traveling in Style!

Usually when I go traveling by car, I’ll take either the Bernina, the Janome or the Featherweight. It depends what kind of work I'm doing -- whether I'm string piecing, paper piecing, precision piecing, or just crumbing along. Is the project big or small? I choose whichever accommodates the project, and what fits the amount of time I think I'll have to actually sew in the hotel room.

One of the hard things with hotel rooms is sewing surfaces ---usually desktop work stations are set up for laptop work, and by the time you put the machine on top of the desk, the chair won’t raise high enough for you to sit comfortably at the machine --- and you find yourself wearing your shoulders up to your ears….this is NOT GOOD!

In the past when DRIVING I’ve taken my Sew Ezi table and set up..putting the machine at perfect height and pieced myself into oblivion while watching reruns of NCIS and loving it.

Remember THIS POST on “Hotel Quilting” from a trip to Chatanooga, Tennesse? It was tight quarters, but I made it work!

And THIS POST from a trip to Alabama shows the BEST quilting room in a hotel I ever had! We could have had a whole retreat in here!

I’ve bought sew-ezi inserts for both the Bernina and the Janome --- but I was wondering what I could do to take the Blue Wizard with me this time.

It won’t fit the cut out area. It sets down too low….but….what if I leave it in its extension table…and just pop out the wooden knob legs?

The machine is in its table…the table rests on top of the opening in the Sew Ezi. The sewing height is perfect…and I’m a happy camper!

If I put some of that rubber "waffle weave" shelf liner between the wood table and the sew ezi surface, nothing slides or slips....it's steady.

At this point, I think all systems are go for my trip up to PA and MD!

I need to spend some time today and tomorrow kitting some stuff up. I’m not sure what I want to do on the borders for MIdnight Flight, but I can grab the stuff I need for Floribunda and finally make a dent in that --- AND. It would be pretty easy to kit up the fabrics I need to make a “Brother’s Choice” version of Sister’s choice – that’s been on the drawing board for a while now.

I’m pumped…road trip with a machine! Stops at antique malls ---just do me a favor and keep the weather mild!

PS – if you have a question on the wooden table, I ordered them a long time ago on Ebay from a guy who we’ve been unable to reach. I was told he may have passed away, so I don’t have any further info on the extension tables for these vintage babies. I was lucky enough to get one for a full size machine, like the one above….and one for a 3/4 size machine, like my Singer Spartan ((Which really also should be let out to sew a bit too!)). There might be someone else making them, but I don’t have the info.

Winston Ways with Borders!

Remember that whole thing I said about not dealing with change well? It doesn’t only apply to sewing machines, cars, furniture and other household objects --- it applies to things like new TV’s and the fact that there are so many remotes in the living room that I won’t watch TV in there because I can’t figure the dumb things out! Supposedly it’s easy….but it’s not familiar to me and I get frustrated so I either watch what is already on, or I leave the room. Forget about trying to figure it out myself when no one else is home because I get so dang frustrated I end up leaving the room anyway!

Books are easy! You just open them!

Kindles are fairly easy --- you turn it on…..

The phone is fairly easy….but it did take me a while to figure it out.

One of the things we did before 2011 ran out was to buy me a new desktop computer because the video card on the other one was dying, it wasn’t worth putting more money into – things were getting obsolete ((Sounds a lot like the sewing machine….I know!)) and and the video card showed every DVD that I put in there with a sickly green cast.

The new desktop computer has sat in its box waiting for me to finish writing the new book manuscript because I had programs on there that I really didn’t want to HAVE to reinstall. This weekend --- it was time to plug in the new computer and I already WANT the old one back, even if it is giving my DVDs a sickly green look….there are programs I can’t get to install at all, like my Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 It works great on my laptop that is less than a year old and is also windows 7 – why won’t it upload onto the new puter? I have no idea. This is the kind of thing I hate! So I’m trying to edit photos in Picasa, which I don’t find as friendly ((Or familiar – and that is my problem)) and my blog post is a bit late this morning because of that…

EVERYTHING needs to be reinstalled, and its going to take a while, but I know eventually I’ll figure THIS computer out too.

So this brings us to what I did yesterday ----I pieced a gazillion more ((No, only really 140)) more 4-patches to go around the border of the Winston Ways quilt. I sewed them on all the Blue Wizard ---and for now I’m happy to be re-bonding with THIS machine!

After assembling and attaching the checkerboard boarder I spent a bit of time digging through my stash of blues to find something that would work for the outer border. HOW many different blues were there to choose from? I have more blue than anything else in my stash, but do you think I could find something I “really” liked? Nope! This was my best choice, a piece I’ve had for quite a while and I wasn’t sure if there was going to be enough of it to do the job…

I barely made it! This is all that is left of that long length of border….a piece about 4.5” X 11” or so….so I’ll slice that down and have a 2” strip and a 2.5” strip to add to the pre-cut strip bins.

The digging didn’t stop with the blue border! I needed a backing! Blues and turquoises, what can I clean out? The two side panels were one length of yardage split down the center….but the two center pieces? Look closer!

I don’t know if you can even tell from this pic, but the two center blues are Millenium fabrics, circa 1998! The tone on tone one above the gold 2000s looks like blue corks to me…whatever…it’s got a purpose and it’s going to be a back!

So I guess I’ll be spending today uploading and re-installing all my favorite programs that I use on a daily basis. Change is sure a pain, isn’t it? Oh, Picasa…..I’m not sure that I will ever like you as well as my photoshop ----why can’t I get this to install?!

PS--- the one thing I notice immediately is that my pictures are TOO LARGE coming from Picasa, when I can't just choose the size I want them by inch and pixels. UGH! Sorry to blast you with huge ones....this is not turning out to be user friendly!

Evening iPhone-O-Gram!

A trip to High Point NC for dinner---making good use of time by unstitching a wrongly matched border!!

Good use of daylight too!! It's 5:30pm and the sun is still shining!!

iPhone-O-Gram!

A view from my ironing board!!

I'm making more 4-patches for the borders on Winston Ways. I need approximately 140 more that finish at 2" and about half that many-plus a few--that finish at 4"

What's on YOUR ironing board?? :-)

More Birthday Mail-Call!

I’m pretty well embarrassed that it took me til this morning to get through opening the mail.

Mostly I was avoiding the bills that were in there….invoices, contracts, etc --- and knowing that replies couldn’t go out until Monday, I left the pile to sit until I had time to open each and every little thing…but I should have jumped on it sooner!

This has been, hands down, the most fun birthday I’ve ever had! Thank you so much for thinking of me and stuffing my mailbox with such wonderful goodies!

There are too many people to thank. I don’t want this to be a roll call of who sent what ---but the array of cards has cheered my soul!

My hope is that if you sent something, you will recognize it here amidst its friends! There were some great funny ones, and some hand made beauties, and of course cards with quilt themes…love them all!

And there were so many blocks that the table top could not contain the array….so I laid them out in the kitchen!

These blocks will be combined with the other blocks I showed earlier, and yes, I WILL have a 50th birthday quilt! It might take me a long time….kind of like that millenium fabric still hanging around --- do I have the whole decade to make myself a 50th quilt? :cD

This cracked me up….it’s an “over the hill” doll! LOL!!! She came in a box packed with wonderful scraps of all colors and kinds!

Another friend knows how to pack a small box well…these strips were rolled and folded and packed ever so tight!

A friend send a lovely lavender smelling pincushion! Isn’t this adorable? And I love the smell of lavender – the whole BOX it came in smells good now!

She also included a block with our pictures in it….yep, THIS goes in the 50th quilt too!

Here’s a sweet teenie tiny hexagon block……might applique this down to a square and include it in the quilt too!

Thank you so much everyone, for making my birthday SEW SPECIAL!

As for the post about my dying Bernie yesterday ---I want to say this. We all love our machines for various reasons. Machines are like cars --- we all drive different ones and what fits one person is not necessarily going to be what another person likes. I tend to get really attached to inanimate objects that are a part of my every day life.

So to me, as crazy as it sounds --being told it was time for a "new" one was like saying....."Sorry your dog died, but you can get a new one". I know it's silly ----but I'm that attached.

And I want to EMPHASIZE that *I* was the sole responsible one for running Bernie into the ground -- it had nothing to do with the skills of the technician. She's fabulous. Sometimes things are either beyond repair, or it becomes a money pit to keep putting funds into a machine that will continue to have problems due to aging circuit boards.

When I was little --- my dad traded in our old Corvair --- for a VOLVO. And I hated that car, and I cried and I cried and I cried…((I may have been about 8 or 9)) because I don’t do “different” very well. Never have. When mom got rid of the old ugly colonial style sofa in favor of a newer more comfortable model --- I cried then too. Familiarity is my comfort zone.

All day yesterday I kept telling myself that no matter how much I loved my Bernina 1080, it was never going to love me back. It was just a machine. But so much of my life has gone into that machine..it’s been my haven, my confidant ---my friend. Even if in reality it was just a machine. And that is why I am having such a hard time letting go.

It isn’t about what I can or can’t afford. It’s the feeling I get when I sew on it. Any new machine is going to feel like a stranger, and it is going to take a long time for me to consider a new machine as a friend.

But reading all the comments helped me to see that I can have an older mechanical machine as my travel machine…I need something I can bang around and take with me. And maybe, just maybe, I can have a machine with bells and whistles at home where I can enjoy them without worrying that taking a fancy machine on the road is going to be a danger to the machine.

I never meant to upset anyone by posting what I did --- machine owners are fiercely loyal to their brands, just as we are our cars, our appliances, or anything else that work well for us.

And maybe --- the fact that I don’t do change well, and am fiercely loyal to my friends --- is why I tend to keep them around my whole life as well. They mean THAT much to me.

iPhone-O-Gram!

While mourning the demise of my Bernina---I turned to completing the sewing of the half blocks into full blocks!!

Here is Midnight Flight all laid out--and I continue to piece on the Blue Wizard machine!!

PS--the blogger app for phone makes updating easy--as long as the message is short and I only do one picture :-/

R.I.P Bernie!

How do you explain away the utmost sadness that you can feel over the need to retire a well loved much used machine --- to back-up only status?

I bought my first and only-to-date Bernina machine, my 1080, in 1994. It cost me what I thought was an arm and a leg at the time—it was about $1,300. and I thought there would be a divorce involved as well.

But something happened the moment I started sewing on that machine and discovered things like needle up/down –heel tap feature on the foot pedal that has become indispensible -- a walking food that put on bindings straight and true, and a feed dog system that I have never found on any other machine out there, and I’ve owned quite a few. My piecing is NEVER as good on any machine as it is on that Bernina.

Over the years I’ve been pulled and persuaded that this Pfaff with it’s “always connected” walking foot would give me more accurate piecing. That machine and I did not bond well.

I had a Viking 500 that was “okay” as a back up machine…..my friend had it and loved it and said it could do ANYTHING. It was okay, but it wasn’t a Bernina. That machine now lives with my mom, who loves it and uses it.

I found myself talked into a Janome 6500p because of the larger throat space and the knee lift and the thread cutter, but that machine has been relegated to be my paper piecing and string piecing machine….no matter what I try, I just can’t get that machine to sew like the Bernina does.

I have more vintage machines than I care to count --- the only rooms that don’t have a machine nearby in this house would be the kitchen, Jeff’s bedroom, the master bedroom and the bathrooms –there are THREE machines set up in the guest room!

Each machine I love for its quirks and character and history. And yes, I posted about my Blue Wizard machine this morning and the great job it does ----

But still. This Bernina has been my best friend and my confidant over 16 years and has the hard worn scars to prove it!

So --- I have a choice. I can upgrade. But then I have to replace all the feet, and get ANOTHER plexiglass table to fit a newer Bernina. Or I can wait and see if I can find another one just like this 1080 on ebay, that won’t come with a warranty ---and older machines that have been run as hard as mine has may end up with the same demise – a motor blowing carbon, and the places where the motor is attached to the machine being worn away by use and vibration over the years making it impossible to secure a new motor to this machine….her screws have eroded away the screw holes ((I don’t know how to say this technically)) She still makes a beautiful stitch……but without advance notice, she is on the brink of just going kerplunk, never to sew again.

Once something starts to go on her circuit boards….it will be all over!

And then I start thinking about maybe wanting a mechanical Bernina machine – NOT a computerized one….I’ve poked around on ebay, but again you never know what condition the machine is REALLY in if you buy it from someone out of your area without a store front.

All I know is…NOTHING sews like a Bernina. NOTHING. And if you haven’t spent 16 years on one, you probably won’t understand what that means……

My mind is really thinking of finding an older Bernina that is just “mechanical” and not computerized at all ----If you sew on a Bernina 1008, or another "mechanical" Bernina will you leave a comment about your likes/dislikes please?

Where’s Winter?!

I expect to feel like I’m getting away with something I shouldn’t when I spend time on a Carribean Cruise in November, or in Southern California or in Florida during January……but it’s been SO WARM here in North Carolina that SPRING THINGS are growing right out of the ground!

I took a walk with Sadie yesterday around the neighborhood…wearing a short sleeved tee shirt with a simple denim shirt thrown over it and I was almost TOO WARM--

Do you see these little iris shoots? They are coming up too early! Oh I hope we don’t get one of our usual February Ice Blasts and kill everything…it’s too soon too soon too soon!

This is a shot of the forsythia bushes that line the bridge that crosses our creek….their buds are plainly visible and close to bursting open. I can’t wait for that delightful abundance of bright yellow ---but this usually doesn’t happen until well AFTER Valentine’s day! The forsythia is the first thing to bloom around here and that is what signals to me that spring has finally arrived. I don’t want any February ice mess to take these away either!

Maybe I should feel more positive. Maybe I should relax a bit and just take this beautiful weather in stride…..fit in all the fresh air walks that I can…..but in the back of my mind this voice keeps saying that it’s too early for the worst of winter to be over yet.

All winter I've been worried about my drive up to Pennsylvania for my visit with the Le Tort Quilt Guild in Carlisle PA for Feb 3rd-5th! And after that I'm headed over to the Annapolis Quilt Guild in MD for a workshop and trunk show with them on Feb 6th. All along I've told them that the driving trip is weather-pending because you never know what weather will do in PA or MD in Feb -- I need it to stay nice enough to drive! It looks like I should be great on the way up...lets hope that it will be safe for my drive home too.

High temps today? Perfectly 61 degrees. Brisk sweater weather, just the way I like it. And I’ll be driving in the bright morning sunshine to go over to Sew Original to pick up my Bernina from Miss Lisa who has given her the once over --- she’s ready to sew a million more miles!

Since Bernina has been gone for her tune-up, I’ve been playing with my vintage machines. My featherweight went with me to Florida, and the stitch wasn’t quite right. Betty told me that there is a guy who retired from 35 years of sewing machine servicing right in the mobile home park where I was staying, and now he just works on the older mechanical machines as a “hobby” and would I like him to tune me up? SURE!!

She spins like a top now and I am so grateful! I don’t know what I would do if she stopped working or if something went really wrong with her. And he didn’t charge me a penny! ((Not to mention that he really loved the paint job on her!))

Being a lover of vintage machines, I told him about my blue wizard ---the 1950’s Japanese knock off of a Singer class 15 machine. I hadn’t sewn on this one for a while, and when I got home, I set the machine up and continued to work on my Midnight Flight quilt ----why had I waited so long to sew again on this beauty? She hums like a dream, has more POWER than my featherweight for fast sewing, and has the BEST stitch! I also love this machine because it takes a FULL SIZE Bobbin...so I don't have to change it nearly as often as the tiny featherweight ones.

And since I’ve done so much sewing on this quilt on this machine, I just might decide to finish the top on this machine ---

Oh, and that pink light? Ikea. best task light available! And only around $10. Much better light than those bendable bright lights that have to be attached to your machine with hooks. It comes in a clip on version also, which would clamp right on to the machine table…so the next time I head to Ikea, I’m going to pick up an extra one!

Yesterday I was able to go from THIS to THIS:

It’s coming along! Remember when I spun all those seams for the 4 patches for the Winston Ways quilt and it took FOREVER but was so WORTH IT?! Same thing with these. I spun all these 4 patch seams while at our retreat at Camp Dogwood in early January with the Bee girls, and when it came to sewing these block halves together, things just nested like they were meant to be! It IS worth it! You just have to be sure that all your seams are spinning the same direction. This little hint should explain more and help you!

Also on the agenda for today…..

A whole pile of birthday mail!! My day was so crazy yesterday getting back into the swing of being home that I didn’t attack this pile….I saved it for the weekend! What do YOU think is in here?! I better go find out --- it’s like waiting for Christmas!

Oh – and if you have a chance to go see One for the Money, The Stephanie Plum movie based on the funny books by Janet Evanovich, GO! DH and I went last night and loved it….Debbie Reynolds is hilarious as Gramma Mazur, the guy that plays Joe Morelli is terrific --- the only one I was not sure of was the guy that played Ranger. I didn’t think he was “dark, handsome and mysterious” enough….nor did he linger on the word "Baaaaabbbbe” the way he did in my mind in the novels --- I also pictured someone with a much thicker Hispanic accent --- but he was good! Could be MY imagination was run amuck during the novels and it tainted my own view. Oh. Lula! HILARIOUS! This is going to be a good series of movies, I can’t wait for the next one!

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Evening Edition, Free Kindle Book!

I’ve still got Florida on the brain! That state has SO much history that most of us do not know! Looking for the fountain of youth? It was said it could be found there! Ponce De Leon landed in what is now known as St Augustine in 1513. Wow!

I remember a trip down to Key West in the early 1990s --- we drove and drove and drove and thought we’d see so much --- but all you see basically is the greenery that grows between the southbound and northbound lanes of traffic --- and short glimpses of water through the trees and brush….

This novel caught my eye because of a house tour we did while on Key West --- I love old house tours! And this one had a Widow’s Walk up top that you could walk around, much like the wives and lovers of captains past ---looking for ships returning from sea, many of them never to be seen again.

Why? Because those waters were treacherous and many ships found themselves run aground on rocks ---salvaging the remains and contents of these ships was one of Key West’s biggest businesses! And this is where the story comes in…

Windswept is free today in the Amazon Kindle Store and has received a 5 star rating! That’s good enough for me to click it. It was still free for me, so be sure to double check before clicking that it is still free for you too.

Review

"A fresh historical romance that depicts a trade that often goes unmentioned. Salvaging wrecks takes on an exciting dimension courtesy of Ms. Thomason's pen. A little bit of sugar and a little bit of spice mix well to make Windswept' a worthwhile read." --Amy Wilson, The Literary Times Magazine

"Cynthia Thomason once again brings readers a fast-paced story filled with characters so finely drawn they become a part of your life, as you share in their struggles and triumphs. Windswept' brings old Key West and its inhabitants to life, as Jacob and Nora battle greed, judgement, lies and tragedy to find a safe harbor for their love." -- DanaRae Pomeroy, CompuServe Romance Reviews

"Romance, intrigue and family secrets are elements that keep Windswept' so exciting. The characterizations are vivid, and the tense conflict keeps the reader alert. Ms. Thomason has a unique writing style that sparks the reader's emotions in every scene. Windswept' leaves me anxiously anticipating her next book." -- Rendezvous Magazine

Product Description

Well bred Virginia beauty Nora Seabrook longs for a life of excitement. She finds that and more when her father is appointed newest Federal judge in Key West.

The day she arrives on the island paradise, Nora finds herself toppling from the gangway into the murky waters of Key West Harbor. She is rescued by the bold and brazen Jacob Proctor, owner of the island's most profitable ship wrecking company and the man her father accuses of the most wicked of sins. Jacob knows his is trouble from the moment he pulls the judge's daughter from the harbor.

Nora Seabrook is the last woman he should be involved with. Plus a legacy of pain from his past prevents him from marrying any woman. But the stubborn Nora won't be sent away. Stowing on board the Dover Cloud, Nora travels with Jacob to a clandestine island where he becomes vulnerable to his enemies and the love that is destined to be theirs. Two cultures collide in this sexy and exciting romance.

"A fresh Caribbean breeze of a romance." Four stars... the Detroit Free Press.

Enjoy your Friday evening! I think the plans here are for dinner and a movie….sounds good to me!